The Reluctant Cinderella

Angela waited until she raised her eyes again. “You really like him. I mean, you really, really like him.”

“Why are we talking about this?”

“Because you need to talk about it.”

“No. I don’t.”

“Yes, you do—and you said he didn’t ask you out?”

“He didn’t. I don’t believe he will. I believe he’s going to think it over, the way I’ve been thinking it over, and decide that it’s a terrible idea for him and me to ever…get together.”

Angela frowned. “Wait.”

“What?”

“Well, what did he do to let you know he was interested? I mean, if taking you to lunch doesn’t count. If he didn’t say anything or do anything, if he didn’t come on to you…”

“Oh, please. You know how it is, the little things a guy does, the…electricity in the air, when there’s attraction.”

Angela made a face. “I’m a single mom with almost no free time. I wouldn’t know a date if it fell on me. I work for a pediatric dentist who, as I just pointed out, is sixty and very married to his wife of forty years. Let’s just say I’ve forgotten, okay? Refresh my memory.”

“Arrgh.”

“Come on. Fill me in.”

“He…um, well, in the restaurant, he put his hand over mine when I told him about how my birth parents died—and then he didn’t take it away. I had to kind of slide my own hand out from under it. And earlier…that first moment when I walked in his office. Oh, Ange.” Megan put her hand against her fast-beating heart. “You should have seen his face. Shocked. Amazed. Awestruck. Thrilled. Excited. All of the above. And I felt the same way. But I covered it. Pretty well, I think. I was the soul of professionalism.”

“Oh, I know you were.”

“…Until those last few moments outside the restaurant, before he sent me home in the limo.”

“He gave you his limo—to come all the way to Rosewood from Manhattan?”

“Farther. To Poughkeepsie. I went on up to the office. I tried to give the driver a big tip, but he only shook his head and said that Mr. Banning had already taken care of it.”

Angela’s eyes were saucer-wide. “Well, okay. I’m convinced. I mean, his limo…”

“Exactly.”

“So what happened? On the sidewalk, before the limo?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Megan’s cheeks were flaming. She pressed her hands to them to cool them a little. “It was just…I just knew he was going to kiss me. And oh, did I ever want him to do that. He grabbed my hand again. And, same as in the restaurant, he didn’t let go. I considered just, you know, kind of throwing myself against him. But I controlled myself. Thank God for that.”

“And you’ll see him again next Monday?”

“Yeah.”

“And if he asks you out then…?”

“He won’t.”

“Go with me here. What if he does?”

“Well, I’ll have to say no, of course.”

“Why?”

“Oh, come on. You know why. Because it wouldn’t be fair to Carly. Because it would be so cruel.”

“Megan. The fact is, Carly and Greg are divorced. Not separated. Not getting a divorce. They are no longer married and they aren’t together in any way. They’re through.”

“But Carly hopes—”

“It’s not your fault what Carly hopes. Greg hasn’t been on Danbury Way since she threw him out of Tara.” The rest of the houses on the street were colonials. But Carly’s huge house, with its tall pillars and wide front veranda, looked like something out of Gone with the Wind. The neighbors referred to it either as Tara or, more commonly, the McMansion. “He’s not coming back. Carly needs to accept that her marriage is finished, and get going on the rest of her life. She’s a beautiful woman, inside and outside. And it’s a shame that she’s throwing her life away waiting for a man who’s gone for good. You’re not doing her any favors by turning Greg down for her sake.”

“But…you know how people talk. She’d be mortified. And even worse than all the gossip, she’d think I went behind her back and went after him when she was so sweet and got me the interview in the first place.”

“So don’t go behind her back. If he asks you out and you decide to go for it, the classy way to handle the situation would be to speak frankly to Carly about it.”

Megan’s stomach felt as if a big, hard fist was squeezing it. “To tell her that I’m dating Greg….”

“That’s right,” said Angela.

Megan cringed and Angela saw it. She spoke more gently. “It wouldn’t be such a terrible thing for you, either, you know? If for once in your life you went after what you wanted instead of always going along with what everyone else wants.”

“I go after what I want.”

“In your work, yes. But on Danbury Way…?” Angela answered her own question with a shake of her golden head. “Look. Just think about it, okay?”

“I can’t, Ange. I won’t. I’m not getting anything going with Greg Banning, so there’s no reason for me to ever talk to Carly about it.”

Chapter Four

From the moment Greg walked into the bright, high-ceilinged offices of Design Solutions in the heart of downtown Poughkeepsie, he knew all his firm resolutions meant zip. There was no way he could keep things strictly business with Megan Schumacher.

That day she wore purple. Stunning, bright, gorgeous purple with a hint of white lace under her short, form-fitting jacket. He took one look at her flushed, adorable face, saw the little dimple in the curve of her cheek and realized it was hopeless.

He was sorry about Carly, sorry he didn’t love her anymore. Sorry that in the neighborhood there would no doubt be talk about him and Megan. Sorry that Carly would probably end up suffering more than she’d already suffered.

Yeah. He was sorry.

But Megan was…

Words failed him.

He only knew that he had to take his best shot at getting closer to her. When the deal was made and he could get rid of his father and the other Banning’s executives, he was taking her to lunch—and after lunch, he was doing everything in his power to convince her to stay at his side until dinner. And after dinner, to get her to see that they should go home to his place and she should stay the night. In the morning, there should be breakfast. And lunch tomorrow. And an intimate dinner tomorrow night.

Was that crazy?