If someone had told Carver Milligan eighteen months ago that he’d be in a room surrounded by beautiful women, he would’ve laughed until his sides hurt. In fact, if they’d told him this a year ago when he walked out of the courthouse after hearing a judge declare him and Evita officially divorced, he might have done a fist pump in the air and skipped all the way to his car.
As memory served, he’d done something similar anyway. After three years of trying to convince himself and the woman he thought he loved that they’d done the right thing by getting married, he’d been exhausted. And in the end, they’d both been glad it was over.
Today, despite his complaints about having to come to New York, he didn’t even try to hide the joy he felt seeing this familiar and very lovely face.
“Catalina Brennan. What a welcome surprise to see you here.” He couldn’t hold back the grin as he continued to stare at her. The sight of her had taken his breath away so many times before; today, it held him still. She’d changed from the pretty girl he’d walked home from school with, whose hand he dreamed of holding. Now she was a stunningly beautiful woman whose curvy body and plump lips had heat pumping fiercely through his veins. The immediate physical reaction to seeing her again reminded him they weren’t kids anymore.
Yet he starkly recalled the senior prom, eleven years ago, when he’d witnessed the mediocre basketball player and world-class jerk Lenny Freeman break her heart.
Carver had tried to salvage the evening for her by asking her to dance, giving her the opportunity to put on a brave face in front of Freeman and the rest of the school. She’d gone along with it for a while but had eventually asked him to take her home. He’d obliged. He hadn’t realized when he walked away from her that night that it would be the last time he spoke to her.
“Uh, it’s just Lina now,” she said with a wide-eyed glance at all the people around them. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to finish up this photo shoot before we have to pay more to rent this space,” RJ Gold stated.
“Right.” Lina glanced at the impeccably dressed executive, then brought her gaze back to him. “I should get out of the way. Sorry I interrupted.”
Carver couldn’t let her leave. “I thought you were right where you belonged. I mean, you look great. Isn’t this part of the collection we’re spotlighting today? The working women’s line.”
That question earned a frown from RJ and a slight shake of Lina’s head. “It’s the Women’s World Collection, and, yes, this suit is part of it,” she told him.
“And it fits you perfectly. That’s why I snapped your picture. You were looking busy and focused and still serving a helluva look in that color,” Carver said. No matter what she wore, she’d always served looks that had impressed him. How many years had he spent crushing on her…only to have her shoot him down the moment he finally gathered the courage to ask her out?
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