admitted, a hint of anxiety in her voice.
Â
"What idea?"
Â
"We're thinking about going into business together."
Â
After that, she'd volunteer no more. No matter what question he asked. She'd only say that until the research was complete, she didn't want to do anything that might jinx it. Now that was a woman for you. Worrying about jinxing something still in the idea stage.
Â
Frowning, Brian turned his attention back to the room, only to catch Mark grinning at him. He glared back. Mark's grin only widened.
Â
Walking over to join them, Mark smirked. "A beautiful woman beside you and apparently another one sending you flowers. Tell me Brian, what am I doing wrong?" He smiled down at Karina. "Honey, you don't want to spend any time with this guy. You want to spend it with me," he teased. "When are you going to come and visit us?"
Â
She smiled up at him. "You're such a sweetie. And watch what you sayâyou'll never know if I might just move here."
Â
"You're looking at moving here. Why?" Mark asked. Linking arms with her, he added, "It's a wonderful idea and yes, we want you to move closer. What I mean is, what's making you think of changing cities like this?" Peering down at her closely, he added, "This has something to do with Susan, doesn't it?"
Â
Brian stared down at her, thrown off-balanceâagain. She was looking at moving to Victoria as well? Another new tidbit of information.
Â
She nodded happily at the men but refused to elaborate.
Â
"Well, keep us posted." Mark dug into his shirt pocket. "Here's one of my cards. Let me know when you're coming and I'll scout out something new and different in the coffee world." Mark reached out and pulled Karina into a warm hug. "I'd love to have you closer."
Â
Brian watched as his best friend connected with Karina on an easy, comfortable level. A level he wanted to reach but couldn't get to, yet. They had some personal stuff to deal with first.
Â
"Take care and email me that you got home safely. Okay?" With that, Mark kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Brian, I'm loading up the car now. I'll give you a call tomorrow. See you." With a jaunty wave at them both, he headed out.
Â
"Now I'm really going to be sad. I'm going to miss everyone." Tears were already starting to well up in the corners of her eyes.
Â
"You'll just have to come and visit us." He slid an arm around her shoulder, nudging her toward his stack of boxes. "Come on, let's get your stuff."
Â
After he made arrangements with hotel staff for the courier pickup of his workshop materials, they waited at the entrance doors until Brian's car was pulled around.
Â
"Wow! Here I had you pegged as a BMW man. But a Porsche, now that shows a completely new side to you."
Â
Brian held open her door, giving him an excuse to stand close. He was able to catch her dark, sexy fragrance as she moved past him and he closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to back away from temptation.
Â
"This is a relatively new purchase. I felt a little more splash in my life wouldn't hurt." Sheepishly he added, "My last car was a BMW."
Â
They both laughed.
Â
"Do you ever get hate mail or nasty phone calls, or things like that? This thing with Ian just seems a little too easy, as if there might be more to it than that."
Â
"Yes, I've received a couple. Why? Is Ian's intrusion still bothering you?" He asked in surprise. He handled the purring car, with quiet confidence. Efficiently pulling in and out of traffic, he brought the sports car onto the freeway. He stole a glance at her, wondering just how her legs would look below the hem of a dress or short skirt. On the other hand, he wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing those thighs hugged by very touchable suede slacks, either. The dashboard glowed, giving him just enough light to keep his imagination alive, but not enough to satisfy it.
Â
"Do you think they could've been from Ian?"
Â
Startled, he took
Â
"What idea?"
Â
"We're thinking about going into business together."
Â
After that, she'd volunteer no more. No matter what question he asked. She'd only say that until the research was complete, she didn't want to do anything that might jinx it. Now that was a woman for you. Worrying about jinxing something still in the idea stage.
Â
Frowning, Brian turned his attention back to the room, only to catch Mark grinning at him. He glared back. Mark's grin only widened.
Â
Walking over to join them, Mark smirked. "A beautiful woman beside you and apparently another one sending you flowers. Tell me Brian, what am I doing wrong?" He smiled down at Karina. "Honey, you don't want to spend any time with this guy. You want to spend it with me," he teased. "When are you going to come and visit us?"
Â
She smiled up at him. "You're such a sweetie. And watch what you sayâyou'll never know if I might just move here."
Â
"You're looking at moving here. Why?" Mark asked. Linking arms with her, he added, "It's a wonderful idea and yes, we want you to move closer. What I mean is, what's making you think of changing cities like this?" Peering down at her closely, he added, "This has something to do with Susan, doesn't it?"
Â
Brian stared down at her, thrown off-balanceâagain. She was looking at moving to Victoria as well? Another new tidbit of information.
Â
She nodded happily at the men but refused to elaborate.
Â
"Well, keep us posted." Mark dug into his shirt pocket. "Here's one of my cards. Let me know when you're coming and I'll scout out something new and different in the coffee world." Mark reached out and pulled Karina into a warm hug. "I'd love to have you closer."
Â
Brian watched as his best friend connected with Karina on an easy, comfortable level. A level he wanted to reach but couldn't get to, yet. They had some personal stuff to deal with first.
Â
"Take care and email me that you got home safely. Okay?" With that, Mark kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Brian, I'm loading up the car now. I'll give you a call tomorrow. See you." With a jaunty wave at them both, he headed out.
Â
"Now I'm really going to be sad. I'm going to miss everyone." Tears were already starting to well up in the corners of her eyes.
Â
"You'll just have to come and visit us." He slid an arm around her shoulder, nudging her toward his stack of boxes. "Come on, let's get your stuff."
Â
After he made arrangements with hotel staff for the courier pickup of his workshop materials, they waited at the entrance doors until Brian's car was pulled around.
Â
"Wow! Here I had you pegged as a BMW man. But a Porsche, now that shows a completely new side to you."
Â
Brian held open her door, giving him an excuse to stand close. He was able to catch her dark, sexy fragrance as she moved past him and he closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to back away from temptation.
Â
"This is a relatively new purchase. I felt a little more splash in my life wouldn't hurt." Sheepishly he added, "My last car was a BMW."
Â
They both laughed.
Â
"Do you ever get hate mail or nasty phone calls, or things like that? This thing with Ian just seems a little too easy, as if there might be more to it than that."
Â
"Yes, I've received a couple. Why? Is Ian's intrusion still bothering you?" He asked in surprise. He handled the purring car, with quiet confidence. Efficiently pulling in and out of traffic, he brought the sports car onto the freeway. He stole a glance at her, wondering just how her legs would look below the hem of a dress or short skirt. On the other hand, he wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing those thighs hugged by very touchable suede slacks, either. The dashboard glowed, giving him just enough light to keep his imagination alive, but not enough to satisfy it.
Â
"Do you think they could've been from Ian?"
Â
Startled, he took
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