Page 21
Author: Bella Andre
Chapter Twenty
The first thing Zach noticed that evening when he stepped into the large ballroom at The Fairmont was Heather’s laughter. She was speaking with an older couple and even from across the room, the sound of her joy washed over him, just as it had that morning when she’d been on his lap in bed and he’d made her laugh.
My God, he thought as he took in her long, silky hair flowing down her back and the long-sleeved, dark blue dress that ended just below her knees to showcase her perfectly toned and tanned calves and ankles. She’s so beautiful.
He loved her in shorts, and had more than one fantasy about all the fun he could have with that long braid of hers in bed. She’d always taken his breath away, without doing a damn thing to try to accentuate her natural beauty. All around her, women were decked out in sequins and sky-high heels intended to draw eyes to them. But in her simple blue dress, Heather outshone them all.
She hadn’t wanted him here as a distraction, but he’d come anyway because that was how he’d always run his life. Putting what he wanted—and his own happiness—first.
Only, now that he was here, as he watched her move through the crowd to speak with people who clearly admired the hell out of her, he realized he couldn’t go through with his plan to surprise her, then kiss her into not being mad at him for ignoring her request to stay away.
It was one thing to rearrange her seat at the ball game so that she’d have to sit next to him. It was another to screw up an important event she’d worked long and hard on just because he was a selfish prick who couldn’t make it another hour without seeing her.
Tonight he wanted Heather to be happy.
Moving to a shadowed part of the room, he drank in her grace, her confidence, as she took the stage. He’d always gravitated toward younger women who didn’t demand anything from him apart from a good time. Heather was the polar opposite of them all. She didn’t need him, didn’t need any man to take care of her or to tell her she was worthy.
A few seconds later, the music playing over the speakers turned off and the spotlight went to where Heather was standing on the stage.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming here tonight to support the San Francisco Animal Shelter. I know each and every one of us in this room is shocked to know that animals are still being abused and neglected, household pets most often of all. ”
Behind her, a screen showed pictures of dogs walking with their owners, cats playing with children, puppies cuddling with babies. Some of the dogs and cats were missing a leg or an eye, but anyone could see how happy they were now that they’d finally found families who loved them.
“That’s why we’re all here tonight, to raise money to support those animals who are brought in to the shelter hurt and afraid. With the right love and care, it’s our hope that they will all find loving homes and owners who will care for them the way they should have been cared for from the day they were born. Every penny of the proceeds from tonight’s auction will go straight to the shelter, and the animals who so desperately need our help. Thank you for reaching deep for them. ”
As she stepped away from the podium to let the auctioneer run through the list of items up for bidding, Zach pulled his valet parking tag from his pocket and headed for the front of the hotel.
“I need you to bring my car around and leave it out front. ”
“Aren’t you going to be driving it, sir?”
“No,” he said without even needing to give it a second thought, “I won’t. ”
* * *
Heather was pleased with how well the bidding was going on the auction items. Still, as the auctioneer called out the final items on the list, she calculated that it was going to be a close finish to reach their fundraising goal.
And then, suddenly, the other man from the auction firm motioned to the auctioneer with a piece of paper.
Heather frowned. What was going on?
The auctioneer unfolded the paper and whatever he read on it made his eyes widen. Without taking the time to confer first with Heather, he quickly moved back behind the podium.
“I’m pleased to let everyone know that we have a last-minute addition to our biddable items. A truly excellent addition. ” It was as if he needed to catch his breath first before saying, “The classic 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT is in mint condition. ” The approximate value he listed had Heather’s jaw dropping to the floor. The room rumbled with sounds of amazement as the auctioneer grinned and said, “It is currently parked in front of the hotel for your viewing pleasure. The owner is available to answer questions. Bidding will begin in precisely ten minutes. ”
It was a stampede as every man and half the women made a dash for the ballroom doors.
The auctioneer turned to Heather and said, “This is truly extraordinary. If I had the funds, I’d bid on it myself. ”
Needing to know who would give the animal shelter something so precious, just moments before bidding ended, Heather quickly headed away from the stage and had to push through the crowded lobby. There were too many people jammed into the small space for her to see any part of the car, but one man was almost a head taller than the rest.
Zach.
Shock had her stopping dead in the center of the lobby. The Lamborghini had to be his.
Her heart thudded to a halt in her chest as she realized she couldn’t let him give it away, even if it meant the shelter would have almost an entire extra year of operating expenses taken care of with the money that car would bring in. Not if he was giving it away for all the wrong reasons. . . and not if the donation meant he’d now expect things from her that she simply couldn’t give him.
He already had her body, for as long as he wanted it.
But her ultimate trust—and the secret, walled-off parts of her heart—would always be off limits.
She had to push through the people to reach him. “Zach!” she called, needing to get his attention to tell him it was too much, but before she could, the auctioneer’s voice could be heard over the crowd.
“The ten minutes are nearly up. Bidding will begin right away. ”
The excited group rushed back into the ballroom, leaving only Heather and Zach standing alone outside. His eyes roved over her face, her hair, her dress, her legs.
“You’re just as beautiful as I knew you’d be. ”
She felt herself flush with pleasure at his compliment, even as she said, “You shouldn’t have done this, Zach. ” Flustered, she blurted, “Why did you do it?”
“I had to. ”
“Did you—” She couldn’t believe she was actually going to say this. “Did you do it for me?”
His eyes were dark as they held hers. “Yes. ”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Giving away an expensive car won’t change anything between us. You know that, right?”
“If I thought I could buy you, I would have done it that first day I met you. Don’t insult us both. ” The bite of his words softened as he added, “You were very convincing up on that stage, Heather. ”
She flushed, biting back the apology on her tongue. Instead, she said, “It’s too much, Zach. Especially since you didn’t exactly take much time to think over the donation. ”
“No,” he told her in as serious a voice as she’d ever heard from him, “auctioning off one of my cars isn’t nearly enough. Just thinking about what might have happened to Cuddles if she’d ended up in the wrong hands makes me sick. ”
“Still,” she insisted, “you could have given away something else, like free car service for a year at your garage. I’m afraid you’re going to regret giving away something so precious. ”
“It’s just a car, Heather. A hunk of metal that’s put together to drive fast. I would never give away anything truly precious. ” His eyes darkened even further with heat and a flash of emotion that hit her just behind her breastbone. “You must know by now that I’m far too s
elfish for that. ”
He always did that to her, made it hard for her to find her breath at the same time that she couldn’t help but give in to a smile. “You are pretty selfish,” she agreed.
“Greedy, too,” he said as he finally moved close enough to pull her into his arms.
If she’d managed to forget how good his goodbye kiss had been that morning, the kiss he gave her in front of the Fairmont was the perfect reminder.
Of course, she hadn’t forgotten a thing about that earlier kiss. And she wouldn’t be forgetting anything about this one, either.
When he finally let her go, she was glad his arms were around her to hold her up on shaky legs.
“Besides,” he murmured against her earlobe, “getting to see you in that dress—and knowing I’m going to strip it off you later—is worth every penny. ”
Heather liked him so much more than she should. He made it so hard not to. If he’d given away the car because he wanted people to be impressed with him, if he’d done it to try to buy a part of her heart, she could have written him off as just another rich blowhard with more money than sense.
But he’d clearly done it simply because he believed it was the right thing to do.
And this time she was the one kissing him before grinning and saying, “I would have let you take off my dress for free. ”
Chapter Twenty-one
“Time for bed. ”
Heather looked up from where she was placing empty wine glasses in their plastic cases to find Zach standing in front of her. “But there’s still so much to do. ”
“The catering staff can take care of the rest of it. ” He took her hands in his and pulled her to her feet.
The heat in his eyes immediately drew her in and she knew there was no more fighting the inevitable. She wanted to sleep with Zach again, of course, but she was worried that she was going to forget to keep it just sex, even more than she had forgotten the night before. After his selflessness tonight, she was very much afraid that her heart was going to do something stupid in response.
She was surprised when he led her to the bank of elevators with his large hand on the small of her back. She was tall enough that she rarely felt small around a man, but between his height and broad shoulders—and his air of confident masculinity—she’d always felt incredibly feminine around Zach.
“Where is Cuddles tonight?”
“Hanging with Atlas at your assistant’s house. She’d already mentioned that she was going to be watching Atlas and said she was happy to have them both. ”
Heather turned to him in surprise just as the elevator door opened. “Have women always been unable to resist giving you whatever you want?”
His pretended to leer at her. “Whatever I want, huh?”
She rolled her eyes. “I was talking about other women, not myself. I can resist you just fine,” she lied with a flourish.
His grin told her he knew otherwise as he slid his key card in for the penthouse suite.
“You booked the penthouse for tonight?” On top of giving away a shockingly expensive car just hours ago? “Have you completely lost your mind?”
“Most women not only give me whatever I want, but they also know my net worth within five minutes of meeting me. ” He slid the fingers of one hand into her hair and tugged her closer before saying, “You’re the first one who doesn’t care about my money. ”
He was right, she didn’t. And maybe if she weren’t so tired, she would have moderated her thoughts a little better before blurting, “You’re hardly ever serious. How can you run a business that big without working all the time like everyone else?”
True to form, he didn’t look upset about what she’d just said, or how she’d said it. “Like I said before, they’re just cars. And trust me, Heather,” he said in that low voice that always sent shivers running up and down her spine, “whenever I decide to focus on something I want, I always get it. ”