Blind Attraction Page 14

  The silence was deeper than mere silence and James prepared himself to receive a fist to the gut; something to indicate the man’s understandable rage. What he didn’t expect was the booming laughter that thundered around him, “Told you that, did she? She must really like you.”

  James swallowed, offering a tentative smile, “I hope so.”

  Suddenly, the man’s hot breath was pressed against his neck and James froze as death laced Jeremy’s voice, “She is still my little girl so if you even think of hurting her I will make you wish you were dead.”

  “Yes, sir,” James squeaked, embarrassed by the unmanly sound. He was thirty years old, for God’s sake; it wasn’t his fault that the father of the girl he was in love with was terrifying. Clearing his throat, he nodded his head and tried again, “Yes, sir.”

  The chair shifted again as the giant sat down, the air of menace completely gone once again. James heard the smile in his voice as he spoke, “Good; just so long as we understand one another.”

  Chapter 11

  Waking up next to James for the second morning in a row was the most incredible, wonderful experience in the world. Unfortunately, Victoria wasn’t allowed to linger as she had to be at her store in less than two hours for her Grand Opening. Though she was awfully tempted to say “Screw it” once more and remain in James’s bed, in his arms, she knew she couldn’t. She wasn’t going to throw everything away because she was in love with an amazing man; she had too much of a self-preservation instinct to do something so foolish.

  Brushing her lips against his cheek, she whispered in his ear, “I’ve got to go.”

  He grumbled and tightened his hold on her but she knew that he was still completely asleep; his breathing was too deep and even to be faking. “James; I really have to go.”

  He finally released her and she slid out of bed, a bit tender between her legs. Victoria smiled as James wrapped his arms around her pillow and hugged it against his chest, already asleep. He looked so peaceful lying there, so alluring, she forced herself to let him sleep. Considering how little sleep they actually got last night, it was good that he was resting now.

  Running her fingers along his jaw, his luscious lips, she smiled; as soon as she closed the store, she was going to see James again. He had promised to take her out to celebrate her grand opening but he didn’t tell her where they were going. After giving him one last kiss, she gathered up her things and made it back to her apartment with plenty of time to get ready.

  Putting the key into the lock and turning it, she opened her door and stepped inside, mentally making notes of any last minute things that needed to be done. She wasn’t aware of anyone else until she heard her best friend growl, “Where the hell have you been?”

  Victoria nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Taylor’s voice. Seeing her best friend emerge from her bathroom in a bathrobe, a towel around her hair, Victoria flattened her hand against her racing heart, “Jesus, Tay, you nearly gave me a heart attack; what on earth are you doing here?”

  “I tried calling but no one answered,” Taylor said reproachfully. “You always answer.”

  Sheepishly, Victoria reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone; she had forgotten to turn it back on. Opening it, she saw that she missed quite a few calls; not just from Taylor. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about checking to see if my phone was on.”

  “That’s obvious,” Taylor scoffed, vigorously drying her hair with the towel, distracting Victoria with the movement. “I was worried so I came straight from the airport to check up on you. I thought you were lying unconscious on the floor or something but when I let myself in you were nowhere to be found. So I thought maybe you were in a car accident and you didn’t have your I.D. so no one knew to call me and I wasn’t going to make it to the hospital in time to donate blood but there have been no accidents involving young, honey blond haired girls, so I didn’t know what to think. And since I knew that this Grand Opening was so important to you, I decided to get ready here in case you needed me to take your place today.”

  “I’m fine,” Victoria murmured, letting her bag drop to the floor, grateful for Taylor’s misplaced worry and desperately needing to take a shower. Knowing Taylor, there probably wasn’t any hot water left but it didn’t matter; a cold shower would probably be best anyway. Seeing the disbelief on Taylor’s face, she laughed, “I promise.”

  Taylor’s eyes narrowed as she watched Victoria; something was different about her; she seemed to be almost… glowing. Taylor had to be imagining things; Vi promised not to rush into anything or do something foolish. “I had to use your shampoo; mine is still in my bags in Chase’s car.”

  Victoria grinned, “How did that go? Did he propose?”

  “He took me out for a romantic dinner Friday night and asked over dessert,” Taylor frowned, sounding… distracted. Wasn’t she excited?

  “Are you going to accept?” Victoria asked, starting to take off her clothes as she made her way to the bathroom.

  “I don’t know,” Taylor murmured, surprising Victoria, who had expected an enthusiastic yes. “He comes from a good family, he’s attractive and mother has been pressuring me to find a suitable husband and settle down; I told him I’d think about it.”

  “Wow,” Victoria exhaled slowly, crossing the room in her t-shirt and underwear. Hugging her best friend, she smiled, “Congrats. When do you think you’ll make a decision?”

  Stepping back, Taylor shrugged, “As soon as I figure out if I can be his wife. Now get your shower so we can officially open My Romance.”

  Victoria squealed in excitement; everything was falling into place and she couldn’t imagine being happier than she was right at that moment. No, that wasn’t quite true; in order to be perfectly happy James would be by her side sharing this triumph with her.

  *****

  James awoke slowly, smiling as the memory of Victoria lingered. He could still smell her on his sheets, his pillow; his skin. Wow; she was simply amazing – as a person and as a lover. She was so incredibly giving and generous and so very passionate; sex had never been so… sacred before. That zing that had been present every time they touched simply exploded. He didn’t think he would ever get enough of her.

  Opening his eyes, he saw that it was late, close to ten-thirty. Letting his eyes drift shut, he quickly re-opened them and looked at the clock again. It took a moment to fully realize that he could see; that his sight had returned. Maybe he just really needed a weekend full of incredible sex to reset his system, yhe opposite effect of what the old wives’ tale said would happen from masturbating too much. He chuckled at his wayward thoughts, giddy with the realization that he could see, that he would be seeing Victoria soon.

  Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he leaned against the headboard and surveyed the rumpled, tangled sheets. He vaguely recalled her kissing him good-bye but he had been too exhausted to move. How did she manage to wake up? After their night together, he was surprised she could even move.

  Straightening, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed. Vertigo made the room spin and it took his body a moment to get used to being able to see again. His muscles ached a bit, which made him smile. His vision was back, his body was sated, he was going to see Victoria; it was a good day to be alive. He was going to see Victoria.

  He knew he should probably check in with his doctor to make sure everything was still normal in his brain, but he had to see Victoria. Now. Rushing through his morning rituals, he took enough time to look his best for her. He was going to show her exactly who James Templeton was. Then he was going to propose.

  He was going to see Victoria again, this time as her lover and not a stranger looking through a store window in the evening. Unable to prevent the ridiculous grin, James took his time shaving so as to not cut himself too severely. As soon as that task was done, he took a moment to reacquaint himself with his image. He had forgotten how green his eyes were when he was excited; he hadn’t gotten this excited in a l
ong, long time; not until Victoria.

  He was going to see Victoria!

  Finishing up, he grabbed his car keys, ecstatic to once again be able to drive. Almost fleetingly, he thought about calling Catherine to let her know that she was no longer going to have to continue being his driver but decided against it. He knew that if he did, he would waste precious moments that would just add to the amount of time before he could see Victoria.

  Since losing his sight his other senses had compensated, but now he was gorging on a visual feast. Sounds, scents took a distant second compared to the pleasure of being able to see again. The trees were just starting to blossom when the accident happened; now they were lush and emerald green. The difference was simply amazing, one that he never really paid attention to when it was a gradual change. For some reason, he half expected the world to have remained the same until he could see again.

  Life moved on, didn’t it? No matter; he had Victoria, baby blond, beautiful, golden Victoria. Unlike the trees, she probably didn’t change that much. He could just imagine her face when she saw him and realized that he was able to see her; her smile would be brilliant and her violet eyes would light up. Violet eyes… he was looking forward to seeing her eyes, the only part of her that he didn’t see before.

  Pulling into a parking spot right in front of the store – the gods must have been smiling down on him since it looked pretty busy – he stopped the car and hopped out. Checking his reflection in the driver’s side window, he ran his hand through his dark hair and smiled. Striding across the sidewalk, he opened the door to the shop, holding it as a lady exited, her arms loaded with bags; there were quite a few customers inside as well. Good for Victoria; her shop was a success.

  Scanning the interior of the store, he barely took in the arrangement; his sight was for only one thing: Victoria. And then he saw her: standing with her back towards him, her pale blond hair hanging almost to her shoulders. Did she cut it this morning? No matter; he recognized her body and the pale pink dress she wore emphasized her slender form.

  Without hesitation, he swaggered over to where she stood; her familiar scent a bit off, but just a bit. Sweeping her into his arms, he spun her around and captured her lips in a kiss. Her tongue tentatively mated with his as he entered her mouth. A feeling of unease niggled at the back of his brain but she was in his arms and he was kissing her. More importantly, she was kissing him back. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer.

  Were her breasts always this small?

  One of her arms moved around his neck and she was arching into him, tangling her tongue with his, and he ignored the doubts screaming in his brain. Her other hand was sliding down the front of his body, boldly caressing his erection. Tearing her mouth from his, she sucked in deep breath of air, “That’s a hell of an introduction.”

  Her voice was off and where was that zing? Pulling back, he looked into brown eyes. Brown eyes. With a frown, he said, “You’re not Victoria.”

  The corners of her mouth tilted upwards in a cat-like smile as she looked at him, “Of course not; I’m like five inches taller than her and blond; she’s so not a blond; well, not like I am.”

  “But….” His mind whirled with confusion; with whom had he fallen in love if not this angel standing before him? “Who are you?”

  “Does it matter?” the woman purred, playing with the front of his shirt in a brash style, looking up at him through her lashes. She must have seen something in his face and her expression sobered as she stepped away from him, awkwardly letting her hands fall to her sides. “The damage is done.”

  No, this wasn’t right; Victoria was the golden angel, not this coquettish girl standing before him. He frowned, not able to take it in. What did Victoria look like? Why didn’t Victoria tell him what she looked like? No, she had said she was blond and then let him see her with his hands; he had assumed…. “Where is she?”

  The blond not-Victoria shrugged, glancing over her delicate shoulders. A small, knowing light gleamed in her eyes and though she wasn’t Victoria, he still thought she was stunning, even more stunning than the brief glimpse he had had of her all of those weeks ago. “She was just here….”

  He started to take a step to leave but she grabbed his arm, stopping him from going anywhere. Holding out her other hand, she smiled compassionately, “I’m Taylor Danner.”

  Absently, he shook her hand; there was too much information to process and with his brain already overloaded with the return of his vision, he wasn’t sure what was happening. Looking beyond Taylor, he saw a red-headed female glaring at him, her nostrils flaring as she looked ready to tear him apart with her hazel eyes. She had to be Marnie because she was definitely not Victoria. Where was Victoria? Turning his head slightly, he glimpsed a dark blond head fleeing the store; that had to be Victoria. “Excuse me.”

  “No problem,” Taylor said almost sympathetically, stepping to the side to let him pass. “Good luck, though; she’s a little sensitive when her world has been turned upside down.”

  Confused, James glanced at the girl he had been picturing all this time. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever encountered, even more stunning than the women he usually dated, but there was no zing, no connection. The thing that made Victoria so special was absent.

  He was going to have to go after her, try to explain. But what was there to explain? It was a simple mistake; the Victoria he knew would forgive him and then laugh about his stupidity. The Victoria he knew… God, what if Victoria turned out to be hideously ugly, like all of her features were there but they weren’t quite in the right place? As much as he wanted to think he was above such petty concerns, he wasn’t. He wished he could say he would love her if she was a troll but he was a mere human and he knew his faults; he was not proud about having to admit such weakness.

  There was beauty in flaws; there was character in imperfections, like her appendectomy scar.

  Swallowing hard, he staggered past the angry red-headed woman, stumbled out of the store, unprepared for any course of action. He wasn’t going to go after Victoria right at that moment; he didn’t even know what she looked like and would probably walk right past her. Numb and bewildered, he was going to drive back home and try to figure out what to do.

  Maybe he should call his doctor and schedule an appointment to make sure his brain still functioned because right now, it felt iffy.

  Chapter 12

  Leaning against the wall in the alley behind her shop, Victoria clasped her hand to her chest, unable to stop her heart from leaking out. She knew James was too good to be true; she knew it. But that didn’t stop her from falling head-over-ass in love with him. When she had looked up from helping a customer and saw him standing there she was so excited because she knew that his sight had returned. Even when he walked purposefully across the room to where Taylor stood, Victoria didn’t mind. It wasn’t until he took Taylor into his arms and kissed her with such naked passion that Victoria began to have her doubts.

  Because she had told him she was blond it was only natural for him to assume Taylor was her and of course he would swoop her into his arms and kiss her with all of the love and passion in his body. But when he didn’t immediately realize his mistake, when he deepened the kiss, the sick feeling twisting her stomach turned into a full blown rancid dread. Despite the intimacies they had shared he couldn’t tell her kisses apart from Taylor’s.

  He must have been under the wrong impression that she – that Victoria – was Taylor; he hadn’t even hesitated when he saw Taylor, almost as if… as if he had seen her before. His words about having a photographic memory ran through her head …. He knew about Taylor; he had wanted Taylor all along and he had used his blindness as a ploy to get with her. Only it hadn’t been Taylor he met first.

  All of her doubts and insecurities returned with a vengeance: of course a man like James wouldn’t want an unsophisticated girl like her despite the blasted zing. Now what was she going to do? She fell in love with someo
ne who wanted Taylor; just like every other guy she knew. Only much, much worse since she gave him everything: heart, body, soul.

  It hurt to breathe and she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Tears streamed down her face and all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole in the ground and die. How could the world change so completely in a single heartbeat? It hardly seemed possible, but as she fell to the ground because her legs no longer had any strength, she knew that it could happen.

  Yet no matter how much she felt like the world was ending, she had things that needed to be done; she still had a store to run.

  No, she’d wait a few more minutes; she couldn’t bear running into James and having him look at her with disgust because she failed to live up to his expectations. Or worse; look at her and not see her at all because he simply didn’t know who she was. Tilting her head back, she willed her tears to stop coming but all that managed to do was let the tears drip into her ears.

  Squeezing her eyes shut didn’t help either; her lashes just matted together from the mascara she had decided to wear. With an impotent growl, she yanked off her heels and flung them against the opposite wall, feeling just the slightest ease in her suffering when the damn things hit. But then she didn’t have another pair of shoes to fling and the pain returned with renewed vigor, bringing with it gut-wrenching agony; he hadn’t wanted her. Painful, heart breaking sobs escaped as she buried her head in her hands.

  She wasn’t sure how long she cried before she became aware of another presence looming over her. For a fraction of a second she hoped that James had chased after her.

  “Oh, sweetie,” Taylor’s voice broke through the storm raging in her heart. Victoria felt Taylor slide down the wall and wrap a slender, graceful arm around her shoulders. The realization that James wasn’t coming for her sent a sharp dagger through her bleeding chest. “Hush, now; it’s going to be all right.”