standing there, her eyes flashing angrily.
âIâd like to call a cab, if you donât mind,â she said stiffly.
His lips had stopped twitching and formed a full-blown, smug smile. âIâll drive you back to your car.â
âThatâs not necessary.â
âIt is necessary,â he said decisively, taking her arm and steering her from the apartment.
They drove across town in a silence so thick Tate felt like screaming. A few days ago that raging feeling of pure frustration would have been totally unfamiliar, but all of a sudden it was becoming a way of life. He didnât feel the least bit thrilled about it either. He had the oddest desire to shake Victoria until she agreed to shape up her life. The image of those hazardous stairs and peeling wallpaper sent shivers of fear and dismay along his spine. He had a feeling, though, sheâd never admit to needing a bloody thing, least of all his help. She was the most stubborn, infuriating woman heâd ever met, and she obviously didnât know what was good for her.
Her parents were right. She needed him in her life. The only thing wrong with that theory was the very distinct probability that sheâd drive him crazy in the bargain. He gazed over at her and discovered that she was staring straight ahead, her shoulders stiff, her mouth settled into a stern line. Perversely, he wanted to kiss her until her mouth curved into a sensual, lazy, satisfied smile again. He had a feeling if he tried, though, sheâd slap himâ¦and rightly so.
Victoria might be even wiser than her parents on this one, he decided reluctantly. It would be better if they never saw each other again and preserved their sanity. He could send her the outcome of the audit in the mail. Ironically, the minute he admitted to himself that she was absolutely wrong for him, that it would be wise to let her vanish from his life, he wanted her more than ever.
âWhereâs your car?â
âNear your office.â
âWhere near my office?â he said with more patience than heâd ever thought he was capable of.
âI donât know. In some lot. How many parking lots can there be around there?â
Tate groaned. There were half a dozen or more. Thank God she hadnât parked in a high-rise garage. Theyâd be driving up and down ramps the rest of the night.
âCouldnât you think of this as an adventure?â Victoria asked plaintively.
âAfraid not,â he muttered as he circled the blocks in the vicinity of the IRS offices. Fortunately, at this hour it wasnât difficult to spot a dented blue Volkswagen sitting forlornly in the middle of a virtually empty lot. It reminded him of the sad expression in Victoriaâs eyes.
Donât start thinking like that, McAndrews, or youâll be right back where you started, he warned himself. He managed to keep his expression stern and unforgiving as Victoria climbed out hurriedly, dashed into her car and drove away with barely a wave. It wasnât until sheâd gone out of sight that he began to experience something that was totally foreign to him. Finally, he realized it was sheer, heart-wrenching loneliness. He didnât like the feeling one bit.
Chapter Seven
F or the next ten days Tate suffered, agonizing over the separation from Victoria and, for the first time in his life, turning introspective. He analyzed the attraction he felt for her from every possible angle, dismissing it as sheer folly one minute, only to seize on the memory of her delightful laugh and beguiling smile the next. He was behaving in such an uncharacteristically sloppy, withdrawn way that his friends began asking first subtle, and then more pointed questions. They worried about an illness, a family problem, a financial reversal. No one seemed to suspect that a woman was involved. They all knew that Tate McAndrews would never allow a woman to disrupt his life so dramatically.
And his
âIâd like to call a cab, if you donât mind,â she said stiffly.
His lips had stopped twitching and formed a full-blown, smug smile. âIâll drive you back to your car.â
âThatâs not necessary.â
âIt is necessary,â he said decisively, taking her arm and steering her from the apartment.
They drove across town in a silence so thick Tate felt like screaming. A few days ago that raging feeling of pure frustration would have been totally unfamiliar, but all of a sudden it was becoming a way of life. He didnât feel the least bit thrilled about it either. He had the oddest desire to shake Victoria until she agreed to shape up her life. The image of those hazardous stairs and peeling wallpaper sent shivers of fear and dismay along his spine. He had a feeling, though, sheâd never admit to needing a bloody thing, least of all his help. She was the most stubborn, infuriating woman heâd ever met, and she obviously didnât know what was good for her.
Her parents were right. She needed him in her life. The only thing wrong with that theory was the very distinct probability that sheâd drive him crazy in the bargain. He gazed over at her and discovered that she was staring straight ahead, her shoulders stiff, her mouth settled into a stern line. Perversely, he wanted to kiss her until her mouth curved into a sensual, lazy, satisfied smile again. He had a feeling if he tried, though, sheâd slap himâ¦and rightly so.
Victoria might be even wiser than her parents on this one, he decided reluctantly. It would be better if they never saw each other again and preserved their sanity. He could send her the outcome of the audit in the mail. Ironically, the minute he admitted to himself that she was absolutely wrong for him, that it would be wise to let her vanish from his life, he wanted her more than ever.
âWhereâs your car?â
âNear your office.â
âWhere near my office?â he said with more patience than heâd ever thought he was capable of.
âI donât know. In some lot. How many parking lots can there be around there?â
Tate groaned. There were half a dozen or more. Thank God she hadnât parked in a high-rise garage. Theyâd be driving up and down ramps the rest of the night.
âCouldnât you think of this as an adventure?â Victoria asked plaintively.
âAfraid not,â he muttered as he circled the blocks in the vicinity of the IRS offices. Fortunately, at this hour it wasnât difficult to spot a dented blue Volkswagen sitting forlornly in the middle of a virtually empty lot. It reminded him of the sad expression in Victoriaâs eyes.
Donât start thinking like that, McAndrews, or youâll be right back where you started, he warned himself. He managed to keep his expression stern and unforgiving as Victoria climbed out hurriedly, dashed into her car and drove away with barely a wave. It wasnât until sheâd gone out of sight that he began to experience something that was totally foreign to him. Finally, he realized it was sheer, heart-wrenching loneliness. He didnât like the feeling one bit.
Chapter Seven
F or the next ten days Tate suffered, agonizing over the separation from Victoria and, for the first time in his life, turning introspective. He analyzed the attraction he felt for her from every possible angle, dismissing it as sheer folly one minute, only to seize on the memory of her delightful laugh and beguiling smile the next. He was behaving in such an uncharacteristically sloppy, withdrawn way that his friends began asking first subtle, and then more pointed questions. They worried about an illness, a family problem, a financial reversal. No one seemed to suspect that a woman was involved. They all knew that Tate McAndrews would never allow a woman to disrupt his life so dramatically.
And his
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