“Stephen, you’d better have food or you’re fired,” I yell toward the front door as I make my way down the stairs.
Since my front door is solid and the small-paned window to its side is frosted, it’s a terrible combination to try to see who is visiting.
“Stephen, stop!”
The knocks begin again, but before they get to three, I open the door. “What is your pro—?”
Silence.
I can’t believe my eyes. Standing on my stoop with two large suitcases is the most incredibly handsome man with stunning green eyes, staring at only me. Me, who is wearing shorts and a camisole with no bra, three-day-old hair, no makeup, and an aroma similar to rubbish that needs to be taken to the curb.
“Shana,” Trevor begins, “I’m sorry to come unannounced. I tried your phone and couldn’t get through to you. I seem to have nowhere to stay. There’s some wedding or something happening, and I was wondering if maybe you had room?”
My eyes fill with tears as I wrap my arms around his neck. “Trevor? How are you here?”
After a kiss to my cheek, he asks, “Do you think that maybe we could go inside before your neighbors decide to watch?” He moves me to arm’s length. “I’m good with this outfit, but I’d like to keep your lingerie to my eyes only, if you don’t mind.” He adds the last part with a wink.
My head is bobbing faster than I can think. “Yes, come in. How did you find me? How did you get here? There aren’t any flights. Why are you here? What are you doing with suitcases?”
After the door closes, his finger touches my lips, stopping my questions. And then his head tilts as his gaze goes toward my hair and plucks something from its tangled depths.
When he brings the crumb into view, I shrug. “I think that’s a chip.”
“A chip?”
“Potato,” I confirm. “I was eating in bed and fell asleep.”
He nods. “Okay. I won’t ask for more detail.”
I look again at his luggage just before I tug him into the depth of my dark living room.
“Are you avoiding daylight? Did you suddenly become a vampire?”
“I sent you an email,” I say as my heart tightens in my chest and I avoid his questions.
“And I’m replying, now, here, with me.”
“With you?”
“Shana...” He reaches for my hands. “I didn’t tell you that I love you because I was trying to help the situation at Saks. It slipped out. I didn’t mean to say it. I know you had a full plate. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I’ve known it since before I saw you on that stage. I think I’ve known it since the morning of Duncan’s wedding.”
“You do? Really?”
“I really do. I’m also not losing you again, ever.”
I wrap my arms around my chest. “Trevor, I’m sorry I couldn’t take that offer.”
“I haven’t made you one.”
“No, the one Vicky made me. I wanted to stay with you. I wanted to stay in New York, but I just couldn’t do—”
Again, his finger stops my words, followed by his lips and oh God, his tongue. I melt toward him, only to suddenly back away. “Oh goodness, I’m a mess. I’ve done nothing but sleep and not shower...” My hand covers my mouth. “...or brush my teeth...”
Trevor laughs. “You’re the most beautiful woman I know. Now, Ms. Price may I propose my offer?”
“Propose? Your offer?”
He grins. “One step at a time. First, I would never want you to compromise who you are for us. That isn’t who we are or who I want us to be. I’m glad you walked out on her shitty offer.”
“I didn’t give you the details at JFK. How did you know about the shitty offer or that I walked out?” Before he can answer, I do it for him. “Stephen.”
Trevor nods. “The thing is that McCobb has been bidding a job in Oxford. I may have seemed distracted before you left because I was hoping to tell you about it. I didn’t want to give you false hope, and I was waiting on the reply. It didn’t come until after you were gone.”
“Oxford, England?”
“Yes, my lady. Oxford, England. I’ll need to be on-site on and off during the week. We will figure all that out. But my weekends will be free. I was only one of the engineers who worked on the proposal, but after I learned how you were being treated in New York, I applied to my boss to let me supervise the project. Then, even before it was approved, I went to Max and pushed for the funding commitment. It was a long shot, but it worked.”
“So you’re here now in England?”
“I am.”
And then I recall the royal wedding. “But how did you get here? Flights are booked. This city is a madhouse.”
“I called in one more favor.”
“From whom?”
“I called my brother.”
The tears again threaten the back of my eyes. “You asked Duncan to fly you to England?”
“What good is it to have a hotshot brother with a company plane if I never use it?”
Forgetting about my lovely aroma, I reach up and wrap my arms around Trevor’s neck. “Of all the things you did, I get the feeling that call was the most difficult.”
Trevor shrugs his wide shoulders beneath my grasp. “It would have been, but since you, it wasn’t. Nothing is too big of an obstacle for me to get to you. I know we could have made this work long distance. Here’s the thing, my lady, I don’t want to be away from you.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe you’re really here. How long will you be here?”
“The spec on the project is for two years.”
My eyes open wide. “Two years?”
Trevor reaches for my waist and pulls me toward him. “And after that, we’ll see where life takes us. Who knows, there may be another project here?”
“Us? I like the way that sounds.”
“So do I, and as for your email, I hope you meant it.”
My head bobs up and down. “I meant it. I’m in love with you, too.”
“In love with me?”
“Trevor Willis, I’ve never been in love before. I’m not sure exactly how it works. All I know is that leaving you Friday night was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. Since that moment, I’ve been broken...until I opened the door and saw you. Your amazing smile, eyes, hair...and thighs,” I say the last part with a grin. “In an instant you put me back together.”
“Well, you’ve got all of me—even my thighs,” he says, shaking his head. “Do you think I could possibly find a place to stay until my project starts?”
“I might have a spare bedroom,” I say, running my fingers through his hair.
“I was thinking that sharing a room sounded more fun.”
“I like the sound of that, too.”
Lowering my chin, I lift my eyes to look through my lashes. “If you don’t mind staying with someone who hasn’t showered.”
“Oh, I mind. Because you see, I have been traveling and well, I like showers. I was hoping that we could take one together.”
“On one condition,” I say, “only if you promise to serenade me.”