It was seven o’clock when Max finally sat back in his office chair. He noticed that Tara was no longer at her desk but her computer and light were still on. Max knew he should get moving to his rooms. He had some event he had to attend but he wasn’t sure what it was.
He got up and moved out to her office, looking around. He clicked a few keys and pulled up his schedule. He wasn’t thrilled. It was a charity ball for some organization he’d never heard of. And he definitely wasn’t looking forward to meeting Lady Cecile, whoever she was.
The click of Tara’s shoes behind him let him know that she was approaching and he moved out of her way. As soon as he took in her appearance, his mouth almost dropped open. Tara, his Tara who never dated, who always dressed in the most business-like suits possible, was dressed in a simple but elegant black, crepe cocktail dress that hugged her slender figure, making his mind whirl. Her hair was no longer neatly pinned to her neck but was flowing down her back, ending at her waist in soft, lustrous curls.
“What’s going on?” he asked, instantly furious about her dress. He had known she was slender and built, but he’d had no idea she had such a traffic stoppingly incredible figure. She was voluptuous on top but with slender hips and long legs peeking out of a demure side slit on her dress.
“I have a date,” Tara said, not meeting his eyes as she squeezed around him to turn off her computer. “And you have a ball to get ready for,” she reminded him.
“You have a date? Since when?” Max asked, extremely bothered by this fact.
“Since last week.”
“Who is he?” Max demanded, not liking the idea of any other man touching her. He knew he couldn’t but he’d never even considered the possibility of another man doing what he constantly thought of doing.
“A friend of a friend,” she explained casually.
His lips formed a thin line at her lack of an answer. “You’re going on a blind date? Isn’t that rather dangerous?”
Tara laughed nervously. “You’re questioning me about danger? The man who pushes the limits on danger almost daily?”
“I’m serious, Tara. Why are you going on a blind date?” he asked, stepping quickly out of her way as she reached down for her purse, but he got a whiff of her perfume and it just made him angrier. He didn’t like the idea of another man seeing her like this. He wanted to spend the evening with her, smell her perfume and run his fingers through her silky hair. Max clenched his jaw shut before he said something along those lines out loud.
Tara became annoyed with his double standard. The whole point of her date was to get over her infatuation with him and now he was getting angry with her? “Why don’t you enjoy your date tonight, and I’ll enjoy mine,” she snapped, not the slightest bit intimidated by his angry posturing. “Then we can exchange notes tomorrow? I really need to hurry now. I’m running a little late.” She pressed a few keys on her computer to finish shutting it down for the night, then slung her purse over her shoulder.
He watched her walk away on her sexy heels and wanted to pull her back. “Wait a minute, Tara,” he called out to her retreating back. “Who is this guy? Do you even know him? Have you spoken to him? Do you know anything about him? What does he do for a living?”
Tara didn’t answer his questions as she walked to the doorway. “Your Highness, you’re not my father. I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early. I believe Lady Margaret, your date tonight, is a lovely blond. You like blonds,” she said and turned the corner in the office leaving Max still staring at the empty space.
“I don’t like blonds,” he said grumpily. “I like brunettes.”
Max shook off the feeling and walked down the hallway to his rooms. He had a private suite in the palace for his exclusive use. There were several rooms consisting of a large bedroom, a sitting area with Palladian windows that looked out over the gardens and a kitchen which he rarely used, preferring to eat his meals with his family in one of the formal dining rooms or the breakfast room.
Inside his bedroom, he noted that his valet had already laid out his tuxedo for the night and he glared at it, wondering if Tara’s date would be dressed as nicely as she was. He hoped not. He didn’t like thinking the competition would be dressing nicely.
That thought made him stop short. Competition? Since when did he consider Tara someone he could pursue? Then again, why couldn’t he? The idea was so appealing, it stopped him in his tracks. He stood in the middle of the bedroom considering the idea and how wonderful it would be to pursue the one woman who really interested him.
The answer struck him almost like a physical blow. He couldn’t pursue her because she wasn’t interested in him. At no time had she shown any interest in him as a male much less as an appealing male. Then he remembered her looking at him earlier in the afternoon. He dismissed that since it was only a short glance. There was also the fact that she was a great asset to his office staff and he didn’t want to lose her for a short term fling. But that just came down to the fact that he didn’t want to hurt her with a short term affair. With Tara, it would be long term. He could imagine her…..Max stopped thinking along those lines. It wouldn’t get him anywhere and he had to get ready for his current date.
Max shrugged off the idea and quickly showered and changed into the tuxedo. He didn’t really want to go out tonight and, more so, he didn’t want to spend the evening with yet another female in a long line of females his mother continued to put in front of him in the hopes of getting him to settle down.
The evening was pretty much a blur to Max who went through the motions of meeting, greeting and enjoying the night. But by the time he got back to his suite, alone, he couldn’t remember a single detail of the night. Not even his date’s name.
Chapter 2
Tara smiled as the dark blue car approached the gates of the palace. She was standing outside the gates, waiting for her date to pick her up. She could have cleared him through the gates, but she didn’t know anything about him, so it was safer if he remained outside the security barrier.
“Hello!” the man said as soon as she stepped into the passenger seat. “I’m hoping you are Tara Jacobs and not some strange woman who just happens to be waiting curbside for men to pick up.”
Tara smiled stiffly at the offensive comment that she might be a prostitute. “I’m Tara. And you’re Jeffrey?” she confirmed. Wow, she really wouldn’t tell Max that she’d gotten into someone’s car before confirming that he was the right person. He’d not like that at all. Well, she understood that he didn’t like the idea of her going out on a blind date in the first place, but she ignored that and tried to warm up to the man.