Astrid had been quick to learn along the way and to soak up all the information she could. She had a knack for the small details, and for making sure everything ran smoothly, but Tara had witnessed tension between her and Clay. He’d try to be all business, but Tara saw the way he looked at her in unguarded moments—it was powerful. Frankly, it was a little hot. He’d then be detached and stern with Astrid, as if he was trying to create distance. For Astrid’s part, she seemed oblivious to it, but at this point in her life, Tara figured that male attention must be something Astrid expected, rather than something that took her by surprise. Oddly enough, Tara found herself wanting to play matchmaker. After all, they were both physically stunning, divorced and unattached. Tara could see them together, even when she knew it was the stupidest idea ever. The Seaport project was too important, and romance always made things unnecessarily complicated. She’d learned that with Johnathon. And every day with Grant seemed to be another lesson in just how much business and pleasure did not mix.
It’d been three weeks since their big talk, the one where they’d decided they had to keep things professional and couldn’t give in to their attraction. Since then, each day had been a new test. Tara found it nearly impossible to talk to him. He was still kind to her, but their rapport had gone cold. Gone was the flirting. There was no playful banter, none of the inside jokes, the sexy moments of eye contact or the occasional touch of his hand on her arm. Everything fun between them had evaporated into thin air and she would’ve been lying if she said there wasn’t a part of her that desperately wanted it back.
Tara could’ve made peace with the all-business version of their relationship a little easier if Grant didn’t continue to be so damn enticing. He’d let his five o’clock shadow fill in a bit. It wasn’t quite a full-blown beard, but it did something to make Tara weak. It made the line of his jaw stronger and the dark hair really brought out his eyes. Leave it to Grant to find a way to make himself even more handsome. It wasn’t fair.
It might not be so hard to deal with if she didn’t have the memories of their one night together emblazoned in her memory. She found herself sitting in meetings with him, not concentrating on the important work of the Seaport project, and instead fixating on what his facial hair might feel like brushing against her cheek. Her lips. Any other part of her body he felt inclined to kiss. His presence made her squirm in her seat and be keenly aware of how one flash of his deep brown eyes was like an arrow into her chest. It was not an ideal way to get through the workday. She was spending a fair amount of time searching for air-conditioning vents to stand in front of. Grant had her running that hot.
Yes, she’d been the one to insist that they return to their previous platonic relationship. It was necessary for her to stay focused on business, the one place where she could finally build herself some true happiness and fulfillment. But it was feeling less and less possible. The workday was not enjoyable, even when they were making progress. It was pure stress, all because Grant did nothing to soften the hard edges. She never should have slept with him. She never should have let him get that close to her. She always did better when she kept men at arm’s length. It was the up close and personal that always did her in.
Sandy rapped on Tara’s office door. “Unless there’s something else you need, I’m going to head out for the weekend,” she said. It was Friday and Sandy was headed to Palm Springs for a getaway with her boyfriend.
“Can you bring me the Seaport binder? I’d like to go over it one more time before I head out.”
Pure concern crossed Sandy’s face. “I’ve been over every detail at least fifty times, Ms. Sterling. Clay will have the final renderings ready on Monday. I’ll pull together the presentation on Tuesday, you and Clay can rehearse it on Wednesday and Thursday, and you’ll be ready to go next Friday.”
Tara appreciated that Sandy was an excellent assistant, and it was her job to take care of the minute details that Tara shouldn’t have to worry about. It still didn’t make her any less worried about the things that might go wrong. That had been the advantage of working on her own for all those years as a real estate agent. She got to watch over every point herself. “I just want to give it one more look while we still have time to make changes.”
“Sure. Of course.” Sandy returned several minutes later with the binder, which she placed on Tara’s desk. “Oh, and I just forwarded that status report on the other project sites you asked me to research.”
Tara had given Sandy a list of parcels of land available for purchase in and around the county and asked her to compile information like listing price, acreage, site limitations and advantages. “Already?”
Sandy smiled. “I figured you wanted it as soon as possible.”
Tara pulled up the email on her laptop, eager to see what Sandy had come up with. Tara
