7. Leah
CHAPTER 7
LEAH
L eah was starting to worry that dinner and drinks at a romantic restaurant wasn’t the best thing to do with her boss/the father of her baby/her fake boyfriend. The drinks had loosened her tongue and she’d spoken too freely about her motivations for developing Forenal. As relaxed as Dan had been, it couldn’t have escaped his notice that she’d essentially insulted the principles on which his company was built.
Despite that, Leah was having a lovely evening. Dan was a good conversationalist and, once he’d gotten over his usual formal style, he asked insightful questions and seemed truly interested in the answers. Plus, seeing him outside of work like this, Leah was reminded once again of the crush she’d always had on him. The crush she was doing her best to put out of her mind.
“We should probably call it a night,” Leah said once they’d cleaned their plates.
“That would be wise. We have sessions early tomorrow again. I’ll be right back.” Dan stood and walked to the hostess stand. Leah winced internally. He was going to pay for the meal, as he’d insisted on doing. It was kind of him to want to make sure she could eat here, but Leah never felt good about taking handouts. She’d worked hard for everything she had.
On the other hand, Dan was going to pay for fertility treatments, so one dinner probably wouldn’t tip the scales in either direction.
When he returned to the table, Leah was already on her feet with her purse in her hand.
“Thank you again for dinner.”
“My pleasure.” They exited the restaurant, thanking the staff on the way out, and returned to the parking lot. Leah was pleased to note that Dan had called a cab. Even if he wasn’t as tipsy as she felt, it seemed better not to drive. Leah liked that he was being responsible, even if it meant he’d have more hassle tomorrow when he went to fetch the car from the restaurant.
When the cab arrived, as before, Dan opened the door for Leah first.
“Thank you.” She blushed. She wasn’t used to anyone, especially a man, taking care of her like this. She probably shouldn’t enjoy it as much as she was. Still, she slid into her seat and let him close the door after her. Dan circled the cab and entered through the other door. As he sat, he smiled at her.
“That was a very enjoyable dinner. Thank you for joining me. And thank you for sharing about your journey into the world of research and development.”
Leah felt her cheeks heat. She still felt bad for insulting Dan, even though he’d said that he admired her passion, rather than getting upset. It took a strong man to accept criticism with such an open mind.
“Sorry again for that.”
“No, really. I appreciated hearing your perspective.”
“I am curious, though.” Leah leaned slightly closer. “You know now about my story. But what made you interested in pharmaceuticals? I’m sure you had other options than to follow in your father’s footsteps.”
Dan nodded. “I did. My father was always clear with both me and Jenny that it was up to us what career we wanted to pursue. Jenny became interested in other things, but from the time I was very young, I never considered any path but to work at RMA. I loved going with my father to work and hearing his stories about how his pharmaceuticals helped people — and ensured a solid foundation for his family. My father is the most family-oriented man you’ll ever see. He founded RMA to ensure a stable income so his family would never want for anything.”
“Another reason why he wants you to be married.” Leah hesitated. More and more, a picture was starting to come together. Dan was clearly a workaholic who left little time for anything but his job. And his father sounded genuinely concerned about his son’s well-being. Leah was starting to wonder if Dan was making a mistake by pretending to date her, rather than pursuing a real relationship. Yet she didn’t want to question Dan’s plan. Surely, he knew his father and his life better than she did.
“Exactly.” Dan nodded. “He tells me that RMA is built around family values and that I’ll never understand that until I’m married myself. And until I’m a father.”
“Hmm.” Richard might have a point there, too.
“Speak your mind, Leah.” Dan fixed her with his intense gaze. “I feel like you’re dancing around something. We’re going to be having a child together. You should be able to tell me how you feel.”
He hadn’t pushed her before, but maybe now, with both of them a little tipsy, it was easier to ask the question.
Leah sighed. “You know your life best. But I do wonder if you’re missing out by not trying for a real relationship, a real family.”
“Our child will be real,” Dan pointed out. “Anyway, I did try. In my twenties, I dated my share of women. I always went into the relationships open to how they would turn out. Yet they never developed into anything serious.”
“Hmm.”
Dan shot her another glance, and Leah sighed again.
“Okay, okay,” she said. I just wonder if they didn’t work out because you were more dedicated to your work than to the relationships.”
Dan chuckled. He didn’t sound upset, which was a relief. Leah might have been upset if someone called out her life choices like that.
“You sound just like my father,” he said. “I’m starting to think you’ll get along even better than I thought. But I have to ask. You’re choosing to have a baby without a proper partner, just like I am. So, I could easily turn the argument back on you. Don’t you think you might be missing out by having a family on your own?”
“That’s a good point.” Leah bit her lip. “But I guess it’s more important to me to be a mother than to chase a dream of love that might never happen.” It was more honest than Leah usually was, but in that moment, in the dark car with this man who’d proven to be so much more than she’d expected, it felt right.
“I feel the same way. My career is more important to me than a chance at love that may never happen.”
They looked at each other for a long moment. Leah couldn’t make out Dan’s features well, but his eyes still stood out. She felt a connection to him, then. It was a connection she couldn’t feel with her happily married girlfriends or her happily married parents. She felt like Dan understood her in a way that no one else could — and maybe the other way around, too.
“You are going to be a wonderful mother,” Dan said softly. “No matter what else happens. No matter how involved — or not — you want me to be. I can see how much you care, not just about yourself but about everyone you meet. It’s truly inspiring.”
Leah hoped Dan couldn’t see her blush in the darkness. “I… Wow. Thank you. That means a lot to hear, especially from you. Since you’ll be the father, of course. And for the record, I think you’ll be a wonderful dad, too.”
The cab pulled into the hotel’s parking lot and came to a stop. Dan paid the driver, along with a generous tip and a goodnight, then got out. Leah followed. She felt a little strange. Her heart was beating faster than usual.
“I’ll walk you to your room,” Dan insisted. “The party scene here can be a little intense.”
“I’ve walked to my room at conferences alone plenty of times,” Leah pointed out with a slight chuckle. “I think I can figure out the way.”
“I know, I know. But let me walk you anyway.”
Since Leah didn’t want to end their conversation, she nodded her assent and they walked together into the hotel’s lobby. Sure enough, most of the attendees had converted into party mode and were milling around with drinks in hand, chatting, even dancing. Leah smiled at them but didn’t stop as she headed for the elevators. She’d never really been one to join in on the more informal side of these conferences. A good time for her was more likely to entail a nice jog, a walk in the park, a good book and a warm blanket, or a circle of close friends and a casual dinner.
As they rode the elevator up to Leah’s floor, she took the opportunity to cast a furtive glance at the man beside her. Dan was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets. Now, at night, after a dinner together and a few drinks, he looked less like her boss and more like a man. An attractive man. Leah was already fighting hard to keep her crush at bay, and seeing Dan like this, with his hair slightly tousled and his careful posture relaxed, wasn’t making it any easier.
The elevator reached Leah’s floor and the doors opened with a ding. As they stepped out, she glanced at Dan again.
“I’m glad we had this evening together.”
“As am I.”
Leah wanted to add that it would make their deal easier going forward, now that they knew something more about each other. But for some reason she didn’t want to mention that they were only hanging out because they were contractually obligated to. She just wanted to enjoy this evening.
And perhaps that was why she said what she said next, even though she knew it was a bad idea.
“Would you like to come in for a nightcap?”
As soon as the words were out, Leah knew it was unprofessional. She’d attended numerous conferences with supervisors and managers before and would never have invited any of them into her room, much less for a drink. Yet this was a different situation.
“I’d love to.”
Leah’s heart skipped a beat. She avoided Dan’s gaze as she opened the door and stepped aside to let him in. Once they were inside, he turned to her.
“Leah… I just wanted to say that you were radiant during the presentation today. I was so impressed.”
“Thank you. I was impressed by you, too.” She bit her lip and finally raised her gaze to meet his. For a split second, it was as though the world stopped turning. Dan’s eyes looked darker than usual in this light, almost steely, but his expression was soft. There was something about him, something magnetic and powerful in the way he held himself and the way he looked at her. It was so strong that Leah didn’t even notice stepping closer to him until she’d already moved.
“And thank for you sharing about your family.”
“Thank you for sharing about your family, too. I feel like I understand you better now.”
The conversation was innocent enough, but the feeling of Dan standing so close and looking at her so intensely had Leah feeling very warm. Attraction stirred in her, more powerful than before. She wanted nothing more than to have his lips on hers and his hands on her waist. And it would be so easy. They were only a step, a whisper, a breath away from each other.
But Leah had enough self-control to hold herself back. Even in the depths of attraction, even though her knees felt weak and her heart was fluttering, even though Dan had as much gravity as the sun, Leah wouldn’t go any closer.
Apparently, Dan felt differently. He gave a soft, almost imperceptible sigh.
“Leah…”
The sound of her name on his lips was like an incantation.
“Dan?” Leah’s voice came out slightly higher than she’d expected. It would have been embarrassing if she hadn’t seen Dan’s eyes widen slightly. It seemed she affected him just as much as he affected her, as impossible as that sounded. Dan opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, very slowly, he closed the distance between them. One of his hands went to her waist, very lightly, like an invitation. The other raised to her face and cupped her cheek, his thumb grazing her cheekbone. Leah was very aware of his touch.
“Is this all right?” Dan asked. His voice was low.
It was more than all right, of course, but Leah could only bring herself to nod. She was worried her words would fail her.
In the back of her mind some small, rational voice shouted that this was a bad idea. They were professionals. If they kissed now, it could make everything weird between them. It could endanger their deal. And especially a kiss like this, charged with so much meaning?—
But then Dan lowered his lips to hers and that voice fell silent.
That first kiss was just a gentle brush of his lips against hers. It awoke all Leah’s senses, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. So, she brought her lips to his again in a longer, deeper kiss. Dan responded immediately, his grip on her waist tightening as he pulled her against him, the hand that had been on her cheek sliding into her hair. Leah was flush against Dan’s firm chest and completely encircled in his arms.
She had kissed men before, of course, but it had been nothing like this. This kiss felt all-consuming, like nothing else mattered as much as Dan’s touch.
After a few minutes, he pulled back slightly and his eyes met hers again. Although he didn’t speak, Leah saw a question there. He was silently asking if this was okay. If she shook her head, if she looked away, if she gave any indication that this wasn’t what she wanted, she had no doubt that he would leave right away. But she didn’t. Instead, she nodded slightly.
And then they were on the bed. Leah wasn’t sure how they’d gotten there, only that Dan must have lifted her and set her down. He was braced above her now as he brought his lips to hers in another intense, passionate kiss.
As one, they gave in to that inescapable gravity that had been pulling them together.
Leah woke the next morning with a smile on her face. She was in Dan’s arms, with her head resting on his chest and his arm curled around her back. Last night had been magical. Perfect. Indescribable. Leah felt heat creep into her cheeks as an image of Dan flashed through her mind. It had been everything she’d never let herself dream of while she’d tried to deny her crush on him.
And this, waking up in his arms with a ray of sunlight streaming through the window, was equally perfect. Leah liked her independence, but there was something magical about waking up with someone, too.
Yet even as she basked in her memories, that little voice that had been silenced by Dan’s tenderness and strength piped up. It reminded her that this was a terrible idea. She and Dan had an agreement. An agreement that ended with a baby for her and a company for Dan. If they were in a real relationship, there was every chance that it could end badly and that Leah would miss out on her best chance of becoming a mother.
After all, as much as she cared for Dan, and as attractive as she found him, she knew he was married to his job. She herself was more dedicated to a career and motherhood than a relationship. Two strong, independent people trying to make a romantic relationship work was a recipe for disaster.
Dan stirred beneath Leah’s head and she sat up, pulling the blanket around herself. His mouth widened into a smile as he adjusted his position until he was propped against the headboard with a pillow, his head propped on one hand. His bare chest, which was rippled with muscles and somehow perfectly tanned, was on full display, and Leah felt her attraction rise again.
“I’d better take a quick shower and get dressed,” she said hurriedly.
“If you’d like.” He gave her a slow smile that sent warmth radiating through her. She got to her feet, wrapped the blanket around herself, and hurried to the shower. She paused on the way only to grab the small overnight bag she’d packed.
In the bathroom, Leah gave herself a long, stern look in the mirror. Just one night with Dan had shown her that he was hard to resist. But it had also shown her that a relationship between them would never work. Their night together had been passionate and tender, but that didn’t mean they were right for each other.
Stern look finished, she hurried through the shower. Then she dressed in the outfit she’d packed for the second day of the conference, slacks and a blouse again, and tied her hair back. After a final brush of makeup, she felt armored and ready for the conversation that she was about to have.
Dan was dressed when she returned to the main room. He had on the same suit he’d worn yesterday and looked professional, although his hair was still rumpled from sleep. He grinned at her, then slipped past her into the bathroom. When he emerged a few minutes later, his hair was tamed and he looked even more like his normal, in-control persona.
“Last night was magical,” Leah began. She’d spent the time that Dan was in the bathroom pacing and preparing what she wanted to say.
“Agreed.” Dan gave her another of those smiles. “However…”
Relief flooded her. “However, we should keep things professional going forward.”
“I think so, too. I don’t regret a single second of last night, but a relationship would complicate things, and we both have enough on our plates right now.”
“Agreed.” Leah sank onto the bed. She was glad that they were on the same page. And if a part of her wished that Dan had disagreed and encouraged her to consider something more, well, she didn’t have to listen to that part.
“Good.” Dan stretched. “So, I’ll head back to my room and get ready for the day. I’m planning to attend the session on pain management during birth.”
“I was thinking the same thing. We can meet there?”
“Sounds good to me.”
At least it wasn’t awkward, Leah told herself as he said a quick goodbye and left. Everything could go back to normal — or at least as normal as a business relationship involving a fake relationship and a real baby could be.
This was for the best.
And that night really had been magical. It only made sense for Leah to be just the slightest bit disappointed that there wouldn't be a repeat. That didn’t make her a gooey romantic. Not at all.