Ringing in Love by Peggy Bird Read Free Book Online Page A

twist, poured the wine, and offered a glass to Catherine. She hesitated for a few seconds, finally taking the glass although she held it away from her body as if not sure what it was.
    “It’s just prosecco, Catherine. No magic potion; no drugs.” He raised his glass, touched it to hers, and said, “
Salute
. To getting to know each other better.”
    She watched him sip from the glass for a few seconds before drinking from hers and finally relaxing back against the soft leather seat. “Okay, I guess I might as well play your game. I seem to be stuck with you for the afternoon.”
    Jack muffled another laugh.
    “Be quiet, Jack. If you can’t help me, the least you can do is not laugh at me.” She turned to her host. “And you, Dominic, you haven’t answered my question yet. Why do you want to have lunch with me?”
    “I’ve wanted to meet you socially since your presentation to the business roundtable. You intrigued me. You were smart and very professional, all in one quite lovely package. I like brains in a woman, particularly a beautiful one. And you’ve put a new spin on a business I was sure I knew everything about, which also interested me. But I could never figure a way to meet you. I couldn’t remember seeing you at the events I’m forced to attend in the name of business.”
    He made a face that might be disgust for what he had to do for his work. How he managed to make disgust look sexy Catherine didn’t know, but he did.
    He went on, “I’d see you sometimes when our firms were both pitching the same potential client, but that was clearly not the right time to strike up a personal conversation. And I hesitated to track you down at home, assuming you might not appreciate being cold called by someone you’d barely met. So, when you leased space in the building …”
    “You mean, leased space in
your
building.”
    Continuing as though she hadn’t spoken, he said, “… leased space in the building, I decided it was my opportunity to get to know you. It took a little more effort and time than I expected, but here we are. Finally.”
    He topped off their glasses. “You fascinate me, Catherine Alessandro Bennett. The Italian woman with the WASP name. The founder and creative brains behind Philly’s up-and-coming strategic communications firm who gets her clients without making the rounds of every boring social event in the city. Who turns down political work so she can work with companies on strategic plans that include political activities …”
    “I thought we weren’t going to discuss business.”
    “I’m not discussing business. I’m telling you why you fascinate me. You’re not like any other woman I’ve ever met. So I wanted to have lunch with you. To get to know who this interesting woman is.”
    By this time, Catherine had kicked off her sandals and rearranged her seat belt so she could tuck her feet under her. Listening to Dominic extoll her virtues, she was sorry she’d ever asked him the question, because he was embarrassing her. Fortunately, he seemed to have run out of compliments for the moment because he changed the subject.
    “Now,” he said. “It’s your turn. Why did you decide to have lunch with me?”
    “So there would be a few roses left in the Western Hemisphere for some other egomaniacal man to send to the object of his dastardly schemes.”
    He watched her over the rim of his glass. “That’s not true and we both know it.”
    She blushed but tried to bluff it through. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Please, Catherine, give me some credit. I see you almost every day and know how you dress. In the time you’ve been in the building, you’ve worn suits or pants, jeans when you work on the weekends, but I’ve never seen you wear a dress. And you always wear your hair up or tied back, not loose, like now.”
    He reached over, picked up a strand of hair that had fallen over her shoulder into the V of her neckline, and twisted it around his finger as if to