Buch lesen: «Someone Like You»

Chapter 1

Blind date! Theresa Granville, Teddy to her friends, drummed her long red fingernails on the white tablecloth. She was waiting for Adam Sullivan, a man she’d never met, and she could just as easily spend the rest of her life happily oblivious of his existence. But that was not to be. She’d been set up. Teddy hated blind dates and she didn’t need anyone to find her a man, especially not her mother. The truth was, she was capable of meeting men on her own and dated often. But she’d been goaded into agreeing to have dinner with Adam Sullivan. Since she didn’t like to go back on her word, she was stuck.

The restaurant was crowded for a Thursday night in Princeton. It was fall and the majority of the university students returned a month ago. Most of the restaurant’s patrons were around the bar cheering on some sports team’s efforts to statistically capture a spot in the history books. Teddy had long since stopped hearing the triumphs and groans of their participation in the televised game. She’d relegated the sound to white noise. Her attention was on the restaurant’s entrance. From her solitary perch on the second-floor dining area, where private parties were usually held, maybe she’d be able to spot her date when and if he arrived. Maybe he hated blind dates, too. And Teddy would feel no disappointment at being stood up. If she didn’t have to gently explain to her mother yet again why she didn’t want to be set up, she wouldn’t be here, either.

Frowning, she watched a short guy with round-rimmed glasses enter. Her fingers went to the phone in her pocket. Diana, her friend and business partner, was only a call away. The two had worked out a signal if Teddy wanted or needed to be rescued.

Again, she glanced at the man below, taking in his height or lack of it. One of Teddy’s requirements in a man was height. At five feet nine inches, she didn’t want to stand with a man whose head only reached her breasts. Thankfully, Mr. Glasses lifted his hand, acknowledging his party, and joined a group at the end of the bar. She breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t her blind date.

Three other singles and two couples came in before the seven o’clock appointed hour. Then he walked in right as the clock struck the hour. Teddy did a double take when she saw him. Shaking her head, she immediately rejected him as someone who’d never need a blind date. He couldn’t be the one. Her mother didn’t have taste that good. Except for her father, who was still a handsome man in his fifties, the men her mother usually chose looked like the round-rimmed-glasses guy.

For a moment Teddy wished her date was the man at the door. Leaning over the banister, she watched the stranger move toward the receptionist. The two had a short conversation and she checked her seating chart. Then she shook her head. As she gathered a couple of menus and led him toward a table, the room was momentarily quiet, allowing Teddy to overhear her own name.

“I’ll bring Ms. Granville over as soon as she arrives, sir,” the woman said.

Teddy gasped. Her stomach lurched and her heart jumped into her throat. This couldn’t be Adam Sullivan. He was gorgeous. Where did her mother find him? He was tall, at least six foot two. His shoulders were broad enough to rest any available head and for a moment she thought of hers resting there. Why would this guy need to be set up on a date? It took her a moment to gather herself. This was still a blind date and, as far as she knew, the two of them had nothing in common. Meeting him could be a disaster despite his looks. In fact, she expected it was. A man this good-looking could stand on his own. Yes, she decided, there had to be something wrong with him.

Rising, Teddy tucked her handbag under her arm and left her solitary seat in the upper balcony. She took the back stairs that led to the main floor. Entering through the bar, she was assaulted by the noise. The crowd was wall-to-wall and a whoop of pleasure went up as she wove her way toward the crowd. She smiled here and there, gently warding off interested men. At the entrance to the restaurant section, she peered through the vertical columns separating the dining area from the den of sports enthusiasts.

Adam Sullivan had no smile. He looked comfortably about, taking in the other diners as if he’d need to recall their exact positions at some later date. He wore an open-neck shirt and dark jacket. Masculinity exuded from him. Even sitting alone, he appeared in command. He was clean-shaven with dark tanned skin, hair cut close and neat, no mustache. Other than the I’m-in-command aura he wore, there was something else about him. Something that said “Sex!”

That’s what it was. Sex appeal. Tons of it. More than any one person should be allotted. From across the room, he had her breathing hard and all she’d done was look at him. She wondered again what was wrong with him that he’d even consider meeting a stranger for dinner. He didn’t look as if he needed help in finding companionship. From the stares of the other women in the room, they’d gladly leave their own parties to join his.

The receptionist was away. Teddy passed the receptionist’s station and walked with measured steps toward his table. He looked up as she approached. His face remained serious, no smile, no outward sign of approval. She was slightly disappointed and a little bit insulted.

“Theresa Granville?” he asked as he stood.

She nodded, looking him straight in the eye. He passed the height test. Teddy wore five-inch spiked heels and if she took them off, she’d only reach his chin.

“Adam Sullivan,” he identified himself.

Teddy extended her hand. He took it in his larger one. It was warm and strong. She’d never been one to use clichés to describe people, but there was no other way to think of him.

Adam Sullivan was sexy as hell.

* * *

Conversations clashed with plates and silverware, bringing the sound in the room to a wealth of indistinct noise. Occasionally there was a burst of laughter from the bar area that drew everyone’s attention for a few seconds.

Adam pulled out a chair next to his and Teddy took a seat. She waited for him to say something, but the moment stretched into awkwardness. She thumbed the edge of the menu but did not pick it up.

“Why did you agree to this?” she finally asked.

“To what?” His eyebrows rose as if he hadn’t understood her question.

“Going on a blind date.”

“Are you blind?”

She rolled her eyes. So that was his problem. His humor sucked. What else was wrong with him?

Then she saw a slight smile lift the corners of his mouth. Not a full smile, but it made her wonder what one would look like.

“Sorry, I had to say that. I hoped it would break the ice.”

“So blind dates aren’t your thing, either?” Teddy said.

“I’d rather be boiled in oil.”

“Well,” Teddy said, “I guess that sums it up.” She felt slightly put out, even though she felt the same. She’d never been turned down for a date and frankly she didn’t really like this guy. And even though she didn’t want a blind date, she wanted to be the one to make the decision to end the night. “I suppose we should just shake hands and return to our lives.”

She waited again for him to do something, but he seemed to be waiting for her. She stood up and extended her hand. He stood and took it.

“It was nice meeting you,” he said.

His voice was perfunctory. There was nothing nice about the meeting, but Teddy was relieved she wasn’t going to have to sit through an awkward getting-to-know-you discussion.

“Sorry it didn’t work out.” She wasn’t really sorry, but the words seemed appropriate. And she wouldn’t have to call Diana for rescue. As she picked up her purse, her stomach growled.

“It wouldn’t have worked anyway,” he said. “You’re not my usual type.”

“What type is that?” For some reason Teddy’s back went up. She’d never been dismissed before she even got a chance to prove herself.

“You’re too tall, too intelligent.”

Teddy blinked. Was he real? “You can tell my intelligence level from a couple of sentences?”

“My mother gave me a little information,” he explained.

Teddy’s mother had told her nothing. “I see. You’re looking for arm candy. Petite, long wavy hair maybe, big brown eyes. The kind you could get lost in.” She paused, giving him a moment.

“Someone who isn’t very smart, but good in bed,” he admitted.

Not to be waylaid by the good-in-bed comment, Teddy asked, “So I’m being dumped because of my height?”

“Not exactly dumped,” he said.

Teddy took a breath and calmed down. She smiled sarcastically. “You’re right. I am not the one. I’m not arm candy and I don’t want a man who is. No matter how good-looking you are, I prefer a man I can talk to both before and after sex.” She hooked her purse farther up on her shoulder. “And I am not just good in bed, I’m great in bed.”

Pivoting on her high heels, she moved away from the table. She’d only taken a step when he called her name. “Theresa?”

She turned back.

“I probably shouldn’t have said that. It’s been a long day and I’ve forgotten my manners.”

“Is that an apology?”

He nodded.

She had the feeling that he rarely apologized. He was a man in command. She could tell he was confident and obviously chose his own road. This date orchestrated by his mother and her mother was outside his developed character.

“Teddy,” she said. “Everyone calls me Teddy.”

“Teddy,” he repeated. “Since you’re obviously hungry, and we’re already here—” he spread his hands encompassing the room “—we might as well eat. That way I can answer truthfully when asked how my night went.”

“It hasn’t begun on a high note. You sure you don’t want to stop here? If we go on, things could get worse.”

He laughed. The sound was deep and infectious, but Teddy refused to join in. She kept her features straight and unsmiling.

Teddy shrugged and returned to her seat. Undoubtedly, she’d be questioned, too. They ordered, and as she cut into a prime rib so tender she could have used a butter knife, Adam opened the conversation.

“While I was arguing with my...” He stopped. “I hear you’re in the wedding business.”

Teddy didn’t like his tone. She nodded. “I design wedding gowns and I’m a partner in a wedding consulting firm.”

“So you believe in orange blossoms and till death do us part?”

She refused to rise to the obvious bait. “Orange blossoms would be very expensive on this coast. But there are some brides who insist on them.”

He raised a single eyebrow and sipped his drink.

“I take it you are a nonbeliever?” Teddy asked.

“I’m a realist. I’ve seen too many of my friends walk down that aisle only to end up hating the person they vowed to love.”

Teddy was in trouble. She should have taken the opportunity to walk out the door when she had it. Now she was as stuck here for as long as the meal lasted.

“You’ve been married,” she stated. He had all the earmarks of a man who’d been hurt in a relationship, but his tone regarding orange blossoms told her he’d been down that aisle himself. His nod was barely perceptible.

“And you hate her now?”

He shook his head. “Quite the opposite. We’re very good friends.”

She frowned. This was an exception to the rule of divorce. “What happened?” she asked, realizing it was probably the wrong question, but it was already out.

He spread his hands and hunched his shoulders. “We were too young. We got married for all the wrong reasons. Mainly, we didn’t know each other, didn’t understand that our dreams weren’t the same.”

“What was her dream?”

He smiled. Teddy liked it. It was the good-memory smile, the one that appears when a person looks back and only he understands the happy place he’s entered. She was glad he had good memories of his marriage. She’d seen her share of people who only remembered the wedge that separated their relationship and not what created it.

“Her dream was to be an actress.” He took a moment to eat some of his steak before continuing. “After our divorce, she moved to L.A. and got a part on a soap opera.”

A light dawned in Teddy’s brain. Chelsea Sullivan? She rolled the name around in her mind. “You were married to Chelsea Sullivan?”

He nodded. “She kept the name.”

Chelsea Sullivan was the lead actress on the top daytime television program. From what Teddy read in the entertainment magazines, she was about to move her career to feature films.

He sat back in his chair. “And you? What did you dream of being?”

“I have my dream. I wanted my own design business.”

He smiled fully. “Then you’re ahead of most of the world. You have everything.”

Not everything, she thought. Her partner, Diana, married last year, and while the two of them had been friends for years, Teddy wondered at the happy changes she saw in her friend. There was a newness, a happiness that hadn’t been there before. While they both loved the work, for Diana there was something more to look forward to at the end of the day. Teddy had begun to wonder what she was missing.

But as she sat across from Adam, Teddy wondered how anyone could talk him into meeting someone whose business was weddings when he didn’t believe in them. And so far she was sure he wasn’t the one for her.

“What about marriage?” he asked.

The word hit her like a spray of ice water. “Me? Married? Never made the trip.”

“I see,” he said. “You give the story to everyone else but stand clear of it yourself?”

“You say that as if it was by design.”

“Is it?” Adam asked. He stared straight at her.

“No, I suppose I’m the cliché,” Teddy said.

“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t met the right man, yet.”

“But your parents are determined to find him for you if you don’t do it yourself?”

Teddy nodded. “My mother for sure. But isn’t marriage a taboo conversation for people on a first date?” Teddy asked.

“I suppose it is, but we decided this is dinner, not a date.” He laughed again. This time Teddy laughed, too.

“What do you do?” she asked. In speaking with her mother, she’d never asked anything about him. She’d been too busy arguing that she didn’t want to go on a blind date to think about his profession.

“Investments. I own a brokerage house.”

She was impressed, but kept it off her face and out of her voice. “So, I deal in dreams and you in cold, hard cash.”

“Not cold or hard. Just ones and zeros.” There was no censure in his voice. It was also devoid of pride or arrogance.

“Computer transactions.” Teddy nodded, understanding that everything today was done on a small machine you could put in your pocket.

“Actual money is on the way out.” He turned to her, pulling his chair an inch closer. “How much money do you have in your purse right now?”

Teddy glanced in surprise at the clutch bag that lay on the table. Tossing her head, she said, “Enough for a taxi and a phone call.”

Adam smiled. It was the first time since they met that his face showed any emotion. “I remember hearing my mother telling me about taxi fare and carrying cash when she and my father were dating. Of course, their generation can remember life before cell phones.”

“I got that story from my father. He wanted to make sure I could get home or at least call if some guy got out of hand. He said I could lose the phone or forget to charge the battery.”

“Did it ever happen?” he asked.

“The phone, no. The date, nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Adam gave her a long stare. She wondered what he was thinking. She hadn’t issued a challenge, yet she felt as if he was thinking of one.

“What about you? Any sisters to give that message to?”

“No sisters, two brothers.”

“Where are you in the mix?”

“Right in the middle.”

Teddy nodded. Spoiled, she judged. It rang true for middle children. Teddy was one of four siblings. She was the second child, the one who never got her way. Adam, as a middle sibling, would have always gotten his. And probably still did.

“What about you? Any brothers or sisters?” he asked.

“Two sisters, one brother.”

“Do they live close by?”

Teddy shook her head. “We’re pretty spread out, but we all make it home for most holidays.”

“Where’s home?”

“Maryland. Bentonburgh, Maryland. It’s near Hagerstown, not that you’ve heard of either of those places.”

“Actually, I have,” he said.

Teddy looked at him for further explanation.

“A while ago I met a woman studying hotel management. She worked in Breezewood, the Town of Motels, for three years.”

Teddy wasn’t surprised he knew a woman there. She supposed he knew women in lots of places. That fact also surprisingly left her slightly cold. Deciding to move away from discussions about herself and her family, Teddy asked about him, “How did you get into investing?” He smiled at that. She recognized that type of smile. She’d seen it a hundred times on the faces of mothers or grandmothers of the brides. They were usually remembering their own weddings and knew how in love the bride was. The smile took them back in time. Adam had that look.

“My parents let me try it.”

“How?”

“I had a teacher in high school who told us about the stock market. It intrigued me. It was one of the few classes I had where I sat up and listened to what he had to say.” He spread his arms and hunched his shoulders. “I was fascinated by the possibility of turning a little money into a lot of it. I told my parents I wanted to try investing. They said it was too risky. That I would lose anything I had.”

“And you proved them wrong,” she stated.

“Very wrong, but it was a turning point.”

“How?” Teddy took a sip of wine.

She gave him her full attention, just as he must have done to that high school teacher all those years ago.

“I wasn’t the best kid. But in high school, who was?” He paused and gave her a long stare. “I was sixteen and rebellious. I guess I was at that age where a turn one way or the other could make me a man or send me to jail. My parents talked over the idea and agreed to let me have a thousand dollars to play with.”

“Play with?” Teddy’s brows rose. Her parents weren’t poor, but she couldn’t imagine them giving her that much money when she was in high school.

“Money was the first thing that really interested me. They would try anything that would hold my attention and keep me out of trouble,” he explained. “The money was enough that I would be careful with it. So I read all the reports, learned the language, took small steps. Within a year, I’d turned the thousand into five thousand.”

“You’re kidding.” Teddy stared at him. She knew that kind of return was unheard of.

He shook his head.

“That’s a phenomenal return on investment,” she said.

“It was. I made good choices and I learned that I was good with money. After that I took every class I could on investing and wealth management. After college I took a job on Wall Street, got my feet wet and struck out on my own.”

He smiled, proud of himself. Teddy liked that he put his mind to something and stuck with it. “So if you’re ever looking to invest...” He left the sentence hanging.

“You’re not going to give me a sales pitch?”

“Why? Are you a hard sell?”

“Extremely hard,” Teddy said.

“I’m good at what I do,” Adam challenged.

“I see,” Teddy said flatly. “So you like handling other people’s money?”

“As much as you like the weddings you plan, I like building wealth.”

Teddy thought about the wealth they had built, she and Diana. Both had come from humble backgrounds. Diana had been a scholarship student at Princeton, and Teddy, too, had had scholarships and had worked partially through Stanford. Both understood the need for capital and they learned management of money as a necessity to their business.

Teddy wasn’t wealthy, but she was comfortable. Her designs were selling for thousands of dollars and she had a growing portfolio. It wasn’t managed by Adam’s company.

“What is the name of your investment firm?” Teddy asked.

“Sullivan Brothers Investment, Inc.” He slipped a business card across the table to her. The ease with which he did it showed a practiced salesmanship.

Teddy had never heard of his company. That was probably a good thing. If they weren’t maintaining or increasing wealth for their clients, she surely would have heard something from the many brides that came in for planning. And there was the trade show that had financial planners in attendance every year. She didn’t know if his company had ever been represented.

“Your brothers are part of the business?”

He shook his head. “Initially, my brother Quinn went in with me, but quickly decided it wasn’t for him. I bought him out for all of three dollars.” He stopped and laughed at that.

“I suppose that laugh means you didn’t actually cheat him out of a good deal?”

“He hadn’t invested any capital into the setup. He did the legwork of finding the offices and his muscle in helping me buy and set up furniture. That was years ago now.”

“Are you at the same location?”

He shook his head.

Weddings by Diana had moved twice. Once for a medical project, and the second time because she and Diana needed more space and they could afford a more prestigious area.

“With both of us in Princeton, I’m surprised our paths haven’t crossed before,” Adam said. “Of course, my hours are unpredictable when I’m dealing with overseas markets.”

He gave a reason for them not seeing each other. Teddy also had an explanation. “My weekends are often taken up with weddings. And unless you attend as many as I do, we’d never meet.”

“Not unless our mothers had something to do with it,” he said.

* * *

The streets of Princeton were nearly deserted when Teddy and Adam left the restaurant. The September night was clear and unseasonably warm. Teddy couldn’t believe they’d stayed so late. Talking to Adam had been mostly pleasant after they broke the ice and agreed that they would eat together only because they were hungry. And when she realized they wouldn’t be seeing each other again, it was easier to relax.

He had a nice voice, deep and rich. It reminded her of late nights listening to “music for lovers only” on the radio. The DJs always had devastating voices that tended to reach through the woofers and grab hold of you. Teddy hadn’t thought of that in a while. Mainly her radio listening was done in the car while returning from a meeting or a wedding.

Yet, Adam had that DJ kind of voice. It was reaching for her. And she was willingly leaning toward it. His breath had stirred her hair when he leaned close to her. And her own breathing became shallow and labored. Teddy’s gaze dropped to his lips and she wondered what it would feel like if he kissed her. Then she snapped back, stopping herself. What was happening to her?

It was good to be outside, where the coziness of their surroundings didn’t play into a fantasy world. She thought about whether she would like to see him again. Of course, she would rather he liked weddings and respected what she did, but marriage and the business of marriage wasn’t for everyone. Adam had declared he was one of the ones who’d rather do without it. And that probably meant he’d rather do without her as a reminder.

“My car is parked in the lot,” she said, looking behind them.

Together they turned toward the nearly deserted area. Other than their cars, she was sure the remainder belonged to the restaurant staff who were cleaning up and ready to end the night’s work. Why hadn’t she noticed the bar noise dying down? Or the other dinner patrons leaving? She and Adam had been engrossed in conversation, but it was the first time ever for Teddy to be so oblivious of her surroundings that she didn’t realize they were alone.

Adam didn’t touch her as he walked beside her to her car. Neither did he speak. She wondered what he was thinking. They could have gone on talking as long as they kept away from certain subjects, like weddings and marriage. Two that shouldn’t be discussed on a first date anyway. Except this was not a date.

“Thanks for sharing my meal,” he said when they stood next to her car.

Teddy thought he was being careful with his words. “I enjoyed it.” It wasn’t totally a lie, but it also wasn’t fully the truth. She pressed the button on her key fob and heard the door unlock. As she reached for the handle, Adam called her name. She stopped. Could she have imagined the softness of his voice? She turned back.

Adam stepped closer to her. For no reason, her heartbeat accelerated. He leaned forward. Teddy leaned back an inch or so. Then his cheek brushed hers. Other than their initial handshake, this was the first time he touched her. His skin was smoothly shaven and warm. He held her for a short moment, not even long enough for her hands to reach his arms as they lifted to grasp him. Teddy didn’t move. She thought he was about to hug her. Her breath caught and held, but he only reached around her to open the car door. She got in and, without a word, Adam closed the door. He stepped back and she looked up at him.