Tessa’s heart sunk a inch or so at a time as the meeting began, and as she was forced to notice the way Ian continued to smile and converse with Julia. He had seated her at the place directly to the left of his, and paid her far more attention than Tessa was used to seeing him do to anyone. They smiled at each other like old friends – or potential lovers – and Tessa rather reluctantly admitted they would make a stunning couple. They were both extremely attractive, well dressed, and personable, and when it was Julia’s turn to make her presentation she sounded every bit as confident and knowledgeable as Ian always did at these meetings.

Moreover, Julia McKinnon seemed – at least at first impressions – like the sort of woman a man could get very serious about very quickly. She was something special – not just beautiful but also refined. intelligent and talented. Tessa knew next to nothing about interior design or architecture, but even she recognized that the sketches Julia had made for the new hotel were far superior to anything that her predecessor had produced. Ian seemed especially interested in them, asking a number of detailed questions, and looking pleased when Julia gave her quick, informative replies. They seemed to have hit it off immediately, and Tessa realized that she’d never seen Ian smile as often and as warmly as he’d been doing throughout the meeting.

‘At least she seems nice,’ thought Tessa rather glumly. ‘I mean, if he has to pick someone, maybe get serious about somebody, it’s good that she seems worthy of him. I’d much rather see him pick someone like Julia over Alicia.’

She kept her attention focused on her notepad, even when there was really no need to take notes at that particular moment, and tried very hard not to feel dejected. It was nothing to do with her – not one tiny bit – if Ian was interested in a woman. Tessa was still amazed that a man like him hadn’t been snapped up a long time ago, that he hadn’t been married for years already and had several children. It was ridiculous of her to feel any sort of jealousy or envy towards Julia McKinnon, or any of the women Ian was purported to date. He was a single man, after all, more than entitled to date as many different women as he liked. She had no claim on him whatsoever, especially since he barely even acknowledged her existence. It was just – well, she only wished that he might smile at her once in awhile the way he was smiling at Julia right now. But, she acknowledged glumly, that probably wouldn’t be a good thing, because any attention Ian paid her would only make her yearn that much more for things that could never be.

Tessa was startled from her musings when Julia began to converse in rapid French with one of the managers – Henri Bissette – who seemed overjoyed to find someone who was so fluent in his native tongue. And of course Ian looked even more impressed with Julia, his smile broadening as she continued speaking in French with Henri.

‘One more thing they have in common, I guess,’ she thought with a sigh. She had heard Mr. Gregson speak not just in French but also in Italian and Spanish at one time or another, and had wondered in awe how he’d managed to become fluent in three different languages.

But as Tessa returned her attention to her notepad, she happened to glance at Nathan, and her eyes widened a bit to notice the expression on his handsome face. Unlike Ian – and a number of the other men seated around the conference table – the dark haired architect did not seem pleased to watch as his new interior designer charmed everyone in the room. Tessa couldn’t decide if the look in Nathan’s light blue eyes as he watched Julia intently was one of anger, jealousy, irritation, or pure lust. He gazed at her so intently, in fact, that Tessa wondered if the two of them were somehow involved outside of the office.

But that couldn’t be, she corrected herself. Nathan was still engaged so far as she knew. There was, however, no denying the sparks that flew between him and Julia, even if the two of them chose to ignore that fact. There had to be something more to their story, thought Tessa, had to be some history there in order for Nathan to look at her that way – as though he couldn’t decide whether to strangle her or kiss her senseless. And Nathan most assuredly was not liking the sort of easy camaraderie that had sprung up so quickly between Ian and Julia, almost as though they had known each other for years.

About halfway through the meeting, Tessa got up to start another pot of coffee, trying to be as quiet about it as possible. As she took her seat a few minutes later, she happened to catch the eye of Jake Harriman, the associate architect who was working with Nathan on the hotel project. He was grinning at her in a rather suggestive manner, and even had the audacity to wink. In response, she merely threw him a tight-lipped glare of annoyance and looked away determinedly.

At least, she thought wryly, Jake was relatively harmless. Oh, he tried to flirt with her like mad, but she had yet to feel threatened by him, and his comments had all been rather on the silly, immature side. Unlike the repulsive Jason, who continued to make her skin crawl on a regular basis, and murmur disgusting, filthy things in her ear on the very few occasions he’d been able to corner her alone. Fortunately, there had been very, very few such occurrences as of late, due largely in part to the circuitous route she took to avoid walking by his office, as well as the way Andrew seemed to appear out of nowhere at times to run interference.

But at present it seemed that Jason’s attention was caught by a different female, given the way he was regarding Julia McKinnon with great interest. Julia, however, seemed like the sort of woman who could take care of herself, one who was confident and self-assured enough to quickly dissuade someone like Jason. And after observing the rather possessive glances Nathan had been giving Julia, Tessa was pretty sure that he wouldn’t stand for a creep like Jason putting the moves on her.

As a matter of fact, observed Tessa, just about every male in the room seemed fascinated with the pretty, vivacious Julia as she began to wrap up her presentation. Little wonder, she mused, considering how Julia’s very fashionable dress clung to her petite, curvy body so flatteringly, but without being too tight. Tessa decided that someday, somehow, she wanted a pair of those beautiful Louboutin stilettos for herself, even if she had to buy them secondhand at a consignment store. Julia’s thick, caramel colored curls shone with vibrant health, making Tessa all too aware of how long it had been since she’d had her own hair trimmed. And she was willing to bet that Julia’s shampoo and conditioner hadn’t been purchased at a chain drugstore like the generic brand Tessa used. Same thing with the cosmetics Julia had used to highlight those amazing cheekbones, big green eyes, and full lipped mouth. Julia looked like the sort of sleek, well groomed woman who only shopped at luxury department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys, places where Tessa only dared to glance in the window, knowing she could never afford to actually buy anything there. She looked, realized Tessa glumly, like the sort of woman a man like Ian Gregson would be proud to bring home to meet his parents and family.