It was ten o’clock before Zach called. “Hello, darling.”

“Don’t.” She kept her voice hushed as the anxiety over his absence weighed her belly. “Not only are we between eight and five, but where are you?” Her voice trembled with the surge of anger that’d hit her the moment she heard his voice. “This isn’t what I had in mind by us keeping it professional. I thought you’d at least have the courtesy to come into the office.”

“Regan, calm down,” he said. “I’m in L.A.”

“L.A.? What are you doing there? I’ve only been gone from you a few hours.”

“I know. When I got home, I had seven messages from the investor, so I went into the office and there were four more. This deal is too big for the firm to lose. I got on the next plane out here. I’ve had to buy new clothes and shoes.” He laughed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to bother you in the middle of the night.”

She blew out a breath and calmed. “I’m sorry.”

“No need. Did you get the pile I left you on your desk?”

“Yes. I’m almost to the bottom of it.”

“Well you’ll be happier when you get to the bottom.” His voice smiled even through the phone. “I’ll call you if I get the chance. I’m hoping to get out of here by tomorrow. This guy is an… never mind. Oh, and we need to make plans to be at the ground breaking in Dallas. It’s only a week away.”

“I have your itinerary already scheduled and your ticket—”

“Regan.” Her pulse quickened when he said her name. “I want you there. Get on that flight.”

“Are you sure that…”

“Regan, don’t worry about it.” His voice was tense and sharp, not in anger but with the sense of sensual urgency. “And I know you booked a room with a king bed. You wouldn’t have done any less. Don’t you dare go booking yourself a separate room.”

The tantalizing sound of his voice made her breath catch in her chest. The very image of sharing a room—a bed—with him had her body heat rising. She put her hand to her chest and sucked in a breath to calm her racing thoughts.

“I miss you,” he said right before he hung up.

Regan disconnected her headset and let her nerves calm. Then she began to sort through the pile of papers, wondering what was at the end. There she found a drawing of a rose just like the one Zach had tucked into her hair. He’d signed it, Love, Zach. She smiled as she slipped it into her purse. How quickly things could change. She missed him desperately. They’d moved beyond a casual relationship, and it was time she was intimate with someone. It had been almost two years.

Everything about Zach indicated she could trust him. She knew that instinctively. But it was so difficult to know whether she could trust her instincts.

Then she thought of Carlos. He mourned his failed marriage, and Regan wallowed in the pain of a mistake. They both needed to move on and stop living in the past. Zach was not Alexander Hamilton. She was going to take her first step. She was going to go to Dallas with Zachary Benson. She was going to hold hands with him in public and kiss him senseless. She was going to share his bed, and for the time being, his life. Yes, that’s what she was going to do.

Zach’s trip to L.A. had extended three more days and had drained every ounce of energy from him. He flew from there to Kansas City, where weather caused extensive delays. The overcast skies had dampened his mood, and the only person who could have lifted it was a state away. Certainly he’d much rather spend his time with her wrapped in his arms than linger here dealing with the rain and an angry construction foreman.

“Rearrange my itinerary,” he called to tell Regan. “I’ll have to meet you in Dallas.”

She sighed, and he felt her disappointment. “Zach, maybe this isn’t the right trip for me to go on.”

“Don’t be silly. I want you there more than ever. I miss you. I miss you so much I’m sick over it.” He lay in the hotel bed with the late shows on and her voice in his ear, his body aching because she was so far away.

“Okay, then. I’ll meet you there. You promise to be there, right?”

He didn’t like the tension in her voice. “I’ll be there.” He let out a breath. “Do you realize I only got in a few minutes of good kisses last weekend? Not a very good start for a new relationship. I’d like to have had a few more hours of it by now.”

“Well then, I’ll make it worth your wait.” There was a playfulness in her voice now, and he was more comfortable with that. He was also in agony that he couldn’t just touch her, kiss her, or make love to her whenever he wanted to—like right now.

“Get some rest. I’ll call you in the morning with details. I was hoping to get John out to L.A. to work on that project, but if Kansas City falls much further behind, I’ll have to ship him out here.”

“He’ll do you well no matter where you put him.”

“I know. Good night, Regan.” He hung up the phone and folded his arms under his head. A few more days and he’d have her in his arms and in his bed. He couldn’t help but wonder how she’d react to that. There was still something she hid from him; her whole family had kept a guarded eye on him. Someone had hurt her badly, and they were all sure he’d do the same, including Regan.

He had no intentions of hurting her. For the first time in his life he knew he loved someone, and it was killing him not to be with her. He couldn’t tell her over the phone. He wasn’t even sure he could tell her in person yet, but the love was there. It was real. And it wasn’t going to fade, ever.

Zach picked up the remote to the TV and changed the channel. He’d never lost a bid on a build, and he’d never lost a battle in business. He certainly wasn’t going to lose the woman he loved over some other man’s mistakes. Regan Keller was his, forever.

Regan heard Carlos tapping his foot on the wood floor of the entryway, then he pounded his hand against the wall. The sound resonated up to her bedroom and made her jump.

“If you want a ride you’d better hurry!” he called up to her. “Just because you’re off to sleep with the boss doesn’t mean he’ll tolerate me being late!”

“That’s not funny.” She walked out of her bedroom with her suitcase.