Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [38]
He glanced down at his watch. He’d arrived a good thirty minutes early, coming straight from the office. He and Parnell had met in an afternoon-long meeting to make sure they had all the necessary building permits in their possession. Eden would be the most beautiful ski resort to grace the face of the earth, and he was glad that the Regency Corporation had a major part in making it possible.
He was just about to raise his hand to the bartender for a refill when his attention, like every other man’s sitting at the bar, was drawn to the woman entering the establishment. He felt a coiling heat, a deep burning sensation, flow from the base of his foot all the way to the crown of his head as his gaze took a leisurely sweep of her. Sage Dunbar was just as beautiful as he remembered. He hadn’t realized until that very second that somehow he had committed to memory everything about her, and now it was all coming back to him, with vivid clarity.
He watched as she removed her overcoat and handed it to Rico, the maitre d’. She then whispered something to him, a question perhaps. Rico looked his way and pointed Gabe out to her. When she saw him she smiled—one as radiant and unpretentious as before—and began walking toward him. He stood, determined to meet her halfway while once again seeing the graceful sway of her hips which automatically worked in synergy with the supple movement of her body.
As she got closer, he almost missed a step when he noticed something about her, something he found different. Although she was smiling, and it was a smile that played at the corners of her mouth, emphasizing soft, full lips, the look in her eyes wasn’t the same. That certain sparkle that had pulled him in, drawn him to her like a moth to a flame, was gone. And as she got closer, his gaze instinctively went to her hands.
Her engagement ring was also gone.
CHAPTER NINE
“So, Gabe, what do you think?”
Gabe studied Sage for a few moments. He doubted if she really wanted an answer to that question, although he knew she was asking what he thought of the marketing proposal she’d just presented for Eden and not what he thought of her.
“I think,” he said, mesmerized by the dark whiskey coloring of her eyes that still captivated him even without their sparkle, “that Denmark knew just what they were doing by sending you here to handle things.”
The radiant gleam in her expressive eyes told him that his comment had pleased her. But then there was another look in her eyes, one that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It was a look that had indicated she wasn’t sure she could completely trust what he’d said.
“Thanks,” she said softly. “But my job is easy since I’m selling Eden as nothing short of paradise, which I know it will be. You and your work crew are the ones putting everything together. Every time I take a look at that miniature model of Eden that I have on display in my office, I’m spellbound. I can’t wait to see the finished product.”
Gabe chuckled as he took another sip of his wine. “Just don’t tell Parnell that. We’re committed to finishing up in a year’s time, weather permitting. Alaska isn’t known for its kind weather, especially during the winter months, and January and February are the worst. But we’re determined to put as many man-hours into the project as we have to, even twenty-four/seven, in order to get the job done.”
Sage nodded as she placed her fork on her plate and leaned back. The place Gabe had chosen for their dinner meeting was exquisite. Its décor was ornately elegant