Rival Attraction

Chapter One

Abby narrowed her eyes at the man sitting across the table from her. He was probably one of the most attractive men she had ever seen, with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. When he smiled, a small dimple appeared in his left cheek. But he wasn't smiling now, at least not with his mouth. There was something in his eyes that looked like amusement, though. Or perhaps it was something else. Abby was never quite sure what Daniel was thinking when he was in public.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded rudely. Part of her cringed at the way she was speaking to him, but she couldn't help it. Prickles of awareness danced over her skin, and she could already feel her heart beating faster. Rudeness was one of the only ways she had to hide the way he made her feel. At least then the heat that rose across her chest and into her face could be excused as anger or annoyance. And no one would notice the way her breathing became more rapid. She was careful to make sure that she didn't do anything stupid, like lick her lips or flick her hair. That was much harder to disguise.

Daniel widened his eyes slightly, feigning ignorance. "Why, darling," he drawled back coldly. "I was invited. Why are you here?"

Abby bristled at his implication that he was a valued guest, but she was just there making up the numbers. Even though she knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, she still found herself rising to the bait. She set her shoulders and said proudly "I'll have you know that I was also invited. In fact, Janice simply begged me to come." She practically sniffed the last words, tossing her head back as though he was no longer worthy of her attention.

"Feeling desperate was she?" Daniel retorted and he watched the frustration in Abby's face as she sought to find a way to retort to his accusation. Not as desperate as I am, thought Abby to herself as she sought to compose herself. There was no real way to respond to Daniel, no way to shut him up, except perhaps by kissing him. Her train of thought was practically derailed as she imagined what it would be like to press her body against his, to feel his strength against her curves, soothing the tingles that shot through her. Abby shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She knew that it looked like she was upset to everyone else, but the reality was that the tingles that had begun in her breasts had begun to settle in her groin. It made her feel antsy, and hard to sit still. But what else could she do. She was still trying to think of a way to respond when Janice interrupted their sparring match.

"Now, now," Janice piped up. "It's true, I was desperate – "

"Janice!" interrupted Abby, shocked at the way Janice was giving Daniel the high ground.

Janice held up her hand, and resumed what she had been saying. "As I was saying, I was desperate after Penny cancelled on me. But if I had known that Abby was free for this evening, I would have invited her at the beginning. I thought she was meant to be overseas on her research trip, still. It was a stroke of luck that she got back early. One that I meant to take full advantage of." Janice smiled at Abby, trying to make her feel more at ease after her earlier apparent defense of Daniel.

"I thought she was still overseas, too," agreed Daniel. "Or I wouldn't have agreed to come."

"And I didn't know you were going to be here, or I wouldn't have come either," spat back Abby, wishing that she didn't have that image in her head of Daniel uttering the word "come" in that sexy voice of his. This evening was going to be her undoing if she wasn't careful.

"Tell me about your trip, Abby," said Janice's husband in an attempt to pour oil over troubled waters. Abby shot one last withering look at Daniel before turning to the man seated to her right. Trust Janice's husband to come to the rescue. Janice had done well with him, he was laidback and easy going. Fantastic at playing the diplomat, which wasn't a skill that Janice required often. Janice was fairly diplomatic herself. It was a pity that Abby wasn't better at her people skills. But you didn't get to be the CEO of a fairly prestigious company by being a good guy. That kind of job required a go-getter, who could often step on people's toes. Years of fighting her way to the top had left Abby almost unable to remember what it was like to have to play nice with others, well with her competitors at least. Playing nice with the suppliers was second nature by now.