To the Moon and Back Read Online Free Page B

company he might soon be doing lucrative business with. Normally he was able to concentrate on the subject in hand with no difficulty, but today was proving to be different. Earlier, as he’d been standing outside the restaurant taking a phone call, a girl in a pink coat had caught his eye as she headed down the street towards him. Her hair was long and dark, her eyes light brown, her cheeks rosy, and the effect she’d had on him was extraordinary; he couldn’t stop looking at her. Whoever she was, he wanted to know more. Heavens, what a weird feeling; he’d never experienced anything like this before.
    As she passed him, Zack caught a waft of her perfume, something fresh and herby, unfamiliar but instantly leaving an impression. He turned, watching the back view of her glossy hair, fitted pink coat, and long legs in black tights. Incredible legs, actually. His heart, unbelievably, was thudding in his chest. What was happening to him? Then, realizing where the incredible legs were taking her, the thudding turned into a gallop; she was heading into the Ivy…
    Hurriedly ending his call, Zack followed her inside. Just in time to see her being warmly greeted by someone he did recognize.
    Now, an hour and a half later, he was still struggling to pay attention to what his lunch companion was saying. Across the room sat the girl in the pink coat, now minus her pink coat and wearing a thin wool dress the color of Parma violets. She wasn’t the most stunningly beautiful girl he’d ever seen but she was making him feel as if she was. If she’d been having lunch with a female friend, he would have approached her, introduced himself, said something or other—God only knows what, he’d never done anything like that before in his life—and found out who she was. He would have given her his card, asked her to call him, no, asked if he could call her , found out if she would like to have dinner with him sometime soon, hopefully very soon…
    Except she wasn’t with a girlfriend, was she? That would be too much to hope for. Instead, she was having a lovely, entertaining lunch with the actor Tony Weston. They were chatting together, laughing a lot, clearly well acquainted, and enjoying each other’s company.
    Which meant any form of approach wasn’t likely to be appreciated. Instead, he was stuck over here, too far away to eavesdrop on their conversation or hear what her voice sounded like, while the company director sitting opposite him droned on about financial forecasts and—
    â€˜So what do you think about that, then?’
    Shit. Typical. Zack snapped his attention back to the reason he’d come along to the Ivy today. Well, the original reason.
    â€˜I think it’s… interesting.’ He nodded thoughtfully.
    â€˜And what’s the verdict? Do we have a deal?’
    This was ridiculous; he was a professional. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before.
    â€˜Ian, I can’t come to a decision today.’ Chiefly because he hadn’t the faintest idea what Ian had been saying for the last hour. ‘I need to go over the figures again, have a word with a couple of other people. But I’ll get back to you by Monday afternoon, and that’s a promise.’
    Ian sat back, took a swallow of water, and shot him a suspicious look. ‘Everything OK? You seem a bit… distant today.’
    What would Ian say if he were to tell him, if he suddenly leaned across the table and said, ‘The thing is, there’s a girl over there, a complete stranger, but just looking at her is making me feel like I’ve never felt before in my life’?
    How would bluff, ruddy-faced Ian react to that?
    Except it was a rhetorical question because they were two businessmen, here to discuss business, and he wouldn’t dream of saying any such thing.
    â€˜I’m fine. Just a touch of jet lag.’ He flashed a brief, reassuring smile at Ian. Apart