Climbing High by Madelon Smid Page A

The alarms are set. Everything is tight here. I’ll send Siree down to the garage at 0600 hours and Ben can get her home ahead of the newshounds.”
    He disconnected and stood over her, soaking in her sleep blushed face, the supple curves of her body and the delicate perfume of her skin. Her breathing, heavy with exhaustion, hung in the air. That more than anything kept him from picking her up and carrying her down the hall. She needed sleep. He turned off the overhead lights and, picking up his laptop, settled himself in the curve of the sofa where he saw her every time he looked up. Somehow it felt right.
    She woke from a rejuvenating sleep when she felt a gentle tweak of her braid. A steaming cup of café au lait lowered into view.
    “Easy,” he said, his voice tinged with an early morning rasp. “I’d prefer you drink this. Not wear it again.”
    The smell of coffee brought her fully awake, but underneath its inviting aroma was the more enticing scent of freshly-showered male. His hair slightly damp, his face clean-shaven and his clothes immaculate, Jake exuded a magnetic intensity. She responded to it at her most feminine level. It made her aware her eyes were gritty, her clothes creased and her hair a messy tangle.
    She downed her café au lait, along with the thought the man was impossible, remembering every detail, of her likes and dislikes. How can I stay clear of someone who so clearly takes an interest in what matters to me?
    She drove out of the garage ten minutes later with Ben in the car, wearing the hat and dark glasses he supplied. They’d looked just like a young couple heading for work. By the time she’d changed at her mother’s and been driven to the office, Janice had arrived to take over as watch dog.
    ****
    Siree parked her Prius in the guest space at her mother’s condo. The underground garage provided a blessed coolness. She walked to the elevator, Janice on her heels. The elevator swished its way upward and Siree’s thoughts turned from algorithms to the evening ahead. Both caused a bubbling anticipation. The numbers led her in the right direction now. Often, she tracked pathways that wound back on themselves and stopped at dead ends. But she had a mental map of the maze she’d entered and just hours ago mastered, emerging with all the answers. The evening meant seeing Ty, always a pleasure. But in fairness, she gave the thought of Jake coming credit for the streams of anticipation flowing through her. She hurried out of the elevator and fit her key in her mother’s door. She had less than an hour to make herself presentable for dinner. About twelve guests were expected and she knew her mom had had minimal time to pull it together once she’d found out this was the only night Jake could make it.
    Forty minutes later, Siree descended the stairs and joined the group already gathered in the salon. She’d heard the doorbell ringing at intervals while she’d bathed and dressed, and wondered which peal heralded Jake’s arrival.
    She heard the boom of Ty’s laughter before she entered the room. He saw her and, without missing a word of his story, opened his arms. She walked in and got the bear hug she’d counted on since she was a tiny tot. “Siree, you look like you need food as badly as I do,” he joked, while his knowing eyes took in her slighter frame. He fixed an intent look on Sharon.
    “Yes, Ty, I know it’s three hours later in Toronto, I just wanted to wait for my daughter.” Deftly, Sharon signaled to the caterer and moved to a central position in the room to invite her guests to go in to dinner.
    Siree took her designated seat and discovered she had Jake on her right, and Habib Djalili on her left. “Hab, what a wonderful surprise,” she greeted, making no effort to hide her pleasure at seeing her old college friend. From the corner of her eye she saw Jake lean forward to see around her. She pressed herself back into the chair so the two men could see each other. “Have