“I can just catch a cab, Tam.”
Tamara sighed. “Willow, if you don’t text me, I’m going to arrive at the airport tomorrow at three o’clock and just sit outside of the international arrivals gate to wait for you. And I’ll have a huge, embarrassingly glittery sign with your name on it! So, it would be better if you just texted me the flight information. Then I can track it online and be there.” She sniffed, a catch to her voice as she said, “I need to do this, Willow. I need to be there for you. It will give me something to do beside worry about…well, wondering what that jerk of a fiancé is doing now.”
“Fine,” Willow sigh. “I’ll text you the information. And thanks.”
They chatted for a few more minutes and then Willow had to get back to work. Tamara ended the call, then looked around, wishing that she had work to do. But the insanity of the morning was finished, her team of hard, dedicated staff members had done a great job of resolving the issues that had dropped on them today. Now they were probably all home, soothing their frazzled nerves with their significant others while she…
“Stop it!” Tamara snapped, standing up and coming around to her desk. Sitting down at her computer, she pressed some keys, reserving the apartment for Willow. She kept it unavailable for the next week, not sure how long Willow would need it.
Twenty-four hours later, Tamara still hadn’t heard from Jurid and she felt even more…unnerved. She might be feeling something more than just “unnerved” but that was all she was willing to admit to at the moment.
Okay, maybe she was peeved at the man’s silence. And irritated that he’d been so…forceful while he’d been here with her and then…nothing! Nothing at all! Why hadn’t he called? Or if he couldn’t call, just have one of his staff members call her! She wasn’t picky. Tamara just wanted to know what was going on! Was that so much to ask? Was that unreasonable? She didn’t think so. It seemed very reasonable to her.
“Willow!” she called, almost bursting into tears when she saw her friend’s fiery red hair in the crowd.
A moment later, her friend hurried forward and…threw her arms around Tamara’s shoulders. “I know!” she whispered soothingly as Tamara burst into tears. Willow eased the two of them out of the stream of other passengers and onto a nearby bench.
Tamara hadn’t realized that her feelings were so close to the surface but feeling Willow’s arms wrap around her, she couldn’t hold back the tears.
“I’m so glad to see you!” Tamara whispered.
Willow’s arms tightened around her neck. “Me too!” she whispered back.
They stood there like that for several minutes before Tamara pulled herself together, wiping her tears and laughing self-consciously. She didn’t notice the four men trying to look inconspicuous as they scanned the crowds. Nor did she see another man taking pictures of Tamara’s tear-stained features. The two women linked arms and walked out of the airport.
“So, tell me what you know about this grandmother,” Tamara demanded, needing a change of subject.
“I think that you need to talk a bit more than I do,” Willow countered.
Tamara’s chin went up and she blinked back a fresh wave of tears. “Nope. I’m the strong, grumbly one,” Tamara countered. “I showed weakness, therefore I must regroup before I can talk things out. You know me,” she shrugged. “I need to pretend that I’m all tough and unaffected by life.”
Willow sighed. “I know,” she leaned her head against Tamara’s shoulder. “And I’m the bouncy, flighty one.”
Tamara stopped, glaring down at Willow from her additional two inches of height. “You are not flighty!” she snapped. “You are creative and amazing! Don’t ever put yourself down like that, Willow!”
Willow smiled and hugged her again. “I know. I just forgot.”
Tamara sighed, shaking her head. “You’re slipping back to your old habits, my friend.”
They laughed and chatted as they made their way through the parking lot. Tamara’s utilitarian SUV was in the hourly parking lot and she pressed a button, releasing the trunk.
“I still can’t believe you drive this old clunker,” Willow teased. “You make a good salary, Tam. Why not get something that doesn’t look as if it might break apart from rust disintegration?”
Tamara laughed. “Because this thing can take any abuse I dish out,” she replied, slamming the trunk door closed. “I routinely toss tools and whatever I need for apartment repairs into this baby and it can take it all.”
Willow shrugged. “Right. It’s just…it’s odd to see a princess driving a rust bucket.”
Tamara laughed as she got into the driver’s seat. “I’ll admit, it’s a bit of a snub at my father. But it also suits me.”
They drove to the apartment Tamara had reserved for her and Tamara already had the ingredients for their martinis on the counter. But before they could start drinking, a knock sounded on the door.
“Who is that?” Tamara speculated.
Willow looked away, hiding her eyes and Tamara suspected that something was going on. But…?
Willow shrugged and pushed her suitcase through the door into the bedroom. “I don’t know. You answer it and I’ll finish up this batch of drinks.”
Tamara shrugged, but walked over to the door. As soon as she pulled it open, Lana stepped in and they all screamed with excitement. “What are you doing here?” Tamara yelped, pulling the third of their trio into her arms. “Oh, you look fabulous! Married life obviously agrees with you!”
“Yes, it does!” Lana replied, pulling off her coat and taking the martini glass that Willow handed to her. “So what’s this I hear about you falling in love with your fiancé?” she asked. Tamara glared at Willow, who grinned, lifting her eyebrows as they waited for Tamara to answer the question.
“Don’t even give me that glare!” Willow laughed, handing Tamara a martini filled with pink liquid. “You are completely head over heels with that man, which is why you’re so lost now that he’s not around. And not returning your calls.”
Lana stopped her drink halfway to her mouth. “Wait, Willow only mentioned that you were in love with the guy. I thought…” she looked from one to the other. “I thought we were celebrating.”
Tamara blinked, shaking her head. “Nope. No celebration. This is all to work him out of my heart and mind.”
Willow cringed. “He left here asking her to set a wedding date. But when she called him, he wasn’t available. Nor has he called back.”
“So…why hasn’t she called him again? Or texted him?” Lana asked. She frowned at Tamara. “I thought you were the tough one of our group. You’re not fighting for what you want? For your man?”
She shrugged and took a long sip of the cocktail. “I can’t fight for a man I can’t reach. Sort of a one sided battle, don’t you think?”
The other two stared at her. Willow was the first to nod her head. “She has a point.”
For the next several hours, they talked about men and brainstormed ways to get back at Jurid for abandoning Tamara. They speculated as to why he would come all the way to Athens to celebrate with Christoph, then fly to London to court Tamara – both Willow and Lana declared that there was no other way to describe what Jurid had done other than courting her – and once they were on their third round of the delicious, potent cocktails, they started brainstorming various ways to torture him. Of course, all of those ideas revolved around him coming back to London, prostrating him at Tamara’s feet and…well, they didn’t get much further than that because they burst into alcohol induced laughter at the image of the strong, powerful leader prostrating himself.
In the end, they curled up on the sofa that night, binge watching cheesy movies and eating too much pizza. Just like they used to do in high school and college. Memories, they laughed! As much as their lives changed, some things still remained the same.
Chapter 12
“Call him!”
Tamara looked over the span of the small table in the cute, warm coffee sh
op at Mike, blinking at his exclamation. “I’m sorry?” she asked, assuming she hadn’t heard him correctly.
“Call him!” he reiterated firmly.
Willow popped around the corner, out of breath and smiling happily. “Goodness, this place was hard to find!” she gasped as she dropped into the other seat. “What’s going on?” she asked, looking at Mike, then at Tamara. Turning back to Mike, she asked, “She hasn’t called him yet?”
“No! And she’s been moping around, driving me nuts!”
Willow laughed, shaking her head. “She’s a bit stubborn, isn’t she?”
Tamara watched her friends. “I’m right here, you know. I can hear you,” she snapped.
Willow chuckled as the waiter walked over to their table. “Black coffee please,” she said with an encouraging smile, then turned back to Mike and Tamara, unaware of the waiter tripping over a chair as he stared at her. “Yes, we’re talking about you, pretending as if you aren’t around because your mind is obviously elsewhere.”
“We both know where her mind is,” Mike commented, lifting his espresso to his lips and taking a sip.
Lana breezed into the café and dumped her purse onto a chair. “Whew! What a day!” She said, pushing her dark curls off her forehead. A moment later, Lana froze, looking at the others surrounding the table, then frowned at Tamara. “Darn it, when is she going to call him?”
Mike laughed, shaking his head. “She’s being stubborn.”
Willow and Lana rolled their eyes. “Imagine that,” Lana muttered.
“Hey!” Tamara argued. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here!”
Willow patted her arm gently. “You’re not here, honey. Your body is here, but your mind is in Tular. And as much as we’ll miss you when you finally stop being so stubborn, you’ll fly off to Tular and be happy, married to your big, sweet, hunky sheik.”
“I’m happy,” Tamara snapped as she picked up her cup of coffee. But the smell of the coffee made her slightly ill so she set the cup back down and glared at her friends. “I’m deliriously happy.”
“Right,” Willow replied, shaking her head.
Lana tilted her head to the side. “Has she always been this stubborn?”
Mike groaned. “Remember when she got it into her head to make our Halloween costumes?”
Both Lana and Willow groaned, Willow slapping her hand on her forehead. “Why? Why did she even try?”
Tamara bristled in her chair. “Hey! Those were some great costumes!”
Mike chuckled. “Eventually, yeah. They were pretty amazing…after Willow fixed them.” They all smiled at the horrific memory. “You had to teach yourself how to learn to sew, then it took you about six tries for the first costume. You just kept doing it over and over again because it wasn’t ‘right’ or perfect or didn’t match whatever image you had in your mind.”
“They were great costumes!” she repeated, glaring at Mike. Still, she looked over at Willow who truly had come to save the day with her creative genius at crafts and…well, fixing crazy-looking Halloween costumes.
Mike leaned over to Lana. “She’s a bit grouchy too!” he said in a stage whisper.
Tamara leaned back in her chair, ignoring them as she flipped through her messages on her phone. Still nothing from Jurid. Why hadn’t he contacted her? He’d asked her to think about being with him, about setting a date. Then nothing for two whole weeks! What was he waiting for? Did he want her to beg? Well, she wasn’t going to beg! Princess Tamara didn’t beg! Ever!
Okay, so there were several times, in bed, that she’d begged. Tamara felt her cheeks heat up at the memory of those moments and she glanced up, praying that her friends didn’t notice.
Sighing, she closed her eyes as pain slashed through her chest. Goodness, she missed him! One week! She’d been with him for one, lousy week!
No, it hadn’t been a lousy week. It had been a glorious week. A week in which she understood what it could be like between them. Conversations, laughter, passion all mixed in with everyday life. That’s what she wanted. And yes, she wanted it with Jurid so badly, she wasn’t sure how to function without him lately. Mike was grumbling because she was missing things at work…so things were crazy and Jurid wasn’t here.
Tamara hated being in a funk. She’d seen others in funks and had thought it was pathetic. She’d always wondered why those people hadn’t just moved on with their lives.
Now she knew.
Maybe she should just call him. But if she called him, what would she say? She’d spent so much time over the past several years telling herself and the world that she wouldn’t marry Jurid, and now she was just supposed to change her mind? She’d look like a fool!
But she’d be a fool with Jurid instead of a fool without him.
She’d call him, she told herself. Tomorrow. Or maybe tonight. Maybe…
Darn it! She needed to help Willow work through the issues she was dealing with now that she’d discovered a relative she hadn’t known existed. And Lana! Lana was literally glowing with happiness after coming back from her honeymoon.
Unfortunately, Willow’s natural exuberance for life in general and her excitement over trying to discover more about her heretofore unknown, deceased grandmother…plus Lana’s beaming happiness, was really bringing Tamara down. What kind of a friend was she? Not a good one, she thought with a deep sigh.
But seriously, shouldn’t Willow be angry that she hadn’t known this grandmother person? And Lana…? Shouldn’t she be sick of being around her husband? Rubbing her forehead, she tried to make sense out of a world that had become too confusing.
“We have a meeting,” Mike announced. “You ready?”
Tamara blinked, trying to catch up. “A meeting?”
He stared at her. “The meeting with the realtor? About the condo down on the waterfront? Remember?”
“Right!” she gasped and stood up, grabbing her big bag. She had no idea what he was talking about, but she didn’t want Mike to realize it.
“You guys take care,” Willow called as they walked down the sidewalk.
Tamara waved back, tried to smile, but the effort failed miserably.
She and Mike walked towards their office, but Tamara was in her own world, so she didn’t realize what was going on until Mike stopped and she suddenly realized that she was alone. When she did, she stopped and looked back, staring at him as if he’d just lost his mind.
“What’s wrong? I thought we had a meeting with the realtor.”
Mike sighed, shaking his head. “Tam, that was last week. And you weren’t mentally there for that meeting either.”
She blinked, trying to think back to last week. But it was difficult because the days seemed to blur into one grey mass of confusing loneliness.
“Um…well…did we…?”
“Tam, call him!” he urged, throwing his hands up in the air. “You’re obviously miserable without him. Just call him and talk to him. Work this out!”
She blinked back the tears, so tired of crying. Tamara could get through the days, but it was the nights that were a problem.
“I’m in love with him,” she whispered, her voice cracking because it hurt so much to admit that out loud.
“I know, honey,” he said softly, guiding her out of the way as others hurried along the sidewalk. “You’ve been in love with him from the moment he arrived, Tam. Just call him! Stop moping around.”
She stared up at the sky, trying to stop the new bout of tears. “I’m in love with him, Mike. But he said we don’t need love in our marriage. Just respect. He said that would be enough. So here I am, in love with the man and he,” she stopped, pausing to blink back tears again, “…he will respect me.” The words almost choked her.
Mike looked at her sadly and she shook her head, stepping back. “No!” she groaned. “Do not pity me! I don’t want your pity.”
“I’m not pitying, you, honey. I’ve been there. I know that loving someone when they don’t love you back is painful.”
<
br /> She took a deep breath, regaining control of her feelings. “Yes, well, that’s why I haven’t called him. I told myself that, if he had any feelings for me other than ‘respect’, then he’d call, just to start a conversation. But he hasn’t called.”
Mike pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Tamara absorbed his gentle affection for a long moment, but then pulled back, ignoring the hurt look in his eyes. “Sorry, Mike. But I just…I can’t take any more of this. I need to…” she stopped and turned, hurrying toward their office. At that point, she dove into the work, not letting any other thoughts enter her mind. Just work. Ensure that every client was happy. That’s what she would do!
Chapter 13
A week later, Mike ordered a cup of coffee and thought about getting one for Tamara. She’d been pushing herself harder and harder, trying to blot out the memories of that week with Jurid. Mike suspected that her efforts were failing miserably.
But right after the person asked if he wanted anything else, something else occurred to him. Tamara hadn’t been drinking coffee lately, although he had no idea why. She used to love her morning java but lately, she’d been avoiding it and drinking tea.
The barista handed him his order and he took it, heading to his first meeting. This would be the third riverside condo that he and Tamara had considered, the first two not being quite “right”. He still had a few minutes before his meeting, so he sat down on a bench and watched the Thames as it meandered by. It was a fast moving river and always different, the currents a bit mesmerizing and Mike loved sitting here, the sunshine warming him as he contemplated the river and life.
Awakened by the Passionate Sheik (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 2) Page 13
