Jay jammed his finger into his chest. “I was supposed to have that job! I deserved it! I was the next in line!"
"Jesus, I can hear you,” Kevin hissed and glanced around the bar. “Lower your voice a few decibels."
Jay knocked back the rest of his beer, then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “I had it all figured out. I screwed around with the equipment, trying to get Laura fired so I'd be promoted. Ha! Wasn't I an idiot? Look what happened. They suspend Laura, bring Ed back, and I'm still exactly where I've always been. The next in line."
Jay threw some bills on the counter and stumbled off his stool. “Life sucks, Buddy. Don't let anybody tell you different."
* * * *
Laura placed her right hand on her stomach and inhaled a nervous breath. She slid the airplane's window shade up and watched as they descended into Los Angeles. Will said he'd be there to greet her when she emerged from the terminal. How would they greet each other? A hug? A kiss? Maybe he'd simply shake her hand.
One week had gone by since his visit to the cabin. It felt more like ten. They'd talked a total of three times on the phone. Each conversation had been friendly and casual, laced with flirtatious remarks from Will. Laura longed for those remarks. They made her feel feminine and giddy.
Jay. Why did it have to be him? She'd trusted him more than anybody else on her sound crew, and he'd been sneaking around her back the whole time. Thank God he'd blabbed the whole thing to Kevin who'd told management the next day. Otherwise, who knew how long things would've gone on?
The plane touched down. Laura's stomach plummeted to her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to breathe slowly. But as soon as the captain told them they could unbuckle, Laura ripped the seat belt off, shot out of her seat, retrieved her bag from the overhead bin, then quickly made her way to the head of the line.
She emerged from the terminal, craning her neck, searching all the faces, but didn't see Will's dark head and quirky grin.
"Hey, green eyes, welcome to the city of angels."
Laura whirled around. “Ed? What are you doing here? I thought Wi—” She stopped in mid-sentence, realizing nobody knew about the two of them.
"Nice to see you, too.” He reached for her duffel bag. “Ready?"
"Yeah.” She scanned the crowd one last time.
"He said to tell you he'd meet you at the hotel. He couldn't chance coming here. The paparazzi have been hounding the group for days."
"He?” Laura inquired innocently.
Ed's mouth twitched. “Will."
"Oh."
"Good to you have back, Laura. And cut the crap with Will, I know you two have the hots for each other."
Laura felt her face grow warm. “I have no idea what you're talking about."
Ed snorted a laugh.
She cut a playful glare at him and pushed him in the shoulder. “Shut up, Ed."
* * * *
Will darted toward his door when a knock sounded. He threw it open.
Ed grinned. “Hi. Wanted to let you know we're back."
Will swallowed. “Oh, well, then...” he ran his fingers through his hair. “I guess I should go down."
"Yeah,” Ed nodded, clearly amused. “That's a good idea. I can tell she's excited to see you."
"Really?"
"Really. And the roses in her room were a nice touch. She couldn't take her eyes off of them."
"Really?"
"Really.” Ed punched him on the arm. “See ya later."
Will dashed back inside his suite. He checked himself in the mirror, did the breath test, and then made his way to her room. Quietly, he tapped on her door, and when she opened it, he lost all coherent thought.
He'd recited his first words to her a hundred times over the last couple of days. But standing here looking at her, nothing came to his mind.
His gaze traveled from her excited, twinkling eyes down to her adorable, scattered freckles, over her perfectly formed, tiny nose, along the line of her heart shaped jaw, and stopped at her sweetly curved lips.
"Hi,” he finally managed to get out.
"The roses are beautiful. No one's ever given me flowers."
"No one?"
"No one."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
Keeping his eyes locked with hers, Will stepped into her room, shut the door, and closed the small gap between them. He ran his fingers up the sides of Laura's face, into her hair, and followed the length of it all the way to her butt. He traced his hands down the backs of her legs to her knees.
"Grab on,” he whispered and lifted her to straddle him.
Laura wrapped her legs around his waist, and Will melted with the mind-numbing feel of the new position. He clasped his hands under her hips. She released her grip from around his neck, ran her fingers through his hair, and feathered them across his brow and down his cheeks. She outlined his bottom lip with her thumb.
He grabbed that thumb between his lips and bit down. “Kiss me,” he growled and walked toward the bed.
Laura wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lowered her mouth to meet his. She flicked the tip of her tongue under his top lip, sucked it into her mouth, then released it gradually with a scrape of her teeth. Will let out a low moan.
He watched her eyes take on a sultry, powerful look. She could do anything to him right now, and he'd let her. That alone was excitedly scary as hell.
Will landed hard with her on the bed and plundered her mouth with his tongue, angling his head one way, then the next, trying to get in deeper, desperate for more, craving satisfaction. He tore his lips from hers and moved to her neck, first the left side, then the right, half-conscious that he might be sucking too hard and leaving little love marks.
Frustrated with her restrictive clothing, Will tugged at the neckline of her fleece pullover, wanting access to her collarbone and further down. Laura squirmed and squeezed her inner thighs against his outer. Hungrily, he reacted and pressed his groin right where he knew she'd feel it.
Her swift intake of breath told him he'd hit the mark. Slipping his right arm beneath her back, he held her tight. Again, he pressed against her, but this time rotated his hips. She dug her fingers into his backside, pulled him closer, and circled her hips to the rhythm of his.
He groaned. Man, he needed her naked.
Will scooted her further onto the bed and pushed the hem of her shirt up for better access to her stomach. With his lips, he explored Laura's ribs, navel, the slightly concave lines of her stomach.
Running his fingers under the bunched fleece of her pullover, he traced the border of her bra. He circled his thumbs over her breasts and felt her nipples harden in response.
He glanced down her body. Laura's khaki pants rode an inch below her belly button. The gap in the waistband gave him a glimpse of yellow undies with tiny flowers. Will slid down and pressed a row of slow, sucking kisses along the waistline of her pants. He unsnapped and unzipped them and parted the material to reveal the cotton fabric underneath. With his index finger he traced the top of her panties, then slipped inside the elastic waistband.
Laura's accelerated pants for air caught his attention. Will looked up at her face, and what he saw there made him pause. She was watching him with wide, unblinking eyes. Her expression held a mixture of trust, yet uncertainty, passion, yet fright. He could go all the way with her; he knew that. But when they did make love, he wanted her face to show him fulfillment, abandonment, and yes, love.
With a deep breath, he affectionately rubbed his nose around her navel, then rested his cheek against her stomach. He waited patiently in that position until her breathing slowed and her nervousness subsided. Will reached for Laura's hand and linked his fingers with hers. Minutes went by as he studied the difference in their skin tone and listened to the activity of her stomach.
Laura squeezed her eyes shut. Something had gone wrong. Why had Will stopped? Part of her wanted to experience lovemaking with him, yet part of her remained hesita
nt as well. Why? Why couldn't she be normal? She knew he'd had a lot of women, none of them, surely, as complicated as she. Was he upset with her?
No.
Frustrated with her stupid, ridiculous thoughts, she sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I know you stopped because of me."
Will crossed his hands over her stomach and rested his chin on top. “You're right, I did stop because of you."
Miserable, Laura turned her head and looked the other way.
"But that's not a bad thing,” he continued. “Don't you understand that making love to you is going to be so much more enjoyable when you're absolutely ready?"
"I wished I knew when that would be."
Will climbed up her body and kissed her cheek. He grabbed her chin and turned it so she would look at him. “I wish I knew that, too, but all this foreplay is a good thing.” He wiggled against her. “Makes us all excited for the real event."
Laura smiled at his playfulness, loving the way he made an otherwise tense situation into an easier one. “Thanks for being so patient. I know you're used to a different kind of woman."
"You're right. I am. The women I've been intimate with have been different than you. But that's okay, because they were all just flings. You and me,” he kissed her lips, “that's entirely different. There's something special between us, and I'm excited about it."
"How many—” she stopped, realizing she was about to ask a foolish question. “No, never mind, none of my business."
"Laura, if you want to know how many women I've been with, then ask."
"It's a stupid question. I'm sorry."
"It's not a stupid question, and I'll be honest and hope you won't think any less of me after I tell you the truth. When Tourist started getting recognition, the girls poured in from everywhere, and I sampled much more than I should have. But the novelty wore off after a while, and I became discreet and picky. I need you to understand that I was always careful about protection and never took chances."
Laura puckered her brows. “I don't think any less of you. Why would you think I would?"
He sighed and traced the outline of her jaw with his forefinger. “What you think matters a great deal to me."
"You're still the same old Will to me."
"Oh, so now I'm old am I?” He started tickling her sides.
She giggled and poked his ribs right where she knew he was especially sensitive. Will jumped, grabbed her hands, and pinned them above her head. They laughed and wrestled and rolled around on the bed.
"My clothes,” Laura gasped a few minutes later. All their grappling had loosened her already undone pants and raised shirt.
Will gasped, too. “The last thing I'd want is for your clothes to come off."
She poked him in the ribs again. He chuckled and tugged her pants back into place, buttoned and zipped them, then pulled her shirt down to cover her belly. Will hugged her and rolled her over so she was stretched out on top of him. They lay that way for over an hour, listening to the outside traffic sounds and to each other's breathing.
The whole time Laura kept telling herself everything would be fine, her life was falling into place, and that the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach was only a false alarm.
Fourteen
* * * *
Will strolled down the aisle of the convention center, making his way to the soundboard. Ed and Laura's matching blond heads were bent over a row of mikes as they fingered them, nodding to each other, discussing something technical.
Ed had agreed to stay with Tourist for an additional month in case someone else tampered with the equipment. Management didn't think that was likely, but had asked him anyway. With Laura having been gone from the job for weeks, Ed would be on hand during her transitional period.
Will hopped up on top a nearby speaker. “Hey, guys, how's it going?"
They both looked up at the same time through the exact vivid shade of green eyes. Why hadn't he noticed that before now?
Ed handed a mike to Laura and picked up another one. “Oh, fine. We're testing these new mikes to see if we want to buy them for the show."
Will nodded as he carefully studied the two of them. Ed stood about six inches taller than Laura. They had the same long, lean physiques.
Laura gave Will that delicious little smile he knew she reserved only for him. “You ready for tonight's show?"
He wanted to devour those tempting lips, but kept his butt planted on the speaker. “I'm always ready.” Will sent her a smoldering look.
It worked because she blushed and quickly focused her attention on the mike in her hand. Will bit back a grin.
He and Laura had agreed anytime they were in public it would be best to act friendly to each other, but not overly affectionate. Neither of them wanted the press to find out about their relationship.
"I've always wondered what it's like to mix a show,” Will said as he took in all the sound equipment scattered around their technical area.
Ed snapped excited eyes up to his. “It's the most incredible feeling to be in control of that stage. To know whatever you do, thousands of people will experience it. It's all right at your fingertips, and a slight move one way or the other could make or break a song. And when you get the EQ just right, when the acoustics in a place are perfect, it's like an orgasm or something."
"Orgasm, hmmm? That's sure descriptive.” The two men chuckled, and Will glanced at Laura.
She ducked her head, mumbled something about going backstage, and brushed past him. As she hurried down the aisle, Will wondered if she was wondering what an orgasm felt like.
* * * *
"Hey, guess who?"
"Will,” Veronica squealed.
Will grinned at the sound of his little sister's excited voice and settled back into the hotel's desk chair. “So, what's going on, runt?"
"Oh, I'm as happy as ever,” she sang through the phone. “Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat?"
"You're pregnant?” He knew the question drove her crazy, but asked it anyway.
"Nooo,” she groaned. “I'm certified to teach Tai Bo now, and I conduct my first class on Wednesday."
"Oh, well, that's great.” Will had never understood her fascination with exercise. “What're you guys doing for the holidays?"
"Rico's mom's coming from Spain in February, and I'm sure Dad already told you he's booked a singles cruise to Alaska. So we're here for Christmas. When ya coming?"
Will smiled at her question. He knew he wouldn't have to ask for an invitation. “We've got a holiday show with some other artists at Disney in Orlando on Christmas Eve. So I thought we'd drive up Christmas Day."
"We?"
"I'm bringing a friend. Her name's Laura."
"Laura?"
In all the years he'd been with Tourist, Will had never taken a woman home. Sure, in high school his dates had dropped in to say hi. But not since then had he deemed anyone important enough to meet the family. He knew his sister was biting her tongue on the other end, dying to ask a million questions.
Will decided to offer her a little bit of information. “Laura replaced Ed as Head Sound Engineer."
"Oh ... well, okay, I'll have the guest room all ready for you two."
"Actually, sis, I'll sleep on the couch. Give Laura the guest room."
A long pause extended over the line. “Oookaaay. You know I'm dying over here. My curiosity's about to explode out of my head."
He laughed. “Wait ‘til you meet her. She's something else."
"Oh, dear brother, you know I intend to snoop once you get here."
"I wouldn't expect any less, dear sister."
Veronica hooted. “I can't wait to tell Rico."
It was going to be an interesting holiday.
* * * *
Laura tried not to fidget in the passenger side of the rental car. She'd be meeting Will's family in a few minutes. Maybe she'd made a mistake agreeing to this four-day trip. In the past she'd spent her holidays alone. They'd become like any other day. Either she
'd worked or volunteered somewhere.
Would Will's sister have a turkey and a Christmas tree? Would they sit around the table to eat? Would there be lots of presents?
"This is the bridge to Amelia Island,” Will informed her.
Laura sat up in her seat as they crossed the intercoastal waterway. Overgrown marsh bordered one side, a scattering of homes the other. Tiny canals zigzagged off the waterway with sailboats anchored in private coves.
Will pointed out his window. “Check out the marina. The boats have Christmas lights."
He'd been making little comments like that all the way from Orlando. Laura suspected he'd picked up on her anxiety and was trying to keep her mind occupied.
They drove a few more minutes until they reached the other side of the island. Will turned down a road that gave them a view of the Atlantic Ocean. “It looks like that every time I'm here."
Laura glanced out his window. The water alternated between shades of green, turquoise, and blue. The sun scattered dancing, sparkling prisms over the surface.
He took off his sunglasses. “It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Okay.” He turned the car into a neighborhood. “We're here."
Laura put her hand on her stomach.
Will pulled the car over against a curb. He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “We're going to have a blast. Relax and enjoy yourself.” He rubbed her stomach. “Don't be nervous."
Laura nodded. He drove the car another block and pulled up to a Spanish style house with a manicured lawn. They got out of the vehicle, made their way up a terracotta walkway, and right as they stepped onto the porch, the front door opened a few inches, and a tiny head peeked out.
Will had said his niece was adorable, but Laura hadn't imagined she'd be so beautiful. Her hair hung just past her shoulders with different shades of blond and brown streaming through it. Those features, along with her amber eyes and olive-toned skin, would make her gorgeous some day.
Will dropped his suitcase and swung his niece into his arms. She was small for an eight-year-old. He squeezed her until she squeaked and made loud chomping noises on her neck. She wiggled and giggled in his arms.
Laura's Secrets Page 15
