Table for Two

by Jennifer Mckenzie

  Mal knew she should keep it short, keep her focus. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him, drank him in. He felt so good, so right.

  He murmured something against her lips and tightened his hold.

  “Travis?” His name popped out of her mouth. He pulled back to look at her. Mal felt the shaking start up again, placed her hands on his chest for balance. She swallowed. Now or never. Or that’s what she was going to tell herself for fear she’d chicken out again. “What’s going on?”

  “Well, I’m going to show you around, ask you what you think and maybe kiss you again.” He lifted one of her hands from his chest and pressed a kiss to her palm.

  Mal’s knees wobbled. But she needed to do this. “Why didn’t you tell your family that we broke up?”

  He stilled, her hand caught in his. Then he pressed his cheek against it, rubbing and closed his eyes. “For one thing, I felt like an idiot.”

  “Why? Because we broke up?”

  “Partly.” His eyes opened, centered on hers. “Because I didn’t fight for you. Because our breakup let them down, too.” He exhaled softly. Mal felt the brush of breath across her forearm.

  “People break up, Travis.”

  “But not us.”

  His touch was distracting her. She pulled her hand back. “Yes, us.”

  He reached out to cup her face. “I wish it had never happened.”

  Mal would be lying if she said she didn’t feel the same. “But it did happen. And you kept it a secret.” She took hold of his hand, slid it down her cheek so that it rested between them.

  “You didn’t tell your family everything,” he pointed out.

  “I didn’t, but keeping the details private is pretty different than letting them think we were still together.” She felt his fingers tighten over hers.

  “I know. I didn’t plan to keep it a secret. At first, I just didn’t want to talk about it. So I didn’t call them for a while. Then when I did, I tried to avoid the subject. That worked for a couple of months.”

  “And then?”

  “Then it reached this awkward stage where I didn’t know how to tell them. I kept thinking that something would happen. I’d meet someone else or—”

  “So you were dating.” The thought was a smack in the face. She should have considered the possibility before, but she hadn’t. This time, it was her fingers that tightened, squeezing his hand until his fingertips turned white.

  Travis met her eyes. “I tried.” His voice was quiet. “I didn’t want to be this pathetic guy hung up on a woman he could never have.”

  Mal’s lungs burned. She drew in a quick breath, but even that hurt.

  “But no one was you.”

  “Did you sleep with them?” It wasn’t her business, but she asked anyway.

  “No.” His denial was swift, the truth of it clear in both his tone and expression. “I never even got close.”

  Some of the tension in her body loosened. “Good.”

  Travis pulled her hand into his chest. She could feel the steady thump of his heart. “Do you want me to tell my family the truth?”

  She thought about it. Part of her did—she wanted to know that he was being honest with those he counted as important in his life. But she wasn’t sure what purpose it would serve. To assuage her own feelings? She flattened her palm to cover more of his chest.

  “I’ll call them right now. While you’re standing here, so you know I did it.”

  Mal shook her head. She didn’t need to oversee anything. She knew Travis well enough to be sure that if he said he’d do something, he would. “You don’t need to call them.” Maybe too much time had passed anyway. “I just wanted to know why.” To know that his reason hadn’t been because she was unimportant—that she’d held such a small place in his life that he hadn’t even bothered to tell his family they’d broken up—was enough.

  “So.” He laid his palm over hers. “Does this mean we’re back together?”

  Mal swallowed. She could say no, but it wouldn’t make it true. Plus, did she really want to say no? The time spent with Travis and his family had shown her just how much she still loved them and, she thought, how much they still loved her. Was she willing to give that up? Or did she want to take a chance that this time things would work out differently?

  “Too soon?” he asked.

  “No.” She took a step toward him...and her future. “Not too soon.”

  His body pressed against hers. He felt so big and warm, a rock to hang onto when her emotions stormed inside her. Travis slid a hand beneath the curtain of her hair and cupped the back of her head. When he lowered his mouth to hers, Mal felt all his pent-up emotions, too—relief, gratitude and deep, deep pleasure.

  She wrapped her arms around his broad back and held on as he slowly and methodically kissed the breath out of her. He lifted her up, holding her tight to him as he walked farther into the bar. Mal simply held on. She opened her eyes when he set her down on the bar. The now polished wood ran nearly the width of the bar itself—it was the one thing in the place that looked ready for the opening.

  Travis settled himself between her thighs and kissed her again, his fingers tangling in her hair, flicking open the top buttons on her shirt, stroking her collarbone. Mal shivered under his ministrations. He’d always known how to touch her, known how to make her moan. She sighed when his fingers strayed lower, tugging on the hem of her skirt as he began working it up her legs.

  Mal clutched at his shoulders as her eyes slid shut. It was just them—the two of them in the quiet space. She felt her body warm, her temperature rise with her skirt, the slow pull of the silk blend against her skin, the touch of Travis’s hands, his breath as he lowered his head to trail kisses from her knee up. Her breath caught, held, as the skirt nudged higher, up to the tops of her thighs.

  She heard the thump of her heels as first one slipped free, then the other, until she was left with nothing between her and Travis but her thin layer of underwear. He cupped her soft center and rose to his feet, his body leaning into hers as he kissed her hard.

  Mal felt as though she was drowning, she was falling so far, so fast. But Travis was with her, a buoy in the ocean, and she held on tight. She fumbled with the tails of his shirt, pulling them out of his pants so she could stroke the soft skin on his back, feel the bunch of his muscles when he shifted and moved.

  And then he was sliding her skirt over her hips, lifting her with one hand while he worked on the fabric with the other. He ran a finger over her silky underwear, and she felt her entire body leap to attention. She burned, became an inferno, when he dipped a finger inside and found her ready and waiting. Her body responded to his touch like a flower to the sun.

  “You are so beautiful,” he murmured against her lips, his thumb beginning a slow, intense circle that sent sparks racing over her skin.

  “Travis.” It was all she could manage as the blood rushed from her head to the center of her body.

  “So beautiful. Here.” He kissed the spot on her neck just below her ear. Mal felt a tingle race from the spot. “And here.” He slipped her shirt down her left arm and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. Goose bumps rose when he tongued the spot and blew. “Here.” He ran a thumb over the silk covering her nipple before he sucked it into his mouth. The ivory material of her bra grew wet, transparent, the strawberry color of her nipples showing through when he finally moved again, dropping further down her body. “And here.”

  He pushed aside the thin strip of fabric between her legs. Mal felt a rush of hot and cold as she was exposed. No longer anything between them. Oh, yes. She wanted this, she so wanted this, but when he lowered his head and placed that first kiss, she froze.

  Images of another woman, another workplace, another time tumbled through her mind.

  Travis’s hands stroked the insides of her
thighs, bringing them to rest on his shoulders before he twisted her underwear out of his way. Mal’s muscles tensed. “Travis.” She tugged on the shoulders of his shirt.

  He stopped, his mouth less than an inch from her body and looked up. “Babe?”

  She shivered. And though the images faded, they didn’t dissipate entirely. She couldn’t bear the thought of him doing to her what he’d done to that other woman. “I want you inside me,” she told him.

  His fingers spasmed on her legs and she knew he wanted to be inside her, too. Good, then maybe he wouldn’t question why she still couldn’t let him go down on her. He rose to his full height and kissed her. Mal finished opening the buttons on his shirt while his kisses washed away the ugly memories.

  She stripped him of his shirt and belt, and slid her hands beneath his waistband to find him hard and wanting. He fumbled for a condom and she took it from his hands, sliding his pants and boxers down his legs before rolling it on. He jerked under her touch.

  She soothed him with a long kiss, spreading her legs and shifting to the edge of the bar, so her hips were barely hanging on. Then he slid inside her, filling her, chasing away the last vestiges of other women, anyone who might have come between them before. And as they found their rhythm, bodies meeting in slow, pulsating pleasure, Mal felt something close to peace.

  They clung to each other afterward, finding comfort and support in each other’s arms. Then Mal lifted her head. “Now show me around your place.”

  Travis was happy to oblige, and he chatted animatedly about his plans, how he was going to make the gorgeous long bar the centerpiece of the whole space, drawing people in with its glossy top and comfortable stools. How he envisioned it as a high-end pub, bringing back drinks that had gone out of style, making them fresh again. She got caught up in his vision, too.

  Or maybe she was just caught up in him. It was hard to be sure, since she couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. Maybe it didn’t matter. So long as he was happy and doing the space proud, she was content.

  The restaurant didn’t look all that different from how she remembered. A little shabbier, a little dustier since it had been boarded up for so long, but it was still the space she’d known and loved. And although his vision didn’t run to the little girl fantasies that came with pink cakes and birthday tiaras, Mal realized she didn’t feel sad. It was time for the space to change. And maybe it would be better than ever.

  Travis’s hand caressed the bar when he talked about it, his other hand running along her arm, her hips, whichever part of her he happened to be touching at the moment in the exact same fashion. “So, what do you think?”

  Mal felt a tug in her chest. “I think this will be great.” She could picture it, could see it becoming one of the city’s hot spots.

  “Just the space?”

  She paused and didn’t answer.

  “Too soon?” he asked again.

  Mal started to breathe again. “Maybe a little.”

  “Then we’ll pretend I never asked. Now, how about dinner?”

  “I still have my meeting at Elephants.”

  “You never did tell me what that’s about.”

  Since that felt a lot easier to talk about than the swirl of emotions running through her, she gave him the rundown of the upcoming event she was helping plan. The single night when participating bars and restaurants would give all their profits to local homeless shelters and the food bank. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s so satisfying.”

  He brushed a lock of hair from her face. “You’re amazing.”

  Mal ducked her head, feeling embarrassed. “I’m getting something out of it too.”

  “Amazing.”

  She swallowed. She could get lost in the silvery color of his eyes, lost in the moment, lost in him. But she’d done that before and when she’d lost him, she’d lost some of herself, as well. She felt as though she’d gotten some of that back lately, in part because of Travis, but she refused to let herself go so completely again. Not without some sort of safety net, something that could catch her if she fell. “I really do need to go.”

  Travis pulled her into a warm hug, burying his face in her hair. “I just need a minute.” He inhaled again. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  She opened her mouth to say his name, but the words got tangled. Just like her arms around Travis. And she decided to let herself revel in their embrace for the minute that Travis had requested.

  A minute that felt as if it ended too soon. “I should go.” She took a step back.

  “Okay.” But Travis’s eyes didn’t leave hers. She could feel the heat as if he were still wrapped around her.

  Mal reveled in that, too. Then realized what she was doing and shook it off. He overwhelmed her. They overwhelmed her. She couldn’t let that happen. Not so easily. “I’ll call you later.”

  “After your meeting?”

  “It’ll run late.” They were restaurateurs and bar owners. Evenings didn’t end until well after midnight, and they were friends as much as colleagues. Meetings alone tended to run until at least ten.

  “I can wait.”

  Her heart rose into her throat. He meant it, and she didn’t think he was just talking about the meeting. He’d wait for her, too. Her cheeks grew warm. “I’ll let you know.” She gave him a brief kiss and then exited the bar before she did something foolish, like ask if he wanted to come to the meeting, if he wanted to participate in her project.

  They were barely back together. She didn’t know where things were headed. Involving him in all parts of her life was not a good idea. Yet even the breeze off the ocean didn’t cool her desires.

  TRAVIS FORCED HIMSELF not to follow Mal, not to chase her down the street and extend their afternoon together. But, no, he had to take it one step at a time.

  It seemed they were back together. And she definitely wanted him. And yet, the fact that she’d stopped him when he’d started to pleasure her orally bothered him. That had always been one of Mal’s favorites, but twice now she’d insisted on skipping it. He knew why, too—and that didn’t make him feel any better. It was a wedge, a reminder of how things had gone wrong before.

  Travis knew they couldn’t go back and erase the past, but he feared that they might not be able to move beyond it, either. Of course, they were only just back together. Travis didn’t expect things to revert to the way they’d been before. And maybe he didn’t want them to.

  He felt as though he’d done some changing, some growing up in the time they’d been apart. Come to recognize what was important in life and how he maybe hadn’t treated those things with the respect they deserved.

  So he stayed at The Blue Mermaid, made some notes on the space—where he’d like to start the renovations and what could be salvaged. Things he’d bring up when he met with a few of the contractors this week. He planned to hire one of them before the weekend so they could get started. The idea energized him. Soon enough, the pub would fit his image and would be open to the public.

  He hoped Mal would be by his side on opening night.

  Travis made a few more notes, then exited The Blue Mermaid, locking the door behind him. The wind kicked up as he walked, reminding him yet again that he wasn’t in Aruba anymore. He ducked his chin into the collar of his coat, though the temperature bothered him less than it had even a couple of weeks ago. He was growing used to being back, to being home. It filled him with a sense of completeness. No matter how much he’d enjoyed Aruba—and he’d certainly loved walking the three minutes from his apartment along the beach to his bistro—it hadn’t been home.

  The idea that he was home now, that this was where he was supposed to be, felt good. He nearly whistled aloud, and realized as he neared the turn to his apartment that he didn’t feel like going inside.

  Owen’s apartment had everything a bachelor co
uld want—flat screen TV, comfortable seats to lounge in, bottles of water, salty snacks—but with no one to share it with, it felt empty. Lonely. And he didn’t want to be lonely today.

  It was a feeling he hadn’t realized had permeated his life until he’d come back to Vancouver. In Aruba, his days and nights had been filled with work. But here, without a staff who needed him and customers who demanded attention, his lack of personal connections was more obvious. It was something he didn’t plan to repeat. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Owen.

  “Owen Ford, at your service.”

  “Pepperoni pizza and the hockey game tonight. You in?”

  “I’m sorry. Who is this?”

  “Hilarious.” Although Owen’s cheerful snort was kind of hilarious. “So, you busy?”

  “I’m working.”

  “Right.” Travis was still getting used to the fact that Owen worked six nights a week and actually seemed to enjoy it. Even more surprising was how well it suited him. Travis had never seen Owen happier, and he didn’t think it was solely because of his new marriage. He seemed more fulfilled and more sure of himself. Owen had always had confidence, but it was different now. Less surface and more internalized. It was a good look on him. “Maybe we could hang later this week, then?”

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t come hang out with me. Elephants has TVs and I can assure you top-of-the-line service. I have some pull with the owners.”

  Travis paused. He’d love to see Mal, but he wasn’t so sure she’d be thrilled to see him show up while she was working. On the other hand, he wanted to support her event. Maybe even participate if he could pull off the renovations in time. “Mal mentioned something about a meeting there tonight.”

  “Are you using me to get to my sister? I am hurt, deeply hurt.”

  Now it was Travis’s turn to snort. “Yes, I can tell you’re crushed.”

  “I am. I may require my own pizza. With anchovies.”

  Travis made a retching sound.

  “Fine. No anchovies. And no ordering off the menu. The chef will kill me.”