by Suzanne Hart
And I had done just that. I wasn’t able to resist him.
I marched down the hallway, took the elevator, and found my way back to the room I’d been appointed.
After I got the dinner invitation in the afternoon, I’d changed my plans. I wanted to give Felix another chance, to make right everything he had wronged. I hadn’t even packed yet. I hadn’t handed in my resignation letter. I wasn’t planning on quitting. However, Felix had taken my word for it. He was relieved that I was leaving tomorrow. This way, he didn’t have to get his hands dirty by firing me; I was doing it for him.
The no-crying rule was hard to abide by tonight, as I changed out of my dress and stepped into the hot shower. I had been such a fool. I was too small-town, too naive, too virgin…for the big city life. I should never have allowed a man like Felix to play with my heart.
Chapter 34
Felix
When I got back to our room, which was a double-room master suite, I went to check on Cici, who was sleeping soundly. I stood at the door, watching her in the dark. My little girl. How many such moments had I missed out on? She seemed so peaceful as she slept, like she had no care in the world…and that was how I wanted it to stay for her. I wanted her to remain stress-free and happy all her life.
I went back to my room, changed, and got into bed. I wasn’t feeling right. Nothing felt right.
I’d thought that if I could have Nora this once, sleep with her like I wanted to from the first moment I saw her…then I could get past it. I thought it was nothing more than just a carnal need for her body. As simple as my cock being inside her pussy. And it felt great. I had the most explosive orgasm of my life with her, even though she was inexperienced and shy.
But now, after I was spent and I should have been satisfied, I couldn’t get her face out of my head. It was like I wanted more, and not just more of her body, but I wished she was lying there next to me. I wished I hadn’t hurt her like I had.
I didn’t fall asleep for hours.
◆◆◆
Nora was gone the next morning; I knew because I asked Naomi, who told me that she had left her resignation letter on Naomi’s desk before she left. Anne arrived soon after breakfast, based on the text I’d sent her the previous day.
Cici was disheartened to see her, mostly because of the absence of Nora. I had to tell Cici that Nora had to leave suddenly because of a personal matter, but Cici didn’t see it that way.
I caught the look of disappointment and sadness in my daughter’s eyes, and even though she didn’t know how to express those feelings in words, I had an idea of what she was going through. Everyone she cared for, everyone she loved…always ended up disappointing her in the end. She was all alone in this world.
As much as Anne and I tried to entertain her through the day, Cici remained glum. We went on a little trek to see some waterfalls nearby, and none of it brought a smile to her face. She asked about Nora from time to time. She wanted to know if Nora was coming back, if she’d left a phone number, why she’d gone without saying goodbye.
Cici’s questions affected me. Not only because I could see that my daughter was suffering, but also because I missed her too. I thought I didn’t know Nora; I thought her presence in our lives hadn’t made a difference…but it had. I just didn’t know it till she was gone.
Now that she’d left, for good…I realized that I’d sent her here to Hawaii not only because of Cici, but as an excuse for me to see her again. Just like now, when I was dying to see her.
Cici wasn’t enjoying the vacation, and after several hours of trying to get her spirits up again, Anne rightly suggested to me that it was maybe for the best if we went back to San Francisco. Anne didn’t ask questions, but from the way that Cici was speaking about Nora, she had sensed why both Cici and I were in low spirits.
I agreed with Anne. Going back home, to the usual routine…was probably exactly what Cici needed.
Cici and I had dinner by ourselves that evening. She hadn’t said a word to me in the past hour, even though I’d tried to help her with her fork and knife.
“Do you think you’ll want to come back to Hawaii again, soon?” I asked her, as cheerfully as possible. Cici looked at me with a blank expression on her face and shrugged her shoulders. “Didn’t you like the waterfalls? And the birds?”
She shrugged again.
“Cici! Give me a break here. I thought we were having fun. You had so much fun at the pool yesterday,” I said and she looked down at her lap, blinking slowly.
“I miss Nora, Daddy. It was fun when she was here, and now she’s gone. You’ll be gone soon, too,” she said.
“Cici, I’m not going anywhere. We’re going back home, and then I’ll be there too. I promised you, baby girl, I’m going to spend more time with you at home,” I told her. Cici didn’t look up at me.
“Okay, Daddy,” she said in a voice that told me she didn’t believe me.
After Anne took her up to the room, I went to the office with a bottle of Scotch in my hand. From my desk, I rang Mom’s number in Florida. It was late there and I’d woken her up; I could hear the grogginess in her voice.
“Felix?” she seemed surprised when she heard my voice. I rarely called her.
“Hi, Mom, sorry I woke you.”
“Is everything okay? Cici okay? I thought you two were in Hawaii?” Mom sounded very concerned.
“Yeah, we’re fine. We’re going back to San Francisco tomorrow, cutting our vacation short because Cici…well, she’s been in a bad mood ever since Nora left,” I said. I was forcing myself to say those words. I had never been much of a sharer.
“Nora? She was there…okay, what can I do to help?” I was glad that she wasn’t asking me too many questions.
“I was wondering if maybe you could come and stay with us for some time? I know it’s too much to ask…”
“Of course I will, son. I’ll get on the first flight tomorrow morning,” Mom said. I closed my eyes and nodded. I was asking for help — and it was the best parenting decision I had ever made.
Chapter 35
Nora
One week later
I hadn’t done much in the past week, even though I was aware of the fact that I needed to start looking for work soon. Katie had been super supportive of my broken heart, and we’d spent hours nearly every night talking. I felt a little better now, even though I wasn’t in full form yet.
I still felt foolish for thinking that I could have a real thing with someone like Felix Stone. I was angry with myself for not listening to Katie when she told me that he was using me. I worried about Cici, and if she would ever have a happy childhood. I could barely sleep at night.
Most of all, I knew I still had feelings for Felix. Despite everything that happened, and as horrible as he had made me feel, I knew that I wanted him. I was magnetized by his good looks, by how hot he was and the way he made me feel. I had given my virginity to him, and I didn’t regret that. I could never have experienced a better first time with any other man.
It was a Sunday and Katie was in the apartment. I got out of bed late, close to noon, and when I appeared in the living room, I saw that she was all dressed and ready to go out.
“You have plans?” I asked, and Katie looked at me with a glittering smile.
“Yes, and so do you. We’re going out!” she exclaimed, jumping up from the couch.
“Going where? I don’t want to go out,” I complained, crashing down on the couch. She grabbed me by my hand and tried to pull me up.
“Nora! You haven’t stepped out of this apartment since you got back from Hawaii. It’s really unhealthy for you. Let’s go…we’ll go to the mall, do some shopping, get a bite to eat at the food court.” Katie struggled to pull me off, and I struggled against her.
“I don’t want to go to the mall, please! I can’t go shopping. I’m broke!” I argued.
“You’re not that broke. Come on! Let’s go get you a sweet little dress or something; trust me, retail therapy really work
s!” She finally managed to get me off and glared at me, like she wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Huffing and puffing and against my wishes, I eventually went to my room to change.
◆◆◆
“Why are we here again?” I asked Katie as we walked around the mall, which was at least a thirty-minute drive from our apartment. We could have gone to any of the closer ones, but Katie had picked this one for some reason.
“Because they have the best cheeseburgers at this food court,” Katie said, seeming a bit distracted. We had spent the past twenty minutes since we arrived window shopping. It seemed like Katie wasn’t really interested in buying anything.
I rolled my eyes, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally as we walked around.
“Katie, can we go back home now?” I pleaded with her, but she jerked me by my elbow and forced me to keep walking.
I looked around, trying to distract myself, when my eyes fell on a familiar yellow dress. A little girl with dark hair was wearing it, while she walked by herself a little ahead of us, amidst the shoppers. The dress looked exactly like the one that Cici had been wearing that night at the Crystal Room.
This little girl had Cici’s hair too. I stopped in my tracks, feeling a little dizzy, and Katie stopped as well.
“What’s wrong?” she asked me.
“I think I’m getting sick. I think I’m hallucinating,” I exclaimed.
The little girl looked over her shoulder and I nearly cried out because I thought it was Cici. Then she started running, squeezing between the adults walking in groups around her.
“It’s her! It’s Cici! What is she doing here by herself?” I shrieked, and I ran past Katie, trying to chase after the girl.
The place was crowded, and it took me much more time than the girl to get through the throngs of people. When I looked back, I saw that Katie hadn’t followed me.
“Cici!” I shouted her name as I saw her yellow dress in the distance, running towards the elevators. My heart was racing in my chest. Had she come here with Anne or the nanny? Did she get separated from them?
By the time I got past the crowds and headed for the elevators, I saw her step in and the doors shut behind her.
“Oh my God! Cici!” I shrieked, running to the doors and frantically pressing the buttons. I didn’t know what I was doing, or what that was going to achieve… I was panicking; I was afraid that she was going to get lost, that something would happen to her.
I could sense people turning to look at me, startled by my shrill calling of Cici’s name as I looked to see which floor she was getting off.
“Don’t worry, Mom was waiting in the elevator for her,” I heard Felix’s voice say behind me. I froze, gulping, thinking I had completely lost my mind now. I needed medical attention.
“Nora, will you please look at me?” I heard him say. The color had drained from my cheeks. Was I hearing voices in my head?
I turned slowly on my heels, and now I was face to face with Felix. He was in a casual checked shirt and jeans, with his hands tucked into his pockets and a handsome grin on his face. I still couldn’t believe this was real.
“Your friend Katie helped me set this up. I just needed to talk to you,” he said, taking a step closer to me.
“Oh my God, I’m going insane,” I murmured.
◆◆◆
Felix reached his hand out to gently touch my shoulder before I could pull myself away from him. He was trying to calm me down.
“Nora, I’m sorry if we startled you. That wasn’t my intention. When Cici heard that I was going to try and win you back, she wanted to help. She was sure that you would go running after her if you saw her in a crowded place,” Felix said.
I snapped my head up to look at him. My throat had gone dry. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Win me back?” I asked, in a weak whisper. A smile was spreading on his face.
“I was foolish. I was an idiot, and I lost you,” he said. I shook my head, my eyes wide with shock and concern for my own sanity.
“But you didn’t want me in your life; you made that very clear to me!” I exclaimed. Felix held me by my other shoulder too now, and it felt strangely calming to have his hands on me. I knew I was melting already, even though I was trying hard to hold my ground.
“That was what I thought, but I was panicking. I’ve never felt this connection with someone before, and I didn’t want to jump into a relationship…like last time,” he said, and I gulped as I stared into his clear green eyes.
“So, what are you saying?” I asked, and he stepped closer to me. Close enough for me to get a whiff of his cologne, to see the bright spark in his eyes, the genuine smile on his face.
“I’m saying that I want to see you. I want you in my life,” he replied.
His words felt too unreal to believe. I was panting and out of breath, even though I had been standing still, frozen to the spot for several minutes now.
“I don’t know how to trust you, Felix, you’ve disappointed me…you’ve hurt me so many times,” I squeaked, forcing the words out. He nodded his head, and his smile was drooping.
“I know I have, and I don’t deserve your trust. But Nora, if you just give me a chance to prove it,” he said and reached for my hand. I allowed him to pull my hand to his chest. I could feel his heart beating, my knees wobbled. I wanted to be in his arms; I wanted to feel his breath on my face.
“I know I can prove it to you; that I’m never going to hurt you again. Never on purpose,” he continued.
I looked away from him, and he stepped even closer to me. This time, his hot breath did fall on my face and I knew my resolve wasn’t going to last very long. He was going to break me very quickly.
“Nora, you can come back to the hotel if you want. Your job is still waiting there for you. You can do whatever you want; all Cici and I want is for you to be with us,” he said.
I jerked my face around to look at him, to look into his eyes. His lips were dangerously close to mine; I could feel the warmth of his body against mine.
“And I want to hear what you have to say. I want your advice on what to do with my life. I want you to be there to support me because, right now, I feel lost,” he said. I couldn’t listen to him anymore; I’d heard everything I needed to hear.
I leaned towards him and he took my lips into his. I gasped when I felt our mouths fuse. That familiar spark of electricity ran down my spine, and his arms wound around me. I was squeezed in between his arms, pressed against his chest as his tongue dove down my throat.
I still felt like it was a dream; I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was when his hand traveled down my back to my ass that I knew it was real. I was panting when he pulled away from me. His eyes were focused on my face; he wasn’t even batting an eyelid.
“Nora Stevens, I’m falling for you,” he whispered in my ear, and I felt a flutter in my stomach.
“I fell for you the moment I saw you,” I replied and he smiled, lightly kissing my cheeks.
“Nora!” we heard Cici’s shrill scream. We turned to see her running towards us. Behind her, Helen and Katie were standing together, with pride flushed on their faces.
I turned to Cici, opening my arms wide for her, and when she fell into me, I lifted her up. I kissed her cheeks, and she knocked her forehead against mine.
“I missed you, Nora,” she whimpered.
“I missed you too, little bug,” I said and then she looked at her father.
“Did it work, Daddy?” she asked, and Felix laughed before he ruffled her hair.
Helen and Katie had walked up to us. Helen hugged me and then Katie hugged me too; it seemed like they had all been rooting for me to accept Felix’s apology. Even Katie! I didn’t expect her to be on his side, but then, I knew just how convincing he was.
“I’ve made sure he knows that if he plays you around again, I’m going to have his ass kicked. My brothers play rugby for a living,” Katie said. Helen and Felix laughed.
<
br /> Helen held my hands, smiling at me warmly.
“My son is stupid, he should have done this a long time ago,” she said, and my cheeks turned bright pink.
“Helen, you should know. We lied. I’m not really a manager at the hotel,” I said, exchanging nervous glances with Felix. Helen waved a hand in the air.
“You think I didn’t know that already?” she remarked.
Felix wrapped one arm around me and held Cici’s with his other hand.
