by Jo Leigh
“I think you’re gonna sleep just fine if you go up soon,” Rick said. “Real soon. Okay?”
Paul nodded, but not at Rick. There was an older man heading for them. He appeared to be someone connected to the group, or the hotel, she wasn’t sure which. But when he arrived, he smiled at Rick and then took over watcher’s duty. “Real soon, it is,” Paul mumbled.
“You think he’ll be all right?” Jenna asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “He knows a lot of people here, and he’s a big donor. They’re not gonna let him get into too much trouble.”
“Does that mean you know a lot of people here, too?”
“Not necessarily. I’m trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. You about ready to go sit down?”
She put several oysters on her plate and nodded.
Rick shook his head and put some on his, as well.
They found another table. They were both drinking water and the food was delicious. Jenna liked that he wasn’t hesitant to make yummy noises. It said a lot about him. He was comfortable in his own skin. She’d seen that all night, and she admired it a great deal.
Even though there wasn’t a bite of chocolate on her plate, she enjoyed every last bit of her food. After quickly washing up in the ladies’ room, she waited for Rick, who took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.
She didn’t know the song. Or care. They didn’t even dance, not for real. They just swayed back and forth, hardly moving their feet. She let her head rest on his shoulder. No, his chest. Rick was taller than Payton, and God, he smelled good.
“Payton loved me more,” she said.
He stopped swaying. “What?”
She pulled back, far enough to look at him. “I always thought he loved me more. I wanted it that way. I never told anyone. But I wanted to have the upper hand.”
“Because of your parents’ relationship?”
“Yes,” she said, surprised he’d made the connection so quickly. Obvious as the correlation seemed, it had taken her a while. She went back to swaying, and smelling his spicy cologne. It made her think of fall. Of leaves and grass and a storm brewing.
“I’m not in love with Faith,” Rick said.
Jenna didn’t lean back this time. She let him lead.
“I love her. Although I’m very disappointed and angry about what she did.” His body had tensed, and Jenna gave his shoulder a light squeeze. He tightened his arm around her, bringing her breasts flush against his chest. “I guess I thought the more passionate, long-haul kind of love would happen eventually. And being friends wasn’t a bad basis for a marriage.”
“Fair enough,” Jenna said, raising her voice, not her head. “But only if both parties agree.” She felt a bit drowsy...from the music, she supposed, and Rick’s warm body. “They both threw us under a bus tonight.”
They kept on dancing their own slow way when the music changed and Katrina and the Waves started singing “Walking on Sunshine.”
“Maybe you can salvage this thing,” she said, tilting her head back to look at him. “You might want to check your messages. I mean, you’re in Boston. You’re probably going to be sleeping in the same hotel bed. Eventually.”
“Well, that’s one way of looking at things.”
“And the other?”
He smiled his Danger Bond smile. “You and I go back to the apartment together.”
* * *
RICK WAS ALMOST sorry they’d left the MIT suite. It was too easy to think without constant distractions. But he knew Jenna had to be exhausted, and not just because it was 2:00 a.m.
The lobby traffic had dwindled, because it seemed everyone was outside in the freezing cold waiting for transportation. The longest line by far was the queue for taxis and he could barely hear the piped-out Christmas carols for the sound of whistles.
The idea of hypothermia, mixed with the daunting proposition of checking his texts and calls, made him wish they’d stuck with booze instead of switching to shellfish. But he couldn’t leave Boston without talking to Faith. “What do you think?” he asked. “Should we get in line?”
They were still inside the hotel near the front exit. Jenna had her cell phone out and from the number of tone notifications, Payton hadn’t spent all of the last two hours kissing Faith.
“I’ve got nineteen texts and six voice mails, none of which I plan on reading. Well, maybe a couple, But my intention is to text him to let him know I’ve made other arrangements for the rest of the morning.”
“Sounds about right. So, since I’m also just checking a few of Faith’s texts, we should probably get in that insane line.”
Jenna shivered preemptively. “Does that second bedroom have a heated blanket? Or a fireplace?”
“You’ll be fine,” he said. “I promise. Besides, the cab will be heated.” With great reluctance, he turned on his phone. He had his own pile of unread, unheard messages. Checking the first three and the last three texts should give him all the information he needed. If Faith was truly stranded, he wasn’t going to leave her here, even if it would make for the world’s most awkward cab ride. He didn’t want to think about the sleeping arrangements, but he’d do his best to make the night as comfortable as possible for the three of them. “I’ve got twelve texts and nine voice mails.”
She took a step toward the exit, and then just stopped. “Huh. What if it’s not all apologies?”
“What do you mean?”
“The way they looked at each other? Maybe they’ve reconnected with their soul mates. Maybe they’re writing us to say goodbye.”
“I doubt it. They chased after us, remember?”
“Right.” She nodded as she led the way to the porte cochere.
The cold was like a sucker punch. Sadly, he’d learned a lot about that feeling tonight. But they found the end of the taxi line and he opened the first of the texts.
I’m so so sorry!
The second was straightforward and typed at 12:13 a.m.
Where are you?
At half past midnight the tone shifted.
I’m starting to get worried
It probably made him a horrible person, but instead of feeling guilty, he was glad. He swiped through until he found the last three texts. But the first of those was all he needed:
I’m with Payton and he’s letting me stay at his place
He turned off the phone. Moved a whole quarter of an inch forward, trying to save not only their place without disturbing Jenna, but also gain some distance from the man behind them. Nothing was shady about the guy, but he got inside their personal space bubble. And as soon as Rick could, he moved his wallet to a safer inside pocket.
But all that was nothing, really. He looked over at Jenna. She was texting so he couldn’t see her expression. Couldn’t read her through her heavy woolen coat. Was she telling Payton to go to hell? Accepting his apologies?
When she did meet his gaze again, she’d put her phone back in her purse and donned her gloves. “We’ve hardly moved. At this rate, we’ll still be in line next New Year’s Eve.”
She seemed fine. Subdued, but fine.
“We could take our chances with Uber.” He’d used the services of the app-generated taxi service before, but not on a major holiday.
“That’s true. I imagine we’d find a ride sooner that way. But I don’t know. I think we should walk.”
He laughed out loud, evidently annoying Mr. Oblivious behind them. Rick didn’t care. What he should do was tell the inconsiderate bastard to just move. But first he said, “You’re joking, right? The apartment isn’t around the corner. It would be a challenge in the middle of spring, and, if you haven’t realized, it’s snowing.”
Jenna shook her head. “What kind of a weather chaser are you? So it’s cold out. We’ll walk fast.”
The man behind him snorted.
Rick tensed and turned on the guy, ready to teach him a thing or two about manners. But the guy was completely absorbed by something on his tablet, and not paying any attention to Rick or Jenna.
Stepping to the side to regain his equilibrium, Rick wasn’t sure if he should laugh his ass off or find a therapist. Normally, it took a hell of a lot more than inconsiderate line movers to make him Hulk out. Perhaps he wasn’t quite as Zen about Faith’s midnight kiss as he’d thought.
Turning to Jenna, it also occurred to him that her impulse to walk to the financial district wasn’t such a crazy idea. They both had a lot to process and he knew of no better way to unclutter his mind. “Okay. Let’s go for it,” he said. “We can always defrost when we get to the apartment.”
Her expression changed from that self-contained cool to ready, willing and able. She started walking as fast as those stupidly high shoes would let her. And that was pretty darn fast. It actually took him a few seconds to catch up to her. When he did, she turned on him so sharply he nearly ran in to her.
She grabbed his lapels and yanked him even closer. “Whose stupid idea was this? It’s freezing out here. We’ll never make it to the corner, let alone your fancy-ass apartment.”
He laughed, and then kissed her very cold lips. But that was just a peck while he unbuttoned his coat all the way down. The second the last button was undone, he pulled her against his body. Then he closed the coat, making them a warm cocoon. “Better?”
“Oh, yes,” she mumbled against his collar. “How are you going to call Uber?” Adjusting her head so she wasn’t smothering herself, she said, “Keep in mind, I’m not letting you go.”
Unable to resist, he bent and maneuvered them a small but crucial distance. One that changed a gentle forehead kiss into a fiery, no-holds-barred stunner of a kiss.
Everything disappeared. The street, the cold, the whistles and the horns. There was just Jenna with her death grip on his tux, meeting his tongue thrusts with her parries until they were both dizzy with lust.
And then...
“You want to carry that inside, fella? This is a public street you’re on.”
He only opened one eye, just in case the voice was in his head. But no. It was one of Boston’s finest.
He hated moving her away, but there was nothing to be done but to call Uber and freeze as they waited for their ride.
5
“YOU’RE NOT GOING to believe this apartment,” Rick said. “Describing it as state-of-the-art doesn’t begin to cover it. Maybe in four or five years the technology will be commonplace. At this point it’s still a prototype.”
“How did you get so lucky?” she asked, sliding closer to him as the Uber taxi, a very clean town car, took a turn. “Every room in the city must be booked tonight.”
“I’m testing it out for my friend Sam, who designed it. We went to MIT together.”
“Does Sam live there?”
Rick shook his head. “But I meant it when I said you’d be fine. The second bedroom is huge and it’s got an en suite that, well, you’ll have to experience for yourself.”
“Oh,” she said, scooting a few inches back to her side. “So it’s definite, then. You’d prefer I take the second bedroom?”
“I want you to be comfortable,” he said. “Whatever you choose.”
Now that was part of the problem, wasn’t it? Jenna had no idea what she wanted. Every time she thought about Payton the hurt hit her full-force. And then here was Rick, being so wonderful, his pretty eyes making all sorts of promises she didn’t doubt he’d keep.
If she wanted him to.
They hadn’t waited ten minutes before their cab arrived, and now they were on their way to Boston’s financial district, where this magical apartment was located. She could hardly believe she’d agreed to go with him. The idea of running off with a strange man when no one knew where she’d be was about three floors higher than insane. Speaking of... “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to text my friend Ally as to our destination.”
Even that would be tricky. Ally was her closest friend but Jenna wasn’t anxious to explain the circumstances. Of course Ally would find out sooner or later. Unless things somehow worked out with Payton.
The thought stopped her. This wasn’t the first time she’d considered the possibility, but his text messages hadn’t helped. In fact, she wasn’t considering anything, really. Not even the enormous risk she was taking by going to the apartment with Rick.
She realized he was staring at her and she pulled out her phone to find another text from Payton, a voice mail, as well. Both time-stamped between now and the last time she’d checked at the hotel. Was she making a huge mistake? Payton might deserve a chance for forgiveness even if she couldn’t see it now. He’d never given her any indication that he was a cheater.
Well, of course he hadn’t. That’s why tonight had been such a shock. But that he had the potential for doing something so hurtful wasn’t easily forgotten. Trust had been shattered, and entering into a marriage with a man she couldn’t trust was unthinkable. If she stayed the night with Rick, Payton might not be the only one who needed forgiveness. Was that something she wanted?”
“What’s wrong?” Rick asked, and she warmed at his concern.
“I’m getting sober.”
“We’re not far from the apartment. There’s a great bottle of champagne in the fridge, plus a very well-stocked bar. In fact, I know I saw Kahlúa on the shelf, vodka in the freezer and cream in the fridge.”
“That’s oddly specific.”
He grinned. “There are also cocktail onions, green olives, limes, lemons, Tabasco, celery and God knows what else. Everything the modern alcoholic needs at his fingertips.”
“Good to know. But I’m also feeling pretty sure that while I have no desire to see Payton right now or go back to my place, I’m going to have to talk to him at some point.”
Rick shifted a bit on the seat, giving her some room. It was dark and snowing outside their taxi, and she wished she had more than her cell phone, twenty dollars and a credit card on her. Like a toothbrush, some panties and makeup remover wouldn’t have been unwelcome.
“We can turn this taxi around,” Rick said, his voice soft enough she doubted the cabbie heard him. “Take you where you’d feel safer. It’s fine. I’d understand.”
“It’s coming down pretty hard,” she said, as the options played slowly in her head. Try to make it back to her place in Scituate? It wasn’t too far, a twenty-five-minute drive if the weather was good and it wasn’t rush hour. But with this snow? She was used to rough weather, she’d lived in Massachusetts all her life, and yet this snow felt colder. She could only see Rick’s face when the light posts hit the window at a certain angle. She read Payton’s last text.
I don’t understand why you’re not replying. I’ve apologized in every way possible. Honestly, it was nothing. A whim. A poor decision. Yet I don’t know where you are, who you’re with, what you’re doing. For God’s sake, Jenna, stop being ridiculous. Look, I don’t blame you for being angry. But enough is enough.
Ridiculous.
Why was it every time she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel over an argument, her behavior was ridiculous. When he did the same thing, he’d chalk it up to his stubborn streak, the one that worked like a charm while buying cars or engagement rings.
The burn in her veins was very welcome. It made every decision from here on out easier.
“Tell you what,” Rick said, surprising her. “Once we’re inside, I’ll pour us each a large glass of water accompanied by two aspirins. Maybe by candlelight, haven’t decided yet. Then we’ll reevaluate our options.”
“And what about the storm?”
Rick’s arm went around her shoulders. It was illogical to thin
k he could instantly make her warmer, given the car’s excellent heating and her heavy coat. But it happened nonetheless.
“Right. Yes. The storm. Which I know quite a bit about. So, no, if we don’t zip you home now, it’s going to be difficult to get anywhere for the next few days.”
He kept his expression neutral. Mostly.
She took hold of his elegant tuxedo lapels and pulled him into a kiss.
* * *
NORMALLY, HE’D WANT to show off the apartment first thing because it was spectacular, but there was more at stake than his excitement over the pad’s whiz-bang gadgets. It was enough that the fireplace in the living room was already ablaze when they walked in. That the subdued lighting and soothing music had appeared without him having to touch a single switch. Everywhere Jenna looked, there would be something beautiful, from the modern industrial kitchen to the wall above the fireplace, which was showing live scenes from downtown Boston complete with a scroll describing the current weather.
“That’s not a TV,” she said as she undid her coat.
“You’re right,” he said. “And it gets better. But first, water. Then champagne? Or a cocktail?”
“Just the water, thanks,” she said. “With aspirin. That was a great idea. Do you mind if I finish going through my texts at the table?”
“Not at all. But I think you might be more comfortable on the couch. It’ll warm you up faster. If you’d like me to disappear for a while...”
“You’ve already seen me crying with makeup all over my face.” The way she looked at him made him still. He hoped he hadn’t pushed too hard. Finally, she shook her head. “You don’t have to leave. But I want to give you your privacy, as well.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen or my bedroom.” He pointed to a door across from the large living room. “The bathroom’s there,” he said. “The second bedroom is through the door on the right.”
“Got it, thanks. This place is huge. It must cost a fortune.”
“Just about,” he said. “Or it will when Sam works out all the bugs. We’re only the third people who’ve stayed in it. At the end of our stay, we fill out a survey, which is very specific and long. Totally worth every moment spent. Then Sam will make adjustments, and there will be at least two more test runs. All old friends from our MIT days.”
