“In the interests of getting the line moving.”
“Exactly. Plus, he had a great ass. When he turned around, the front view was just as great. Six-two, dirty blond hair, deep green eyes, killer smile and dimples. He was all kinds of polite gratitude and had the most amazing accent. Turns out he’s from Australia and he’s been in New York six months working for some international bank. He invited me to join his party, so I helped him carry his drinks. His party consisted of his two sisters, his brother and sister-in-law who were visiting from Down Under and one of Mark’s male coworkers.”
Mallory smiled. “I can see that you had a great time.”
“Great is a gross understatement. I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed so much. They were all so nice-and they thought my accent was cool!” She shook her head and chuckled. “As for Mark…wow. Can you believe he insisted on paying me back my dollar? Said he couldn’t let a ‘lydee’ pay for his food.” She patted her chest. “Be still my heart. He’s funny, smart, gorgeous, and so gentlemanly and polite. And he’s employed. And he’s heterosexual. And he’s interested in me.”
“He sounds terrific.”
“Right. Which means there’s got to be something horribly wrong with him.”
Mallory laughed. “Maybe he’s just a terrific guy. I know they’re an endangered species, but there are still a few of them out there. Probably. So where were you when the lights went out?”
“We were all still at the beach. When the radio announcements advised people not to drive, we just stayed there.”
“All night?”
“Yup. They had a cooler filled with drinks, bags of chips and pretzels, so we were set. Everybody else eventually fell asleep, but Mark and I stayed up the whole night talking. I swear, it felt like we’d known each other for years. Total clickage between us. And wow, does he know how to kiss.” She heaved a dreamy sigh. “I’m telling you, Mal, this guy’s totally knocked me silly. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Every time he looked at me I felt positively woozy.”
“Believe me, I know the feeling.”
Kellie’s gaze sharpened. “Well, since you haven’t met Mark, you must be talking about Adam. Your turn to spill. Tell me everything.”
There was no point in sugarcoating it-Kellie would see through that in a heartbeat. “The night was…amazing. He was amazing. Exactly as I remembered, only better. Charming, sweet, thoughtful. We talked and laughed, reminisced about the past-”
“And the sex was…?”
“Amazing.”
“When are you seeing him again?”
The question brought a hollow pang to her midsection. “I don’t know that I am.”
“Ha-ha. When?”
“Seriously, I don’t know that I am.” She gave her a quick recap of how they’d left things. When she finished, Kellie shook her head.
“Mal, I understand you not wanting to put your life on hold, but it sounds like you and Adam have something special. Don’t forget that eighty-eight percent, ‘One Who Got Away’ statistic.”
“In this case, away is the operative word. Pretty hard to figure out if you have something special with an ocean between you. And I’m not about to sit around for three months while he’s off discovering European women.”
“He’ll be back.”
“And then he’ll be gone again. Or moving to Hawaii, or somewhere else.”
“Surely after three months in Europe he’ll be all traveled out. Maybe you could persuade him not to go away again.”
That brought her up short. And had her heart lurching. Persuade him not to go away again? “I…I don’t know. I haven’t had enough time to sit down and really think it through.”
“Well, you need to. If he’s ‘The One Who Got Away,’ you don’t want him to get away again. Chances are he found last night as amazing as you did. Which means that you’ll be on his mind. Which means that when he gets home and sees you again, he might not be so anxious to go jetting off somewhere else or moving thousands of miles away. You said he wants to leave Manhattan-he didn’t say he wanted to leave New York. Give the man a reason to want to stay. As for his trip, don’t forget-absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Don’t forget-out of sight, out of mind.”
“From what you told me, which was pretty stingy on the sexy details by the way, you will not be out of his mind.”
“Three months is a long time.”
“But it’s not forever.”
Mallory huffed out a laugh. “You have an answer for everything.”
“Yes, I do. It’s part of my charm.” She batted her eyes. “Mark particularly liked it. He thought I was smart and savvy.”
“You are.”
“So are you.”
Mallory managed a limp smile. “Thanks.” But she didn’t feel smart or savvy. Darn it, she felt like a deflated balloon, which was precisely what she didn’t want to feel like. And it was all Adam’s fault. Blowing back into her life with his sexy grin and blue eyes and everything that made him so irresistible, reigniting all the feelings she thought she’d buried, then breezing out again, leaving her reeling as if her emotions had been battered in a windstorm.
Well, he was gone and there was nothing she could do about that.
Or was there?
ADAM PACED AROUND Nick’s kitchen, feeling like a large animal penned in a too-small cage.
“Dude, you’ve been here for ten minutes and done nothing but pace,” Nick said. “Watching you is giving me a crick in my neck. Something’s obviously bothering you, so why don’t you just spit it out-preferably before I need a chiropractor.”
Adam halted and a sheepish smile pulled at him. “Sorry.”
Nick waved away his apology with his longneck beer bottle. “No problem. But my sleep deprivation is making my attention span about three minutes, so if you wanna talk-which I’m assuming you do since you’re still here-you’d better get started.”
Adam pulled in a deep breath then slowly exhaled. “I don’t really know what to say because I’m not sure what’s wrong.”
“It’s simple. If you know something’s wrong, but you can’t put your finger on what it is-”
“Exactly.”
“Then it’s a woman.” Nick looked him up and down, his brows raising slightly when they hit the grass stains on the knees of his jeans. “Doesn’t look like you got much sleep last night-something I can relate to, although I bet your lack of z’s had nothing to do with a crying baby.”
“I spent the night with Mallory.”
“Ah. Can’t say I’m surprised. From the looks of you, it either went amazingly good or amazingly bad.”
“There was nothing bad about it.” Except that it had ended. And the way his damn insides had been knotted since he’d left her.
“For a guy who had an amazingly good night, you don’t look too happy.”
“I guess the problem is that I’d kinda like to have another amazingly good night.” Kinda? He barely refrained from looking at the ceiling at that whopper of an understatement.
“I’m sure you’ll find some gorgeous European women who’ll be happy to oblige you.”
“I meant with Mallory.”
“Oh.” Nick shrugged and took a pull on his beer. “So give her a call. You’re not leaving till tomorrow.”
“I thought about it, but…” He dragged his hands through his hair. Damn, he’d thought of little else.
“But you’re needing some space.”
“Yeah. I need to think-”
“And you can’t think around her.”
Adam stared at his bleary-eyed friend. “When the hell did you become clairvoyant?”
“I’m not. But I know the symptoms. I do have some experience with women-having married one and all. Besides, you’re just easy to read.”
“Really? Well, good. Tell me what I’m thinking because I have no freakin’ idea and it’s driving me nuts.”
“Okay. This chick has you all fired up and you�
�re bummed because you’re hot for her, but the timing sucks because you’re going away tomorrow.”
“All true. But it’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Look, put it in perspective, man. You’re going to Europe-another word for ‘place where hot women dwell.’ So enjoy yourself and call Mallory when you get back.”
“She might not be around three months from now.”
“She’s falling off the face of the earth?”
“She might meet someone else while I’m gone.”
“You might meet someone else while you’re gone. As for Mallory, keep in touch with her while you’re away to keep those home fires stoked. Phone her from Italy. E-mail her from France. Listen, chances are by the time you make it through those two countries you won’t even remember Mallory’s name.”
Adam shook his head. “I don’t think there’s much chance of that.”
“Oh. Well, then you’re screwed.”
“Meaning what?”
Nick held his hand to his ear. “What’s that sound I hear? Oh, yeah. The death knell tolling for your bachelor days. Believe me, I know. I heard that same sound. Annie and I were married six months later.”
Adam frowned. “I’m trying to be serious here.”
“So am I. And you know what? That sound was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“But I’m not ready for that. I’m supposed to be resting. Relaxing. Living it up as a bachelor. Dating a slew of gorgeous women. Figuring out what I want to do with my life and where I want to do it.”
“Good for you. Nobody’s stopping you.”
Adam nodded. “That’s right.”
“Your head’s just messed up from a combination of too little sleep and too much sex.”
“That’s right.”
“Totally feeling your pain on the too-little-sleep thing. No sympathy whatsoever on the too-much-sex thing.”
“Understandable.” Adam let out a long, slow breath. “Mallory would never move from Long Island.”
“So the tiki bar in Hawaii would be out?”
“’Fraid so.”
“Maybe Long Island needs a tiki bar.”
“Maybe.” He studied his friend for several long seconds. “How’d you know Annie was the one?”
Nick made a helpless gesture with his beer bottle. “I just…knew. I was happy when she was around and miserable when she wasn’t. Every other woman just sort of faded away and I had no interest in being with anyone else. She was my best friend and I wanted to have sex with her-a great combination that I can only describe as the best of both worlds.” He clapped his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “It’s what I’d wish for you. You think maybe you’ve found it?”
“I…don’t know.”
“This woman scares you.”
“Yeah. She scared me nine years ago, too.”
“And you let her get away. Might want to think about if you want to do the same thing again now. But hey, you’ve got the next three months to think about it.”
“Right. Any advice?”
“About women? Yeah. After two years of marriage I can say with some authority that they want a guy who’ll provide chocolate and who will shut up when they’re talking. Never-and dude I can’t stress this enough-never say anything that can in any way ever be construed as suggesting ‘your ass looks big.’ Other than that, I have no clue.”
Adam raised his brows. “This is what you’ve come up with after two years of experience?”
“Believe me, there are guys who’ve been married twenty years who haven’t figured out those pearls I just cast before you.”
“I think I could have figured those little gems out on my own.”
“I don’t know. Women-they’re tough to figure out.” He nodded toward a photo of Annie holding Caroline. “But when you find the right one, they’re worth the effort. It just boils down to deciding what you really want. What’s going to make you happy.”
He slapped Adam on the back and nudged him toward the door. “Now go home and pack so I can catch a catnap with my wife before our daughter wakes up. Have a great trip and touch base every once in a while, okay?”
Adam departed and spent the drive back to Manhattan and the entire night mulling over Nick’s words. It just boils down to deciding what you really want. What’s going to make you happy.
All he needed to do was decide.
And after hours of soul-searching, he finally knew.
When dawn broke over the city, staining the sky in streaks of mauve and gold, he stood at the door of his apartment, holding the handle of his wheeled suitcase. With one last look around, he headed toward his car to drive to the airport.
15
Monday, 11:55 a.m.
MALLORY GLANCED at her office wall clock and pretended that she wasn’t thinking about Adam. Thank goodness her mother would be here in a few minutes. Lunch with Mom, telling her what she’d decided, would make the hours until she drove to the airport pass more quickly. She had a few things to say to Adam before his plane departed.
She hadn’t slept much last night, but at least she’d done a lot of soul-searching and had finally figured out what she wanted. Now all she had to do was tell him.
As she was the only agent in the office at the moment, she plopped her purse on her desk and started digging for her keys to lock up when she went to lunch. She’d just felt them at the bottom of her bag when the bell above the glass door chimed.
Expecting to see her mother, she looked up from her purse with a wide smile.
And went perfectly still.
Adam stood just inside the doorway. Adam looking big and strong and gorgeous, wearing a navy pinstripe suit, white dress shirt and maroon paisley tie. Carrying a tremendous bouquet that had to contain at least three dozen pale lavender roses, the same delicate shade as the single bud he’d given her Saturday night.
Her heart performed an intricate maneuver and she swallowed to find her voice. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” He walked toward her, his gaze steady on hers. Since her knees weren’t feeling too well, she leaned her hips against her desk and strove to appear exactly what she wasn’t-calm, cool and collected.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, proud of how smooth her voice sounded.
He stopped an arm’s length away and handed her the flowers. “I wanted to give you these.”
Their fingers touched when she took the tissue-wrapped bouquet, tingling awareness up her arm. “They’re beautiful,” she said, burying her face in the fragrant blooms. Then she lifted her head and smiled. “My birthday isn’t for months.”
“They’re to thank you. For a beautiful night.”
It took a great deal of effort not to heave out a gushy, feminine sigh. “In that case, I should have bought you flowers.”
“And I wanted to see you again.”
“How did you know where my office was?”
“I called your mom.”
“My mom? I would have told you.”
“And what sort of surprise would that have been? Besides, your mother and I had a great chat.”
Her radar instantly quivered. A chat? With her mother? Her mother who knew Adam had spent the night during the blackout? Her mother who was an expert at extracting details before you even realized you’d imparted them?
“You’ll be seeing her any minute,” she said, trying not to sound wary. “I’m expecting her at noon.” Her gaze drifted over his suit, purely in an observational sort of way. Certainly not in a “holy moly do you look incredible and my knees are sweating and I want you to kiss me so bad I think I’m drooling” sort of way. “You look more ready for a business meeting than a flight.”
His eyes appeared to darken. “I’m hoping to have a business meeting.”
“Before your plane departs? Boy, you have a tight schedule.”
“Actually, I have lots of time.” He lowered his chin then looked up at her, a boyish grin tugging at his lips.
Whew. Show her a woma
n who could resist that look and she’d show you a woman who…wasn’t her.
“What?” she asked.
“I have a confession to make.”
“I’m not a priest.”
He made a great show of looking around the empty office. “Since there doesn’t seem to be one available, I guess you’ll have to do. I’ve commandeered your lunch appointment. Your mom won’t be here any minute.”
“How do you know?”
“When I told her that I was hoping to take you to lunch, she very graciously offered to reschedule. She’ll call you later to find out what day this week is best for you.”
“So now you’re my lunch date?”
“If that’s okay.”
She was afraid even to consider how many ways it was okay. “Sure.” Her lips twitched. “But I was kind of looking forward to girl chatting with Mom about the big sale at Victoria’s Secret.”
“I’m more than happy to talk lingerie. Bras and panties? I’m your man.”
If only you were. “Well, as long as we’re making confessions, I have one of my own.” She drew a deep breath, then continued, “You said you wanted to see me again, and you would have. Even if you hadn’t come here.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
“I’d planned to go to the airport to see you off this evening. Wish you bon voyage.” Tell you what I stayed up all night thinking about.
Something flickered in his eyes. “I’m flattered.”
“So where do you want to go for lunch?”
“How about your place?”
Vrrrooooom . Her libido, which had snapped to attention the instant she’d seen him, revved like a race car. And suddenly her mind clicked, like puzzle pieces falling into place. Dressed in a suit, business meeting, go to her place…
Was he trying to make her fantasy that they’d talked about come true?
Whew. Who the heck had lit the blast furnace in here?
Crossing her arms over her chest-for balance, as opposed to, say, grabbing him-she raised her brows. “So lunch is a secret code word for nooner?” I hope, I hope, I hope.
“No,” he said, his expression perfectly serious with no hint of the heat that was scorching her. “There’re just some things I’d like to discuss with you and I’d prefer to do so in private.”
Why Not Tonight? Page 18
