by Stella Rhys
I drew in a deep breath. “That even if Julian Hoult did feel some tiny fraction of a thing for me, he would probably be really good at forcing himself to forget it if he had to. I mean look at who he is, where he’s gotten himself. I’m a workaholic, but he’s a machine, and a month-long whirlwind isn’t going to affect a machine. It’s just going to bounce off of him because he’s made of steel. That’s what it takes to run an empire like his. Right?”
I looked over to find Lia quiet and hugging her knees to her chest, as if I’d just hurt her feelings.
“Jesus, girl,” she said. “That’s not the attitude.”
I heaved a sigh and shrugged. “Sorry. I just want to be a big girl about it now, so it doesn’t hurt me later.”
“I get it,” she said in a small voice. “You know I totally get that. I just…” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “I wouldn’t have snagged Lukas without you pushing me and being the little troublemaker you were,” she smirked. “Sometimes I think about what might have slipped through my fingers if you didn’t force me to woman up and just go for it with him. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and after all the shit you’ve been through, I just want the best thing to happen to you.”
“Daw. Lia.” I wiggled my lips to hide the fact that she’d just made me emotional. “I appreciate that,” I said as she flashed me a pout that said “sorry,” because she knew I didn’t like getting mushy or weepy. I smiled. “But hey, have you ever considered that maybe you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”
“Oh, I agree wholeheartedly I am,” she said to make me laugh. “But I’m the best thing in a different category. There’s a few. Social life, love life and career.”
“Jesus, you have it all,” I realized. “You dirty whore.”
“Ha! Is this a bad time to say that Lukas is texting and wants us to leave now for the Hamptons?”
“No, it’s not a bad time, because I’m thoroughly done talking to you,” I joked, ruffling her hair as we got up from the benches. “Go furnish that beautiful beach house of yours, you domestic little thing.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with? I can tell Lukas to wait till five.”
“Absolutely not. You’d hit rush hour. Also, I’d puke out the window within the first two minutes of watching you two googly eye each other.”
“We do get pretty gross sometimes,” Lia admitted with a snort. “Alright, woman. Then enjoy your Friday and the rest of your weekend without being a Negative Nancy, alright?” she said firmly, narrowing her eyes at me. “No overanalyzing things while I’m not here to talk it out with you. Just…” She held her hands out in some zen meditation pose. “Enjoy the now.”
“I’ll enjoy the now even more if you get out of here already.”
“Rude. Hug me goodbye!” Lia demanded, which I of course did, throwing in a bunch of kisses on the cheek before sending her off.
After a long day of conference calls with Colin and the people from the Biarritz resort, I was exhausted. It felt like the realest day of work I’d had thus far, and it didn’t help that Julian was out at meetings since the morning. I didn’t realize how much slower time passed without him around to occasionally glance at.
Or, of course, sneak office quickies with.
“Wow. Weather’s gonna be nice this weekend,” Colin said, looking at the forecast on his phone as we headed for the elevator. “Any plans?” he asked.
“Actually, no,” I realized with a wince of disappointment.
“Aw man. Why not?”
I laughed. “Probably because I’m still not used to having weekends. I worked at least six days a week at my last job, and if I had Sundays off, it was strictly for decompressing,” I said, silently marveling at how incredibly long ago that felt. “Also, now that I actually have some free time, my best friend is the one who’s always busy. She and her boyfriend just bought a house out in the Hamptons, so they’re always out there.”
“Wow! Very nice,” Colin remarked as we stepped in the elevator. “On the bright side, we get to go to sunny Biarritz, France on Monday.”
“Yes! God, it came up so fast. I really can’t wait. I haven’t been out of the country in ages.”
“Well, you’ll love it there. And Julian’s pretty cool about giving employees time to explore when they’re on business trips.”
“Yeah?” I smiled. “That’s nice of him.”
“Yeah, he’s a great boss. Can’t really beat working for him.”
I nodded and went quiet.
It was an innocuous remark, but it was yet another reminder that at some point, I would no longer be working for Julian. And as ridiculous as it was to miss something before it was even gone, I was very much starting to do that.
“Alright, Sara, enjoy your weekend!” Colin waved goodbye when the elevator finally opened to the lobby.
“You too!” I called after him as he rushed out of the building, presumably to meet his roommates he mentioned having plans with.
Walking through the lobby, I listened to the thunderous clacking of what sounded like a thousand pairs of shoes on marble. It was the usual Friday dash, when tower employees controlled their urge to just race for the doors and start the weekend already. It made me naturally antsy to walk faster myself, despite the fact that I had gorgeous eighty-degree weather and absolutely nowhere to go.
Balls. I made a face to myself, realizing how bummed I actually was about this.
But when I emerged from the tower, my eyes were immediately drawn toward a gleaming black sedan parked directly in front of its doors.
For reasons I couldn’t understand yet, a smile twitched onto my lips.
I had never in my life felt as if a car was watching me, but for some reason, I felt that now as I squinted at the tinted backseat windows. I didn’t even realize my feet had gravitated across the sidewalk to the car till I was standing at its passenger door and watching the window roll down.
“Hi there,” Julian greeted me from the far end of the backseat.
“Hi,” I returned, unable to restrain my smile. He looked so sexy just sitting there with his jacket on but his tie off, and those blue eyes glinting at me with a hint of mischief. My heart skipped because I knew right away that he’d been waiting for me. I read his intentions from the first second I saw him. But for perhaps the sake of amusement, we went through the formality of small talk.
“How was your day?” Julian asked.
“Good,” I said, the cool breeze blowing hair out of my face. “And how was yours, Mr. Hoult?”
“Good as well,” Julian replied with a smirk.
“Glad to hear it,” I nodded.
The same knowing grin curved our lips as I simply stood on the sidewalk, the two of us eyeing each other for another beat of silence before Julian laughed and said, “Do you have plans tonight?”
A smile burst onto my lips.
“Not at all,” I replied as I heard the sound of him unlocking the doors.
“Good. Then get in.”
20
JULIAN
I stood back on my heels as I enjoyed my view of Sara standing in the middle of the lot, turning slowly around and around in that blue skirt as she took everything in.
“Julian… I don’t even know how to react to this right now,” she murmured as she floated over to the Hellcat.
From the tower, we had taken the car to more cars – specifically the ones in my garage on Eleventh Avenue. The moment I’d flicked the lights on in the lot, Sara had been locked in a trance. The slow click of her heels echoed in the large space as she wandered in awe, mostly silent with her hands folded in front of her.
“You look like you’re on your first field trip to the museum.”
“Quiet. You realize this is amazing, right?”
“I do enjoy it.” I slid my hands in my pockets as I made my way toward her. “I also enjoy how you’ve paid no attention to the cars thus far. They were more of what I had in mind when I asked you t
o pick our ride for tonight.”
“But I want this,” Sara whispered longingly, running her hands along the hand-stitched leather seat of what was in fact my favorite bike. “Why do we have to take a car? Look how beautiful this thing is.”
“While you have impeccable taste, that’s an F131 Hellcat Combat, and it has no passenger seat, so I promise you, we’re not taking that,” I said, giving a laugh as she promptly stalked off to find a different bike to admire.
“Hm. Something tells me you ride motorcycles for the express purpose of being alone,” she observed dryly, and correctly, after passing three more with no passenger seat. “Uh-oh. Look what I found,” she lilted as she made her way to my Norton Commando. A wicked curl touched her lips as she ran her fingertips along the passenger seat. “Looks like we have a winner.”
“Sara. I’d prefer something with doors. And seat belts.”
She flashed a teasing smile as she mounted the Norton in her skirt. Christ.
“Why? You ride these things,” she pointed out.
“Yes. I do.”
“Well, if you’re not worried about your safety, then no need to worry about mine.”
“We’ve established I have difficulty with this,” I said, but I’d already lost her attention at this point. That curtain of dark hair fell over her shoulder as she tilted her head to look at something.
“Oh. Norton,” she murmured with familiarity.
“You know it?”
“Not really. It’s just my dad had a Norton belt growing up,” she said, her voice lost in memory. “It had this logo and a little British flag.”
“He had a bike?”
“Definitely not, but he was British. Still is, as far as I know.”
I smirked as I watched her lean over and wrap her fingers around the handlebars.
“Not sure why I didn’t expect your parents to be Brits.”
“They’re not. Just Dad. Mom is from a tiny, tiny, mountain village that Dad was photographing many years ago during his travels,” she said wistfully, sounding as if she were reciting the way the story was told to her growing up. I smiled as I imagined Sara’s big eyes on a mini version of herself.
“Was your dad a photographer?” I asked.
“Not at all,” she laughed. “He was an eighteen-year-old gap year backpacker when he met my poor, unsuspecting mom. She says she didn’t like him at all the first summer they met. He was loud and excitable and a little overwhelming. But despite how young he was, he said she was ‘too pretty to just forget,’ so he kept visiting her summer after summer till she started finding his quirks charming enough to move to London with him.”
“That’s some serious persistency.”
“Yeah, my dad is… whimsical, as he likes to say. He’s a lawyer who loves his colorful socks and chatting anyone’s ear off. Says ‘he’s never met a stranger.’ He’s that guy.”
“Mm. Yeah, I’m familiar with that guy.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sara giggled as she tried the foot pegs on the bike. “Meanwhile, my mom trusts no one in this world. Except him. You’ll never see her admit it, because she’s as ridiculously stoic as you are,” Sara glanced at me with a grin, “but she still finds my dad to be so very charming and ‘unbearably funny,’ as she says. It’s cute.”
“Sounds like my parents,” I smiled.
“Forever in love?”
“Yes.”
Sara let out a breath. “That’s the way to be.”
“So I hear. You’re in heels, by the way.”
“What?”
“You’re not exactly dressed to ride a motorcycle tonight.”
She blinked, as if still processing the topic change.
“Oh. I have a change of shoes in my purse.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Any girl in heels who’s carrying a big purse has flats or sneakers in it. I guarantee you.”
I eyed her. “Your pencil skirt doesn’t lend well to mounting a bike.”
“I’ve mounted you in this skirt.”
I held in a groan. “Listen, everything you’re doing on that bike right now is already going straight to my cock, so for the sake of getting to our plans on time, don’t talk about mounting me,” I said as she tipped her head forward and giggled. “Tell me why you’re hell-bent on taking the bike tonight.”
“Because you said you’re choosing where we go, so I get to choose how we get there,” Sara said simply. “And I choose this. Also, I’ve kind of been obsessed with motorcycles since high school,” she grinned dreamily.
“Also unexpected.”
“Yeah, well, I fantasized in great detail about escaping that place,” she murmured distractedly. But I saw the way she blinked when she caught herself. I cocked my head.
“Escaping what place?”
She looked at me. “Save for speedboats, motorcycles are also the coolest form of getaway in heist movies,” she said brightly, purposely ignoring my question. “So, a hundred percent, we’re taking this bike. And if you’re concerned about it being my first ride, it’s not. So, done. It’s decided.”
I had to admire her determination.
“Fine. But you’re wearing a helmet, and I’m going to teach you the proper way to mount and ride as a passenger. Most importantly, when I lean, you lean. Don’t try to balance me by going the opposite way. Even if you feel like we’re about to fall, which you will.”
Sara narrowed her eyes at me.
“Are you trying to scare me out of this?” she questioned as I laughed.
“Somewhat. Last chance to back out.”
“Never,” she whispered dramatically.
“You don’t even know where we’re going,” I smirked. She smiled as she cocked her head at me quizzically.
“What difference does that make?”
21
SARA
To answer my own question: a big one.
The location of our night made a big difference, because apparently, we were off to a place Emmett had recently invested in called Blue Harbor. It was a newly built restaurant and bar styled like a swanky living room, complete with enormous bay windows and an open deck facing the water. It was apparently becoming quite the hot spot this summer.
It was also located in the Hamptons, more than two hours away.
I was stunned when Julian dropped that on me, and very much intimidated. But I had also talked a pretty big game at the garage, so I refused to back down – and I was thankful for that once our ride started.
Because from the very first second Julian accelerated onto the highway, the exhilaration never stopped.
Eyes open or closed, it felt like I was flying.
It was such a cliché, but I really felt wild and free – by far the most alive I’d ever felt in my life. The never-ending rush of adrenaline was almost suffocating as I rode behind Julian, my arms wrapped around his strong torso and my palms soaking in every clench of his core when we leaned into a turn.
We were completely exposed to the elements as we zipped past cars and trucks and eighteen-wheelers, but any fear of the road had dispersed the moment I laid my chest against his back. I felt safe with him. Whatever unique, Julian-esque confidence emanated from him on a daily basis seeped into my skin as we sped through the open road, under the pinkish glow of the setting sun.
You’re dreaming.
I kept telling myself that. I kept closing my eyes to process it all, but every time I opened them, the amazement hit me again. The deepening hues of the sunset hit me again, and the fact that I was leaving the city with Julian hit me hardest every time. With my chin on his shoulder and the wind in my face, I felt every bit like the luckiest girl in the world.
And considering the thrill of the ride, it was hard to believe that there was more than this planned.
The best was still yet to come.
The sun was almost fully set by the time we stopped at a gas station for a much-needed break. My ass was actually buzzing from the vibration of the seat, and I had to laugh at m
yself as I privately spanked some life back into it inside the bathroom.
LIA: Damn it woman why are your texts always so cryptic? You look very cute but where the heck are you?? Tell me!!
I snorted at Lia’s text. I had sent her a bathroom selfie as a belated thank you for the Daisy Dukes she’d dropped off at the office for me two weeks ago, during the heat wave. I had finally stuffed them into my purse to bring home after work today, and thank God for that, because riding a motorcycle in a pencil skirt would have sucked ass.
Also, the skirt just wouldn’t have looked quite as cute with Julian’s soft white tee.
I was wearing it on top, and as I smiled at my reflection in the mirror, I swore I could very well wear this outfit forever. It was cute and comfy, especially paired with my red Converses, but more than anything, it served as a reminder that today was real. An hour into the ride, and I still felt like I was in a dream. It felt like a scene from a movie I would’ve been obsessed with as a teen. Texting Lia was almost a figurative way of pinching myself, just to show myself that this was in fact real.
ME: What are you up to tonight?
LIA: Emmett’s up here so we’re at dinner with him. Super gorgeous restaurant called Blue Harbor. I seriously can’t wait to bring you. I wish you were here!!
LIA: Where are youuuu
I was all too amused with myself as I purposely ignored Lia’s last text, slipping my phone in my pocket as I walked out into the convenience store, where I spotted two women in big sun hats and striped beach covers huddled over by the window.
Oh, yeah. Totally with you ladies, I laughed to myself when I realized they were staring out the window at Julian. Back at the garage, he had changed into a casual outfit as well – a white T-shirt, black leather jacket and dark grey jeans. It was the kind of casual look that I never imagined him wearing, but obviously, he wore the hell out of it.
He looked even better now with the last of the sunset hitting him as he waited for me outside, leaning against the side of the bike.
“Good Lord,” I had to murmur with a little grin to myself. Was it weird to take a picture? Whatever. I did, and with the sound on, too. When a man looked that good, this kind of shamelessness was warranted.
