by Alexa Davis
"It's quite the view," she yawned as she eyed the king-sized bed that sat waiting for her to climb in to it. "I'm sure I'll appreciate it better over coffee in the morning."
"You might," I said. I moved closer to her and slipping an arm around her waist as I held her gaze and murmured, "And, maybe even more so if you had company?"
I could feel her breathing against my chest as I stopped and waited for a sign that my advances were welcome. As I searched her face, I saw it – the hint of a yes that gave me the green light to bend down and brush my lips across hers so gently that I felt something inside me shift as I moved in to kiss her.
"Austin, no, I...I...I can't," she stuttered as she laid her palms on my chest and pushed me back.
"Oh, I see," I said backing up and trying not to show my utter disappointment. "I'm sorry, I read the signs wrong."
"No, no you didn't," she said as she moved closer and softly placed her hand on my cheek. "No, you read the signs exactly right. I just can't."
"I get it." I shrugged as I looked away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you when you're so tired."
"Austin, look at me," she said. I looked down into her beautiful soft brown eyes and felt lost as she spoke. "It's not that I don't want to, it's that..."
"It's that what?" I said impatiently. "Just tell me, I need to know what's going on."
"I can't because...," she said.
I stepped back and looked at her for a moment.
"I get it," I shrugged again. "No harm, no foul. I'm sorry I misread the signs."
"Austin?" she said in a tone that made me look back down at her for a moment. A moment was all it took for her to stretch all the way up on her tip-toes and kiss me on the lips. It was a soft kiss that held the promise of so much more than just lips touching, but she only kissed me once before she said, "You need to shut up and listen for a change."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emily
I held my breath as I felt torn between wanting so badly to give in and go wherever this moment would take us and my loyalty to a husband who didn't even seem to know I was alive. It had been so long since Tommy had looked at me like I was beautiful and attractive and now here was a man who had everything anyone could possible want and he wanted me.
Austin leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine, sending a shiver down my spine and causing an agonizing ache between my legs. I knew what it meant, but I was loath to acknowledge that it had been months since I'd felt anything even remotely like it. All I wanted was to feel his lips on mine and his arms around me pulling me tightly against his firm body as his hands stroked my skin. I wanted to feel something.
As he leaned in closer, I suddenly saw Tommy standing in the garage at home looking at me with the saddest expression – like I was letting him down. No, like I was letting us down. I raised my hands and put both palms on Austin's chest and stammered, "Austin, no, I...I...I can't."
He reacted the way I imagined he would, that is, he was hurt and defensive. I tried to soothe his bruised ego by telling him that he hadn't misread the signs, but I couldn't tell him why. I didn't feel like he'd understand my dilemma, and why would he? He was a gorgeous billionaire with a bevy of beauties vying for his attention and a huge corporation to run. If I told him about my miserable marriage and my middle of the road life, he'd simply smile and walk away.
"Oh, I see," he said backing away with a look of disappointment on his face. "I'm sorry, I read the signs wrong."
"No, no you didn't," I said as I moved closer and softly placed my hand on his cheek. "No, you read the signs exactly right. I just can't."
I looked up into his dark eyes and felt myself fighting the urge to stand on tiptoes, wrap my arms around his neck, and press my lips to his. I inhaled sharply as I touched him. I could feel the electricity coursing through my body and I quickly pulled my hand back.
"I get it," he shrugged as he looked away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you when you're so tired."
"Austin, look at me," I said. I took a deep breath and in a hesitant voice tried to explain, “It’s not that I don't want to, it's that..."
"It's that what?" he interrupted impatiently. "Just tell me, I need to know what's going on."
I wanted nothing more than to blurt out the whole tale of woe and find that he was a sympathetic listener, but I didn't know him well enough and I wasn't willing to take the chance. My gut told me that he would walk away, and I didn't want him to. And I especially didn't want him to walk away because he pitied me.
"I can't because...it's just not possible right now," I said. He stepped back and looked at me for a moment.
"Then why did you lead me on?" he asked defensively.
"I didn't," I said as I shook my head. "I didn't lead you on."
"I get it," he shrugged again. "No harm, no foul. I'm sorry I misread the signs."
"Austin," I whispered. "You didn't misread the signs."
"Yeah, sure," he replied as he rolled his eyes. He looked at me for a long moment, then turned and walked to the elevator and pressed the button. When the doors slid open, he stepped inside, pressed a button, and held my gaze until the doors slid shut.
I wanted to call out and stop him, but I knew that if I did, I'd have to explain everything and I wasn't ready to paint a picture of my life because I wasn't sure I wanted to see it myself.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Austin
I walked out of Emily's room and tried hard not to turn around and demand an explanation. If she didn't want to tell me what was going on, I sure as hell wasn't going to pressure her to tell me. Only a weak man would beg.
As I marched to the elevator and smashed my finger against the button, I tried to figure out why she'd rejected me and more importantly, how I'd misread the signals so completely. The doors quickly slid open and I stepped on, pressed the ground floor button, and then looked up at her and held her gaze until the doors slid shut.
I was quickly transported to the ground floor where I walked across the lobby to the bar. The bartender on duty nodded and brought me a glass of 12-year-old Balvenie without a word. I sat staring into my glass until a woman sat down next to me and said, "I'll have what he's having." She turned and looked at me for a long time, then looked back at the bartender and said, "Would you be so good as to bring him another one, Alec, and put it on my tab?"
"Oh you don't have to-" I protested.
"Darlin'," she said with an amused grin in a charming Southern U.S. accent. "When a woman offers to buy you a drink, you should be gracious enough to accept it."
"Of course," I said as I tipped my invisible hat to her. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Oh lord, do not even start with that ma'am crap," she drawled as she rolled her eyes and took a sip from the glass Alec set in front of her. "Do I look that old to you, mister?"
"No, ma-um, miss?" I chuckled as I stumbled over the words trying to find something that wouldn’t offend her and finally settling on, "What would you like me to call you?"
"Oh look, Alec," she called to the bartender. "We've got a boy with manners down on this end of the bar! What a hoot!"
I smiled and sipped my whiskey silently as I waited for her to tell me what she'd like to be called. She sipped hers, looking me up and down. She was a tall woman in her mid-forties with long honey blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was wearing a Herve Leger dress that probably just barely skimmed her thighs when she was standing and made me avert my eyes while she was seated. She wore an enormous diamond wedding ring that had to be at least five carats and a white ceramic Chanel watch that set off her sun-kissed skin. She was a woman who had a lot of money – or had married it. Either way, I immediately liked her.
"I'm Honey Beaufort," she said holding out her hand. "Or Honey B to those who know and love me. You can just call me Honey."
"It's nice to meet you, Honey," I said as I grasped her hand and shook it. "I'm Austin, and everyone just calls me...Austin."
Her laugh caught me off guard. I
t was loud and its richness filled the small room. I saw Alec grinning down at the other end of the bar as I felt myself begin to chuckle despite my attempt to hold back. I was grateful that the staff at all my hotels knew that I liked to travel incognito rather than be identified as the billionaire boy who ran Marks Enterprises. Most people with money already knew me thanks to my father, but if they didn't know me, I liked to keep a low profile.
"Well, Austin who everyone calls Austin," she laughed as she raised the glass to her lacquered red lips. "It's good to meet you! I think we're going to have a mighty fine time here tonight!"
"I don't know about that, Honey," I said shaking my head. "I have a feeling that you are a wild, wild woman with lots of tricks up her sleeve...er, in her clutch."
"Well, aren't you a charmer!" she roared as she looked over at Alec and nodded her head. He immediately poured two more whiskeys and delivered them to our end of the bar before returning to his dishwashing post well out of earshot. I made a note to tip him well later. "Darling, I'm a former Texas beauty queen," she said with a mischievous grin. "Miss Galveston to be exact, and we all have tricks in our clutches."
I couldn't help but laugh at her joke, and as I did I thought about Emily. I wished she was down here with me laughing with Honey and enjoying her American warmth and humor. I turned and looked at Honey.
"Uh oh, someone's got a serious look on his face," she drawled.
"Honey, can I ask you a question?" I said.
"You just did, darlin'," she grinned. "But I like you, so you can ask me another one."
"You're a tough woman," I laughed, sipping my whiskey as I thought about the wisdom of asking a complete stranger what I was about to ask her.
"Oh just spit it out, darlin'," she laughed. "You're either going to ask me to go to bed with you, an offer I will regrettably have to turn down, or you're going to ask me about another lady and I will have to give you advice."
"How did you know?" I said only partly stunned.
"Oh darlin', when you've been dealing with Texas men as long as I have, you know that they either want you or they want your best friend," she laughed. "And my Granny Vanny taught me how to deal with both issues with manners and grace."
"Sheesh, you women," I said shaking my head in amazement. "You always seem to know everything, don't you?"
"Austin, who everyone calls Austin, I'm going to assume that this means you aren't going to proposition me," she said seriously.
"No ma'am, I mean, Honey, I mean..." I stammered as I tried to come up with the question I really wanted to ask her. "Why are women so hard to understand?"
Honey slammed her hand on the bar and laughed so loudly that the concierge began to walk over from the front desk to check on everything. Alec waved him off with a grin as Honey continued laughing.
"Oh darlin'," she choked out between laughs. "If I had an answer to that question, I'd be so damn rich, I wouldn't have any idea what to do with myself!"
"I'm serious," I grumbled as I tried to hold back my own laughter. Something about Honey made me want to lighten up and let loose instead of always being so guarded and wary.
"Oh, I know you are, darlin'" she said sympathetically as she nodded at Alec and made two more whiskeys appear. "Look, I don't know who the girl is or how she's gotten you so riled up, but I will tell you one thing about women."
I leaned forward on my stool, listening intently to the wisdom of a woman who obviously knew things.
"Here's what I'm guessing," she said as she sipped from her glass. "You like a girl, you showed her that you like her in your own special way, and then you made a move on her, but she rejected you. Am I right so far?"
"Kind of," I muttered into my drink, trying to hide the fact that she was dead on with her assessment.
"I'll take that as a yes," she smiled as she slipped several well-manicured fingers under my chin and lifted my head until I was looking her dead in the eye. "Darlin', you're a handsome young man who seems to have a lot going for him, and don't take this the wrong way, but you are still just a man. You boys think that the way you approach women is going to make her a sure thing, but you are so often so far off base it hurts."
"Then, tell me what I'm supposed to do!" I said miserably.
"I can't," she replied, smiling sympathetically. "That's the hard part. You can't take a one-size-fits-all formula and apply it to every woman. You have to figure out what makes each woman tick and then meet the need."
I stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car.
"I know, darlin', my dear husband had the same look when Granny Vanny told him the same exact thing," she chuckled. "The lesson was that he needed to pay attention and learn. More than anything, women want a man who pays attention, and if ya'll would figure that out early on, things would go a lot smoother for everyone."
"I thought I was paying attention," I grumbled.
"No darlin', you were listening to your pecker," Honey laughed. "You men often take counsel from the wrong adviser."
I couldn't help but laugh at her assessment. Not because she was entirely right, but because she was so honest. I wanted Emily, but I wanted her in a way that was different from all the other women in my life. The problem was that I had tried to treat her the same way as I'd treated all the others. Honey had shown me the error of my ways.
"But she said she doesn't want me," I said.
"No, she didn't say that at all," Honey shook her head as she grinned. "What she said was that she's not ready to hop in the sack with you because you haven't proven that you're anything but a handsome charmer, which you are, by the way."
"So, what do I do?" I asked.
"Darlin', if I knew the answer to that question, I'd be a mind reader," she laughed. She leaned in and laid her hand on mine as she spoke. "All I can tell you is that if you really want this woman, you're going to have to pay close attention and figure out what it is that she needs."
I nodded solemnly as I stared back at her. My brain was full of ideas about what to do to impress Emily and get her attention.
"Darlin'," Honey said as she patted my cheek. "Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about her."
She got up off of her barstool, grabbed her clutch, and waved at Alec before giving me a big wink and walking out the door. I looked down at the end of the bar where Alec stood wiping glasses and grinning like a fool.
"She's a force of nature, that one," I said, chuckling as I slowly shook my head.
"That she is, Mr. Marks," Alec affirmed. "That she is."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Emily
As I watched the elevator doors slide shut, I felt like crying. I wanted Austin, and now I knew he wanted me, but I couldn't betray Tommy that way. It wasn't the first time I felt like our marriage had been a mistake, but I wasn't a quitter.
I changed out of my in-flight uniform and into one of the thick terrycloth robes that was neatly folded on the bathroom counter. The penthouse was bigger than my house with several bedrooms, each decorated in a soothing color and with its own private bathroom. There was a full dining room and behind it a fully stocked kitchen where I quickly made myself a snack of cheese, prosciutto, and what smelled like fresh baked bread. I carried my plate and a Foster's into the living room to enjoy the spectacular view of Sydney Harbor while I ate.
I couldn't help but think about how this view would be improved by Austin's presence – how I wanted to curl up on the couch wrapped in his arms, feeling his hands roaming my body as we slowly explored each other. I blushed as I thought about wanting to pull off his shirt and run my fingers across his broad chest as I kissed him. I knew I wanted so much more than that, but it was all I would allow myself to imagine for now.
I finished my late night snack and drank the last of my beer before I dug my phone out of my purse and went into the bedroom sunk down on the luxurious king-sized four-poster with a breathtaking view of the harbor. For a moment, I thought about what it would be like to have Tommy
here with me and I realized that I missed him. I missed the familiarity of his voice and the way he smiled at me when he was happy about something I'd done for him. I missed the way he'd wrap his arms around my waist as I washed the dinner dishes while waiting for his turn to dry them. I missed his sweetness and his gentle spirit, but mostly I missed the way we knew each other like the back of our own hands. I smiled as I thought about how he would be just as amazed by all of this opulent wealth and how we'd laugh about feeling like we'd won the lottery.
Smiling, I picked up my phone and tapped the screen until his contact information appeared. The picture of him was one I'd taken on our honeymoon. We hadn't had much money or time off work, so we'd decided to go camping for the weekend in the Grand Canyon. The trip had been a disaster marked by wind and rain, and we'd spent most of the weekend in our tent playing cards. On the second day, the sun broke through the clouds for a short while and Tommy climbed out of the tent and danced in the light calling to me to come join him. I eyed the sky skeptically, but finally climbed out of the tent and joined him, but not before I snapped a shot of him with his arms wide open smiling up at the sun. It was one of those moments of pure joy when everything was possible and our future was still ahead of us.
My finger hovered over the screen for a few seconds before I tapped it and heard the phone ringing on the other end. I heard him pick up, but the line was silent for a few seconds before he spoke.
"Yo, 'sup, babe?" a voice slurred on the other end.
"Tommy?" I said hesitating a little wondering if I'd dialed the wrong number.
"Tha's my name, don't wear it out, babe," came the drunken response. "Who's this?"
"Tommy, it's Emily," I said. "Your wife, remember me?"
"Huh, wife?" he replied in a confused tone. "Whose wife?"
"Yours!" I yelled into the speaker. "What is going on over there?"
"Hey, hey, hey, chill out, babe," he muttered. "I gotcha, it's all good."
"Tommy, what is going on?" I demanded. "Why are you drunk? It's four in the morning over there!"
