Running for Love (The Armstrongs Book 10)

by Jessica Gray

“Thank you.” Rock hung up. His housekeeper was a true gem and had worked for him for almost fifteen years. He loved her discretion and the way she cared for him. She was almost like a mother. He could trust her to pick the perfect outfits for Vivian to wear for work tomorrow.

  Then he slipped back into bed, wrapping his arm around Vivian and falling fast asleep.

  Chapter 19

  The alarm sounded. Vivian rolled over to hit the snooze button. When her fingers didn’t find the clock radio on her nightstand, she opened her eyes to slits…and then to saucers.

  No clock radio, no nightstand, nothing familiar. That stupid alarm kept chirping, destroying any logical thought in her brain. She finally found an alarm clock that wasn’t hers and switched it off.

  The silence was soothing. Until the reality of last night came crashing into her sleepy brain cells. She jumped out of bed – naked – and saw her body flushing with embarrassment. At least Rock was nowhere to be seen, which was good. No, it’s bad.

  She knew he’d fled the bed to give her the space to disappear without ever having to face her again. She’d been too bold last night. Now in the bright light of day of course he didn’t want to be with a woman who was slutty enough to swim and walk around his house in all her naked glory.

  Vivian clutched the bedsheet to her chest as she looked around the room to find her clothes. Nothing. The pool. I left them at the pool. More heat flushed her face and she was thankful for being alone in the room. But her predicament became only worse when she glanced at that darn alarm clock she’d just switched off.

  Shit! There was no time for her to go home and get fresh clothing. Everyone is going to notice. What if they ask me where I’ve spent the night…Off course, that notion was entirely ridiculous. Neither the judges nor the lawyers, nor even her colleagues would ever do more than raise an eyebrow at her walk of shame.

  She had bigger problems to deal with. Like getting her clothes from the pool house. She searched the room with frantic eyes for the bathrobe to keep some modesty. Nothing.

  But there was a note on the nightstand. She approached it with caution, as if it might attack her and read:

  Good morning beautiful. I’m in my office. Come down and have breakfast with me as soon as you’re ready. There’s a surprise waiting for you in the bathroom.

  Kisses,

  Rock.

  Her fingers caressed the piece of paper. At least one of her sorrows had been unfounded. On a sigh she wrapped herself tightly into the bedsheet and crossed the bedroom to the door where she expected the bathroom to be.

  Wow! It wasn’t the luxurious marble vanity, or the golden bathroom fittings that had her jaw hanging in awe. Between the shower and the jetted tub stood a coat rack with three different business outfits for women on hangers.

  Ohmygod. That’s so sweet. She approached the rack surreptitiously and glanced at the tags. My size. Warmth flooded her heart and she wanted to rush downstairs and kiss and hug Rock for being so considerate. But then an ugly thought entered her mind. How many women before her had spent the night? Maybe this was a habit and he carried extra clothing on hand for them?

  The mere the thought of Rock with another woman caused her stomach to churn and bile rose in her throat. She’d scratch out her eyes, and his, too. Whoa! Where did that thought come from?

  Vivian mulled it over while taking a quick shower and then choosing an outfit. The light blue blouse was perfect. It felt buttery soft against her skin and enhanced her female curves, but still gave her that professional look a court reporter strived for. Combined with simple dark blue slacks, featuring thin pencil stripes and a high waist, the ensemble flattered her figure. A matching dark blue jacket completed the look, and Vivian instinctively squared her shoulders and raised her chin to look like the royalty she felt like.

  She turned to look at herself in the mirror. The simple business suit had just the right mixture of elegant-professional and female-sexy. And it probably had cost more than she earned in a month. Vivian whistled at her reflection, knowing she’d never looked this good in her own clothing.

  Then she made her way down the stairs and found the housekeeper waiting for her with an elaborate breakfast of an omelet, fresh fruit, an English muffin, coffee and juice.

  “Thank you. Do you know where Rock is?” she asked the housekeeper.

  “He’s in his office. I will ring and let him know you are downstairs.”

  “Thank you,” Vivian said, digging into the food as she realized she was ravenous. That’s what a night of good sex can do for you. I could get used to this.

  Chapter 20

  Rock entered the breakfast room three minutes after receiving the call from his housekeeper that Vivian had arrived. He would have made it in one minute, if it weren’t for the damn crutches. He stopped cold in the doorway, not prepared for the stunning look that welcomed him.

  “Did you sleep well, Vivian?” he asked, coming to her and kissing her lingeringly before taking the seat next to her.

  “Thank you for the clothing,” she said with her eyes trained on her plate.

  “Anything for you, sweetheart.” Rock took her chin into his hands and forced her to look at him. With only one glance into those wonderful blue eyes, he felt his manhood stirring again. After taking her countless times last night, he was still yearning for more.

  His housekeeper chose that moment to arrive with another omelet for himself. Rock half-cursed half-thanked her appearance. Otherwise Vivian might not make it to work after all.

  “Here, taste this.” Rock waited until Alexa had disappeared and then held out his fork, having speared a piece of fruit from the bowl that sat between them.

  Vivian eyed the offering and then opened her mouth. The way she slid the piece of fruit from the fork was so sensual, so seductive, he had the strongest urge, to take her back to his bed.

  “I love passion fruit,” she said after chewing and swallowing.

  “Appropriate for this morning, don’t you think?” Rock loved the fact that she still blushed after all that had happened the night before. Lord knew, he used all the self-control he had not to attack that deliciously sexy woman sitting by his side.

  “It’s good.”

  Rock leaned forward and kissed her. “More than good. It was fantastic.”

  Heat trickled off her skin. Her eyes became dark again, that same darkness he’d witnessed every time last night when she was getting close to another climax. He extended his arm and his thumbs brushed ever so lightly over her cheeks. She shivered beneath his touch and he could sense how her entire body softened. God I love this woman!

  He glanced at his watch and pulled a face. “We have to get going, or you’ll be late to work.”

  Vivian nodded, and finished eating. Then she got up and stared at her bare feet. Rock followed her glance all the way down her slender legs to the toes painted in bright red.

  “I’ll run to the pool house and get my shoes,” she said, giggling. But before she’d ended the sentence, they heard steps and something was put beside the door of the breakfast room.

  “That would be your shoes. I believe Alexa got them for you,” Rock said and nodded for Vivian to get outside and get them. Normally he would have done it himself. He’d have her sit on the chair, kneel in front of her, kiss every one of her beautiful toes, and then slip the shoes over her feet as if she was Cinderella and he was Prince Charming. Once again he cursed those damn crutches. And then thanked the fate for his accident.

  As they walked to his car, he dreaded the conversation he needed to have with her before he dropped her off. He waited until they were on the highway and then reached for her hand. “I need to tell you something.”

  Vivian bore her eyes into him and sighed. He could read the turmoil in her thoughts, going from bad to worse, until she sighed. “It’s about the actress, right?”

  “Yes. I have to meet with her again.”

  “When?” Her lips tightened into a thin line.

  “Tonight.
” Guilt, shame and disgust for his own actions pooled in his stomach. He wasn’t a cheater, never had been. Not in sports, not in business and definitely not with women. But what he was about to do felt horribly like cheating.

  Vivian pulled a face but didn’t say a word. Her hurt silence slayed his heart more than any sharp response could have done.

  “It’s just business. We’ll have dinner, talk a bit. That’s it.” But the press and the world will believe we’re a couple. And you’ll have to stay strong because you know the truth.

  “I know,” Vivian said, but one glance at her face revealed that she didn’t buy it. She knew as well as he did that the meeting with Carla was much more than yet another business dinner.

  “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t do this to you if I could avoid it. But Tommy has already signed a contract with her agent. It’s only until the race, then I never have to see her again. She means nothing to me.” His own words sounded dishonest and stale in his ears.

  “You can park over there on the right,” Vivian said as they arrived at the courthouse. She was about to leave the car without even looking at him. Rock cupped her chin and turned her head to face him. The amount of hurt shining in her azure eyes almost knocked him over.

  “Vivian, you mean a lot to me. More than any woman I’ve ever met before. But can you understand, that I have to do this?”

  She gave a tight knod, her eyes glistening with sadness, and he felt like a true ass. What kind of man was he to date another woman when he was in love? Even if it was only a pretend-date?

  “Call me?” Vivian asked and slid out of the car

  Rock put his head on the steering wheel, morose thoughts attacking him. She means nothing to me. How many men had said those same empty words to the women they’d betrayed? Lord, no, he wouldn’t join their ranks.

  He pulled back into traffic and speech-dialed Tommy.

  “Rock? What’s up?” Tommy asked.

  “We need to meet. Now.”

  “What’s bugging you, man?” Tommy chuckled.

  Rock growled something incomprehensible into the phone.

  “Okay, come to my office. Half an hour?”

  Rock ended the call and took the fastest route to Tommy’s office.

  “I’m not gonna meet Carla Dawson again,” Rock burst out the moment he hobbled into the office and took a seat in front of the large desk.

  “Who got up on the wrong side of the bed?” Tommy asked with a raise of his brows.

  “I got up on the right side of the bed, but that woman is evil. A bigger bitch I’ve never met.”

  “I thought you picked her because of her youth…”

  “…thinking that she wouldn’t be as jaded as the others who’ve been in the business for a while. She basically threw herself at me and all while the cameras were watching.”

  “I saw the pictures. It’s awesome publicity for both of you. Have you seen your popularity index? You two are the trending topic on Twitter.” Tommy leaned back in his seat.

  “I give a shit about trending topics,” Rock all but screamed at his friend.

  “Hey, calm down, man. Carla hitting on you wasn’t part of the initial plan, but both her agent and I agree that it’s even better this way—“

  “No way in hell.” Rock wanted to stand up and pace the room, but the stabbing pain in his ankle as he put some weight on it impeded him. Instead he resigned to glare daggers at Tommy.

  “Come on? What’s wrong with Carla? Half of the city would kill to be her plaything. A few kisses in public, affectionate gazes, you don’t even have to bang her if you don’t want to, although I wouldn’t miss that opportunity. It’s not like you have to marry her.” Tommy licked his lips with a dirty smile.

  “Be my guest. Make your move with her. I’ll pass.” Rock gave him another hard stare that he ignored.

  Tommy sighed and his expression became serious. “Rock, what’s go into you? You know what’s at stake here. This is the big break for the foundation we’ve been waiting for. Go out with Carla a few months and the donations for the rehab center will shoot through the roof. I promise.”

  Rock glared at him, hating it when Tommy became all rational and started putting things into neat little boxes. Manipulating him. He knew how important the planned clinic was to Rock.

  “Is it the girl who busted your ankle? Is she why you’re acting like this?” Tommy’s voice had become soft and almost lulled Rock into admitting how much he liked, no, loved, Vivian.

  “Leave her out of this,” Rock advised him coldly.

  “No, you start thinking right. And now you listen to me.” His manager leveled his stare at Rock. “What’s more important, some girl you just met or the future of your charity?”

  Rock growled, not willing to answer the question.

  “You can still date your girl. Explain to her that Carla means nothing to you, that it’s just business. I’m sure she’ll understand. Shower her with gifts and attention, and she won’t even bat an eyelid. Or ask her if she’s up for a ménage a trois,” Tommy suggested with a dirty grin.

  Rock sent a pencil from Tommy’s desk flying in his direction. He wasn’t a saint, and he’d on occasion engaged in threesomes. But now? No way in hell. He wanted to have Vivian to himself; no other man – or woman – should ever touch her, or even look at her. And from the moment he’d met her, he wanted her to be the only woman laying her hands on him.

  “Carla is condescending and rude. I’m not sure she’s the right person to represent the charity,” Rock objected.

  “A classic Hollywood bitch. Nothing new, right? It’s only for two months. You can do this.”

  “I’m tired of having to deal with the likes of her,” Rock said.

  “It’s just for a short time.”

  “Okay. Dinner, nothing else,” Rock agreed. God, how much he hated doing this. But his friend and manager was right. He had to think about the foundation and what was best for the charity triathlon. He wasn’t doing anything wrong by meeting with Carla. He would keep everything friendly but distant. If people came to the wrong conclusions, that was their own prerogative. Vivian understood.

  But shame compressed his chest. Vivian didn’t deserve to be treated like that, and he hated knowing that each time she saw a picture of him and the slutty actress, it would send that awful expression of deep hurt into her eyes.

  Chapter 21

  Vivian battled with too little sleep, reeling from a night full of earthshattering sex, which was a stark contrast to the gory world inside the courtroom.

  At lunchtime, she met Gwen who worked as a probation officer downtown and had to attend a court hearing today. Vivian waved at her blonde friend, who waited outside on the marble flight of steps.

  “Hi, Viv,” Gwen said as she hugged her. The two friends linked arms and walked chattering to a little bistro a block from the courthouse for lunch.

  “What happened to you?” Gwen asked, eyeing her friend closely, once they sat at one of the tables and had ordered their food.

  “What do you mean?” Vivian squinted her eyes, suppressing a yawn.

  “You have dark circles beneath your eyes and have been yawning at least ten times on the walk over.”

  Vivian blushed and then lowered her voice to a giggling whisper, “I may have had some extensive exercise between the sheets last night.”

  Gwen’s eyes widened. “With Rock Martens?”

  “Hmm…yes.” Vivian sighed with closed eyes.

  “Are we talking about the arrogant, obnoxious and bossy guy, who’s so not your type?” Gwen queried with a raised eye.

  “Well…he may have changed…actually, he’s wonderful. He’s so sweet and caring and…” The worlds bubbled out of Vivian’s mouth a mile a minute. It didn’t take much coaxing for Gwen to make Vivian tell the entire story, albeit leaving out the juicy details.

  “You go for it, girl! I’m so happy for you.” Gwen hugged her, truly delighted like only a best friend could be. Vivian knew that since falling in l
ove with Fernando, Gwen had been feeling guilty that she didn’t spend as much time with Viv anymore then she had used to.

  Their lunch arrived, and they changed the topic and talked about Gwen’s pregnancy and the baby. Vivian was almost as excited as her friend was. Coming from a huge family she loved children. She’d grown up not only with five brothers, but lots of cousins and close friends. So there’d never been a shortage of playmates, and several of her cousins already had children. The hour lunchtime passed by at lighting speed and soon she hugged goodbye to her friend, with the promise to keep her posted about the relationship with Rock.

  On her way back to court, she passed by a newsstand and her good mood vanished in the blink of an eye. There, splashed across the front cover of several gossip rags was a picture of Rock and Carla. Kissing.

  It felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart and then twisted the knife. It was one thing to know her man was kissing another woman, and an entirely different thing to actually see the pictures. She wanted to tear the rags into pieces and trample on them. Hard.

  A masochistic wish for punishment drew her closer to the pictures, focusing on their mouths and their eyes. The actress looked convincingly in love, while Rock’s eyes seemed to give the barest hint of being uncomfortable. His eyes didn’t show that soft, glowing look he’d given her so many times last night. Neither did they convey the unconcealed desire, nor the raging lust. And definitely not the loving concern, he’d showered Vivian with this morning.

  She forced herself to breathe. I can manage. It’s just business. It was a lie. She couldn’t manage. And it was never business, to see her man kissing another woman. Her gut twisted.

  “You want a paper, miss?” the vendor asked her, eyeing her skeptically when he saw her fingering one of the papers. Vivian shook her head and turned away making a straight line for work.

  ***

  When she returned home in the evening, she was still frustrated and checked the training schedule on her phone. Running. That’s just perfect.