Cityscape Affair Series: The Complete Box Set

by Hawkins, Jessica

  I became colder with the sun’s descent. Bill made humorless jokes with Andrew’s brothers that grated on my nerves. Once again, his touch became unwelcome, and I wished for a bottomless glass of wine and an oversized sweatshirt to hide under.

  We entered an enormous white tent that glowed with soft light. The guests appeared to have become thoroughly buzzed while they’d waited for us.

  As I caught up with Lucy’s parents, Bill found me and handed me a glass of water even though I’d only wanted wine. He put his arm around me, and I stiffened so noticeably that he removed it right away.

  “Lucy tells us you’re looking for a house,” Lucy’s mom said.

  “It’s been on the backburner,” Bill explained. “Liv’s been swamped with a new promotion, and we were dealing with the death of a family friend. But we’ve just started up again.”

  “I was sorry to hear about your friend, Liv. Davena, right?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “It’s a grueling process, house hunting, isn’t it? I would love for Lucy and Andrew to settle somewhere more practical.”

  “Hey.” Lucy’s dad tugged on his wife’s sleeve.

  “What?” she asked. “I’m in the middle—”

  “Look at Danielle,” he said. Lucy and Dani’s mom turned slightly, giving me a clear view across the tent. Dani’s adoring gaze was fixed on David as he gestured to the group around them. Even in the outdoor tent, the room lit up around him, intensifying his dark, grave features. Recognizing him instantly, my heart vaulted from my chest, clawing against the ribcage that so cruelly separated it from where it wanted to be.

  As if he felt my eyes on him, he paused, looked up, and met my stare. It was just us again in that moment, the crowd merely a conductor of our crackling energy. It was like seeing him for the first time but with the knowledge that he had felt me in a way that no one else ever had.

  His expression remained as passive as mine probably was. Having my senses stolen by him, I didn’t have the wherewithal to smile politely or acknowledge him in any form. I didn’t look away as I had the first night we’d made eye contact but held his gaze instead. My body responded to the memory of his touch, craving him like a drug, instructing me to reach out and consume him. To take him into my bloodstream so he could once again kill the pain and warm me from the inside.

  He flinched and blinked—once, twice—before looking away and leaving me cold. My breathing labored and ice cubes rattled in my glass, but I could barely hear them over the heartbeat in my ears.

  “Don’t you agree, dear?” Lucy’s mom asked with an expectant look. “Liv?”

  I nodded without a clue of what she’d been talking about and emitted a small noise.

  Bill waved me off and said something else to her. My disobedient eyes gravitated back to David. He sported a perfectly tailored tuxedo and looked the same as I remembered: relaxed, easy, and painfully, bring-me-to-my-knees handsome. Not nearly as distraught or sleepless as I felt, which wasn’t surprising since in bachelor-time, our liaison had occurred ages ago. His jet-black hair was styled with precision, and I could see from where I stood the smoothness of his square jaw. It was his chestnut brown eyes and the sexy cleft of his chin that almost did me in. His hands strained against the fabric of his expensive suit pockets. Dani tugged on his sleeve, but he stared at something beyond her, clearly distracted.

  My legs tensed with the urge to run away, but he couldn’t know how he still affected me. Not when he’d so clearly moved on.

  When Dani giggled and looked at her feet in response to something he’d said, I seized Bill’s hand, causing him to freeze mid-sentence. That was when I noticed David steal a furtive look in my direction. I’d almost missed it, but it had happened.

  Later, during dinner, I wrung a piece of paper with my speech on it, and then immediately smoothed it out.

  “Nervous?” Bill whispered.

  “No.” I hadn’t been until my audience had fallen away, leaving only one person to hear my toast. If I’d been blind, I still would’ve seen David; he was a beacon in the sea of faces.

  “You’re up,” Bill said, motioning that I should stand. “It’s your turn.”

  The tent went silent, and I scrambled out of my seat to look out over the crowd. I touched my earlobe and took a deep breath.

  “I’ll keep it short and sweet, like our bride here,” I started. I glanced down at the piece of paper, but the words blurred together, so I focused on the room again. “How do you know when you’ve met ‘the one’? Do both hearts suddenly change rhythm, syncing to form their own beautiful symphony? Do you see yourself,” I paused, dropping my eyes to the champagne flute in my hand, “suddenly exquisite and irresistible through their eyes? Does love become something tangible, something that others can see but only the two of you can touch?”

  I looked at Bill, who smiled encouragingly, and I set my hand on the back of his chair. “I don’t think anyone can answer that because for everyone, it’s different. Andrew and Lucy are meant to be.” I looked directly at Lucy. “Period. There aren’t two people more perfect for each other. When Lucy told me one night that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Andrew, I said, ‘Duh, tell me something I don’t know.’” A light laugh rippled through the crowd, and I raised my glass. “I love you both, and I am so honored to be a part of tonight. Cheers.”

  I dropped into my chair and crumpled the paper in my hands. It wasn’t the speech I’d written, but the words weren’t hard to find. They’d been within reach, right in front of me.

  5

  A curtsy from Lucy and a bow from Andrew signified the end of their first dance as a married couple. Afterward, I bolted from the outdoor tent up to Andrew’s parents’ estate for a much-needed moment alone. I found a guest bathroom, locked myself inside, and breathed through my distress. David’s presence had thrown me so far off-kilter that I almost felt alive again. With only one glance, he’d managed to stir up my emotions while simultaneously providing comfort. I felt somehow safer in his bubble, like everything was better when he was near.

  Once I’d gathered myself and checked my makeup, I exited the bathroom—and skidded to a halt as I almost ran right into a wall of a body. David’s wall of a body.

  “What is this?” he demanded, blocking my path as his hard eyes darted over my dress.

  I scanned the empty foyer to make sure we were alone. “What’s what?” I asked.

  “When was the last time you ate anything?”

  I blinked at the unexpected question, then raised my eyes to his. “I had the salmon,” I said smugly.

  When I tugged on my earlobe, David shot my hand a glance, and I let go instantly. Though no one else had ever brought it to my attention, David never seemed to miss my nervous habit.

  “Don’t play coy with me, Olivia,” he said. “Why are you so thin?”

  “I’ve been busy,” I said, straightening my posture.

  “That’s bullshit.” He touched my arm with obvious restraint. I bit back a gasp, his skin on mine like liquid sun, radiating through my body. “What is going on with you?”

  I sighed. I wanted to yank my arm from him, but he was slowly warming my bones again, and I was tired of being cold. No, my body had not forgotten the feel of David Dylan. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s not your problem.”

  “The fuck it’s not,” he said. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m not doing it on purpose,” I said defensively. “I just can’t . . .” I faltered and took a breath. “I can’t eat. It makes me sick.”

  “I’ve been watching you tonight. You’re different.” His tone softened into velvet, coating my skin. “Tell me what it is, and I’ll fix it. I’ll do anything.”

  Faint cologne filled the space between us, instantly transporting me back to the moments when I’d been lost and drowning in him. I flickered back to reality. “No. It’s not fixable, David. You can’t just swoop in and fix everything all the time.”

  “What’s the problem?” he insis
ted. “Is it Davena?”

  I drew my lips into a line and looked away. All I had to do was nod. Everyone else believed it. Maybe David would, too. But for some fucking reason, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to him.

  “Olivia,” he warned in that tone that left no room for me to do anything but obey. “Answer me. What’s causing you to—”

  “You, David,” I snapped. “You are the problem. What happened between us is eating me from the inside. It’s all I can think about. It haunts me day and night. It consumes me.”

  Brown, melancholy eyes searched mine until I pulled my arm from his grip.

  “I have to go, I can’t do this,” I said, dropping his gaze.

  “I’m surprised you’re still standing here, honestly,” he said. “Last time I saw you, you couldn’t escape fast enough.”

  “Don’t.” I raised my eyes to his again, and my heart wilted at the way his expression had hardened. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”

  A burst of air left his mouth, and he scoffed. “That’s where you’re wrong. Don’t forget that you walked out on me. You have no idea what I have been through. Me.” He stepped back. “Fuck, I shouldn’t even be talking to you. I promised myself I wouldn’t.”

  I blinked at him. “You promised . . . what?”

  “I only came here tonight because . . . because I needed to see you. I promised to leave you alone, but I just needed to see that you’re all right. Even from a distance.”

  I froze. He’d come to see me? Did that mean he still thought of our night together, even though months had passed? “But it’s been so long,” I said, frowning. “At least, it has in your world. And . . . and I thought you’d be over—”

  “Everything okay, Livs?” Gretchen’s older brother approached us, puffed up and obviously ruffled as he took in the scene.

  “Yes, it’s fine,” I reassured him. “Thanks, Jonathan.”

  “Doesn’t look fine,” Jon said.

  David held my gaze a moment, then set his jaw and turned. “Excuse me,” he said, stalking away.

  “Where’ve you been, you handsome devil?” I asked Jonathan, plastering on a smile before he could pry. “You owe me a dance.”

  Jon looked after David for one short second before turning his attention to me. “I’m afraid I’ll snap you in half,” he joked.

  “Oh, really? You think I’m that weak?” I asked, surprising him with a punch in the upper arm.

  “Ow!” he wailed.

  “Don’t be a baby. Come on, Harper, escort me to the dancefloor.”

  I stowed my conversation with David for later and followed Jon from the house. We were almost to the tent when we spotted Lucy and Gretchen flailing on the dancefloor.

  “They must be drunk,” I said.

  “Aren’t you?” he asked, tugging me along with him.

  Unfortunately, I wasn’t even tipsy. Not yet, anyway.

  We joined them for the rest of the song. Seeing Lucy so happy made me want to try harder, so I danced with a smile.

  “Remind me to tell you when you’re sober what horrible dancers you are,” I called out as the song ended. I squealed when Gretchen pinched me. Andrew’s dad appeared at Lucy’s side and held out his hand to her as the next song started.

  Jon turned to me. “Dance?”

  I agreed and let him draw me into his arms.

  “Well, you’re a shitty date,” Gretchen muttered at her brother, and we laughed as she sulked on her way off the dancefloor.

  “So, little Liv, what’s new with you?” Jon asked. “Gretch says you’re cranky.”

  I smiled a little and looked down between us. “Maybe.”

  “So what’s up?”

  “I’m just overloaded at work, and my boss is always breathing down my neck—it’s enough to make anyone testy.”

  Jonathan regarded me thoughtfully while we danced. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?”

  I looked up at him from under my lashes. “Yes.”

  “You know you’re like a sister to me. An extremely hot sister, but a sister all the same. If I were here in Chicago, I’d volunteer as your bodyguard.”

  At that, I laughed loudly. “Oh, Jonathan. I love you.”

  “Oh—hey, Bill,” Jon said suddenly, his eyes jumping over my shoulder. “Guess you want to cut in with your lady?”

  “No, no, it’s fine,” Bill said, turning to me. “I just came to tell you that I’m running up to the house to have a cigar with Andrew and the guys.”

  “Okay,” I said and smiled. “I’ll save you a dance.”

  “Sounds good.” He leaned over Jon’s arm and pecked me on the cheek.

  Jon whirled me around dramatically and dipped me so my hair almost touched the floor. “Hi,” he said from above, grinning.

  “Jonathan Harper, damn it. Let me up,” I teased. “Everyone can see down my dress.”

  “Oh, then I’m on the wrong side.”

  When he lifted me back up, my gaze locked with David’s, not two feet away. David’s smooth voice slathered over me. “May I cut in?” he asked.

  “Get lost, dude,” Jonathan said. “She’s married.”

  My skin prickled at the thought of those big arms around me. David shifted his focus to Gretchen’s brother, and they stared at each other.

  When David’s jaw set, I remembered his jealous streak over Brian during the Meet and Greet party and quickly cut in. “It’s okay,” I assured Jonathan. “David’s a—a friend.”

  Jonathan stepped back and bowed. “As you wish,” he said. “I’ll be over there if you need me.”

  The first notes of panty-dropping, sex-infused “Wicked Game” came through the speakers. My legs quivered as David wrapped an arm around my waist and took my hand in his. I secretly thanked Lucy for picking a backless dress that allowed us the intimacy of skin-on-skin contact. A cologne-and-whiskey infusion washed over me, and I closed my eyes remembering the heady combination. I could taste the whiskey on my tongue now, the soft cashmere of David’s sweater warming me that night.

  “I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said.

  “Don’t,” I said.

  He slipped the tip of one finger inside my loose dress and skimmed it lightly along my back.

  “Look at me,” he urged as he had once before. I could only feel that fingertip, possessing me with its feather touch. He pulled me closer, and I opened my eyes slowly for him. His blazed for me, and he was unmistakably hard against my silken thigh. My teeth bit into my bottom lip. He groaned softly in response and slid his finger down the length of the dress, repositioning his hand lower. “You never finished your sentence.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Earlier. You said you thought I was over . . . what? Over you?”

  I glanced around to find that each couple was engrossed in their own dance. It was as if Chris Isaak had cast a four-minute-long spell on the tent. I nodded fractionally.

  “I’m not,” he said softly. “I’m so under you, it’s ridiculous.”

  I was near mad pressed against his erection, and I squeezed the hand that held mine as I drew a deep breath. I had no words, but even if I did, how could I respond? I closed my eyes to take in the moment, to memorize its every detail.

  “Stay,” he breathed when the song began to fade.

  I opened my eyes and met Gretchen’s stare across the dancefloor. She shook her head so slowly, nobody else would’ve noticed. With a great sigh, I pulled away from David.

  “Not yet,” he said, holding me in place.

  “I can’t. It’s agonizing being this close to you. And everyone I know is here . . . I have to go.”

  I didn’t give him a chance to respond, but just walked toward Gretchen, who never took her eyes off of me. Warmth receded, as though I’d been in a comfortably hot shower that was quickly turning cold.

  “We need to talk,” she stated as I approached.

  “I know. Not tonight though, k? Just not tonight.”

  * * *

>   “This’s been the best night of my life,” Lucy slurred, draping a heavy arm over me.

  “Well, it’s not over yet.” I pulsed my brows and jabbed Andrew in the ribs with my elbow. “Time to make your nuptials official.”

  “Oh, yes, official,” she repeated. “I have to wait for everyone to leave before I jump his bones, though, don’t I? I think I have to.”

  “You probably should,” I agreed. We waited by the exit as the remaining guests filtered out. Bill’s hands kneaded my shoulders while Lucy dealt overexcited good-byes.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hit the sack,” Bill said into my ear.

  “So glad we don’t have to drive home. I’m exhausted.”

  “Daaav-idddd,” Lucy called, and every hair on my body bristled. I pinched myself in hopes of waking up from the ensuing nightmare.

  “Thank you for inviting me, Lucy,” David said as he approached.

  “I’m so, so glad you could make it. Did you know he flew back early from work to attend?” she asked, swinging around and looking directly at Bill for no reason.

  He laughed. “I did not know that.” Bill stuck his hand out from behind me. “Bill Wilson. And this is my wife, Olivia.”

  My stomach dropped as David flashed me an uneasy look.

  “They know each other, Bill,” Lucy said with an exaggerated eye roll.

  David’s voice seemed to drop an octave when he said, “David Dylan.” The handshake, so close to my face, was firm and lasted uncomfortably long. I watched as David studied Bill with drawn lips. Bill had heard David’s name in conversation, but I doubted that he remembered. Still, his hand tightened on my shoulder.

  Or is it my imagination?

  “Thanks again, Mrs. Greene,” David said.

  Lucy tittered into her hand over the new designation.

  “You are a vision,” David added, “and the ceremony was beautiful. Well done.”