Hush (Just This Once)

by Deborah Bladon

  He leans down and brushes his lips over mine. “Get home safely, beautiful. I promise I won’t follow you.”

  A smile teases the corner of my mouth. I should walk out of here and not look back. We had fun and if we part like this, I’ll have the memory of this night forever.

  I reach for the door handle and then turn back to get one last look at him. His hair is mussed, his shirt is dishevelled and he’s eyeing me with a need that is palpable. I could leave and try my best to forget about him, or I can guarantee that our paths cross again.

  I look him straight in the eye. “If you happen to stop by the Roasting Point Café at the corner of Lexington and 42 nd any weekday morning around eight, you’ll find that blonde you’re looking for.”

  “Good to know, Jane. That’s good to know,” he says with a sly grin before I turn and leave, with the hope that I’ll see him bright and early on Monday morning.

  Chapter 6

  Chloe

  I stand near the glass door and sip my tea while I scan the face of every man who enters the café. I know that I’ll recognize Evan as soon as I see him even if I have no idea if he’ll be wearing a suit and tie, jeans or gym clothes.

  This is the third morning that I’ve stood in this spot waiting until eight fifteen before I head out the door and walk two blocks to my office.

  When he didn’t show on Monday, I convinced myself it was because he didn’t want to appear too eager. Yesterday, I decided that reason he wasn’t in the café was related to a busy schedule. It’s Wednesday now, and I’m running out of excuses for why he’s not here.

  That’s not entirely true. I do have an idea about why he hasn’t walked through the entrance. Saturday night was fun, but maybe when dawn broke on Sunday morning, he realized that our one-night stand needed to remain a memory from his past and not become part of his future.

  I look down at the screen of my phone. It’s now seventeen minutes past eight, and I have a client meeting me at my office in thirteen minutes. If I leave now, I’ll make it with little time to spare.

  I start toward the door trying to subtly push my way past the people walking into the café. Ever since this place opened a year-and-a-half ago, it’s been steadily becoming more popular.

  There was a time when I could walk in and have my tea in my hand within three minutes. Now, I’m lucky if I get in and out in twenty.

  “Hey.” A hand brushes against my shoulder. “What are the chances that I’d see you here?”

  I’d know that voice with my eyes closed. It’s deep and comforting. I turn toward the man who is now standing beside me. “I’d say you had at least a ninety percent chance of seeing me here since you do almost every Wednesday morning.”

  He leans down to kiss me square on the forehead. “Those are good odds.”

  “Spoken like a true poker champion.” I reach forward to adjust the dark scarf around his neck. “Did you walk all the way here from your place?”

  My stepbrother, Rocco Jones, gives me a curt nod. “It’s ten blocks. If I can’t walk that far in sub-zero weather, I shouldn’t be living in this city.”

  I study his ruggedly handsome face. The tip of his nose is red, his blue eyes are watering and his dark brown hair is pushed back from his forehead. “What’s her name, Rocco?”

  “Who?” He cups his hands together in front of his mouth and blows on them. “What are you talking about?”

  “You haven’t shaved in days. That’s usually because you’ve been holed up somewhere with a woman. So, who is she?”

  “This is insulation from the cold.” He rubs his hand over the light beard that is covering his jaw. “I have a meeting this afternoon, so it’ll be history before noon.”

  Rocco’s life couldn’t be any more different than mine. He made a small fortune playing professional poker before he invested in a game app that blew up worldwide. Now, he spends his time funding the business ideas of others.

  My days are devoted to employment law.

  “I have to get to my office.” I reach up to give him a quick hug. “I’m going to Pop’s for dinner tonight. Can I count on you coming? Nash and Luke will be there.”

  “The infamous Jones family dinner, “ he drawls. “When’s the last time we all had dinner with Pop? You know how emotional he is when all four of his kids are sitting around the dining room table.”

  I know how emotional he is. I know how I am too when I hear any of my three stepbrothers refer to me as their sibling. Even though my surname is still legally Newell, I’m a Jones in every way that counts.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” I glance back at the entrance, but there’s still no sign of Evan. “I’m going to work. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Who?” I try to keep my tone light. Rocco is the eldest of my brothers and he’s always been the most protective of me.

  “The guy you keep looking for.” He stares past my shoulder at the entrance.

  “No one, “ I say with a sigh. “I’m not looking for a guy.”

  It’s not a lie. I’m done waiting with baited breath for Evan to show up. I got my hopes up that I’d see him again but I need to resign myself to the reality that we had one night together and that’s where our story ends.

  Chapter 7

  Evan

  I look up at the clock that’s hanging on the wall in the recovery room. Five minutes after ten.

  Fuck. Just Fuck.

  Today is the third in a row I’ve missed meeting Jane at the café. I was in a scheduled surgery on Monday morning at eight a.m., and yesterday it was a consultation with a former patient that kept me from seeing the woman I can’t stop thinking about.

  I was done my rounds at seven this morning and had every intention of breaking free of this place to head uptown. Those plans were sidelined by the repair of a torn artery in the leg of a woman who had been hit by a car.

  The patient is going to be fine after extensive recovery.

  Unless I can manage to get my ass to the Roasting Point Café tomorrow morning, I’m not going to be fine. I want to see the mysterious blonde. I’m craving another kiss and I’ve been aching for a chance to fuck her again.

  “Did you talk to Kylie about me?” Jordan approaches from the left.

  I scrub my hand over my forehead. “I’m good, Jordan. Thanks for asking.”

  He laughs. “I’ll take that as a no. I held up my end of the agreement. You need to follow through on your end.”

  His end of our agreement consisted of him chatting up the wife of our boss while he filled up on free vodka. My end is a hell of a lot more complicated.

  Kylie Newman is a retired model turned vascular surgeon. She’s got at least ten years experience on me and the last guy she dated was a rock star on Wall Street.

  She’s out of Jordan’s league but I always honor my word, so I’ll pitch the idea of a lunch date with Jordan to her and let fate take hold of the wheel.

  “I’ll talk to Kylie this afternoon.” I nod to the nurse who is waiting to speak to me. “I’ve got another surgery in an hour and then three consultations. Is your dance card full too?”

  He shakes his head as he eyes up the blonde nurse.

  She’s cute and married. Vanessa Ryan is one of the superstars in this ward. I rely on her heavily to keep me updated on the progress of my patients. “She’s married, Jordan, and our co-worker.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to look,” he quips. “Why are all the hot ones taken?”

  “Just a guess, but it might be because they found men who don’t stare at them like a fucking creep.”

  “You’re an asshole,” he volleys back with a wide grin.

  I toss Vanessa a smile before I turn to walk toward her. “You’re right, but it works for me.”

  ***

  I powered through my day, fully focused in surgery and wholly invested in every consultation. I even convinced Kylie to have lunch in the hospital cafeteria with Jordan next week. I agreed to be the third wheel, but Jorda
n won’t know that until he finds me sitting next to him chowing down on an underdressed egg salad sandwich. I’d rate the day a success except that I can’t shake thoughts of Jane from my mind.

  “I wanted to thank you again for the tickets to the Islanders game, Evan.” Vanessa stops making notes on the chart in her hands to look up at me. “Garrett is over the moon. Date nights have been few and far between lately. We both appreciate it.”

  Garrett Ryan, Vanessa’s husband, is one of the good guys. We met on Vanessa’s birthday when he stopped in to drop off a bouquet of flowers and a birthday cake so the staff could celebrate with her.

  We hit it off. I’ve been invited to their home twice for dinner since that day and both times an emergency nixed the plans. I’m still waiting on another offer, but I know they devote the bulk of their time at home to their daughter, Ruthie.

  “It’s my pleasure,” I say, looking at her. “A friend has season tickets, but he couldn’t use them. I know how much you two love hockey.”

  She wrinkles her nose. “Garrett loves hockey. I love Garrett, so it’s perfect.”

  I feel the phone in my pocket vibrate. I already know who it is. Jack Pearce. We’re supposed to meet for dinner, but he’s grown accustomed to me being a no-show. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. He’d say the same about me.

  “Are you going to get that?” Vanessa cocks her head. “You’re off the clock. You should get out of here and have a life while you can.”

  “It’s just a friend. He can entertain himself until I decide if I’m meeting him for a burger or not.”

  “If I had a vote, I’d say meet him for a burger.” She shrugs. “You’ve been working non-stop. You deserve a night off. Besides, you never know who might be in the restaurant. My friend, Bridget, met her husband at a restaurant. They were both having dinner with other people and then, bam, they saw each other and everything changed.”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I think I have a better chance of having a bam moment inside the Roasting Point on Lexington at the crack of dawn than a burger place in midtown tonight.”

  “That’s oddly specific.” She laughs. “Should I ask what that’s about?”

  “Ask me tomorrow morning after eight. With any luck, I’ll have had my bam moment and I’ll know the name of the woman I can’t stop thinking about.”

  Chapter 8

  Chloe

  “You were quiet during dinner, Chloe.”

  I look to where my stepdad is standing next to the dining room table. He’d cooked a feast for my brothers and me. I smelled his signature chicken potpie as soon as I let myself into his house in Queens.

  He gave all four of us a key the day he moved into the small house. That was almost a year ago. I can tell that he’s still not as comfortable here as he was back in the apartment in Manhattan he shared with my mom, but he’s finding his way.

  “I’m tired, dad.” I swipe a towel over a plate before I place it back in the cupboard above the sink. “I’ve been at the office late almost every night for weeks.”

  He picks up the last of the dirty dishes and carries them to where I’m standing. “You might have a case of the winter blues.”

  I know his tried and true remedy for that. “I’ve got a full caseload right now, so California is out of the question.”

  He huffs out a low laugh. “You read my mind. Do you remember how we used to head there for a week right after Christmas?”

  I remember everything about those trips. We’d take off the day after Christmas. My three brothers would sit in one row of seats on the airplane, while I sat between my parents in the row behind them.

  It was our only family vacation each year. We made the most of those seven days and as soon as we landed back in New York, we’d start counting the days until the next one.

  The trips were a family tradition until I started college and my folks traded the sunny beaches of California for Florida’s gulf coast and a week with their friends who had retired there.

  “How could I forget?” I kiss his cheek. He’s still as handsome as the day I met him. He sports a few more wrinkles now and his brown hair is an appealing mix of salt and pepper. The big difference that I see when I look at him now is sadness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “Maybe next December we can go back?”

  Tipping his chin up, he looks at the open cupboard, his eyes not focusing on anything in particular. I know he’s lost in thought. “I’ll start planning it next month.”

  He will. He lives for the moments that he spends with my brothers and I. We’ve all encouraged him to get out and meet new people, but he always says that he knows everyone he needs to. I don’t push because if he’s content in the small world he lives in, I’m content too.

  “You barely spoke to your brothers during dinner,” he says quietly. “Granted, it’s hard to get a word in when those three are around, but still, you’re not yourself.”

  He’s right. I’m not. I listened to my brother, Luke, share the details about a fire he responded to last week. He loves working as a fireman and every time I see him, he has another tale of heroism to share. Those stories are never about him, although he has risked his life on numerous occasions to help others.

  Nash is just as talkative. Today, he went on about a campaign he landed. He started his own advertising business seven years ago when he was twenty-five and it’s steadily growing. He’s the middle son, but the soft gray at his temples makes him look older than Rocco, even though he’s two years younger.

  I clutch the towel in my fist as I make a small confession. “I met someone, dad. I like him, but…”

  “But, what?” His gaze narrows, his brown eyes rich with concern.

  I can’t exactly tell my father that I hooked up with a random at my friend’s wedding. My dad is strictly old school. He practically went on my first date with me.

  His recollection of that night is different than mine, but I distinctly remember him being in the movie theatre while I sat next to my date eating popcorn. I may have only been fourteen, but having your dad tag along to watch every move of the boy you like is a sure way to end the date early.

  “What did this man do, Chloe? Tell me.”

  “He didn’t do anything.” I twist the towel in my hands. “I thought I’d see him again. That hasn’t happened yet. We hit it off, but maybe I felt a spark that he didn’t.”

  “That’s impossible,” he blurts out. “You’re everything any man could ever want.”

  Spoken like a father who loves his only daughter.

  “It doesn’t matter either way.” I busy myself with washing another plate. “I like my life the way it is. I don’t need a man.”

  His hand dives into the warm sudsy water to cover mine. “We all need someone who cares for us. If he’s not that guy, you’ll find him. I promise you that the man you’re meant to spend your life with is out there looking for you right now.”

  That might be true, but the man I’d like to spend at least a few more hours with knows exactly where to find me every morning at eight sharp. That man is obviously not looking for me.

  Chapter 9

  Evan

  I was tempted to turn off my phone when I finally got into bed well past midnight. Yesterday was a bitch, and even though I wasn’t on call overnight, I fell asleep with the fear that I’d end up back at the hospital before dawn broke.

  That didn’t happen.

  I got a few hours of much-needed sleep, shaved and took a shower. Then I dressed in jeans, a gray sweater and my black wool coat. I left my apartment in plenty of time to get to the Roasting Point on Lexington by eight.

  It’s now eight-fifteen and Jane is nowhere to be found.

  It’s Thursday. That means I missed my chance on three consecutive mornings. For all I know she gave up and is hitting up another café for an espresso or whatever gets her motor running.

  The other possibility is that sweet Jane lied through her teeth about frequenting this place, but my now-hardening cock is t
elling me otherwise.

  That’s because a gorgeous blonde just walked in. The blonde I’ve been aching to see for days.

  Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail. She’s wearing a dark trench coat and carrying a leather briefcase.

  She looks like a high-powered executive.

  Jane is even hotter this morning than she was the night we met.

  I rub the back of my neck as I feel my pulse race. I’m not like this around women. I’ve never been, yet I feel my heartbeat speed as I study her from across the café. I should be up on my feet by now, stalking toward her.

  In my mind’s eye, I’ve already got her in an embrace and I’m dipping her and kissing her like I wanted to before she walked out of Jordan’s hotel room the other night.

  I sit with that image for a second as Jane finally scans the entire space before her gaze locks with mine.

  ***

  “Jane,” I say as I approach her, irritated that I’m not greeting her with the name everyone in her world knows.

  “You’re here.” Her eyes widen as I stop in front of where she’s standing. “I didn’t think I’d see you again, Evan.”

  I move a half step to lean in for a kiss but stop myself. We fucked in a hotel room. We’re not long lost friends who engage in double cheek kisses when we see each other.

  My gaze goes back to her face. I was riding a slight buzz from the bourbon the other night. I knew she was attractive, but not this striking. This woman is beautiful, as in, breathtaking.

  “You told me you’d be here,” I go on quickly. “I would have been here earlier in the week, but work has been hell.”

  She nods like she half believes me. It’s not bullshit and if I confess that I spend most of my time caring for others there would most likely be immediate understanding in her eyes.