Blush

by Nicola Marsh

  “Next week.” Jess’s eyes sparkled at the thought of seeing Jack again. “Can’t wait.”

  “You know I’m happy for you, right?” About the only thing he was happy about these days.

  “Yeah, I know.” She paused, took a sip of mineral water, before placing the glass on a chrome coffee table. “So what happened with Adele?”

  “Not much.”

  Not much he wanted to talk about, that is.

  The fact he couldn’t stop thinking about her, even now, a month since he’d seen her? Irrefutable proof it would take him more than four weeks on the campaign trail to get over her. And he still couldn’t fathom why.

  They’d had sex. Phenomenal sex, but sex nonetheless. A physical connection that shouldn’t have transcended into…this. Whatever this was. Other than a way to slowly but surely drive him crazy.

  “By that bizarre expression on your face, somewhere between goofball and surly, I’d say a lot happened.” Jess patted the sofa next to her. “Come tell me all about it.”

  The last thing Reid felt like doing was articulating what had—or hadn’t—happened with Adele, but he was going stir crazy thinking about it so maybe getting his sister’s opinion wouldn’t hurt.

  “You know that day you were here when I first asked for her number and you kinda freaked out and called me an uptight prig for not wanting to ring Burlesque Bombshell for fear someone would leak it?”

  A tiny frown appeared between Jess’s brows. “Yeah?”

  “Turns out Adele doesn’t want a relationship with me because of where she works and who I am, so she knocked me back.”

  Jess’s eyes widened. “You wanted to have a relationship? A real, honest-to-goodness relationship where two people are committed and in love and do things together and—”

  “Don’t make it sound so impossible,” he said dryly, well aware where his sister would’ve got the impression he wasn’t the commitment type of guy.

  For the simple fact he’d never had a relationship. Ever. It hadn’t fit into his grand plans.

  Until now.

  “A relationship,” Jess muttered, shaking her head and sneaking disbelieving glances at him. “What have you done with my brother?”

  “Ha, frigging, ha.” He interlocked fingers and stretched forward, before slumping into the sofa. “Believe me, I don’t need the complication or the aggravation falling for Adele has brought, but—”

  “This is fantastic.” Jess clapped her hands like she’d been drinking red cordial rather than mineral water. “You’re truly smitten. And Adele’s wonderful.”

  “Have you just heard anything I’ve said?” He pretended to tap his ears. “Adele doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

  Jess tilted her head to one side, studying him. “Why?”

  He knew the next part would earn him a punch from his sister. “Because I said I wanted to trial a relationship, and that means keeping it quiet.”

  Jess’s deathly silence scared him, so he rushed on, “You know, in case it didn’t work out, so would save us both the indignity of having our lives dragged through the mud for nothing…” he trailed off as Jess’s eyes narrowed to slits of blue fire.

  “Are you insane?” Her voice ended on a shriek. “You’ve been spouting crap to the public for so long you’ve started to believe your own bullshit.”

  Jess leaned over and punched him on the arm. Hard. “You’re the biggest dumbass I’ve ever met.”

  She punched him again for good measure. “What the hell were you thinking, asking a sweet girl like Adele to be your secret…mistress!”

  “It’s not like that,” he said, hating how logical Jess made it sound.

  “Yeah, dumbass, it’s exactly like that.”

  He shifted before she could land another punch.

  “No great surprise she turned you down.” Jess snorted. “So what are you going to do about it?”

  The million-dollar question, something Reid had pondered at length over the last month.

  And still come up empty.

  “What can I do? We live in different cities, we lead very different lives and our jobs are worlds apart.” He stood and started pacing, something he’d been doing way too much of lately. “Plus I fucked it up royally.”

  “You sure did.” Jess stood and headed for the bar. “Think I’ll have that drink after all.”

  She sloshed scotch into two glasses, crossed the office and handed him one. “Do you love her?”

  “Too soon for that.” He clinked glasses with her before downing his scotch. “But I care an awful lot about her. She makes me feel incredible. And I want to be with her.”

  He slammed the glass down on his desk. “Which is ridiculous, considering I barely know her.”

  “Love’s never logical,” Jess said, laying a comforting hand on his forearm. “Jack and I are testament to that.”

  “Let’s hope I don’t take ten years to get my head on straight like you two,” Reid said, eliciting a smile from Jess.

  “At least we got there eventually.” She perched on the edge of the desk next to him. “Which brings me back to my original question…what are you going to do?”

  “Damned if I know.”

  The only way Reid could see this working is if Adele didn’t work at a burlesque venue.

  Or he had a different occupation.

  And considering he’d worked long years to get where he was, finally in a position to make a difference, he couldn’t walk away from politics now.

  But no way in hell he’d ask her to walk away from her job, despite a small ridiculous voice insisting he could pull strings to offer her a great accountancy job in LA…

  “Your expression says it all, bro.” Jess stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “You’re bamboozled, so I’ll shut my mouth and leave you to it.”

  “That’d be a first,” he said, earning another punch on his arm. “Give it to me straight. Your opinion?”

  Jess hesitated, something his outspoken sister never did around him.

  “Come on, Jess, I can take it.”

  “I think you’ve spent your whole life doing the right thing, presenting the perfect image, being the golden boy.” He only just heard her imperceptible sigh. “But what if it isn’t enough?”

  She patted his cheek. “You’re in a pretty tough place right now. Get the girl, lose the career. Maybe you can come up with a way to have it all?”

  He wished.

  “Thanks, Jess.”

  “Anytime.” She paused at the door and blew him a kiss. “If you do get another chance with Adele, don’t treat her like a dirty little secret. Women don’t appreciate being wooed by a moron.”

  He bit back a grin. “Get out.”

  “With pleasure.” She winked, before slamming the door.

  Reid had been a moron. Major moron.

  But how did he make amends and not lose everything he’d worked for in the process?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Adele peeked around the dressing room door to ensure the dancers had left for the night before slipping into her favorite space at Burlesque Bombshell.

  She’d done her best thinking here, from the early days when she’d landed in Vegas hoping for a new start, to later, when she’d finished her accountancy degree and Chantal had offered her a permanent job.

  There was something about being confronted by her reflection in a brightly lit mirror that demanded she never shy from the truth.

  And she never had. Even in her darkest days, when she’d done what she had to do to help her mom survive, she’d never tried to hide who she was.

  She may not be proud of things she’d done in the past but her motives had been pure.

  Considering her current situation, she wasn’t too sure.

  While Chantal hadn’t said anything more about telling Reid the truth, she caught her friend staring when she thought she wasn’t looking and Adele could’ve sworn disapproval radiated from those stares.

  Chantal thought she was being sel
fish, denying Reid the option to be part of this baby’s life. When in fact Adele was being unselfish in not wanting to ruin his life.

  Not that she hadn’t picked up the phone more times than she cared to admit. Her thumb had hovered over her cell’s contacts button, while she toyed with the idea of blurting the truth. But sanity had prevailed each time and she’d flung the phone away, preferring to immerse herself in online forums for expectant moms.

  The information she’d learned should’ve terrified: hemorrhoids to episiotomies, breech births to gestational diabetes. Yet she’d absorbed the lot, eager to be informed, ready to face whatever this baby threw her way.

  Sure, she was scared. Scared of the many unexpected scenarios she potentially faced. But the way she figured, she’d been a parent to her mom, raising her own child had to be cinch compared to that.

  Adele chose her lucky chair, the one she’d laid dibs on the first night she’d danced here. It had been furthest from the door, tucked away in an alcove bordered by a gold embossed wall and a faux jade screen.

  As a new girl, she’d craved the privacy. The other dancers had been nothing but welcoming, yet there’d been something infinitely comforting when she arrived early for performances and sat in this chair, mulling her new life and how far she’d come.

  She scooped an armful of feather boas off the chair and dumped them on a nearby leather stool before sitting.

  Wriggling into the worn peacock blue velvet, she stared at her reflection.

  Nothing seemed to have changed. Same straight nose. Blue eyes a tad too far apart to be conventional. High cheekbones. Deep red hair.

  Yep, she looked the same, yet on the inside incredibly different.

  She’d weathered her mother’s decline and subsequent death from liver failure, relocation from Chicago to Vegas, a transformation from burlesque dancer to accountant. Huge life changes she’d coped with. Yet the thought of having a baby—Reid’s baby—had her pressing a hand to her stomach in the hope everything would be all right.

  “Thought I’d find you in here.” Chantal stepped into the dressing room and closed the door. “Your usual Monday night ritual.”

  “Not for a long time.” Adele swiveled the chair away from the mirror to face her friend, who sat on a ruby chaise sofa.

  “Who’re you kidding? I still see you sneak in here when you need to de-stress.” Chantal slipped off her stilettos and tucked her feet under her. “Not that I blame you.” She swept her arm wide, encompassing the room. “I love this place too. Do some of my best thinking in here.”

  Chantal rarely talked about her early days as a dancer and Adele cherished this rare moment of bonding. She’d better make the most of it, because in six months conversations with her friends would be interspersed with wails and blubbered demands.

  “Do you ever miss it? The dancing?”

  Chantal’s eyes misted over for a moment, before she blinked. “I’ve come too far to miss it.”

  “Know the feeling.”

  Chantal quirked a brow. “Hasn’t been that long since you swapped tassels for a calculator?”

  Adele wasn’t talking about her switch from burlesque to accountancy. Not that she’d tell Chantal. No one knew about her past, just the way she wanted it.

  “I swear there’s something magical about this room,” Adele said, trailing her fingers across the dresser. Picking up a foundation stick, perfume spritzer, mascara wand, before putting them down. Toying with fake eyelashes and sequins. Twisting satin ribbons around her fingers. “Even when the girls were packed in here before a performance, there’s a tranquility I never found elsewhere.”

  Studying her with renewed interest, Chantal nodded. “Me too.”

  Afraid she’d cry—damn hormones—Adele said, “Must be the hairspray fumes making us high.”

  Chantal cleared her throat. “Could be.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments, lost in their private memories, when the door creaked open.

  “Is this a private party or can anyone join?”

  Adele stiffened at the sound of Jess’s perky voice.

  She liked Reid’s sister but as her hand unconsciously fluttered toward her stomach, Adele knew she’d need to put on the performance of a lifetime if Jess mentioned her brother.

  Chantal shot her a quick glance and Adele nodded.

  “Come on in, sweetie,” Chantal said, sitting up and patting a space on the chaise sofa. “Just reminiscing about the good old days.”

  “You sound like you’re ancient,” Jess said, stopping to give Adele a quick hug before doing the same to Chantal. “Must be some amazing anti-wrinkle cream you use.”

  Jess dodged a pinch from Chantal and Adele forced a laugh that sounded stilted at best.

  Way to go with pretending everything was normal.

  If Jess picked up on any awkwardness, thankfully she didn’t say. “I’m leaving next week.”

  Chantal made smooching sounds. “Off to see that sexy Aussie.”

  Jess blushed, her natural reaction endearing her to Adele even more. “I really miss him.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” Chantal waved toward the door. “Why don’t you fly out early?”

  “Too much stuff to take care of.” Jess locked gazes with Adele, the steely glint in Jess’s eyes very off-putting. “Including giving my brother a lobotomy.”

  Adele’s heart stalled at the mention of Reid, before galloping at a million beats a minute. Was she so desperate to hear the slightest mention of the guy that she’d put herself through hell, trying to sit here and act calm when now was the perfect time to excuse herself from the room?

  “What’s the ravishing Reid done this time?”

  To Chantal’s credit, she didn’t glance in Adele’s direction as she asked the question. Not that it mattered. Adele could feel heat flushing her cheeks neon red regardless.

  “Made an ass of himself,” Jess said, shooting Adele a quick glance before returning her attention to Chantal. “I swear the dufus is head over heels, never seen him like this before, but because he’s never had a relationship ever he has no clue how to go about having one.”

  Shock tore through Adele’s carefully constructed indifference.

  Reid had never had a relationship? Ever?

  Yet he’d wanted one with her after knowing her how long?

  “Guys like that need one of two things,” Chantal said, holding up two fingers. “A helping hand to guide them in the right direction or a swift kick up the ass.”

  Jess laughed and Adele managed a wan smile as both girls glanced in her direction. “So what’s it going to be, Adele? Are you going to help my Neanderthal brother or kick him to the curb?”

  Jess’s bluntness rendered Adele speechless as she scrambled for something to say, other than the truth.

  “Because he told me how he presented his offer to you.” Jess rolled her eyes. “You’ll be pleased to know I punched him several times for wanting to have a relationship with you, yet wanting to keep you secret because you work here.”

  “Good girl,” Chantal said, draping an arm across Jess’s shoulders and squeezing. “You always could keep that brother of yours in line, even back in Craye Canyon.”

  Jess returned Chantal’s hug before glancing back to Adele, who still hadn’t composed a suitable response.

  “I know the whole thing seems pretty untenable, but if you’re half as crazy about my brother as he is about you, you should try to work things out,” Jess said, her imploring expression tugging at Adele’s heart strings.

  “It’s not that easy,” Adele said, needing to come up with something that didn’t remotely sound like ‘you think it’s complicated now, wait ’til you hear I’m having his baby.’

  “Relationships never are,” Jess said, shrugging. “But I can honestly say, my brother’s one of the good guys and if he has feelings for you, he’s loyal and loving and will do right by you no matter what the obstacles.”

  Crap. Adele didn’t want Reid doing right
by her. That would be the worst-case scenario, him finding out about this baby and giving up his career, sacrificing his dreams, because he wanted to do right by her.

  “I’m not trying to interfere, honest, but I think he’s halfway in love with you,” Jess said, her voice quivering a tad. “And if you feel anything for him, you owe it to yourselves to give it a go.”

  Adele tried to swallow the lump of emotion lodged in her throat, but the harder she tried the larger it grew, until the unthinkable happened.

  She burst into tears.

  Jess flew to her side and wrapped an arm around her, which only made Adele cry harder, great snot-clogging sobs that choked.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetie, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Jess reached for a tissue box and held it out.

  “Not your fault,” Adele said, between hiccups, as she swiped a bunch of tissues.

  “Hormones.” Chantal’s murmured proclamation made the same impact as a foghorn on a still night, echoing around the room until it’s all anyone could hear.

  Adele’s horror stifled her sobs as she glared at Chantal, who mouthed ‘sorry’ before grimacing in mortification.

  “That time of the month, huh?” Jess said, staring at Adele with renewed interest.

  “Yeah,” Adele mumbled, trying to hide her monumental lie behind a bunch of tissues as she blew her nose.

  Sadly, Jess was as smart as her brother, as her curious glance swung from Adele to Chantal and back again.

  Adele willed her not to make the obvious connection. Willed it with every fiber in her being.

  But she saw the exact moment Jess put two and two together and came up with baby makes three.

  “No freaking way.” Jess stared at Adele’s stomach in round-eyed wonder. “You’re pregnant.”

  Adele could feign many things—a past she didn’t care about, her true feelings for Reid—but no way could she tell a blatant lie to his sister.

  Chantal muttered, “oh boy,” as Adele reluctantly nodded.

  Jess’s mouth gaped, as she stared at Adele like she was carrying alien spawn rather than a niece or nephew.

  “I’m assuming the baby’s Reid’s?”

  Jess’s blunt question should’ve made Adele angry but she didn’t blame Reid’s sister for being protective.