Her blush was back. “Two glasses of wine and I’m giving away my dirty little secret. I literally have no filter right now. Let’s change the subject.”
“Okay,” he said reluctantly. He would’ve rather discussed the dirty books, but he would also like to get to know her better. “What about your parents?”
“I have them, yes,” she laughed. “My mother lives in Florida with her boyfriend and my father passed away about ten years ago.” Her voice lowered and he could see the grief in her eyes as she blinked back a tear.
Taking her hand, he gently held it in his. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine losing a parent.” Instead of holding her hand, he wanted to put his arms around her to comfort her. It was strange to feel such a quick connection to someone he just met.
“Thank you. Even though it was a decade ago, it still fills like it happened yesterday. It was unexpected and being a daddy’s girl…it hit pretty hard.” She shook her head, blew out a deep breath then put a smile on her face. “What about you?”
“Me? I have parents, too,” he teased. “They’ve been married forever and act like newlyweds no matter how many times my sister, who’s my only sibling, and I complain.”
“That’s sweet. I always wanted that,” she said with a sigh.
“So have you…”
“Nope,” she interrupted. “You haven’t finished telling me about you. I don’t even know what my husband does for a living.”
“I’m a corporate attorney.”
She played with the empty wine glass, running her finger around the rim. “So what made you decide to be a corporate attorney?”
“I don’t know if it was a decision as much as just knowing it was what I wanted to do. My grandfather was a corporate attorney and when my father and uncle graduated from law school, he opened up his own law firm. I grew up hearing lawyer speak, then when I was in high school I began working for them during the summers.”
He thought for sure he would’ve bored her to death with his ramblings about work and how much he enjoyed working for his father and uncle, but she looked at him with the same intensity she had when she was reading her dirty book.
He even talked to her about his concerns of taking over the family firm in a few years when his father and uncle retired. She took his hand and held it. “You’re going to do great, Preston, and obviously they agree if they’re willing to leave it in your hands.” In his head, he knew it was absurd to trust someone he didn’t really know, but at the same time he felt the sincerity in her words. If he had someone like her by his side, he knew he would be able to do anything.
“It’s your turn again. When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?”
“In kindergarten.” Her smile could’ve lit the room. “My teacher, Ms. Fisher, made it so fun. I thought she had the best job in the world. And I was right. It can be challenging, but worth it.” Her hand stilled on the wine glass she continued to play with and she looked up at him. “I want to teach again.” She sounded almost surprised by her realization. “I knew I wanted to go back to teaching but I hadn’t realized how much until this very moment.”
“Can I ask why you left?”
She stared down at her hands and drew in a deep breath. “I…” Her brows turned in.
He tightened his hold on her hand. “Hey.” He leaned into her, drawing her eyes back to his. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. It’s just…” She sighed. “I was married to the principal of the school where I worked. I was in my sixth year of teaching. Third grade,” she said with a slight smile that quickly fell when she spoke again. “He had an affair with someone we worked with and I just...” Her voice broke and a few tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Say no more.” He wiped at her tears and pulled her into a warm hug. With her head on his shoulder, he lightly ran his hand up and down her back. “For the record,” he whispered. “He was a fool to ever give you up.”
“I don’t know why I’m crying. I’m not in love with him anymore,” she mumbled into his chest.
Letting go of her, he reached for some napkins and handed them to her so she could wipe her eyes and nose.
“You have every right to cry. Someone you trusted, who promised to love and honor you, betrayed you.”
“True,” she agreed. She looked into his eyes and blushed again. “I can’t believe I just spilled my guts to you. I’ve never talked to anyone outside my family about this.”
He took her hand again. “I’m your fake husband. We’re supposed to share our lives.”
With tears still streaming down her cheeks, she began to laugh.
Squeezing her hand with a slight smile, he said, “Thank you.”
She shook her head in unbelief. “You’re thanking me for crying on your shoulder?”
“For opening up to me.”
Sniffing, she wiped at her nose. “I feel like one of those people who overshares.”
“Well, if it will make you feel better, I can tell you my worst break-up story,” he offered.
Her body shook with a small laugh. “It only seems fair.”
“Well, the night I proposed to my girlfriend of two years, she said no.”
Her jaw dropped. “No, she didn’t!”
He nodded his head. “Yeah. I was on my knees and held a ring in front of her and she said no. It’s not nearly as bad as being cheated on by a spouse but…”
“That’s awful!”
“It was,” he agreed.
“God. Look at us, we’re a couple of sad saps.”
“I don’t think we’re sad saps. We’re just two people who were hurt by people we loved.”
To lighten the mood, Preston made up a game. They each had to take turns telling each their worst kiss, worst date, and most embarrassing moment on a date. By the time they were done sharing stories, they were laughing so hard tears streamed down their faces.
When the bartender interrupted by announcing, “Last call.” Preston was shocked to realize they had been talking for hours, though it felt like only minutes.
“What?” Her laughter died down as she looked at her watch then her shoulders slumped. “I hadn’t realized how late it was.”
Neither had he and yet there was still so much more he wanted to know about her.
He dropped some cash on the bar before she could pay for their drinks then followed her out to the lobby. They didn’t speak when they walked to the elevator. Standing side by side, he felt this needling fear that he wasn’t going to see her again. She lived here. He was going back to Arizona. There could never be anything more than this.
When they stepped into the elevator, they reached for their floor button at the same time. They smiled when they realized they were staying on the same floor. Leaning against the railing, they wordlessly stared at each other. The silence was almost painful.
The elevator chimed when the doors opened and he felt a sort of panic hit his chest. It felt like he was about to say goodbye to the possibility of something great.
She stopped in front of the room next to his and gripped the door handle but didn’t make a move to open the door. She turned to him and opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it. “I know we just met but I feel like I would be making a huge mistake if I said goodbye without getting your number.”
She grinned and let out a big breath. She dug through her purse, pulled out a card and a pen and quickly wrote something and handed it to him. “I rarely check my home phone, but you can always get a hold of me at that number. I wasn’t joking when I said I work late hours for my sister.”
He slid the card into his jean pocket terrified he would lose it before he could get her contact information into his phone. “Goodnight, Melanie.” He leaned into her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. It took everything in him to step back and not pull her into his arms and kiss her like he had wanted since they met, a more intimate kiss than the one they shared as ‘husband and wife’ in the bar.
&n
bsp; She stood in front of him gripping her purse, her chest rising and falling with each deep breath. It didn’t bring him any comfort knowing she was as affected by him as he was by her. He took the pen from her hand and a card from his wallet and wrote at the bottom, ‘Please call me.’ “I don’t want to say goodbye,” he admitted.
She shook her head. “Me neither.”
“Call me, day or night.” He cradled her cheek with the palm of his hand hoping she could see in his eyes how badly he wanted to see her again. “I’m serious, day or night,” he said again. “I don’t know when I’ll be back in town, but I’ll make up an excuse.”
She released a soft laugh. “I’d like that.”
“Okay. This is really a goodnight.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I can’t leave until I know you’re safe in your room.”
She bit her lip. “You’re making me not want to be safe in my room.” Leaning his forehead against hers, he groaned. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, Preston.”
He stepped back as she entered her room and closed the door without a backward glance. He was glad for it. If she looked at him one more time he would have been on his knees begging for her to let him hold her until he had to leave in the morning.
Running his hand through his messy blond hair, he tried to remember if he ever felt this way about anyone. He had been attracted to Bridget and he enjoyed chasing her until he figured out that he would always have to chase her. No, his draw to Melanie was…different. More. And he had no idea when he was going to see her again.
Chapter Four
May 3rd
Melanie
Melanie leaned against her hotel door, her stomach still knotted from saying goodbye. She was so overwhelmed by her mixed emotions she didn’t know up from down. She went from sheer relief when Preston took the seat next to her to a deep disappointment when they said goodbye.
Her attraction to Preston had been immediate, how could it not?
Light brown puppy dog eyes. Check.
Wavy blond hair that kept falling in his eyes. Check.
Crooked smile that was a mix of mischievous and sexy. Check.
Saving her from a creep. Check.
To fight the attraction would’ve been futile.
It had been only hours ago she had said goodbye to Marla. Every mile she put between her and the office she felt lighter and her breaths deeper. She had known her job had been all consuming, but as she let go of the weight of all her responsibilities, she realized her job had turned into her everything. She literally had nothing but work and a big empty house that reminded her of her ex-husband.
A few hours later she was taking the elevator up to her hotel room, feeling a little too excited by the fact that she was leaving her work clothes in her closet and would be living in shorts, tank tops and swimsuits for the next thirty days.
As she entered the hotel room she thought about the number of hours she had to put into her job. It had been her excuse not to look for another teaching position. Where would she have found the time? She was also too busy to get drinks with co-workers or even date not that the opportunity arose that often but she had always given some excuse to decline.
Having this much freedom was as scary as it was exciting. She wouldn’t have work as an excuse. For the next month, she would be forced to focus on her life and figure out what she wanted. And she was going to her favorite place in the world to do it.
When she and Marla were young, they had spent one month every summer staying with their grandparents being spoiled, playing in the pool, hanging out with the neighborhood kids and staying up late watching old movies with Grandma. It was the highlight of every summer. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed it until she heard her grandfather’s excitement over the phone.
She thought about why she had stopped visiting them. “Steve,” she muttered under her breath. She had been so caught up with him she gave up her friends, rarely spoke to her mother or sister and stopped visiting her grandparents. He didn’t want her traveling so far away or for very long. She thought it was sweet and meant he loved her.
Instead, they spent their vacations with his friends and his family doing things he enjoyed.
Why didn’t she see it before?
In an annoyed huff, she dropped her luggage just inside her hotel room. She couldn’t believe she gave him so much and he still threw her away for someone else.
Thankfully, her grandparents had visited her instead. They scheduled their visits when Steve would be gone. She never told anyone but she looked forward to their visit all year long. That should’ve been her first sign that Steve was wrong for her.
After eating dinner at a local restaurant, she leisurely walked back to the hotel in no hurry to be alone in a hotel room. With no deadlines looming or schedules to worry about, she didn’t know what to do with her extra energy. It wasn’t until she was walking toward the elevator that she noticed the sign for the hotel bar. A nice glass of wine while she read her book was exactly what she needed.
Thanks to her grandmother, she made it a habit to always carry a book with her. She also picked up her love of romance novels from her.
Once her drink was ordered, Melanie took out her book and turned to her favorite part. She had read it so many times she practically had it memorized and yet every time she read it, it was just as good as the first time.
She felt the heroine’s fear when she was kidnapped from her bedroom wearing only a thin nightgown, and the warm steaminess of the sexy pirate taking her innocence. She had just gotten to the good part when she felt someone tap on her shoulder then ask for her name.
She was seconds away from leaving when the man didn’t accept her no. Then she heard a voice that sounded like warm water running down her spine.
Preston.
Melanie was smitten from the moment he sat down next to her. She surprised herself when she leaned over and kissed him. It was completely out of character for her but she didn’t regret the kiss. At all. In fact, she had never been so happy to do something spontaneous when he gave her a sexy smile.
The only thing she regretted was not inviting him into her hotel room. She had never had a one-night stand and wasn’t about to start now, but she wasn’t ready to say goodnight to him either. Even though they exchanged numbers, she felt a strange loss when she shut the door between them. Like she was shutting out not just him but something…more.
Maybe it was because she still didn’t know enough about him. Like why was he in Chicago? Where was he from? How old was he? Did he want to get married and have kids? Okay, so she wouldn’t have asked the last one, but she was curious. She stared down at his card and smiled. He said he wanted to see her again. That had to be enough for now.
Even after a hot shower and the late hour, sleep eluded her. She couldn’t stop thinking about a sexy smile and laugh that made her stomach twist. By the time her phone rang with her morning wake up call, she was already showered and dressed. She figured she could nap during her four-hour plane ride. Plus she had a whole month to catch up on her sleep.
She had just stepped out of her room to meet the airport shuttle in front of the hotel when she heard someone ask, “How’s my beautiful wife this morning?”
Oh, Lord, that voice.
That smile.
Her mouth lifted into a toothy grin. “I’m good. How’s my handsome husband?”
“Better now that I get to see you.” Normally she would have blown off a comment like that as friendly flirting, but when his cheeks pinked, she knew he meant it. He pointed at her luggage. “Heading to the airport?”
“Yes. Early flight. You, too?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
They stood facing the elevator that seemed to be taking its own sweet time. All night she couldn’t stop thinking about all the questions she wanted to ask but now that he stood next to her, she couldn’t think of a single one.
“I didn’t…”
“You never said…”
“Oh, I…I didn’t get a chance to ask you last night where you were heading.”
“Flying to Phoenix, but home is Flagstaff.” She sucked in a deep breath and covered her mouth to hide the overwhelming joy that hit her. What were the chances? She felt a laugh bubble up. She was going to spend a month in the same city as him.
His head tilted and his brows pulled in as he watched her reaction. “Excuse me, young man, can you help me?” A voice said behind them. They turned at the same time and saw a tiny, elderly woman with white hair and rounded shoulders trying to drag a suitcase nearly the same size as her. “My grandson was supposed to help me this morning, but he never showed up,” she said with a tsk. “Kids…”
Preston gave her his glorious smile and took her suitcase right as the elevator opened up. His arms were full, but his smile never left when the woman hooked her arm around his and chatted all the way down to the front desk and while they waited for the shuttle. Every few minutes he looked over the woman’s head and winked at Melanie.
She was dying to talk to him, but the woman didn’t give her a chance. She barely took a breath as she talked about how excited she was to go to her granddaughter’s wedding. Preston listened to her and nodded when it was appropriate and asked the right questions. Melanie sat quietly waiting for a break in conversation, but the woman would not stop talking.
When they pulled up to the airport, he met Melanie at the back of the van. She was about to tell him they didn’t need to say goodbye, but once again the elderly woman drew his attention. “Could you help me check in?” she asked him.
He looked back and forth between her and the old woman appearing conflicted with what to do. He was too much of a gentleman to not help the woman. “Melanie…”
Shhh.” She put her arms around him. He slid his hand behind her neck and held her close “I can’t believe I had a second chance to spend time with you and…ugh,” he growled. He looked into her eyes. “Call me. Please call me,” he whispered. She smiled knowing that this wasn’t a goodbye. When he let go, she said, “I’ll talk to you later.”
Until Here Page 3
