CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE TRILOGY

by Patrice Wilton

  “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a fabulous kisser?” she whispered, nipping his bottom lip.

  “Maybe I heard that once or twice.” His hand tangled in her hair, stroking gently, sending thrills up and down her spine. This was exactly what she’d wanted. Light caresses and sensual touching.

  Was it Ryan or the lack of male companionship in the past few years that made everything he did so much better than anything she’d ever known?

  He massaged her scalp with his nimble fingers, and it was so exquisite, shooting pangs of desire through her body, making her wet. She squirmed, pressing her body closer to his, wanting him to release her, yet afraid of what she was feeling and of how much she wanted it.

  “Ryan, please stop.”

  “I will. One last kiss and then I’ll stop.”

  Her arms went around his neck and she opened her mouth to his, hot and hungry, giving as much as she got. He was panting by the time he released her.

  With effort, she stood up. “Good night, Ryan. Sleep well.” Her legs were so shaky, they barely got her up the stairs, but the rest of her was practically floating on air.

  His kisses were just what the doctor ordered. Callie might need his kidney, but her very soul cried out for his loving.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The following day, Leila stayed later than usual at the university. It wasn’t that she was avoiding Ryan or feeling guilt over the pleasure he gave her, but she had skipped out early the day before and needed to make up for lost time. She actually was relieved to be so busy, although not a day went by when she wasn’t torn between her love for her job and her love for Callie. It was her nature to give everything she had, whether it was to a relationship or a job, and she took her commitment to her students very seriously. Having a sick daughter made it difficult at times to devote to her career the attention and time it needed, but she figured sleep was overrated, and she had twenty-four hours in a day to make sure no one suffered.

  Except herself, of course. It was a brutal pace, and she imaged most people could keep it up for a few months, but she had had to sustain it for the past couple of years. Having her mother around helped immensely and made it all possible, but Leila knew Callie didn’t quite understand why she had to teach at Rutgers instead of taking an easier job at a community college.

  Leila really had no clear answer to that question. She only knew that she wanted one day to be tenured at Princeton, and this was a stepping-stone in that direction. Her father had ended his career there, and had filled her head with dreams. Simply walking the halls of that illustrious school was an honor and filled her with pride.

  Ryan had called her while she was in class, and she took the time to call him back before she had to attend a committee meeting.

  “Hey, good news, Lei.” The sound of his voice sent a thrill through her, and she could feel her cheeks grow warm.

  “Tell me. I only have a few minutes.”

  “They’ve screened for kidney and liver function, hepatitis, heart and lung disease, and so far everything is looking good. Monday, I’ll get the CTA scan to make sure that the urinary tract and the blood vessels leading to the kidneys are all normal. Next, I’ll meet with the surgeon and have a complete psychosocial evaluation done with a clinical social worker.” He sounded happy about all this. “They’re trying to speed things up for us because I told them my time was limited and I had to return to my work in Australia as soon as possible.”

  “That’s great.” She swallowed an anxious lump in her throat. “I’m terribly nervous, and I know Callie is trying to be positive, but I think she’s afraid this might not work too.”

  “It’ll work. I’ve given her my personal guarantee.” He laughed. “She shouldn’t worry. The last kidney was from an unrelated donor cadaver, not a flesh and blood relative with compatible genes.”

  “I know, and it’s my job to worry, not hers.”

  “There you go again. I’m going to have to buy you some worry beads.” His voice deepened. “When are you coming home? It’s lonely around here.”

  “Late. I told you this morning I had meetings after class.”

  “You did, but your mother called and said she had to make a stop after picking up Callie from school, so they’ll be late. Why don’t you skip that meeting and come see the surprise I have for you?”

  “I can’t skip the meeting, and I won’t be home until close to eight. What’s the surprise?”

  “I’ll tell you at dinner.”

  “Sorry, you’ll have to do dinner without me tonight.” Why was he making her feel guilty about not coming home, when she’d already told him how much work she had to do? And what sort of surprise could he have planned?

  “You’ve got to eat sometime.” He hesitated for a few seconds, then said, “I’ll wait and have a candlelight dinner with you when you get home.”

  Her stomach did a slow somersault. Her legs wanted to run home to him, but her head was stronger than her heart, and she continued to walk toward the meeting room.

  “That sounds all very nice and romantic, but it’s not a very good idea. For one thing, it’s not practical. Callie will need to eat and I’d appreciate it if you could feed her. Mom would, but since you’re probably only going to be staying with us for another few days, it would be nice to give my mom a break.”

  “I’m all for that. I’ll give Callie a nice dinner, help her with her homework, and have her in bed by the time you get home. Since tomorrow’s Saturday, you can stay up late tonight.”

  “Staying up late is right. I have papers to grade this weekend, and a grant to write that's due next week."

  “As you say, I’ll be gone in a week or two. Can’t some of that wait?”

  “Not really. This is my life. Welcome to the world of an academic.”

  “And you want to do this for the next thirty years?" He chuckled. “Taking a few tourists on a night dive is my idea of working late.”

  “I know, Ryan. You love your job and I love mine.”

  “Okay. Tonight, I’ll let you work--on one condition. You have to free up the weekend. That’s part of my surprise.”

  Now he really had her curious about this surprise. “Okay. I’ll try to do that. At least part of the weekend.”

  “Not good enough. No work until Monday. Promise?”

  “I’ll try.” He started to protest, and she hastily said, “Okay. You win. You’ve got me until Monday.”

  “I like the sound of that. You won’t regret it, I promise.”

  “’Bye, Ryan. I’ve got to go.” She tucked her phone into her handbag and marched into the conference room. Everyone was already seated, and she took the first empty seat at the table.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” she told the others.

  “You’re not," the head of the committee said. "We’re early.” She glanced at her watch. “If we are all here, we might as well get started.”

  The meeting droned on, and Leila let her mind wander. Ryan had something planned for the weekend and she was pretty sure it included both her and Callie. What had the man cooked up?

  ***

  When the meeting eventually finished, Leila checked her cell phone and saw that her mother-in-law had called several times. She hit redial.

  “Hello, Margaret.”

  “Leila, I’ve been waiting to hear from you. What is going on? Is your sister going to do it or not?”

  “Yes, yes.” Leila fanned her flaming face. She hated lying. One darn lie fed another, and look where it led.

  “That’s wonderful news. When will it take place?”

  “I didn’t call because we still don’t have a date. I expect it'll be this coming week.” Leila rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that great?”

  “It is, but has your sister arrived? I’m sure they need to do some prep work on her.”

  “Not yet. She’ll fly in the moment she knows something for sure. Everything is still pretty much up in the air.”

  “Why? What is the problem?”

&
nbsp; “Oh, you know. Doctors, hospitals, getting beds. This is a complicated surgery, and it may take a few more days to assemble the team of doctors.” Oh, hell, what did she know? She was making this up as she went along and hoped her mother-in-law would accept her vague explanation.

  “Of course. I perfectly understand. If there is anything we can do to help, such as pick Crystal up at the airport, please let us know. We’d only be too happy.”

  “Right. Thanks. I’ll remember that.” She said her good-byes and immediately called her sister in California.

  “Crystal? I have a problem and need a big favor from you.” Leila bit her lip as her sister started right in with a refusal. "I’m not asking for your damn kidney," she interrupted. "I’m only asking that you come here to Princeton, go to the hospital with us, and pretend that you’re donating yours. Ryan, Nick’s brother, is giving us his, but he doesn’t want either of his parents to know.”

  “Really?” Crystal laughed. “Well, isn’t this entertaining! It sounds just like something out of a soap opera. My, my, my. I’ve got to meet this man. Is he as cute as Nick?”

  “Yeah. Kind of. In a different way. More the surfer type. Think Matthew McConaughey, with long blondish hair blowing in the breeze, a sculpted suntanned chest, chiseled cheekbone, that kind of look.”

  “Are you kidding me? No, I know what you’re doing. You’re making this up just to get me to come, aren’t you? He probably has tattoos all over his body, a scraggly ponytail, and bad acne.”

  “No, he doesn’t. I’m telling you the truth. He’s a hunk.”

  “Maybe I could spare a few days,” Crystal said with a girlish giggle. “When is this transplant thingie happening?”

  “Not sure, exactly. Next week for sure. Think you could get a flight out here early next week?”

  “Sure. You paying?”

  “Of course. I’m asking the favor. Just pretend to his family that you’re the one donating the kidney. Okay?”

  “How am I going to do that?”

  “I don’t know. You’re the actress. You think of something.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The following morning when Leila came down the stairs in desperate need of coffee, she found Ryan cleaning the grout on her tiled floor. Callie sat at the kitchen table, eating scrambled eggs and watching him.

  “G’day." Ryan stopped his scrubbing and greeted her. "And how are you this fine morning?” He was grinning at her with almost manic excitement.

  Leila sat down and studied him, both curious and worried. Any man who got excited about cleaning grout kind of freaked her out.

  “My bag's packed and I’m ready to leave,” he told her with delight.

  Blood drained from Leila’s face, and she stared at him in shock. “Leave? That’s the surprise? You’re leaving?”

  He laughed. “No, not like that. I’m taking you and my favorite niece to the Hamptons for the weekend. Montauk, to be exact. You can go pack your bag now,” he said to Callie. “No way your mother's going to say no to you having a little holiday before getting a brand new kidney.”

  Callie glanced at her mom, her eyes wide with hope. “Can we, Mom? Can we go?

  Leila glanced at their two eager faces and didn’t know how to answer. They couldn’t just up and leave, could they? But, oh, how she wanted to! How wonderful it would be to escape for just a little while.

  “Are you sure going away is a good idea?" she asked Ryan. "Won’t it be too much for Callie?”

  “No, I cleared it with Dr. Hardy. He thinks the sea air and the rest will do her a world of good.” He winked. “So unless you have any further objections, stop arguing and start packing.”

  Callie looked at her mother. “Please, Mom? I won’t overdo it, I promise.”

  “It does sound awfully tempting, doesn’t it?" She turned to Ryan with a hopeful expression. "The doctor really said we could go?”

  “He did, but he said to call him if you have any concerns.”

  “No, none at all,” she decided. “Come on, Callie. What are we waiting for? Let’s get packed and out of here. I can see the man is impatient, and we don’t want to keep him waiting.”

  “Take this with you," Ryan said, handing her a mug of coffee.

  She grinned. “Thanks, Ryan.”

  Callie left ahead of her, and Leila watched her climb the stairs. Her movements were so slow. The girl was clearly exhausted.

  “Rest for a few minutes while I get myself together, Callie. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Callie looked down at her, excitement sparkling in her sunken eyes. “We’re going to the Hamptons, Mom! Can you believe it? Uncle Ryan is so awesome.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  An hour later, the three of them were in Ryan’s rented car, all in high spirits about this sudden adventure. Facing life-saving surgery in a matter of days made this unexpected treat all the more special. She had packed cold drinks, snacks, and a couple of CDs that both she and Callie liked. They would laugh and sing and make the most of this mini vacation, because the next few months would be rough.

  Ryan didn’t get on the New Jersey Turnpike as Leila expected, and only smiled when she questioned the route they were taking. He didn’t say a word until he turned off at a local airfield. “I hired a Cessna to take us. Hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t want to spend that much time driving."

  “Mind?” Leila wanted to kiss him. Instead she said, “We’ll be there by lunchtime instead of dinner. I’m thrilled to death.”

  “Me too,” Callie said in awe. “Is that it over there?” At Ryan’s nod, she exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, are you serious? Wait till I tell the kids at school. They’ll be so jealous.” She sat forward to hug Ryan's shoulders. “You are the coolest uncle in the whole wide world.”

  Leila thought she detected a blush under Ryan’s suntanned cheeks and was amused--then he turned and winked at her, and a flash of erotic heat blasted through her and her own color rose.

  As they got out of the car he slipped his arms around their waists, ushering them into the small terminal. “Have a seat while I take care of the details. Hopefully, the pilot’s here and we’ll be taking off shortly.”

  Leila watched him disappear and wondered where he went. Ten minutes later he came back and told them they could board. The pilot still had not appeared, but they stowed their bags and Ryan helped them into the backseat of the plane, showing them how to fasten the seat belts. Instead of getting in himself, he walked around the small plane. She couldn’t see what he was doing, and several minutes later he climbed into the pilot's seat and closed the door behind him.

  “Ryan? What are you doing?” she asked with genuine concern.

  “The pilot didn’t show up, so I thought I’d give it a try. I mean, how hard can it be?”

  Callie gasped. “No way! You can’t fly this thing. I don’t want to die just yet.”

  Leila was horrified, but Ryan just laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve done this once or twice.” He turned to grin at Leila. “I’m a qualified pilot. I was just teasing you.”

  He patted the seat next to him. “Either of you brave enough to come up front? You’re welcome to stay where you are, but the best view is from the cockpit window.”

  “I will,” Callie said, unstrapping her seatbelt and climbing up front. “This is so cool.”

  “Have you any more surprises for us?” Leila asked a little snippily. She didn’t really have any reason to be miffed, but was there anything he couldn’t do? A scuba instructor was one thing, but now he casually claimed to be a small plane pilot too. Well, let’s just see if he really could get this thing off the ground.

  He turned a switch and she heard the engines come to life. He had put on a headset and spoke into the mouthpiece. She couldn’t hear what he saw saying, but she knew enough about flying to realize he was in contact with the control tower. He was steering the plane toward the runway, and then they made a turn and he powered up the engines. Noise filled the small cockpit, and then they were rushing forward,
the trees a blur as they swept past them. She leaned her head back, prepared either to fly or die.

  A moment later they soared into the air, and Callie looked back at her with an expression that was half exhilaration, half dread. Leila was feeling both emotions too. As the aircraft lifted, so did her mood, and she sat back to enjoy the short flight.

  Staring at the back of Ryan’s head, she found herself smiling. He was the most surprising man she’d ever met. She had expected to find a tough, hard-nosed ex-convict who’d been nothing but trouble his whole sorry life, and instead she had found this amazing man. Different than Nick, but just as engaging and full of fun. Nick had been perhaps less free-spirited and had chosen a demanding career, but both of them were like bright lights that made the world a better place.

  They both, apparently, liked the Hamptons as well. But Montauk, where Ryan was taking them, was laid-back, not like the glitzy, wealthy towns that Nick preferred. And this was the week after Labor Day, so crowds would be thin. It had always been her favorite time of year on the Island, but Nick had loved the bustling summer season. He’d enjoyed running into old friends, and had reveled in the fact that everyone who was anyone in the New York world of business was partying right alongside him. If she could fault Nick, which she could not, it was his penchant for drinking and hobnobbing. It was important for his career, she had understood that, but it was also who he was. He had been in his element when rubbing shoulders with the powerful people who ruled Manhattan, the famous and the infamous, in this getaway playground, whereas she had never quite fit in. Give her a day at an art or history museum and she would enjoy herself immensely. Fraternizing with a party crowd had never been her thing.

  No wonder Ryan had not fit in with the Hampton crowd either. He was one of the most least pretentious people she knew.

  An hour later they arrived at the East Hampton Airport and Ryan had a third surprise waiting—a limousine and driver to take them to their beachfront hotel.