by K T Grant
“I’m going to finish up here and then I may stop by the Grand Hotel where Omar and Fabian are staying. They extended an offer for drinks,” Vala said.
“Just you and the two men? Not Kennedy?” She grabbed Verner’s folder and went to her desk, hoping her friend didn’t read too much into her questions.
“The offer was extended to everyone in the room. I’ll convince Konrad to join me. He’s needs to get out more and relax.” A shrewd light entered her eyes.
“You have a month left to get him to loosen up.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I’ll probably bow out tonight. Tomorrow will be another long day with our guests.”
“And we’ll have another dinner with the men or all three, if Kennedy stays.” Vala opened the door to leave.
“Maybe I should stop by her hotel room to convenience her to stay.” A flash of heat spread in her belly and between her legs. If she did confront Kennedy in her hotel room, there wouldn’t be much talking. Her way of convincing would deal in kisses and caresses.
A smirk hovered over her friend’s mouth. “Take care, boss.” With that she left.
Her energy depleted, she slouched against her desk. She would have loved a nap, but she would turn to the second-best thing. After telling her assistant she didn’t want to be disturbed, she shut her office door, moved to the wet bar near the window, and poured some straight-up vodka over ice. She closed her eyes as the burn of the alcohol flowed down her throat. Taking the bottle with her, she sat behind her desk, kicked off her heels, and perched her feet on her desk. She would finish this glass and then have another as she convinced herself she should see Kennedy tonight—if she wasn’t already on her way to the airport.
An entirely different burn settled in her gut as she thought of all the obstacles in the way of their convoluted relationship.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kennedy sipped a vodka gimlet, infused with raspberry. Quite tasty, and, after this day, she needed something stronger than just wine. She should be celebrating with her brother and Fabian in the Grand Hotel dining room, but, instead, she had excused herself from the table just as her barely touched meal was taken away. She escaped to the lobby bar to have a drink. She would be missed, eventually, but she didn’t care.
“Svana, it was fun while it lasted.” She lifted her glass in a mock salute, watching the melting ice catch the light from above, then finished off her drink.
She viewed the purple-lit bar, wondering if she had the strength to order another drink. Probably not smart because she had to go back to her own hotel at one point. But she wanted to numb her mind, to forget the upheaval of the last few days. Their host had her questioning everything she thought about herself.
“What are you doing out here?” Fabian stood in front of her, his suit jacket gone and the sleeves of his blue-striped dress shirt rolled up under his elbows.
She took a moment to appreciate his arms before replying. He had a great body, especially his arms and hands, an excellent mind as well. But she couldn’t appreciate him the way he wanted or expected.
“It was too stuffy in the restaurant, and I wanted air. I was also thirsty, so I decided to have a drink and enjoy the ambience of the lobby. Do you have a problem with it?” She crunched an ice cube to accentuate her retort.
He sat in the chair next to her and grabbed her hand. “Now that you’re finished drinking, you can come back and share dessert with me.”
She pulled away. “Who says I’m done drinking? I may want another one.”
“When did you start drinking mixed drinks? You prefer wine.”
“It’s vodka. Landvik vodka to be specific. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?” She snickered at her lame joke.
“You’re not yourself. What’s wrong?” He watched her intently, his hands resting on his knees.
“I haven’t been myself for a long time. It took this trip for me to realize it.” She stared at her glass. “Fabian, we’ve known each other for a long time. I consider us close friends—”
“Oh boy, I see where this is going.”
She owed it to him to be kind and considerate. She set her hand on his joined ones. When he didn’t flick her away, she took it as a good sign. “I care for you more as a friend than a lover. We should have never taken the extra step in our relationship. I sent you the wrong signals. We were having sex. It made sense for you to develop feelings for me that would lead you to—” Her breath caught in her throat, causing a sob to form. Unable to look at him, she studied her feet as tears came to her eyes. “Dammit, I don’t want to hurt you.”
He drew an arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. The sob left her then, and another when he hugged her tight.
“I guess this means you’re not going to marry me. The sex was that bad, huh?”
She released a watery giggle. “How can you joke when I’m breaking your heart?”
He took her chin in a light grasp, his thumb brushing her cheek. Sympathy swam in his eyes. “You’re not breaking my heart. You’ve chipped it. The love we shared was comfortable. I thought we could build a home together. But I pushed you for something you’re not ready for. I ignored the signs.”
“What type of signs?” She wiped her eyes and clutched his hand.
“Your lack of…passion when we made love. You went through the motions more than letting passion overtake you. When I asked you to marry me and showed you the engagement ring, your face whitened, and you were so stunned you couldn’t speak.” He lowered his gaze and then his hand away from her face. “You didn’t say yes or no. I knew then it was a mistake.”
“Any woman would be lucky to call you her husband, but not me.” She inhaled a shaky breath and twisted the handkerchief. “You know how I said I was bi? I lied. I’m a lesbian. I can’t deny it any longer.”
“That’s something I should have gathered from the start, considering I’m the first man you ever had sex with and everything that happened to you in college with your girlfriend.” He settled back in his chair and tapped his thumbs under his mouth. “You already tried marriage, and it didn’t work out for you.”
“Candice and I weren’t legally married. We pretended,” she whispered, as a fresh wave of tears filled her eyes.
“But you were married in your heart. That’s the most important thing. Even if we married, it wouldn’t be the same type of relationship you had with her.” He leaned in close and rubbed her arm.
“Why are you so nice? You should hate me.” She was thoroughly disgusted with herself.
“I don’t hate you. I never could. We should have never gotten to this point.” He continued rubbing her arm.
“Maybe it’s for the best if I move here to oversee the construction of the new hotel. It will give you the space to recover from my rejection and the lies I told you.” She glanced at him, expecting him to agree.
“You should accept Omar’s offer, but not for the obvious reason.” He scanned the area, as if searching for someone. “You’re living your life a certain way to atone for what happened to your girlfriend. If Omar didn’t force you to come here, you would have stayed home, repeating each day like the last. You were stuck in this self-imposed prison for too long.” He sent her a slide glance. “Until we began…dating, you hadn’t taken any big chances.”
If only he knew the huge chance she took the first night she arrived here. “You really think by me leaving everything behind in California and moving here for a few years will be good for me?” She couldn’t fault him or be insulted for speaking the truth.
“You’re not leaving everything behind. Consider it a break from your old boring life.” He sent her a knowing smile. “You’re tossing away those chains and embracing a new type of freedom.”
“So profound,” she murmured. “What if we didn’t have this chat and things were the same with us. What if we had gotten married? You still would have recommended I work here?”
“I had a feeling we would have had this type of discussion about our relation
ship, regardless. Things would have been different then because Omar would know the truth about us,” he said, snagging a glance at the front of the restaurant.
They had been gone too long. Omar would search for them. She had thought her brother knew very little about her relationship with Fabian outside of work. It appeared Fabian had felt the same and kept it quiet, but Omar had noticed. He would have to be told because, even though Fabian acted amazing about their breakup, who knew if his feelings would change? Things would be awkward between them for a time, but she didn’t want it to affect the way they acted toward one another at the office.
“How much does Omar know? I’ve told him very little about us, although he teased earlier about us getting married.” She refused to feel guilty for keeping something so important from her brother who was always interested in every part of her life. But he was very insightful, so she wouldn’t be shocked if he had an inkling about her and Fabian. Maybe now he had figured out somehow about the situation with her and Svana? If he did…. She flinched, anticipating that conversation.
Fabian touched her shoulder, concern taking over his perceptive expression. “If you’re worried how Omar will react, don’t be. I’ll handle him.”
She didn’t correct his assumption. Now was not an appropriate time, considering she had done the worst thing possible by sleeping with another person when he thought they were a couple, even though she never felt the connection he did. Sighing, she tried not to squirm or make an excuse for why she needed to go back to her hotel room. But Fabian saved her by standing.
“I’ll be at the bar, tending my broken heart.” He sent her a playful wink.
She let out a garbled laugh, still surprised he was so calm and collected about her rejecting him. “I wish I could be the woman you deserve. It’s not fair to you.”
“As you know full well, life isn’t fair. I gave us a shot, but it didn’t work out. There’s probably a lesson in all of this.” He bent down and kissed her forehead.
She sniffed, hoping she didn’t break down. If anyone should be in tears, it should be Fabian. But he gave her a tender smile and backed away from her, breaking the connection.
“We’ll still be friends. I’ve been a part of your life for too long to get rid of me that easily.” He slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, much like her brother would have done.
It now made better sense why he was pushing her to stay here. Not seeing each other almost every day would help with his recovery. His heart might not be broken, but she’d still dealt a blow to his self-esteem.
“When I get home, I’ll return the ring to you.” She hoped he’d return it and get his money back. At least it wasn’t a family heirloom, so he wouldn’t have to explain the unfortunate situation to his family, especially his mother.
Something like regret flashed across his face, making her think he was more affected than he led her to believe. But before she could say anything more, Omar appeared in the doorway of the restaurant, typing on his cell.
“Sounds good.” Fabian nodded and took a step toward the bar. “I’m getting that drink now.”
“Okay,” she whispered as he left and grabbed a seat at the bar. He pointed to a green bottle, and the bartender filled two shot glasses. Fabian took one and drank it down. He closed his eyes and lowered his chin to his chest.
A pang of misery hit her. She couldn’t stay here any longer. She started to rise from her seat but became a little lightheaded. As she tried to get her footing, Omar came to her side, taking her elbow to steady her.
“Where did you two vanish to?” He swiped his thumb on the inside of her elbow and studied her face. “Have you been crying?
She dabbed under her eyes, cursing silently. Even though she hadn’t shed any tears, her eyes blurred and the heaviness in her head made her ears stuffy. “After I went to the bathroom, I decided to have a drink. Fabian found me, and now he’s at the bar.”
Omar peered over his shoulder at Fabian, who held the other shot to his mouth while he listened to something the bartender told him. “Fabian doesn’t drink shots. Am I missing something?”
A sputtered laugh fell from her mouth. Great, I drove him to drink. She blinked away the dampness in her eyes then drew her brother to the windows overlooking the street. “Is it okay if we sit here?”
“Sure,” he said in a surprised tone, and sat on the love seat instead of one of the chairs. Because he still held her arm, she sat next to him.
He hung his arm over the back of the couch and crossed one leg over the other, showing off silly purple socks with gold dollar signs that didn’t fit his role as a multi-millionaire businessman.
She pressed her lips together to stop from laughing. “I can’t believe you wore those socks.”
“They’re my good luck ones. I also brought my pineapple and ice cream cone socks.” The corners of his mouth twitched, and he wagged his eyebrows. “Maybe I wore them just to get you to laugh.”
“Well, it worked.” She cleared her throat and viewed her own feet encased in her suede loafers.
He set his hand on hers. “Talk to me. You’re upset about what I sprang on you at the meeting today?”
Talk. That’s all she had done the past few days. Talked about everything and anything, as if this trip was more for therapy than business. Svana had been the same—talk first then action, as if revealing her darkest secrets and fears would give her a reward in the form of Svana, naked and panting with desire for her. She was sick of taking and just wanted to feel.
“I’m exhausted. It’s been a busy few days with traveling and getting used to a foreign country and its people.” She flattened her palms on her thighs instead of clenching them. Omar knew that bad habit of hers too well and would figure out she lied.
“Also, planning a wedding can be stressful.” He tapped her finger where a ring should be.
“I’m not getting married.” She curled her fingers in her palm. “We were only—”
“Fucking?” He arched a brow.
Heat erupted on her face, and she slapped his arm. “Omar!”
“Just stating facts.” He grimaced and rubbed his arm.
“Oh please, I didn’t hit you that hard.” She stuck her tongue out at him.
He chuckled. “In all seriousness, are you and Fabian together? If so, I’m fine with it.”
“I need your approval or permission on who I date?” Rather than chastising her, he teased?
“No, you don’t. But I don’t want you to get hurt again like you did with Candice.” His unflinching gaze caused her face to burn even more.
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him about Svana. But the situation was awkward, considering the large amount of money he had invested in Landvik, and vice versa. He wouldn’t pull out of the deal, but his easygoing relationship with Svana might be on shaky ground if he learned of her screwing his little sister, literally.
“I’m older, wiser, and much more mature when it comes to love. I won’t have a repeat performance.” That was one fact she was certain of. But it still didn’t stop the ache in her chest every time she thought of Svana.
“So, what’s the deal with Fabian?” he asked. “He might be interested in coming here with you in—”
“He isn’t.” She snuck a peek at the bar where Fabian tipped back an amber bottle. “He’s drinking at the bar because we had a heart-to-heart talk before you came looking for us. We broke up.” She exhaled. “I thought things between him and I were more casual and loose. We’ve only been seeing each other for a year or so.”
“Men are funny like that. Once we find that special woman, we want to keep her.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh stop. If that’s true, why are you still a bachelor?”
“Work is my lover, mistress, and wife all rolled into one,” he replied. “Most of my free time now will be dedicated to the new venture with Landvik.”
“And to ease the burden and your stress, you want me to leave all I know behind and move
here to oversee the hotel construction and everything it entails.” A surge of nervousness came over her.
“You’re the best person for the job, and I’m not saying that just because you’re my sister.” He dropped his hand over her clenched ones. “You know how I work and what I like, how Segal runs. I’m not going to throw you to the wolves. You’ll have a staff from the LA office and Konrad as well as others from Landvik involved.”
“Not Svana?” Just saying her name made her stomach ripple.
“She’ll be involved, but not directly.” He uncurled her fingers and spread them apart. “She’s giving her brother more responsibility, a test to prove himself.”
“Test?”
“I believe she’s thinking of stepping down as CEO in the next year or so. She’s training her brother to take her place.” His brow lifted again. “She didn’t mention anything to you?”
“No, why would she?” She had imagined all these scenarios with her and Svana if she did accept Omar’s offer to move here. Now she was thrown for a loop with the possibility of Svana out of the picture entirely. One of the reasons she’d contemplated the move was proximity to Svana.
“I noticed the way you looked at one another this morning at Landvik headquarters.” He studied her face with intent, as if he was trying to figure out something. “Did you two do more than just have breakfast together?”
Her breath stuck in her throat, and her pulse drummed in her ears. How could he…? She licked her lips, wishing she could run to the bar for a quick shot. “Please don’t tell me the reason you wanted me to come here before you was to get involved with her on a personal level. Why would you want her and me to…?” She shot him a disgruntled look.
“She would be good for you. I’m not saying you should jump in bed right away, but maybe get to know her outside of work. She could also be a new friend.” He settled back on the couch, his arms spread wide. “It would be easy for you and her to—”