Hudson appeared from my closet carrying my running shoes.
“Thank you.” He was always so considerate, but I knew his attentiveness this morning had motive. It occurred to me that I could just give in. But I could be stubborn too.
I picked up right where I’d left off with a new excuse. “Also, my brother’s coming out from Boston sometime this week. I need to get him the key to my apartment and let him harass me for some reason.”
Hudson bent to put on my left shoe while I worked on the other. “I can arrange for someone to meet him, you know. It doesn’t have to be you.”
Now that sounded like a good plan, even if I didn’t go to Japan. Even if I didn’t go to Japan? Dammit, he had me considering it.
I shook my head. “You seriously have a solution for any protest I make, don’t you?”
“I guarantee that I do. So why are you still protesting?”
“Because I have a life that involves more than you.”
“I hate that.”
I looked up from my tied shoe to see him giving me a pretty effective pout. “Don’t be cute.”
“I want you with me. I’ll use any tactic I can to make that happen.”
He held out his hand to help me up. I took it and was immediately pulled into his arms.
Yeah, that felt good. How had I gone all that time since waking without touching him? He’d become so necessary to my life, to my routine. Was it even possible to spend time away from him? And how much time were we talking about?
Always in tune with me, he spoke directly to my unvoiced thoughts, nuzzling his cheek against mine. “I may be gone for several days. I can’t bear to be apart from you that long. It kills me that you think you can.”
They were the kinds of words I’d always dreamed of being told. I was the clingy one. I was the get-too-fucking-attached chick. What was it about Hudson that kept my obsessiveness at bay? Did it mean I didn’t feel as deeply about him as I thought I did? That I didn’t truly love him?
No, I did love him. Truly. There was no doubt. It was because I felt secure about his feelings for me, god only knew why, that I was able to remain sensible.
But I also understood that look in his eyes, that yearning to be with someone who didn’t necessarily reciprocate. I’d been passed up and thrown away so many times. It hurt.
Even though Hudson was only going for a short trip and not forever, I got his need and I couldn’t stand the idea of making him feel that misery.
I also couldn’t imagine putting everything on hold and flying off to Japan at the drop of a hat. “I don’t want to be apart from you either, Hudson. I…can I think about it?” I bit my lower lip, waiting for his response, hoping he wasn’t too disappointed with my maybe.
He pressed his forehead against mine. “I suppose.”
Well, he took it better than I’d thought he would. “When do you need a decision?”
“Any time before the plane leaves the runway. Say, ten-ish.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it and let you know by this evening. Does that work?”
“It does.” He stuck his hands down the back of my running shorts and pulled me closer. “You know, every time you say you need to think about something, you end up coming around to my way in the end. When are you going to learn to just say yes to begin with?”
I laughed. “Not today.”
“It was worth a try.”
We held each other in silence for several long seconds. He was out of sorts—in a good way—his mood playful and easy, his touch soft and tender. It seemed every emotional scene we shared was followed by a reunion that brought us closer than we had been before. Our evening before had been one of our worst. But this, like the lovemaking that followed the fighting, was oh, so close.
Thinking about it brought warmth to my chest. “Thank you for last night. It was beautiful.”
“That it was.” He circled my nose with his. “Very much so.” It seemed he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, he kissed me sweetly.
When he was finished, he pulled away reluctantly. “That’s enough.” He swatted my behind, as if I were the one who’d started the embrace. Then he eyed my outfit as if taking it in for the first time. “So I’m guessing you aren’t going straight to the club.”
I scooped my hair into a ponytail and threw a scrunchie from the nightstand around it. “I thought I’d get a run in first. A real run, outdoors. Before it gets too hot.”
“Good idea.” He looked in the mirror, straightening his tie. “I have an early meeting myself.”
“I figured. You aren’t usually dressed this early.” He had yet to don his jacket and looked positively scrumptious in his fitted maroon dress shirt and skinny black tie. I may have even licked my lips.
“Trust me, precious, if I didn’t have other plans, I would definitely not be dressed.” He did that thing where he scanned my body with his eyes, lighting my skin on fire. “And you wouldn’t need to get your exercise with a run.”
“So sure you’d score, huh?”
He raised a brow. “Wouldn’t I?”
“You would.” He always would. He always did. Fortunately, when Hudson scored, I scored, so it was worth letting him be a winner.
Hudson grabbed his suit jacket, and we left the bedroom together. I snagged my key to the penthouse from my purse and slipped it into the cup of my bra.
His mouth curled into a half smile. “Do you hide everything there?”
I shrugged with one shoulder. “It’s pretty handy if you ask me. They should build pockets into bras. I guarantee they’d sell.”
“That can be our next business venture together.”
I rolled my eyes. Hudson was way more ambitious than I was. Probably part of the reason he was a multi-billionaire and I was living paycheck to paycheck.
“I’m ready to go down. Are you?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Go down to the lobby, you pervert.”
“No, I need to answer a few emails first. Go on ahead.” He turned toward the library then changed his mind, swiveling back to me. “Hold on.”
He reached for my hand and pulled me in for another kiss, this one deeper yet still more tender than sexual. It was me who pulled away first and only because I knew if I didn’t that I might drown in him. He insisted on one more peck after that.
“What?” he asked when he’d finally let me go.
“You’re so…I don’t know…sweet this morning. What’s up with you?”
“I suppose I’m simply happy.”
“I’m glad. Really glad.” I pushed the button to the elevator then had a horrible thought. What if his unusual demeanor was meant to distract me from the David situation? “Hey, I meant it when I said we’re not finished with the discussion about management at The Sky Launch.”
“Persistent little vixen, aren’t you? We’ll have plenty of time to discuss it on our flight to Japan.”
I scowled. “Now who’s being persistent?” I stepped in the elevator. “We’ll talk later. About all of it.”
The door was closing when his hand stopped it. “Alayna.”
I pushed the Door Open button and looked at him questioningly. He continued to lean against the elevator door, his brows knit. “Why did you…come to me last night?”
His wording was tentative, and I suspected he was tiptoeing around the words I had used. He seemed to avoid the L word with quiet precision, I noticed.
Regardless, he wanted to know what had spurred my need for him the night before. It made sense—it must have seemed odd when I’d been so mad and then so desperate for affection. “It’s sort of hard to explain.”
“Would you try?”
I pursed my lips, wondering if I could put into words the strange epiphany that I’d experienced. “I was unpacking. And I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed it be
fore, but I realized the books you ordered—and the DVDs—that they were for me.”
His brow furrowed even further. “I told you they were yours. You know I prefer to read on my Kindle.”
“No, I mean, that they were the books I wanted to read. That you’d thought very specifically about what I wanted. It made me feel good. Made me feel loved. Made me feel loved by you.”
“Oh.” He cleared his throat, and I swear his cheeks seemed pink. “Well, yes. Good, then.” He backed out of the doorway, stumbling and catching himself as he stepped.
“Wow. I had no idea I had the power to fluster you.”
His smile returned though his face still appeared flushed. “Don’t get used to it.”
My grin remained all the way to the lobby.
***
My smile was long gone by the time I’d returned to the empty penthouse.
Instead of bringing me into a calm, meditative state, my run only jumbled up my thoughts. There was so much to sort out, so many conflicting emotions to wade through. Hudson had handled the Paul situation fairly well, and he was going to fix it for me. He deserved me to give something in return. What compromise could I make regarding David? I didn’t want him gone, and I didn’t want to run The Sky Launch. If I went to Japan, would that show him the extent of my love and gratitude? It would be a real sacrifice for me—I really wanted to stay in town, set up an advertising plan with Aaron Trent, and start over with another event planner.
I had come to no conclusions by the time I’d showered and dressed. Then, as Jordan dropped me off at the club a little after eight, I received a text from Brian.
“I’m headed into the city. I’ll be at the Waldorf. What time can we meet?”
“What’s wrong?”
I jumped at David’s question. I’d known he still must be in the club—the alarm hadn’t been set as I walked in—but I hadn’t expected him to be standing at the top of the entry ramp.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to shake off the bulk of the weight hanging on my shoulders. “Nothing. Just overwhelmed with… stuff.”
He reached to take my laptop bag from me, his expression inquisitive.
I handed him my computer, deciding what, if anything, I wanted to share with him, because obviously stuff wasn’t going to cut it. Hell, maybe talking would help me put some things in perspective. “I moved out of my apartment this past weekend,” I said as we made our way toward the offices. “And my brother wants to meet with me to get my key. But we’re not getting along. Not since I started dating Hudson.”
“Hmm.” His shoulders tightened, his face contorted in…what? Jealousy?
Okay, perhaps David did like me more than I realized. He was so much easier to read than Hudson. How had I missed how deep his affection ran?
He held the door to the back hallway open for me. “So you moved in with Pierce?”
I brushed past him and led the way up the stairs. “I did.” Well, better that he knew the truth. He had to come to terms with my relationship with Hudson if I had any hope of helping him keep his job. “I know. It was fast.”
“That’s not what I was thinking.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I should have been faster.”
His words stopped me mid-step. I turned back to see if he was serious.
He was. He did look at me like Hudson did. I’d never recognized the intensity because it was completely absent of the electricity and heat that Hudson’s stare always contained.
The color drained from my cheeks.
David cleared his throat. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.” He brushed past me, continuing on to the office. “Anyway, congratulations. I’m happy for you.”
I fell into step behind him. “I’m happy for me, too.” My voice had lost its earlier enthusiasm, still shocked from David’s proclamation. Maybe we couldn’t work together.
I couldn’t stand thinking about it. I changed the subject. “And I’m stressed. Hudson wants me to go to Japan with him tonight.”
David pulled out his keys and unlocked the office door. The room was dark, the computers off—he must have been on his way out when he met me at the entrance.
“Why are you here so late, anyway?” Usually closing managers were out by six-thirty, tops.
He shrugged. “Waiting for you. And, yeah, Hudson told me about Japan.”
I flicked the office light on. “What? When?” I’d only found out about Japan that morning. I didn’t even want to acknowledge the first part of his statement.
“About an hour or so ago. He wanted to make sure we’d be covered without you.”
Hudson had already talked to David that morning? This day was getting more interesting as it progressed. “I haven’t said yes yet.”
“But you will.” He didn’t bother to hide the ache in his voice.
I sank on the couch and rubbed at my forehead. “Is that the only reason Hudson called you?”
David sat on the front of his desk. “Actually, he didn’t call. He stopped by.”
“To tell you he’s taking me to Japan?” Hudson had said he had an early meeting. Why hadn’t he mentioned it was with David? Or was his encounter with David coincidental?
“No, to discuss some other things.”
Dread dripped into my veins. “Oh, really? Like what things?” I pretended to examine my nails, going for an aloof demeanor while really I was anything but. Which was silly, because there was no way Hudson would have talked to him when he’d promised me we could still discuss it first. Besides, David wouldn’t still be there if he’d been fired.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling anxious for David’s response.
He shrugged, and it felt as equal of a show of calm as the one I was giving. “He said he’s transferring the Party Planners deal to Fierce. Something about a conflict of interest.”
The knot in my stomach loosened, if only slightly. Of course. Hudson had to deal with Paul.
“He took all the copies of the contract.” David eyed me, searching for my reaction. “But he said you already knew all that.”
“Yeah, I did.” Boy, did I.
“Sorry you lost your deal.”
I sensed David was testing me, making sure Hudson wasn’t jerking around with my business just because he could. It was sweet, actually.
Also, totally unnecessary. “Nah, it’s fine. The more I got to know about the company, the more I realized it wasn’t a good fit after all.”
David’s shoulders should have relaxed, if I was reading him right, but they didn’t.
“And that’s all you and Hudson talked about?” I studied his expression carefully. “There’s more, I can tell from your face.” The ball of dread returned.
David came over to the couch and sat on the arm, facing me, with one foot on a cushion. “Well, I’m not supposed to tell you this until you get back from Japan, but I don’t feel good keeping a secret from you. Plus, I’m really excited and have to tell someone.”
“What is it?” My voice was barely a whisper, my hands white as I wrung them in my lap.
“He offered me a promotion.” His eyes twinkled, his excitement evident. “General Manager at Adora, his club in Atlantic City.”
My vision went black for half a second, and I had to lean back into the couch for support. “What did you tell him?” There was no way he couldn’t see me shaking, couldn’t hear it in my voice.
“I said, hell yes. Adora? That place is world famous.”
Or maybe he actually was oblivious to my devastation. And I was oh, so devastated. Not just because the thought of losing David was terrible, but because of what Hudson had done, when he’d specifically told me nothing had been decided yet. I wanted to throw up.
I focused on the more immediate situation at hand—convincing David to stay. “But we’re only getting sta
rted here. The Sky Launch could be the next Adora. With you and me—”
“I’m sure it will be the next Adora. Bigger even, with Pierce’s money and your ideas. But I’m not a guy who builds things. I’m a guy who runs things someone else has built. Adora is the biggest career move I could ever hope for.” He looked down at me sheepishly. “I’m supposed to start in two weeks.”
“That’s so soon. And you’ll have to move to Atlantic City.” My throat clogged with tears.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re going to miss me.” His tone was hopeful.
“Of course I’ll miss you, you dope.” I had enough control of myself to tack on a platonic addendum. “You’ve been such a great manager. It was really you who inspired me to want to stay in the nightclub business.”
“Really? I had no idea.” He moved to sit beside me. “I’ll miss you, Laynie. And not just because I have a big crush on you, but because you’re a good friend.”
His unabashed flirtation made sense now. He was laying everything on the line. Why not? He would be gone soon. Gone because of Hudson.
God, my head hurt. I sighed and threw a glance at David. “You don’t have a big crush on me.”
“You’re right. I’m totally in love with you.”
The wind left my lungs. I had to stand up and walk away, putting distance between us. The man I’d moved in with hadn’t even told me he loved me. And he’d gone and betrayed me so deeply. What was I even doing with Hudson? Was I crazy? Should I be running away with David?
The answer was, of course, no. No matter how much David felt for me, it didn’t make up for how much I felt for Hudson. Even after what he’d done.
Thank god, I didn’t have to say it out loud.
“I get it,” David said. “I just really needed you to know how I feel before I go.”
I turned back to face him.
“And now you realize that I really have to do this. I can’t stay here with you. And Adora…”
I nodded. I got it, too.
“But I’m only a phone call away. You can dial me up anytime you need anything. Like, if you have questions about The Sky Launch, or if you want to hear my voice.”
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