by Tremay, Joy
“I’m sorry, sir. My name is Jake Redmond and I um, I -” Jake was clearly at a loss for words.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” asked Diana desperately, completely mortified.
Her father had never been very patient with her, but she knew that no father would have been patient or understanding considering the scene he had just stumbled upon.
“I came home early and your mother just informed me that you were here. I don’t remember giving you permission to attend this party, young lady,” her father said sternly.
“But Dad, Mom said -”
“It doesn’t matter what your mother said,” he answered back scathingly. “Now I catch you doing this? You should be ashamed of yourself. I did not raise you to be a slut!”
Diana flinched as if she had been struck.
“Now wait a min -” started Jake, but the older man ignored him.
“You’re coming home with me and you will never see this boy again.”
Diana looked at Jake, who was staring at her, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. She had no recourse but to obey her father as much as her heart ached to be with Jake.
“I’m sorry, Jake,” she whispered as she walked by him. Her father took hold of her arm and marched her away.
“Diana, wait -”Jake said urgently as he trailed after them.
“Don’t you dare follow us, young man. You stay away from my daughter!”
Jake halted and watched as Diana left with her father. Diana looked at him one more time with longing in her eyes, before she allowed herself to be led away.
Chapter One
Nine years later
Diana smiled as she looked down at the paper before her. Four-year-old Madison kept drawing the same picture every week: a stick figure of a girl in a red dress surrounded by purple flowers.
“Pewty girl,” said Madison as she climbed onto Diana’s lap and played with Diana’s shoulder-length, wavy, brown hair. Diana kissed the top of the child’s shiny, blonde head and nodded in agreement.
“Yes, she is, Madison. Just like you,” Diana said and the little girl looked up at her with a toothless grin.
Diana looked around the classroom and was glad to see that all seven of her preschool children were still napping. Madison was the only one in class who could never settle down and sleep. She preferred to sit on her teacher’s lap and draw pictures during naptime. She watched Madison bite her lip in concentration as she painstakingly drew a sun with a yellow crayon.
Diana had been working as a preschool teacher at the Play and Learn Preschool in Las Vegas for the past four years and was happy at her job. The children gave her fulfillment and she looked forward going to work every day knowing that she made a difference in their lives.
“Drawing’s fun,” whispered Madison smiling up at her.
Diana smiled back, stroking back a few of the child’s wayward bangs from her eyes. Madison went back to drawing contentedly, humming softly to herself.
Diana’s parents had divorced when she was nineteen. Her father had mellowed out when he married a much younger woman two years later. They kept in touch by phone during birthdays and holidays, but rarely saw each other anymore. Diana was fine with the arrangement since she had never been very close to her father growing up.
Her mother had remarried several years ago and had moved with her new husband to an area of Las Vegas called Mount Charleston, a beautiful mountain community about an hour away from the Strip. Even though Diana missed southern California, she had wanted to be close to her mother and had chosen to move to Las Vegas four years ago.
“Diana, you have a call,” whispered one of her colleagues from the open doorway.
“Thank you,” Diana whispered back before lifting Madison gently off her lap.
The other teacher walked over to the table and sat down on a chair next to Madison.
“Where you going?” whined Madison, her lips in a pout.
“I’ll be right back, sweetie. Draw a picture for Miss Clark,” she said gently before leaving the classroom.
Diana walked down the hallway to the front desk where the school receptionist greeted her.
“It’s Natalie,” she said handing her the phone.
“Thank you,” Diana said, picking up the receiver.
“Sorry to call you at work, Diana.”
“It’s all right. Is something the matter?” asked Diana worriedly.
“No, it’s just that - well, let’s just say that tonight’s dinner is going to be interesting.”
“What do you mean?” Diana asked.
“Do you remember a guy called James Redmond?”
Diana frowned in concentration, but the name didn’t sound familiar.
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“He also goes by the name of Jake.”
Diana’s emotions suddenly went into overdrive as she remembered the young man who had haunted her dreams for years after her heated encounter with him on a beach.
“What about him?” she asked as she gripped the phone.
“He’s going to join us at dinner tonight.”
Diana’s mind began to spin as she stared sightlessly at the school bulletin board in front of her.
“Diana, did you hear me?” asked Natalie after a few seconds of silence.
“Why in the world would he be at dinner?” Diana asked, trying to sound normal.
“Apparently he’s a big wig in the hotel world and Max’s boss strongly suggested that we invite him to dinner tonight.”
Diana paused and took a deep breath. Nine years had gone by since she last saw Jake Redmond and she had stopped thinking about him years ago. But their steamy encounter had been so potent and vivid in her mind that he had haunted her nights throughout her college years. And now he was back, at least for tonight.
“I’ll take a rain check on dinner then,” she said.
“Absolutely not,” said Natalie firmly. “Max and I couldn’t celebrate your birthday last week because we were out of town, plus we have had a difficult time reserving a table at the Cheshire. You’re not backing out. Who cares about Jake anyway? He probably won’t even remember you. It’s been a long time.”
It certainly has, thought Diana as she chewed on her bottom lip in indecision. Besides, who cared if he did recognize her? Life goes on and for someone like Jake Redmond she would bet that he was now happily married with several kids. He had been gorgeous nine years ago and she was sure that some beautiful woman had ensnared him by now.
“All right,” Diana said slowly. “I’ll meet you and Max at the Cheshire at six tonight.”
~
“Right this way, miss,” said the young waitress as she led Diana to a table where Natalie and her husband Max waited for her. Diana let out a sigh of relief that their other “guest” hadn’t arrived yet.
“Happy belated birthday,” Natalie said as she hugged Diana. Max reached over and gave her a quick kiss on the check. As they all sat down, Diana smiled at the friend, who was more like a sister to her, and her husband. In her estimation, they were the perfect couple. Max Adler was tall, dark, and handsome and Natalie was a vivacious, petite redhead whom he had instantly fallen in love with during their junior year of college.
Diana had been thrilled to be Natalie’s maid of honor three years ago and had even been more delighted when Max had accepted a job in Las Vegas two years ago. Natalie and Max had purchased a house a few miles from Diana’s apartment complex, which made it easy for the women to see one another frequently.
“Too bad Richard couldn’t join us,” said Max.
“Unfortunately, he had to attend a teacher’s meeting tonight,” Diana said, “but I’ll be seeing him this weekend.”
“Max wanted to talk to him about boring golf,” said Natalie, rolling her eyes.
“I can’t believe I’m twenty-seven now. I feel so old,” said Diana as she tugged down her burgundy lace skirt. She had paired her favorite hip-hugging, knee-length skirt with a short-sleeved, black lace to
p.
“Well, you don’t look a day over twenty-one. I still remember when you had braces on in junior high school,” said Natalie as she reached over to hand Diana a small silver box with a red bow on top.
“Oh Natalie, you didn’t have to,” said Diana, smiling as she opened the box and took out a silver necklace with a silver miniature star pendant attached to it. A small diamond twinkled at the center of the pendant.
“It’s beautiful,” she said and Max stood to help her with the clasp.
“Natalie wouldn’t stop until she found the perfect present,” chuckled Max as he looked at his wife lovingly. “She dragged me to all the shops in New York last week.”
“She loves to shop,” Diana said and grinned at Natalie.
They both did, but Natalie had more disposable income due to her husband’s generous monthly allowance while Diana had to budget her finances carefully on her preschool teacher’s salary. Natalie was a stay-at-home housewife, but she was currently writing a mystery novel in hopes of getting it published.
“Thank you both,” said Diana as she fingered the pendant. “I love it.”
“Love what?” said a deep voice that made Diana’s heart quiver. She recognized the voice instantly even after all these years. She hoped that she didn’t look as nervous as she felt.
Max stood up and held out his hand to someone behind her.
“I’m glad you could join us, Mr. Redmond,” Max said respectfully. Diana glanced at Natalie, who was looking at her with an apologetic smile, before she turned in her seat to get her first look at the man whom she had never really forgotten.
“Please, call me Jake.”
He looked the same - still over six feet tall, still muscular, and still dangerously handsome. His haircut was shorter and he was a bit broader around the shoulders, but otherwise his chiseled features and sensuous green eyes were as captivating as ever. He wore a black jacket over a white shirt, which emphasized his wide shoulders and black slacks. Jake glanced at her and her internal temperature shot up as she tried to keep her face impassive while remembering the last time she had seen him on the beach, writhing in his arms.
“This is my wife, Natalie, and her best friend, Diana,” introduced Max. Diana swallowed softly as she watched Jake shake Natalie’s hand. Then he turned to her and she felt her hand being enveloped by his much larger one. She tried to smile, but her lips were frozen as she looked into his eyes, which were staring at her quizzically.
“You look familiar,” Jake said. Diana’s eyes widened. He couldn’t possibly have remembered her, had he?
“I, uh -” Diana started, not knowing what to say.
She glanced at Natalie, whose eyes had widened comically, but she could see no help from that corner, so she looked up at Jake again.
“We met many years ago,” she said, hoping that he wouldn’t remember. It was too humiliating to re-hash the past.
Jake’s eyebrows shot up inquisitively. He continued to stare at her until Max cleared his throat. Diana glanced at Max gratefully as he gestured to Jake to take a seat. Jake sat next to Max and across from Diana. He continued to stare at Diana intently. Her fingers clenched beneath the table as she tried to remain calm. Sitting across from the man who had invaded almost all her dreams during her college years was unnerving, to say the least.
“Are you ready to order?” asked a waiter.
Diana looked up along with Natalie and Max to give their orders. Diana felt Jake’s intense scrutiny of her, but she didn’t dare look directly at him even though every molecule in her body was aware of his presence.
“How was your flight?” asked Natalie glancing at Diana’s guarded expression.
Jake’s eyes never left Diana’s as he answered Natalie.
“Uneventful,” he replied distractedly with a strange note in his voice, which compelled Diana to look directly at him. She knew then that he had recognized her. His eyes widened a fraction and then became even more probing as his gaze wandered over her features. She gulped softly at his thorough inspection.
“I hope you don’t mind, Jake, but we’re also celebrating Diana’s birthday tonight,” said Max, unaware of the tension in his midst.
Diana could have kicked him under the table. Why did he have to reveal that information?
“Happy birthday, Diana,” Jake said softly as he smiled at her. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“A long time since when?” she asked, knowing that all she could do now was to pretend not to know him, but she had never been a good actress.
“You don’t remember me?” he asked softly and her body temperature shot up at his teasing tone.
“My memory can be hazy sometimes,” Diana prevaricated.
“I can always refresh it,” he said provocatively, his green eyes glinting.
Diana let out a breath of pure surprise as she stared at him, slightly shocked by his words.
“Well,” said Natalie a tad too brightly, “isn’t this a coincidence?”
Diana glanced at Natalie, who had a fake, wide smile on her face. Max cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.
“I’m going to freshen up in the ladies’ room, if you all don’t mind,” Diana said quickly as she stood up abruptly and walked away.
“I’ll join you,” said Natalie and followed her.
In the restroom, Diana stared at her reflection in the mirror and tried to suppress the memories that had come flooding back, memories that seemed to be etched into her brain for all time.
“This is kind of awkward, don’t you think?” said Natalie as she walked into the restroom.
“You think? Natalie, you said he probably wouldn’t remember me,” Diana said. “It took him all of five minutes to recall who I was.”
“Who knew the man had the memory of an elephant? Nine years is a long time and it’s not as if you guys had even dated much less kept in touch all these years.”
Diana let out a heavy sigh. Natalie knew what had happened on the beach between her and Jake, so she understood her consternation. But what Natalie didn’t know was how much she had yearned to see Jake again for many years afterward. She had not been able to shake off the intense attraction and now it had come back to life again.
“Look, you just have to get through dinner.”
“Easy for you to say,” replied Diana and then paused, smiling apologetically at her best friend. “Sorry, this isn’t your fault. Don’t worry about me. I’ll manage to get through dinner somehow.”
“I promise to make this up to you,” said Natalie. “Let’s do a girl’s day out this weekend, okay?”
“I’ll take your offer. Now, come on. Let’s go rescue Max,” Diana said and hugged her best friend before they left the restroom together.
For the rest of the evening, Max valiantly tried to keep Jake’s attention as he peppered him with questions regarding Jake’s ideas on a luxury hotel which was slated to begin construction on the Vegas Strip.
Diana surmised from their conversation that Jake’s company had a major financial stake in this new hotel and was in partnership with Max’s company. She appreciated Max’s efforts at keeping Jake busy answering his questions while she tried to focus on her dinner instead of on Jake. It was an almost impossible feat though and by the time dessert had arrived, Diana knew her resolve not to look at him had considerably weakened.
“Are you enjoying your tiramisu, Diana?” asked Jake suddenly, interrupting his conversation with Max.
“It’s very good,” Diana answered as she licked her fork and looked up at him. She watched his eyes closely follow her tongue movements and she felt heat coil tightly within her. Discomfited, she immediately looked down at her dessert again.
“May I?” Jake asked suddenly, taking Diana by surprise as he reached over and dipped his fork into her tiramisu. She watched him eat her dessert and couldn’t stop herself from staring at his sensual lips.
“You’re right, this is very good. Care to share?” he asked in a wicked tone, which
caused her internal heat to skyrocket.
“Um, no,” she answered awkwardly. “Don’t you like your own dessert?”
Diana pointedly looked at his chocolate mousse.
“I’d rather have yours,” he winked. Diana gulped softly.
He was flirting outrageously with her in front of Natalie and Max and she didn’t know what to do. Her gaze flew to Natalie, who was busy subduing a grin behind her napkin. Max cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“Did you have any other questions for me?” asked Max.
Diana smiled gratefully at him for steering the conversation away from her dessert.
“No, Max,” Jake said smoothly. “I’ll have my office call yours if there are any further details to work out. Thank you for inviting me to dinner. Now, I really must be going.”
Jake stood abruptly taking everyone by surprise. He shook Max’s and Natalie’s hand and then turned all his focus on Diana.
“Happy birthday, Diana,” he said, smiling down at her.
“Thank you,” she said politely, relieved that he was finally leaving, but surprised at his sudden departure. She firmly ignored the stab of disappointment in her chest.
“Did you come with Max and Natalie or did you come alone?” he asked.
Surprised by his question, she answered promptly, “Alone.”
“May I escort you to your car?”
Diana’s eyes widened as she stared at him in consternation. It was the last question she had expected from him. She looked at Natalie and Max, who looked equally startled by Jake’s request.
“Well,” she said slowly, “I wasn’t planning on going home yet.”
Jake grinned and said teasingly, “I didn’t say you were going home. I thought you and I could have coffee somewhere. My treat.”
Diana blinked. She wasn’t sure if she had heard him right. It had been nine years since she had last seen this man, but she was still highly attracted to him. Her mind was racing as she tried to think things through, but as he held his hand out to her, she knew she wasn’t going to deny him, just like that night nine years ago.