Fade to Black

by Unknown

  Jesse. As mad as she still was at him, she couldn’t let herself make decisions that would destroy the trust he had in her.

  The bathroom door opened, and a brighter-eyed, bushier-tailed Rich sauntered out into the room wearing nothing but a towel. The skin of his chest and arms were red from the shower but the pink in his cheeks was different.

  “What’d you forget?” Kate grinned, loving that she was right.

  “Boxers, pants and one sock.” He chuckled as he headed toward his suitcase. The muscles of his back moved with the beautiful precision of a large predatory cat. He certainly was a fine specimen of the male species. “I’ll be right out.” His voice shook her out of her analysis of the water droplets that were making their slow descent toward the terrycloth that covered what she could only imagine was a perfect rear.

  She forced her eyes closed. “Jesse. Jesse. Jesse,” she chanted softly.

  “Did you say something?” Rich asked from the bathroom door.

  “Um…take your time.” Stupid. She turned off the television, grabbed her phone and walked back to her room to gather all the things she’d need for the day. No need to continue to ogle a man that didn’t belong to her. What the hell is wrong with you? You love Jesse. Stop it! As if her thoughts of him brought him to reality, the little pink device in her hand rang. “Hello?”

  “Hey, baby, did you sleep well last night?” He acted as though nothing had happened between them in the minutes before he left.

  And that bothered Kate. “Nope.”

  “Oh?” His question had more of an accusation than if he’d have gone on another tirade. He paused, seemingly waiting for Kate to defend herself, but when she didn’t, he continued, “What you going to do today?”

  Kate realized she didn’t know. “I’ve got to touch base with Dale to find out. What about you?”

  “Just hanging out with Dad. Oh, KC, he’s doing so much better. You should see him.” The excitement in Jesse’s voice made her smile.

  “I can’t wait. Hopefully, it’ll just be a few more days.”

  “Hey Kate,” Rich called from the other room. “Kate.”

  She cringed, and she wrapped her fingers around the phone in hopes of shielding Jesse from hearing Rich call her name. No such luck.

  Jesse cursed. “I gotta go, Kate,” he grumbled, then the line went dead.

  “Bye,” she said to the silence, if only to make things appear normal to Rich.

  “Sorry about that,” Rich said as she closed the phone. “He’s probably totally pissed that you’re stuck here with me.”

  “Nope—” He wasn’t totally pissed, at least he hadn’t torn into her. “—he trusts me.”

  Rich laughed as he closed the door to his room, effectively locking them together in the same hotel room. “He certainly doesn’t trust me.” Two strides later, he stood right in front of her.

  Her body reacted to his close proximity. “Should he?” she sighed.

  His lips were right at her ear as he whispered, “Nope.”

  Her eyebrows shot up in response to his answer, and she jerked away from him. Her heart thudded violently against her ribcage.

  His lips pulled into a confident grin as he winked then headed toward the door. “Let’s get going, beautiful lady. Today’s our last day together.” Despite his efforts to look cheerful, there was a sadness in his eyes he couldn’t disguise.

  “What?”

  “I forgot to tell you. Dale called at 5:30 this morning. We’re to cover the conferences today, then we’re free to go our separate ways tomorrow morning.” He opened the door, using his hand to usher her into the hall.

  “Oh.” She hated that she sounded disappointed. “Well, that’s good news.” She watched the burgundy squares as her feet shuffled over them. She didn’t want to look at Rich and see his emotions reflected back at her. Leaving him would be harder than she ever imagined.

  Rich reached out and pressed the down arrow as they waited for the elevator to arrive. She wanted to touch him, to take his hand in hers, but forced her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

  The lobby was full of people and they weaved their way toward the doors. She probably should have refused to stay tonight with Rich. The smart thing would be to leave tonight and drive back to Jesse. But, despite the urgency she felt to get to the man she loved, Kate couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Rich.

  That’s screwed up! her thoughts informed her.

  Screwed up or not, it was how she felt. Kate would continue to fight her feelings for Rich. They were ridiculous. Jesse deserved better than a girl in love with… I am not in love with Rich. She did not love Rich. He was just a co-worker and means nothing more. Nothing more.

  “Kate?” Rich gently shook her arm. Her eyes focused on his face. Her damned heart skipped a beat at the pools of Caribbean blue looking back at her, and worried sincerity reflected in them. “Are you okay?”

  “Um hum.” She nodded. “Why do you ask?”

  “You just stopped walking and started muttering to yourself.” He laughed. “Where were you just now…and why did you say my name?”

  “I…I said your name?” Panic raced through her veins.

  His lips lifted smugly at the corners. “Yep…twice. You daydreaming about me?” Her mouth dropped open, causing him to roar with laughter. “Come on.” His hand wrapped gently around her arm and he led her out into the bright sunlight. “I’m going to enjoy every moment of our time together.”

  “We’re working, Rich.” She closed herself in the car and waited a few moments for him to climb in as well. When he did, his smile was so big she waited for his face to crack. “What?”

  “You know what they say, right?”

  Kate wondered which cliché he was going to throw at her. Her brows arched. “What do they say, Rich?”

  “All work and no play makes Kate a dull girl.”

  “I am not dull.” Her tone was defensive and caused Rich to laugh again. She huffed and stared out the window in silence. Rich was quiet too, probably plotting a way to make her less dull.

  By the time they reached their destination, her irritation had reached new levels of annoyance. Kate could almost feel the negative emotions buzzing in her body. She threw open the door and headed into the crowd that was gathering. Rich was right on her heels, chuckling softly.

  “Come on, Rich,” she groaned. “Let’s finish this last day together.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rock bottom was an interesting place. Sitting in a hellhole, drunk off your ass with a heart that’s been torn in two, you tend to get a new perspective on life. Rich had promised everyone—Kate, Jesse, and himself—that he was going to walk away. He’d promised to leave her alone, pull himself out of the picture.

  Things change.

  He had big plans for tonight. There was no way he was going to allow Kate to hole up in her room and hide from their friendship. If he couldn’t have Kate’s heart, he would gladly have her as his friend. Although, until the day came that she devoted herself to another man, he would fight for her, show her how happy he could make her.

  They’d barely stepped into the lobby before she headed toward the elevator, and his hand flashed out to grab her arm. “Huh uh, Kate, no room service tonight. Let’s sit down and have dinner in the lounge.” There was skepticism in her eyes. Her mouth, however, didn’t offer a protest. “Just dinner, Kate,” he assured her with a smile.

  “Can I at least freshen up first?”

  He led her toward the elevators, leaning down to breathe deeply with an exaggerated sniff. “You definitely need to freshen up. You smell.” Delicious, his thoughts amended.

  She slapped playfully at his chest. “You could use a shower too, Stinky.” She continued to tease him by holding her nose and making gagging noises as they rode up the elevator toward their rooms. Chuckles turned to full-fledged laughter by the time they reached his room.

  She leaned in and took a deep breath. Her eyes drifted shut and an intoxicated look pa
ssed over her face before she camouflaged it with a scowl. “I expect you to smell so much better when you come out of this room in thirty minutes.”

  He raised a brow. “Thirty minutes?” Never in his life had he met a woman who could get ready in only half an hour.

  Her lips lifted at the corners. “Unless you need longer. I’ve always thought you were kind of a pretty boy.”

  “Stinky? Now pretty boy? If I didn’t know better, I might worry that you were hiding your true feelings for me behind insults.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, just walked into his room and shut the door. Let her stew on that for a minute—thirty, actually.

  Rich didn’t need the full thirty minutes. A quick shower and a change of clothes, and he was ready to spend the evening with Kate—as friends. He smiled at his reflection as his hands smoothed out the shirt. Was it wishful thinking to hope she’d take it off later?

  There was a light knocking on the hall door.

  With shoes in hand and his heart pounding out of his chest, Rich hurried over to the door, jerking it open. His breath rushed from his lungs in a whoosh. “Kate, you look…” His tongue stopped while his brain searched for the appropriate word.

  Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, wisps already falling down to frame her face. Her cheeks were tinted pink, whether from embarrassment or some kind of makeup, Rich couldn’t tell. Either way, she was beautiful. Her plump, kissable lips were shiny with clear gloss.

  His mouth watered with the anticipation of tasting it. What flavor would she prefer? Strawberry? Cherry? Passion fruit?

  She fidgeted under his scrutinizing eye as her hands moved down her neck and over the V of her cream sweater. “It’s the only casual thing I packed.”

  “No, it’s…you’re…you look really…great, Kate.”

  The pink tint took on a redder hue and she giggled nervously. “You don’t look half bad yourself.”

  His brain decided to finally check back in and he held up his shoes. “Thanks. I just need to put these on, then we’re off.”

  “Good. I’m starving.”

  Rich plopped down on the corner of the bed and slipped on the shoes, sneaking a peak at Kate as he tied the laces. Those jeans were the perfect combination of tight and loose, hugging each curve without being too revealing.

  “Ready?” she asked when she caught him looking.

  His hands ran over the hems of his slacks, straightening them. “Yep, let’s get out of here.”

  The short journey toward the lounge downstairs was a quiet one. His emotions were reminiscent of his very first date; nervous, excited, anxious. Even his palms were sweaty. Was there any chance of kissing her at the end of the night? This isn’t a date, Spencer.

  “Rich, are you okay?” Kate’s soft voice asked as they stepped off the elevator into the lobby.

  “Yeah, just fine, why?”

  “You’re so quiet. We don’t have to do this. I’m fine with ordering something in my room.”

  “No.” It came out a bit harsh. “I mean, don’t be ridiculous, I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

  “All day?” She perked a brow.

  “Yes, I have been working up the courage to ask you to dinner all day.”

  “This isn’t a date.”

  Where have I heard that before? “I know. Dinner, as friends.”

  She smiled and her eyes crinkled at the sides. “Friends.” She extended her hand which he took, shaking it gently.

  The lounge wasn’t very busy, which would offer the privacy Rich wanted, yet had a scattering of people to make Kate comfortable.

  Unwilling to break the contact with Kate, Rich traded hands and squeezed it gently. When she didn’t tug away, he led her to a table kind of off by itself and pulled out a chair. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll go get us a drink from the bar. What would you like?”

  “I’ll just have a um, Dr. Pepper.”

  He didn’t miss her request for the same soda he always drank, but decided it was better not to mention—or make too much of it. Instead he teased, “Don’t trust yourself with alcohol around me?”

  She rolled her eyes. That pink tint was back, and he suspected that he was closer to the truth than she wanted to admit.

  The anxiety and nervousness was beginning to wear off as he got to the bar. This was just Kate. My Kate. There was nothing to be wary of. She’d never hurt him intentionally. If she broke my heart, it was only because I’d put it out there to get slapped again.

  “Well, you look happier than the last time I saw you,” the familiar tattooed man commented.

  Rich smiled. “Yeah, I am.”

  “Is she the reason you were so miserable?” He jerked his head in Kate’s direction.

  “It’s a long story.”

  Jesse was gone. It was just Rich and Kate, and he wasn’t going to let him interfere with the last few hours they had together. This was going to be his last Hail, Mary before he sent her back into the arms of the other man who loved her.

  Big and Beefy cleared his throat. “What can I get you?”

  “Two Dr. Peppers please.”

  His forehead crinkled and he smiled. “Sure thing, friend.”

  Rich turned to lean back against the counter, resting his elbows on it. His eyes sought out the most beautiful girl in the room. She was chatting away on her cell phone, laughing while her fingers absently twisted at a lock of hair that had released itself from her ponytail. The delusional part of his brain convinced him that it was her mother, or a friend, that made her smile that way. The practical side knew full well that it was Jesse.

  “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” Sliding some cash on the counter, Rich took a glass in each hand and wandered back toward the table where Kate waited.

  She smiled as Rich put the glass in front of her. “Thanks,” she whispered to him before talking back into the phone, “Hey, I’ll talk to you later.” A deep reply answered her. She grinned, and dropped her gaze. “You too. Good night, Dad.” She closed her phone. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay.” And it was. Kate had been on the phone with her father, a man he didn’t have to be jealous of. The phone in his pocket rang, and he answered it without looking at the caller id. “Hello?”

  “Rich, where the hell are you?” the voice demanded.

  “You already know the answer to that, Shea.”

  Kate choked on her drink and verified, “That’s Shea?”

  Rich nodded.

  “Do I?” Shea said with her usual doze of animosity.

  Kate’s hand wrapped around his arm. “I need to tell you something,” she whispered.

  Rich held up one finger and walked away from the table. “I’m on assignment.”

  “Are you?”

  Her insinuations made his head hurt. “Stop talking in circles. I told you where I was, and that hasn’t changed.”

  Silence came through the line followed by a long breath. “You said that you were staying at the Marriott near the Capital, but they have never heard of you.”

  His brows pulled together as the confusion was overridden by panic. “Where are you, Shea?”

  “I am standing in the lobby of the Marriott near the Capital. The worthless child at the check-in desk has never heard of you and can’t find you in their system. She said that there was no record of you ever having stayed here.” Another frustrated sigh came through the line. “I’m going to ask you again, Rich Spencer, where the hell are you?”

  His heart forced the blood through his veins at lightning speed. If Shea was standing in the lobby that was way too close to Kate for his comfort. Before he even realized it, his feet had brought him to stand in the lobby, careful to stay off to the side just in case Shea was actually here.

  A quick scan of the foyer and lobby didn’t show any sign of the woman who would soon be his ex-wife. He took a few more steps into the open, caution being of the utmost importance. “I am standing in the lobby of the Marriott, Shea. You are not here.
”

  “Don’t patronize me, Rich. I know where I am. You sonofabitch, you’re with her, aren’t you?”

  “Who?”

  Her frustration came through as a scream. “You are not at the Marriott in D.C. As your wife, I demand…”

  Laughter wasn’t the best way to handle Shea, but that’s what happened as relief washed over Rich, replacing the fear and anxiety.

  “Don’t you laugh at me!”

  “That’s your problem, Shea. I’m in Phoenix. The capital of Arizona. You, my dear, are on the other side of the continent.” His laughter continued, as did her tirade of expletives. Hadn’t she noticed the locator font? She’d obviously seen Kate on TV. He couldn’t believe that she’d made such a mistake, but was grateful she had. “Look, we’re almost done here. Just go home.”

  In classic bi-polar Shea fashion, she was crying. “I just wanted to surprise you…like Jesse did for Kate.”

  “I don’t get it, Shea.”

  She sniffed. “Don’t get what?” She sounded so innocent.

  “You treat me like shit. You leave and I don’t hear from you…. Never mind. Forget it.”

  The pressure of a small hand on his back sent tingles from the point of contact, spreading through his body like fire. “Rich?” When his eyes met Kate’s over his shoulder, she smiled encouragingly. “Is everything okay?” She fidgeted with the hem of her sweater.

  A hiss flowed through his ear. “She’s there now, isn’t she?”

  “Goodbye, Shea.” He closed the phone with a snap, muttering “crazyass bitch” under his breath. Forcing a smile through his frustration, Rich said, “Yes, Kate, everything’s fine.”

  Kate wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his chest. “I am so glad. I forgot to tell you that Shea called earlier, and I…”

  When she didn’t continue, Rich placed a finger under her chin and tipped her face up so she was looking at him. “You what?”

  She chewed on her lip. “I kind of…” The corners of her mouth lifted, Rich could see she was fighting her amusement. “I told her off. I didn’t mean to cause any problems for you. She was so nasty, and I just hate the way she treats you. You’re such a great guy, who deserves a woman who loves…”