by Opal Carew
“Um … It’s getting late. By the time I get a cab and—”
“I’m downstairs in the limo.”
Damn.
“I’m not really dressed to go out.”
“I’m sure you look fine. Jessica, I really need to talk to you.”
She sighed. “Fine.”
But it just didn’t seem appropriate meeting a man who was in an expensive suit and riding in a limo while she was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He might call the shots in the office, but this was her decision.
“But if I’m meeting you, then I’m changing first.”
“Fine. Whatever you want. I’ll wait.”
She hung up the phone and headed to her bedroom, marveling that a powerful man like Mr. Dane Ranier had acquiesced to her demand, however small.
A few moments later, she rode the elevator downstairs, wearing a simple black dress with high heels and a gold locket around her neck. She’d pulled on a light black sweater for warmth, since the spring evenings were still cool.
As she walked out onto the street, the first thing she saw was the long black limousine parked in front of her building. Dane stood beside it, looking devastatingly handsome in his usual tailored suit, this one a light gray.
“Jessica. There you are.” He opened the door and she climbed into the car. He settled in beside her.
The warmth of his body next to hers, and his strong, dominating presence, threw her off balance. Even though she’d slept with his brother less than twenty-four hours before, she could easily fall into Dane’s arms and have hot, sweaty sex with him right now. Her attraction to the man was just that strong.
“How was your flight from Chicago?” she asked, hoping mundane conversation would keep her urges at bay.
“Fine,” he said curtly.
She frowned, wondering if he was angry at her.
A dismal thought occurred to her. Could he be taking her out to fire her?
Certainly having her in the office under the current circumstances would make things awkward, but … she really didn’t want to lose this job.
She could understand why he’d want to be rid of her, though. Her being around was putting a strain on his relationship with his brother. And after the last night she and Dane had spent together, things would be awkward between them, too.
“Are you going to fire me?” she asked, her fingers stroking the smooth stone in her sweater pocket.
His eyebrows rose. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”
She pursed her lips. “Well, you don’t seem very happy with me. You sent me home in the middle of the business trip. And having me around now that your brother’s back isn’t really conducive to a comfortable work environment.” Not only for Dane, but for Rafe, and Melanie, too. “And,”—she stared at her hands—“you seemed pretty uncomfortable around me after what happened between us in Chicago.”
“And what do you believe happened in Chicago?”
Her gaze darted to his. “You tell me.”
She believed he’d shown real feelings for her, and she definitely felt something deeper for him. Maybe even … love. But she’d be damned if she’d admit that first.
But his stony gaze told her nothing.
The limo pulled up to the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton and stopped in front of the door.
“Shall I leave the luggage with the concierge, Mr. Ranier?” asked the driver, “or send it up now?”
“The concierge. I’ll call for it later.”
A doorman hurried forward and opened the car door for her. She tore her gaze from his and stepped out of the vehicle, followed by Dane.
“Good evening, Mr. Ranier,” the doorman said.
“Good evening, Andre.”
Andre opened the door for them and she stepped into a large lobby of glass and marble with a large red carpet over a dark tile floor, tall plants and a sitting area with off-white leather furniture. Dane led her to an elevator and they stepped inside.
“Why are you having your luggage sent in?” she asked. “Aren’t you going home?”
“This is home. The Ritz-Carlton offers private residences as well as hotel rooms. I find it convenient.”
“I guess you don’t have to worry about hiring staff to cook and clean.”
“True,” he said as the elevator doors opened.
They walked down a hallway and he stopped at the first wooden door, then unlocked it. She stepped into a large apartment, easily bigger than Rafe’s generously sized place. She could see the lights of the city beyond the large, wall-to-wall windows.
“This way.” He gestured toward a couch and chairs overlooking the view.
She sat down in an easy chair, facing the couch.
“I called ahead to have a pitcher of white wine sangria sent up. If there’s something else you’d rather have, I can call down for it.”
“No, that will be fine, thanks.”
He walked to a table along the wall where a frosty pitcher and two tall stemmed glasses stood. He filled them both, then handed her one and sat down on the couch.
“We were talking about what happened in Chicago.” He sipped his drink then set it on the oval glass coffee table in front of them.
“Yes, we were.” She sat, tight-lipped, waiting for his next move.
“Jessica, I’m sorry I sent you home early. As soon as I did it, I regretted it.”
Her eyebrows arched. “Why?”
“Because I missed you. Because I wanted you with me.” He sighed and locked gazes with her. “Because something special did happen that night, and it scared the hell out of me. Even if I hadn’t found out Rafe was the man you’d fallen in love with, it would have been difficult. You’ve said all along that all you wanted was a physical relationship. And I agreed to that. But with Rafe in the picture…” He shrugged. “I didn’t want a woman to come between us again. So I sent you back, knowing I was sending you back to Rafe.”
She gripped her glass tightly. She’d already figured all this out and she was sure this wasn’t the only reason Dane had called her tonight, so where was this going? Did he simply want to make it official that they would no longer be lovers?
“But after you left,” he continued, “I realized that as much as I value my brother’s happiness…” He gazed at her, his expression solemn. “Mine is important, too.”
Her chest tightened.
“So I need to ask you a question.”
She stared at him, breath held.
“Are you in love with Rafe?”
She put down her drink and stood up, then paced across the room. “That’s not an easy question to answer.”
“It should be.”
She glanced toward him. “I loved Storm.”
“Storm and Rafe are the same person.”
“That’s not exactly true. As Storm, he was this free-and-easy guitar player with tattoos and a motorcycle, but now he wears a business suit and helps run a major corporation. I feel like the man I was in love with didn’t actually exist, and I’m still struggling to make sense of this new version of him and trying to make it fit with everything I thought I knew.”
“I’m sure you’ll adjust to the change. He can still play the guitar, and I’m sure his tattoos haven’t gone anywhere.” He stood up and stepped toward her. “You know, you’re just kidding yourself if you think the difference in lifestyle makes him a different person. Rafe has always been free and easy. At least, as much as our father would allow. That’s why he broke away from all this.” He glanced around the room. “In his heart, I’m certain that he’s the exact same person you came to know as Storm. In fact, you probably got to know the real Rafe better than anyone ever has because with you he was being who he truly wanted to be.”
“So you’re saying that if I don’t love him as Rafe, I never really loved him as Storm.”
He shrugged. “I can’t know that. Maybe you do love him, but you’re still running scared. He walked out on you once, maybe he’ll do it again. You don’t want to be hurt. That’s why you i
nsisted things be only physical between us. I understood that.”
Oh, God. She didn’t know how she felt about Rafe, but if she told Dane that, he might pursue her. A part of her was over the moon about that, but another part was scared stiff. She didn’t know what she felt. For either man.
“Rafe proposed,” she blurted.
His gaze darted to her left hand. “Did you accept?”
She folded her hands together, conscious of her naked ring finger. “No.” At his smile, she added quickly, “He sprang it on me too fast. I need time to get used to the idea. I need time to—”
But he had closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. Her words were stopped by his tongue sliding into her mouth. Then his arms tightened around her and his lips moved on hers with passionate persuasion until she melted against him.
At the sound of the door opening and closing, she jerked back, her gaze darting to the intruder.
“Rafe, what the hell are you doing here?” Dane demanded.
Frowning, Rafe stepped toward them, his gaze shifting from her heated cheeks to Dane’s intense gaze.
“I asked Andre to let me know when you arrived, because I wanted to come by and talk. There are some things we need to sort out. When he told me there was a young woman with you who matched the description of Jess, I decided I’d better rush right over.”
His accusing gaze fell on Jessica and her back stiffened.
“Did she tell you I proposed?” Rafe asked.
“Yes,” Dane responded. “She also told me she turned you down.”
Her stomach tightened as they talked about her as if she wasn’t even there.
“And did she tell you that afterward she spent the night.”
Dane’s gaze shot to her in surprise.
Anger burst through her and her hands balled into fists. “That’s right. I slept with both of you. This is a very confusing and emotional situation for me and I’m dealing with it as best I can. But I haven’t lied about anything I’ve done, and I haven’t agreed to a commitment with either one of you.” She placed her hands on her hips. “And maybe I like it that way. It’s not like you own me. Maybe I’ll keep on sleeping with both of you.” She glared at them. “If either one of you wants to stop, just say the word.”
At their open-mouthed stares, she spun on her heels and headed for the elevator. She jabbed the Close button several times as they watched, stunned. Finally, the doors closed and she slumped against the side of the elevator as it began its descent.
* * *
At the knock on the door, Jessica put down the magazine she’d been reading and stood up. She’d been out late with Melanie yesterday and was now spending a quiet Sunday afternoon at home while Melanie was out shopping.
She pulled open the door and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Rafe standing there. He was the image of Storm, gut-wrenchingly handsome in his jeans and leather jacket.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. Thank heavens Melanie wasn’t here. That would make this even more awkward.
“May I come in?” he asked.
“Um … yeah, sure.” She stepped aside to let him enter.
He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the coat tree inside the door. His black T-shirt hugged his broad chest snugly and tattoos flowed past his sleeves down his biceps. Reluctantly, she tore her gaze from his big, masculine body.
“Can I get you anything? I have coffee on.”
“No, thanks.” He sat down on the couch, right where she’d been sitting.
She sat down in the armchair.
“After you left Dane’s place Friday night,” he said, “I thought you could use a little time to cool off, so I waited until today to come by.”
She nodded. “I guess I went a little off the deep end.”
He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “It’s all right. You had a right to be upset. Dane and I were acting like kids fighting over a toy.”
Her fingers curled tightly. “I don’t want to be the cause of dissension between you. I know Dane missed you terribly when you were gone, and he’s tried to change things in the company in ways that would make you proud. He’s developing green technologies, he’s looking into programs to improve employee health benefits, and—”
“I know. I’ve been brought up-to-date on those things by Melanie. Dane has done some outstanding things and I’m pleased to see it. That doesn’t change the problem between the three of us, though.”
He reached out and took her hand. The feel of his fingers around hers sent sparks dancing along her skin.
“Jess, I love you. And if your feelings for Dane interfere with that, there’s going to be tension between him and me. There’s nothing we can do about that.”
“I guess. But I don’t want you to blame him. Not like with your prom date.”
Rafe’s eyebrows arched. “He told you about that?”
She nodded. “It was before we knew you and Storm were the same person. We were just getting to know each other. I was telling him about my ex—you—and he told me about his brother.”
“Why would you tell him about me?”
She glanced at him. “Actually, you were the reason we met. I was eating breakfast at a restaurant before going to the career fair and I saw him outside. At first, I thought he was you.”
“Did you just walk up to him?”
She smiled. “I followed him into Starbucks and walked over to him, then got embarrassed when I realized my mistake.”
“And he used that excuse to pick you up?”
“No, I left, but then he saw me standing in the rain trying to get a cab and he offered me a ride.”
“So he became the knight in shining armor.”
“Well, he got me to the job fair, and gave me some helpful advice along the way.” She pulled out the worry stone from her pocket. “He also gave me this. It helped me to stay focused and calm at the career fair. I was a bit of a wreck having to cope with all the stress, but his advice helped.”
He took the stone from her hand and stared at it. “My brother had a worry stone? That’s hard to believe.”
She nodded. “He was carrying it in his pocket.” She gazed at the stone as his thumb stroked its smooth surface. “In fact, he told me he’d actually gotten it for you, but you’d left and he didn’t get a chance to give it to you. He said he wanted to show you that he respected your beliefs, even though they are different from his.”
“Really?” He looked at the stone with renewed interest.
“I think you should keep it.”
He glanced at her. “You sure?”
“Of course. I think it’s an important gesture on his part.” She shrugged. “And I can always get another one.”
“Thanks.” He placed the stone in his jeans pocket. “So what did you tell him about me?”
She glanced down at her hands. “I told him about when you left, and how devastated I was.” The pain still resonated inside her.
“He probably thought I was a jerk.”
She didn’t say anything.
“It’s okay. I was a jerk. I never should have left. But it was the best I could do at the time.” He took her hand in his. “You know I never meant to lie to you. I was just being who I wanted to be. Leaving my old identity behind. But when I met you, it became a lie and I didn’t want to keep lying to you.”
Her insides ached. “You could have told me the truth.”
He nodded. “I know I made some major mistakes and totally screwed things up between us.” His lips compressed. “But I know that now, and it made me realize how much I need you in my life.”
He stood up and walked to the coat tree and reached in his jacket pocket, then returned with a small gift box. He handed it to her.
She gazed at him warily as she took it. “I hope this isn’t another ring.”
He chuckled. “God, no. I learned my lesson on that one. When…” He hesitated, his gaze locking on her, and he turned serious again. “If you s
ay finally say yes, we’ll pick out the ring together.”
A lump formed in her throat. She wanted to tell him the moth ring was perfect. It was so beautiful, both in form and concept, but its dazzling beauty and high price had emphasized the difference between the Storm she thought she’d known, and Rafe. But she loved the ring and everything it said about him.
He gesture toward the gift box still in her hand. “I wanted to get you something special, but this time I kept it simple. Open it.”
She pulled on the thin, curled ribbon and the simple bow pulled loose. She tore away the gift wrap and revealed a small box inside. She opened it and amidst some pink, glittery tissue paper was a bottle of nail polish. She lifted the small, cylindrical bottle from the wrapping. It was white with small black speckles.
“Look, at the name.” He pointed to the side of the bottle and in tiny gold letters it said Leopard Moth.
She grinned at him. “You’re kidding. How did you find it?”
He shrugged. “I had a little help from Melanie.”
Of course. And the fact that Melanie had helped him … maybe that meant she was really okay with Rafe and her being together.
“This is very nice. It looks like a designer brand.”
“No, that’s the thing. It’s a kind you get in a drugstore.”
She stared at the brand name—Accessorize—which she didn’t recognize. “I’ve never seen this brand, and believe me, I’ve been shopping enough with Melanie to know them all.”
He smiled sheepishly. “Okay. The drugstore is in England, but it’s just an inexpensive bottle of nail lacquer, as they call it. Melanie saw it on one of the blogs she follows and she thought it would be a perfect gift for you.”
“And it probably cost you ten times the price in shipping.”
“Don’t blow it out of proportion. It’s no big deal.” He took her hand again and squeezed. “It’s just a token, Jess. Please don’t turn it down. Even with shipping it was far less than the ring.”
She smiled. “It would have to be, wouldn’t it?”
“And if it makes you feel better, I also got Melanie the whole collection of those speckled polishes to thank her for listening to me ramble on about my love life and offering a woman’s perspective, so you see, your bottle just hitched a ride with her gift.”