“I’d say so.” Leigh submerged herself to just below her mouth, sliding an impish glance to Margot. “I had the equivalent of phone sex with him.”
“On the beach?”
Leigh only smiled as Margot’s eyes slowly got wider than she’d ever seen them, even after that night in college when Leigh had downed five Killer Kamikaze shots and still been able to walk a straight line at their main hangout, Desperado’s.
“You had pseudosex on the beach,” Margot repeated.
“I only flashed my undies at him there. But once we were inside, things went a little further.”
“Oh, God, I don’t want to ask how far.” Margot covered her face, then uncovered it. “Okay, how far?”
A rascally smile was the only answer Leigh gave.
“That far,” Margot said, breaking into a reluctant grin. “You devil, you. I didn’t know you had it in you. Did anything else happen after that?”
“Sure. I ate alone again and we had a good chat about movies and books. Turns out he likes thrillers.”
Margot was still waiting, and when she clearly realized that Leigh had nothing more to offer, she stood. “So you weren’t lying. There was no sex with you two from that point on.”
“Not even another raunchy phone call.” And that had confused her more than anything. It’d been as if, after she’d teased him about being frustrated, he’d decided that he’d pushed her far enough and had acted the gentleman the rest of the night.
“Then you left his house?” Margot asked. “With just a fond goodbye?”
“Right. And you know what? I don’t regret a minute of what did happen. I had a great time, and I found out some things about myself. I never thought I’d be the type of woman who’d...you know.”
“Get off in front of a guy you don’t know?”
“Yeah, that.” It sounded so dirty. So fun. “But I am that girl, Marg. And I loved being her.”
“Wow.” Margot pushed back a dark wave that had escaped from her ponytail. “I mean, wow. The Leigh I used to know wouldn’t have gone on that date, first of all. And second, she wouldn’t have been a wanton lady like you were. She would’ve been too bashful.”
“It crossed my mind to be weirded out by what I’d done, but I wasn’t. This sounds strange, but even though I don’t know him, it seemed like I did, right off the bat. I’ve never been so in tune with anyone in my life.”
“Do you think you do know him, and that’s why he’s familiar?”
“I hope not.” She smoothed her hand over the bubbles. “That would change everything. It would make things...”
“Serious. I understand. But this way you can go about your business without there being any consequences.”
“Exactly.” She sighed. “All I was looking for was adventure. But I got more than that.”
“You sure did.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. Now I’m wondering what I’ve been missing my entire life by being so cautious. By staying in that shell I built because I was chubby and unattractive.”
Margot raised a finger. “You were always pretty, Leigh. I wish you wouldn’t say that.”
“Don’t blow sunshine at me. I was always the one with the good personality and you know it.”
“You still do have the good personality.”
As Margot smiled down at her, a dinging sound from outside interrupted them.
“Your phone,” Margot said, and there was a brightness in her eyes.
Before Leigh could say anything, Margot had jetted out of the bathroom and returned with the phone in hand, peering at the screen.
“Squee-mail,” she said, smiling like a maniac.
As Margot showed her the screen, Leigh saw that there definitely was reason to squee.
It was a message from Beth Dahrling, and all it said was “He’s got a proposition for you.”
* * *
ADAM HOVERED OVER Beth’s shoulder as she sent the email from her smartphone in his kitchen.
She glanced behind her, irritation written all over her exotic features, and Adam backed off, raising his hands.
“Sorry,” he said, grinning.
“It’s not like she’s going to answer with light speed.” She put the phone on a marble counter and turned to him. “She might even be in bed by now. And speaking of bed, I’m off to mine. I’ll leave my phone here so you can pretend to be me or...whatever.”
She started to abandon him, her long silk skirt swishing behind her, leaving a trace of jasmine perfume. His assistant had been hanging out at the nearby bar in the fancy hotel down by the shore-lined Highway 101, just as she’d been doing every night since they’d gotten here.
It was a lonely job working for a hermit like him, he realized. Not much opportunity to meet anyone—not even if you were a looker like Beth.
“Wait,” he said. “You’re not up for a cocktail? This is our last night here, so why not enjoy it while we can?”
“Because I’ve got to pack.”
“Beth.”
She rolled her eyes, gesturing toward the liquor cabinet, which had everything from vintage Scotch to sweet Amaretto. He’d stocked every minibar in the mansion the same way when he’d arrived.
Getting out two cut-crystal glasses from the cupboard, he chose the Amaretto, then used ice from the refrigerator before he poured the liquor over the cubes.
He handed a glass to Beth. “Here’s to a few days in the country.”
“Really? You want me to drink to that?”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not really going home yet. When we first came here, your plan was to have this date and that was it. Now you ask me to make late-night arrangements for your ‘get away from it all’ ranch to be opened up so you can invite Leigh there and continue this madness. I’ve got to be a sucker to please you.”
Adam swirled the liquor in his glass. That “get away from it all” place she was referring to was a small spread in the San Pasqual area of San Diego that he’d bought after Carla’s death. It was a gentleman’s operation with a stable of a few horses and a small vineyard. Not that this ranch allowed him to get away from the computer, where he did most of his business investing, managing his healthy stock portfolios. He also had to keep up with his research so he could acquire more resort properties and biotech businesses to keep him in the flush. But it was nice to have the option to get away, especially when memories of Carla got to be too much for him in the places they’d been together.
“I won’t be there for long,” he said. “And you get to go home. But it all depends on Leigh and her answer. She’s on hiatus for her show, and I don’t have to be physically present at any meetings to please any business boards for about a week, so it’s a good time for both of us.”
“You sure made it sound that way in the email. ‘How about a few days away from it all?’” she quoted. “‘Callum wants you to join him for a few more games next week as his guest.’”
The idea had evolved throughout the evening and had come to a lightbulb moment after Leigh had mentioned being frustrated when their date was over. She’d also said that she didn’t know how far they could take this watching game, and he’d wondered if she was already tired of it.
So he’d decided to back off at that point, hoping that withholding sexual games would make her long for more. Then he’d sprung this invitation on her. All that remained was her answer.
“I’ll make all the time and effort you’ve spent on this up to you,” he said to Beth. “In fact, you might want to check your email account as soon as I get on my computer and forward you the information. There should be a message about an online shopping spree through your favorite designer boutiques....”
“Bribery.” She seemed angry, but then she gave him a tolerant, affectionate glare that only
someone like a big sister could get away with.
“It comes close,” he said, smiling back. “Besides, this is just one last hurrah with Leigh, and then I’m letting this go. Promise.”
“Is that what you were thinking during your romantic night together? That you only want one more hurrah?”
“Of course.”
“Sure.” She put down her untouched drink. “Now, I don’t know what went on between the two of you tonight, but I saw the pillows and blanket in front of the fire. And it looked like someone had been using them.”
He sighed. “I know where you stand on this. You don’t want her hurt. Or me.”
“It’s you I’m worried about the most at this point.”
He frowned.
“You know exactly what I mean,” she said. “Last night was only one date. But now you’ve started to really like Leigh, and it’s only a matter of time before you start feeling guilty about betraying Carla with another woman. I’ve seen you get intrigued by a couple of your so-called pen pals on the internet, and it’s always the same—when you start getting interested, you start getting dark and angry at life because it took the only woman you’ve ever loved away from you, and you decide you’re not going to let it happen again. That’s when you go into major seclusion.”
He gripped his glass. She was right. He didn’t like to get too close, because every time he did, he saw Carla in his mind’s eye.
On her deathbed, he’d vowed to her that she’d be the only one, ever, even though she’d never made him promise it. And even if he needed his libido perked up every so often, he intended to keep his vow to the woman he’d loved heart and soul.
“Leigh’s not expecting anything to happen between us,” he finally said. “Neither am I. I’ve told you that. A few more days won’t matter.”
“You’re already fighting tooth and nail to pretend you’re not falling heart-first into this, Adam. Every word you’re saying is empty.”
Just as empty as he felt most of the time? But hadn’t there been a few moments tonight when he’d felt something? Because when Leigh had told him about her first real boyfriend, his chest had folded inward. And watching her pretend that the story hadn’t mattered had been all the sadder.
Yet that was the point, wasn’t it? Leigh hadn’t made a big deal about anything emotional. She definitely knew how to keep her sadness at bay, and he needed that, at least for a short time more. Both of them could cut this brief affair off before it meant anything.
“If Leigh says yes to this,” he said, “she would know that this extended date would be the last. You don’t need to worry about either of us, Beth.”
“No worries. Got it.”
She seemed extra sensitive tonight, and he reached out his free hand, touching her arm.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Definitely.” She let out a sigh, obviously knowing it was useless to lie to him. “At the bar, I finally decided to go ahead and join a nunnery because I’m so tired. Tired of looking, tired of trying, tired of talking to a woman and realizing that there’s no connection there. Do nunneries still exist?”
“I have no idea.”
He squeezed, and she smiled faintly. Two of a kind. No wonder they’d ended up together.
A ding on her phone brought them out of their silence, and he didn’t move. Was it Leigh?
Beth grabbed the phone and accessed the screen.
“And...?” Adam asked.
“She says, ‘What do you have in mind, Callum?’ I like how she doesn’t beat around the bush and she answered you right away. Most women like to play games.”
Most men did, too. Or maybe it was just him, with all these games he was playing with Leigh.
“Why would she hide her interest?” he asked.
“Yes,” Beth said, arching a brow. “Why hide, Callum?”
He shot her a glare, and she held up the phone.
“Your answer?” she asked.
He smiled, taking the device from her, assuming Beth’s identity while typing out the rest of his invitation.
And also assuming that Leigh was going to say yes to an offer no woman could refuse.
6
IT WAS DATE night for Dani and Riley, and after they came out of the movie theater, where they’d seen a late showing of an action movie he’d been pining for, they stopped by a coffee nook that was still open.
Dani told him that she’d get the beverages, and when she returned to their small mosaic-tiled table in a corner near a shelf of old leather-bound books and a fern plant, she slid their tray toward him, smiling.
“Coffee, tea...me?” she said, sitting down.
“She brings offers I can’t refuse.” He took his house-blend coffee, leaning back in his chair, propping his booted ankle on a jeans-clad knee.
Although he’d taken the coffee, Dani was sure he was talking about the “me” part, too; he was grinning at her with one of those intimate grins that assured her of his devotion, but a niggle still got to her.
Last night, when she’d brought out those blue fuzzy handcuffs and they’d played the “mysterious man” game inspired by Leigh’s basket date, the sex had been amazing. But for some reason she couldn’t put her finger on, she felt a distance from Riley, even if he was as affable as ever.
Was it because she’d sensed more frustration in him due to this experimental phase she was in? He hadn’t exactly mentioned her having cold feet about the wedding, but...
She couldn’t form any more thoughts after realizing how time was marching along and the ceremony was getting ever closer. Her skin seemed to jump with nerves.
Why, though? Riley was the love of her life. Yet how many people, like her divorced parents, had thought the same thing when they started out?
“Did you like the movie?” he asked.
“It was great. A total good time.”
“I get the feeling you need a distraction more than usual. Besides your regular job, you’ve been burying yourself in planning for your catering company, not to mention the wedding stuff with Margot and Leigh.”
“They want to do a lot of the wedding planning.” Thank goodness. “Besides, it’s my future catering company, and the workload now is nothing compared to what I’ll be doing if I get that business loan.”
“You will.”
He seemed so confident about that, and she couldn’t resist mirroring his grin.
They sipped their beverages, but her chai tea needed some cooling, so she blew on it. Meanwhile, silence came between them. It’d been there ever since last night when she realized she didn’t know what to say to Riley when the fuzzy handcuffs and the blindfold had been packed in a kitchen drawer. But one thing that she hadn’t been able to put away was the feeling that she’d gotten from those cuffs around her wrists, the shortness of breath that the light bondage had caused.
You need to think about who you really want, Dani, Riley had told her in the midst of their foreplay, when he’d been pretending to be the mystery man. His words had stayed with her even afterward, during a meal in which they didn’t talk about the intense encounter they’d just had. The reality was that she felt more skittish than ever about the wedding.
Riley put his paper coffee cup on the table, clearly choosing his words before he ran a hand through his black hair and said, “You know that there’s an elephant in this room, and it’s sitting right on our table.”
She wasn’t going to play dumb. She glanced around the shop, but they were the last customers and the employees were cleaning behind the counter, getting ready to close. Serene world music played over the speakers, masking their conversation.
“You’re right about an elephant,” she said. “I feel like I need to apologize for last night.”
“No apologies necessary.”
�
��You keep saying that, no matter how many times I put you through the wringer. It’s one of the reasons I love you—because you’ve got the patience of a saint.” Not for the first time, she wondered how long that patience was going to last.
Was she pushing him in that area just to see how much he would take? Would she be happy only when he did leave and validated her fears about broken marriages?
“Last night it wasn’t patience you wanted from me,” he said.
She leaned forward, setting her tea down, wrapping her hands around the cup. A strand of her bobbed hair fell forward but she didn’t tuck it back. Last night she hadn’t known what she wanted out of Riley. Right now, though, sitting across from him, she couldn’t imagine life without him. Her heart felt torn just thinking about it.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said. “I asked you to stick with me while we tried new things. New ‘adventures’ like Margot and Leigh were having.” Sexual and career changes, just to see if they would change her. He kept saying that he was falling in love with her all over again while seeing this side of her.
“I’m always up for something new,” he said. “But every day, I feel you getting a little further from me, Dani.” He reached across the table and held her hand. “There’re some demons you’re trying to chase off, and I have to wonder if most of it’s because of what your dad did....”
“If you don’t mind, it’d be great if we didn’t have to talk about him.”
Riley held tight to her, his voice steady. “I’m not him.”
She looked into Riley’s blue eyes, nearly drowning in them, making her feel instead of think. One of those demons that nagged at her said, Too many people in love don’t think, and that’s why they don’t stay together.
She held Riley’s hand tightly. “Could you tell me the truth? Did you like it last night?”
Glancing at the employees behind the counter, he returned his gaze to her. “Dani, you could walk into a room in a sweat suit and that would work me up. We don’t need toys or scenarios. We never did.”
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