by BETH KERY
“Yes?” she asked him breathlessly when he faded off.
“I really don’t want to leave.”
She blinked at his admission. He’d sounded a little surprised saying it, like he’d just fully experienced the realization at that moment.
“I don’t want you to go either.”
He gave a half grin and leaned back toward her. He planted another kiss on her mouth. “That makes going a little easier. Not much, but a little. I’ll call later and we’ll decide what time for tonight?”
She nodded. He studied her for a second before he turned and left.
He was right. Watching him walk away this time was better after they’d made their confessions.
Not much, but a little.
—
She couldn’t get over how different Trey was in reality versus magazine articles’ slants on him, or given her own expectations of him from spying into his private world. He was surprisingly forthright and easy to be with. It had started to become clearer and clearer to her since spending time with him that she’d been seeing him in the one-dimensional light of her sexual attraction.
Her hunger.
His honesty made him exponentially more attractive, but it also added to her guilt.
Although she wasn’t precisely sure she should feel guilty. He’d proposed a sexual, no-strings-attached affair initially, and she’d accepted. Since then, they’d started to tread in deeper waters, but it was still the beginning of a relationship that they’d both agreed was primarily based on an uncommonly strong physical attraction.
So what if she’d made herself more exciting in his eyes than she really was? Her playacting at being a sexually confident woman only added spice and excitement to their affair.
Maybe it was because he’d intimated at dinner last night that he was aware that things were going deeper between them. And the deeper she went, the more honesty became crucial.
Stop overthinking things, she admonished herself at least a couple dozen times that afternoon as she picked up her dry cleaning and drove up to her parents’ place in Evanston. Everything is going great with him. You’re finally tasting that big, juicy, delicious bite of life Caddy encouraged you to take.
And it’s not like your dishonesty equates to sticking a pin into his condom supply. Everybody pretends a little at the beginning of relationships.
Just enjoy it while you can.
Her self-lecture must have worked a little, because by the time it came for her to get ready for her date with Trey—yes, for all intents and purposes, it definitely was a date—she was feeling more optimistic. More than optimistic . . .
. . . Excited.
Trey called at around three thirty and said they had reservations at the Park Grill for seven, but that he’d be by to pick her up at five if she thought she could be ready by then.
“Five? Why five?”
“Something’s been cooking over the long weekend, and we got things all finalized today while I was in the office. It should be pretty amazing,” he said on the phone.
“What?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.
“It’s a surprise. We were talking about how we don’t take advantage of things in the city. This is a chance to improve our record. Do you think you can be ready by five?”
She assured him she could.
“Wear shoes you can stand in for a little bit without getting sore feet, and a warm coat,” he told her before he signed off.
There’d been something in his tone that made her think he was really looking forward to this mysterious event as well. That only spiked her excitement even more.
In deference to the fact that it sounded like they’d be outside for a while, she chose to wear a pair of jeans, supple brown over-the-knee boots, a thick ivory sweater and a darling ivory faux fur coat that had belonged to Caddy, which was not only extremely fashionable, but warm. She wore her hair up because of the thick turtleneck on the sweater and took some time with her makeup. By the time she’d finished getting ready, the mirror told her she looked chic and confident.
On the inside, however, it was like a swarm of bees was trapped inside her stomach.
Once Harry had called to announce Trey’s arrival, she spritzed on her favorite perfume and went to grab her purse. She answered his knock a moment later, brimming with excitement. She could tell by his warm, admiring gaze that her nervousness was her secret.
“Wow. You look fantastic.”
“So do you,” she told him. It was a bald understatement. He looked monumentally handsome, wearing a pair of black jeans, a stark white cotton mock turtleneck shirt, a rust-colored scarf and his black peacoat. There was a slight scruff on his jaw and his golden brown hair was sexily mussed. She wanted to eat him up.
He smiled and stepped into her, dropping a kiss on her mouth. He inhaled and nuzzled her ear. “You smell even better,” he said gruffly, causing her skin to prickle in pleasure. He pressed his lips to her throat, and she sighed.
She felt him press something in her hand. “What’s this?” she asked, glancing down to see he’d put a thumb drive in her hand.
He shrugged sheepishly. “An audio recording of some of my music. I picked it up while I was at the office. Be kind while you listen to it. There’s a reason I’m the CEO of a company that represents some of the most talented artists on the planet, but I’m not one of them.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” she insisted earnestly. “I’ve heard you play, and I know your focus. If you decided that you wanted to play as a full-time job, you’d be as successful at that as you are at running TalentNet.”
He smirked and kissed her briskly on the mouth. “Nice to know that if I did ever decide to go in that direction, I’d have one other person beside my mom buying my records.” She gave him a rueful glance and he grinned. “Come on. We don’t want to be late for this. There’s already a lot of traffic. I have a car waiting.”
She set the thumb drive on a foyer table and followed him out the door. “A lot of traffic for what?”
“You’ll see,” he said mysteriously.
She laughed and scurried to keep up with his long-legged stride down the hallway.
It was crisp, windless December night, the temperature right around the freezing point. A black sedan was waiting for them in her building’s turnabout.
“Eleanor, this is Billy,” Trey introduced once they’d climbed into the back of the car. “Billy drives for me a lot.”
Eleanor and the middle-aged man in the driver’s seat exchanged hellos. “They’ve made the announcement to the media,” Billy said to Trey as he turned down the radio and he pulled onto the inner drive. “Lake Shore Drive is already bumper to bumper.”
“Just get us as close to Millennium Park as you can using the local streets, and we’ll walk the rest of the way,” Trey said as he checked his watch.
“Bumper-to-bumper traffic for what?” Eleanor asked him. He just gave her a small smile, his eyes gleaming in the shadows, and grabbed her hand.
Billy turned off a jam-packed Michigan Avenue early on, but it was enough for Eleanor to notice that most of the people on the crowded sidewalks were moving south. Even though the local residential streets weren’t as busy, she still saw a lot of people leaving their residences and walking rapidly in the direction of Millennium Park. By the time they reached Randolph Street, the crowd was thick.
“They’ve closed off Randolph,” she said, seeing the police cars stationed to the right to block off the street. “What’s going on?” she asked Trey in bewildered curiosity as they exited the sedan and joined what looked like hundreds of people crossing the street. She could see the huge city Christmas tree alight in the park. There was the distant sound of music echoing in the air. A feeling of excitement and good cheer seemed to emanate from the moving crowd.
“It’s a surprise concert,” Trey s
aid, pulling her along. “They just sent out an announcement on social media a few hours ago, and now the radio and television has picked it up. Looks like people are flooding into the park from the shopping districts now that the stores are closed.”
“A surprise concert?” Eleanor asked breathlessly. “Who’s performing?”
But the crowd had grown thick and the music was getting louder. Trey was prevented from answering. He had to go ahead of her to cut a path. He kept a tight hold on her hand, weaving his way through the mass of chattering people. After a minute of this, the crowd broke as they descended down a slight hill to the seats and grassy area in front of the Pritzker Pavilion.
“Oh my God, look at all the people,” she murmured in wide-eyed amazement. The seats were already filled and the grassy area was packed to the brim with standing and dancing people. The music was upbeat and loud, being performed by fifteen or so dancing and singing women on the stage. Trey led her in the direction of the large pavilion.
The performers were belting out a jazzy version of “Santa Baby” and the crowd was loving it. A huge wide-screen television on either side of the stage made the performance visible even to people at the farthest reaches of the park. Eleanor watched the flashy performance as Trey pulled her along. Her feet started to drag when he urged her so close to the edge of the pavilion she started to lose sight of the performers.
“Come on.” He urged her around the side of the pavilion. “I think they’re about to go on.”
“Who’s about to go on? Where are we going?” She laughed incredulously when he pulled her to the side of the pavilion.
“Backstage,” she heard him say before he led her to a door with several men standing in front of it. His hand dipped into his breast pocket. A man studied the piece of paper Trey showed him with a stern expression. The security guard glanced up, a smile breaking over his face.
“Enjoy the show, Mr. Riordan. And thanks for setting it up. Looks like quite a crowd.”
“Thanks,” Trey said when the man opened the door for them.
Then he was pulling her up some stairs, and her heart was beating in wild excitement. In the distance, she heard a man on a loudspeaker, his voice a little muffled by the sound of their feet pounding on the metal stairs and the loud cheers from the crowd. Her heart jumped, and there was a huge explosion of applause.
Had she heard the announcer correctly?
Trey led her through a shadowed area. Over his shoulder, she saw a slice of the brilliant lights of the stage between two rows of curtains. The opening notes to “Sock It to Me Santa” rang in the air around them and vibrated the floor beneath them. Before Trey could draw her close to the stage, she pulled on his hand, halting him. He turned.
“Did he say Bruno Mars and Sam Smith?” she shouted incredulously over the music. The men started singing, and Trey didn’t need to answer. She grinned hugely, and he smiled back. He leaned forward and spoke near her ear. “A holiday performance. It was an impromptu thing. TalentNet and the Magnificent Mile Shopping Association planned it with the artists. Come on,” he said.
She followed him to the wings eagerly. Awe overcame her as she stared out onto the brightly lit stage onto hordes of glittering, shimmying backup singers and the two incredibly energetic, talented performers. She was almost within touching distance of some of the dancers, and she could feel the heat of the stage lights.
She looked up at Trey. He noticed and squeezed her hand warmly. She laughed as a wave of pure happiness went through her. Sure, it was partially excitement from the novelty of standing on the stage, so close to an amazing performance.
But mostly, she experienced sheer joy from standing next to him at that moment. He was what made everything so colorful and vibrant.
He was what made her feel like the world was a fresh, new, amazing place to be.
—
Her ebullient mood continued when they’d been seated later that evening at the Park Grill. Her brain and body were still abuzz with excitement from the treat of the surprise concert.
“I don’t need this,” she told Trey when they lifted their champagne-filled glasses for a toast. She beamed at him over the top of the flutes. “Who needs champagne after a night like that? I’m still bubbling inside. Thank you. It was so amazing.”
His smile faded. He dipped his head toward hers. “Do you know you’re glowing right now? Actually glowing?” he repeated, his gaze moving over her face.
“I’m flushed from the dancing. It was hot under the lights,” she told him. She still couldn’t believe it, but during the finale of the concert, they’d been pulled onto the stage along with several other people who had been watching in the wings. She’d remember that forever, dancing under the bright lights with Trey to an unforgettable “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” as the crowd sang along and went wild.
That’s when she’d first realized it. She’d never been in love before.
Until now.
And she was still flying high in the clouds from that realization. Fear might hover at the periphery of her consciousness, a black anxiety that she’d made the cardinal error of engaging in an affair: she’d fallen in love. But the heat and the glow were what dominated tonight. She couldn’t feel anything but euphoric as she stared into Trey’s eyes at that moment.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “You glow because you’re beautiful,” he said. “Inside and out.” Her heart squeezed in her chest at what she thought she read in his eyes at that moment.
After a delicious dinner, Trey took her to his penthouse. They’d barely gotten off the elevator before they were yanking each other’s clothes off. It seemed they couldn’t get enough of each other, and they couldn’t get it fast enough.
After they’d made love, they held each other and Eleanor stared out the opened windows at her building next door. Her eyelids were growing heavier by the second.
“Trey?” she asked him quietly, breaking the silence.
“Hmmm?” he replied as he stroked her shoulder.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were such a good dancer?” she mumbled.
He snorted. “I can stumble around in close approximation to the beat, so I’m a good dancer?”
“You did a lot better than that,” she insisted, pressing her lips to his chest. “Thank you again.”
He laughed gruffly. “You’ve thanked me dozens of times already. You’re welcome. But it wasn’t a big deal. I get to go to concerts a lot. It’s a job perk. You made it a hell of a lot more enjoyable for me, so I should be thanking you. I’ll take you to as many concerts as you like,” he finished, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
Her heart jumped at that, as it did anytime he referenced them being together in the future. Her emotions felt especially sensitive to the topic after tonight, after her realization she’d fallen for him.
Still, he hadn’t understood what she meant.
“No, that’s not what I meant. Not entirely, anyway,” she said, snuggling closer to his warm, hard body and sighing in contentment. All the adrenaline from the night ran thin in her blood, and exhaustion was finally taking over.
“What did you mean, then?”
“I’m not thanking you just for taking me backstage to an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime concert. I’ve never danced on a big stage like that, right out there in the middle of the spotlight with such a huge audience,” she said groggily. “It was a little scary. But I was with you,” she whispered. She placed her hand facedown on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. “So everything was okay,” she mumbled before she sunk into a deep, content sleep.
EIGHTEEN
She was late getting to work the next morning because she was hesitant to leave Trey’s arms. Her one consolation was that he seemed just as reluctant to let her go. One thing was certain: the over-the-top attraction to each other they’d shared from the beginning was only growing stron
ger.
Nevertheless, she had no choice but to leave him. Not only was her work schedule packed following the holiday, she had the reading event tonight. She and Trey had agreed to get together for a late supper afterward. With the public opening of the exhibit tomorrow, she had her work cut out for her today.
Adding to all that, she hoped to get out of the museum before six to go home and get her sexy on before the reading event. She’d been cooking up a little idea to drive Trey a little wild during it, and yet still put him in the driver’s seat. It was risky on her part, but so potentially exciting. She couldn’t wait.
She barely got out her condo door that morning in a presentable state, her hair piled on top of her head and wearing a practical, comfortable dress and a pair of ugly flats that would keep her feet from aching as she accumulated her typical miles walking around the museum every day.
Even though she felt a little flustered about being late, she couldn’t wipe the grin from her face that morning as she helped Jimmy with some improvements they wanted to make on the exhibit. Every time she thought about the night before with Trey—every time she thought of him, period—her happiness swelled.
“Somebody sure is smitten,” Jimmy teased her at lunch in the cafeteria that day. She’d told him all about the surprise concert and Trey’s backstage pass and dancing on the stage with him and the artists for the raucous, unforgettable finale.
She tried to erase her stupid grin, but couldn’t entirely. “What makes you say that?” she asked, pretending nonchalance, and not caring that she was unsuccessful.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you decided that bodice on that Lincoln dress needed an emergency remount to keep the fabric safe, and you normally would have been snarling and barking orders at everyone, half in a panic with the exhibition opening in less than twenty-four hours. Instead, you were all sweetness and smiles, and got it all done in record time. If that’s what love does to you, sign me up.”
Jimmy arched his brows. He’d been baiting her about the love thing, trying to draw her out. But her realizations about her feelings for Trey were too new. Too raw and powerful.