by Fiona Harper
She shrugged. ‘Eight years...maybe nine. And I’ve never done a long-haul flight before. Only quick trips to Spain on package holidays.’
Jason’s eyebrows rose higher. ‘You’ve never been to the States before? To New York?’
She shook her head. ‘I’d always planned to, though. One day.’
He grinned back at her and the butterflies started doing a clog dance. ‘Well, that day is today,’ he said, and she couldn’t help picking up on some of his infectious enthusiasm. ‘We’ll have to make sure you see some of the sights.’
Kelly swallowed. She wasn’t sure that was a good idea. ‘We’ll be too busy for that,’ she said quickly, hoping that was the case. Jason had been a little tight lipped about the itinerary. ‘I’ll just grab glimpses as we travel around, maybe do the Empire State Building one evening—if we can squeeze it in.’
But then she thought of standing in the balmy summer-evening air with Jason by her side, staring out across a fairyland of coloured lights and movement, breathing in the energy and magic of the city that never slept, and she started to panic.
Quick. Change the subject. Get it back to something neutral, something less...butterfly encouraging.
‘So, will we be dropping in on Knight’s head offices while we’re there?’ she asked him. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. She was curious to find out more about Aspire’s parent company.
Jason’s grin froze and he knocked back half of his champagne. ‘Like you said. Busy schedule. We’ll see.’
He didn’t say much after that, just stared blankly at the back of the next row of super-duper lie-flat seats. Kelly breathed out. He’d stopped smiling. He’d stopped looking at her as if something amazing was about to happen and they’d be co-conspirators when it did. That was good. She could breathe again.
But the tingling didn’t stop. If anything, it got worse.
Because she could guess what was going on inside his head. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought up head office. She knew he had issues with his father, that they ran deep, so why hadn’t she just veered away from that subject like a sensible person, kept her nose out and her big mouth shut? Nice going, Kells.
She picked up the in-flight magazine and leafed through it as the plane began to taxi towards the runway.
But she knew why she hadn’t been able to stay silent. Boys needed their fathers, needed the approval only that central figure in their life could give, and she ached for her two when their dad didn’t come to see them as often as he should. Jason might have almost thirty years on her two sons, but the same longing was still there, no matter how hard he clamped it down. And now she was aching for him too, which was way worse than the flickering lust that had waylaid her since the first moment she’d laid eyes on him.
Way worse.
She closed her eyes and let the magazine drop into her lap as the engines began to roar and the plane sped down the runway. She’d been right about one thing: this was going to be a very long flight.
* * *
‘Wow!’
Jason almost bumped into Kelly and sent her flying. She’d stopped dead in the middle of the hotel lobby and was staring at the ceiling. ‘It’s a chandelier,’ he said. Hadn’t she seen one of those before? It wasn’t like London didn’t have plenty.
Kelly was still staring upwards. ‘It’s massive.’
‘Welcome to the Waldorf Astoria,’ he said, grabbing her elbow and trying to get her to move.
Kelly just kept staring at the thousands of glittering crystals above them. ‘I can’t believe we’re staying at the Waldorf,’ she said, shaking her head.
Jason groaned inwardly. If they were going to have a repeat of the whole ‘first class’ thing, he needed a stiff drink. It had taken a couple of hours for that to die.
‘It’s so beautiful,’ she whispered, and then she turned round and noticed the glossy black grand piano sitting on a mezzanine level over the entrance and she let out another gasp of rapture.
Jason watched her with interest. He was quite happy that Kelly had finally stopped trying to talk business with him. Who knew all it took was a bit of glittery glass and a marble floor? As much as he appreciated her efforts to support him on this deal—that was why he’d asked her to come, after all—his head was throbbing with all the facts and figures and strategies they’d gone over on the flight. They didn’t need them.
But Kelly didn’t know that. He hadn’t quite told her everything about this trip. Not yet. She was freaked out enough as it was. And she wouldn’t understand that this was all part of the game of big business. Going direct to McGrath hadn’t helped. This time they needed to plan a little better, manoeuvre. Like chess. Just like chess. But that meant Jason needed to keep a clear head. He needed to still the whirling numbers inside his brain and push them to one side.
What he really needed was a basketball court.
But he was pretty sure the Waldorf didn’t have one of those, and they might not appreciate it if he tried to shoot hoops in the grand ballroom. They didn’t have a pool either.
But there was a Y a couple of blocks away...
He glanced across at Kelly, tugging at her travelling clothes and doing her best not to feel out of place in this rather glitzy New York institution. When he’d booked this hotel he’d thought she’d get a kick out of it, but now he was wondering if the decision hadn’t backfired on him a little. She obviously was a little overwhelmed. Which meant she was probably just going to increase her efforts to justify her presence. That meant more facts, more reports to read through. More strategies to discuss...
What he needed to do was distract her. From cluttering up his head again, yes, but also from asking too many questions about when and where they were meeting with McGrath. He’d fibbed a little. Told her they had loose plans for this evening, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to occupy themselves for a couple of hours, doing something that didn’t involve talking. Just until he worked it all out in his head.
And the other reason...?
Oh, that.
Well, maybe Kelly herself was a little distracting. Maybe she was adding to this sense of jitteriness he just couldn’t shake.
It was weird. Now they were away from the office, things were different. Like they had been the day of the picnic. And he’d spent too long at close quarters with her, inhaling her subtle, slightly spicy perfume, being aware of every move she made, even though their first-class seats had given them ample space. He knew they’d reached a silent understanding to back away from whatever had been building between them, but he was starting to forget why.
Another reason to burn off some of that excess energy fast, before he did something dumb. Again.
So when the receptionist handed him the keys, he handed them straight back to her and asked if their bags could be taken up to their room. Then he grabbed Kelly by the hand and headed down the marble steps to the main entrance.
‘Jason! What are you doing?’
‘We’ve had a long journey and we need to do something to unwind before the busy evening ahead.’
She twisted to look over her shoulder and attempted to slip her fingers out of his. ‘But the spa’s that way...’
He snorted. ‘Spas are for wimps,’ he told her. ‘We’re going to do some real relaxing! We’re going swimming.’
Kelly’s mouth worked. ‘Swimming? But I don’t even have my—’
‘Not a problem,’ he said as he shoved her into the revolving door and the spinning glass panels cut off the end of her sentence.
* * *
As they’d left the Waldorf Jason had pulled out his phone and issued a set of instructions, and by the time they’d arrived at the pool, a mysterious Knight Corporation dogsbody had magically appeared with swimming things for the pair of them in the right size. Kelly didn’t want to think about how hard Jason must
have been studying her body to get her measurements just right, but at least he’d picked a tasteful one piece instead of a bikini woven from dental floss.
Swimming was the perfect way to clean off the plane dirt, Jason had said, but Kelly wasn’t so sure. She’d rather have been doing what her fellow passengers on the flight into JFK were now doing, normal things like zonking out on their ridiculously comfy hotel beds or drinking cocktails.
She slid into the pool, feeling self-conscious and hoping no one was watching, even though the place was virtually deserted. The only other people in the water were a group of guys horsing around and a lone swimmer carving up the water as he did repetitive laps. She should do the same, shouldn’t she? She should at least be doing something when Jason appeared, and swimming was the obvious choice. Much better than bobbing around in the water chatting with him, trying not to notice both of them had next to nothing on.
God, Kelly. When did you turn into such a prude?
She gave a disgusted half snort, half laugh and launched herself forwards. After she’d swum around for a bit, she glanced back at the changing rooms, expecting to see Jason run from them and soak everyone with a dive-bomb, but there was no sign of him. After a few minutes the group of young guys hauled themselves from the pool and went to dry off. That left her and Mr Serious.
She decided to make the most of the peace and quiet and headed off towards the opposite end of the pool, doing her competent but ungraceful breaststroke. When she reached the tiled edge she hung on gently and breathed out, kicking the water under her feet to stay afloat.
Actually, Jason was right. There was something about the quiet here, the rhythmic splash of the water against the pool’s edge and the repetitiveness of the strokes that was soothing. She’d be ready to pass out when they got back to the hotel, though.
She frowned and looked around. Where was he? Had he pulled some kind of practical joke on her? She’d be furious with him if he had. But then the serious swimmer drew close once again and, instead of rolling and turning gracefully as he’d done a handful of times since she’d climbed into the pool, he came to a stop and shook the water from his hair.
Kelly wondered if the chlorine in this pool was stronger than she’d been expecting, because her eyes weren’t making sense. Mr Serious was trying to morph into Jason. She blinked and rubbed her eyes.
‘How are you feeling now?’ the blurry blob in front of her asked. ‘Better, huh?’ And then the pool water cleared from her eyeballs and she was looking at her boss.
‘Yes,’ she said, nodding, hearing the surprise in her own voice. She couldn’t quite work out why she hadn’t realised the lone swimmer had been Jason, even though it was completely obvious. Must be the jet lag. And maybe the fact that when she’d heard Jason had a failed career as a swimmer, she’d assumed he’d larked around at it for a bit, then got bored and moved on to something else.
But the man in the pool hadn’t swum like he’d been larking around. He’d attacked those lengths, eating up the distance with a power that had impressed her. And there’d been a grace about him, as if he felt relaxed here. As if this was home.
‘Do you miss it?’ she asked him. ‘Swimming?’
Jason’s smile faded and he dragged his hand over his face and hair to wipe away the excess water. ‘Yes,’ he said simply.
‘Why did you stop?’
Nosey, Kelly. You’ve lectured yourself about this before, remember? Say the question inside your head before you ask it out loud.
‘I injured my shoulder,’ he told her. ‘It wasn’t the same after that.’
‘You looked pretty good to me just now.’
See? Now that was another example of her unfiltered comments reaching her mouth. She’d meant it quite innocently, but somehow her voice had grown huskier, and it had added a layer of meaning she hadn’t intended. Not consciously, anyway.
Because he did look good. Boy, did he look good.
She was trying hard not to notice, but it was very difficult when those powerful shoulders were only inches away, glistening with pool water. And she couldn’t help but take in the tanned skin and the way the chlorine made his eyes go even bluer and his lashes spiky.
‘Thanks,’ he said, and the lopsided smile he gave her told her he’d registered the gravel in her tone. Despite the cool water lapping around her shoulders, Kelly’s cheeks grew hot. In fact, everything grew hot, and all she was aware of was a pair of laughing blue eyes and the silence hanging thick above the water.
She pushed herself away from the side with her feet and floated face up in the water, closing her eyes.
‘Don’t let me stop you,’ she said loudly. ‘You carry on doing what you’re doing and I’m just going to relax here for a bit.’
And she did just that, floating with her eyes closed, feeling the water lift and fall away underneath her, lulling her into a dreamlike state. Seconds drifted past uncounted until the water swelled beside her and her internal thermostat began to climb again. Jason was near.
‘Don’t fall asleep,’ he said softly.
‘I wasn’t,’ she said, quickly righting herself and treading water.
Jason just gave her one of those twinkly looks. ‘Two more minutes and you’d have been gurgling and spluttering and I’d have been pulling you out of the water and giving you the kiss of life.’
Her pulse kicked into high gear at the suggestion. ‘In your dreams,’ she said and set off swimming towards the changing rooms, not caring if he was ready to leave or not.
And in yours... a little voice whispered as she forced herself not to look back to see if Jason was checking her out as she climbed out of the water.
NINE
Kelly fussed with the hem of her cocktail dress. She’d been ready to bring just business clothes for the trip, but Chloe had insisted she pack for every eventuality. No suitcase should be without a Little Black Dress, apparently. She’d even lent Kelly a pair of outrageously red stilettos to finish the look off.
Kelly stared at the ornately carved metal doors of the lift and tried not to notice that Chloe’s shoes were pinching her little toes. ‘What a coincidence that Dale McGrath’s hosting a party here at the Waldorf,’ she said to Jason.
She was trying not to look at him. Mainly because she hadn’t quite recovered from the swimming-pool episode. When he didn’t respond to her comment she made the mistake of glancing in his direction, forgetting she’d been trying to keep her eyes on the lift doors. A rush of heat started at her toes and rose up to the tops of her ears.
Even though Jason was looking far too gorgeous to be true in his dark suit and midnight-blue shirt, since the pool she couldn’t help picturing him with much less on, little rivulets of pool water running down the muscular contours of his chest. It was most disconcerting.
‘Is that why you booked us here?’
‘Kinda.’ She didn’t know how, but she sensed Jason was wearing a grudging smile.
‘It was nice of him to invite us.’
‘Very.’
‘That’s a good sign, right? If he’s willing to mix with us in a social setting before the official meeting?’
She looked over when he didn’t respond immediately. Bad idea. Violent flashback. One involving dark, wet lashes and blue, blue eyes. The breath got stuck somewhere in her chest.
He nodded and the lift doors opened and they stepped inside. He pressed a button for the eighteenth floor and they slid closed again.
Was it hot in here? Kelly was hot.
When they arrived at their floor he guided her into a lobby with a marble floor and a stunning chandelier made of glass feathers. A set of double doors was at the other end, guarded by an attractive blonde with a clipboard. The party was already in full swing. Kelly could see moving lights and milling people and could hear the thump of a popular chart song.
> Jason leaned in close and whispered in Kelly’s ear, ‘You go ahead.... I’ll see to this.’ And then he walked over to the harried-looking blonde and bestowed his most devastating smile on her. She instantly stopped scowling and smiled back.
Kelly snorted to herself. Now that was why she should remember that getting involved with Jason Knight was a bad idea. The man couldn’t help himself.
He moved back a few steps as he talked to the blonde and she followed him, stepping away from the door a little. Jason made a shooing motion with his hand, indicating Kelly should go inside without him.
Honestly.
Here she was, all hot and bothered and starting to wonder why she shouldn’t just do as Chloe suggested and have a hot New York fling with the man, and he was totally unaffected and chatting up another woman right under her nose!
She huffed to herself then trotted into the party in Chloe’s crimson stilettos. The ballroom was long and thin, stretching away from the centre doors to both left and right. Tall French windows with thick damask curtains flanked the space and the gauzy curtains underneath billowed, giving her a glimpse of a short stone terrace. There was a dance floor directly in front of her and at either end of the room, up a couple of steps, were seating areas where guests clustered and chatted or wandered over to the well-stocked bars. All in all, it looked like something out of a Hollywood movie.
Jason appeared by her side, looking a bit too pleased with himself and tucking something into his jacket pocket. A small white business card, if she wasn’t mistaken—with numbers scrawled across the back in a looping feminine hand. She raised her eyebrows and gave him a look that said Really?
He just grinned back at her. ‘I can’t help it if she decided she couldn’t live without our new line of yoga mats.’
Kelly threw him another one of those looks. This one had shades of Yeah, right! attached.