“Will you forgive me so we can start over?” he asked, his voice low with regret.
“There’s nothing to forgive. We had problems we couldn’t overcome back then.”
“I don’t deserve it, but thank you, Jess.” He used his grip on her shoulders to pull her in for a kiss that started out as a gentle exploration but flared into pure passion. When they tumbled sideways so they could entwine their bodies, Hugh smiled at her. “We’re supposed to be older and wiser, but right now I feel young and horny.”
Jessica laughed and ran her fingers over his stiff cock. “You certainly do.”
Chapter 18
Jessica had to convince Hugh to let her depart without him in the wee hours of the morning. She pointed out that if the paparazzi had somehow trailed him to the hotel, they wouldn’t pay any attention to her exit as long as she was alone. He’d admitted the practicality of that, but it had been hard to leave when he walked her to the suite’s elevator stark naked. His powerful, masculine beauty still had the power to stun her.
She sat in her kitchen, smiling into her coffee like a woman madly in love, when Aidan trudged in. “How can anyone look so happy before noon on Saturday?” he groused as he poured himself a mug of caffeine. “Wait, last night, you were with . . . now I remember.” He gave her a sly look and flopped down into the chair across from her. “But I don’t want to know any details.”
“Nor would I share them.” In recognition of Aidan’s new maturity and brotherly advice, she added, “Hugh and I have decided to give it another try.”
“You mean, like a ‘serious actually get married this time’ try?” Her brother’s sleepiness evaporated as he sat up straight in the ladder-back chair.
“We’re not quite to that point yet. We just started dating again.” But she was hoping that’s where it would lead.
“Well, you almost married him before, so I figured you might not need a lot of time to make up your mind.” He shrugged. “It’s cool. Everyone deserves a second chance. Although since Hugh’s an actor, maybe it’s a second act.”
“Don’t the hero and heroine always split up at the end of Act Two? That’s not a good analogy.” Jessica swallowed the rest of her coffee and stood. “Today’s the day I interview the part-time vet candidate.”
“You’re doing an interview on a Saturday? That’s weird.”
“Not when your prospective employee prefers to work weekends.” Jessica practically sang that sentence. The possibility of having a weekend day off was a golden dream. “She’s got a kid, so she wants to be at the office when her husband is home to do childcare.”
“Sounds like a win-win for both of you.”
Jessica rinsed out her mug and put it on the dish drainer. “If she’s as good in person as she is on paper.”
The sun was surprisingly strong for an early morning in January, the rays managing to raise gleams of reflected light from the piles of frozen, gray snow that dotted the sidewalk and streets. Jessica found herself almost skipping as she headed toward the clinic, her gloved hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket for extra warmth against the frigid air.
She liked the city in winter. The cold kept the less savory smells down, while the food carts still emitted their mouthwatering aromas on clouds of steam. The dark, bare branches of the trees looked sculptural against the silver-blue sky, and the architectural details of the buildings wore puffy caps of snow that softened their hard surfaces.
Today, though, her buoyant mood was due to Hugh. It could have been raining cats and dogs but she would have danced through the deluge. Although whenever she thought of his mother’s cruelty, she wanted to strangle the woman, even though she knew that his mom had at least tried to be a mother to Hugh. Of course, his mother was beyond her reach.
Jessica understood so much more about him now, especially his relentless drive to be a superstar. He couldn’t risk being abandoned again, so he needed to have millions of people love him, even if that love was a fickle illusion. That’s why he had tried to mold her into the perfect arm candy.
It also explained why he’d cut her off after she broke the engagement. He wasn’t going to allow Jessica to tempt him with hope and then annihilate it.
A deep sadness for that little boy ran through the joy of her love for the grown man. But the joy was what made her hum as she strolled along the sidewalk.
Her humming stopped abruptly when she rounded the corner of the block where the clinic stood. Her first patient, Racha—a high-strung greyhound who’d been adopted after he’d retired from racing—alternated between barking hysterically and cowering behind his owner, Mateo Vega. The dog was upset because a horde of photographers stood in a semicircle outside the clinic’s front door. Mateo tried to calm him, but the dog wouldn’t keep quiet or stand still long enough to be soothed by words or touches.
“Holy crap!” Jessica stomped up the street to confront the paparazzi. “Get the hell away from here. Don’t you see you’re upsetting the dog? He comes in early to avoid crowds because they make him crazy.” Carla always scheduled the skittish creature’s appointments before the clinic officially opened.
Instead of leaving, the photographers whipped up their cameras and swarmed around her, clicking away. “Look over here!” “Think about your lover boy in bed.” “Why’d you dump him back then?”
That drove Racha into a frenzy of barking and running in circles, so the leash tangled around the dog’s slender legs. His owner did his best to keep it from bringing Racha down on the hard pavement. Thank goodness Mateo was a dancer with great balance and agility.
“If that dog gets hurt, I’m suing every one of you,” Jessica said, digging out her keys from her purse as fast as she could.
The photographers backed off slightly, probably because she wasn’t doing anything more interesting than unlocking the metal gate. She yanked it up, barely feeling the weight with the anger surging through her veins.
“Mateo, come on in.” She beckoned as soon as she’d unlocked the door. “Get out of his way,” she barked at the paps.
Mateo managed to get the frantic dog through the forest of cameras without anyone getting hurt.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, as she locked the door behind them before she knelt to settle Racha down with some gentle stroking. “Who’s a good dog? Who tried to scare away the evil paparazzi?” she crooned.
“I know you can’t control those people, Doc. But why are they taking pictures of you?” Mateo’s expression was baffled and concerned. “Is everything all right?”
Jessica sighed in relief as Racha sank to the floor and rolled onto his back, inviting a tummy rub. She hesitated and then decided everyone would find out soon enough anyway. “I’m dating Hugh Baker, which wouldn’t be such a big deal except we were once engaged and it didn’t work out back then.”
Mateo’s eyes went wide. “You mean the Hugh Baker, the one who plays Julian Best?” He fanned himself. “He is so hot. I’d date him, too, except he doesn’t roll that way.”
Jessica laughed and rose from her crouch by the dog. “Evidently.”
“I’m happy for you, Doc,” Mateo said, leaning in to give her a hug and an air-kiss.
Surprised but touched, she hugged him back. “That’s nice of you. Now let’s see what’s going on with Racha’s ears.”
She led the way down the corridor to an examining room and pushed the disturbing encounter with the press out of her mind. It wasn’t until Racha was ready to leave that she remembered the front entrance would be a problem.
“Luckily, we have a back alleyway,” she told Mateo as she walked toward the rear of the building. “It’s not scenic, but it should keep poor Racha away from the circling vultures. Unless they’re staking out the back, too.” She stopped for a moment. “I know, I’ll go out front to attract their attention. Give me a minute and then zip out the back.”
She walked to the front door, drew back the dead bolt, took a breath, and pulled it open. The paps sprang to attention, tossing cig
arettes away as they once again started shooting. This time, though, she smiled and held out the hem of her bright red top. “Hey, guys, do these scrubs make me look fat?”
One of them laughed and lowered his camera. “You really are a veterinarian. I didn’t believe it. I mean, Hugh Baker with a real person? It’s strange.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Jessica said, turning to smile toward the other group of photographers. She even put one hand on her hip, remembering that little tip from the red carpet eight years ago.
Figuring that she had given Mateo enough time to escape, she backed toward the door again. “If I were you, I’d clear out before my office manager gets here. She’s pretty scary when she’s angry.” With that, she dodged back in the door and locked it again.
Sitting down at her desk, she started to reread Riya Agarwal’s résumé for her upcoming interview, but her anger at the photographers spoiled her concentration. Even Geode seemed to sense the waves of fury radiating off her, because he didn’t attempt to sit in Jessica’s lap, retreating to the top of the filing cabinet instead.
“How does Hugh stand it?” Jessica asked the cat, then answered her own question. “He lives in a bubble with back entrances and limousines and assistants named Trevor. But I live in the real world.” She scanned her cramped office with its water-stained ceiling, hideous green chair, and brown vinyl tiles. This was where she belonged.
She heard the front door open and then Carla’s footsteps pounding down the linoleum of the hallway. Geode leaped off the filing cabinet and fled. “What on God’s green earth are those creeps doing out in front of our respectable clinic, bothering the hell out of anyone who tries to come in?” Carla demanded.
Jessica’s stomach clenched. Even Carla was upset by the paps. “I know. They freaked out Racha, too.”
Carla looked insulted. “I’m not freaked out. I’m pissed off.” She sat down and pinned Jessica with a sharp look. “What gives?”
Carla angry was better than Carla distressed, so Jessica relaxed a bit. “It’s my fault. Well, technically, it’s Hugh’s fault. When you date a superstar, the tabloids want pictures. Especially once they find out about the broken engagement.”
“So now you’re dating him?” Carla raised her eyebrows.
“We’re giving it another try.” Jessica realized she was going to be saying that a lot. No one cared if she dated Pete Larson, but everyone wanted to know about Hugh Baker.
“You’re going to tell me all about it at lunchtime, but right now I got to get rid of some nasty paparazzi before they scare all our patients away.” She jerked out of the chair and marched back down the hallway.
Jessica was tempted to watch the confrontation, but she had to get ready for work. As the vet techs arrived, not one commented on the photographers, but she was too busy to ask them about it. She hoped they hadn’t felt harassed.
When her lunch break rolled around, she grabbed a bottle of water and one of the deli sandwiches Carla had ordered in before she shut herself in her office. She wanted privacy to check the texts that she’d heard come in on her phone.
Hugh’s first text said: Right now I want Julian Best to die a horrible death so we can go back to the hotel room.
His second text was: Although I may not be able to make love to you until I’ve thawed out, because the East River is so cold that my balls have frostbite.
His third text read: I need to speak to Gavin about the next book taking place during the summer months or entirely in locations near the equator.
Jessica started to giggle.
There was a gap in the time stamps before he sent his final text: What I’m trying to say is that I’m counting the seconds until I can touch you again.
Her giggles stopped on a drawn-in breath. She felt as though he had touched her—in all her most sensitive places.
An impatient knock vibrated through the door before the knob turned and Carla walked in with her own sandwich.
“Give me a second,” Jessica said as Carla sat down. She typed in: I’ve never had text foreplay before. I like it.
“You done?” Carla asked.
Jessica put down the phone with a little smirk.
“Now we’re gonna talk, girlfriend,” Carla said.
“I haven’t heard any complaints about the paparazzi,” Jessica said. “Did they get bored and leave?”
Carla gave her a triumphant smile. “They left, all right. I called a buddy at the precinct and told him our business was being disrupted. A couple of guys from the K-9 unit came over with their dogs and suggested that the photographers move along. The cops still remember what you did for that German shepherd—what was his name?”
“Brodie,” Jessica supplied. One of the police dogs had been grazed by a bullet in a gunfight between the police and a drug dealer. It had happened nearby, so they’d brought the dog to her. “It was just a flesh wound, not a big deal.”
“You know how they feel about their dogs. They’re just like a human partner, and the cops don’t take hurting their partners lightly.” Carla pointed an accusing finger at her. “Don’t change the subject.”
“There was no subject. You just sat down and said we were going to talk.” Jessica took a bite of her turkey sandwich.
“Hugh Baker is the subject, and you know it.”
“What about him?” Jessica gulped a swig of water.
“Why are you back together?” Carla left her sandwich sitting on the paper plate on Jessica’s desk while she conducted her interrogation.
“Wow, you really cut to the chase.” Jessica started to peel the label off the water bottle. “He’s shared some things with me that kind of explain what happened eight years ago.” She looked at Carla. “But the real reason is that I never stopped caring about him. I just shoved it in a box and stuffed it down in a dark corner of my mind. When I saw him again, the old feelings came back to life.”
Carla did something Jessica had never seen before. She hesitated, drumming her royal-blue fingernails on the matching scrubs that stretched over her knee. When she spoke, concern filled her voice. “I want to believe in the power of true love as much as anyone, but he’s not the same Hugh Baker you fell in love with eight years ago. The man is in the stratosphere of money and fame. And it’s not that I think you don’t belong there, too, but that kind of success changes a person. He doesn’t know what real life is like anymore, riding in limos, staying in penthouse suites, getting tickets to the hottest play on Broadway with a snap of his fingers.”
“I think I can handle a penthouse suite without too much trouble.” Jessica tried to lighten Carla’s mood, but her words were an eerie echo of what she’d been thinking earlier.
“That’s the good stuff.” Carla waved her hand toward the front of the clinic. “There’s the bad stuff, like everyone wanting to know your business, women throwing themselves at him, traveling all over creation for his job.” She leaned forward, her brown eyes soft with concern. “I’m just saying that maybe you should go slow and find out how you fit into all that.”
Since the same disquieting thoughts had crossed Jessica’s mind, she shifted in her seat. She’d been so happy this morning. Why couldn’t she go back to that blissful state? “So you think I should give up on him because he’s rich and famous?”
“Just be careful, hon. Don’t jump in with both feet right away,” Carla said. “Although I can see in your face that it’s probably too late.”
“I tried to be practical and fall for someone less complicated,” Jessica said, thinking of solid, stable, blond Pete, “but you can’t control who you love.”
“Yeah, that’s why we have music and poetry,” Carla said. “Because love screws with us all and we have to vent.”
Four hours later, Jessica sank onto her desk chair again, wishing she could forget Carla’s warning. But it had gnawed at her every time she had a break between patients. The paparazzi outside the clinic proved that she had been living in a dream world for the past two weeks. Being wit
h Hugh was going to change her life in ways she couldn’t yet comprehend.
Tiana stuck her head in the door. “Riya Agarwal is here. Carla said ‘two thumbs up’ and asked if you want Dr. Agarwal to come to your office.”
“Sure, she might as well see the worst,” Jessica said with a grimace at the dreadful green chair the vet candidate would have to sit in. She unearthed the doctor’s résumé from under a pile of patient files and scanned the questions she’d jotted down. It felt good to have something normal and straightforward to focus on amid all the turmoil of the day.
A small woman dressed in black trousers, a white blouse, and a red blazer stopped in the doorway. “Dr. Quillen?” She had huge brown eyes, shiny black hair pulled into a fat bun at the back of her neck, and a shy smile.
Jessica stood and walked around her desk, holding out her hand. “A pleasure to meet you. Have a seat in the ugliest chair ever made.”
Dr. Agarwal laughed as she settled onto the seat. “At least it is comfortable,” she said in a musical voice.
Jessica went back to her desk chair and began to ask her questions. The doctor replied to every query with ease and expertise. The only odd note was struck when Jessica asked, just out of curiosity, how Riya had found the clinic. The other woman had an answer—she had looked up all the veterinary practices close to her and chose Jessica’s clinic as the one she was most interested in—but it sounded pat and rehearsed, unlike her other responses. However, Jessica didn’t care.
The clincher came when Geode strolled in and stopped to sniff at Riya’s ankles. Without pausing in her answer, the doctor reached down to give the cat a gentle head scratch. Jessica doubted the vet even realized she was doing it. The famously shy Geode not only allowed Riya to touch him, he crouched and leaped onto her lap.
That was when Jessica offered Dr. Agarwal the job.
“I look forward to getting to know the ropes tomorrow,” Jessica’s new part-time colleague said as they finished up ironing out the details. Jessica had been thrilled that Riya wanted to start as soon as possible. Then she remembered this morning’s unpleasant surprise. “I should probably warn you about a little issue we’re having here at the moment. When you come in tomorrow, you may find some photographers hanging around in front. Just ignore them.”
Second Act Page 22