“I’m fine. Just an accident,” he said, gesturing with his hand. “Please don’t call anyone. We’re good.”
She frowned, probably not believing him, but she simply nodded and kept walking.
Tension crackled in the air between the two men. Jacob stared at him like he’d just told him he deep fried puppies. Graham touched his nose, the back of his hand wiping off some blood. “Listen, if you want to hate me, hate me. I’m not fighting you on this. But I do love Kate and want to marry her,” he said without a flinch.
Jacob’s eyes flashed with outrage. “You’re out of your mind. I’m not giving you my permission,” he said, with curled fists.
“We don’t need your permission,” Graham said, and sadness moved through him. Was that really how he wanted to continue the relationship with a friend who had helped him so much in the past? Yet she was an adult and could make her own decisions.
Jacob let out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s where you’re wrong. Do you really want to make her choose between you and her family? Between her studies and you? If you love her there’s no way you’re going to agree with her missing on a whole year abroad because you’re having a midlife crisis and want to feel young again.”
“That’s not the case. Listen, it’s very recent so I don’t expect you to be onboard immediately,” Graham said in a conciliatory tone.
“Try never. If you continue this nonsense, you’ll ruin her life. I know Kate. She’s a people pleaser and must be infatuated, or just out of her mind. But when she looks back in five, ten years and thinks about the relationships she gave up because of you . . .”
Graham popped his knuckles. He supposed expecting Jacob to agree would be hard. What if Jacob had a point? An ache set in the back of his throat, and his mouth felt sour even though he hadn’t eaten anything in hours. His father had ruined his mother and led her to a world of drugs and she’d lost everything.
Of course, Graham would definitely not ruin Kate, but even if he wanted the best for her, what if she changed her mind about them? Kate was smart and straightforward, but Jacob had a point—at twenty years old life had looked different for him.
He ran his hand down his face. Kate wanted him now, but what about the future? What if by being in her life he kept her from all kinds of opportunities which she’d eventually resent losing?
Kate opened her eyes. She should have slept better at night, but the nurses checked on her and her father had insisted on sleeping in her room. She asked about Graham the night before, but her father didn’t say much, just that he had to go home and would be back. The air had shifted. Her father looked at her in a different way but she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
Her usual chatty father kept quiet, the contours of his face somber. He knows. Had Graham told her father about them? Her stomach sank to the floor. She reached for the Styrofoam cup of water next to her bed and gulped some down. Disappointment poked her. Graham hadn’t made an effort to see her. He hadn’t even called. When things got tough, he bolted—not a good sign.
Her father had gone to get some breakfast and to search for the doctor to check her out. When the door opened, she straightened her shoulders. Graham paced in, and it took a quick glance at his face to stop her heart from beating. A purple circle outlined his left eye, and the skin under the other side seemed puffy like . . . he’d been crying? She bit on her lower lip. “What happened?” she asked as he walked toward her and sat on the edge of the bed.
Her fingers itched to touch him, but his defeated appearance somehow pinned her to the spot. Acid spilled into her stomach and her hand flew to her throat, worried she’d throw up from anticipation. “Tell me. My father knows, doesn’t he?”
Graham thinned his lips into a line and looked straight into her eyes. “I was worried about you, Kate. I’m glad you’re well. I’m sorry about the accident. My fault.”
“What? No. The other driver—
“I know, but maybe I should have paid more attention.”
“Don’t be silly. I talked to the police. The other driver was drunk,” she said. Why did he have to make a big deal? She was alive and well. “Look, I know Dad can be a pain in the ass to get used to different things. He’s not exactly open-minded, but he’ll accept us.”
He looked away. “Accept what? Listen, Kate, we should give this a break.”
A war of emotions raged within her. She slid off the bed, desperate to stand up to that nonsense in the literal sense. “Excuse me? You told me you loved me in the car,” she said, watching him and challenging him to glance back.
He let out a sigh and when he turned his face to her, determination flashed in his eyes. “And I do. But you’re expected in Switzerland and I don’t want to be the one to keep you from enjoying your life.”
She leaned closer to him, but he lifted a hand, signaling her to stop. Her heart shrank to the size of a freaking M&M. “We’ll work it out. You’re loaded. You can come visit. Hell, I can visit you when I get a break.” Certainly, couples had endured long distance relationships before. Why did he bend to her father’s stupid rules?
“This is a life changing experience for you. You’ll meet people from different cultures, be able to travel to nearby countries when you have holidays and weekends. I don’t want to keep you from it just so it’ll be more convenient for me.”
“Breaking up with me is convenient for you. Everything was peachy until we hit a roadblock and then you send me packing, right?” she said, remembering what he’d said about staying with Amanda until she wanted marriage. Or not opening the letters his mother sent him and yet not throwing them away. One way or the other, Graham moved on from people easily and she was no different.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes. She inhaled deeply and willed herself to keep talking without crying. God, she’d been pathetic the entire time, delusional and optimistic. Too optimistic.
He stood and stretched to his full height. “I said we’re giving it a break. I’m letting you go to Europe and I won’t contact you for the duration of your program. If you still feel the same for me in a year, call me and I’ll go to wherever you are,” he said with the formality of a business deal.
She withdrew. “How is this arrangement different than being together while I’m abroad?”
“Because being officially separated will give you the chance to see if that’s what you want for your life. You’ll meet other people. People your age. And I promised your father I’d give it a year.”
“How did you make a promise that involves me and will impact my life a great deal without my knowledge? Is this what this is about? You keep your precious friendship with my father and get rid of me.” Would he wait for her for a whole year? No. He’d probably end up dating women his age, women who had it all together and represented no threat. He’d forget about her.
“Trust me, Kate. You don’t want a relationship where you go against everyone. Giving them time is much better.”
“I can’t stand this. My father’s always wanted to control my decisions in life and you’re no different. You’ve made up your mind and nothing I say will change it, right?” How hadn’t she seen this earlier? This whole spiel about her enjoying her time abroad could only mean he wanted time away to make sure she cared about him or he did about her. Either way, he had never consulted her. “I’m letting you off the hook, Graham,” she said, each word stabbing a different part of her chest.
“This doesn’t have to be the end,” he said, his voice strained like he didn’t believe his own words.
“If you’re making decisions for me and my feelings clearly mean nothing to you, the end is exactly what this is,” she said, then raised her voice. “Get out.”
Chapter 12
Six months later…
“Hey Graham. Are you still working?” Sheri asked.
Graham simply nodded, and continued away at his keyboard like an invisible person kept dictating an urgent document for him.
“You know you hired a pretty competent team for
the new opening,” she said, mentioning the resort he had bought in Kauai and started to rebrand.
He stopped typing and took a deep breath, swiveling his chair to see her. She’d been bugging him for weeks now, but what else could he do? He had to distract himself from thinking of Kate, and her sweet smile. Kate, and the way her body came undone with his touch. Kate, and the naughty things she did to him.
Damn. There it was again. At night, he glared at the sky and twinkling stars and wondered if she would do the same. If she thought of him when she saw the moon. Or if she’d be making out with some young European guy and barely remembered him.
“You know this is a stupid rule. One year’s too long,” Sheri said.
He agreed to a degree. It proved too long to be away from her, but he’d needed the time to make sure she really wanted him and wasn’t just infatuated. Her feelings shouldn’t be a result of hot sex. If she still wanted him, he’d happily marry her. He’d go all the way with the only woman who’d ever made him want to. But he couldn’t put her through her family’s shunning without being one hundred percent sure. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
“Are you even sleeping well?”
“I’m sleeping enough.” His empty bed mocked him at night. Images of her luscious naked body surfaced and there wasn’t enough touching that would save him from the stubborn erection.
“Did HR contact you? Aaron said he won’t talk to the press or anything,” Sheri said.
A month earlier, Aaron had asked to speak with Graham after he considered his yearly review by his manager unfair. Graham allowed it, and Aaron used his affair with Kate as bait for a promotion. He’d threatened to talk to newspapers about how not one but two couples had carried on an affair at the hotel and management didn’t care.
Graham had fired Aaron and explained blackmailing constituted a crime. And if he wanted to gossip about him and Kate and the housekeeper who had an affair with the maintenance guy he could, but no one would take him seriously. Kate was long gone and the housekeeper kept excelling at her job—while her maintenance fiancé worked at a different property. “He never scared me. Just a dumb kid who didn’t appreciate someone not feeling for him as he did for her.”
“How about you, Graham?” Sheri lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t you ever wonder if she still feels for you the same way as you do her?”
11 months later…
Kate hurried out of the plane.
She gripped the handle of her carry-on and rolled it through the gate.
It’d started a week earlier, when she’d seen a post on Sheri’s Facebook page about an annual company beach day. She’d posted pictures with many coworkers during the sunny retreat, and Kate couldn’t help but stalk. She recognized some faces and her heart swelled.
But when she’d spotted Graham in one of them—in his board shorts and white T-shit, perfect beach attire—she’d zoomed in on the picture, touching the screen as her body tingled as if she touched his skin and not a computer monitor. A swirl of color caught her attention. A new tattoo on his arm that until then hadn’t had any ink. She clicked it and her heart slammed against her ribcage.
A couple of cherries on the inside of his arm, drawn in dark red, with the name Kate in cursive black. A tear had rolled down her cheek. He hadn’t given up on her. He’d meant what he said back at the hospital.
She’d called Sheri and asked her to schedule her a flight but to keep it a secret. The past year had been hell for her. Sure, she enjoyed traveling and meeting new people, but the more people she met the more she missed Graham.
And now, he had no excuse. Sheri had told him Mark Preston had emailed and asked him to pick him up at the airport himself for an important emergency meeting. Knowing how invested Graham was in keeping the success of his Davenport brand, she knew he’d be there.
Then he’d see Kate after a whole year. Would it be different face-to-face? For months she stalked his company’s Facebook profile and hunted him on Google. He didn’t seem to appear in a lot of pictures, mostly business stuff and thankfully without any women by his side.
Sheri agreed to fly her and to her plan but hadn’t mentioned much about her boss. She seemed invested in helping her like she believed the two of them should be together, but what exactly did that mean?
She clutched her hand on the handle of the luggage and kept her stride. Her palm slicked against the metal, and she held it tighter. God. Maybe surprising him wouldn’t be such a great move after all. Wearing red high heels instead of sensible sneakers had not been a good idea either—but Sheri had bought her first class tickets so she’d known she wasn’t going to wait in long lines.
She’d chosen a little black dress—sans underwear—and a red jacket. The red jacket she’d stuffed inside her oversize tote, so she could not only feel but see the goose bumps on her arm.
When she made it to ground level, she stepped hard each time to make sure she wouldn’t mess up and slip and fall. Her eyes scanned the place, searching for the only man who had the power of weakening her knees.
When she spotted him walking toward her, her heart froze for a moment. He frowned, probably surprised as she, for he wore a designer suit instead of casual clothes. And damn it, he looked the most handsome she’d ever seen. His hair was due a cut, and his eyes continued being those two pools of dark mystery.
“Kate?” He stopped one step in front of her, his eyes caressing her and making her head bob forward.
“Preston isn’t coming. It’s me,” she said, and shrugged. She swallowed hard. “You said one year,” she said, hoping this wouldn’t be the most awkward moment in history. What if a leggy brunette materialized behind him with a big fat engagement ring?
He pulled her to him, and kissed her. For a moment, she couldn’t believe she was finally back in his arms. Then she caught a whiff of his unique scent, lifted her hands to his hair and recognized the smell of his skin, the feel of his arms. She was home again.
His tongue meshed with her, and she should have stopped—they were in an airport, for crying out loud. But she couldn’t when her body asked for more. Seeing him meant more than tasting a chocolate cake after a yearlong carb-free diet.
“Graham,” she whispered.
“I know, baby.”
He scooped her up in his arms, and she yelped. She saw him making a hand gesture to someone, then followed his hand and saw the chauffeur. He ordered him to pick up her luggage and take them to the limo.
Then, he continued to carry her to the long stretch limo. The first time she’d come to Maui well over a year ago, she’d imagined being with him in that car. And now it was finally happening.
When he set her inside, he clicked the button to pull up the partition and closed the door. She chuckled, completely understanding his urgency. He sat next to her and brought her to his lap. The kiss turned into a feverish melding of mouths. She quivered, currents of excitement igniting her insides.
He slid up her dress, his hand hovering over her bare flesh. “No underwear. Naughty girl.”
She humped into him, pretty sure her essence would stain his expensive pants but she didn’t care. He slid a finger down her, and she rode it like she hoped to do his cock soon. “Yes, baby. I missed this so much,” she breathed.
“Me too.” He nipped her jaw, and flicked her clit so vigorously that she moaned, and soon she came.
She slid her hand down and unzipped him. The terrific bulge welcomed her and she palmed his cock. It grew and pulsed in her hand, and she traced the underside veins with the tip of her fingers, and felt Graham trembling against her. “Oh yes.”
“Later we’ll do this right. Now I just need to fuck you otherwise I’ll come in your hand. And I’d much prefer your pussy.”
She positioned herself on top of him, and pushed him to her. When he thrust into her, he lacked the finesse he had in the past. God. He wanted this as much as she did. A pang of pain surged through her, her slick walls adjusting to his size after so long.
“You’re still
my naughty virgin, aren’t you? You’re so tight.”
“All for you. I kept myself tight for you,” she said, nipping his nose. “Your cherry.”
“Always be my cherry.” He kissed her hard.
She moved on top of him, moaning louder each time and hoping the partition would also miraculously block her shameless sounds of pleasure. He rocked himself into her, and even though she straddled him, his strong hand on the small of her back dictated the rhythm, and when he filled her up so violently she remembered that delicious feeling of completion she only had when he plunged inside her. He pulled down her dress and feasted on her tits, sucking one while his hand cupped and fingers pinched the other. She threw her head back, dizzy in that haze of desire.
He fucked her fast but fucked her good. When she came, he held her and rammed into her a couple more times, impaling her so deep she gasped. When he came, his warm load flooding her, she smiled and fell on top of him, her head resting on his shoulder. “I love you and I’m never letting you go. Do you hear me?”
“Yes. Yes.”
“This past year has been miserable,” he said, and enveloped her in a warm embrace that raised her body temperature. She sighed into the curve of his neck, and enjoyed the closeness.“How did you like Europe?” he asked with a hint of hesitation dangling in his voice.
“Okay. I have two weeks left of my course but I couldn’t wait any longer. I saw your tattoo on Sheri’s Facebook page and I knew you were waiting for me,” she said, and rolled up the cuff of his shirt until the gorgeous ink came into vision. “I love it.”
“I needed to keep you close to me one way or another.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll go back with you so you can finish your course. Then maybe we can travel around for a honeymoon.”
He wanted to marry her? She giggled, her heart singing with delight. “Honeymoon? Really?”
“Yes. You’re the one for me,” he said, and held her hands together. She shifted on his lap so she could contemplate the gleam in his eyes, the dead serious expression on his handsome face. Her stomach curled in anticipation. He spoke from the heart and she knew it. She felt it. And she loved it. “You taught me so much. You’re right, I bolted in the past. I actually read my mom’s letters and went to see her.”
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