by Amanda Aksel
“Yeah. I think I am.” Right now, being with Kent is my only wish.
We lay there a little while longer before he suggests we take a hot shower. When I joke that he just wants to see me naked, he reminds me that I’m naked right now. I’ve gotten so comfortable with him that I forgot I wasn’t wearing clothes.
After our shower, I’m slipping into a fresh pair of fuzzy socks when I hear footsteps in the hall.
There’s a knock on the doorframe and I glance back at him standing there. “You feel like sleeping with me tonight?”
The sensation of a thousand butterflies flutters in my stomach. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
He reaches for my hand and leads me down the hall. We slide under the covers and lay on our sides facing one another, grinning at each other like a couple of kids in love. That’s how it feels to me anyway. He flicks off the light and pulls me in, holding me so tight I almost wonder if he’s having all the same wistful thoughts that I am. But he’s a guy and men don’t think like that. Right?
“Goodnight, darling,” he says as if he’s said it to me a thousand times.
I smile, nuzzling into my pillow next to my man and close my heavy eyelids. “Goodnight.”
TWENTY-TWO
Kent
When I open my eyes, the sun is up and Liz is fast asleep beside me, the pillow draped with her fiery hair. Maybe I was wrong about the whole sleeping alone thing. It’s kinda nice waking up with a beautiful woman in my bed. Especially when I wake up with an aching morning hard-on. That was one of the best nights of sleep I’ve had in a while. There’s something about Liz, or maybe just being here in my cottage with Liz, that takes the edge off. I run a lazy finger down her arm. Her eyes flutter open and she smiles like she’s remembering her sweet dream. “Good morning.”
I tuck my hand around her waist and pull her closer. “Good morning.”
Liz turns on her side and touches my face. “I could get used to this,” she says sleepily.
“Me too.” I kiss her hand. “Oh, happy Christmas.”
She gasps. “Oh yeah, merry Christmas.” I thrust my hips forward. “Oh!” A happy grin spreads across her face. “Is that my present?”
Rolling her on her back, I kiss her neck. “Ho, ho, ho . . .” I grind my hips into her and she giggles, sliding my boxer briefs down.
After our morning session, we relax with freshly brewed cups of coffee in the living room. I grab a gift bag from under the tree and hand it to her. “I got you something.”
“Thank you,” she says with an appreciative expression.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s just a little something.”
“I love little somethings.” She pulls a pair of red fuzzy socks from the tissue paper and gasps. “Oh, my gosh. I love these.”
“Wait, there’s something else in there.”
She digs into the bag and finds the other gift. It takes her a second to figure out what it is. “Wine wipes?”
“It’s for your adorable purple wine mouth.”
Her grin grows wider as she turns over the package. “How do you even know about these? I’ve never even heard of them.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love.” She smiles and for a second I think she’s going to tell me she loves me, but she says, “I love it.” Crawling over, she pecks a kiss on my lips, the best kind of thank you. My cheeks flush at the thought of hearing the words “I love you” but I shake it off. She wouldn’t be the first woman to say it to me, but she would be the first that I might say it back to. I have no idea how to articulate the way I feel about her other than she makes me feel good. Liz pulls out a small rectangular-shaped gift from under the tree. “This is from me.”
I rip off the red paper, pop off the top, and find a sleek, black cell phone case. I shoot her a look as if to say “You shouldn’t have, really.” “I’m going to put this on my phone just because you gave it to me.” Then my eye catches on another item in the box. It’s two passes to tour the Winslett Winery in Napa.
“One of those is for me,” she says, tapping the tickets with her finger.
“This is brilliant. I can’t wait.” I wonder what the vineyards are like in January?
The two of us lounge around the rest of the morning and make our family calls right after lunch. While Liz is on the phone with Dahlia, I call my little brother, Drew.
“Hey, happy Christmas, brother!” Drew answers.
“Happy Christmas. How are you guys?” I sneak off to another room and shut the door.
“Doing great. Mick’s here relaxing. We’re having a good time. I wish you could’ve come, man, but I know you had to work.”
“Actually, I decided to get out of town. I’m at my house in Surrey with a woman,” I say, hushed.
“Really? Is it your fake fiancée?” he jokes. My brothers had to be informed about the arrangement in case anyone asked about it. But they both agree that it’s a little much considering the circumstances. Slipping out of the room, I tell him everything about Dad, Dahlia, and Liz. By the end, he’s so quiet that I think the line’s gone dead.
“Are you still there?” I ask.
“Yeah, just . . . holy shit.”
“So listen, since you’re in a real relationship now, I need your advice. What do I do about Liz? I want to keep seeing her, but she’s leaving Friday.”
“When I knew that I wanted to be with Kate, I asked her to move to London with me.”
“I think that might be jumping the gun a little bit.”
“If you want to be with her, jumping the gun might be the only way. That’s my experience anyway, and it worked out great.” Drew sounds so certain. Somehow, in the last year he’s become comfortable with commitment. So weird.
“How will I know if I love her?”
He chuckles. “It sounds cliché but when you know, you know. And if you don’t know, then just be honest with her. That’s the best advice I can give. Plus, don’t let Dad find out.” I swallow hard, trying to figure out how in two weeks’ time my life became the best and worst it’s ever been.
I thank Drew and hang up.
Liz and I spend the next two days wrapped up in each other in my bed. But when the sun sets, on that last day, it’s time to return to reality. On the drive back to the city, Liz’s hand stays glued to mine. I hold it tighter as we gain on her hotel. This is it.
Tomorrow, she’ll leave for San Francisco, and I miss her already. Pulling up to the curb, I park the car and turn to her. Her red lips pout with a sad look clouding her pretty eyes. I think back to what Drew said on the phone, about just being honest with her. And honestly, I’m not ready to let her leave. Not yet, anyway.
“So this is it,” she says. “Our holiday is over.”
I touch my hand to her cheek. “Liz, I need to tell you something.”
Her eyes seem to grow hungry for whatever I’m about to say. This is the moment I should tell her that I care about her, that maybe I even love her. But the next thing out of my mouth can’t be “Maybe I love you,” so I compromise by saying, “I want you to stay.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, at least until New Years. What do you think? You and me, champagne at midnight?”
Liz pulls her hand away, avoiding my gaze. “Kent, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’ve already extended my trip. You know how it is. I need to get back to my office.”
“You’re right. We need to get back to real life.” I look ahead, out the windshield, rain drizzling on the glass, and face reality. The thought of going back to my real life ties knots in my stomach.
“Kent, look at me.” Liz turns my chin toward her and I look into her brown eyes, hoping she’ll see how much I need her to stay. “This was the best Christmas I could’ve had, and I’ll never forget a second of it.”
I take her hand and kiss her tiny knuckles. “Me too.”
“Why don’t we meet for breakfast tomorrow before my flight?”
“What if I come over later and we could hav
e breakfast in bed.” I give her that take-off-your-knickers look and she shivers slightly.
“Even better. I’ll text you my room number.”
TWENTY-THREE
Liz
Leaving tomorrow is going to be torture and having him over tonight could make it worse. But that’s a risk I’m willing to take. I get my things and venture back into the hotel. As soon as I check in, I text him.
LIZ: I’m in room 3220. See you tonight.
KENT: If you answer the door naked, that’s fine by me.
Wheeling my bags to the elevator, my cheeks flush and I giggle at the text. Just before I make it to the doors, a voice calls from behind me. “Liz McKenna?”
I whip around. A woman with blonde hair as white as her coat stands with her arms crossed. She seems certain to know me but I’ve never seen her before. At least, not that I can recall.
“Yes.”
The woman extends her hand. “How do you do? My name is Sophia Wright.”
“Do we know each other?” For whatever reason, I’m leery of her, but I shake her hand anyway.
Her perfectly lined lips turn up in a friendly-ish smile. “No, but we do have something in common.”
“What’s that?”
“We’ve both been clients of Bonnaire Capital, and we’ve both slept with Kent Bonnaire.”
Uh-oh. No one is supposed to know about that. Heat crawls up my face and my stomach churns. Who is this woman? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I press the elevator button again.
Sophia scoffs. “There’s no point in playing coy. I just saw you two kissing in his car.”
Stalk much? I narrow my eyes. “Who are you exactly?”
“I’m just like you. I went to Bonnaire Capital to expand my business and met the very handsome, very persistent Kent. And just like you, against my better judgment, I gave into my baser needs, and we started shagging for a few weeks and fell in love.” Okay, now I’m really going to be sick. Kent did say he’d gotten involved with another client and it had gotten him into trouble—now I’m thinking that “trouble” must be Sophia. “He took me on an out-of-town trip too, but as soon as we got back, he ended things and stopped returning my phone calls.”
I shake my head, annoyed. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because he took advantage of me, and I fell for it. I have no doubt that he’s doing the same thing to you, and someone needs to stop him.”
I raise my brow. “Stop him?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m suing him for sexual harassment.” A lawsuit! I don’t mean to look so horrified but as much as I try, I can’t rein it in. Sophia smirks. “I guess he didn’t tell you. Big surprise.”
He never said anything about this. That’s why he needed to revamp his image. That’s why he didn’t want to get involved with me. Did he think I would sue him too? I have no idea what to say. With a gaping mouth, I just stare at her.
She takes a business card out of her designer purse and hands it to me, but I don’t move to take it. “I want you to consider joining my lawsuit. With two of us against him, we’re sure to win a lot of money.”
Finally, I manage to close my mouth and find my voice. “Why would I do that? He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“Maybe not yet, but you’ll see very soon. I’m sure you think that what you have with Kent is somehow special, but I assure you that it’s not. Don’t you know his reputation?”
I swallow hard, praying that my entire holiday wasn’t bullshit. “What reputation?”
“He’s a player. A womanizer. Don’t be surprised if that kiss in the car was your last one. I’m willing to bet you’ll never see him again.”
“I don’t believe you,” I say, stepping into the elevator.
Sophia tosses her card inside as the doors begin to close. “Give me a call tomorrow after he breaks your heart too.”
As soon as the doors shut, I squat down and pick up the fallen card hoping that somehow it will dissolve in my hands and the conversation will fade from my memory. How could she just come and ruin my amazing holiday like that? To say those horrible things about Kent that aren’t true. They can’t be true. There’s no way he’ll drop off the face of the earth like that.
I insert the keycard into the door and walk into my room. Before I set down my purse, I tear up Sophia’s card and toss it in the trash. That woman is crazy. Why else would she walk up to me in a hotel and say she saw us kissing? I don’t want anything to do with her or her frivolous claims.
Why didn’t he just tell me about the lawsuit? If not at first, then some time over the last few days. I would’ve understood. At least, I think I would’ve understood. Then again, maybe I would’ve seen it as a red flag, which is why he kept it from me. Because after all, I’m his client too. Then again, we did meet before we knew that I was his client, and in Kent’s defense, he did try to stay away from me. He even passed me on to Margot. Yeah . . . whatever happened between him and Sophia is not the same. It can’t be.
TWENTY-FOUR
Kent
The moment I get the text from Liz, I’m tempted to turn around and race back to her hotel. But I’ve neglected work for two whole days and want to take care of a few things first. Then I’m all hers.
One last time.
As soon as I get back to my place, I take a quick shower, then sit down at my desk. Before I can pull up my email, the doorbell rings. My pulse leaps and I can’t squash the hope that it’s Liz, demanding we get started right now on our last night together. I look through the peephole, hoping to see my red-haired goddess, but no one is there. That’s weird. I open the door and glance out into the hall, first left then right. Must’ve been a ghost. Then, my gaze falls to the floor. A brown envelope sits just outside my door, and I lower down to retrieve it. There’s something handwritten on it.
Gotcha!
-Sophia
My heart beats against my chest and I check the hall again before going back inside my flat. The envelope is thin, and as I open it, I get a terrible feeling that something’s going to jump out and bite me. Slowly, I pull out about a dozen photographs and my lungs constrict. All of them are of Liz and me in Surrey: our dinner in town, our snowball fight. There are even photographs of us through the window of the cottage looking just as cozy as I remember.
My grasp goes weak and the pictures fall to the floor.
Shit.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I bet it’s Sophia, calling to tell me that she’s blackmailing me now in addition to bringing the lawsuit. But it’s not Sophia, it’s my dad.
Fuck. Does he know? Maybe this is just a coincidence. My finger trembles as I answer the call. “Hello?”
“Kent Edward Bonnaire!” Dad roars on the line. “Have you lost your goddamn mind! Does taking over Bonnaire Capital mean nothing to you?” Uh-oh. He knows something.
“Of course it does—”
“Then, why have I just received photographs of you and Liz McKenna on a romantic getaway? I specifically told you no clients!”
“It’s not what you think.” I want to explain everything—how we met, how I tried to stay away, how I couldn’t stop myself because I, because I—
“I don’t want to hear it, Kent! I asked you to do one thing, one thing, and you completely disobeyed my orders. I can’t believe I thought you were smarter than this. You’re nothing but a disappointment. From this moment, you’re suspended from Bonnaire Capital. When I get back to England tonight, I’ll decide what to do with you next.”
My heart jumps into my throat and I can barely get out the word, “Suspended?”
“That’s right. I told you if you put one toe out of line that you’re done. I hope you had a happy fucking Christmas because your New Year isn’t looking so good.” The line dies and my heart wrenches. And for a second I think I’m dead too.
“Fuck!” I yell and throw my phone across the room. It slams against the wood floor. Even with the protective case Liz gave me, the phone splits into several pi
eces—its guts as exposed as mine feel right now. I ball my fists and scream out loud, then jab the side of my fist into the door. I’m so furious that I hardly feel my hand sting.
What the fuck am I going to do now?
I want to be angry with myself for thinking that being with Liz would never get back to Dad. But I also don’t care. I have every right to be with whomever I want to be with. The truth is I’m mad at myself for getting involved with Sophia Wright. She started this and I’ll be damned if I let her take away everything that I’ve worked for over the past ten years. I pick up the pieces of my phone and try to patch it back together but it’s broken beyond repair. Another mess that Sophia caused.
I take a deep breath, seething at the thought of everything Sophia has done to me. She can’t get away with this. This stops now.
I don’t remember Liz’s room number, and with my phone shattered, the only line of communication I can think of is email.
Liz,
I’m so sorry. I can’t make it tonight. I’ll explain later.
Kent
I hit send, grab my keys, and jet out of my flat. By the time I make it to Sophia’s door, I’ve stirred up enough hot anger to explode like an atomic bomb. But I also know that she wants to see me get all worked up over her. The girl lives for the drama. So I take a deep breath, doing my best to defuse some of my rage.
“Sophia!” I bang a hard fist against the door. “I need to talk to you.” No answer. I bang again, not letting up. “Sophia! I’m not leaving until you come to the door—”
It swings open and she stands in the doorway, arms crossed with an evil sneer. “Oh, hello, Kent. You know it’s rude to show up at someone’s home unannounced.”
“It’s also rude to attempt to ruin people’s lives.”
She pouts her lip. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was Daddy upset when he got the photos?”
“Why are you doing this? Why are you suing me for sexual harassment when you know damn well that it’s a lie?” I bark at her but she doesn’t wince.