“I have absolutely no regrets,” she assured him.
“Really? Because I have enough for both of us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, just a little stiffly. “I didn’t realize my lack of experience would be so...off-putting.”
“You have a way of twisting my words.” He shook his head. “Your lack of experience wasn’t a problem.”
“Then what was the problem?”
“There wasn’t a problem—except that your first time shouldn’t have been with me.”
“I shouldn’t have given my virginity to a man I trust and care about?”
“You’re doing it again,” he grumbled.
“Doing what?”
“Twisting my words.”
“Then tell me what you’re trying to say.”
“I’m trying to say...” He trailed off, as if not entirely certain how he wanted to finish the statement. “It shouldn’t have happened, and it’s not going to happen again.”
She lifted her chin, ignored the tears that burned her eyes. “Well, I guess that’s clear enough.”
Daniel scrubbed his hands over his face.
He’d bribed his best friend to marry him, callously taken her virginity, and now a few carelessly spoken words had pushed her to the verge of tears.
He should shut up. There was no way to make this better. There was nothing he could say or do that would change any of those facts.
Except that when he considered what she’d told him about her inability to respond to other men combined with his complete dismissal of what they’d shared together, he knew that she wasn’t seeing anything clearly.
“Could you please put some clothes on so I can focus on this conversation instead of the fact that you’re naked beneath that sheet?”
The blunt request had her eyes going wide and her cheeks filling with color, but she made no move to get out of the bed.
“Could you give me some privacy?” she finally asked.
“I’ve already seen and touched every inch of you,” he couldn’t resist pointing out.
“And made it known you weren’t interested in doing so again,” she reminded him.
“Another miscommunication.”
Her brow furrowed at that.
He moved toward the door. “I’m going to get coffee from the café downstairs—you’ve got five minutes.”
The elevator stopped on the fourth floor, where his cousin Justin and a woman got in. Justin nodded in greeting, though his focus remained on his female companion. Daniel recognized the woman as one of the bridesmaids. He thought her name was Tracey or Stacey or something similar, and that she was a cousin of the bride.
He couldn’t help but notice that Tracey/Stacey had beard burn on her neck and Justin looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept much the previous night, but the lazy smile that curved his lips in response to something the bridesmaid said suggested that he didn’t mind.
Daniel tried not to resent his cousin’s smug and casual attitude. Obviously Justin had spent the night having great sex with a woman he wouldn’t ever have to see again after today. Daniel, on the other hand, had experienced what was probably the most amazing sex of his life with the woman who happened to be his wife—there was no way for him to walk away from that.
He’d wanted her in his bed, but that was when he’d believed they were on the same playing field. The truth was, she didn’t even know the rules of the game. Discovering that truth had been a shock; knowing that no other man had ever done the things he’d done with her had been an incredible turn-on.
Justin and Tracey/Stacey headed to the breakfast buffet in the restaurant, while Daniel went to the café to get the coffee he’d promised Kenna. Since the thought of breakfast had his stomach grumbling, he decided to get an egg-and-bacon sandwich on a croissant for himself and a cinnamon-raisin bagel with cream cheese for Kenna.
Although he would hardly consider himself an expert on human nature, he had enough experience with women to believe that they had fundamentally different attitudes than men about sex. Men could enjoy sex on a purely physical level; women tended to tangle it up with emotions.
Not all women and not all the time, but he’d seen it happen often enough to anticipate it when he took a woman to his bed. And the more frequently a man had sex with the same woman, the more likely she was to claim an emotional connection.
Because of their friendship, he and Kenna already shared an emotional connection that would only deepen if they added physical intimacy to the equation. A deeper emotional connection might result in one or both of them falling in love, and since he’d want to tear apart any man who ever broke her heart, there was no way he could put himself in a position to do so.
Which led him to the regrettable but inevitable conclusion that sharing further intimacies with his wife would be a monumental mistake. Now he only had to find the right words to explain that to Kenna in a way that wouldn’t result in her wanting to throw something at his head.
When he got back to their room, he was relieved to find that she was not only dressed but packed, her bag waiting at the door. She was seated at the bistro-style table by the window, thumbing through the real estate section of the hotel’s complimentary newspaper. It didn’t matter to her that the listings would all be for Massachusetts properties and she lived in North Carolina. She always liked to look at houses for sale, and he knew it was her dream to someday live in a house of her own.
She accepted the bagel and coffee he offered with a murmured “Thanks.” He’d just set his breakfast sandwich on the table across from her when he felt the vibration of his phone.
He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, his thumb hovering over the ignore button. Most likely it was Josh, and he could call him back after he’d smoothed things over with Kenna.
The display read Archer, Calvin.
He hadn’t heard from the man since his trip to Kentucky, and he was eager to know why he was calling now. “I’m sorry—I have to take this,” he said.
Kenna didn’t even look at him. “Of course.”
Reminding himself that he would have plenty of time to explain everything to her later, he connected the call.
“Hey, Daniel—it’s Archie.”
“How are you, Archie?”
“On my way to the airport,” he said. “I’ve got a meeting in North Carolina this afternoon, and I was hoping we might be able to get together after that.”
“That would be great,” Daniel agreed. “But I’m out of town right now myself, just getting ready to head back. Did you have a specific time in mind?”
“What works for you?”
He mentally calculated, adding travel time from the airport back to Charisma to their scheduled arrival in Raleigh and including a bit of a buffer. “How does six o’clock sound?”
“Sounds like dinnertime to me. You got any good steak places in Charisma?”
“As a matter of fact, we do.”
“You make the reservation for three—my treat.”
“Three?”
“I want to meet your wife.”
“Oh...um...” He glanced at Kenna, who was thumbing through the newspaper as she nibbled on her bagel and paying zero attention to his conversation. What would she say about Archie’s invitation? Would she go along with the request? He was reluctant to ask anything of her right now, but he didn’t see that he had any choice. “Okay.”
“You’re not worried I might talk her into running off with me, are you?” Archie joked.
“You’re a smooth talker, but not that smooth,” Daniel bantered back, though he was less confident of his wife’s loyalty now than he’d been twelve hours earlier.
And wasn’t that ironic? There was a time when he would have said that he knew Kenna better than he kn
ew any other woman, until getting naked with her proved he didn’t really know her at all.
* * *
As Kenna plugged her earbuds into the armrest and programmed a movie on the screen in front of her, she was glad that they’d flown from Raleigh to Massachusetts. Right now a two-hour-and-ten-minute flight beside Daniel on a plane was infinitely preferable to ten hours beside him in a car.
They never did end up having the conversation he said he wanted to have, and she was grateful about that, too. She didn’t need to hear him say again that he was sorry for what had happened between them. And even knowing that he regretted making love—
No, she wasn’t naive or idealistic enough to think that love had played any part in the joining of their bodies. It had been sex—pure and simple.
But even knowing that he regretted having sex with her, she couldn’t. Because being with Daniel—touching him and being touched by him—had been the most incredible experience of her life. In the past, whenever she’d tried to get close to a man, she’d gone through the motions, pretending to enjoy herself and trying not to panic. There had been no fear or faking with Daniel. Being with him made her feel sexy and passionate and real. And regardless of how he felt or what he thought, she would always be grateful to him for that.
So why did she want to cry?
Why did she feel as if the same act that had healed her body had somehow broken her heart?
She fast-forwarded through the opening credits of the film, while he scrolled through data on his tablet. Probably research on potential sponsors for the car he wanted Ren D’Alesio to drive. After meeting Cal Archer in Las Vegas, he had hopes of signing Archer Glass as a primary, but so far, that hadn’t happened.
She had to admit to a certain amount of curiosity about the man’s call—and his request to have dinner with both of them. She’d been looking forward to going home—even if home was no longer her own apartment but Daniel’s condo. She could escape to the privacy of her room there and finally shed the tears she refused to let him see. Except that now she was expected to put a smile on her face and play the happy wife for a potential investor.
On the plus side, Daniel had made reservations at the Rib Eye Grill, so at least she’d get a decent meal out of the evening.
* * *
As it turned out, Kenna got a lot more than that.
The window magnate had a quick mind, a booming laugh and boatloads of charm, and she genuinely enjoyed meeting him. But much to her husband’s dismay, the older man wanted to talk about any number of subjects that had absolutely no connection to Garrett/Slater Racing.
It wasn’t until their dinner plates had been cleared away that Archie finally broached the topic, and then he directed his questions to Kenna rather than Daniel.
“So what do you think of your husband’s plans for putting together a racing team?”
“It’s something Daniel’s wanted to do for a long time, and I’m proud that he’s finally going after what he wants.”
“Do you plan on joining him on the race circuit?”
“I hope to take in the occasional race.” Although she and Daniel had never discussed the possibility, she suspected that admitting as much to this man would reveal more than she wanted to about her marriage. “But my job and other responsibilities usually keep me close to home.”
“You won’t be lured away by the prospect of drinking champagne in victory lane?” Archie asked, topping up her glass of wine.
“I’m not easily lured,” Kenna replied.
“Careful,” Daniel warned, covering her hand with his. “I think Archie’s working up to asking you to run off with him.”
“I might—” Archie winked at her “—if I thought there was any chance that your lovely wife might be enticed to say yes.”
Kenna managed a smile, all too aware of the part she was expected to play. “I already said yes—to the man who’s always owned my heart.”
Archie picked up a fork to dig into the Mile High Apple Pie the waiter set in front of him. “You’re a lucky man, Daniel.”
“I know it,” he said.
“I passed Garrett Furniture on my way into town,” Archie commented, changing topic again. “Made me wonder why you’re not putting that logo on your car.”
“It might end up there yet, but that’s not my call to make,” Daniel explained. “I’ve always tried to do my own thing, independent of the family business.”
“I’ve got one of those—a kid who didn’t want anything to do with my business. She wanted to go to law school, and I respected that decision. Until she decided to become a bleeding-heart defense attorney.” He shook his head. “So this network security thing—you obviously know what you’re doing there. Are you going to give it up for stock car racing?”
“GSR will have one hundred percent of my attention and focus when it’s required,” Daniel assured him. “But for now, at least, I’m going to keep my day job.”
“You should never give one hundred percent to business—any business,” Archie warned. “Family and friends should be your priority.”
Daniel nodded in acknowledgment of the advice, but Kenna noticed that his grip tightened on his cup.
She knew how his mind worked, and that he saw this conversation as some kind of test—to which he’d just given a wrong answer. And because she knew how important it was to him to establish a good rapport with this man, she attempted to steer the conversation back to a less contentious topic.
“How many kids do you have, Archie?”
“Four,” he said proudly. “Two sons, two daughters and half a dozen grandkids between them.”
“Are they all in Kentucky?”
“Only my youngest daughter and my eldest son and his family. The others are scattered around from Seattle to Sarasota.” He finished his pie and pushed the plate aside.
The waiter immediately whisked the dish away. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Anyone want more coffee?” Archie asked. “Maybe a brandy?”
Both Daniel and Kenna politely declined.
The older man glanced at his watch. “My goodness—I had no idea it was getting to be so late.”
“Just the check, then, sir?”
“Yes, please.”
“Are you staying in Charisma tonight?” Daniel asked.
Archie shook his head. “I like to sleep in my own bed.”
“What time’s your flight?”
“Whenever I get there,” he said, and grinned. “One of the perks of being rich is not having to rely on the arbitrary schedules of commercial airlines.”
He offered his hand to Daniel, and shook it with enthusiasm. “Thanks for meeting me tonight—and allowing me the pleasure of your lovely wife’s company.”
“It was our pleasure,” Daniel assured him.
“And thank you for the fabulous meal,” Kenna added, offering her hand.
Archie took it, then leaned forward and kissed each of her cheeks in turn.
They walked out together, and when they’d exited the restaurant, Archie turned to Daniel again. “You’re probably disappointed we didn’t talk about the sponsorship you proposed in Vegas.”
“A little,” Daniel admitted. “But I hope we’ll have that opportunity at another time.”
The older man chuckled. “One of the things I’ve learned through the years is that you don’t have to like the people you do business with, but business is much more enjoyable if you do.
“And I’ll tell you something else,” he continued. “Before I made this trip, I’d already decided that I want to see the Archer Glass logo on the hood of your car when the season starts.”
“You do?”
Archie nodded. “But after spending time with the two of you tonight, I’m happy to know that I’ll enjoy doing busine
ss with you.”
“I’m happy to say the same.”
A town car pulled up at the curb, and the driver got out to open the door. “Have your legal team send the paperwork to my office as soon as possible. Once the details have been finalized, we can send out a joint press release and start generating some buzz.”
“I’ll get right on that,” Daniel promised.
With a final wave, Archie slid into the backseat of the car.
They watched as the driver returned to his position behind the wheel and the car pulled away.
Kenna looked up at Daniel and couldn’t suppress a smile. “You look like a kid who just got a shiny red bicycle for Christmas.”
He grinned. “A car is so much better than a bike.”
“Not to a six-year-old.”
He laughed. “This is... I can’t even describe it. Do you know how huge this is?”
“I think I have an idea.”
“We’ve got a sponsor.” He swept her into his arms and turned in a circle. “A primary sponsor.”
She laughed as the world spun around her.
And then she stopped laughing.
Her feet were back on the ground but Daniel’s arms were still around her, and she was suddenly intensely aware of the fact that her body was plastered against his.
There was a sense of familiarity to being in his embrace, but there was also something different. This time, her body recognized and responded to his on a much more intimate level. Her nipples pebbled, her belly quivered and her body wasn’t the only one that reacted to the close proximity.
He dropped his arms abruptly and stepped back. She looked at him, and felt as if her heart was breaking again.
“We had sex, Daniel. Considering your vast experience with the act, I didn’t expect it would be such a game changer.”
“And I didn’t expect to discover that my wife was a virgin.”
“So we’re back to that again?”
“I was your first—you can’t tell me that’s not a big deal for a woman.”
“I promise—I’m not going to imagine myself in love with you just because we had sex.”
He frowned at that. “You can’t deny it changes things.”
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