“We’d better go,” Gretchen said, tugging at his arm.
Reluctantly, he followed her out of the ICU, dreading the news he’d have to share with his mother in the waiting room. The woman hadn’t gotten a stitch of good news in almost thirty years. He hated to pile more on top of it.
But he knew that with the news would be his promise that he’d take care of it. Just as he always had. And always would.
* * *
They stumbled into a Louisville hotel room near the hospital at almost three in the morning. Gretchen was exhausted down to her bones, and yet too much had happened for her to sleep anytime soon. She could tell Julian was feeling the same way after how he’d paced in the hotel lobby while they got a room. Even if they went straight to bed, they’d both likely lie there with their brains spinning.
Gretchen flipped on the lights of their suite, revealing a tasteful and modern room. It had a separate sitting area from the bedroom, like Julian’s room in Nashville. He carried her bag into the bedroom and laid it out on the bed. They’d left in such a rush, he didn’t have a bag of his own. All he’d had was a small leather travel case he’d taken with him to the wedding chapel with things he might need throughout the day.
Now he stood at the foot of the bed, silently tugging off his bow tie and slipping out of his tuxedo jacket. She could tell he was distracted and worried about James. Gretchen knew that if one of her sisters were in the hospital, she’d be beside herself.
Instead of watching him undress, she took her bag into the bathroom to change. She’d spent far too many hours in this strapless bra, and she was ready to be done with it all. Unzipping her bag, she looked inside and groaned. Unfortunately, when she’d packed, she’d packed for a sexy night at his hotel. A detour to Louisville to see his sick brother hadn’t been on the radar. The only pajamas she had were of the sexy red lace variety. With the dark cloud looming over Julian, she doubted he would be interested.
But with limited options, she slipped into the chemise and pulled the fluffy hotel bathrobe over it. When she returned to the bedroom, Julian’s suit was lying across the chair and he was gone. She found him in the living room, standing in front of the minibar clad in just a pair of boxer briefs as he held a tumbler of golden liquid in his hand. Scotch, she’d guess.
“You’re drinking?” she asked. That was the first thing she’d seen him drink aside from water since they met.
“Yeah,” he said, looking thoughtfully at the glass. “My trainer can punish me later. That’s the beauty of being able-bodied. I just... I just needed something to numb all the feelings inside me. A bottle of water and a protein bar wasn’t going to do it.”
Gretchen nodded. She hated to see him like this, but there wasn’t much she could do. Instead, she sat down on the couch and beckoned him to sit beside her. He slammed back the rest of his drink and left it on the counter before he came over and collapsed onto the pillows.
Without saying anything, Gretchen snuggled up beside him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight against him.
“I want to talk about something other than my brother,” he said after a long silence. “Tell me...” Julian hesitated. “Tell me about how someone so beautiful and full of life could be so awkward and inexperienced with men.”
Really? That was the last topic she wanted to discuss, but if it would take his mind off James, she would confess it all. With her face buried against his chest, she started the not-so-interesting tale of her life. “My mother was a ballerina. She toured with a company for several years before she broke her ankle and retired. She met my father, a physical therapist, while she was doing rehab on her leg. She was tall and willowy, educated in the classics, and he was shorter and stockier, with more knowledge about football than anything else, but for some reason, they hit it off.
“They married and had three girls. I was the middle child. My sisters were always so much like my mother, so graceful and so skilled when it came to charming men. I took after my father. I was always chubby, always clumsy. I actually got kicked out of kinder ballet classes because I kept knocking over the other children. To say I was a disappointment to my mother was an understatement.”
“Did she actually say that to you? That you were a disappointment?”
“No. But she always pushed me to be more like my sisters. She didn’t seem to understand me at all. Even if I hadn’t been stockier or uncoordinated, I was very shy. I was much more comfortable with my art and my books than with boys. I really didn’t have much in common with anyone in my family. And when I got old enough to date, I don’t know, I guess I sabotaged myself. I didn’t feel pretty, I didn’t feel confident and so guys never noticed me. I was so quiet, I could virtually fade into the background, unseen and unheard. It just continued on like that and after a while, I decided that maybe I was meant to be one of those suffering artists, destined to be alone.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Julian eased back and lifted her chin with his finger until she had no choice but to look him in the eye. “There’s no way a woman like you would end up alone. You’re beautiful, talented, smart, passionate... You’ve got way too much to offer a man. He just has to be smart enough to see you when others don’t. I’ll admit that I probably wouldn’t have been that guy. I’m always on the move, always too distracted to see things that aren’t right in front of my face. And if Ross hadn’t set up this date, I would’ve missed out on a wonderful few days because of my blindness.”
Gretchen felt the blush of embarrassment rise to her cheeks. She wanted to pull away, to avoid his gaze, but he wouldn’t let her.
“I mean it. You don’t know how much it meant to have you here with me tonight. I’m always the one that comes in to save the day. It was nice, for once, to have someone to hold my hand, to support me when I needed it. It’s so hard watching James’s health deteriorate, but having you there made all the difference.”
“I’m glad I could be there. No one should have to go through that alone.”
His blue eyes focused on hers, and she noticed for the first time that he’d taken out his contact lenses. The stunning Caribbean blue eyes she was used to looking at were now the soft blue-gray of the northern seas. The color suited him more, and she liked seeing him without part of his Hollywood facade. “Your eyes are a beautiful color,” she said.
“They don’t pop on camera,” he said, deflating her compliment.
“That’s the camera’s loss.”
He watched her for a moment before he spoke. “Gretchen, I don’t want this to end.”
The surprise shift in the conversation threw her off and she sat up, pulling away from him and taking a few seconds to respond appropriately. “Neither do I, but what choice do we have? You’re going back to LA, and my business and my life are in Nashville.”
He nodded in agreement, but he had a firm set in his jaw that told her he wasn’t giving up that easily. “It would be complicated, yes, but I want to try. I can’t just walk away from you like this. Say you want to be with me—no contracts, no faking it for the cameras.”
Gretchen almost couldn’t believe her ears. He was serious. He wanted to be with her, truly be with her, and not just because his manager was behind it or they were enjoying the benefits of their arrangement. A woman like her being with a man like Julian was some kind of fantasy come to life. How could she say no to that, especially when just a look from him could make her chest so tight she could barely breathe? She certainly wasn’t looking forward to letting Julian go. She’d tried to keep her heart out of this short-term scenario, but with every minute that ticked by, she was losing the fight. Was it really possible that she wouldn’t have to give him up when his plane took off on Monday?
“I want to be with you, Julian,” she said, and she meant it. “I don’t know how we’d manage, but I don’t want to let this go, either.”
“Then d
on’t.” Julian leaned into her and pressed his lips against hers. He kept advancing, easing her back until she was lying on the cushions of the couch. His hands fumbled with the tie of her belt, opening the robe and pulling back to admire what was beneath it.
“Holy hell,” he said, running his fingers over the red satin-and-lace chemise. “You’ve had this on the whole time?”
“Just since we got here.”
“And we’ve been talking? If I’d known what you had under that robe, we could’ve found some more pleasurable distractions than talking.”
His lips met hers. Unlike the night before, there was less tenderness in his touch. There was a tension there, and she knew it was stress. He needed a distraction, and she was happy to be that for him tonight. She wanted him to lose himself in her and forget about all his troubles.
His hand glided up her outer thigh, pushing the robe out of the way and brushing against the lace edges of her negligee. “Did you know,” he asked, as his hand ran across her stomach, caressing her through the fabric, “that red is my favorite color?”
Gretchen smiled, parting her legs for him to draw closer. “Is it really?”
“It is now.” He punctuated the words by burying his face in her neck. He tugged at the plunging neckline of her nightie until her breasts were exposed and he could tease at them with his rough palms.
She still hadn’t quite adjusted to the idea that she was a sexually active woman now. She still felt as though she was fumbling around, but being with Julian made it so easy. All she had to do was close her eyes and do whatever felt right. So far, that hadn’t steered her wrong, and Julian certainly seemed to like it.
Drawing her leg up, she hooked it around his hip, pulling his firm desire closer to the slip of satin that separated them. Julian groaned when they made contact, rubbing himself across her most sensitive spot. The tiny panties that came with the chemise were hardly clothing, more an eye patch in matching fabric, but she supposed they weren’t intended for everyday wear.
Julian gripped the panties in his fist and tugged at them. They tore away without hesitation, and he tossed them onto the hotel room floor. Gretchen gasped in surprise, then started to giggle. There was a reason they were so flimsy. The giggles were abruptly stopped when the panties were replaced by Julian’s hand.
Her back arched up off the couch, her hips both drawn to and shying from the powerful feelings his touch roused inside her. It was amazing just how quickly he could bring her to the edge. He’d learned her body’s responses after only a few encounters.
Gretchen clenched her eyes shut, hovering on the verge of release, when she felt cold air rush across her skin. Her eyes opened and she found that Julian had pulled back and was watching her as he lay against the far arm of the couch.
He slipped out of his briefs and beckoned her to join him. “Come here,” Julian said.
Gretchen shook out of the robe, nervously took his hand and covered his body with her own. “What are we doing?”
“I’m not doing anything,” he said with a sly smile. “I’m going to lie here and watch you while you take the lead.”
Her jaw dropped in surprise. They’d moved on to an advanced class without warning. The idea of sitting astride Julian during sex while he watched her was incredibly unnerving. And arousing. She knew instantly that she wanted to do this. She could do this. She wouldn’t let nerves get the best of her.
Julian reached for his toiletry case sitting on the coffee table and pulled out a condom. “Care to do the honors?”
She took it from him, determination setting in her jaw. Opening the package, she put it in place and slowly rolled it down the hard length of him. Julian let out a hiss as her hands worked up and down. His jaw was tight, his body tense. It was then that Gretchen realized she liked being in charge. This might be nerve-racking, but it was also going to be fun.
She rose up onto her knees, and Julian helped guide her movements as she lowered herself onto him. She moved slowly, painfully slow, as her body stretched to accommodate him. Then, at last, she found herself fully seated. Her core was already throbbing and prickling with the sensation of his previous touches. She couldn’t imagine she would last long like this.
Biting her lip, she braced her hands on Julian’s bare chest. She leaned forward and rocked back once, testing the waters. It was a delicious feeling, and judging by Julian’s fingertips pressing fiercely into the flesh of her hips, she was doing something right.
Gretchen did it again, this time faster. Gaining confidence, she fell into a pleasurable rhythm with Julian muttering encouraging words to her.
His hands stroked the silk-and-lace fabric of her chemise as she moved, rising up to cover her breasts as they spilled over the top. She placed her hands over his and thrust her hips harder and faster against him.
“Julian,” she whispered as she felt the release building up inside her.
“Yes, baby,” he encouraged. “Just let go. Take me with you.”
So she did. With renewed enthusiasm, she moved over him, opening the floodgates so that every ounce of pleasure, every emotion she held back, rushed free. In the moment, it wasn’t his touch or her movements that sent her over the edge, it was the warm heat in the center of her chest.
She’d never felt this sensation before, but she knew what it was. Now that she and Julian had a future, she’d finally allowed herself to feel what she’d been fighting. Love. It was love that pushed her over the edge, crying out his name as the tremors of pleasure washed through her. As he followed suit, thrusting into her one last time, she looked down at him, placing her hand over his heart until they were both still and silent.
It was then that she collapsed against him. Gretchen buried her face in his neck, breathing in the scent she’d become so used to so quickly.
This. The sex was nice, but this was what she’d truly waited twenty-nine years for.
Ten
Monday morning was a reality that neither of them really wanted to face. James’s condition stabilized with the ventilator, and the doctors were extremely positive about his prognosis. He was moved out of the ICU, and his mother ushered Julian and Gretchen out the door and back to Nashville Sunday evening.
That night together had been a somber one, both of them knowing what Monday brought. Gretchen had to be in the office for her weekly staff meeting, so she slipped out of bed, leaving him a kiss as she ran out the door. She promised she would return after the meeting to say a proper goodbye before he had to leave for the airport.
They’d agreed they would give their relationship a real try, long distance be damned, but they both knew it would be hard. And different from how they’d spent the past few days. Julian worried about how they would pull it off. He had some time before his next film started shooting, but if he spent those weeks in Nashville, Ross would undoubtedly start complaining. He would want Julian in LA, doing readings, lining up his next part and being “seen.” Unfortunately, he would probably want him being seen out on the town with a woman. That wasn’t an option.
The only thing that got him up and dressed that morning was the knowledge that Ross was coming by to meet with him before he flew on to New York to arrange for a few press appearances. He’d much rather stay in bed and wait for Gretchen to return so he could make love to her one last time before he left.
He was drinking a protein shake he’d had stashed in his refrigerator when he heard his manager’s knock on the door. Right on time, as usual. Julian opened the door, letting the short, squat man in the expensive suit into the room.
Ross wandered over to the sofa and sat down. “So, how’d the fake date go? The pictures I’ve seen looked pretty convincing, so good work. I know that couldn’t have been easy to keep up.”
Julian wasn’t sure what his manager meant by that, but they should’ve been convincing. Every moment together w
as authentic and amazingly easy. “Actually, it was the easiest role I’ve played in years. After the first two days, I wasn’t acting at all. In fact, Gretchen and I have really hit it off. I’ve asked her if I can continue to see her after this week.”
The smug smile faded from Ross’s face the longer Julian spoke. “Are you serious?”
Julian frowned at his manager. “I’m absolutely serious. She’s a great woman. I’ve never dated anyone like her.”
Ross sighed and ran his hand over his bald head. “I know that I set this up and I said that you dating a normal, everyday woman would be good for your image. But I never intended this to be a long-term arrangement.”
“What does it matter if it’s long-term or short-term? You wanted me to be with someone. I’m with someone. You should be happy.”
“Not with her,” Ross complained. “She’s...”
Julian stared Ross down, daring him to insult Gretchen so he’d have a good reason to punch him. “She’s what, Ross?”
Ross looked at him, preparing the words carefully. “She’s not the kind of woman you’d want on your arm when you walk the red carpet at the Golden Globes. That’s all I’m saying.”
Julian snorted in contempt. “And when, in my illustrious career, have you ever booked me into a role that would get me invited to the Golden Globes?”
Ross shook his head. “You’re missing the point. I’m sure she’s a perfectly nice girl—the type you’d want to take home to meet your mother. But she’s not the kind of girl that will take your career to the next level. Think Brad and Angelina. Tom and Nicole.”
“Tom and Nicole are divorced.”
“So it didn’t work out,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “My point is that their high-profile marriage boosted their acting careers.”
One Week with the Best Man: Reclaimed by the Rancher Page 12