. . .
“Look Janey …” Redmond started as he pulled up in front of her hotel.
“Thanks for everything,” Janey said, cutting him off as she opened the door of the van.
“I really appreciate all of your help. I couldn’t have accomplished half of what I did without it and I know my client is going to be pleased.”
Janey knew she was babbling. It was her constant bad habit when she was nervous. She did it to keep the tears from falling. On the long drive, she’d realized just how impossible a future for them was and had made up her mind that she wasn’t going to see Redmond anymore.
She’d stolen glances at him throughout the drive, trying to sear every morsel of the man he was onto her brain. She knew she could never forget him and wanted to soak up every little detail these last few precious hours they shared together, even though they were tense ones.
Janey didn’t realize just how hard it would be to say goodbye to him until they pulled into her hotel’s parking lot. But she was determined not to let one tear fall because she knew that once she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop.
“Can we have dinner tonight?” Redmond asked.
“I’m really tired Redmond. It’s been a long day and I leave the day after tomorrow. I have a lot of work to do before then, so I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”
“Look Janey, you were right when you said we needed to talk.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Look, we had a good time together. You have a lot on your plate right now and lord knows I do with work. So why don’t we just chalk this up to the nice experience it was and leave it at that.”
“Do you really mean that?” he said.
Looking him squarely in the eye, she said, “Yes, I do.”
The only reason Janey was able to look at Redmond so directly is because she was protecting her heart, never once considering that him shutting her out was his way of coping for the moment.
On the six-hour drive, while Janey had been focusing on all the reasons why what was between them wouldn’t work, Redmond’s focus was in the opposite direction – on why what they had could work.
He loved her. He knew that for sure.
He knew she was attracted to him and in time, he thought, that attraction could grow into love.
While he had nowhere near the financial means she obviously did, he wasn’t dirt poor. He worked for himself and had his own little house.
Since she could work from anywhere, being together wouldn’t be a problem.
His divorce was close to being finalized and no matter how much of a fight Layla put up, it would be finalized. He would be a free man.
So maybe, just maybe, he thought, what they had wasn’t just a pipe dream – it could become a reality.
But the hope he’d found on the drive was still too new; too fresh. When she said to chalk what they had up to a ‘nice experience,’ it cut like a knife and doubt flooded him all over again.
Maybe she had just wanted a little island fun and he’d been it. Hell, that knife cut both ways – as many women came to his homeland looking for some uninhibited fun as there were men on the island who gladly played the gigolo game.
Maybe she realized that he couldn’t offer her the way of life she’d become accustomed to.
Maybe there was someone back home, in spite of what she’d told him.
Redmond’s pride kicked in – hard. He would beg no woman for her affections, no matter how much he loved her.
“Very well,” he said. “I’ll get your bags for you.”
He politely helped her with her bags, setting them right inside the hotel lobby door, then left without another word.
. . .
Back in her room, Janey knew that she had to get off this island – fast!
She called the airline, changed her flight and left Sol y Besos on the red eye.
Chapter 14: Life Goes On
It had been a hellish week since she’d returned. The only time she found relief from the pain of what had happened between her and Redmond was when she took one of her long runs.
After finding this peace shattered by a Lionel Richie song on a workout one day, she’d erased all of the popular singer’s tunes from her MP3 player. It just hurt too much to hear one these days.
Work, the ‘lover’ that never disappointed her, had been a blessing.
On her sixth day back, she’d finally managed to get through a whole day without any tears. Curled up on her couch with a glass of wine watching CNN, she thought for the first time since coming back, You’re going to be okay.
Janey never doubted that she would and her heart was still heavy, but it had become an ache she could bear without the tears coming so easily.
She kept busy.
Lunch with her aunt.
The movies with her best friend, Carita, who was a hoot and kept her in stitches with stories of her love life – or sexual escapades – which was a more apt description.
Exploring plans for expanding her travel blog network.
Working out.
Yeah, she was going to be ok.
For the first time since she returned, a genuine smile came unbidden to her face. THIS almost made her want to cry.
“Get ahold of yourself Janey Belle Coltrane,” she said out loud, “Get ahold of yourself girl!”
. . .
Janey was skyping with the client she’d done the Sol y Besos trip for when he dropped a bombshell.
“As usual, outstanding job JC. This is exactly the kind of content we needed to make our site stand out from others,” Mr. Chapman, the head of her client’s content development team, said.
“One thing though … we realized while putting together next month’s issue that we need a little bit more of the regular touristy stuff as well. While we want to be different, we still want to give our readers what they want. And, what a lot of them want is to know about the main touristy stuff there on Sol y Besos.”
“With that being said, we need you to make another trip – immediately. All of this content goes into next month’s installment on the series we’re doing on the Caribbean and we have just over two weeks before that goes live. So, can you fly out tomorrow and send back the five pieces I emailed you about?”
“I’m sorry Mr. Chapman, I can’t go, but I have a very good travel writer who would be happy to. I’ll make the arrangements right away …”
The exec cut Janey off.
“No JC, we need you to go. We need the editorial tone of the pieces to be the same. And while I know you have a good team over there, you can always tell when pieces come from different writers.”
“If you’d sent another writer from jump, that would have been fine. But since you wrote these, we need you to go.”
If this had been any other client, Janey probably would have refused. But this was one of her blog network’s biggest clients and they could throw a lot more business her way, so she had no choice but to agree.
Seeing the look on her face, Mr. Chapman said, “Are you a little travel-weary JC? You look a little tired. I know that look from the days when I used to be a globe trotter,” he laughed.
“When you get down there, why don’t you stay a couple of extra days on us – get in some good ole R and R. Just build it into your expense report, ok?”
Little did he know that the last place on earth Janey could find R and R these days was on Sol y Besos. She didn’t want to stay one minute more than she had to on that particular Caribbean island.
“Thanks Mr. Chapman. I’ll get those pieces to you within the next three or four days,” was all she said before she logged off her live chat.
. . .
Normally, five pieces of new content would take at least five days and the client had told her to expense them for seven. But, Janey was determined to swoop down on the tiny island, work her butt off and get the hell off as quickly as possible.
Four days – tops – was the deadline she set for herself.
Dear
God, please don’t let me run into Redmond, was the silent prayer she sent up as the plane touched down at Athenos International in Sol y Besos late the next afternoon.
Chapter 15: Back to Heartbreak
Janey reflected on how different she had felt the last time she’d checked into Mirabella Bay.
She had been happy because she was not only on her favorite Caribbean island to work – which meant the trip was practically free – she was planning on getting in some much-needed R and R as well.
Had that really been just over two weeks ago?
It felt like a lifetime.
By the time she checked into her room, it was early evening. Janey decided to order dinner in and told herself it was because she wanted to organize the work she had to tackle over the next few days.
If she were being honest with herself though, it was because she was afraid of running into Redmond.
Unbeknownst to Janey, Redmond was on the northern tip of the island and wouldn’t be back for at least two days.
. . .
The first couple of days flew by. Janey was able to complete three of her five assigned pieces and with two more days left on her self-imposed deadline, she felt that she was in great shape to meet it – maybe even exceed it – and get back home.
Tired of being cooped up in her room – and pleased with the progress she’d made so far – she decided to go out for dinner. It was one of her favorite ways of relaxing because she got to people watch.
Also, after a couple of days of not running into Redmond, she’d started to relax her guard a bit, even telling herself that it was silly to be acting like this. And besides, she reasoned, as there’d been no further phone calls from him, Redmond had probably moved on.
Maybe the ‘relationship’ had been all in her head. After all, they’d only known each other a couple of weeks.
This made her angry and sad at the same time. But, “Life has to go on,” she said to herself. Getting dressed up always made her feel better, so Janey took her time with her make-up and hair for her night out.
She’d decided to treat herself to Gustavo’s. Meriting four stars, it was one of the most elegant Spanish restaurants on the island.
She’d been there on a couple of occasions over the last few years and was really looking forward to their world-renown paella.
Since she’d decided not to take her client up on the extra couple of days in Sol y Besos, she decided they wouldn’t flinch when they saw this on her expense report, especially as she’d throw in a review of the place for free.
The movement on the short, gold, flapper-style dress she wore that evening elevated her mood for no particular reason at all. When Janey bought it, she called it her ‘happy dress,’ because the fringes made her smile.
Paired with three-inch high, gold strappy sandals and a beaded silver bag for contrast, she felt good – at least outwardly – as she stepped into the waiting cab the concierge had called for her.
Janey enjoyed her meal at Gustavo’s and was glad she’d decided to write a review because they had, only the night before, added live entertainment.
The Latin jazz trio played at just the right volume – loud enough to be enjoyed if you were dining alone, as Janey was, but not so loud that you couldn’t engage in conversation.
The new entertainment gave Janey a “travel coup” of sorts to report on. She decided to write the review tonight so she could get up and proof it with fresh eyes in the morning before emailing it to her client.
The paella at Gustavo’s was every bit as delicious as she’d remembered. Always one to step outside defined boundaries when it came to mixing food and drink, Janey enjoyed hers with a glass of Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine similar to Champagne that was produced almost exclusively in the Northern Spanish region of Catalonia.
Good food, good drink and good music. Couldn’t ask for a better evening – besides someone to share it with – a little voice in her head whispered as she left the restaurant. Stepping to the curb, which would alert passing cabs that she was a waiting fare, Janey shook off this little voice.
She turned her attention to the depths of her beaded silver bag, looking for money to have at the ready for the cab. One pulled up, she stepped in and said, “Mirabella Bay, please.”
“As you wish,” the voice said.
Janey froze.
No.
It couldn’t be.
It just couldn’t be.
Let me out, let me out! she screamed silently, but all she said was, “Redmond.”
“We have to stop meeting like this,” he said, attempting a little humor which he hoped would give him time to get his thoughts together.
He couldn’t believe it when he saw her. He’d heard that she was back on the island, but believed that the buddy who’d told him must have been mistaken.
He’d gotten back from Hill Country just an hour earlier and was on his way to pick up a fare to take to the airport when he’d spotted a petite woman in a shiny, gold dress waiting on the curb in front of Gustavo’s.
He’d recognize that body anywhere.
“Janey why didn’t you ever call me back? I called you in New York and left you a voice mail,” he said, turning to face her in the back seat.
Not sure how to respond, Janey decided honesty was the best policy.
“To be blunt Redmond, I thought that if you really wanted to talk to me, you would have done more than left one voice mail. Then I didn’t hear from you anymore and just figured, well that’s that.”
“Janey I wanted to call you every day. Hell, I wanted to do more than call; I wanted to get on a plane and come to New York. But I knew that before I stepped to you again, I had to come correct – to handle a lot of loose ends in my life.”
“So, that’s why I didn’t call you anymore. I was getting things in order so that when I did contact you, I could come correct.”
“Believe me, not calling you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But I figured short-term pain for what I hope will be long-term gain.”
Looking at his watch, Redmond said, “Look, I have to pick up a fare to in about 20 minutes and take them to the airport. I know it’s getting late, but I could be back at your hotel in two hours, two-and-a-half hours, tops. Can I come over or take you somewhere so we can really talk? I have so much I want to say to you.”
All of her senses were responding to him, the smell of his cologne; the way he looked in that crisp white short; the look of the leather band with the tiny silver tomahawk hanging from it tied around his wrist; the urgent pleading in his deep, sexy voice.
All of this flooded her sensory bank at one time and she heard herself saying, “I’d like that. Actually, I have some work to do, so I’ll be up late.”
Redmond smiled, got out of the car, opened the door to where she was sitting in the back and pulled her to him. Not caring that they were on a public street in front of a crowded restaurant, he kissed her, drinking in the sight, feel and smell of her.
Janey kissed him back with all the pent-up emotion she’d carried over the last couple of weeks.
Dear God she missed him so!
Reluctantly, Janey pulled back, in much the same way she’d done when they shared their very first kiss outside her hotel just a couple of weeks ago. The feel of Redmond’s manhood pressed against her reminded her how quickly things could get out of hand between them.
Not ready to let her go just that second, Redmond cupped her face between his hands and planted another soft kiss on her lips. There was less passion and more need in this kiss.
Janey held onto his forearms as he cupped her face. Before settling her in the front seat beside him, Redmond grazed her with one last kiss – in what she’d come to think of as the ‘magic caring spot’ – the center of her forehand.
Seeing her to the door of the hotel lobby, he promised to see her in two-and-a-half hours – tops.
With hope soaring, Janey tried to concentrate on the review of Gustavo’s she was writing.
Knowing she was too distracted to write and edit the whole piece tonight, she decided to jot down her main impressions, that way she wouldn’t forget.
When she heard a knock at her door almost two hours later, it didn’t occur to her that it would be anyone other than Redmond.
“Obviously expecting company?” the owner of the voice quipped as she stepped – uninvited – into Janey’s room.
“What are you doing here?” Janey asked Layla.
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