Chapter Fifteen
February
Sasha Fonseca glanced up from the conversation she’d been having with one of her students as half a dozen others filtered inside the already packed yoga studio. It was nearly time for her Sunday morning class to begin, and the popularity of her grueling Vinyasa practice never ceased to amaze her.
She nudged the petite woman standing next to her. “Isn’t that your friend over there? The pretty blonde in the purple top? You brought her to class with you a couple of times.”
Julia looked in the same direction that Sasha was pointing, and was more than a little taken aback to see who her teacher was talking about. “Yes, that’s definitely Tessa. I had no idea she was going to be here today. I’d better go say hi.”
Because the room was so crowded, Julia didn’t dare move her mat for fear she wouldn’t be able to find another spot. As it was, Tessa seemed to have nabbed one of the very last spaces, stuck back in a corner of the jammed room. She looked more than a little flustered as she rolled out her mat, her cheeks flushed and wisps of blonde hair escaping her rather messy braid.
“Hey, it is you,” greeted Julia, dropping down into a squatting position. “I didn’t know you were planning to come today. You should have called me and I would have picked you up.”
Tessa’s gaze flew up to hers in alarm, and she looked almost guilty. “Oh, Julia, hi. Um, sorry, I – I was running really late and didn’t even know if I’d be able to make it here in time. And I thought you were in New York.”
Julia nodded. “I was, trying on wedding gowns and going quietly insane finding a bridesmaid dress that my sister would actually approve of. But I got in late yesterday and really needed some yoga to decompress.”
Tessa seemed unnaturally distracted and merely nodded, offering up a nervous smile. Tactfully, Julia patted her on the arm and stood. “Well, class is about to begin so I’ll catch you afterwards, okay?”
As tough as the class was, demanding her powers of concentration be at their peak, Julia still couldn’t help but wonder what had brought Tessa here this morning. She knew her friend was on a really tight budget, and was surprised that Tessa had been able to afford the class. SF Flow was pretty much the top yoga studio in the city, and the cost of even a single class was pricey.
At Sasha’s instructions, everyone turned to face the back of the room for the next sequence. Julia glanced in Tessa’s direction, noticing for the first time the stylish new yoga apparel the blonde was wearing. The gray cropped pants and purple racerback tunic were from the new Prana collection the studio had just received in less than two weeks ago. Julia frowned, knowing that the outfit would have cost well over a hundred dollars, and recalled how Tessa had fretted over spending too much on her Christmas party dress.
Julia temporarily forgot about Tessa as the class got progressively tougher. During the time she’d spent in New York, she had admittedly overindulged in food and alcohol, and hadn’t been able to squeeze in even one yoga class. Combined with her jet lag, she was really feeling the burn as Sasha pushed her students harder and harder. Sweat poured down her forehead and trickled along her spine, and she kept telling herself it was good for her, to detox all the poisons she’d ingested on her trip. With each sun salutation, each arm balance, and all the twisting poses, she visualized making up for every bite of cake, every spoonful of cream sauce, and – damn her – every shot of tequila that Lauren had dared her to bolt.
By the end of the ninety minute class, Julia felt wrung out, but definitely in a good way, and resolved to drink a ton of water, and subsist on salads, grilled fish and veggies for the next week. Especially if she hoped to fit into the gorgeous Badgley Mishka wedding gown she’d decided on.
She hurried over to Tessa, anxious to chat her up a bit. But the blonde was already rolling up her yoga mat – which Julia recognized as a Manduka, the most expensive brand the studio sold – and stuffing it into a chic purple-print carry bag.
“Hey, do you want to get coffee?” offered Julia. “Nathan should be waiting for me outside and I know he’d love for you to join us. We can give you a ride home later.”
“Oh.” Tessa looked rather disconcerted by the offer. “Um, normally I’d love to but I – ah, I’m sort of meeting – someone.”
Julia grinned. “You little devil. You have a new boyfriend, don’t you?”
Tessa’s cheeks were already flushed pink from the exertion of the class, and they deepened to a much brighter shade at Julia’s frank question. “Ah, I – I guess that’s what – yes, you’re right. I do.” She looked down at her bare feet shyly. “I’m just – it’s pretty new, so - ”
“You can’t really talk about it yet,” finished Julia. “I get it, honey. But I think it’s great. You really deserve some happiness. So, go meet your new guy and we’ll have coffee another time.”
Tessa looked relieved. “Okay, thanks. I’ll give you a call this week.”
Julia watched her friend dash out of the studio hurriedly, wondering who this new boyfriend was and hoping that he was treating Tessa right. But at least the existence of a new man in her life explained why she was suddenly able to afford yoga classes plus the new clothes and equipment. Julia hoped he wasn’t some sleazy creep who was just using Tessa, dazzling her with nice gifts and expensive dinners. She knew Tessa was rather naïve about men, despite the fact that she’d been married for seven years, and kept her fingers crossed that she wasn’t in over her head.
Julia spent a couple of minutes chatting with Sasha before grabbing her things and heading out to meet Nathan. Her super-hot fiancée was lounging against the side of the building, his thick dark brown hair still damp from the laps he’d just swum at his health club’s indoor pool. Nathan had played water polo during high school and college and still liked to get a vigorous swim in a few times a week.
“Hey, baby.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick but still semi-dirty kiss.
“Hi.” She snuggled close as he took her yoga bag from her, slinging it over his own shoulder as they walked down the block to one of their favorite cafes.
“You look a little sweaty. Did Sasha kick your cute little ass again?”
Julia nodded. “Always. I swear I don’t know where she comes up with some of her moves. If you think I’m flexible, you ought to see her in action. She’s like Elasticgirl, or whoever that character is from The Incredibles.”
Nathan squeezed her ass cheek under cover of the thigh length cardigan she wore. “You’re plenty flexible for me, baby. Especially last night. I, uh, didn’t know you could actually get into that sort of position.”
She raised a brow. “Complaining?”
“Oh, hell, no. You can get, ah, all bendy and twisty like that anytime. Hey, was that Tessa I saw leaving the studio? I was just getting out of the car when I saw her turning the corner.”
Julia nodded. “That was her all right. Sounds like she has a new boyfriend. I just hope he’s a good guy and treats her right.”
Nathan stopped in his tracks, a frown on his handsome features. “Wait a second. Now that you mention it, I did notice her getting into a car. And – holy shit.”
She shook his arm. “What? What is it? And why are you grinning like an idiot?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “That sneaky sonofabitch. Let’s just say I’ve got a very good idea of who Tessa’s new boyfriend is.”
Her eyes widened in surprise “Who? Did you see him? What kind of a car is he driving? God, don’t tell me it was a pickup truck. Or a Prius. I’m not sure which one would be worse.”
Nathan was full out laughing now. “Oh, not even close, baby. No, your friend was getting into a vintage Jaguar E-type. It’s a very expensive and very rare car. In fact, there’s only one person I know of who owns a car exactly like that one. I even rode in it once – en route to the new hotel site in Napa.”
It took Julia a moment or two for his words to register, and then she gasped, clutching his arm so tightly that he winced. “
You mean – Tessa’s new boyfriend is – is Ian?”
He was grinning from ear to ear. “Yup. He denied being attracted to her when I brought the subject up once, but when you’re right, you’re right, baby.”
“I knew it!” she squealed. “Didn’t I tell you, Nathan? I knew he had his eye on her the first time I saw them together.” Then a sudden thought instantly sobered her up. “You don’t think – I mean, Tessa never told me why she and her husband broke up. You don’t imagine she and Ian were - ”
“No.” Nathan’s denial was emphatic. “I know Ian pretty well after all. He would never mess around with a married woman. Trust me, he and Tessa were not having a sordid affair. That is not why she and her husband are divorcing. I think this relationship with Ian is very new.”
Julia nodded. “I think so, too. She seemed really nervous to see me there today, like she expected I was still in New York.”
“Well, if she’s still working for Ian it goes without saying they want to keep this quiet. And you, my little devil, are not to breathe one word about this to anyone. Got it?” he told her sternly.
She reached up and gave him a smacking kiss. “Yes, I’ve got it. And I won’t say a word to anyone.” She took Nathan’s arm and placed it around her shoulders as she leaned against him. “God, they make a really gorgeous couple, don’t you think?”
Nathan smiled wickedly. “I’m guessing she’s keeping him, uh, busy. There’s a pretty big age difference between them, after all. He’s probably keeping his fingers crossed that he’ll be able to keep up with her.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” replied Julia airily. “Ian looks like he keeps himself in very, very good shape. Though Tessa did look a little, um - ”
“Well fucked?” he whispered in her ear. “Kind of like you do this morning?”
Her cheeks flushed. “You are so bad,” she whispered back as they entered the crowded café. “But, yeah, now that you mention it, she might have looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed. And she did say she was running late.”
“Told you.” He was grinning as they got in line to place their orders. “Hmm, Ian and I will have to compare notes sometime, see which one of us is getting more action.”
Julia gasped in outrage. “Oh, my God, don’t you dare! You wouldn’t seriously do that, would you?”
“Relax, baby.” He rubbed her low back soothingly. “What goes on in our bed stays there, okay? No matter how many times my buddies try to pry details out of me. I would never in a million years tell anyone how much you like it when I - ”
She clapped a hand over his mouth. “Quit while you’re ahead, Nathan. And you’d better take that last photo of me off your Facebook page. You know exactly which one – your disgusting friends have already given it a bunch of likes.”
“Okay, I’ll take it off,” he acquiesced reluctantly. “It’s just so cool that all of my buddies are really eating their hearts out now. The consensus is unanimous that I’ve got the hottest girl by far among the whole group.”
Julia just glared at him, pulling his phone from the side pocket of his track pants. “I’ll order for us while you delete that photo. Now.”
Over breakfast, they chatted about their upcoming work weeks – due to be busier than ever with all the projects they had going on; about the wedding plans that were quickly starting to take over their lives; and about Julia’s very recent trip to New York. She’d spent almost a week there, accompanied by her mother, sister and girlhood friend Angela. They had all met up with Julia’s Aunt Madelyn as well as Nathan’s mother Alexis, who’d been overjoyed to be invited to the girl-getaway. Madelyn, the head buyer at Bergdorf Goodman, had arranged for Julia and her two bridesmaids – Lauren and Angela – to select their gowns for the June wedding.
“So your sister was even more of a pain in the ass than you feared?” asked Nathan.
Julia nodded. “Way worse than I expected. In fact, she was in a really bad mood for almost the entire trip.”
He smirked. “When exactly is Lauren in a good mood? Anything in particular that got her pissed off this time?”
“Now that you mention it, things seem to get noticeably worse after we ran into her boss the first morning out at breakfast. She was actually okay at dinner the night before, but as soon as Ben stopped by our table she just seemed – I don’t even know how to explain it.”
Nathan took a sip of his coffee. “Bitchier? More terrifying? And you didn’t tell me you’d finally met Ben the Bastard.”
Julia frowned. “He’s actually a really nice guy. Not to mention totally Lauren’s type. Not the tattooed, pierced rocker type but the other kind she goes for – the chiseled, outdoorsy hunk with three-day stubble.”
“You think there’s something going on there? Though I’d truly feel sorry for the dude, especially given the way your sister flies into these rages whenever she mentions him.”
She shook her head. “Lauren made a point of telling me that Ben has a live-in girlfriend. And there is no way my sister would ever hit on a guy who’s already taken. She’d figure it was his loss if he preferred someone else over her.”
Nathan grinned. “Wouldn’t that be something, though? Your twin having a thing for a guy and not being able to do anything about it? There may be some justice in this world after all.”
Julia scooped up a dollop of foamed milk from her cappuccino, licking it off her fingers. “You know, the more I think about it, Lauren wasn’t necessarily just in a bad mood. She seemed – now don’t laugh at this, okay? – kind of - well, sad and depressed.”
He gaped at her in disbelief. “Baby, I’m not laughing but those two words sure as hell don’t fit the Lauren McKinnon I know. Now Angela, she’s the fucking poster child for sad and depressed, but your sister is still the ballsiest babe I’ve ever met. There’s a reason she scares the shit out of almost everyone who meets her.”
“I just can’t put my finger on it, Nathan, but there’s something off there. I know my sister – she’s literally the other half of me, don’t forget. And you might have something there about Ben. I’ve never seen Lauren as moody and – God, almost vulnerable after he stopped by our table.”
Nathan squeezed her hand. “You seem to have pretty good instincts about this stuff, baby. After all, it looks like you might have been right about Ian and Tessa.”
“Might have?” She arched a perfectly plucked brow at him. “Oh, no, there is no “might”. I know I’m right, there’s way too much circumstantial evidence to support my cause. And if I’m right, you owe me a pair of very expensive new shoes.”
“Crap. I forgot all about that stupid bet,” grumbled Nathan. “I have so got to remember not to make any bets with you when a) I’ve had a little too much to drink, and b) you’ve just blown me so hard I can’t walk straight. Besides, I’m going to require more than circumstantial evidence before I shell out eight hundred bucks. And why the hell do you need more shoes anyway?”
Julia batted her lashes at him flirtatiously. “Because this really hot architect I know is building me this awesome waterfront house in Tiburon, complete with the biggest walk-in closet I’ve ever seen. I don’t have nearly enough stuff to fill it up.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have let your father talk me into making that damned closet so big,” he replied darkly. “And you haven’t won yet, baby. I need more proof before I whip my credit card out.”
She gave him a dangerous smile. “Leave it to me. I’ll get you all the proof you need.”
***
Ian knew that Tessa would already be in the conference room setting up for the architect’s meeting due to start in less than an hour. He had far too much work to get through today, did not have even ten minutes to spare for anything not already on his packed schedule, and yet he still found himself walking in the direction of the conference room where he knew she would be. He’d mumbled some harebrained excuse to Andrew about where he was going, and received a disapproving frown from his by-the-book PA. But it had seemed
like an eternity since he’d been alone with Tessa, even though in reality it had only been three days ago.
He’d convinced her to stay over at his home on Sunday night rather than bringing her back to that god-awful apartment of hers. Still intent on keeping their relationship a carefully guarded secret, he’d sent her off to work on Monday in a taxi while Simon had driven him to the office as usual. And even though he and Tessa had only been together for just over a month’s time, he was already at the end of his rope with this very unsatisfactory arrangement they had. He wanted her with him constantly, sleeping in his bed every single night, and was extremely displeased with this elaborate pretense they had to keep up.
Thank God there was a long weekend beginning tomorrow, when they would be spending some quality time together. Tomorrow, Friday was Valentine’s Day, and the President’s Day holiday three days later. Tessa was taking a vacation day tomorrow, but he had a morning meeting that would be impossible to re-schedule. But once the damned meeting was over he was whisking her off to the Gregson resort in Lake Tahoe for the holiday weekend – three and a half days of skiing, relaxation, and a whole lot of sex.
The phone calls and texts they’d exchanged since Monday morning weren’t nearly enough to make up for not having her in his arms, and he badly needed to see her alone, even for a few minutes. Ian realized this was uncharted territory for him – this almost stalker-like behavior he was engaging in – but he couldn’t help this obsession he felt for her. He was taking a risk, of course, with so many people in the office this morning, but he was more than ready to throw caution to the wind just for five minutes with her.
‘Jesus, mate, you’re acting like a thirteen year old schoolgirl,’ he chastised himself. ‘What the hell are you going to do when you’re away from her for two bloody weeks?’
Less than a week from now he had to fly to London for a mind-numbing series of board meetings and other matters that required his presence at worldwide headquarters. Under normal circumstances, he’d actually be looking forward to spending some time with his parents and brothers and the rest of his family. But the very thought of being away from Tessa for so long was eating away at him, and he honestly had no idea how he was going to bear the separation. If she hadn’t been so stubborn, she would have quit her job by now and be spending the full two weeks in England with him.
Splendor (Inevitable #2) Page 27