How could she look at him now and pretend that they’d simply had a casual encounter and she was ready to go back to living as if they weren’t tied together anymore?
She glanced over her shoulder again, hoping to see Bradley coming her way. When she didn’t see him and heard an impatient driver yelling for her to get in the taxi or move, Jansen hopped into the cab and dropped her head, disappointed in her actions and Bradley’s inaction.
* * *
Bradley made it to the taxi stand in time to see Jansen’s cab pulling away. “Shit,” he muttered.
“Monsieur?” the taxi-stand manager said.
“Nothing,” Bradley replied. “Do you know where that lady is heading?”
The manager folded his arms across his chest. “Lady troubles? She left you?”
Bradley nodded. “I just need to return her diamond bracelet,” he said. “She’s friends with my sister, who’s getting married in a few days.”
The man eyed Bradley suspiciously. “Honest,” Bradley replied. “My sister is going to kill me if she doesn’t show up to the wedding with that bracelet.”
He nodded in agreement with Bradley. “Women and weddings. They should focus on the marriage.”
“Preaching to the choir. So, where’s that taxi going?”
“Hotel Molitor.”
Bradley reached into his pocket and handed the manager a wad of cash. “That’s where I need to go.”
The manager waved for the driver of the taxi that was next in line to take a group of passengers to the airport to drive Bradley where he needed to go first.
As he rode to the hotel, Bradley wondered if Jansen had meant what she said. Closure. Not on her life. That meant the end. Today was only the beginning.
“I’m not going to let her little tantrum stand,” he muttered as the taxi pulled in front of the hotel. Though he knew tipping Paris taxi drivers wasn’t a requirement like in the States, he handed the driver a couple of euros as he exited the car. When he walked into the lobby, he saw Jansen stepping into the elevator.
Sprinting toward her, he placed his foot in the door, preventing the elevator from closing. “Jansen,” he said breathlessly. “I hope you didn’t think we were done.”
Shock clouded her face. “How did you...”
“Jansen, the last time you walked out on me I sat there. I knew you were coming back. You didn’t. So, I would’ve been insane to let it happen again.”
“Why don’t we be honest with ourselves? We had a need and a desire, we satisfied it and it’s over and done with.”
He squeezed into the elevator and drew her into his arms. “That’s a lie and you know it. Nothing is over between us.”
“Let me go,” she said, her voice a near moan. The last thing she wanted was for him to let her go. She wanted to melt with him, to be his again. But her heart wasn’t ready to take a chance on Bradley again. Not when she wasn’t sure if what they shared in his hotel room meant as much to him as it did to her. She had made love to Bradley with her entire soul, and if he felt anything less than that, she wouldn’t be able to handle the devastation.
He pulled her closer, brushed his lips across hers and stared into her eyes. “I feel your heart racing,” he whispered. “It matches mine. We’re not over.”
“Bradley, let me—” He brought his mouth down on top of hers, kissing away any protest she’d been trying to mount. She lost herself in the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jansen moaned and wished they weren’t in a camera-filled elevator.
“Still want me to let you go?” he whispered when they broke the kiss. “Still think we’re done?”
“I—I...” The doors of the elevator opened and Jansen looked at the floor number. “This is my stop.”
“All right, let’s finish this in your room...”
“Jansen!” a young woman called out. “Where have you... Oh. Hello,” she said when she looked at Bradley. “No wonder you forgot your fitting is in an hour.”
“Shit,” Jansen muttered. “I can’t believe I booked the fitting at the same time I was supposed to be at Shelby’s brunch.”
“And,” the woman continued with a smile, “Donovan’s so excited about the wedding dress.”
Bradley blanched. “Wedding dress?” he questioned. “I thought you said you weren’t engaged?”
“We’re going to have to talk about this later,” she said. “I have to go. Dove, do you have the address?”
“Yes, and I called a car service for you. The driver should be waiting.” She looked at Bradley, clearly still trying to figure out the weird energy between the two of them.
“Bradley, I’ll stop by your hotel when I’m done.”
“When you’re done getting fitted for your wedding dress, you expect me to sit around and wait for you?”
Dove tapped her watch. “Jansen, we have to go.” Jansen turned to Bradley.
“I’m sorry,” she said, then she and Dove took off down the hall.
Bradley stood there simmering in anger. So, Jansen was that girl now? A lying cheater? Maybe she wasn’t the same Jansen Douglas he’d fallen in love with in Atlanta.
His Jansen wouldn’t have lied about a fiancé and made love to him while promised to another man. Then again, if she was able make love to him the way she did, pouring out every emotion into that bed, then she didn’t love this man she was pretending to marry. “Why is she doing this?” he wondered aloud as he finally headed to the elevator.
Had she changed that much? Shaking his head, he wasn’t ready to believe that. Heading back to his hotel, Bradley knew one thing for sure, he had to get to the bottom of Jansen’s so-called relationship.
Chapter 9
“Who was the hottie in the hotel?” Dove asked for the third time as she and Jansen walked into the salon where Donovan had set up shop.
“What part of I don’t want to talk about it don’t you understand?” Jansen snarled.
Dove threw her hands up. “All right, but this is so not like you. He must be someone pretty important.”
Jansen stopped in the middle of the doorway and glared at her assistant. “Since you want to get all up in my personal business, why don’t you tell me about you and Donovan.”
Dove’s face turned a deep shade of red. “Um, I...”
“Glad you ladies could join me,” Donovan said as he walked into the salon. Jansen didn’t miss the wink between him and Dove, but she didn’t want to say anything because that would open up a path to more questions about Bradley.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said.
“No problem, it’s Paris and a beautiful day. I was almost late myself,” Donovan said, then ushered her over to the fitting area. “I had to finish this, though.” He nodded toward the ivory gown hanging on a mannequin. Jansen’s breath caught in her chest at the beauty of the lace-and-silk dress. Strapless with a heart-shaped neckline, crystals weaved into the bodice making the dress look as if it had been frozen. An ice princess bride. It was beyond a fairy-tale dress, it was fit for a queen and Jansen couldn’t wait to put it on.
“You’ve truly outdone yourself,” she said in admiration.
“I won’t know that until you put it on. I made this with your measurements and figure in mind,” he said as he cautiously removed the dress from the mannequin.
Jansen started to strip out of her dress, then she remembered she wasn’t wearing underwear. Donovan pointed toward the dressing room. Jansen rushed in and stripped down so that she could put the dress on. She was careful not to cause any of the crystals to fall off. When she finally had the dress on, she spun around and felt like a princess.
“Come out, let’s see it!” Dove called out.
Jansen pulled the curtain back and strutted out. “Woo,” Dove exclaimed. “You and that dress are meant for each other. Somebody call a
preacher.”
“Come over here into the light,” Donovan said, motioning toward the open space in front of the wide windows. “Yes.” He held Jansen out an arm’s length away. “Breathtaking. You’re the showstopper.”
She smiled broadly then turned toward the window and saw Shelby, Bradley and Jacques looking inside at them.
* * *
Bradley’s jaw dropped as he drank in Jansen’s image in that wedding dress.
“Oh, my God,” Shelby said. “Is that Jansen? Is this why she skipped my brunch? That dress is everything, though.”
“I have to go,” Bradley said as he took a fleeting look at his woman standing there in a wedding dress in the arms of another man.
“No,” Shelby said, grabbing his arm. “You can’t run...”
“I’m not running, but I’m not about to stand here and look at that.”
“You know what, Bradley. Maybe you deserve this, deserve to see her happy because you let her walk out of your life and have done nothing to make up for it. Was she supposed to wait for you forever?”
“Did I say that?” Bradley snapped, feeling the punch of his sister’s words. Maybe he’d expected Jansen to wait because he had. He knew he would never love another woman the way he loved her.
“Let’s go, Jacques,” Shelby said, linking arms with her fiancé. “And tell Jansen that I’m still salty about her absence at my brunch.” Then she turned back and glanced at her brother. “Until she has a wedding ring on her finger, it’s not too late to do something.”
Bradley stood there and locked eyes with Jansen as she turned toward the window. Did she really lie to him about getting married? He damn sure was about to find out.
* * *
Jansen was transfixed by Bradley’s stare from the other side of the window. What was he doing there? How had he found her? Was it fate?
“There he is again,” Dove said. “What’s the deal, Jansen?”
Just as she was about to open her mouth, the door opened and Bradley walked in. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful bride,” he said. “Although, I’m a bit confused.”
“How—what are you doing here?” Jansen asked.
Bradley smiled. “It just so happens that Shelby and her fiancé wanted to take me sightseeing and I saw you standing in this window. I guess the rumors are true,” he said as he walked over to her. “And you lied to me. I can’t believe you’re that woman now.”
“What?” Donovan said.
“Can we have a moment?” Jansen said, turning to Dove and Donovan. Her face burned with anger at Bradley’s accusation.
“Sure, but can you take the dress off first?” Donovan said, throwing his hands up.
Jansen nodded and slipped into the dressing room. As she removed the dress, she heard Dove pressing Bradley for information.
“How do you and Jansen know each other?” her assistant asked.
“We go way back,” he said.
“Are you stalking her?”
Jansen pulled on her dress and headed out into the salon. “Dove, it’s all right. Bradley’s Shelby’s brother and he’s not a stalker. He’s safe.” Except where my heart is concerned.
“I’m just looking out for you, boss lady. Donovan and I are going to go for croissants now. That place around the corner that we passed on the way in.” She linked arms with the designer and they headed out the door, leaving Bradley with a confused look on his face.
“So, he’s truly not your fiancé?” Bradley asked, feeling like the biggest fool in France.
Jansen speared him with an angry stare. “Do you really think I would’ve made love to you if I was getting married? Oh, but I’m that woman now. If that’s what you really think about me, why are you here?”
“What was I supposed to think when I walk by and see—”
“I’m a model, I wear wedding dresses all the damn time. I work with a lot of designers who actually like—no, love—the way I look in their clothes. Some of them are men, and, yes, some of them will hug me.”
“I’m sorry, Jansen,” he said, drawing her into his arms. “But after all the press about you two and then seeing you in his arms...”
“Shut up! I can’t believe you,” Jansen said. “I’m not going to play this game with you. If you loved me, then you should’ve let me know a long time ago.” Tearing away from him, Jansen turned her back to him and let her tears fall.
“Where do we go from here?” he asked.
“You think I’m a liar and the worst kind of woman. So, why the hell would you want a future with me?” she asked without turning around. She was afraid that if he looked into her eyes, he’d know she was lying. That she was simply allowing her pride to speak for her. “After Shelby’s wedding, we can just go back to the way things were. You live your life and I live mine.”
“That doesn’t work for me.”
“It’s not always about what you want. Then again, that’s why we’re not together.”
“I was wrong! I see that now and I can admit it. I’m sorry. But I’m not going to pretend that I don’t love you and want you in my life again. You can lie to yourself, Jansen, but don’t lie to me. You still love me and there’s no way that either of us can pretend that we don’t deserve another chance to be happy—together.”
“There you go calling me a liar again,” she said. “I’m not going to change to fit into the mold that you have for your life partner. We’re different people now. I’m about growth and teaching other women that they don’t have to give their power away. I’m not about to go back to supporting your dreams while mine fall to the wayside.”
“I’m not asking you to do that. And while I see that you have grown into a phenomenal woman, at the end of the day, we’re still the same people who shared my mother’s lasagna and fell in love.”
She turned and faced him. “No, we’re not, Bradley. My career, my future, it matters to me. Can you say the same? Do you still think that this was some act of frivolity I engaged in because I was bored at the family-life center?”
“No. Jansen, I know I was wrong and I want you to—”
“I can’t do this. I can’t pretend we have a future when you haven’t given me a reason to believe you’re different. My life’s in New York and you’re still living your life in Atlanta. We missed our chance and it’s time to put the past behind us.”
“We can put the past behind us. But I’m not writing off our future.”
Jansen looked into his eyes and wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms and tell him how much she’d dreamed of a future with him. But she couldn’t. And there was her business to think about.
“Come back to me, Jansen,” Bradley whispered.
“Are you going to stand by me and support my dreams now?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Why do you keep expecting the worst from me?” he asked.
“That’s what you gave me and I’m not setting myself up for a repeat performance!” She pounded her fist against his chest, her tears free-falling.
Bradley grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer to him. He captured her mouth in a slow kiss; her sweetness mixed with salty tears nearly brought him to his knees. He didn’t know he’d hurt her this much. Bradley didn’t care if it took the rest of his life, he was going to make it up to her.
“Jansen,” he moaned when they broke the kiss. “I’ll never hurt you again.”
“My life is in New York. I’m not...”
“I want to be wherever you are, New York, Atlanta, Paris, just say where.”
She shook her head. “What about the center? And don’t tell me you can give it up, because I know how hard you fought to keep it open.”
“I never said I’d give it up. But who says I can’t have both?”
She nodded. “I’ve always been proud of the work you do there. And—”
“I wanted you by my side. I just went about it the wrong way. But after the fight with Kenyon and Shelby, I needed someone on my side. I thought it was going to be you. In that moment when you were about to start your journey, I was lost. Jansen, I need you. I need you more than you will ever know.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me that then?”
“Would you have stayed?”
She dropped her head, not knowing how to answer that question. If Bradley had asked her to stay in Atlanta that day, would she have been able to do it? Jansen raised her head and looked at him. “Maybe. If you needed me that much, maybe I would’ve stayed.”
“And given up something that’s obviously important to you? Look at what your career has led to. And you’ve given a voice to so many faceless victims of violence.”
“You thought I was just going to get caught up in the glitz and glamour and forget about the victims we were charged with helping,” she said, echoing part of what he’d said in their argument that day.
“I was wrong—about so many things. I get that now, and I know I can’t make up for the past, but we can have a better future, Jansen.”
She stroked her forehead. “Why did it take all of this, all of these years for you to say what I needed to hear then?”
“I know. We should be celebrating our anniversary instead of having this awkwardness between us.”
She pushed out of his embrace. “It’s been fun reminiscing with you, but I have to go.” Dashing out of the salon, Jansen caught up with Donovan and Dove at a sidewalk café.
“Everything all right?” Dove asked when Jansen stopped in front of the table. Jansen shook her head and took an empty seat beside Dove.
“Donovan,” she asked. “When’s your fashion show?”
“It’s been pushed back about a week. What’s wrong, and don’t say nothing, because you’re frowning and models don’t frown. Especially not you.”
“I have to get away. I promised that I’d do the show, but I can’t stay here.”
Dove and Donovan exchanged glances. “Is this about Mr. Hottie, who’s coming this way right now?” Dove asked as she looked over Jansen’s shoulder.
Blissful Summer: Make You Mine AgainUnraveled Page 7