She turned and walked across the hallway. “Bedroom,” she said as she motioned for him to enter.
Her bedroom was a light blue with deeper blue and gray accents. She had a huge bed that was unmade, which made him smile, and her drapes were closed with what he guessed to be blackout blinds.
“Bathroom is through there.” She pointed to the open door.
Remy walked around the room, checking out the photos displayed on her chest of drawers. He could pick out a younger Hadley and Francesca sitting on the hood of a Firebird. Another was of a teenaged Francesca wearing a cap and gown flanked by Jimmy and a very attractive woman, who must be his wife, Rose.
Francesca sat on the edge of the bed. “Some of those are really old,” she told him.
He continued checking the mementos. There was a large framed color print of Francesca with her team dressed in driving suits resting against a race car. “Where was this taken?” She was leaning into Blade laughing.
“Las Vegas Speedway. Blade found a team-building program. We got to do laps.” She chuckled. “I think he just wanted an excuse to drive really fast.”
“You look like you were having fun,” he said, studying their smiling faces.
“We did. Of course, it turned into a huge competition between Hadley and Rico, but Blade beat us all.”
“They really care about you,” he said, stating the obvious.
“I think we care about each other. I was really lucky we came together like we did,” she said softly. She stretched out across the bottom of the bed.
He completed his circle of the room and saw that his bag was sitting in front of the closet doors. He glanced at Francesca, but her eyes were closed. “Babe, take off your clothes and go to sleep.”
She rolled onto her back and stretched. “I feel like I could sleep for days.” She sat up. “I need to text Rico about getting you a card. That way, if you want to come and go, you can.”
“That would be good.”
“I know that we should talk,” she said, tracing a design on the comforter while avoiding looking at him.
“You’re hurting and running on a few hours’ sleep. Nothing good will come of talking now. I’m tired too. My body hasn’t adjusted to the time change. Let’s get some sleep and see how the day plays out tomorrow.” He started to unbutton his shirt.
“I’ll probably sleep in, so if you want to go to the gym or anything, just leave a note. I feel like I’m being a terrible hostess.” She stood and moved to her closet.
“I arrived unannounced, so I should be apologizing.” He watched her move around the room.
She opened the door to the huge closet and turned on the light. “You can use the empty space in here.” She pointed out a section for hanging clothes and a built-in chest of four drawers.
“Mind if I unpack tomorrow?” He wanted to strip and hold Francesca in his arms.
“I’m so tired, you could march a band through, and I wouldn’t wake up.” She grabbed a t-shirt from a hook by the closet door and headed toward her bathroom.
He walked to her kitchen and found a bag of frozen corn in the freezer. There was a note hanging on the door, telling him that it was there with a list of all of their cell and office numbers. It was signed by Hadley.
He opened several drawers trying to find a kitchen towel to wrap around the cold plastic bag. He returned to find Francesca exiting the bathroom. “Here, put this on your cheek.”
“I don’t know if I can sleep with that on,” she said, eying it warily, but she took it.
He toed off his shoes and unbuttoned his jeans. “Then leave it on as long as you can. The swelling isn’t going down.” He continued to undress.
“I took a pain pill, so I’m sure I’ll be out all night.” She started to pull back the covers on the bed.
“You need rest. It will help you heal.” He walked around the bed and climbed in the other side. He laughed to himself. They already had assigned sides.
Francesca was lying on her back with the frozen bag on her cheek. “I sent a text to Rico. He’s going to shove your key under the door.” Francesca shifted closer to him. “If you’re up at eight, you can join him for a run.”
“I don’t know if I could keep up, and I’m not sure that I can handle coming in second.” Remy wrapped his arm around her.
“Should I be concerned about this bro-mance?”
He could hear the smile in her voice. “He’s a good guy, but I’m here for you.” He was on his side, and she shifted her ass closer to him. He thought she had fallen asleep when she slurred, “I’m glad you’re here.”
***
Remy opened his eyes and checked the bedside clock, it read 6:41. He knew he was up for the day. He slid out of bed and made sure that Francesca was covered and still asleep.
He snagged his jeans, and after closing the bedroom door, he pulled them on. He entered the kitchen, selected a coffee pod, then dropped it into the maker.
He’d left his phone in his jean’s pocket, so after a sip of the warm liquid he checked his screen.
He had two texts, one from Rico and another from a Las Vegas number. He worked through his e-mail, and then called Rico.
“Ochoa,” Rico answered.
“I’m up, but I don’t think I’m into a run.”
“Pussy. Meet us in the lobby at eight for breakfast. But whatever you do, don’t get into a car with Hads. She’s crazy behind the wheel.”
“Got it.” Then the call clicked off.
Not a big talker, Remy chuckled to himself. He scanned the room and noticed there was an envelope on the floor in front of the door.
Inside there was the black plastic key card and a complete map of The Red Rose.
He sat on a stool at the bar and reviewed the map, committing it to memory.
After he had returned from a breakfast with the members of Team 2, Remy had done some more exploring of the property and had lunch poolside. He returned to her apartment and was currently trying to stay quiet since Francesca was still sleeping.
She finally woke up at two. She padded to the living room. Her hair was a mess, and she was gently touching her bruised cheek. She’d thrown on a robe that had dogs dancing with one another all over it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep so late.”
He looked her up and down. “I’m sure you needed the sleep. Want something to drink?”
“I can get it,” she said and walked to the kitchen. “Need anything while I’m up?”
“No, I’m good.” He logged off his laptop and set it on the floor beneath the table.
She returned to her chair with a can of Diet Coke.
“Healthy breakfast,” he teased.
“Maybe not, but its caffeine. I think my brain’s groggy from the pain pill.” She looked at the can, and then took a drink.
“How long do you think it will take you to shower and pack for two nights?” He made sure the question came out casually, not filled with pressure or a demand.
She stopped staring at the can and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
He smiled at her. “I have a suite reserved for us at the Big River Resort, and I booked a spa day for you tomorrow.”
“Remy, you don’t have to do that. We have a spa here if I want anything.” She continued staring at him, finally lifting one side of her mouth in a half smile.
“I know that, but I also know you’re overworked and exhausted. I’m worried that the lure of being so close to your office means that, at some point, you are going to have to work.” He met her look and saw that she accepted that as the truth.
She started to speak, but then bit her lip and looked out the window.
Still angry at Francesca or not, Hadley had really come through for them. At breakfast, she’d presented her idea that they needed to get away. She had a connection at the resort, and when Remy called and dropped Hadley’s name, everything came together.
Rico, Hadley and Blade agreed it was only a matter of time before someone would call Francesca, a
nd she would be needed to solve a problem. According to Blade, Francesca would rather take on a task than assign it to another, and that was why she was doing the work of two people.
“I thought we could get there, grab some dinner, maybe check out the sunset.” He continued applying pressure.
Francesca answered softly. “I guess it would take me like an hour to be packed.”
“Good, want some company in the shower?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and chuckled. He wanted to touch her.
“Sounds good. I’m still a little stiff, so I might need some help washing my back.” She stood up and headed to the bedroom.
Their suite at the resort was gorgeous. They ate dinner on their private patio and watched the sun go down. When the breeze turned cool, Remy suggested they move into the living room.
Francesca had agreed and turned on the gas fireplace. She now sat curled into his side on the wide sectional sofa.
He hated to disrupt the quiet moment, but he had to know what was going on in her head. “Babe, are you ready to tell me what’s been going on with you?”
Her body tensed for a moment, but then he felt her let out a sigh.
She pulled away from him. She turned on her sofa cushion and folded her legs facing him. “You’ve been very patient.”
“You’ve been a little bit of a zombie since I got here,” he teased.
She smiled then turned serious. “I keep screwing everything up.”
He absorbed her words. “No, you keep thinking that you’re screwing things up. You’re looking for things, and then assuming the blame. Then you use it to go silent.”
She did a quick intake of breath. They both knew what he said was true. “I’m not very good at this relationship thing.” She looked away.
This was an opening he’d been looking for. He laid his hand on her knee. “Frankie, I don’t want to know the whole story with your first husband, but Jesus Christ, you sure got head-fucked by him.” His voice was angry. “Things went bad between the two of you, and you think it was because you worked too much. He had a voice. He should have talked to you when it became a problem. He should have been supportive of you and your career. You’re helping run a multi-billion dollar corporation and being micro-managed by your father. When things got rough, he should have been up front with you and Jimmy. You needed him to have your back.”
She started to interrupt, but he squeezed her knee to silence her.
“I get the feeling he dumped a lot of the blame on you, and you took it. This is what I’ve seen since we’ve been together.” He paused to make sure she was still with him. He purposely softened his tone before he continued. “I’ve listened to you admit you’re doing too much, but that doesn’t make you change. I’m starting to think you may never be able to change.”
He heard her breath hitch, and there were tears in her eyes.
He rushed to continue before she would misinterpret. “Francesca, if that’s the way it’s going to be, then I’m gonna do my best to work with it, not against it.”
She wiped her eyes quickly, and he read a look of hope in her brown depths.
“What I can’t work with is when you turn silent.” He paused to let that sink in. “I can’t read your mind, babe. I need to know that you understand I need to hear what’s troubling you.”
“I can try to do that,” she promised.
“See? Our first problem solved. Now, I want you to talk to me about the night with Trevor.”
She looked down at the hands knotted in her lap. “It might not make sense.”
“Here’s the deal. Tell me what you’re thinking, and we can try to make sense of it together.” He ran his hand over her thigh then gave her a squeeze.
She licked her bottom lip. “I wanted that night. I like Trevor a lot. He’s handsome and smart. Plus, he’s sweet, or at least he is to me. I was into, uhm, the stuff going on.”
Remy nodded. “We were into it, too. You were so hot Francesca, I get hard just thinking about it.” His voice had gone deeper.
“When we were resting, I started thinking about what it meant that you would give me that fantasy. I know that you liked it, but I also saw something in your eyes, something like...possessiveness. It had to be hard for you, to watch me with another guy...”
“I am possessive. That’s why I said it would be a one-time thing,” he reminded her.
“At that moment, I realized I loved you so much for everything that you give me, and you give me a lot.” She looked down and started playing with her rings. “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, even better than Jimmy and Rose adopting me.”
“Babe,” he whispered and pulled her across his lap. He held her against his chest.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things that I could do wrong and drive you away. I make—” She drew a shuddering breath. “I make a lot of mistakes. I’m not used to thinking about how my actions affect another.” She rested her bruised face against his chest.
He waited for her to continue.
“After that realization, I didn’t want Trevor to touch me. I only want you to touch me. I handled things wrong. I was so stupid. I made everyone mad.”
“You didn’t make anyone mad, but you scared the shit out of us. Trevor really cares for you, and he’s still torn up thinking that he somehow hurt you. I didn’t know what to do, if I needed to kick his ass or take you to a doctor. You kept saying that you weren’t hurting, but you cried for an hour.”
She rested her head on his bicep. “I need to apologize to him. I don’t like the thought that he’s still worried. I panicked because I couldn’t remember the safe word, and then it all just became too much.”
“You can call him later.” Remy didn’t want to stop the momentum of Francesca opening up.
“I woke up and kept thinking about everything. Everything that I’d screwed up, and all that I can in the future. I decided that I should just stick to my work.” She looked at him and frowned.
“You thought that I would just go away? That I wouldn’t fly out here and confront your ass? Babe, you don’t have a lot of faith in me, do you?” He shook his head at her.
She sighed. “I thought that for about a day, then I spent some more time beating myself up, but by then, I didn’t know how to reverse it all.” She rolled her eyes and gave a shrug. “I was secretly hoping you would get on a plane.” She smiled weakly. “That you would fight for us.”
He chuckled, “I knew my girl had faith in us.” He kissed her neck, nibbling on it gently. “I can see that I’m going to have to work hard to prove that everything isn’t your fault.”
She raised her head with a defensive look in her eyes.
He quickly continued. “Silence.” He touched his finger to her lips. “I’m going to tell you what I want, what I want to see happen with us.” He waited for her to nod.
She did, but her eyes were wary.
“I’m going to propose to you, and you’re going to accept. We’re going to discuss your job and the hours that you work. Then we’re going to talk about my work opportunities, and how they’ll fit with yours. After that, we’re going to have a meeting with your team, and then another with Jimmy. There, you’re going to lay it out for him. Then you’re going to take some days off, and we’re going to look for a house. Something far enough away from The Red Rose that they don’t think to call you in for every blip on the radar. We should keep your apartment, but I want us to have a home.”
“Can I get a dog?” There was so much yearning in her voice that it hurt his heart. She dropped her gaze, like she dreaded his negative answer.
“Babe, we can get two dogs, if that will make you happy and make you want to come home to me.” He kissed her again. “You’ve got good people on your team, Frankie. They’re excellent at their jobs, and even more, they care about you, and they want to do better because of that. Let them do their work. You’ve trained them, monitored them, now let them go. Right there, your load will be cut by a shit ton.
” Rico had told him this, and after watching the group dynamic during the meeting yesterday, he had to agree.
“I can try to do that,” she said. When Remy continued to stare at her, she frowned but added, “Okay, I will do that.”
“Most of all, I want us to be a unit. I want to be there for you—when things are good and when they suck. You need to do the same for me. I love you, Francesca. You’re everything to me. Can you tell me the same?”
His brows had drawn together and his jaw was closed so tightly he felt his molars grind together as he waited for her response.
“Yes, yes I can. I love you with all my heart. I want all of this with you.” She kissed him.
He believed her.
“Are you going to be happy living out here?” She looked like she was holding her breath waiting for his answer.
“Babe, you’re here, and I’m going to be wherever you are.”
She still looked troubled.
He waited for her to share.
“Do you want kids?” Her voice cracked.
“With you? Sure, if you do, but that isn’t a deal breaker. I want a life with you and whatever it entails.”
“I’m not sure what kind of mother I would make.”
He thought maybe she’d worried over that a lot because she said it so quietly. “I’m guessing the same kind of mother as you are a friend—protective, loyal, and demanding. If we decide to try to have a baby, we’ll figure it all out. I can cut back on work and be Mr. Mom.”
She laughed loudly. “I don’t know if I can visualize that.”
“Or you can cut back on work, too, and we can raise a great kid or three. What I’m saying Frankie is that, together, we can figure this shit out.” He watched that sink in. “Okay?”
She nodded and then met his gaze. “Okay.”
“Now, can I take you to bed?”
“Yeah, that would be good.” Her laugh echoed as he carried her to the bed.
Chapter Fourteen
“Babe, watch where you’re going.” Remy was holding onto the door handle of Francesca’s BMW. She had nearly rear-ended the car in front of her.
All In (Casino Nights #2) Page 18