Forever Your Heart

by Mary Whitney

  Panic came over me as I realized that I needed to set things straight with her and I needed to do it quickly. But when? And what on earth would I say?

  Chapter Four

  ON SATURDAY NIGHT, fate must have been at work, because I got my chance. David had taken a late flight from New York that evening. The reason for the trip, a meeting with the SEC, wasn’t until Monday, but he’d flown in early for a football match. Sometimes we played five-a-side on Sunday afternoons. The matches were great fun—as long as David didn’t have a hangover and play like shit or get in a fight because he’d hit on someone’s girlfriend.

  The prospects of a Sunday morning hangover for David were high that night when he demanded that we go out for tapas. His favorite tapas place was a restaurant in Adams Morgan that had plenty of black-haired beauties who went there for the dancing. Neither one of us could dance a salsa to save our lives, but we made the most of the bar.

  When we walked in, the place was crowded, and the music loud. I ignored the dance floor at the back and instead scoped out the bar to see if we could find a seat. I was about to nudge David over to an open spot when I heard him say, “Well, it’s been a long time, but I’d say that’s your bird.”

  “What?”

  “Over there. Dancing. With that short-arse.”

  As soon as I focused on the dance floor, I saw Nicki. There she was, in a slinky green dress, dancing with Juan Carlos fucking Jimenez. They were laughing as he spun her back and forth in his arms. Her dress clung to her body, showing it off nicely. When they switched to moving their hips together, Juan Carlos looked straight down at her pelvis with a leer. There was no doubt about it. The man was thinking about having sex with her, and I wanted to kill him.

  “Those are some nice moves she has. I like the hip action.” David chuckled. “Looks like her partner is thinking the same thing as me. Got some competition there, Adam.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Motioning to the dance floor, David retorted, “No. Fuck her. Before he does.”

  “He already has,” I said, feeling the heat rise on the back of my neck. “That’s her boyfriend, Juan Carlos.” I hated saying the words. Watching Nicki act so happy and carefree with him made it even worse.

  “Juan Carlos. Huh.” Never afraid to size up the competition, David gave an appraisal. “He’s a handsome son of a bitch. Still short, though.”

  “So is she.”

  “But you said that Nicki’s keeping everything about you two quiet, right?”

  “Yes, for the most part. But she told him.”

  “Doubtful she shared everything. And a bloke like that wouldn’t feel threatened by a childhood boyfriend. That’s good. Work it to your advantage. You’ve gotta get in there, mate. Dance with her.”

  “Salsa? Are you kidding me?”

  “Wait for something slow.” David shook his head disapprovingly. “It’s a miracle you ever had a shag without me.” Then he snickered. “Though it’s been a while…”

  That deserved a slug in the arm, but the music changed to something softer, and David patted my back. “Sorry, cuz. Forget about what I said. It’s time to make your move.”

  At once, I looked over to Nicki. Overheated from the dancing, she fanned herself and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Juan Carlos had his goddamn hand on the small of her back. It appeared that he was asking to dance again, but she shook her head no.

  “Now’s your chance.” David nudged me forward. “Don’t worry. I’ll cover you.”

  I nodded even though I wasn’t certain what he meant or what I was about to do. Yet I quickly walked over to Nicki and Juan Carlos as they started to move off the dance floor. Maneuvering myself directly in front of them, I first smiled at Nicki, whose mouth had gaped open.

  “Hello,” I said to her. I turned to Juan Carlos and offered my hand. “Adam Kincaid. You’re Juan Carlos Jimenez, correct?”

  “Yes,” he replied in his deep, slightly accented voice. He shook my hand. “It’s nice to meet you. The BBC, right? I’ve seen you before.”

  “Yes, I’m with the BBC.”

  “I believe you and Nicki know each other,” he said, touching her protectively. So much for not feeling threatened. I already didn’t like the guy, but I had to admit he was perceptive.

  Nicki was once again struck with that same furtive, lying look, only this time she seemed bewildered. I took that as a very good sign and tried to calm her by repeating our downplayed truth. “Yes, we’ve known each other for a while.”

  She smiled at that, though she still seemed anxious. “Hi, Adam.”

  I grinned, and with all the courtesy I could find, I asked Juan Carlos, “Do you mind if I have a quick dance?”

  Old JC narrowed his eyes like he was sizing me up. Would he sniff out that I was up to no good? Even if he did, he probably knew better than to say no and look like a paranoid, possessive arse. Eventually, he shrugged and turned again to her. “Nicki?”

  Not breaking her smile, she was nonchalant. “Sure.” She pointed over at a corner and told him, “I’ll meet you back at the table in a minute.”

  Juan Carlos gave her hand a quick squeeze but must’ve decided there was nothing wrong, because he patted my arm. “Join us when you’re done.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’ll do that.”

  As he walked away, I gently took Nicki’s hand and pulled her into my arms. The look on her face was priceless. At that moment, there was no veneer at all. She was all shock.

  The music was a slow, romantic song, so the dancing was easy. I greeted her with all the warmth I felt. “How are you?”

  “Good. Who are you here with?”

  “David. I’m sure he’d like to talk to you.”

  “Of course. David,” she said under her breath as if her night was getting worse.

  “He’s in town for a meeting at the SEC on Monday.”

  “Where are you two sitting?”

  Scanning the room, I soon spotted him at the table in the corner with Juan Carlos and a large group. Ever my wingman, David was already sitting with them, right next to a beautiful black woman. I hadn’t seen her for ten years, but she had to be Nicki’s friend Lisa. She was looking directly at me but then snapped her head to glare at David, who’d just stretched his arm onto the back of her seat.

  I raised my eyebrows. “It looks like we’re sitting with you now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “David appears to have joined your table.”

  “What?” Nicki tried to look around, but she was too small and there were too many people dancing around us for her to see. A short and seated Juan Carlos likely couldn’t see us either. I liked that.

  “He’s sitting next to Lisa. I apologize in advance if he makes a pass at her.”

  “Are you crazy? That’s the last thing I’m worried about. What is he going to say?” Then she shook her head at herself. “What is she going to say? Oh my God.”

  “Don’t worry. David won’t cause a scene. He’s got things under control.” I looked back to where he was holding court with the table. Everyone appeared to be having a good time—except for Lisa. She surveyed everything going on around her as if on guard, probably because David hadn’t removed his arm from her chair. I reassured Nicki. “He’ll take care of Lisa. I’m sure he’s laying on the Cockney charm and everyone’s getting on just fine. I see Juan Carlos is laughing.”

  Nicki gave a quick smile and then withdrew it in silence. The quiet built up between us, and I was about to make a comment about the weather when she smiled again and announced the obvious. “We’re dancing.”

  “Yes, we are.” I took a breath before reaching into our past. “I don’t believe we ever did that.”

  “I don’t think so either.” She actually giggled.

  I arched a brow, suggesting all the things we did do together. She immediately looked down. “Nicki, you’re blushing. I think I know why.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re thinking what
I’m thinking.”

  The redness didn’t leave her cheeks, but she sighed as if in surrender. “In an effort to keep things from being awkward between us, I’ll say those were fun times.”

  “I thought so.” I waited a few beats before I splayed my hand across her back, trying to tell her that it had been more than just fun for me.

  It worked. Her smile vanished, and her gaze intensified. When her lips parted, I was overcome. In any other place, at any other time, I’d lean down and kiss the gorgeous woman in my arms. I swore she was asking for it, but I couldn’t do it.

  As if on cue, the song ended. Nicki looked like she’d been saved by the bell and mumbled, “I should get back. Thanks for the dance.”

  I wasn’t about to let her go. The DJ segued into another slow song, so I demanded, “I think I get another dance since I only got half of the last one.”

  The same stunned look as when we’d first started dancing came across her face, but she didn’t walk away. Instead she begged breathlessly, “Adam, what are you doing?”

  “To be quite honest, I’m not sure.”

  “Why did you take the White House job?”

  “Why do you think?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t tell.”

  I’d been right. I’d given her mixed messages—some of them intentionally, some not—and there was one I needed to dispel immediately. “For the record, it definitely wasn’t because I thought I might get some kind of special access to the Logan administration because of you.”

  “That thought really never entered my mind.” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t do something like that.”

  “You know me well.” Emboldened, I pulled her closer to me, enough that I felt her heart beating double-time.

  At once, she jerked back. She seemed fearful and swallowed hard. “I have a boyfriend. Here. In this room.”

  “I know.” Silence and reality loomed. Looking for a way out, I said, “Yet surely we could be friends again.”

  “We were never just friends.”

  With those few words, the emotions of sixteen years ago surfaced. I felt them all once more and tried to work through what was then and what was now. “No…we weren’t, but we could give it a try.”

  Not giving me an answer one way or another, she announced, “I should go back.”

  Her hand dropped from mine, and she walked with determination to the table. I followed and cringed when I saw Juan Carlos’s smile as she took her seat next to him. Luckily for me, David was going full throttle as I sat in a chair beside him. He was in the middle of a story, and no one was minding Nicki’s and my arrival. Or so I’d thought until I spotted Lisa, who gave me a most suspicious look.

  After he finished his story, David smoothly introduced me to her. “Adam, Dr. Lisa Roberts. You remember her, don’t you?”

  How she reacted to this charade would be interesting. I was friendly. “Hello, Lisa. I believe I last saw you in London.”

  She practically rolled her eyes in disdain. “Hello. It’s been a while.” Then she stared at Nicki with a clear what-the-fuck-is-going-on expression.

  Nicki looked uneasy and took a gulp of sangria.

  A Hill staffer next to me introduced himself just then, and apparently seeing an opportunity, David moved his body just a tad to cut me out of further conversation with Lisa. I wasn’t offended; David obviously wanted to pursue her, and his effort was amusing if a little nauseating.

  “You know, Lisa,” I overheard David say, “you’re beautiful—like a Nubian princess.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “Not at all.”

  “Do you even know where Nubia is?”

  “Africa, I suppose.”

  “You say it like it’s a small place. Africa is a friggin’ continent.”

  “What does it matter? It’s a compliment, princess.”

  “Princess? I bet that’s something you call all your women.”

  “Only if they’re gorgeous like you.”

  “And the black ones are Nubian princesses?”

  “Not all of them. You’re special.”

  I stopped listening when the young staffer started lobbying me to do a story about his incredibly boring boss. Matters only became worse when a friend of Juan Carlos’s sat between us. Bursting out of a tight red dress, Maria Ines had great tits, which I did my level best to completely ignore as she purred to me in her thick Columbian accent. The problem with not looking downward was that I had to look her in the eye, and she eye-fucked me the entire time. I got so annoyed with her that I paid more attention to the staffer. That led to actually agreeing to include the dull senator in a piece I was doing on the new Congress. It was a small price to pay to keep Maria from thinking I had any intentions toward her. She was pretty, but my mind was elsewhere.

  Sadly, Nicki didn’t look at me for the rest of the night. I took some comfort, however, from seeing that she didn’t talk much to anyone. There were a lot of people at the table, and Juan Carlos, who had a big personality for such a little guy, talked with everyone. He would speak to Nicki in Spanish occasionally, which drove me insane with curiosity. I wanted to think she only gave him short, polite replies, but I had no way of knowing.

  When it got close to two in the morning, I started to feel sick. It was coming to the end of the night when Nicki would most likely go home with Juan Carlos. I didn’t want to stick around for that. I nudged David, and he nodded. Overhearing him ask for Lisa’s phone number, I craned my neck to see her response.

  David must’ve made some headway because she looked like she was debating her answer. When she saw me, she yawned before saying, “Adam is a reporter. He should be able to track it down.”

  “Still playing hard to get?” David smiled.

  “Oh, I’m not playing at all,” she answered. “I am hard to get, especially for you.”

  Leaning over, he pecked her cheek. It was good that he then got up quickly—she looked like she was going to deck him.

  As we said our farewells, everyone was polite. Maria gave me one last leering look, and the staffer gave me his card. Since he’d been the hit of the party, David got more than one invitation to come back another night, which made Lisa sneer at Nicki like it was all her fault.

  When Juan Carlos and I shook hands goodbye, he was perfectly congenial with me. He wasn’t properly minding his date, though. He missed it as Nicki barely acknowledged me. I said to her, “Good night, Nicki. I suppose I’ll see you on Monday.”

  She smiled but looked askance. “Yes. Monday. Good night.”

  I uneasily walked toward the restaurant exit, not knowing what the night had meant. Hoping I might get a clue, when we got to the door, I snuck a peek back at the table we’d just left.

  There was Nicki, looking straight back at me.

  Chapter Five

  WHAT MADE ME PULL BACK, I didn’t know. Yet from the moment I had left the restaurant that night, I sensed I should give Nicki some space, and I really needed to sort out what in the world I was doing as well. It was all too much too soon, so I retreated. For weeks, I still saw her every day at work, but I was simply cordial with her. Though I thought about her all the time, I didn’t seek her out. I had barged into Nicki’s life, and it was unclear if I was welcome.

  Late one evening, I was watching a football match that I’d recorded earlier. When my mobile rang and I saw it was my sister, I paused the program. “I’m watching football. Is it about Dad?”

  “No, it’s not about Daddy, and you can stop your bloody match for a moment. It’s not like it’s live.”

  “Well, what do you want then?”

  “What are you up to this weekend?”

  “Not much. I need to do some research for work, and I was hoping to play football on Sunday, but it looks like it might snow. What’s up?”

  “I’ve got a trip to DC for work. I just want to make sure I can stay with you. David won’t be there, right?”

  “No. I think he’s in Singapore.”
/>   “And no Felicity either?”

  “You know she’s rarely in the States.”

  “Good. I still don’t know what you see in her.”

  “Well, right now I’m not seeing much of her. We live in different countries.”

  “Are you dating anyone else?”

  “Not at the moment.” I sneered at the wall. “Anyway, what does this have to do with you coming to visit? Yes, you can stay here. Is that all?”

  “It was just a question…you’re so touchy sometimes. But thanks for letting me crash with you.”

  “Can I get back to my match now?”

  “No. I have one more question.”

  “What?”

  “I’m sure you have Nicki’s number by now. May I have it? I’d like to see her when I come down.”

  “Really?” I was intrigued. Sylvia knew that I was still interested in Nicki. How couldn’t she when I’d begged her for any scraps of information about the woman for the last decade and a half? I still didn’t tell my sister everything, though. It was far too embarrassing. “You want to see her?”

  “Yes. I thought we might have brunch.”

  “What are you going to say?” I slapped my forehead for sounding like a fourteen-year-old boy.

  “Blimey! I think I can fill the conversation without talking about you, though I know what I should say.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That you’re still the same sweet but cowardly boy she knew in secondary school.”

  “I’m not a coward.”

  “Oh yes, you are. She’s been in Washington for months now, and you still haven’t gone out.”

  I straightened my back as my voice rose. “Our jobs won’t allow it. Not to mention she has a bloke, even if he is a short-arse.”

  “He’s short? What does it matter if he’s short?”

  “Oh, nothing.” I wasn’t about to tell her the universal truth that tall men considered short men slightly inferior. It may have been irrational, but it was instinctual.

  “Regardless, those are excuses.”

  “And then there’s Felicity.”

  “Admit it, Adam. You don’t want Felicity. You just like having her around.”