“Thanks.” I followed him up the flight of stairs and down a hallway. He gave a running narration of everything we passed, but I was too nervous to concentrate on a word he said.
He stopped in front of a door and knocked. I assumed it was Colin’s office.
“Look who I found in the lobby?”
Colin glanced at the doorway. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up. He came around his desk to meet me. “Maddy? What are you doing here?”
“Is this a bad time? I just thought I’d drop something off for you.”
“Colin was about to take his lunch break, weren’t you?” Martin waved before leaving and closing the door behind him.
“There’s never a bad time for you to visit.” He backed me up to his desk.
“I brought you lunch.”
“Thanks, I’ll get to that later.” He placed a hand on either side of me.
“Later? What are you doing now?”
“Enjoying seeing my girlfriend for the first time all week. You haven’t stayed over at all.” His little whine would have normally annoyed me, but his lids were heavy, and I knew exactly what he’d been missing. I’d missed it too.
“It’s silly for you to pick me up after work. You only get a few hours to sleep.”
“I know, but it would be worth it.”
“You said this all gets better next week.”
“It does.”
“So I’ll stay over next week.”
“That’s next week.” He leaned down and kissed me lightly.
“Only a few days away.”
“A few days too long.” His fingers settled on the top button of my dress.
“Does stress get you turned on or something?” I put my hand over his after he unbuttoned the top two buttons.
He laughed. “No. Seeing you does.”
“We can’t do anything here.”
“Why not?”
“It’s your office.”
“Keyword ‘mine.’”
Having sex in Colin’s office sounded like a bad idea, but the way his other hand felt as it pushed my panties out of the way sent exactly the opposite message.
“Are you sure you won’t get in trouble? What if your boss catches us?”
Colin shook his head. “Don’t worry. Martin won’t let him. He’ll run interference if he has to.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he’s my friend.” He unbuttoned one more button, slipping a hand inside my dress.
“You sure it’s okay?”
“More than okay. Required.” His lips attacked my neck, and any hope of continuing my resistance disappeared.
I pulled out his shirt from his pants, quickly slipping my hand under it and the white t-shirt he wore underneath. He moved his hand from under my dress long enough to undo his belt and unzip his pants. I made quick work of reaching in and getting what I wanted. The faster I did it, the faster his hand would get back to where it had been seconds before.
“I’ve missed you so much, Maddy.” His breath was hot on my face as his lips left kisses all over it.
“I’ve missed you too.”
His lips stilled. “This is a bad time to admit this, but I don’t have a condom.”
“I do.”
“Do you usually carry one?” He didn’t hide his surprise.
“Only since we started dating.”
“You’re good at stoking my ego.”
“You’re good at doing a lot of things.”
“Yeah? Am I about to do one of them now?” He found the condom in my purse and ripped open the wrapper.
“I’ll tell you afterward.”
“You can get away with that comment because of the one you made before.”
“Oh yeah? I thought I could get away with anything?”
“If you continue to give me that look, you can.”
“I don’t know what look you’re talking about.”
“The ‘fuck me’ look you wear so well.” Colin saying fuck? That was a new one.
“I don’t have that look.”
“Oh yes you do.”
“If I have that look on, then what are you waiting for?”
He smiled. “Nothing. I’m not waiting for anything.”
I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out when he thrust into me. There was no slow start with his movements. It was urgent and primal, and better than any sex we’d had before. By the time he reached his release, I could barely contain myself. Who knew how hard it was to stay quiet?
“Wow.” He said the word out loud, but I was thinking the same thing. “Can you bring me lunch every day?” He buttoned his pants, buckling his belt before moving on to the buttons on his shirt.
I fixed my own clothes, still trying to catch my breath. “Or you could pick me up after work tonight.”
“I thought you wanted me to get sleep.”
“I changed my mind.” Determined to make a good exit, I picked up my purse, kissed him on the cheek and headed to the door.
“You kill me, baby.”
“Baby?”
“Do you have a problem with me calling you that?”
“I don’t know. I’ll get back to you on that.” I walked out before he could respond.
I only made it three steps before I ran into someone.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” The man I ran into looked up. My heart dropped to my feet.
“Oh. Hi.” I’m sure I went pale as I stared at a man I’d hoped to never see again after our disastrous date. I definitely didn’t want to see him with Colin so close by.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” Gabriel asked.
“Visiting me.” Colin walked out of his office and put an arm around my shoulder. “This is my girlfriend, Maddy.” The only evidence he wore from what had just occurred in his office was a humongous grin on his face.
Gabriel’s eyes widened slightly and a smile crossed his face. My face was fixed on the floor. Colin worked with Gabriel? How small was this damn island?
“It’s so nice to meet you. Colin’s one of our best.”
The way he said it set off alarm bells. That wasn’t something you said about a co-worker.
“Maddy, this is Gabriel Fitzgerald.”
“Fitzgerald? As in the CEO of Fitzgerald & Hughes?”
“The same.” Gabriel smiled and I wanted—no needed—to melt into the floor.
“Oh. I thought you’d be older.” Could I make things worse?
“Really? I didn’t know you’d even thought about me.” I could feel his eyes bore into me.
“Colin’s mentioned you a lot.”
“He’s mentioned you too, but not by name.”
“Oh.” I still couldn’t meet his eye. I just kept picturing him asking me if I was adventurous.
Colin’s arm tightened around me. I’m sure he could feel my tension.
“You two should come over this weekend. Suzanne would love to get a chance to meet Maddy.”
“Oh. That would be great,” Colin said with way too much enthusiasm.
“I’ll get back to you on a time.”
I finally looked up, just in time to catch the wink Gabriel shot me. “Nice to meet you, Maddy. Glad to see Colin has such good taste.” He continued down the hall.
“Are you okay?” Colin asked as soon as Gabriel disappeared around the corner.
“Yeah. Sorry.” I kept the whole “yeah so your boss is the one who propositioned me to have sex with him and his wife” comment to myself.
“No. Something’s off. I can tell.” He took my hand and started to lead me back to his office.
I needed to leave that building, and fast. I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “I’m great. You just tired me out. I’m going to go get some sleep in case I don’t get any tonight for some reason.”
He grinned. “That’s probably a good idea.”
I smiled before hightailing it down the stairs.
Chapter Eighteen
“Do we really have to go to this?” I smoothed out my black penci
l skirt. I opted for the conservative look, complete with a green tailored shirt. I was determined to look as far from sexy bartender as possible. If Colin thought my choice of dress was odd, he didn’t say anything. He only complimented me on how I looked in dark green.
“Yes. He’s my boss, Maddy. I can’t exactly cancel on him.” Colin focused on the road. I wished the drive were longer.
“You could go without me. Besides, you already got the promotion.” I turned to the window. I hoped this wasn’t some sort of invitation to swing. Colin had explained that the Fitzgeralds only spent a few weeks a year in the Outer Banks, but Gabriel was in town to work on a few larger projects out of that office. What fantastic luck.
“Why are you so against going to dinner at the Fitzgeralds? They have a beautiful house and they always cater in good stuff.”
“I don’t see why I need to come.” I needed to get out of this awkward night. Every excuse I could come up with failed, and I never used the sick excuse. It’s asking to come down with the flu the next day.
He placed his hand on my leg, lightly squeezing it until I looked at him. “Because they want to get to know you. Because I want you there.”
“We’ve only been dating a few months. It’s not like I’m your wife.”
He hit the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road. After putting the car in park, he unbuckled his seatbelt and captured me with his gaze. “Out with it. What the hell is going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit. I’ve never heard you try to get out of something so hard before.”
“You’ve only known me a few months.”
A look of understanding crossed his face, and I didn’t like it. There was nothing for him to understand. “I know what this is about.”
“What? I’m sure you’re wrong.”
He shook his head in annoyance. “I’m not wrong. This is because you’re insecure about our status as a couple.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t fully understand, but I know that’s what it is.”
“You’re not making any sense. Are you implying I’m insecure because I’m not wearing an engagement ring or something?”
“Maybe.”
“You are wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.”
“Then what is it?”
“Nothing. I could name at least fifty things I’d rather be doing tonight.” I sounded like a brat, but I didn’t want to spend the evening socializing with Gabriel and Suzanne. I couldn’t imagine a more awkward outing.
Colin ran his thumb over my hand. “You’re going for me. It’s important to me.”
“Fine.” In hindsight, I probably should have told him about his boss, but that sounded like the worst idea possible back then. Well—not as bad as having actually had sex with his boss and his boss’s wife. That was a much worse thought. “Let’s go.”
Colin drove the short remaining distance to the Fitzgeralds. I tried to tame my nerves, but it was hopeless. I kept coming up with a hundred ways the night could be a complete and utter disaster. Colin was quiet, and I knew he was probably annoyed at me. I couldn’t blame him, but I also didn’t blame myself.
I’d managed to calm my heartbeat to a reasonable level by the time Colin opened the car door for me. We walked up the wooden steps to the front door of the massive three-story beach house. Colin hit the doorbell.
“Colin, hi!” Suzanne threw her arms around Colin before turning her attention to me. “And you must be Maddy.”
I stared at her. Was this the same Suzanne? Instead of a tight black dress, she wore a pair of cream slacks and a blue blouse. Her hair was pulled back in a neat chiffon, and her nails were a neutral color. “Hi.” The one word was all I could muster.
“Gabriel is out on the back porch. Why don’t you head out there, Colin? We’ll meet you with some drinks in a few minutes.” She took my arm.
Before I could so much as call out to Colin for help, I was dragged off.
“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon.” Her hand remained perched on my arm as we gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room.
“Trust me, neither did I.”
“You left in quite a hurry that night.”
“Could you blame me?” I looked right at her. I couldn’t let her intimidate me. I wasn’t the one playing Susie Homemaker by day and sex kitten by night. Susie Homemaker? Wow, she nearly had the right name.
“Yes. It was very close-minded of you. You didn’t even hear us out.”
“I got the gist. It was plenty.”
“Were you seeing Colin at the time? Did he know you were out on a date with another man?”
“No. I was single.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
“No. Of course not.”
“I thought maybe you had. I mean, you did show your face here. That had to have taken a certain level of curiosity.” She walked over to a bar and took down four red wineglasses.
“No, it took a boyfriend who wanted me to come.”
“Boyfriend. A cute word isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Cute.”
“May I ask you one question? Then I promise to drop the discussion of our past association.”
“I guess so.”
“Why did the proposition upset you? Clearly you were attracted to Gabriel. Was it that you weren’t interested in being intimate with a woman, or—”
I cut her off before she could make things any more awkward. “No, it was more the idea that you two are married.”
“Really? It’s all about monogamy?”
“At least partly.”
“I guess you do fit Colin.”
“Fit him?”
“He’s fixated on settling down.” I was pretty sure she wanted to say more. I assumed it was along the lines of boring, but thankfully, she didn’t continue. I couldn’t ignore the “settling down” comment. Especially not after Colin’s ring remark.
“Not with me. We’re just dating.” I shifted nervously. How had the conversation gone from one about my sexual interests to whether Colin and I were serious?
She smiled slightly condescendingly. The smile wasn’t mean, it was more that she knew more than me and she felt bad for my lack of insight. “We’ll see what you’re saying after a few months abroad together.”
“Oh. I’m not sure if I’m going.”
“Of course you are. What woman would give up rent-free living in Paris?”
Me, but I kept that thought to myself. I really hadn’t decided yet. “I’ll decide when the time comes.”
“Listen, I don’t want us getting off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over.” She held out her hand. “I’m Suzanne. Nice to meet you, Colin’s girlfriend.”
Was she serious? I decided to go with it. What other choice did I have? “Nice to meet you too.”
“Shall we go find the boys?” She handed me two glasses and grabbed a bottle of wine.
“Sure.”
Colin smiled when he saw me. I grimaced. He was busy smoking a cigar with Gabriel. Could it get more cliché? Had I unwittingly woken up in the 1950s? Except that his boss had asked me to participate in a sexual relationship with him and his wife.
“Maddy, honey. Welcome.” Gabriel stepped over to greet me with a half hug.
Honey? A hug? Forget the fifties, try the Twilight Zone.
“It’s so nice to see you again.” He was laying it on thick.
“Likewise.” I smiled, placing the empty glasses down on the table.
Gabriel opened the bottle and poured four glasses. “Colin was just telling me that you bartend at the Surfside Grille.”
I accepted a glass. “Yeah. I’ve been working there a few months now.” Was he purposely making me feel like I was hiding stuff from Colin? I took a large sip, hoping the alcohol would make the rest of the evening more bearable.
“I’m sure you meet a lot of interesting people there.”
I spit out my wine. I mean, spit out. It conveniently
(or non-conveniently depending on how you look at it) landed on Gabriel’s blazer.
“I’m so sorry.” I reached over to help, although without a towel, I didn’t know what help I’d be. I stopped myself. Suzanne could take over the cleaning.
Colin grabbed my elbow, and I caught the look of absolute horror on his face.
“Sorry,” I mouthed.
Dinner saved us from more awkwardness. Colin had correctly predicted that the Fitzgeralds had brought in. The food was from a local seafood place near the Grille. Ordinarily, I would have dived in, but the pit in my stomach wouldn’t allow it.
I selected the smallest piece of fish I could find, and filled the rest of the plate with salad. If I was going to waste food, it might as well be something that wouldn’t keep anyway.
I listened to Colin and Gabriel talk work, and started thinking the night might be salvageable. Lesson learned, never let your guard down.
“Okay. Let’s put everyone out of their misery.” Suzanne placed her napkin on the table.
“Misery?” Colin asked.
“I know we’ve unofficially decided to leave Colin in the dark, but why should we?”
What happened to starting over? Damn it.
Colin paled. “What’s going on? What don’t I know?”
“Maddy is actually acquainted with us.” Gabriel smiled at me as he said it.
“You knew each other?” Colin looked at me for the answer.
“I met Gabriel at the Grille.”
“What?” I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Colin was trying to figure out what I was doing with a married man.
“We went on a date.” Gabriel continued and I buried my face in my hands.
“When?”
“Right after labor day.”
“Wait a second…no.” He’d figured it out. “He’s not the one you told me about when you agreed to go out with me again?”
Gabriel laughed. “I guess you owe me one, Colin. I scared her enough to send her running into your arms.”
“Meaning you asked my girlfriend to get with both of you?” He gestured to Gabriel, who now held Suzanne’s hand on top of the table.
“She seemed like the adventurous type.” Gabriel winked at me.
“She wasn’t your girlfriend at the time,” Suzanne said all sugary sweet.
“Is that something you do a lot?” Colin’s arm had left my elbow and was now around my shoulders. I had a feeling it was a reflex protective move.
Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology) Page 17