“I do, rather. But it is safer that you stay than drive home all that way. It’s only for a few hours anyway. It’s pretty late.” That was the way she’d reconciled his reasons for staying at her house.
“It’s early morning, to be exact.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and tested it. “Nice and soft. Great.”
“Good.” She was agitated with their relationship. She felt like screaming and tearing out her hair.
He patted the top of the black and pink duvet. Then he stood up again and began unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m going to have a few hours sleep.”
Serena’s throat ached. She could close the door, cross the room, press her fingers to his smooth, golden chest, lift the shirt from his shoulders, unbuckle his belt, feel how hard he was and take that hardness inside her own softness. She wanted him to plunge and plunge inside her until she was taken completely out of herself and out of her mind.
He slipped out of the shirt and touched his belt buckle. “Goodnight, Serena.”
Mutely she stepped back. “I’ll leave towels on the rack in the bathroom for you.”
“Thanks.” He smiled his clean white TV smile. The smile reminded her of who he was and what she was actually contemplating, a relationship with no conclusion. But it was a smile that hid his true feelings. And she was the same way.
“Then I’ll leave you.” She backed out of the door and closed it.
By now Pascal had wandered into the hallway. Serena scooped him up and carried him to the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of water. Carrying cat and water, she went to her own room. While Pascal settled down for the night, Serena stood under a steaming shower, disregarding the fact that it was gone three in the morning. She just knew that she was wide awake and in a terrible situation. To put it simply, she had to work with a man she wanted to sleep with.
When she eventually stopped thinking about Nick she began to worry about the new show and wondered how she was ever going to cope with the volume of work. With that anxiety attack under control, it was five thirty, and Pascal was clawing her rug letting her know he was impatient for his breakfast. She fed him and slumped back into bed and fell asleep. The next time she woke up she could smell strong coffee, and she heard voices in her house.
•
Nick liked Reeva. The same way he liked Barbara. And although he received messages from Reeva that she might think things about him that were different from her exterior platitudes, he still found her entertaining. Poor Gerry barely got a word in edgeways, but he didn’t seem to mind. If his expression was anything to go by, he adored Reeva, and was just pleased to be her husband.
Luckily Nick had thought to put his battery shaver, a change of briefs, shirt and a pair of jeans into his car before he’d left yesterday. Not that he’d expected to stay at Serena’s house, but just in case he might have stayed anywhere, be it at Don’s or at a highway motel. That it was Serena’s had made the night just a trifle more restless. He’d spent most of the time aroused and trying to dismiss that she could become a serious problem. Which is why he made an effort to keep cool now, when she walked into the kitchen where he was sharing coffee with Reeva and Gerald.
Serena wore a robe of midnight-blue silk to match her eyes. The material rippled in the sunlight streaming through her kitchen window. Her hair, ruffled from sleep, was like strands of gold, and her features, without make-up, totally alluring. She carried Pascal snuggled against her breasts.
She let Pascal out of the back door, bending over to do it with the silk shimmering down her thighs. “Morning all.”
Reeva scooted over to her daughter and pecked her on the cheek. “Good Morning, darling. What can I get you?”
“I’ll have some orange juice. Please.” She glanced around the kitchen table. “I see you’ve all been taken care of.”
“We’re fine, Serena,” Gerry said. “Only a tiny bit groggy from the late night.”
She pushed back her hair with a gesture that was becoming familiar to Nick. “You okay, Nick?”
He never would be okay as long as she was around. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Then he made up his mind over his next move. “I’m not staying much longer. If Gerry doesn’t mind moving the car?”
Reeva handed Serena a glass of orange juice. “You must have some brunch. It’s almost noon. Come on, Serena, let’s cook up some pancakes.”
Serena stood against the fridge door. “If Nick wants to leave then let him leave.”
He’d got the message. Serena didn’t want him here. He also had his own agenda about her that he had to sort out. He should do that alone. He couldn’t think straight this morning.
He stood up from his chair and held the back while he pushed it beneath the table. “Coffee’s fine. I’ll grab something on the way home. Thanks.”
“Well—” he heard Reeva say as he walked out of the kitchen and down to the room he’d used for the night.
Wishing he could have heard Reeva’s opinion of him, he made the bed and collected together his shaver and his clothes from the evening before. Get out of here before you break down, ass. She’s admitted she hated her father, and you remind her of the man. Reeva’s likely got the same hang-ups. And they’re right. You are the same type as her father. You know that. You felt the affinity in the opening pages of his book. You almost got up and cheered because you knew for the first time in your life you weren’t alone in the world. But you were alone, because Stuart Redding Brown was already dead by then.
“Nick?”
She stood at his door. “What?”
“You could stay for breakfast.”
“I’m not hungry.”
He picked up the hanger with his clothes, grabbed the keys to the rental car from the dresser, and walked to the door to where she was standing. She smelled of soap and herself, and he felt his entire body respond to her warmth. She would be coming home for him, the coming home he had always dreamed of as a kid, hot soup and crackers on a crisp, cold day. But that coming home dream had diminished with time. His place was in the field. Their show was his temporary means to be here to help his parents. He had to remember those terms.
And yet. He bent to kiss her cheek and rested his lips against her soft skin for a moment. “Thanks for the hospitality. The bed was more than comfortable.”
“You’re welcome.” She moved into the hallway.
She followed him to the kitchen, where he bid goodbye to her mother. Gerry was out moving the Lincoln. Then Serena showed him to the front door.
“See you tomorrow,” she said.
He forced a smile. “Right on.”
He walked to the car, unlocked it and slung his things into the back seat. He backed the car out to the road and Gerry drove back in. Feeling he should say goodbye to him, he drove into the driveway again and got out to shake Gerry’s hand.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Nick. Sorry you have to leave without the pancakes.”
“I’ve got work to do anyway.” Nick told the truth. From now on, his life would be such a hustle that he wouldn’t have time to think about what might have been with Serena.
•
“Well, if that’s not like your father, no one is,” Reeva said.
Serena pushed the lifter underneath a pancake on the griddle and saw the pancake disintegrate. She swore under her breath and scooped up the mess. “I’m no good with pancakes.”
Reeva ushered her out of the way. “Let me, then.”
Serena surrendered the brunch to her mother’s capable hands and poured herself a big mug of coffee. She drank half the mug, hoping that the caffeine might set her brain straight. “What did Dad offer you when you met him?”
Reeva tossed a pancake and it landed perfectly. Round, smooth, golden brown. “Love everlasting. What has Nick offered you?”
“Why would he offer me anything?”
Reeva chuckled. “Because he wants you. It’s obvious. He’s a man in heat. Love them, but they are dangerous animals.”
“You should
know. You had enough men.”
Reeva turned to raise an eyebrow at Serena while still managing a symmetrical pancake. “That’s unfair. But it is true, I suppose. Or it looked that way to you. After your father I was demoralized. I needed men to tell me I was worthy. Then I decided to use all that money your father left and put it to good use. I opened the first florist shop and I began to feel my own power. I haven’t needed men for that reason again.”
“Your experience put me off men, though.”
The pile of pancakes on the plate grew higher. “Until Nick?”
“You have to admit he’s attractive, Mom.”
Reeva smiled. “Gorgeous. But beware. Go for it, if you want, but don’t have expectations. That’s all I’m saying.”
Serena nodded. It was exactly what her heart was also saying.
•
Rain pounded on to the Steel parking lot on Monday morning and sat in puddles in the low ground. Serena tucked the hood of her rain jacket over her hair and zigzagged around the pools of water. Her insides felt as jumbled as the inclement weather. Her mother and Gerry had stayed for most of Sunday. They’d had a pleasant time, Serena supposed, but having company had rattled whatever calm she’d still possessed after the party. She hadn’t even had a moment to prepare for the meeting today. She’d have to wing it, the way she’d winged newscasts to eliminate dead air when they ended before the required time.
She was also unprepared for seeing Nick. She was unsure of how they had actually parted on Sunday. Had they been friendly or had they been antagonistic? Had they solved anything between them? Or were things still volatile?
In the foyer she felt like a melting block of ice with the rain cascading from her jacket. She didn’t even have her private office to fix herself up in any more, before facing the others, so she had to go to the powder room on the main floor. She shook out her jacket, rubbed mud from her black leather ankle boots and straightened her jeans and black Steel yourself for our News sweatshirt. Luckily her hair was merely damp and a comb through made it presentable. But she didn’t feel like her usual sleek self. She might never feel that way again since meeting Nick Fraser.
Carrying her jacket, she rode the elevator to the suite. Don, his brother Cam, who looked nothing like him with a beard and a stocky physique, and Nick were already sitting around the table in the boardroom, with coffee in white cups on saucers in front of them. A coffee maker stood on a side table, along with a selection of muffins and fruit.
She said a broad, “Hi,” to the men and went to hang her jacket in her office. She left her purse in a desk drawer and took her notes from her briefcase. One deep breath and she entered the boardroom.
A young woman with long dark hair, wearing black slacks and a tight, white lace shirt introduced herself as Melissa Franklin, the new assistant for the show. She insisted Serena sit down, and she placed a coffee cup and saucer on the polished surface of the table before her.
Serena smiled her thanks. Don didn’t overdo the number of staff at Steel, and she knew that Melissa would end up running errands, compiling scripts, taking minutes and whatever else there was left to do for each weekly show.
She took her first sip of coffee and smiled at Cam. “Did you have a good vacation?”
“Great. Thanks, Serena. Sorry I missed the party, though. And I was sorry to hear about John.”
She looked across at Nick, who wore his familiar jeans with a blue shirt today. “We have an eminent replacement, though, don’t we?” She figured the only way to conquer Nick was to face him head on. Be cool, the way he was. She thought his features appeared hard, and she wondered what he actually felt inside. Did he get mixed up the way she did or was his mind logical?
Nick glanced at Cam, then Serena. “We’ve already decided we’re going to work well together. Also, Seth was here, but he’s gone to pick up some demos he recently recorded.”
Don leaned his arms on the table. “We like his recorded work and will use it, but we need a musical theme.”
Serena nodded. “That’s a good idea. I hope he can come up with something.”
“We’ll make sure he does. He’s good. We want him,” Nick said.
She liked Nick’s faith in her brother. “What about Paul? Where is he?”
“He’ll be in later.”
She pushed aside her cup. “Then what do we do? Wait?”
“No.” Don touched a few sheets of paper in front of him. “Let’s go over these proposals. Cam needs to be filled in. Melissa, could you take some notes?”
Melissa sat down at the table with a laptop in front of her.
Work begins in earnest, Serena thought. No more playtime. Her first decision was that she wasn’t going to be overshadowed by Nick. But as the discussions went around the table she realized that he wasn’t intending to overshadow her. He let her voice her views without interrupting anything she said. Mostly he agreed with her. He made the two of them seem like the tight team he’d suggested they should be at their Friday meeting.
However, she couldn’t let down her guard. Especially when Cam asked about her proposed program. She gave him the same spiel as she’d given Nick on Friday.
Don interrupted, “Do you have a name for this program?”
“No.”
Nick suggested, “Bad men, Good Women.”
“I like that,” Cam said. “However, this Thursday’s show is our immediate priority.”
She knew that.
Serena had expected them all to climb into a news van and immediately hit the streets, but Nick decided they would meet at eleven PM and do the street scenes and interviews when the neon lit the city. This meant that Serena would have to find somewhere to stay in the city for the night. Luckily she always kept a packed overnight bag for emergencies such as this. She sometimes stayed with her mother or at a hotel.
Seth’s appearance broke up the boardroom meeting because they needed to go down to the studio to hear his music. Serena was proud of Seth, and felt a great deal of guilt for not acknowledging that he was a man in his own right, a passionate, intense human being.
Lunch was brought in by Melissa, Swiss cheese and ham with salad on crusty buns, bottled juice and some fries for Nick, who shared them all around. By mid-afternoon they had an edited commercial accompanied by Seth’s new musical theme for the show. When the editing of the composition pleased them all, Don immediately arranged for the advertisement to bombard the airwaves.
Session one was over.
Seth rose from his chair and stretched his long arms. “I hear you’re going out late tonight. You can stay at my place, if you want.”
She thought this might be her opportunity for a closer relationship with her brother. “Thanks. I didn’t expect to actually go out late at night.”
Seth smiled. “I don’t think Nick does anything that anyone expects.”
Serena glanced over to where Nick was talking to Fred Dexter, the sound man who would go with them tonight. “You might be right. What do you think of him?”
“I like him. And I know exactly what you’re thinking. I’m not comparing them. There’s a huge generation gap. I know because I’ve read Dad’s book.”
“Possibly that’s true.”
“It is true.” He reached in his pocket for a set of keys. He pressed his spare loft key into her palm. “I’ll see you later. Take care.”
Serena watched him go, feeling good about having her brother in her life once again. It reminded her of when he was a little boy and she’d often been asked to care for him when Reeva was busy.
She tucked the key into her purse and went upstairs to her office to call Ginny to ask her to look in on Pascal, to feed him that evening and in the morning. When her personal affairs had been taken care of, she logged on to her computer, checked her e-mail, answered a few messages, and then made some notes to herself about the meeting. Bad Men, Good Women. She thought the title had a resonance, and it sort of gave her idea a solid base. So she would have to get moving on it.
As she hung up the phone she heard the outer door click and Nick glanced into her office.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” She closed her address book. “Everything went well, didn’t it?”
“Yes.” He dug his fingers into his back pockets. “Don didn’t have much choice but to go along with want we want. We’re his way out of a sticky patch. He’s put a lot of resources into this show. We have to perform. And Cam seems amenable enough.”
“That’s all true. I thought Seth did well.”
“Absolutely. He’s talented up to his eyeballs. You’re quite the family.”
“Want to do documentaries on all of us, then?” Serena regretted the question as soon as the words emerged from her mouth.
His gaze rested on her. “If we do the one on your father then you’ll get a mention.”
“No way.”
“That you don’t want a mention?”
“No way are we doing a documentary on my father. I’m not giving permission.”
“What if your mother and brother give permission?”
“They won’t. Mother can’t have her dirty laundry aired because she’s in politics, and Seth doesn’t want a black cloud at the launch of his career.”
Nick withdrew one hand from one pocket and touched the doorpost. His brow furrowed. “Did he beat the family or something?”
Serena gasped. “No. Don’t even think it. I’m talking about mental anguish. Someone you love being away from you all the time.”
“That’s what I thought it was. You felt neglected by him. I understand.”
“No. You don’t. You’re the same type as Dad, Nick. The only crime you haven’t committed that he did is saddle yourself with a family. How selfish to have a wife and child at home and never be there for them.”
Heart in the Field Page 12