by Marie Force
Liana felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”
“You’re all grown up, honey. You work harder than anyone I’ve ever known, and you owe it to yourself to enjoy your life more than you do.”
“I want to spend some time with you tomorrow, Mom. We’ve hardly seen each other since I’ve been home.”
“Oh, honey, I volunteer at the Senior Center on Tuesdays. I’ll be gone all day.”
“Wednesday then?”
“I’m free Wednesday afternoon. We can go to lunch and get a manicure.”
“I’d love that. Have a nice time with Aunt Edith and Uncle Charlie. Tell them I said it was a lovely wedding.”
“I will, honey. You think about what I said.”
“Yes, Mother.” She ended the call and crossed the patio to return the phone to Travis.
“How’s my friend Agnes?”
“She’s been abducted by aliens.”
“Why? Because she said you’re old enough to spend the night with me if you want to?”
“How do you know she said that?”
He laughed. “I could hear the horror in your voice.”
“That conversation was definitely a first. The mother I used to know would’ve put her hands over her ears and cried ‘lalalala’ at the mere mention of the word sex.”
“Maybe she’s gotten a sex life of her own and it’s loosened her up.”
“No way! You’re crazy.”
“She’s a beautiful woman, Liana. Why do you find it impossible to imagine her with a man?”
Liana took a sip of her wine. “Because.”
He used tongs to remove the kabobs from the grill. “Because why?”
“She was so heartbroken when my father died. He’d had cancer for years and had been doing really well, so when he died suddenly, it was such a shock to her. To both of us. I can’t imagine her with anyone else.”
“How long ago did he die?”
“Seven years.”
“That’s a pretty long time. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that she has someone else.”
“Why wouldn’t she tell me if she did?”
“To spare you from worrying about her, to preserve your memories of your father. Who knows?”
Liana nibbled on her lip as she considered what he had said. He could be right. A boyfriend certainly would explain a lot about her mother’s recent behavior. It was a better explanation than Alzheimer’s, that was for sure. The thought made Liana giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he asked as he led her inside to eat.
“I’ve been thinking maybe she has Alzheimer’s, and she probably just has a boyfriend.”
“My grandmother had Alzheimer’s, and after spending an hour with your mother today I can pretty much guarantee you she doesn’t have it. She’s sharp as a tack.”
“You made quite an impression on her.”
“The mothers always love me,” he said with a smug smile.
Liana laughed. “I’m sure they do.”
He held a chair at the dining room table for her. “I never thought to ask if there’s anything you don’t eat.”
“I eat everything. I’ve never had to watch what I eat. I keep waiting for that to catch up to me, but so far it hasn’t. Other models I’ve worked with are always horrified by my eating habits.”
“I’m sure you’ve been horrified by some of theirs.”
“Ugh, it’s so awful the way some of them treat their bodies.”
He served her a healthy portion of rice along with the kabobs and a tossed salad.
“I’m very impressed. This is fabulous.”
He refilled their wine glasses. “I’m glad you like it.”
“So you know all about me, and you’ve told me nothing about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“You said you were from out of town, right?”
“Uh huh. Allentown, Pennsylvania.”
“Is your family still there?”
“My parents, five of my six siblings, and my grandfather still live there, along with assorted nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.”
“Did you say six siblings?”
He smiled. “Yes, I did.”
“Wow. That must’ve been so cool.”
“It was chaotic. My father worked in a factory, and there was never enough money, never enough of anything. It sucked.”
“That must’ve been tough for you.”
“I was the oldest, so a lot fell to me. Luckily, I had a talent that got me out of there.”
“What was that?”
“Football. I was an all-state quarterback. Brought home the state championship my senior year, which got me a full athletic scholarship to Ohio State and later an offer from the Arizona Cardinals.”
“The NFL,” she said with amazement. “You played professional football?”
He shook his head. “I said no. I wanted to go to business school.”
“The shirt you loaned me last night . . . You went to Stanford?”
“For my MBA.”
Amazed, she studied him with new appreciation. “You gave up a chance to play in the NFL to go to Stanford and get an MBA?”
“I did, and my father was so mad about it he didn’t speak to me for a year. There’s no doubt it was a gamble, but it’s paying off—finally. I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do by building something lasting. Football was my ticket out of Allentown. That’s all it ever was to me.”
“Wait.” She held up a hand. “I remember reading about you. It was in the papers, wasn’t it?”
He grinned sheepishly. “I caused quite a firestorm. I guess there aren’t too many people who turn down the chance to play pro ball.”
“I wouldn’t think so. How did you end up here?”
“When I was in college I started playing the stock market. I invested heavily in Silicon Valley and got out before the high-tech bubble burst. I worked on Wall Street for seven years after I finished at Stanford. Then I used some of the money I’d made in the market to improve my parents’ circumstances and poured the rest into this place. To say I have a lot riding on its success would be an understatement.”
“How did you settle on Portsmouth?”
“I looked at ten other properties on the East Coast, but this one spoke to me. It felt like home. Do you know what I mean?”
“No,” she said sadly. “I’ve never had that feeling. Not since I left my parents’ house, that is. You’re lucky to have found it here.”
“I know.” He took their plates into the kitchen. “That’s why the vandalism bothers me so much. They think they’re just affecting my business, but they’re taking aim at my home. My place.”
When he came back, Liana reached for his hand and brought it to her lips. “You have to stay strong. They’ll get tired of it when they realize you’re here to stay.”
“I hope you’re right.” He gave her hand a gentle tug. “Dance with me?”
She got up to follow him.
Once he had her in his arms, he nudged her thick dark hair out of the way so he could whisper in her ear. “I think I’m going to enjoy this fling even more than I thought I would.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I like talking to you as much as I like doing this.” He raised her chin and found her lips.
Liana tightened her arms around his neck and fell into the kiss.
When he finally drew back from her, he found her eyes. “I’m going to take you home now, Liana.” He brushed his lips over hers. “But I’m going to see you tomorrow.” Another kiss. “And the day after.” More kisses. “And the day after that.”
“But—” Liana protested.
He silenced her with another deep kiss. “Trust me, sweetheart.”
Liana awoke late the next morning to rain pinging against her window. After the glorious sunny day she’d enjoyed with Travis yesterday, the rain came as a surprise. She stretched and then
burrowed deeper into her warm bed. Travis, she thought with a sigh. I can’t wait to see him today. Her skin tingled as she remembered his passionate goodnight kiss at her mother’s front door. He had promised to call her as soon as he finished with his morning meetings.
Since her mother had probably already left for the day, Liana gave significant thought to going back to sleep for a while. Then the ringing of the phone urged her out of bed as her heart kicked into gear at the hope that it might be Travis calling.
“Hello, darling.”
Liana wanted to groan. “Hi, Artie,” she said to her agent. His fake British accent was too much for her before she’d had coffee.
“Am I getting you up?”
She yawned. “I was awake. What’s going on?”
“I got an urgent call from Milan yesterday. They want you to come back ASAP to redo a few things that didn’t come out exactly the way Vogue wanted. How soon can you get there?”
“Two weeks. Not one minute before.”
“But, darling, they’re having a cow. You can’t hold them off that long.”
“Watch me.”
“Liana . . .”
“I haven’t had a long vacation in five years, Artie. I’m not going back to Milan. If they want to send someone here, I’ll give them half a day. But that’s it.”
“They can hold you in breach of contract—”
“I fulfilled that contract down to the letter. It’s not my fault their two-bit photographer couldn’t get it right the first time.”
Artie sighed dramatically. “All right, darling. I’ll let them know.”
“Don’t you dare give anyone this number, Artie. Do you hear me?”
“You made that perfectly clear before you disappeared.”
“Anything else?”
“There’s an intriguing little tidbit floating around that I’m not quite ready to tell you about, but it’s something that’ll definitely interest you. I’ll call you as soon as I know more.”
Liana couldn’t have cared less about the intriguing little tidbit. She was on vacation. “That’s fine.”
“Listen, Liana. . . there’s a situation I could use your help with.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you remember Jessica Stone? You worked with her on last year’s swimsuit issue? Goes by Jessie?”
“Sure. She’s a sweetie.”
“Yes,” he said, sounding relieved. “She is. She’s run into some trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“She’s got a seriously over-zealous fan. The cops are involved now and everything.”
“That’s too bad. I hate to hear that.”
“I knew you’d understand, since you’ve had a few crazies in your time. So here’s the thing: she could really use a place to lay low for a while until this blows over.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“You’ve never had any trouble with the press up there in Little Rhody. Do you know of anywhere she could hide out up there? Just for a couple of weeks to give the police the chance to nab this guy?”
Liana thought of Travis and North Point, but he had enough on his plate with the vandalism. He didn’t need a troubled model on the property to add to his worries. However, she knew if she asked him, he’d find a place for Jessie.
“She can’t go home to her apartment in New York because the guy has turned up there, and she’s estranged from her family. Wherever I send her, I’d like her to have someone there she knows—”
“I’ll make a phone call,” Liana said, exasperated. “That’s the best I can do.”
“Thank you, darling,” he said, sounding relieved. “I told Jessie you’d help us out if you could.”
“You already told her you were asking me?”
“Well, um, I had to do something to reassure her. She’s been a total wreck since the creep started showing up at her house.”
Liana held back a groan. How could she not help the other woman now? “I’ll get back to you.”
“You’re the best. I’m sorry to have bothered you on vacation, darling. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
Liana hung up the phone and tried to shake off the stress that came with hearing his voice. Any time she heard from him it meant more work. Struggling models would love to have her problems. She knew that. But after ten years of the breakneck pace she had kept, she was too tired to care what Artie or anyone else thought of her. She had earned this break, and nothing was going to cut it short. Especially since she was in the midst of a fling with the sexiest man in the world.
The thought made her giggle with nerves and anticipation and excitement. Checking her watch, she realized Travis would still be in his meeting so she decided she’d talk to him about Jessie when she saw him.
She brewed a pot of coffee, ate a container of strawberry yogurt, and perused the morning paper before she took a long, hot shower. She took extra care with her hair and applied the tiniest bit of makeup. Her body hummed with tension when she wondered if this might be the day. Surely, he wouldn’t keep up this resistance act for much longer when he knew they only had two weeks. Or would he? His unpredictability made him that much more appealing to her.
With another nervous giggle she put on some of the sexiest underwear she owned even as she wondered if he would see it. She tugged on a floral skirt along with a button-down sleeveless top and slid her feet into pink flip-flops. By eleven she was ready and sat down to watch a TV talk show. She stared at it without seeing much of anything because a tall, dark, handsome man occupied her every thought. Wow. I should be so afraid of what I feel for him, but I’m not afraid. I’m excited.
He called at noon to say he was on his way to pick her up.
“Where are we going?”
“How about a walk in the rain?”
“I’d love that,” she said, surprised to realize it was another thing she’d never done with a man.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
He came to the door ten minutes later wearing shorts, flip-flops, and a burgundy North Point jacket.
When she opened the door for him, he handed a second jacket to her.
“What’s this?”
“Your own North Point jacket. I can’t have you catching a cold and ruining your vacation, not to mention our fling.” He pressed her against the wall to kiss her. “I’ve been waiting for that all morning,” he said when he finally pulled back from her. “I thought those meetings would never end. All I could think about was you.”
Her heart pounding with excitement and desire, she ran her hands over the light stubble on his face. “I couldn’t wait to see you either.”
His eyes became even darker as he dipped his head for another kiss. With what appeared to be enormous effort, he finally stepped back from her. “Do you have a hat or sunglasses or something you could wear to hide your face? I want to take you into Newport, but I don’t want to blow your cover.”
“I can wear my Red Sox hat.” She went into her room to get it. By the time she had donned the hat, pulled her ponytail through the back of it, and put on the jacket he had given her, she hardly resembled one of the world’s top models.
“Very cute,” he said with a smile.
“Before we go, I have something I need to ask you. It’s a big deal, but I don’t want you to feel obligated—”
He stopped her with a finger on her lips. “What do you need, sweetheart?”
She told him about Jessie and the trouble she was in with a stalker. “She’s a really nice girl, a Southern belle type, but a sweetheart. I hate to think about her being afraid in New York.”
Travis held her gaze as he reached for his cell phone. “Hey, Beck,” he said. “A friend of Liana’s needs a place to hide out for a week or two.” His face curled into a smile. “Yes, another model. Jessica Stone.” Laughing, Travis said, “No, I’m not messing with you. What’ve we got available in The Tower?” He paused to listen. “Can you ask housekeeping to get it ready? I want you t
o handle this personally. Whoever’s giving her grief is not getting near her on our watch.” Pausing again, he said, “Thanks, Beck. Keep me in the loop.” He stashed the phone in his pocket and returned his attention to Liana. “All set.”
“Thank you.” She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly.
Against her lips, he said, “Any friend of yours. . .”
“This is the last thing you need with everything that’s going on at North Point.”
“It’s no problem. Beck will take care of it. I’m sure he’s over there reveling in the ‘other duties as assigned’—babysitting a supermodel.”
Liana snickered. “Let me just call my agent to tell him it’s all set.”
“Give him Beck’s cell number.” Travis wrote it down for her.
After giving a relieved Artie the good news, she followed Travis to his car. “Where’s Dash today?”
“Home with Beck. I can’t trust her to behave in public.”
The rain came down even harder as they drove into Newport. He glanced over at her. “Is this too much of a downpour for you?”
“It won’t last. By the time we get into town, it’ll be a light rain.”
Sure enough they stepped out of the car into drizzle. The humidity was thick, the cobblestone streets slick, and the sidewalks largely deserted of the usual crowd of tourists.
He pulled her hood up over her head and took her hand. “Looks like we’ve got the place to ourselves.”
“Fine by me.”
They wandered through the quaint, colonial City by the Sea, stopping to look into shop windows, venturing into a few stores, and enjoying a lone guitarist performing under an awning in Brick Market.
“How about some lunch?” he asked after they’d wandered for an hour.
She pursed her lips thoughtfully and then ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “New England clam chowder.”
Fixated on her mouth, Travis nodded in agreement. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”
“Oh, you know what I want,” she smirked.
With his hands on her face he replaced her tongue with his.