“Tell me how what you did last night is any
different.”
“Last night I met a woman who completely blew my mind.”
David walked toward her, approaching carefully as he might a wounded animal.
Her expression was wary but she didn’t shrug off his touch when he placed his
hands on her arms. The silky fabric of her robe was cool, unwarmed by the flesh
beneath it. She was chilled to the bone. David’s chest ached at the thought.
He continued quietly. “When this woman, this beautiful,
mesmerizing woman, invited me into her bedroom, I couldn’t believe my luck. I
went because she was simply…irresistible. I never thought about the winery, not
after she kissed me. I only thought about her.”
She examined his face carefully, testing the veracity of his
words. Hope breathed to life inside him. If she was issuing a test, David
wanted to pass it. He met her scrutiny, never wavering from it, and let every
one of his emotions shine in his gaze.
“You know me, Sarah. You met me last night, when we laughed over
the champagne and rolled around in bed and when I stared into your eyes when
you came around me, when I came inside you. You know I’d never do what you’re
saying I did. In your heart, you know it.”
Sarah couldn’t believe it. Despite all the evidence pointing
to the fact David was a complete reprobate, her heart was buying this
bullshit. It melted inside her chest, growing weak at the emotion thickening
David’s voice and the desperation clear in his demeanor. He needed her to
believe in him, badly, and he wasn’t too guarded to show it.
Of course he needs you to believe him. Your largesse
could mean a lot to his business.
Sarah stiffened her spine and backed away from David. She
ignored the remorse that clutched at her when she saw the way his face fell,
the shine of pain in his eyes. Her chest tightened in response, as if their
hearts were inextricably linked. His pain would always cause her pain and vice
versa.
Absurd. One night, that was all they’d had. And it
was all they were going to have. David’s anguish was an act. Sarah was only
sorry she couldn’t say the same for her own.
“Get your things.” Sarah was glad her voice didn’t betray
any of her fanciful thoughts about her heart and his being soul mates. “I want
you out of my sight.”
“Sarah…”
“Now!” Her own raised voice shocked her. She rarely had to
shout to get her point across. She hadn’t even shouted at Brent when she’d
found him inside that overeager intern. She’d shut down then, and she wanted to
shut down now. She didn’t want David to know how much last night had affected
her, how stupidly hurt she was that she’d pegged him wrong.
Sarah walked to the window and stared out at the view of
Melbourne. The pink light of the sun was trying to peek through the clouds but
it was a losing battle. It was going to be a rainy, cold day that would turn
the city skyline to a pitiless tableau of concrete and steel. The frostiness of
it reached down to Sarah’s soul as she heard the telltale sounds of David
behind her, the rustle of fabric as he dressed. The mental image of him
disrobing for her last night played in her mind but Sarah blocked it out. She
didn’t even have a nice memory to keep her warm in the lonely nights ahead
because he’d tainted it with deceit.
She was as mad about that as she was about the rest of it.
The door to the suite opened, remained that way as she
sensed David hovering on the threshold. At length he spoke, his voice quiet.
“Do you remember last night when you said we should pretend we were making
love?” The silence throbbed like a heartbeat when Sarah didn’t answer. “I think
I pretended a little too well. I’m going to miss you, Sarah. I hope you find
what you’re looking for.”
The air cooled the second he was gone. The door made a faint
click behind him, like a period marking the end of a sentence.
The end of her foolish escapade.
* * * * *
It wasn’t the
different.”
“Last night I met a woman who completely blew my mind.”
David walked toward her, approaching carefully as he might a wounded animal.
Her expression was wary but she didn’t shrug off his touch when he placed his
hands on her arms. The silky fabric of her robe was cool, unwarmed by the flesh
beneath it. She was chilled to the bone. David’s chest ached at the thought.
He continued quietly. “When this woman, this beautiful,
mesmerizing woman, invited me into her bedroom, I couldn’t believe my luck. I
went because she was simply…irresistible. I never thought about the winery, not
after she kissed me. I only thought about her.”
She examined his face carefully, testing the veracity of his
words. Hope breathed to life inside him. If she was issuing a test, David
wanted to pass it. He met her scrutiny, never wavering from it, and let every
one of his emotions shine in his gaze.
“You know me, Sarah. You met me last night, when we laughed over
the champagne and rolled around in bed and when I stared into your eyes when
you came around me, when I came inside you. You know I’d never do what you’re
saying I did. In your heart, you know it.”
Sarah couldn’t believe it. Despite all the evidence pointing
to the fact David was a complete reprobate, her heart was buying this
bullshit. It melted inside her chest, growing weak at the emotion thickening
David’s voice and the desperation clear in his demeanor. He needed her to
believe in him, badly, and he wasn’t too guarded to show it.
Of course he needs you to believe him. Your largesse
could mean a lot to his business.
Sarah stiffened her spine and backed away from David. She
ignored the remorse that clutched at her when she saw the way his face fell,
the shine of pain in his eyes. Her chest tightened in response, as if their
hearts were inextricably linked. His pain would always cause her pain and vice
versa.
Absurd. One night, that was all they’d had. And it
was all they were going to have. David’s anguish was an act. Sarah was only
sorry she couldn’t say the same for her own.
“Get your things.” Sarah was glad her voice didn’t betray
any of her fanciful thoughts about her heart and his being soul mates. “I want
you out of my sight.”
“Sarah…”
“Now!” Her own raised voice shocked her. She rarely had to
shout to get her point across. She hadn’t even shouted at Brent when she’d
found him inside that overeager intern. She’d shut down then, and she wanted to
shut down now. She didn’t want David to know how much last night had affected
her, how stupidly hurt she was that she’d pegged him wrong.
Sarah walked to the window and stared out at the view of
Melbourne. The pink light of the sun was trying to peek through the clouds but
it was a losing battle. It was going to be a rainy, cold day that would turn
the city skyline to a pitiless tableau of concrete and steel. The frostiness of
it reached down to Sarah’s soul as she heard the telltale sounds of David
behind her, the rustle of fabric as he dressed. The mental image of him
disrobing for her last night played in her mind but Sarah blocked it out. She
didn’t even have a nice memory to keep her warm in the lonely nights ahead
because he’d tainted it with deceit.
She was as mad about that as she was about the rest of it.
The door to the suite opened, remained that way as she
sensed David hovering on the threshold. At length he spoke, his voice quiet.
“Do you remember last night when you said we should pretend we were making
love?” The silence throbbed like a heartbeat when Sarah didn’t answer. “I think
I pretended a little too well. I’m going to miss you, Sarah. I hope you find
what you’re looking for.”
The air cooled the second he was gone. The door made a faint
click behind him, like a period marking the end of a sentence.
The end of her foolish escapade.
* * * * *
It wasn’t the
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