over, he was only half kidding when he said, “You sure know how to ruin a bright, sunny morning.”
“Do I?” Her hazel green gaze settled on him and she smiled sadly. “Sorry. Let’s just say for now . Who knows, maybe we’ll revisit the issue someday. If you’re interested.”
“I’m interested.”
“You say that now.”
Clearly she didn’t have a lot of confidence in a man’s constancy. Not that he blamed her. All he could do was prove he was nothing like her shitty, cheating husband.
He covered her hand resting on the table with his own and stared deeply, seriously back at her. “I’m interested, Justine,” he repeated firmly. “I’d carry you back to that bedroom this instant if you let me. You have no idea how much I want to make love to you. I want to erase the memory of every other man you’ve been with before me. I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
“I don’t want to leave either,” she whispered and turned her wrist under his so they could hold hands.
They finished their coffee without letting go.
* * * *
The elevator ride down to the parking garage was depressing. They stared longingly at each other from either side of the conveyance.
“Is this goodbye?” he asked sadly.
Blinking rapidly, she nodded. “For now.”
“Come here.” He held out his hand and she reached for it. When they clasped, he tugged her hard against him and clutched her head, his arm locked around her. Their kiss was filled with loneliness, desperation, and heartache. Yet he put all his love for her into it. He wanted her to understand even apart, he’d be there for her, waiting.
She was crying when she drew back. Cupping his face, she nodded. “I know. Me too.”
Hugging one last time, neither was prepared for the bedlam when the doors slid open and they were confronted by flashing cameras and people shouting questions at them.
Springing away from her, Sean punched the Close Door button with the heel of his hand.
“What the hell was that?” He was in shock.
Justine looked stricken as she covered her mouth with both hands. “Someone must have seen us together last night. Everyone has a camera phone these days. All it takes is one picture loaded onto the internet and… Oh God!”
Punching a random floor, he tugged her out of the elevator when the door opened and scrolled through the numbers on his phone.
“I’ve got about twenty messages,” he said in amazement.
Justine pulled her phone out of her coat pocket and turned it on. She gasped. “There’s over fifty on mine.”
Dialing his friend, Sean looked at her and placed a finger over his lips. “Trent, I need your help.”
“You seduced a prominent politician’s wife last night. You’re damn right you need help.”
“Not now,” he said impatiently. “There are reporters and photographers camped out in my parking garage. I have to get her home. Can you pick us up? Come in through the alley.”
“You’re lucky I don’t have anything better to do this morning. Give me thirty minutes.”
Cutting the call, Sean gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We might as well go back upstairs to wait.”
She nodded and they returned to his apartment. While she sat in one of the armchairs in his living room, he sat at his desk and checked the computer. That’s when he finally saw the candid pictures showing him helping Justine into his car last night, champagne bottles in hand. It looked bad.
Uploading those images to the internet right from a phone would have taken no time at all. It brought out the sharks in droves. There must have been people parked outside for hours waiting for them to reappear. They didn’t. At least not until this morning, and Justine was in his arms, her hair down, and wearing the same damn dress from the night before. Things just went from bad to a lot worse.
As he watched, the stream of information updated and suddenly he saw the two of them caught like guilty lovers in the elevator.
Fuck.
The captions made
“Do I?” Her hazel green gaze settled on him and she smiled sadly. “Sorry. Let’s just say for now . Who knows, maybe we’ll revisit the issue someday. If you’re interested.”
“I’m interested.”
“You say that now.”
Clearly she didn’t have a lot of confidence in a man’s constancy. Not that he blamed her. All he could do was prove he was nothing like her shitty, cheating husband.
He covered her hand resting on the table with his own and stared deeply, seriously back at her. “I’m interested, Justine,” he repeated firmly. “I’d carry you back to that bedroom this instant if you let me. You have no idea how much I want to make love to you. I want to erase the memory of every other man you’ve been with before me. I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
“I don’t want to leave either,” she whispered and turned her wrist under his so they could hold hands.
They finished their coffee without letting go.
* * * *
The elevator ride down to the parking garage was depressing. They stared longingly at each other from either side of the conveyance.
“Is this goodbye?” he asked sadly.
Blinking rapidly, she nodded. “For now.”
“Come here.” He held out his hand and she reached for it. When they clasped, he tugged her hard against him and clutched her head, his arm locked around her. Their kiss was filled with loneliness, desperation, and heartache. Yet he put all his love for her into it. He wanted her to understand even apart, he’d be there for her, waiting.
She was crying when she drew back. Cupping his face, she nodded. “I know. Me too.”
Hugging one last time, neither was prepared for the bedlam when the doors slid open and they were confronted by flashing cameras and people shouting questions at them.
Springing away from her, Sean punched the Close Door button with the heel of his hand.
“What the hell was that?” He was in shock.
Justine looked stricken as she covered her mouth with both hands. “Someone must have seen us together last night. Everyone has a camera phone these days. All it takes is one picture loaded onto the internet and… Oh God!”
Punching a random floor, he tugged her out of the elevator when the door opened and scrolled through the numbers on his phone.
“I’ve got about twenty messages,” he said in amazement.
Justine pulled her phone out of her coat pocket and turned it on. She gasped. “There’s over fifty on mine.”
Dialing his friend, Sean looked at her and placed a finger over his lips. “Trent, I need your help.”
“You seduced a prominent politician’s wife last night. You’re damn right you need help.”
“Not now,” he said impatiently. “There are reporters and photographers camped out in my parking garage. I have to get her home. Can you pick us up? Come in through the alley.”
“You’re lucky I don’t have anything better to do this morning. Give me thirty minutes.”
Cutting the call, Sean gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We might as well go back upstairs to wait.”
She nodded and they returned to his apartment. While she sat in one of the armchairs in his living room, he sat at his desk and checked the computer. That’s when he finally saw the candid pictures showing him helping Justine into his car last night, champagne bottles in hand. It looked bad.
Uploading those images to the internet right from a phone would have taken no time at all. It brought out the sharks in droves. There must have been people parked outside for hours waiting for them to reappear. They didn’t. At least not until this morning, and Justine was in his arms, her hair down, and wearing the same damn dress from the night before. Things just went from bad to a lot worse.
As he watched, the stream of information updated and suddenly he saw the two of them caught like guilty lovers in the elevator.
Fuck.
The captions made
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