When she first started looking for a place to live in Providence, she’d considered the Hillcrest, the city’s premier condo building. As gorgeous as the building was, the fact three of her cousins already called it home convinced her to look elsewhere. She loved her family, but she didn’t want someone checking up on her. Considering how protective Trent, Gray, and Derek could be when it came to the female members of the family, exactly that would’ve happened. While the Mayfair wasn’t as new as the Hillcrest, she’d fallen in love with the building’s penthouse apartment the moment she stepped inside.
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out together. She expected him to stop, but he kept walking alongside her toward the entrance to the building’s parking garage.
“I’ll be over after dinner. Do you want me to call you first?”
A blast of cold air hit her head-on when they stepped outside, and she shivered. “No need, unless your plans change and you decide not to come.”
His index finger moved across her hand, and she shivered again, although this time it had nothing to do with the cold temperature. “Won’t happen. I’ll see you later.”
Four
No question about it, Josh had more in common with his mom than his dad, but he always preferred spending time with his dad and stepmom, Laura. Throughout their meal tonight though, he kept looking at his watch and wondering when the evening would end. While his dad and stepmom knew about the custody issues, they both assumed he planned to leave the situation in the hands of his capable, if expensive, attorney. Their assumption led to numerous questions and suggestions, none of which even came close to the plan he’d laid out to Courtney earlier—something he had no intention of telling them about. While they might understand the reasoning behind it, neither would approve. He didn’t intend to share the plan with his mom either but for a different reason. Even if it was a matter of life and death, the woman couldn’t keep a secret. If Courtney agreed to help him and his mom knew the real reason behind their marriage, the media and Naomi would eventually know too.
For the umpteenth time this evening, Josh checked the time. Almost seven thirty, and they were headed for the restaurant’s exit. Not too bad. He’d guessed they’d leave the restaurant around eight.
“How much longer are you staying in the area?” his dad asked.
“I’m not sure.” If things went the way he hoped, he’d be calling Providence home for the foreseeable future. As much as he’d rather have Courtney relocate to his house in Maine, he recognized her job was in the city. If she married him, he couldn’t ask her to give up her position at the foundation.
“Laura and I are leaving on Friday. We’ll be gone for most of the month. If you want to stay at the house instead of with Evan, you’re more than welcome.”
“Evan would miss me too much if I bailed on him now. But I appreciate the offer.” Actually, it was the other way around. Most of the time he enjoyed the solitude of living alone, especially after months of working on a film, but since Naomi’s bombshell, he’d found being alone only added to his despair. Being at Evan’s this past week had helped.
Rather than get into the car the valet brought around, Laura hugged him. “If you get any updates while we’re away, please call us.” She might not be his biological mother, but she’d always treated him like a son and she viewed Adalynn as her granddaughter.
“I will.” Depending on the answer he got from Courtney, he might be calling them for a very different reason within the next week or so.
Thanks to the time and the fact it was a Monday night, he didn’t have to deal with a lot of traffic, which meant less than ten minutes after leaving Mon Soleil, his stepmom’s favorite restaurant in the city, he pulled into the Mayfair’s parking garage. Originally a hotel built at the turn of the twentieth century, real estate developers had purchased the building fifteen years ago and turned it into what had been Providence’s most luxurious condo complex until the Hillcrest, where his brother lived, was built.
Josh expected the first floor of the Mayfair to resemble the many other exclusive condo buildings he’d visited. Instead, he discovered that the developers had left at least this level relatively untouched. A grand central staircase went up to the second floor, and an enormous chandelier hung from an intricately carved ceiling. Even the glass elevator that the hotel had been well known for remained, and he watched for a moment as it traveled up. Thankfully, it wasn’t the only one in the building, and he headed for the one closest to him.
He spotted the woman walking toward the elevator as the doors were closing. It wasn’t until after he pressed the button to hold them open that he realized doing so might not have been the smartest of moves. If the woman lived in the building, there was a decent chance she knew who lived in the penthouse. Until Courtney made up her mind, it would be best if no one could put them in the same place together.
“Thank you,” the woman said, stepping inside and selecting her floor. She moved to the opposite side of the elevator, but her eyes remained focused in his direction before briefly glancing at the control panel, which had only two floors lit up: hers and Courtney’s. “You’re J.T. Williamson. I was just watching Over The Edge last night. It’s my favorite of your movies.” She extended her hand toward him. “My name is Lexie.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I hate to ask, but would you mind taking a picture with me? My friends will never believe I met you without proof.”
He was known for never refusing to give an autograph or pose for a photo. He didn’t want to start doing so now.
They managed two photos before the elevator stopped at the fifteenth floor and the doors opened to a thankfully deserted hallway. “Thanks again,” Lexie said, stepping out.
Josh made the rest of the trip alone. Unlike the first time the elevator stopped, the doors didn’t open to reveal a carpeted hallway. Instead, he stepped out into a small marble-tiled foyer several feet from a mahogany door. Oil paintings hung on the walls, and a chandelier much smaller than the one downstairs hung from the decorative ceiling, illuminating the area.
Unwelcome anxiety settled in his stomach as he pressed the doorbell. The anxiety changed into something he couldn’t label though when Courtney opened the door. At some point since their meeting, she’d ditched her dark suit for white leggings and an oversized crimson sweater. She’d let her hair down as well, and he could almost feel it slipping through his fingers or across his bare chest.
“Hey.” Courtney’s greeting stopped him from calling up all the times and places her hair had come in contact with his skin. “Come on in.” She stepped back so he could enter, and before she could change her mind and shut the door in his face, he crossed the threshold.
Whatever you do, don’t kiss her. Maybe if he repeated the words enough times while he was here, he’d manage to keep himself from doing it. However, if he were a betting person, he’d say the odds weren’t in his favor tonight.
He walked past her, and the barest hint of jasmine teased him. At least he thought he smelled it. In Hawaii, her hair had often smelled like jasmine, so it was possible he was imagining the scent now.