“That’s not true,” she replies. “I’m proud I learned my way around the subway. And it’s much quicker than the streets most of the time. If I’d have ridden it tonight, I’d have been here earlier.”
“No shit! Have you gotten Duncan to try?” Her husband is kind of rich. I don’t see him riding the subway or navigating transfers. Don’t get me wrong. He’s friendly and down to earth. It’s just that he’s more of a driver kind of man. It’s true that he and his brother are about as opposite as oil and water. The only thing they have in common is good looks, and if my memory and imagination serve me well, Trevor exceeds in that category.
Kimbra grins. “I’ve gotten Duncan to try a lot of things.”
Our heads fly back in laughter. This was just what the doctor ordered: a stress-free night laughing, cutting up, and reminiscing.
“Oh my goodness,” Kimbra squeals after her second glass is nearly empty. “I can’t believe it.”
“What?” we ask together.
“I think I see my brother-in-law over there.” She points toward the front of the restaurant where a group of men seem to be standing, giving up their prized table.
All at once, the air from my lungs evaporates as I choke on my last sip—or was it a gulp—of martini. No, these aren’t as good as the ones down the street at the club, but after a few, they have become the best in the city.
As she pushes through the crowd, Stephen turns to me. “Does she have more than one brother-in-law?”
My eyes grow wide as she and Trevor embrace. I’m suddenly experiencing every emotion at once.
Excitement.
Nerves.
Tingles.
Queasiness.
Fear.
How do I respond?
I haven’t spoken to him in months. Kimbra doesn’t know anything about the weekend of her wedding. It’s then I realize that I’m trembling. My hands are clammy, and my forehead is probably glistening with nervous perspiration.
“Damn, girl,” Stephen whispers as Kimbra turns and points our way. “You have a great imagination!”
On Trevor’s face—his handsome, sexy face—I read all the same thoughts flying through my mind. The top and most important is how much we will act like we know one another.
“He’s better looking than the pictures you showed me when you were stalking him on social media,” Stephen whispers.
“I wasn’t stalking,” I say, still unable to look away as Kimbra and Trevor begin to push their way through the crowd, coming our direction.
“You were so stalking,” Stephen whispers, “but, honey, seeing him in person, I don’t blame you.”
My pulse kicks up to a dangerous speed as they come closer. I’m on a precipice.
What do I do?
For only a split second, I consider my options. Running to the ladies’ room would still allow me to be seen. Fainting sounds like a reasonable alternative, but then it’s too late.
They’re both standing in front of Stephen and me.
Trying to drown out the volume of the crowd, Kimbra leans in so we can hear. “Stephen and Shana, this is my brother-in-law, Trevor Willis.” She turns to Trevor. “Stephen and Shana.”
Despite my friend’s excitement about bringing us all together, my attention is solely on the man at her side. It’s his green eyes that draw me in, just as they did a long time ago. It’s their intensity that won’t let me go. I’m a candle under the fire of his gaze and if I don’t look away, I may melt.
I’ll blame my reaction on the martini, but as we stare at one another, I am filled with hope. Not only is he real, but perhaps, there’s hope for more. His hand comes out...then all at once his gaze is gone, focused now on Stephen.
“Hello.” It’s his first word since joining us and it’s not directed to me.
“Trevor,” Kimbra says, “do you remember Shana from my wedding? She was my maid of honor.”
His lips quirk, but it takes a prolonged second before he turns to me. “Yes, Shana. Nice to see you again.”
I can’t tell what it is, but something in the way he’s speaking is wrong. It’s too formal or forced.
“Yes, Trevor,” I manage to say. “Nice to see you, too.”
I don’t know if Stephen heard it—the tone in Trevor’s voice—but, protectively, my friend moves his arm around my shoulder, drawing me closer to him.
Kimbra keeps talking. “Trevor recently moved back to New York. You’d think he’d come see his brother and sister-in-law more often, but no, I have to run into him in a crowded bar...”
Though she continues, I’m not hearing her. I’m not listening. My mind is screaming at me to take one of the options I didn’t before. Fainting seems unnecessary, but running is still an option.
“If you’ll excuse me a minute.” I don’t even mention where I’m going. I know it’s the bathroom, but the closer I get, I find myself scanning the back of the bar for an escape. That hot bath, king-sized bed, and bottle of wine is suddenly very appealing.
I work out the details: a text to Kimbra, saying I was ill, and one to Stephen, telling him to pick up pizza on the way to my room.
I’m almost to the ladies’ room when I gasp as a strong hand grabs mine, pulling me until my back is flush against the wall. In the dimly lit hallway, Trevor Willis is all I can see. He dominates my vision as his presence surrounds my body.
He leans close, his words strained. “Are you dating him?”
The green eyes staring at me are the ones I’ve dreamt about, the ones I imagined to help me walk onto a runway, and the ones I’ve missed. Yet there’s something different, something new, a fever burning within them, like golden fireworks exploding within the green sea, flashing and smoldering in the depths.
Despite the way his concentration takes my breath, I push back against his chest. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He doesn’t budge. “I’m asking if you’re seeing Stephen.”
Anger mixes with my martini. A second ago, Trevor barely looked at me and now he’s demanding answers. “Trevor, I don’t know what to say. You quit calling. Obviously, you don’t want to talk to me.”
His voice grows deeper, more assertive and demanding than I’ve ever heard. “Just answer. Are you?”
The connections within my brain aren’t firing. It’s been too long of a day. Even though part of me wants to tell him to back the fuck up, another part of me—the part that’s thumping in my chest and twisting my insides—can’t believe that after all this time it’s really him.
That he’s here.
With me.
Surrounding me.
Pinning me against the wall.
The aroma of woodsy cologne fills my senses as multiple lemon drop martinis course through my bloodstream. Without reason I begin to giggle.
As my face falls in laughter, Trevor reaches for my chin, “Shana?”
I can’t look away. I don’t want to. “Dating? Stephen?”
“I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Well, you haven’t called in months. I figured you met someone new. Besides, there’s no us, so why do you care whom I’m dating?” I’m not sure why I’m baiting him. Maybe it’s the intensity of his stare or the way his body is pushed against mine. I couldn’t deny how much it turns me on even if I wanted to. There’s no doubt that as my breasts heave against his chest, my lady parts are waking from their long winter’s hibernation.