Like my body needs air, I want one last savor of her tangy lemon taste.
This time, her palm comes to my cheek. The soft touch lingers as our lips move ever so slowly. With a deep sigh, we both back away.
I cock my brow in question. “I suppose walking out to Kimbra hand in hand isn’t an option?”
“Not yet. This would be awfully sudden.”
“Is tomorrow too soon?”
“Hmm. Tomorrow, whatever shall it bring?” Her question hangs in the air like a whimsical melody.
Taking a deep breath, I inhale her perfume, hairspray, and presence. It’s a concoction I could easily grow accustomed to. “It’s springtime in New York. The possibilities are limitless.”
Although I don’t want to do it, I take a step back and allow her to pass. Before she does, she leaves one last chaste kiss on my cheek. Our fingers graze one another’s as she gives me a final smile over her shoulder and heads into the ladies’ room.
I lean against the wall and watch her disappear behind the restroom door.
Her loss is real, a hole in the depth of my soul. Nevertheless, it’s easier tonight than it was the morning she flew back to London. This time I know the truth.
I can’t let Shana Price go.
I won’t.
Placing my hands in my pockets and bending at the waist, I think back to this afternoon. It was her on that stage. The revelation fills me with hope. Not only was it her, but while she was up there, looking incredibly hot and sexy, she was thinking about me.
It takes all of my self-control to not stay in this hallway and wait for her return.
If I did, I know what I’d do. I’d start as I did before, backing her against the wall. And then, grabbing that round ass, I’d lift her sexy-as-shit legs until they’re wrapped around my waist, and finally, I’d wish to every higher power in the universe that she weren’t wearing the tight jeans...that instead, she was wearing the negligee from earlier and nothing else.
I take a few more deep breaths. My current line of thinking is doing very little to ease my discomfort. But it has done something. It has made me more determined than ever.
I let her go once. I walked away thinking we would be better off apart than dealing with a long-distance relationship. I was wrong.
A day hasn’t passed that she hasn’t been on my mind in one way or another. Sometimes it’s as simple as a fleeting memory...
Red Gatorade.
The aroma of coffee.
The mention of Saks Fifth Avenue.
A tall chain-link fence or a parking garage.
There are times when those innocuous memories blindside me. And then there are other times when her memory has been more difficult to deal with, as it is now. During those times I’ve had to take matters into my own hands.
This time, I swear to myself, will be different.
Making one last adjustment to my jeans, I begin to walk back out to Kimbra and Stephen. There’s a slight possibility that I might owe that guy an apology. I can’t even remember what I said to him. The only thing I can remember is seeing his hands on my girl.
Okay, she isn’t my girl.
Not yet. The timetable is set.
I always have loved a challenge.
Shana Price will be mine.
I have two weeks.
Chapter Eleven
Shana
Standing at the row of sinks, I’m caught off guard by my reflection. While that image has been all kinds of crazy today—from lead in lingerie to model and back to friend—the reflection I’m currently seeing is my favorite. I tilt my head one way and the other. After only a few minutes with Trevor, my lips are pink and cheeks flushed. Even my neck is a light shade of red from the abrasiveness of his beard.
Closing my eyes, my chest heaves as I remember the possessiveness in his kiss and the determination in his stare as he asked about Stephen. Maybe it wasn’t nice to not answer him right away, but the energy in his demand lit a spark that I didn’t want to let die.
With the way I’m reeling, it’s burning strong and bright.
I grip the edge of the sink, recalling his woodsy scent and the taste of good beer. That’s what Trevor Willis is to me, the sexy aroma of spice and outdoors and the taste of craft beer, an intoxicating combination.
I could lie to myself and say that this unquenchable twisting deep inside me is from the martinis, but I know the truth. It’s him. It’s been him since the first night we met.
My world was sent out of kilter. For nearly the last year, I’ve tried to deny it. But the truth won’t let me go. From his reaction, he’s as captive as I am. While being held hostage by an undeniable attraction sounds somewhat frightening, I love every minute of it.
As I make my way back to my friends, I see Trevor and stifle a giggle as I contemplate our plan.
Will it be possible to keep this secret for a little while longer?
It’s then that I remember that none of this is a secret to Stephen, only to my other best friend, Kimbra. My gaze narrows, as if it zeroing in my vision will help me hear their conversation. I love Stephen, but keeping secrets isn’t his forte.
What if he’s already spilled the beans?
I can’t hear them over the music and other patrons.
With Trevor standing, Kimbra and Stephen have our barstools. It’s as I approach that Stephen stands. I try to stay focused on my two best friends, but out of the corner of my eye, I catch the way Trevor’s gaze turns sultry. The simple change in expression makes my chest tighten.
Oh shit!
This is going to be harder than I thought.
“What happened to your lips?” Stephen whispers in my ear as I move to sit on the stool he vacated.
My fingers come up to my mouth to assess what he means. “Umm, I think it’s an allergic reaction to the lipstick they used today at the show.”
“Oh my goodness,” Kimbra breaks in. “Stephen was just telling us about the fashion show. Here.” She hands me my martini. “The coolness will help your lips.” She looks closer. “They don’t look too bad.”
Trevor also takes a drink of his beer, the glass barely hiding his amusement at my feigned allergic reaction.
Kimbra’s voice grows louder. “Why in the world didn’t you call me?”
“Would you have gone onstage for me?”
Kimbra laughs. “No. I would have been cheering.” She turns and punches Trevor’s arm nearly spilling his beer. “And you were there? Did you scream for her?”
“First, her name wasn’t announced though she did have my attention. Besides, it wasn’t exactly a striptease. It’s not as if we were shouting catcalls.”
“However...” Stephen asks suggestively. “If you could?”
Trevor smiles as his hand comes to rest on the back of my chair. “If it were appropriate, I so would have. Shana looked beautiful up there in that white negligee.”
“Listen to you,” Kimbra says, with a smile. “If Stephen hadn’t just told us what she was wearing, I’d think you were smitten.” Her mouth quirks for a moment. “Did you just say they didn’t announce her name?”
“I’m a man. I notice beautiful women.”
“Hmm,” Kimbra hums. “Mr. Single-for-Life.”
“It’s a Willis thing,” Trevor replies.