We were just rounding the corner, approaching the conference room, when I peeked through the glass wall to see who was leading the large meeting inside. My stare slowly drifted to the head of the table where I saw Oliver standing, his thrown-together look not at all distracting from the smile and charisma I saw as he spoke.
As I moved past the window, I waited for his face to turn, for his eyes to find me. And right before I took my last step, it happened. His mouth continued to talk to the group, but our gazes connected, and a blast of warmth shot through my body. I held his stare for one, two, three seconds, and then I continued around the corner where we could no longer see each other.
But I felt him.
Even after I walked out of the building for lunch.
Me: One more sleep until I’m in your arms.
Lance: Get home to me safely.
“Hi,” I whispered the second Lance’s hand touched the back of my head.
His fingers spread so he could hold more of my hair, his other arm going over the top of my shoulders. “Baby, welcome home.”
Those words caused my throat to quiver, little waves passing over my tongue as tears threatened to fill my eyes.
Home.
Exactly where I wanted to be.
And it was as though he knew what I needed because he squeezed me tighter, eliminating all the space between us. “Damn it, I missed you.”
I felt it in his grip this raw urgency that was coming through his fingertips.
“I missed you more,” I breathed.
Neither of us pulled away from each other while we stood on the curb outside the terminal, Anthony parked a few feet away in Lance’s SUV.
And eventually, I heard, “Are you hungry?”
I swallowed, a heaviness moving through my stomach. “Take me anywhere as long as my hands and eyes don’t have to leave you.”
He laughed, and I hugged him tighter. “I know you didn’t eat the food they served on the plane, and the empty bag of Doritos I see in your purse doesn’t qualify as dinner. I’m getting you something to eat.”
When he separated our bodies, our eyes connected, and his hands went to my face.
It felt so right.
Him.
This.
Us.
I swallowed again, waiting for his lips, and I closed my eyes when I felt them. My arms strengthened their grip around his neck, and I took in his scent, feeling the power of his hands at the same time I smelled it.
And then, suddenly, he was gone, his hands slowly leaving my face. “Let’s get out of here.”
I nodded, taking his fingers as he helped me into the backseat.
“Mrs. Hamilton,” Anthony said once I got inside the SUV, “it’s so nice to have you back. You’ve been missed by everyone.”
“Thank you, Anthony.” I sat in the middle of the backseat, and once Lance climbed in, I looped my arm around his. “You all were terribly missed too.” I smiled at him in the rearview mirror.
“Where am I taking you?” Anthony asked.
Lance turned toward me, his eyes roaming my face before he said, “I have a feeling my wife is craving sushi. Let’s go to her favorite.”
Anthony chuckled. “No problem. I’ll take you there right now.”
At one point in our relationship, Lance would have turned to me and asked if he had guessed right. He didn’t need to do that anymore.
He knew.
And as Anthony pulled away from the arrival gate of Logan Airport, Lance’s lips pressed against my forehead, and he held them there while he hummed, “It’s so good to have you home.”
My eyes closed, my chest aching. “You have no idea.”
“One down, baby. Five to go.”
Each exhale shuddered through me, and I thought of all the things I was going to do with my husband over the next two weeks. The restaurants we were going to visit in Boston and the weekend trip we would hopefully take to Florida and the cuddling we were going to do in bed.
Then … I would return to Amsterdam.
And this would start all over again.
Forty
“Oh my God,” Molly squealed as her face came into view on my phone, “I miss you so much; I can’t handle it. Come home already.”
I stared at my best friend’s face and smiled. “Just one more week, babe, and I’m going to hug the shit out of you.” I leaned over to the nightstand and grabbed my glass of water. “By the way, I’m having the worst déjà vu right now.”
“Right?” She frowned, and as she adjusted the phone, I saw she was in her living room. “At least now, you’re only gone for two weeks at a time. I don’t think I could handle more.”
“Neither could I.”
The phone shifted again, and she appeared to be lying down. “Are things good? Loving work?”
“My team had our final presentation today, where we pitched the first stage of the brand relaunch.”
“And?”
I couldn’t sit still on the bed; I was still so excited about it. “We killed it.”
She was smiling as hard as me.
“It went better than all of us had hoped. The initial feedback has been super positive, but we won’t know for a few days.”
“So insanely proud of my girl right now.” She wiggled her shoulders, dancing. “You’re sacrificing a lot to be there, and you’re kicking ass.”
“Thank you.”
Her eyes narrowed, and a devious grin spread across her lips. “Any more run-ins with London?”
I laughed, shaking my head. She knew nothing beyond the first time I had seen him. “In passing,” I replied. “Nothing crazy.”
And that was all it had been when I saw him in the market and in the conference room.
Words, glances.
An increase of my heartbeat.
“I wonder what his story is now. For some reason, I’m dying to know.”
“I—” The sound of the room phone cut me off, and I had never been more thankful. “Hang on a second, Molly.” I reached for the landline on the nightstand. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Hamilton, this is Luuk from the front desk. I have a delivery for you. Would it be all right if I brought it up to your room now?”
“Yes, of course. Thank you.” I hung up and turned back to Molly. “Hold on. I have a delivery, and I need to slip on a robe because I’m far too lazy to put on a bra.”
She laughed as I climbed off the bed and went into the bathroom, wrapping the terrycloth around me before I headed for the door.
A gentleman was arriving just as I opened it, and he said, “Hello, Mrs. Hamilton.”
He handed me a large paper bag, and I instantly smelled food inside.
Then, he added, “Have a good evening,” before he left.
I thanked him and set the bag on the table.
“What is it?” Molly asked, watching me as I tried to open the top with one hand.
“Something yummy-smelling. I’m just not sure what.”
Although I had a feeling it was from Lance. We’d spoken right before I called Molly, and I’d told him about our presentation and how I was going out later with my coworkers to celebrate.
After pulling apart several staples, I unfolded the paper and looked inside. There was a cold bottle of champagne, three different kinds of soups, and a loaf of French bread. In the far corner was a sleeve that I lifted into my hand, and my heart clenched when I saw what was inside.