Lucky her. “So I was wondering if we might be able to do that again.”
Looking amused, he said, “Were you under the impression that we were done?”
“I wasn’t sure. I mean, I hoped we weren’t.”
“We’re just getting started,” he said with a sexy grin. “And this time, I might even let you be on top.”
*
The next night, while Rowena was waiting for Betty, her phone rang, and the number that popped up on the caller ID belonged to Cara. Rowena had forgotten all about their Angelica Pierce conversation.
Rowena assumed she had some sort of information, but instead Cara told her, “Block out the last week in March on your calendar. You’re coming to D.C.”
“I am?”
“Well, I figured you wouldn’t want to miss my wedding!”
“You and Max set a date! Congratulations! And of course I want to be there.”
Cara laughed. “Like I thought you would say no. It’s probably going to be a small ceremony, but feel free to bring a date. In fact, I’m hoping you do.”
Rowena’s first thought was Colin, of course. As if that would ever happen. They’d had their one night, and now it was over. And despite what he said, he never really had let her get on top. Something she would always regret missing.
“I actually have someone in mind,” Rowena told her.
“You do?” Cara said, sounding excited. “Who?”
“Well, he’s really cute. He has naturally curly red hair, hazel eyes, about thirty inches tall…”
Cara laughed. “I was thinking someone just a bit older, but we would love it if you brought Dylan. Oh, and by the way, I did put out the feelers on Angelica, but with everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had time to follow up.”
“To be honest, I haven’t even thought about it, so don’t feel rushed. I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t been keeping up with the news.”
“Well, Ariella has been so bombarded by the media that she went back into hiding, and Eleanor Albert seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. No one knows where she disappeared to.”
Rowena felt so bad for Ariella. She didn’t know her well, but the few times they had crossed paths, she seemed very nice.
Rowena and Caroline talked for a few minutes more, until Betty came in.
“I’m assuming this is for you,” Betty said, handing her a letter-sized white envelope. “It was taped to your door.”
Curious, Rowena tore it open. Inside was a folded sheet of white paper with two words penned in unfamiliar handwriting.
Pool House.
Hadn’t they decided that last night was going to be their one and only time together? That it wasn’t worth getting caught?
She walked to the pool house, rehearsing in her head how she would turn him down.
The pool house was dark, but the door was unlocked. She opened it and stepped inside. There was a lit candle on the coffee table, the blanket was spread out on the floor and Colin, dressed in a pair of faded jeans and nothing else, sat in the middle of it. She opened her mouth to speak, only to find that her carefully rehearsed excuses were forgotten.
“I had dinner with your father tonight,” he said.
“Oh. That’s…nice.”
“He actually wasn’t feeling well. Migraine, he said. So he took a sleeping pill and went to bed. I don’t imagine there’s any chance of him waking up and coming down to the pool.”
No, when he took a sleeping pill he was usually down for the night.
“We said one time,” she reminded him, but her legs were already carrying her across the room to the blanket.
“You’re right, we did. So, what’s to stop us from saying one more time?”
“The more chances we take, the more likely we are to get caught.”
“That’s what makes it so much fun.” He flashed her that sizzling grin, and she was done for.
“Okay, but this is the absolute last time,” she said, tugging her cover-up over her head. “And only on one condition.”
“Name it,” he said, watching as she peeled her bathing suit off and made herself comfortable straddling his thighs.
“This time,” she said, “I get to be on top.”
Eight
Two nights turned into three, and three into four, until Rowena and Colin finally admitted that they were having themselves a full-blown affair. One that they agreed would end when he went back to England. That was the part Colin was feeling slightly ambivalent about.
Not that he was thinking marriage, or even long term. The truth was, he didn’t know what he was feeling. Maybe because she was a complete departure from the spoiled and pampered socialites he’d dated in the past. The ones who accepted his decision to keep things casual, then did whatever they could to snag their claws in. Rowena didn’t have claws, or inhibitions, and she certainly knew how to have fun. And though she had made her share of mistakes, they had clearly given her an interesting outlook on life. She was sexy and intelligent and fun. And tough. She spoke her mind, even if what she said wasn’t popular opinion. He found himself fascinated by nearly everything that came out of her mouth. At the same time, she knew when it was better to say nothing at all.