One Breathless Night(15)
“Okay, I believe you. For now. Although from what I’m seeing on the magic TVs, I may get to know all the ins and outs of the apartment before I’m able to leave.”
“I’m just hoping to learn your ins and outs,” he said, sidling up to her again.
“No.” Jenna winced while trying not to smile. “Don’t use that line again. Ever. Although I’m flattered and pleased by the sentiment behind it.”
He shook his head. “Guess I’m pretty rusty.”
Jenna turned away to sip her coffee. “How long have you and Faith been together?”
That certainly changed the mood, but it was also inevitable. “Five years, give or take. It wasn’t that formal with us. We were so much alike, we just fell into being a couple.”
Jenna didn’t say anything for a minute, then she asked, “Do you think Payton is the first guy she—” Jenna shrugged. “Sorry, I guess it really doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t know,” he said, in all honesty. “I’d never had doubts about her. Obviously we had different views of the relationship.” He drank some coffee then opened the fridge, checking out the contents. He didn’t want to talk about Faith anymore.
There were eggs, of course, but the double-door Sub-Zero was packed with all kinds of odd stuff. He slid out the meat drawer looking for bacon. He found some, although he didn’t recognize the brand, but mostly the drawer was full of white packages. He read the label on the top package. “Whoa.” He stuck his head out from behind the fridge door. “You’ve got to see this.”
“What’s wagyu beef?” she asked, sidling up next to him, casually slinging her arm around his waist. She picked up another white package. “Free-range wild-boar tenderloin?”
“What a relief,” he said. “That’s the only kind of wild boar I eat.” He joined in, picking up the last package in the meat compartment. “Chicken and poussin,” he said, “with recipes taped to the back.”
She didn’t look. Instead, she was checking the middle shelf. “There are fresh truffles in here. And caviar.”
“Damn good beer, too,” Rick said, and then pointed to a tall, slim cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. “Wine fridge.”
She looked at him, grinning as if they’d just broken into a big mansion in the Back Bay. “Just how rich does someone have to be to stay here?”
“Really, really rich, I imagine. Bill Gates rich? I don’t know. Way richer than me.” He put the package of chicken back. “Can you cook?”
“Real-person food, sure. I have no idea what one would do with poussin. In fact, I don’t know what a poussin is. And honestly? If I was rich enough to stay here, the last thing I’d want to do is cook.”
Rick shrugged. “At least we won’t get bored if we can’t get out. What the hell. We’ll become great chefs and get our own television show. Could be worse.”
His phone ringing in the living room was a reality check. Jenna went to the counter to refill her coffee, but her smile had disappeared before she’d turned away. Obviously, she’d recognized Faith’s ringtone. No surprise since there had been a lot of texting going on last night.
He went to the living room and caught the call before it could switch to voice mail.
“Hey,” Faith said. “Are you still in Boston?”
“Yeah.”
“You might be there for a while if you’re not careful.”
“Where are you?”
“Didn’t you get my texts?”
“I missed a few.” He sat down, and the fireplace clicked on and the weather feed appeared on the wall.
“Ah. Well, I’m on my way to Mexico City. There’s been a major quake.”
“How did you get a flight out?” Not that he was shocked she had. She’d actually hitched a ride from the United States Air Force once.
“I got lucky. I was able to catch the last flight out before Logan shut down. And, well, I was hoping you’d ship my things home.”
He was about to answer, when she said, “Wait, what I wanted to say first was that I’m sorry. I was inexcusably stupid last night. And mean and rude. Nothing happened between Payton and me, but that kiss was... I don’t know what I was thinking. Payton was from a long time ago, and I had no desire to pick up where we left off. But I really am sorry I screwed up our vacation. I know how hard it was for you to take time off. And yes, the weekend would have been ruined, anyway, what with me dashing off for this story. But I heard this quake was worse than the one in ’85.”
There came the first truly awkward silence between them that he could ever remember. He should have said something, but he was too shocked. Not by anything new, but a recognition of something he should have known all along and Faith had just confirmed.
Her apology was completely in keeping with their relationship. Everything between them was built on a base of convenience and the agreement that the work came first. He tried to remember why he’d thought marrying Faith was a good idea. At the moment, he couldn’t come up with anything except that it felt like the next thing to do.
“I don’t blame you for still being pissed,” Faith said, ending the silence. “But I’d really appreciate it if you shipped my bag home.”
Rick flinched. He wondered what she thought would happen in terms of their living arrangement. Or if she’d even considered it. “No problem.”
“Thanks.” She paused again. “Is Jenna with you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not asking if—”
“I know,” he said, rubbing a hand down his face. It might’ve been nice if she’d sounded a little jealous. For old times’ sake if nothing else.
“It’s just that...well, I think you should let her know that nothing happened between me and Payton. He’s a good man. That hasn’t changed since I knew him in college. He’s beside himself over the stupid kiss. He truly loves her. It would be a real shame if this mistake cost them their future together. So, maybe apologize for me? And if they haven’t already spoken, you could give her a heads-up.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“I’ll call you when I can, but don’t be surprised if it’s in a few days. I heard communication is going to be tough. Anyway, I’m glad I got to talk to you. And please believe me. I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said, and he supposed it was. Shit, everyone they knew treated them like roommates who had sex. Convenient sex. Convenient kisses. Easy fun. No wonder he wasn’t heartbroken. She’d never had his heart.
But that wasn’t true for Jenna. She loved Payton. They had a real chance to get back together, to make a life with each other. The last thing he wanted for her was to have regrets about what they’d done, but there was nothing he could do now. Except tell her the truth. His foolish thoughts about spending the day together making out, eating, making love, cooking, having another night of fireworks. All that was out the frigid window.
Damn it.
But then again, it was the start of a new year. And he was entering it a little wiser and a little sadder.
8
RICK THOUGHT ABOUT changing the sheets, which was a completely idiotic use of his brain. The residual anger he’d felt since he’d seen Faith smiling up at Payton was turning into embarrassment. And feeling like that was also foolish, because Faith hadn’t known about the ring. Had never known about his intermittent thoughts of marriage. What was that, anyway? Even if there was such a thing as a male biological clock, it hadn’t ticked very loudly. The odds of Faith wanting to add children to her leave-in-a-minute lifestyle were slim.
The closest he could come to a solid guess as to why he’d wanted to get married wasn’t flattering. Life with Faith had been simple. The least complicated relationship he’d ever had. By sheer luck he’d found a partner whose priorities were work first, adventure second, sex third. Marriage was probably on page twenty-seven, sandwiched between buying a motorcycle and learning to surf.
He’d wanted to freeze time. Guarantee smooth sailing for the rest of his life. He sighed, disappointed at his subconscious. Idiot.
Right now, though, Jenna was in the kitchen, undoubtedly wondering where he was and why he was taking so long. As he pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt, he made a plan for what to say to Jenna. There was no use delaying things. She deserved to know that nothing had happened between Faith and Payton, and that Payton wanted to patch things up.
Although delaying things had its own appeal.
Even though he knew their forced captivity wasn’t going to last, the idea of kissing her, touching her—God, making love with her—filled him with more than just lust. He couldn’t pinpoint what that feeling was. Given they’d known each other for all of ten minutes, it likely had something to do with their so-called shared trauma.
That wasn’t fair. The situation was different for Jenna. He supposed for her it was a level-five trauma—complete devastation. He’d just have to suck it up and do the right thing because Jenna deserved that.
With a deep breath and a mental shove out the door, he found her on the couch, still in her robe.