One Breathless Night(3)

Mindy and Zane agreed before they left, but not before Mindy gave Jenna an odd smile.

“You know what, honey?” Jenna said, catching Payton’s gaze. “Maybe next year, let’s think about going somewhere different for First Night.”

The way Payton looked at her, she might as well have asked if he wanted to go on a crime spree with her.

“Sure,” he said unconvincingly. “Why not? We can talk about it. What say I try and slog my way over to the bar again? We’ve got plenty of time. As long as I’m back before midnight.”

His expression, as eager as a she’d ever seen it, was all wrong. And why hadn’t he asked her to go with him. She’d known him too long to be this surprised. As he made his way through the throng of New Year’s Eve revelers, her heart sank.

Had they been coming to this reunion   party every year because of Faith?





2

RICK’S CELL PHONE VIBRATED. Stopped, and then did it again. Some oaf plowed into his back and the only thing that kept him on his feet was the mass of writhing, frenetic partygoers in a banquet room so packed it made him wish he and Faith had never come to the reunion  . But she’d asked, and he’d just been talking to his friend Sam, who’d wanted Rick to check out the prototype apartment in Boston, so it was a no-brainer. He wondered now if Faith’s interest in attending the party had been a little more personal than she’d led him to believe. She sure had liked catching up with Payton. Anyway, it didn’t matter. He and Faith had been having a good time. And it was only going to get better.

He pulled out his phone as Faith rubbed against him on the dance floor. It was a work call, and he couldn’t afford not to take it. There was no use telling her, not with the music so loud, but he held the phone up until she noticed and nodded at him.

He was grateful for the call. He liked to dance, but the band was loud enough to wake the dead. It took a bit of maneuvering, but finally he found himself in an overcrowded hallway, where he spotted a sign pointing him toward the restrooms.

Once inside, it was quieter. Still, his ears rang despite the high-end plugs he took out and put in his pocket. Not the pocket that held tonight’s surprise. The other one. Then he pressed speed dial.

“Happy New Year, you bastard.” Even in the echoing bathroom with two hand driers running, his coworker’s Jamaican-tinged taunt came in loud and clear.

“Antwan, if you just called to harass me, I’m going to program your iPod to play nothing but ABBA.”

“You’re the devil incarnate,” Antwan said. “Here I am minding the weather of the world while you’re out dancing the night away. But being that I’m a nice guy, I’m still going to tell you that downtown Boston is looking tricky around two in the morning. Big snow dump, so you and Faith should hightail it to that fancy apartment right quick after she says yes.”

Rick reached inside his other pocket and pulled out the one-point-four-carat engagement ring he’d put there just before they’d left the apartment. “Thanks, man. Any other trouble spots?”

“Why do you care? You’re still going to ask her to marry you, yes?”

“Yep. Right after we finish the kiss. It won’t be like...you know.”

The last time he’d planned to propose, he’d hidden the ring in his jeans pocket. It had been her birthday. They’d gone up in a hot air balloon, which had seemed like a great idea at the time. The first ten minutes of their special flight? Fantastic. After that? A complete snooze. For both of them. The mood was irretrievably lost somewhere over the Oliver Wildlife Preserve a year ago November.

Of course, if he’d really wanted to ask her the big question nothing would have stopped him, as Antwan had been quick to point out. But then his friend thought he was being an idiot to propose. Antwan liked Faith well enough, but he said he couldn’t see the sparks. He was too damn romantic. A shared sense of humor, purpose and comfort would last long after the honeymoon was over.

“I’m sure nothing will stop you this time.”

Rick’s pulse quickened, which was just his excitement over finally doing the deed. “You got it. Anyway—”

“Hold your horses, Ricky. I’m not finished. Book your flight home for early Saturday morning. That’s the only break I see before Boston gets hit by a series of wicked storms. Potentially record-breaking snowfall.”

“Well, that’s annoying. I made dinner reservations for tomorrow night—”

“Which you might be able to keep, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Damn. So, tomorrow night’s a maybe, then we leave on Saturday...how early?”

“Before ten.”

“Well, thanks a bunch.”

“Yes, because I specifically created the polar vortex just to screw up your holiday.”

“I knew it,” Rick said.

Antwan laughed. “You’re proposing, and it’s New Year’s Eve. At least you’ll have a couple of nights. So make them count. Don’t you two be glued to The Weather Channel, eh?”

Okay, now Antwan was being plain annoying. Rick and Faith had been living together for over three years and they always watched The Weather Channel before bed. Just one of the many things they had in common. She completely understood about his work and didn’t even blink when he would hare off with his storm-chaser team at the first hint of a supercell. Hell, most of the time, she’d head out, too. Not as part of his team, but to do her own reporting thing.

She’d come to live in Norman to be near the National Weather Center. They’d met when she’d interviewed him, and he’d known right away that the two of them would be good together.

“Anyway,” Antwan said, a grin clear in his voice, “what are you doing talking to me in some toilet when you could be with your fiancée?

“She’s not my fiancée yet. And how did you know I was in the bathroom?”

“Nothing says class like a flush in the background, my friend. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yeah. Thanks, buddy. Happy New Year.”

After disconnecting, Rick looked at the diamond again. It was all clean lines and flawless beauty, just like Faith. She didn’t really wear a lot of jewelry. Not that he’d seen. Which made sense. She was working out in their home gym every day that she wasn’t on assignment, or swimming at the rec center. And when they went climbing or scuba diving, jewelry wasn’t a good idea. But she’d wear an engagement ring. Probably.

He’d noticed one on Jenna’s finger. He wondered why good old Payton hadn’t mentioned she was his fiancée. The thought was cut short when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He spun around, dislodging the hand and ready to flatten the moron who’d touched him—until he got a whiff of the moron’s breath.

“Don’t do it,” the drunk said, his voice moist and sloppy. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties and was listing to his right. “Just live with her. ’N’ don’t have kids. They’ll drain you dry. Happy New Year.”

The man entered one of the stalls as Rick slipped the ring in his pocket. He hadn’t actually thought about marrying Faith, not until a couple of guys he worked with had started having kids. They were around his age and while he harassed them a lot, both of them seemed happier. From there the seed had been planted.

Besides, with Faith in his life, a future with kids didn’t sound so bad. She was an adventure junkie like him. They both had a major interest in atmospheric studies. And she was just the kind of woman he needed. Independent. Driven. Career-minded. Gorgeous. He’d never met a woman as easy to get along with. So yeah, even though Faith didn’t want kids now, she’d probably change her mind down the road. He wasn’t ready for them now, either. But he’d turned the first corner in his thinking. Sure, things would change. But they’d always looked forward to challenges.

Proposing to Faith was the logical next step. He wouldn’t say that last part to her, though. She’d just laugh and tell him his entire life was illogical. And he’d have agreed.

As he washed his hands, he thought again about that guy Faith had hugged. It was full-body contact. If he hadn’t seen it, he wouldn’t have believed it. She was most definitely not the huggy type. When she was forced into one, she’d bear it and come away with her very convincing fake smile, but she’d never initiated more than a guy hug—one shoulder to another, a quick pat on the back—when there was a choice.

Maybe she’d felt obligated to plaster herself against him? Some old debt she had to pay? No. She’d been smiling as if she’d just spotted a rare left-moving supercell.

What the hell was he worried about? Faith wasn’t interested in anything besides her work and, well, him. And Payton wasn’t as good-looking. Rick turned to check himself out in the mirror over the sink just to make sure. Damn it, he couldn’t tell. He looked more like a villain than Bond. Faith liked to call him dangerously sexy. Seriously, though, who named a guy Payton? Jesus. Still, weird name or not, he’d managed to get himself a hot fiancée.

The paper towels left something to be desired, but finally Rick couldn’t put it off any longer. He reinserted his earplugs and went back to find Faith. They only had twenty minutes until midnight.