Nor was it lost on him that Lauren had complained more than once about her first husband’s absences, but seemed almost anxious to get rid of her second, asking Paolo practically the minute he was in the door when he’d be leaving next.
It didn’t help that he was doubling up on his overseas duties, trying to square away as much as possible and delegate responsibilities so he could take time when the baby came. He felt like a schoolboy watching the clock, waiting for the bell that would release him into his life outside these walls, where Lauren and their baby were waiting.
An abrupt cancellation of a meeting by a European union representative allowed him to leave Zurich at noon, rather than waiting until the morning. Paolo frowned at the nearly visceral relief from pain. What was happening to him?
He brushed past the flight attendant in his own jet and had to fight the urge to enter the cockpit. He shouldn’t be so agitated that he wanted to take up old coping strategies, but waiting to be taken to Lauren felt intolerable. He wanted to pilot his return to her at his own agitated speed, pushing where possible and landing in record time before opening up the engine of his sports car full throttle to the lake house.
He made himself hold back, determined not to regress into that impetuous young man who’d taken too many chances because he couldn’t contain his emotions. Intense feelings that he’d managed to tamp down for years had been flaring up ever since Lauren had sashayed back into his life. That was intolerable.
He pushed his finger and thumb into his eye sockets, pinching the bridge of his nose and reaching for patience. What he felt for Lauren was completely uncontrollable. The more he fought it, the worse it got.
Silently resolving to master himself, he held to his typical land speed of merely outrageous rather than testing the true limits of the car’s engine. That might denote desperation and he wasn’t quite there yet. He told himself.
To his surprise, Lauren was in the entryway shrugging a jacket over her shoulders. She froze as he entered. She had her boots on and an overnight bag at her feet, but a startled flash-fire of joy overrode her initial shock, sending a kick of emotion into his gut. The apprehension he’d been nursing fell away.
“I was going to email you and tell you to meet me at the penthouse. I thought you said you’d be home tomorrow.” She came forward to greet him with a kiss full of sensuous welcome. Her weight tilted into him so her bump nudged his stomach.
He wove his fingers into the warm strands of her hair, unable to stop himself from keeping her close so he could feast on her supple lips. Dio! It felt like it had been months.#p#分页标题#e#
When she broke away, her face shone with excitement. “This works, too. We can drive in together,” she said breathlessly.
“I just got here.” He set his keys on the table so he could properly pull her close and absorb the feel of her. His equilibrium began to balance out.
“Yes, but—”
Paolo cut her off, kissing her with the hungry insistence that always melted her bones. Lauren was tempted. He ignited her blood, every time. But it was exactly that sensation of coming to life after days of flatness that made her draw back.
“I’m meeting someone,” she told him, and explained about reaching the woman who had known the man her grandmother had been seeing.
Paolo frowned. “Surely you can put that off?”
Lauren carefully extricated herself from Paolo’s firm grip. He looked drained and tired and she felt herself softening, but what happened the next time and the next? She had to start standing up for what she wanted. If he loved her, it might be different, but given the state of their marriage, she needed to establish emotional independence.
“I could,” she conceded, aware of crumpled hope sitting like litter in her heart. “But why should I?”
“Because your husband arrived home early and you’d prefer to catch up with him since he’ll be gone again later this week. She’ll understand and reschedule, I’m sure.”
Well, that answered that question. Lauren’s face hurt, trying not to react. She stared at the wall, already suffering the quiet desperation of his next absence. Something had to change. She had to fill her life with more than pining for her husband.
“I don’t want to wait,” she said tonelessly.
Paolo’s hands dropped away. “No? Perhaps I should have stayed in Switzerland then.”
“I thought you were staying in Switzerland. That’s why I made plans. When you make plans, do I get in the way of them?” she challenged.
“I’m well aware you don’t give a damn if I’m here or not, Lauren.”