Just knowing he was nearby sent the thrum of the bass to her sex…boom…boom…boom. Zoe continued to undulate to the music, moving her shoulders and hips in a slow shimmy, holding her arms over her head. A delicious shudder ran up her spine as he devoured her with his gaze. This was safe, she told herself. He could watch her and she could enjoy having him watch her without anything happening. She had Erica as her insurance tonight.
Erica is leaving tomorrow, her mind whispered.
Ignoring the nagging voice in her head, Zoe turned away from him, moving in slow, erotic circles. The men around her howled and made suggestive comments, but she was dancing only for Colin. When she’d come full circle, she looked up…but he was gone. Disappointment flooded her chest as she scanned the area, but she chastised herself, embarrassed at her behavior. She’d made it clear that she wasn’t going to pick up where they’d left off. And it looked as if he intended to respect her wishes.
Zoe sighed. Apparently he was a gentleman.
“I don’t think you’ve seen the last of him,” Erica said in her ear.
Zoe waved off her friend, pretending that she didn’t know what Erica was talking about. The rest of the evening held less interest for her, but she stayed until Erica was ready to leave. And Erica was determined to make the most of her last night of freedom. Her friend flirted and danced dirty with more than one guy, but ultimately turned down their end-of-the-evening invitations. Despite all her grousing about her sex-starved marriage, Erica didn’t appear to be looking for an affair.
“Let’s go,” she said around two in the morning. “I have to leave in a few hours and get back to reality.”
Zoe linked arms with her friend as they made the short walk back to the hotel. “Admit it, you miss Jim, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Erica said, her voice slurred and wistful. “Jim doesn’t burn up the sheets, but he rubs my feet and makes me laugh. That’s what’s important, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Zoe agreed.
“Besides, it’s too much to expect to have it all with one person—great sex and great love, right?”
“Right,” Zoe agreed, although Dr. Alexander had said quite the opposite in her Sex for Beginners class. Zoe’s mind and body were still buzzing from the earlier appearance—then disappearance—of Colin Cannon. The man pulled on her body’s rhythms like a cosmic force.
The temperature had grown cooler, so she hurried Erica along the cobbled streets to the hotel. Inside, she scanned the lobby, hoping for a glimpse of the owner, but only a few employees were on duty at this hour. When they arrived at their room, Erica phoned for a wake-up call and fell onto her bed in an immediate deep sleep.
Zoe, on the other hand, lay on her bed fully dressed. She stared at the ceiling, trying to sort through why she felt so muddled and restless, why her mind kept ping-ponging back and forth between two men, when one of them had stepped out of the picture—at her request. She felt torn and confused and angry at herself for doing something to jeopardize her feelings for Kevin.
Across the room, her cell phone rang, glowing in the darkness of the room. Zoe hurried to answer it so the noise wouldn’t disturb Erica. Kevin’s name and number flashed on the screen. She closed her eyes briefly before answering. “Hello?”
“Hi, Zoe. It’s me. Did I wake you?”
“Actually, no.” She slipped her feet into her shoes, grabbed her room key and headed out into the hallway in search of a quiet area where she could talk.
“Still getting used to the time change, huh?”
“Right,” she said, walking toward a sofa situated near the elevator. “How are you?” It was just after noon in Atlanta; he would be on his lunch break.
“Great,” he said, his voice jovial, as always. “I had a good ride yesterday. The new shoe clips make all the difference.”
“That’s nice,” she said, trying to work up some enthusiasm for his consuming pastime. After all, it would soon be a big part of her life, too.
“So how about you? Have you been doing anything fun?”
She winced as “fun” images of her and another man came to mind. “Oh, yeah, Erica and I have been practically living in the spa.”
“She leaves today, doesn’t she?”
“In a few hours.”
“Gee, won’t you be lonely?”
“No,” she assured him, and to her dismay, once again Colin’s face popped into her head. “I’m looking forward to some quiet time.”
“I hate to bring it up, but my mother called again about the seating chart for the reception. My aunt Lynn and my aunt Marion are fighting, so they can’t sit at the same table.”
Zoe put her hand to her temple. Oh, yeah—the wedding. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh, and I found out that the Olympic cycling team will be performing time trials while we’re in Boulder. Isn’t that great?”
“That’s great,” she agreed. Kevin, how about riding me as hard as you ride that bike of yours? She swallowed the facetious words and instead said, “Hope we won’t be too tied up to enjoy our honeymoon.” Tied up. She groaned inwardly at the slip of her tongue.
“No way,” Kevin said easily. “It’s going to be a fantastic trip. By the way, I moved your kitchen table and chairs to my place.”
“Thanks,” she said, thinking how comfortably they moved in and around each other. They had decided to live in his small house and save money for something larger. Kevin had begun moving things from her apartment little by little. It was natural…so why did it suddenly bother her? Why did it feel as if he was encroaching, that she was being absorbed into his life?
“I have to run, Zoe, but it’s good to hear your voice. I don’t want you to forget about me while you’re on the other side of the world.”
She tried to match his light tone. “Not a chance.”
“Talk to you soon?”
“Absolutely.”
“I love you, Zoe.”
“I…love you, too.” She disconnected the call and leaned her head back on the sofa, soaking in the silence of the hotel hallway. Why was she suddenly questioning everything she had thought to be right?
Too wide-awake to return to her room, she pushed to her feet and punched the elevator call button. After stepping inside, she scanned the floor directory and remembered the hotel had a rooftop garden. It sounded like a nice place to clear her head. Zoe punched the button to take her to the top of the hotel and listened to the chime as she ascended each floor.
When the car stopped and the elevator doors opened, a cool breeze blew across her face, lifting her hair off her neck. Stepping across the threshold, Zoe inhaled the scent of moss and earth and gasped at the almost magical quality of the garden at this quiet hour. Lanterns hanging from shepherds’ hooks illuminated the area, made up of plants, trees and flowers in containers and in box beds created from tiered timbers. A chest-high wall surrounded the rooftop oasis.
She walked over to take in the view, enchanted by the panorama of twinkling lights from the Harbour Bridge, the water and surrounding buildings. All was quiet, bound up in sleep. The predawn horizon was a clear dark teal, hinting at a beautiful day to come. Zoe crossed her arms against the chill, feeling blessed, as if the scene was hers alone to savor.
The sound of a small fountain bubbling led her away from the wall and into the garden, toward one of several benches faintly illuminated by underlighting. The aroma of a cigar reached her just as the glow of an ash appeared. Realizing she wasn’t alone, she murmured, “Pardon me,” and turned to go.
“Don’t leave, Zoe,” a man’s voice said.
A familiar voice. One that caused her vital signs to go haywire.
“Colin, is that you?” She stared until she could make out his large frame sprawled on the bench.
“Yes. My body hasn’t yet adjusted to the time change. For some reason, this time it’s worse than usual.” His disembodied voice rolled over her, richly accented. Strine, as Australians would say.
“I know what you mean,” she confessed.
“Come sit with me.”
“I shouldn’t—”
“Please. Help me figure this out.”
Compelled, she edged closer and felt her way to the bench, lowering herself gingerly. Their knees brushed as she sat back, sending vibrations through her midsection. Her eyes quickly acclimated to the dark. She could see his face and noticed that he was wearing the same clothes he’d worn earlier, when he’d watched her dance. Her heart thudded in her chest. “Figure what out?”
He took his time snuffing the cigar in some kind of container. “This…attraction between us,” he said finally, sounding perplexed. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re an exceptionally beautiful woman. But I’ve known lots of beautiful women and none of them have made me lose my appetite or zone out during a business meeting.” He moved closer and suddenly his mouth was near her ear. “Did you cast some kind of spell on me?”
She laughed softly at his remark, even as desire surged through her body. “No,” she managed to say.
“I want you again, Zoe.”