AUGUST
Chapter 21
Amy entered the gallery extremely late and walking carefully on pins and needles. She wished she’d made arrangements to come with Julia or Alice rather than meeting them here. The place was filled with E.E.R. employees and she was terrified she’d run into Carlos.
In the last three weeks Amy had seen Carlos in person exactly four times. She’d stopped taking lunch at the cafeteria altogether and avoided his side of the third floor like the plague. Despite her efforts, every time she’d seen him had been in passing in various public places at E.E.R.
Carlos wanted to talk. He’d sent a novel length text message explaining everything that had been said between him and Kimberly on the day they’d parted ways. Amy hadn’t answered. Somehow the idea that he had allowed them to be torn apart by his petty ex-wife was a sticking point for her. She needed to get past it.
She also needed to deal with her own duplicity. If she had told Carlos about her plans to buy the adventure center none of this would have happened. Unable to figure out exactly what to do next, she’d avoided him like plague, lying low at work and staying at her old apartment with Marcel and Robbie. It was a lot of effort, but so far she had been pretty successful.
So it shouldn’t have been a surprise when the minute she walked in the door of the gallery she ran right into Everett and Carlos.
The two men stood just to the left of the door, almost as if they were waiting in ambush. Not knowing they were there, Amy didn’t know to veer right. Instead, she nearly slammed directly into the tall, dark man of her dreams as she sought to hug the wall of the gallery rather than walk directly into the center of it.
“Amy,” Carlos said, his voice low and thick.
She stared up at him, her eyes wide, her mouth dry, and feet planted into the floor as if it were wet concrete. She said nothing. Not a thing.
“Hi, Amy,” Everett said from somewhere to her right.
She didn’t look at the company’s owner. Instead, her gaze remained locked on those incredible chocolate eyes that made her insides turn into molten lava. She moved her feet backward for a little space. The concrete seemed to suck them back in as her muscles engaged. She needed to use great effort to pull each foot up and move it a few inches back.
“I have to find Maya,” she said as she drifted, at glacial speed, away from Carlos.
His body lurched forward slightly, almost imperceptibly, before he stopped himself. His beautiful lips turned down in what Amy could only describe as a true frown. It almost stopped her backward movement.
“Amy!” Maya’s voice was enough to force Amy’s head around.
Through the throngs of people crowded into the open space, she spotted Maya, waving her hand over her head. Amy waved back and turned to move toward Maya. When she reached her friend, Amy looked back over her shoulder. And just like that, Carlos was gone.
“I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Maya said, pulling her into a hug.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I was just…”
“Avoiding Carlos. Yeah. It doesn’t seem to have worked.” Maya looked in the direction of the door. “I think he’s gone now, though. Which is strange because I could have sworn he was hanging around waiting for you.”
A change of subject was needed. “Where are Julia and Alice?”
“They’ve come and gone already, sweetheart.”
Amy frowned, the move reminding her of the look she’d just seen on Carlos’ face. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, you’re here now. There’s still about thirty minutes left before we have to close up. Why don’t you check out my art? Oh, and have a glass of champagne.”
Maya flagged down a waiter who was wandering around the room with a tray of plastic glasses filled with tan bubbly. The tray was overloaded and Amy recognized the look of a server trying to get rid of the last of the opened bottles before closing time.
“Here.” Maya grabbed a glass and shoved it into Amy’s hand. “Listen, honey. I’m sorry to do this. But I have to go. That’s a reporter over there.” Maya pointed to a young man in baggy pants and a casual blazer who stood against the far wall with a camera around his neck and tablet in his hand. She kissed Amy on the cheek and then she was gone.
Amy made her way through the gallery examining each piece Maya had expertly crafted. Amy had always suspected that Maya was incredibly talented, but until that moment she hadn’t actually seen it in person.
She stood, lingering in front of a large oil painting, when she heard a voice say, “Pretty amazing, isn’t she?”
Recognizing the voice, Amy stopped herself from fleeing. Instead she turned her head to find Everett Evans towering beside her. Her boss’s boss’s boss was tall and muscular, intimidating maybe, and to her, a bit of a nuisance at the moment.
Amy now knew Everett had become convinced she was the enemy, a wanton woman out to conquer, use, and toss away his best friend. It did not put him at the top of the list of people she wanted to hang out with at the moment.
Amy moved to the next painting, but it didn’t help. Everett followed her. “Need a refill?” He held out a fresh glass of champagne.
If he was going to follow her she figured she might as well drink. She handed him the empty glass and took the full one. She drained it in two long draws and handed that one back as well. “I took a cab here,” she said evenly.
Everett laughed and turned away. Amy gazed at the painting in front of her for a few moments, but when she moved to the next piece he was standing right there again, holding another glass of champagne. He held it out to her and she took it, raising an eyebrow at him. “What do you want, Mr. Evans?”
Everett rolled his eyes. He absolutely forbade any of his staff from ever calling him Mr. Evans, which is exactly why she’d done it. She wasn’t usually so insubordinate, but he was partly responsible for the deep sense of loss she felt each and every day. Also, she figured she had nothing to lose anymore.
“I know you’re pissed at me. And you have every right to be. Can we talk?” He gestured with his head toward a glass-enclosed office that sat off the main lobby.
The thing was basically a fish bowl, but it did provide a place where there weren’t any prying ears. Without actually voicing her agreement, Amy marched into the little room, not bothering to see if Everett was following. But of course, he was.
When she heard the door click closed she turned on him. “So. What do you want to say to me?” Amy leaned up against a desk that sat near the center of the room, her posture that of an angsty teenager, something she’d never really been.
Everett took a few steps forward but stopped with plenty of space between them. “Well, for starters I want to apologize to you. It seems I’ve spent a lot of time listening to other people’s talk and not enough time getting to know you.”
Amy drained her champagne, put the glass on the desk behind her and folded her arms across her chest. “And how do you know that talk isn’t true?”
“First, two people I care about, pretty much more than any other people in the world, both think you’re nothing I thought you were and say only good things about you. That should have counted for something from the beginning, I suppose.” Amy idly wondered who the second person was. But before she could piece it together, he continued. “Second, I watched you enough to see that you have integrity, and that’s no front. And third, I saw what happened out there.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the main gallery. “I saw two people absolutely crazy for each other. That’s what that was.”
Amy had no idea how to respond. “Um…okay.”
Everett took a step closer to her, looking a little like he was approaching a wild animal. “Are you really gonna let a bunch of stubborn people and an evil ex get between you?”
Amy’s anger spiked. “I’m not alone in this. He dumped me!” She thumped her chest with two fingers.
“So, go yell at him. Tell him all the shit you’ve been saying to your bathroom mirror for the last couple of weeks.”
Aside from her own culpability, stubbornness, and a sense of incompetence as a relationship neophyte, Amy couldn’t think of a single reason why she shouldn’t. She launched herself off the desk, the champagne causing courage but not stupidity, or wobbliness for that matter, thank goodness. “I need a cab.”
“No worries. I’ll drive you.” Everett held the door to the office open. Amy hesitated for just a fraction of a second before taking the offer and marching through the doorway.
****
The banging brought Carlos out of his self-pitying haze. Curiosity drew him to the door, but as he was making his way there he heard a key turn in the lock. His body and his heart stopped. Only one person had a key to his place, Amy.
She walked through the door like a welcomed storm. Her bright eyes shone with fury and her silky hair flew behind her as she charged into the room, coming right for him.
She threw her purse, literally threw it. It landed with a thud on the floor near the kitchen island. She didn’t stop moving until she’d planted herself in front of him, hands on her hips, lips pursed in anger.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said cheerily. He couldn’t help it, he was so damned happy to see her.
“I have some things I want to say to you, Carlos Emmanuel Diaz.”
His grin grew wider. He resisted the urge to touch her. Instead, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks and leaned back in a casual stance. It was in great contrast to her aggressive one. She stood a few feet away, her body leaned toward him, her arms making an angry teapot.
“The floor is all yours, baby.”
His acquiesce took some of the heat out of her fire. But she still had an edge of fury to her voice when she spoke. “I have some guilt. And I’ll get to that. But I want to talk about what you did wrong first.”
She paused, perhaps to give him the chance to argue the point. But he didn’t. Instead he nodded.
Looking a little surprised, but pushing through it, Amy continued. “You didn’t fight for me. You let that evil witch you were once married to sabotage us without putting up a fight.”
She’d stopped and he knew it was time to come to his own defense. But he didn’t. “You’re right.”
Her face went from anger to hurt in a matter of seconds and it made him want to pull her into his arms. But he stayed planted where he was for the moment.
“Because? What? You do actually want Kim back, as she once implied?” She emphasized the nickname he, and only he, used for his ex-wife. Carlos didn’t believe for a moment that Amy actually thought that. It was her next words that rang of honesty and hurt. “Or is it just because you don’t love me enough?”
Carlos took one long, shuddering breath. “No. That’s not it.” He gave his voice as much finality as he possibly could. “I love you more than you can know.”
“Then why?” She pleaded with him to give her the comfort she needed.
“I want to give you everything I can. I want to make you happy. I want your life to be perfect. Even at the expense of my own. And I can’t seem to fathom that I could make you happier than the perfect job could.” With the truth laid out before them, he let out a deep sigh and waited.
Amy’s brow puckered up. Her eyes watered. Her mouth turned down in a deep frown. “No job could make me happier than you,” she murmured, as if this should have been the most obvious thing in the world. “That’s not how it works, Carlos. I don’t have to choose my career or you. It’s just not…” A soft sob escaped her.
“You’re right. It was…I was looking at it wrong.” Carlos pulled his hands out of his pockets and took a tentative step toward her.
Amy held her hands up and it stopped him in his tracks. “Wait. I screwed up, too. We should talk about that.”
Even as she spoke, her eyes roamed his chest, which happened to be bare because he’d spilled beer all over himself a few moments before Amy came in the door and was on his way to the shower. Turns out it was a happy coincidence. The heat in her gaze could not be mistaken.
Carlos took a step closer. She didn’t back up and she didn’t try to stop him. He reached out one hand and put it on the back of her neck, beneath her cascading hair. He rubbed gently with his thumb at the base of her skull. She let out a soft little moan.
“Why don’t we talk about what you did wrong later?” he suggested.
“No. See there’s so much more,” she said. But her resolve was weakening. He could see it in the flash of her blue eyes as they roamed his face, pausing at his mouth.
Carlos leaned in and pressed his lips to the spot just beneath her ear. “I didn’t ask you what you wanted to do about all this shit with the job. I didn’t take your plans into consideration,” he said on a whisper. “I am so sorry. I won’t ever let it happen again.”
She nodded. “And I didn’t tell you my plans.”
She was breathless. And while Carlos was curious about what she meant by that last statement, he had more pressing needs at the moment. “Let’s discuss it later.” His other hand wrapped itself around her waist.
Amy leaned her head over so he could have full access to her neck. Carlos took advantage and began to suck on it gently, moving down and back up again in a hypnotic motion.
“I need you to give me ten thousand dollars,” Amy breathed.
Whatever shock might normally have accompanied a statement like that was lost in Carlos’ lust. He registered it, but chose not to have a reaction. Instead, he reached his hand down to unzip her adorable little skirt. It flittered down her legs and landed in a circle at her feet. Carlos’ hand then wound its way around her perfect ass, squeezing at the silk panties gently.
“Okay. You can have it.”
Amy pulled back to look at him. “I can have it? Ten thousand dollars? Really?” She paused. “You have that?”
Carlos pulled her face back to his and said against her lips. “I have it and it’s yours. I’ll transfer it to you in the morning.” Then he kissed her.
Amy’s kiss only remained hesitant for a split second. Then she sank into him. She was boneless, so he lifted her up, swinging her legs into his arms. As he carried her to the bedroom, Amy began peppering his neck with soft kisses.
“Don’t you want to know what the money is for?” she asked.
She obviously didn’t understand how much more whatever she wanted mattered to him than a few thousand dollars. And she may not understand how deeply he trusted her. She was a smart, intelligent woman. Whatever she wanted to do with ten thousand dollars was well within her capabilities. She also didn’t understand how easily he could put off any and all activities that didn’t involve Amy naked on their bed.
Carlos laid her down and crawled over her. “Don’t care right now, baby.” He pulled off her silk panties. “It’s not that I don’t care in general. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me,” he amended. “I just don’t care right now.”
He took a moment to admire her smooth legs, running his palms up from her knees to where her thighs met. She let out a little moan as his thumb parted her and played a little, moving gently from side to side.
Amy’s hips bucked off the bed and she said his name, slowly, like it was pulled from her. Unable to resist tasting her any longer, Carlos leaned forward and reached out to her with his tongue.
As soon as he made contact she cried out again. The sounds she made flowed through him, spurring him on. He moved toward her orgasm as if it were his greatest goal in life. And at that moment, it was.
When she’d climaxed with a loud keening, he crawled up to take her mouth with his. Amy kissed him back harshly. She gripped the back of his head, weaving her fingers into his hair. The sting on his scalp was perfect ecstasy.
Carlos rolled onto his back, wanting Amy’s fire to consume him. She sat up on his waist, yanking off her shirt and bra so she was gloriously naked.
“Off,” she said impatiently, pulling at his zipper.
Carlos helped her rid him of his pants and boxers. Then, a glint of intensity burning in her eyes, Amy climbed on him again and lowered herself down, sheathing him in everything he ever needed.
“Baby,” he whispered, barely able to breath through the pleasure. “I will never let you go again.”
Amy pulled her body up, leaving him momentarily bereft. “You’re goddamn right you won’t.” Then she pushed back down, giving him heaven once more.