CHAPTER NINE
Margo woke to a lot of sun that didn’t belong in her bedroom. Simon may have loved the view from their bedroom, but he had a special tint on the windows so that it didn’t sear the eyeballs first thing in the morning.
She loved that about their room.
And loved that he thought of those things.
She groaned into the small gray pillow she’d commandeered in the night. Lila had tried to coax her into her spare bedroom, but the second bottle of wine had done her in. She’d meant to sleep just enough to kill some of the alcohol and get home before dawn. She had much to discuss with Simon. And she was fairly certain dawn had traded time with noon.
She rolled to a seated position and moaned. The clock definitely said 11:47 AM. Thankfully, she didn’t have a studio session with the guys today. There was no way she’d live down being late twice. Professional, her big butt.
“You live.”
Margo pushed her hair out of her face. “You’re here.”
“I live here.”
“Well, yeah, but I figured you’d be at work.”
“I’ve been working from here. Nothing pressing at the office.”
Lila was wearing a sleeveless white flowing shirt and old jeans with frayed bottoms. The mere fact that Lila owned jeans was just odd. She pretty much personified the corporate raider look. Suits, more suits, and oh…more suits. All with superior shoes and perfectly coiffed hair.
Okay, so even in the jeans she was pretty much perfect. Lila’s hair was pulled back into a simple tail and her eyes didn’t show a single hour of the drunk shenanigans they’d gotten into the night before. There was no justice in the world.
Lila came over with a large mug. “I figured the coffeemaker would wake you up.”
“God, yes.” She accepted the mug and took a sip. “Bless you.”
“Bless Keurig.”
“Done.” She took another sip. “So much wine.”
“Yeah, I haven’t drunk that much wine in one sitting since…well, it’s been years.”
“And I hate that you look so good.”
“I’d say take a shower and wear something of mine but…”
“My ass would not fit in your clothes.”
Lila grinned. “No. Sorry. Maybe my shirts. We are quite chesty.”
“Can say that again. Simon’s forever…” Margo trailed off. He probably wouldn’t be groping her anytime soon.
“It’s okay. You know you need to go get him back, right?”
She stared at the perfectly creamed coffee and blew on it. “Why would he want me back?”
“Duh. He loves you. Madly. Just tell him.”
“I tell him.”
“Mean it. He needs to know.” Lila rolled her eyes. “Grand gestures aren’t just for girls at the end of romantic comedies. Go get him.”
“He’s working.”
Lila held out Margo’s phone. “All charged. Call Stef.”
Margo took the phone and swiped it to life. She flicked through her contacts until she found Stef Wesley, Simon’s agent. “The levels of unprofessional are epic here.”
“Good. Adds to the appeal. Simon knows how you’re built. Doing this is big.”
“Instigator.”
“Look, I didn’t do this stuff, all right? I just let my marriage slide into what it became. My husband had plenty of blame in the demise, but I didn’t try to fix things. Not after a certain point anyway. You two don’t deserve that.”
“We’re not married.”
“Yet.”
“Marriage really doesn’t work out for the Reece family.”
“You are not your parents, Margo. Do you need that tattooed to your arm, hand, or forehead?”
She let out a half laugh. “No, but you have to agree that my background isn’t ideal.”
“Simon isn’t your father. But you know what? Even if he doesn’t turn out to be the guy I’m fairly certain he is…treating him like he’s already committed the sin will surely make it happen.”
Margo slumped against the couch, her phone on her lap. She’d never thought of it that way.
“I’m not saying it can’t happen.” Lila sat next to her. “Being faithful was not one of my husband’s finer qualities.”
Margo gripped Lila’s hand. “Then you know what I mean.”
“Has he given you any reason to mistrust him? Any at all?”
She forced herself to think about it. On the island, she’d seen the girls crawl on him—even the tour, women had been less than subtle about their availability. Simon never made a woman feel bad about throwing the offer out there, but he always extricated himself from the situation when she’d been around.
And even when he didn’t know she’d been there. He was a natural toucher which had been weird for her to get used to, but it had been far too easy to get used to. Before Simon there had never been half naked Chinese food in bed while binge watching Netflix. Nor had there been reason for her to have to rewatch an episode because half naked Chinese often ended up all naked with sex for dessert.
Even more so, there’d been lovemaking instead of just sex.
There were still times when the lust turned to pure, driving sex. They were still as powerful as those forbidden stairwell assignations during the Lit tour. Simon never lacked for stamina or creativity, but he also was the most passionate and intense lover she’d ever had—emphasis on the lover part.
“He scares me.” The confession was out and she couldn’t take it back.
“Good. That shows it means something. Don’t you think it’s scary for him, too?”
“I don’t know.”
Lila bumped her with her shoulder. “Call Stefan. Make this right before you regret it.”
Margo picked up her phone. When she brought it to life, Simon’s agent’s name was right there. She didn’t let herself analyze the why or the why nots. She hit the green call button and crossed her fingers.