Chapter Twenty-Four
Josh
Josh had never been to a baptism like this. The scene resembled a wedding reception, not an after-party for a child’s baptism. But from what Carina had said, this event, this special day, was intended to be different.
“What would you like to drink?” Josh asked, leading Carina to the bar.
Carina bit at her lower lip, a sign he had learned over time that she was nervous. He hated its source. Eric fucking Ross didn’t deserve to have such power. “Um, I’ll take a glass of wine, I guess.” Josh waved over the bartender and ordered himself a gin and tonic and Carina a glass of Pinot Gris.
“You remembered?” She was impressed that he hadn’t forgotten her drink of choice that night at the Irish Pub, the night he had tasted her, worshiped her in the office. Josh knew that his mind shouldn’t go there. He was going to be a gentleman. But when she stared at him, the doubt crept in and he wondered if he was going to be the man, and friend, he had promised to be.
“Occupational perk,” he said, shrugging off her compliment. Her smile waned and he instantly felt like an ass.
“There’s Aunt Carina!” Carly’s sing-song voice broke the tension and Carina found her smile in an instant.
Carina walked over to Carly, Parker and the man of the hour. Carly handed her precious bundle over to Carina. Josh watched the exchange with anticipation. He had a feeling that Carina would be a natural when it came to babies. She became a teacher because she loved children. But nothing could have prepared him for the scene in front of him. With one hand behind Connor’s head and the other wrapped around his bum, she rocked him gently and breathed in his baby head scent. “God, nothing, I mean nothing, smells better than a baby’s head.” Josh didn’t agree or disagree. He was too entranced with how stunning Carina looked with a baby in her arms, how she hummed in his ear, how she whispered something that only Connor was privy to.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to meet before. I’m Parker. Carly and I are glad you could make it.”
Josh felt his arm extend and heard his mouth utter an appropriate response to Parker’s greeting, but it was like he was only there in the physical sense. His mind, his focus, was on Carina and the baby who appeared satisfied and captivated by the woman holding him. Josh forced himself to regain consciousness and offered his congratulations and thanked his host for the night ahead. “You have a beautiful family,” Josh said.
Parker looked over at Carly, who at the moment was making silly faces at her son while he was nestled in Carina’s arms. “Thank you.” He sighed. “They are everything to me. I can’t believe how things have changed. It was like I was living half a life until my wife and child came along.”
Josh almost spat out his gin and tonic. Only days ago, while eating Eggs Benedict, his Lady Jane had uttered those same words. Josh forced his drink down, feeling the bite of the tonic at the back of his throat. Carina came over at that moment and introduced him to Connor. Josh smiled and the baby cooed back. “He’s so sweet, Carly. How do you not just eat him up?” Carina asked.
“It’s not without difficulty,” Carly said, beaming with pride.
“Well, we better get moving. This little guy needs to socialize and greet his guests,” Parker said, staring lovingly at his wife.
Carly stuck out her bottom lip. “Okay. But you need to come visit us and soon,” Carly said, looking first at Carina and then at him. “You are both welcome.”
Josh was overwhelmed that Carina’s friends, who originally belonged to Ross, would be so accepting of Carina’s new boyfriend. But then again, he shouldn’t be too surprised. He remembered how his circle of friends instantly brought her into the fold at the Phillies game.
“Thank you. That’s very gracious of you both,” Josh said. Parker shook his hand once more and Carina kissed Connor on the forehead before giving him back to his mother. Josh reached for Carina’s hand and brought her close as they watched the family of three make their rounds.
Josh handed Carina her glass. She took a hearty sip of the chilled wine and then sighed with what looked like utter joy. The hairs on the back of his neck started to rise. They were being watched. “Dance with me,” he said. He didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he placed both their drinks on the bar and led her out onto the dance floor where over a dozen couples were gently swaying to Louis Armstrong. They found their rhythm quickly and with each passing song, he pulled her closer to him. She felt so good in his arms.
“He’s watching us,” she said, squashing that heady feeling instantly. Which infuriated Josh. Ross was taunting her, stalking her, staring at a woman who didn’t belong to him.
“What happened between you and Ross?” Josh knew that he was putting her on the spot and no doubt making her uncomfortable, but something told him that it was time to ask.
She stiffened in his embrace but she didn’t attempt to break free. “Less than twenty-four hours after he proposed to me, I walked in on him with another woman in his office.”
“You were engaged to him?” he asked. He knew he should have made more of an effort to conceal his surprise and disgust, but he couldn’t help himself. The thought of her saying yes to another man’s proposal made him sick. But his anger evaporated the moment he detected embarrassment in her eyes. She didn’t need to feel ashamed. She had done nothing wrong except trust a pig. “I’m sorry. He just doesn’t deserve you.”
Josh felt her slacken in his arms, as if her body accepted his apology. After a minute he heard her whisper, “The night he proposed…it should have been perfect. But it wasn’t. Although I said yes, I knew he wasn’t the one, the one I wanted to have a family with. It was just a feeling I had…that it was wrong. He was wrong. The next day I drove to his school to tell him that I couldn’t marry him. I walked into his office unannounced just in time to watch him bend some woman over and give it to her against his expensive desk. The next time I saw him was at a faculty meeting, when he was introduced by our superintendent as our new principal, the same day I met you.”
Josh was disgusted that someone could treat Carina like that, have such little regard, little respect for her. But what disturbed him the most was that although she had just disclosed more to him in the last thirty seconds than in the last two weeks combined, he couldn’t dismiss the feeling that she was leaving something out, that there was more to her story. “You have every right to be pissed at him. But why do you fear him?” This time she did break free of his embrace. He had gone too far.
“Excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room,” she said and bolted toward the bar. He watched her stop and speak with a server, who pointed to the far corner of the reception hall. Carina smiled weakly and walked in the direction of what he assumed were the restrooms. Josh immediately located Ross, who was also tracking Carina’s movements.
That son-of-a-bitch!
Josh had had enough. He was confronting that bastard here and now. But as he made his way over to Ross, a waitress carrying a tray full of dirty appetizer dishes and empty wine glasses flew into him. Josh was able to save the woman from taking a header onto the floor, but the tray and its contents were another matter. The wine glasses shattered instantly along with at least half the dishes.
“Are you alright?” he asked the waitress. The scared woman looked like she was going to vomit.
“Ye…Yes. I’m so sorry,” she said, on the verge of tears. Any minute, she was going to be a puddle.
“Here, let me help.” He bent over and helped her pick up the pieces of glass and her wounded pride.
***
Carina
Carina could still smell him.
The hint of his cologne mixed with his own personal scent stayed with her as she stared at her reflection. The tears hadn’t started, but they were close. Just a few more seconds and she would have told Josh about what Eric had done. And it wouldn’t have been pretty. His eyes had been dripping with fury when she had mentioned that Eric had cheated on her. She didn’t want to know how he would have reacted if she had told him Eric had fractured her face.
Carina took a deep breath and whispered to herself to keep it together. The elderly bathroom attendant was polite and looked the other way. Carina imagined that over the years the woman must have seen her share of drama. Catching a woman giving herself a pep talk in a bathroom mirror couldn’t be that strange. Carina gave herself a once over, ensured that her mascara hadn’t defied her, and left the bathroom.
She had one foot in the hallway and the other crossing the threshold of the bathroom when she felt someone grab her by the waist and hustle her away to a secluded little nook off the hallway. They were protected from prying eyes by dozens of thick tropical plants and a flowing fountain.
“You look gorgeous tonight. The perfect blend of sophistication and sex.” Eric attempted to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, but Carina swatted his hand away and wrestled out of his grasp. She wasn’t going to engage in a conversation that he so desperately wanted. Carina turned and started to walk away when she heard him say, “Still waiting to see if you landed a second interview?” And with that smug question, Carina knew. It didn’t matter how great her first interview had gone, he just knew too many people. And most likely killed her chances somehow of landing a job in Mia’s school district. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Everything told her to keep walking, to not let him bait her, but her stubborn Irish side came out and she stopped in her tracks. Carina turned and met his icy glare. “How foolish you are.” Carina smiled. “To think that I will allow this to continue.”
Two quick strides and he was looming over her, his eyes piercing her own, as if daring her to say just one more word. Carina didn’t look away. She was prepared to withstand his attempt to intimidate her when she was yanked away and left swaying on the marble floor.
Josh had moved quickly and already had Eric’s head bent over the lip of the grand fountain. With his arms pinned behind him, Eric was gasping for air as Josh allowed his face to hover just above the water line. Eric looked pathetic and though it brought her joy to see him in such a state, she wasn’t comfortable with what she saw in Josh’s eyes. He looked like a man possessed, one who was willing to kill for her.
Instead of telling Josh to let him go or feed him a ‘he’s not worth it’ line, Carina opted for a different approach. One that would piss Eric off in the process. “Josh, I would like to go back to our room, please,” she said in a calm voice.
As she had hoped, Josh released him and stepped away. By the grace of God they hadn’t drawn an audience. Music from the main ballroom had bled into the hallway, but it was clear of guests and wait staff. Without a word to the man he surely could have silenced, Josh took her hand and led her to the elevator. He didn’t speak to her as they ascended, just stared straight ahead. The elevator doors opened and he briskly walked her to Room 248. While on the elevator, Carina had thought he was calming down, as his breathing was no longer labored. But as he closed their hotel room door behind him, it was clear that he was still in an escalated state. She looked into Josh’s dark, heated eyes. He was fucking angry.