Chapter Six
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Late the next morning, Grant woke to his stomach rumbling from hunger. He’d found a flaw in his choice of hotel accommodation and it wasn’t the snug sleeping quarters of the bottom bunk. No, that was actually quite pleasant. He wasn’t one who normally encouraged women to spend the night because it led to them thinking it meant more than it did.
Waking up with Viviana naked and draped across his chest, however, was something he could get used to. After a marathon of sex that concluded with both of them too sated and too tired to even talk, he was relaxed and didn’t want to move.
His stomach growled again.
What kind of hotel doesn’t have room service?
He checked his watch. It was almost noon. I could ask my assistant to deliver food and coffee.
Bad idea. And I’d still have to get up.
He looked down at Viviana and saw her eyes had opened. He kissed her lips softly. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” she said grumpily. “I’m sorry, I’m not human before coffee.”
He kissed her forehead. “After last night I could forgive you almost anything.”
She blushed and brought a hand up to his temple. “You have a bruise. Does it hurt? I felt so bad when you hit your head on the railing.”
He winced at her touch but more for sympathy than from pain. The move worked. She shifted upward with concern, her bare breasts sliding up his chest. “Do you want me to get some ice for it?”
He rolled her over and under him. The urgency of their passion came second now to the simple pleasure of holding her. He wanted to get dressed and head back to his place with her, and he didn’t care if she took that as a sign that she could leave a toothbrush beside his. Whatever this was between them, it was too good to continue in cheap hotels and public places.
He wanted to tell her that, but the conversation was a complicated one that might be much better had after his trip to Aruba. Come home with me so I can leave you for a week? Or two? Or however long it takes me to find Stiles?
I can’t take her with me. If there is any chance at all I’ll encounter trouble, she belongs here, uninvolved and safe.
He sighed. “I am going out of town for business.”
She searched his face and stiffened beneath him. “When?”
“Tomorrow. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”
Her gaze fell to his neck. “Where are you going?”
“I’d rather tell you about it when I return.”
“I see.”
He moved onto his side and turned her face to his. “I may not be able to call you. It’ll depend on the situation. When I get back we—”
She laid her hand across his mouth to stop him from saying more. “Don’t say anything more. I’m okay with what we’ve done. I’m okay with you leaving. Just don’t lie to me. That’s the only thing that could ruin this.”
Grant rolled onto his back and groaned.
Fuck.
When Viviana had told herself she was willing to ride this out, she hadn’t expected it to crash and burn so soon. Grant moved to sit on the edge of the bed with his elbows resting on his knees. He looked like a man deciding between two unsavory options.
She knew the male look all too well. I caught him in a lie, and he doesn’t want to tell me the truth; he’s either married or in a committed relationship.
I shouldn’t have halted his exit speech. His way was less awkward. No accusations. No apologies. We could have parted with a kiss and a promise to stay in touch.
Viviana scooted off the bed and started to gather her clothing. When he didn’t protest, her heart sank. If I push him for the truth there’s a good chance things will get ugly.
Already in her jeans, she fastened her bra and pulled her shirt over her head. He took his cue from her and also got dressed. Their eyes met, and she realized that even if he was married she couldn’t hate him.
Meeting him opened my eyes to how much different my life could be. Someday I’ll find all that passion with a man I love—and that man, whoever he is, will be worth holding out for. I can be sexy, and, in my own way, I’m beautiful. How could I hate a man who helped me discover that?
So maybe I don’t ask. I don’t push. Maybe my gift to him is that I let him leave with a lie. With an awkward, heavy silence they gathered their things and closed up the room. They made it all the way to the elevator before he spoke.
“I can’t imagine that I’ll be gone for longer than a week. Two at the most. We’ll talk when I come back.”
She hitched her purse on her shoulder and forced a smile. “Sounds great.”
They rode in the elevator without a word. He hailed a taxi for her. As she was about to step into it, he pulled her to him and gave her a deep, lingering kiss that would have brought tears to her eyes if she were the type to cry. She returned the kiss, but the passion that had fired between them the night before was tempered by their mutual somber mood.
When they broke off the kiss, he said, “Don’t look at me that way. This isn’t goodbye. I’ll be back in a week.”
“Of course you will,” she said with a small smile. “Have a safe trip.” As she closed the taxi door, she closed down her heart. Had she listened to it, she would have jumped back out of the taxi instead of giving the driver the address of her apartment. She would have thrown herself into his arms and demanded the truth—whatever it was.
Another part of her, the part she chose to listen to, thought this was exactly what she deserved. The harsh reality is that when you fuck a stranger it’s not supposed to lead anywhere.
Audrey was on the couch doing her toenails when Viviana walked into their apartment. It took one look for Audrey to put her polish away and pat the cushion beside her. “I know we’re both adults, but I was worried when you didn’t come home last night.”
“Sorry,” Viviana said as she kicked off her shoes and curled up on the opposite end of the couch. “I should have called. I just wasn’t ready to talk about it.”
Audrey was quiet for a moment, then she said, “One of the things I love about you is that you’ve always supported me. When I said I wanted to move away, you didn’t try to talk me out of it. No matter where my dreams took me, you never judged. I don’t care where you’ve been or who you were with, but I’m glad you’re safe.”
Viviana scooted across the couch to give Audrey a long hug before sitting back and rubbing her hands over her face. “There is so much to tell you; I don’t even know where to begin. Do you remember that jogger yesterday?”
“The one you tripped then had a drink at a juice bar with?”
“We had more than a drink there.” Viviana took a deep breath and told her friend everything. She didn’t hold back because—hell, this was Audrey. The two of them had researched tampons versus pads when they were teenagers. There was nothing she couldn’t tell her. Viviana wrapped the story up with what had gone through her head that morning as she’d left him.
Audrey nodded and said, “It sounds like it wasn’t all bad, but I’m sorry it ended the way it did.”
“I’m okay with it,” Viviana lied, then added, “I will be. I’m not one hundred percent sure it’s over, but I’m trying to be realistic.”
“What did you say his name was?”
“Grant. Grant Enynaim.”
“Honey, I don’t want to be the voice of doom, but your instincts are right about this one. Enynaim? Any name? That’s a red flag right there. Hey, if the sex was good, does it matter? Men lie. As long as you used protection you can chalk this up to a learning experience.”
He lied about his name, too. Was anything he said true? Viviana looked away and Audrey slapped her thigh. “Tell me you used protection.”
Viviana grimaced. “Every time but the first.”
Audrey rolled her eyes skyward. “Which do you need a refresher lecture on? The birds and bees or STDs?”
“Neither,” Viviana shook her head. “It’s over, Audrey, and I’m fine.”
Audrey picked up her nail polish again and started to apply a second coat to her toenails. “I know I suggested you put yourself out there, but it’s time to reel yourself back in. You have to be careful. This isn’t Cairo, New York. You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt.”
Viviana nodded even though that wasn’t entirely true. She hugged her legs to her chest and tried to block out the images of Grant that kept popping into her thoughts. His laugh. His kiss. The feel of him inside her. The butterflies that filled her chest whenever he looked at her.
To know that none of it was real and that it truly was over did hurt.
No matter what she told herself—the truth was, it hurt like hell.