“Whoa, what was that all about?” she asks, watching as Dominic backs out of his stall and pulls out of my life. The tires lose traction on the wet snow, the spray giving me confirmation that he can’t get away fast enough.
“Nothing I want to talk about right now. Let’s get someplace warm. Thanks for rescuing me yet again.” I wrap my arms around her, kissing the top of her head as the snow falls around us.
* * *
Dom
Only I could turnmy back on my convictions and get the world’s best hand-job by a guy who’s not only unavailable, but is involved with a woman. While I may not be the one who was cheating, I feel bad for the beautiful blonde who’s currently wrapped in Tony’s arms, feeling those plump lips on hers. I let my libido get the best of me and didn’t bother asking if he was involved with someone, and that’s something I’ll try to keep from beating myself up over because it sure as hell doesn’t seem to bother him at all.
“Are we there?” a sleepy voice in the back seat asks. I pull the truck onto the freeway as Erin stretches behind me.
“Soon. Where are you girls staying?” She gives me the name of a youth hostel and I enter it into my GPS. It’s a bit out of my way, but at this point, it’s not as if I have anything better to do. Sleep will be elusive because of how upset I am about what happened with Tony.
The good thing about getting into town so late is that traffic isn’t a total nightmare. Still, it takes almost an hour to get there because the streets are a slushy mess. Maybe I don’t miss this part of the country as much as I once thought. I pull up in front of the hostel where the girls are staying and start unloading the bags out of the truck.
Erin wraps her arms around my neck, delivering a quick peck to my cheek. “Don’t worry, everything will work out. You two arehottogether.” She looks over her shoulder and winks at me as she walks away.
As I make my way to my own hotel, I keep replaying Erin’s words. Did she hear what we were doing? Or worse, was she awake and we were so consumed by each other that we were oblivious to our audience?
The hotel, located just off Times Square, isn’t where I would prefer to stay, but it’s where Andrew set me up because it’s the same hotel where their wedding reception will be held. To hear Andrew tell it, this isn’t where he and his bride-to-be wanted their reception, but they have very little say in the matter. Cara’s parents are all about putting on a show for their guests, and this was the best location available when Cara dug in her heels and refused to change the wedding date.
By three in the morning, I head out for a walk just to see if that will help me unwind to the point where I can get a few hours of sleep before this meeting. Andrew is counting on me and I can’t let a momentary lapse in judgment screw that up.
* * *
Sheer exhaustion allowedme to get a few hours of sleep, but now I almost wish I’d stayed up all night. My head is throbbing and my body aches, and I know it’s going to be one hell of a day. I send Andrew a quick message, asking if it’d be possible for him to call me after breakfast, and head to the shower.
As the scalding hot water sluices over my body, I think about last night, trying to convince myself that it was all a hallucination. My cock stirs to life as I remember the way Tony played me like an instrument, knowing exactly how and where to touch to elicit the desired reaction. I try to shake the thoughts from my head, and when that doesn’t work, I pour some bodywash into my palm and relive every scandalous detail.
Just as I’m about to come, the blonde’s face pops into my mind, immediately killing the moment. If only I could forget the catastrophic end of the night, I could use the memory of Tony as spank bank material for months to come.
I turn off the water and take out my aggression by whipping open the shower curtain. I wipe away the condensation from the mirror and take a long, hard look at myself. The man staring back at me looks tired, and not from a restless night. There are frown lines etching their way onto my once clear complexion and dark, puffy bags under my eyes. In short, I look like hell.
My phone ringing in the other room breaks up my pity party. I wrap a towel around my waist as I rush to the phone, saying hello right before it’d go to voicemail.
“I’d ask if I woke you, but you’re the one who messaged me. Everything okay?” Andrew asks. Cara calls out a passing ‘hello’ in the background. “Cara says to tell you she says hi.”
“Hi back,” I respond. “Hang on, I need to get some food and coffee ordered.” I pick up the room phone and place my order, relieved to know a jolt of caffeine will arrive shortly.
“Did you make it in last night or did you have to stop along the way?” I probably should have called or texted when I got to my room, but I was a bit…distracted.
“Yeah, I got to the hotel pretty late, otherwise I would have let you know. Sorry about that.” Cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear, I dig fresh clothes out of my suitcase, and begin unpacking the rest of my clothes so they don’t look like I slept in them. While I work, Andrew goes over the itinerary for the weekend, but I’m only half listening to him. I’m notinthe wedding, so I figure it’s not imperative that I know how every minute is going to be spent.
There’s a knock on the door and I smile when the room service attendant almost trips over himself while bringing my breakfast into the room. He’s trying to be sly about his appraisal of my bare chest and low-slung jeans, but he’s doing a poor job of it. Maybe I don’t look as awful as I think I do.
“As much as I’d love to spend the day chatting, what’s up?” Andrew prods as I sit down to eat. I push the veggie omelet around on my plate, not as much of an appetite as I thought. “Cara’s mom is going to be here in about twenty minutes to start going over last minute crap thatjust hasto be taken care of before noon, so you’ve got my undivided attention for the next eighteen.”
I chuckle, knowing what Andrew thinks of his future mother-in-law. To say Cara’s parents are on their way to being the in-laws from hell is a gross understatement. They’re all about flaunting every penny of their wealth, and don’t appreciate the low-key lifestyle Cara and Andrew prefer.
“I need you to tell me more about this bakery. From the P&L statements you sent me, I’m figuring there has to be something I’m not seeing.” I close my eyes as the first sip of coffee crosses my tongue, already feeling better.
Andrew speaks quickly to tell me everything he knows about Patti’s Pastries, as well as why it’s a smart business decision for him to invest. Apparently, this is a classic case of a small business owner who has both the drive and the talent to succeed, but she’s lacking the capital to reach her full potential.
“Okay, now that we have that out of the way, I have about ninety seconds for you to tell me about your trip. From your message last night, it sounded like it was going to be quite the adventure,” Andrew says, changing the subject right as I hear Cara in the background.
I have no clue what to say. Even the short version will take longer than a minute, and most of it I’d prefer to keep to myself. “Adventure is one way to put it,” I respond. “And I might wind up telling you about it, but there’s no time for that particular story now. Go do what you need in order to keep the peace, and I’ll go see if maybe I can help close this deal as a wedding gift.”
“That better not be all you plan on getting me, you cheap bastard.” Andrew laughs, knowing I’d never do something like that. We quickly end the call and I stare out the window, realizing how much I do miss life up here.
