No.
Jason needed a shower. Then he had to look up flights to New York. Or Paris. Or wherever he could find Lauren right now.
Without a word, he turned and headed for the stairs.
“I think he caught on,” Jason heard Mike say.
Derek laughed. “It’s about damned time.”
Jason wasn’t as amused as his cousins. Because, unlike them, he understood Lauren’s insecurities, where they stemmed from and why she couldn’t let them go. By rejecting her, he’d hit on each and every one. It didn’t matter that he’d basically told her she was too good for him. She’d never see it as a compliment. He’d refused to accept her for who and what she was. In Lauren’s book, he’d committed a huge sin.
He only hoped it wasn’t an unforgivable one.
LAUREN MOVED UP her trip to Paris. She’d been back in New York for a few days, but after so much time away, it felt like she’d been gone for a year. After living in the large house with Jason, she found being alone in her tiny apartment claustrophobic and lonely. She truly hoped a change of continent would help her find herself again.
Because she wasn’t the same person who’d left Manhattan for Massachusetts. Back then she’d wanted only to finish the job and get on with her life. Yet now the life she’d been so eager to return to seemed less fulfilling than she’d remembered and she resented Jason for doing that to her. She wanted to rediscover the driven professional consumed with her goals and getting to the top of her field.
It had been too long since she’d sketched or even thought about what she wanted to create after the show in Paris. She’d put her designs on hold to help her family, and for what?
Whoa. Lauren gave herself a mental shake. She’d promised herself she would not second-guess the choices she’d made. She’d done right by her family and she could live with her decisions. Nothing else mattered.
Time to turn the page and move forward. She’d packed her sketch pads, certain France would provide fresh new inspiration for her designs. She’d clear her head, meet people and expand her horizons. And hopefully she’d also get over having her heart broken by Jason Corwin.
She pressed her palms against her temples. Okay, so it was going to be more difficult to stop thinking about her time with Jason than she’d hoped. But she’d promised herself she wouldn’t dwell there, if only because she couldn’t change the past. Especially since in this case, she
She glanced at her watch. She had about half an hour before she had to leave her apartment and catch a taxi to the airport. She pulled a soda from her refrigerator and settled onto a couch to watch TV. Unable to find anything on regular television, she turned to the cable news channels in time to catch a sports recap. From football, the newscaster moved on to the upcoming winter Olympics in February 2010, Lauren’s least favorite subject, and one that wouldn’t aid her quest not to think about Jason Corwin.
She had picked up the remote to change the channel when she caught sight of the name below the photo on the screen. Rusty Small, Jason’s nemesis. The snowboarder who, along with a woman named Kristina, had set Jason up to test positive for banned substances.
Instead of channel surfing, Lauren raised the volume.
“Rusty Small became the United States’s hope for snowboarding gold after leading contender Jason Corwin tested positive for drugs and was banned from competition. Small’s status and even his ability to compete in Vancouver are now in doubt following his own positive drug test.”
“What in the world?” Lauren leaned forward in her seat.
“The IOC is still investigating. However, there is one common element between Small and Corwin testing positive. Both men were involved with the same woman at the time their tests proved positive. Kristina Marino is currently missing and authorities are searching for her. More information as it becomes available.”
Lauren checked her watch again, then shut off the television. She had to leave for the airport, but the story stayed with her. It was unlikely Rusty Small’s problems would lead to Jason being cleared, but it did show Karma hard at work.
Impulse had her reaching for her cell to call Jason, but hard-earned lessons made her put the phone away. Focus forward, she reminded herself.
“Paris awaits,” she said aloud.
Too bad Paris was the city of love, and she’d be visiting alone.
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS MEANT long wait times in the airport. Lauren remembered waiting with her parents for hours at a time while traveling abroad. She and Beth would play word games to keep themselves busy. One of the few good memories she had of Beth.
Lauren had taken a few days to calm down before calling the prison to check on her sister. They had her in some form of psychiatric solitary confinement. For her protection and for the safety of others, they’d said. Lauren completely understood their rationale. She also hadn’t been surprised when Beth’s lawyer had informed her that Beth would be charged with additional crimes.
Although it pained Lauren to do it, she’d told the lawyer she had no more money to spend on her sister’s case. If that meant Beth would be at the mercy of a court-appointed public defender, then so be it. Lauren hadn’t washed her hands of her sister. They were still siblings and Lauren loved her-or maybe she loved the sister she remembered. Lauren wasn’t sure about anything except the fact that Beth was criminally insane. All beyond the scope of Lauren’s comprehension. Or her responsibility. She was only sorry it had taken her so long to accept the truth.
Annoyed with her train of thought-yet again-Lauren decided to break up the airport monotony and head to the sundry shop. She bought herself a bottle of water and some magazines for the long flight. Then, returning to her seat, she stuck her earbuds in her ears and began to page through the most recent issue of
Especially Jason.
Yet when someone tapped her on the shoulder, the unexpected touch nearly made her jump out of her seat.
She yanked on the wires, pulling the buds out of her ears, and looked up-into Jason’s eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked over her rapidly beating heart.
“I thought you invited me to Paris?” He sounded out of breath.
She frowned. “I recall you turning me down. Flat.”
He treated her to a cocky smile that would have had her blind with anger had she not caught the uncertainty in his eyes. But just because he doubted his welcome didn’t mean she’d let him off the hook easily.
She still didn’t know why he was here. Or what he really wanted.
She wrapped the white headphone cord around her iPod and shoved it into her travel bag, taking her time before leaning back into the chair.
Jason eased himself into the seat beside her and reached for her hand. “I’m an idiot,” he said at last.
Lauren folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “You don’t hear me arguing.”
“And I didn’t expect you to make this easy.” He laughed, the sound brittle. “Look, I deserve your anger and suspicion and any other emotion you want to throw my way.”
“Still not arguing.” But her heart pounded in anticipation and her throat swelled with unexpected emotion as she waited for him to explain.
Instead, he first brushed away a tear she hadn’t realized she’d shed.
“Before you arrived, I’d lost everything that ever mattered to me. I was working a job that passed time but wasn’t fulfilling, and I was just going through the motions of living.” He leaned closer. “Then you showed up, and suddenly there was everything I didn’t know I was looking for. Life suddenly
It was time to call him on his behavior. To hold him accountable. “So you pursued me. You manipulated the situation so you’d get my job, and then you went about making me feel things.” She glanced down at their intertwined hands. “Things I didn’t want to feel for you again.”
“Guilty,” he admitted.
She nodded. “Meanwhile, all I wanted was a fling while I was in town. I’d planned to leave without any regrets
