Thank you, god. Thank you, thank you.
He took her drink from her hand and set it along with his untouched one on e nearby table already jammed with glasses and bottles. Then, cupping her elbow he guided her through the crowd to the door. People hollered things to them as he forged a path to the door. He just nodded, unable to hear what they were saying and hoping it wasn’t something that would piss him off. He didn’t stop until they were outside and he was guiding Randi across the street. He was shocked that she went along without arguing, then realized she figured she’d tell him off one last time.
Too bad. The moment he laid eyes on her he realized what was between them was far from over. He just didn’t know how to get past this big stone wall that was still between them.
Neither of them said a word until they were sedated in the nearly empty coffee shop and had given their orders to a waitress. He couldn’t seem to get enough of looking at her. His fingers itched to run through her rich sun-streaked hair that he remembered as being softer than silk. To touch his mouth to her lips that beckoned to him. To stroke her petal-soft skin. To see her naked, lying in his arms, while he—
Damn! He’d better stop that line of thinking. His dick was giving him fits again at the erotic video playing in his mind. He studied her across the table, trying to decide the best way to start this conversation. The silence between them became so heavy he could almost feel it. Finally he cleared his throat.
“So. How are you? You’re looking good.”
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” The smile she gave him looked definitely manufactured. “So did you just come into town for Jeff’s birthday? I know the two of you used to be good friends.”
Used to be? Used to be?
Okay, was she sending him some kind of message, because the greeting he got from Jeff was way warmer than the one from her. Or was she just hinting that when he left San Antonio he turned his back on everyone here. He wanted to think that wasn’t true, but had he really kept in touch with his friends?
“Actually,” he said slowly, “I’m chasing a story and there might be a part of it here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Here? In San Antonio? I haven’t gotten wind of anything that would merit national coverage and I’m pretty plugged into things.”
“The kernel of it is pretty much under the radar right now. I’m hoping to penetrate that and get some real information. But enough about me.” He smiled. “I want to talk about you.”
At that moment the waitress delivered their coffee and Randi waved off the creamer and sweetener. He could see she still took it the same way she used to describe it…black as hell and strong as sin. He swallowed a tiny smile at the little familiar habit.
She took a slow sip of the coffee before answering.
“I didn’t agree to have coffee with you to make small talk, Noah. Say what you have to say and we can go back to the party. This door will finally be closed for good.”
He studied her face, trying to read what was going on in her head. “Okay, if you want to jump right into it. I wanted to talk to you because I didn’t like the way we left things the last time we were together.”
“Left things?” The look she gave him could have fried eggs. “Are you kidding me?”
Okay. If he wondered whether she was still pissed at him after all this time he had his answer. Well, what did he expect? That she’d welcome him with open arms after the way their last night together ended?
He reached across the table for her free hand but she snatched it back as if he’d hit her with a blowtorch. “Listen, Randi.” He had to get this right. “I know how badly things ended between us and I wanted the chance to make things right with you. I was happy I was coming here because I figured we could talk and finally settle things between us.”
Randi’s fingers tightened on her cup. “Settle things? Let’s get real, Noah. You basically trashed my choice of career, told me it was a men only world and walked out when I wouldn’t bow to your wishes and change my life around to please you. Not to mention refusing to uproot myself and follow you to New York. I’m not sure what you think there is to settle.”
Now it was his turn to take a hit of coffee. He wished he that beer he’d left back at Jimbo’s.
“I…made a big mistake,” he finally admitted. “I handled everything all wrong.”
She snorted. “Ya think?”
He set down is coffee cup. He had to make this right somehow. Make her give him a chance to rekindle what they had, because he suddenly realized that was exactly what he anted. It was what had been missing from his life these past years. She was what had been missing.
“Okay, look. All I can say is I was stupid, selfish and blind.”
She nodded. “Yes, you were. All that.” She looked down into her coffee cup. “You hurt me, Noah. A lot. I thought we had something pretty special going but you trashed it in a big way.”
That was no lie. There had been three people in the room that night—Randi, himself, and his ego.
“You have no idea how sorry I am for what
