There was a knock on the door and he pushed away the irritation and exhaustion andcalled, “Come in!”
Laura stepped inside, her platinum blond hair was artfully arranged and her ice blue gown was perfectly matched to her eyes. Everything about her was cold, hard and sharp. Herchin was severe, her cheekbones incredibly high and her manner flinty. He wondered if shewould cut him to shreds when he touched her the night of their wedding.
“We need to talk.”
“I’m aware that I’m going to be late for the opera.” He said in an even voice.
“It’s not that.” Her slim pale hands came up and clasped each other, then wrung together. It was a gesture he had never seen her make and it caught his attention. “I…you see … I love ” h… er voice choked to a halt and, incredibly enough she began to weep. Not lady like tears either, harsh bitter sobs that echoed loudly in the chamber.
Stunned and surprised he did the only thing he knew to do, he went to her and wrapped his strong arms around her, “It’s okay Laura. You aren’t supposed to hate me.”
“It’s not you, I mean I don’t hate you but I love…I love someone else!”
His mouth fell open. He was literally speechless for an instant. “You love somebody else?”
“Yes, and… and it’s a woman. It’s Hallie, my school friend. I don’t want to marry you Matt, I want to live with Hallie and my parents are forcing me to marry... ”
His laughter rang out clear and joyous. He tilted her tearstained face up and kissed her on her forehead. “Laura, you do what makes you happy no matter what. You should be with the person that makes you want to live, makes you feel good.”
“My parents are going to be so angry.” She whispered. “I’m scared.”
“You could always blame me. Hell, go ahead, I don’t really care.” He took three steps toward the door, that huge smile still on his face “. Tell them that I called it off.”
“Where are you going?” She called after him.
“To take my own advice!” Matt yelled back. “Paul! Paul, book a flight. I need to get back to America!”
Matt got to the hotel too late to see Rachel at the bar. Too keyed up to wait he had Paul bribe a bellhop to give him an address. He knew that the paparazzi were already waiting tocatch him; the news that he had ‘jilted’ Laura had gone viral almost before his plane hadtaxied out of Heathrow. He didn’t care about the cameras but he wasn’t sure who Rachel would feel about them, or about the lie he had told her. The lie he intended to correct immediately.
He put on a dark coat and scarf, hid his head under a hat and went down the guests tunnel to where a cab sat. Jumping in he gave her address and sat impatiently looking out at the cityscape until they arrived in front of her apartment.
He knocked on the door and a tall man with sandy hair and a pair of far too loose cargo pants opened the door with a “Yeah?”
He had never asked if she were married or dating, he realized as he stared at the other man. Before he could think of anything to say Rachel appeared behind the man, her face paling in shock as she said, “You!”
“Yes, me.” He tried to smile but the fact that there was another man there put a damper on his hopes.
Rachel looked at Kyle, at then at Matt. She slammed the door shut. He blinked and backed up and then the door banged back open. “You lied to me!”
“Yes, and I’m sorry.”
“That’s all? You’re sorry?”
“Would you like to go get a drink and talk?”
Rachel bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to do. Seeing Matt again reminded her of the incredible, almost magnetic pull that he had on her, and as much as she wanted to stay strong she felt herself giving in.
“Give me a minute to grab my coat.”
Walking to the closet she felt her heart racing in her chest. What explanation could he possibly have that would make it all okay? She was eager to find out. Pulling on her coat and scarf, she rushed back to the front entrance. Matt opened the door for her and stood to one side. When she stepped out he put his hand on the small of her back and her entire body tingled.
The weather was chilly but not yet the bone crushing cold that January and February often brought to the city. The wind boomed off the rooftops on Broadway but the throngs of people around them buffered them from the gusts. They stepped down a small side street, their footsteps clattering on the sidewalks. Windows showed amber light and the tantalizing smell of garlic wafted form a restaurant doorway.
Matt finally broke the silence. “I should introduce myself.”
“I know who you are. June Whiles told me at the bar the next evening.”
“I’m sorry that you had to find out the way you did,” he stopped walking and turned to face her, putting his arm out to halt her. “I honestly didn’t think I would see you again. I had no idea of how much I would want to, and need to.”
“You know that guy back there in my apartment? He left me right before our wedding; you have no idea how much that hurt. You are engaged so what that says to me is that you either don’t care about her and are going to walk out on your wedding, which makes you incredibly heartless and I don’t want… ”
“I’m not engaged anymore. That was never anything more than a business agreement between families. With you…with you Rachel, there’s more. I feel more.”
She stood there stunned. The meaning of his words filtered through and her heart gave a little flutter. The brisk wind ran against her cheeks and she shivered, he saw the movement and stepped forward, reaching his arms around her and drawing her close to shelter her from the wind. The heat of his body was irresistible and she slumped into him, smelling the expensive cologne on his neck. His chest was hard and his hands were steady as he held her.
She lifted her face and he kissed her, a soft little kiss that turned hard and demanding almost immediately. Her pussy ached with need and she had to fight for breath. Her mouth opened
