“Where’d you go?”
“It’s okay, babe. I’m back.”
“I need you here,” he said. “I’m almost there. Just talk to me.” Jack’s voice was coercing, low and intimate and she almost, almost wanted to do anything he asked. But it had been too intimate, too personal. She had to withdraw or she’d lose herself, she was sure. This guy, this gorgeous, rich guy wasn’t likely to be serious about her. He probably just wanted to amuse himself until he got back to his real life and the legions of stunning supermodels and singers who would be much more in his league. She had to be a lark, a distraction and nothing more. Why else would he want her, an insecure accountant at his father’s new business? Because she drank too many margaritas and hooked up with him? She had a feeling that hardly made her one of a kind.
She was panicking. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart was racing. Everything was spinning. She needed air...quick.
“I’m getting another call,” she lied. “I need to take it. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Then she hung up on him before he could call her out on lying, on panicking and running from him any way she could.
Britt sat on her bed, staring at her phone, wondering what she’d done...unable to decide what made her more ashamed, the phone sex or the way she cut him off and avoided returning the favor. Too much emotion, too many feelings always made her uncomfortable. Ever since college when she’d fallen for the wrong guy and ended up the butt of every joke in her sorority for having ever believed that athletic, blond Mack Houston wanted her. There had been a bet and she had been at the center of it, an ugly notion about getting the most uptight
girl in the house to cut loose. Mack had won the two hundred dollars, which was all her virginity had been worth when it was all said and done. Ever since then, she’d been afraid that any guy who wanted to be with her might be playing a trick, biding his time, waiting to hurt her for a laugh.
It was part of why she had been with Kevin, she realized that now. He seemed safe. He seemed like he wouldn’t attract a lot of attention from the opposite sex...dependable and ordinary as he was. That is until he started cheating on her with someone called Corinne and dumped her at their anniversary dinner. That had been unexpected but, in a way, a self-fulfilling prophecy. If she believed she wasn’t worth wanting, she’d only attract people who weren’t worth having. By settling for him, she’d thought she was safe. Instead, their breakup had plunged her into a one-night stand with Jack Fitzsimmons, the man who stole her breath and seemed to take over her every thought. She couldn’t quite believe the things he said to her. She couldn’t trust him and now she could see how deep her feelings ran for him. She had summoned catastrophe.
She tossed and turned all night, until her alarm went off and she dragged her weary, conflicted self up to face the day. As happy as she’d been the evening before when she came home, she was just as miserable now. He couldn’t possibly reciprocate her feelings. She had been intimate with him, all the way, since the night they met, giving herself up too easily until she now had no idea how to get her heart back. His casual assurance, his pretty words and his ability to persuade her to do absolutely anything...they could be the ruin of her. He could be the ruin of her.
Chapter 3
Britt was determined to act normal—focused, breezy, not at all pining away for the biggest mistake she’d probably ever made. She was thankful no one knew about their involvement. It was difficult enough without Marj making cracks about Britt and the boss’s son. So she went to work and did her job and congratulated herself on acting perfectly ordinary. That night, she listened to the two voicemails he had left her and she decided to text back. No reason to be unfriendly or needlessly dramatic. Just disengage a little at a time before it was too late and she was head over heels for a man so far out of her league.
Busy day. Hope all well in HK.
Was I that bad in bed? All I get is hope all is well?
Not at all. Tired. Good nite.
It’s seven pm there. What is wrong?
Nothing. Am fine, she insisted.
UR lying.
She didn’t respond. It was impossible over text to know if he was teasing or genuinely aggravated by her coyness. She jumped when her phone rang. It was him. Of course it was him. Now that she didn’t want to talk to him, he was calling. Irony.
“Hello,” she said in what she hoped was a cool voice.
“Hi. What’s up?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired.” She faked a noisy yawn for emphasis.
“That’s all I get? Did you sleep well last night? Did you miss me all day?”
“Of course,” she said matter of factly.
“It’s morning here. I’m bored out of my mind waiting for this training to be over. I’ve got weeks of this left.”
“It’s got to be an amazing place. Go sightseeing or something,” she suggested not altogether helpfully.
“I’d love to show you Hong Kong but you’re not here.”
“I’m sure there are things you’d enjoy. Go out and have fun,” she urged.
“It’s 7AM. I might be able to score some coffee but fun’s hours away.”
“You could go see that big Buddha.”
“The Tian Tan or the one on Lantau Island?”