An Uncertain Affair (The Affair Series Book 2) (10 page)

“I
highly recommend the raw oysters with chipotle salsa as an appetizer and the wild
prawns in lobster sauce for dinner. That’s the best seafood I think I’ve ever
eaten.”

“Sounds
delish. And raw oysters? Maybe I’ll get lucky,” he said, winking at us and
laughing.

We
laughed with him as my mind flashed back to that amazing dinner with Sergio. He
was right; the heat from the chipotle definitely turned up our heat that night.

Pratt
Photography was technically closed for the holidays for nine days, since
Christmas and New Years were both on Thursdays. Valerie had her work cut out
for her, though. She would be working solidly through the holiday, including New
Year’s Day. We would have one final meeting on Friday, January 2
^nd
to review all the props and the schedule before shooting would begin the
following Monday. Valerie was hyper-sensitive about getting everything prepped
exactly the way it needed to be and in line with the way Nicole had asked for it
to be done. She was not going to be accused of being the weak link in this
production.

I
stayed close by because I was afraid if left alone through the prep process, Valerie’s
animosity toward Nicole could escalate in her mind and be insurmountable by the
time she had to work directly with her. I hung out with her at the studio, and
kept the coffee flowing and the music blasting while she meticulously organized
the props and the kitchen tools for the first week of recipes. Valerie and I
had planned to go to the North Coast and chill for New Year’s, but there was no
way she could make the trip and have everything prepped the way she wanted to.
I debated going anyway. We had paid for the cottage for three days and couldn’t
get our money back. I’d been dreaming about relaxing and walking on the beach
to rejuvenate myself before the shoot started. It would take every ounce of
energy I could muster to get through the next couple of months.

“You
should go,” Valerie said. “You need a break, and there’s no reason for you to
stay here just to keep me company. Besides, Nicole said she would come in after
I’d done the food shopping to help me on the prep. I’m actually beginning to
feel better about the whole assistant thing. Being in charge of this much of
the prep myself makes me feel a little more in control. It’ll be fine.”

“Well,
a change of scenery for a couple of days would be nice. I know the next few
months will be nonstop, but I really don’t mind being here to support you,
particularly if Nicole’s coming in.”

“I’m
a big girl. I can handle her, and I promise I won’t cause any trouble before we
even get started. I know my place, and I’ll behave. Just go and relax a little
for both of us. No reason to completely waste the rental.”

“If
you really feel that way, I think I will head out there.”

“Go
for it!” she said.

That
afternoon, I packed a small suitcase and a cooler with almost everything from
my fridge. I planned to do very little away from the cottage other than walking
on the beach. I’d been looking forward to hanging out with Valerie for a few days
like we did Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe this was better, though. We’d be
working so closely on the shoot; it was probably a good thing to have a break
from each other before it started.

I
arrived out at the cottage around four o’clock. There was just enough time to
get settled, pour a glass of wine, and head down to the beach to watch the
sunset. I bundled up, grabbed a beach chair from the back porch, and headed for
the water. It wasn’t even New Year’s Eve yet, but I could hear fireworks popping
in the distance.

When
I got out on the beach, it was much warmer than I’d expected. I shed a layer, leaving
my jacket on my chair, and decided to take a walk while there was still daylight.
There were only a half-dozen people visible as I scanned both directions, determining
which way to start. I headed north first so I would be walking back toward the
sunset. The first sip of wine gave me a mental cue that it was okay to finally
relax. The surf was gentle and very calming. I was glad I had made the trip. Even
a couple of days of this kind of R & R would be invigorating. I’d be ready
for just about anything when I got back.

About
ten minutes into my walk, a man came out to the beach from an oceanfront house.
His gate was quick, as if he was walking with a purpose, heading directly
toward the water. There was something familiar about him, although he was
mostly bundled up, so I couldn’t see his face. He must have realized, as I did,
that it was warmer than he expected, and he shed his scarf and jacket. I stopped
in my tracks in disbelief.

He
looked at me in shock as well. “My sweet Bridget! What on earth are you doing
here?”

“I…I’m….”
I stammered, totally overwhelmed. “I’ve rented a cottage down the beach. What’re
you
doing here?”

“I
had to get away for a couple of days. Adele and I had a huge blowout, and I
needed some space. This house has been in our family for years, so I came up
here to decompress. I just can’t believe you’re here, of all places.”

“Isn’t
New Year’s Eve a big night for you at the restaurants? How did you manage to
get away?”

“There
are parties at all the restaurants, but there’s only one seating at each. We’ve
done it that way for the last couple of years because we’re so burned out after
all the Christmas parties. It’s well planned, and they don’t need me or Cy
there to manage it. That way, we can give ourselves a break for New Year’s. I
usually crash at home for a couple of days, but I needed to be farther away
from the office, away from Adele.”

“What’s
going on?”

“Well,
she….” He stopped and held out his hand. “Why don’t you come inside, and I’ll
tell you about the whole situation.”

I
took his hand, and he pulled me close. He held my cheek and gave me a warm wet
kiss. “I really can’t believe you’re here. This is so wonderful,” he said,
kissing me again.

“I
can’t believe it either.” I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.

We
started walking back toward the house, and I realized I’d left the cottage open
and my chair on the beach. “I’d better go back and lock up the house. I’ll be
toast if anything happens from leaving the door unlocked.”

“Okay.
I’ll go with you.”

We
walked down the beach, hand in hand. I asked him again, “So tell me, what’s
going on?”

“You
know, the night after our meeting, Dane and his friend came to Buena Comida for
dinner. Dane was joking with me about how little photography there was relative
to the number of recipes and printed pages. I started thinking about it, and he
was right. Dane’s work and his concepts for the art direction were so magnificent
I thought maybe there should be fewer recipes so the photography could really
shine. It would mean cutting almost half the recipes to make that happen. The
work wouldn’t be wasted, though, because we could start planning the next book
and be well on our way to getting it done. You know what they say in self-publishing
-- it’s best to turn out multiple volumes fairly close together so if people
like the first one, they’re already looking for the next one. This would give
us a big leg up on a second book. My publicist called me Monday morning just to
wish me a happy holiday, and I casually ran it by her. She thought it was a
fabulous idea. I had every intention of discussing it with Adele. I just hadn’t
had a chance to talk to her. She was furious that I would consider pulling that
many recipes that she’d slaved over and even angrier that I had talked with
anyone about it before discussing it with her. I tried to explain that it had
been a casual conversation and nothing had been decided. I just wanted to
produce the best book possible, and that by breaking it up we would have the
opportunity to produce two or even three beautiful books and boost potential
sales. She felt I was being, as she put it, ‘selfish as usual.’ I feel she’s
the one being selfish. She wants all the glory for the
volume
of recipes
in one book.”

“Wow,
that sounds like a mess,” I said sympathetically.

“It
is. I just needed to come up here and sort it out in my head. I’m trying to be
objective about it and figure out if I really was being selfish, or if I’m overlooking
something. I’ve scheduled a meeting with her Thursday to give each of us time
to calm down before we talk about it further.” He was obviously upset.

We’d
reached my beach chair just as the sun was kissing the horizon. The sky was a
brilliant turquoise with ribbons of wispy pink clouds. The only sounds were the
cackles of the seagulls and the lapping of the waves on the shore. I turned to
Sergio and put my hand on his cheek. “I’ll try to help you sort through it if
you’d like.”

“Oh,
my sweet Bridget, I feel so much better already just talking about it with you.”
I could see some of the tension leaving his face as he spoke. He put his hand
over mine and kissed my palm.

The
wind was picking up, and the temperature started dropping as soon as the sun
disappeared on the horizon. “Let’s go inside where it’s warm,” I said,
gathering up my jacket and chair.

He
walked in behind me and sat down in the living room while I continued on to the
kitchen to get the wine and a glass for him. When I came back, he was lighting
the fire. It felt very cozy and comfortable.

I
poured the wine and took a seat on the floor in front of the fire. Sergio slid
off his chair and joined me on the floor, pulling all the big pillows around
us. “It’s a miracle that you’re here,” he said, and kissed me tenderly. “I wanted
to ask you to spend New Year’s Eve with me, but when you said you wanted to put
distance between us….”

“Shh….”
I pushed him back on the pillows and climbed on top of him. He pulled me close,
wrapping his strong arms around me. He grabbed my ass and urged me closer. He
pressed his hips into mine, and I felt his unmistakable arousal growing between
us As we peeled away the layers of clothes, it felt as if we were shedding the
weight of the world and all our troubles. The heat of our passion rivaled the flames
of the fire. Every kiss, every touch from Sergio’s tender lips and soft hands
sent shock waves through me. My skin was on fire, tingling with every stroke of
his fingertips.

His
breath quickened. He rolled over on top of me and spread my legs with his. Our
faces were inches apart. His penetrating eyes met mine, reaching for my soul. His
tongue wet my lips, then he slid down, nipping at my shoulder and dappling my
torso with kisses until his tongue began its erotic dance. He licked at each
thigh while his fingers pushed in and out of me and connected with my most
sensitive erogenous zones. I clutched the pillows and held on as waves of
pleasure pushed through me. My core tightened at the pinnacle of excitement,
and I writhed in pleasure, pushing into all the pillows around me. I could
hardly breathe. “Oh, Sergio! Ahhh!” I wailed, not even trying to muffle my
cries.

He
slid up next to me and engulfed my mouth with his. Propping up on one elbow, he
whispered, “I’m sorry I hadn’t planned on finding you here, so I’m not prepared
with protection to make love to you.”

Gradually
catching my breath, I smiled at him and took control. “Your turn to relax,” I
purred, stroking his hard shaft and pushing him back into the pillows. I rolled
onto my knees next to him and circled his crown with my tongue, still massaging
his length with one hand and fondling his balls in the other. I slid my lips
down taking all of him into my mouth and worked up and down. A guttural groan
escaped from him as he braced against the pillows. He was so hot and hard, and
tasted so sweet. I sucked and licked, and continued bobbing on him as I felt
his muscles tighten.

“Oh,
Bridget…oh, God! You feel so good.” He squeezed my shoulder as he exploded into
my mouth. I continued sucking and swallowing but slowing my movements as he
trembled from the orgasm. I loved giving him this much pleasure.

I
licked his crown as the last of the warm fluids escaped, then slid up next to
him so I was under his arm with my head on his shoulder. We held each other
tightly, lying quietly for a few moments until our heartbeats began to resume a
normal rhythm.

“This
feels like a dream. I still can’t believe you’re here,” he said, almost in a
whisper.

“It’s
pretty wild that we ended up a few houses away from each other by sheer
coincidence. What’re the chances of that? Maybe we should go buy a lottery
ticket,” I said, smiling up at him. We both laughed and held each other, legs
entwined like the roots of a tree that had been growing together in harmony for
decades. I didn’t want to let go.

**

I
hadn’t planned on feeding anyone but myself for a few days, so when it came to
dinner, it was going to be a stretch to produce a meal. Sergio chuckled and
shook his head at the odd assortment of food I had packed.

“I
think we have a few more provisions at the Ramirez compound. Why don’t we go
over there and make dinner?”

“That’s
probably a good idea if you want real food,” I said.

He
perched on a kitchen stool and kissed the back of my hand. “Will you stay for
breakfast?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant about asking me to spend the
night with him.

I
looked deeply into his eyes and knew that we were destined to be together… at
least for the night. “Breakfast sounds delightful but dessert sounds even
better,” I responded with a sly smile, biting his lip.

“Well,
I think all of the above can be arranged,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.