Do Not Disturb (24 page)

“Okay, now I know something’s up. Is it work or personal?”

“It’s personal and I really can’t talk about it.”

After a few seconds, Kate nodded. “Fair enough. But you know you can tell me anything, right? No judgment, and I’ll even keep my mouth shut as long as I can, if that’s what you want.”

Until this moment in her life, Talia had never considered telling anyone her secret. For so long, it’d been too raw, too painful.

But she’d realized, after she’d cried herself to sleep last night, that if she didn’t get over the guilt and shame and fear stemming from a part of her life more than a decade in the past, she might never get beyond it.

And that scared her more than the thought of her life being destroyed again.

But she had no idea how to keep her secrets and still let people inside her walls. Kate, Annabelle, and Sabrina had gotten closer to her than anyone in her life, and they still didn’t know who she really was.

Kate frowned at her. “Okay, now you’re starting to freak me out. What happened? Did something happen between you and Dane? Did he . . . tell you something?”

Something about the way Kate asked the question sent a warning signal through Talia’s brain. It wasn’t the first time she’d gotten this vibe that there was something about Dane that everyone was tiptoeing around. Of course, she’d been keeping more than her fair share of secrets for so long, she certainly didn’t have the right to judge anyone else.

“What should he have told me?”

Kate grimaced. “We’ve all got secrets. But they’re ours to tell, right? Not anyone else’s. And if you don’t want to tell me this one, which is obviously eating you alive, that is totally up to you. I just want you to know, unless you eat kittens or like those stupid ‘Real Housewives’ shows, there’s nothing you can tell me that will make me think you’re an awful person, Tal. Because I know you too well.”

Talia blinked away tears and tried to hold back the all-out blubbering she wanted to indulge in. But before she could, Kate wagged her finger in front of her face.

“Don’t you dare. My makeup is perfect today and you are not allowed to mess it up, because I’ve got a date with my man tonight.”

Talia huffed out a laugh and shook her head, her amusement allowing her to get her tear ducts under control.

“Bitch.”

“And proud of it.” Kate nodded. “Now, eat that damn cupcake and tell me what the hell’s going on.”

Twenty minutes later, Talia had polished off the two-thousand-calorie icing bomb, and Kate couldn’t stop shaking her head, her expression full of pained sympathy.

“That is some major suckage, Tal. Damn, I’m so sorry. How’d you manage to keep this all a secret for so long?”

“I asked my mom that a few years ago, when I realized just how much of a task it must have been, and she told me there are still a few decent people left in the world and she hired one of them to wipe my dad out of existence. It helped that my grandparents hated him and basically disowned my mom after she married him. They didn’t attend the wedding, and they never told anyone their daughter had gotten married. Guess Granny and Pop knew what they were doing after all.”

“No offense, but your grandparents give my dad a run for the ‘chilliest people in the world’ award.”

True. “But they took us in when we needed them. And they never threw it in my mom’s face that my dad was a criminal. At least not while my brother and I were around.”

“So how does this all tie into you mooning over Dane?”

“Because my last words to him Monday morning were along the lines of ‘It’s been real, have a nice life.’”

Kate’s eyes widened. “And why would you do that?”

“Because he asked me to spend the weekend with him and then to consider moving in.”

Her mouth hanging open, Kate looked almost comical. “Holy. Shit. Seriously?”

“That was the gist of it, yeah.”

“And I say again . . . Holy shit.” Kate just shook her head. “Wow, Tal. I’ve gotten to know Dane over the past year and I have to say, if he even hinted at the fact that he wanted you to move in with him, he is not kidding. I mean, the guy’s never had a one-on-one relationship with anyone that I know of.”

And right then, it clicked. Her brain whirred like a tiny engine powered by a rubber band as it made connections.

“But he’s obviously slept with women at the Salon.”

Kate continued to stare straight into her eyes. “Of course. And you had to know that. He and Jared started the Salon.”

“Not you.”

Kate shook her head. “Not me.”

Another rubber band snapped. “Annabelle.”

Kate just stared.

“Of course.” Talia felt like someone had taken her lungs in one hand and squeezed the living hell out of them. “I should’ve figured that out from the beginning. Well, damn. Wish I hadn’t eaten that cupcake because I have a feeling I’ll be shoving my face full of rocky road ice cream later today.”

“Tal.”

She held up one hand. “I’m fine. Really. And right now, we have work to do, don’t we?”

Kate grimaced, shaking her head. “Damn it. I shouldn’t have opened my fricking mouth but—Look, you need to talk to Dane about this. I’m such an idiot.”

“No.” Talia forced a smile, which she knew looked totally fake. “But maybe we should reschedule our meeting to another time. I’ve got a lot of stuff on my mind right now and another meeting later today that I need to focus on.”

“
Shit.
” Kate looked sick to her stomach. “Damn it, Tal. Don’t do this. Don’t shut yourself down like this. You need to talk this out with Dane. Let him explain. Tell him I fucked up and this is all my fault. Jesus, I hate seeing you hurt.”

Hurt? She wasn’t hurt. Right now, she felt nothing. Except this huge hole in her gut.

She gave Kate another cool smile. “No worries. Weren’t you listening earlier? It takes a hell of a lot more to make me cry than to find out the man I’ve been sleeping with had been screwing one of my best friends. And thanks again for the extra time to prepare for my meeting. I think I’m going to lock up and get a jump on traffic.”

Kate looked heartsick and, though Talia really didn’t blame her for spilling the beans, she wasn’t in much of a mood to reassure Kate either.

“
Fuck.
I don’t want to leave you like this.”

Talia heard the frustration in Kate’s voice but knew that nothing that had happened here was her fault. She just couldn’t manage to think through that nice, numbing fog that had seeped through her body. She remembered it from her teen years, the hazy chill that shut down every painful feeling leaching through her system at the moment.

“I’m fine.” Talia rose, walked over to the small closet by the door, and slipped on her coat, then gathered her tablet and a few folders and stuffed them all in her bag. Then she smiled at Kate as she waited for her by the door. “Thanks for the cupcake.”

With a heavy sigh, Kate grabbed her stuff and walked over to Talia. When Kate hugged her, Talia managed to pat her friend on the back. It’d been a hell of a day, hadn’t it? And no, it was in no way Kate’s fault she felt like she’d been run over by a truck. But still . . . She couldn’t return the hug. She felt nothing at the moment.

It was no one’s fault, she kept telling herself as she drove down the maddeningly crowded Schuylkill Expressway. It just was.

Of course Dane had had a sex life before dating her. Once she’d known about the Salon, she should have realized there was more to Jed and Dane’s relationship than they’d told her. And why should he have spilled his entire sexual history to her? She certainly hadn’t. She’d just been another woman in his bed.

She couldn’t allow herself to think she’d been more.

She had a business to run, which she’d built from nothing. She’d had two confirmed jobs in the past two days. Big jobs. An eightieth birthday party for the matriarch of a Main Line family and a second wedding for a Philadelphia circuit court judge.

Work. That’s what she needed to focus on now.

Not Dane.

By the time she reached Philly, her headache had returned. Since she was too early for her meeting with Trudeau, she decided she’d find a quiet corner in a nearby coffee shop and do a little work. Greg’s film offices weren’t that far from Haven, so she decided to park at Haven and walk.

She took her time, trying to clear her mind. Or at least get it steered toward her meeting with Trudeau and away from Dane.

Since she hadn’t gotten a phone call saying she’d been replaced for the Connelly Media board retreat, she figured she’d see him then. And by that time, she’d have gotten over this ridiculous crush. Because that’s all it was. A crush. It couldn’t be anything more.

As she walked along Chestnut Street, she caught a glimpse of greenery out of the corner of her eye. It wasn’t quite freezing today and the bright sun made it feel warmer than it really was. And she needed a distraction.

Bronze gates enclosed a small park. Even in winter, the park beckoned her to come in and sit. No one else lingered there now, probably because it was too cold to spend more than a few minutes admiring the scenery.

Talia barely felt the cold. Her black wool slacks were more than warm enough, and beneath her down coat, she wore a cotton shirt and cashmere sweater.

Lowering herself onto one of the benches in a sunny spot, she felt the cold seep through her slacks for several seconds before she willed herself not to feel it.

Turning her face into the sun, she closed her eyes and breathed.

Every other thought was about Dane. Every second they’d spent together seemed to run through her head, a constant litany.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, but when she finally roused herself enough to look at her watch, she realized she’d lost track of time and would be a few minutes late for her meeting. Not the impression she wanted to make on Greg’s partner, damn it.

She only realized how cold she’d gotten when she tried to stand . . . and her legs protested.

Wow, okay, maybe she’d stayed outside a little long. Her legs didn’t want to work right away, and she had to stand there for several seconds before she could get her knees to bend. Damn, they ached.

And even though she wore fur-lined gloves, her fingers felt like they’d locked into fists. And they
hurt
.

She needed to be inside.

By the time she reached Greg’s office, she couldn’t stop shivering and she was cursing herself silently.

This is what happens when you let a man inside your head. You lose track of yourself.

“Talia, hey. Tru should be here in a— Are you okay?”

Talia forced a smile for Greg, who had been sitting at the reception desk. “Not enough to do, you need to be the receptionist, too?”

Greg didn’t smile as she’d meant for him to do. “You don’t look good.”

“Nice to see you, too. I’m fine, thank you.”

Greg shoved away from the desk and headed straight for Talia. His hands landed on her shoulders before he rubbed his palms to her elbows and back again.

“Damn, you’re freezing. Where’d you walk from?”

“Haven. It’s not that far.”

“No, it’s not, but it’s freezing out there. Come with me. Let’s get you warmed up and get a cup of coffee in you.”

“Actually, do you have any hot chocolate?”

Greg wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her down a hall and into another room.

“Hot chocolate. Coming right up.”

Even though she now shook uncontrollably, she still had enough sense to be suitably impressed by the room.

“Is this your office? You sure know how to live.”

“No sense in renovating a building from the floor up if you don’t make it into a space you want to spend time in. Let me get this fire going and then I’ll have Tru find some blankets. Maybe we should get you to the hospital.”

“No. Really. I’m not that bad.” And totally belied that statement with a full-body shake. “I don’t need a hospital. Seriously. I feel stupid enough as it is. I’m just cold. As soon as I warm up a little, I’ll be fine.”

Greg didn’t look convinced but he nodded and stood. “I’ll go get Tru.”

He disappeared and a second later she heard him call out for his partner somewhere inside the building while she sat there and felt so stupid. And so, so cold.

And miserable.

She wanted Dane. Wanted him to take her back to his place and tuck her into his bed and crawl in beside her—

No, that’s exactly what she didn’t want. Because she wasn’t going to be seeing him like that again.

Sure, they’d meet professionally and she’d see him when her friends got together, but he’d move on and she . . .

Wouldn’t.

She’d still be here in the cold. Alone.

A shiver ran through her and she berated herself for going there. Hell, she was twenty-six, not fifty-six. She still had a few years before she decided whether or not she’d ever be able to trust a man enough to tell him who she really was.

Then again, maybe you’ve already found him.

“Talia, here, wrap this around you,” Trudeau said as something heavy and warm settled on her shoulders. “We sent an intern over to the coffee shop for hot chocolate. Are you sure you don’t want us to call a doctor? You freaked out Greg and that’s a tough thing to do.”

Trudeau sat on the couch next to Talia and pulled the thick blanket she’d put on Talia’s shoulders around her until it enclosed her completely. The younger girl looked worried, and Talia’s cold lips curved in as much of a smile as she could form.

“I’m just cold.”

“Did something happen? Did you get lost? Greg said you parked at Haven and walked, but it’s not that far. I told him we need to get parking access somewhere in this building. I’ll have to talk to the zoning authority—”

“I didn’t get lost. I sat in that little park just off the street . . . and lost track of time.”

Tru’s eyebrows rose. “It’s freezing out there. How—”

“Let’s just say I have a lot on my mind right now.”

Tru frowned. “Okay. But you’re not leaving until we get you warmed up, and we’ll get you a ride back to Haven. Do you want me to call Dane?”

“No.” Talia grimaced at the sharp tone of her voice. “Sorry. No, there’s no need to call Dane. We’re not actually seeing each other anymore.”