Love to Believe: Fireflies ~ Book 2 (18 page)

“Sean?” Her voice matched her looks, refined and elegant, though tremulous. Her translucent skin had paled and those killer cheekbones accentuated the fine structure of her face with razor sharpness.

Rebecca cut her eyes to Sean, who for once couldn’t mask his emotions. If his dead brother, Jack, had been the one to say his name, Rebecca thought he couldn’t have looked more shocked.

“Lindsay.” He said her name before he turned around, but by the time he faced her he had schooled his expression and set his lawyer face into place.

Lindsay and Sean stared at each other for a brief moment. Lindsay’s face became radiant with a high-wattage smile, those cheekbones flooded with color, and she flung herself into Sean’s arms.

“Sean.” She said his name like a prayer and her arms tightened around his neck. “I thought I’d never see you again.” She pressed her face into his neck and breathed deep. Rebecca couldn’t blame her for that. The man smelled like heaven.

Sean returned her hug, then took her by the shoulders to shift her back and look into her eyes. Her smile never faded and she shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs.

“God, look at you.” She brought her hands up to adjust the collar of his shirt, the knot in his tie, and then she rested her palms flat over his chest, a series of fluid movements performed with grace and accepted with such nonchalance that it was obvious the woman had executed the task for him a thousand times before. Rebecca gulped down her jealousy. “Still rocking Tom Ford, I see. I never could get you to jump to Armani.”

Sean’s lips curved in a smile, but his expression remained inscrutable. He tucked his hands in his pockets and stepped back. Lindsay sighed and her hands dropped to her sides.

“What brings you so far South, Linds?”

“My boss’s son, Josh, is getting married and I scored an invite. What about you?”

“I’m here as a plus-one, same wedding.” Sean held his hand out to Rebecca. She slid her hand into his and stood, glad to be at eye level with Lindsay rather than looking up. Sean flashed a reassuring smile at Rebecca and squeezed her hand. “Rebecca Walker, meet Lindsay--” He cut himself off and met Lindsay’s gaze. “Sorry. I don’t recall your married name.”

The hesitation lasted less than a second, but the air sizzled with...what? Lindsay recovered. “Tannen. Lindsay Tannen.” She held her hand out to Rebecca. “Nice to meet you. Are you here for Josh or Andrea?”

“Andrea. We were college roommates.”

“I’ve only met her once, but she’s very lovely.” Lindsay’s smile looked forced, and she dismissed Rebecca the moment the words left her mouth. “Sean, if you can find a few minutes,” she said, tucking her sleek hair behind her ears, “maybe we can have a private conversation.”

“It’s late.”

“Tomorrow, then.”

“The day’s full. But it was good to see you, Lindsay. Give my best to your husband.”

“I’m here alone, Sean.”

Rebecca raised a brow and bristled.

Sean squeezed Rebecca’s hand again. “Goodnight, Lindsay.”

“Sean--”

“Lindsay, I found us a table!” Lindsay’s friend called from several tables over, waved, and then made a come-on gesture with her fingers. “Sorry to be rude, but I don’t want to lose our spot.” She raised her voice to be heard over the din.

“I’ll find you tomorrow,” Lindsay said to Sean before she walked off, her eyes dark and serious.

Sean’s gaze met Rebecca’s and held. “Well, that was unexpected and uncomfortable. I’m sorry for the intrusion from my past.”

This time she squeezed his hand. “It’s a relief to know you have one, sort of a
Chocolate Man Unmasked
moment.”

Sean tugged her closer to murmur in her ear. “You’re giving me ideas, Xena.”

Rebecca aimed to keep him smiling. “You know I can’t wear anything under this dress, right?”

“You--what?”

He drew away to look at her, and she tossed her head back to laugh, eyes sparkling.

“Okay, that point’s to you, so we’re even. You always get me with the ‘going commando’ remarks. But I feel compelled to tell you that, ever since that night at Chez Eloise, I’ve fantasized about a million different ways to peel you out of that little black dress. You interested in helping me realize at least one of them?”

“Let’s get out of here.” She grabbed her purse off the table. “Ladies, I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the spa. Phil, it was great to meet you.”

“Eight o’clock tee time, right?” Sean said to Phil, who stood up to shake hands, nodding.

“So, about Lindsay. You want to talk about it?” Rebecca asked when they stepped into the empty elevator.

“No.”

“I’m a pretty good listener.”

“There isn’t anything to talk about. Lindsay and I were together and then we weren’t.” He shrugged. “End of story.”

“No strings, no drama, no questions. I get it. If you don’t want to give details, that’s fine.”

“The only detail I’m interested in is whether or not that dress has buttons or a zipper.”

“Look, I’m not trying to pry. I just thought if you wanted to talk--”

“I don’t.”

The elevator pinged and the doors opened to their floor. In the suite, Rebecca kicked off her heels and tossed her purse on the sofa table. Sean removed his jacket and tie and went out to the balcony, hands in his pockets, staring at the moonlit Atlantic while the enthusiastic sea breeze ruffled his hair. Rebecca grabbed his discarded jacket, slid her arms through the still warm sleeves and wrapped it around her before joining him outside.

She shivered in the cold but wrapped her arms around him from behind, as he had done with her earlier in the day, and breathed in the comingling scent of the sea and Sean. Her heart pounded against his back and she closed her eyes, buffered by his body from the wind. When he spoke, the vibration delivered a soft rumbling against her cheek, and she had to shift her position to catch his words above the wind and surf.

“Lindsay and I dated in law school and ended up working at the same firm in Manhattan, got an apartment together, and eventually got engaged. Then things changed.” He turned around to face her but kept her close, and used his hands to hold her freewheeling curls back against the gusting wind. “We grew to want different things and it ended. That’s it.”

“That’s some significant editing, Counselor.”

“Nothing wrong with the redacted version. You get the gist.”

“Sean, you almost married her. That’s a pretty big deal.”

“It would be a big deal if it had happened. It didn’t.”

“How long were you together?”

“Five years, give or take.”

Five years? Half a freaking decade?
“Is she the reason you prefer arrangements over relationships?”

“No.”

“Are you still in love with her?” The question blurted out before she could stop it.
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She’d shown her vulnerability and made herself sound needy, and she detested being either.

Man up
.

She patted Sean’s chest with her hands and stepped away from him. “You know what? I’m sorry I asked. That is absolutely not my business. We’re alone in a hotel room and I, for one, don’t want a third person sharing the space with us. I apologize for inviting her in after you tried to leave her out. C’mon.” She took his hand and tugged him, unresisting, into the room, and closed the French doors against the night air. “Have you seen that tub? Jetted and big enough for two. Let’s turn on the hot water, pour some wine, and get naked. What do you say, Chocolate Man?”

Sean regarded her for a moment, those gorgeous eyes midnight blue in the lambent light and as inscrutable as deep space. The rules of their arrangement played in her mind, and Rebecca sweated the seconds, hoping she hadn’t gone too far, and that she had self-corrected before screwing things up.

“I’d rather not,” he said.

Her heart plummeted. Chest tight, she nodded and began to turn away. She still wore Sean’s jacket. He grabbed the lapels and drew her close, his mouth a heartbeat away from hers. “First we have the matter of indulging my get-you-out-of-that-little-black-dress fantasy.” He slid his jacket off her shoulders and tossed it on the bed.

Relief pumped through her along with a healthy wave of lust and, had she been inclined to dig a little deeper, something far more potent. “And after that?”

Sean took her face in his hands, his gaze serious and steady on hers. “I’m all yours,” he said.

She closed her eyes and pretended it was true.

Chapter 9

“In here, quick!”

Andrea grabbed Rebecca by the arm and dragged her into one of the smaller hotel conference rooms. Devoid of people, it held dozens of rows of folding chairs all facing toward a small platform with a lectern.

Rebecca allowed herself to be led by her friend, smothering laughter when Andrea jerked her to the floor behind the lectern.

“It’s a tighter fit back here than when we were in college, but we can still squeeze our asses in. Be quiet or she’ll hear us,” Andrea said between giggles. “You don’t want to get caught, right? Because she might corner us for an hour, right? Right? Right, right, right?”

“Tell me again why are we hiding from Dana? She’s harmless.”

“She’s annoying.”

“Then why did you invite her?”

“She married my cousin. I didn’t have a choice. Shh. Door’s opening.”

Rebecca obeyed but rolled her eyes and wondered what kind of thirty-year-old woman thought hiding behind a lectern to avoid an unpleasant confrontation was a good idea. She wanted to tell Andrea to man up, but the moment passed, and now she sat crammed under the lectern with the bride-to-be, her knees drawn up to her chin.

“Well,” Dana said to an unknown someone, “I could have sworn I saw them come in here. I guess not, right? We’ll find them later, right? Let’s go.”

The door closed and the seconds ticked by. After a minute or so, Andrea sighed and nudged Rebecca. “That was close.”

Andrea squirmed to reach into her pocket and produced a Snickers bar which she held up in triumph. “This one’s yours. I’ve got one in my other pocket for me.” She unwrapped the second candy bar, took a bite, and chewed with her head back and eyes closed. “Oh, god, this is sooo good.”

Rebecca stared at Andrea. “You sound like you’re having an orgasm. It’s kind of grossing me out.”

Andrea laughed and took another bite. “This really is better than sex right now. I’ve been eating rabbit food for two months getting ready for this wedding. But never mind that. Thanks for running away with me. My mother is driving me crazy, giving way too much advice, and I’m not supposed to see Josh until the ceremony. God, I can’t believe I’m getting married today.” She shook her head, “Crazy. Anyway, I needed me some Becca time.”

“How’d you know where to find me?”

“I saw Alanza at breakfast and she mentioned you were joining them at the spa. That made it easy to kidnap you. Now, tell me all about yummy Sean. Details. I want details.”

“There’s not really anything to tell. We’ve been, um, seeing each other since Thanksgiving. That’s all, really.”

“Wow.” Andrea glared at her. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? I want the down and dirty. Now dish.”

Rebecca stared at Andrea and Andrea stared back, eyebrows raised.

“Fine.” Between bites of her Snickers, Rebecca shared the details of her arrangement with Sean, and Andrea listened in rapt attention until Rebecca ended her monologue with a shrug and the comment, “So that’s it. Now you know everything, and you’re the only one who does. I haven’t told anyone else, so keep it quiet.”

“You know you can trust me. But here’s the thing, Becca. I watched you two together last night. There’s more to it than just an arrangement.”

“No, there really isn’t.”

“You said you guys never stay the night together, but he came to the wedding with you. You woke up together this morning, right? Don’t tell me he slept on the sofa last night, because I won’t believe you. You’re looking way too relaxed.”

“No, he didn’t sleep on the sofa, but we didn’t wake up together either. By the time I got up he had showered and dressed, was already sipping coffee and working on his laptop. I’m telling you, Andrea, we just have an arrangement, and we’re friends. There’s nothing else to it.”

Andrea gripped Rebecca’s arm, her brown eyes warm and expressive. “But you wish there was.”

Rebecca averted her gaze. Andrea rested her head on Rebecca’s shoulder. “Love sucks.”

Rebecca laid her head against Andrea’s and smirked. “Thanks for the show of solidarity, but you’re getting married to the love of your life in about five hours, so love doesn’t suck for you. And I never said I was in love with Sean.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Rebecca had no response. She dared not lay voice to the emotion because that would make it real, and it couldn’t be. It would ruin everything.

No strings, no drama, no questions. Just goodbye.

Words to live by.

The heavy meeting room door made a loud ka-click sound when it opened and another when it closed. Rebecca and Andrea lifted their heads and drew their knees up again, grinning at each other while they waited for the person to leave.

“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I asked to speak with you in private,” a woman’s voice said.

“This is as private as we’re getting.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened. She turned to look at Andrea so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.
Sean
, she mouthed. Andrea’s brows flew upward and she slapped her hand over her mouth.

“You know what I meant. Let’s go up to my suite. We can relax, talk for a while.”

Is that her
? Andrea mouthed though her fingers. Rebecca swallowed a squeak and responded with a nervous nod.

“I’m not helping you cheat on your husband.” Sean’s voice held amusement. “I appreciate your sense of poetic justice, though.”

“Walter and I are getting a divorce.”

Rebecca’s mind raced. It was wrong to stay hidden, to eavesdrop. The right thing would be to stand and speak up, apologize for the awkward situation and try to make a graceful exit. Yes, that was the right thing to do. She bit her lip as her body tensed, hesitated. Torn between being a Good Person and a Horrible Person, the internal argument held her immobile.