Perfect Stranger (16 page)

My phone rang, as I walked back into my apartment after dropping Kate at the airport. Pausing to toss my keys on the hall table, I grabbed my phone and answered without checking the caller ID. “Jordan Merrill.”

“Hey you. It’s me.” Louisa. “Are you busy?”

Since Kate left, the evening ahead was pretty empty. It was a few weeks since I talked with Louisa. She might take my mind off things.

“I’m getting a drink. Hold on a moment.” It was only a few steps to the kitchen and a cold beer. I snapped the bottle open and sat at the kitchen table. “So, what can I do for you?”

She laughed, a gentle sound I always associated with her. “How very English you’ve become. I wanted to see how you were. Marcus tells me you have a new girlfriend.”

I wondered how long it would take her to ask. “I met a nice girl. I feel awkward, calling her my
girlfriend
, though. It makes us sound sixteen.”

“
Tcha.
” It was a noise Louisa and her mother used to scold me. “You haven’t married her. Yet.”

She was fishing again. I drew on the cold beer, disappointed at the taste. In a rare bout of homesickness, I bought some bottles of Miller Draft, the first beer I ever drank. I didn’t remember it tasting watery, like this.

I was undecided whether or not to order pizza. Only a few weeks ago, I found a restaurant that made pizza like I had at home. Hearing Louisa’s lilting voice made me long for my home town. And a decent beer.

As she chattered on, seemingly happy with periodic grunts in reply, I examined the label of the Miller Draft beer. Brewed in the EU, under license. That explained a lot.

“
Jordan
.”

“I’m here.”

“If you’re too busy to talk right now…” She left the sentence unfinished, and I dragged my attention back to her.

“No, anything but. Kate stayed for the weekend, but I just dropped her off at the airport.”

“Staying the weekend already? It must be serious.”

“Damned if I know, Louisa. And that’s the truth.” I sipped the beer, but it didn’t get any better. “You know me. The word
cautious
could have been invented to describe me. She makes me feel like a kid again. For the first time, I can imagine spending the rest of my life with someone. With her.”

“If it’s so good, why don’t you sound happy?”

As usual, she hit the nail on the head. “Because she doesn’t trust me. I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I think.”

“What’s there not to trust?”

“Her last boyfriend couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. Her boss has been groping her. She doesn’t feel real good toward men at the moment.”

“She’ll get over it. And if she’s worth it, you’ll wait.”

“What makes you the authority?” I was only teasing, and she knew it.

“One question—do you love her?”

“Oh come on.” I stalled. “I don’t know.”

“Do you
love
her?
Yes
or
no
?”

I took another gulp of second-rate Miller. Such a simple question. Such a complicated answer.

“She says she’s not ready for a relationship yet. She doesn’t want to make any kind of commitment. And her grandmother just died. She’s not in a great place right now.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Louisa would make a very good attorney. She could cross-examine with the best of them.

“I guess. Maybe.”

Louisa sighed. She was thousands of miles away, but her exasperation was as clear as if she stood next to me. “
Jordan
. Marcus thinks she might be
The One
.”

“Marcus talks too much.” I leaned across to the refrigerator, to see if I had any other beers in there. I wanted to sprawl on the sofa, without having to get up again soon.

Kate’s question continued to nag at me. What
did
I want from her? I wanted her here, with me. Wanted to hold her, run my fingers though her hair, to devour her, and to spend every waking moment making love to her. I grinned. Maybe I was turning sixteen all over again, with my hormones running riot and a lust for life that I’d all since forgotten.

I said
goodbye
to Louisa and sprawled on the sofa, staring mindlessly at the television.

Lou’s question was simple. Was I in love with Kate? It felt as though Kate tried to back off, put some space between us. We had three hundred miles separating us. How much more did she want?

Louisa’s advice was simple, too. Wait for Kate. It wouldn’t be easy. I longed to call her now, to tell her I’d come and stay next weekend if she had room. I’d be nice to her friends’ kids. Maybe. I wanted to take her on holiday. Show her my home town. Feed her a decent pizza and a good beer.

I wasn’t very good at waiting.

I walked in the office on Monday morning, feeling human again. Losing Gran hit me harder than I expected. Most of the time it seemed as though I existed within a brittle shell, as if one sharp knock would crack me open and leave me in pieces. Working, interacting with Sophie, and even spending time with Jordan felt unreal. I did all the right things and behaved normally, but I was frozen inside.

Escaping for two days with Jordan, away from the crap I had to deal with, had been amazing.

Should I tell him I was free next weekend after all? Sophie wanted to take Isaac up to Scotland, and the house would be empty. I’d have the place to myself soon enough. Isaac started his course in London in September, and they’d both be moving out. I’d miss her. Miss
them
. What if Isaac wanted to move back to New Zealand when his course was complete? Would Sophie go with him?

I couldn’t think about that now.

What did my week look like? I settled at my desk and pulled up my schedule, checking Adam’s at the same time. He planned to be in the office this week, whereas I had two visits scheduled. I’d be at a customer’s site this afternoon, and in our Oxford branch on Wednesday. The Oxford trip was always difficult in terms of travel. In theory, it was just two hours away, but traffic was awful. You had to leave there late, to avoid being snarled up in jams, and I rarely got home before nine or ten at night. Staying overnight meant a ridiculously early start, in order to get back to the Manchester office on time.

I ploughed through the emails from Colin. More queries on the old orders. When I asked him to send me a consolidated list each day, he insisted it was more efficient to do them individually. I now had over thirty queries to look at, and I just
knew
most of them would be nothing. In desperation, I filed them all in a single folder, to look at later.

The morning flew by. Paula repeatedly tried to catch me, but each time I was on the phone, and then I dashed out to the customer site.

“Mail me,” I said as I walked past her desk, and she nodded. Paula was one of my first recruits to the Call Center, and I trusted her judgement. If it was important, she’d let me know.

* * * *

I didn’t pick up my email until I was home. Roadworks on the motorway ensured I had a long and tiring journey, and I didn’t bother going back to the office.

It was almost seven, and I was hungry. I missed a call from Jordan, and a couple of texts from Sophie. She would be out late with Isaac, and I shouldn’t wait up. I called Jordan as I walked into the kitchen, and he picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, you.” I heard the pleasure in his soft drawl, and I smiled.

“Hey. I just got in. How was your day?”

“It was good. We won a huge contract, and the marketing team has been celebrating. I bought them a couple cases of champagne.”

“Nice. When we get a big sale, we celebrate with doughnuts.”

He chuckled, the timbre of his voice sending shivers down my spine. The good kind. “Yeah, it was a big contract. Worth the effort. Anyway. I was wondering if there was any change to your plans this weekend?”

I tried to remember what I’d said I was doing. “Sorry. I’m still busy.”

“Yeah, you’ve got friends coming. You said so.” He sounded disappointed. “It’s still a couple of weeks until the lawyer appointment for the will reading. Maybe next weekend, instead? It was good having you here, Kate.”

I was about to say
yes
, when I recognized the date. “I’m sorry. It’s the annual kick-off on Saturday, and I’ll be in Birmingham all day.” I thought quickly. “If you’re free on Sunday, I could probably come down in the morning. Birmingham is halfway between Manchester and London, so it’d only take me a couple of hours.”

“I’m flying out to Brussels on Sunday evening. It’s not worth the trip for a few hours.” There was an uncomfortable pause. “This long-distance thing isn’t easy to do.”

“I get Birmingham, you get Brussels. You’re such a high flier.” I tried to make a joke, to lighten the conversation. It fell flat.

“My job involves a lot of travel, Kate.”

“Mine too.”

“Okay. We need to coordinate our schedules better. I’ll check my free weekends and we’ll see if we can work around them.”

I felt a prickle of alarm at his tone. “I have commitments on the weekends too. The whole thing about coordinating is that we both compromise.”

“I’ve cleared my schedule for when you come down for the reading of the will. I
am
prepared to compromise.”

Even as I recognized my tiredness made me irritable, I resented the implication I was being difficult. Any idea I had about relenting and inviting him to Manchester this weekend went flying out the window. All the same, I didn’t want to quarrel. “I’m tired and hungry, and it’s been a long day. Let’s catch up tomorrow.”

We said our
goodbyes
and hung up. Jordan was right. This long-distance
thing
—as he called it—was hard work, and I didn’t know if I had the stamina for it.

Marella beamed at me across the table in the meeting room. “I have some exciting news. Barker Distribution is keen to see our TravelMatch application. If they like it, they want to roll it out nationally.”

TravelMatch was one of our newest products, and if a large transport company like Barker invested in it, we’d have a solid foothold into the market. “That’s great. I’ll check the product portfolio and get you the information you need. Do we have any idea what hardware they’ll be running it on?”

“This is where it gets better.” Her eyes sparkled, a happy smile dancing on her face. “They just bought out a competitor and plan to upgrade their entire network at the same time. Their preferred supplier is J&J, so we’ll team up with their Sales people for a consolidated pitch.”

Thank God it wasn’t ComCo. The idea of having to work with Adam, even from a distance, was nauseating. “Do you have a J&J rep name? I’ll set up a pre-meeting.”

“Isobel Stone. Do you know her?”

“Yes. She’s a friend of mine. She’s good, too.” The day was looking up. The prospect of working with Isobel on a huge account was enticing. She had a way of making most things fun, and God knew I needed some fun.

Rob had made it his life’s mission to get our little flat packed up and ready for us to move over the weekend. Most of my clothes were in boxes, and the kitchen was stripped down to the bare minimum. We didn’t move for another three days, but he wanted to be ready. That was the downside of marrying a project manager—he planned everything. Tonight we embarked on the cleaning marathon, our aim being to leave the flat spotless. One might think we expected a military inspection, not a cursory look from the landlord.

I should be excited, but I was more thrilled about the Barker account.

Isobel arranged to come over later today, and I went back to work. Dodging Cade was my newest hobby, and this piece of business should ensure more separation.

When the girl at the front desk called to tell me I had a visitor, I assumed it was Isobel. She was early, but we could grab coffee first. I walked into the Reception area, a huge smile on my face, and saw Rob.

His face lit up when he saw me. “Hey, baby.” He stood there, hands in his trouser pockets—the picture of a relaxed man. When I last saw him this morning, he yelled at me for being late and left without me, ensuring I waited for the bus. It was good to see him smiling again.

“Hi.” I stepped forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, conscious of the receptionist watching. She was a temp, and I didn’t know her name. “What are you doing here?”

He quirked his eyebrows. “I’ve a surprise for you. I’m taking you to lunch.”

I glanced at my watch. “It’s not eleven yet. Isn’t it a bit early?” Isobel was due in half an hour. “I have a meeting soon. I can’t drop everything without warning.”

His face fell. “Can’t you ask your boss if you can slip out for a couple of hours?” I started to say
no
, but he spoke over me. “What if it was an emergency?”

“It’s not, though.” He looked so disappointed, I wanted to hug him. “If I can reschedule my meeting, I may be able to get away. Can you wait here for ten minutes, while I make some calls?”

“I guess.”

I left him there and dashed back to my office, to search for Marella. I sent a text to Isobel, who replied it was fine; her afternoon was free. I found my boss in the kitchen, and quickly explained.

She nodded. “You don’t take lunch break often, so I don’t have a problem with you being out for a few hours. Go have some fun with your husband.”

Rob’s unexpected visit good. Escaping work on a sunny day, for an extended lunch break with my gorgeous husband. Things could be much worse. I snatched my jacket and bag, and hurried to meet him. He used to do this when we were dating, and I loved it then.

Rob had his back to me when I entered the reception area, and he stared out at the city below. I caught his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Let’s go. I love surprises.”

When he looked at me, his face was shuttered, lips in a thin line. Without a word, he walked by my side to the elevators. Something had turned him from hot to freezing cold, and I prayed I was wrong about it. I chattered, mindless nonsense, my tongue going into overdrive.

It was only when I climbed into the car and fastened my seatbelt that he spoke. “I know you like surprises. I planned to take you to the new house for lunch. I thought we’d spread a blanket on the floor and have a picnic. I thought it’d give you a chance to see how great this is for us.”

“That sounds wonderful. Yes please.” I reached for his hand, but he folded his arms.

“I’m not sure I want to now. Do you know why?”

I had an idea, but I kept that to myself. I licked my dry lips and made myself look innocent. “No.”

“Cade Brisley is going out with your friend, Kate. Right?”

“Yes.” I tried to sound blasé, as though my heart wasn’t fluttering like a trapped bird. “I told you that.”

“Why would he be in your office, Jen? Visiting Kate?”

Oh, shit. This was not going to be pretty. “Kate works for ComCo.”

“So why was he there today? I saw him, dumpling.”

“He’s a developer. He’s probably here for a meeting.”

“Liar.” Rob slammed the steering wheel with his palm. The sudden movement made me jump, and the crunching noise made me feel sick. “He fucking works there. Your receptionist told me,” Rob said.

“Does he? I didn’t know.” I had to bluff this out. Now I’d started on this path, I had to continue, no matter how much I quaked inside.

“
Jesus
.” Rob turned in his seat and gripped my chin, firmly but not enough to hurt. “I hope you’re telling the truth, coz if not, you’ve become a fucking good liar, Jen.” Better than he imagined.

“Rob, there are over two hundred people work for SDC. I can’t be expected to know everyone.” A trickle of perspiration formed between my shoulders, but I didn’t flinch.

He stared into my eyes, and I held his gaze. “I want to believe you, baby. I thought I could trust you.”

“You can.” I placed my clammy hands over his and manufactured a smile. “I love you, Rob. That’s why I married you.”

“Promise me you’ll have nothing to do with him. No meetings. No chatting in the corridors. Nothing.”

He looked so upset, I wanted to restore his good humor. “I promise.” The lie rolled easily off my tongue.