The day, and the consequences of the night, would have to be faced, though. She wasn’t a coward and had no intentions of starting now. Whatever the night had meant, she wouldn’t regret it, but she would face the consequences of her actions. The one thing she wouldn’t do, though, was hurt him. Turning in his arms until she faced him, she let her fingers lightly trace over his features and brush the hair off his forehead.
His eyes opened as a lazy smile curved his lips. “Like the view?”
“I could get used to it,” she murmured, before touching her lips to his lightly. Stretching a little, she sighed. “It’s raining outside, and I have no desire to go to work. If I could, I’d stay right here.”
“Just like this?”
Her head found the curve of his shoulder and settled there. Her eyes closed as his fingers combed lightly through her hair. “This is perfect. How did we miss this for so long?”
“I didn’t.” At his words, her eyes opened and watched him curiously. “I’ve known for a while, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I mean, what could I have said to get you here?” He smiled. “I guess things work out the way they’re meant to.”
“I’d like to think so. I just don’t know what to do from here on out.” Her eyes were troubled, and he brushed his lips over her nose.
“We’ll figure it out. Together.” His fingers tipped her chin up so their eyes met. “Whatever happens now, it’s going to be you and me. Okay?”
Her mind raced with the meaning and the possible results of his words. Finally, she nodded. “Okay.”
He kissed her firmly before turning to look at the clock on her bedside table. “Shit. I’m supposed to have breakfast with someone this morning. I’m going to be late.”
“Breakfast? On a Wednesday morning? Don’t you have work?” She sat up in bed and watched him yank on his clothes.
“Yeah, but this is important, too. I can’t miss it.” He buttoned his shirt before finding his shoes. “I’ve got twenty minutes to get from here to the Village. I’m definitely going to be late.”
“Call and let whoever you’re meeting know.”
“I will.” Trying to use his fingers to fix his hair, he strode back to the bed and, cupping her face, kissed her. “Remember that.”
She pressed a hand to her speeding heart. “I will.”
“Leighanne.” His voice was quiet, though his eyes were storming with emotion. “I love you.”
Her heart lodged in her throat. “Jason, I-”
“I don’t expect the words back. Not yet.” He smiled though, one finger trailing down her cheek. “But I hope you remember that whenever you feel uncertain. I’ve loved you for a while. I’ll always love you.” With another kiss, he was gone.
As she listened to her front door close, Leighanne pressed both hands to her heart and held his words close, letting them warm her.
Laurel drummed her fingers against the edge of the table and stared into the steaming mug of coffee that sat in front of her. Jason was late, which was a rare thing. They were supposed to meet to come up with a plan to prevent or stall the transaction between Starlight and Paramount that Clarissa had engineered and was making dangerous progress on. Jason had already called her, though, and she expected his arrival in another five minutes.
Which left her keeping company with her thoughts. Which was dangerous. Especially now.
She didn’t want to think about everything that had happened in the past twelve hours, but, of course, her evil mind shoved it all in front of her anyway. Twelve hours ago, she’d been with James as he’d demanded that she put her barriers aside and finally let him in. Three hours later, she’d bumped into Brian, a man she’d met twice before and had barely known. Now, she sat in a coffee shop after spending the night in his apartment. In his arms.
It was difficult, she realized, to feel guilty about cheating on James. She should, she knew. James hadn’t deserved what she’d done, but she’d never felt more alive with anyone as she had in Brian’s arms. On his couch. In his bed.
The bitter, black coffee snapped her brain out of the steamy memories that continued to assault her. She’d left Brian still sleeping and had crept out of his apartment. His doorman must have known what had happened, but the man had been polite enough to hail a cab for her.
“God, oh God. What am I going to do?” she whimpered, laying her head down on her arm. She wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt on her conscience. Would she? Then again, did she feel guilty because of what had happened or was it just guilt over the inevitable hurt it would cause James? Laurel no longer knew, and she wished the answers would just appear. Of course, they didn’t.
“Laurel?” Jason slid into the chair across from her. When she lifted her head, he smiled sympathetically. “Is everything okay?”
She opened her mouth to respond and ended up bursting into tears. “Sorry, I’m sorry,” she said between sobs. “I don’t mean to keep crying. It’s just that my life has suddenly become very complicated. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Jason handed her a tissue, and Laurel was reminded of how Brian had mopped up her tears the night before. “I’m guessing this has nothing to do with my mother’s corporate espionage. Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong? I’m here to listen. It’s what big brothers do, you know.”
“I know. I, uh, you know I’ve been dating James.” The pained look on Jason’s face made her smile a little. “Oh, stop it, Jason. You know I’ve been with men before. I’m not ten years old anymore.”
“I know. It’s still weird, though. You dating my good friend and boss. The fact that he still doesn’t know who you are.” His eyes narrowed at the look on her face. “Or does he?”
She shook her head. “He doesn’t know. But he definitely wants to. He’s giving me until the charity ball at Apollus on Friday to figure out what I want to do with our relationship.”
“So you have to come to the ball? Laurel, everyone will be there. They’ll know who you are.” He reached out and took her hand. “Are you up for all that attention? I know the instant Mother and Theresa see you, they’ll be pissed. They’ll do whatever it takes to bring you down.”
“Actually, I was thinking about how, if I went, if everyone knew that I was still around, I’d be able to regain control of the company completely. The courts would stop her from preventing me from doing anything,” she explained. “Jason, I could stop everything.”
He nodded, considering all the angles. “You could.” He met her gaze with a serious one. “You’d be willing to do all of that, to expose yourself and open yourself up to shots from my mother?”
“I couldn’t care less anymore what she does to me.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m starting to realize that I’ve got more on my side than I ever thought I did.” But her eyes darkened as a gloomy expression crept across her features. “I just don’t know how James will react. To everything. How much could he take before he would have to walk away?”
Jason sighed. “Laurel, he’s in love with you. He’ll accept anything you tell him because it’s a part of who you are. He’ll stick by your side, through thick and thin because that’s just the kind of guy he is. Are you, uh, are you in love with him, too?”
“I thought I was. Up until last night, I was so sure I was,” she murmured. “Now, I’m not so sure.”
“What happened last night?”
She was quiet so long that he wondered if she’d even really heard the question as she was staring so intensely into her mug of coffee. Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet his. “I slept with someone else.”
“Laurel.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did, and it was a crazy moment of insanity on both our parts.” She spoke quickly now, afraid that he’d lecture her or, worse, turn her away. “It’s just that we were both so confused about what we were feeling for our significant others, and then we ended up talking about ourselves and everything. And, it happened. It just happened.” Her head ended up in her arms again. “I cheated on James, and he cheated on his fiancée.”
Jason surprised her by chuckling. “Oh, this is fantastic. Fabulous. Just fucking incredible.”
“What?”
“Laurel, you helped a guy cheat on his fiancé, and I helped the woman I’m in love with cheat on hers. We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?”
Laurel’s jaw had dropped. “You never told me you were in love with anyone! Who is she?”
“Her name is Leighanne. She’s a dance instructor, and I didn’t tell you about her because I thought it was a lost cause.” He smiled, thinking of the night before. “And then last night happened.”
“But she’s getting married, right? What are you going to do about that?” Laurel asked, thinking of Brian.
Jason looked thoughtful. “I think the only thing to do is to tell her fiancé what happened. I love her, and I’m not going to lose her. She’s actually engaged to one of my really good friends, but I don’t think he particularly wants to marry her either. You remember Brian Littrell, don’t you?”
“Uh, no. Not particu-” She suddenly remembered a little boy with big blue eyes and a mischievous grin. “Yes, I do! He was my best friend before…before.”
“Yes, well, he’s her fiancé, but it was all a part of this business agreement between Apollus Records and Brian’s father’s company when they were negotiating the merger. It was just a stupid thing to add to a contract, but I hope they’ll break things off. I plan on making sure they do,” Jason added, firmly.
Laurel had stopped paying attention as her mind whirled. Leighanne’s fiancé’s name was Brian. Brian’s engagement had been a business deal. Brian had known a Laurel when he was younger. A Laurel who had disappeared. Brian who worked with Jason and Bryna. Brian who worked at Apollus. With James.
James.
Brian.
“Oh, my god.”
Her face had gone so pale so suddenly, and Jason clutched her hands between his. “Laurel, are you okay? Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Jason.” She was speechless, though, as everything seemed to come together in her head. “Is Leighanne’s fiancé a couple inches shorter than you, curly-haired, blue-eyed? Brian? Does he have a great sense of humor and a sort of drawl to his voice?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I guess you do remember Bri from when were younger.”
Laurel shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t remember that from when we were little. Jason, I spent the night with Brian. My God, I cheated on James with his friend. With my old best friend. And neither of us had a clue.” Then realization hit her. “If I go to the charity ball, Brian will know who I am. Jason. What do I do?”
He was still reeling from all the information she’d just dumped in his lap. James and Laurel and Brian and Laurel? But his mind hooked onto one piece. Brian had been unfaithful to Leighanne. Though his heart did one wild leap of joy, one look at Laurel’s face chased any thoughts of Leighanne from his head.
“Laurel, it’s all going to come out. Both of them are going to know everything.” He wished he could offer comfort but didn’t know how to in this. “I don’t want you to be hurt, but you will be.”
James stared out at the rain and sighed. Perfect. The weather had decided to match his mood, and he just didn’t care anymore. All he wanted was Laurel. All of Laurel and not just the bits and pieces she’d given him. He needed to know who he’d fallen in love with because he needed to know if he could trust her to not break his heart.
He was deathly afraid of the ball.
When his intercom beeped, he sighed again and pressed a button. “Yes, Helen?”
“Miss Theresa Chambers is here to see you. Again,” she added quietly.
He suppressed the urge to groan. For the past month, Theresa had been relentless and obvious in her attempts to seduce him, and he was tired of it. Unfortunately, she was also the daughter of a very powerful woman and the sister to two of his friends. He had no choice but to invite her in, be polite, and quietly send her on her way.
“Let her in, Helen.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Theresa walked in, James noticed that she wasn’t wearing her signature snug skirt nor had she put anything remotely alluring on. Instead, she strode towards him in a no-nonsense business suit. Not even remotely seductive. He wondered what was going on in that head of hers.
“James.” She held out a hand. “Thanks for seeing me.”
He held her hand briefly before letting go. “Of course. What can I do for you?”
She studied him for a moment before she spoke. “I’m going to cut through the bullshit, today. I know you don’t like me. I know that none of your circle of friends cares at all about me. My siblings included.”
James was startled by her flat, emotionless tone and the words she hit him with. “Theresa, I don’t know what to say. Of course, we care about you.”
She held up a hand. “Don’t. Don’t say anything that isn’t true. I know what all of you think of me. Snobby Theresa who doesn’t give a damn about any of you. Theresa, who doesn’t work for anything and certainly couldn’t care less about anything except her next facial or whatever.” She paused. “That’s not me. And I’m tired of being treated in such a way.”
“Uh…” He didn’t quite know what to say to her except the truth. “Look, Theresa. I’m sorry that you feel that way, but you were the one who never cared to spend time with us. We always asked you to come with us when we used to hang out in high school. You always thought you were better than us. Or so we thought.” He considered her for a moment. “Were we wrong?”
“No. But I’m tired of that Theresa. That title.” She looked away, out the window. She looked so vulnerable all of a sudden that James felt guilty. “I want more. What’s wrong with wanting more?”
“Nothing. Theresa, if you’d said all this years ago, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. There wouldn’t have been any need to have this discussion.” He placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort. “Why did you come to me about this today?”
Theresa looked away from the windows and back at him. “Because I trust you. Of everyone, you’ve always been the one that I would’ve trusted. I can’t even really rely on Bryna or Jason. But you, James, have a heart of gold. I knew that you’d listen to me and not laugh at me.”
“The others wouldn’t laugh at you, Theresa.”
“Sure they would.” She sighed. “Kristin hates me because of my mother’s actions, because I’ve never really broken away from my mother. Because Kristin doesn’t like me, neither does Kevin. Because Kevin doesn’t like me, neither do Alex, Howie, Kyra, or any of them. It’s just how it’s always been and you know it.” The expression in her eyes dared him to deny her claims, and James knew he couldn’t.
“Okay. Okay, maybe that’s true.” He lifted his hands and let them fall helplessly. “I don’t know what you want. Or how to help you.”
She managed a tiny smile and held out a hand. “Be my friend? I could really use one.”
He studied her for a few moments before nodding. “Sure. Of course.” He placed his hand in hers and squeezed comfortingly.
Then he was floored when she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “Thank you,” she murmured, burying her face against his neck. “This means so much to me.”
James hesitated a moment before letting his arms come around her, too. “No problem.”
She was gone. There wasn’t a single trace of her anywhere. It was as though she’d never been there.
Brian searched his apartment for any evidence that she’d spent the night in his home. That she’d spent the night with him. That she’d been there at all and made him fall in love with her.
God, he didn’t even know how to reach her. They’d never gotten around to exchanging the basics about each other. Shaking his head forlornly, he decided that their relationship wasn’t exactly following the normal pattern that it should have. Starting with the fact that both of them were committed to relationships with other people.
Sitting in the middle of his bed, surrounded by tangled sheets, he could almost smell her—that fragile scent of jasmine that had haunted his senses for a month.
“What the hell am I going to do now?”
