An After-Hours Affair

Ten

Jenny awoke cocooned in Mitch’s arms. Sunlight was streaming through the big bedroom window, the split beam catching on the rumple of her dress discarded on an armchair beside them. A cool breeze wafted lazily down from the ceiling fan.

Mitch’s body was warm where he curled around her back, one arm draped across her stomach. She shifted experimentally, stretching sore muscles.

He nuzzled her neck with a whisker-roughened face, kissing his way to the tip of her shoulder. “You okay?” he asked gently, voice morning-husky.

She shifted onto her back, taking in his sleep-crinkled eyes and beard-shadowed chin. “I’m fine.” She gently touched his bare chest, concern growing as she recalled the terrible news he’d received yesterday. “You?”

“Fine,” he responded, dipping to kiss her gently on the lips.

“You know what I mean,” she pressed.

He slipped an arm beneath the small of her back, drawing her naked body against his own, kissing her again. “I think I’m in denial. Or maybe you’re just too distracting for me to dwell on anything else.” He pressed himself meaningfully against her.

“Again?” She quirked a brow, shifting one more time to test the extent of her soreness.

“Always,” he muttered, his hand closing over her breast.

Her nipple instantly peaked, and desire flooded her system. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t that sore.

Surprisingly, he drew back. “But you’re not ready.”

“I could-”

He put a finger across her lips, trailing it downward. “You’ve been out of practice since college.”

“I was never in practice in college.”

His grin looked decidedly possessive. “Hungry?”

She nodded, touched by his tender consideration. “Famished. And I’d kill for some coffee.”

“Regular? Latte?”

“Whatever you’ve got.”

He reached for the bedside phone. “What I’ve got is room service. Name your pleasure.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he scolded. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

“Croissants, strawberries and regular coffee.”

“You never used to play with fire,” he mumbled.

“You never used to look so sexy.”

He punched a button on the phone. “Tell me what’s different, and I’ll do it all the time.”

“You’re going to stay sleep-rumpled, unshaven and naked?”

“Yes,” he said, staring straight at her, even though he spoke into the phone. “We’d like some croissants, some fresh strawberries and a pot of coffee.”

She scooted close and whispered in his ear. “That’s impractical.”

His arm closed around her, and he shifted the mouthpiece to beneath his chin. “It’s okay. I think they’re in season.” Then he spoke into the phone again. “Thank you.” And he hung it up, turning back to her, grinning. “Or did you mean the naked part?”

“I meant the naked part.”

“You like me naked?” he confirmed.

Jenny made a show of pulling up the sheet to peep underneath, gazing unabashedly at his sleekly muscled, magnificent body. Oh, yes. She liked him naked.

“That’s it.” He shifted abruptly to the edge of the bed. “I’m outta here.”

She felt a jolt of unease, and pushed up on an elbow. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” He slid his legs into last night’s pants. “You’re doing everything absolutely right. And if I don’t leave now, I’ll be all over you again.”

She felt a satisfied smile grow on her face, and she let her head fall back on the pillow.

He hesitated for a split second. “You’re a dangerous woman, Jenny Watson.”

“Nobody’s ever called me dangerous before.”

“That’s because they didn’t see you in that dress.”

She gave an exaggerated sigh. “And I guess they never will, since you tore it.”

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

“That’s silly.”

“I loved you in that dress.”

“You loved me out of it more,” she singsonged.

He pointed through the doorway to the living room. “I’m getting the room service now, and then I’ll meet you on the deck for breakfast.”

Breakfast. With Mitch. After a long night of…

An unsettling thought raced into her mind, and she sat upright. She hadn’t meant to ditch Jeffrey, but that had been the upshot of her behavior. “Do you think Jeffrey’s mad at me?” she called out.

Mitch paused in the doorway. “I think Jeffrey’s laughing at me.”

“I don’t understand.”

He turned. “He all but dared me…in fact, he did dare me to dance with you.”

She still didn’t understand.

“He’s not mad,” said Mitch. “Trust me on that.”

There was a knock on the suite’s outer door.

“Meet me on the balcony?” Mitch repeated.

Jenny nodded, swallowing her worry. Mitch and Jeffrey were very good friends. She had to trust that Mitch knew what he was talking about.

She stayed in bed until the voices disappeared and the suite door whooshed shut. A few seconds later, she heard the balcony door slide open.

She made a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up, then she glanced around the bedroom for something to wear. Her crumpled, stale dress seemed to be the only option. But then Mitch’s tux jacket caught her eye.

She padded into the living room, slipping it on. It smelled like him, and she inhaled deeply. Then, on impulse, she looped his bow tie around her neck.

She folded the wide garment closed around her body and headed out to join him on the balcony.

When she stepped outside, he scanned her body and grinned. “You do know there are robes in the closet.”

“I’m happy with this.” She helped herself to a steaming cup of coffee, crossing to a padded wicker chair opposite.

A quick glance around the balcony overlooking Lady Bird Lake told her it was completely private. She sat down, leaning back, letting the jacket fall open around her.

Mitch’s gaze zeroed in on her nudity, and he stared at her in silence for a long moment. “Nice tie.”

She took a casual sip of the coffee. “I stole it from a guy I slept with.”

“You know you’re not going home today.”

She spoke over the rim. “I’m not?”

He slowly shook his head. “I don’t think you’ll even be leaving this suite.”

“I’ll be late for work on Monday.”

“Ever been late before?”

“Not even once.”

“The boss’ll forgive you.”

She felt her heartbeat deepen and her stomach flutter. She swallowed. “You sure?”

His eyes turned to blue smoke. “I am positive.”

They’d finally left the hotel around three o’clock in the afternoon. Mitch had bought Jenny some clothes at the hotel gift shop, and he’d assured her Jeffrey would clue in Cole and Emily. And after a walk through a lakeshore park, they’d come across a gorgeous botanical garden, wandering hand in hand amongst the trees, succulents and colorful flowers. They’d ended up in a downtown club, listening to a local country band and laughing over burgers and colas.

Then they’d spent another night together, stretching out the trip to the last second, before taking a compact private plane back to Royal.

It was nearly noon before Jenny arrived at the TCC offices. The outer door was closed, so she knew she’d beaten Mitch to work. She hustled her way along the short hallway.

“Finally,” came an exasperated male voice from behind her.

Jenny glanced over her shoulder to see Brad Price catching up to her.

“Where have you been?” he demanded, taking her by surprise.

She concentrated on inserting her key into the office lock. “Good morning, Brad.”

“It’s afternoon,” came his sharp retort.

Jenny pushed open the heavy door and glanced down at her watch. He was right about that.

Brad followed her inside. “I understood the office opened at nine?” It was more a rebuke than a question.

“I’ve been in Austin.” Mitch’s voice joined the conversation, and Jenny turned to see him stride through the open doorway. “Won an award at the Longhorn Banquet,” he said to Brad. “Don’t know if you heard.”

“What about Jenny?” Brad challenged.

“I gave her the day off.”

Brad folded his arms across the chest of his business suit. “I think we should be clear on the policy regarding office hours.”

Mitch widened his stance. “Win the election in December, and you can write any policy you want.”

A tense moment of silence ensued.

“I need to talk to you,” said Brad.

Mitch gestured to his office. “Come on in.”

Once Mitch’s office door closed behind the two men, Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. She tucked away her purse, turned on her computer and pressed the button to listen to her voice mail.

As she moved into her regular routine, uncertainty crowded in. They were back on their home turf again. Would Mitch end things as abruptly as he had last time? Was she ready to have her heart crushed so quickly?

Drawing a breath, she reflexively raised her hands to her chest and pressed them down. She’d gone into this thing with her eyes wide open. She needed to guard her heart, and she needed to be ready to walk away at a moment’s notice.

Mitch wasn’t long-term. And the new, impulsive, carefree Jenny had to be ready to accept that. What they had at the moment was fun and exciting. She didn’t need to quantify, classify and organize every nuance of their relationship.

She blew out her breath. She typed in the answer to a routine email request for information on the TCC. Then she opened a note of complaint about the proposed new clubhouse. She added it to the folder to bring to the attention of the board.

Then the phone rang, and she spent twenty minutes going over the rental options for a bride-to-be, the daughter of one of the long-term TCC members. It was going to be a spring wedding and, luckily, they were able to find a mutually workable date for the main hall and the grounds.

As she hung up the phone, Brad appeared. He bid her a reserved goodbye, and left.

“Jenny?” came Mitch’s formal voice from inside his office.

Her stomach clenched with nerves. Was this going to be an abrupt and final kiss-off? Would Mitch once again suggest they forget their lovemaking ever happened and go back to normal?

“Jenny?” he called again.

She swallowed. “On my way.” Then she reflexively grabbed a notepad and pen. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe he simply wanted to talk about business.

But when she paused in the doorway of the big, rectangular, dark-paneled room, he was frowning. He moved from behind the huge ebony desk, pushing the high-backed diamond leather chair out of the way.

“Close the door,” he told her, and her heart sank.

She pushed back on the door, latching it shut, leaning against it for some kind of defense as he made his way past the round meeting table and the low conversation group of a leather couch and matching armchair.

“Sorry about that,” he muttered.

She didn’t know what to say.

“Brad’s under a lot of stress right now. The election, the feud with Abigail, and now he’s really under the gun with those blackmail threats.”

“They’re getting worse?” Jenny was one of a very small circle of people who knew Brad had received blackmail threats involving the paternity of an illegitimate child.

Mitch nodded, but he kept moving forward, closer, closer still, until he drew her into his arms. “God, I missed you.”

“What about Brad?”

“Brad can find his own woman.”

She cracked a smile, hugging him back as relief flooded through her.

He cradled her head against his chest.

“You dropped me off an hour ago,” she reminded him. At Cole’s house, she’d quickly changed into business clothes, jumped into her own car and driven directly to the office.

“Seems like longer.” He cupped her face, drawing her back and leaning down to kiss her.

Relief continued to sift its way through every fiber of her body. He wasn’t going to break it off, at least not this second. As the kiss went on, longing took the place of relief, until she was molded tightly against him, deepening their kiss.

He pulled back and sucked in a tight breath. “We can’t do this.”

For a moment, her heart stood still.

“Not in the office,” he continued. Then he dropped his arms and took a step back. He raked a hand through his dark hair. “I’m thinking, at least for now, we should be circumspect while we’re here.”

Jenny gave herself a little shake, then nodded her head. He was saying the fling should continue, right? But they should keep it a secret? Could that work?

Certainly Emily and Cole had figured it out, since she was supposed to have stayed at Cole’s rented house in Austin. And Jeffrey knew they’d left the banquet together. How clandestine was Mitch thinking they could be?

She longed to ask him what he meant, but with the relationship so new and tentative, she didn’t dare go into specific detail. Besides, that was old Jenny. New Jenny could go with the flow.

Maybe.

“I’m going to try to focus on work,” Mitch told her with a sheepish grin. “Can you do the same? For a few hours? Then I’ll drop by Cole’s later?”

Jenny nodded more vigorously this time. She could do that.

“It’s a weird time,” he said, suddenly sounding tired, face pinched in worry. He shook his head, one hand going out to brace against the back of an armchair. “You helped me over the past two days. I’m grateful. But it’s starting to sink in, you know?”

She knew. She remembered. Their exhilarating weekend together was one thing. But his career had also ended. She took a step toward him. “Anything I can do?”

“I wish there was.” Unexpectedly, a small smile twitched the corners of his mouth. “There is one thing you can do. But your special brand of physical and emotional therapy will have to wait until after business hours.”

She was relieved to see the worry ease from his expression. “You know I’m just a temporary stopgap.”

“I’ll take it anyway.” His midnight blue gaze bore into hers.

“Did you think about this possibility at all?” she found herself asking.

“I tried very hard not to.”

“You had no kind of a plan?”

He shook his head. “Every single one of my coaches taught me to visualize success, not failure. When the tackles are bearing down on you, and the receiver is out of position, you don’t dare, not even for one second, picture that ball missing the hands of the receiver. It’s the kiss of death.”

She found herself easing closer still.

“So, yeah, I knew this might be a career-ending injury,” he admitted. “But I never let my mind go down the pathway to what that meant. I’m running blind here, Jenny.”

She longed to reach out to him. But she mustered her self-control. “Can I hug you later?” she asked, voice low and throbbing.

“Hugging is the least of what I was counting on for later.”

Jenny was surprised to find Emily sitting at the breakfast bar in Cole’s kitchen, munching her way through one of his cook’s famous oatmeal almond cookies.

“You just get home?” asked Emily.

“Are you waiting for me?” Jenny slowed to a halt, wondering how much, if anything, Emily had figured out.

Emily glanced a little guiltily toward the back hallway. “I’m visiting Cole.”

Well, well, well. This was interesting.

Jenny pulled out one of the breakfast bar stools and climbed up, cornerwise to Emily. She searched her friend’s expression for a clue. “You’re visiting Cole?”

Emily responded with a sly grin, taking a slow bite of her cookie and chewing. “You stayed an extra day in Austin.”

Jenny returned the smile self-consciously. “I did.”

“We couldn’t help but notice you didn’t come back to the rental house.”

“Any more of those cookies left?” asked Jenny, leaning forward and reaching for the brightly colored tin. She eased off the lid and plunged her hand inside, concentrating on selecting one of the round, grainy treats. Then she glanced around the kitchen to confirm they were alone. “Mitch had a nice hotel suite.”

“And, so…?” Emily probed.

Jenny shrugged. “So, I saw the hotel suite. Liked it. Decided to stay awhile.”

“And?” Emily leaned forward. “Give. He’s with you now? What changed his mind?”

Jenny hadn’t wanted to examine that question too closely. Her best guess was that Mitch had changed his mind about her being too fragile to risk dating.

“Jenny?” Emily prompted.

“I don’t know what to think,” Jenny confided. “I guess I’m just taking it one day at a time, you know?”

Emily nodded, reaching out to pat Jenny’s hand. “I hear you. Cole and I are just testing the waters. Messing around to see if anything happens.”

Jenny took another contemplative bite of the cookie. “Messing around? Literally?”

“Started off a bit rocky at the dance,” Emily told her in a low tone.

“Yeah?”

“I asked him if he thought Emilio would be willing to get me pregnant.”

Jenny nearly choked on an almond. “You what?”

“After some discussion,” Emily continued matter-of-factly, “we decided Cole should do the job himself.”

“Seriously?”

Emily nodded.

“That must have been some dance.”

“Yeah. Well.” Emily got a faraway look in her eyes. “Apparently, you don’t have to be that tall to be a kicker. I figure my sons can try out for the special teams.”

“Or shortstop.” Cole appeared from the hallway, crossed the kitchen and helped himself to a cookie from the tin, taking a position beside the patio door and leaning against the wall. “They might want to play baseball.”

Jenny glanced from one to the other. They had to be joking. Didn’t they? “Are you two seriously thinking about making a baby?”

“Don’t misunderstand,” Cole continued. “I plan to ask her to marry me just as soon as I find the right rock. But right now I’m kinda busy keeping her in my bed and away from the offensive line.”

Again, Emily nodded her agreement.

“Ain’t that a bitch?” Mitch’s voice joined the conversation.

“Hey, Mitch,” Cole greeted amicably, while Mitch took in the cookie fest and apparently decided to join them, helping himself.

“Have a good time in Austin?” asked Cole.

Mitch grinned, settling in next to Jenny. “Had a great time. You?” He bit down on half of the cookie.

“The best,” said Cole.

Jenny took in the glow on Emily’s and Cole’s faces, and found her emotions calming down. They might be joking about getting pregnant, but their true message was that they’d fallen in love.

“You’re getting married?” she asked, wanting to confirm the meaning of Cole’s offhand remark.

Emily made a show of a heavy sigh. “I guess I will have to marry the guy.”

Cole pulled her close against him. “She finally came to her senses.”

“He’s not that short,” she admitted. “And he does have this incredible-”

Cole cut her off with a solid kiss, and Jenny found her gaze straying to Mitch. His answering smile warmed her heart.

“I brought you a present,” he whispered, straightening away from Emily and Cole.

Curious, Jenny twisted to watch him cross the kitchen floor. He retrieved a flat gold box from the telephone table just inside the kitchen doorway.

“What is it?” she automatically asked, thoroughly puzzled by the gesture.

“Open it and see.” He set it on the island countertop in front of her.

“Is this a joke?” For some reason, she steeled herself. What was this all about?

“I’m dead serious.” He pushed it in her direction.

“Should we leave you two alone?” Cole asked.

Mitch gave him a mocking eye-roll. “It’s not X-rated.”

“Too bad,” said Emily, and everyone looked her way. She shrugged. “It could be fun.”

“Open it up,” Mitch prompted Jenny.

She took a bracing breath and lifted the lid.

Pulling back the mauve tissue paper, she found a gently folded rainbow silk dress. It took her a moment to realize what he’d done, and then another long moment to speak. “You bought a new one?”

“It was a great dress,” said Mitch, moving up close behind her, gazing over her shoulder and smoothing his broad palm down her hair to the back of her neck.

“What happened to the last one?” asked Cole, a thread of laughter in his voice.

“You’ll never find out,” Mitch answered.

Emily reached out and touched Jenny’s arm. “You looked fabulous in it.”

Jenny didn’t know what to say. It was an expensive gift, a very thoughtful gift. She did love the dress, but things like this were going to make it hard for her to keep her relationship with Mitch in perspective.

“Would you have preferred something different?” he asked her in a low voice.

She shook her head. She would have preferred to not feel this tightness in her chest, this rush of soft emotions and the urge to bury herself against him and hold on forever. She felt vulnerable and frightened. The old Jenny would have demanded to know what the gift meant, and where Mitch thought he was going with all this.

But she couldn’t do that. And, unfortunately, the new Jenny didn’t have a coping mechanism for a guy who was sending out mixed messages.

“Anyone up for dinner?” asked Cole, breaking the silence. “Seafood? Gillian’s Landing?”

“Sounds great to me,” said Emily, sliding off her high chair.

Cole braced her while she settled her feet on the floor.

“Okay by you?” Mitch asked Jenny. “We can go back to my place and grill something instead.”

Jenny shook her head. “No. Gillian’s sounds great.” Better not to spend too much time alone with Mitch, dreaming of things that might never be.

Later that night, Mitch reflected on how much he loved being alone with Jenny.

He lay in his bed, propped up on one elbow, the light sheet covering him from the waist down.

Jenny had slipped into one of his faded football jerseys and rolled the long sleeves up to her elbows. It was green and white, with the number twenty-two across the back, and it hung nearly down to her knees.

Her hair was mussed from their lovemaking, and she couldn’t have looked more adorable.

“And this one?” she asked, lifting a gold trophy from the shelf beside his dresser.

“High school,” he told her. “Junior year.”

She held the etched plaque close to her face, squinting. “Player of The Year. All State.”

“It was a good year. I had a lot of lucky breaks.” He patted the bed beside him. “You must be getting cold out there.”

She replaced the trophy, picking up the next one. “You need to dust these.”

“If you’re going through the entire set, it’s going to take all night,” he complained.

“The Dallas Devils?”

“College.”

“It’s heavy.” She hefted the tall trophy.

“Careful.”

“I won’t break it.”

Mitch rolled out of bed. “I don’t want it to break you.”

She giggled, as if his worry was absurd.

He strode across the hardwood floor and lifted the trophy from her hands, setting it safely back on the shelf.

“What are these?” She opened a cherrywood box that his mother had given him when he was about fifteen.

“Come back to bed.”

“They’re rings,” she exclaimed, running her finger through the box. “They’re gorgeous. Look at these.”

“I’ve seen them.”

“The Lightning Bowl. The Ibex Cup.”

He bent to kiss her tender neck. “You can look at those any old time.”

“Are these real diamonds?”

“I don’t know. Probably.”

“How many of these have you won?” She checked through the contents of the box.

“I have no idea.” His kisses were making their way toward her lips.

She held a ring up to the light. “Tell me that’s not a real emerald.”

He didn’t bother looking. “That’s not a real emerald.”

“You’re lying. Look at that color and clarity.”

“You want the ring? Take the ring.”

“I don’t think it’ll fit.” She dropped it and let it fall loosely onto the base of her thumb, spinning it around for a moment before putting it back.

Mitch gave up on kissing, pawing his way through the box and extracting a gold ring with a flat face, a ruby chip and the entwined platinum letters S and C in relief. “Try this one.”

She accepted it in her palm. “It’s nice.”

“My first.” He smiled. “Sixth grade. It might fit.” He snagged her hand, slipping it on to the ring finger of her right hand.

Laughing, she tried to pull away.

But he held her still. “See, it fits fine.”

“I’m not taking your ring.”

“Why not?” Grinning, he kissed her palm. “It’s not like I’m going to use it again. You want to go steady?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Her smile disappeared. “Don’t do that.”

“I was just-”

“I know how you feel, Mitch. Don’t mess around.” She determinedly tugged off the ring.

He opened his mouth to explain. But what could he say? He’d done nothing but make his position on a serious relationship repeatedly and abundantly clear to her for the past few weeks.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

She dropped the ring back into the box. “Nothing to be sorry for.” Then she pasted a determined smile on her face, snapped the wooden box shut and set it back on the shelf. “You’ve had an amazing career,” she bravely carried on, but there was a warmth missing from the tone of her voice.

“You’re what’s amazing,” he told her honestly, but she shifted away.

He wanted to kick himself. He’d hurt her feelings again. Hurt her feelings, frightened her and forced a cool distance between them, when all he wanted to do was carry her back to his bed and make love to her, or maybe just hold her in his arms for the next few hours, or days or weeks.