Losing You (Stars On Fire Book 4) (29 page)

While they ate, Tom’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his back pocket to silence it but when he saw who the caller was, he picked it up. “Hi. What’s up?” he asked, feeling weird speaking to Lizzie in front of not only Mia but Marc.

“Hi, Pooh bear,” Lizzie said, laughter coating her sweet voice.

Not responding to that damn nickname was an Olympic feat, though he did loudly exhale, causing Lizzie to laugh. “You love the nickname,” she pointed out.

“Maybe,” he conceded.

“So . . . I’m calling with some news.”

“Do tell.”

“Looks like I’ll be home in a few days.”

“Oh, really?” he replied. He couldn’t contain all the excitement he felt at that news and some of it leaked into his voice. In a few days, she’d be in his arms . . . in his bed.

“Yeah, I should be home by seven o’clock, Friday evening.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, I’m having a party at my place.”

“I think I’ve been there before,” she said with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, I think that could be a possibility,” he teased. “So, will I see you there?”

“Tom . . . you and your mighty hammer are my number one priorities. I’ll have the limo drop me off there instead of my place.”

“Fuck,” he cursed quietly. He really wished he was having this conversation privately.

“I had wanted to call so often, but we’ve been so busy this past week. The rest of the week will be no different. This really has been my first opportunity to call,” she paused and Tom heard a muffled voice talking to her. “Shit. I’ve got to go. Break time is over.”

“Okay. Bye,” he said, desperate to get off the phone, not missing Mia’s not-so-secretive glances in his direction.

“Tom. Wait. Is everything all right?” she asked, her voice full of worry.

“We’ll talk when you get back.”

“Tom?” she pushed.

“Everything’s okay,” he said quietly. “I promise,” he added.

His girl knew something was up. “Damn, I have to go. You and I are so talking when I get back.”

He didn’t reply. He hung up the phone.

Yeah . . . talking definitely would trump hammer time. He sighed and slipped the phone in his back pocket. “Sorry about that.”

Not entirely sure he was making the right move in asking this but he felt things needed airing out, sooner rather than later. “Are you guys going to be in town this weekend?” Tom asked them. “If so, you should come to my house on Friday. Party. It’s been awhile since we’ve all been together. We can get Marty and Clark to come . . .”

“I’ll be there!” Marc said excitedly. “I was just talking about that with Clark a few days ago.”

Tom turned his head to Mia wondering what she’d say.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be heading back to California in a couple days,” she announced, her downcast eyes concentrating on her salad.

Marc spun around to look at her. “So soon?” he asked, not hiding his disappointment.

Mia glanced up and frowned. “Unfortunately.”

Her eyes met Tom’s and he saw through her bullshit but didn’t call her out on it. Probably better that way.

“When will you be back?” Marc asked.

“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Definitely New Year’s Eve for a show.”

“Oh, yes! Big party with the band and all our friends. I can’t wait!”

“It’s been awhile since we’ve had an intimate show like that in Chicago. It will be a blast.”

Why did Tom not hear any excitement in her voice? No emotion even.

“All our parties seem to be epic,” Marc reminisced.

“Pretty much,” Mia agreed with a little laugh. Tom liked hearing that noise. He’d missed it.

“One of my favorites was the night I introduced you to all the guys,” Marc said.

Before answering Mia found Tom’s eyes. “One of the best nights of my life.”

Even though he and Mia weren’t together anymore, he’d have to agree. She had been such a part of his life—an amazing friend. Too bad their timing sucked. “I’d have to say the same,” he answered and watched the tears immediately rush to her eyes. Mia breathed deeply, battling to keep them from falling.

He needed to get out of there because he wanted to pull her into his lap like he used to and do whatever he could to calm her down. And it was the whatever part that scared him. The kissing. The touching. The fucking. So instead, he held her eyes, not letting her close them like he knew she wanted to, hoping she would know that things would be all right. Then he placed his napkin on the table.

“I should get going,” Tom announced. “I have an early client meeting.”

Marc stood up and shook his hand. Tom pulled him into a hug. “It’s good to have you home.”

“Thanks, man. See you Friday.”

After he’d said his goodbye to Marc, Tom stepped towards Mia.

“Tom,” she said when he stood just a couple feet away.

“It was, uh, good to see you again,” he lamely said because he didn’t know what else
to
say.

Inhaling sharply, she closed her eyes and when the tears choked her, his arms went around her.

“I’m so sorry, Tom,” she said, clutching him. “I gambled and lost. I—”

As she cried, he kissed her forehead, down her cheek, and stopped at her ear. “Shh . . . shh . . .” he whispered. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”

Mia turned her face to his, her lips so close to his.

“I did love you. I always will,” she whimpered then placed her pouty lips against his cheek. He’d never thought he’d ever feel her mouth on him again and it had him reacting. With a loud exhale, Tom turned into her and their lips met and for a short, yet heated moment, his mouth moved upon hers, infusing her with all the feelings he had for her.

“Same here,” he whispered against her lips before pulling away. “Please take care of yourself, Mia,” he said. Then he turned around and left.

Enough now.

When he reached his bike, Tom wiped the tears away. This was the last time that he’d say goodbye to her. He had Lizzie now and he wouldn’t give her up without a fight.

Lizzie

How she wished she could be finished with work and relax on this flight, but things needed to be done whether she was in the air or on the ground. The moment she could turn on her electronics again, Lizzie had been in a zone, crossing off a lot of items on her list and hadn’t heard the flight attendant approach.

“Excuse me, miss, would you like something to drink?”

Lizzie glanced up from her laptop to see the blonde flight attendant in front of her. She was grateful for the break, too engrossed with the financials for the new office. She really needed a glass of wine to mellow out. Looking at her laptop one last time, she closed it. The financials could wait until Monday.

“Yes. I’d love a glass of Merlot.”

The flight attendant smiled knowingly. “Sure thing. I’ll be right back with your drink,” she replied and then scurried off.

Lizzie had just finished packing up her laptop when the flight attendant returned. Taking a sip of the wine, she let it wake her tastebuds and stared out the window, the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains below. Halfway home. Finally, after five straight weeks in San Francisco. The opening had gone as planned—no major issues to report, which made her very happy . . . as well as her boss.

The night before, Parker had come out to San Francisco to see the new office and to take the team out for a congratulatory celebration. He’d pulled her aside and they sat down at the bar. Then without preamble, he asked her if she’d be interested in heading up the new office.

“Take some time. Think it over,” he had said, before handing her an envelope.

When she returned to her hotel room and opened the envelope, Lizzie freaked after reading the contents. The extremely generous offer was a huge step forward for her. The location of the office was perfect. Easy access to public transportation. A great view of San Francisco. Plus she loved it in California. Loved being by the bay as well as the ocean.

Her dream.

In the little free time that she had, she explored the San Fran area and vicinity by car. She’d crossed the Bay Bridge and experienced the East Bay area, falling in love with Berkeley and all the merchants as well as the free spirits on the streets. She’d shopped for gifts to bring home, strolled the streets, and enjoyed the sights that they offered.

So what was the problem then?

Fingering the bracelet on her wrist, she thought about Tom. He’d given her this bracelet as a reminder of him. Her entire time in San Francisco, she hadn’t been able to see him. Even worse, she’d barely had time to think about him with the twelve to fifteen hour days she’d been working.

When she’d called him a couple days ago, it was because she’d seen that he’d called. She had missed too many calls. She immediately called him back—eight hours later. The conversation left her confused and feeling a little insecure. Something was up. She had felt like he didn’t really care that she would be finally returning home. Had he found someone else? It hurt to admit it, but she couldn’t blame him if he had. She hadn’t been the best girlfriend the past few weeks. She’d rarely called and when she had, there hadn’t been much time to talk or she’d been utterly exhausted. The two-hour time difference hadn’t helped the situation either. He was already at work when she awoke and he was asleep when she returned to her room.

Even so, excitement coursed through her veins. She wanted, needed, to see Tom so badly. She checked her watch and changed it back to Chicago time.
Only a couple more hours
.

The limo stopped outside of Tom’s house a little before eight Friday evening and the driver helped her bring the luggage to the porch. After tipping him, Lizzie regarded Tom’s home. It looked different to her. She shook the feeling off. It had definitely been too long since she’d last seen it.

Lizzie didn’t bother to knock. No one ever knocked at Tom’s house, especially her. She opened the door and placed her luggage in his office right off the foyer. Smoothing the jacket to her black pin-striped suit once more, she wished she’d taken the time to go home to change. The suit was extremely uncomfortable. With a deep calming breath, she moved further into the house, quietly making her way through the groups of people, intent on finding Tom.

As she walked into the living room, she spotted him chatting among a group of guys. The sight of him had the nervous excitement she’d felt since entering his house increasing tenfold.

On the flight back, she had fleeting thoughts that the transfer to California could be the right decision for her. Then she caught Tom’s eye and the brightest smile came across his face. Doubt filled her mind as he started moving towards her. Could she leave him again? She left the question unanswered as she rushed him and threw her arms and legs around him in a fierce embrace, his strong arms holding her up against him. His lips caught hers in a deeply passionate kiss.

Lizzie could feel the eyes of the party-goers on them but didn’t care and, it seemed, neither did Tom as he lightly caressed her behind with his thumbs. God, she missed him more than she’d thought. She needed him so much. The transfer to California wasn’t the right decision. Tom was the right choice. She couldn’t leave him again—her heart wouldn’t allow it. How could she have even considered it?

He kissed her again quickly, then pulled his head back to look at her.

“So you’re back?” he asked, watching her chew on her lower lip.

“Yes,” she said, her face brightening in a smile.

“For good?” he went on, a hopeful expression on his face.

She kissed him softly and the smile returned. “Yes.”

“Good. Now that that’s settled, all I want to do is get you alone and fuck the hell out of you,” he whispered against her ear before he attacked her deliciously long neck. As he spun them around a couple of times, a smile spread over her face, but when she opened her eyes, she received quite the shock—Marc behind Tom. His stormy blue eyes showed it all—hurt . . . disbelief. When their eyes met, he turned and thundered away.

Marc was back.

Holy fucking shit!

Or was she imagining him?

When she looked in the direction she thought he’d gone, Clark and a tall, blond man were hurrying off after him.

“Mm . . . Marc’s back?” she stuttered.