Passion Never Dies (7 page)

“Thank you,” said Jake and nodded to them before leaving the lounge.

He was vastly irritated with himself for being unable to focus on business this afternoon. It had never happened to him before. Tomorrow wasn’t soon enough for him to see Diana. He knew that his patience was inexplicably wearing thin. She was an itch that he needed to scratch as soon as possible and it puzzled him as to why she, more than any other woman he had ever dated before, had become such an obsession to him.

~

Diana baked in the June heat as she waited for Richard in front of an upscale Chinese restaurant. Even though she had lived in Vegas for four years now, she was still sometimes taken aback by the scorching high heat of Vegas’ long summers which even at night, never cooled off.

Nervous about the upcoming conversation she knew was going to take place, she wore one of her best summer dresses, a silky, white, wraparound, sleeveless dress that accentuated her slim figure.

“Hey, pretty lady,” said a cheerful voice.

Diana looked up to see Richard, dressed in cotton, tan slacks, and a light blue polo shirt, approach her. His sandy brown hair was brushed back carefully and his light blue eyes were warm as he embraced her. She smiled at him weakly as he kissed her cheek.

“Hi, Richard,” she said dully, feeling guilt streak through her, seeing how happy he was. She hoped that he wouldn’t hate her for what she was about to tell him over dinner.

Richard took her elbow and led her into the restaurant. A waiter seated them outside and gave them tall glasses of cold water while they selected dishes from their menu.

“Richard, before we start, I wanted to tell you something,” said Diana tentatively.

She had debated with herself earlier about when to tell Richard about Jake and decided that the sooner she told him the better; otherwise she might lose her nerve and end up not telling him at all. Dinner would most likely be ruined and there was the high probability that he would walk out on her, but she didn’t think that waiting until dessert would be kind either.

“What is it, Diana?” he asked, frowning, sensing her disquiet.

“I - well I...” Diana began awkwardly, feeling vastly uncomfortable under his probing gaze. This was going to be harder than she had anticipated. Suddenly, Richard placed his hand over hers and smiled.

“Wait, before you say anything, I want to give you something.”

Diana’s eyes widened as he took out a small, black velvet box and gave it to her.

“Richard, what -”

“Diana,” he said interrupting her, “this is for you. Happy birthday.”

He opened the lid and a matching pair of diamond heart-shaped earrings winked at her.

Diana was so relieved to see that his gift was merely a pair of earrings, she let out a loud sigh of relief.

“They’re beautiful,” she said as she stared at the earrings. “But truly, they’re too much.”
Especially after what she was going to tell him tonight.

“No, they’re not. I’ve been feeling guilty about not making it to Natalie’s and Max’s birthday dinner for you and I want you to have these. I bought them a few weeks ago and knew you’d like them,” Richard said, grinning from ear to ear.

Diana looked into Richard’s earnest blue eyes and bit her lip. Maybe she should wait to tell him about Jake until after dinner.
Coward
, said an inner voice in her head, but she just couldn’t do the dreaded deed right now - and of course, she was definitely not going to accept the earrings.

“Now, where’s our waiter?” he asked, looking around. “I’m famished, plus our movie starts in two hours, so we better order soon.”

Diana clamped down on her guilty feelings and picked up her menu. They were going to have one last pleasant evening together and after dinner she’d bring up Jake.

A little over an hour, several delicious dishes, and some wine later, Diana sat back in her chair and contemplated a content Richard. They had enjoyed mouth-watering food and light-hearted conversation, but guilt weighed her down and she didn’t know how to proceed.

“Is something the matter, Diana?” asked Richard looking worried. “All night, I’ve sensed that you’ve been distracted. What’s wrong?”

Diana swallowed a lump in her throat before beginning.

“Richard, you and I have been seeing each other for over a year now and I’ve enjoyed your company immensely,” she said slowly. “However, something has made me realize -”

“Stop,” he said abruptly, surprising her. His blue eyes looked at her intently. “I think I know where you’re heading with this. I know we haven’t committed to each other yet, but I wanted to leave that up to you.”

Richard paused before reaching across the table and placed his hand over hers.

“I have very deep feelings for you, Diana, but I didn’t want to pressure you into anything. Now, however, I think you should know that I want us to deepen our relationship.”

Diana gazed at him in consternation. They had slept together infrequently over the past year, and after each encounter, she had never truly felt fulfilled. The sad truth was that even though she liked him very much, she had never sought a deeper connection.

“Richard, I’m flattered,” said Diana gently. “You’ve been so understanding and patient with me. I’m afraid though that I don’t feel the same way about you as you feel about me.”

Richard’s blue eyes looked so sorrowful that it made Diana want to reach out and hug him.

“I know that I’ve felt more for you than you’ve felt for me, but I clung to the hope that your feelings would change. I guess I’m pretty pathetic.”

Richard paused and said sadly, “I’ve only ever wanted to make you happy, Diana.”

“I know,” Diana said softly. “I’ve never wanted to hurt you but now it’s time for us to go our separate ways.”

“No, please don’t say that,” Richard said pleadingly.

Diana shook her head firmly.

“I’m sorry, Richard, but I’ve met someone else,” she said quietly.

“Who?” he asked flatly. His eyes never wavered from hers.

“It’s someone from my past. You don’t know him,” she hedged.

“I want you in my life, Diana. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” “It does mean a lot to me,” she replied honestly, feeling guiltier than she had ever felt in her whole life. “It’s just that I’m no longer capable of continuing our relationship. I wish you the best. I know that there’s a perfect girl out there for you.”

He looked so sad that she felt like she had just kicked a puppy.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever find the perfect girl,” he said in a defeated voice. “Keep the earrings. I don’t want them.”

“Richard, I can’t - but thank you for being such a wonderful man and a gentleman.”

Richard paid for their dinner and they were both very quiet as he walked her to her car.

“Whoever he is, I hope he treats you right, Diana,” Richard said quietly before he turned around and walked away.

He didn’t look back, the little black box containing the earrings clutched in his hand because Diana had refused to keep them. She felt wretched, but she also felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She should have broken off with Richard months ago but she had not wanted to hurt him. Sooner or later, she would have ended their relationship but it was good that it happened sooner.

~

Later that evening, Diana crawled underneath her pink, cotton sheets. Still feeling emotional over her break-up with Richard, she had driven home with his hurt look haunting her all the way back to her apartment. It would have been better if he had railed and ranted at her instead of being so quietly accepting.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang on her night table, causing her to blink in alarm. It was past midnight. Who could be calling so late?

“Hello?” she asked distractedly, thinking it was Natalie calling for a late night update.

“Diana,” said Jake in a husky voice that caused her heart to leap instantly.

“Hi, Jake,” she said as she sat up straighter on her bed and leaned against her pillows. She had not expected his call at all.

“How did your dinner go?” he asked, a curious edge in his voice that she couldn’t interpret.

“It went fine,” she said, not wanting to go into details.

There was a short silence and Diana wondered what he was thinking.

“Did he take it okay?”

“Yes, Jake. He even gave me a birthday present.”

“A birthday present?” he asked, displeasure in his voice.

“Yes, earrings,” Diana admitted reluctantly.

“I see,” Jake said in a hard voice. “Did you keep them?”

“No, of course not,” she said, slowly starting to get irritated. What kind of woman did he think she was?

There was a pause on the other line and she closed her eyes feeling tired.

“I’m sorry if feelings were hurt, Diana,” Jake said unexpectedly.

“I suppose it was inevitable,” she said resignedly.

“It’s late, so I’ll say good night. I’ll pick you up at noon tomorrow,” he said, his voice gentle.

She suppressed a yawn before answering.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jake. Good night.”

Diana ended the call and slipped back down under her sheets again. Jake was like a bomb that had dropped into her peaceful world and part of her knew that perhaps she was jumping into Jake’s arms too quickly. But she wanted Jake more than any man she had ever met and now she understood that old saying; never underestimate the power of attraction.

~

Jake stared out into the night sky from his balcony and pondered over the possessiveness he felt toward Diana. He took a gulp of whiskey from his glass and thought about the woman whom he couldn’t wait to see the next day. He had his pick of women, especially here in Vegas where he had connections to every party venue in the city, and he had fully expected to meet many women while in town this summer. But after meeting Diana again, all he wanted to do was uncharacteristically spend his free time with just one woman - her.

Taking another gulp of his whiskey, he realized that perhaps one of the reasons why he had never been in a serious relationship was because he had subconsciously compared all women to the innocently sweet and sensual eighteen-year-old brunette he had met nine years ago and none of them had sparked his interest like Diana. He also had never felt possessive over any woman before. Just knowing that another man had given Diana earrings set his teeth on edge. If anyone was going to give her earrings, it would be him, damn it. He clenched his jaw before taking one last gulp of his whiskey. Tomorrow he was going to show her what she had been missing these past nine years and finally get his fill of the woman who had haunted his dreams for much too long.

Chapter Four

The small airfield was dusty, but buzzing with activity. Diana gingerly stepped into the small plane and looked out the window before strapping herself in. She had been surprised when Jake had told her that they were flying out of Vegas and going to San Diego for lunch. She had been thinking that they were going to a restaurant on the Strip. Nowhere in her wildest imagination did she think they were going to be flying out of the city.

“Don’t worry. I know the pilot and he flies this route all the time. We should arrive in a little over an hour,” said Jake, sitting next to her. He watched her bite her lower lip before squeezing her hand briefly. He could feel her racing pulse and stroked his thumb gently over her palm.

“I’m not worried. The plane is a little small, though,” Diana said a little nervously. Jake gave her a reassuring grin.

“Relax, sweetheart. Everything will be fine. Just breathe,” he said.

Diana looked into his teasing green eyes, warmed by his endearment, and understanding of her nerves. She didn’t particularly like flying, especially on small planes.

“Please turn off all electronic devices,” instructed a flight attendant politely as she walked past them. Jake turned off his iPhone and smiled at her.

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you succeeded,” said Diana. “You know, lunch at a local bistro would have been fine with me.”

Jake laughed and tucked back a few flyaway silky strands of her chestnut hair behind her ear, causing her ear to tingle.

“Are you telling me you’re a cheap date?”

“I’m not a cheap anything,” she replied tartly.

“I’m going to treat you like a queen, Diana,” he said and leaned down to kiss her cheek. She felt her heart accelerate at his words and smiled back at him.

“Honestly, this is a bit much Jake. I’m not used to flying out of the city for lunch.”

“I think escaping the Vegas heat for a few hours would be a relief,” he said. “Besides, you’ll like this restaurant I’m taking you to.”

The plane took off and in a short time, Diana found herself landing in beautiful San Diego. Jake escorted her to a waiting shiny, black Lincoln town car. He gave the driver instructions on where to go before closing the privacy partition while Diana looked out the tinted window and viewed the pretty landscape before her.

“It’s nice to be back,” said Jake as he lounged comfortably against the black leather seating.

“You really miss it here?” asked Diana, admiring his casual yet sexy look. He wore faded blue jeans with a white sleeveless shirt and managed to look drop-dead gorgeous.

He nodded. “New York is great, but San Diego holds a lot of good memories. The beaches here are incredible. My friends and I used to surf every day.”

Jake lifted her hand from where they rested on her lap and kissed her palm, his tongue teasingly licking. The simple gesture left her knees weak and he smiled at her mischievously.

“Too bad I forgot to remind you to bring your bikini. We could’ve frolicked at the beach after lunch.”

“Frolicking with you sounds fun,” she said teasingly.

Jake placed his arm around her waist and drew her up close to him. She could feel his hard, masculine body through the thin, strapless, light pink dress she wore.

“We’ll do a lot of
frolicking
, sweetheart,” he said before he bent his head and kissed her, “and don’t worry, the driver can’t hear or see anything with the privacy partition up.”

Diana arched into him and opened her mouth slightly, more than ready for his kiss. Jake placed one of his hands at her nape to hold her steady while his other hand slowly inched the hem of her dress up her thigh. She heard him groan as he touched his tongue to hers and he opened her mouth wider.