Tomorrow Will Be Too Late (36 page)

‘I think she is just fine
.
’
He
grinned again, choosing to sit next to her instead of
on
the opposite couch as she had thought
he would
. Which complicated things
,
of course, because from close
-
up he looked even more formidable and breathtakingly handsome. He shrugged off his jacket, long
,
lean fingers going to the two top buttons of his crisp white shirt and getting rid of his tie.

‘
That’s
better
.
’
He
smiled, ignoring her thunderous silence. ‘I talked to Alice and Tom, explaining we’d be a bit late for the party. They were thrilled, as far as I could tell.’

‘
You
talked to my family?’
She
was so
angry
she was shaking. ‘
You
talked to them, but failed to ask me if I actually wanted to come with you? What kind of a man are you, Justin?’

‘A pragmatic one
.
’
H
e looked unrepentant, his long legs stretched out in front of him in a leisurely gesture. ‘You might
have said
no, even though I think that d
eep down you would agree that
we need to do
this
.’

‘
Why
?’
s
he exploded, her hurt making it impossible to remain calm any longer. ‘
You
sent me
away
,
replacing me with this bimbo ex
-
wife of yours, remember? You
haven’t gotten
in touch with me ever since. Why would I want to talk to you again? So you can make me even more miserable, Justin? Forget it, I
’
m leaving. If you try stopping me
,
I’ll call the police.’

‘So
,
you admit I
’
m not the only person who’s miserable?’
His
gaze held hers until she looked away, unable to stand the scorching intensity of his eyes. ‘
That’s
a good start.’

‘
There
is no start whatsoever, Justin.’ She sighed, her fingers going to her temples. She could feel a migraine starting, the pounding in her head making it impossible to concentrate. ‘I honestly don’t know what else you want from me
.
I tried to play along, even though it all failed. The wedding is over
,
and Tom’s family has finally warmed up to Alice. What else do we have in common to prolong this agony?’

‘Good question
.
’
She hadn’t
notice
d
how he managed to get closer, but suddenly he was right there, his hands taking her
s
and ignoring her weak attempts to free herself from his grip.

‘We’re done with the wedding and the lies and the
made up stories that came between us and poisoned the atmosphere until it was impossible to breathe
,
’
he
said, his voice urgent now. ‘W
e can put it all behind us,
Kate
. All of that is in the past, the future belonging just to us, nobody else.’

‘What do you mean?’
s
he asked unhappily, the tears burning under her eyelids making her blink. She would be damned if she let him see how miserable she felt listening to his voice.

‘I had a lot of time to think things over
,
’ he said softly, his fingers stroking the skin of her inner forearm
, then
moving higher. ‘
I’ll be honest with you
,
though, Kate.
I didn’t want to think about anything, especially after we parted last weekend. I was
too
damn disappointed and hurt to allow myself to stop and think about what
had gone
wrong.’

‘I don’t want to talk about it anymore
,
’ she whispered, shaking her head in despair. ‘
Just
let it be and forget it, Justin. Please.’

‘I can’t do that. You must see it,
Kate
.’ He shook his head in response, his voice infinitely patient. ‘I tried, to be honest. But I couldn’t. I wanted to be so mad at you for all the things I felt you betrayed me with, starting with that infamous night at the pub and going all the way to the most amazing night of my life.’

He shifted, pulling her even
closer, her
body only inches from his.

‘
Instead
,
I had to think how sweet you were at the pub, how absolutely wonderful and tender. I remembered how relieved I felt to have finally found someone who listen
ed
and understood,
seeing me as a person and not a checkbook attached to a body. I remembered how I felt when you disappeared, the loss almost physical in its intensity.’

She didn’t
realize
she was crying until she felt moisture on her face, the tears cool against her heated skin. Listening to him felt like probing an open wound, the thought of what could have been
and what
she
had
lost
filling her with sadness. She would do anything to be able to turn
back
the clock and start all over again. In
her
fantasy
,
she wasn’t running an errand for
Vic
;
meeting Justin
would be
nothing more
than
a twist of fate. She’d smile at him and sit down at his table, sharing a drink and a meal. She’d agree to see him again and let him hold her hand, his touch warm and reassuring.

‘
Hey
, don’t cry
.
’
Suddenly
she was in his arms, sobbing into his shirt as he held her close, rocking her gently back and forth. He murmured some sweet nothing, his arms massaging the tense muscles between her shoulder blades. She did the unthinkable, she thought mortified, as she hiccupped inelegantly and shivered in his arms.

‘
Don’t
look at me,’ she mumbled, trying to look away when she finally managed to
disentangle
herself from his arm. ‘I look horrible when I cry
.
I
’
m serious.’ She knew she did. Her skin would turn all red and blotchy, her nose would run
,
and her mascara would smear into a raccoon
-
like mask of misery.

‘Well, I’ll have to think twice before I will give you any reasons to burst into tears, won’t I?’
He
laughed softly, lifting her face to his gaze and kissing her
tear-
stained cheeks. ‘
Fibber
again
,
’ he said gently, his eyes warm. ‘
You
don’t look horrible at all, darling.

‘And then last week, when you slipped and admitted what made you have sex with me, I was furious. I felt we had something special
,
only to be put down and reduced to a convenient male body without a face or a heart
,
’
he
continued, his voice rough. ‘I needed to be alone before I did something really stupid
,
like asking you to live up to our agreement, but on my terms this time. Sexual frustration and trampled pride aren’t the best advisors, you know.’

She listened, speechless and almost dizzy with excitement. She could feel his hands around her waist, holding her to him as he spoke.

‘
When
you left, I spent the rest of the weekend trying to find out what was the worst part of this bomb you planted in my mind, Kate.’ He shook his head, his features so
m
ber. ‘
And
I realized it wasn
’
t the fact you hid it all from me, at least not entirely. The anger was born out of paralyzing fear that you were so close to being dead, even though it turned out to be a mistake. I realized that nothing else mattered. Hearing you say you thought you’d die shattered everything
,
leaving nothing but total misery to even consider
the
possibility.’

He drew a deep
,
shaky breath, his hold on her tightening ever so slightly. She felt he didn’t even realize his fingers dug into her flesh, pressing her closer into the safe cradle of his arms. And she didn’t mind it, not one bit. Instead
,
she felt the first tender
,
hesitant stir of hope, the veil of sadness lifted
,
offering her a tantalizing glimpse of the paradise beyond. Almost in her reach, glorious and happy.

‘I’m alive now
.
’
S
he looked at him from under her eyelashes, deciding to take the biggest gamble of her life. Nothing was safe and predictable anymore, her castle of dreams possibly falling apart at any given second. But at the same time
,
she knew that if she didn’t speak up now, she’d regret it for the rest of her life, the gift of fate wasted and left to perish.

I know that
.
’
He
grinned, understanding dawning upon him as he saw her smile. ‘
And
that’s why I wanted to talk to you, Kate. Now, before you disappear
again. I don’t want to risk another two years of wondering about the girl of my dreams.’

His lips smiled as he kissed her, the soft caress almost reverent in its restraint. She had other ideas about the way she wanted to be kissed, her mouth opening under his with
an
invitation that couldn’t be misunderstood.

His kiss changed instantly, deepening dangerously as he let his fingers roam up her silk
-
clad body.

‘
Still
a witch
.
’
Finally,
his head lifted, his eyes burning with blue fire. ‘Before I lose all my good resolve, let me finish
.
’
He
kissed her quickly again, his mouth reluctant to leave her lips.

‘I want us to start again,
Kate
. Properly this time, just the way it should have been. I want to court you and to spoil you, to have dates and dinners and to make love
,
not because you fear you might never get a chance to do it again, but because you want me and nobody else in the wor
l
d.’

‘
T
hat
’s how it
was the first time around anyway
,
’ she whispered, her fingers tracing
t
he shape
of his
masculine
mouth. ‘
This
whole
carpe diem
business was nothing but a smoke screen for my need to be with you, Justin. I wanted you from the
moment
you saved me in the pub, even though I’d rather
have
die
d
than admit it to anyone, myself included.’

The joy in his face made her glad she
had
made this final confession, the risk to expose her innermost feelings totally worth it. He laughed, sounding very young.

‘I had this idea,
Kate
. If you say no, I can do it the traditional
way
,
too
.’ He saw her curious eyes and smiled, his hand sneaking up to brush against the skin of her
collarbone
.

‘I told you I have to go to Africa for a couple of months. If you were still looking for a new position, we have an opening in our advertising team. I would be only too happy to have you there with me, both in the office and after hours.’

‘
You
don’t know if I
’
m any good at what I do,’ she teased him, her teeth nibbling on his earlobe. She felt him shiver and reveled in the sense of power she had over this magnificent man. ‘
Maybe
I
’
m a lousy worker?’

‘Well, Alice did mention you being promoted on your previous project in a span of months.’ He
grinned. ‘S
he is extremely proud of her baby sister,
Kate
.
We could take it as slow as you like, of course
.
’
His
hands sneaked to her back,
finding the zipper
of her dress
. ‘I can be patient
,
’
he
whispered, his hot breath fanning her face before he kissed her properly this time.