Dancing Barefoot (26 page)

Pain flickered in the depths of his eyes before he disentangled himself from her and left her alone in the shower.

Annoyed at needing to go to work and about the entire situation, she followed, wrapped herself in a towel, and stomped into the bedroom. "What do you expect me to do? Slink around in the shadows like your mistress until we have permission from Simone to live our lives? How much more time do we need to waste? Damn it, Jacques, this isn't fair."

"No, it isn't." He faced her, naked, green eyes snapping with fire as he towel dried his hair. "But before we crawled back into bed together, you knew the risks. I'm going to be leaving for South America in three weeks. Will you say that isn't fair, too?"

"That's not the same." She tossed her towel at him before
stalking into her closet and slamming hangers around. She took a minute to catch her breath and dress before walking back into the room.

He sat on the edge of the bed, towel wrapped around his waist, and looking as defeated as she felt. "Sometimes I think we are doomed to always be passing one another on our way to someplace else."

Well, that's not what she wanted to hear first thing in the morning. Gritting her teeth, she returned to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She didn't have time for a full-blown argument that could lead to her saying things she knew she would regret. Emotion simmered too close to the surface.

He'd gone when she had finished. She found her shoes, carried them in her arms, and walked to the kitchen. Empty. Sighing, she dropped them to the floor and started making coffee.

"What's happening? Yelling, door slamming...do you and Jacques start every morning with such a flair for the dramatic?" Kevin stood on the bottom step, dressed in gray pajama pants and a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. Hair a mess and glasses crooked on his face as if he'd put them on in a hurry, he looked freaked out. "Is it Simone? Is she here?"

She smiled at the idea and shook her head no. "She was in Los Angeles last night, Kevin. Unless she is faster than time,
she couldn't be here."

"You and Jacques need to be conscious of roommates," he said with a laugh.

She glanced down at the pile of clothes in the middle of the floor and grinned over her shoulder at him. "My house, my rules. Clothes come off whenever we feel like it."

"I like you." He smiled at her before turning his attention back to the iPad. "Social media is lit up over
Simone's announcement, just like I suspected. People love her on Twitter. Landing that hosting gig really put her over the top. I don't know what she hopes to gain by breaking this Thailand story, maybe she hopes to be the next Oprah or add some depth to her career. I have no idea. It's all about publicity with her."

She exhaled slowly, deciding to take a chance. "Kevin..." She faced him, hands on her hips, and waited until he looked up before continuing, "could you do me a favor?"

"Only if it involves keeping our clothes on, I fear Jacques' wrath." He winked.

"There are
some things in my garage that need to go missing," she whispered without looking away from him. "I don't suppose you could make that happen for me, could you?"

His grin turned into a full smile. He slid the tablet away and nodded. "As in make them disappear now before the world wakes up?"

"The world has already woken up." She poured coffee into a to-go cup before facing him again. "Can you try to make him stay? You like it here, I know."

Kevin nodded while she spoke. "
He is protecting his family...and you...by going along with Simone. It's not personal."

"Not personal? Yes, it is. Does she happen to say on Twitter when she'll be back in Boston? I'd like to get reacquainted with my old friend."

"I don't think that would be a good idea." His expression changed from sleepy to alert in under thirty seconds. "Give me a list of what to look for and I'll go now. I'll go for a walk, check out the neighborhood." He shoved his iPad at her and brought up a notepad application. "Make the list and could you make sure I have your numbers, both office and cell? Thanks."

"What are you two planning?" Jacques walked
into the apartment, wearing a ripped gray t-shirt and jeans with bare feet sticking out from beneath their frayed hems. Hair still damp at the ends from the shower, he dropped a pack of cigarettes on the counter before sniffing the air. "Coffee? I hope it's strong. I didn't sleep well last night."

She smiled at him, immediately wishing it were a weekend and they were alone. He raked his gaze over tight running clothes before locking his eyes with hers.

"God, you two are like newlyweds or bunnies or something." Kevin reached behind her for one of the to-go cups she kept handy and filled it with coffee. "As roommates—"

"You are not our roommate," Jacques interrupted with a wink at her.

"We need to set up rules." Kevin attached the lid to the to-go cup while she typed the requested information into his iPad. "This," he motioned to the discarded clothing in the middle of the room, "makes a roommate very uncomfortable."

"How does this make you feel?" Jacques
pulled her to him and kissed her slowly. "You look beautiful this morning."

"Disgusted, that's how it makes me feel." Kevin took the iPad and tucked it beneath his arm. "I need a raise for hazard pay."

Jacques moved his hands from her waist to her breasts while laughing against her ear.

"I'm serious. If I am going to put up with this crap, I need a twenty percent raise." Kevin sighed and walked toward the stairs. "I'm not joking. Twenty percent, Jacques!"

"Five," Jacques countered before whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry I was an ass. I didn't mean it. We're not doomed."

"Fifteen and a paid vacation." Kevin lingered on the bottom step.

"Ten and maybe I'll let you have a vacation."

Kevin met her gaze
over Jacques' shoulder and smiled before resuming his walk up the stairs. "It's a deal. I'll put it in writing and sign your name to it later. I've got things to do."

She
stepped from the embrace. "I need to go."

"Mmm...I am looking forward to Sunday." He smoothed his hands down her arms
while she slipped on her shoes.

"Why Sunday?"

"My show will be over, our visitors will be gone, and you won't need to go to work. We can spend the entire day in bed." He swayed toward her, a devilish gleam in his eyes. "Or we can lock the door and just walk around naked."

She fisted her hands in his hair, stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again. "
Are you sure Simone won't have you on a short leash?"

"
That's not funny." His smile faded.

"It's true isn't it?"

She sighed and pushed away from him, unwilling to argue when she had no idea when she would see him again. When her phone rang, she picked it up when she saw that it was the hospital and turned her back on him. The day needed to get underway, but she would fantasize about Sunday.

Marc loomed in the doorway of her office, making the morning that much more awkward. He grinned when she approached, his gaze moving over her with too much possessiveness for her liking.

She walked past him and stopped at the sight of roses resting in a crystal vase in the middle of her desk. "What are these?"

"A peace offering."

Her skin crawled. "Too little, too late. I know you set my mom up. You put something in that car."

He strolled behind her and sat in the chair facing her desk while she adjusted the flowers to the side of the desk, sat down, and flicked on her computer without looking him in the eye.
When he remained silent, she surrendered by sneaking a peek in his direction.

Unsmiling, he watched her through narrowed eyes. "Where did we go so wrong, Mori?"

"Does the word arson mean anything to you?" she whispered, but the word carried in the silence of her office.

"I did what I needed to do to get Sincore here."

"So you admit it?"

"I don't admit anything...but I always get what I want, you know that."

"Because you're a spoiled brat whose family goes way back in New England history, but that's it." She folded her arms on the top of her desk. "Is all this because I got the promotion and you didn't?"

He shook his head and looked around her office. "I saw the news about Jacques. Does he know you were fucking me while he was fighting for his life on the other side of the world?"

Her gaze darted toward the open door as Alexa walked past and grinned. "Be quiet, we're in the office."

"What do I care? Apparently, I'm such a fuck up that you're suddenly my boss. How'd that happen anyway? You screwing Charlie on the side, too?" He stood abruptly, flattened his palms on the top of her desk, and stared into her eyes. "Fire me, boss lady. I dare you."

"I take dares very seriously, Marc. Don't push it." A muscle clenched and unclenched in her jaw. "As for the crap you stashed in my garage, it's history. You're lucky I don't turn you into the police."

"Prove it." He rubbed a rose petal between his fingertips. "How is Julie this morning? Poor thing has no self-control, does she?"

"I can't believe I thought we were friends," she said from between gritted teeth.

"
We were the best of friends. I keep thinking of those plans we had for our own firm and how everyone in our life believes we make the perfect couple." He shrugged. "I was foolish enough to believe it, too. You made a mistake, Mori."

"Yes, I did, Marc. I really did." She watched him go, saw him flash his charming smile at Alexa, and felt dread settle into her chest.

* * *

He squatted in front of a photograph he had taken in Costa Rica. A six year-old boy laughed up at a waterfall, his joy and wonderment contagious.

"I knew I would find you here." Simone.

He sighed before twisting his head to look at her over his shoulder. "You're quite the jet setter these days. What'd you do? Take the redeye?"

"I make things happen." She shrugged and turned her attention to the photographs already hanging in place. "Two days until the exhibit. Are you excited?"

He shook his head and remained silent for fear of what he would say. He lifted the framed photograph and propped it against the wall. He stepped backward, attempting to envision the entire show and how the picture would fit with the others. Although the theme of his show had been chosen as discovery, he felt it would be more appropriate to call it something like 'lost' or 'trapped' to better suit his current situation.

"We have interviews lined up this afternoon and tomorrow," she said. "I have a publisher and a ghost writer who would like to meet you. We—"

"There is no
we
in any of this." He shot her a look that had her taking a step back. "I am cooperating only because of Ava, but the damage is done. If I had wanted to talk about that time in my life, I would have." He gestured to the photographs on the wall. "I have a habit of documenting moments."

He walked toward the back room where Kevin and Miranda talked details.

"Stop, Jacques."

He froze at her whisper that carried in the cavernous room, but he did not turn around.

"I know you think I am a monster, and I probably handled this wrong, but—"

"Probably? That is an understatement."

Silence saturated the space. He clenched his fists at his sides and wished he knew the right thing to say.

"Would you prefer it if I coordinated the schedule with Kevin?" she asked.

"Coordinate the schedule?" He turned on his heel and laughed at her politeness. "How civilized of you. Why, yes, I think it would be best if your people spoke to my people so we can get our schedules in sync to perpetuate your version of the truth."

Simone shook her head, her gaze averted to a distant spot on the wall. "You have pretended to love me for three years, what is so different about now?"

"I never pretended to love you. We were together. Period."

"I heard Jessica's mother created a scene on the street last night. She is an addict of some kind, I hear."

"Interesting that you heard that. Do you have spies following me?"

"Spies, how like you to think I would care enough to go those lengths." Her crooked smile almost made her look approachable. "It's not important how I know things,
mon cher.
It is important, however, that you understand that we are people who live in a spotlight. I have a suite at the Westin. Send Kevin to Jessica's for your things because you won't be returning there for a very long time."

Short leash, Jessica's words from the morning hit him hard.

"You are manufacturing celebrity to stay relevant. How sad for you." He took one step toward her and stopped. "You are an aging model who hosts a reality show that has ratings, yes, but you know it is temporary. If you had wanted to tell everyone your sad story, you would have done it when we were released."

"You've become very mean over the years, Jacques." She preoccupied herself with straightening one of the hanging photographs.