Fling in Paris (16 page)

“W-what are you doing here?” she squeaked.

His smile widened. “I came out to Toronto for a business meeting, and the Toronto branch manager invited me to stop by the party tonight. I’m very glad that I did.”

“Who the hell is this?” Nick stepped forward, his posture and tone threatening, and Sherry rolled her eyes. Like he had the right to be possessive about her! She should call him out right now.

“Ah, you must be Sherry’s husband.” Roberto held out a hand, and Nick gripped it tightly in what Sherry recognized as a man-shake—one of those dominance contests in which one man tried to crush the other’s hand in an effort to prove who was the strongest. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Roberto Zanetto, Sherry’s boss from when she was in Paris. We worked very… closely together.”

Sherry’s face flushed again at the innuendo; she knew that Nick wouldn’t have missed the underlying meaning of Roberto’s words. The embarrassment was replaced with a sense of pride as Nick released hands first—it seemed that he was no match for Roberto. She really should let the men have it out, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to embarrass Nick in public, so she placed a hand on his shoulder before the testosterone level shot any higher and the two men made a scene.

“Honey, why don’t you go and get me a drink?” she asked, smiling up at Nick. “I’m really very thirsty.”

Nick stared at her for a moment, then shot Roberto a fulminating look before acquiescing to her request. Roberto laughed as he watched her husband stalk away.

“He’s quite possessive for a cheater, wouldn’t you think?”

Sherry sighed. “Why are you even talking to me, Roberto? Don’t you think that might make Simone unhappy?”

Roberto snorted. “Simone? We broke up weeks ago. I couldn’t stand to be with her anymore. A… certain someone made me realize that she wasn’t at all the type of woman I was looking for.” His lips curved wickedly, and Sherry’s heart did a little flip-flop in her chest. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the grin from forming—she had no right to be happy about that. Roberto wasn’t hers anymore. But she couldn’t stop her heart from swelling with joy, or her inner self from doing a tap dance.

“Well, that’s just peachy, isn’t it?” Sherry remarked. “I just had my lawyer draw up divorce papers this morning. I found out that Nick is still cheating on me, and I’ve decided enough is enough.”

“Is that so?” Roberto’s eyes narrowed. “Well, well for you, Sherry. Good for you.”

Nick came back with the drinks and led her to one of a series of long tables set up on the other side of the room. They loaded their plates up with food and then sat across from each other, eating silently. Moments later Roberto joined them, taking the seat to Sherry’s right, and striking up a conversation with the other people around the table.

When he had the group at their table fully engaged, their attention on the conversation around them, Roberto slid his hand under the table and lightly ran his fingers up Sherry’s thigh, sending tingles straight to her pussy. Sherry bit her lip and tried to concentrate on her food, but it was hard, especially when she noticed that Nick was shooting dirty looks their way. Did he suspect?

Unable to handle the rising tension and testosterone, she tossed her napkin on the table and stood up. “I’ll be right back; I need to freshen up in the ladies room,” she told Nick before walking off.

She was standing in front of the sinks, trying to marshal her thoughts and slow her heart rate, when she looked up to see Roberto open the door and walk in through the mirror.

“What are you doing?” she spun around and glared at him. “This is the ladies room—you can’t come in here!”

“This is the only place where we can talk uninterrupted.” Roberto crossed the room and took both her hands in his. “Please, Sherry, let’s not be stupid about this. We both made mistakes. Let’s try this again.”

She shook her head, trying to get past her pulse thundering in her ears. “I can’t give you a commitment, Roberto. I’m still married to Nick right now.”

“You just told me that you had divorce papers drawn up this morning.” Roberto took another step forward, backing Sherry against the cold marble wall.

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to jump back into another relationship,” Sherry said hastily. “Maybe I should take a few months for myself—”

“I’m not willing to wait a few months,” Roberto growled, pressing his big, hard body against hers. Sherry’s nipples scraped against his chest through her dress, and a tiny whimper escaped her lips. “And from the looks of things, neither is your body.”

“But I—” she squeaked as he lifted her leg and wrapped her around his hip, then slid his hand in between her legs to push her thong aside.

“Why don’t you let me show you what you’re missing?” he suggested, plunging two fingers into her swollen, dripping pussy. “You’re already soaked, bellisima,” he murmured huskily over her cries as he finger-fucked her.

“Roberto,” she whimpered, “Please.”

“Please what?” He added a third finger, stretching her pussy even wider and tearing a long, low moan from her throat. “Should I stop?”

“Don’t you dare,” she gasped, bucking her hips against his hand.

He laughed and pumped his fingers into her harder, faster, using his thumb to stimulate her clit. Pleasure battered her system relentlessly until she couldn’t think, couldn’t see, and couldn’t feel anything else. She tried to hold on, but it was just too much.

Roberto covered her mouth with his and swallowed her cry as she came violently. Oh, it was good. It had been nearly two months since he’d last touched her like this, and she realized that her body had missed him. Hell, she had missed him.

“Think about it, bella,” he whispered, nipping at her earlobe, and then left her.

****

The car ride home was filled with silent tension. When Sherry had come out, Roberto was mingling with the crowd, and Nick was glaring daggers his way. Having no interest in spending the rest of the night with him, she’d told Nick that she was done and ready to go home. He’d escorted her out and back to the car, and they hadn’t looked at each other once since then.

He parked the car, and they rode the elevator up to their apartment. Sherry waited until the door was closed and locked before finally breaking the silence.

“When were you planning on telling me that you still haven’t broken off the affair with Nancy?”

Nick froze, then resumed the act of pulling his coat off. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said, still not meeting her eyes as he hung his coat on the rack.

Sherry grabbed his arm and pulled him around. “Don’t give me that bullshit, Nick. I saw you with her when I came to the hospital yesterday. I’d stopped by to surprise you.”

“You… you what?” Nick blanched. “I didn’t see you.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Sherry sneered. “You were all eyes for your cute little mistress. It was our anniversary, and instead of coming home to spend it with your wife you’re off fucking your assistant nurse in one of the empty hospital rooms.” Fuming, she crossed the room, snatched up the manila file she’d left on the counter, and pulled out a stack of papers.

“I’m done with you, Nick,” she spat, slapping the divorce papers against his chest.

“Baby, I know this looks bad,” Nick pleaded as he took her hand, “and that it was wrong to keep seeing Nancy, but I don’t want to lose you. Don’t do this.”

Sherry laughed. “I may have forgiven you once for cheating on me, but twice? And with the same woman? No way.” She turned her back on him and started walking away.

“Does this have anything to do with that guy?” Nick called after her.

Sherry froze. “That guy?”

“Yeah, what’s-his-face. Roberto. Your boss.”

Sherry turned slowly. “What would my divorcing you have to do with him?”

“Don’t give me that crap, Sherry,” Nick sneered. “I saw the way you two were looking at each other tonight. He’s the guy that you were seeing in Paris. And it’s obvious you two still have feelings for each other.”

“Boy, you have some nerve!” Sherry shouted, stalking back to stand toe-to-toe with him. “After all you’ve done to me—filing for divorce, begging me to come back, going through marriage counseling and telling me that you love me and throughout it all you’ve been cheating on me with the same woman! How dare you lecture me on having feelings for another man!”

“Well I see you haven’t denied it!” Nick shouted back. “What was the point of coming back to work things out when it’s obvious that you’ve got all eyes for that Italian playboy?”

“I came back because you told me you loved me and wanted to work things out,” Sherry said through gritted teeth. “But you lied to me. If you really loved me and cared about our relationship you wouldn’t be screwing someone on the side. It’s hardly a wonder that I have feelings for Roberto—he’s twice the man you’ll ever be. This conversation is over.”

She turned on her heel and stalked to the bedroom. Nick followed her in as she was dragging an overnight bag out of the closet.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“Do you honestly think that I want to be in the same building with you, let alone the same room?” Sherry laughed as she began tossing clothes into the bag. “I’m staying at a hotel tonight. I’ll arrange to have my things picked up.”

“You’re leaving?” Nick said numbly as Sherry grabbed her toiletries and shoved them into the bag as well.

“Don’t sound so sad,” Sherry patted his cheek as she walked past. “If you’re worried about being lonely, you can always have your mistress move in. After all, she spent plenty of time here when I was gone.”

Jangling her car keys, she sauntered out the door with a big smile on her face, feeling like she was on top of the world.

Chapter 14

“I can’t believe he was cheating on you this entire time,” Marie said on the phone to Sherry, who was laying on the double bed in her hotel room, freshly showered and wrapped in a bathrobe. “This entire time, during your marriage counseling and everything. What an asshole.”

“I know. I can’t believe I was so blind.” Sherry rolled her eyes at herself. “But that’s all in the past now. I’m just waiting on him to sign those divorce papers.”

“The tables have certainly turned now.” Marie chuckled, then sobered. “Sherry, I’m really very glad that you decided to do this. It’s much better for you than being stuck in such an unhealthy relationship.”

“Thanks, Marie.” Sherry smiled. “I’m glad that I finally found the strength to do it.”

“So, have you heard anything from Roberto yet?”

Sherry sighed. “No. I called him last night after I got settled in the hotel room, but he must’ve been busy because it went straight to voicemail. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t heard back. He’s usually very prompt.”

“That is unusual,” Marie agreed. “Perhaps he is planning something?”

Almost as soon as Marie voiced the thought out loud there was a knock at the door. “Hang on a second, Marie,” Sherry told her. “Someone’s at the door.”

She put the cellphone down on the bed, then opened the door. A waiter stood outside with a covered platter of food resting on a cart.

“Good morning, ma’am. As requested, I’m here to deliver your breakfast.”

Sherry experienced a strange sense of déjà vu as she stepped back to allow the waiter to wheel the cart inside. “I didn’t order any room service,” she said faintly.

The waiter grinned at her. “Seems you’ve got a special friend, ma’am. He ordered the works for you. Left you a note, too.” He doffed his cap, and then stepped back out of the room. “You have a good day.”

Sherry snatched up the cream envelope sitting next to the tray, and her heart thumped as she saw her name, scrawled in Roberto’s bold cursive.

“Oh God,” she said to Marie as she grabbed her cellphone. “Roberto sent me room service, and a letter.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Marie asked excitedly. “Open it!”

Sherry already had the envelope torn open before her friend finished speaking. “My Dear Sherry,” she read, “I have mixed feelings about the message you sent me. I feel that I should offer my condolences regarding your upcoming divorce, but my heart is ecstatic about the fact that you have chosen me over him.”

“And well he should be,” Marie said, making Sherry laugh.

“I would be delighted for the chance to start over with you again, and I think that we should both move to a place where we can create new memories with each other. Now that the Paris branch is thriving, OS International has given me orders to fly out to Florence, where they are opening another branch. I would like you to come with me.”

“Florence?” Marie gasped. “That is a big decision for you, Sherry.”

Sherry only nodded, not trusting herself to speak as tears were pricking at her eyes. After a moment, she cleared her throat and continued. “If you want to discuss this further, I am next door in Room 722. I look forward to seeing you, bella. Yours, Roberto.”

The letter fluttered out of her fingers and onto the floor. “Oh God, Marie. He’s right next door.”

“Well, don’t just sit there,” Marie said impatiently. “Hang up the phone and go get him!”