Tomorrow Will Be Too Late (16 page)

Her phone
rang
, its
cheerful ringtone breaking the silence. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone, she thought.
Glancing at the display made her hesitate. It was Justin.

A thought
—
really
more of an instinctive response than a thought
-
through conscious
idea
—
made her change her mind. Vague and too fragile to be examined, this instinct made her press the answer button and wait for his voice.

‘Hey, I thought I
would
take
you up on the offer
to get together
.
’
Calm
and soothing, his words slowed down her frantic heartbeat and made it possible
for her
to breathe normally for the first time since she had left the
doctor’s
office. She couldn’t have explained how and why, but
a
sense of warmth and relative safety returned, dissipating the
frigid
coldness that formed a painful ring of ice constricting her chest. With it came another sensation, almost painful in its intensity. She did want to hold on to this feeling of peace, she thought, however fleeting it might be. If Justin’s voice happened to be the lifeline she was so desperate to hold on to, she didn’t want to lose it.
Not when the future looked so gloomy and hopeless.

She would do whatever it took to grab onto
what might be the
last scrap of pleasure life was going to offer
her.
Kate
pushed
aside a small voice of reason that
warned her against her insanity. It kept repeating that
anything more than necessary in her new
-
found relationship with Justin
could
lead to no good.

It didn’t matter, not anymore.

‘
Yes
, I thought about it
,
too,’ she answered, her lips stiff with effort to sound as normal as possible. ‘
If
you’d like to talk
, we can do
it
tonight. I
’
ve just realized I have a few ideas I’
d like to add to our agreement.’

She hung up after they agreed on him picking her up at seven. She could tell he was puzzled by her sudden assertiveness.
I
t was something she
didn’t understand
herself. He
hadn’t
pressure
d
her
,
though. Whatever curiosity she
had
stirred with her cryptic answer, he
had gone
along with it seamlessly.

They would talk.
And for the short moment, she wouldn’t be alone. It was something worth reaching for, she thought as she wove her way into the traffic. Leaving behind the medical building parking lot felt
a lot
like an escape from her personal hell.

She was ready to steal her own little slice of heaven. Her body knew it even before she allowed her brain to start plotting to make the impossible happen.

‘I think I’ll have the tiramisu
.
’

Justin looked across the table, his eyes skimming over Kate’s face as she smiled at the waiter. Something wasn’t right, he thought, annoyed to be unable to pinpoint exactly what it was. He was usually good at reading people,
he mused,
registering
the
almost too
-
bright smile that never reached her eyes.

Ever since he had picked her up earlier that evening, his breath momentarily
taken away
as she opened the door, things
had been
slipping out of his control, slowly yet steadily.

‘What about you, sir?’

H
e had to pull himself together, his response almost automatic.
‘I’ll have the same
.
’

F
olding the elegant, leather
-
bound menu
,
he watched the waiter nod and leave, his brisk
,
efficient walk a testament to the excellent service available at Ocean’s Life.

‘So,
you said
we have
something to be discussed
.
’
H
e watched her lips press together as if she tried to prevent herself from speaking too fast. Her red lipstick made him think of the first time they met, the color less aggressive yet provocative enough to hold him spellbound. Her tanned skin glowed
honey-colored
in the soft light of the low hanging Swarovski chandeliers, distracting him from the purpose of the evening. Because he had it all planned out, as usual. He would confront her with an exact plan for the next few
weeks, leaving little
,
if any
,
spa
ce for negotiations.

Only it all fell apart the moment he saw her
,
his brain refusing to function properly. The boldly printed red and white dress brought out the gentle curves of her slim, tanned body, hugging her tiny waist and clinging
to her
hips.

‘
Yes
,
there is
.’ She was definitely nervous, her index finger
absentmindedly
tracing the pattern of the linen tablecloth. ‘
Consider
it an amendment to the original contract, Justin.’

‘That sounds serious
.
’
H
e had to grin, her proper voice making him think of a schoolgirl reciting her homework. ‘I
’
m all ears, Kate. As long as you don’t plan on cancelling on me, we should be fine.’

‘Do you find me attractive?’

H
er question hit him like a falling stone, silencing him momentarily into stupefied disbelief. Of all the possib
ilities
, that one didn’t feature on his list at all.

‘Do you?’

S
he wasn’t wasting any time, her eyes insistent. Was it her way
of
trying to flirt her way out of her commitment
—b
uying his silence? If so, she would be bitterly disappointed, for he had no intentions
of letting
her off the hook so easily.

‘Of course
.
’ He nodded, his eyes cool and cautious. ‘
So
does any man who happens to be around
you, Kate. I certainly don’t think you need any reassurance in
that
department
.
Or
has
some lovers
’
squabble suddenly pushed you to look for male approval?’

He
didn’t think she was romantically involved with anyone, he mulled as he watched her shake her head. It would have come up by now, if only to refuse his initial offer. Wouldn’t she be
vehemently
against it if
she had
someone in her life
who
really mattered? Maybe not, a little nagging voice in his head whispered, his body stiffening with anger. Maybe he was nothing more
than just
another project to be finished
. It wouldn’t
be the first time either.

‘No, nothing like that.’ She wasn’t sidetracked
by
his sarcastic comment.

‘Do you find me attractive enough to w
ant to sleep with me, Justin?’

P
eople around them must have worried for his well
-
being as he suddenly choked on his
wine
,
coughing loud enough to have them turn around and stare at
him
accusingly. Well, it was a five
-
star restaurant, the visitors expecting other guests
to have
impeccable table
manners
, w
hich excluded his inelegant attack of coughing.
His
eyes were watering as he watched Kate and wondered if she suddenly
had gone
insane.

‘I’m sorry if I startled you
.
’

L
ike hell she was, he thought angrily, watching her smile sweetly without any warmth.

‘I need to know, that’s all.’

‘Why?’
h
e
demanded, more and more convinced it was nothing but some revenge plan meant to confuse and embarrass him in public. Well, two could play
that
game, if that was what she was looking for.

‘
Yes
, I find you extremely appealing,’ he continued silkily, not waiting for her answer. ‘
As
for your other question, I can add another yes to it, Kate. I would love to make love to you and find out how you are in bed. Happy now?’

‘Yes, pretty much so.’

N
o
t a single ounce of
happiness
was
to be found
in her voice, he thought
,
puzzled by her erratic behavior. More so
,
satisfaction, if anything at all. Why
she
would ask him such a question in the first place was beyond his understanding. For one horrible moment
,
he
thought
of Victoria and wonder
ed
if she had anything to do with this sudden metamorphosis from a reluctant participant to a provocative vamp. Unlikely, he decided, their divorce settled
,
with
no hope
for her
to get a penny more from his account.

‘I needed to know that before I talk to you about my offer
.
’

H
e watched her dip her spoon into the creamy dessert, the almost sensual act tightening his body in involuntary response. He wanted to reach across the table and pull her closer, desperate to make some sense of her sudden chameleon
-
like transformation.

‘I was wondering if you were interested in sleeping with me for real, in those short weeks that we pretend to be a couple.’ She put the spoon down, the tiniest smudge of coffee
-
flavored cream along her lower lip.

Her question
opened a whole new window of
possibilities to his overheated brain, images of their intertwined naked bodies rising before his eyes with the speed of light.

‘
Why
would you like to do that?’ H
e hated how rough and low his voice sounded. Could she tell he was aroused by her analytical interrogation? He detested it himself, his weakness as pathetic as it was two years ago, almost to the date. One look of her hazel eyes
,
and he was on his knees, vulnerable and under her spell.

‘I was thinking…’

D
id she realize how tempting she looked as she let her finger travel slowly around the rim of her wine glass, or was it coincidence? He was an
idiot
,
he scolded himself instantly, his own gullibility making him cringe. Of course she knew. Girls like her didn’t leave things to
chance
;
he should have known better by now.

‘I will be very busy in the near future
with
a project that will consume all my time
.
’
H
er voice wavered for a moment, something coming and going through her delicate features and making her look very vulnerable. It was gone before he could
figure
it out, safely locked away under the smooth mask of indifference.

‘I was just thinking of it the other day
.
’
S
he swallowed hard and looked up, their eyes meeting. ‘I realized I might be too busy to meet someone and have a real relationship for a while, Justin. And then I thought, why not take what we have here and make it fun for both of us
,
if you’re willing?’

‘
Why
indeed?’ H
e had no smart answer to her rather
shocking revelation, her cool
,
calculative tone making him incredibly angry.
S
he
had
just
made
him feel like some cheap stud
,
useful to fulfill her sexual desires while she was too busy to find someone real
.
Never in his entire life
had he felt
less of a person and more of an accessory, even his marriage
to
Victoria paling in comparison.