AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But something made her look up the Arlington Black Star Hotel, and something made her dial the number, and something made her ask to be connected to Damien Black’s room.
She waited, sure she’d be informed he had checked out. Instead, she was put through—there were a few clicks and a ring, and she almost hung up, an inner voice screaming at her to let it go.
He didn’t answer. Instead, she got a recording. To her surprise, it wasn’t a generic one. She heard his voice, firm and strong, demanding a message.
“Damien, it’s me, Viv. I mean, Vivienne Callahan. We met last week.” She swallowed hard. “Um, I’ve been thinking about how I left. It was pretty shitty to write that note and walk out. I reacted...well, maybe I overreacted.”
Ya think?
“Anyway, I wanted to apologize. I know you were trying to help me. I should have stayed to tell you how everything worked out—about the job and all. And to thank you for trying to help.”
What else was there to say? I still want you. Do you still want me? Jeez, she’d sound as juvenile as a fourth grader passing a note.
“Anyway, it’s Friday night, I’ve had a couple of margaritas at my favorite Mexican place—Rosario’s, a few blocks from where we met. And that made me think of you.”
Liar. You want him to know where you are...just in case.
“So, um, I hope you’re well. Thanks for everything.’ Bye.”
She disconnected, and then replayed each word, wondering if she’d sounded ridiculous, hoping nobody else had access to his phone. Then, wishing she’d just let things lie, Viv returned to the table. Amelia and Lex had arrived, and she took her chair, the five of them ignoring the empty sixth chair that hadn’t been filled by anyone in Viv’s life for months. Not since Dale.
Enough with Dale. And with Damien. And with men. She needed to forget all that, to focus only on the positives. She had her job again, and she had great friends and tonight was a celebration.
So she celebrated. The margaritas went down smoothly, and she ate lots of rich, spicy food, and she laughed, and eventually she even stopped watching the door.
Which was, perhaps, why she didn’t notice him enter. Why she never even knew he was there. Not until Damien Black was standing right beside her.
“Hello, Vivienne.”
She fell out of her chair.
She’d been sitting on the edge, leaning close to whisper something saucy to Amelia, who sat beside her.
Then he’d spoken her name, and the world had trembled. Her chair had teetered, and she’d slipped right off the end of it.
It could have been a catastrophe. But Damien reacted with that catlike quickness. He dropped on his knee to the floor, catching her in his arms, as he had in the bathroom last week.
“You’re not very graceful, are you?” he asked, amused.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her head spinning, a result of the slip, the tequila and oh, the incredibly sexy, spicy-smelling man holding her.
“Oh, my God. Viv, are you all right?” Lulu shrieked.
The others all got up and came around to check on her. If any of them thought it strange that A) a handsome stranger had startled her right out of her chair, and B) said handsome stranger had then taken a dive to catch her before she could hit the floor, they at least had the courtesy not to say anything.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, not even trying to wriggle her way free. She told herself it was because she was still shaken about her near fall. Then again, she wasn’t bad at lying to herself when the occasion warranted it. “Seriously, it’s okay, go back to what you were doing.”
The two couples, though wide-eyed with curiosity, retook their seats. Lulu leaned over to whisper to the others, and Viv knew she, at least, had figured out who the mysterious stranger was. Not surprising. How could Lulu not look at him and recognize the gorgeous, rich man Viv had described? Not because of any designer clothes—he wore simple jeans and a button-down shirt, the cuffs undone and sleeves rolled up his forearms.
Damn, she loved those arms.
But no, the outfit didn’t reveal who and what he was. The way he carried himself did. His confidence bespoke wealth and success. Plus, of course, Lulu might have ID’d him because he was on his knee on the dingy floor, holding Viv around the waist as if loathe to let her go.
That was nice.
If Viv had been completely sober, she would have gotten back into her chair, coolly invited Damien to join them and introduced him. Instead, she stayed right where she was, eye-to-eye with the most glorious man she’d ever met. She smiled at him, studying the face, the eyes, the mouth, all of which had become so familiar to her in one long, sensuous night. All of which she’d missed in the eight days since she’d seen him.
