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“Della, I don’t want to feel any of those things right now. I don’t want to think about them. I just want to close my eyes and not worry about what’s coming tomorrow.”
Tiny droplets clung to his eyelashes as he bowed his head and let go of a quiet sigh. “Just for tonight, I want to be...” He trailed off as his eyes met mine, reflecting the light of a million stars. “You make things better, Della. Can’t things just be better, for just this one night?”
I took his face between my hands, forever immortalizing the moment in my mind, then leaned forward to kiss him. “For as many nights as you want.”
Splash!
Without another word, he pulled me into the water.
Chapter 7
ONCE WAS NEVER ENOUGH for James. After the pool came the shower. After the shower came the couch. After the couch came the upstairs linen closet, until Ferdie wandered into the hall, claiming he heard a noise. We helped him investigate for a while before finally turning in, and in bed, we quickly resumed our antics again.
By the next morning, I had come to an understanding of being fucked senseless; I understood that phrase in a very profound way, in fact. My arms were stiff, my legs locked, and if I had to guess, I would have said I lost at least ten pounds in a single evening, just from laughing alone. Sex with James was playful. As a matter of fact, everything about the young Mr. Cross was, but all that work and too much play had left Della a sore girl.
I rolled onto my stomach and let out a little groan, pressing my face into the pillow as my hand blindly groped the bed beside me. “James, call Dr. Levinson. Tell him to bring some pills and a stretcher. I’m gonna be out for a while.” I groped around a little more but came up blank. Then, with the utmost effort, I lifted my head. “James?”
How is he possibly out of bed already? We just crawled in about two hours ago.
I waited to hear the telltale splash that would inform me that the little maniac was already bounding around the pool in some freakish display of limitless energy, but I was only greeted with silence. I listened for a second longer, stilling with concentration upon the sheets before a sudden vibration on the nightstand about gave me a heart attack.
“Shit!”
I reactively clutched my chest, then reached for my demanding phone as the screen lit up with a sudden text from Madison, still happily immersed in her Alps retreat: “Hey there! Just checking in! Everything’s going great here, but Caleb made me promise to disconnect—no internet, work, phone, news...just him. I have to admit it’s kinda nice. Also... May have accidentally attacked a man sent to give me a surprise massage. Alert the lawyers and prepare for a hefty settlement. Hope all’s well back in London! Thanks again, Della. See you soon!”
No internet, work, phone, or news? Boy is she in for a surprise when she gets back.
I was just texting a reply when a muffled curse wafted out of the bathroom. I jerked my head up in surprise and immediately set the phone back on the nightstand, then padded across the floor and gave the door a push. It wasn’t a moment too soon; I wouldn’t have missed that for the world. “Uh...what are you doing, babe?”
James whirled around, startled, then flushed the second he saw my smile. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he said defensively, twisting slightly to hide himself from view.
I stepped forward with a wide grin. “It looks like you’re trying to strangle yourself right here in the bathroom, not that you’re doing a very good job of it.”
The entire scene looked like a scene right out of Trust Fund Kids Gone Wild. A designer tie was looped around his neck in a way that was obviously cutting off circulation, but given that he had somehow double-knotted it, there was no getting it off. To compensate, he was perched on a stool, perhaps hoping higher ground would work in his favor. To top it all off, the sink behind him was slowly overflowing, soaking the carpet.
I turned off the faucet, then folded my arms expectantly across my chest while he finally turned back around, wearing a rueful grin. “All right, you win,” I said.
“I’m having some kind of Debate Team meltdown. Are you happy?”
“Quite.” I stepped forward with a grin, batting his hands away as I reached for the offending tie. “But for the record, I’m sure the Debate Team never had this much trouble.”
He tilted his head back and groaned. “I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I was practically born in one of these.”
I pried the wicked knot apart with my fingernails and eased the tie loose. “For starters, your hands are shaking.” The last of the silk sprang free, and I pulled it off his neck, then dangled in front of me as I looked at him with a thoughtful frown. “So... What’s really wrong?”
He stared at me for a moment before snatching the tie to give it another go. “I have a meeting with David Camper.”
I froze, except to lift my questioning eyes to meet his. “Wait. David Camper?” I repeated. “As in...my boss? As in...Senior Advisor to the Junior Associates and Vice President of the Board? That David Camper?”
“The one and only.”
James looped the silk around his neck once more, fumbled briefly with the ends, then threw it to the wet carpet in disgust. It landed on a wilted pile of a half-dozen others.
I kept my eyes on him the whole time and moved slowly if at all, as if I was approaching some crazed wild animal. Without blinking, I reached into the closet and pulled out another option. I then circled it gently around his collar and began to tie it for him. “And precisely why are you meeting with him?” I asked.
James stiffened, then managed a deep breath and answered in a voice so quiet I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing, “I need to find out how to beat Robert and take control of Cross again.”
My heart skipped a beat, then stopped beating altogether. For a second, the room around us stilled, and it seemed nothing in the world mattered or existed beyond the two of us, beyond us and the impossible decision he’d finally made.
