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I’d heard so but hadn’t really concerned myself with the details.
"I thought we were all wrong for each other. I’m twenty-six years older than her, you know?"
"There a point to this conversation?" I scowl.
One side of JJ’s lips kicks up. "Humor me." He slides two cigars out of his jacket pocket and offers me one. I hesitate, then walk back and accept it. He heads for the bar on the far side of the room and picks up a cigar cutter from the corner top. He snaps off the cap end of his cigar, turns and takes my cigar and does the same before handing it back to me. He picks up a lighter, leans over and lights my cigar, then his own. We puff for a few seconds. Then he raises his cigar in my direction. "I tried to give her up. God knows, I did, but each time I tried to leave her behind, it’s as if a part of me shriveled up and died. I realized then, the most important part of me was her. Living without her was like living without air…or water…or any of those things that are life-critical. Know what I mean?"
"If you mean you seem to have a romantic core that, I admit, surprises me, then yes."
He chuckles. "You remind me of myself when I thought sharing my emotions was a sign of weakness. I didn’t realize how ballsy it was to share what was on my mind with her. I didn’t realize how life-changing it would be to go after her. The moment I stopped fighting my instincts and embraced my reality, everything flipped on its head. I knew I was going to find a way to be with her, no matter what it took."
"You didn’t have the media spotlight on you. You weren’t going to embark on a campaign for the top leadership spot in the country."
"You’re right, I didn’t." He places the cigar between his lips and takes a puff, then blows out a cloud of smoke. "I only had the relationship with my son at stake. She and Isaac were living under my roof. Of course, they were already having problems, but still… She was, technically, his girlfriend. I was also her boss. The relationship was forbidden on so many levels. Of course, she found out later that he’d cheated on her, but still…" He glances at the tip of his cigar. "All the external signs indicated even thinking of having anything to do with her was so wrong."
"But you couldn’t stop yourself."
He barks out a laugh. "Everything within me insisted she was it for me. That I couldn’t let her go. That I was going to fight for her any which way, even if I had to play dirty."
"With your own son?"
"There was that. I’d been estranged from him. A possible relationship with Lena meant I might lose him…” He winces. “But that didn’t happen."
"It didn’t?"
He glances up at me. "Turns out, we found our way through it, after all. Isaac and I are far from the best of friends, but at least he stays in touch with me. It’s more than I could say about the state of our relationship before. I wouldn’t have found my woman, and gotten my son back, if I hadn’t put aside my doubts and focused on what my heart said was right for me."
I take a drag of my own cigar, and the sweet cherry-laced scent reminds me of Zara. Hell, everything reminds me of her. Which is crazy. We don’t have a future together. I’m going to become the Prime Minister of this country. That’s where I need to focus my attention. Nothing can come between me and the goal I’ve held for so long. Even if it wasn’t my dream to begin with, somewhere along the way, I adopted it for myself. I’ve internalized it enough that it’s a part of me. One I can’t cast off. And if I have to bury thoughts of her deep inside to fulfill my ambitions, so be it. I place my cigar on the lip of the ashtray and straighten. "Good talk." I turn and head for the door.
"Hunter?" JJ calls after me. "Sometimes, you only get one chance at finding real happiness. Don’t screw it up."
9
Zara
"What if this is my one chance at true happiness and I blow it?" My friend Solene’s face fills my phone screen. She’s an up-and-coming pop star whose last song hit number one on the charts. When that happened, it seemed like her life changed overnight, and she’s still coming to grips with it. Especially the impact it’s had on her personal life.
I met Solene through my other friend, Isla, who’s a wedding planner. I met Isla via a work gig a few years ago and we hit it off right away. I met Lena through her as well, and the four of us ended up hanging out a lot. Then, after Lena met JJ and moved in with him, Solene, Isla and I gravitated toward each other.
Now Isla, too, is married—which really leaves me and Solene as the last singletons standing in our social circle. Strike that. Solene has a boyfriend—who also happens to be one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. And clearly, while both of their careers are taking off, it’s not all smooth sailing in their relationship, as evidenced by her pinched features.
"What if I’ve already blown it?" She hunches her shoulders.
"Why, because you decided to go off on your tour rather than stay home with your boyfriend?" I scoff.
"We’ve only been together for six months; it’s still early in our relationship," she says softly.
"Six months is not that young a relationship. And if the two of you love each other, then it shouldn’t matter how far apart you are, right?"
She places her phone on the side of her dressing table and begins to apply her make-up. "I guess so."
I narrow my gaze. "What does that mean?"
She pats the foundation onto her cheeks as she answers, "It’s just, sometimes I’m not quite sure what we feel for each other."
"Umm. You either love each other or you don’t. There’s no gray area here, is there?" Not that I’m the one to give relationship advice, considering I have no idea what the hell that last encounter with Hunter was all about. I walked in there intending to prove to him—and myself—that I was impervious to his efforts. I spectacularly failed. Sure, I flaunted my body at him, and I expected him to react, but I was also confident I’d be able to resist him. Boy, was I wrong. Did I say that already? Well, it’s true. And I just can’t stop thinking about it. I’m so mad at myself.
The moment his lips touched mine, the moment his breath mingled with mine and his scent teased my senses, it’s like I descended into a fugue state. My body insisted I lean into his and absorb his taste, and his touch, and the indentation of his hard muscles into my skin. I came undone, my panties soaking wet as he leaned into the space between my legs.
