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Hudson’s cognac-brown eyes trace my face thoughtfully. ‘I wasn’t thinking of tonight. I have a date too.’
Misplaced disappointment pricks my skin. Silly, because my head is telling me that Hudson and I have been there, done that. That our pretty fierce attraction—there from the day we met—is contained. But he’s always been my type. Only after Sterling and I divorced did any thoughts that weren’t strictly professional enter my consciousness.
I loved Sterling. I still do; we just didn’t work out.
The night Hudson and I crossed the line three years ago I was feeling lonely and disheartened after the divorce. Sterling had just announced he was leaving the London office, where we all worked at the time, and moving back to New York where he grew up. We’d been a little shell-shocked. Once Sterling left, Hudson and I lingered for a drink. Neither of us took a single sip. But it felt good to get it over with and put our chemistry behind us, although sex that good had been far from a chore.
‘Oh, look at the sky over the bay.’ I change the subject. I don’t want to think about Hudson sleeping with some lucky woman tonight. ‘That looks ominous.’
A large mass of white cirrus clouds obliterates the horizon over Tokyo Bay. The sunset has turned even darker, gloomy and foreboding.
I shiver and curl my feet under me on the sofa.
‘There’s a storm due tonight,’ he says. ‘Typhoon Kano. It’s not predicted to reach land, though.’ He stretches his arm along the back of the sofa, distracting me from the change in the weather with his spicy male scent. ‘What time is your date?’
‘Dinner at eight.’ I agreed to it because I didn’t want to be a
lone if Hudson had ‘plans,’ and by that I mean some fortunate goddess in his bed. ‘Yours?’
‘Nine.’ He doesn’t elaborate but checks his watch.
A smile twitches my lips. ‘So just a sex date, then.’ I’m provoking him. Hudson doesn’t do relationships.
He shrugs, releasing a sexy smile tinged with boyish charm. A hint of what a heartbreaker he must have been as a teen. ‘You know me.’
Yes, I do. Hudson’s famous commitment avoidance. At thirty-six he’s king of the casual hook-up. Three years ago, I guess that allowed me to take the leap and recklessly sleep with him behind my ex’s back. That and the fact Bold was branching out, with Hudson moving to Tokyo. I knew it was safe. That it would just be one time. That we’d move on, business as usual, no harm done.
He didn’t disappoint me.
‘What about you? Is your date marriage material?’ There’s a hint of hesitation to his question.
I’m vocal about my dreams for the future. Both he and Sterling know I haven’t given up on finding love again. One day I want it all. Like my parents had. Like my older siblings have. Like I naively thought I had with Sterling. I want it for real this time.
No more failures.
I shrug, looking away from his searching stare. ‘It’s a blind date—a friend’s brother who runs his own business, travels a lot and happened to be in Tokyo this week.’ My heart really isn’t in it tonight. The idea of meeting a stranger who, on paper, I have lots in common with, leaves me feeling weirdly hollow.
I finish my drink and stand, emotions swirling through me like the electrical currents brewing outside. ‘I’m just going to use your facilities. Shall we send out for some food? I’m not certain what time zone my body is in, but eight o’clock seems a long way off.’
‘I’ll organise something. Another drink?’
I nod and he heads to the fully equipped kitchen in the corner of his office. I say ‘office,’ but his working environment—this penthouse—is more of a second home. He spends so much time here. I know from a previous tour that, besides a full-sized bathroom complete with whirlpool bath and double shower, there’s also a king-sized bedroom and a gym behind the various doors.
I make use of the bathroom and wash my hands. I’m not sure I can be bothered to go back to my hotel and change for my date, especially now the weather has turned. A look in the mirror confirms that my gold silk blouse and russet skirt are satisfactory. Reflected me looks good. I carry the self-satisfied aura of a successful professional woman. At thirty, I have plenty of time to find lasting love and marriage and make my own family. When you’re the last born to a big family, everything feels like a competition driven by sibling rivalry. Out of the five of us, I’m the only divorcee. The only one without children.
My biggest regret is that my mother died thinking all of us were happy and settled with life partners. And then, a few months after she passed, my marriage collapsed. I let her down.
I shake off my fit of melancholy. I just wish she were still here... I’ll make her proud one day.
I slide my fingers through my hair, teasing the mass into a sexy tousle, unsure if it’s for my date or for Hudson. But my body knows. My pulse kicks up with the excitement I can’t muster for a man I’ve never met. My cheeks are flushed with arousal and a pulse flutters between my legs. Hudson’s company does that to me. For some reason that I can only attribute to his excellent Scotch, and even better easy-on-the-eye company, I slip open the top button of my blouse, revealing just a hint of lace-bordered cleavage.
It’s just teasing, but I live by the rule of ‘go hard or go home.’
When I return to the office Hudson has produced a platter of tiny bite-sized sushi rolls from somewhere, refreshed our drinks and dimmed the lighting to a more intimate level, which makes the darkening sky and wild weather outside more ominous.
I shiver. ‘Oh, wow—the weather’s changing quickly.’ I watch the many city lights of Tokyo’s business district, shimmering and distorted by the torrential rain now lashing the windows. Then I glance back at Hudson.
‘Yes. The wind has unexpectedly altered direction. Typhoon Kano is now headed directly towards Tokyo.’ He’s switched the wall-mounted TV to a news broadcast.
