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"He's gay."
Laine's eyes closed for a long moment, and the breath leaked out of her in a slow hiss. “Are you sure?"
"After you left, I had one of our guys keep an eye on him. I ... I was trying to help. My guy followed him into the ballroom and found him making out with one of the groomsmen. Apparently they were rather passionate. He left discreetly, figuring there was no stopping something that had already started."
"So no one knows?"
Jason stared at her. “Not yet. You're the first. It's up to you how we break it to the girl. I'll do it, if you'd rather not have her associate the news with Blissful Brides—"
"No.” She sighed heavily, her eyes focused on some distant point in space as she stepped into her dress. “I'll be the one to tell her. But I've got to tell Connie first. I'm sure she'll have some kind of damage control in mind."
"I'm sure.” It was physically painful to watch Laine dress without touching her the way he'd spent the whole of last night thinking about. Especially after the greeting he'd gotten in the elevator.
Pulling the straps of her dress up, Laine turned around, shot a quick glance over her shoulder. “A little help?"
"Of course.” Jason placed his hands low on her spine and pulled the zipper up, closing off the smooth skin on her gorgeous back. He twisted her sleek fall of hair aside and clasped the dress closed. The smell of her hit him like an anvil. She was fresh, clean with a hint of something citrus and herbal.
Not sure he'd be able to control himself this close to her, he stepped back two paces and jammed his hands into the pockets of his suit pants.
Laine sank into the deep cushions of his couch and stared at her phone. She looked so small, her knees pressed together, ankles apart. Finally she punched in the numbers to contact her boss and, resting her forehead against one hand, effectually shielded her face from his scrutiny.
"I'll give you a bit of privacy.” He moved off toward the kitchen and fiddled with the coffee maker. He poured the water in, and then dumped several scoops of grounds into the filter. Strong stuff, the way she liked it. Sugar, no cream.
Stepping over to the breakfast bar for a couple of thick mugs, he stole a peek into the other room. Laine's face looked strained, her hand open wide as if frozen mid-gesture.
"Connie, I get that ... no, she doesn't know...” Her eyes flashed up at Jason, then quickly away. Rising off the couch, she hunched forward and walked back toward the elevator.
Jason's hands gripped the counter. He should have given her more privacy, but ... The look of guilt he'd seen on Laine's face was twisting his stomach in knots. He should have known Connie wouldn't want to tell the bride about the groom's secret. She'd be more worried about another last minute failure than the actual happiness and success of two real people.
A woman was about to walk down the aisle and vow to love and cherish this one man for the rest of her life—a man who spent the night before in the arms of another man. It wasn't fair.
Connie didn't have much of a heart in that bony little chest of hers, but he knew Laine would do the right thing.
He knew her. She would have to.
He couldn't be wrong again.
Laine stood at the door to the elevator, her body language suggesting defeat. She pulled the phone away from her ear, covering the receiver with her hand, and looked at Jason. “I've got to take care of this. I'll talk to you later."
The hollow expression on her face made him want to pull her back into the apartment and demand she tell him what she was going to do. Assure him that she'd never consider putting business before someone else's life.
No. That was crazy. He didn't need her to tell him, he knew it already. So he smiled his reassuring smile and nodded. “I've got a meeting in about forty-five minutes, but I'll be back in a few hours. Call me if you need anything."
She nodded and stepped into the elevator she'd barely stepped out of. As the doors closed, all he heard was Laine's resigned voice. “Fine, fine. I understand, Connie ... I said I understand ... no one—"
Laine paced the halls of the eighth floor. Connie's last words ate at her gut. Some girls don't want to know...
The dark halls of memories lit, one after another, to the worst day of her life. Swallowing hard at the memory, she felt bile rising in her throat. Her brother-in-law, only hours before his wedding, pulling her into the stairwell and kissing her. Her sister, Gail, screaming that Laine had ruined her special day. Demanding to know why she couldn't have just kept her mouth shut.
Laine shook away the tear-streaked phantom, damning the choice that she'd been faced with. It never occurred to her that her sister wouldn't have wanted to know, that Gail would go through with the ceremony regardless. Like it never occurred to her that she would be written out of her sister's life forever. Or that she would end up so driven to fix her mistake she would make a career out of it.
Laine stared at the phone in her trembling hand. She had to do it. Dialing the number, she hit send and waited through four rings before the line picked up.
"Gail? It's me, Laine. Please don't hang up. I really need to talk to you."
A long silence followed. Laine stopped pacing, stopped breathing. She waited.
"Laine, are you okay?"
