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“I’m exhausted,” I said to Ryan as I rolled my tiny luggage into the house with him and Rose.
“Then you should rest,” he said to me. “We’ll catch up in the morning. I’m sure you’re jet lagged.”
I smiled at Ryan, then greeted Rose. “Hi, Rose.”
“Welcome back, Nina.”
Once I settled in the guest room Ryan showed me, I dropped on the bed, closed my eyes, and pictured Jack’s face in my head. The sweet taste of his lips and the passion in his gaze when he stared at me and thrust deeper into my body.
Heated sensations flooded me and reminded me of our time in the sizzling desert city. It was short, but it was also the best week of my life.
Where do I go from here?I had no idea what would happen next between Jack and me, but the one thing I knew for certain was that if we were going to have a shot at anything, then he had to be truthful with me.
One hundred percent.
Threedayspassedandthere was not one word from Jack. Ryan was in the club that night when I arrived by cab, and he ordered me a cocktail, then draped a hand over Rose again and kissed the side of her neck.
“Where’s Jack?” I asked lightly as I sipped from my glass.
“I should ask you, Mrs. Muller,” Ryan answered. My eyes landed on Ryan’s, and I didn’t smile till he burst into a light laugh a second later and sent a dismissive wave my way. “I’m kidding, jeez, Nina where’s your sense of humor?”
“I don’t know, I probably left it in Jeddah?” I commented, then rolled my eyes.
“Relax,” Ryan continued after Rose kissed him, then got on her feet and walked away from the table. “Jack called yesterday and mentioned that he had to leave Denver for Langley for a meeting and that he would be back by the end of the week.”
I nibbled on my lower lip and sighed. In a week I would have left Denver for New York, so I didn’t think I would get the chance to see Jack again.
Why didn’t he call me?On the flight, he mentioned he wanted us to talk, and I spent the last three days anticipating a call or text from him.
“Did he say why he traveled?” I asked as my brows furrowed together.
“I didn’t ask,” Ryan answered as I regarded him closely. I wondered if my brother knew about Jack’s second occupation as a secret agent for the CIA. It was a dangerous field, and I could only imagine how many times he had come close to being killed while in it.
I drank from my glass again, nearly emptying it, and then I set the glass on the table and got up. “I think I’ll take a rain check on tonight,” I told Ryan as I picked up my purse. “I’m a bit exhausted.”
Ryan shrugged again. “See you at home?”
“Yeah,” I answered dryly, before walking away from him and heading out of the club.
Once outside, I breathed in deeply to enjoy the fresh air, and then I flagged down a cab and gave the driver Ryan’s address. I dialed Jack’s number the entire ride home, but it wasn’t reachable, then again after I showered and prepared to go to bed.
The least he could do was take my calls. How could he disappear without a word? What was I supposed to think?
On the verge of panicking, I grabbed a pillow and muffled my scream with it.Damn it, Jack.I shouldn’t have anticipated anything. I should have shut him out on the flight and taken my mind off him.Why did I even think it would be different this time?
That’s what I have to do now.If Jack cared about me, then he would have tried to reach out to me since we got back from Jeddah.
You need to get him out of your mind now, Nina.But how could I? When all the things I remembered about him made me flush with warmth.
I fell asleep with the same panicking thoughts and woke up the next day to no call or text from Jack.
The next week flew by fast, and there was no word still.Point taken,I thought as I sat with the breakfast Rose made me on the morning of my flight.
My bags were packed, and I was set to return to New York, but I was still hoping for Jack to show up. The pancakes with syrup were wonderful. I knew it was the last homemade breakfast I would have in a long time, so I wanted to savor it, but the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach made it impossible.
Jack’s not coming,a voice in my head whispered as I tried to concentrate on stuffing my mouth full of pancakes.He’s not coming.
Breakfast ended, Ryan and Rose were murmuring to themselves about something, and I was lost in my own thoughts. When Rose left the kitchen briefly, Ryan slid a glass of freshly made fruit juice to me, and I looked up at him.
