Chapter 9
“Again, that’s something I probably should have known beforehand,” Jane said to Sarah.
Tonight was the combination bachelor/bachelorette party, or as the Brits say, a stag and hen party. And while it was tradition to have separate parties for each gender, Sarah and Wayne wanted to combine theirs. No strippers or tacky penis shot glasses for this couple. Oh no, they’d rented out one of the most exclusive clubs in London and it was a VIP, invite-only, cameras-and-phones-left-at-the-door, NDAs-required affair. There were so many celebrities, Jane felt like she was at the Oscars.
The red carpet and professional photographer at the entrance only added to the effect. She’d never seen so many diamonds and runway-ready women in her life. She felt completely underdressed and out of place in her black Betsey Johnson that she bought off the rack at a secondhand shop.
For most of her events, her clothes were perfect. She should have been better prepared for this kind of elegance and glamour. Tonight was as lux and posh as posh got and she was wearing heels from a wedding she’d worked six weeks ago. Yes, it had been at a country club and yes, they were expensive, but not Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous expensive.
“When are you going to tell him?” Jane continued.
“I don’t know, but I need to do it tonight because my dad said he might come,” Sarah whispered, looking around as if imparting nuclear launch codes. Not that it was far off, the news she’d just delivered had the potential to cause a blast radius the size of a racetrack.
“Tonight is the most informal of the events and I figured he’d feel the most comfortable. Plus, there are a ton of people from the racing world and my dad works in the racing world.”
“But why wait to tell Henry?”
What Jane knew of Henry’s relationship with his father only scratched the surface, but it was enough to be certain that this kind of news would rock his world—and not in a good way. To see his dad would be hard enough. To see his dad without being able to prepare would be disastrous.
“I hate disappointing people almost as much as I hate confrontation,” Sarah said. “I once changed my number rather than break up with a guy.”
Oh boy. This was going to be a rough night because Jane was getting a sinking feeling in her gut that somehow Sarah was going to claim that this responsibility fell under her rent-a-bridesmaid duties.
“Henry will be blindsided.” She didn’t know why her heart pinched on the last word.
“I know, but I was afraid he would call my dad and threaten him. Tell him not to show up.”
Okay, the woman had a point. Jane could totally see Protector Henry doing that.
“Or he would get all preachy. Or worse, Henry wouldn’t come, and I need him here,” Sarah said, her eyes going glassy. “Henry is walking me down the aisle; he is the most important male role model in my life and nothing on earth will change that. But I just wanted to see if my dad would even come, you know? A girl always dreams of having their dad at their wedding.”
What was Jane supposed to say to that? She’d give anything to have her dad walk her down the aisle. Hell, she’d give all four limbs for the chance to tell him she loved him one last time. She’d donate a kidney for one of his hugs.
Jane couldn’t remember the last time she’d been hugged. Roxy wasn’t the touchy-feely type, Georgia lived on the West Coast, and her mom made Roxy look like Mother Teresa. Not only could she not remember the last time she’d hugged her mom, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d talked to her mom when Jane hadn’t initiated the call.
“I’ve been in contact with my dad for a few years. So when I invited him to the party and the wedding and he said he’d try, I got so excited, but I figured why upset everyone if he was a no-show.”
A few years? Crushed wouldn’t even begin to describe how Henry was going to feel when he found out. Talk about betrayal.
“See, these are the details I need to know so that I can do my job. Cut off problems before they arise.”
“Does this mean you’ll tell Henry for me?”
Normally she loved when her gut was right. Not tonight. “No way. This is family business. But I can help with any potential fallout. Separate them if needed.”
Sarah went pale. “Separate them? Do you think they’ll fight?”
Did she think Henry would want to knock his father’s front teeth out? Hell yes. Would he do anything to ruin his sister’s wedding? Nope. She was too important to him.
“No. But it might be best if you pulled your family aside at once and told them before your dad arrives.”
“Oh, they all already know. I needed to let my mum get prepared to face my dad. She’s known that I’ve been talking to him for a while.”
A fierce protectiveness overtook Jane. She didn’t know how else to describe it. The cruelty of it all. After everything Henry had done, continued to do for his family, and this is how they repay him. They keep him in the dark about his dad after knowing how he feels about him.
“So everyone else knows except Henry?” He was going to feel so betrayed. So hurt. She wanted to go to him straight away and tell him, break it to him softly to take the burn away. But there weren’t any words gentle enough to make his impending pain any less. Plus, her obligation was to the bride and that was why getting further involved with Henry was a bad idea.
“I’ve tried to tell him like a hundred times, but it never felt right.”
“Well, your time is up. You need to tell him. Now. Before your dad strolls in.” And somehow breaks his son’s heart all over again. Because from what Jane could gather from the other day at the winery, Henry’s dad was all about Henry’s dad and his own best interest.
Both women looked across the dance floor toward the bar where Henry and his two buddies had taken up residence. He’d spent the night dealing with a steady stream of people congratulating him on his big win—she could tell by the enthusiastic handshakes and smiles. She could also tell by the uncomfortable way Henry endured the attention.
Now his buddy, the American, loved the attention, while the Italian loved the attention of the female population specifically.
As if aware of her gaze, Henry looked up and when his eyes snagged on hers, it was like grabbing a livewire. Even from such a distance the chemistry was cataclysmic.
Under the flashing lights of the darkened club she could still see the heat flicker in his eyes. It was the same way he’d looked at her when she’d opened the door in her robe. As if he wanted to tear it off her—with his teeth.
Jane’s lungs stopped working and her panties went damp at the thought. She’d seen this kind of attraction between other couples, but she’d never experienced it herself.
“Well, that’s new,” Sarah said.
Jane pulled her eyes off Henry. “What?”
“What’s going on between you and Henry?” Sarah asked, accusation thick in her tone.
“Nothing, why?”
“Either that was the most intense staring contest in the history of the world or you guys were having sex with your clothes on.”
“I was just making sure your dad wasn’t here?” Jane said weakly.
“By undressing my brother with your eyes?” Sarah crossed her arms and Jane’s face heated. Thank god for the dark club. “I have never seen him look at a woman like that. Not even his ex.”
“Really?” Jane said before she was able to stop herself.
“So you do like him?”
“Like, loathe,” she said in a sing-song tone like to-may-to, to-mah-to. “Not that it matters. It’s a line I won’t cross.”
“You have no idea how many of my friends have said that, only to try and fail,” Sarah said, and Jane felt a flicker of embarrassment. Not that she was trying to land the infamous Henry Norris, but Sarah’s comment reminded her just how out of her league she was in this environment.
Jane forced out a laugh. “I’m not trying. All he does is go out of his way to annoy me.”
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “You’re his type.”
“You mean Elle’s his type.”
“No, Jane, I mean you.”
“I am a middle-class girl who lives in the burbs. I sleep in flannel, live in leggings, and shop at Target. I am so not his type.”
“When you’re being you, you’re genuine, funny, and normal. He doesn’t get a lot of that in his world, and he craves it. You’re the kind of woman he’d fall for.”
“I have freckles made from fake tanning cream. I am far from normal.”
That was a word Jane hadn’t felt since her ex made her out to be a lying con artist. He’d chipped away at some of the pride she’d had for what she did and what she’d accomplished. He’d also taken something that was special to her, something that she excelled at, and turned it into a dirty word.
“I’m here in a professional capacity. Nothing more,” Jane added. “Plus, I role-play for a living. What would I say after the wedding? ‘Oh, by the way my name is Jane and your sister hired me to fill in for her bridesmaid, so pretty much everything I’ve ever said to you is a lie.’” Except that wasn’t the whole truth. She’d shared more truths about her past with him than she had with anyone in a long time.
So even as the words came out, Jane thought back to yesterday when Henry had taken her hand. How tenderly he’d wiped away her tears as she’d shared stories about her dad. How he hadn’t just listened to her but really heard her, opened himself up to her pain.
If the circumstances had been different, would she be asking Sarah for the green light? Not to sleep with him, but to get to know him better. To have more days like yesterday. Even thinking about it made her feel guilty, because even though she loathed him, she was also starting to like him. And she was afraid it was more than just chemistry.
“Areyou going to eye fuck her all night, or are you actually going to talk to her?” Jake asked loudly over the bump of the bass, and everyone burst out laughing. Everyone except Henry; he was too busy staring.
He couldn’t help it.
All Elle was wearing was a simple black dress and heels, with her hair hanging in long waves down to the middle of her back. But it was as if there were a spotlight aimed at her, he was so aware of her every move.
He’d caught her looking his way a time or two, but instead of playing coy she’d held his gaze, which was sexy as hell. She didn’t have a coy bone in her body, this woman. And she was all woman. And that hadn’t gone unnoticed by the male half of the population at the club.
“Amico is too busy thinking up more ways to cockblock himself,” Enzo said, patting Henry’s chest, where the short but binding contract he’d had his lawyer draw up last night after leaving her hotel room was weighing heavy in his inner sports coat pocket.
“Sod off.”
“It’s true, yes?” Enzo pressed.
“I’m just being thorough,” Henry said. “You’d do the same. Admit it.”
All three sets of eyes went back to Elle. She was still standing with his sister and they were in an intense conversation. Probably talking about wedding things such as color palettes and seating arrangements, but he hadn’t built up the courage to approach her. Because he hadn’t decided the right move.
“I’m just happy it’s you and not me, bro,” Jake said.
“A woman like that? I’d risk it,” Enzo said, and Henry shoulder-checked him. Enzo laughed. “It’s your funeral.”
“It’s smart business, she’ll see that,” he defended.
“If you say so,” Jake said.
Before he could respond, someone called his name. It was a familiar and unexpected voice, and Henry’s entire body tensed at the unwanted nostalgia it brought on. He didn’t need to turn to see who it was. The instantaneous anger roiling in his gut and looks of uncertainty on his mates’ faces told him who had joined the conversation.
William Norris.
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” Henry asked.
“It’s good to see you too, son,” his old man said, sticking out his hand. Henry shoved his hands in his pants pockets.
A part of him, the part of him who was still the fifteen-year-old kid who desperately wanted his dad to come home and make it all better, almost stepped into his arms to hold on tightly. But that kid had died a long time ago. He’d been suffocated by the weight and responsibility of being the man of the house at such a young age.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”
When Henry didn’t jump when his dad wanted him to, Will did what he always did, he inserted himself, to ensure he got what he wanted. “Jake, Enzo, I’m Will Norris. It’s great to meet you.”
“Likewise, sir,” Jake said, that southern drawl and homebred manners coming through. He took William’s hand, but his gaze flickered to Henry, cataloguing his state of being.
“Call me Will.”
“Ciao, Will,” Enzo said, shaking Will’s hand. But Henry kept his firmly rooted in his pockets as if they were cemented in concrete.
A few more niceties were exchanged but Henry was too busy scanning the club for his mother and sisters to listen. He had to find them before this imploded. Only as he scanned the crowd, he found half the club looking back, waiting for the fireworks to go off. It was no secret that Henry and his father were estranged or the reasons why. Thank god that someone had insisted no phones were allowed in the building. Otherwise this would be on TMZ within the hour.
He gave the room one more glance and when he couldn’t find his family, he turned toward his dad.
“You need to leave before Sarah sees you and gets upset. This is her night and I refuse to let you ruin it.”
A big smile overtook his father’s face. “Sarah invited me.”
“Bullshit.” Sarah would never invite him. And if she did, she would have warned Henry.
Will reached into his pocket and it wasn’t until he pulled out the shiny black key card invitation that the reality of the betrayal hit like a wrecking ball to the chest. His hands fisted, which was exactly what his heart did.
He knew Sarah wasn’t all that great with uncomfortable topics, but she should know that Henry would always try to meet her with some kind of understanding. Although he didn’t know if he could understand anything that was happening at present.
His dad was here. At Sarah’s hen party. Where his whole family?—
Everything came to a screeching halt.
“What about Mum?” The words flew out of his mouth. “She can’t see you.”
This wouldn’t just ruin her night; it would set the tone for the rest of her week. She should be enjoying her role as mother of the bride, not dealing with the baggage from her past.
“She already has. We said hi and went our separate ways. It was very cordial and brief.”
“You said ‘Hi’?” His blood was boiling. After everything he’d put Henry’s mother through, he thought a cordial hi would cut it. Oh how that must have broken his mum’s heart.
Of their own accord, his hands fisted into tight balls and he took his first step forward. But before he could raise his arm, a warm sense of peace surrounded him like a blanket.
“You must be Mr. Norris,” the sexy upper-crust voice said. “I’m Elle Vaughn, one of Sarah’s bridesmaids.” Then there was her hand, sliding across his lower back, not in a sensual way but to provide comfort and support. Her other hand was shaking his dad’s. “Sarah has told me so much about you over the years. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Mr. Norris is my father. Please call me Will. And you must be Sarah’s friend from summer camp,” he said, surprising Henry because how the hell did he know about Elle? Even before he’d walked out he’d barely been home, always at the track or out with the team celebrating. That’s why Henry would never do long term again. The inability to balance love and career was a family trait it seemed, and Henry refused to hurt someone like his old man had.
After his ex, he’d chosen racing as his only focus.
“She said you were coming all the way from America to be here. She’s been talking nonstop about your arrival.”
Talking nonstop? Just how long had Sarah and Will been in contact? What the actual fuck was going on?
“I’ve been looking forward to it as well,” he heard Elle say.
“Henry’s also pretty stoked about her arrival,” Jake the jackass said.
Will looked between the two of them and down at their hands, which at some point had become laced, and smiled. But it was the kind of smile his dad gave that said good choice, son, not because she was a good woman but because she came from good stock.
Fuck it. Who cared if it ended up on the front page of the Globe that he’d knocked his dad off his rocker.
The next thing he knew, Elle was standing in front of him. Tonight those eyes were a vivid green, and they radiated under the strobe lights as she looked up at him with something akin to protectiveness.
“Dance with me,” she said so lowly he barely heard her over the commotion of the party in the background and the pounding of his own heart. But he could read each syllable as they fell off her red-painted lips.
When he didn’t answer, she took both of his hands in hers and walked backward, leading him onto the dance floor. And as if in some trance, he followed.
Behind him he heard the group laugh, then his dad say, “So, Jake, you work with Rocky. He and I go way back. He’s sure come a long way. Lead mechanic for Nova.” Will gave a low whistle. “When I knew him, we were both grease monkeys working at the Academy and making scraps for a living.”
“Small world,” Jake said, and there was an exhaustion to his tone that Henry knew well. It was the kind that came with the never-ending list of favors.
And as if on cue his dad said, “Do you think you could put us in touch?”
Henry stopped on a dime to turn back around and put a fist through his father’s teeth, but Elle guided him further onto the dance floor until they were in the center of the crush of people swaying to the pulse of the music.
“Jake is a big boy. He can handle himself,” she said. It was so loud, she had to enter his space to be heard.
“Is that what you’re doing? Handling me? Because I don’t like to be handled.”
“How about we make it even,” she said and put his hands low on her hips as she swayed to the music.
“You think you’re cute?”
“If cute is the word you’re using, then maybe I’m doing this wrong.” She wrapped his arms around her waist, then locked her fingers behind his neck.
She was so petite he was forced to curl his body around hers, pulling her to him, wrapping her tiny frame in his larger one. “How did you know that was my dad?”
“Sarah told me he was coming tonight and when I saw the look on your face, I put it together.”
He came to a dead stop. “So you knew at the tasting that he was coming and didn’t tell me. Even after what I told you?”
She cupped his cheek. “God, no. She just told me tonight.”
The idea that Elle hadn’t known, that she wasn’t a part of keeping the gigantic secret from him, sent a flood of relief rushing through him.
“So you came over to save me?” he asked, starting to move to the music.
“I came over because I think that tomorrow you’d be less likely to regret dancing with someone who annoys you than punching your dad’s lights out.”
“You don’t annoy me.”
She looked up at him, surprise in her eyes. “I don’t?”
He shook his head as his gaze ate up her lips. “You drive me crazy.”
“Isn’t that the same?”
He yanked her against him so she could feel just how crazy he was behind his zipper, and she gasped. “Feel the difference, love?”
“Maybe this was a mistake.”
She began to take a step back when he tugged her to him. “Too late for that. You started this, aren’t you going to finish it? I mean, I never took you for a quitter.”
It was that last part that had her back going straight, her chin going up, and those green eyes daring him to call her a quitter again. He rested his hands back on her hips. “That’s my girl.”
“I’m not your girl. I’m a woman. And my own woman at that. Doesn’t feminism exist in this country?”
“I’m a feminist,” he said. “I am an equal opportunity kind of person.”
At the double entendre she laughed and it was a big belly laugh that seemed odd coming from someone so refined. Then again, the more time he spent with Elle, the less refined she presented and the more real she became.
He heard a commotion behind them and snapped out of the trance to see what was going on when a warm hand softly touched his cheek and drew his attention back toward her. “This is what Sarah wants, Henry.”
“She doesn’t know what she wants. She was too young to remember how he really is.”
“And maybe you were too old to give him a chance to redeem himself.”
“You heard him. He’s here to network, not for her.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But that is for Sarah to find out. I know it’s hard to let go, trust me. But this is her wedding and every little girl dreams of having her daddy at her wedding,” she said and suddenly, he felt like an asshole, wanting to chase off his dad when he knew that Elle would give anything for a moment alone with hers. “It’s up to Sarah to decide just what she’s willing to put up with to make that dream a reality.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about your dad when I?—”
She put a finger to his lips. “Tonight isn’t about my dad or me. And it isn’t about you. It’s about Sarah and Wayne and what they want. So it’s up to us to put aside what we want in order to make their night as perfect as possible.”
Her gaze flickered to his lips so quickly, had he blinked he would have missed it. “What do you want, Elle?”
He didn’t know what he’d said, but her posture sank a tiny bit and her eyes dimmed.
“Do you want to talk, or do you want to dance?” she asked and spun in his arms until her back was plastered to his front, then she glided his hands down her sides as that slender body of hers undulated against his.
She dropped to the floor, her legs parting around his, before slowly making her ascent back up, straightening at the waist, so that her ass was firmly planted in his crotch. With a seductive body roll, she ran her hands along her thighs, hips, ribs, the sides of her breasts, until they reached that beautiful strawberry-blond hair, which she lifted with a practiced flick of the wrist, before shooting him the sexiest, most seductive grin in the history of the world. And she was back. His wildfire, Elle.
He grabbed her hips and roughly pulled her to him, loving how her ass fit between his legs. It took a moment and then they were moving together as one. She lifted her hands over her head to lock behind his neck and he ran his down her sides until they rested on her lower abs and their bodies submitted to the bump and grind of the music.
That was how they danced, like erotic foreplay, hidden by the crush of bodies around them, for what seemed like hours, until he was so erect it was painful.
“Aren’t you tired?” he said into her ear, so as to be heard over the music.
“I could stay out here all night.”
“No, I mean of this game we’re stuck in.”
“What game?” she said, but her voice told the truth. She knew exactly what he was talking about.
“The one where we both pretend like we don’t want to rip each other’s clothes off.”
She hesitated briefly, then began moving again. “It doesn’t matter. I promised Sarah I wouldn’t go there. Besides, anything beyond dancing would just get too tangled. Trust me, whatever this thing is between us is just chemistry and it isn’t worth the complications when the week is up.”
So she’d thought about it enough to have a talk with his sister, huh? The news was as interesting as it was enticing.
He knew why Sarah would put on the protective sister act. So many of her friends had tried to get to him through her. But he didn’t think that was the case with Elle. If it was, she’d have made her move years ago. Plus, she’d rejected every one of his advances and it wasn’t because she was playing hard to get.
There were times when she played it coy, but there were also times when she was so damn real he didn’t want their conversation to end. Even when they were arguing. Especially when they were arguing.
“Sarah isn’t my keeper,” he practically growled.
“But she’s my, um, friend, and I don’t want to betray her trust.”
“Did you use her to get to me?”
“What?” she said, so offended by his line of questioning he had to laugh. “No way. We can barely be around each other and not want to strangle the other.”
“I think that’s our form of foreplay.”
“Dream on.”
“I bet if I were to slide my hands under that pretty dress of yours, you’d be as wet as I am hard for you.” He bit her ear and he felt her entire body shiver beneath his. “How wet are you, love?”
“Like a boiling bath, ready to spill over,” she said so lowly he barely heard her.
That was it. That was all it took. Confirmation from her that she was feeling the heat as fiercely as he was was all he needed for him to make his move. He took her hand and started pulling her through the crowd.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he zigged and zagged through the maze of people, keeping his eye on the DJ booth like it was his North Star. It took a moment or two to navigate the crowd, and a few excited faces lit up when they recognized him, but for the first time in his career he didn’t stop, he didn’t acknowledge, he didn’t even return the smile. Nope, tonight he wasn’t World Champion Henry Norris. He was just Henry, a guy who was crushing on this beautiful woman who seemed to be crushing back.
He couldn’t remember the last time someone outside his family or buddies made him feel so normal or seen for his truth. But that was what she did.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they broke through the crowd and he led her down an empty corridor to a room. He burst through, thanking the universe it was blessedly empty.
“Where are we?” she asked when he pulled her over the threshold and into his arms.
“Manager’s office.”
Her mouth was in a firm line, but her eyes were locked on his with a boldness that nearly brought him to his knees. “And you brought me here why? To go over your schedule and spreadsheets?”
“No sheets, but there will be some spreading.” To prove his point, he walked her backward into the wall and nudged his knee between her thighs and she moaned. “Lots of spreading.”
Tangling his fingers at the base of her neck he tilted his head down and crushed his mouth against hers in what had to be the best kiss of his life. Her arms didn’t move from her sides, her body didn’t press any further into his, but that mouth of hers worked his as if she couldn’t get enough. It was intense and erotic and finally, finally, happening.
And there was only one place for this to go.