Chapter 21
twenty-one
PETER
Even with rushing Geneva through the Whataburger somewhere near Lubbock, we still don’t make it to Austin before midnight. She’s tucked against the window, sleeping soundly. I don’t know how she does that. I’ve never been able to fall asleep in a car. It took me years to finally learn how to sleep on an airplane.
I weave through the downtown streets, hunting for her apartment building. I think I was in it once. It was one of many we looked at. The building might look familiar, but I can’t for the life of me remember anything about the apartment itself.
Finally, I pull into the entrance of the parking garage. Punching in the code I have stored in my phone, I watch as the chain gate opens. It was one of the few things I insisted on. There’s no way I would take a chance on her getting jumped in a dark parking garage.
I weave up the ramp to her assigned space on the second level. Her car is already waiting for her, thanks to Rand.
Pulling into the guest slot next to it, I turn off the Rover. She doesn’t stir. As much as I would like to sit here so she can sleep, we both need to stretch out on a bed.
“Hey, sweetheart. We’re here.”
“Really?” She stretches and sits up. I love it when she’s still sleepy. It’s like watching a kitten wake up. She rubs her eyes and pops the door open. Slowly, she climbs out before stretching the rest of her body.
“I’ll grab the bags.” It’s becoming a daily mantra. We’ve packed and unpacked so many times now, I don’t know how I’ll handle being in one place again.
My arms are loaded down as I follow her through the doors to the elevator. Her apartment is crowded with boxes when we step inside. At least the furniture is in place. I’m sure we have Rand to thank for that too.
“I’ll see if the bed is made,” she says with a yawn. She takes her bag and disappears into the bedroom.
I need something to drink first. The refrigerator doesn’t have much, but there are a few bottles of unopened water. Cracking one open, I finish it in one try. I leave the bottle on the kitchen counter since I don’t see a trash can anywhere. Geneva hasn’t made a reappearance. I pull a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and head for the bedroom.
I guess the bed was made after all, as Geneva is curled up under her comforter. There is a pile of clothes next to the bed where she undressed. I walk into the bathroom to find her personal items spread across the counter. Quickly, I brush my teeth and add my clothes to the pile and crawl into bed next to her.
She moans when I pull her back against my chest. After wiggling around for a minute, she finally sighs before settling back to sleep. Looks like we’ve already solved the problem of sleeping arrangements in our new city. I don’t care where we lay our heads as long as we’re together.
“I love you,” I whisper. She doesn’t answer, but then she doesn’t have to. I already know what’s in her heart.
With a last kiss to her temple, I pull her even closer. I drift off in our new city, safe in the knowledge that we’ve finally arrived exactly where we need to be.
* * *
The next morning, I wake to the sound of gears grinding. Geneva has found her stationary bike. By the way it sounds, she’s got a demon on her tail.
I moan and roll out of bed. The pile of clothes has been tossed into a hamper in the bathroom. Fresh towels hang on the bars. There’s soap and shampoo in the shower. How long has she been up?
“Have to make up for that last burger,” she pants when I walk into the living room. She’s pulled the bike next to what should be the dining room window. I watch her stick her ass in the air as she pedals. I’ve barely managed to shower, and she looks like she’s training for a marathon. There’s no way I’m burning off the calories from a trip that ended at one this morning.
“Should we make an appearance at the office today?” I ask.
“I’d say yes. Rand has already texted this morning to see where we are.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That we’d see him this afternoon. No reason to tell him we’re shacked up in my apartment,” she says. “He said something about dinner tonight after.”
I can feel the acid in my stomach at the thought of keeping what we’re doing from Rand. It’s not right, but I need to give Geneva the time she asked for.
I can’t think of the last time we had a secret between the three of us. What about his wife, Bront?? She’s not stupid. She’ll guess what we’ve been doing right off the bat. I’ll have to figure out how to avoid her as much as possible.
“Whew,” she says, turning off the machine. “That felt good. I’m heading for the shower.”
She pats my chest on the way to the bathroom. I shuffle to the kitchen. When did she have time to find the coffee pot? Doesn’t matter. I pour myself one into the largest mug I can find. I can’t remember ever drinking coffee from something that says “Don’t make me cut a bitch” on it. I guess when in Rome.
I’ve almost finished when she walks out of the bedroom with nothing but a towel on. Suddenly, I can think of a lot better ways to spend the afternoon than at the office.
“Do you mind if I meet you at the office later? I want to get this place at least livable.” That crushes that fantasy.
“Yeah, I need to see if everything made it to my place anyway.” I cross the room to pick up my shoes. Sitting on the couch, I pull them on. “I’ll sort through the Rover and bring your stuff to the office.”
“Perfect,” she says. She seems different than yesterday in the car. I hope she’s not already regretting us being together. I thought I’d have more time to convince her this could work before she got cold feet. “Okay, I’ll see you at the office,” she says and walks back into her bedroom.
I finish tying my shoes and stand. I’ve been dismissed. I’m too tired to stomp into her bedroom to find out what this is all about. I’ll get to the bottom of it later.
Picking up my duffel, I slip out of the apartment. My Rover is right where I left it. That bodes well for easing my mind about Geneva’s safety.
Climbing in, I start the SUV. Now to remember where my apartment is. I chose to be farther out of downtown. She might like the hustle of being right in the thick of it, but I prefer a little more solitude. Besides, there’s a river running through the south side of town. Why wouldn’t I want a view of it?
It takes me ten minutes to reach my place. Grabbing my bags from the back, I ride the elevator to the top of my new building, and I open my door and toss my bags inside.
The first thing I see is exactly what sold me on this place. A large bay window looks out over the river. There’s a reason I splurged on the penthouse. First, the view, but more importantly, I plan on being just as wildly successful as I was before. With our combined business know-how, this new venture should soar. This place will remind me of that goal.
Walking into the bedroom, I find my bed has also been made. I bet money that was more Bront? than Rand. He lucked into a good one when he found her. Who would have guessed a one-night stand would turn out to be the one? Mine certainly never have.
I return to my living room and slump on the couch. I’ll get around to setting up my place eventually. Tomorrow sounds soon enough.
I’m just getting comfortable when my door buzzes. I should have waited to submit my approved visitor list until I’d been here a while. With a sigh, I open my door.
“Hey, you made it,” Rand says, stepping inside.
“Barely.”
“I’m honestly surprised to see Geneva didn’t feed you to some bears along the way. Beer?” he asks, handing me one from the six-pack he’s carrying. He places the rest in my refrigerator, and we both return to the couch.
“She’s not that bad. We had a pretty good time,” I answer.
“Dude, you don’t have to sugarcoat it for me. I know what my sister is like.” I can feel my irritation starting to rise. There’s no way I’ll be able to sit here if Rand decides to bash his sister in front of me. “I’m glad it was a good trip though. I was worried when I didn’t hear from you.”
“We got snowed in. Besides, you know reception in the national parks is not so great.”
“That’s what G kept saying. I talked to her on the way over. It sounded like she was rearranging furniture.”
“You know how she likes her feng shui.” I tip the bottle back and swig half of it. “Where’s Bront??”
“She’s at the office, fussing at the people finishing up the offices. I think she’s nervous that you won’t like it. So, please, rave about it regardless.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s amazing.” I would never do anything to hurt Bront?’s feelings. I adore her only slightly less than Rand.
“Anything exciting happen on your trip?”
Is he fishing? My stomach is starting to churn again. I set the rest of the bottle of beer on the coffee table.
“Not really. We managed to survive the wilderness,” I hedge. He studies me for a minute. I swear I’m starting to sweat from the scrutiny. How am I going to keep something this big from him? Surely he’ll go back to Dansboro Crossing soon so I can have some peace.
“Okay,” he says, like he doesn’t believe me. “Well, I’m supposed to meet Bront? for lunch. Want to come?”
“Nah, I’m going to hang here for a little while. I’ll see you at the office later.”
“That works,” he says, rising from the couch. “Don’t forget we’re taking you and Geneva to dinner later. We want to celebrate our first day as a legitimate business.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Fuck, I need to miss it. I can’t sit for an hour without cracking.
“Great. I’ll see myself out. I’m glad you’re here, buddy.”
“Me too.” He slaps me on the shoulder before letting himself out.
“Fuck me,” I moan.
I watch the sun for another hour before heaving my ass off the couch. There’s no way I’d show up at the office in sweatpants. I slide on fresh slacks from a wardrobe box. With a pressed button-down shirt, I at least look like a professional.
My facial hair is almost completely grown back out. I’ll think about it later. I doubt there are any clients in the office already, but you never know. I should pass for today.
The office is empty when I arrive. I assume Geneva is still unpacking and the other two haven’t made it back from lunch. Bernadette, Rand’s secretary, isn’t even behind her desk. That’s good. It gives me a chance to wander around without being watched.
My office is the largest in the suite. It has to have room for my drafting table and computer system. I draft using both, depending on my mood. The back wall is painted blue with a cream design on it. It’s perfect. Blue is one of the colors I see best. Geneva said she wanted me to be surprised, and I am.
“What do you think?” she asks from my office door.
“I think you’ve outdone yourself,” I answer. Moving behind the computers, I try out my new desk chair. I have a drafting chair and two side chairs also.
“It’s magnetic. You can put up your drawings if you need to.”
“Seriously? That’s genius.” I spin around to try out one of the magnets from inside my desk.
“Where did you go? I came back out of the bedroom and you were gone,” she says.
“I thought you were tired of me,” I answer, swinging back around to face her. “I assumed you were ready for me to leave.”
She stalks toward me. She’s wearing a sweater dress that hits just above her knees. Black tights peek out from underneath. The fuzzy boots I love have made another appearance. When she reaches my chair, she rakes the bottom of her dress up her thighs. She places a knee on either side of my hips and straddles my lap.
“I’ll never get tired of you,” she purrs. “And a boyfriend should always say goodbye before he leaves.” She places a kiss on the edge of my mouth.
“I’ll remember that next time.”
“See that you do, or when I get you home, I’ll be forced to punish you.” This time, she slides her tongue into my mouth when she leans back in for another kiss. My hands grab her ass, pulling her toward my aching cock. How does she get me so worked up so fast? “I’ll enjoy it,” she hisses.
“What in the hell?”
We both jump up from the chair hard enough that it bangs against the wall. Geneva smooths down her dress. I’m a lost cause. It’s not like you can just smooth down an erection.
“Rand,” I squeak. “This is not—” I don’t know how to finish. This is exactly what it looks like. We couldn’t even keep a secret for the day. I clear my throat and try again. “Listen, I know I made a promise. But it just happened.” I’m stumbling over my words, and he’s standing in the doorway with a look of rage on his face. “I can’t do this, Geneva. It’s giving me an ulcer.”
“Fine,” she snipes. She doesn’t even seem the least bit rattled. “If you must know, I was thinking of fucking Peter. Again. So get over it.”
“Shit, Geneva,” I sputter. “Maybe a little less aggressive.”
“You fucking asshole,” Rand sneers. “Bront?!”
“What? I was on a phone call, Rand.” She stops in the doorway to take in the drama.
“My best friend has been shagging my sister,” he spits out. “When did this start?”
“Santa Fe,” Geneva spits back. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Damn it, you couldn’t keep it in your pants just a little while longer.” I watch in shock as he pulls out his wallet. He counts out one-hundred-dollar bills. Bront? snatches them out of his hand.
“Nice doing business with you,” she says to her husband. “I told you they’d never make it. Now, I’ve got a prospect for you on hold.”
“I’m coming.” He turns to face me. “Dinner’s on you tonight.”
“Wait.” I stop him before he can leave. “Why are you not punching me in the face like you promised to do?”
“I still might, but I also see life a little differently now. There’s nothing I want more than for my sister and my best friend to be happy. If they have to find that in each other, so be it. We can talk about it later, but we need the business that phone call promises. This will have to wait.” He walks out of the room, leaving us in a state of confusion.
“What the hell was that?” Geneva asks.
“I have no idea.”