Chapter 12
Adam
How could he make it up to her?
Adam finished pulling on his swim shorts, then got a beach towel from the stash hidden in the ottoman at the foot of his bed.
He’d awakened with a start in the middle of the night, plagued by the same old nightmare.
He was in the 2024 on final approach, but the plane wouldn’t respond, no matter what he tried. Everything was happening fast, and he finally managed to regain control when suddenly, the nose pitched violently to the left.
That’s when he always woke up, and it was no different this time, except for where he found himself: sitting in his leather chair, covered by the old Finnmark blanket he’d bought on the family trip to see the northern lights.
At first, he was confused, but slowly, it all came back: Eve, storming in like an avenging angel, shoving past the guard to call Adam to the carpet.
She’d found him drunk.
He shook his head, disgusted with himself. He’d stood her up, and she kissed him so sweetly anyway, even covered him when he fell asleep in the middle of it.
To think, he could have taken her to dinner, then brought her here, to bed, instead of ingesting more alcohol than he normally drank in a month.
This morning, his skull was paying the price. He’d made a smoothie and taken three Advil. Now, it was time to detox. He threw on a T-shirt, picked up his key card and towel, and strode toward the elevator.
The scent of chlorine hit his nostrils as soon as the doors opened to the roof. His skin responded instantly to the sixty-five-degree temperature. Hardly anyone used the pool this time of year, though it was heated to a tolerable seventy-seven degrees.
Invigorated, Adam peeled off his shirt and threw it on one of the lawn chairs arranged alongside the Olympic-sized lap pool.
He stretched, then rolled his shoulders.
His eyes detected movement, and his gaze went to the glass structure that half-encircled the starburst-shaped skylight on the other side of the roof. Employees bustled inside, cleaning up after the huge function held there last night.
Perfect.
Adam smiled.
Smoothly, he dived in, his body instantly invigorated by the frigid water, and started his fifty laps.
?
Eve
The little box came with a note.
Again, I apologize
for last night.
Dinner at 8.
Movie after dinner,
if you’d like.
Wear the purple dress.
This is for you.
—Adam
Eve looked down at the small box wrapped in simple white paper. A thin gold ribbon crisscrossed it, tying in a small bow at the top.
A feeling of discomfort overcame her. So many men used jewelry as an apology, thinking all it took was an expensive bauble, and women would fall all over themselves, forgiving anything they’d done. It was a tactic as old as time, but it felt a lot like a get-out-of-jail-free card to her.
The coffee maker beeped, announcing morning joy. Her nostrils had already been teased by the fragrance for five whole minutes.
She hurried to the kitchen and placed the little present on the counter. First, coffee. Grabbing the half-full carafe, she poured the wake-up potion into the white Route 66 mug she’d purchased at the Rusty Bolt. She added just a splash of milk, then took a sip and closed her eyes as the complex flavor overtook her senses.
Ah…nothing was better than coffee in the morning.
She looked down at her souvenir mug and smiled, recalling Adam’s face as he’d allowed himself to be photographed with Elvis. Grabbing her phone off the charging stand, she tapped her picture app and quickly found the photo.
There they were, smiling, The King sitting between them, immortal in his black Comeback Special suit. Well, she was the one smiling. Adam, however… She snickered at his expression.
Her gaze returned to the small box. She set her mug down on the counter.
Time to find out what he’d sent.
She made quick work of the wrapping. Inside, she found a blue-and-gold box with a LarsAir foil logo sealing the top. Carefully, she peeled off the gold seal, not wanting to rip the foil for some reason. She flipped open the top. It was something wrapped in sky-blue tissue paper. Eve overturned the box, and something dense and heavy fell into her palm.
Definitely not jewelry.
Intrigued, she parted the tissue.
It was a Matchbox size, diecast replica of Betty, accurate down to the little windows, wheels, and vintage LarsAir logo. Eve studied the shiny little mock-up, turning it over in her palm. This was more meaningful than any fancy bracelet or necklace Adam could have purchased.
She ran a fingertip over mini Betty’s glossy little wings.
He wanted the purple dress. A little thrill ran through her. He hadn’t been too drunk to notice Lauren’s latest exquisite creation. It was a deep V-neck with subtle seed beading accents at the décolletage and hem and a keyhole opening at the lower back.
Eve headed for her closet. Her eyes landed on the silver sandals she had kicked off carelessly last night. Yes, she’d wear those again. Good memories had been made in them, even those from yesterday.
She’d kissed him endlessly and hadn’t wanted to stop.
The tingling started again, and her breath began to do exactly what it did every time she even thought of him. Tonight, Adam would be sober.
And naked.
Eve pulled open her lingerie drawer. It held every type of lace and silk that could be had. One set, however, was tucked away in the corner, and now she eyed it, recalling the last time it had been on her body. Adam had kept those panties, but Eleet always purchased the sets with backups, knowing that men sometimes got carried away.
Why was she looking at that set?
She already knew the answer.
Tonight, he’d take her.
God help her, she wanted him to. Her body was ready.
She still didn’t know how she would guard her heart.
Adam
“Would you like to come up and check everything, sir?”
Good. All was ready.
Usually, Adam left all preparations to the ma?tre d’, knowing that Fran?ois never failed to do a stellar job. This time, however, he felt the need to go and put an eyeball on the setting.
“I’ll be up in five,”
he told him.
Adam tapped “end,”
then took a deep breath, pocketing his phone.
He checked his Breguet. 7:44. Eve was on her way and would be here any minute.
He went to the mirror to take one last critical look at himself. For the first time in longer than he could remember, Adam realized he was nervous before an evening with a woman. He didn’t think beyond dinner, although he hoped she’d finally come upstairs.
He straightened his tie and smiled a little. She did like ties. He hoped she’d like this one. He pictured her small hand around it, pulling.
He turned away from his reflection. He had to focus on tonight, and tonight needed to be perfect. Grabbing his key card, Adam squared his shoulders and headed for the elevator.
Eve
“Thanks, Charlie.”
Eve stepped out of the Eleet limo, feeling a bit of déjà vu. Hughes was there waiting for her, far more friendly than he had been last night.
“Good evening, Miss Layton. Follow me, please.”
Just as she had before, she trailed him, walking past the fountain sculpture of the 2024 all the way to where Adam’s private elevator waited to take them to the top. She remembered the first time she had walked through this lobby with Devon, clueless about where meeting Adam Larssen would take her.
Unlike the other elevators, the glass on this one was tinted blue. The panel had only four buttons: garage, lobby, penthouse, and roof. Hughes tapped a code on a numbered keypad, then nodded politely and stepped back.
“You’re all set. Have a nice evening,”
he said, his courteous smile betraying nothing of what he might have been thinking.
The doors slid closed, and the elevator began its smooth ascent. Butterflies looped the loop in her belly, and she knew it wasn’t the climb speed that made her head spin a little.
Adam was at the top of that elevator, and the knowledge made her extremities tingle. The elevator whined a little louder. She felt it slow, then stop.
So did Eve’s breathing.
The blue doors parted, and there stood Adam, devastatingly handsome in a light charcoal pinstripe suit. An azure-blue patterned tie was knotted perfectly around his neck, and a matching silk square peeked out of his breast pocket in a sharp three-point fold.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hi.”
Her voice was husky. She stood there for a moment, taking him in as he did the same with her.
“You did look beautiful last night,”
he finally said, “but tonight, without my whiskey goggles, you’re absolutely stunning.”
He took her hand and raised her arm. “Turn for me.”
Fingertips tingling from his touch, she did as he asked, turning slowly, cheeks warming under his appreciative gaze.
Returning to face him, Eve hoped he would bend down to kiss her. Instead, he only squeezed her hand. “I hope you’re hungry.”
Hungry for you.
The realization hit her hard.
She nodded.
“Good.”
Still holding her hand, he led her across the rooftop, past deck chairs and a long lap pool. The starburst she had noticed that first night in the lobby looked enormous now, and, stepping across it, she realized it was opaque white glass, lighted from underneath.
“This is pretty,” she said.
“Makes a great dance floor. People love it.”
She realized where he was leading her. It was a glass enclosure that circled the starburst halfway around. She noticed a few tables draped with white tablecloths, but no diners.
A hidden door slid silently open, and they entered the glass tube. A section had been entirely cleared to the right, with only one table set.
Eve eyed the thick candle burning in the center. She caught a whiff of pine and recognized it as the same kind of candle she had found burning in his suite that first night. The mere thought of that night made her shudder and her knees go weak. The thought of a repeat, with Adam in the light, caused her to stumble.
Adam was right there, gripping her elbow for support. “You OK?”
No.
“Yes,”
she said, trying to keep her voice light.
The table was set with sparkling silverware and white china sporting the Lark Hotel logo. One short-stemmed yellow rose was placed in a highball glass beside the candle, a flat green leaf lining the inside.
She could smell its perfume mingling with the pine of the candle even before she sat.
Adam pulled out her chair. She settled into the blue velvet, grateful to be off her feet. He didn’t take a seat across from her, choosing instead to pull his chair close and park his tall frame beside her, making her think she wouldn’t be able to eat a single thing.
She reached for the glass holding the rose and brought it to her nose, inhaling the complex, spicy scent. “I’ve never seen roses like this. They’re differently shaped, and they smell divine. Where do you get them?”
“A friend of mine is into them. Grows them in his backyard.”
“In Vegas?”
She was shocked.
He nodded. “In the suburbs. He has a home in Henderson. A whole acre, and much of it is his roses. You don’t want to see his irrigation bill.”
He watched her closely as she brought the bloom to her mouth and nuzzled, feeling the velvet of the petals caress her lips. “They all have names. This one is called Soaring to Glory. It pays homage to Air Force service members.”
“Let me guess, he’s a pilot.”
“Retired, but you guessed correctly.”
“How can a rose pay homage?”
“From what I understand, the hybridizer gets to name them.”
“Hybridizer?”
“The person who puts the male and female parts together to make entirely new baby roses.”
Eve wanted to groan. She thought she’d picked a neutral subject, only to end up talking rose sex. She put the glass back on the table.
When a waiter approached, she wanted to hug him for interrupting the awkward conversation.
“Good evening and welcome,”
he said in a heavy French accent. “I am Fran?ois, enchanted to serve you this evening. Chef says appetizers are ready, Monsieur Larssen. Shall we commence?”
?
By the time the fourth course came around, Eve was convinced she would never be able to eat anywhere else.
“This is the best food I have ever eaten,”
she told Adam, nibbling on a baby carrot. “I normally don’t even like root vegetables.”
“It’s probably boiled in soup.”
Her brows lifted. “How do you know these things?”
“My brother likes to cook. Sometimes, he goes on about techniques.”
He grinned. “And I pretend to listen.”
Fran?ois materialized, all smiles. “Would it please you to see our dessert menu?”
Adam’s leg pressed to hers, but his blue eyes remained cool, and he said nothing.
Her stomach seemed to do a flip-flop. “I can take a peek.”
The waiter nodded, handing them two small menus. “I’ll be right back.”
Eve opened the dessert menu. Adam left his closed.
“Nothing for you?”
she questioned.
“What I want for dessert—”
slowly, he leaned forward and brought his mouth within reach of her lips, sapphire eyes blazing “—is not on that list.”
Eve’s heart kicked into an erratic rhythm. She set down her menu. Then, unable to stop herself, she grasped Adam’s tie, yanking him to her.
His lips curved into a smile before swiftly taking hers in a dizzying kiss that left her breathless. He angled his head and stroked her thoroughly and slowly with his tongue. She fisted his tie tighter and opened her mouth wider, dimly wondering why she couldn’t seem to get enough of him. She hated that they had to come up for air.
He pressed his warm cheek to the top of her head, a move that was becoming achingly familiar.
“I’m thinking,”
he began, then stopped.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we should continue this downstairs, but only if you’re OK with that.”
She was more than OK with that; the thought of getting him alone was exhilarating. She kissed his jaw, still keeping a firm grip on his tie. “Hmm…but what about the movie?”
“I planned to give you a choice. We can go to the Galaxy Theaters or watch something at my place.”
She contemplated for a beat.
He kissed her temple. “I have better popcorn.”
She laughed. “Well, in that case…”