Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CLAIRE
I should be double-checking that the hospitality suite for all the influencers scheduled to arrive today is fully stocked. Or preparing their welcome baskets. Or going over the schedule for tonight’s tree-lighting ceremony.
Instead, I’m at my desk, staring out the frosted window and trying not to spiral over last night’s revelation.
Declan is Joshua’s father.
And I slept with him.
Hell, I did more than sleep with him. I let him see the parts of me I usually keep locked up tight. I let him bite me. Spank me. Use me. Told him my deepest fantasies.
For one glorious night, he fulfilled each and every one of them.
I’ve often imagined running into him again. Played out different scenarios in my head. What I’d say. What he’d say. Whether he’d still look at me with the same heat in his gaze.
Now I know he would.
But I never expected it to be like this.
Never expected for him to be Joshua’s father.
The door creaks open, pulling me out of the same circular thoughts I’ve been stuck in since last night.
Genevieve steps inside carrying a long silver bag I can tell holds a bottle of wine.
Her growing belly protrudes beneath her wool coat, and she has a permanent glow that has nothing to do with the chilly temperatures outside.
“Oh, you’re here,” she says, surprised to see me in my office. “I figured you’d be running around like crazy to get things ready for tonight. I just wanted to leave this for you.”
She sets the bag on my desk.
“Thanks, Gen. I was just checking my email before the day got away from me,” I tell her with a forced smile.
I have pages of last-minute checks I want to do before the thousands of people we’re expecting arrive tonight. But my thoughts keep floating back to Declan. To the moment he stood from the table and the world dropped out from under me.
“Are you okay?” She narrows her gaze on me, scrutinizing my appearance.
I should have known she’d pick up on my unease. She is my sister. She knows me better than anyone. Since we were kids, we’ve shared everything with each other. First crush. First kiss. First time having sex.
The only thing I haven’t shared with her is my first one-night stand. I didn’t think it mattered. Didn’t think it would have any impact on my life other than being a night of incredible sex.
How wrong I was.
“I’m just a little anxious about tonight. I need everything to be perfect.”
She pinches her lips together, her analytical gaze continuing to sweep over me. “No, that’s not it. Something else is bothering you.”
I could just brush it off. Tell her I’m tired from all the hours I’ve been working. It’s not a complete lie.
But it’s not the late nights and running on caffeine that’s left me exhausted. It’s the secret I’ve been keeping from her. The one that’s grown much heavier since last night.
“I had a one-night stand when I was in Boston,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Her eyes light up, lips curving into a slow grin as she lowers herself into the chair across from me, resting her hand on her stomach.
“Mom was right after all.”
“Maybe,” I groan.
After I got back from Boston, Mom claimed she sensed a change in me. Said I gave off an aura of someone who’d been on a journey of sexual enlightenment.
I denied it, saying she was probably mistaking my sister’s “aura” for mine.
But she wasn’t wrong. My night with Declan was more than just a sexual awakening. It was an experience that’s etched itself into my soul, making me wonder if I’ll ever find anyone who can make me feel the things he did.
Which makes the truth of who he is even more painful to swallow.
“Who was it?” Genevieve presses. “Someone from the conference?”
“Not exactly.” I pause, picking at a loose thread on my cardigan.
“Just someone stranded at the same hotel because of the snowstorm. We met at the bar. He was older. Gorgeous. Confident.” I can’t stop the smile from pulling on my lips.
“Flirtatious. So damn sexy. Like he stepped straight out of a romance book.”
“Damn.” She fans herself. “Sounds intense.”
“It was. We stayed at the bar for hours and talked about everything that popped into our heads. Or, I talked. He just listened. Seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. It was…refreshing. Regardless, I had no intention of it becoming more than just an enjoyable conversation.”
“But?” she prods.
“But when he walked me back to my room to make sure I made it safely, I knew I’d regret it if I let him walk away. So I didn’t. Then I spent the next several hours having the best sex of my life.”
“That good?”
I nod. “If sex were a sport, that man would win a gold medal in each and every event. And there were quite a few events, if you know what I mean.”
“Damn.” Genevieve fans herself again, giggling.
I love seeing her like this. So carefree. So…happy.
It’s so different from how she was this time last year. Recently divorced. Determined to avoid anything remotely resembling romance. Instead, she decided to focus solely on the one thing she did want.
A baby.
She probably never expected her best friend, Finn, to be the one to give it to her. I knew it was only a matter of time before she finally realized what’s been in front of her all her life.
“So what happened after?” she presses.
“He had an early flight the next morning. When I woke up, he was gone. At first, I wondered if I imagined it. But then…”
“Yes?”
“I found the note he left.”
“What did it say?” she asks, practically bouncing on her seat.
I open the drawer and retrieve the note, handing it to her.
She flashes me a grin before focusing on the paper.
“‘Dear, Claire. Last night was unexpected. And unforgettable. One of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. All my best, Declan. Here’s my number.
Maybe our paths will cross again. I hope they do.
’” She lifts her excited eyes to mine. “Did you call him?”
“I thought about it.”
“What’s stopping you?” She sets the letter on my desk and I put it back in the drawer. “Because he’s older? Or because you think you need to spend every waking hour of your life working? Because I—”
“At first, yes to both of those things,” I admit.
“At first?”
I slowly nod.
“So you did call?”
“I didn’t have to. I ran into him again. Last night, actually.”
“Where?”
“Here. At the restaurant.”
She furrows her brow. “I thought you were having dinner with Joshua and his dad.”
“I did.” I give her a knowing look.
“And he was there, too?”
I laugh under my breath. “You could say that.”
She tilts her head, confusion knitting her brow. “What do you mean?”
I inhale deeply, running my hands down my blouse, steeling myself for what I’m about to admit.
“My one-night stand is Joshua’s father.”
My confession hangs in the air between us as the room falls eerily silent. No polite conversations wafting into my office from the lobby. No music playing in the background. No phone ringing.
It’s just me and the truth I’m still struggling to come to terms with.
“You’re kidding,” Genevieve says, her eyes wide in shock.
“I wish I were.”
“So last night, when you showed up at the restaurant to have dinner with Joshua and the dad he just found out about…”
“Yup,” I say, nodding miserably. “That was him. Declan. My one-night stand.”
She stares, stunned into silence for a full ten seconds, her mouth agape. Then she slumps back into her chair. “Holy shit, Claire. That’s…that’s some plot twist.”
“It wasn’t just a plot twist. It was a plot catastrophe. The whole situation was just…” I shake my head, looking for the right word. But there’s only one. “It was awful, Gen. Truly awful.”
She reaches across the desk and covers my hand with hers, squeezing. “I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine what a shock that must have been. Did you two get a chance to talk about it? Clear the air?”
“We did.”
“And?”
“We agreed Joshua can’t know. Declan just found out he has a son. He wants to be in his life. I refuse to interfere with that.”
“For what it’s worth, he sounds like a good person,” Genevieve offers in consolation. “Like he’s taking his new role as a father seriously.”
I’m not sure it helps. Because the fact he’s a good person makes the truth sting even more.
While I didn’t learn much about him during our one night together, apart from the fact that he turned me into a quivering bundle of nerves with one touch, he shared quite a bit about himself last night.
And everything I learned solidified what I sensed before inviting him into my hotel room. That he’s a decent person.
He served ten years in the navy. Then put himself through college and law school.
After graduating, he was recruited by one of the most prestigious civil rights firms in the country.
Now he spends his days fighting for the rights of those unable to do so themselves.
He’s spearheaded some of the top cases in recent history, sometimes taking it all the way up to the Supreme Court.
He spoke about his work like it’s sacred.
Like every client matters. I could have listened to him talk for hours just to be around that passion again.
“So what are you going to do?” Genevieve’s voice cuts through, and I snap my gaze back to her.
“Nothing.” I shrug. “Joshua has looked for answers about his dad for years. He has those now. And has a dad who wants a relationship.” I force a smile.
“After everything he’s been through over the past several years with his mom, he deserves to have something good in his life. I won’t come between that.”
“And you think you can be around his father and pretend you never slept together? That it never happened?” I can hear the skepticism in her voice.
“It was one night. It didn’t mean anything,” I insist, although the words taste sour on my tongue.
My one night with Declan meant more than any other night I’ve spent with another man in recent history.
Or ever.
“Plus, he’s already on his way back to D.C. I doubt I’ll see him anytime soon. I was only there last night because Joshua wanted me as a buffer, more or less. Any contact we may have in the future will be minimal at best.”
Genevieve gives me a sympathetic smile. “Look on the bright side.”
“What’s that?”
“You finally broke your dry spell and had some incredible sex.”
I sigh, grateful to have a sister who can make light of a serious situation when I need it the most. “Did I ever.”
I just wish it wasn’t with my ex’s father.