Chapter 11
11
R AIN
“I hope you’re right,” I murmur, holding my trench with one hand and my phone with the other while stepping into the car.
Within seconds, the luxury limousine rolls onto the streets of Monte Carlo.
“Give me a second,” I say before exchanging a few words with the driver.
“I’m back,” I murmur, resuming my phone conversation while stretching my legs and sagging in the back seat.
“Of course I’m right,” Eve murmurs at the other end of the phone line. “You’re trying to surprise him with something nice. Why wouldn’t he be happy?”
“Because... I spoke with Lex on the phone last night, and he told me James was on his way back from London or Eastern Europe or… I have no idea where. He’d traveled the entire week, and the last time we talked on the phone, he said he’d let me know when was a good time for me to travel.”
“This is the perfect time,” Eve says, convinced it’s true. “The weekend is almost here. I’m sure he needs to take a break.”
“Yeah... I hope so,” I say, not as convinced as she is. “How are things with you?”
“Great,” she says in a breath. “I’m up for a promotion at the end of the month.”
“Oh. Congratulations.”
“Yup. I’ll have my own secretary. Can you imagine that?”
A smile tilts my lips.
“I’m so happy for you. You’ve worked so hard for it.”
“We should celebrate it next time you come to New York.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Cool. Other than that, I’ve started dating again.”
“Again? I thought you’d been dating all this time.”
“Well, yes. I have. But then I got mad at the whole process and promised myself I’d never do it again. Somehow, I compelled myself to try it again, logged in on one of the apps I’ve used before, and reviewed some profiles.”
“And?”
“I’ve got a few leads. Went out a couple of times. Nothing came out of it, but I’m more patient now and taking it for what it is, not expecting much from it. I’m not putting much hope into it, either. If it happens, it happens. If not, so be it. I’m young. I can do this dating thing for a long time,” she says, laughing. “It’s no longer that important. Right now, I’m focused on my work. It’s fun and fulfilling. There’s no point in sweating over this dating thing. Everybody has to have a bad experience at some point, right?”
“Well... I guess,” I say distractedly as the car makes a turn and the entrance of the Hotel de Paris Monte Carlo comes into view.
My heart starts pounding, unexplained nostalgia mixed with jitters coursing through me.
Regardless of what she says, making a surprise appearance has never been my thing.
When you surprise someone, you might end up surprising yourself, and it’s usually something unpleasant.
I try to shake off that feeling before the car comes to a stop, and the driver rushes to open the door for me.
I smile at him.
“Okay. I’m here,” I say, climbing out of the limo and swinging my eyes to the imposing building. “Stay with me a little longer. Okay?” I murmur.
“Yes. I will… How’s the weather?” Eve asks.
“The weather is nice,” I say, swiveling my head and taking in the streets, the people strolling up and down, and the sea sprinkled with lights.
“It’s warm and breezy,” I say, still grappling with a strange feeling.
Tense, I move away from the car.
The bellboy picks up my suitcase before the doorman greets me warmly in the lobby.
Smiling, I walk past them and make a beeline for the elevator.
“He should be in his suite,” I murmur, trying to ignore my nerves.
I press the button on the panel and count the seconds as the elevator slides up.
There’s some background noise and then Eve’s voice.
“I have to get back to work,” she says. “My lunch break is over.”
“I’m almost there.”
I take a few more steps, and the door of his hotel suite enters my line of sight.
“Finally, I’m here,” I mutter nervously, unable to explain the odd feeling I’m wrestling with.
“Good.”
A smile lines her voice.
“I’m knocking on the door,” I say, doing just that.
A male voice rings behind the door.
“He’s here,” I say, giddy. “I gotta go,” I add excitedly.
“Okay. Okay. Let me know how it goes,” she says with the same brand of enthusiasm she used when she clapped her hands in the past.
“Okay... Bye. Bye.” I say, rushed before hanging up, slipping my phone into my pocket and letting my trench fall open enough to flash my sheer bra and panties, thigh–high stockings, high heels, and delicate garners.
The door slides open, and the man’s dark hair comes into view first.
He looks down while opening the door and has a towel wrapped around his waist as if he’s just walked out of the shower with a few beads of water on his shoulders and his hair.
Behind him, the room is pretty dim.
Excitement surges through my veins briefly as things get set in motion and unfold quickly, impossible to stop.
My arms shoot up and curl around his neck, my breasts lining his bare chest, my hips pressed flush against his bumpy package.
Judging by how fast he gets hard and twitches, he's glad to see me, yet his arms wrap around me at a slower pace than I envisioned, showing reluctance more than anything else.
“Hey, baby,” I say, pressing my lips against his lips.
He smells good, his breath is minty, and his skin is warm.
And then, out of the fuzziness of my memory, bolts out a shred of stark awareness.
Why is his tattoo on the other shoulder?
My brain sends a firm command to retreat, all my nerve endings firing out frantically as I jolt back when James’ voice echoes somewhere behind my back.
“I see you two got acquainted with each other already,” he says, amusement tinging his voice.
As if bitten by a snake, I jerk back, screaming and grabbing the sides of my trench before pulling it closed.
I finally get a better look at the man in front of me, whose face beams with a cocky smile.
He has a beauty mark near his jawline that I don’t remember James having.
“What the fuck?” I gasp as he gives me a stare that makes me feel even more naked than I am. “Who’re you?” I breathe before swiveling my head and finding my husband.
Sporting a silver-gray shirt and black dress pants, James saunters to us.
Smiling, he doesn’t seem to be surprised to see me here. And for sure, he isn’t mad that I have flashed my underwear to his guest, who’s now giving us a knowing grin.
“Who’s this?” the man who looks like him asks.
I stare at James, grappling with embarrassment.
“Hey, baby,” he says, wrapping me into his scent as he leans to me, curls his fingers around my neck, and kisses me on my frosted lips.
“Let’s get you inside before someone else sees what you have for me,” he jokes, splaying his fingers over the stranger’s face and pushing him back.
The man laughs copiously as he loses his balance and is forced to step back.
It may be a joke to them, but it’s not to me.
“Who is she?” James’ doppelg?nger insists, running his eyes over me.
“Cut it out, kid,” James barks.
The ‘kid’ lifts his arms, his chiseled muscles shifting under his skin as he flashes a grin, a carbon copy of James’ smirk.
His eyes beam with amusement as he takes me in.
Not smiling, I strut in.
“I thought I’d surprise you,” I say, crushed by my plan's complete and utter failure.
“You sure did,” the guest says, winking at me. “Man, I love your life,” he tosses at James, whose hand is on my shoulder.
The man’s eyes linger on my face.
James snakes his arm around me and pulls me into him.
Feeling him close to me makes me feel a little better.
“This pest here is my brother,” James says. “Tiago Diego Rossi.”
A gasp falls from my lips.
I look at James at first and then at the man in front of me.
He is doing his best to push back a grin that now spills over his handsome features, glinting in his eyes.
“This is my wife, Rain Sexton,” James says seriously this time.
Tiago’s smile morphs into a different kind of grin that colors his eyes, mesmerizing me and making me stare at him.
He looks so much like James.
With his hand stretched out, he closes the space between us.
“Tiago. Nice to meet you,” he says, a small smile tilting his lips.
My hand gets lost in his palm.
Holding my eyes, he lifts my hand to his lips and softly kisses my knuckles.
Ohh... He’s good.
A secret grin flickers through his eyes.
Smoothly, I retrieve my hand just as James’s fingers lock around his brother's neck.
“She’s off-limits, baby,” he says.
Tiago bites his lip.
“Of course she is.”
“I’m serious.”
James' grip tightens around Tiago’s neck.
“I know, man. Don’t worry,” he says seriously this time. “I’d never do you wrong.”
With that, his smile falls from his face as he spins around.
“I need to get dressed and leave if I want to catch that plane,” he says, and James takes his hand off his neck.