Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
They didn’t say much on the ride back to her place, but as far as Renly was concerned, the soft touches and heated looks said everything, and the moment they stepped over her threshold and shut the door, he pulled her to him.
The kiss was slow and lingering. Tender and intimate. The direct opposite of their wild passion in Masque, but so much more compelling. And when they broke apart, both breathing hard, he led her into the bedroom, then lost himself in her arms. The scent of her. The feel of her. And when they both exploded for the second time that night, she curled up beside him, her fingers tracing patterns on his bare chest.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“What for?”
“For letting me go a little wild.”
He chuckled. “I like you wild.”
“And for telling me about your vertigo,” she added, meeting his eyes. “For bringing me back into your life. I’ve missed you so much.”
He cupped her cheek. “Me, too. But I’m not going anywhere.”
“Dubai,” she said, and he nodded slowly.
“That’s not me leaving. That’s just me going to work.”
“And you’re here right now,” she said, rolling over so that his arm was beneath her breasts and he was spooned against her.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m right here.”
He held her close, then drifted off, and for the first time in a very long time, it felt as if every single thing was right with the world.
The next morning, they arrived ten minutes before Abby was supposed to meet Darrin, but he was already standing in the elevator bay when they reached Abby’s office.
“Hey, Darrin,” she said to the dark-haired man. “This is my friend Renly. We’ve got some plans for the rest of the day, so he’s going to take care of some phone calls and emails while we work.”
She unlocked the office door and led them all inside.
“No problem,” Darrin said, speaking to Abby and barely acknowledging Renly. Either the guy was shy or an asshole. Right now he didn’t know enough to make the call.
Once inside, Renly walked the perimeter of the office and checked in all the individual areas. Better safe than sorry. Abby and Darrin settled in the conference room, and Renly parked himself at the far end of the long table, planning to check his emails while they worked.
He lifted his head before he dove in, catching Darrin’s eye. “I hope you don’t mind if I hang out here. I don’t know a damn thing about the tech world, and Abby said I could sit in and pretend to be fascinated.”
Darrin’s smile looked a little forced, but he said, “Sure. Don’t know if you’ll find it that fascinating, but I don’t have a problem with it.”
Renly gave him a thumbs up and then went back to his phone. He half-listened as Abby went through the various features of the software, pride building in him as he heard her competent voice and her clean explanations. She was able get to the heart of complex issues and answered all of Darrin’s questions in a way that anyone—even Renly, who knew next to nothing about computers—could understand.
Soon enough, her voice became a pleasant background noise, and he deleted at least a hundred emails, mostly spam, that had built up in his inbox.
Then he cringed, realizing he’d completely missed one from his mother almost three days ago.
He pulled up text messaging and shot her a note.
You there?
Renly! Where have you been hiding?
Sorry I missed your email. Crazy week.
I figured you would have tried again if it was important?
What’s up?
Can’t a mom just email her son?
Some moms can. You always have an agenda.
Ha ha.
He grinned. His mom wasn’t one for over-communication. She tended to write when she had something to say, and that was pretty much it.
Come on, what’s going on?
Well, to be honest, I’m getting married again.
He hesitated as he stared at the words, not sure what to say.
Oh.
Tell me how you really feel...
He shook his head, then stood and left the conference room because he just needed to move around.
He paced inside the lobby, Abby’s worried frown as he’d stepped out of the room burnt into his mind. Hopefully in a few minutes he could tell her everything was okay.
Listen, mom, I’m excited for you.
But unless you’ve been keeping the biggest secret in the world,
you haven’t been dating anybody.
Who the hell are you marrying?
Well, to be honest, we’ve been dating for years.
It’s time to make it official
Who? Do I know him?
Sweetie, it’s Elise.
He stared at his phone.
Elise—or Aunt Elise—was his mother’s best friend and had been since they’d moved to Houston. All through his high school years they’d been inseparable, and after Renly and Red had moved away, Elise had actually moved in. They got along so well, and although Renly couldn’t imagine living with a roommate at his mother’s age, he understood that his mom had gotten lonely.
At least, that was what he’d always believed. Now, with the news of his mom’s engagement, he saw everything in a fresh light.
Mom? Why didn’t you ever tell us?
I don’t know. But I’m telling you now.
I think it’s great.
I love Elise. But why the wedding now?
You guys have been living together for years.
We should have the moment it was legal.
Better late than never. I don’t want to wake up one day
and find out that something happened and
regret that we never made it official.
What’s going to happen?
I shouldn’t have to explain that to somebody
who fights bad guys for a living.
You never know what life has in store for you.
Think about my hearing. Things can change in an instant,
and I don’t want to regret anything.
I get that.
And he did. Abby was filling his mind. Her smile, her touch.
Mom, I think it’s really great.
You do?
Of course. When’s the wedding?
We haven’t decided. But I’ll make sure
that the date is clear with you and Red.
And Abby, he thought. He knew that wasn’t his mother’s intention, but this conversation had shifted something inside him, changing the way he thought about her. The way he thought about them.
I need to go. I was just running out the
door when you texted. I love you baby.
I love you too mom.
Give Elise a hug for me.
Have you told Red?
No, not yet. But I will. It’s my news.
Can you keep a secret from your brother?
LOL. No. You know that.
But I’ll do my best.
So hurry up and tell him.
:).
Love you bunches. Talk soon.
And then the text chain stopped. He stood there for a minute shaking his head, wondering at the miracle of conversation. How one simple statement by somebody could change your entire perspective on the world.
He tucked his phone back into his pocket and went into the break room. Darrin was there, standing near the coffee machine. “Hey,” he said. “You look happy.”
Renly shrugged. “Just had an interesting conversation with my mom. I’m happy for her. How’s it going on the software?”
“Abby ran back to her office to get something. And I thought I needed a caffeine hit. Can I make you one?”
“Sure. That would be terrific. I could use some caffeine myself.” His phone pinged, and he looked down to see Red’s message.
Just got a text from mom.
She’s right, they should’ve
done that a long time ago.
Agree. In a meeting. Talk later?
His brother sent him back a thumbs up emoji, and Renly made a mental note to call him later that evening. They needed to figure out what to do for their mom. Maybe fly her and Elise to someplace exotic for a honeymoon?
“—to just set it on the table?”
Renly shook his head, realizing that Darrin had passed him a coffee. “Sorry about that. I was texting with my brother.” He took a sip of the coffee, then another, as Darrin went back to the coffee maker.
“Abby wants decaf,” Darrin said. “I don’t see the point. If you’re going to drink coffee, drink coffee.”
Renly chuckled and took another sip, waiting with Darrin for Abby’s cup to brew, and as he stood there, he felt the damn vertigo kick in again. This time with a vengeance.
What the fuck?
Why the hell was it starting now? He hadn’t even moved.
He set the coffee cup down, took a step, and tumbled to the ground, his mind as unstable as his body, and nothing in the world quite making sense.
He looked up, confused, and saw Darrin drop something into Abby’s coffee.
Darrin turned to him, the smile he flashed giving Renly chills.
He tried to move, tried to make the world stop spinning, but he couldn’t do anything.
And as the world started to turn black around him, he saw Darrin take the doped coffee out of the break room and head back toward Abby.