5. Emma
Ididn’t remember getting on the elevator or walking down the hallway towards my room. I just remembered the overwhelming rush of heat and disbelief that I had just reconnected with Jaime Acosta.
What were the odds that we’d be here at the same time? Hell, what were the odds that he’d be working at the resort? That in itself felt like hell freezing over, considering the hatred I knew he felt towards my father. There was definitely no love lost between the two men, especially after my father forbade me from seeing “that boy”. I still remember the way he spit out those words, as if Jaime was a pesky insect who needed to be squashed.
I stopped short of my door, leaning against the wall because it felt like the world was spinning. Maybe it was the Gin Fizz… or more likely, it was the man who prepared them.
The whole evening blew my mind. We’d slipped into conversation with one another, as if the last time we’d spoken was mere hours before and not more than a decade ago. And yet… there was something new there.
There’s no denying I’d been sexually attracted to Jaime when we were younger. He was tall, dark and handsome—but he was also smart and so interesting to talk to. I loved the stories he would tell. He could spin a yarn out of something as simple as a trip to the gas station. Obviously, that hadn’t changed.
What had changed was that tall, dark and handsome Jaime Acosta had filled out. Those wide shoulders I’d loved when we were younger also had impressive musculature attached to them. Those dark, sexy eyes had picked up some experience along the way and it showed in the way they’d quickly assessed me. The way his eyes lingered across my chest could have offended me, but then his eyes also lingered on mine, as if they were searching for something. Being studied like that made me feel vulnerable, but it also felt like the first time I’d been truly seen in a very long time.
The memory of it made my skin prickle, along with the realization that Jaime now had a deep, sexy voice that rolled down my spine and caused sensations in my core unlike anything I’d ever felt.
This was all just too much. What the hell was I doing making plans to see him again? This could only end in heartbreak.
The last few days had been a whirlwind, and I needed a good night’s sleep. Only then could I figure my next steps.
But first, I needed to get myself off this wall. Too bad it was the only thing holding me up at the moment and even though I wanted to blame the Gin Fizz, something in me knew it was simply the Jaime effect. I never would have imagined he’d still have this kind of effect on me after all these years.
Sucking in a deep breath, I straightened and faced my door, fumbling with my key as I unlocked it. Opening the door, I nearly screamed in shock when Caroline emerged from around the corner, smiling sheepishly, “Surprise!”
It took me a moment to process what was going on and that’s when Caroline approached me, looking concerned. “Oh no, I should have called first. That was dumb of me. I didn’t even consider that you’ve probably had more than enough surprises over the last few days.”
I looked at her in disbelief, a stupefied smile overtaking my mouth. “You have no idea.”
***
An hour later, Caroline and I were both in our jammies, devouring room service cheeseburgers and fries while I filled her in on my unexpected reunion of the night.
“So tell me. What was it really like—seeing him again?” she asked, delight in her eyes.
“It was… nice,” I finished lamely.
Caroline rolled her eyes. “Emma, come on, it’s me.”
I averted my eyes. “What?” I insisted, shrugging indifferently.
“Oh, you are so full of it… it was nice? You have been carrying a torch for this guy for twelve years. That either means you have a really unhealthy attachment or he’s really that amazing. Now you’ve seen him in the flesh, and talked to him for over an hour. Was he worth pining over for all these years?”
I pursed my lips together in displeasure. This was what I both loved and hated about Caroline—she did not pull any punches. Right about now seemed like a good time to entertain my denial, but I knew she wouldn’t let me get away with it. “Who said I was pining after him?”
Caroline snickered, pausing in between bites. “Please, Emma. I have eyes and ears and know you better than anyone. You can play coy all you want, but you came in here all hot and bothered after your rendezvous. And while I realize my schlubby travel attire of yoga pants and t-shirt is knuckle-bitingly sexy, I don’t think it was me who caused that flush in your cheeks.”
I let out a long sigh, pausing before I finally admitted, “it was no time had passed. We could always talk for hours, sometimes about nothing at all, and still have fun together.”
“A man you can talk to? Wow,” Caroline muttered sarcastically.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t just that, Caroline. I mean, I’ve always thought he was hot, but tonight there was something else I can’t really explain. It was new and unbridled and like…” I trailed off, struggling to come up with the proper explanation.
“Like you wanted to rip each other’s clothes off and have hot animal sex on the bar?” Caroline offered.
My eyes widened, and I felt my cheeks flush.
“Well?” Caroline pressed.
“Yeah,” I whispered, “how did you know that?”
Caroline laughed. “An educated guess. Think about it Emma, you two were practically babies when you last saw each other, and while you were drawn to him then, there is a very big difference between teenage boy cute and grown man hot. Young men are excited about the possibility of seeing someone naked. Grown ass men look at you in a way that lets you know they have very specific plans for what they want to do to you…”
Leave it to Caroline to break down a sensually palpable moment to that of textbook science.
“So my next question is… did Mr. Acosta look at you like he had plans for you?”
My mind rushed back to the memory of Jaime’s eyes skating all over me and how they’d returned to my gaze with a fresh heat. Did he have plans for me? The mere thought of it made me feel hot all over again.
“Aaaand, I will take that dreamy expression on your face as a yes,” Caroline said, smiling.
I warmed even more beneath her speculative gaze. “I haven’t told you everything… I made plans to see him again.”
Her eyes widened, and a mischievous smile stole over her lips. “Oh, I see. Arranging a little bump and grind time, alright Carter, that’s what I’m talking about.”
My head shook in denial before she’d even finished saying the words. “No, no, no, nothing like that.”
Caroline looked at me sternly. “And why not?”
My heart raced at the possibility, even as my mind insisted it was not an option. “Because…” I started, my mouth searching for the right words. Caroline watched me impatiently with raised eyebrows. Finally I huffed out, “it’s complicated.”
“Ah yes, the old standby. Well, my dear, the solution is simple—uncomplicate it.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t been living with the pain of having to choose between my family and Jaime.”
“True. But the fact is, you are adults. You could have a mutually satisfying affair while you’re here, as long as you both understand what the boundaries are.”
“Boundaries?” I squeaked out.
“I’m not talking about coming up with a safe word—although that could be fun. I’m just saying if you know this is just sex while you’re here, then that needs to be communicated up front. That way you might actually have some fun on this God forsaken trip,” she clarified.
The thought was intriguing but… “it’s hard to think about Jaime as just sex though.”
Caroline snickered. “Please, if you ask me, that’s the only way to think of any man. They’re too much trouble otherwise.”
I grimaced at her declaration, but I wasn’t surprised. Caroline had grown up as a child of divorce with parents who still fought to this day, even though they’d lived apart for most of her life. She didn’t have the rosiest outlook on relationships and she’d proclaimed more than once that the idea of a “one true love” was a crock of shit.
While I disagreed with her, this was not the moment to have a philosophical debate about love.
“When are you going to see him again?”
“I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t,” I mumbled.
“Come on, Emma, you have to see him. Even if you don’t get physical, you know you’ll regret it if you don’t. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve been wondering about this guy. Maybe if you spend some time with him, you can at least get some closure.”
“Maybe,” I said, my mind twisting it over. “God Caroline, I am so sorry. I have been going on and on about myself and I haven’t even asked what possessed you to come here? I thought you were chained to your desk for the foreseeable future?”
Caroline’s expression dropped for a moment before she pasted a bright, very un-Caroline smile onto her face. “Well, you and Abby keep saying I need a vacation.”
“Yeah, but we’ve been saying that forever. Why would you take our advice now?” I asked, observing her carefully. Caroline could be cagey and of the three of us, she was definitely the most mysterious. I never got the impression she did this intentionally. She was just played her cards close to the vest, even with her best friends.
I could see the wheels spinning in her head, but I kept my steady gaze on her, hoping if I stayed unwavering she would fold.
She held eye contact for a long moment before she finally huffed out a dramatic sigh and said, “fine, but I don’t want you telling Abby yet. I love her, but I’m not in the mood to hear her sunshine and rainbows take on it yet.”
I nodded. “You have my word. Now tell me what happened.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat before she said, “that promotion I’ve been busting my ass over? The one that’s had me practically living in the office? They gave it to Gerard—the guy I just got done training a couple of months ago.”
“Are you kidding? Why on earth did they give it to that guy? He couldn’t possibly have outperformed everyone else in such a short amount of time. Not to mention you’ve been there way longer.”
I knew all about Caroline’s trainee. She’d agreed to take on training him, even though she didn’t have the capacity with her workload. But she was told it would look great to the powers that be who handed out promotions. Now Gerard had usurped her, and all her hard work had been for nothing.
Caroline shook her head. “Apparently, he has one quality I don’t possess—an uncle who works in HR.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“You’re telling me. When they made the announcement, the other candidates just let it roll off their backs, even though I knew they were seething. But I couldn’t fake it anymore. I went to my supervisor and told him how I felt and he said ‘I would have to try a little harder next time’.”
I let out a squawk. “That’s ridiculous. You work everyone under the table. That place wouldn’t still be standing if it wasn’t for you.”
She sighed, staring off out the window. “I love you for saying that, but unfortunately, they don’t see it that way.”
“So what happened? Did you quit? No one would blame you for walking out of there.”
She smiled at me ruefully. “I wish I could tell you I stormed out of there in a blaze of glory. But once I got done shadow boxing in the women’s restroom, I marched into HR and told them I needed a mental health vacation effective immediately. Since I had yet to take off a single day this year, not even when I was sick, they didn’t fight me… that or they saw the unhinged look in my eyes and decided not to push the issue.”
I reached across the loveseat and pulled her into my arms. She was stiff at first, typical Caroline, but it didn’t take long for her to sag against me, and then the tears started. She was always so hard on herself.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, “you’re going through all this big stuff being back here and I’m crying like a baby over a stupid job.”
“No, it’s not stupid. I know how much this meant to you.”
“I didn’t know where to go and I couldn’t stomach the idea of holing up in my apartment wallowing. Plus, I was worried about you… it was really shitty of your dad to put you in this position,” she insisted. “The next thing I knew, I was on the next flight to Denver.”
I pulled back, smoothing back her ruffled hair. “Well, I am thrilled you are here. Even if the reason sucks. Now that you’re here, your assignment is to relax and not think about those assholes back in LA.”
“Yeah, right,” she snorted, “I have to figure out how I’m going to walk back in there after my outburst.”
I raised an irritated eyebrow. “I’ve been asking you to come work for us for ages, but you have to be stubborn.”
Caroline sniffed. “The last thing I want is to become a nepotism hire. I know I’m all blubbery now, but I don’t want you to worry. I’ll figure something out. You may be right about one thing though…”
“What are you talking about? I’m right about a ton of things.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha. It will be good for me to think about something other than work for a while. And lucky for me, now I get to think about what you have going on…” she mused.
I huffed out a laugh. “All I have going on,” I said, gliding off the loveseat and busying my hands with unpacking my suitcase, “is nailing down this deal for my father.”
“And you know… nailing the hot bartender,” Caroline interjected.
I snatched a pillow off the bed and chucked it at her, shaking my head at her cackle. I was so grateful she was here. Maybe the presence of an unexpected roommate would help me control myself around Jaime, though I suspected that would be a tall order.