One Breathless Night

He pulled out his phone as Faith rubbed against him on the dance floor. It was a work call, and he couldn’t afford not to take it. There was no use telling her, not with the music so loud, but he held the phone up until she noticed and nodded at him.

He was grateful for the call. He liked to dance, but the band was loud enough to wake the dead. It took a bit of maneuvering, but finally he found himself in an overcrowded hallway, where he spotted a sign pointing him toward the restrooms.

Once inside, it was quieter. Still, his ears rang despite the high-end plugs he took out and put in his pocket. Not the pocket that held tonight’s surprise. The other one. Then he pressed speed dial.

“Happy New Year, you bastard.” Even in the echoing bathroom with two hand driers running, his coworker’s Jamaican-tinged taunt came in loud and clear.

“Antwan, if you just called to harass me, I’m going to program your iPod to play nothing but ABBA.”

“You’re the devil incarnate,” Antwan said. “Here I am minding the weather of the world while you’re out dancing the night away. But being that I’m a nice guy, I’m still going to tell you that downtown Boston is looking tricky around two in the morning. Big snow dump, so you and Faith should hightail it to that fancy apartment right quick after she says yes.”

Rick reached inside his other pocket and pulled out the one-point-four-carat engagement ring he’d put there just before they’d left the apartment. “Thanks, man. Any other trouble spots?”

“Why do you care? You’re still going to ask her to marry you, yes?”

“Yep. Right after we finish the kiss. It won’t be like...you know.”

The last time he’d planned to propose, he’d hidden the ring in his jeans pocket. It had been her birthday. They’d gone up in a hot air balloon, which had seemed like a great idea at the time. The first ten minutes of their special flight? Fantastic. After that? A complete snooze. For both of them. The mood was irretrievably lost somewhere over the Oliver Wildlife Preserve a year ago November.

Of course, if he’d really wanted to ask her the big question nothing would have stopped him, as Antwan had been quick to point out. But then his friend thought he was being an idiot to propose. Antwan liked Faith well enough, but he said he couldn’t see the sparks. He was too damn romantic. A shared sense of humor, purpose and comfort would last long after the honeymoon was over.

“I’m sure nothing will stop you this time.”

Rick’s pulse quickened, which was just his excitement over finally doing the deed. “You got it. Anyway—”

“Hold your horses, Ricky. I’m not finished. Book your flight home for early Saturday morning. That’s the only break I see before Boston gets hit by a series of wicked storms. Potentially record-breaking snowfall.”

“Well, that’s annoying. I made dinner reservations for tomorrow night—”

“Which you might be able to keep, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Damn. So, tomorrow night’s a maybe, then we leave on Saturday...how early?”

“Before ten.”

“Well, thanks a bunch.”

“Yes, because I specifically created the polar vortex just to screw up your holiday.”

“I knew it,” Rick said.

Antwan laughed. “You’re proposing, and it’s New Year’s Eve. At least you’ll have a couple of nights. So make them count. Don’t you two be glued to The Weather Channel, eh?”

Okay, now Antwan was being plain annoying. Rick and Faith had been living together for over three years and they always watched The Weather Channel before bed. Just one of the many things they had in common. She completely understood about his work and didn’t even blink when he would hare off with his storm-chaser team at the first hint of a supercell. Hell, most of the time, she’d head out, too. Not as part of his team, but to do her own reporting thing.

She’d come to live in Norman to be near the National Weather Center. They’d met when she’d interviewed him, and he’d known right away that the two of them would be good together.

“Anyway,” Antwan said, a grin clear in his voice, “what are you doing talking to me in some toilet when you could be with your fiancée?

“She’s not my fiancée yet. And how did you know I was in the bathroom?”

“Nothing says class like a flush in the background, my friend. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yeah. Thanks, buddy. Happy New Year.”

After disconnecting, Rick looked at the diamond again. It was all clean lines and flawless beauty, just like Faith. She didn’t really wear a lot of jewelry. Not that he’d seen. Which made sense. She was working out in their home gym every day that she wasn’t on assignment, or swimming at the rec center. And when they went climbing or scuba diving, jewelry wasn’t a good idea. But she’d wear an engagement ring. Probably.

He’d noticed one on Jenna’s finger. He wondered why good old Payton hadn’t mentioned she was his fiancée. The thought was cut short when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He spun around, dislodging the hand and ready to flatten the moron who’d touched him—until he got a whiff of the moron’s breath.

“Don’t do it,” the drunk said, his voice moist and sloppy. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties and was listing to his right. “Just live with her. ’N’ don’t have kids. They’ll drain you dry. Happy New Year.”

The man entered one of the stalls as Rick slipped the ring in his pocket. He hadn’t actually thought about marrying Faith, not until a couple of guys he worked with had started having kids. They were around his age and while he harassed them a lot, both of them seemed happier. From there the seed had been planted.

Besides, with Faith in his life, a future with kids didn’t sound so bad. She was an adventure junkie like him. They both had a major interest in atmospheric studies. And she was just the kind of woman he needed. Independent. Driven. Career-minded. Gorgeous. He’d never met a woman as easy to get along with. So yeah, even though Faith didn’t want kids now, she’d probably change her mind down the road. He wasn’t ready for them now, either. But he’d turned the first corner in his thinking. Sure, things would change. But they’d always looked forward to challenges.

Proposing to Faith was the logical next step. He wouldn’t say that last part to her, though. She’d just laugh and tell him his entire life was illogical. And he’d have agreed.

As he washed his hands, he thought again about that guy Faith had hugged. It was full-body contact. If he hadn’t seen it, he wouldn’t have believed it. She was most definitely not the huggy type. When she was forced into one, she’d bear it and come away with her very convincing fake smile, but she’d never initiated more than a guy hug—one shoulder to another, a quick pat on the back—when there was a choice.

Maybe she’d felt obligated to plaster herself against him? Some old debt she had to pay? No. She’d been smiling as if she’d just spotted a rare left-moving supercell.

What the hell was he worried about? Faith wasn’t interested in anything besides her work and, well, him. And Payton wasn’t as good-looking. Rick turned to check himself out in the mirror over the sink just to make sure. Damn it, he couldn’t tell. He looked more like a villain than Bond. Faith liked to call him dangerously sexy. Seriously, though, who named a guy Payton? Jesus. Still, weird name or not, he’d managed to get himself a hot fiancée.

The paper towels left something to be desired, but finally Rick couldn’t put it off any longer. He reinserted his earplugs and went back to find Faith. They only had twenty minutes until midnight.

* * *

JENNA WAS ONCE again by herself. Payton had gone off with a fraternity brother to grab a final drink, and she had no expectations of seeing him until just before midnight.

If Jenna had had it her way, she and Payton would have left with Mindy and Zane. They’d very rationally decided to go home so they wouldn’t be caught up in the mess of drunken crazy people trying to get on the train for the suburbs.

Instead, Jenna had walked too far in heels that were too high, and somehow managed to end up right in front of the dessert table again. She’d never fit in her wedding dress if she kept this up.

Oh, screw it.

She chose a chocolate-stacked, delicious-looking thing. For God’s sake, it had a brownie bottom, a cheesecake center and chocolate-mousse top. It would take a stronger woman than herself to walk away.

She’d just taken her second bite when Danger Bond entered the room. His gaze swept directly over to where she was standing. Of course.

Faith joined him seconds later and Jenna spun around. Now she was facing a blank wall. Nothing suspicious there.

Good grief, why had Payton left her here? Why hadn’t they gone home already? She was tired and cranky. And she needed to put down her plate. Walk away from temptation. There was still coffee left, decaf even. But, naturally, there was no convenient tray nearby. The closest was by Faith and Rick, and since she wasn’t going anywhere near them, Jenna walked all the way across the suite, where she found a big tray next to a pretty decent unpopulated corner.

All was well until she looked over at her favorite couple...

But they weren’t where she’d last seen them. Instead, they were right in front of her. Well, not directly, but close enough to prevent a casual escape.

A deep cleansing breath made it possible to scan the room for Payton, but she couldn’t seem to cut off her thoughts about Rick. Or Faith, if she was honest. She wasn’t wearing an engagement ring. She’d called Rick her boyfriend. Those came and went, as she well knew, but surely Rick was a keeper. A beautiful woman like Faith could have anyone she wanted. A hunky storm chaser was far more in her league than an accountant.

Damn. Jenna was worried about Faith, but that was idiotic because Payton would never leave her. The two of them had their whole future planned out. They already had names picked out for their first child.

What was wrong with her? It had to be the alcohol. She’d had two White Russians, and Payton was bringing her a third. Even in college she was always on the hunt for caffeine, not booze. At least they were taking a train back home, but by the time they reached their stop, one of them had to be sober to drive Payton’s car to their place.

Faith was on the move, and Jenna watched her until she left the suite. Then Rick headed for the buffet so Jenna was free to move out of the corner. When her gaze caught on a clock near the door, she stopped in her tracks. Payton had been gone more than a while. Maybe drinking on an empty stomach had caught up with him? How awful to feel sick when this place was packed to the rafters. She hoped he was okay. And wasn’t still at the bar.

That thought made her queasy... Double damn it, because her first thought had been that Faith might be going to the bar and the two of them would run into each other. This night needed to end already. She didn’t give one damn about New Year’s. Or First Night. Next year, she wasn’t coming close to this hotel. Maybe she’d stay home and watch a movie and eat popcorn. Yeah, that sounded great.

She kept her eye on the door for the next five minutes, but the only thing of interest was Rick leaving the suite. Two more minutes of pacing, and then she was really worried. She called Payton’s cell phone. Again. And again, but it went straight to voice mail.

She’d have to go find him. The suite was packed but she made it out the door quickly. And then she saw Rick. Alone. Staring down the hallway with a rapt expression.

Jenna followed his gaze. The hallway was busy with people, so at first, she only had a terrible feeling about what had made him stop in his tracks, but then she got the confirmation. A space in the crowd had opened up. As if to frame the last thing on earth she wanted to see. Payton and Faith were hugging so tightly Jenna forgot how to breathe.

But it got worse. Jesus, how could it get so much worse?

When they parted, it was only to take a half step back. Just enough room for Jenna to notice that Payton looked...happy. A different kind of happy. Nothing she’d seen in all their years together.

So happy he’d forgotten her.

“What the...?” She jumped and found Rick was inches away from her. He glanced at her, and then his gaze went back to the couple down the hall. He looked stunned.

“They’re just friends,” she said to him. “He said that several times. Friends.”

He seemed surprised to see himself next to her, but he was quick to go back to watching Faith and Payton. “That’s what she told me, too.”

Payton continued to beam, even as he put their drinks on the closest surface, which happened to be a railing too narrow to properly hold the glasses, but he obviously didn’t give a shit about the drinks or her because he was talking a mile a minute, making another woman laugh, making her put her hand—both hands—over her heart. He spoke extravagantly, with lots of arm waving, although none of it in Jenna’s direction.

She’d known him five years, and not at all.

“Who the hell does he think he is?”

Rather than watch the train wreck down the hall she turned to Rick. He looked ready to pound Payton into a puddle, and she thought that was a fine idea.

“For one thing, he’s my fiancé.”

He turned to her, and took a moment. “Look, I don’t want to cause a scene or anything, but I swear to God if he touches her again...”

“I know. I mean, I don’t know. I’ve never seen him like this. Normally, he’s...nice. He hasn’t spared me a glance since your...girlfriend tried to absorb him into her skin.”

Rick shook his head. “You saw that, too, huh?” He sighed, loudly. “I have a goddamn ring in my pocket. I feel like the world’s biggest idiot.”

As tight as her stomach was, the implication of what he’d just said made it tighter. “We need to do something. Now. There are only a couple of minutes left.”

“Do something? Like knock his block off?”

She shrugged. “It’s too crowded to take a swing up here. You could hit anyone.”

“My aim’s really good.”

“Umm, has she ever done this before?” Jenna asked.

“Hell, no. Goddamn it, she’d been so casual asking to come to this reunion. Like it was no big deal.”

“I know. I mean, maybe they discovered they’re long lost...siblings?”

Rick gave her a look that made her last hope vanish. “You ever touched your brother like that?” He was practically growling in a very Danger Bond way. It was sexy as hell.

Oh, God.

Something had to be wrong with her brain. Had she really just gotten weak-kneed over the man who wanted to beat up her fiancé? Alcohol was the only answer, even though she felt as sober as a...sober person. “I don’t know. Maybe you could hit him one time. One time wouldn’t be too much.”

Rick retrieved something from his pocket, and for a moment Jenna was afraid it would be a gun or a knife. It wasn’t either, although she had the feeling he would have been handy with both. It turned out to be the ring, of course, and it was stunning. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

“I thought so. I thought she’d think so, too. But then she met... Is he famous or something? Faith never said what he did for a living.”

She sighed. “He’s an accountant.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I can’t seem to turn away. They just keep doing...” She moved her hand in a vague gesture.

Rick wasn’t looking at her, though. He was tall enough to see over people’s heads. “Shit. She’s a well-respected journalist. She’s won awards. She specializes in covering natural disasters.”

“Like the one we’re having now?” Jenna asked. The shock was wearing off a bit. More precisely, the shock was being shoved aside by a hurt that might be fatal.

“Yeah, except there’s nothing natural about it,” he said, as he put the ring back in his pocket. “Great way to bring in the New Year, huh?”

“I’m trying to think of one thing he could say right now that would fix this.” If only they’d left with Mindy and Zane...

“Hey...” Rick put his hand on her arm. “You okay? You’re looking awfully pale.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” she said, trying to breathe. “And by that I mean I’m not fine in any way. Although I doubt I’m going to faint.”

“Ten...”

The number filled the air, so loud it hushed the huge crowd.

“Nine...”

“Shit,” Rick said again. He took a step closer to Jenna. “If they—”

“Eight...”

“—even try to come back at the last second.” He faced Jenna. “She hasn’t even looked down this corridor. Not one look.”

“Five, four...”

People shifted, the crowd seemed to part, giving her another clear shot of the happy couple for a few seconds. If Payton glanced to his right, he would see her standing next to Rick. But he only had eyes for Faith.

“For fuck’s sake,” Rick said. “All they’d needed to do was walk around a corner. We’d have never known why they’d missed the countdown.”

“Maybe they planned...” They weren’t kissing, but they might as well be.

On the count of three, Rick looked at Jenna again, and she’d never felt so much empathy for another person.

Trying as hard as she could not to cry, she moved right into Rick’s personal space but she couldn’t look away.

“One! Happy New Year!”

Payton leaned closer to Faith. So close there was only one thing it could lead to. One second after Payton’s lips touched Faith’s, Rick put his hand on the back of Jenna’s neck and pulled her into their own midnight kiss.

The moment his mouth touched hers...fireworks.

3

RICK PULLED JENNA closer and kissed her again. He thrust into her mouth as the cacophony around them spurred him on. Even through his tux he could feel her fingers digging into him, her lips and tongue as fierce as weapons, the anger and the heat between them more dangerous by the second.

He hoped they were watching. That prick Payton needed to see what he’d lost. Never in his life had Rick experienced anything like this. In the back of his mind a voice whispered that none of it was real. Soon he would wake up, and the betrayal would have been a nightmare.

Jenna nipped his lower lip and broke that spell. It was real, all right. Revenge built on humiliation and pain, and he didn’t give one damn.

He inhaled sharply as Jenna pressed against him, against his hardening cock. Good. Great. He pulsed back, but when his balls started to tighten, he pulled away. Not far. He had her by the shoulders and she looked...well, she looked beautiful, but wrecked.

Tears had smudged her makeup, and there was a very small nick in her lower lip. Even though her pupils were blown, he could see the desperation in them. Wanting, he knew, to turn back time. Trying to make some sense of this bizarre twist.

“You want to get out of here?”

She nodded immediately. “Anywhere else.”

When he looked down the packed hallway, the lovebirds had finally stopped kissing and remembered who they’d come with. Payton looked stricken, which was a pity because Rick would’ve liked to have struck him first. Faith looked flat-out guilty.

Whether they’d actually spotted them, Rick couldn’t be sure. But when the two of them began squeezing past people, pushing through the crowd, Rick took Jenna’s hand and he bullied their way to the stairwell.

As the door shut behind them, he paused a moment. “I don’t know if you saw, but they were headed toward us.”

Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her tiny purse. She shook her head and the sad smile she wore when she turned it off got to him. He much preferred the smile he’d seen at the buffet, when the world had still turned on the right axis. He doubted he’d see that anytime soon.

His phone rang, too. Like Jenna, he turned it off. Just for now? Maybe. He wasn’t in a position to walk away from Faith. Their lives were connected. And as far as he knew, they’d only kissed. That pissed him off all over again.

“Come on, then,” he said. They started down the steps. It wasn’t the quickest getaway ever because a lot of other folks had had the same idea, but they weren’t stalled often. Amazingly, when they made it to the coat check, the line moved along nicely.

Not quickly enough to distract Jenna from her thoughts, though. Her shoulders rose as if they could hide her. If he had a say, he’d keep her so busy for the next couple of hours that she wouldn’t have time to look like that again. “You’re from Boston. Where to?”

She blinked at him, coming out of her hurt, looking surprised to find him holding up her wool coat. “I don’t know,” she said, slipping her arms into the sleeves. “I rarely come downtown or to the harbor.”

“That’s okay.” He hastily shrugged into his coat. “I know where there’s a party.”

Her hands shook as she slid on her gloves. He pulled on his own, and then took her hand. They hurried through the swarm of revelers, some still wearing the silly paper hats the hotel had provided. He wondered how many other hearts had been broken at the stroke of midnight.

The second they were out in the cold, Rick pulled her closer. It was freezing, and there was a huge line of people waiting for taxis, so the train it was. Luckily, it was just across the street.

Inside the terminal the mood was festive despite the terrible smell of overindulgence, but Jenna started shrinking again.

“All right,” he said. “I’m whipping out a cliché, but only because when you mentioned you were a teacher, you lit up. What’s your favorite book?”

The question appeared to win over her despair, and she surprised him with the smile he’d figured was a lost cause. “I do light up, don’t I?” she said. “I know it’s not glamorous, but I love turning the kids on to the magic of books. I honestly believe that being a reader changes lives for the better.”

Oh, yeah. This was more like it. “I agree. But you’re not getting out of answering my question.”

“I get asked that a lot, but I never know what to say. I don’t have a favorite. I learned how to read when I was four. My favorite back then was an alphabet book.”

“How about when you were...fifteen. When the hormones kicked in.”

Their train pulled up, and they scurried into the car, not even minding that they had to stand. “Let’s see if I can remember. Um—” she lowered her lashes for a moment and he fought the urge to wipe away the traces of her tears “—okay, it was All-American Girl by Meg Cabot.”

“Mine, too.”

She laughed.

He wanted to kiss her. And punch Payton into next week.

The moment they’d reached Copley Square, something changed. The light that had sparkled in her seconds ago had dimmed. Rick led her to a shadowed corner. He stared into her sad, confused eyes as he shoved his gloves into his coat pocket. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said and used his thumb to wipe the damp tracks from her cheeks.

She sniffed, but she didn’t make a move. “It wasn’t you. God, every time I think of how he—” A shudder shook her body. “I’ve already picked out my wedding dress.”

“I have no idea what he was thinking. Anyone who could cheat on you is an idiot.”

Jenna tried to smile. “If you were in my class you’d get an A for effort.”

“Nah, I would’ve already flunked out.” Rick grinned at her raised brows. “Too hot for teacher.”

“Faith is the idiot,” Jenna said with a soft laugh, and leaned closer.

Or maybe they both did. He wasn’t going to kiss her, even though he wanted to. But he wouldn’t object at all if she kissed him.

She brushed her lips across his and whispered, “Thank you.”

He caught her elbows and pulled her even closer. She came willingly, her lips parted, her warm breath an invitation he couldn’t refuse.

Everything else dimmed. The noise, the lights, the crowd. They were back to that space, that separate reality. From strangers to this in a single hour.

“Son of a bitch.”

The man’s voice was low and angry. “That’s my spot you’re using. Don’t you be messing up my spot with your nasty business.”