Need You Now (1001 Dark Nights)(17)

The plane jerks and he moves to the seat in front of me, buckling himself in. “It’s keeping your mind off the turbulence.”

“And you have a way of making people talk,” I say, reminding him of his comment.

“I do,” he agrees, studying me a moment. “So thanks to a strong financial position, you could walk away from this job at any moment.”

It’s not a question, but my instant unease has me answering. “If I want to put off medical school longer, yes, but I don’t.” I hesitate and add, “But please know this. If I need to walk away to spare someone else’s job who really needs to feed their family, I will.”

“Like I already said. If I walk away from the board, I won’t be around to make that decision. But your friend Katie would be advised to make peace with her manager, who will be the one to submit a list of who stays and who goes for his department.”

“You’re thinking she’s a bad employee, but she’s not. She’s a hard worker and she loves her job. She’s just alone in this world and her boyfriend is confusing her.”

“Too many people depend on me for me to be distracted by my personal life. Exactly why I keep things simple.”

Either he’s not married or he’s a total jerk. I don’t know which, but more and more I don’t want him to be a jerk. “My plan for medical school as well. No distractions and pure focus.”

“No boyfriend, then.”

“No. No boyfriend.”

Several beats pass, the plane rumbling around us and slowly calming before he surprises me. “Why’d you run last night?”

“I didn’t run.”

“You left without saying good-bye. That’s running in my boat. Why?”

“I made a decision to leave. Period.”

“Why?”

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

“What happened to you not f*cking where you work?”

“A question isn’t an orgasm. Why’d you leave?”

His frankness blisters my pride for reasons I don’t understand, and I blurt out, “Who calls at that time of night but a wife or a girlfriend?”

“My uncle, who sits on the board and despises Meredith.”

The fast explanation is a crushing blow of embarrassment, and all I manage in reply is a sheepish, “Oh.”

“Oh,” he repeats, his jaw tight, eyes steady on my face. “You thought I was married.”

“Yes. And I didn’t want any part of that kind of betrayal.”

“And now you know you weren’t.”

“Yes,” I say, seeming to have the one word, same word, curse again.

“And I know why you left.”

“Yes. Now you know.”

“And you really didn’t know who I was.” I shake my head and he adds, “But you still aren’t certain I didn’t know who you were, are you?”

“I don’t know what to think.”

He leans forward as he had in the limo, elbows on his knees. “If I’d have wanted to seduce you for information, I would have done it smartly. A hotel room the night before we’re introduced isn’t smart.”

“And smart would have been what?”

“I’d take you on this trip with me, and then make damn sure you ended up in my bed. If I were trying to seduce you for information. But I’m not. I meant what I said earlier. My unbreakable rule is that I don’t f*ck where I work.” His gaze drops to my lips, lingering and lifting, his expression wolfish as he adds, “Even when I wish I could.”

He unbuckles himself and stands and walks back to his seat.





Part Seven: The Kiss



Stunned by his confession and his departure, I can’t seem to move. I don’t know what he was trying to tell me or if he was trying to tell me anything at all. Seconds or minutes pass, I don’t really know, and I sink into my seat, rethinking every last second of the time I’d spent with him last night and today.

By the time we land in Jacksonville, Florida, an hour later, I’ve decided his words were as honest as they get. We could have, would have, should have, but we didn’t and our time has passed. There’s simply no way around it.

Five minutes later, I exit the plane into the humid Florida evening, the sun already long gone, and start down the stairs. Somehow, my shoe catches on the step, and embarrassingly, I tumble forward. Jensen’s strong hand catches me a moment before I go face first to the ground, and somehow I end up facing him, my body pressed to every hard line of his.

In that moment, I despise his “rule” and I despise even more how impossible it is for me to shut him out. “I should warn you, I’m clumsy,” I admit awkwardly.

“Then I guess I’d better keep a close eye on you.”

“I thought that was why you brought me here in the first place.” I think of his inference that I held Meredith’s secrets.

“Indeed it was,” he agrees, his voice a bit too low and gruff, but before I can push to find out his meaning versus mine, the sound of a car pulling up behind us has him glancing over my shoulder. “That will be our driver.” I try to pull away and for just a beat of a moment, he holds me, not letting me go. Or maybe I imagine it because an instant later, he is no longer touching me and I’m walking down the stairs, the warm Florida air nothing compared to the heat of Jensen Miller.