Stay(85)

He would be there waiting, I was sure of it. And I wondered what reason he would tell himself when I never appeared. He was an amazing lay, and I knew he knew it. I’d been clearly satisfied last night. I took a deep breath and exhaled, drinking another, longer gulp of wine. I couldn’t imagine what he’d think.

“Still nothing from home?” Elaine asked, studying my profile.

A missed call had been on my phone, and I’d listened to Sloan’s message, demanding to know where I was as I fought the pain his voice now twisted in my gut. I was making a mistake, he kept saying. I was being too hasty, too judgmental. Every message was a lecture in why I shouldn’t trust my instincts. I pushed his words and their meaning behind me.

“Nothing important,” I said.

“You know, Mel, we’ve been friends for years.” She sat forward in her chair, tightening the blanket around her shoulders. “Something’s different today. Won’t you tell me what it is?”

My eyes flickered to hers, and for a moment, I considered telling her about the amazing man who’d appeared at the bar last night. Who’d only wanted me, even with all the shiny, happy options twisting and giggling on the dance floor. He’d singled me out. Crossed the bar to be with me.

With damaged me.

Even in the old days when I was whole, no man had ever approached me that way. All of my relationships got serious after the groundwork of friendship had been laid. Either I’d had a project with a man, and after our personalities had meshed, we’d grown into dating. Or even back in college—I’d been in clubs, socializing for weeks with guys before they’d asked me out. It wasn’t that I wasn’t attractive, and I’d had my share of sexual encounters. I was just never the girl men sought out from across a room crowded with other options.

Until last night.

I felt special, but at the same time, it made me hesitant. Was it possible I was singled out because I was an easy mark? A woman alone, clearly unhappy would easily fall victim to the charms of such a handsome seducer.

Again, these were the not-so sunny thoughts my now-cynical brain conjured when I thought of myself and love. Would I ever be open again or would my heart forever be searching for the hidden truth, the other side of the coin?

“I’m tired,” I exhaled, unfolding my legs from beneath me. “I think I’ll turn in early tonight if that’s okay.”

With her question unanswered, Elaine frowned as she watched me rise. “You’ve been dealt some heavy disappointment this past year,” she said. “Try not to give up, okay?”

I nodded, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. “Don’t stay up too late. Mani-pedis in the morning?”

She smiled and nodded. “The calf massage will make you come in your chair, from what I’ve heard.”

I laughed. “You’ve heard a lot about this place.”

“Bulletin board reviews. They’re unexpectedly erotic.”





3





The Additional Option





Calf and foot massages kept pedicures at the top of my list of all-time favorite spa-treatments. It was the one procedure that almost made me forget my “silent spa” etiquette. Holding the magazine, I leaned my head back in the chair and closed my eyes. The gentle kneading of my tired lower leg muscles had me conceding to Elaine—this week very well could break me out of my funk. Even without the Derek encounter.

My eyelids drooped with fatigue. Last night, I’d tossed and turned for an hour before finally falling into a restless slumber. I kept seeing his blue eyes turned dark navy with desire. For me. The thought made me shiver. Until 2 a.m., all I could do was wonder if he was still there. How long would he wait? Was I making a huge mistake?

Elaine returned about an hour later, and my sterner nature prevailed. I remained in my own bed, in my own room the entire night. Today, she was a little bleary herself.

“What kept you out so late?” I asked, wondering if she might’ve had her own decadent encounter.

“Fell asleep on the lounger by the fire pit,” she said, propping her newly buffed and polished feet on the empty tub near mine. The clinician had finished my massage and was now scrubbing my heels with a pumice stone. “It’s so gorgeous here, I might never go home.”

I thought of Baltimore and how I hadn’t wanted to move there a year ago. I’d lived just outside Wilmington, on the North Carolina coast for years, and I loved it there. But Sloan had insisted a change of scenery would help us, and when his father died, he needed to be closer to his family’s business.

Since I’d gone freelance with my marketing work, and we were moving to another bustling, urban location, there was no reason to fight the move. Other than I loved my hometown. Elaine was there, along with all my old friends.

“I know this is only Day 2, my friend, but I have a confession to make,” she said, giving me a serious look. My brow creased. I couldn’t imagine what she was about to tell me. “I can’t eat another meal of raw foods.”

I snorted a laugh, rubbing my forehead with my hand. “What did you have in mind?”

“Let’s sneak over to the dark side and order a burger in the main restaurant.”

I hesitated. Crossing from the spa resort to the main hotel would increase my chances of running into Derek again. But if he were tied up in conference meetings like he claimed, it was possible we could get in and out without being seen. Still, the thought of bumping into him after my no-show last night made me uneasy.