A Summer to Remember(48)
I smiled and wished for the tedious conversation to be over as soon as possible. “I understand and like I said, it’s not my business what you and my brother do—”
I was interrupted rather abruptly as the door to my suite opened and Paul walked through with a huge smile on his face. “You look absolutely amazing. Jude told me I would be in for a surprise but I never thought…” he trailed off as his eyes focused directly on Savannah. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company.”
She held up her hands almost in some weird form of surrender. “Don’t worry, I’m out of here.”
As soon as she left and closed the door behind her, Paul walked up to me and embraced me before his lips met mine for an all consuming and passionate kiss. “Do you want to get out of here and stay at my place?”
We parted slightly and I was able to look into those mesmerizing crystal blue eyes of his. “Yes, let’s go. In fact, we can’t get out of here fast enough.”
“That’s the exact answer I expected,” he replied and quickly began to help me pack an overnight bag.
After a very exhaustive session of lovemaking, Paul and I cuddled one another and I couldn’t help but breathe in his scent. It was so refreshing to be in an honest relationship where I truly did feel happy, healthy and like my partner completely understood me. I could truly admit I had never known what real love was until he came along.
He caressed my glossy dark locks lazily as he inquired, “I have a conference coming up in Stamford. Actually, it’s a retreat and I would really like you to come. I think it would be great for you to meet all my colleagues and perhaps they will stop teasing me about being in the closet. Not that I mind—it keeps the women off of me and I suppose I am a bit too pretty to be an alpha male.”
“When is it?” I rested my chin on his chest and stared deeply into his eyes which were truly the window to his soul.
“Next weekend…I know it’s last minute but I hoped you would be free and wouldn’t mind spending some extra time with me.”
My heart sank because I knew what my answer would be and I could only hope he wouldn’t take it the wrong way. I laid my head down on his chest and murmured, “I can’t. Talia is coming back into town and I haven’t seen her since she left. I promised her we would just a have a ‘girl’s weekend’ with just two of us. Are you terribly disappointed in me?”
Paul kissed my forehead. “No, of course not. She’s your best friend and why would you want to give up an extremely fun weekend for a boring one with a bunch of white guys who are just going to sit around and have too many drinks, play golf and talk about stock dividends?”
“Are you being facetious?”
“Uh, no, I’m not. I understand and I’m not the least bit upset by your decision. Look at it this way: at least we get to have great sex when I get back. I enjoy devouring every inch of you so the wait will make it that much more exquisite when we finally do get together.”
I sat up and allowed the sheet to fall away from my body. “You are so perfect, Paul. How did I get so lucky?”
He thought for a moment before he replied, “Charm and a big cock that was meant to satisfy you.”
I laughed before I kissed him again. “Now that, you aren’t wrong about, ever.”
Chapter Seventeen
As much as I loved Paul, the moment I started to spend time with Talia again just made me realize how much I’d missed her. She looked great and I knew she was happy because for the first time in her life, she was living it the way she wanted to regardless the personal sacrifices she’d had to make to do it.
We sat on the sofa in the sitting room in my loft and drank an expensive chardonnay that was starting to take affect.
“What did your parents say?” I inquired.
“They weren’t happy and basically told me I’d gotten myself disinherited until I could see the error of my ways, apologize, and get back on the straight and narrow course.”
My face fell because I wished her parents were more like mine but that would never happen. Her mother was former trash turned social climbing socialite and there was no way she would give up her lifestyle for her daughter. It wasn’t going to happen and it never would.
“Listen, you know I am here for you any time you need me, right?”
She leaned over and grabbed my left hand. “Of course. I knew what I was doing when I decided to leave and join Seth and Winter’s Regret. It’s my dream and I’m living it so I have no regrets, seriously. Both my parents can stuff it as far as I am concerned. Either they eventually come around or…well, I haven’t thought that far into the future.”