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God s sake!
 I m afraid he ll walk away anyway, she insisted.
Lucy opened her mouth to respond, but it was Grace who countered,  No, you re not, Melina.
You re afraid he ll walk away and ask you to come with him. And you re not sure you love him
enough to do it.
Melina and Lucy stared at her. Lucy turned to Melina.  Is that true?
 No. I mean  Melina closed her eyes and forced herself to look deep within herself for the
answer. She opened her eyes and glared at Grace.  God, I hate it when you do that.
Lucy dropped onto the bed beside her.  I m confused.
 Well, so am I, Melina snapped. Standing, she paced the small area between her bed and her
dresser.  Grace is right. When we re together, I can t imagine being without him. But when we re
apart, I can t imagine fitting into his world. I m not even sure I want to. Sure, it sounds exciting, but
I m a homebody at heart. I d like to travel more, but only if I have a home to come back to.
Someplace to raise my children and make memories. I know now that Rhys wants some version of
that, too, but I just can t see myself on the road or on the sea, hanging out in the shadows and waiting
for him to finish one performance after another.
 So all this time, it hasn t been about whether you could satisfy him or whether he could love
you, Lucy said.  You re saying that even if those things are golden, you re still not sure it ll work
out?
 Those things were definitely real fears, but even without them, yes. I guess I am saying that.
For the first time she could remember, Lucy didn t seem to know what to say.
That was so not okay.
 So what do I do? Melina cried.
Grace knelt in front of her and took her hands in hers.  You re already doing it, sweetie.
You re leaving your world and venturing into his. No speculating about what it s like anymore. No
wondering whether you ll like it. One way or another, you re going to find out the answer to that pop
quiz. Being with him would require you to change your whole life. If you decide you don t want to
do that, then he s not the guy for you. So what? Maybe Jamie is.
 Please. Lucy rolled her eyes.  She just got through saying she wasn t settling for passionless
sex again. Professor Jamie Whitcomb isn t the type to inspire passion in any woman. He s too damn
arrogant and uptight for his own good.
Melina studied her friend, forgetting her own troubles for a second.  Where s all this hostility
coming from? I thought you barely knew Jamie.
 Oh, I know him all right.
When she didn t elaborate, Melina turned to Grace.
 Turns out the dean wants Lucy s department represented at the conference tomorrow, as well,
Grace explained.  Since Jamie s coordinating it...
Melina gasped. Holy shit. The conference. She gripped Grace s hands.  The conference. I m
supposed to speak with Jamie. He s depending on me.
Lucy waved her hand dismissively.  Oh, please. Like anyone ll miss you. She didn t miss
Melina s glare.  You know what I meant. You ve got a power point presentation set up, right?
Either Jamie can pick up the slack or someone else can.
 You, Melina said at the same time she thought it.
Looking at her like she was crazy, Lucy laughed and held out her hand.  Excuse me? I don t
think so. I have to attend the conference against my will, I might add in order to network at the
reception. I wasn t even planning on attending any of the presentations beforehand.
 You can do my presentation with your hands tied behind your back. You re a quick study and
you have no problem speaking in public.
 I m not an entomologist, Lucy exclaimed, beginning to look a little panicked.  I don t know a
thing about bugs.
Melina rushed to her desk in the living room and returned to the bedroom with a folder, neatly
organized and tabbed.  You don t have to. Like you said, everything s set up. You just have to read
my notes. Please, Lucy?
 I I  Looking like a hunted rabbit, Lucy turned to Grace.
 I m out of town that day, Grace said quickly.
 Please, Lucy. He s not my soul mate, but I like Jamie and respect him. I can t just ditch him.
This conference is a huge deal and, as the organizer, he s going to be swamped. Do this for me, and
I ll owe you, I promise.
 You ll owe me, huh? Lucy said, still looking like she d rather eat dirt.
Melina just nodded and held out the folder.
With a sigh, Lucy took it.  Fine. I ll keep you in Jamie s good graces just in case you decide
you don t want Rhys as much as you thought.
 It s not Rhys I m unsure about, Melina insisted.  Not anymore.
 Honey, it s all part of the package, right? You can t have Rhys without all the rest.
After her friends left, Melina thought about what Lucy had said. She thought about it as she
finished packing. She thought about it when she boarded her plane the next morning. And she thought
about it as she walked outside to meet Rhys.
When she saw Rhys, she dropped her luggage and ran into his arms, almost crying with relief
when his arms wrapped around her and pulled her in close. She lifted her face to kiss him just as his
mouth covered hers. His tongue sank into her mouth, stealing her breath and her sanity until she
finally pulled away.
She opened her mouth and tried to say it: I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with
you. If that means going on the road or living out of a suitcase for the rest of my life, I ll do it.
Instead, she just kissed him again.
 You ready to get to work? he asked with a grin.
She forced a smile.  You tie me up. You work your magic. I just need to smile and look pretty,
right? How hard can it be?
***
The woman named Jillian knocked on the dressing room door even louder this time.  Aren t you
ready yet?
Melina stared at herself in the full-length mirror, cringing at what she saw. The sparkly outfit
that Jillian was trying to alter to fit her form was her exact size, only Rhys s runaway assistant had
obviously had more to love on top than she did. Instead of enhancing her minimal curves, the droopy
neckline made her look flatter than an ironing board, and the miniscule skirt made her thighs look like
tree trunks.
 I told you, it doesn t fit, Melina called out again, wondering if the woman was hard of
hearing.
 Of course it doesn t, Jillian called, her voice clearly reflecting her impatience.  I m not done
with it yet. Now come out here so you can get back to practice.
Melina groaned. Practice. Right.
She and Rhys had been practicing ever since they d arrived from the airport. Not that he was a
slave driver. He d given her plenty of breaks, for food and for nookie, but as soon as they started
practicing again, it was all business. Her body ached from having to stretch out and hang for so long,
and she was jittery because of the way Rhys repeatedly ran his hands up and down her body.
 Usually I don t think anything of doing this, he d said.  It s all just in a day s work. Before
she could snort and call him a liar, he kissed her neck and whispered in her ear.  Doing it to you
reminds me of something.
She d swallowed and breathed out,  What s that?
 I owe you for torturing me when I was tied up. When you re spread out in front me and unable
to do anything but beg for me to take you, remember that. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]