The Book Club Hotel(94)

“Is that a savage meat eater?”

“No, it’s a herbivore. Intimidating on the outside, but gentle on the inside. A bit like you.”

“You find me intimidating?”

“You’re forgetting I’ve seen you naked. No one is intimidating when they’re naked.”

She hadn’t forgotten. In fact, she’d thought about it a great deal more than she would have liked.

“I had no idea you were a dinosaur expert.”

“If you’d asked me when I was seven I could have told you anything you wanted to know. I wanted to be a paleontologist for a short time, until I realized that the ratio of digging versus drama was heavily loaded toward the former.”

Their conversation was still light, but they both knew they were dancing around something much more serious.

“So—” He broke the silence. “I assume you called for a reason. Give me the date.”

“The date?”

“Of the event you want me to attend. Black tie?”

She was invited to so many things, most of which she didn’t accept. It would be easy to pick one and use it as an excuse to get together.

But she didn’t want to make an excuse.

“I don’t have a specific event in mind. That wasn’t why I called.”

“Then why don’t you tell me why you called?” His voice was like a caress, and she pressed her fingers to her neck, imagining the brush of his mouth against her skin.

“The last time we saw each other—” She paused, swallowed. “I’ve been thinking about it.”

“Mmm?”

She stared out the window, wondering why she was finding this so hard. “I was thinking that next time we get together, you could leave a few things at my place. A toothbrush. Whatever.”

There was silence, and for a moment she wondered if he’d heard her.

“Jack? Are you still there? I said—”

“I heard what you said, Erica.” The way he said her name made her catch her breath and then she felt a moment of breathless panic.

“You probably don’t want to. You’re very independent and you like your own space as much as I do and—”

“Erica.” There was a smile in his voice. “Breathe.”

“Oh.” She pressed her hand to her chest. She could feel her heart thudding. “I’m breathing.”

“Why would you think I don’t want to?”

She felt as uncertain as a teenager embarking on her first relationship. “Because that isn’t what we do.”

“That isn’t what we’ve done up until now, but I seem to recall being the one to suggest I stay last time we were together.” His voice was low-pitched and intimate. “Remember that evening?”

She closed her eyes. “Yes.”

Thinking about it brought a rush of heat to her cheeks. Jack, his mouth on hers in the shower. Jack’s hands spinning magic over her quivering body. It had been overwhelming and she’d wanted him to stay almost as much as she’d wanted him to leave.

“I wanted to stay,” he said. “I’ve wanted to stay for a long time.”

She opened her eyes, feeling as if she was seeing the world for the first time. “How long?”

“Months.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“I was playing it cool. I know you’re cautious about who you let into your personal space.”

Her legs felt wobbly and she sat down in the chair. “Jack?”

“Yes.”

She licked her lips. “What if I were to invite you into my personal space?”

“You have no idea how long I have waited for that invitation. Where are you now? Vermont. How long would it take me to get to Vermont? Too long, dammit, and I have a meeting in an hour and I’m in court tomorrow morning. Anyway, you’re with your girlfriends and if you haven’t had a pillow fight yet you probably still need to schedule that in. I don’t want to intrude on your book club week. When we’re together, I want your full attention.”

She felt awareness tighten in her stomach. “I have a suggestion.”

“Make it.”

She took a deep breath. It was a crazy idea. “You don’t have to say yes.” And it suddenly occurred to her that there was so much about his life of which she knew nothing. “For all I know you’re seeing someone else—”

“There isn’t anyone else, Erica. Just you. And I’m saying yes. Now you just need to tell me what I’ve said yes to.”

Just you.

She closed her eyes. Maybe it was a crazy idea, but she was going with it.



TWENTY-TWO


Claudia

“I’ve connected with two of our suppliers this morning. You have a brilliant network here.” Claudia sat in a corner of the kitchen with Hattie, going through plans for the week.

“It really mattered to me that we kept things local as far as possible. And it’s a way of supporting and becoming part of the community. We all need each other.” Hattie took a sip of her coffee. “This cappuccino is delicious, by the way. And the chocolate Christmas tree on top is art. Did you do it?”

“I have hidden talents.” Claudia opened a file and pushed it to Hattie. “I was thinking that we should make more of what you’re already doing. Tell people about it. At the moment we tell people where their food is coming from, which is great, but we could do more.”