Blush (7 page)

Four weeks of backslapping and schmoozing and BS.

In fact, the whole lot of it was bullshit and his tolerance was at an all-time low.

Not a good sign, considering the bulk of his job was pretending to listen and absorb and rehash whatever people wanted to hear.

Shit, even his thoughts had turned cynical.

He wasn’t in a good place right now.

His jaw ached from gritting his teeth against the urge to pick up the phone and speak to Adele, his head ached from constantly trying to forget her, and his back ached from the countless miles he’d jogged to work off his frustration.

Since when did he lose sight of his end goal because of a woman?

Never.

And the fact he was this screwed up now didn’t bode well for the rest of the campaign. A campaign that was fast losing its appeal.

He didn’t get it. Politics had been his dream for so long, he’d never lost sight of the ultimate prize: becoming a senator and being empowered to make a real difference.

He’d been doing the right thing since he was young, when his dad took off and he became the man of the family at age seven.

He’d done everything he could to make his mom smile: top grades, first pick for sports, looking after Jess. It made him feel damn special to do good and when the town held a parade for California’s new governor in his teens, and he’d seen that guy up on the podium espousing amazing promises for their state, Reid had known what he wanted to do.

He’d followed his dream.

And he still felt good when he listened to what the voters wanted and implemented changes. Changes that made a real difference in people’s lives.

Though the gloss had worn off lately. He was tired. Soul-destroying, bone-deep weary. But there was no way out. He’d chosen this life, he needed to make it work. Work better than this.

He kicked the trashcan under his desk as a knock sounded at his door.

“Go away,” he yelled, not in the mood for company. Not in the mood for anything unless it involved a few hours in Adele’s arms.

Yeah, like that was going to happen again this century.

The door opened and Jess stuck her head around it. “No can do, bro.”

Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. Last thing he needed while he was in a foul mood was his exuberant sister bouncing in here.

“This isn’t a good time for me—”

“Too bad.” She slipped into his office and closed the door. “I don’t have long in the States before I head out to Sydney and I wanted to see you.”

Immediately guilty, he stood and opened his arms to her. “Fine. Give your grumpy old brother a hug.”

“What’s bitten your ass?” she said, squeezing him tight before releasing him. “You’re usually sunshine and roses. Today you’re thunder and weeds.”

“It’s been a long campaign,” he said, heading for the mini-bar on the sideboard and sloshing a double scotch into a glass. “Drink?”

Jess glanced at her watch and frowned. “At two?”

“Lunch aperitif.” He raised the glass in her direction. “Been a bloody long campaign, Sis. Lighten up.”

He drained the glass in three gulps and Jess’s frown deepened.

“I’ve never seen you like this,” she said, joining him at the bar where she poured herself a mineral water and he resisted the urge to replenish his scotch. “What’s up?”

“I told you—”

“I want the truth this time.” She perched on the caramel suede sofa lining one wall of his office. “Though I reckon I have a fair idea.”

Reid inwardly cursed Jack for blabbing. “I knew that schmuck you’ve hooked up with couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.”

Jess smirked. “Jack adores me. So stands to reason he’d confess when I threatened to…uh…withhold—”

“Too much information, Sis.” Reid held up his hand, not wanting her to elaborate.

He could accept the fact his best friend and sister had fallen in love. He couldn’t accept any details of their dalliance.

Jess chuckled. “Jack said you lost it when I didn’t give you Adele’s number so you chased it up yourself.”

“What else did the big mouth tell you?”

She crinkled her nose. “Sadly, that was it, considering it’s impossible to withhold sexual favors once he left and we’re now an ocean apart.”

“When do you fly out?”

“Next week.” Jess’s eyes sparkled at the thought of seeing Jack again. “Can’t wait.”

“You know I’m happy for you, right?” About the only thing he was happy about these days.

“Yeah, I know.” She paused, took a sip of mineral water, before placing the glass on a chrome coffee table. “So what happened with Adele?”

“Not much.”

Not much he wanted to talk about, that is.

The fact he couldn’t stop thinking about her, even now, a month since he’d seen her? Irrefutable proof it would take him more than four weeks on the campaign trail to get over her. And he still couldn’t fathom why.

They’d had sex. Phenomenal sex, but sex nonetheless. A physical connection that shouldn’t have transcended into…
this
. Whatever this was. Other than a way to slowly but surely drive him crazy.

“By that bizarre expression on your face, somewhere between goofball and surly, I’d say a lot happened.” Jess patted the sofa next to her. “Come tell me all about it.”

The last thing Reid felt like doing was articulating what had—or hadn’t—happened with Adele, but he was going stir crazy thinking about it so maybe getting his sister’s opinion wouldn’t hurt.

“You know that day you were here when I first asked for her number and you kinda freaked out and called me an uptight prig for not wanting to ring Burlesque Bombshell for fear someone would leak it?”

A tiny frown appeared between Jess’s brows. “Yeah?”

“Turns out Adele doesn’t want a relationship with me because of where she works and who I am, so she knocked me back.”

Jess’s eyes widened. “
You
wanted to have a
relationship
? A real, honest-to-goodness relationship where two people are committed and in love and do things together and—”

“Don’t make it sound so impossible,” he said dryly, well aware where his sister would’ve got the impression he wasn’t the commitment type of guy.

For the simple fact he’d never had a relationship. Ever. It hadn’t fit into his grand plans.

Until now.

“A relationship,” Jess muttered, shaking her head and sneaking disbelieving glances at him. “What have you done with my brother?”

“Ha, frigging, ha.” He interlocked fingers and stretched forward, before slumping into the sofa. “Believe me, I don’t need the complication or the aggravation falling for Adele has brought, but—”

“This is fantastic.” Jess clapped her hands like she’d been drinking red cordial rather than mineral water. “You’re truly smitten. And Adele’s wonderful.”

“Have you just heard anything I’ve said?” He pretended to tap his ears. “Adele doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

Jess tilted her head to one side, studying him. “Why?”

He knew the next part would earn him a punch from his sister. “Because I said I wanted to trial a relationship, and that means keeping it quiet.”

Jess’s deathly silence scared him, so he rushed on, “You know, in case it didn’t work out, so would save us both the indignity of having our lives dragged through the mud for nothing…” he trailed off as Jess’s eyes narrowed to slits of blue fire.

“Are you insane?” Her voice ended on a shriek. “You’ve been spouting crap to the public for so long you’ve started to believe your own bullshit.”

Jess leaned over and punched him on the arm. Hard. “You’re the biggest dumbass I’ve ever met.”

She punched him again for good measure. “What the hell were you thinking, asking a sweet girl like Adele to be your secret…mistress!”

“It’s not like that,” he said, hating how logical Jess made it sound.

“Yeah, dumbass, it’s exactly like that.”

He shifted before she could land another punch.

“No great surprise she turned you down.” Jess snorted. “So what are you going to do about it?”

The million-dollar question, something Reid had pondered at length over the last month.

And still come up empty.

“What can I do? We live in different cities, we lead very different lives and our jobs are worlds apart.” He stood and started pacing, something he’d been doing way too much of lately. “Plus I fucked it up royally.”

“You sure did.” Jess stood and headed for the bar. “Think I’ll have that drink after all.”

She sloshed scotch into two glasses, crossed the office and handed him one. “Do you love her?”

“Too soon for that.” He clinked glasses with her before downing his scotch. “But I care an awful lot about her. She makes me feel incredible. And I want to be with her.”

He slammed the glass down on his desk. “Which is ridiculous, considering I barely know her.”

“Love’s never logical,” Jess said, laying a comforting hand on his forearm. “Jack and I are testament to that.”

“Let’s hope I don’t take ten years to get my head on straight like you two,” Reid said, eliciting a smile from Jess.

“At least we got there eventually.” She perched on the edge of the desk next to him. “Which brings me back to my original question…what are you going to do?”

“Damned if I know.”

The only way Reid could see this working is if Adele didn’t work at a burlesque venue.

Or he had a different occupation.

And considering he’d worked long years to get where he was, finally in a position to make a difference, he couldn’t walk away from politics now.

But no way in hell he’d ask her to walk away from her job, despite a small ridiculous voice insisting he could pull strings to offer her a great accountancy job in LA…

“Your expression says it all, bro.” Jess stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “You’re bamboozled, so I’ll shut my mouth and leave you to it.”

“That’d be a first,” he said, earning another punch on his arm. “Give it to me straight. Your opinion?”

Jess hesitated, something his outspoken sister never did around him.

“Come on, Jess, I can take it.”

“I think you’ve spent your whole life doing the right thing, presenting the perfect image, being the golden boy.” He only just heard her imperceptible sigh. “But what if it isn’t enough?”

She patted his cheek. “You’re in a pretty tough place right now. Get the girl, lose the career. Maybe you can come up with a way to have it all?”

He wished.

“Thanks, Jess.”

“Anytime.” She paused at the door and blew him a kiss. “If you do get another chance with Adele, don’t treat her like a dirty little secret. Women don’t appreciate being wooed by a moron.”

He bit back a grin. “Get out.”

“With pleasure.” She winked, before slamming the door.

Reid had been a moron. Major moron.

But how did he make amends and not lose everything he’d worked for in the process?

Adele peeked around the dressing room door to ensure the dancers had left for the night before slipping into her favorite space at Burlesque Bombshell.

She’d done her best thinking here, from the early days when she’d landed in Vegas hoping for a new start, to later, when she’d finished her accountancy degree and Chantal had offered her a permanent job.

There was something about being confronted by her reflection in a brightly lit mirror that demanded she never shy from the truth.

And she never had. Even in her darkest days, when she’d done what she had to do to help her mom survive, she’d never tried to hide who she was.

She may not be proud of things she’d done in the past but her motives had been pure.

Considering her current situation, she wasn’t too sure.

While Chantal hadn’t said anything more about telling Reid the truth, she caught her friend staring when she thought she wasn’t looking and Adele could’ve sworn disapproval radiated from those stares.

Chantal thought she was being selfish, denying Reid the option to be part of this baby’s life. When in fact Adele was being unselfish in not wanting to ruin his life.

Not that she hadn’t picked up the phone more times than she cared to admit. Her thumb had hovered over her cell’s contacts button, while she toyed with the idea of blurting the truth. But sanity had prevailed each time and she’d flung the phone away, preferring to immerse herself in online forums for expectant moms.

The information she’d learned should’ve terrified: hemorrhoids to episiotomies, breech births to gestational diabetes. Yet she’d absorbed the lot, eager to be informed, ready to face whatever this baby threw her way.

Sure, she was scared. Scared of the many unexpected scenarios she potentially faced. But the way she figured, she’d been a parent to her mom, raising her own child had to be cinch compared to that.

Adele chose her lucky chair, the one she’d laid dibs on the first night she’d danced here. It had been furthest from the door, tucked away in an alcove bordered by a gold embossed wall and a faux jade screen.

As a new girl, she’d craved the privacy. The other dancers had been nothing but welcoming, yet there’d been something infinitely comforting when she arrived early for performances and sat in this chair, mulling her new life and how far she’d come.

She scooped an armful of feather boas off the chair and dumped them on a nearby leather stool before sitting.

Wriggling into the worn peacock blue velvet, she stared at her reflection.

Nothing seemed to have changed. Same straight nose. Blue eyes a tad too far apart to be conventional. High cheekbones. Deep red hair.

Yep, she looked the same, yet on the inside incredibly different.

She’d weathered her mother’s decline and subsequent death from liver failure, relocation from Chicago to Vegas, a transformation from burlesque dancer to accountant. Huge life changes she’d coped with. Yet the thought of having a baby—Reid’s baby—had her pressing a hand to her stomach in the hope everything would be all right.

“Thought I’d find you in here.” Chantal stepped into the dressing room and closed the door. “Your usual Monday night ritual.”

“Not for a long time.” Adele swiveled the chair away from the mirror to face her friend, who sat on a ruby chaise sofa.