Finally (19 page)

“You wouldn’t be able to keep me away,” she said sultrily as she straightened her dress.

Jeff stood up and cupped her face, his gaze tender... loving. “I missed your sunshiny smile,” he murmured.

She beamed at him, projecting all her love in that one expression.

Jeff grinned back and kissed her softly before releasing her. “We better go. Another second of kissing you and I’ll be taking you to bed.”

She hid her smile and took a peek at herself in a mirror on the wall. “I need to make a quick stop-over to my room to fix my hair and re-apply my lip gloss. You go ahead.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you in the restaurant.”

*

S
arah walked back to where the party was happening. Funnily enough, her super-high stilettos weren’t as much of a bother as she’d originally thought. Thank God it seemed that she could enjoy the night without her feet killing her.

She rounded the corner, and almost tripped from the sight that greeted her.

There was Bianca, stunning as ever, talking to Jeff by the entrance of the hotel.

She froze. Was Bianca invited by the Carmichaels? No, she couldn’t have been. Rebecca would have mentioned it if she were.

So why was Bianca here? And why the hell was that woman now touching Jeff’s hand?

“I
thought you had no problems with us working together, Jeff?” Bianca said, reaching out for Jeff’s hand.

Jeff pulled away. “I have a new girlfriend, Bee. Understandably, she’s not comfortable with me working closely with you, given our history. Anyway, the new working arrangement shouldn’t affect the campaign at all. Greg’s pretty much up to speed with everything.”

Bianca’s consternation was evident. “Oh. Surely your new girlfriend can’t be that unreasonable that she’d try to butt in your working arrangements.”

“She didn’t try to butt in, Bee. I made the decision myself. Anyway, I’m really sorry but this is not a good time to talk. You should have called before you came here.”

“I was already on my way to Aunt Lynn’s and I thought I’d swing by. I was driving when I called you earlier. And I didn’t know you have Zach’s engagement party going on here tonight. Say, can I be shameless again and invite myself since I’m here already? I’d love to say hello to some—”

“Sorry, Bee. No. You have to go.”

The look of hurt on Bianca’s face made Jeff feel slightly guilty. Bianca did know many people at the party tonight. But there was no way he’d allow her to stay.

“It’s also my girlfriend’s birthday. It’s not a good idea for you to be here. I’m sorry,” he explained in a softer tone.

Bianca smiled in resignation. “Okay. I’ll go. But I hope this doesn’t mean we can’t even be friends, Jeff. Like you said, we have a history. And there was a lot of good in that history.”

He could only give her a smile. He didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep. Sarah was his priority now.

Bianca reached up to kiss him on the cheek, then left. He watched her walk out the door, wishing her well in his mind.

Was it strange to not feel something for the woman he once wanted to marry? He’d been pondering about that at the same time that he was wondering how Sarah managed to completely own his heart in such a short time.

Then it hit him. He wasn’t totally devoid of emotions when it came to Bianca. He still greatly admired her skills and professionalism, and that was something that hadn’t changed even after they’d broken up. It would seem that in the past, he’d mistaken his admiration for Bianca’s talents for love.

Ah, at least now he fully understood why he'd felt so damned raw, lost and broken when Sarah dumped him. It was because
that
was love. True love.

He grinned and headed for the restaurant, missing Sarah already. He laughed at himself. Pathetic.

*****

G
uests were starting to sit at their tables when he walked in. He caught sight of Sarah with her best friends and frowned. He hadn’t expected her to finish retouching her face so quickly. Not that she needed makeup. She looked beautiful with or without it.

Shit. Did she see him with Bianca by the front door? She would have gone past the lobby to get to the restaurant.

He hurried to her, eager to gauge her mood.

“Hey,” he whispered in her ear.

“Hi,” she said with a tight smile.

Oh no.

They reached their table and he quickly scanned the place cards. To his relief, no one had rearranged them after he’d swapped his place card with Brenna’s so he could sit next to Sarah.

“Oh, are you sitting there, Jeff?” Rebecca asked with a confused look on her face.

“Yes. See?” He picked up his place card and showed it to Rebecca.

Zach snorted and ran his hand on his fiancée’s back, encouraging her to sit down.

“You okay?” Jeff asked Sarah softly as they settled in their seats.

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be?” she asked, her eyes clearly questioning.

“No. None at all,” he said definitively.

She smiled—a bit better than the last one, but still not sunshiny enough to make him relax.

He leaned closer to her and spoke in her ear. “Bianca came wanting to crash the party but I said she couldn’t stay. I also told her not to bother me about work, that she should talk to Greg about it from here on in.”

“Okay,” Sarah said.

A wait staff started pouring wine for their table. When everybody had their glasses filled, he leaned into her again. “She tried to hold my hand,” he whispered. “But I pulled it away.”

“Why did she do that?” Sarah asked, her eyes clouding.

Ah, Sarah did see them.

“Well, she was wondering why there was a change in working arrangements when there wasn’t a problem before. I told her I have a new girlfriend—that you’re the reason for the change.”

“You did?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Yes.”

“I feel guilty about that, you know.”

“About work or about Bianca?”

“Work. I don’t want to cause any disruption.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not gonna have Bianca come between us.”

“What do Zach and Greg think about it?”

“They’re fine with it, babe. You can ask them if you want.”

“Okay,” she said with a genuine smile.

He relaxed a little, but he couldn’t wait until this whole party was over and they could be alone.

*****

J
eff sang
Happy Birthday
loudly with the rest of the guests.

Sarah stood in the middle of the dance floor, grinning shyly. In front of her was a small table where her big birthday cake sat. He chuckled as he watched her, knowing she was squirming in embarrassment on the inside from being the centre of attention.

Sarah blew out all her candles in one breath and her best friends rushed in to hug her, then they posed for photos. All five of them looked gorgeous, but his girl stood out for him. He simply couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“I see you’ve had your talk with Sarah,” Magda said to him. “I’m glad you sorted it out.”

“Did Sarah tell you?” he asked, smiling fondly at his grandmother.

“No. It’s written all over your face, Jeffrey,” Magda said, patting his cheek. “It’s so great to see another of my grandsons being so in love.”

“Our talk last week helped me a lot, Gran. Thank you.”

Magda beamed. “It’s my pleasure, dear. Now, don’t you think Greg’s paying a lot of attention to Gemma?”

He laughed. “You’re moving on to Greg’s case now, are you?”

“Well, I have to admit, he would be the hardest case. That brother of yours is very far from wanting to settle down,” Magda said with a shake of her head.

“He’s got plenty of time, Gran.”

“I know,” Magda said with a sigh. “Anyway, I’ve got to sit down somewhere. My knee’s bothering me.”

Jeff escorted Magda back to her chair. When he turned back to the dance floor where Sarah was, he saw a friend of Zach’s with his arm around Sarah, posing for a picture with her. He frowned. Someone was trying to make a move on his girl.

He strode toward them. “My turn,” he said, holding out his hand to Sarah.

“Sure,” said Zach’s friend. “Chat later, Sarah.”

Jeff snaked his arm around Sarah’s waist as they posed for the photographer Zach and Bec had hired.

“Let’s have one with us kissing,” he suggested in her ear.

“What? No,” Sarah answered, horrified.

“Why not?” he asked with a frown. Didn’t Sarah want everyone to know they were together?

“One of these shots are bound to find their way to the magazines, Jeff.”

“So?”

“No. Please. I already feel like I’m taking too much attention away from Zach and Bec’s special occasion. I don’t want our photo plastered on covers instead of theirs. Maybe next time.”

“Okay then,” he conceded. He’d have to bide his time before he could let the world know Sarah was his.

*****

J
eff was finishing his dessert—Sarah’s yummy birthday cake—when Ted, his least favourite cousin, approached and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, that was Bianca I saw out the front earlier, wasn’t it?” Ted asked in a not-so-subtle volume.

“Uh-huh,” he answered warily.

“You’re back together, aren’t you, cuz?”

“No.”

Ted chuckled. “Come on, you can tell me. After last week when she was all over you during your birthday, everyone was expecting there’ll be another engagement party for one of the Carmichael brothers.”

Jeff gave Ted a withering scowl, but it had no effect on his already-drunk, thick-skulled cousin. He could really wring Ted’s neck right now.

“Ted, have you met Sarah?”

“Yes. Hi Sarah. Enjoying the night?”

“Yes, thank you,” Sarah said politely.

Jeff opened his mouth to clarify to Ted that Sarah was his new girlfriend when Ted abruptly floated off to the next table to annoy someone else.

He shook his head in irritation. He glanced at Sarah and found her staring at him.

“You look very mad,” she said wryly.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“You don’t have to apologise for your cousin.”

“Can we go, Sarah?”

“Go where?”

“Back to our suite so we can continue talking and making up.”

Sarah looked around the restaurant, uncertain. “Wouldn’t it be rude? The dancing’s just starting.”

“Rude? It’s your birthday party, baby. You can do whatever you want,” he said with a wicked smile. “But seriously, I don’t think anyone would mind. Not that I care if they did.”

“Okay,” Sarah said, then turned to Rebecca and whispered something to her friend.

Rebecca smiled and nodded.

Jeff stood up and helped Sarah off her seat then turned to Rebecca and Zach. “You guys can explain if anyone comes looking for us. We won’t be back.” He grabbed Sarah’s hand before anyone can thwart them from finally getting this chance to sort things out completely.

*****

J
eff shut the door of his suite and gathered Sarah in his arms. “Whatever Ted said about last weekend—”

Sarah pressed a finger on his lips. “Do you really love me, Jeff?”

“Yes,” he said earnestly. “I know Bianca turning up tonight, and my idiot cousin opening his big mouth, put a dampener on our earlier conversation. But I meant everything I said, Sarah. I love you and I mean to prove that to you.”

She smiled. “Then that’s all I need to know.”

His lips descended on hers, his kiss expressing his relief and pent-up desire for her. “I missed you so much, baby.”

“So fucking much?” she asked teasingly, pressing her body against his.

He groaned. “So fucking much. Let me show you just how much.”

He lifted her in his arms and strode toward the bedroom. He put her down on her feet by the edge of the bed, rubbed that itchy spot on his arm, then reached for the zipper of her dress.

“You’ve done that a few times tonight. Are you feeling itchy?”

“Yes,” he said, his lips tugging up into a secretive smile as he pushed her dress off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. His cock sprung to attention at the sight of her in seriously sexy, red underwear.

“Do you have an insect bite there or something?” Sarah asked distractedly, stepping out of her shoes and clothes.

He started unbuttoning his shirt. “I’ll show you. Maybe you can tell me what else I can use to help with the itch apart from the moisturiser I’ve been applying on it.”

Sarah frowned, helping him with his buttons. He could tell she was concerned.

“Ready?” he asked, both excited and nervous.

Sarah nodded.

He took off his shirt and showed her his left side. Her mouth dropped open and within seconds, tears were flowing down her cheeks.

“Do you like it?” he asked hoarsely, reaching out and wiping away her tears.

Sarah touched his arm, careful to avoid the parts where some flaking had formed. “When did you get it done?”

“The day after my birthday. I wanted to do something that would prove to you that it’s you I love, not Bianca.”

Sarah swallowed a sob. “It’s a pity the weather’s turning colder,” she said, sniffing. “You can’t wear short sleeves.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll be baring it every chance I get.”

“Is it permanent?”

He snickered. “Of course it’s permanent.”

Fresh tears pooled in her eyes.

“Shh,” Jeff said, kissing the wetness from her face. Finally, she believed him.

S
arah stared at the words ‘I love you, Sarah,’ beautifully tattooed on Jeff’s biceps.

“You know, some people will call you crazy for having this done,” she said, gently running a finger around the letters. “What if... what if we don’t end up together in the future?” She had to force those words out her throat. She didn’t even want to think about it.

“I did consider that,” Jeff answered. “But I just want to prove to you that I do love you.”

She curved her arms around his neck. “I love you too, Jeff,” she said, overwhelmed by his gesture and her feelings for him.

“For the record, I don’t relish the thought of getting this removed at any point in time,” he said with a grimace. “Apparently, it’s more painful and an absolute hassle. So we better make sure we always sort things out when we fight.”