Abel (17 page)

Roni frowned
, shaking her head. “Well, that sucks. Is it too late to get a replacement?”

“
No, I’ve actually interviewed a few more people that the temp agency sent over. I think I finally interviewed one that’ll do. She’s a retired accountant looking for some temporary work and seems to be real good about what she does.”

The monitor on her dash went off
, announcing an incoming call. The screen flashed Sam’s name and Roni smiled. Nellie was too tired and wasn’t about to have a public conversation with him anyhow since her phone was hooked up to her speakers. She’d ignored his earlier calls and was about to do the same when the ignore button on the screen disappeared and now read: Connected to Sam.

Glancing back at her nephew
, she figured out the culprit immediately. Even though he too was now dozing off, his little fingers were still hitting the screen on her phone.

“
Nellie?” Sam voice came over the speakers.

Roni turned around and took the phone out of Gus
’s hands, muffling her giggles with her other hand.

“
Hi, Sam,” she said, scrunching her nose, but one look in her rearview mirror and she could see his voice hadn’t woken anyone.

“
I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day. I’m in town and was hoping we could get together.”

“
Oh . . . Yeah, I spent the day at the zoo with my family. I’m on my way home now, but I’m exhausted. I think I’m gonna have to pass.”

“
You sure?” he asked, sounding very disappointed. “After tonight, I’m going back home again. I was really hoping to see you, even if it’s just a few minutes. Any chance we can do just coffee maybe, or if you’re in the mood to just relax, the hotel I’m staying at is on a private beach. I’ve stayed there before. The sunset is beautiful. We can chill on the beach, watch the sunset, maybe have a little wine, and then I can take you home.”

Nellie thought of Abel
’s call last night.
I need you there with me. I miss you, Nell
. As much as she wanted to put more weight on those statements, she’d seen the photos of him and the girl at the gym. Her mind had been made up a week ago that this
understanding
with Abel was not going to work. Then she got that one text from him with those three simple words, and that was all it took to have her rethinking things. After seeing more photos of him and Rachel spending time together, she’d gone back to her original thoughts, and then he called her last night.

She had to stop letting a few words from him melt her so completely
that she’d be willing to overlook the obvious. He wasn’t spending every waking moment working out as he made it sound. He was enjoying his downtime with the touchy-feely little fitness model—someone he had an intimate past with and very likely a present one too. And from what Nellie could tell, he was enjoying it. This entire time she’d been away from him, she’d forced herself to look at the photos, and every day there were new ones. Even today, the day after what felt like a genuinely heartfelt call, there’d been new ones of the two of them spending more time together than she had with him in over a week.

Glancing at Roni
, who zipped her lips like a good girl but lifted a very telling brow, she smirked. She knew what Roni must be thinking. Since Abel had gone into workout lockdown, she’d only left her place to work. After taking the entire day off today, she’d be back in the office working long hours to try to get the mixer completely coordinated before she’d have to leave for Vegas. Her social life was on hold again for more than one reason. “Actually, Sam, that sounds nice. It’d be a perfect way to end the only day I’ve had off in over a week.”

“
Excellent. Text me when you’re ready for me to pick you up, and I’ll be there.”

Roni smiled when the call ended.
“I’m glad you’re going. I’ll admit I was a little worried when you went out with him the first time. I thought for sure Abel seemed upset the night Sam dropped you off, but it’s not fair that Abel gets to date and you stay home, faithfully waiting for his visits. But that’s all I’m gonna say about it.” She zipped her lips again and smiled. “I promise.”

Glad that Roni kept her promise and didn
’t say much more, Nellie didn’t comment any further either. She still wasn’t feeling entirely sure that this was a good idea, but her heart needed to start moving on. It felt so impossibly stuck where it was now. Maybe going out and trying to enjoy another man’s company would start to dislodge it. At the very least, it could do what her first date with Sam had managed to do: make her feel attractive in more than just a sexual way.

**
*

Less than fifteen minutes into her visit with Sam
, Nellie was beginning to regret it. For starters, when he’d mentioned the private beach they’d be watching the sunset from, she’d foolishly assumed they’d walk out the back of his lavish hotel through the lobby. Instead they’d gone straight to his room. He explained that his beach-front room had a private patio, which led out into a walkway if she wanted to get closer to the water. But they’d spent some time in his room as he poured them each a glass of chilled wine.

Sam had also taken it upon himself to hold her hand the whole way to their room and again when walking her out
onto his patio. It had its own private fire pit and its own private pool and Jacuzzi. Sam turned the fire on as soon as they walked out. The ocean breeze was just picking up, so the warmth of the fire felt perfect. It was a very romantic setting and one she would’ve definitely enjoyed—with someone else.

Even with her reservations and knowing there
’d be only one very specific someone she’d prefer doing this with, Nellie forced herself to enjoy the time but casually reminded Sam that she couldn’t stay long. She’d have a glass or two at most and then she had to head out. The sun was just setting as they sat down on one of the plush patio sofas. She had to admit it was breathtaking.

“
This is my favorite hotel to stay at when I’m out here in California,” Sam said, staring at the sunset.

He
’d sat next to her a bit too closely, but Nellie refrained from moving over, allowing their thighs to touch.

“
I request this room specifically because of this patio. I only wish you had more time to help me enjoy it. We could take a dip in the pool. It’s heated.”

“
You always travel alone?” she asked curiously.

Surely a man who looked as good as Sam could find someone else to help him enjoy this room. His eyes alone were really something else. And now seeing him in jeans and t-shirt
, she could see she’d been right about his physique the first time she met him. He wasn’t nearly as muscular as Abel, but his arms and chest were more than impressive.

“
For the most part,” he said, sipping his wine glass, “if it’s business, I usually do. For pleasure trips, I get together with friends and family. But there are exceptions like next week, for example. I’ll be in Vegas partly for business and partly for pleasure, so I’ll be meeting with friends.”

“
Really?” She tilted her head, smiling about the coincidence. “I’ll be in Vegas next week too. What kind of business are you doing out there?”

There was a noticeable gleam in his eye
that she wasn’t sure what to make of, but then he smiled big. “The cable channel I work at used to be just local, but they were recently bought out by a subsidiary of CNN, so my role as a commentator has branched out a bit. I’m now covering stories all over, not just the Detroit area. This is why I’m here now and why I’ll be in Vegas next week. Will you be out there just for pleasure?” he asked, eyeing her playfully.

She smiled
, feeling a bittersweet emotion wash over her. A few weeks ago she might’ve said both. How fast things had changed. While she knew all too well that Vegas could be as pleasurable as her times with Abel had always been, ever since the morning she first saw the photos, Nellie knew she was in danger of serious damage to her heart if she continued with their arrangement as is. “Business,” she sipped her wine. It went down a bit rougher than she expected.

“
Maybe we can get together while you’re out there. How long will you be there?”

She was about to explain about the fight and her role in it when his phone rang and
he frowned, glancing at the screen. “I’m sorry. This is so rude,” he said apologetically, “but I have to take this. Will you give me a few minutes?”

“
Take your time,” she assured him as he stood up and began walking back into the room.

Her own phone had lit up a few times since she
’d been there, so she decided to check it. She had a missed call from her mother and a text from Logan. The text caught her attention. She hadn’t heard from him since his email informing her he was resigning. He hadn’t once bothered to return her calls, and she’d left him a voicemail over a week ago, asking him to please call her. His departure had been so abrupt, and even though he’d fulfilled the last tasks he’d been asked to do, she still had questions on a few things. She clicked on the little envelope now curiously.

Give me a call when you get a chance
, please. I need to talk to you.

The irritation was immediate, especially after she read it a second time to make sure she hadn
’t misread it. The nerve of him!
Now
he wanted her to call him? First, he just up and left her hanging, knowing how much work this mixer was, then he didn’t bother to return her calls, even when she mentioned she needed some things clarified. Did he need a letter of recommendation now or something?

Nellie closed out her texts
, rolling her eyes. Well, now he’d wait until
she
felt good and ready to call him. That could be never. The
jerk
!

Sam walked out into the patio again
, glancing around and up at the palm trees that surrounded the patio. He then turned and studied the building adjacent to his hotel. “Everything okay?” she asked.

He turned back to her with an instant smile.
“Fine,” he waved his phone at her. “Work. Always something.” He put his phone down on the patio table and reached out his hand. “C’mere, I wanna show you something else about this room.”

Glancing back at the patio door
, Nellie hesitated to take his hand. She could only hope he wasn’t taking her agreement to come back to his room with him to mean more than it was. He must’ve picked up on what she might be thinking because he motioned out toward the walkway that led around the palm trees. “It’s not in the room,” he laughed softly, confirming he had picked up on what had crossed her mind. “It’s out there.”

Feeling silly but very relieved
, she smiled, taking his hand as she stood up. They strolled along the small walkway around the trees, and then they were on the sand. It was a wide open beach area but still very vacant.

“
This beach is exclusive to the hotel. And my room is literally steps away from it. I’ve stayed at lot of rooms all over the country, but this is by far my favorite.” He smiled, and his incredibly light eyes nearly twinkled. “It’s a little pricey but worth every penny, I think.”

“
Yes,” Nellie had to agree. “It’s beautiful.”

She was caught in his eyes for a moment
, and he smiled, pulling her gently to him.

“
Nellie, I know I told you this earlier this week on the phone, and I didn’t miss how quiet it made you. I hope this doesn’t freak you out, considering we’ve only known each other for a few weeks. But ever since that day I spent with you, I really haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I know you said you’re still working on getting over your divorce, and I respect that. It took me some time to get over mine. At the risk of sounding a little pushy, would you please just give something between you and me some consideration?” He held up his hand. “Whenever you’re ready, that is. I’ll be patient. I just wanna put it out there so that we’re clear that it’s what I’m hoping for here.”

If she hadn
’t been so caught up checking the photos of Abel and Rachel the day of their brunch, it might’ve been a very pleasant date. Sam was actually very sweet, attentive, and she’d since established
very
good-looking. And ever since their brunch, not a day had gone by that he hadn’t called or texted her. They’d even had a couple nights where they’d chatted online late into the night.

This past week
, she’d come to the conclusion that Roni had been right—as usual. She wasn’t the fuck-buddy type. She’d fallen for Abel so fast and so hard that she’d like to say that was the only reason why the arrangement that they had hadn’t worked out. But she was certain now she’d never be okay dating someone who was also seeing someone else. It was a constant reminder of her inability to be enough for any man. For that reason, she was hesitant to become involved with another good-looking, obviously wealthy guy who did so much traveling.

Even as sweet as he was, and as genuine
ly as he was looking at her now, Abel was a perfect example of how a man could make you feel so very special as if you were the only one he ever looked at that way, when in fact . . .