For One Night Only (8 page)

Chapter 7

‘Don’t tell me you are still sulking over that woman?’ Byron said, surprising Ruben as he came into the room. ‘Will you
please
just call her and put us all out of your misery?’

Ignoring the angry look he got in answer to his question, Byron rolled his eyes before reminding Ruben about the scheduled interview and the reporter on the way up to the suite. ‘I put out some clothes for you. You can’t see your visitor in that,’ he said, flicking a disapproving eye over Ruben’s attire.

Looking down at the track pants and T-shirt he was wearing, he didn’t see what the problem was, but he gave in again. Byron’s voice took on a strident note when he lost his cool and Ruben just couldn’t handle any more aggravation. He was tempted to tell Byron that
he
shouldn’t be seen in the Hawaiian shirts and khakis he always wore, but he bit his tongue. Byron had a style all his own and didn’t take kindly to having it criticized.

The reporter didn’t stay long and, as the interview ended, Ruben found himself looking at his watch and automatically converting the time to where
Bethany was. He grimaced, angry that two weeks after their night together, she was still in his every thought. She’d fucked him and dumped him, and that pissed him off. Still, he couldn’t get her out of his head.
What had possessed her to creep out of his bed in the middle of the night like that?

She wasn’t even his ‘type’—he usually went for pretty, overtly feminine women. She was neither of those things, but she was attractive in a sexy, womanly way, and the male in him responded to her on that level. And she’d been a revelation in bed.
Who knew she’d be that uninhibited
? His jeans felt tight all of a sudden and he had to turn his back on Byron as he begged off going out to dinner with an excuse of extreme tiredness.

He wished he could figure out why
Bethany bugged him so much. She’d scored a first; he’d give her that. No other woman had ever left so eagerly. In fact, very few had ever been invited to stay the night. In the early days, guilt used to make him offer empty promises to call or keep in touch. As he’d gotten older and more cynical, he realized women used him as much as he did them, and he felt no need to explain himself.

For years now, he’d kept his life uncluttered. He’d seen what relationships did to people…. his parents for a start. It never ceased to amaze him that they’d ever gotten along well enough to have a child.

For as long as he could remember, they had despised each other, but they stayed together. Devout Catholics just didn’t get divorced, no matter how miserable they made themselves and others—him included. Being an only child didn’t help either. He’d made his own entertainment during the endless hours spent up in the room he escaped to when he couldn’t face hearing another fight. Turning on the radio to drown them out had been the beginning of his interest in music, so he guessed he was grateful for that.

A hollow lump formed in his chest as he recalled just how awful life with them had been. His father never actually hit his wife, but he used the threat of violence to control and intimidate her. Hell, his mother was no saint and hardly ever sober, but nobody deserved that. The abuse had continued until Ruben was twenty and living away from home.

Ignoring his better judgment, he’d returned from
New York
, where he had been attending college, for Christmas. Like some bad movie he’d seen a million times, his mother began drunkenly abusing his father and he knew what would happen next. Except Ruben had changed the ending that time.

His father had taken a little longer than usual to react—maybe in deference to his son’s visit—but eventually he had lunged for his wife, pinning her against a wall. The shock on his face as his son punched him to the floor was something Ruben would never forget. Nor would he forget the way his mother leapt at
him
, screaming that he should leave his father alone. He’d stormed out of the house that night and had never gone back.

The only time he saw his parents now was if he had a gig anywhere near
Mexico. He would fly them in and spend the afternoon in the city but he never went ‘home’ again. Hell, he hadn’t even seen the house he’d bought them. He was their son and they would never want for anything, but he couldn’t imagine a time when they could ever be a real family again.

His mood worsened—the day had been traumatic enough without filling his head with bad memories. He shouldn’t stay in his suite any longer. Bitter experience had taught him that no good would come of staying alone when he was in this frame of mind. Problem was, he didn’t really want to go anywhere.

After picking up the cell phone, he scrolled again through the list of names until he found her number. He’d had it, along with her home address, for just over a week now thanks to the Internet. That was a first, the Internet working for, rather than against him. He’d lost count of how many crazies had gotten his address that way.

He toyed with the idea of phoning her, but realized the most he could hope for was hearing her voice and making himself even hornier. Throwing his phone back down on the bed in disgust he picked up the hotel phone instead and dialed Byron’s extension.

Wherever he went, there was always a stack of invites waiting for him and Byron came in a few moments later carrying a handful. Usually, Ruben could think of nothing he would rather avoid than those types of parties, but he needed a distraction.

They decided on the after party of an awards show. He knew the place would be crammed with women—none he would want to introduce to his mother, but that wasn’t what he was looking for. Women loved being with him. If
Bethany didn’t want him, there were plenty more who did. It was time he remembered that and forgot about her.

* * * *

Bethany
pushed her plate away in disgust. She had picked at her food, unsure why she had even bothered to cook for herself. Bored beyond belief, but aware it was too early for bed, she turned on the TV.

Flicking through the channels, she stopped on an entertainments program. ‘Beautiful people’ flittered by on the screen, barely registering with her. The location changed to an outdoor shot of an exclusive nightclub. An overly made up presenter was almost beside herself with excitement as she fawned over the stars on their way into the party. Picking up the remote to change the channel,
Bethany froze as Ruben’s face filled the screen.

Every part of her body recognized him and instantly sprang to life as she watched him flirt with the presenter. Charm oozed from his every pore and she felt insanely jealous as his warm brown eyes caressed the woman. He had been looking at her that way less than two weeks earlier.
God, she missed that
.

He spoke briefly of his reasons for attending, explaining that he was in town and needed to unwind. The shot ended with Ruben disappearing into the club. Turning to camera, the woman excitedly explained that Ruben had arrived alone but that ‘this reporter’ was sure he wouldn’t be for long. Snorting in disgust—at herself as much as the simpering female—
Bethany reached for the remote and turned off the TV.

Resting her head back on the sofa, she fought the sadness that invaded her so often these days. Her time with Ruben had been fun but it was over. So, she would never see him again, but at least he’d given her confidence a huge boost. Yeah, but he had also given her something else to add to her list of regrets, she argued. She shouldn’t have left the way she did, but she’d panicked. Disappearing had seemed the easiest way out of a potentially embarrassing situation.
She’d probably done them both a favor
.

Bethany
had been certain that Ruben was the last thing she needed in her life, but that night of mindless, mind-blowing sex had sure done her a power of good. And, for a while, she’d been satisfied. Since that night though, her world seemed grayer and drabber than before. Ruben sure wasn’t the answer to her problems—she guessed he didn’t even remember her name by now—but that brief, bright moment in her otherwise dreary life made her current situation almost intolerable by comparison.

The phone rang, startling her out of her reverie. She was relieved to hear her sister’s voice. Bless her—she always seemed to turn up just when she was needed.

Donna was in her usual upbeat mood. ‘What’s going on Sis?’

‘Not a lot.’

‘Uh-oh. I recognize that tone. What’s wrong?’

Bethany
sighed, reluctant to unload on her again. It was all she ever seemed to do recently. ‘I’m ok. A little bored I guess.’

‘Don’t you dare complain about boredom,’ Donna said. ‘I can’t believe you were in bed with that horny bastard back in LA and you ran out on him.’ She laughed then to soften her words. ‘You’re crazy, you know that don’t you?’

Bethany
couldn’t help but smile down the phone. ‘I am not going over this again. I explained on the plane home…I just freaked out. That’s all.’

‘Well, from what you told me, I am amazed you could walk, never mind run out on him in the middle of the night.’ Donna’s raucous laugh made her blush as she recalled how wild she had become with him. She wished now she had never told her about her night with Ruben —her sis was never going to let her live it down.

‘It just seemed easier to leave before—’

‘Before you dared to relax and allowed yourself to get close to somebody again?’

‘Hey! I’m not that bad,’
Bethany protested.

‘Sweetheart, you are fabulous. I just wish you could forget about the past and enjoy what life is trying to give you.’ Donna’s voice had become serious. ‘It’s been a long time since you let anybody get that close. I know you, Beth. You found some reason to push him away, rather than risk being hurt.’

Where had that come from?
Her sister knew her so well she had probably guessed what she’d been thinking about. ‘Donna, I am fine. I understand what you are saying, but that really wasn’t an issue. I doubt if Ruben has even thought of me since then.’

Bethany
ploughed on, filling the rare silence from her sister. ‘The experience was fabulous and a night I will never forget. But that’s all it was…a night.’

She heard Donna sigh and expected an argument, so found her words surprising. ‘Ok, so now that you have been reinvented as this wild child who loves them and leaves them, who is your next victim?’

‘Very funny.’ Her kid sister could be a real smart ass sometimes.

‘Seriously Beth, use this as a turning point. Don’t allow yourself to settle back into your old routine.’

She was right
.
Bethany knew it.

Searching for an excuse to change the subject, she asked about her beloved niece. She laughed as Donna told her that her husband Fletcher had banned the name ‘Ruben Navarro’ from ever being mentioned in his house again. She also mentioned that Tyla had become the ‘it’ girl at school—due to her aunt’s connections with the rich and famous.

‘I think ‘connection’ is stretching our involvement a little too far,’
Bethany objected, although secretly flattered that her niece thought she was so influential.

‘Well, based on the pathetically small amount of juicy gossip you deigned to share with me about that night, I’d say you were pretty ‘connected’ for most of the evening!’ Donna’s laugh drowned out
Bethany’s mortified shriek of embarrassment.

‘You must think I am as wild as you, Donna,’ she laughed, shaking her head at the thought of what her sister must be like in bed.
That Fletcher was a brave man
. Well, either brave or stupid.

‘Hey, we aren’t
that
different, as much as you would like to convince yourself that we are.’

‘I guess you’re right.’
Bethany didn’t think for one minute that she was anything like her, but decided against sharing her thoughts.
How could she disagree without making it sound as if she disapproved of her sister’s much more relaxed outlook on life and love…well, everything really?
They shared the same sense of humor and a quick temper but, deep down, they were different in a way that Donna could never understand.

The call ended quickly due to Tyla’s insistent whining in the background that she had to use the phone.

Bethany
thought back over her sister’s words.
Forget the past and enjoy what life is trying to give you
. That’s what Donna had said, and it kept repeating in her head, over and over.

Mindlessly finishing the last few household chores before she went to bed, she couldn’t shake the feeling that things needed to change. She didn’t want to go back to the emptiness of her life before.

The weekend was coming up and she was surprised to discover she had no desire to spend it alone. She would get her hair and nails done, perhaps go out to dinner.

Roger, the medical sales rep who asked her out every time he dropped off supplies, was due in the following morning. If he asked her out again, this time she would accept. He wasn’t really her type and she seriously doubted she would be able to tolerate him for more than an evening, but the thought of having a reason to dress up appealed to her.