Читать книгу Her Improper Affair - Shea McMaster - Страница 10

Birdie woke to sunlight peeking around the edges of the curtains of her room. And a bed empty of Ozzie. In fact, all signs of him were gone, from his cufflinks to his tie. She pushed her hair from her face and realized she’d fallen into a deep sleep right after he’d snuggled her into his arms. When had he left?

Why had he left?

A sunbeam worked its way between the curtains and stabbed her in the eye, bringing with it a pounding in her head. Damn. A hangover. She’d never gotten around to taking a couple aspirin along with a quart or two of water. Neither had she removed her stockings, washed her face, or brushed out her now impossibly snarled hair.

With a groan, she dropped back on the pillow and tried to block out the morning. But she was naked between the sheets, and her body gloriously relaxed. Down there her parts pulsed with a satisfaction she’d never felt before. She smiled at the memory until she remembered she hadn’t taken her turn to satisfy him. Which meant, dammit, she was still a virgin. Mostly. Did it count that he’d had his fingers inside her?

From the desk across the room the phone rang, driving another spike of pain into her head. Brunch with the family. She rolled her head enough to glance at the clock and noticed she was supposed to be downstairs right now.

Instead of running for the hotel phone, she grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table where she’d left it before the wedding and reception. Saw three texts from her mother.

She punched out a fast reply: Just woke up. Give me 30.

The return ping was fast. You okay? Need me to come up?

As if. No. I’m good. Just a little hung over. 30 mins.

Another fast reply: Okay. See you then.

Well that bought her a little time, but not much. She could only imagine the conversation between her parents downstairs. Surely she’d get concerned looks and maybe some inquiry. However, she was a grown up. As Ozzie now knew.

As tempted as she was to stay in the shower for a solid hour—it felt that good—she rushed through it only taking time for an extra dose of conditioner to comb out her tangles. Thoughts of seeing Ozzie again helped speed her through getting ready. Wet hair twisted into a simple up-do, she casually tossed on her favorite yellow sundress and a pair of sandals, completely skipping makeup except for the lip gloss she applied in the elevator down. With a minute to spare she sauntered into the private dining room set aside for the wedding party brunch that included out of town guests staying at the hotel.

Which meant Ozzie would be there.

Or should have been there.

A quick glance didn’t show the sneaky Englishman anywhere. Frowning, she searched the room again. Skip out of her room while she slept and then hide out in his? Was he so cowardly? Or aghast at what he’d done? Her mood deflating a little, she bit her bottom lip in confusion at the thought, then caught her mother’s concerned look with a questioning brow raised. Oops. Time to look happy for the newlyweds.

Pasting a smile on her face, she stopped by the drinks table just long enough to pick up a glass of orange juice. Mom was already pouring her a cup of coffee at the table. A spot was open for her between Mom and Grandpa. Mom’s dad still looked handsome and vigorous with a full head of steel colored hair at seventy-one. Birdie only had the two grandparents now, Grandpa Dailey and Grandmother Robinson. The first adored her, the second wanted to improve everything about her. But she knew the old woman loved her in some warped and twisted way.

Birdie slid into her seat and gratefully accepted the cream pitcher her grandfather passed her.

“Feeling a little under the weather this morning, eh?” He nudged her with his shoulder.

“Nothing some coffee and juice won’t fix. Maybe half a pound of bacon.”

Grandpa snickered. “If you want a Bloody Mary, they make a pretty good one here.”

“No thank you. Vodka on top of last night’s champagne? Sounds like a nightmare in the making. Especially if we have to sit through the happy couple opening five hundred gifts.”

“Only two hundred,” her mother answered. “The rest are at the Wu’s house.”

“Oh thank God. I hope most of them are gift cards.”

“I expect so. Most of what’s on the table are envelopes.”

Birdie had kept her gift very small. Personalized His and Her leather travel tech organizers. Perfect for holding passports, phones, charging cords, earbuds, and a little cash. She’d even thrown in matching luggage tags, also personalized. Useful for all the traveling in their future. For the bridal shower she’d given Meilin a pair of panties with “Groom Landing” printed on the front. Not every gift had to be practical.

“Am I the last to arrive?” She looked around the room, making note of all the groomsmen minus the traitorous Ozzie, who was still a no-show. The rat.

His uncle, the ever nosy Larry Attenborough, looked up from his plate and gave her a wide smile across the table. “Looking lovely as usual today, Miss Birdie.”

“Courtney,” she corrected absently. Too many people were looking at her with speculation in their eyes. Was her almost un-virginized state that obvious? Or was she too obvious about looking for Ozzie?

Dad leaned around Mom. “Everyone is here, except Oswald who caught a ride to the airport about an hour ago. His flight is in a few hours. He needed to get back to be ready for a meeting on Friday morning. This way he’ll be able to grab a few hours sleep once he gets in.”

“Ah.” She busied herself sipping her juice, then stirring her coffee.

“Want me to get you something from the buffet?” Dad asked. “Eggs? Sausage? Rolls?”

“Um, sure. A little of everything, I guess.” Not that she was especially hungry, but food would help the last of her hangover.

Dad pushed back from the table and came around to kiss the top of her head. “I know what you like, puddin’.” The silly nickname made her smile up at him. For all the years they’d missed, they were making up time. If a childish nickname made him happy, then it made her happy. They’d had a rough start, but things were cool now. Last night while dancing with him she’d even called him Daddy and nearly brought both of them to tears.

“So other than opening gifts, what’s on for today?” she asked her mother.

“Not much else. Some folks want to see Alcatraz. Your aunt wants to go shopping. Thank God we’re already on Union Square and won’t have to travel far. Your grandfather is taking your grandmother to the Legion of Honor Museum. I think Albert is taking the kids down to Great America. We’ll all meet back here for dinner at seven.”

It was a given that Dad’s sister, Liza, wanted to see the best of what San Francisco had to offer in the way of shopping. Heck, they could even do a quick cruise of Chinatown, which was also close by.

“I’ll go with Liza. Not that I need much.” Other than some sexy new underwear. Oh yes, she wanted something better than the plain Lycra she’d been wearing last night with the idea of holding her up and in. If she was starting a friendship with benefits, it was time to up her game in the lingerie department.

Birdie looked to Drew’s two friends from London. “You two on the Alcatraz trip?”

“Yer,” Phillip Hammond answered. “Don’t need to follow the women around and carry shopping bags when I can do that anytime at home.” His smirk said he wouldn’t do it there, either. “What are your plans on arrival in London?”

“I’m not sure what Mom has planned. Other than the next event on Sunday, and then on Monday I report for work.”

“Once you’re settled in, I’ll be happy to squire you about town, help you get a feel for things,” Drew’s other friend from London, Calvin Whetmore, offered. The smile on his face was just a tad too smarmy for Birdie’s taste, although she thanked him.

“I’m sure I have plenty of guides, not to mention my own brain, to get around. Plus, it’s not like I haven’t been there before.” Granted it had never been longer than two weeks at a time, but she had been on the tour of London and knew the Vauxhall area around the condo and offices fairly well.

“We’ll look you up in a couple weeks,” Phillip said. “Get you introduced around so you have some friends to hang with.”

If nothing else, they might know a few of the more fun night clubs. “That’d be great. Thanks.”

Dad returned with a pair of plates, each one loaded with more than she could eat, but he had a fair sampling of the buffet tables. Had Drew been sitting beside her, he’d happily help, but the newlyweds were occupied on the far side of the room.

However, before she took off for the day, there was one person she very much needed to talk to. Jack.

Shortly before graduation, he’d done his best to talk her out of moving to London. He’d used the argument that her grandfather needed her here in California. If she wanted to run a company, there was one readymade for her, especially with her mother moving halfway around the world.

It was a good argument, and one she’d discussed in depth with her grandfather. While he’d miss her, he said, there were plenty of people who would love to buy his business, so she wasn’t to worry about it for even a second. She glanced his way, and Grandpa winked back at her. They were good. Always had been. More often than not, they teamed up as co-conspirators in teasing her mother. Mom claimed she was the sandwich generation, or more specifically, the turkey in the middle getting squeezed between the elder and younger generations.

So she just needed to clear the air with Jack. It took a little maneuvering, but once she’d finished eating, she got up from the table, picked up a fresh glass of juice, then wormed her way into the group surrounding the newlyweds. It didn’t take long to cut Jack from the group and get him off to the side.

“Jack,” she started.

“Courtney, we really don’t have anything else to say to one another.” Although he smiled for their audience, she couldn’t miss the hurt in his voice.

“I don’t want to leave with you mad at me. You’re a good friend. I’ve very much enjoyed, and appreciated, having you around. Once Drew left, you became my best buddy.”

Jack winced at the buddy designation, but he also sighed and looked at the ground for a second before raising dark eyes that held a lot of sadness and hurt, but also resignation.

“I’d say you were more than a buddy, Courtney.”

She rested a hand on his arm. “I know. But I never tried to lead you on. I made it clear from the beginning my aim was London, and now it’s happening. My next goal is to become indispensable to Lynford.”

“And rule the world as the first female CEO of the family business. I get that.” He sighed and looked toward the newlyweds and their court of admirers. “I’d just hoped you’d change your mind.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to, you know.”

“I know.”

“And we did have fun.”

Jack nodded, his eyes full of so much emotion she wanted to cry.

“Please don’t be mad at me.” She couldn’t keep the pleading tone from her voice. It really hurt to turn Jack down this way, despite the forewarning she’d given him.

“I’m not.” Jack sighed and his shoulders slumped. “As much I want to be angry with you, I’m more upset with myself. You were clear, but I ignored it. I wanted to sweep you off your feet the way Drew did Meilin. I was jealous of their romance and wanted it for myself.” The crooked smile he gave her was self-deprecating.

Birdie rested a hand on his arm. “You will have it. But I’m not the woman for you. I happen to know Ping’s little sister is wild about you.”

“Wen?” Jack frowned. “Why she’s no older than…you.” A light of intrigue entered his eyes. “Really? It’s hard to think of her as all grown up now. I remember her as a baby, always toddling off somewhere she had no business going. And as a teenager she was a complete disaster, always getting into trouble with her parents. I remember when she got her first piercing, an eyebrow if I recall.” Jack smiled at the memory. “Maybe I’ll have to look in on her, see how she’s doing these days.”

Whew. Great deflection if she did say so herself. “You should do that. I’m sure Ping would love to help find a way to make it look casual.” Birdie gave his arm a light squeeze, then let go.

Jack chuckled, so much more like his happy-go-lucky self. “I know she would. I cringe at the thought of being at her mercy when it comes to matchmaking.”

“If I say a quiet word to her? Suggest you need a distraction from missing me?” The coy look and batted eyelashes earned her another laugh. “Would that help?”

“I’m not ready for the altar, well, unless you are, but I suppose I could look around a little.”

Better to ignore that altar comment. “I’ll put in a word for you. Make you seem very reluctant. Can’t have you looking eager.”

“There is that. Jack the playboy needs to keep his reputation intact.” He rolled his eyes while grimacing.

“I’m sorry you’re not coming to London with us. Sure you can’t get away?”

Jack shook his head regretfully. “My uncle’s health is much improved, so my aunt doesn’t need my help with him, and I have a large caseload this week. One even going to court.”

“Court? Wow, that’s exciting. And what you’ve been waiting for, right?” One year out of law school, he’d been itching to go head-to-head in a courtroom. “Well good for you.” She gave him a huge smile. “I’m very pleased for you.”

“Thank you. I’m quite pleased myself.”

They stood and shared a long gaze for several seconds, until Birdie broke the silence. “So, we’re good now? You won’t mope when I’m around or ignore me to the point of ridiculousness?”

Jack picked up her hand and held it for a long moment, then raised it to kiss her knuckles. “No, I won’t be rude. Yes, we’re good. And if you change your mind about London, I’ll still be here. But wait too long and I may be taken.”

Laughing at his roguish wink, Birdie leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad we’re good. You’re going to be snapped up very quickly, and then it will be my loss for sure.”

Still holding her hand, he asked, “You going to Alcatraz?”

Birdie shook her head. “Nope. I’m for shopping with Aunt Liza. She likes to buy lots of gifts. Someone will have to remind her she has only so much space in her suitcases.”

Now if only she could find out why Ozzie had run from her.