Cajun Vacation (8 page)

Probably trying to figure how to cut me loose without a scene, he thought. He kept his gaze on her until the stress in her face subsided. She didn’t answer. “What kind of charity event?” she asked. “Is it some sort of environmental group?”

Keep her talking and maybe he could win her over for one more day. He smiled. “No and yes,” he said. “It’s the tenth annual Environmental Celebration lunch. It functions as an umbrella event for several charities in the area that focus on the Louisiana and Gulf area. So some people come from parts of Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama too. Individual charities will set up tables, but the event is set in the park. Lots of activities and an excellent BBQ. I have to go because of all the work I do for many of the groups.” He paused and waited while she digested what he said. Then he had an idea. “It might even help your story,” he said.

Erica cocked her head. “How so?” she asked.

He had to think quickly. “Well, I can’t be there to run the camera, but the heads of several local charities, and the regional directors of a few nationals will all be on hand. I’m sure they’d love to speak with a New York reporter and maybe offer a quote. Reporters from stations in New Orleans, Houston, and Birmingham will be there. But your station is by far the biggest, and most of your stories go national, so I’d imagine people would be more interested in talking with you.”

The more he said, the worse his reasoning sounded. He had just gave her the perfect excuse to go to the event and spend all her time working, instead of with him.

Erica expression darkened and he held his breath waiting for the rejection. “I’d be happy to go with you,” she said. “What should I wear?”

“Business casual,” he said. He had another afternoon with her, and later tonight, if she went to the dinner he promised. The start to what promised to be a bad day of saying an early goodbye had suddenly turned better.

“I do have to head back to the hotel before going,” she said. “I want to get my own clothes, and I have to apologize to my sisters for abandoning them this entire weekend.”

“How much time do you need? I should pick you up by 11AM.”

“I should get going now. I have some shopping to do. A few calls to make. And sisters to appease,” she said while untangling herself from his arms and out of bed.

He laughed. “I understand. I know how family can be,” he said.

“How so?” she asked.

“I’m the youngest of three. Two older sisters. God help me if I ever let them down on a promise,” he said, and then reached for her hand. She stepped away and raised her finger.

“If you want me to go with you then I have to get cleaned up. We’ll have time again later,” she said, a weak smile crossed her face. His stomach twisted up with desire watching her stand next to his bed naked. She rushed out the door to the bathroom before he had a chance to pull her to him again.

“I need to shower,” she said, and then she locked the door.

She slipped a note under Sara’s door, and then headed back to the elevator. Where her sisters had run off to was a mystery. Hopefully they weren’t out looking for her. But how she ended falling in love with Justin was the bigger mystery. Why had she agreed to another day with him? Going to his home last night for a private dinner left nothing hidden to their motives: sex in an actual bed. But going on an actual date, in a very public way, made no sense.

She wanted to say yes anyway, but wavered when she considered all the ways she could get hurt even more when the day ended. Then he threw her a lifeline with his excuse that she could get some work done. She might go through a few motions, but getting quotes like that was outside of what she was asked to do, and the station had someone assigned to gather information like that. No, Justin had just wanted to make the choice to be with him easier, so he had said what he said.

What started as a simple assignment had morphed into something complicated. Her heart was dancing on very dangerous ground. Tonight she needed to pack for a redeye back to New York. Her flight was less than twenty hours away, and her goodbye with Justin even closer. So the plan for the day was to go shopping, head out on a date with Justin, maybe one more round of wild sex; then she needed to say goodbye and pack. How unromantic. And she didn’t care, even if she dreaded leaving him.

She checked the time. The hotel boutique had taken enough of her money already. This time she intended to hit a store downtown to buy her next outfit. She would change at the store, and Justin could pick her up from there. This was his city. Justin would be able to find any address she gave him.

She walked past the doorman and waved. “Enjoy your Sunday,” he said, waving back. New Orleans had such a different feel than New York. She had lived in New York so long, that she had become accustomed to the less desirable attitudes of its inhabitants. She took big strides and headed toward the shopping district. After the workout she’d had with Justin, more exercise was overkill, but she wanted to take in the sights and sounds of the city during the day. Plus the walking let her think better. She hoped.

She made another turn and spicy aromas filled her senses. The smell of gumbos simmering made her mouth water, and she took a moment to look into many of the restaurants as she walked. Most restaurants had only a few patrons. Too late for most breakfasts, and too early for lunch. But each one had their specialty soups they were brewing and the smells tempted her each time she past a door to just go in and have a taste.

She had to stay focused on her shopping. She needed yet another outfit. Her fun-money budget for the weekend had been spent on clothes, but she didn’t care. She needed them. A smile crossed her face as she imagined Gary watching the raw footage that Justin had shot. Would he even notice that she had changed her wardrobe? Her style? Even if he did, what would he make of it? His narcissism probably left him too narrow minded to notice. If he did, would he recognize it as a sign that she intended to leave, if need be, her career at the station.

The strength of her certainty surprised her. However Justin would hurt her later when they parted, he had taught her that she could never go back to Gary. It might cost her a job she enjoyed, but she’d be able to live with herself the next morning. And she’d find another job somewhere. She didn’t know where, or how, but she had to believe it was true.

A sax player stood on a corner and she tossed a few bills into her case as she passed. Three clothing stores clustered next to each other a few doors down and she went into the most promising. She’d find something to wear, a new job in New York, and eventually her one true love.

Twenty minutes and too much money later, she walked out in her new outfit. She opened her purse and pulled out her phone.

“You’re not at the hotel,” said Justin.

“I wanted to get out of the hotel botique, and decided to do my shopping downtown instead. Do you know where the Starbucks is?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“I’m almost in front of it. I’ll wait for you there.”

“Be there in five minutes,” said Justin. “So how sexy is your new outfit?”

A wicked smile crossed her face. It was a pointless gesture since he couldn’t see her, but she did it anyway. “You’ve got four minutes, thirty seconds until you find out. Don’t be late.” Then she hung the phone up on him.

She placed her purse under her arm and picked up the pace. She wouldn’t allow him to beat her to the pickup spot. The restaurants were getting busier now. More people relaxed around tables and nibbled on appetizers. The variety of smells increased in proportion to all the extra dishes that were being served. Her stomach growled and she rubbed her belly.

She’d skipped breakfast. Dinner last night was good, even if a little burnt, but she eaten only a bit and ended up back in bed with Justin before finishing. She made a promise to herself not to pig out at the picnic. For their first time eating out in public together, she didn’t want to come across as the type of person who stalked all-you-can-eat buffet tables for hours.

She stopped in front of the Starbucks and peeked inside. A healthy line six deep waited for the barista to finish making their drinks. She turned to the street and checked the time. Justin had less than one minute to make his five minute deadline. She scanned the street for his car, then realized that she didn’t know what kind of car he had. He picked her up in the boat yesterday, and when she got to his home, it was parked in a closed garage.

With his obvious concern about the environment, she imagined him driving some type of hybrid.

A horn honked behind her, and she turned to watch Justin pull up beside her in a Ford F-150.

He whistled. “Can I give the lovely lady a ride?” he asked.

She smirked back at him and walked to the passenger door. “So where’s your electric car?” she asked, locking the door and fastening her seatbelt.

Justin gave a sharp, low laugh. “Have you ever tried to haul a four thousand pound trailer with a Prius?” he asked. “Trust me. It doesn’t work so well.”

“So you’re not into making a statement? Striking a first and trying to go electric?” she asked. Justin eased back into traffic and turned north. “It’s one thing to care about the environment, quite another to be impractical. When they make affordable, high horsepower trucks that run on nothing but electricity, then I’ll have a look. Until then I’ll stick with my truck and make my contribution in other ways.”

“Like helping charities?”

He gave her a quick smile that warmed her blood and put his hand on her knee.

She pushed it off and waved a finger at him. “You’re driving,” she said. Then she softened. “Let’s get to the picnic and mingle a little first. Then we can leave early if you like.” She said the last sentence in a sultry voice that she hadn’t realized she possessed.

Justin’s pressed his lips together, a low rumble echoed through him before he smiled. “I have to wait that long?”

She wanted to say no, and have him take her on the side of the road, but she decided to play with him and make him want her more. “Yes, you have to wait,” she said, then added quickly. “But only for a little while.”

Chapter 9

It was official. He was dying and Erica would be his cause of death. He tried slipping his hand along her thigh twice more on the ride to the park, but she rebuffed each attempt. Each time he figured that her resolve would crack, and they could find a secluded spot to make love again. He read her wrong.

However much desire she showed on her face, her willpower amazed him. From being the ready-to-go sexpot from yesterday to stringing him along and driving his own desire higher, she had wound herself around his heart. Letting her go would kill him and he knew it. What he didn’t know was how to tell her. Or if he should tell her. All she wanted was a wild time, so if he spoke up, then she’d probably bolt right then. This uncertainty on how to act with a woman was so uncharacteristic. He always had the answer. But Erica left him speechless.

At least she was enjoying the party, he thought.

For the last half hour she had been engaged in conversation with representatives of various charities. She took her work seriously, and managed to get more additional information then her report could possible use, but she kept on talking. At first, he thought that she was brushing him off. But every time she changed conversation partners, she gave him a coy look and discreetly brushed her hand across her breast or the front of her skirt. He skipped the alcohol they served. If he started drinking then his impaired judgment would lead him to fling her on a picnic table and do her in front of everyone.

He checked the time. Was two hours long enough face time at the event that he could safely leave and head back to his home with Erica? It had to be. He couldn’t last any longer without being inside her. She turned to him to flash the next sultry smile at him. After the teasing she put him through, he intended to make her beg him before he satisfied her next time. No matter how hard he had become, he had to tease her back just as much. He made his way over to her.

Placing his hand behind her back, he rubbed up and down her spine, causing her to purr under her breath. He whispered in her ear. “I think it’s time to leave,” he said, his hand turning her toward the parking lot.

“Justin!”

He mumbled a curse and then turned to see who had called him. A burly, silver-haired man, in a button-downed shirt, jeans, and well-worn boots grabbed his hand. Justin smiled. Being rude to one of the richest men in Texas, a person who’d hired him for past jobs for the station he owned in Houston, wasn’t a career enhancing move. He just hoped no one noticed the extreme bulge in his pants.

“Mr. Forrester, how have you been?”

“It’s been too long. But I’ve got another job for you.”

Justin cringed. Conversations with John tended to drag on a long time, and delaying his time with Erica wasn’t something he wanted to do. “Sounds good. You know I’m available for your local anytime you want.” Justin motioned to Erica. “This weekend I’m working for a station out of New York. They sent Ms. Canning down for a story.”

Erica held out her hand for a greeting.

John removed his hat, and gave her a firm shake. “An absolute pleasure, Miss,” he said.

John put his hat back on. “Well I won’t keep the two of you, but this isn’t an ordinary job I’m offering up. It’ll be more intense than usual,” he said.

As much as he wanted to leave with Erica, John had gotten his curiosity. “How so?” asked Justin.

“Well, no offense to the big city stations,” he said, looking at Erica. “But I’ve always wanted my local station to be the one to start doing some of the big exposé and special reports you see on the national news.”

“It’s the money,” said Justin. “They’ve got the budgets to pay all the people they need to make it happen.”

“Well that’s where my plan comes in. I’m starting up a new media company to work outside of the station I currently have. We going to focus on Internet broadcasting of internally developed investigative reports,” he said. “People get the daily news, but real good journalism has been dying since the Internet came around. I got enough money to fund this for years until it takes off, but I think with advertising, book tieins and some other things we’ve come up with that it can work.”