His Desire (4 page)

“No, but I’m sure she’s traveling so…”

“I spoke to her, Kylie . She knows. I’m sorry. The words were out before I could stop them.”

“How could you do that? How could you…”

“Easy, she had just told me she’d been seeing some old, extremely wealthy, French guy for months.” His voice edged with resentment.

“I’m sorry.” Kylie pushed the phone away, held her hand over her mouth, and breathed until the uneasiness passed. “Mariah’s just…”

“Yeah, Mariah’s just Mariah. Apparently, she’s been sleeping with the guy for quite a long time. While I was away in Oklahoma City. I’ve been working like crazy trying to…” He stopped. Was he remembering that he’d just slept with her last night?

“Aaron, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“That’s bullshit. You knew she was seeing him.”

“Yes,” she told him quietly. She couldn’t deny it. Aaron knew her too well.

She started to cry silent tears.

“How could you do that to me? How long? How long have you kept it from me?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She hated the wobbly sound of her voice. She knew that he’d picked up on her tears by the silence.

“Are you crying?” he asked in a tense voice. Aaron didn’t like her tears.

“Yes. I’m sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

His answer cut like a knife. “I don’t know. I trusted you. I can almost forgive Mariah. After all, she’s selfish. But you? I expected more from you, Kylie.

You were my friend.”

Were? “Aaron…” She couldn’t think of anything to say. What could she possibly say? Aaron was right.

They met by accident. Aaron had gotten roped into helping plan a Christmas party for the firm as its newest and youngest member of management. It was some sort of rite of passage he’d told her later. Aaron had been just unhappy enough to do the opposite of what his firm normally did. Which was to host one of those glamorous black tie get-togethers. When Aaron called Sarah to set up the interview Kylie was thrilled. She didn’t realize that calling her small, party planning, slash catering, slash sweet shop, had actually been done as a joke. Aaron didn’t tell her that little detail until much later, after she’d gotten the contract and won his respect, his firm’s and a great deal of Austin, Texas’ as well.

That party had made Your Every Desire Party Planners And Sweet Shop the talk of the town and had put Kylie on the map. She was the ‘new up and coming, quirky, little party planner’ as the local paper had hailed. That had set the town on its ear.

“Aaron, please, you have to forgive me. I never meant to hurt you. I just didn’t think it was my place to tell you.”

“I can’t believe you’d say that. You were my friend.”

“Would you stop saying that? I’m still your friend, Aaron.”

“Really? Then what was last night?”

Suddenly, she couldn’t catch her breath, much less think of any unmoved response to that angry condemnation.

“Do you sleep with all your friends? I’ve heard of going the extra mile for a friend, but I think you took that way beyond the extra mile, don’t you? Does Jeff know? Poor bastard.” She barely caught that last part.

“No! Aaron how can you ask that? And leave Jeff out of this?”

“Why, doesn’t he deserve to know the truth? I mean didn’t you just do to him what you couldn’t tell me Mariah was doing to me?”

“Didn’t you?” she couldn’t keep from saying. Aaron’s anger hurt. Almost as much as what he’d said.

Kylie listened to the silence once more and tried to keep from being sick. In the past, she and Aaron had their share of disagreements. Mostly when he talked about the hoards of models who all but threw themselves at his feet.

She hated that Aaron could be so shallow when it came to women. He, on the other hand, never stopped poking fun at her selection of men. Jeff being the latest was his favorite target. Jeff was an attorney at his father’s law firm and completely head over heels in love with Kylie, though she didn’t feel the same about him. How could she? She was crazy for Aaron. And even though she hadn’t as much as slept with poor Jeff, Kylie knew it was time to end the thing. Especially now.

“Oh, God.” She realized that she’d actually said those words out loud when Aaron asked if she were going to be sick again. No, just riddled with guilt.

She’d given into Aaron way to easily. She wasn’t any different from the hoard of models. And she could just kiss the old excuse she was fond of giving Jeff, of wanting to wait until she was sure she was established and set financially to start an intimate relationship, out the door. She hadn’t been waiting for anything but Aaron.

Please don’t let him guess the truth. Don’t let him know how crazy I am about him.

“Dammit, Kylie? Are you sure you’re all right?” Aaron asked again, forcing her to answer.

“Yes, I’m sorry I was just thinking about Jeff.”

“Great. That’s just what I wanted to hear from the woman I’d spent the night making love to. That she’s thinking about another man.”

“Oh, like you weren’t thinking of Mariah every time you…you were only trying to get even. Get her out of your system. Hurt her. Looks like you did.

Jeff doesn’t deserve that. Even if Mariah does.”

“Just shut up about Jeff will you? I don’t want to hear about him or how happy you are with him. Apparently not happy enough. At least not in bed.”

If he’d actually been standing in front of her at that moment, Kylie would have given into the need to slap the hell out of him. As it was, she was glad that Aaron wasn’t. Otherwise, he’d see the color in her face. And the truth in her eyes.

“I’m hanging up now. I’ll call you in a few days when you’re thinking more clearly.” She almost had the receiver replaced when she heard him say, “You can’t. I’m leaving today, remember?” It took a minute to get air in her lungs.

Aaron’s promotion. The move to Oklahoma City. She remembered the promotion party because she’d helped plan it. But the fact that Aaron was leaving for Oklahoma City had always seemed far away. It wasn’t any longer.

Last night he’d told her that was what he needed to talk to Mariah about.

The promotion had been moved up when the current senior executive of Shelby Advertising ran away with his secretary. Aaron was now in charge and needed to get things in order as soon as possible. Apparently, the man had left a disaster in the wake of leaving his wife of twenty odd years.

Aaron had told her all of this last night, right before they’d made love. Kylie forgot all about the promotion and the fact that Aaron was leaving today after that. Until now.

Now, it felt as if her heart would literally break into a million tiny pieces. She tried not to show him how much the thought of him leaving hurt.

“Well, I guess you don’t have any reason to stick around Austin anymore, do you? With Mariah…unavailable,” she told him frostily.

“I guess not,” he added, equally as cold. And the silence between them returned.

Kylie stood in the middle of her bedroom, still dressed in her robe; her short, brown hair wet and dripping. All thoughts of the client she was supposed to be meeting in just a few minutes were gone. She wanted to cry. To beg him to stay. Instead, she was silent.

Aaron was the one to call an end to their childish behavior. She heard his heavy sigh before he told her he was sorry.

“I don’t want to fight with you, Kylie. You’re my…friend. You mean too much to me. I’m sorry, but after last night, I don’t know how I should be treating you, I guess. Things got a little out of hand, didn’t they?”

“Yes.” She hated his apology. It only confirmed what Kylie knew already.

Aaron would always only be her friend.

“Kylie, look, we should talk about this. I can change my flight.” She couldn’t speak. He was leaving now? She hadn’t expected him to be leaving so soon.

“I’ll come over there. We need to talk this through, baby?”

All heartbroken thoughts ended with that endearment. “No. And don’t call me that. I’m not one of your women.”

“Kylie,” he added with another sigh. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t think that you were. But we need to talk.”

“No,” she said, trying to control the sobs. She was crying again. She didn’t want to cry. She hated hearing the pity in his voice. The regret. She couldn’t talk to Aaron like this. Not when he was leaving. Not when she was feeling this vulnerable.

“Kylie, please. I don’t want to leave it this way.”

“I can’t. I have a meeting in ten minutes.” Did her voice really sound as cold to him?

“Oh, I see. Silly me. I was actually worried that you might be upset about last night.” The anger was back. At that moment, she was almost glad. She didn’t know if their friendship could survive this mistake.

“Aaron, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant…” What? What did she want him to think? “I just think that we need some time apart. We’re both too emotional to discuss this right now. You’ve been hurt. I know that you loved Mariah…”

“Oh really?” he snapped. Aaron’s anger had her even more confused.

“Yes, I mean you wanted to marry her, right? You must love her?”

“Does it matter now?” he said without really answering the question.

“You were upset. I was…”

“What Kylie?” he asked softly, his voice reminding her of the way he’d talked to her last night. “You were what? I’d really like to know.”

“I was upset with Mariah and I felt bad for you.”

Aaron made a noise that sounded like a growl. “You know what, Kylie. Go to your damn meeting. You’re right. Now is not the time to talk about his.

Because right now, I want to ring your neck. I’ll call you later.”

“Aaron,” she cried out, her voice cracking under emotions. She was too late.

He was gone.

Kylie made a promise to herself to be unavailable when Aaron made that call.

* * * *

That was it? She was upset? She felt sorry for him? That was what last night had meant to her?

Breathe, Aaron told himself when he caught the shocked reaction of several people walking by. They probably thought he was a terrorist.

This morning after waking up alone, he’d been ready to drive over to her apartment and repeat last night all day long. He’d been willing to cancel his flight. Hell, he’d been willing to cancel his plans, his promotion. Everything for her and she’d felt sorry for him?

“Damn it.” Aaron repeated soft enough this time as to not arouse suspicion from the folks close by. She hadn’t wanted to upset Jeff. Jeff? That was all she could think about? Jeff followed her around like a puppy. She couldn’t be in love with him. Not after last night. He might not know a lot about the hearts of women, but he’d learned some things from his two sisters. And he knew a woman did not give herself to a man, as Kylie had to him, if she were in love with someone else.

Aaron opened the flip phone and considered calling her back. He should apologize. He’d lost his temper. And she apparently wasn’t well.

The thought of the possibilities behind that sickness was frightening as well as satisfying. He never had sex without protection. Ever. He hadn’t even thought about it last night. Last night was the fulfillment of twelve long months of obsessing over a woman. Kylie could well be pregnant. That didn’t bother him at all. She could just as easily be sick at the thought of making love to him. That bothered him.

Kylie thought he was in love with Mariah. Where had that come from? Did she just assume because he’d kept Mariah around longer than most, or had Mariah actually told her as much.

Not once in the months that he and Mariah had dated had Aaron ever led her to believe there was anything serious between them. But then, Mariah believed all men were in love with her. He wished the poor chump that was her latest all the best. At least he could afford her.

Aaron closed the phone without calling Kylie. He needed to give her time.

She was angry. Upset. She needed to cool off. He’d call her later and apologize and try to get her to listen.

He heard his flight announced and grimaced. Flying to Oklahoma City was last thing he wanted to do right now. Oklahoma only reminded him of Kylie.

She was a native Okie just as he was a native Texan. She was a diehard Oklahoma Sooners fan and he was a Longhorns fan. They argued over who was going to win the Red River Shoot Out every year. Now their citizenships were being reversed. That had to be some kind of sign.

Kylie had avoided making eye contact with Sarah since her assistant returned from covering the meeting for her.

Sarah’s tone had been full of unasked questions when Kylie was forced to call and tell her friend that she’d overslept. That wasn’t exactly the truth.

She hadn’t slept at all. At least not until it was almost too late for sleep.

“I’ll be in as soon as I can, but I need you to cover for me.” Sarah’s silence had been enough to tell Kylie how odd her behavior was. Kylie never blew off a meeting. She’d gotten out of bed suffering from the worse case of flu in years to host a private party for a women’s group.

Now, as Kylie sucked down her fourth cup of coffee in less than an hour, she tried to shut out all thoughts of Aaron, her reckless behavior the night before, and all the possible things she’d given away to him.

Her stomach churned on empty. The coffee hadn’t helped her queasy stomach one little bit. Just the opposite.

She finished preparations for the evening’s party and pretended to miss Sarah’s curious glances until she could no longer stand the silence.

“Okay, stop it. I don’t want to talk about it.” She turned and faced her friend when she finally couldn't stand it any longer.

“What? I didn’t say a thing,” Sarah insisted with a blank expression as she finished the last of the decorations on the cake intended for tonight’s party.

“Oh yes you did.”

“I’ve been quietly putting red roses on this cake.”

“But you’re dying to say something,” she told her childishly.

Sarah put down her colored frosting and grinned impishly, looking more like Sarah. Those quiet little looks of hers were completely out of character.