That First Kiss (22 page)

It had
, and he was already wondering how much he would regret his decision later as he trailed after her to resume his post.

26

Piper was having a
good time. Better than she thought she’d have when she rolled out of bed this morning. Tom was a great companion and she found, not for the first time, that they shared an easy connection. Almost like brother and sister. They just clicked.

             
The steady flow of traffic should have made it easy to blend into the crowd and lose a few hours, but Piper had found her brain constantly occupied with thoughts of Tate, who sat at the table reserved for the authors at the head of the room. For hours, she had caught herself in his hard gaze. No matter where she went, no matter how she tried to shield herself, she could never quite shake the feeling of his eyes on her. It should have made her uneasy, completely off kilter, even, but she wasn’t. She was aroused.

             
Just the idea that Tate wanted her badly enough to keep her in his sights was an aphrodisiac.
Was he jealous?
She asked herself that question several times throughout the day, and each time she did, she found herself leaning closer to Tom, hanging on his every word. Each step she took, she let her hips sway a little more, her laugh reach a little higher. What was he thinking, watching her enjoy herself with another man?

             
“How are you enjoying Vegas so far?” Mr. Bradshaw directed his question at her and Piper struggled to compose herself.

             
She cleared her throat. “I’m afraid I haven’t been able to get out yet, but the hotel is nice.”

             
“Ah,” Mr. Bradshaw said, expressing his understanding. “I’m sure the preparations for this afternoon have kept you fairly busy. I tend to forget those small details when nothing more than showing up is required of me.”

             
Piper grinned, finding the man charming in a stiff, businessman kind of way. He wasn’t exactly personable, but he was certainly attractive and she didn’t know why, but she imagined that under that posh business suit and proper way of speaking, he was just an ordinary, fun-loving guy.

             
“If you can get away this evening, I recommend you visit the MGM. They host a lot of great shows and have a host of activities that shouldn’t be passed up.”

             
“Thank you,” Piper said, inclining her head. “I’ll keep that in mind.” As Mr. Bradshaw directed the conversation to Tom, Piper slid her gaze discretely around the room.

             
The problem with watching someone so closely was that she knew the exact moment when Tate left his seat and began heading in her direction. A brief glance over her shoulder, that’s all it took to set her heart thundering in her chest.

             
There she was, standing among a group consisting of her boss and a few fellow Bookish Temptation employees with Tom’s warm hand resting gently on her hip, and a couple of suits she wasn’t familiar with. They were talking shop and she was bored to tears. She felt his approach like a swift breeze, a storm threatening on the horizon. The tension he radiated was a palpable force, and she knew without a doubt that Tate was coming their way.

             
Moments passed and Piper chewed lip in nervous anticipation, her belly filled with the flutter of butterflies, but nothing happened. Tate never stormed his way into their group. He never whisked her away or staked his claim. By the time Piper was finally able to break away, she couldn’t find him anywhere. Gone, like a phantom in the night.

             
The disappointment that flooded her then was almost crippling. Piper had to force herself upright. She recalled Tom asking her if she was feeling alright, and she had responded with barely a nod, her voice failing her. The game was over and she felt like a complete fool for ever thinking that Tate would come after her. This wasn’t a movie. He wasn’t a hero and she was far from any heroine, and there would be no rescue—not that she needed rescuing from someone as honorable and caring as Tom.

             
But that didn’t stop her from wanting it

             
Insisting that she get off her feet, Tom directed her to an empty table and dashed away to find her some water. While Piper sat there, staring off into the sea of people, her eyes constantly scanning for the one person she wished to see most, she finally got her wish.

             
There, beyond the hotel’s walls, stood Tate with a woman nearly half his height, tucked into a secluded corner of the building. No doubt, from where they stood, they thought they were completely alone. With just a glance at their surroundings, they might have noticed that they were in direct line of the windows where everyone could take in their exchange if they happened to look up.

             
They weren’t even technically together, so the rush of jealousy took Piper by surprise. She was transfixed by the tiny woman. Was this Tate’s new bedmate? Was she why he sneaked out on her last night, or was this her replacement for this evening? Piper’s chest ached with a pain that superseded anything she had experienced after finding Tyler in bed with her roommate. This was a different monster entirely, one that threatened to pull her under into a bottomless pit of despair that she may never be able to climb out of. The realization was startling, but one she knew she was beyond escaping. Somehow, Tate had managed to affect her, and she wasn’t certain how to become
un
affected.

             
As they talked, she analyzed every expression, every angle of their bodies, reading between the lines what she couldn’t hear in words. What she gathered: they were something to each other. There was history there. She couldn’t be sure how they were connected, of course, but they were. Of that she had no doubt. She caught a hint of upset flit across Tate’s face before being replaced by something fiercer. It instilled in her a hint of hope, but that was all dashed when moments later, the woman threw herself into his arms and he welcomed her into his embrace. 

             
He was smiling when they stepped away from each other and she didn’t have to guess at the fact that they had settled whatever problems they’d had with each other moments ago. When she saw Tate turn to head inside, Piper leaped from her seat. She couldn’t be there. She couldn’t face him right now.

             
Wending her way toward the door, her only thought was to escape before Tate returned. Her game, the game Shelia had put her up to, had blown up in her face. Big time. And that was how she ended up standing here, just outside the conference room amid a sea of guests and staring into the glossy metallic doors that reflected her desperation back at her. She had just jabbed the button on the elevator when a firm hand came down on her shoulder.

             
She yelped in surprised panic.

             
“Hey, where are you running off to?” Tom stood over her, his expression a mix of confusion and concern.

             
“I um—I’m sorry, Tom, but I need to go lie down.” Piper’s eyes darted down the hall nervously, the excuse rolling off her tongue with hardly a thought. Tom’s gaze followed hers and when, to Piper’s horror, Tate rounded the corner, understanding reflected back at her.

             
“Care if I walk you back?”

             
Piper tore her eyes away from Tate and looked up into Tom’s chocolate depths. The tenderness she saw there was nearly her undoing. Behind her, the elevator dinged its arrival and she bit her lip, thinking quickly. Would it be wrong of her to invite him up when her emotions were in such tangle?  She knew that Tom liked her. She like him, too, but it wasn’t enough. He was a nice guy and she couldn’t deny that she was attracted to him, but he just didn’t inspire the same intense feelings she got when she was with Tate. Even so, she found she couldn’t turn him away.

             
Grateful for his offer, Piper accepted with a small nod. She twisted around, preparing to board the car, but was forced back as a pushy couple shoved their way in first, knocking her back slightly. Tom’s hard chest braced her back and she felt him tense, irritated by their behavior, but true to his nature, he didn’t say anything. The opportunity for comparison jumped at Piper, and she thought of how different Tate’s reaction would have been in this situation. No doubt, the couple would no longer be smiling as widely as they were now.

With a gentle nudge,
Tom urged Piper forward.

             
The moment Tom stepped inside, Piper felt the air around them shift to accept him. Tom was a big guy, quiet and reserved she was learning, but his confidence devoured everything in his path. Right now, he commanded the small cube, driving back the other riders and dissuading any hopefuls from climbing on with them. Piper, glad to have him at her side, like a silent sentinel, smiled weakly up at him—he was a good friend.

             
That single thought suddenly put everything into perspective. Without intending to, Piper had put Tom firmly into friend territory.

             
Reaching past her, Tom punched in the number that would carry them to their floor. As the doors began to slide shut, Piper heard someone shout her name. She didn’t have to look up to know who that someone was, but she did anyway. Because, as she had already surmised long ago, she was a glutton for punishment.

             
Tate’s flushed face appeared as the doors began to slide shut. Piper watched several emotions cross his face as he tried to make it to her in time. First, relief, followed by puzzlement at whatever look he saw on her face, then, when he noticed who she was riding with, downright fury. And then he was gone.

             
Piper drew in a deep breath. Her lungs felt constricted, her throat tight. Her skin was hot despite the blast of cool air being piped down from above. Behind her, she could hear the hushed whispers of new love. Her stomach dropped.

             
More than anything, Piper wanted to be angry. Angry with Shelia for suggesting this stupid plan, angry with Tate for having foiled it, but most of all, angry with herself for ever believing it could work. Unfortunately, the only thing Piper felt was bone deep sadness and a need to climb into bed with a bucket of Rocky Road and eat her sorrows away. She would have to settle for the unfamiliar hotel bed and a frozen yogurt bar she’d spied in the mini fridge instead, but she could make it work.

             
The ride up seemed to take forever and by the time Piper stepped off onto their floor, she was practically sprinting to her room.

             
“Hey, hold up,” Tom said, jogging to her side. He snagged her hand in his and pulled her to a stop just outside her door. “It’s a good thing I was there for what happened just now or I might be inclined to think you were running away from me.” He smirked, but when Piper didn’t smile back, his face turned serious. He stepped closer, invading her personal space. “Wanna talk about it?”

             
Piper slanted a look at the floor, noticing that their hands were still locked together. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

             
Bending his knees, Tom lowered himself to her level and searched her face. “You sure? I grew up with two sisters and I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, but I’m a pretty good listener.” She couldn’t help it. Piper smiled. “Ah, there’s my girl.”

             
Warmth cascaded over her at his endearment. It wasn’t the type of warmth that came with passion or even anticipation, but the kind that made Piper feel cared for. Protected, even. It was a nice feeling, especially when she was so far away from her home and friends.

             
“I’m tired. I should probably head inside and let you get back,” she told him, withdrawing from the situation. Taking a step back, Piper tried to reclaim her hand, but Tom’s firm hold kept her in place.

             
“They can live without me for a while longer.” He uttered the words, and Piper heard the intent in them clearly. She stared up at him, frozen in place, as Tom used their joined hands to tug her closer and dropped his mouth to hers.

             
It was a nice kiss. Sweet and tender…and everything it shouldn’t be when two people connect in a romantic way. As her head cleared, Piper told herself that she needed to stop this, that she was leading him on, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Decided, Piper drew back, smiling softly.

Tom stood tall before her, looking down on her with
nothing short of pure adoration shining in his eyes. He was incredibly handsome in all his black and white finery. Why couldn’t she want a guy like him—polite, caring, generous and undeniably
nice
? Glutton, she ruefully reminded herself once again.

When Piper would have
severed the connection and ducked into her room muttering a thousand and one apologies, Tom caught her off guard. Releasing her hand, he reached up and cupped her face in his palms. His thumbs stroked her cheeks as he looked deep into her eyes. She didn’t know what he saw there, but whatever it was; it encouraged him to move in once again.