My Favorite Mistake (12 page)

“Denise, what a nice surprise. Is anyone dead, dear?”

I frowned. “Uh…no.”

“Oh, I thought you might be cal ing with bad news. I had a premonition this morning that I was going to hear bad news today. Didn’t I, Harrison?”

I could picture my dad nodding. This wasn’t going wel . “Actual y, Mom, I cal ed to tel you that…Barry and I are engaged.”

My mother shrieked and covered the mouthpiece. “Harrison—our daughter is getting married!” She came back on the line. “Oh, Denise, we’re so happy for you! Aren’t we

happy for her, Harrison?”

“We’re happy for you, sweetheart,” my father shouted in the background.

“Have you set a date?” my mother asked.

“No—”

“Oh, you’l have to get a dress! Oh, won’t that be fun!”

Thinking of the gown hanging in my closet, I massaged my temple. “Yes. How’s your trip?”

“Horrible,” my mother declared, then launched into a diatribe about how miserable the weather had been. “
Noah
never saw such rain. I’ve been wet through and through since the minute we arrived.”

I had made appropriate sympathetic noises, then told her to cal me when they returned to the States and gave them my love. She was shouting, “My daughter’s getting married!” to her friends before she even disconnected the cal .

I felt like crap.

What would my mother think of me if she knew that I’d already been married once?

Not
married,
I chided—my marriage to Redford had been
annulled.
Obliterated. Expunged. It didn’t exist.

Which wouldn’t be so hard to believe if Redford DeMoss wasn’t so very, very real. And so very, very sexy. I closed my eyes and remembered the way he had leaned across the

table, baiting me with those amazing eyes to let down my guard, to let him in—literal y—again. Even now, a tug on my midsection, a warming of my thighs betrayed my answer to

Redford. I wanted him so badly it hurt. If only everything I held dear—everything I wanted to be—wasn’t at stake. If I gave in to my desires this time, it could be a mistake I’d never recover from.

Desperate for a distraction from my relentless thoughts of Redford who was at this moment with his buddy Jim and probably picking up women with a mere eye-twitch, I turned

to the most un-sexy chore I could think of: I delved into the depths of my archived files and pul ed out our tax records.

What I found was not comforting. Although I had receipts for most of the home office deductions I’d taken, the expenses themselves were a stretch—and significant. The U.S.

tax code at the time was such that as a couple, we actual y paid more taxes than if we had been two single people filing. I’d fil ed out the forms a few days before the annulment had been finalized and, in hindsight, had not been in the best frame of mind. My marriage had been a big mistake—being penalized by the government had only added salt to my wounds. I’d felt entitled to…fudge a little on the return. Now I just felt like eating fudge.

Damn, I wished I’d bought that bag of peanut M&M’s.

Even worse than my questionable deductions, I’d dragged Redford into this mess. And I would be humiliated when the tax agent dressed me down for taking advantage of the

government, then levied fines and penalties—maybe even criminal charges. Somehow I couldn’t bear the thought of looking inept in front of him. Being dragged off in leg irons didn’t hold much appeal, either.

Buried near the financial papers from the time we’d been married, I found pamphlets and books on Thoroughbreds and the Marine Corps and logistics—Redford’s field of

expertise in the Corps. I’d bought them at a bookstore at the Las Vegas airport to learn more about my new husband and his life—what I thought would become my life. The books were dog-eared. As I flipped through, I found myself absorbed once again, as I had been three years ago, and settled against the headboard of my bed.

Logistics, I realized, had prepared Redford to run just about any kind of organization. It was good training for the Thoroughbred business he loved, which, I learned from yet

another book, required managerial knowledge of every aspect of the business—from hiring good people, to buying quality stock, to overseeing the intricacies of breeding. And I do mean intricacies. Those chapters I read twice, alternately wide-eyed and wincing. Yikes. (But I stil wanted to see a stal ion’s penis.)

Around 10:30 p.m. the phone rang. I tore myself away from my reading long enough to pick up the handset, expecting to hear Barry’s voice on the other end. I couldn’t wait to tel him about the tickets to Vegas.

“Hel o?”

“Hi, Denise. It’s Redford.”

My throat closed. In the background I could hear bar noise—music, muffled voices.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?”

I guiltily set aside the book on Thoroughbreds. “Just reading. Are you and Jim having a good time?”

“Oh, yeah, sure, it’s great to catch up.” He cleared his throat. “Denise…I just wanted to cal and say…”

“Yes?” My breath caught in my throat. Curled up in bed with the voice of a sexy guy in my ear…. Heaven help me, I felt as if I were sixteen again. My breasts grew taut beneath my thin nightshirt.

“I just wanted to say that it was great to see you again, and…wel , good night.”

“Good night,” I murmured. “I’l see you in the morning, Redford.”

“You don’t know how good that sounds,” he said, his voice low and earnest. “Good night, Denise.”

I hung up the phone, lay my head back and groaned. Shivers skated over my skin and heat radiated from the juncture of my thighs. I was in a bad place if Redford was able to

turn me on with a few innocent words.

I smoothed a hand over my stomach, then under the elastic band of my panties, closing in on the center of my pleasure. Releasing myself was insurance, I told myself. It would

help me to resist the barrage of sexual cues that Redford emitted natural y…

I closed my eyes and his face came into my mind, his eyes hooded and his jaw clenched in restraint. He was above me, inside of me, thrusting cautiously at first, until I could accommodate the amazing length of him ful y. Then I took over the rhythm, lifting my hips to meet him thrust for thrust. A warm hum droned deep inside me, flowing over my stomach and down to my knees. The pleasure was singular and intense. I reached under my nightshirt to stroke a budded nipple. Redford loved it when I touched myself. I groaned and strained harder against the pressure in my nest. The vibration inside intensified, like a chant of many voices, rising to the pinnacle note. The bed beneath me seemed to fal away in pieces as I shot into space, crying out his name. “Redford…Redford…ohhhhh…oohhhh….”

I lay stil for a few seconds, imbedded in my mattress, marinating in the pleasurable pulsing of recovery and the languid angles of my limbs. It was the last time, I promised

myself—the last time I would fantasize about being with another man…about being with Redford. I couldn’t continue to condition my body to respond to him physical y…his memory had become a sexual habit, I realized…one I had to break if I were ever to get on with my life.

The more my mind swirled, the more alert I became. Other worries began to infringe: the IRS audit, El en Brant’s business, deceiving Barry and my parents, the wedding dress I

was trying to win back. I tried to relax, to tel myself that I needed to be refreshed and emotional y tough to get through the next few days. Yet as I stared at the ceiling, adrenaline coursing through my veins, I knew that tonight I would get about as much sleep as I used to when Redford had been in bed with me—little to none.

11

Saturday

Days left on eBay auction: 3

Bidding on wedding dress up to: $1029

Winning bidder: SYLVIESMOM

THE NEXT MORNING,
dead tired and running fifteen minutes late, I trotted into the lobby of the hotel where Redford was staying. That darned SYLVIESMOM seemed determined to get my dress!

Redford was leaning against a stalwart wood column, dressed in jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt, holding his duster coat over his arm and his black hat against his thigh. I bit back a groan—the man was gorgeous. My stomach quickened, the memory of last night’s self-gratification fresh.

He grinned as I approached, then squinted. “Hey, there. Are you feeling okay?”

So much for concealing my dark circles. I nodded and fingered back a lock of hair that had fal en out from under my wool hat. “Fine. Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem,” he said, nodding toward a picture window with a particularly nice view. “I was just enjoying the scenery.”

As were the people around him, I noted wryly—several women behind the reservations desk ogled him openly. I frowned, knowing that I’d probably worn that same pathetic look

on my face around Redford.

“Ready to go?” I asked.

“Wherever you want to take me,” he said, swinging into his coat and planting his hat on his head.

I refused to acknowledge the spike in my pulse, resolute to be the pleasant but distant tour guide. We would be so busy today, there would be no time for intimate eye contact

or waxing nostalgic about our few days in Vegas. I walked two steps in front of him, pumping my arms as fast as my bulky coat would al ow. I had dressed for minimum exposure and sex appeal today: loose jeans, turtleneck, chunky sweater, Merril loafers, unflattering hat.

“I like your hat,” he said, easily catching up with me with his long stride and holding open the door that led outside.

“Thanks,” I murmured, bracing myself against the cold blast of February air. “I thought we’d go to the Statue of Liberty first.”

“Sounds great.”

“Is there anything special you’d like to see today?”

He made a rueful noise. “Ground Zero.”

I stopped, my heart in my throat as I looked up at him. Of course he’d want to see the World Trade Center site—the remnants of the event that had precipitated the U.S. re-

involvement in the Gulf, where he’d spend the better part of two years, witnessing war and its aftermath.

Beneath the brim of his hat, his eyes were grave, his expression solemn. “I think it’s probably necessary that I see it.”

I nodded, blinking away sudden moisture, then resumed walking. “Of course,” I said when I found my voice. “In fact, you’l get your first view from the ferry on the way to Liberty Island.”

“Do you want me to drive?” he asked, hooking his thumb toward the hotel parking garage.

“I thought we’d take the subway.”

“Great. I always wanted to ride the New York subway.”

I smiled. “It’l be packed because it’s Saturday, but that’s part of the charm.”

“If you say so,” he said cheerful y.

I picked up the pace, heading toward the nearest station. “Did you have a good time last night with Jim?”

“Oh, sure,” he said. “Drank a few brews. Talked about the Corps. Oh, and he gave me tickets to
42nd Street
for tonight. Want to go? We could have an early dinner.”

I balked.

“Never mind,” he said quickly. “You’ve probably seen it a dozen times.”

“Actual y…no.” It was one of those classic Broadway shows that I just hadn’t gotten around to seeing, in favor of more trendy fare. “I’d like to go.”

He grinned. “Good. I real y didn’t want to have to ask Jim to go to a Broadway show with me.”

I laughed. “Did he retire from the Corps, as wel ?”

“No, he’s a reservist. Was cal ed up to serve a few months, and we wound up in the same place for a while.”

During the time Redford had returned from Vegas, a newly married man. I wet my lips that were already chapped from the cold, and descended stairs into the subway station.

“How has it been for you? Retirement, I mean. And…re-entry.”

He smiled. “Back into civilian life, you mean? I’m adjusting. In peace time, being a career military man probably isn’t so different from having a corporate job. I had regular office hours with people reporting to me and people I was accountable to. Wartime is a different animal. But it was satisfying to know that I could help my country, my fel ow soldiers, my men.”

“When did you come back to the States?” I asked. “Weren’t you stationed in North Carolina?”

“Right. Cherry Point. But when I came back from the Gulf a year and half ago, they sent me to Albany to finish my service until retirement.”

I swal owed hard. “Albany…New York?”

“Yeah. There’s a Marine Logistics Base in Albany.”

I averted my gaze and concentrated on buying tickets for the train, but Redford quickly stepped up to pay. Standing behind him, waves of anguish and shock washed over me. If

I’d known he’d been so close for so long…

I gave myself a mental shake. What? What would I have done? Cal ed him up to see if we could rekindle the flame? Obviously he’d had the chance to contact me and hadn’t.

And why would he? I’d made it clear that we had no future together. A fact that was stil true…

I chose my words careful y. “And you didn’t make it to Manhattan al the time you lived in Albany?”

“Nope,” he said, turning to hand me a ticket. “I was working on a special project and had very little free time. And, to be honest, the city didn’t have much appeal to me at the time.”

Ouch.
I’d asked for that. I walked through the turnstile and found a place to stand on the platform, Redford fol owing close behind. “We’re going south to Battery Park,” I said woodenly. “We’l get the ferry from there to Liberty Island.”

Redford seemed fascinated by the crush of people around us…and cautious. When one of a trio of guys horsing around banged into me, Redford pul ed me toward him protectively, admonishing the men.

“Watch your step.”

The biggest of the three squinted at Redford, instantly bel igerent. “Why don’t you make me,
cowboy?
”

Alarm gripped me. “Redford—”

“Look here, son,” Redford said with a smile to the man who looked to be about the same age. “Neither one of us want trouble.”

The man leaned forward, thrusting his face close to Redford’s. “Maybe I do—
unnnhhhh.
”