“You’re kidding, right?” She taped the paper, set the box aside.
“Come on. Let me try one.”
“Hey, knock yourself out.” She handed him a box and a piece of wrapping paper.
This should be good…
The tip of his tongue poked from the corner of his lips while he carefully folded.
“You’re not doing it right,” she said.
“Why not?” Holding the paper tight, he taped the ends together.
She quickly taped her box, grabbed the one he had just wrapped and lined them up on the floor, side by side. “Can you see the difference?”
He glanced back and forth. “No.”
“Which is exactly why men don’t make good event planners.”
A grin lit his face. “Nothing is wrong with my box.”
Impossible. “You don’t see the difference.”
“They look identical to me.”
“Dibs!” she scolded, laughing and playfully slapping his shoulder. “It’s the paper, number five, the paper. Look!”
He leaned over, examining the boxes, suddenly lifted his chin and locked onto her eyes…his brimming with mischief and happy shine.
She sharply inhaled. Only a few scant inches separated their lips. A simple tip of her head and she could drink in the heady taste of him, delve inside and rediscover the smooth texture of his tongue.
“Are you telling me I turned the paper the other way, and that’s what all this fuss is about?”
What was she ever going to do? He was so sweet, the thought of letting him go was like a hot knife in her chest. “Yes,” she whispered.
Mirth danced along his mouth. And then, his smile slowly faded as understanding shimmered through his gaze. The distance between them gradually dwindled, and she stayed very, very still as he tilted his head and lightly touched his lips to hers.
Her eyelids fluttered closed. His warm breath bathed her cheek. His fingers twined through the hair at the nape of her neck and brought her forward. Slow and smooth, his lips caressed, sweeping back and forth across hers. The tip of his tongue flicked and teased a delicate trail along the seam of her mouth.
A thrill raced into her belly, and she turned out of his grasp. “Stop.”
“I’m sorry.” He quickly withdrew.
“It’s all right.” She fisted her hands on her knees, fighting the intense longing to tackle him on the spot and take him down to the floor.
“No, I’m sorry.” He stood and collected his coat from the back of the chair. “I should go.”
“I’m just really—”
“No.” He held up his hand. “It was my fault. I’m sorry.”
He stopped in the threshold, spun around, and tugged a set of keys from his pocket. “For the car.” They landed with a
chink
on top of her desk. “It’s parked downstairs.”
He turned and disappeared into reception.
She sprang to her feet and rushed for the doorway. “Hey.”
He paused at the front door, his head lowered.
“Be careful out there, okay?”
He nodded and shoved into the hallway.
Tessa crossed to the window, her hand pressed to the cold glass when Dibs appeared on the sidewalk. She remained riveted to his form as he stalked away, shoulders hunched, until he faded into the distance.
****
Crawling into bed was simply moronic. Sleep would never come. Not when every time she closed her eyes the tender brush of Dibs’s kiss whispered across her lips. Not when she shivered with the memory of his hand in her hair all while that same intense thrill heated her skin.
She tossed and turned before finally throwing the covers off her legs. Pacing before her living room windows, the blanket from the couch wrapped around her shoulders, she searched the dark Chicago skyline for answers. When none were forthcoming, she pried open the lid on the chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream and spooned huge chunks into her mouth, gliding slowly down the front of the refrigerator to the floor.
Denying the obvious was no longer an option. She was completely infatuated with Dibs.
Spending so much time with him had been a huge mistake. How could she have been so incredibly naïve? What was she, thirteen? She had purposely balanced her heart on the edge of a very sharp knife, and now no matter what move she made everything would end in disaster.
And yet, there was that damn kiss…
Her heart raced while she pounded her palm against her forehead. She had made promises, dammit! Sworn to never gamble with love again. Relationships ended in hurt. She
knew
this. They ended in tears, anger, and the horrible realization that love was nothing but a lie. To even
consider
enduring such torment again was inconceivable. How could she knowingly tread down such an excruciating path?
The clock on the wall had crept to four in the morning by the time she stumbled back into bed, no closer to making a decision than when she’d climbed out. But at least she had a week to consider her next move. Perhaps with half a world between them, her feelings would fade with time like they always did.
She finally succumbed to a restless sleep, until her alarm woke her at six.
When she arrived at the office, Tiffany glanced up from behind her desk and waved her forward.
“Working another Saturday?” Tessa leaned against the doorway. God, what she wouldn’t give for just a few precious moments of sleep.
“I’ve gotta get the cost-estimate analysis to BFG by Monday.” Tiffany swiveled to her computer and clicked something into the keyboard. “I saw your picture in the paper, and I gotta say, you and Dibs are just too damn cute together.”
A tear welled in Tessa’s eye. He’d been so pleased to show her that picture…until she’d all but squashed his happiness like some hairy, eight-legged spider.
“And speaking of which, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing all morning. I guess the entertainment section is the right place to—”
Tessa met Tiffany’s eyes.
She slumped. “Oh no, what happened?”
A trudge into Tiffany’s office and a flop onto a chair, and Tessa related all the sordid details, finishing with how she’d spent the last two nights lying wide awake in bed. By the time she was done, her arms were crossed on the edge of the desk, her forehead balanced on her wrists.
“You need to get in his car and drive to the airport,” Tiffany said quietly. “Right now.”
Tessa braced her forehead in her hand. “How can I do that, Tiff? How can I go to the airport? I’m the one who insisted we remain friends, remember? I’m the one who said over and again that relationships never work. I would make a complete fool of myself.”
She jabbed her finger across the desk. “You need to get your skinny little ass in that Jaguar of his and drive to the airport.”
Tessa whimpered and stomped the floor.
Tiffany pitched forward, shoulders high and tight, forearms braced on her blotter. “You do realize the two of us sitting here, arguing the finer points behind your next move is completely moot, right? Whether you’re ready to admit it not, Dibs is already your boyfriend.”
“Pffft…” Tessa fluttered a hand in the air. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Oh, really? Let’s take a moment to review, shall we?” Tiffany counted off on her fingers. “Dinner every night for a week. A constant stream of flowers. He’s loaned you his car. He bought you a very expensive gift.” She tossed her hands in the air. “For crying out loud, he kissed you!”
Tessa stared across the desk at her best friend, jaw unhinged and thoughts racing.
Oh shit…
She groaned, scrubbing a hand over her face.
“And now I want you to tell me something.” Tiffany sat back and crossed her arms. “And I want the truth, Tessa. How do you feel, knowing he’s going to be gone for an entire week?”
She dropped her gaze to her hands. “Like someone has cut my heart out.”
“That’s because you really like him. Hello! I realize you haven’t dealt with that emotion in a long time, but I’m here to tell ya, the decision’s already been made. You and Dibs have been dating since that first night he took you to dinner.” Tiffany glanced at her clock. “Now you need to get in that Jag of his and drive to the airport. And you need to tell him how you feel.”
“Okay, but what if he doesn’t…I mean, what if he isn’t—”
Laughter pealed from Tiffany’s throat as she tossed her head back, repeatedly slapping her desk. She abruptly stopped. “Please tell me you are not that stupid.”
Misery wrenched her chest and Tessa threaded her fingers through her bangs to her scalp, the tip of her elbow balanced on the edge of the desk. “I’m just scared, Tiff. I’m completely freaking-out scared over here.”
“Taking the chance to love someone can be a scary business.” She nodded. “Love isn’t for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. But it’s worth the investment, Tessa. And if you don’t grab this chance, if you don’t hold onto this wonderful opportunity with both hands, then I’m afraid you’re going to end up one very lonely old woman. Just think about it. You can either seize this incredible moment to love someone…someone who can give you an amazing life, or you can spend your time wandering from one meaningless encounter to another. Is that really what you want?”
Tessa closed her eyes, images of life before Dibs streaming past the backdrop of her eyelids. How she’d struggled like hell to be an island in a storm—meeting all her challenges alone, celebrating her victories with no one. Until she would finally submit to the desires of her body and seek out some stranger with whom she could fulfill those needs. Regret inevitably followed, a profound emptiness over another meaningless tryst, a self-loathing she couldn’t escape. And then tears, crying in her condo, and the bleak realization of what her existence had become.
Since she’d let Dibs into her life, she’d not relived that experience once.
“No,” she finally said, shaking her head.
“Get in the car, Tessa.”
Her heart tripped a beat. Tiffany was right. She truly cared for Dibs. More than she’d cared for anyone in a very long time. As she envisioned facing him, confessing what was in her heart, exhilaration crescendoed and doused her in a wave of hope. Her declaration would no doubt be a grave risk, but if she went to him, at least she could say she’d done the right thing. For the one person who never failed to do right by her.
For herself and for Dibs, she was willing to take that chance.
She stood, her hands hovering over the paperwork on Tiffany’s desk. “You can handle this while I’m gone?”
Tiffany smiled. “As long as you share every single juicy detail when you get back.” She pointed at the door. “Now go, before he boards that plane and you miss him.”
****
What symptoms accompanied a nervous breakdown, anyway?
The drive to the airport lasted an eternity, and yet the exit signs passed in a blur. Tiffany’s voice rebounded in her ears. She couldn’t catch her breath. The kiss she and Dibs had shared flashed like a strobe before her eyes. Her foot jittered against the gas pedal. A very real possibility existed she was making the biggest mistake of her life…huge…a
colossal
mistake. But she owed Dibs the truth. Of course, of course, she owed him the truth.
Tessa clamped a trembling hand to her forehead and gunned the engine. And if worse came to worst, she could always make up some lame excuse for appearing out of thin air.
Nearing the airport, she followed the signs for chartered departures and soon pulled up to a small manned booth with a gate. She pushed the button to roll down the window.
“Can I help you, miss?” A uniformed attendant exited the booth.
“I need to get in.” She pointed to the gate.
“I’m sorry, but only authorized passengers are allowed beyond this point.”
“It’s an emergency.”
The attendant glanced at the Jag’s license plate, checked his clipboard. “Sorry. No can do.”
Tessa dumped her purse on the passenger seat, speed-dialed Dibs, and slapped the phone to her ear.
Three rings and he answered. “What’s going on, Rex?”
“I need you to tell this number five at the gate to let me in.”
“Why are you at the gate?”
“Just do it, Dibs.”
She passed her phone to the attendant. He frowned disapprovingly into the mouthpiece, returned the phone, and went inside the booth. The gate slowly lifted.
Tessa stomped on the gas, replacing the phone to her ear. “Where are you?”
“Is everything all right?”
“I need to talk to you. Where are you?”
“Drive over to your right. I’m at the second airstrip.”
She clapped her phone shut and threw it into the backseat. What was she doing…what was she doing…
Oh God, what was she doing?
Before the large open bay of the second hangar, a steady stream of men loaded supplies into a large white plane. But one person in particular stood out among the rest. Those same khaki cargo pants from the
People
Magazine
spread rode low on his hips, his fitted white T-shirt taut over the planes of his chest. A light blue button-down shirt hung open on either side of his torso, the sleeves rolled and shoved to his bulging biceps.
She filled her lungs, exhaling past a cascade of adrenaline in her chest. Her knee bounced uncontrollably when she applied pressure to the brake.
She turned off the car and stepped out.
“What’s the matter?” Dibs came up fast in front of her.
“I just need you to let me talk for a second and not say anything.” She braced a hand against the side of the car. Sweet Jesus, her legs were never going to hold out.
He crossed his arms. “Okay.”
“Okay.” She shook her hands in front of her chest. “Okay. Here’s the thing. Over the past week, I’ve been feeling…I don’t know…and it’s been sort of a…a strange thing for me. I mean, really, I never expected to—well, you know—and then Thursday, when that woman gave you her business card? I have to tell you, it really bothered me. I mean it really, really bothered me, Dibs, and then, I…I got sort of confused about what happened. And then yesterday, when you…you know…kissed me…I got completely mixed up, because—well, who could blame me? I mean, just look at you. And then I thought, come on, what are we doing? I mean it’s too much—and now you’re leaving and well, I’m really upset…which only makes me wonder what the hell? I mean, it’s not like I expected anything to happen or anything, it’s just…and you!”