Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Alex stepped into the elevator, and Liam jogged to catch up. He got in and pressed the floor for the bar.
“I’m going to buy you a pint. You’re going to listen to me, and you’re going to stop looking at me like I’m the playground bully who took away your favorite toy. I’m not sleeping with Eve. She’s my therapist, and if you laugh, I reserve the right to kick you in the balls.”
He was deeply amused by Alex’s shocked stare.
He couldn’t sleep with anyone else. He only wanted Avery. Maybe confession was the better alternative. He’d heard confession was good for the soul.
And beer. Lots of beer.
Chapter Five
Avery looked at the magnificent white building in front of her. The Tower of London. She stood at the western entrance staring up at the sight of numerous historical executions and wondered how she ever thought she would find him here. A throng of tourists moved around the ticket office. The Tower was huge. She would never find him, and they hadn’t exchanged phone numbers.
She felt like an idiot. She was standing there in too-tight jeans and a sweater that formed a deep V that pointed right at her breasts, and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Lee. It was probably for the best. She looked silly. She couldn’t pull off the sexy look. Adam had to tutor her on how to put on makeup. She still wasn’t sure she looked good.
Tears pooled in her eyes as she clutched her purse. She’d screwed up royally, and she wouldn’t get a second chance with Lee. He would forget about her, likely already had. He would find a woman who didn’t have a wall built around her. She was a little like the Tower. Surrounded by walls, unwilling to let anyone in or out.
She’d dreamed about him the night before. She’d dreamed that he hadn’t kissed her in the street. He’d kissed her in her bedroom. He’d held her and touched her, and she hadn’t been afraid. She’d been aggressive. She’d given as good as she’d got. She’d been woman enough for him.
She’d woken up in a hot sweat, still able to feel his weight on her body, holding her down. He’d pinned her, forcing her to take him, but she’d loved it.
And it wouldn’t happen because she’d been such a pathetic idiot.
She glanced around. It was the right time, but there were just so many people. Maybe if she stood by the ticket booth she could find him. Unless he’d bought tickets somewhere else. There were a lot of tourist packages to be had in London.
With a heavy sigh, she walked over to the ticket booth and waited. It was penance of a sort. She would give it a half an hour and then go. Or maybe she would just buy a ticket and spend the day here. Alone.
Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out knowing exactly who it was. No one but Thomas called her, though she’d given Adam her number.
Her in-laws had the number too, though they would never call and she knew it.
“Hello, Thomas.”
There was a warm chuckle on the other end of the line. “How is the museum today?”
He’d had to listen to her talk about the British Museum and all its wonders for days now. As they’d taken their walks through St. James’s Park, he’d asked about all the rooms and been a perfectly polite companion. He had to have been bored out of his mind. When she’d asked if he’d like to come along, he’d always found a business excuse. “I’m making a change this weekend. I’m at the Tower.”
“Very nice, dear. I’m glad to see you’re branching out. We won’t be in London forever. We need to move on to Dubai soon.”
The Dubai offices were where UOF coordinated much of their relief programs for Africa and Asia. Thomas insisted on being very hands-on. She’d been told he would take a lot of meetings in Dubai. Many more than he took in London. He had only taken three donor meetings since they had crossed the pond.
Three meetings. And they hadn’t been the biggest donors. What had made Thomas take those meetings? What really made her boss tick? It was a question she’d wondered about more and more, ever since his brother had died. Brian had been the one to introduce them. She’d only really known him for a few months, but he’d been very nice. She’d stood at Thomas’s side at the funeral.
She was still waiting for his inevitable breakdown. It would come. No one was so strong that he could lose a brother and not cry.
“I’ll be ready. Besides, this is a yearly trip, right? We’ll be back in London next year.”
His voice went low, slightly intimate. “We will, Avery. We’re settling into a nice routine, you and I. Next year I’m going to schedule in some free time so I can see the sights with you. I don’t know that I like you running around London on your own.”
Who else would she run around with? “I’ve had a lot of fun.”
“I know you have, and I’ve enjoyed watching you bloom,” he said. There was a silent moment before he spoke again. “I was wondering if you were a little lonely today. Perhaps we could have lunch. I’m afraid the Tower would be a bit much for a man of my age.”
She couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “You’re not much older than me.”
“Oh, not in years, dear, but in all the other ways that count, I’m an old man. I have to meet that Bates fellow on Monday, so that means I won’t be back in the office until Tuesday. Why don’t you come over and keep me company?”
She sniffled a little. It didn’t look like she had anything better to do, and Thomas did sound lonely. Perhaps she could help him prepare for the meeting with Bates. It was odd. He usually kept her close to his side, but he always insisted on meeting the donors he chose to meet alone. Her boss had some weird peccadilloes, but then the rich really were different. “Well, I don’t think my friend is going to show up, so I guess I could stop by for a while and let you decimate me at chess.”
“A friend? I had no idea you were meeting a friend. Is it Theresa? She seems nice enough.”
Theresa worked in promotions and outreach for the UOF. She was ten years older and spent all her free time with her husband and five kids. “No. It’s not Theresa.”
She could hear his disapproval over the phone. “Well I hope it’s not the younger girls, Avery. They can be rather wild. I don’t like the thought of you getting involved in their antics.”
Sometimes he sounded like an overprotective father. “It’s no one from the office. It’s a man I met yesterday at the museum, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to show up.”