Mike wandered through the grounds of the hotel. The pre-dawn hours were chilly, but he hardly noticed.
Devon hadn’t returned to the room last night. He’d waited up past midnight to talk to her, but she never appeared.
In the far distance, the morning clouds settled into a shape reminding him of a jagged mountain ridge. He walked miles along the sandy beach while his mind churned and he tried to avoid circling images of Devon naked, her head thrown back against the pillow, her mouth open, unable to utter a sound. With each tenth step, another erotic vision returned. The last was of her riding him with her perky breasts bouncing up and down. When the memories of her continued to taunt him, he forced himself to get a grip and headed back to the hotel.
He found himself standing in front of Brandon’s hotel room door. He considered asking Kayla if she might be willing to help him figure out what to do with the disjointed feelings he was having, but it was the day after her wedding, and he didn’t dare. His mother would never forgive him.
Mike continued down a garden path toward his room. He pulled out the plastic card and entered. Devon had been there. The smell of her sweet perfume settled and calmed his nerves. When he saw her already-packed luggage, he closed the door behind him and waited to hear the click.
“Devon?” he called, praying she was still there.
“Sorry to intrude.” She peeked around the corner. “I was hoping to be out of your way before you got back. A room has come open. I wanted to make sure you got your room back.” She leaned over and placed her makeup bag in her backpack.
“Why are you leaving?” Mike demanded.
“That was the arrangement. Our lie would end after the last dance.”
“Was it a lie, Devon? Was this, what we shared, a lie?” He shoved his hands in his pockets to make sure he didn’t touch her, because right then he wanted to pull her into his arms and prove to her there was something between them.
“From the very first day, you viewed this as a fake engagement, so of course it was a lie to you.”
The hurt in her eyes almost gutted him, and he wanted to wipe the pain away.
“This wasn’t a game to me, Mike. This was real. My feelings for you are real. And I don’t want to play games anymore.”
“I need you to stay.” He clenched his fists, his mind racing to find the right words. “Please, Devon. Please stay.”
“Why?” she asked, the edges of her mouth turning downward. “Because you need me to help you solve a problem at work?”
“No.”
“Because you need me to fend off more newspaper reporters?”
“No.”
“Then why, Mike? Why do you want me to stay?”
She gazed at him, but he couldn’t figure out how to put it into words.
Devon was different. She made him a better person. A better man. She laughed at his flaws but never made him feel flawed. She supported him in his work but never demanded more than he could give. And when she lay beneath him, she completely made his mind explode and then go still and quiet in a way he’d never experienced. She was more than simple words could express.
“I don’t know why. I just do.” He shrugged, hoping his answer was enough.
“I came by a little after dawn this morning to talk to you, but you weren’t here. Where did you go?”
“I’ve been walking.” He took a few steps closer. “You didn’t come back to the room last night.”
“No. No one knew where you were. You’d disappeared. Everyone assumed you were working. Kayla went to Brandon’s room last night. I used her bed so you wouldn’t be disturbed.”
“When you didn’t come back, I…”
“What? You what, Mike?”
When he didn’t answer, she grabbed the handle of her suitcase. “Never mind. Have a good life, Mike Lewis. I hope your product launch goes well.”
“Wait, Devon.” Mike reached for her arm to stop her. He closed his eyes and swallowed his fear. “Yes. I’ve been avoiding you, but not for the reasons you might think.”
“Then why? I need to know.” She clutched the suitcase handle and her knuckles turned white.
“Every time I’ve gone down this road, it hasn’t turned out the way I planned.”
“What road, Mike? You’re not making any sense.”
“I‘m in love with you, Devon,” he blurted out.
Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out. She pulled her arms inward. “And how is that a bad thing?”
He glanced at her and then sank down on the couch. “The last two times I’ve felt this way, it turned out my feelings were one-sided. You had a crush on me when you were in college, but you don’t really know me. Sure, you’ve read articles about me, but that’s not the true me either. You love the fantasy the media makes me out to be.”
“You’re wrong, Mike.” Devon walked back into the sitting area. “I know you. The real you. When you weren’t aware of me, I was watching you. You love to play video games, and you hate to lose. You hate wearing business clothes”—she held up her hand to stop him from speaking—“and I know this because in every press conference or interview you’ve ever given, you keep pulling at the collar of your shirt. Also, you’d like to have a dog, but you don’t adopt one because you feel you wouldn’t have time to walk or take care of it.”
When he opened his mouth to ask something, she pointed at his phone. “You have a labradoodle as a screensaver.” She sank down on the couch beside him. “And I know you’re a good man because I’ve been able to see you through your mom’s, dad’s, and even Kayla’s eyes. She adores you, even if she won’t admit it.”
He leaned in closer. “Maybe you do know me.”
“Yet I still don’t understand why me loving you scares you so.”
“Because when I love someone, I feel consumed. I can’t help it. After last night, I stayed away to get control of my emotions, but I can’t. I tried.”
“Loving someone doesn’t have to be painful. Look at Kayla and Brandon. Look at your parents.”
“That’s the point. I want what they have. Twice I believed I’d found it. But it turned out the women didn’t want me. They wanted my bank account.”
Devon pushed away from the couch and walked over to the desk in the room’s corner to rummage through the drawers.
“What are you doing?”
She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from the drawer. “Found it.” She scribbled something on the pad of paper, tore off the top sheet, then walked back and handed it to him.
The precise handwriting had a slight right slant and feminine curls. The note was dated and read, “From this day forth, I will not accept any compensation, in any form, from Mike Lewis that he doesn’t freely give. In return, I promise to do everything in my power to make him happy.”
Mike choked and his eyes turned glassy.
“I love you, Mike, and I believe you can love me if you would just trust in us. If what’s holding you back are fears about whether I love you and not your money, there’s your answer.” She took his hand in hers. “I’m a smart woman. I don’t need your money, because I can—and do—make my own. What I do need is your love.”
He squeezed her hand, holding on tight while a thousand different emotions dizzied him as he fought to breathe deeply.
“From the first day you showed up in our room at Yale I’ve had a crush on you,” Devon said.
“And here I was, thinking you were indifferent to my charms.” Mike’s chuckle died after a few seconds and the room settled into an awkward silence.
“I’ve never been indifferent. I had a complete fantasy world built around you, but there was only one problem.”
“Kayla,” they said together.
Devon nudged him. “But now she’s married, and I don’t think she would mind. She even hinted as much. I know she wants us both to be happy.”
“I did promise to never date one of my sister’s friends…but that was a long time ago.” He smiled. “You know what would make me happy right now?”
“What?”
“You naked in that bed. I want to show you how much I love you.”
She pulled back. “Is that so?”
“Yep. Last night was amazing, but I think I can beat it.”
She stood and backed away. “Really?” She took another step and kicked off her shoes. After another step she unbuttoned her jeans and rolled them over the curves of her hips. “Then get over here and prove it.”
“Devon? I’m out of condoms.”
“Your point?” She tugged her shirt over her head. “I love you, and you love me too, but you need time for me to prove I do really know and love you. I get that. I’ve always believed that if two people truly love each other, they can always work things out.”
He expected fear to freeze his feet to the floor, but right now what he wanted was Devon in his bed. He stood and pulled off his shirt. “So you want kids?”
“I’ve always wanted at least two, maybe more.”