Love at First flight Page 10

  “Of course you were.” While Rachelle talked, Juliana began to cut and shape her hair. “It must’ve been very scary when you were finally able to talk to the police.”

  Michael came to the door.

  Juliana shook her head and used her eyes to tell him he was interrupting an intense moment.

  He nodded and backed away.

  “I guess the Benedettis had a big argument with the kids at an arcade that day. Some of the kids’ other friends were with them when it happened. They described the Benedettis, so after they were arrested I just had to pick them out of a lineup.”

  “You’re doing a good thing, Rachelle, by seeing to it that they can’t do this to anyone else. You’re making so many sacrifices, but you know that’s why, right?”

  Rachelle nodded. “I just wish we didn’t have to move. I wish I’d never gone outside that night. I think about that, you know? If I hadn’t forgotten my purse in the car, none of this would’ve happened to me or my family.”

  “But the Benedettis still would’ve killed those kids, only they might’ve gotten away with it if you hadn’t seen it.”

  Their eyes met in the mirror. “That’s true. Michael says I’m his slam dunk,” Rachelle said with a small smile as she finally noticed the haircut Juliana had given her while they talked. She reached up to touch hair that was now three inches shorter. “Wow.”

  “Let me dry it, so you can see the full effect.” Juliana turned Rachelle away from the mirror and worked for fifteen minutes with the hair dryer and brush. “Okay, are you ready?”

  “I’m dying to see it!”

  When Juliana spun her around, Rachelle gasped. “Oh my God! Is that me?”

  Juliana chuckled. “That’s you.”

  Rachelle ran her fingers through the layered tendrils. “I love it! Thank you.”

  “I’m glad. I’ve had this in mind for you since the other night.” Juliana styled Rachelle’s hair for another moment before she said, “You know who really needs a haircut?”

  “Michael,” they said together.

  “Want to help me talk him into it?” Juliana asked.

  “I’m on it.”

  They ventured into the adjoining room where Rachelle’s detail of police officers made a big fuss over her new look. Juliana watched Rachelle seek Michael’s approval.

  “It’s perfect,” he said. “You look fantastic.”

  Rachelle blushed. “Thanks.”

  As Juliana ate the burger Michael ordered for her from room service, Rachelle went to work on him.

  “You ought to let Juliana do something with your hair,” she said, stealing a French fry from Juliana’s plate.

  “I don’t know.” He glanced from Rachelle to Juliana. “Why do I feel like I’m being ganged up on?”

  “Please, Michael?” Rachelle pleaded. “Let her cut your hair.”

  “If you don’t do it, Maguire, I might,” one of the cops said as she reclined on a bed with the newspaper.

  “What’s in it for you?” Michael asked Rachelle.

  “Entertainment,” she said with a big smile.

  “Oh, all right.”

  “Caved right in, didn’t he?” the same cop said to one of the other female officers, and they shared a laugh.

  “Shut up,” Michael said under his breath to the cops as he let Rachelle tug him into the bathroom in her room.

  Juliana followed them.

  “Just a trim. I mean it. I like my hair long.”

  “Let her do what she wants,” Rachelle said. “She’s the expert.”

  “A trim. That’s all I’m agreeing to.”

  Rachelle rolled her eyes at Juliana. “Sheesh, what a baby he is.”

  Juliana smiled and draped the cape around his shoulders. He had taken off his suit coat and tie and rolled up his shirtsleeves. She ran her fingers through his hair for a few minutes while she thought about what she wanted to do. When her eyes met his in the mirror, she was startled to find awareness and desire in his. For a long moment neither of them looked away.

  “Come on!” Rachelle prodded from the doorway, breaking the spell. “Start chopping.”

  Juliana took a deep breath and went to work. When she was done, she discovered he was hot underneath all that hair, and suddenly the walls of the tiny bathroom seemed to close in on her.

  “You look, so… so different,” Rachelle said with a love-struck sigh.

  “Is that good or bad?” Michael asked, looking himself over in the mirror.

  “Good.” Rachelle gazed at him with her heart in her eyes. “Definitely good.”

  Michael brushed the hair off his neck. “Definitely good. I guess that’s better than butt ugly.”

  Juliana chuckled.

  “We’d better hit the road,” Michael said. “It’s getting late.”

  “Let me clean up the hair first,” Juliana said.

  “Housekeeping can do it,” he said. “I’ll ask one of the cops to call them.”

  “Are you sure? I hate to leave a mess.” Juliana couldn’t get over how different he looked with short hair.

  “It’s fine,” Rachelle assured her. “They send someone right up whenever we call them.”

  “Okay,” Juliana said. “Well, I guess we’ll see you soon.” She gave Rachelle a hug. “Hang in there, honey.”

  “Thank you. For the haircut and all the stuff.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “We’ll try to come back this weekend.” Michael gave Rachelle a quick hug. “Keep up the good behavior.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  They gathered their belongings, and Michael had a word with the cops before they left the adjoining room. In the hallway, the police officer on duty whistled at Michael. “Nice ’do, Maguire,” he said. “Did you girls have fun playing haircut?”

  Juliana smiled at the furious look that crossed Michael’s face.

  The police officer’s laughter followed them to the elevator.

  “I said a trim, Juliana.” Michael punched the down arrow. “What does that word mean to you?”

  Her smile faded. “Oh. You really don’t like it.”

  “Did I say that?”

  “You don’t seem too happy with it.”

  “Will you or will you not admit that what we have here is more than a trim?”

  “Jeez, I feel like I’m on the witness stand or something. I’m sorry. I just got into my zone.”

  He smiled. “I know. I was watching.”

  Her face heated with embarrassment. “You were?”

  “Uh huh. I could’ve stopped you.”

  Again that flash of awareness mixed with a hint of what was definitely desire.

  Since she was unable to process all that she saw, she looked away from him. “So why didn’t you?” she asked when they were in the elevator.

  “Because you were in your zone, and I enjoyed watching you.”

  She almost gasped when he reached out to touch her hair.

  “Seems only fair.”

  “What does?” She reminded herself to breathe.

  “You got to run your fingers through mine. I’ve wondered if yours is as soft as it looks.” When he twisted a lock of long hair around his finger and brought it close enough to smell, she did gasp. “It’s even softer than it looks. You always smell so good.”

  She moved away from him just before the elevator doors opened to the lobby. “What are you doing?” she whispered. “Why are you doing this?”

  “What am I doing?”

  “If you’re looking for a rebound, you’ve got the wrong girl.”

  He stopped walking. “Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t know what to think. I thought we were friends,” Juliana said, mortified when her eyes flooded with tears. She was like a faucet lately.

  He put his arms around her and pulled her tight against him.

  Suddenly, the strain, the uncertainty, and the agony of the last few days caught up to her, and before she knew it she was sobbing in Michael’s arms
right in the middle of the busy hotel lobby.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered after several minutes passed. She tried not to notice how safe and comfortable she felt in the sanctuary of his embrace or that her arms were wrapped around him, too.

  He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t let her go, either.

  “I’m okay,” she said when she finally pulled back from him.

  He kept an arm around her as they went outside. Once they were in the car, he turned to her. “I’m not looking for a rebound, Juliana. That’s not what this is.”

  “Then what is it?” she asked softly.

  He ran a finger over her cheek to brush away a lone tear. “It’s not a rebound.”

  “I don’t want it, Michael. Whatever it is. I love Jeremy.”

  “I know you do, but you see, the thing is, I’m falling for you, Juliana.”

  “What?” she asked, flabbergasted. She pushed his hand away from her face. “You can’t mean that!”

  He kept his eyes locked on hers. “In the five days I’ve known you, you’ve given me more, been there for me more, done more for me than Paige did in four years. I knew I would care for you from almost the first moment I saw you. When I found you crying in the airport on Sunday, all I wanted to do was scoop you up and take you home with me.”

  New tears wet Juliana’s cheeks. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  He took her hand. “On Friday night I tried to get Paige to marry me right away. Do you know why?”

  Juliana shook her head.

  “Because I was terrified after I met you. I already knew everything was about to change, and I guess a part of me thought I should try to stop it. But I was powerless to stop it. In those first moments with you, I knew I wouldn’t marry her.”

  “Michael,” she sobbed. “Stop. Stop saying these things.”

  “Juliana, any man who would let you think, for even one minute, that you aren’t enough for him doesn’t deserve you.”

  “Please,” she whimpered. “Please stop.”

  With a hand to her chin, he turned her to him. “I knew I was falling for you when you jumped right in with Rachelle on Sunday night and did her hair. I knew it when I found you dancing in the kitchen when you were making me dinner. I knew it because my heart almost stopped when you told me someone hassled you on the street. I knew it when I heard you talking to Rachelle about what she saw, and you said all the right things—all the things she needed to hear.” He ran his thumb along her jaw. “And when I felt your fingers in my hair I knew I wanted them there always. Don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m saying.”

  He leaned over to kiss her gently, without demand, and for one breathless moment, she let him. Then she pulled away. “Michael. My head is spinning. Please don’t.”

  “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t a good time for you to be hearing this, but I couldn’t let you think this was about rebounds. I’m not going to pressure you or push you, so you don’t have to worry about that. I’m going to be so wrapped up in this trial for the next month or two I won’t have time for anything else. I just wanted you to know.”

  “I can’t stay with you anymore. Not now.”

  “Why? I just said I’m not going to do anything about it.”

  “Because everything’s going to be weird between us.”

  He took her hand again. “It won’t be weird because you’ll hardly see me. I don’t want you to go.”

  “I don’t know… I’ll only stay if you promise not to mention any of this again. I can’t deal with it on top of everything else.”

  “I promise I won’t say another word about it until you do.”

  She pulled her hand out of his grasp. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “We’ll see,” he said, starting the car to drive them home. “We’ll just see about that.”

  Chapter 13

  The next morning Michael sat at his desk lost in thought. He couldn’t believe the way he had bared his soul to Juliana the night before. He didn’t regret anything, though. Everything he told her was true.

  She hadn’t said a word to him on the way home. Once they arrived she went straight up to her room and closed the door. Despite her silence, Michael knew she had feelings for him, too. He could see it in the way she looked at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.

  That she was still mired in a ten-year relationship gave him pause. “But hey,” he said out loud, “she’s living in my house and not even talking to him.” The thought made Michael feel better about his chances with her until he remembered how wrong he’d been about Paige. But Juliana was different from Paige in every possible way. “That’s one thing I know for sure.”

  His assistant, Angela, came to the door. “Talking to yourself, Michael?”

  “Huh?”

  “Your mother’s on line two.” The demands from the press had gotten so out of hand in the last few days that Angela was screening his calls.

  “Thanks.”

  Angela left him to take the call.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “How are you, Michael? They mentioned your trial on the Today show this morning.”

  “We’re getting a lot of attention. Too much.”

  “How’re you holding up, sweetheart?”

  “Good. I’m ready to go.”

  “You know we’re all pulling for you. So how was the cotillion in Dixie last weekend?” His mother had long ago stopped pretending to approve of the Simpsons or their lifestyle.

  “It was interesting. I’ve actually been meaning to call you since I got home.”

  “Oh? Why?”

  “Well, I’m sorry to report the engagement is off.”

  “What? Are you serious?”

  “Try to contain your euphoria, Mother,” Michael said with a dry chuckle.

  “What happened?”

  “It’s a long story. Suffice it to say I finally saw the light.”

  “Hallelujah! Your sisters will be thrilled to hear this.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Are you all right, Michael? I know you loved her. I’ll never understand why, but I’m sure you must be upset. I don’t mean to make light of it.”

  Michael laughed. “Yes, you do. I’m fine. Believe me, by the time the whole thing blew up, I could hardly remember what it was I loved about her.”

  “She must’ve taken it well.” Maureen’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “Yeah, not so much. In fact, I’m quite certain I haven’t seen the last of her. But right now all I’m thinking about is the trial.” Well, not all, but he wasn’t ready to tell his mother about Juliana. Not yet.

  “I know you’re busy, so I won’t keep you. I’m sorry if you’re hurting, Michael.”

  “I’m fine. Really.”

  “Keep us posted on the trial. We’ll have our fingers crossed for you.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Give my love to everyone.”

  “I will. You know you have ours.”

  She ended the call promising to check on him in a week or so. He smiled when he imagined the news of his broken engagement burning up the phone lines in Newport’s Fifth Ward and had no doubt he would hear from his sisters before the day was out.

  On her way home from her mother’s that evening, Juliana stopped at Collington Street where she cleaned out the fridge, took out the trash, and stashed the mail in her purse to deal with later. She was in and out of there in ten minutes. Even after the emotional exchange with Michael the night before, she still couldn’t bear to be in the house she had shared with Jeremy.

  Michael’s words had haunted her all day as she made polite small talk with her clients. How could he be falling for me? It’s preposterous. We haven’t even known each other a week!

  But there was something, Juliana acknowledged. She had felt it herself. More than once. It wasn’t love, though. No way. Things like that happened in the movies, not to real people.

  At times she wondered if her head would just explode from thinking too much. Ironic
ally, though, she hadn’t had the urge to call Jeremy all day.

  Letting herself into Michael’s house, she flipped on the lights and supposed she could consider it her house, too, since she had written him a check for two hundred and fifty dollars. It wasn’t much, but it was all she could afford. He took the check only when she insisted.

  In the microwave, she defrosted the pork chops she brought from the freezer on Collington Street and put two potatoes in the oven. While the chops defrosted, she went upstairs to gather clothes from both their bedrooms and threw in a load of darks. All the while she tried not to think about anything other than what she was doing. Her brain was tired and overtaxed.

  Back downstairs she put the seasoned pork chops under the broiler, tossed a salad, and went through the mail she had picked up earlier. Mixed in with the junk mail and bills was a letter from Jeremy.

  She sat on one of the kitchen stools and opened it with shaking hands. Just the sight of his familiar handwriting made her heart beat faster as anticipation battled with anxiety and dread.

  [LTR]

  Dear Jule,

  I haven’t spoken to you in two days—the longest two days of my life. You said we couldn’t talk to each other, but you never mentioned writing. I hope you’ll read this and not just throw it away. I can’t believe I agreed to this foolish plan of yours, but I also can’t believe how stupid I was. If I could hit rewind and undo anything in my life it would be that conversation we had on the beach.

  I’ve discovered since you left that freedom is a funny thing. Last week I longed for it. This week I’m terrified of it. I don’t want anyone but you. I know you won’t believe me because of what an ass I’ve been, but it’s true. I tried to go out with someone else. We went to dinner, but everything was wrong because she wasn’t you. I didn’t care about what she was saying, I didn’t want to kiss her, and I certainly didn’t want to have sex with her. I only want you. I’ve made a terrible mistake, Jule, and I know if I lose you I’ll be sorry about it for the rest of my life.

  All I think about is that you’re going to meet someone else. I worry about that constantly. It keeps me awake at night. Please don’t meet someone you like better than me. I think that would kill me. I’ve let my boss know I’m leaving here in three months whether the install is done or not. Even if I have to quit my job, I’m coming home to you.