Page 4 of One Night Only

Chapter Three

Ethan

It’s10:10 p.m. on the fourteenth of February.

I’ve never been more ashamed of myself. Not once in my forty-three years have I ever behaved like the judgmental, condescending ass I was just now. With a woman that doesn’t deserve it, for fuck’s sake.

I shove a hand through my hair roughly. The urge to run after her and apologize is so profound that my legs move in a lockstep before my brain’s given the order.

I will apologize, but first, I need to understand why I behaved like that.

If I know Ms. Rao well—and fuck it, but I do—my asinine comments will not make her leave.

She cares about my mother. I know it. My cousin Arthur knows it. Mom knows it. Even my son and my ex-wife and her son know it. Blast it, even my ex’s husband, who’s the densest man on the planet, knows it.

Everyone knows “Ani” and how well she’s looked after Mom in the last year. Everyone’s heartbroken that she’s leaving, including me.

Yes, it’s highly inconvenient that I have to find a new carer for Mom. All the guilt that she lives alone comes back afresh.

But it was Ms. Rao’s appearance that turned me into an insufferable jackass.

Those beautiful brown eyes, so frank in their perusal, instantly telegraphing her attraction to me. And that was before I took in the thrust-out hip, long legs, and soggy dress lovingly cupping every curve.

Messy bun, slender shoulders, heavy tits and thick hips… the woman has my type written on every pore. Golden-brown skin shone against the red lipstick. The contrast between the calm, competent figure I created in my head this past year and this vibrant, slightly chaotic woman intrigues the hell out of me. Then there was the flash of vulnerability when I implied that she didn’t care for mom.

The woman is a puzzle I want to unravel with tender care and a near-violent desire.

I rub my hands over my eyes as I admit how much it annoyed me to find her flirting with that guy. Neither did it take a genius to figure out that she ditched a date to rush to the hospital.

That I was probably a few seconds late in finding her alone in the waiting room twisted my black boxers into a bunch. To discover that she was Ms. Rao, the very efficient, very loyal, very considerate live-in help that brought a new shine to Mom’s outlook toward life, was a punch. And that I had eleven months to meet this woman who seemed to be crafted into form from my darkest fantasies but missed the chance was the last straw.

I was drawn to the strange woman in the horrible cupid costume. The want intensified when I realized who she is.

Two plus two turned me into a jealous, ill-mannered brute.

I come to my feet; the realization sitting like a brick in my stomach.

I want the damned right to call her Annika.

Chapter Four

Ethan

She’s sittingat a barstool outside the closed cafe in the main lobby, cradling a plastic cup in her hand. The low-hanging overhead lights are my friends in how they detail every inch of her face for me.

Her eyes are closed, and her hair has escaped the knot completely. Gold highlights glint in the light, short, wavy strands framing her face. The smudged lipstick’s gone, and so is the rest of her makeup. Her lashes clump together. Whether because of tears or because she washed her face, I can’t say.

One thing’s clear though.

She’s young. Too young for me.

Innocent brown eyes pop open and skewer me as I reach the table. She might as well see into my soul and read my dark desires.

It’s unsettling to reach my age and wonder if love at first sight exists.

Although is it first sight if I’ve known her for eleven months?

I raise my hands, palms up, in surrender. “I’m sorry for behaving like an unmitigated ass.”

---