Merline Lovelace - The Duchess Diaries

This late in the afternoon Gina and Jack could have snagged a table at the Bryant Park Grill or the more informal café. She was a woman on a mission, however. Leaning forward, she instructed the cab driver to cruise a little way past the park and kept her eyes peeled for an aluminum-sided cart topped by a bright yellow umbrella.

“There he is. Pull over.”

Mere moments later she and Jack carried their soft drinks and foil-wrapped treasures into the park. Gina had ordered hers doused with a double helping of sauerkraut. Jack had gone the more conservative mustard-and-relish route. The scent had her salivating until they snagged an empty bench.

“Oh, God,” Gina moaned after the first bite. “This is almost better than sex.”

Jack cocked a brow and paused with his dog halfway to his mouth.

“I said ‘almost.’”

If she’d had a grain of common sense, she would have left it there. But, no. Like an idiot, she had to let her mouth run away with her.

“Not that I’ve had anything to compare it to in the past couple of months,” she mumbled around another bite.

“We can fix that.”

Jack tossed the words out so easily, so casually, that it took a second or two for his meaning to register. When it did, Gina choked on the bite she’d just taken.

“I’ve been doing my assigned reading,” he said as he gave her a helpful thump on the back. “A Father’s Guide to Pregnancy says it’s not uncommon for a woman’s libido to shoot into the stratosphere, particularly during the first trimester. It also warned me not to feel inadequate if I don’t satisfy what could turn into an insatiable appetite.”

He didn’t look all that concerned about the possibility. Just the opposite. The wicked glint in his brown eyes positively challenged Gina to give him a shot.

She wanted to. God, she wanted to! Just looking at his beautiful mouth with a tiny smear of mustard at the corner made her ache to lean in and lick it off. She had to gulp down a long slug of Sprite Zero to keep from giving in to the impulse.

“I appreciate the offer,” she said with what she hoped was a cheeky smile. “I’ll keep it in mind if I run out of batteries.”

“Ouch.”

He put on a good show of being wounded, but when the laughter faded from his eyes she saw the utter seriousness in their depths.

“I know you want a relationship based on more than just sex, Gina. I’m hoping we can build that partnership.”

“I know you are.”

“We’re not there yet,” he admitted with brutal honesty, “but we’re getting closer.”

Ha! He could speak for himself. She was standing right on the edge, and every moment she spent with this man cut more ground from under her feet. All it would take was one gentle push. She’d fall for him so fast he wouldn’t know what hit him.

Unfortunately, everything else would fall with her. Her fledgling career. Her self-respect. Her pride. She was just starting to feel good about herself. Just beginning to believe she could be the responsible parent she wanted so desperately to become.

Oh, hell! Who was she kidding? She would dump it all in a heartbeat if Jack loved her.

But he didn’t. Yet.

So she wouldn’t. Yet.

Consoled by the possibilities embedded in that little three-letter word, she tried to keep it light. “Too bad this isn’t horseshoes. We would score points for close. Let’s just...let’s just press on the way we have been and hope for a ringer.”

Stupid metaphor but the best she could come up with at the moment. Jack looked as if he wanted to say more but let it go. They sat knee-to-knee in the sunshine and devoured their hot dogs. Or more correctly, Gina devoured hers. Jack had set his on the unwrapped foil to pop the top of his soft drink. He took a long swig and rested the can on his knee while he watched two twentysomethings duking it out at the Ping-Pong table. The crack of their paddles smacking the ball formed a sharp counterpoint to the carousel’s merry tune and the traffic humming along 6th Avenue.

“This is nice,” Jack commented. “I don’t get to just sit and bask in the sun much anymore.”

“Uh-huh.”

He stretched an arm along the back of the bench. “Did you come here often when you were growing up?”

“Yep.”

Her abbreviated responses brought his gaze swinging back to her just in time to catch the covetous looks she was giving his not-yet-consumed weenie. She didn’t bother to plead innocence.

“Are you going to eat that?”

“It’s all yours. Or shall I go get you another one doused with sauerkraut?”

She gave the question serious consideration before shaking her head. “This will do me.”

The remains disappeared in two bites. Semi-satisfied, Gina leaned against the bench and stretched out her legs. His arm formed a comfortable backrest as she replied to his earlier query.

“I couldn’t even hazard a guess how many times I’ve been to Bryant Park. Maria used to bring Sarah and me to ride the merry-go-round or ice-skate on Citi Pond. Grandmama would come, too, after shopping on Fifth Avenue or to wait while we girls hit the library.”

“Your grandmother’s a remarkable woman.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Are she and Sarah the only family you have left?”

“There are some distant cousins in Slovenia. Or maybe it’s Hungary. Or Austria. To tell the truth, I’m not real sure which countries got which parts of Karlenburgh after the duchy was broken up.”

“Has Charlotte ever gone back?”

“No, never. She doesn’t say so, but I know it would be too painful for her.”

“What about you?” He toyed with the ends of her hair, still straight, still purple. “Have you ever visited your ancestral lands?”

“Not yet. I’d like to, though. One of these days...”

She could sit here for hours, she thought lazily. Listening to the crack of the Ping-Pong paddles, watching the tourists nose through the kiosks, nestling her head on the solid heat of Jack’s arm. She didn’t realize her eyelids had fluttered shut until his amused voice drifted down to her.

“You going to sleep on me again?”

“Maybe.”

“Before you zone out completely, let’s set a date for you to make a visit to D.C. My folks are anxious to meet you.”

That woke her up. The little she knew about Jack’s family suggested they probably wouldn’t welcome her with open arms. Not his father, anyway. But she’d promised. Digging into her purse, she checked the calendar on her iPhone.

“I can’t do next weekend. Does the second weekend in June work for you?”

“I’ll make it work. Go back to sleep now.”

Seven

Gina ended up making the jaunt down to Washington a week earlier than expected. Her change of plans kicked off the following Thursday morning with a summons to Samuel’s office, where her boss relayed a request from the head office.

“Nicole just called. She needs you to fly down to D.C. You’ve got a reservation on the two-twenty shuttle.”

“Today?”

“Yes, today. TTG’s coordinating a black-tie reception and private, prerelease movie showing for two hundred tomorrow evening.”

“And Elaine needs help?”

Elaine Patterson managed the TTG’s Washington venue. Gina had met the trim, elegant brunette once when she’d flown to New York for a meeting with Samuel.

“Elaine’s father had a heart attack. She’s in Oregon and her assistant just checked into the ICU with a bad case of pancreatitis, whatever the hell that is. The rest of the staff is too junior to handle a function this large. Nicole wants you to take charge.”

Samuel shoved a folder across his desk. “Here are faxed copies of the timetable, menu, floor plans, proposed setup, list of suppliers and contact phone numbers. I had them also email copies so you’ll be able pull ’em on your iPad in case you need to make changes on the fly. You can stay in the venue’s bridal suite. It’s fully equipped and stocked.”