James Patterson - Honeymoon

Nora, in complete control of the moment, took a slow sip of her cosmopolitan. “The sex was okay…. No, I’m kidding. It was incredible.”

The three of them laughed like teenagers.

“I am so jealous,” said Elaine.

Nora got a little serious suddenly, and it surprised even her. “I don’t feel alone when I’m with him. I haven’t felt like that in a long time. I think… I think we’re a lot alike.”

Elaine turned to Allison. “Maybe we’ve been looking in the wrong place. A city of a million single men and she meets Mr. Incredible out in the ’burbs.”

“You didn’t tell us, what were you doing there in the first place?” asked Allison.

“I’ve got a client in Briarcliff Manor,” said Nora. “I was in Chappaqua at an antiques store and there he was, looking for old fly-fishing rods. He collects them.”

“And the rest is history,” said Allison.

“She reeled him in from there,” added Elaine. “I repeat, I am so jealous!”

She wasn’t really and Nora knew it. The only thing Elaine was, was happy—happy that her friend, who hadn’t seemed able to get on with her life, had met someone. And Allison was equally happy for Nora.

“So when do we meet this Craig?” she asked.

“Yeah,” said Elaine. “When do we get to meet Mr. Incredible?”

Chapter 82

NORA RETURNED TO her loft after dinner with one thing on her mind: Craig. All that talk about their sex life had her wishing she were with him now. She’d have to settle for hearing his voice. After changing into her pajamas, she climbed into bed and dialed his number.

It rang five times before he picked up.

“Did I wake you?”

“Not at all,” he said. “I was in the other room, reading.”

“Anything good?”

“Unfortunately, no. It’s all work stuff.”

“Sounds boring.”

“It is. All the more reason I’m glad you called.”

“Do you miss me?”

“More than you know.”

“Ditto for me,” she said. “I wish I were there with you. I have a feeling you wouldn’t be doing any reading.”

“Oh yeah? What would I be doing?”

“You’d be holding me.”

“Anything else?”

Nora breathed into the phone. “Kissing me.”

“Kissing you where?”

“On the lips.”

“Soft or hard?”

“First soft, then hard.”

“Where are my hands?” he asked.

“Different interesting places.”

“Where exactly?”

“My breasts. For starters.”

“Hmmmm. Good start, as I remember. Where else?”

“My inner thighs.”

“Ooh, I like that.”

“Wait… they’re moving higher. Slowly. You tease.”

“I like that even more.”

Nora bit her lower lip. “So do I, actually.”

“Can you feel me?” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“Am I inside you?”

Click.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Shit, it’s the other line.”

“Ignore it.”

Nora looked at her caller ID. “I can’t, it’s one of my girlfriends.”

“ Now we’re talking,” he said with a laugh.

“Very funny. Hold on a second, okay? I had dinner with her earlier and if I don’t answer, she’ll be worried.”

She clicked over to the other line. “Elaine?”

“You weren’t asleep yet, were you?” she asked.

“No, I was very wide awake.”

“Wait, you sound out of breath.”

“I’m on the other line.”

“Don’t tell me… Craig?”

“Yes.”

“And I beeped right in the middle of it, didn’t I?”

“It’s okay.”

“Call waiting interruptus. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“I just wanted to tell you again how ecstatic I am for you, honey. Now get back to whatever you two were doing.”

“I think I will.”

“ Soooo jealous!”

Click.

“You still there?” asked Nora.

“I’m here,” he said.

“So, where were we?”

“We were at the point where I definitely wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight.”

“Me, either. Tomorrow I’m driving out there for the real thing.”

Nora waited for him to say something. Instead, there was silence. What is he thinking?

“I can’t tomorrow,” he said finally.

“Why not?”

“I’ve got this thing I’ve got to attend in Chicago at the home office. In fact, that’s what I was doing the reading for.”

“What kind of thing? You can’t just blow it off?”

“I would, it’s a seminar. Only I’m one of the featured speakers.”

“Oh,” she said, deflated. “Poo.”

“I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

“Will you call me from Chicago?”

“You know it. Maybe we can even pick up where we left off.”

“Maybe, if you’re a good boy.”

“Oh, I’ll be good, all right,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Chapter 83

BUT NORA DID WORRY.

All night long, in fact. She’d said she wasn’t going to be able to sleep much, and she was right. What she wanted—what she longed for—was to know if Craig had been telling her the truth. It was the way he talked about his seminar. She’d felt the same inkling of doubt when they’d first met. Something not quite right.

The next morning Nora awoke at dawn. No shower. No makeup. No time to waste. In an old sweatshirt and a baseball cap pulled down over her eyes, she drove north to Westchester. The first stop was Connor’s house in Briarcliff Manor.

There, she made a switch, dropping off the red Benz convertible for one of the two other cars collecting dust in the garage. A green Jaguar XJR.

This way, Craig wouldn’t recognize her. Plus, she liked the Jag almost as much as the Benz.

Twenty minutes later she was parked down the street from Craig’s apartment, waiting with a large cup of Starbucks coffee in her lap. She sipped and watched.

The first time she’d followed him, she hadn’t known what to expect. This time was different. He’d told her he had a noon flight out of town.

About ten the paint-chipped front door opened, and out he came. Bright yellow T-shirt, tan sport jacket—he looked good. The timing made sense if he was driving to the airport. Better yet, he was carrying a suitcase.

She felt relieved.

Then Nora watched as Craig climbed into his black Beemer. His combed-back hair was still wet from a shower. His good looks seemed so effortless, she thought. She missed him, and he hadn’t even left town yet.

He backed out of the short driveway and turned in Nora’s direction. Hurriedly, she ducked down in the front seat, waiting for him to pass. The green Jaguar was just another parked car along the curb, albeit the nicest one.

She’d follow him for a few miles until it was crystal-clear he was headed to the airport. Everything would be okay. Better than okay. He’d call later that night from Chicago and she’d tell him how much she missed him, which wouldn’t be hard to do. She’d joke with him about having an AT&T orgasm.

Nora smiled at the thought. What is going on with me? she wondered.

She was tailing Craig from about a hundred yards as he headed southeast toward the Westchester airport. It was a route she knew well. Along the way she chided herself. “Better paranoid than sorry” was her favorite mantra, but she felt she’d gone a bit overboard this time.

She’d had these same doubts about Craig before, but like the first time, following him was turning up nothing.

Nothing, that is, until he put his blinker on.

Chapter 84

THERE WERE A LOT of ways to get to the Westchester airport, but unfortunately, this wasn’t one of them. The road didn’t even qualify as the scenic route. When Craig signaled and made the turn, Nora knew right away: he had another destination in mind.