Page 20 of The Billionaire's Kiss
“He told me about what happened to them.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“I am.” The wheels turned slowly inside my head.Maybe he’s a good man after all.
Not that it made much difference. Warner being real with me didn’t mean a thing, really. It didn’t mean we’d get more time together. It certainly didn’t mean we were meant to be together.
He had his life in America, and I had mine in Ireland. Nothing was going to change that. I had a family to keep me rooted in my country, and he had his family and a successful business to tend to in Texas.
Taking off my robe, I got onto the table and let her begin the massage. After draping a sheet over my body, her hands worked my back, loosening the tight muscles. The oils filled my nose with amazing citrusy scents.
“Can I assume from your accent that you’re visiting us from Ireland, Orla?”
“You can.” Alexis had an accent as well. “And are you from Mexico or Spain?”
“I am from America. Born and raised in Houston, Texas,” she said, taking me by surprise.
“America is full of so many different accents that it makes it impossible to know who is from here and who came from another country.”
“That is why they call us the melting pot, I suppose.” Her hands slid up and down my calves, slicking oil all over them. “Not all people of a Mexican descent have as thick an accent as I do, but I grew up in a neighborhood where most families spoke the language more often than not.”
“It’s a beautiful accent. Much sexier than mine.” I always thought there was something rather seductive about the Latin languages. “I wish I could speak Spanish, but it just won’t come out of my mouth correctly.”
“My husband tries his best to speak it well, but his Texan accent is just too thick to make the words sound right.” Laughing, she ran her oiled hands over my feet.
“Maybe you can help me make a decision, Alexis.” I thought I should get some advice from a female before I went and mucked things up for myself. “Warner and I got on well last night. As a matter of fact, we’ve gotten on well since I first arrived here.”
“Sounds romantic.”
“It does, rather. But romance isn’t really in the cards for me. I mean, not long-term romance. I’m only here for a week. So, I’m asking you what you would do if you found someone very much to your liking but knew it couldn’t last longer than a week?”
“That’s a hard one, Orla.” At least she shared my opinion. “I grew up in a very conservative religious household. Premarital sex was just about the worst thing a woman could consider, but I ended up doing it anyway. I think human nature overrides religious promises at times.”
I found that interesting, though maybe not relevant to my current dilemma. “I’m not all that religious—more spiritual, I’d say. But I’m not overly promiscuous, either. I’m not into having sex with lots of men, or men I don’t know very well. So this isn’t easy for me. I do like Warner immensely. And I can’t deny he’s gorgeous, and I’m super attracted to him. But I’m not sure if I should act on… whatever it is that we have. Not only do I not want to hurt myself when I have to leave, but I also don’t want to hurt him. And I’m not sure I can stop that from happening—there’s some kind of connection between us, and I’m pretty sure it will only be harder for both of us when I have to leave if we keep building on that connection.”
“You’re wondering whether it will be easier to leave if you don’t get too intimate with him.” She was a smart woman. “Sure, it might be much easier on both of you if you didn’t let things go all the way to sex. But—and this is a strong but—do you think that you and he should just ignore what sounds like an intense connection? How much of a loss would it feel like if you never shared that experience?”
“A big one, I think.” Though I was afraid of missing out, I was also afraid of getting lost in our connection. So much so that it had frightened me that if he’d kissed my lips last night, I would’ve thrown caution to the wind and invited him into my room. “But I wonder if I need to be afraid of that. I mean, I love chocolate cake, but I don’thaveto have it every day. Maybe I will love whatever we do together, but won’t need to experience it again.”
Coming around in front of me, she worked on my shoulders. “You want my honest opinion, Orla?” I nodded my head, and she continued, “It will most likely hurt you both when you leave, regardless of whether you have sex or not. So why miss out on what could be a great time and something very meaningful just because, in the end, there will be some pain? Pain is inevitable in life.”
“Maybe.” I still wasn’t sure it would be smart to let myself feel so much for a person I could never truly have in my life.
“If you two share these feelings, it’s highly likely that you both will somehow manage to get into each other’s paths while you’re here. Follow your instinct and deal with the aftermath when it arrives.” Brushing something soft all over my body, she went on, “A lot of things worth having come with consequences, and this is no different. I mean, think of the consequences of sex—STIs, pregnancy. Pregnancy in itself can be painful or at least uncomfortable. And then there’s the actual childbirth and that pain that goes with it—not to mention the post-natal recovery. Yet women still willingly do it.”
“That is true. But we go in with our eyes wide open—we all know that we could get pregnant. No contraceptive is one-hundred percent effective. And sometimes, the men who make the babies don’t stick around to help you care for them. And yet, most women take that risk for a few moments of pleasure.”
“Women sound like fools,” she said as she sighed. “Why do we do it, Orla? Why do we do such things?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that. But we do put ourselves through hell, don’t we?” I’d put myself in some situations with men before that could’ve left me in a world of hurt. So, why not have some fun with Warner? He might be able to help me experience some things I never had—and then I could just let the pieces fall where they may?
“Life’s just too short to miss certain experiences because of the pain that might come afterwards,” she said as she pulled the sheet up to cover me. “And this massage is done. Feel free to put in a review if you’d like. It helps build our reputation when the guests leave good reviews.”
“You’ve helped me in more ways than one. You can expect five stars from me.” I sat up on the table, pulling the sheet around to cover myself as I got up. “If my life wasn’t so far away, you and I might’ve ended up sisters-in-law.” I had to laugh at how far ahead in the future I was gazing.
Packing up the table, she smiled. “One never knows what the future holds, Orla. I can tell you that from experience. I’d known Patton my entire life and not once had I foreseen our marriage. Never once did I foresee us sharing such passion and such a deep love for one another. Yet, here we are.”
“I can see from the love in your eyes when you speak of him that he’s a special man. Are all the brothers such good men?”
Nodding, she put the oils back into her bag. “They are all good men. Their lives could’ve gone very differently after the loss of their parents. Plus, they didn’t grow up in money, and yet their newfound wealth hasn’t changed any of them a bit. Well, they do dress better than they did before. But personality-wise, they are all the same men.”
There was usually a bad seed in any bunch. To think that all the Nash brothers were good made me think it would be even harder to part with Warner at the end of my visit.
But I’m going for it anyway.
