“I’m going to call Dominik and see what strings he can pull to get you in starting next week. It might take a few days, but I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
I’m not prepared for Janelle flinging herself at me, arms going around my neck and hugging me so hard I almost choke. “Thank you for having my back.”
“I’ll always have your back.” I give her a gentle squeeze, then push her back a bit so I can look at her. “You weren’t serious about wanting to go back to Mom’s?”
“God, no,” she says in horror. “I was just mad.”
“Good.” My hands go to her shoulders. “Because I can’t let you go back even if you wanted to.”
“I know,” she says, not a hint of sadness reflected. She might miss our mom, but it will never outweigh her betrayal to Janelle.
“Okay,” I say and release her. “You good here by yourself?”
Janelle rolls her eyes. “I’m seventeen, not ten.”
“Smart-ass,” I reply affectionately and turn toward her door. “Because I have to go make things right with Veronica.”
“You’re going over there?” she asks curiously, following me into the hallway.
“I doubt she’ll answer my call,” I mutter. “Besides, she deserves an in-person apology.”
“You should take flowers,” Janelle suggests.
I glance over my shoulder at her, frowning at the thought. “What? No way. She gets an apology, not flowers.”
“Flowers are a great way to apologize,” she counters as I key in the alarm code.
It disarms and I open the door, facing Janelle as I back out. “No flowers. Lock the door and set the alarm when I leave.”
“Yes, Dad,” she drawls but grins before I fully shut the door.
?
I’ve never been to Veronica’s before, but I have her address along with all types of contact information she gave me when we agreed she’d keep Janelle at her place when I was gone. What I didn’t realize when I entered the lobby is that Veronica’s home takes up the entire top floor, as the building’s concierge advised me when he rang up to Veronica’s unit.
“There’s a Mr. Nadeau here to see you, Ms. Woodley,” he says into the phone.
Whatever Veronica says causes the man to flush. “Of course, Ms. Woodley.”
He hangs up the phone, swallows hard, and looks at me. “I’m sorry, sir, but Ms. Woodley won’t see you.”
“Is that what she said?” I ask dubiously.
“No, sir. She used a lot of curse words along with it, but it’s essentially the same message.”
Hmmm. She’s going to be difficult. I smile at the concierge before pulling out my phone. I shoot Veronica a quick text. Let me up or I’m leaving here and putting Janelle on a plane right back to West Virginia.
I hit send and start toward the lobby door. I make it no more than a few steps before the lobby phone rings and the concierge calls after me. “Mr. Nadeau, wait. Ms. Woodley has changed her mind and will see you now.”
I smile evilly but let it slide before I turn around. Tucking my phone away, I accept a card with a temporary passcode for the elevator that will take me to the top floor, directly into Veronica’s home.
When the elevator car stops and the doors slide open, Veronica stands there, arms crossed over her chest, and lights into me. “You have a lot of nerve coming here after—”
“That’s not going to work for me,” I say, cutting in over her tirade and striding right up to her. Her eyes flare for a second before they flutter closed because I’m kissing her.
Christ… it wasn’t my intention to do this, but now that my mouth is on hers, her hands have latched around my neck with one of her legs wrapped around mine, and yup, my hands are on her ass and I can’t remember why I came here to begin with.
Whatever it was, I don’t care right now. Her body feels too good pressed against me, and it’s time to admit that no matter how I might feel about this woman, I want her like no other.
My hands grip her ass to lift her up, and her legs easily wrap around my waist. I angle to the right—the nearest wall—and walk her into it. My pelvis presses against her, and I know she can feel exactly how much I want her.
Veronica gasps and wiggles her hips so she grinds against me. I kiss her harder, and she accepts it, gives it back in spades.
I manage to tear my mouth away, press my forehead against hers, and say through ragged breaths, “If we don’t stop now, I’m going to fuck you.”
Veronica’s mouth is swollen, her eyes bright and skin flushed. She shrugs off my threat. “Fine by me. I haven’t had sex in a really long time.”
Well, I have. Hooked up with someone on this past road trip, but the totality of that experience was nothing compared to how damn hot just this kiss was with her pressed up against the wall.