Page 84 of Plus One

Monique didn’t move.

CHICKIE

You’d better not be moping.

How did she know?

MONIQUE

I’m not moping.

CHICKIE

Liar.

Maurice had moved away from the dancing and stood in one of the archways draped in fairy lights. Moonlight glinted off the water that spilled from the fuente beside him. He’d taken his collar off and unbuttoned his shirt down to the third button, revealing a gray tank top and a smattering of chest hairs.

He raised his glass to her.

Monique swallowed hard and looked away.

She’d been there for hours, changing locations to put more distance between her and him. And there were still two more hours until midnight.

At ten o’clock, Monique found a quiet bench under a canopy of ferns, away from the music and lights and questioning eyes, and checked her flight status.

She could change it. Leave now. There was an eleven-thirty. She could be home by four, maybe. Her finger hovered over the button.

“You leaving?” Maurice stood nearby. His proximity was purposeful. Like he’d been standing guard, ready to act should she need him.

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

He stepped forward and gestured at the bench. “Can I sit?”

She gathered her skirt around her, and he sat. Silence and space rested between them.

“Thank you,” she said eventually. “For not crowding me tonight.”

“Of course.”

More silence.

“But?” Maurice asked.

“But I think maybe I ask for the wrong things sometimes.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “I ask people to leave me alone. Then I’m mad when they do.”

“Are you mad now?”

“No.”

“Good. But you’re scared.” He didn’t move closer, even though her body screamed for him to. “Me too. Scared that if I want something, I’ll lose it. You push first, and I…” He shrugged.

Monique’s throat tightened. The warmth and comforting presence, even with the space between them, was more than okay. It was better than the paradise they had been traversing all week. It was better than anything she had ever experienced.

But she couldn’t tell him that. That would be too eager, too thirsty. But she was. An unfamiliar sensation came over her that she couldn’t make peace with.

“Board meeting?” He spread his fingers out over his strong thighs.

It both irked and eased her soul that he knew about her board meetings. “You watch me too closely.” She wasn’t complaining, though.