Read Online The Men I Didn't Marry by Janice Kaplan - Free Book Online

intensifies.
    “Cell phone,” Eric explains, pulling back and grabbing the Motorola from his pocket. He glances at the number. “Got to take this.”
    I sit back, slightly embarrassed. I know my sex life with Bill had slowed down lately, but can I really not tell the difference between a pulsating phone and a throbbing man?
    Eric has jumped up and is pacing around the room, barking orders to whoever’s on the other end of the line. He’s not happy about something in, as far as I can tell, a deal for orange juice futures. I personally think the future belongs to papaya, but Eric’s not asking my advice.
    He slams shut his phone and comes back to the couch. He starts to stroke my face, and runs a finger through my hair. But then he jumps up again. “I’m sorry, Hallie, but I’d better follow through on this problem or it’s going to keep bothering me.”
    Well, I’m not going to let it bother me. I reach for some more caviar while he arranges a four-way conference call covering three continents. Given all of Eric’s attention, the future of orange juice seems secure.
    Eric finally comes back to the couch again, but he still seems tense.
    “Want a massage?” I ask, rubbing his shoulders.
    “I have a better idea. I could use another kiss,” he says, taking my face in his hands and pressing his lips against mine.
    We embrace for a long time. His kisses are soft and warm, and his hands caressing me feel both familiar and new. I lean into his firm chest and pull him tight as both the space and the years between us dissolve. Time in all its essence disappears and when I finally open my eyes, I see the first whispers of light breaking into the dark sky outside.
    Eric breathes softly into my ear, and when my whole body responds, he asks tenderly, “Will you come into my bedroom?”
    I hesitate, and over my shoulder, I see him glance at his watch.
    “Short on time?” I ask.
    “Always,” he admits. “But I don’t want to lose this chance.”
    The phone doesn’t ring, but the doorbell does. Eric groans and gets up. “It’s just my assistant Hamilton. We always start early.”
    He lets in a nerdy-looking thirty-year-old who’s holding a heavy briefcase. “Good morning, Mr. Richmond. I have those papers and we can . . .” Hamilton pauses, noticing me, and looks slightly abashed, though I’m probably not the first woman he’s found lolling around Eric’s apartment at the crack of dawn. But now he stammers, “Am I interrupting something?”
    Eric glances at me with a little smile. “I don’t know yet. We were just negotiating.”
    Hamilton disappears discreetly to a back room as yet unseen by me and Eric glances seductively at me and takes my hand. “Come on. Let’s go put another nickel in the piggy bank.”
    I smile coyly. “Not on the first date. You know me.”
    Eric shakes his head. “I do, but you’re not going to make me wait six months again, are you? This isn’t really a first date.”
    All of a sudden, I feel hesitant. The night has been wonderful, but maybe it’s gone as far as it should. Eric’s a busy man now. I don’t know that I want to take the next step.
    “It’s morning, and you have a lot to do today,” I tell him. “Aren’t you leaving for Bermuda?”
    Eric strokes my hair with one hand and checks his BlackBerry with the other. “Come with me,” he says, as he scrolls through his messages. I appreciate a man who can multitask, but does he have to do it when he’s trying to seduce me? “Come to Bermuda this afternoon. Then I’m going on to London. I think I have a trip to Hong Kong after that. You could follow me wherever you want.”
    A knowing smile crosses my face. That’s right. Eric’s already told me that any woman comes second to his work. Two decades ago I wasn’t willing to follow him across the country to graduate school, probably understanding even then that his priorities and mine would never be the same. Maybe my life would have been more exciting if I’d