Chapter Thirty

“Dammit!”

Frustrated Rachel swore softly under her breath as she checked her watch and saw three pm fast approaching. There was no way in hell she was going to make the Hamptons by four o clock when she was supposed to accompany Jon to the first of several events they had planned – today had been nothing but one delay after the other. Sliding her phone out from her briefcase she tapped out a quick message to Jon, warning him of probable disruption to their evening.

14.47 Delayed – I’ll meet you at party as soon as I can – can you rearrange?”

She had one more representative to meet before she could get the paperwork sorted in order to clear her schedule for the remainder of the week and he was already running twenty minutes late for their scheduled appointment. Irritated she crossed her legs under the table and drummed out a beat on the polished surface with her freshly manicured nails – she had popped into a nail bar in between sessions earlier in preparation for her stay in the Hamptons  - a stay which was taking forever to arrive. A discrete beep from her phone signalled Jon’s response;

14.50 I’ll take care of it – we’ve got all weekend so no worries. See you when I see you x

Relaxing a little she blew out a long sigh of relief. She hated keeping anyone waiting and she especially hated being rushed when going into new surroundings. Social events in the Hamptons hadn’t exactly popped up in her events calendar on a regular basis before and she was pretty sure it was an environment that was going to take some getting used to.

An apologetic knock on the boardroom door snapped her out of her musings and back to the present as her last appointment finally showed up. It was game face time again. Any more thoughts of the Hamptons were hastily pushed to the back of her mind as she stood up to welcome the man – the quicker she could get this final piece of business taken care of, the quicker she would be at the beach in Jon’s arms.

It was just shy of two hours later by the time she was eventually being helped into Jon’s helicopter by the pilot for the second time in as many days. Freshly showered and changed, her stuffy office attire swapped for a more elegant look of capris and a silk shirt, her mood had vastly improved. The past couple of day’s frustrations and problems flew out of her head once the chopper nosed skyward and headed East leaving the backed up traffic and honking horns of impatient drivers stuck in rush hour behind her. It was just a short flight out to the Hamptons, another driver waiting diligently to whisk her away to the party on arrival. A small flutter of nerves unfurled in her stomach when the car rolled up on the pavement of a long driveway that lead to an imposing private property – the home of the high society couple that were hosting the evening’s benefit. Applying a quick touch up to her lip gloss, she thanked the driver and stepped gracefully from the car, nodding politely to the attendant who opened the door for her. A warm breeze ruffled the waves of her loose hair that bounced lightly on her shoulders as she glanced upwards and took in the magnificent architecture of the ivy clad brick terraces and alcoves that towered above her head. The sheer size of the mansion could have easily passed it for a small hotel.

“Good evening Ms ?”

A suited man with a clipboard in hand stepped forward to greet her, his eyebrows raised in a polite enquiry as to her identification.

“Good evening – Braden, Rachel Braden.”

The man quickly scanned the list in front of him and then smiled in acceptance as he ticked her name off.

“Welcome Ms Braden, right this way please.”

Swallowing down a nervous lump, Rachel smiled brightly and followed the man around the imposing house on a path framed by intricate herbaceous borders to where it opened out onto a grand lawn. An enormous marquee was erected off an annex of the house, the brilliant white drapes fluttering against the dramatic backdrop of the deep blue Atlantic which shimmered in the distance. The clamour of conversation from the crowd spilling out onto the lawn rose above the soft tones of a string quartet playing on a small bandstand to Rachel’s left as she gratefully accepted a flute of champagne offered by a server who materialised by her side. Lifting the slender crystal to her lips, the bubbles popped and cracked under her nose momentarily distracting her from the more than slightly intimidating sea of beautiful women in front of her. The cream of New York’s rich and famous were here in force; everywhere she looked there were long slender legs in four inch heels and designer dresses – the infamous socialites.

Deciding against sampling the crisp Dom Perignon that was fizzing so invitingly between her fingertips, Rachel wandered into the crowd smiling and nodding politely at the other guests. She needed a clear head to find her feet in this scene. Sideways glances and murmured questions behind tight lips made it plainly obvious that she was the focus of much scrutiny, a cat among the pigeons as it were.

Passing a small group of people in her quest to find Jon, the sound of her name being called out stopped her in her tracks.

“Rachel?”

A guarded smile firmly in place, she turned in the direction of the voice only to blink in surprise at the man making his way towards her.

“Nigel? Hi!”

Relief rolled over her as she beamed in genuine delight at the executive she had held a meeting with only the day before. Leaning in to accept a warm kiss on each cheek, she laughed lightly at him.

“I didn’t expect to see you again quite so soon!”

“Likewise! You’re out here for the weekend?”

Nodding Rachel smiled; “Yes, until Sunday. It’s nice to be out of the city especially with weather like this.”

“I hear you! Let me introduce you to my wife – Miranda.”

Allowing her to be ushered toward a small group of people clustered around one of the many tall drinks tables scattered about the lawn; Rachel politely greeted and exchanged pleasantries with Nigel’s wife and his friends, her manner easy and relaxed until she spied Jon chatting with two men not far from her. Their eyes met at the same time, a beaming smile breaking out on Jon’s face as he excused himself to make his way towards her. Clad in a royal blue shirt only buttoned to just above his chest with the cuffs rolled back and a pair of dark denims, the casual outfit made his summer bronzed skin glow.

“It was lovely to see you again Nigel, enjoy your evening!”

Hastily taking her leave of the executive and his friends, Rachel stepped around the group to meet Jon, a small grin on her face. Raw lust surged through her veins when with sparkling eyes highlighted by the blue of his shirt, Jon drew her close in a light embrace, both conscious of the surreptitious looks of the people standing by checking them out.With an amused smile he murmured quietly in her ear;

“You do realise that almost every woman in this place hated you the minute you walked in right?”

They may have been surrounded by some of the country’s most glamorous women but in his view they couldn’t hold a candle to Rachel, her natural golden waves glinting in the sunshine and the elegant salmon silk blouse she was wearing accentuating her slender figure. He could already feel a surge of hormone fuelled blood beginning to race through his veins.

Biting one lip, Rachel murmured back coyly from under her lightly made up eyelids. 

“If they didn’t then – they sure will when they see me leave with you…..”

Chuckling Jon dropped a gentle kiss on the top of her head and draped an arm comfortably around the middle of her back. “You look amazing. C’mon and let me get you a proper drink.”

Both with relaxed smiles, they moved together through the crowd toward the long linen draped bar in the vast marquee. Rachel, very much aware of the dazzling array of flirtatious winks and smiles aimed at Jon from the various women they passed, quietly began calculating some damage limitations, just in case.

“I’m presuming you’ve slept with a few of these women ……”

Jon glanced down at her with an amused smile as they reached a quiet area of the bar and with a shrug modestly admitted to his previous dalliances.

“Just a few….”

When she looked up at him, only a small hint of insecurity was betrayed in her voice.

“Don’t let me be blindsided okay? Because it seems to me there are a lot of eyes on us right now.”

Gently he turned her to face him and cupped her chin reassuringly with his thumb, his eyes smiling down at her before he kissed her softly on the lips.

“Don’t worry baby – I got your back okay?”

When she nodded Jon turned to lean casually against the bar. “Now what do you fancy? Wine? A margarita maybe?”

“No, just a club soda with lime please.”

“Club soda?” Cocking his head to one side, one eyebrow lifted in disbelief. “That’s not like you – c’mon – I can’t imagine you not in a tequila mood! What about a Long Island Iced Tea?”

Ruefully she shook her head, “No thanks, I better skip the alcohol for the moment.”

Jon shook his head grinning. “What have you done with my Rachel? Why have you suddenly gone ‘on the wagon’ on me?”

A slight heat of embarrassment coloured Rachel’s cheeks when she dropped her head to murmur quietly; “Would you just drop it? I can barely keep my hands off you as it is – any alcohol and I’ll be making a scene with you on top of the centre pieces in front of all these lovely people.”

Eyes wide in surprise, Jon ducked down to get a good look at her face. “You’re serious?”

“Uhhh……yeah!”

Chortling in delight Jon motioned at the bartender. “Club soda with lime please.” 

Replacing his arm across the curve of her lower back he leaned in close to her, his fingers squeezing her side teasingly.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘making a scene’?”

Images of their first night together flew through Rachel’s mind, a tight knot of desire stirring deep within her at the memories. Straight laced, she looked him square in the eyes.

“It would make the ‘up against the wall’ scene in your kitchen look like a freakin Disney production.”

Taking a sip from his wine, Jon nearly choked on the pale liquid at her words. Steadying himself he cleared his throat and turned to lean against the bar, gazing innocently across at the crowd.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – you’re a bad girl Rachel Braden – a very bad girl!”

Giggling Rachel shrugged and offered no defence, choosing to keep her focus on the back wall of the marquee as she took a sip of her club soda that the bartender had just handed her. Her earlier apprehensions were rapidly diminishing and the thoughts of the fun filled weekend ahead were making her delirious with excitement. It was time to taste the Hamptons and all it had to offer.