Page 29 of Love Affair in London (Once Again #12)

J ared walked her to her room, his arm still around her.

“Will I see you after the reception?” Piper felt pitiful for needing to ask.

“Sure. It’s only a couple of hours.”

“I’d like that,” she said softly.

A couple dressed up for the evening, both of them a little older than Piper, maybe sixty, were just leaving the room next to hers as Jared guided her down the hall.

They returned her polite smile, and she couldn’t help a tiny wave of envy. What she wouldn’t give to be going out for the evening with Jared, all dressed up and ready to play.

At her door, he gave her a long, lingering kiss—a promise of the night to come.

She was glad for all the delicious moments he’d given her over the past three days. And glad for what that promise would bring.

An hour later, after a shower, Piper sat on her balcony as the sun dipped below the high-rises. The champagne was good, yet somehow it wasn’t as enjoyable without him. Jared should have been sitting next to her, enjoying the view, bantering with her, touching her.

He’d left her with the tea shop’s homemade chutney, meant to share.

But when would they share it? And there was his comment about having her bake for him.

When could that happen? It was as if he envisioned seeing her again when they were back home.

But that felt like a bad thing. She was too old for him, at least as far as anything beyond a vacation fling.

Maybe he was just mouthing platitudes, a throwaway comment he didn’t mean.

But he wanted to come back tonight after his welcome reception. And that meant everything.

It was after seven. He would already be there.

Those events were typically a lot of chitchat and glad-handing.

These days, at least a quarter or more of the attendees would be women.

Young, vibrant women with firm, toned bodies and barely a wrinkle on their faces.

How was she supposed to compete with that?

Good God, why was she spoiling this wonderful day with all the negative thinking?

It was eleven a.m. back home, a good time to call Juanita, and her friend picked up on the second ring.

“Are you having an amazing time?” she asked, skipping a hello .

“It’s been incredible,” Piper said. “I’ve had Sunday roast, toured Greenwich, watched the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, and strolled through the Tower of London—where they executed Anne Boleyn.”

“You are sooo morbid,” Juanita groaned.

Piper snorted. “You were the one who mentioned her when we had lunch. Anyway, while we were waiting for the Changing of the Guard, we saw a very official car pulling in, but the tinted windows were too dark to see who was inside. It might have been the king!”

“Who’s we?” Juanita pounced on the slip.

“I met a man,” Piper admitted without shame.

“Ooh?” Juanita’s voice hummed with curiosity. “What kind of man?”

“A very sexy man.”

Juanita made a sizzling sound through her teeth. “Tell me everything. How did you meet him? What have you done together? What are you going to do together?”

Piper couldn’t help laughing at Juanita’s zeal.

“That’s too many questions, so here’s the short version.

He’s from the Bay Area, and I saw him in the airport lounge at SFO.

Then I smiled at him on the plane. And I lost my phone at Tower Bridge.

When I had the hotel call my number, guess who answered? ”

“Oh my God,” Juanita drawled. “That is such a meet-cute. They could make a movie out of it.”

“It gets even better. To thank him, I took him out for Sunday roast at a pub. Then we came back to my room and shared champagne cocktails on the balcony while watching the lights on the river and the bridge.”

“Fabulous,” Juanita exclaimed. “Your room overlooks the river?”

“It’s perfect,” Piper gushed. “Let me send you a picture.” She tapped her phone to text a photo. “The view of Tower Bridge is amazing. My hotel is next to the Tower of London and the pier for the Greenwich boats. And the Underground is just up the street. It’s all crazy good.”

Juanita was undeterred in her quest for details about the man . “What’s his name?”

“Jared Hart.”

“Fabulous name. What does he look like?”

“I can do better than tell you. I have a selfie.” Piper sent the photo, and within moments, Juanita breathed out a long sigh. “Oh my God. He’s a total silver fox.”

“He’s definitely hot,” Piper admitted.

“Have you slept with him yet?”

Piper hesitated, not out of embarrassment or shame, but because of how new it all felt. Yet she’d called Juanita because she needed to talk. “I did. Last night.”

“You naughty woman,” Juanita joshed. “How was it?”

“Good enough to make me want him to come back tonight for more.”

“You go, girl.” Then, in a sultry tone, Juanita asked, “Why are you calling me? Isn’t he there now?”

“He’s here for a conference. He came early to sightsee, but tonight is the welcome reception, and he has meetings for the next few days. I probably won’t see a lot of him.”

Juanita’s tone turned flippant again. “You tour by day and sleep with a hottie by night. How perfect is that?”

Piper drew in a satisfied breath. “That’s exactly what I get to do.”

“Damn, girl, I am so proud of you.”

“I’m terrible,” Piper said, as if it were a badge of courage. “I broke up with my fiancé on Thursday, and by Sunday, I’m picking up another man.”

“More power to you, baby. And since he’s from the Bay Area, this thing could go on as long as you want.”

“Well…” Piper hesitated. “I don’t know about that. Look at the picture. You’ll see he’s a lot younger than me.”

“How much younger?”

“Twelve years.”

Juanita scoffed. “Oh, please. That’s nothing. George is seven years younger than me, and we’re perfect together.”

“That’s five years less than twelve. With twelve years, people will look at us and wonder why he’s with me.”

“No one will think that. You’re in great shape. But who cares what anyone else thinks?”

“Thanks for saying that.” Piper sipped her champagne for fortification. “But I’ll care when people stare.”

“Then don’t go out. Just stay home and keep him as your boy toy.”

Piper burst into laughter. “Only you would say that, Juanita.”

They laughed together before Juanita said, “Here’s the upshot: Have all the fun you want in London. Then, if it’s all still good, ask him if he’d like to see you when you get home.”

“We’ll see.” Piper was unwilling to think that far ahead. Maybe Jared would tire of her by then. She doubted she’d tire of him. “I don’t want to start something that’s destined to end.”

“It doesn’t have to end,” Juanita insisted.

“But it will have to. I don’t want to end up like my parents, where my mom became the caretaker and the last five years of her life were so grueling she had a heart attack when it was over. And with Jared, he’d be the one having to take care of me.”

Juanita huffed. “But you’re healthy, you take care of yourself, you eat right. You’re not like your dad.”

That was true. Her dad liked his evening drink, he liked his meat-centric meals, and he didn’t like exercise.

And she loved her champagne cocktails. “I’m still a lot older than Jared.

I wouldn’t want him to spend the last good years of his life taking care of me.

So I won’t let myself get serious.” If she truly fell for him, it would break her to walk away. No, it was better not to even go there.

“Okay,” Juanita agreed. “I get it. That doesn’t mean you can’t have some short-term fun. But hey, sweetie, I’ve gotta run. George and I have a golf date. No matter what, enjoy that hunka burning love while you’re there if you refuse to enjoy him later on.”

“That I can do,” Piper promised.

Hanging up, she let herself savor thoughts of Jared—the way he tasted, the way he felt inside her. They only had a few nights left, and for now, she wouldn’t dwell on the age gap.

If he didn’t care about it, why should she?

Most people, when on vacation, would be out enjoying the nightlife.

But Piper was alone. After her call with Juanita, she luxuriated in a hot bath and readied herself for Jared, shaving her legs and washing her hair.

After drying off, she smoothed lotion into her skin, applied makeup, and dried and styled her hair.

Finally, she wrapped herself in the hotel robe before sitting on the balcony to wait.

She knew what they said about waiting for a man: don’t.

You should do your own thing, and if they show up, they show up.

But was that realistic? Didn’t everyone sometimes have to wait for something they wanted?

Especially for a man she wanted as badly as Jared?

She wasn’t sure how that had happened in two and a half days, but it had.

Since he’d be gone by the end of the week, she told herself he was worth the wait.

Except she kept waiting. Nine o’clock came and went. She opened her Kindle to read. Then ten o’clock rolled by, and the clock ticked closer and closer to eleven. He’d said he’d only be a couple of hours, but there was no phone call, no text.

And no Jared.

Obviously, he’d met someone younger and more appealing at the reception.

Conrad, his boss, had wanted a prep meeting after the welcome reception.

Jared had pulled his phone out of his pocket, intending to text Piper, and—dammit—his battery was dead.

He’d spent the night in her room and hadn’t charged his phone.

Before he and his colleagues went to the bar next door, which had a pass-through directly from the hotel, he should have excused himself to use the restroom and run upstairs to tell Piper he’d be later than expected.

What he hadn’t expected was that Conrad and the others would drone on for so damn long.

And Jared was now fidgeting.

It was eleven when Conrad looked at him and said, “What? Are you about to burst?”