Falling Read Free

place, or room service in quiet solitude.
    "Good. I'll see you there."
    "Oh…well, thank you. That's very kind, Mr. De la Rosa."
    "Please. Call me Cris."
    Jen looked at him. He was wearing his sensuality and sex appeal like a woman wore fine perfume. Comfortably. "Okay. Cris."
    "Goodnight." He smiled as he walked away.
    Cristobal Martinez de la Rosa. You killed my boredom. Prepare to sigh.
    Jen closed the door slowly, exhaling through her teeth as her heart rate slowed down. What the fuck was the matter with her? Knocked on her ass by one man, and a Latin lover type no less.
    He probably had women coming out his reservations system. He certainly didn't need another one.
    And she shouldn't even be thinking one-tenth of the thoughts she was thinking. No—make that one-twentieth of those thoughts. She hurriedly washed up, brushed her teeth and clicked the light off in the bathroom. A shower would have been nice, but after all the excitement, she had no energy left.
    As Jen headed for bed, a small blinking light on her cell phone caught her eye. Damn. David .
    Picking it up, she tumbled onto the pillows and keyed in the commands to listen to her voice mail. The message came through loud and clear in the silence of her room.
    " Hey. Glad you got there okay. Sorry I missed your call, but that meeting with the Smithsons ran over. Good news is that they really liked the project, so I'm thinking of adding a couple of consultants, perhaps the guy I interviewed last week. He had potential and was qualified to handle the documentation… "
    Jen's eyes drifted shut as her mind closed off his voice.
    It was the same thing all over again. More of the world according to David. More of the world he reveled in, talked about, ate, drank and slept in, to the exclusion of all else. Especially the woman he'd been sharing his life with.
    She'd heard variations on this theme for the past three years of their relationship. Now it was constant. A scant acknowledgement of her presence, let alone her job, and then he was off and running, another recital of his day, his meetings, his successes, and very occasionally his failures.
    And she was so goddamned tired of it now, she wanted to spit.
    Instead, Jen shut off the phone in mid-message. Right now, right here, in this hotel room tucked away from everything familiar, she could let it go. There was space here for her to think her own thoughts. Be her own person. Explore the Jen side of life, not the David side.
    With a smile on her face, she snuggled down under the covers, letting sleep overtake her. The smile deepened as her last conscious thoughts included a pair of delightful dark eyes and a mouth that encouraged dreadfully decadent dreams…
     
     
     
    Chapter 3
    The Palm Grotto lived up to its name.
    Lush foliage blanketed the austere walls, dappled now with morning sunlight. Their green fronds tickled the ceiling, shading the tables beneath. Flowers, breathtakingly beautiful flowers in every color of the rainbow, were all over the place, nearly blinding her with the riot of hues. The hibiscus fairy had apparently spent several nights here, gotten raving drunk, and thrown up.
    There were few customers, a couple of bored waiters, and a maître d' who was apparently awaiting Jen's arrival.
    "Good morning, Ma'am. You are Ms. Hodges, yes?" His dark eyes smiled at her, the slight Spanish accent adding to Jen's impression of having wandered into a different world this morning.
    "Yes, I am."
    "Good. This way please. Mr. Cris has arranged everything."
    Ah. Mr. Cris of the beautiful eyes and even more beautiful body . Jen mentally smacked herself soundly as she followed the maitre d', struggling to maintain her cool, calm and collected businesswoman persona.
    One look at the man rising from a corner table to greet her and the cool, calm, collected businesswoman took a day off.
    He was even better looking in daylight, although how such a thing could be possible, Jen had simply no idea. The man should be