He nodded. “Lust.” His voice grew deeper.
“Not enough for anything meaningful or lasting.” She cleared her dry throat. “Which is why I have to dig deeper.”
“I’m certain you’ll dig into both men’s and women’s psyches.” His eyes danced with certainty.
“You think you know me so well?”
He nodded. “I know I do.” But he frowned, seemingly not thrilled with the notion.
And Rina thought she knew why. Despite the banter, the notion of getting past lust and digging deeper made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t looking for anything more serious than she was. Yet in the short time they’d known one another, he understood her better than Robert ever had. Her husband had loved her and given her everything—except the freedom to be herself. The more time she spent in Ashford, the more time she spent with Colin, the more self-awareness she gained and the more she felt she had to contribute to her work. Not to mention she was coming to enjoy herself. A lot.
“Tell me something. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that a newspaper has two relationship columnists?” he asked. “I mean, why write what you do for a newspaper?”
She really didn’t understand what he was getting at. “As opposed to what?”
He shrugged. “A magazine, maybe? There are plenty of those in Manhattan.”
“I needed to get away from the memories. To start over fresh. Plus, I had no connections with the publishers there. Corinne was willing to give me a chance. And I liked her vision. She wants to bring people together and is using the newspaper to do it. My writing fits in well here.”
He exhaled hard. “But you don’t think her vision—the subjects she wants to focus on—is odd for a newspaper?”
“Slightly unusual, maybe. But then so is the world lately. Besides, many papers have articles and columns in the lifestyle section geared toward relationships or other things.”
“True. But those papers have an abundance of sections and space. The Times is a small paper. Space is limited. By adding more frivolous things to it, other sections have to go.”
Rina bit her lip and nodded. “I suppose. But Corinne said the Globe outsells the Times anyway,” she said, speaking of the larger competition. “Which freed her up to try something different. All I know is, I owe Corinne for giving me a new start and a new life. And you can’t imagine how badly I needed that new life.”
He glanced out into the crowd for a moment. “Rina…”
She followed his gaze and realized Emma was barreling through the crowd toward them, an older gentleman hot on her heels. “I wonder what she’s up to.”
Rina barely got the words out, when Emma reached their side, then tripped and knocked her full champagne flute forward. In shock, Rina put up her hand to ward off a spill and ended up tipping the glass onto Colin, too, so they were both covered in champagne.
>
Rina pulled at the damp shirt, lifting it off her skin. But the damage had been done, and when she released the fabric again, her sheer, lacy bra showed through. The one Rina wore for herself and not for her column and experiment. The one not meant to be seen by the public at large.
Rina didn’t know who took notice because she was too caught up in Colin’s openmouthed stare as he took in her now-damp, see-through blouse. As if they were alone and not in a room full of people, her nipples puckered in pure female reaction.
“Oh my, I’m sorry.” Emma began fluttering around Rina, ignoring the man by her side who had to be none other than Stan Blecher.
Rina lifted her hands to cover herself. “It’s fine, Emma, really.”
“No, no, it’s not okay. Let me take you up to dry off.”
“Emma…” the man said, clearly wishing a moment of her time.
Rina studied the gentleman. He was tall and stood proud, with a full head of white hair and a nice smile. Dentures or real teeth, he cut a dashing figure. “Emma, come on. Give the man a chance,” Rina whispered in her ear.
“Nonsense. Grace left some old clothes in her closet. I’m sure we can find a top for you to wear. And for you, Colin, Logan has a sweater or two I can surely scrounge up. Come, come.” She motioned with her hands and turned her back on Stan.
Knowing Emma wouldn’t be deterred, Rina shrugged and motioned for Colin to follow.
“I’ll be here when you get back,” Stan called.
“Lecher,” Emma muttered.
“I think he’s cute,” Rina said on her way up the stairs.