“I get it, man, but the thing is…there’d be an entire ocean between the two of you, if you planned to keep seeing each other.”
“Cool thing about our modern world, we have these great flying contraptions that get you from one place to the other whenever the hell you want.”
“Smartass.” Chip smirked.
“I have to be back here quarterly, sometimes more frequently. Aside from that, I can fly her over for long weekends whenever she wants. I don’t think her work confines her to an office. And hell, she’d likely pick up a shitload of new clients in Japan.”
Chip shifted from foot to foot. Suddenly appeared a bit uncomfortable with the subject matter—specifically Tague and L.L. being on different continents. “I’ll let L.L. field all that. But you do need to tell her. Sooner rather than later would be wise. I saw the way the two of you look at each other. I’ve never known you to be so fascinated with a woman. Not since Renee. So, best to deal with the messiness upfront. Avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings.”
“Now I get why women are always seeking your counsel.” He said this earnestly. “I hear what you’re telling me, and I agree wholeheartedly. I already know that she’s suffered in the past like I did with Renee. Trust me, I have no intention of hurting her.”
“I wouldn’t have set the two of you up if I thought that was the case. I care about her. I’m just thinking that the geographical divide needs to be addressed.”
“Again, agreed.” Why was Chip hitting this point so hard?
Tague shook his head. He didn’t have time to address this further.
He said, “I’ve got that nine a.m. presentation to make.” Tague gathered his notes and left the office, heading toward another conference room, thoughts of L.L. lingering no matter how hard he attempted to concentrate solely on business.
As promised, Tague called L.L. in the afternoon. She gave him her home address and contact info.
Then he asked, “How often do you visit the club?”
“Three or four times a week.”
“To keep Meg company?”
“Mostly,” she said. “Though some of her members are my clients. Plenty are potential clients.”
“And you’ve never gotten so caught up in designing their toys that you and the client experimented together?”
“Definitely not. I’ve been very closed off, physically,” she reminded him. “Even when I came back from Paris, Meg and I were so wrapped up in launching her business and growing mine that we had little time or energy for sex. And I wasn’t interested in anyone else.”
“Alright. I won’t belabor the issue. But… I will tell you that, going forward, I want mutual exclusivity with you.”
She paused again. Swallowed a lump of emotion that suddenly swelled in her throat.
“Loralai?”
“I don’t cheat, Tague,” she was quick to say. “I absolutely do not. Even if this is just something casual…Whatever I give you, I wouldn’t give to anyone else. That includes Meg.”
“I like her,” he said. “She’s protective of you. She obviously cares about you as a close friend. A sister, as she said. She knows your past, your story, your—” His voice cut off.
“My pain?”
“She knows everything. I want to as well.”
“Tague.” L.L. let out a long breath. “Meg and I have history, yes. But we both learned a tricky lesson. History is nice and comforting. Safe, of course. Yet if you remain stagnate with each other rather than progress, it’s the exact same thing as living in the past. Worse, being shackled to it.”
“That makes sense.”
“Meg went through something equally horrific. We took the easy route together, not putting ourselves out there, to keep from having the rug ripped from beneath us again. We stayed huddled in our own little world, for the most part. I pray that, someday, she’ll spend more time outside her office walls than within them. But I can’t rush her or push her. Something has to inspire her.”
“Did I inspire you?”
“More than you could possibly imagine.”
Maybe too revealing again, but L.L. wanted to be truthful.