Honestly, after all the tabloid coverage of his break-up with Mel, Heath had had enough of the media to last him several lifetimes. Besides, he was a Goldwin, he was used to having paparazzi stalk his every move and celebrities hanging out at every corner. No biggie in his world. He did make a mental note to avoid the front of the room though.
“Darling, there you are,” Mel said, snuggling in beside Daveed. “I’ve been looking all over for you. These crowds are amazing.”
“Yes. I tried to rent the whole place out, but the networks beat me to it. Apparently this is prime ball-dropping real estate right here.” They all turned to gaze out down Broadway at the perfect view of One Times Square and the glitter LED globe teetering atop a spindly metal spike. “Go figure. In Al Dar Nasrani, we have a ceremony on the beach with fresh flowers and candles and send our wishes up to the heavens tied to palm leaves attached to balloons.”
Murphy snorted and tucked Shayma into his side, kissing the top of her head. “Sounds too Disney for my tastes.”
“What would you prefer?” Daveed asked, his tone as flat as his look. “Naked women and flashing neon signs?”
“Nope. What I have right here is fine with me.” He bent to kiss Shayma, then grinned. “Good old, all-American festivities.”
“Don’t look so sad, Heath,” Mel said, her small smile hopeful. “She’ll turn up.”
“Nah, she won’t.” He pushed away from the wall and downed the rest of his stout in one gulp before heading toward the bar. “But it was a real nice dream anyway. I’m going to get another one. Anyone else want anything?”
He took orders for two more champagnes for the girls and two pale ales for the guys then started weaving his way through the partygoers toward the packed bar. While he waited, Heath glanced at the TV mounted from the ceiling. Less than an hour to go now. He could do this. Hang out with his friends, ring in the new year, then head home to his quiet, lonely brownstone and wish for things that might have been. Not exactly a Hallmark ending, but life was rarely tidy like that.
“What can I get you, buddy?” the bartender asked.
He gave the woman his order then turned and leaned his elbows back on the bar to look out at the crowd. His gaze caught on a woman with a short black bob near the entrance, talking to one of the bouncers on duty. Through the silver and gold streamers hanging down from the ceiling, Heath squinted past the revelers to see her face and his poor, battered heart stumbled.
Aileen was here.
She walked slowly through the room, trying to avoid being crushed by the people dancing to the throbbing music pounding out of the overhead speakers, her gaze scanning the crowds looking for…
Their eyes met and the world seemed to tilt on its axis. She was wearing a blue velvet dress that hugged her curves like a second skin and stopped just shy of her knees, revealing acres of pale skin, and all he could think about was running his hands up those thighs again, worshipping her breasts, tasting every inch of her until she begged him for release.
He swallowed hard and stared as she stopped about a foot away from him. “You made it.”
Aileen met his gaze directly. “We need to talk.”
* * *
“Sis!” Murphy said, rushing over to grab Aileen in a huge bear hug.
“Hey, bro.” She hugged him back briefly then pushed hard on his chest to get him to release her. “Happy New Year.”
“Same to you, sis.” He kept his arm around her waist, seemingly oblivious to the electricity charging the air between her and Heath. “Glad you decided to resurface when you did. And can I just say that if you ever disappear on me like that again, I will—”
Aileen held up a hand to stop him. She loved her brother more than anything on earth, but he reeked of alcohol and she could do without another lecture tonight. “You’ll step back and let me make my own decisions. Now, if you’ll excuse us, Heath and I need to talk.”
“Oh, uh, sure.” Murphy picked up the drink order for the rest of the group then backed away. “Find me when you’re done.”
She reached over and took Heath’s hand, ignoring his still shell-shocked expression at seeing her again, and pulled him over to a small table for two near the window surrounding the lounge. She’d been to a couple of press parties here for the newspaper and she had to say she was imp
ressed with Daveed. Even more impressed with his father pulling off that deal with EnKor. That effectively put Frank Kent out of the picture and ensured a good financial future for the MacLeans and other retirees like them.
Once they had relative privacy, if you considered a hundred people mere feet away private, Aileen let Heath go and rubbed her arms. “Um, my story ran this morning.”
Heath blinked at her several times before answering. “Um, yeah. Saw it. Good job.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a small smile. “And thank you for saving my files, and for giving me the scoop. It helped a lot.”
“You’re welcome.” He fiddled with the fresh bottle of ale in his hand, not meeting her gaze. “Look, Aileen. I know I apologized the other day, but if there’s anything else I can do to get you to forgive me, please let me know. I screwed up. Bad. And I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know.”
“They’re indicting Senator Lawrence on federal fraud charges,” she said, not wanting to let him off the hook so easily yet. “He’s stepped down from his seat as head of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. That’s not public knowledge yet though. Got it from a friend in the Washington bureau.”
“Wow.” Heath took a swig from his bottle, his eyes remaining on her now. “Couldn’t have happened to a better person.”