Free Holiday Man by Marilyn Brant

do that and not go out of their freakin ’ minds?
    Twelve long minutes later the phone rang.
    “Hi, birthday boy. How are you?” Shannon’s soft voice was like a salve on a wound.
    Bram exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Not great. And my birthday isn’t until tomorrow.”
    “Isn’t it already tomorrow in Belgium?”
    He glanced at the clock. She was right. Three minutes past midnight and, having been born a late-night baby, he was less than a half hour away from officially turning thirty-one. He was educated, responsible, highly successful, and yet… God, when had he become so boringly adult?
    “Yeah, okay, it’s tomorrow here,” he said. “But I’m getting impatient in my old age. I wanna kiss you and do other things to you. Tonight. And, sorry, I’m not being subtle but, frankly, I don’t care.”
    She laughed, sort of. “You’ll have to come back to the inn then. That’s where I am and where I need to be. At least for now.”
    He heard a touch of something in her voice. Couldn’t quite put his thumb on it, but it sounded like…yearning, maybe. Which gave him a great idea. “Why don’t you fly here instead and meet me? I could FedEx you a ticket in the morning and—”
    “I’d love to, Bram, really. But you know I can’t just pick up and leave. I’ve got the party coming up this weekend with over a hundred registered guests, and there’s just too much to do beforehand.” The tone of her voice continued to mystify him. Longing? Resignation? Did she burn to see him or did she merely want to get away?
    Bram let his mind drift back to the cozy comfort that was Holiday Quinn. The warm, homey feel of the place, the tasteful décor, the relaxing environment where the hotel was situated. No way would she wish to leave such a sweet spot so, perhaps, it was really him she missed.
    Something unfamiliar in the vicinity of his chest soared at the thought. He’d fly back to her in a heartbeat if he could, but business requirements claimed his time and sapped his energy. He was as bound to his world at present as she was to hers. But, hey, maybe there was a middle ground.
    “What about the weekend after Memorial Day?” He’d still be in Europe, but he could maybe swing a day or two off and, of course, they’d have the nights…
    “I’m working at The Ashland next weekend. I’m off the following one, though. What are you doing then?”
    For a split second he was hopeful. Then he checked his electronic calendar. “ Dammit . I’ll be in Tokyo.” And the following week would be spent in Beijing. Lathericious was expanding to the Asian market and he had serious work to do in both cities.
    She sighed when he explained this. “Well, it’s looking like we’ll have to wait until the 4 th of July.” She paused. “You are still planning to visit then, aren’t you?”
    “Hell, yeah.” He’d made Miranda block out that weekend after Easter, since he already knew Memorial Day would be a lost cause. But he hadn’t counted on missing Shannon so much in the interim. He looked forward to her phone calls and e-mails like a seventeen-year-old looked forward to a driving his dad’s convertible on a Friday night in summer.
    “Good.” He heard her exhale before adding, “So, what does the birthday boy want to do to celebrate his big day?”
    Bram almost laughed. The last time he’d done anything worthy of note on his birthday had been a decade before when he’d celebrate legal adulthood by earning his first six-figure salary and, consequently, his financial freedom from his parents. Four years later, he became the owner of his own company, had worked until at least ten p.m. on every birthday since and never once considered it unusual.
    Until tonight.
    “I want you to touch me,” he admitted before censoring himself.
    There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “I’m putting you on hold…and going up to the Astaire Suite,” she said, her voice low and undeniably