Free The Vacation: A Red Lace Romance by Katie Ryan Page B

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    “Vincent, let me introduce you to Jennifer .  She’s an old friend from back in London, she’s going to be staying in the apartment while I’m away for a couple of weeks. Gerard knows she’s visiting.”
    “Nice to meet you Ms. Jennifer.   You can call me for anything you need, and I will arrange to have it done for you.”
    “Thank you Vincent, I’ll try not to bother you too much.” Jenn was already having a wonderful time. ‘So this is what it feels like to be taken care of,’ she thought to herself. She had always taken care of herself.  Even when she was young; her parents worked hard to make ends meet, and Jenn took it upon herself to study hard and then put herself through college and university.  Even the few boyfriends she had, she never let them do things for her- she was so used to taking care of herself.
    They took the elev ator to Simon’s floor.
    “Did you say you’ll be gone for a couple of weeks? I though t you were just going for a week?” asked Jenn, she was secretly hoping that she would have the apartment to herself.
    “Yeah, I just found out this morning that I’ll have to be in Malaysia for tomorrow afternoon.  The purchaser wants a thorough briefing so I’m going to leave here early tomorrow morning.  I hope that’s okay.”
    “Of course, yeah, that’s fine.” Jenn was happy, she was glad to see Simon, but was lost for ideas of what to do with him even for a few days.  She really just wanted some time alone to sleep and not have to think about anything.
    “Besides, Gerard will be here so if you get bored you can take him along.”
    They stepped out of the elevator. Jenn’s luggage was already outside the door.
    Simon opened the door.  His apartment was beautiful, it had floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the harbour.  Jenn could see the ship lights against the dark blue hue of the water.  The floors were stained with dark mahogany, the walls a dark grey; it was styled as a bachelor pad, with books about vintage cars, a plush black leather sofa, and old black and white movie posters.  But it suited Jenn’s tastes just fine.
    “Your place is stunning Simon! You’ve done well for yourself,” exclaimed Jenn.
    “Look’s who’s talking, Ms. Chelsea Flat!” Jenn had worked hard to get her Victorian flat in Chelsea.  It was the typical London flat she always wanted. It was welcoming and comfortable, the kind of place where Jenn could walk through the door kick off her shoes, pour herself a glass of wine and snuggle up on the couch under a warm blanket.
    Jenn’s attention was distracted by Gerard emerging from the kitchen.  He was 6’2 muscular and toned, his skin was tanned, almost like burnt sugar before it becomes caramel, he had thick black curly hair that had been cut short and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. He had dark brown eyes and wrinkles at the corners of them formed from smiling a lot.  He was wearing grey sweatpants hung low at his waist a white vest, his six-pack abs bulging through the tiny top.  He looked quite grungy, but in a sexy kind of way.
    He walked out of the kitchen with a bag of cookies in his hand, and a whole one in his mouth. 
    “There’s nothing to eat here mate.”  Despite his disheveled appearance his accent was clean cut, not like a posh academic Oxford type British, but a refined kind of grammar school accent.
    “If you took a break between meals, there would be some food left.”   Simon moved Jenn’s luggage to the master suite.
    Jenn could feel Gerard eyeing her, not in a sleezy way, but she was a beautiful woman, and Gerard was quick to notice.
    “You must be Jennifer, Nice to meet you. Gerard.   I’ll be your roommate for the next little while.” He greeted her with a kiss on each check. Jenn’s knees suddenly got weak and she felt a little flustered.
    “Hi Gerard, Jenn.”  She dismissed the reaction to the travel.
    There was a pause, and Gerard took a moment to look