by Jenn Hype
Who the hell was this man?
"Are you mad?" He asked quietly, his eyes still not meeting mine.
Instead of responding, I launched myself at him, wrapping my whole body around his. His reflexes were fast, his arms squeezing me tight.
"Of course I'm not mad. This was super sweet," I said when I pulled away. I expected him to release me, but his hands stayed clasped firmly behind my back, keeping our faces only inches apart. My tongue darted out to wet my lips, automatically drawing his attention to my mouth. His Adam’s apple bobbed and for a second it really felt like he might kiss me.
I wanted him to. I wanted it so damn badly. But it would be a mistake. If I were a casual kind of girl, I'd be all over him, but I wasn't. And he wasn't a commitment kind of guy. Friends were all we could ever be, and that's all he asked for anyway. So he found me attractive? It made me feel good, but it didn't change anything.
Clearing my throat, I pressed my palms against his chest. He let me go easily, his arms dropping to his sides.
The smell of chocolate wafted through the air, effectively stealing my attention away from Liam. Like a bloodhound on the hunt, I followed my nose towards the park. Liam laughed behind me, jogging to catch up.
"Let's get you some chocolate," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
"My love for chocolate runs deep. It's actually a little neurotic. If I see chocolate, I eat it. I can't not eat it. I started having to have my groceries delivered because those checkout lanes all decked out with candy were a real problem. In other words, you're about to see something really special."
He chuckled, the smell of his cologne temporarily overpowering the sweet scent of chocolatey goodness calling my name. I wonder what would taste better? Liam or chocolate? Maybe later I could do a taste test. That's something friends do, right? Alternate between bites of candy and licking each other’s throats?
If not, then they totally should.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Liam
"I can't believe how much chocolate you ate."
"I warned you."
She did. She warned me. But not nearly enough.
"How are you not puking right now? I think you might have eaten every ounce of chocolate in that entire place."
Clara rolled her eyes while nibbling on yet another bar of chocolate.
"This has been one of the most amazing days of my life, so I'm going to let your mocking and extreme exaggerations slide."
"Aww, it's been amazing?" I teased, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her into my side. The sun would be setting soon and it was getting chilly. That's the only reason I kept keeping her body close to mine. To keep her warm. No other reason whatsoever. Just being a good friend.
"Are you going into a diabetic coma over there?"
"Maybe. I'm worn out."
Based on the light snores drifting my way, I'd have to agree. It took her all of five minutes back on the road to pass out.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," I said gently once we'd made it back.
Clara groaned and rolled away from me. Chuckling, I unbuckled her seat belt and lifted her out of the car. Using my foot to kick the door closed, I shifted so I had a more comfortable hold on her and started towards her building. The doorman gave me a funny look as he held the door open for me, but he said nothing while leading me to the elevators and pressing the button. I made a mental note to tip him on my way out for being so helpful. I'd have done it right then if I had any hands free.
Getting her inside her apartment was tricky, but I managed to get the door unlocked without having to put her down. It didn't escape me that for the second night in a row I was putting Clara to bed. This time, though, she was sober. Groggy and lethargic, sure, but sober. So when she tightened her hold around my neck when I tried to lay her down in the bed, I knew it was of her own volition.
"Clara," I whispered, trying to wake her enough that she'd let go. I was bent over her bed, trying to extricate myself from her unexpectedly strong hold.
"Mmm, don't leave," she murmured.
She smelled so damn good, her voice husky and tempting. How could I resist?
After toeing off my shoes, I softly murmured for her to scoot over. Releasing her hold on me long enough for me to climb into the bed next to her, she wasted no time re-adhering herself to my body. Her nose nuzzled my neck, her breath caressing my skin. Surprisingly, the closeness felt more intimate than sexual, though. Sure, my skin was on fire and my dick made sure I didn't forget how much he wanted to be involved in the moment, but the comfort having her in my arms brought me overpowered the lust.
I'd never been a cuddler. Even when I spent the night with a woman, we stayed on our separate sides of the bed. It just wasn't my nature to snuggle up to someone. I liked my space. Often when I slept my body would get too hot and I'd toss the covers off, so the warmth of another body was always too much.
Clara lit me on fire in so many ways beyond body temperature. Our day together only cemented my decision. Clara would be mine, I was sure of it. I could tell she felt something towards me, but she was still understandably cautious. Our outing had been a good step in the right direction, but it would take more time and energy to get her to a place where she could really trust me.
And Clara? Totally worth it.
❖
"Got a minute boss?" I asked through the crack of CJ's office door. He glanced up from his computer long enough to see who was asking before waving me in. I took a seat and waited for him to finish up a call. The extra few seconds to prepare myself and wipe my sweaty palms down my pants was appreciated.
It had been two days since my day with Clara. I'd snuck out early in the morning, got her favorite breakfast and coffee - thanks to insider info from Josi - and crept back into her apartment to leave the goodies on her kitchen table with a note. I hadn't heard a word from her since. Not even a text message.
I'd been tempted to seek her out or initiate contact, but I wanted to talk to CJ first anyway. He'd been out of the office all day yesterday and today was the first chance I'd had to talk to him in person.
"What's up?" He asked, giving me his full attention once the call ended.
I cleared my throat, swallowed down my nerves and forced myself to keep eye contact with the man I'd come to admire and respect.
"I'd like to talk to you about my intentions with Clara."
His face gave away nothing. Not even a twitch. After a brief, yet long as hell pause, he folded his hands on top of his desk and narrowed his eyes.
"Explain."
One word. A command, not a question. I'd expect nothing different from him.
"Over the past few months I've grown to really care about Clara. I care about her a lot, actually. I've watched her date a dozen different douche bags, none of them good enough for her, and I'm not sure I can keep my personal feelings out of it anymore."
I really didn't know what to expect from this conversation. Over the past couple days I'd gone over every possible scenario, almost all of them ending in my either getting my ass kicked or fired. So far he didn't seem too angry. I honestly wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad. Calm before the storm, and all that.
"And you think you're better than these guys? That you'd be good enough to date my sister?"
I sat up straighter. His question held no malice, just genuine curiosity.
"Of course not, but I'm going to try to be. I know her worth, how rare and special she is. Those other assholes have no clue what a woman like Clara deserves."
CJ nodded his head and I held my breath. Regardless of what happened here, I would be pursuing Clara. I only hoped it wouldn't cost me my job or my friends.
"What do you want from me, Liam? Why are you here, telling me all of this?"
A relieved breath whooshed from my lungs. He hadn't thrown any punches or started yelling. Maybe I stood a chance.
"I felt you deserved to know. I love my job and don't want to jeopardize it by going behind your back or
keeping secrets. In the end I thought it would be better for everyone if you knew ahead of time what was going to happen."
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, his face stoic as ever.
"So you what? Want my blessing? What if I say no?"
I swallowed past the knot in my throat and steeled myself for a fight.
"I still plan to pursue Clara. I didn't come in here for permission, only to inform."
"And if I told you that dating my sister would mean losing your job? What then?"
My shoulders tensed, anger rising to the surface, overtaking the nerves.
"It wouldn't change my mind, but it would change my opinion of you."
One of his eyebrows quirked, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
"Oh? And what exactly does that mean?"
"I can make your sister happy. I'll treat her with respect and do everything I can to make sure she's taken care of. If you would be willing to lose a good employee just to keep your sister from finding happiness, then my respect for you would definitely be called into question."
That hint of a smile turned into a full-blown shit-eating grin.
"Good answer."
Caught off guard, all I could do was stare at him, mouth ajar. He chuckled and shook his head.
"I've known you have feelings for Clara for a while. Everyone knows it. Took you long enough to grow a fucking pair of balls and figure it out for yourself, though. And I appreciate you being man enough to come here and tell me about it. You're a good man, Liam."
Still shocked, I mindlessly returned his hand shake. When I went to pull away though, this grip tightened.
"Do I need to give you the speech about how if you hurt her I'll kill you? Or is that already understood?"
I had to bite back my smile. There was the overprotective, menacing big brother look I'd been expecting initially.
"No speech necessary, man. If I ever hurt her, I'd kick my own ass."
His eyes narrowed at my honesty but I kept eye contact. I needed him to believe my sincerity or the next thing I said wouldn't be taken well.
"I might be pushing my luck here, but I could use your help."
He took a step back but kept quiet for me to continue.
"I've never done this, man. Want something real with a woman, I mean. Or cared about someone like I do Clara. I'm gonna fuck up, no doubt. But I want to make sure my fuckups don't hurt her. I'm a big enough man to admit I can't do this on my own. Clara deserves the best and I want to be the one to make sure it happens. Even if that means asking the people closest to her for help."
A smile slowly crept up, his body relaxing.
"Maybe it's time we call a meeting."
CHAPTER NINE
Clara
"So what is it you do for a living?"
My date, aka Edward Snoozefest, sniffed his wine before responding. Well, sniff may be a bit of an under exaggeration. Not sure cramming your nose as far down into your wine glass as physically possible and trying to snort the liquid counts as sniffing.
"I already told you what I do."
Oops.
In my defense, listening to his monotone voice had an odd effect on me. As in every time he spoke I struggled to stay awake. The man never had any inflection in his words. None. May as well be listening to a robot. Except robots were monumentally more interesting than this dud.
Raising his hand in the air, he snapped his fingers to draw our waiter's attention. The way he looked down his nose at everyone grated on every single one of my nerves. From the second we arrived at the restaurant, all he did was complain. I'd never met someone so damn pompous in my life. I should have just walked right back out the door the second I saw where we'd be dining. I hated fancy food. Small portions, weird options and most of them slimy? No thanks. Give me a burger and a shake any day.
Now that we were seated, though, I didn't have it in me to ditch him. He was a jerk, no doubt, but that didn't mean I would lower myself to his level.
No, I'd stick it out and suffer through the date. Then maybe delete my stupid online dating profile because no good had come from it so far. Then again, every other date had been sabotaged by Liam, so how could I really know?
Kicking yourself right about now for keeping this date a secret, huh?
I thought lying about where I was going and making sure no one knew I'd be on a date would be refreshing. A chance to meet with a man and actually see a date through to the end without interruptions. It figured this would be the worst one yet. What I wouldn't give for Liam to walk through the door and make a scene right about now...
The waiter delivered our food, forcing me out of my head and back into the present...unfortunately.
"I said I wanted the tomatoes diced, not sliced and this chicken looks too dry," Edward snapped, shoving his plate towards our waiter who, by the looks of it, seemed to be losing his patience by the second.
You and me both, buddy.
Edward's phone rang. Without asking to be excused, he answered the call and walked away from our table. Awkward. I had my food, but he'd sent his back. Then walked off. Was I supposed to wait to eat? What was the etiquette here? Did I even care? My stomach growled, deciding for me. I did not care if it was rude, I would be starting my meal alone.
Not that my dinner looked all that appealing to begin with. I poked the fish with my fork, wondering what the brown goop on top of it could be.
Steering clear of the mystery substance, I started with the vegetables. They, at least, were safe. Not very filling, but it helped stave off the hunger a little. I just had to make it through the rest of the date and then I could stuff my face with some tacos or whatever normal food was closest.
Fifteen minutes passed and Edward still hadn't returned. I sat up straighter, craning my neck to look around the restaurant, hoping to spot him. He must have gone outside to speak because he was nowhere in sight.
My eyes landed on a familiar face. A face I'd rather not see now. Or ever.
My ex-fiancé, James, stood in the doorway with a beautiful brunette on his arm. The same woman I found him with in our bed. Well, not technically our bed, since I hadn't moved in yet. But it was implied. Obviously it would be my bed too once we were married.
They made a stunning couple, I couldn't deny. I hated that I couldn't be happy for him. I didn't like harboring grudges or dislike towards people. It'd taken me months to get over the devastation of finding him with another woman. The aftermath did a huge number on my self-esteem. The last thing I needed was to deal with seeing him for the first time after everything ended while on the crappiest date of my life.
"Um, excuse me," I called out to get our waiter's attention. "Have you seen my date?"
His eyes shifted uncomfortably and I knew without him answering that I'd been ditched.
"Did he at least take care of the bill before he left?"
Again, he looked uncomfortable. I sighed and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. Didn't need to just keep piling on to my humiliation.
"Can you bring me the bill and some to-go boxes?"
Looking relieved, he darted off to retrieve the bill. I'd have to split it between two or three credit cards. The fashion line was profiting, but I wasn't banking or anything yet. Between my rent, student loans and the cost of living in New York, I still barely managed to put a few bucks into savings every month.
Lifting my purse off the back of my chair, I dug around for my wallet, only to come up empty. Panicked, I took everything out and laid it all over the table, not giving a crap that my tampons and dozens of gum wrappers lay strewn about for everyone to see. When it became clear I wasn't going to find my wallet in my purse, I leaned down to look under the table.
Someone cleared their throat and I startled, banging my head on the bottom of the table. Rubbing the back of my head, I looked up to see the waiter staring at me with wide eyes.
"Your bill ma'am."
"Thanks," I muttered. Once he was out of earshot, I pulled out
my phone and dialed Blake. Jo was out of town and Paige had locked herself away for the next few days to work on finishing a new design she'd been working on, so Blake it was.
"Wazzup buttercup?"
The sound of a friendly voice had those tears I'd been fighting off threatening to fall. I took a deep breath before responding.
"Can you come get me? My date ditched me and left me with the bill, but I don't have my wallet so I can't even pay for a ride home."
"What the hell? Seriously?" She shouted so loudly I had to pull the phone away from my ear.
"Oh, and he left me with the bill so can you bring some money? I'll pay you back."
"Of course. Text me where you are and I'll be there as soon as possible."
After hanging up and sending her the name of the restaurant, I took the bill and my now boxed up food to the bar.
"Something strong, please," I asked the bartender. The night definitely called for a stiff drink. They could just tack on my drinks to the already astronomical bill that I'd yet to look at out of fear. My stomach growled, furious at me for not feeding it, but I just couldn't.
The only positive so far was that my ex hadn't spotted me. Or if he had, he hadn't approached me. I was doing everything I could not to look in his direction.
Fifteen minutes and two drinks later, someone approached. I turned, expecting to find Blake, only to come face to face with James.
"Clara," he said simply. The sound of my name coming from his mouth made me want to hurl on his freshly shined dress shoes.
My emotions were a bit of a mess. It still hurt to think of his betrayal, even though I definitely didn't love him anymore. Most of the humiliation came from how much I'd trusted him. He promised me over and over again that he understood my need to wait to have sex until after we were married. While pretending to be patient to my face, he was sleeping with another woman behind my back.
"James."
Brandy stepped up beside him. Bile rose to my throat.
