“We’re meeting them at Bentle’s.” Todd’s voice brings me out of my dreamland of Davis and to the present.
“Oh, great. I love their late-night snack menu.”
Bentle’s is a well-known place for the high society to go after-hours.
Cam took me one time and shuffled me out when his friends piled in. I shake my head at how stupid I was. I sat in that taxi cab while his friends kept trying to peek their heads in to see who was sitting next to him. In hindsight, I should have just popped my head out and introduced myself. Damn him.
“Me, too. Let’s share the mushroom bruschetta.” He smiles.
A tingling zings in my stomach.
“You feeling okay?” He places his hand on my arm to stop us on the desolate street.
“Yeah. It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?” His brows are furrow.
I wish I could tell him how my body responds to him.
“Yes. Let’s go. This is your big chance.” I motion my head in the right direction and walk backward until he catches up. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how excited are you?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
His footsteps drag a little, and I slow my pace.
“What’s wrong?” I twist around and my footsteps step in line with his.
“The whole point of getting out was so I could be my own boss. If Edith and Karla are my investors, they’ll ultimately be in control.”
My happiness wanes, knowing he has a point.
“I didn’t think of that. But you know what? Davis had investors when he started.” I entwine my fingers with Todd’s and give him a tight squeeze.
“It’s different. He was already someone. They trusted him.”
I swing our arms together.
“And Edith and Karla trust you. Just hear what they have to say. You never know.” I tighten our hands again. “Okay?”
I knock shoulders with him, and he glances over.
“Okay.” He nods, but I can see the anxiety on his face. He’s not convinced this is where he wants to go.
We enter Bentle’s after the doorman checks Todd’s name on the list.
“Have you ever been here before?” I whisper to Todd as we trudge up the carpeted steps.
His hand brushes along the mahogany banister. “A few times with Davis.” He eyes me. “A long time ago, though.”
There’s something in his facial expression that isn’t right, and I assume he’s just nervous for this meeting. It came about so suddenly.
We reach the top of the stairs, and Edith and Kayla wave their hands to us. Todd grabs my hand and leads us over to them. Edith moves to stand, but Todd shoos her down and leans over the back of the chair to give her a half-hug. He shifts over to Karla and does the same.
“I assume you are Amelia?” Edith asks, holding her hand out for me to shake.
“I am. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” I shake her frail hand.
She smiles. “We’ve noticed you the past few weeks at CHOPs, but we usually have no reason to sit around the bar.”
“Until tonight,” Karla chimes in.
Todd sits down next to me on the brown leather loungers and grabs my hand again. I stop the urge to look his way in confusion as he plays with my fingers. What the hell is he doing?
“You guys are adorable. How long have you been dating?” Karla asks.
I shift in my chair and grab the glass of water in front of me, wondering if Todd will take the lead in correcting her.
“A little over a year,” Todd answers.
I choke on my water.
“Are you okay, dear?” Edith asks.
I nod until I can regain oxygen into my lungs. I sneak a look at Todd, who leans over and pats my back.
“Yes. Sorry. Just went down the wrong way.” My hand flies up to my chest and I lean back, clasping my hands in my lap.
“No ring yet?” Karla asks.
I’m curious as to why she wants to know so much about my private life.
Todd’s fake laugh rings out, and I force a smile.
“I know, right?” I lift my left hand in the air. “You’d better put a ring on it if you want it,” I joke, using something similar to Beyoncé’s line.
Todd’s face doesn’t flicker as he looks right into my eyes. “I don’t make a habit of losing what’s mine.” He laughs it off again.
My stomach somersaults five times before calming down.
“I like a man who knows what he wants and goes for it,” Edith says.
My eyes flicker to her to keep from losing myself in Todd’s heartwarming ones.
“My late husband was a guy who couldn’t be messed with. He stole me from right under his best friend’s nose.”
“Oh.” I’m taken aback that she said it so casually.
“I know it sounds bad, but he was the right one for me. He sacrificed more than me. He lost his friend to have me, but he always reminded me that he’d won so much by having me on his arm.”
Her eyes light up with love, and envy grows in me.
“My dad was quite the romantic,” Karla adds, patting her mom’s arm.
“He sounds like it.” I bring my water glass back to my lips.
“He was a lot like Todd.” Edith nods his way.
He smiles from ear to ear.
“It’s one of the reasons I’ve asked you here tonight,” she adds.
“Excuse me.” I stand before they begin discussing work things. “I’m just going to the restroom.”
Todd stands like a proper gentleman, and the two ladies smile, waiting for me to leave.
I’m sliding out past Todd when his hand wraps around my waist, and he pulls me in for a hug.
“Hurry up. I’ll miss you.” His lips brush along mine.
I draw back, studying his eyes. “I will . . . baby.”
I raise my eyebrows at him, but his face never changes course from the loving and doting boyfriend.
An hour later, I’m leaning against the brick wall, waving my hand, as Todd escorts Edith and Karla into a taxicab.
Once their cab fades down the street, Todd approaches me.
“So, baby, when do we say, ‘I do’?” I question.
He laughs. Breaking the distance, his body locks mine against the brick wall. “They want someone who’s mature, someone they feel they can depend on.” His eyes ping all around my head, but he never looks straight into my eyes.
“Someone who is already dating someone else?”
“I should have told you.”
“Yes, so why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know. It was fun, though, wasn’t it?” His hand grazes down my arm until my hand is tucked in his.
“Depends on what kind of ring I get out of this whole act,” I joke.
He releases my hand, swinging his arm over my shoulder. “Anything you want, baby. Anything you want,” he mumbles.
I nuzzle into his chest as his hand tightens around my shoulder, and I’m sure to some we look like a couple.
I feel our relationship evolving into . . . I have no idea . . . a fake engagement? No, that’s not it. Something more, and I need to smash it before I ruin my friendship with him.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Todd
This is nice, being next to someone who gives a shit about me.
What Noodle did for me tonight speaks volumes over anything she could tell me. All my life, people have spouted off things I should believe, telling me I could trust them or someone else, but I couldn’t. Each and every time, they failed me. The blame isn’t solely on them. I’m to blame, too. Look at Noodle. I’ve lived next door to her for six months, and not once have I taken the time to discover the amazing person she is. Due to my own selfishness, I pushed her into the arms of another man.
“Hey, you want to watch a movie?” I ask, unable to be apart from her.
She glances up to me, her eyes widening in surprise. “Sure.”
“Is Tati home?”
Please say n
o.
“I think so. I’m sure she wouldn’t care. Nowadays, her head is in her computer.”
“Let’s go to my place then.” My heart beats faster, wondering if she’ll see through my act to lure her to my apartment so we can be alone.
“Okay.” She shrugs and continues walking.
Phew.
She looks beat by the time we make it to my apartment, and I figure this might not happen. But she follows me to my door and plops down on my couch.
Grabbing us two beers, I bring them over and sit down closer than normal to her. I hand her the remote to pick a movie.
“You’re letting me choose? Usually, I fall asleep during a military or action movie.” She doesn’t hesitate to take charge and goes right to a romantic comedy.
“Maybe I’ll fall asleep tonight.”
She elbows me, and I grab my ribs, as though she hurt me.
“I think the movies I make you watch show you how to fight,” I say, rubbing my side.
“Maybe my movies will help you learn how to love only one person.” She raises her eyebrows.
I shake my head.
If she only knew . . .
“Have you talked to Davis?” I have to know if he’s keeping in contact with her.
“He’s busy out there.”
She clicks on the movie but quickly pauses it. “Is this okay?”
I read the blurb of what the movie is about. A girl gets in an accident, loses her memory, and forgets her fiancée. Classic chick flick.
“It’s great.” I grab the remote and press Play.
The movie surprisingly captures my interest. Lia begins cracking her neck half an hour in, so I turn her back to me to massage her shoulders.
Moans and heavy breathing leak out of her mouth as my fingers work on the knots in her muscles. She has no idea the effect she’s having on me right now.
“That feels so good.” Her head dips down, and her long hair cascades down the sides.
I stop myself from kissing the spot right on the back of her neck. Having her in this position, my mind races with the million different things I could do to show her how beautiful she is. But I stay back because it wouldn’t be right to put her in that position. I have to remind myself that she’s with Davis right now.
“I can do you now?” she asks after I’ve loosened her up a little.
“Nah, I’m okay.”
I guarantee, if her hands relax me, I’ll be sure to get excited. Then, I’m not so sure I could withhold myself from taking her. With her permission, of course.
She leans back against my chest, and that smell of strawberries from her hair is there each time I inhale. Almost immediately, her body weighs heavier against me, and her head falls to the side.
She’s asleep.
Her cell phone buzzes on the coffee table, and Davis’s name flashes on the screen. I laugh inside because little does he know, I have his girl in my arms. She stirs and nuzzles into my body more with the sound. She must be exhausted.
I figure that if I move her, she’ll leave, so I situate my own body because I want her to be closer to me, if only for tonight.
Soon, the drowsiness from the day hits me, and my eyelids drop. I fight myself, so I can watch her sleep. I might never be in this position again, so I want to take full advantage of it in this moment.
The next morning, the light streams in through my windows, and I squint from the beam hitting me square in my eyes. Noodle is still asleep on my chest, so I slide out and place her head on a pillow.
I take the time to stare at the woman who is challenging my beliefs in love. Sharing a future with someone is not something I thought was possible for my life. But Noodle has shown me a flicker of light I thought was buried deep in the earth.
Her hair is sprawled over the pillow, and her hands are tucked under her cheek. I should call her Angel instead of Noodle. My Angel.
Doing what I do best, I tiptoe over to the kitchen. I grab the ingredients I need to make the cinnamon rolls I made for her a few months ago. She loved them so much. They won’t be as good as the diner down the street, but if Noodle likes them, that’s all I care about.
I’m washing my hands while they cook in the oven when I spot a mop of brown hair moving on the couch. I chuckle, watching her find her surroundings. It doesn’t take her long before she stands and finds me in the kitchen.
“Good morning.” Her voice is groggy.
She reaches up her arms and stretches, giving me a view of her stomach. It’s a bad idea on her part because my imagination just flashed to my lips trailing on her bare skin.
“Good morning. I have something in the oven for you.”
Her chest rises and falls. “It smells delicious. I swear, if I lived with you, I’d unnecessarily gain about twenty pounds.” She clears the distance and takes a seat on my barstool.
I pour her a cup of coffee and slide it to her. “You’d love to live with me.”
“My ass wouldn’t.” She sips her coffee and concentrates on the table before her.
“You have a great ass.”
Her head flies up, and she studies me for a second. “My head hurts. I’m going back to the couch.”
I pull the cinnamon rolls out and let them cool, and then I grab my coffee to join her. “Do you want some Aleve?”
“No, I’ll be okay after this.” She raises the mug in the air and sips the coffee. “Seriously, how do you know how to make coffee so good? You should open a coffee shop.”
I laugh. “You’d be one of my only customers.”
“Please. Girls would come just to stare at you.”
So, she thinks I’m attractive. That’s a start.
“Let’s hope Edith and Karla think I’m worth investing in as much as you think so.” I change the subject because I don’t care what other girls want. I only care about what she wants.
“They will. I think we were believable last night.”
“Yeah.”
Last night flows through my brain again, how I deceived the ones who would be doing me a favor. Is it deceitful if it’s something you might want in the future?
“Can I ask you a question?” She twists in her seat to face me directly.
“What’s up?” I mimic the motion, and my arm extends along the back of the couch.
We’ve been in this position once, and I almost kissed her then. That was when I only wanted to sleep with her. Now, it would be for more than one night—but not until Davis is out of her life.
“If you were really into someone, wouldn’t you always be thinking of that person? Wouldn’t you text or call them every day?” Her teeth nibble on her lip.
I wish I could tell her ‘I’ve been thinking of you every minute of every day lately’.
“Isn’t that the whole love thing? So, Davis isn’t calling?”
“He’s called a few times. It’s me that I’m worried about.” She waves her hand in the air. “Forget it. Just forget I said anything.”
“No. Why are you worried about yourself?”
I nudge a little closer to her, and she doesn’t back away.
Is she saying what I think she is? Maybe I should just kiss her and see her reaction.
“It’s just that he’s not—”
A knock hits the door, and my head falls.
“Continue,” I say. I’m not going to answer the door.
“I know you’re in there!” Tatiana screams from outside the door. “I smell the yummies. Let me in!”
Noodle laughs and moves to stand. I grab her wrist, and she turns around. She tilts her head, and I almost feel like she’s telling me something, that her head is a jumble of emotions. Maybe, just maybe, I’m in there somewhere, fighting for a spot.
“She’ll only get louder.”
I release my grip and watch her amazing ass swing as she makes her way to the door.
“You guys are holding out on me.” Tatiana strolls in and makes herself a plate.
“Help yourself,” I mumble.
&nb
sp; Her eyes ping as she chomps down on a piece of bread. She figures out she’s interrupted something, but there’s no going back now. Even if I could ask Noodle again, she’d dodge it. The moment is lost.
“You surprise me all the time.” She ignores the oddity when she walked in. “Amazing cook.”
“Chef,” Noodle corrects her.
My smile isn’t worth fighting. This girl would go to bat for me over and over again.
“Sorry.” Tatiana places her palm in the air to Noodle. “I didn’t mean to disrespect him.”
Her eyes ping between us again then rest on Noodle. They have a nonverbal conversation, and I pray it’s about me.
Noodle is clearly confused on what to do with Davis. I refuse to win by being second choice, so I hope she makes the right decision and breaks up with him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Amelia
My shoes skid to a stop on the hardwood floor of Art on Wells. Bette is sitting at my desk, frantically shifting through papers.
“What’s going on?” I lean over the counter.
“Thank goodness. You really need to work on your time management, Amelia.” She never looks up as her fingers shuffle through the stack of invoices.
I hold my phone up and see I’m actually five minutes before scheduled. “I’m early.”
I wish I could pat myself on the back, but Bette glances up over the rim of her reading glasses, clearly not going to congratulate me on being timely.
“What are you looking for?” I round my desk and peer over her shoulder.
“Victor Treddle’s invoice. You’ll never believe it. He canceled his showing in two weeks.” She leans back in my chair and crosses her legs.
I take the stack of papers to search myself.
“Something about his art brushes aren’t talking to him.” She flails her hand in the air.
“Well, he is an artist. It’s better to cancel than to have crappy pieces,” I mumble softly because Bette isn’t fond of people speaking their minds, especially when it goes against hers.
“Nothing Victor has ever done is crappy, Amelia.” She rises to her feet and places her hands on her hips. “I’m putting you in his spot, so be prepared.”
She clicks away to her office.
“Are you serious?” I call out.
Seeing You Page 16
