Smacking his hand on the table lightly, he smiled. “Oh darn it. There was me thinking she gave me the go ahead to ignore the no kissing and no touching rule.”
I started wiggling my finger at him. “Now you listen here, buddy. I don’t want any funny business at night-time. No trying to sneak into my room or anything, cos I’ll have to beat you.”
“That sounds promising,” he said with a grin. “Anyway, maybe it’s you I’m going to have to worry about sneaking into my room. You may decide you want to get a little frisky with me knowing I’m wearing this baseball cap in bed—all alone—wearing nothing but this cap and a smile.”
My mind immediately raced to try and stop that image in my head from forming. Now I knew that when I lay in bed tonight, this is exactly what I’ll be picturing. God, I hate him. Time for a comeback I think.
“Funnily enough, I wear absolutely nothing in bed also. In fact, once I undress at night-time I rub baby oil all over myself in the mirror. I get all wet and slippery. My whole body glistens in the light. It takes time rubbing it all in until it’s all absorbed. I especially have to take time round my breast area, stomach, and thighs—rubbing up and down until it’s all gone.” His smile disappeared as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“You’re going to kill me for the next two days with this, aren’t you? Now I’m going to have that image in my head tonight.” He looked me up and down when he said this and shook his head. It took everything in my will-power not to just get up, straddle him and kiss him until I ran out of air.
Seth and my father were watching football when the expected knock on the door came. My mum was in her element baking cookies—which Seth thought was hilarious. I actually helped my mum out as I needed to do something to keep away from Seth and my wandering eyes. Even if there was a fire, explosion, hurricane, or tornado about, my eyes would seek out Seth. They were drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
With a turn of my heels, I went to answer the door, knowing exactly who was behind it. I was eager to see their reactions. If they were both smiling like idiots, then it was good news, but if they looked a little sad, it was bad news.
Once I copped a look of their faces, I knew.
Yep, smiling like idiots.
“It was positive?” I squealed.
“Yes, now shh. Are mum and dad here?” I jumped up and down for them and pulled them both in for a hug.
“What’s all this hollering about?” my mum asked.
Seth and my dad were soon in the hallway, wanting to know what was going on. Seth smiled; I think he knew what the outcome had been.
“Mum, Dad. I have some news for you. I’m afraid I have to tell you that you’re going to be grandparents in seven months from now.” The screaming from everyone soon radiated around the hallway as everyone kissed, hugged, and congratulated them both.
I immediately ran towards the garage to retrieve a champagne bottle. Seth offered to take one, so that he could open it. I graciously handed him the bottle and smiled. My mum saw the champagne and raised her eyebrow at me.
“Did you know about this before we did?” She placed her hands on her hips, waiting for my explanation. Julia and Jack were too busy smiling. They just didn’t care.
“Jack told me last night that Julia was feeling tired. I had to ask why and he told me she could be pregnant. They obviously didn’t want to tell anyone until they knew for certain. I just wanted to get these champagne bottles ready for ‘just in case’ purposes.” My mum eyed up Jack and he just shrugged his shoulders and winked. A smile soon took over and before we knew it, she was banging on about names for a boy, and names for a girl.
“Oh boy, now I know why I decided to never have kids.” I nudged Seth as he unhooked the champagne, his cheeky grin lighting up his whole face.
“Never say never, Angelina.” He popped the champagne before I could tell him to go to hell, and the whole kitchen erupted with cheers.
“We’ll only give half a glass to Julia just so she can wet the baby’s head. No more drinking for you for the next seven months.” I dangled the champagne glass in front of her, knowing full well how much I was teasing her about it.
“Ha, you just wait until it’s your turn. I’ll remember this.” She grabbed the glass from my hand and smiled.
“I’ll never be in your position, Julia, so it doesn’t really matter.” She smiled again, but this one’s as if to say ‘you wanna bet?’
I could see her eyeing Seth and then looking over at me. She kept nudging her head over towards Seth and it was bloody irritating.
“You should take care of that twitch before it gets worse, Julia.” She glared at me and I smiled back. Seth could tell that there was something going on, but didn’t say anything.
“What twitch is that, dear?” Mum asked.
“Nothing, Mum, Angelina’s just being a jerk.”
“Come, come now. We’re not children anymore, Julia. Stop fighting with your sister.” I couldn’t help but laugh. It was like I had gone back fifteen years to when we were bickering all the time.
We raised our glasses to congratulate them both and the conversation soon turned to babies. Seth could tell I wasn’t comfortable in that environment so he offered to save me by going for a walk. I gladly accepted, just so that I could get away from the brooding going on in the kitchen.
My mum was only too happy to see us go out again. I think the more time she thought we could get alone, the better. That way Seth could try and make his moves on me and I would eventually give in. What she doesn’t realise is, that I have already outlined the rules of no touching and no kissing, so the whole thing was fruitless really.
We walked just a few steps before the chilly air hit me. I wrapped my arms around myself tightly to try and shield me from the cold.
“You know, I would offer to wrap my arms around you, but you have this no touching rule going, so—”
“I’m fine, thank you. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” I wanted him to touch me, I really did. This stupid rule I made up is now keeping me from feeling his warmth, but I had to stay firm. I couldn’t back down now that I had already said it. It would make me seem weak and I can’t be weak. I don’t want to look weak.
“You know, you have a really nice family. I really didn’t know what to expect when I drove down here, but they seem the type that would open their doors to anyone in need of shelter and a warm meal. They certainly opened their arms to me. I wish their daughter could do the same. I really like her.”
“What, Julia?” I asked jokingly. “I think she would be more than willing to wrap her arms around you, dear boy.” I started giggling thinking of Julia’s fluttering eyelashes in the kitchen.
“Very funny, Angel. You and I both know that’s not who I’m talking about... although your parent’s have done a wonderful job raising you both. They’ve certainly brought one corker of a daughter into this world. She’s a right pain in the arse, but I can’t help but like her... a lot.” His eyes glanced over to mine and I couldn’t help looking at him in that baseball cap. It really is quite a distraction.
“You really like this cap, don’t you?”
“No,” I said, pushing him.
“Stop doing that, Cookie.”
“Doing what?” I asked, pushing him again.
“One more time and I shall have to tickle the bejesus out of you, rule or no rule.”
I pushed him again, not caring much for the rules anymore. This way I can get him to break it without me giving him the permission.
He looked across at me and the look said everything. “Right!” he bellowed—and before I knew it—I was off. Running like the wind and giggling like an idiot.
I soon found some trees to duck behind, and every time my head ducked to one side, Seth’s head would follow.
“I’m going to catch my fallen angel, and when I do, I’m not letting her go.” He bolted towards the tree, causing me to squeal my head off.
I’m running like a batshit crazy p
erson and all I can hear is Seth’s laughter coming from right behind me. I could tell he was a good runner. He could catch me if he really wanted to. I think he just liked playing this little game we both started.
He stopped, causing me to stop. He placed his head between his legs, breathing hard. “That’s it, I give up. I can’t do this anymore.”
Running back towards him, I laughed. I was about to call him a lightweight when he all of a sudden sprinted towards me. I screamed and ran into the nearest field. I was running so fast that I tripped and fell over a load of hay gathered by the fence. Seth soon caught up with me, asking if I was okay. I think my laughter told him the answer to that question.
“The sound of your laughter is one thing—but the sound of your laughter while you’re rolling around in hay is another. You really are trying to kill me, aren’t you?”
I picked up a piece of straw and put it in my mouth. “I don’t know what yer talking about, cowboy.” I winked at him mischievously and he shook his head.
“I would help you up, but that would mean touching you.”
Taking the straw out of my mouth, I propped myself up on both elbows. “I seem to recall saying, no touching me inappropriately.”
Seth nodded with a smile. “Yes, you did, didn’t you? The problem being is, no matter where I touch you, I will have inappropriate thoughts.”
Pushing myself up, I walked past him. “Well, we wouldn’t want you having any inappropriate thoughts now, would we?” I slid past him deliberately and I heard him groan.
“This is not fair, Angelina. I need you to distract me now. Talk about something else so I don’t keep picturing you naked, covered in baby oil, and rolling around in that hay.”
“Now, that would be messy.”
Seth closed his eyes. “Angelina, please.”
I could sense I had come far enough with my teasing. “Okay, handsome. Keep your hat on.”
Suddenly Seth beamed. “You just called me handsome. First it was cute, and now I’ve upgraded to handsome. All these compliments, Angelina—anyone would think you actually like me.”
I looked at him confused. “When did I call you cute?”
“Ah, of course, you can’t remember, can you?”
I looked at his beautiful, smiling face, trying to search for answers. I quickly remembered my drunken antics from last night and put it down to that. What else did I say to him?
“Don’t worry about it, Angelina. You were fine. There was one thing that confused me though.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” I thought he was going to tell me that I let something slip or did something over the top. I wasn’t prepared for what he said next.
“When Jack was being protective of you, you mentioned something about your knights in shining armour have come to rescue you again. What did you mean by that?”
My whole posture changed and Seth could sense it. “Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “They’re just protective of me, that’s all. Can we carry on our walk now?”
He looked at my panicked face and said no more. I could tell he wasn’t happy with my answer, but he was going to have to live with that. I wasn’t going to offer him anything more than what I said.
He walked alongside me in silence for a moment. I couldn’t stand the atmosphere between us now. He knew something about me that I didn’t want anyone who came in my life to know. He knew I held a secret. A dark, disturbing secret.
“Tell me about your family?” I asked, trying to change the subject, and snap us out of this awkward silence. He looked at me like he was asking if I was okay, so I smiled. He smiled back and started his story.
“Well, you already know about my parents, and you’ve met my uncle Paul. Besides that, I have a younger brother, who’s a little jumpstart, and an older sister who runs a charity organisation called Little Stars. It’s to help children with illnesses and disabilities. We like to raise as much cash as possible, so that we can buy families all the equipment they need in their homes to cater for their child. We have specialised experts who can assist with families on hospital outings, or day trips out. We also go on a big holiday each year, where the children get to swim with Dolphins in Portugal, or meet Mickey Mouse in Florida. There are all sorts.”
When I asked him about this, I didn’t expect that. I had a blinkered view of rich people. I guess a lot of people do. I didn’t think many gave to charity.
“I take it from that look of yours that you’re shocked?”
I tried to shake my head, but I think it was written all over my face.
“I get it, I’m a playboy, and playboys only think of their bunnies.”
“No, of course not, I didn’t mean to...” Oh shit, this was going badly wrong.
“Don’t worry, Angelina. I’m not having a pop at you. I think a lot of people think that way about me. I like to go out and have fun with lots of girls. People’s natural reaction is to call me a playboy who likes to drink away his money and party with lots of women. What people don’t realise is that whatever profit I make, thirty percent of it all goes to charity. I’m not a bad person, Angelina. I just don’t like to shout about what I do. I don’t do it for the praise. I do it because I want to help others—others who are not as fortunate as I am.”
I stopped our pacing for a minute and looked up at him. I felt really bad for being just another one of those people Seth was talking about, who had a misconceived idea of what he was about.
I touched his arm, not caring about keeping my distance. I needed him to know that I’m not the witch I portrayed myself to be. “I admire you.” Those three words were all I said. It was all that needed to be said. He wasn’t expecting apologies, or for me to rave on about how much good he does in the world. I knew he didn’t want that.
The mischievous grin was back. “What about the no touching rule?”
I laughed and turned to carry on walking. “Ah, you see, dear Seth. The rule was there was no touching me inappropriately. There was no rule about me not touching you.”
He placed his hands in his pockets and that little movement had the heat burning in my stomach. He quickly caught me staring at him and smiled.
“You know, you can touch me as much as you want. I know behind that hard exterior of yours, there’s a passionate, caring, beautiful woman just bursting to get out. The cracks will show eventually.”
I placed my arm in his as we walked, contented to just feel him close to me. And for the first time since I met this beautiful, sexy playboy—I didn’t argue back.
Chapter 11
I knew spending the next two days with Seth was going to be the end of me. I was falling head over heels and I knew it. I didn’t want to feel this way, but I couldn’t help myself from the endless pit I was diving into. It didn’t help that my whole family were feeling the same way, too. Who wouldn’t? He had charisma, sex appeal, courteous to a fault, and the most caring heart I had ever seen a man possess. How can someone so beautiful on the outside, be this beautiful on the inside? He was a once in a lifetime grab and my mum soon told me so. “They don’t make many men like him these days, dear Angelina. You have to grab him and hold him tight before he slips through your fingers and some other girl catches his heart. Whatever you do, don’t let this one get away.”
Her words radiated around my head the whole time we were there. It was torturous enough knowing that he wasn’t going to touch me. Sometimes I felt slightly neglected that he didn’t at least try. I knew why he was doing it, but it still disappointed me nonetheless. And the thought of him being with another woman now filled my stomach with a fistful of knives. I didn’t want to picture this, and I knew why I felt this way. There was no denying it to myself any longer. I was falling in love with Seth Jacobs.
I think he could tell there were cracks forming. In a way I didn’t like it. What if I give in to him and he realises he doesn’t like me anymore? I was—after all—a challenge to him from the very beginning. What if once he’s completed his mission, he crushes me? The t
hought was frightening beyond words.
The night-times were even harder. Knowing he was right next door wearing that bloody baseball cap, was agony. He didn’t take it off the whole weekend, because he knew deep down how much I liked him in it. The first night in bed, a familiar ringtone was coming from my bag. I didn’t know how he managed to sneak it in my bag every time, but he did. The conversation was long, despite the fact we had been with each other all day. We just seemed to be able to relax with one another, and enjoy each other’s company. It ended with him pleading with me to keep the phone. He said he would be very upset if I gave it back to him. I told him that I didn’t want to upset him and he sounded happy about that.
Sunday morning was upon us sooner than I would have liked, and we had Julia, Jack, and David join us for breakfast. They all wanted to spend some time together before we left, and I was happy that I got to see them one last time. David was still smitten over Mindy, who we only got to see very briefly whilst we were here. She was another one who swooned over Seth like she was a lovesick puppy. It would seem there was no one out there who wasn’t completely immune to his charms. Everybody loved him.
Seth gave my mum and dad a present before we left, as a token of his gratitude for letting him stay. They were both over the moon with what he got them. My mum had a day at the spa, all expenses paid, and my dad was given a voucher to drive a super car of his choice. They both loved him even more now—if that was at all possible.
Saying goodbye was harder this time as I already knew how much I was going to miss them.
“Don’t leave it too long before you come and visit us again, will you, Angelina?” I nodded my head as my mum continued her speech to Seth. “And you, my dear boy. I want you to know that you’re welcome here anytime. It was so lovely to meet you.” She grabbed him for a hug and he dived right in.
“It was wonderful to meet you, too. You’ve all made me feel very welcome and I’m really grateful for the hospitality, especially as I just sprang myself upon you so suddenly.”
Until I Met You Page 15
