Feeling the happiest she had in weeks, Viv closed her eyes and embraced the breeze and sun on her face. How crazy that she’d run into Markus again.
No, maybe not crazy.
Maybe perfect.
Chapter 7
Viv
The week dragged by, its lethargy probably exacerbated by the knowledge that soon HW Pharma would be in the rearview mirror. Except when Markus texted her a few times during the week, they didn’t talk much. By the time Saturday arrived, she felt like she might explode.
“And how many times did he apologize?” Veronica asked.
Cruz was home that night, watching the kids for a couple hours while the sisters went to have their nails done.
“Isn’t once enough?” Viv perused the salon’s shelves of nail colors and picked out a light pink. Perfect for both hands and feet.
“I dunno. I want to make sure he meant it.” Veronica grabbed a bright red and they made their way to their seats. “When can I meet him?”
“Veronica!” Viv laughed. “This is only our first date.” She frowned. “Second? Third? We haven’t known each other that long, is what I’m trying to say. It’s a little early to ask him to meet my family.”
“It’s never too early.”
They were quiet for a minute as the girls who worked at the salon started on their hands.
“Can I at least get a pic?” Veronica asked.
Viv groaned. “Oh my God.”
“You love it.”
“You didn’t tell Mom about my date, did you? Because she’s exactly like you. She’ll be calling and begging for every detail.”
“No,” Veronica said. “I only told her you hooked up with some guy from a bar a couple weeks ago.”
Viv felt her eyes nearly bug out of her head.
“Relax.” Veronica laughed. “Of course I didn’t do that.”
“I don’t know. You’ve surprised me before.”
With their nails finished, they jumped back into Veronica’s car and headed out.
“Want me to walk you to your door?” Veronica asked as they entered Viv’s parking lot.
“You’re such a gentleman, but no thank you.” Unbuckling, she kissed her sister on the cheek. “Have a good night.”
“You, too. Don’t get too crazy, but if you do, make sure to tell me all about it.”
“Will do.” Viv laughed.
When she reached her floor, the sight of something in front of her apartment door made her halt. Slowing her walk, she squinted her eyes. Was that…
Flowers?
“What?” she whispered out loud.
Sure enough, it was a bouquet of red roses, their fragrance wafting up to kiss her nose. Squatting down, she seized the white card tucked into the side of the vase.
Viv, it read. I can’t wait for our date tonight. See you soon, Markus.
Putting the card back in its place, she stood up and took a picture of the bouquet, which she promptly texted to Veronica.
What do you think of him now? she added with a follow-up text.
Flowers in hand, she went into the apartment wearing a grin. It was still an hour until Markus picked her up, and the night was already off to a good start.
After showering, she slipped into a trendy dress and heels. Since Markus hadn’t told her where they were headed, she had to make assumptions and wear whatever seemed like the best bet.
Right on time, there was a knock on the door. She stopped to do one last makeup check then grabbed the doorknob.
“Good evening,” he said as the door opened up.
“Hi,” Viv said, almost breathless.
Maybe she should have said more, but she was too distracted by the perfectly fitted suit he wore.
“You look amazing.” She stepped forward and fingered his shirt’s collar. He hadn’t worn a tie, so she didn’t feel underdressed.
Still.
“Is what I’m wearing okay?” She did a spin to give him the three-sixty view.
“It’s perfect. Are you ready to go?”
“Yep.” She grabbed her purse and keys and locked up. “Where are we going?”
“Nirvana.”
She managed to close her gaping jaw right before he looked over at her.
“Have you ever been?” he asked.
“No. I’ve heard it’s great.”
She’d more than heard. People raved about Nirvana. Not only was it the nicest restaurant in Jacksonville, but it was also five stars. Pricey, too.
“Good. I made a reservation for us.” He offered her his arm, which she looped hers through.
They were quiet until they got to his car, where he opened up the door for her.
“Thank you.” Viv took care getting into the passenger’s seat. The heels she’d chosen were her highest ones, and the last time she’d worn six inches, she’d broken one of them.
But, you know, looking good was still important.
“So.” She set her laced hands on her knees. “Since you’re in between jobs, what did you spend your week doing?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
Wait. No, they were relaxed.
Had she imagined that?
“I helped a friend with some projects around his place,” he said. “That was mostly it. How about you? Long workweek?”
“They’re always long.” She laughed.
“What is each day like, exactly?”
“It’s a lot of travel. A lot of talking to doctors, answering their questions, talking stats, convincing them HW’s drugs are the best.”
She shook her head. Just talking about the job made her feel sick. Her last day couldn’t come soon enough.
“And what about after the job’s over?” he asked. “Have you thought any more about that?”
“No. Honestly, I think I only want a break from working all the time. I’d like something simpler… more pleasing. I’ve always wanted to work in a flower shop. Oh! That reminds me. Thank you for the roses.”
“You’re welcome.” He glanced over at her.
Butterflies flitted through her tummy.
“No one’s ever sent me flowers before.”
“What?” His features twisted. “That can’t be right.”
“It’s true.”
“Hm. Well, I’m glad to be your first.”
His words sent heat through her, and when he reached over and set his hand on her knee, she became so hot it made her squirm in her seat. A part of her wanted to ask him to turn the car around. Wouldn’t spending the whole night in her bed be better?
Then again, she really wanted to try out Jacksonville’s top restaurant.
Nirvana didn’t have a valet like she’d half expected it to, but it was extremely nice in every other way. The tables, set a spacious distance apart, each had a different flower in their vases.
It seemed a good sign that the hostess seated the two of them at the table with a red rose.
“Okay.” Markus picked up the wine menu and inspected it seriously. “Is chardonnay your favorite?”
She shrugged. “I like it all.”
“Cabernet, then.” He put the menu down. “Unless you object.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
The waiter arrived, and Markus ordered a bottle of the cabernet. As the waiter picked up the wine menu, she caught a peek at the wine’s price.
Nearly three hundred dollars!
Having been raised frugally, every time Viv had money left over after paying her bills, she put the cash into savings. Dinners out during the workweek were covered by HW, and getting her nails done was a special once-a-month thing.
She couldn’t imagine spending several hundred on a bottle of wine. Even if she had a million dollars, that would feel too wasteful.
But Markus hadn’t so much as blinked at the price.
“So,” she ventured, spreading her cloth napkin across her lap. “What do you see yourself doing next?”
“I really don’t know.” He sighed lightly. “Unfort
unately.”
“And you said your last job was…”
“Sales.”
“Oh?” That made her eyebrows rise. “Like mine.”
“Kind of. I’ve never worked in the pharmaceutical world. It was cars.”
“Where at? A dealership?”
He studied the dinner menu. “Exactly. Do you like steak? They’re supposed to have the best in the city.”
“I love it.”
“I thought so.” He put the menu down. “I remember the way you attacked those ribs the night we met.”
“Oh my God.” She rolled her eyes. “You were watching me?”
“Only for a moment.”
The waiter arrived with their wine and poured them each a glass. After ordering steaks for dinner, Markus raised his wineglass for a toast.
“To our first official date.”
“I was wondering what counts.” She touched her wineglass to his.
He made a face. “The first night doesn’t. I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to keep apologizing.” She touched his hand, and he turned it over to lace their fingers together.
Her heart fluttered its way into the base of her throat. She forced it back down. No point in drooling all over the table.
“How’s your mom doing?” she asked.
“Good. She texted to ask about you two or three times in the last week. I think she wants to see you again.”
“That’s sweet,” Viv giggled. “I really like her.”
“It’s mutual.”
“How long has she lived in that house?”
“Mm…” He sipped his wine and thought about it. “Two years? Three? I’m not that good with time. I saved up a long time for that house. Wanted to make sure we could get it, cash. Didn’t want her stressing about a mortgage.”
Her ears perked up. “You bought her the house?”
He nodded like it was no big deal.
“Wow,” she said. “You really are an amazing son.”
“She deserves it. Especially after all she did to support me on her own.”
“Right,” she said. “For sure. It’s just… impressive. Especially that you paid cash.”
“I guess you can chalk that up to growing up poor. My mom had to take out a lot of loans. She was in debt for a number of years. I always wanted to avoid that.”
“I remember you said she always wanted to live by the beach.” Using one finger, Viv traced a line up his forearm. “You made that happen for her. Her biggest dream.”
“She would probably say her biggest dream was for me to be happy.” A look of sadness crossed his face, but a second later and it was gone.
Not for the first time, she wondered what he wasn’t saying. He was such an expressive guy, and his features spoke volumes.
“How about your mom?” he asked, before she could dig further into his past. “You said she retired to Mexico?”
“Yeah.”
She drew her hand back and placed her folded arms on the table. She could touch him all night, but wasn’t sure how he felt about constant PDA.
“She loves it there. She’s also pretty great. I miss her a lot.”
She had to stop herself from sighing over that. “When I was younger, we didn’t always get along. There was a lot of fighting.”
“Can I ask what over?”
Viv pressed the tip of her tongue to her back teeth. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought that up. Then again, being uncomfortable with some parts of her past didn’t mean that she could keep it all from him.
And it wasn’t like she had any big, bad secrets to hide. There were merely things she didn’t like thinking about.
“When she left my dad, I was furious. I didn’t understand why they couldn’t work through things.” She scoffed. “But what did I know? I was a kid. I thought the things he’d done were no big deal. Worst of all, I thought that he would actually change, like he said he would.”
Markus’ voice was soft. “What did he do?”
She took a long drink of wine for bravery. “He was a crook. Started with robbing pawn shops. A bank here and there. He didn’t get pinned for those things, though. Not immediately. After he was arrested for counterfeiting money, some of his past deeds came out. Not all of them, I’m sure, though he said there’s nothing else.”
She shook her head, disgusted. “Anyway, I kind of stayed on his side until sometime in high school. Crazy, right? I believed him when he said he was sorry for everything.”
Markus sat frozen on the other side of the table, his face pale. “Maybe he was sorry.”
“I doubt it. Here’s the thing, he always said that. Long before he got the decades-long sentence he has now. Sorry for this, sorry for that. He lived by the adage ‘better to ask for forgiveness than permission.’ It took me a while, but I finally saw the light. I had to grow up a little first, I guess.”
Silence followed her spiel and made her back tingle in an uncomfortable way, like that feeling you get when you’re being watched. She took another sip of wine, then put the glass down.
Enough drinking to get through an uncomfortable conversation. She was an adult, now. Not the confused kid that a man who should have been more mature had taken advantage of.
And the word “advantage” felt right. He’d taken advantage of his family’s love. What was sadder than that?
“I’m really sorry,” Markus said. “Clearly, he couldn’t see the good he had right in front of him.”
“Yeah.” A lump formed in her throat. “But it doesn’t matter. I have Veronica. My mom. Friends.”
Even if they were often busy with their own lives.
She took a deep breath and continued. “And now I’m doing something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’m taking the plunge.”
“Here’s to that.” He raised his wine glass again, and they toasted once more.
“I just want to be happy,” she said. “To feel like I’ve found my place in the world. Is that too vague?”
“No,” he said right away. “I don’t think so. Everyone wants that.”
“I only wish I knew exactly where it was.”
“Join the club,” he said on a laugh.
Viv grinned at him over her wine glass, but though they talked about happiness and meaning like they were these distant, hard to attain things, she couldn’t help but feel she was closer to them than ever before.
Maybe the road to them started with little actions. Quitting a job that held you down for years. Having dinner with a man who made your heart beat fast and your tongue get all tied.
Maybe all that was needed in order to be truly happy was to put one foot in front of the other, always doing that next thing that felt right, and forgetting about the outcome.
Well, if that was the case, she felt successful already.
Chapter 8
Markus
As they left the restaurant, Viv’s hand brushed his and he took the opportunity to wrap his arm around her waist. Tilting her head up, she gave him a smile that dazzled.
“Wait one second,” Markus said. Stopping in the middle of the parking lot, he pulled her to his chest and kissed her deeply.
She melted in his arms, her hands pressed against the back of his neck. Someone driving by whistled, but they ignored it.
With Viv in his arms, it was like nothing else existed.
Breaking the kiss, he looked down at her. “I couldn’t wait to do that.”
“Mm. I’m glad.” She bit into her plump bottom lip.
“Come to my place. Please.” His palms traveled down her sides and found her hands. “It’s only a few minutes from here.”
“I would love to.”
His chest swelled at her words, and, his hand in hers, they walked to the car.
He felt awful keeping the biggest secret of his life from her, but what was he supposed to do?
Walk away. Let her be before things got messy and they became too involved for comfort.
Once Viv
found out about what he did for a living, she’d be done with him. He had wanted to protect her. That’s why he’d vanished the morning after they met.
But then they’d ran into each other on the beach, his mom had asked her over, and one thing had led to another…
Call him weak, but as time went by, he was having more and more trouble staying away from her. Which was bad. Very bad.
Maybe.
After all, he’d be done with his crime career in less than a month. He and Ryder were close to making a move on Dagger Rossi’s diamond stash. They’d spent the week casually staking out the warehouse the goods were in. Once they deemed the time right, they’d make their move.
After that, bam. He’d be hundreds of thousands of dollars richer. And Viv would never have to know anything about it.
Seeing as it was only a few weeks of living a lie, would it make that big of a difference in the long run?
He knew he was stretching the limits of morality big time, but it didn’t seem there was another choice. He’d let Viv go and she’d come back to him. If that wasn’t a sign they were meant to be together, he didn’t know what was.
Still, that tightness in his gut wouldn’t loosen. He couldn’t do things perfectly, he knew. He couldn’t be the ideal man.
Not yet, anyway. One day he would be. Then, he’d show Viv he was the opposite of her father.
The drive to his apartment, though only a few minutes, felt like forever. He couldn’t keep his hand off Viv’s thigh in the car, and they were all over each other as they took the elevator upstairs.
Barging into his apartment, they fell against the hallway wall, their hands and mouths all over each other. Something, probably the lamp on the table by the door, hit the floor with a crash.
“Should we get that?” Viv asked in between quick, little breaths.
“Nope.”
He traced his tongue around her ear and nipped at her earlobe. She moaned in pleasure and jerked against the wall.
Another crash. This time, likely the frame holding a painting he’d never really cared for.
“Shoot.” She pushed him slightly away from her. “We’re wrecking your place.”
Sinner - A Bad Boy's Baby Romance Page 5
