Lynn places the coffees on the counter to shake his hand. “Ditto.” She breathes out.
Picking up his coffee, James says, “Well ladies, I need to head out.” Then turns to me. “Paige…thank you for making me feel so welcome. I have very much enjoyed talking with you.”
The seriousness in his eyes and the way he spoke to me makes me blurt out, “It was really nice meeting you too, James. Will you be back for the signing? I hope you’ll come. It’s going to be a great time.” I seriously want to cover my mouth, I sounded so desperate!
With a half-sided smirk, he replies, “How can I say no to those alluring brownies of yours? I’ll be here.” Brownies? Did he just call my eyes brownies?
Like a goofball, I giggle, “Great!”
“Great,” he softly repeats. “Oh, before I leave…can I ask you to have coffee with me tomorrow morning?”
Oh, my, what? Before I get the chance to answer, Lynn bursts out with, “She would so love it!”
I lightly gasp, because I really want to kill her right now. “Uh…” is all I can say.
“Just coffee…and perhaps more of my so called stand up.” He chuckles.
What do I say, what do I say? “Okay, sure.” I smile. “Coffee sounds good.”
“Perfect. Here’s my number.” He takes out a business card and sets it down on the counter. I’m way too shocked he asked me out, so I don’t even glance at the card.
“And here is her number,” Lynn butts in.
“Lynn,” I gasp.
James takes my number from Lynn and keeps up that handsome smile of his. “You have a good friend here. See you soon…and enjoy your book.” He winks, then strolls right out of the store like he never existed. Like he never stepped foot inside my life, ripped open my old wounds, and demanded my heart to feel again. Where in the hell did he come from?
Once James exits the store, Lynn slams her hands down on the counter, and blows out a whistle. “Wow. Now, that man is smokin’ hot!”
“Why did you give him my number? I don’t even know him.”
“Because it’s time you start getting yourself out there again. It’s been two years, Paige.” She points out.
“I know, it’s just…I’m out of practice,” I exasperate. “Not sure I’m ready for that next step.” Since it’s not my late husband, I’m scared to death of getting intimately involved with another man. Dating certainly hasn’t been at the top of my list. I haven’t given it any thought for a very long time.
Lynn walks around to the other side of the counter and lays an arm across my shoulders. “Glen wouldn’t want you living life alone.”
“I know that. But we just opened a new store…”
“No excuses. Coffee, my friend. It’s just coffee…with a really really hot guy, who is definitely into you.”
Rolling my eyes, I quickly let the subject go. “Let’s get back to unpacking these boxes.”
No use in discussing coffee with James - Male Beauty - any longer. It’s a done deal. I’m having coffee with him. That’s it. Nothing can come of it, because who would want a broken, undesirable widow like myself?
For two years, my agent and older brother Dominic, has kept me under his thumb. I have always listened to him, followed his lead, and done my best to make him proud, but in the last year or so things have been changing. Our relationship has been struggling because I want to go against his better judgment. I guess I’m just tired of the extra weight of him hovering over my head and pushing me to follow his advice and go against all of my desires. Things need to change or I’m afraid it will get pretty ugly between us. It is so hard to trust myself on this. What if I’m wrong? I’m a thirty-three year old man who should be able to get his shit together. Following my heart shouldn’t even be questioned.
I’m so confused.
“Are you out of your damn mind, James?” Dominic shouts at me. “Why in the hell would you go and talk with her! I knew this was a bad idea coming here.” He paces our hotel suite with his hands on his hips, fuming - rightly so.
I’m sitting on one of the smaller couches in the sunken living room, bent over on my knees. “I had to,” I calmly argue back. “She’s been on my mind for so long. I had to meet her in person.”
He plants himself in front of me. “It wasn’t enough having a signing at her store?”
Looking down at my hands, I shake my head and answer, “No.”
“I’m givin’ it to you straight. The more you get to know this Paige, the deeper the hole you’ll be digging for yourself.” Too ashamed to admit he’s right, I avoid his glare. “Be smart, James. Cancel that coffee. I’ll talk with you tomorrow.” Dominic storms out of the suite, slamming the door behind him.
Regret fills my mind. Dom is right. What am I doing? In the end, I’ll be destroying Paige’s life. Again. However badly this may turn out, I have a connection with her. Two years ago, I found out about her and from the first time I saw her picture, she’s been a constant image in my head. She’s been invading my soul, and I have no idea how to stop it. Damn, I really should do exactly what Dom said. I should cancel coffee and possibly the signing, but the sad truth is? I don’t want to. Now that I have met her in person, seen those big brown eyes up close, her smile, blush, and laugh? There is no way I can turn around and pretend she never existed. Her entire existence has screwed me over.
The next morning I tried to talk myself out of having coffee with Paige, but the more I thought about her, the more I wanted to see her again. My decision had been made. I texted her to let her know I was on my way. Since The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was right next door to her bookstore, meeting there would be the perfect place.
Approaching her yesterday, I immediately knew I was in knee deep. I wasn’t planning on going inside her store, it just happened. I wanted to see where the signing was going to take place, so I searched on my phone, got in my rental car and drove to Southpark. Her store was on a street filled with antique shops, cafes, deli’s and coffee shops. Coffee sounded really good, so I parked the car and headed inside. It just so happened The Coffee Bean was right next door to Chasing Pages. Honestly, I was going to walk right past the store, but getting that one glimpse of Paige ambushed my thoughts. Like some creeper, I focused in on her through the window. She was reading a paperback book, hunched over on the counter, and biting her thumbnail with her brows pinched together. Obviously enthralled in her book, she was unaware of my presence when I walked inside. She really needed to get some sort of welcome bell for whenever someone walked in. Especially since she was so tuned out with what she was reading, it didn’t seem safe to have the store open without one.
The moment I stepped foot in front of her, I knew without a doubt I was hooked. The air conditioning blasting all around us, the shampoo from her long blonde hair intrigued my senses. Some kind of sweet fruit, like green apples stamped my memory forever. What else did Paige have hidden about her? Something I have never felt before like an addiction, became quite intense, and very real the moment we finally laid eyes on one another. She was a breath of fresh air. A pure angel. Flirting with her, and causing her cheeks to turn pink, almost brought me to my knees. I’ll never understand the reasons why she was taken for granted, but I hope I’ll be the one to overfill the shoes someday.
In all honesty, it was pure coincidence that I happened to be her favorite author. I really had no idea she was such a fan, so seeing her read my book did something to me. It made me even more determined to make her see me. Not just as an author, but as a man. A man who will chase her to the ends of the earth. Although, losing her one day may be a factor, I intended to go with my gut anyway, because I believe fate brought us together.
It’s a beautiful spring morning, not a cloud in the sky. The sun is beaming its rays down on my face as I await Paige’s arrival. I may seem cool and collected on the outside, but on the inside I’m a bundle of nerves. No matter how many times I hear my brother’s disapproval in my head, I’m still doing this. In time, Paige will learn the truth. So for now, I wan
t to get to know her, and spend as much quality time as I can with her. Sounds pretty damn selfish, doesn’t it? But whatever happens, at least I tried and took a leap of faith.
The first glance of her coming my way, my heart begins to pound. She looks beautiful. Her hair is pulled in a low ponytail, draped around her left shoulder. She’s wearing a pink flower printed, long sleeved blouse with a green cami underneath, tucked into a pair of skinny blue jeans. On her feet she’s wearing white flip flops, with purple painted toenails. The closer she gets, I can see her fingernails are purple as well. Hanging from her forearm is a giant brown handbag that is as big as a backpack. Women go nuts with their purses. What do they put in those things? Covering up her brownies are a pair of oversized sunglasses. I can’t wait for her to take them off. There is something about her eyes that send me overboard. Along with those eyes are her pink painted lips. The bottom lip is slightly bigger than the upper one. How it would feel to taste it, to bite down on it? Great, my head is over fantasizing already. I need to cut this out.
I wave the second I’m in her view. The smile that reaches her face and the wave she gives back seriously makes me want to run toward her and take her into my arms. But clearly that’s insane and obviously won’t happen. She has no idea who I am. Even though I feel like I’ve known her forever, we are complete strangers to one another.
“Hey, you made it,” I tell her.
“Yep. I’m here.” She smiles. She’s seems slightly nervous, like she’s unsure if she should be here with me.
We take off our sunglasses, and proceed to go inside the coffee shop; I place my hand on the lower part of her back and open the door for her. Before we go up to the cashier, I ask, “What would you like?”
“Oh, that’s okay, I’ll order my own.”
“No, I asked you to coffee, so I buy.”
“Really -”
“A gentleman never lets a beautiful woman pay for herself.” To make her feel more comfortable, I lightly nudge her arm and laugh. “Come on.” The mood quickly changes. She finally lets her guard down a bit.
“Okay, okay.” She exhales. “A large, white chocolate mocha, with whipped cream…please.” The twinkle in her eyes when she mentioned whipped cream…damn.
“A woman with a sweet tooth. You got it.”
After getting our coffees, we decide to sit outside. The early morning sun is peeking through rays of warmth, so we find an empty table in the sun to take the chill off the brisk, cold morning. Once we get comfortable and I begin to take a drink of my coffee, Paige starts up the conversation. “I need to be upfront with you.” She moves her fingers around her coffee cup, a bit hesitant about what she wants to tell me. What she doesn’t know is, I know more about her than I’m letting on. I just can’t come right out and tell her though. “Um…it’s been a really, really long time since I’ve gone out with anyone. I’m not quite sure how to do this.”
I reach across the table and grab her hand. Giving it a squeeze I tell her, “Relax, it’s just coffee. No pressure.” Without wanting to make her nervous, I quickly let her hand go. Just that one touch sent chills up and down my spine. “But can I ask why it’s been so long, because by looking at you, any sane man would be dying to take you out.” I’m not kidding either. She’s stunning, so you’d have to be blind to not see it.
She lightly laughs. “That’s very sweet, but I wouldn’t have noticed, because…my husband died a little over two years ago.”
Already knowing about her husband passing away, I pretend to be surprised. “Damn…Paige, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine, really. I’m healing, and that’s all that matters.” She shrugs, and then takes a drink of her coffee.
She surprises me even more so with how strong she is. “Well, then it’s an honor having you sit across from me this morning. I’m sure it wasn’t easy saying yes to me. So I should be thanking you.”
“You were kind of hard to resist,” she blurts out, and then begins to laugh. “Oh gosh, that was totally embarrassing.” She covers her eyes with her hand.
“Speaking your mind.” I laugh. “I like it.” After a slight pause, I say, “Look, there aren’t any strings attached. We’re here as two grown adults, enjoying their first cup of coffee together. Firsts are a good thing.”
“Firsts are still not easy.”
“Trust me, I get that. All I’m saying is take a moment for you. Take that moment with me, because…I can be one hell of a friend,” I wink.
“Mister Charmer, with his wannabe stand up,” she jokes.
“Definitely not in my foreseeable future.”
“I hope not.” We both get to laughing again. Her sense of humor is coming through, and she finally seems to relax. “Okay, so…this is your average, typical, breaking the ice, boring question, but…where did you grow up? Do you have any siblings? What do you do?”
“That wasn’t just one average, typical, breaking the ice, boring question.” Holding up my fingers I say, “I counted three.” My answer causes Paige to throw her head back and laugh. I can’t help but get a twitch of excitement down south, which needs to calm the hell down. It’s certainly not the right time and place for that sort of excitement. Crossing my arms over my chest, I just gaze at her beauty. That smile…I can’t get enough of it. “I certainly do love making you laugh. You have a gorgeous smile.”
“Thank you,” she replies softly, and gazes into my eyes.
She’s slowly starting to trust herself, little by little, so I need to keep breaking the ice questions. “Okay, back to boring questions. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, have one older brother, Dominic, a younger sister, Molly, and…I’m a writer.”
“Oh.” She smiles. “What do you write? Fiction, non-fiction, articles, children’s books, comic books, cook books?”
“Look who’s taking over my stand up.” I laugh, then continue, “Definitely not cook books, but comic books, that would actually be tons of fun, but unfortunately I cannot draw, so…”
“Let me guess…you write my favorite genre?” She’s definitely a quick thinker, so I don’t think I can keep up my real identity a secret that much longer. When I don’t answer right away, she gasps. “I got it right, huh?”
“Yes. I write gory, nasty, blood curdling, horror and thrillers.” I chuckle.
“Wow, very small world here. Are you an independent writer?”
“I have a publisher.”
“I’d love to see your work. What’s your pen name, if you have one?”
I really hope she doesn’t get too upset with me, but here I go. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but–” Cutting me off, my phone begins buzzing on the table. I look at it and see that it’s my brother. Great. I really don’t want to talk to him, but knowing Dom, he’s not going to stop bugging me unless I answer. “Uh…sorry. I’ve got to get this. Be right back.” She nods as I get up from the table. Walking a few feet away from Paige, I answer his call. “Yeah?”
“Where are you?”
“Out.”
“You’re with her, aren’t you?” When I don’t respond right away, I can hear a groan escape. “James, listen to me–– ”
“I’ve heard you, over and over again, Dom. I just want to talk with her. That’s it.”
“Does she know you’re the J.D. Parker who’ll be signing at her store tomorrow?”
Looking over at Paige, I see her scrolling through her phone. “Not yet, no.”
“Man, this not a good idea. You’re lying to her already!”
“I was just about to tell her right when you phoned me.”
Without even acknowledging what I just said, he shouts, “Do me a favor and get your ass back to the suite.” He hangs up.
There goes my chance at telling her the partial truth, but my brother can be a pain in my ass when things don’t go his way. He’s been my agent since my third book became the number one New York Times Bestsellers. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t exactly be where I am today. He’s done a lot for me, so I need to le
ave and get another earful about how I shouldn’t associate myself with Paige. I know too much about her and her life and if she finds out, I’m going to destroy everything she ever believed in.
Getting to know her in a different way, other than staring at a picture of her all the time, has been amazing. It’s like my life has fully bloomed since I first walked inside her store. I’d hate for that to go away.
Feeling pissed about cutting our time together, I walk back to the table. “As much as I want to stay, I have to leave. I’m really sorry.”
“Oh, okay, well…I hope nothing is wrong.”
“Everything’s fine. That was just my agent. Can we take a rain check?”
She scoots out of her chair. “I’ll see you at the signing tomorrow.”
“Yes. You’ll definitely see me,” I promise. She’s either going to hate me tomorrow, or be pleasantly surprised. Taking hold of her hand, I bring it up to my lips and kiss her warm, smooth skin. “Thank you.” I smile. I don’t let her hand go, instead keep it enveloped inside mine. It’s a natural feeling that I could get very used to.
“I don’t know why you’re thanking me. You’re the one who bought me coffee.”
“I know, it’s just…you, taking the morning to talk with me. I enjoyed it…immensely.” Having the urge to kiss her lips is killing me right now. It’s crazy to be this head over heels for someone who I just met.
“Well, in that case, you’re welcome. And thanks for the coffee.”
“Anytime, but the next time you go out with me, it’ll be our first dinner together.”
“First dinner?” She chuckles.
“First dinner, first movie, first stroll on the beach.” With my thumb, I lightly caress her left cheek. “First kiss.”
Her voice comes out bit shaky. “That’s a lot of firsts.”
Squeezing the hand that’s in my grip, I make a promise before I turn to leave. “One first at a time, Paige. See you tomorrow.”
J.D. Parker - Minus
“A hand covered my mouth with something cold, knocking me out in an instant. I don’t remember anything after that. The moment I woke up, I thought I had dreamt of being attacked. But gazing around the dark, cave like room, I now know it wasn’t a dream. This is very very real. So scary real I feel that I’m going to be sick. I start to shiver. It’s so cold in here. Sitting up from my position, I’m aware that I’m on some type of camping bed, like a cot; one pillow and one blanket. Quickly grabbing the blanket, I wrap it around my entire body, hoping I can somehow make myself invisible with it - like a superhero.
Chasing Paige (Falling for Words Book 1) Page 2
