by Parker, Ali
“I don’t think I have ever seen your face stuck to the phone that much. Not even when you are working are you that focused.”
I grinned and finally took a drink of my wine. “He’s a fast texter.”
“It isn’t like his texts will evaporate if you look away,” she said dryly.
“Maybe they will.”
“You look happy,” she commented. “Like really happy.”
“I am happy. I’m usually happy.”
She shook her head and pointed a finger at my phone. “That has made you a very different kind of happy. You have a little sparkle in your eyes.”
“I do not,” I protested.
“What’s the deal? I thought this was nothing? It certainly seems like something.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s something, like we are an official couple. It’s just a blooming friendship.”
“With a side of sex.”
“That only happened one time,” I corrected.
“But you want it to happen again.” She grinned.
“It wouldn’t be terrible if it did, but I think this distance thing is for the best. I get to know him without being near him. When I’m around him, sex is pretty much all I think about. Him too, judging by the way he looks at me and some of the things he says.”
“Of course, he is thinking about sex with you,” she said. “Have you seen you?”
I smiled. “Thank you. That is very sweet.”
“And very true. Why aren’t you seeing him?”
“He’s in Florida this week,” I answered. “He comes home tomorrow, and we are supposed to try and get together.”
“Oh, a date,” she cooed.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Kind of. He isn’t sure what time he will be back. Nothing is set in stone.”
“How does that make you feel? You are the type of person who needs confirmed plans.”
“Usually, yes, but I’m off tomorrow. I can be a little flexible.”
My phone vibrated again. I couldn’t resist flipping it over and checking the message. I quickly tapped out a reply and put the phone back down. When I looked up, she was watching me. She had a sly smile on her face.
“What?” I asked.
She shook her head. “This seems serious.”
“No,” I immediately answered.
“Yes, it is.”
“He’s just fun to talk to. I’m having fun.”
“Good. I think you should have fun. You are young and this has been a long time coming.”
I took another drink. There was a feeling of contentment I had never experienced before. “It’s weird,” I said. “I keep asking myself why? Why him?”
“Because he piques your curiosity,” she answered. “You know you are like one of those psychics. You can read people. You have this weird empath thing and you know what people are thinking even before they know what they are thinking.”
I smiled. “True.”
“And you can’t read him.”
“Not as well. I get different vibes from him.”
Someone waved a hand to get her attention. She stepped away to quickly fill a beer before handing it off and coming back to me. “I watched a movie once,” she said. “Or maybe it was a television show. Anyway, the vampire could read minds, but when he met his soulmate, he couldn’t read her mind. That’s how he knew she was his soulmate.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Are you calling me a vampire or him? I’m confused.”
“Neither of you are vampires, but in my hypothetical situation, you would be the vampire.”
I grinned. “I think I could be a vampire when it comes to him.”
“Dirty, dirty,” she chided.
“You saw his picture,” I said, feeling a little warm. “It’s hard to resist.”
“I think it’s cute,” she said. “I’m happy for you.”
“Don’t be too happy,” I warned. “I don’t think this is anything to write home about.”
“I don’t know. I’d be willing to place bets on it.”
“Stop,” I said, not wanting to entertain the idea. I needed to keep my expectations in check. If I let myself get caught up in the idea that there was a chance at happiness with him, it would be hard to let it go. I couldn’t even begin to entertain such thoughts.
My phone vibrated again. It was a phone call. My immediate reaction was it had to be him. “Oh, it’s my dad,” I said when I saw his number. I slid off the stool and headed toward the back corner of the bar near the restrooms to hear better.
“Hey, Dad,” I answered.
“Evie? Is that you?”
“Yes, Dad, who else would have my phone?”
“I hear a lot of noise. Are you working?”
I looked around the bar. “No, I’m at the bar.”
“Oh, visiting Nelle,” he surmised. It was only a little embarrassing that my father knew how straitlaced I was and knew I wouldn’t be hanging out at a bar on a Friday night. I never did get that rebellious streak. I sometimes wondered if I missed out on something good.
“Yes, I am visiting Nelle,” I answered. It was sad I wanted to lie and tell him I was there drinking and hanging all over men. I was not normal.
“Do you have anything going on tomorrow night?” he asked.
I bit my lip. I was hoping to spend some time with Xander, but we had made no firm plans. My dad was my number one priority in my life, which meant I needed to be there when he asked me to. “Nope. I have no events tomorrow.”
“Can I take you to dinner?” he asked.
Again, how could I say no to my dad? Xander and I weren’t a thing. We had no official plans. I could always go see Xander after dinner. Yes, that was what was known as a booty call, but it was what it was. “I would love to!” I said with excitement. “I’ve missed you. You are supposed to be taking the summer off, not working harder.”
His gentle laugh warmed my heart. “I will see you tomorrow. Our usual place. Let’s say six?”
“I will be there. I’ll talk to you later. Get some sleep, and if you are eating Chinese for dinner tonight, I will know, and I will lecture you.”
“I’m not having Chinese,” he said.
“Oh no, pizza?” I groaned.
His laugh told me I guessed right. “There are vegetables on the pizza. That is healthy.”
“Not when you dump cheese and greasy meat on the damn thing.”
“I worked hard this week. I deserved a pizza.”
“Fine, but tomorrow, I am making sure whatever meat you eat is steamed.”
“Don’t threaten me with that or I won’t show up at all.”
I laughed. We both knew he would show up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night. Tell Nelle I said hi, and if you drink, you call a ride.”
I nodded as he spoke. It was the same old lecture. “I know, Dad. I know.”
I hung up and took my seat at the bar again. Nelle was busy pouring drinks for a new crowd of young men that had come in. I drank the rest of my wine and waited for her to get done with her job. She was only going to get busier. I could stay and watch her swat away the flirts and propositions all night while dodging a few myself, or I could go home and crawl into my jammies.
I knew what appealed to me more. I was already thinking about what I would eat when I got home. I had some gourmet cheese I picked up yesterday from a place I was going to use for appetizers for an upcoming event. They had given me some samples and I couldn’t leave without buying some for myself.
I had a fresh bottle of merlot and there was a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy I could watch. The more I thought about it, the more anxious I got to get home. I waited until Nelle was finished and made her way back to me. “I know that look,” she said.
“What look?”
“That look that says you are going home and curling up on your couch with the remote in your hand.”
I grinned. “You know me so well.”
“Yes, I do. What did y
our dad want?”
“He wants to get dinner tomorrow.”
“Uh oh,” she said.
I frowned. “Why uh oh?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be meeting up with Xander?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t say anything definite. You know I can’t turn my dad down.”
“Why not take Xander with you?”
“I can’t.”
“Uh, yes, you can,” she insisted. “You’ll get to see Xander and your dad will get to meet him. You’ll find out what he thinks, and you can go from there.”
“That’s not a terrible idea,” I said as I mulled it over.
“It’s a great idea. Then when you realize you and Xander are actually a couple, you won’t have to worry about whether or not your dad will like him. You will already know.”
“It’s scary,” I groaned. “You know my dad. He can be so critical. I don’t want to scare Xander off before we have even got started. I don’t think it’s the right time.”
“It’s dinner. It’s better to have the meeting go down in public. That way, your dad has to be on his best behavior.”
I rolled my eyes. “My dad does not give a shit if we are in public. If he doesn’t like someone, he doesn’t exactly hide it. He does not have a poker face.”
She burst into laughter. “He didn’t like me at first, but he came around. It might be like that with Xander.”
“And it might not be. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it and then I’ll have to ask Xander. I don’t want him to think I’m taking him home to meet the parents after one night of great sex.”
“Ah, but we both know it is so much more than that.”
“No, it isn’t,” I protested, even though it was weak and without conviction.
I left the bar and headed home. It would be the perfect opportunity. Now, I just had to figure out how to broach the subject with Xander.
Chapter 21
Xander
After a false start home yesterday due to some stupid storm, I was finally home. The pilot had called me bright and early in the morning. He informed we had a small window to take off. I packed my shit and made it to the small airport by five. In California time, that was two. My body was screwed up. I hoped to go back to sleep but it was impossible.
I cracked a few eggs into a pan before popping some bread into the toaster. I wasn’t a chef. I didn’t cook a lot, but I could cook a few things. My eyes felt gritty from the lack of sleep. I made another cup of coffee, thankful it took less than a minute to be ready to drink and sipped it while my breakfast cooked.
I sat down at the kitchen bar with my iPad propped up on a holder. I took a bite of the eggs while scanning through the headlines for the day. The world was going to hell in a handbasket, as my father would say. It was depressing to read the news.
My phone rang, interrupting my quiet morning. It was still early for a Saturday morning. I hoped it wasn’t a ship emergency. I didn’t have the brain power to deal with any engineering problems. Not until I had at least two more cups of coffee.
“Hello,” I answered without paying attention to the number.
“Hi,” Evie’s perky voice came through.
I almost choked on the eggs. “Hey,” I said, checking the time. “You are up early.”
“It’s eight. That’s not early. Did I wake you?”
“No, I’ve been up since two, or five, I suppose.”
“Really?”
“I didn’t get to come home last night like I planned. We got in early this morning.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should let you get back to sleep.”
I took a drink of coffee. “No, I’m up. I was just eating some breakfast.”
“Are you up for company?”
I looked down at the wrinkled jeans and even more wrinkled T-shirt I was wearing. I hadn’t showered yet. I lifted one armpit and sniffed. It didn’t smell bad. “Sure.”
“I can wait if you want to try and get a nap.”
“Nope. Come over. I’ll text you my address.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
I quickly sent the address and then went out to push the button to open the front gate. I scarfed down my breakfast and then rushed upstairs to brush my teeth. I put on a fresh slide of deodorant and then spritzed on some cologne before dashing back downstairs.
I did a quick run through the house, picking up the shit I had tossed around when I walked through the door earlier. A few minutes later, Evie was ringing the doorbell.
“Hi,” I said as I opened the door. My eyes drank in the sight of her. She was wearing a pair of beige capri pants and a plain black T-shirt with a pair of black sandals. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail once again. I liked it like that. I liked her shapely neck.
“Oh,” she pouted. “You look tired.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m fine. Come in.”
I gestured for her to enter the foyer. She stepped inside, her eyes scanning the area. “Can I get you a drink? Coffee?”
“I’m good. Your house is beautiful. Now I understand why you don’t like to go out.”
“You have to see the view,” I told her and led her toward the sitting area that stretched along the length of the house that faced the ocean. There was no privacy, and if any boat out on the water aimed a telescope or binoculars my way, they’d get an eyeful.
“Wow!” she said, coming to a stop in front of the massive sliding doors that were blended in between the windows. “This view is amazing. I think this is what they are talking about when they say a million-dollar view.”
“Step outside. Smell the ocean.”
She followed me onto the patio. I watched her chest expand as she inhaled. “This is stunning. Just absolutely beautiful.”
“The pool is over here,” I gestured. “It’s protected from the breeze that can come off the ocean and be a little too chilly. And it provides some privacy.”
“Do you do a lot of skinny dipping?” she asked with a grin.
I winked. “Define a lot.”
I showed her around the rest of the house before we ended up back in the living room. “I have to say, I thought your house would be much bigger,” she said. “You are this rich guy that lives in—I hate to say it—but kind of a normal house. I was thinking you would live in one of those mansions that you need a map to navigate.”
I laughed. “I’m a single guy. I don’t need a big house. I don’t need a giant house. I don’t want a giant house. That’s a waste of space and furniture. It would take me a week to get from one end to the other. I checked out several of those mega-mansions before I settled on this one. They all felt cold and very isolating.”
She nodded as she looked around what I thought was a fairly normal house. “How many rooms do you have?”
“Four.”
“It’s a beautiful house. I like that it’s comfy and you don’t have silly vases that cost more than my car sitting out on a table. I’ve had to work with clients that insist on parties at their houses and then freak out when one of those stupid things gets broken. Your house looks like a home.”
“Land was more important than house. I would have been fine with a one-bedroom house if I could have plenty of space between me and the neighbors. I wanted comfort. I wanted to walk in the door, kick off my shoes, and just chill.”
“You and your lack of liking people, right?” she joked.
I smiled. “It’s more about my like of privacy and quiet.”
“Your stairs go directly down to the beach?” she asked.
“Yes, they do. It’s steep, and it can be a hell of a workout, but it is well worth it. One of these days, I might buy a house that is right on the beach.”
“I’ve always dreamed about living on the beach,” she commented as she took a seat on one of the overstuffed white couches. “Not this beach because it is always so packed but maybe a little more up north. Better yet, a deserted island.”
“Now, you are talking,” I
said with a laugh.
“Do you have people that try and sneak up here?”
“Not a lot. There is a locked gate below, but you know drunk kids.”
“You need an island,” she said with a nod.
It did sound appealing. “I might just look into that.”
“Then you wouldn’t have to worry about sharing your beach with anyone else,” she reasoned.
“It does get packed during the summer, but during the fall and winter, it’s pretty quiet down there. I like to go down and just spend the day doing nothing.”
“That does sound nice,” she said with a smile.
“So, what does your schedule look like for today?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “No schedule.”
“You don’t have a checklist of things you need to get done?”
She laughed. “I have things that I could get done, and I do have a few errands to run, but nothing hard and fast.”
“You don’t have plans to drag me to Disneyland or some other wild and crazy place?” I asked with a smile.
“Not today, but now that you put that out there, have you been to Disneyland?”
I nodded. “A few times when I was younger but not in recent years. You?”
“I went a few years ago with my friend. It was fun. We should go sometime. We could get a hotel and stay overnight. Maybe stay the weekend.”
She was making plans for us. Plans for the future. “I think that sounds like a great idea. And today?”
She shrugged. “I have no plans for today, but I was thinking about this evening.”
“Oh? Would you like to go to dinner? Movie?”
She chewed on her lower lip, telling me she was nervous about something. “Dinner, yes, but, um, well, I have plans.”
That took me by surprise. “Oh, I see. Maybe another night.”
“No, actually, I wanted to know if you would like to go to dinner with me. And my dad.”
“Your dad?” I asked, automatically leaning away from her. It was not what I expected. I would have never predicted that would come out of her mouth.
“Yes, my dad.”
I cleared my throat. I needed to clarify some things without coming off like a total asshole. “Evie, I like hanging out with you, but I want to make sure we are on the same page here.”
