Undeniable: A Friends To Lovers Romance (Love Desired Book 4)

by Cassie Verano

  It wasn’t Jackie who’d done a number on me, but that was in the past.

  Sighing, she pushed her chair back. “I’d better get back to the store. Karina’s scheduled to arrive soon, and I need to be there when she does. Besides, I have a cake dilemma to figure out.”

  “So, you’re just going to run out on me? Just like that?” I asked, standing up in front of her.

  “I’ve got this great author that’s coming to do a signing today...and yeah, I’d better be there when he arrives,” she said with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

  I laughed, waving goodbye. It was good to see a friendly face again.

  CHAPTER 4 – PEYTON

  I GUESS MY WORRYING was in vain because everything went over without a hitch. It seemed as if the entire village of Summer Cove showed up to see Ryan Warren.

  Once the store closed for the evening, we had an after-hours event where only fifty guests were invited to mingle with him.

  I sat on a long couch we’d pulled from the break room conversing with Gianna, Karina, and Karina’s sister, Lori, and her cousin, Rhonda.

  “That is one sexy ass man,” Rhonda said.

  “Who?” Gianna asked.

  “Your brother-in-law,” Karina said, staring at him.

  “You’d better watch where those eyes are going before Zy gets all in your shit,” Rhonda warned.

  “Zy has nothing to worry about. I’m happily married to him. But that is a fine ass specimen,” she said, pointing at Bryce again.

  “Mm-hmm. If I weren’t happily married to Jordan’s fine ass, I’d be jumping on him,” Lori said.

  “Yeah. And if I didn’t have my hands full with that big-dicked mutha’fucka, Ray, I’d be telling you to hook me up with him, Gianna,” Rhonda said.

  “Peyton?” Rhonda said, looking my way.

  “What?”

  “You can take him on a test ride and tell us about it,” she teased.

  “Mm-mm,” I said, shaking my head.

  I was hesitant about speaking on the subject of Bryce out of fear of what these ladies might perceive.

  “What? You don’t think he’s fine, Peyton?” she asked.

  “He’s an attractive man.”

  “So, what you’re not into brothers?” she persisted.

  “It’s not that.”

  “Then what is it?” Karina asked, looking at me with confusion etched on her face.

  “If it weren’t for all the pressure that comes from a relationship like that, I wouldn’t mind.”

  “What do you mean pressure?” Karina asked.

  “You see people of all races dating each other, and it’s acceptable. White men dating black women, Hispanic men dating Asian women, and in Bishop and Gianna’s case, black men dating Persian women. But even the thought of a white woman dating a black man is taboo. There would be pressure in all different directions that the relationship wouldn’t stand a chance. But, the crazy part about it is that the biggest pressure would come from white men and black women. It’s like you guys cringe at the thought while dating each other. Maybe in another lifetime and in a different world.”

  Everyone grew quiet for a moment as they pondered it. Then Rhonda leaned forward and looked at all of us. “Now, that’s just fucked up y’all.”

  “What?” Gianna asked.

  “Everything Peyton said is true,” Rhonda said.

  “I know I’ve hated it in the past, and I honestly don’t know why. Maybe it’s that shit about our men feeling like they’ve arrived when they go out and get a white ‘trophy’ woman. As though we can’t successfully be on their arms, making them look good,” Lori said.

  “But why does it have to be about that?” I asked.

  “Because our men made it about that a long time ago,” Lori pointed out.

  “I’m for people getting love and dick wherever they can find it,” Karina said.

  “It’s time to let go of the past and let people love. We’re one world, one race, and we should all be united in love,” Gianna said.

  “That’s real shit right there,” Rhonda said. “And girl...if you wanna get you some of that dark meat, I ain’t mad. Somebody needs to be riding that big black dick.”

  Everyone started laughing, and we quickly quieted down as Bryce turned, looking in our direction.

  His gorgeous toffee-colored skin and his toasted almond colored eyes had always been my undoing. They held such an intense and passionate gaze in them; he made me feel he could read every one of my thoughts. And that alone made me blush.

  I watched as he removed his glasses and set them down on a high table beside him. He glanced at me and then back to his companion and pulled a hand over his low fade before he rubbed his hands over his light shadow of a beard and mustache. He said something to a woman that stood in front of him, causing her to laugh, and then he started moving in our direction.

  My eyes took in his long muscular legs, his broad chest, and shoulders, and then that dick print. Wow! I’d always found myself staring at that. I licked my lips and looked back up at him.

  Oh shit! He’d caught me if that smirk on those thick, gorgeous lips was any indication.

  No sooner than he headed towards us, all the ladies abandoned me on the couch, making excuses that they had to find their men.

  I stood and met him. “Hey, there. Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “Yeah, but I’m tired and ready to call it a night soon.”

  “Jet lag?” I asked.

  “Something like that.”

  “I tell you what, let me start bringing this to an end.”

  I left him to find Zymir and Karina and informed them of my plans to bring this to an end and then headed to the front desk to ring the bell, attracting everyone’s attention.

  “Thanks so much, guys! I couldn’t have done this without you!” I announced to the small group of volunteers.

  Everyone clapped and cheered.

  “And to the man of the hour...wow! Bryce, I’m not even sure what to say, but...thank you. This store needed this. All the revenue you brought in tonight, the attention it brought from neighboring towns because you were here, thanks! I don’t know what else I can say,” I said to him.

  “Thanks for having me, Peyton. It was an honor to return home to do a signing. I’ve never done one here, and I can’t think of a better place to have done it,” Bryce said.

  “We’re breaking out the champagne!” Karina shouted.

  “Got it right here, babe,” Zymir said, coming from the back of the store with four bottles of champagne.

  Everyone laughed.

  I was thankful that Zymir, Kole, and Bishop had joined the rest of us in putting on this affair today. Silver wasn’t able to make it because she had a show in Atlanta, but she sent her best wishes.

  Bishop passed champagne glasses out to each of us as Zymir filled everyone’s glass.

  “I’d like to propose a toast for future success and prosperity for Bryce and Books B4 Boys,” Karina said.

  “And I’d like to propose a toast for the excellent sales that Books B4 Boys will have for the future to keep the doors open,” Maggie proposed.

  Everyone held their glasses up and clinked them against each other.

  I took a small sip of my champagne, and my eyes met Bryce’s inquisitive ones. Unable to bear the questions I knew they held, I turned my head away.

  “Well, again, thanks, everyone, for your contributions to making today a great success. I need to handle the final administrative affairs of the night, and I’ll see you guys later,” I said.

  Anita, Claire, and Gianna’s sisters and mother surrounded Bryce to my relief, allowing me to escape without any questions. Removing the cash registers, I stacked both of them on top of one another and quickly bolted from the front of the store to my office.

  I’d finished counting the drawers and balancing the books when a light knock sounded on my door.

  “Come in,” I called out, stifling a yawn.

  “Hey there,�
� Bryce greeted, startling me.

  Somehow, I hadn’t expected it to be him.

  “Hi, I thought you would have left by now.”

  Shrugging, he replied, “Thought I’d wait on you. I didn’t wanna dip after you’d been the perfect hostess all day. How could I possibly dip out without checking on you?”

  Bryce’s smile was lazy as he leaned against my doorframe with his arms crossed, and long legs crossed at the ankle.

  “Well, thanks, Bryce. But you worked hard, too. I know you must be tired. You got in from L.A. late yesterday and you were back at it again today. Go ahead and get some rest. We’ll have time to catch up.”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “And she dismisses me again.”

  “I wasn’t dismissing you, Bryson.”

  “Wow, you know the last time someone called me that?”

  “Well, it’s your name, isn’t it?”

  “College.”

  “Me?”

  “And my professors who insisted on that instead of Bryce.”

  “I like it,” I quipped with a smile.

  “She likes it,” he said in a teasing, high-pitched voice.

  “Still just as full of jokes as you always were, huh?”

  “Depends on the company I’m in.”

  I grew silent with the comment, not sure what to make of it, or if anything needed to be made of it. In the silence, my stomach chose that moment to growl loudly.

  Rubbing his hands together, Bryce said, “That’s what I’m talking ‘bout.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “I was about to ask if you wanted to join me for dinner.”

  “Haven’t you been eating all day?”

  “Not really. I nibbled on those finger foods Karina bought, but a grown man needs a full course meal.”

  “And you would be the grown man?” I teased.

  “Full. Grown,” Bryce said, his eyes growing dark.

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll make a sandwich or something when I get to my house. I don’t need much.”

  “But I do, and I don’t like eating alone. You know that.”

  Nodding, I said, “You always had a thing about going into restaurants and eating alone when we were younger, too. Why is that?”

  Turning his lips down, he said, “I wasn’t ever too comfortable in my own company. I had to grow to learn to be comfortable in my silence.”

  “So, then you don’t need me tonight,” I joked.

  Bryce licked his tongue out, dampening the middle of his bottom lip before biting on it with his teeth.

  “Nah, I need ya,” he said, walking slowly toward me.

  Bryce grabbed my hand and pulled me from my chair.

  “Come on, let me feed ya.”

  CHAPTER 5 – BRYCE

  THE ONLY RESTAURANT still open that late at night was The Trailing Vine. Peyton ordered a tomato bisque and small garden salad.

  “Are you going to eat all that?” she asked, pointing at my plate, laughing.

  I looked at my plate, which held steak, a baked potato, squash soup, a garden salad, and French bread.

  “Why not?” I asked, frowning, and placing a piece of steak into my mouth.

  “It’s just a lot. That’s a really big meal.”

  “And I’m a really big man,” I replied.

  The light that’s always existent in Peyton’s eyes grew dim, and her face flushed a deep red. I noticed she did that a lot when she was embarrassed, angry, or confused.

  “What?” I asked with a teasing note in my voice, wanting her to lighten up.

  I needed to find a way back to that easy, carefree friendship we once shared so long ago.

  “Nothing,” she said, shaking her head and resting it in the palm of her hand.

  She’d almost finished with her soup, but she hadn’t touched her salad.

  “It’s something. When you get that look in your eyes that you have right now, you’ve got a question you want to ask. But you’re too afraid to open up.”

  “You think you know me,” Peyton said, laughing lightly.

  “Come on, Peyton, it’s me,” I said, pushing my plate away. “What’s on that mind of yours. I know it’s always going.”

  “Just reminiscing about old times, that’s all. College years. You were the only true friend I had, you know?”

  “Not true. Peyton, you were gorgeous, popular, super smart, and—”

  “Surrounded by a world of superficial people. We were all striving to be something that we weren’t, dousing ourselves in ideas society imposed upon us and accepting it as real. But a true friend?”

  “I was guilty of that, too, to some degree. So, how you figured I was any different than anyone else I can’t imagine.”

  “You were the only one I could have real conversations with, without the fear of being judged. I could always let my hair down around you and just...be myself. I’ve missed that through the years. I honestly don’t think I’ve found another friendship quite like ours.”

  “And yet, you pushed me away.”

  Peyton glanced away from me, pressing the back of her hand against her lips. Her eyes closed, and I knew she was trying to find a way to formulate her response in a way that I would accept.

  “I did what was necessary, Bryce.”

  “And that was necessary...how?”

  “To save my friendship with Jackie. She and I were friends as long as you and I were. Jackie was my closest friend, and when I realized the pressure our friendship put on her, I thought it best for me to take a step back. It was what was best for all involved,” Peyton said.

  I was outraged. “In whose eyes? She still fucked me over and blamed it on not being sure if she could trust me. You didn’t do any of us any favors other than pacifying her jealousy over our friendship.”

  “I can see how uncomfortable it might be to have your boyfriend and best friend, spending as much time together as we were without her being around.”

  “Don’t give me that shit, Peyton. Long before Jackie and I hooked up, you and I were friends. She met me through you. None of that shit should’ve had to change. If she couldn’t be secure in our relationship, nothing you could have done was going to change that. Jackie proved that,” I said.

  “Well, I wouldn’t have been satisfied if you two had broken up, and I didn’t do everything that I could to help. I felt it was my role as her best friend and one of your closest friends to give you both the support you needed. Things were getting crazy, and there was always all this arguing, and sometimes it seemed as if it surrounded my presence. So, I figured if I took a step back, you two could get back to the heart of who you were and what drew you together in the first place,” Peyton explained.

  “You drew us together,” I said, not sure how she missed that vital piece of information.

  But I knew what she was thinking. The same thing I’d been thinking and tried to push out of my mind.

  “I introduced the two of you.”

  “She thought I was cute and was jealous of you being under me all the time. Lots of people were jealous of our friendship. Jackie and I only had you in common and nothing else,” I said.

  “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you why I gave you the cold shoulder.”

  “It’s all water under the bridge now. I heard she was married with two little boys. Moved to Vermont. What the hell would anyone want in Vermont?”

  “Her husband’s family owns a brewery, and he returned there after his grandfather’s death to help his father with the company. Or at least that’s what I’ve heard.”

  “What do you mean, that’s what you’ve heard? What did she say?”

  I noticed the blush creeping up Peyton’s face again, and a shadow cast itself in her light blue eyes, shading them and making them darker.

  “Peyton, what did Jackie say?”

  Shrugging, she sighed and said, “I don’t know.”

  “You haven’t talked to her?”

  “Not since...not since I told her I was getting a divorce,
” Peyton answered.

  “Wait...your best friend ditched you during one of the darkest hours of your life?” I asked.

  I wasn’t surprised. Jackie was self-centered and did nothing unless it served her best interest, too. She would have viewed Peyton’s impending divorce as some type of plague or blight that might contaminate her, too. As if she got too close to the offending or contagious party, it would rub off on her and destroy her marriage.

  Clearing her throat, Peyton said, “You know how she is. It was too difficult to deal with.”

  “Too difficult for her? Hell, it wasn’t her life, Peyton. It was yours! How the hell do you defend her in a time like that?” I asked as disturbed by Jackie’s selfishness as I was with Peyton’s audacity to defend her.

  “I’m not defending her, Bryce. I’m just a realist. I’ve always known who Jackie was and how she operates. She wants everything to be happy and fun, and if it’s not, well...she doesn’t have time for it. Anything less than perfect is an issue for her. That’s the reason she started cheating on you. She saw the flaws in your relationship, and she couldn’t deal with it. It was too much like saying there was a crack in her, and that’s not acceptable. Besides, I allowed her into my life as my friend. When you step into something, and you know what you’re getting into, it doesn’t hurt as bad when you realize that people show themselves as who they are. I’ve always known she was selfish and flighty, but I accepted her for who she was. When she stopped taking my calls after I announced I was getting divorced, that was no one’s fault but my own,” Peyton said.

  “But you shouldn’t have to accept that.”

  “And she shouldn’t have to accept anything less than what she’s willing to tolerate in her own life, and she didn’t. Either way, it worked out because we’re not in one another’s lives anymore,” Peyton replied.

  “You should’ve called me. You were there for me in some pretty rough times, too,” I said, my gaze growing heavy with memories.

  “Yeah,” she said softly, clearing her throat.

  After taking another sip of my wine, I set the glass to the side and placed my hands on the table. We needed a change of subject.