I didn’t think that he had noticed my dress, I thought that he was completely absorbed in his recipe book. I don’t know what to think – I feel a little gratified that he noticed me, and this surprises me. I should keep in mind that I hate Jamie and that I’m tolerating his presence every day, with all of the issues and mood swings that it causes.
“It’s cold,” I mutter, then head to my room. It’s time to run away from him.
After locking myself in my room, I sit down on my bed. The stress caused by my phone conversation with Mr Purfoy has caught up with me, because I still can’t think of a solution to the problem. With Jamie at home, I can’t relax fully and the last thing that I want to do tonight is go out with him. I’m not at all composed around him and the thought of having to pretend that everything is alright make me nervous, angry and exhausted all at the same time.
I can’t sit around for long if I want to look decent tonight. I breathe deeply and then I get up. I want to wear something that isn’t too revealing and at the same time doesn’t disappoint Elly – I don’t want to be the cause of any negative vibes tonight. My friend can be a little demanding, sometimes.
After fifteen minutes spent rummaging in my wardrobe, I resort to a silk dress – it’s figure hugging but not too revealing, and grey with long sleeves. I find a belt of a similar colour to go with it… but it’s too glittery and tonight I don’t want to draw attention to myself. I put the belt back into my wardrobe. I still have to fix my hair and do my make-up… it’s 8:40 p.m. already! I take ten minutes to finish getting ready – my make-up is a little more evident than usual tonight, with tones of black and grey, and it hides my tiredness pretty well. My hair is loose around my shoulders. I pick up my bag and head downstairs – Jamie is already waiting for me. He’s wearing a pair of jeans – which makes him look even more beautiful – a black shirt and a leather jacket. I refrain from commenting… I can’t think of anything negative to say to him. I must be so tired!
“Did you call a taxi? We’re a little late.”
“No,” he answers calmly, staring at me.
“What do you mean ‘no’?” I ask. Then I rummage in my bag to find my mobile phone.
“Let’s take my car, it’ll be fine.” he says; he moves closer to me and takes my bag in his hands. He locks his eyes onto mine and smiles at me. He opens the front door and lets me out.
“I’m only agreeing to this because we’re late,” I comment. I take back my bag and step outside. I struggle to keep my balance in my heels. Even wearing them, I’m still not as tall as Jamie.
*
We take about ten minutes to get to the restaurant – Alex has booked a table for all of us. Jamie seems relatively happy tonight, he has acted like a gentleman – which reminds me of the first time I met him, when Dad was still alive. He opened the car door for me, he offered me his arm for the short walk between the car and the restaurant, he opened the restaurant door for me and he even helped me off with my coat and gave it to the cloak room staff. I’m impressed. I try to forget how much I like being treated like a lady, I know that I’m trying very hard to ignore his chivalrous attitude because it’s only temporary. Jamie is always unpredictable and I know that behind his kind countenance hides a man who is capable of wounding me with his words. He thinks that I’m a spoiled girl – he has said it plainly – so why is it becoming so difficult to hate him?
I glace around the restaurant – I see Alex in the distance. He is sitting at one of the tables further down, and it’s set for four.
“Alex is there!” I say to Jamie. He turns his eyes in the direction that I’m pointing and presses his lips together a little.
“Alex is the guy that Elly is going out with?” he asks.
“They would be perfect together, right?” I ask him enthusiastically. I’ve never been more confident about a romantic match!
“I’m sorry for Elly,” he comments, shaking his head slightly.
“You don’t like Alex, right?”
“Not really.”
“Why? You don’t even know him.”
“Gut feeling,” he replies decidedly. Then he offers me his arm again, and we head to our table. When we approach Alex, he stands up and welcomes us with a huge smile on his face.
“Hey, Ashley!” He walks towards me and gives me a hug. “You’re finally here! I feared for a moment that you wouldn’t turn up.” I smile awkwardly – Alex never told me where to meet, thank goodness I have Elly.
“No way, I promised you that I would come… even though I think that I might be a third wheel tonight.”
“Stop being silly,” Alex says. Then he moves back and glances at Jamie, who’s standing next to me. I know that Alex is really worried about Jamie and he doesn’t like the way he’s staring at him – he fears for his life.
“Ah, welcome, Jamie!” Alex mutters, trying to hide his fear.
“Yeah, I thought it would be nice to invite somebody else to dinner tonight, and I thought about Jamie.” I explain to Alex. While I speak, I realise that the whole situation is a little surreal. Asking Jamie to go out for dinner with me isn’t exactly something that I would do every day.
Jamie walks past Alex without even acknowledging him and pulls out one of the chairs.
“That’s for you,” he says gently to me. I would like to hide the smile on my face, but I feel unable to.
“Thanks,” I reply, then I sit down next to him.
Alex sits down too, facing me. He looks visibly nervous and the fact that Elly is late doesn’t help.
“Don’t worry, Alex, Elly is always late – it’s part of her DNA, but it’s her only annoying trait.” I say.
“Yeah, I’m not that worried, but thanks.”
“You sure?”
“No, honestly – I’m fine.” he insists, slightly irritated. Alex never usually gets annoyed, especially with me. I suspect he feels a little vulnerable with Jamie around. It must be a man thing – pride and honour come before anything else.
“Are you ready to order?” The waitress asks, with a notepad and pen in her hands.
“Not yet, we’re waiting for somebody else, sorry.” I tell her; just then Elly appears. “She’s here, actually!”
Elly walks towards us and quickly takes her coat off.
“Sorry I’m late,” she says.
“We were expecting you to be late, don’t worry.” I say with a smile.
“Thanks, Ashley,” she comments sarcastically. Then she sits on the only free chair, opposite Jamie. “Sorry for making you wait, Alex. I’m usually very punctual, but it’s one of those days today.” I can’t help but giggle, I hope she doesn’t hear me.
“We were about to order, Elly.” Alex indicates to the waitress, who’s still waiting for us to decide.
*
As I expected, Elly and Alex have no problem finding something to talk about. It sounds like they’ve been friends for a long time. They discovered that they have three things in common – a passion for morning jogs, which they’re going to do together starting from tomorrow (I have no idea why they like the idea of getting up dead early on Sunday mornings). They like bland food, no salt, no spices, no condiments, no excessive colours on their plates; and they both love classic films, especially black and white ones. They seem to be the only people under seventy years old who are aware of the existence of a small cinema in town that screens old classics.
I’m proud of myself for matching them up, everything seems to be going well. I’m beginning to feel a bit redundant, so I might leave soon… we’ve finished eating anyway. I glance at Jamie next to me – he seems to enjoy listening to Alex and Elly and he’s completely absorbed by their conversation. I touch his leg lightly under the table to get his attention. Gosh, his thigh is so muscly. Okay, I have to forget about his legs and his lips and the way he’s looking at me now. I will try to act as though they have no effect on me at all.
I take a deep breath, then whisper to him that it’s time for us to go – he seems to unders
tand immediately. Thank goodness.
“Jamie and I really have to go now, sorry. Thanks for the invite, Alex. We enjoyed the dinner. I’ll see you soon!” I tell them as I get up. I kiss Elly on the cheek and wink at Alex. Jamie takes his leave very politely, and Elly glances at me complicitly before we go. Jamie seems so different from his usual self tonight. He helps me to put my coat on and then offers me his arm.
Walking with him like that gives me a strange feeling; worryingly, it makes me feel good. I would rather not think about this for long – if I catch the bug it will be hard to get rid of it; I’m not one to let go of pleasurable things easily.
“You’ve been a bit quiet tonight – everything okay?” he asks, while he opens the car door for me. I’m surprised by his question. Who would have thought that somebody like him would even notice things like that, especially about me.
“It’s just been a tough week at work,” I say, then I look away, trying to avoid his intense eyes. He walks round the car to the driver’s side and sits down next to me. He turns on the engine – it’s time to go home.
“Did anything happen at work?”
“Not much, I’ve just been dealing with somebody irritating.” I say.
“I bet it’s a man.”
“Yeah, it’s an arrogant man who’s going to be our business partner.”
“Your business… partner?” he interrupts me, frowning.
“Yeah, he’s going to work with the man who kicked you out of the book shop last time you came to talk to me – that’s our boss.”
“Ah, yeah.” He relaxes. “Carry on?” The phantom of a smile appears at the corner of his mouth – I’m intrigued to know what he’s thinking now. I have to stop thinking about his lips!
“Jasper, our boss, wants to turn our shop into a book bar – that’s why he has been dealing with Mr Purfoy, who is apparently a well known chef.”
“I think I’ve heard his name before. He’s a very eccentric man. He’s a specialist in molecular cuisine, but the critics are more enthusiastic about his way of cooking finger food.” he explains calmly. I’m impressed by his knowledge – it explains why my father wanted him to be the head of our company and also why he decided I should be close to him to learn as much as possible.
“You see, Jass asked me to talk to Mr Purfoy and discuss some menu options, but he told me that I don’t work in hospitality and that I should let him do his job in peace. He basically told me to fuck off.” Thinking about that conversation makes me nervous again. “I should just leave it, but Jass wants everything to be perfect and I can’t disappoint him.”
Jamie laughs like he’s just heard a joke – mine is a serious problem!
“Why is that funny?” I ask, annoyed.
“It’s not funny, I was just thinking that – to be fair – it’s not true that you don’t work in hospitality,” he says. I turn to him.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re on Morgan & Hall’s management team for the rest of the year – and that’s a company which operates in hospitality.”
“Yeah, that’s true…” I mutter. Maybe I should mention that in my next conversation with Mr Purfoy. I’m a little worried about taking advice from Jamie, but I have a feeling that this would help me with my confidence. It doesn’t sound like such a terrible idea.
“Are you going to call him again?”
“I think so, I’ll show him that I’m tougher than he thinks. He hung up on me! The book bar is never going to work if he’s so arrogant!”
I feel a lot better now that I’ve had a chance to vent. I breathe deeply, relaxing my muscles, and I enjoy the rest of the journey to the apartment. Jamie doesn’t stop acting like a gentleman once we are back home – he takes my coat and hangs it on the coat stand. I would never have thought our dinner could be so pleasant tonight… and so full of emotions.
When he approaches me, I can’t help but ask the question I’ve been pondering over the whole evening.
“Why are you so nice tonight?” I ask him outright.
“Don’t ruin it with useless paranoia.” he moans.
“I’m not trying to ruin anything,” I protest. “I just didn’t expect it… it’s not like you to be so nice.”
“That’s not true – you just never let me act like a gentleman.”
“Me? What do you mean? If you wanted to act like a gentleman all the time, I would never stop you. It’s just not part of your DNA – you should always make an effort to be nice to me. It’s not my fault.”
“I would do for you,” he states decisively. He stares into my eyes and I’m stunned by their beauty.
“What?” I feel I’m starting to spin – I feel light-headed. I might have drunk too much tonight. No, that’s a lie – I only had one glass of wine at dinner, it can’t have had any effect on me.”
“I would like to act like a gentleman every day, for you. Even if it’s not part of my DNA, I would do it for you.” I feel a hot flush beginning to spread throughout my body – I’m certain that I’m blushing right now. How can he say something so embarrassing?
“You’re drunk,” I say. I turn round, trying to get out of this awkward situation. I’m confused, and I don’t know why. I want to go upstairs, but Jamie stops me – he grabs me by the arm, and wraps his hand around my waist. He turns me round and pulls me towards him. Feeling him so close stuns me – I didn’t expect this, and I begin to feel I’m losing control of my legs, my arms, my whole body. All I feel is my heart beating faster and Jamie’s solid chest against the palms of my hands.
A moment later, his lips – those same objects of my recent fantasies – touch mine, and he begins to kiss me. His kiss is delicate, warm and slowly grows more passionate. I consider pushing him away for a split second, but I have no energy left. I’m wrapped in ecstasy by the taste of his lips, his warm kiss – it’s like I have always dreamed of this. I run my fingers through his curly hair, then I can’t help but get even closer; I run the tips of my fingers along his jawline, then his neck.
I don’t know how long our kiss lasted – suddenly, a thought wakes me up. What am I doing? Am I really kissing Jamie?
I move away from him, quickly interrupting the most passionate kiss of my whole life. Am I going crazy? I raise my eyes to look at him – he looks confused. What does he expect? I can’t kiss Jamie! I must not kiss Jamie!
He moves towards me again, but I step backwards to dodge him.
“Ashley,” he whispers.
“This hasn’t happened.” I interrupt him before he tries to kiss me again. I still feel light headed and I’m fighting the urge to lean against his chest again. What’s wrong with me?
He pays no attention to my words and takes another step towards me. Before I even register what I’m doing, my hand hits his cheek. The palm of my hand burns, his head is slightly tilted to one side now. Maybe it’s the fear of feeling vulnerable or it’s the idea of losing my freedom because of him. I have hated this man with all my heart and my reaction is instinctive. His puzzled, disappointed expression touches me – I’m filled with a deep sense of guilt that I’ve never experienced towards him before. This feeling distracts me and I don’t realise that I’ve just made another mistake – I look into his eyes again and glance at his beautiful lips.
Without thinking twice, I walk towards him and kiss him. I have never had much self-control. Feeling his lips again soothes me and suddenly I realise that I crave even more. His kiss is warm and intense, he holds my face in his hands and keeps me close to him. His grip on me says that he doesn’t want to let me run away this time.
No, I can’t! I can’t let him.
Once again, I step backwards and look at him – and quickly, before his lips work their magic again, I walk away.
“I’m sorry… I can’t.” I mutter, confused, then I head upstairs. I lock myself in my room, I’m safe here. Or at least, I hope I am.
11
It must be a lie that sleeping on a problem helps – I woke up even mor
e worried and nervous this morning. Last night’s sleep, what little there was, was tormented – plagued by thoughts and memories – I wish they would leave me alone. I spent all night thinking about what triggered such a passionate desire to kiss Jamie. I still can’t figure it out, so I’ve decided to call it a ‘self-destructive’ thought. That seems the only true way to label this emotion – it’s the best way to deal with it and move on.
Being awake most of the night hasn’t helped me at all – I have been thinking of the sweet taste of Jamie’s lips over and over again and the emotions that overwhelmed me while I was kissing him. I have to admit that I find Jamie intriguing… but this isn’t surprising. I mean, how can anybody not be affected by his hypnotic, magnetic eyes, his manly arms, his broad chest and muscular shoulders. I feel as if I’m back at square one. I’m sure the only reason why I felt that way last night was the fact that he took me by surprise with his manners, his kind words… none of which I am used to, especially coming from him. I keep recalling the words ‘I would do it for you’. I’m trying to forget them, but I can’t.
No, I need to pull myself together – it was just a weak moment. I have to find my emotional balance again. After Dad’s death and the issues relating to his will, I’ve become more vulnerable. I’ve never been one of those people who cry all the time, but I still feel weak. Yesterday’s kisses were a terrible mistake and I won’t let it happen again. I can’t stand Jamie. I have to bear in mind that he’s still trying to steal Morgan & Hall from me. If he hadn’t made an appearance in our lives, Dad and I would never have argued, we would never have stopped talking and I would have inherited both the apartment and the company without no problems. There can’t be anything between me and Jamie, we’re both waiting for the end of our forced co-habitation so that we can get our own lives back – lives that don’t include each other.
I get out of bed feeling a little more sure of myself after going over all this in my mind; I head downstairs knowing that Jamie will be in a foul mood. That’s quite alright with me today. I want to go back to our boring daily routine. When I step into the kitchen, the curtains are open – the weather outside is grim and the sky mostly cloudy. Jamie is standing behind the kitchen counter, dishing up breakfast on two large plates.
The Inheritance: A feisty, giggle-inducing romance Page 13
