With that, she slammed the door and stomped up the steps into her building.
Lola
I WAS PISSED. I hated how I felt as I walked away from Grayson, but my stupid pride and sense of self-preservation wouldn’t allow me to turn around.
Which just pissed me off even more.
“Oh, Ms. Abbatelli, your—”
I held my hand up, palm out, and kept walking. “Not now, Maury. I’m in a shitty mood.”
“But—”
I kept moving, feeling more and more bitchy with every step I took. I just wanted to get up to my apartment, wash the stink of chlorine from my skin and hair, and drink myself to sleep.
I counted the floors as the elevator carried me up to my apartment, thankful that no one else got on to slow my ascent. My puffy eyes itched from my pitiful crying jag earlier. My hair was a tangled mass of knots since I’d had nothing to brush it out with after getting it wet. I was sure my streaked mascara and eyeliner made me look like an escaped mental patient. But I didn’t care about any of that at the moment. I was too busy drowning in my misery after… well, nearly drowning.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I climbed off the elevator onto my floor, rummaging around in my purse for my keys. I twisted, disengaging the lock, and was so consumed by my own personal pity party that I didn’t register the sound of the television or the fact that all the lights in my apartment were on.
That was until a deep voice sounded from behind me, scaring the ever-loving shit out of me.
“Hey, shorty. Where you been all day?”
The blood-curdling scream that came from deep within my belly was fit for a horror movie. I spun around on my gorgeous Alexander Wang studded platform sandals, wielding my huge Michael Kors tote like a weapon, and smacked the man right in the stomach. He keeled over with a pained “Oomph.”
Still screaming like crazy, I lifted my bag high — thankful that I never left home without my wallet, Kindle, makeup bag, phone, travel manicure kit, day planner, and at least three pairs of sunglasses — and brought it down on the back of his head.
“Goddamn it, Lola! Have you lost your mind?”
I was just about to swing again, that time going for the guy’s twig and berries, when I recognized the angry voice belonged to none other than my brother.
“Dominic?” I screeched. “Are you crazy?” I continued to shout, arms still extended over my head. “I thought you were a robber! I could have killed you!”
He straightened from his prone position and glared as he rubbed his stomach with one hand and the back of his head with the other.
“Your bag weighs a fucking ton, little sis, but you’d still be screwed if I was a real robber.”
“Sweet sister Christian,” I breathed, placing a hand on my chest to try and soothe my frantic heart. “You scared the shit out of me. What were you thinking?”
Dom snatched my purse from my hands and dropped it on the table just inside the front door, still scowling at me. “I was thinking I’d surprise my sister with a visit. Didn’t Maury tell you I was up here?”
“Oh.” I worked my bottom lip between my teeth and shuffled from foot to foot. “I, uh, wasn’t really listening to what he was saying.”
“Christ, Lola. Really?” He threw his hands up in exasperation and turned around. I followed as he headed for the kitchen. “And you tell Ma not to worry about you living on your own,” he grumbled sarcastically as he rummaged through my wine selection. He settled on a nice red blend and started uncorking.
“There’s nothing for her to worry about. I’m perfectly safe here by myself.”
My brother’s look screamed “Bitches be crazy” as he poured wine into two glasses and slid one across the counter top in my direction. “What the hell happened to you? You look like you took a walk through a drive-thru car wash.”
It was my turn to glare. “Thanks, asshole. I’ll have you know it’s been a really shitty day, so if you could refrain from making fun of me, it would be greatly appreciated.” I guzzled my wine in a very unladylike manner and wiggled the glass in front of his face for a refill.
He poured me another glass while making that concerned-brother face as he stared at me. “What happened? You get mugged or something?”
“No,” I sighed. “Nothing like that. It’s a long story.”
He rested his back against the counter across from me, crossing his ankles as he sipped his wine. “Well, that’s why I came for a visit, shorty, so I can catch up on your life… long stories included. Now tell me why you look like that creepy little girl who climbs out of TV screens and kills people in The Ring. Does it have something to do with the guy you’re making out with in all the papers?”
I frowned at my brother’s smirking face. “God, you’re just as bad as Mom.”
He ignored me and repeated, “Tell me what happened.”
I inhaled a deep breath before sucking down more wine, needing it to help ease my still frazzled nerves. “He took me to meet his parents today.”
Dom choked on his wine and started beating on his chest as he coughed. Once he was able to breathe regularly, he looked up at me, his eyes the size of half dollars. “You went to meet his parents?”
“Well, you don’t have to say it like that,” I said flatly.
He let out a laugh of disbelief. “Excuse me for being shocked. You’re the one who said you’d rather eat gas station sushi than ever enter into another committed relationship.”
“I never said that,” I argued, setting my wineglass on the table and crossing my arms over my chest defensively.
“You said exactly that.”
“Whatever. Are you going to let me finish my story or what?”
His hands went up in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. Continue.”
I blew out a puff of air and attempted to run a hand through my hair, but had to stop when I encountered a mess of knots. “So, he took me to meet his parents today and it was….” I paused, trying to find the word to best describe my afternoon before finally settling on “A disaster.”
Dominic instantly went into intense big brother mode. Uncrossing his ankles, he moved closer, resting his palms on the counter and leaning in with a stony expression on his face. “What happened? Did that fucker do something to you?”
“No,” I huffed, giving my head a minute shake. “God, no. Nothing like that. It was going really well at first….”
“Okay…,” he dragged out, prompting me to give him more.
I told him about Fiona’s sudden appearance, how seeing them interact twisted a knife in my stomach, how for the first time in my life I’d experienced jealousy so acute it ate at me. I even went into detail about my theory on his brother being in love with Grayson’s ex. I spilled it all, opening up to my big brother in a way I never had before. Then I finished by telling him about being tossed into the pool, knowing he was one of only a handful of people who knew how badly something like that would affect me.
“Oh God.” He rounded the kitchen counter and pulled me into a big protective hug that infused my limbs with much-needed warmth. “God, shorty. I’m so sorry that happened. You must have been terrified.”
“I was, for a little bit, at least,” I admitted with a sniffle, burrowing deeper into his strong chest. I hadn’t realized until that very moment just how badly I needed the security he offered. “But then I was just embarrassed. I mean, I acted completely insane. In front of everyone. It was humiliating.”
“Don’t even go there,” he commanded in a rough, angry tone. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Easy for you to say. You weren’t there to witness my meltdown.”
His arms tightened around me. “I didn’t need to be. I was there that day, remember?”
I shivered at the recollection of the day he was talking about. I’d only been six years old, but it still sat in my memory clear as day. “Thanks,” I whispered, hugging Dominic back just as tightly as he was holding me. “I really needed to hear that.” Pul
ling back, I looked up at my brother and smiled. “Despite you nearly giving me a heart attack, I’m really glad you’re here.”
He returned my smile and said, “Me too, shorty.”
I moved out of his embrace and returned to my wineglass, taking a sip, thinking the discussion was over. I was wrong.
“Now, about the ex….”
I groaned and let my head fall back. “I don’t want to talk anymore about her. I hate her. She sucks. Can’t we just leave it at that?”
“No, we can’t,” he informed me, bending at the waist to rest his elbows on the granite countertop. “Because I’m not going to let you hide behind that as an excuse. I know you better than anyone else, and I’ve never seen you like this.”
“Like what?” I asked, trying to come across as sarcastic even as my heart flipped in my chest.
“Like you care. You can’t hide it from me, shorty. You really like this guy. And that terrifies you.” I had nothing to say. It was uncanny how correct he was. “From what you said, your guy doesn’t have any feelings left for this girl—”
“Yeah, but she’s still in love with him,” I defended.
“So? That doesn’t mean shit and you know it. She might still want him, but if he’s done, there’s nothing she can do about it. He told you he sees her as nothing more than a friend, and I think you need to trust that. He hasn’t given you any reason not to.”
I narrowed my eyes at my brother and downed the last of the wine in my glass. “You know, I really don’t like you right now.”
He chuckled and took a sip from his own glass. “That’s because you know I’m right.” I didn’t respond since the stupid jerk was right; instead, I stuck my tongue out at him. “Ah, now I know I’m right. You only turn into an immature little brat when I’m right.”
“Shut up before I kick you out.”
His head fell back as he laughed his ass off. “Oh, little sis. I’ve missed you like crazy.”
That worked wonders in warming me back up. “I’ve missed you too, big brother.”
“Good. Now go get a shower. You look like an extra on The Walking Dead.”
I rolled my eyes and started for my bedroom. “And then you ruin it,” I muttered as I walked away.
“Oh, and Lola?”
I turned to look back over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Hate to dump this on you now after you had such a shitty day, but I need to warn you about something.”
The hairs on my arms stood on end. “Warn me about what?”
The smile that spread across Dominic’s face was positively evil. “Mom’s coming for a visit in two weeks.”
“Son of a bitch. Can this day get any worse?”
My brother’s laughter followed me all the way into my bedroom. The prick was enjoying my misery way too damn much.
Lola
IT WAS THE Tuesday after the incident at the Lockhart house and I was still avoiding Grayson. I hadn’t managed to put my pride aside and seek him out, give him an explanation for my crazy behavior the Sunday before.
I was stubborn… and a coward. I was a stubborn coward. That was the worst. Needless to say, I’d been in a seriously pissy mood the past two days.
We’d just wrapped up our show for the morning, and despite it only being lunchtime, I was ready for the day to be over. Instead of waiting on Sophia and Daphne, I headed out of the studio. We still had to plan out the show for the following day, and there was some research I needed to get through, so I stomped toward my desk, geared up to bury my head in work so I could get the hell out of there and go home to wallow in my misery in peace.
My eyes were cast down at my phone, scrolling through e-mails that needed addressing, and my feet almost came out from under me when I rounded the corner and plowed right into a towering wall of man.
Sure, it was my own fault for not paying attention, but as I’d said, I was in a bad mood. Therefore, I opened my mouth to rip into the asshole who had been stupid enough to get in my way. “Son of a bitch. Watch where you’re go—” The words died on my tongue when I looked up to see who I had just run into.
“Ms. Abbatelli.”
Fuck my life. “M-Mr. Lockhart. I’m so sorry. It was my fault—”
He held his hand up to silence me. “It’s quite all right. And as I said Sunday, please call me Nolan.” Even though I’d just acted like a bitch, he was looking down at me with a kind smile on his face, reminding me so much of his son. My heart squeezed painfully.
“Nolan,” I repeated, still feeling strange calling him by his first name. “I’m really sorry for running into you, and also for nearly cussing you out.”
My heart gave another squeeze at the sound of his chuckle. For Christ’s sake, did everything about this man have to remind me of Grayson? It wasn’t fair. “That’s all right. Better me than another wall, right?”
My eyelids narrowed into slits as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Those glass walls are dangerous,” I mumbled.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he fought to hold back his grin. “Of course.” Nolan cleared his throat and attempted to school his features into a more serious expression as he asked, “Do you have a free minute to talk?”
I regarded him hesitantly before stating, “That depends. Are you here to fire me? Because if so, I’m really too busy at the moment.”
“No, of course not. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then I’m free now,” I said, dropping my arms and lifting my chin, faking an air of professionalism.
“Great. Should we go to your office or—?”
“Oh, um… actually, we can use the conference room if you need privacy. I have a cubicle.” I pointed in the direction of my desk, hidden behind three four-foot-tall partitions.
Nolan’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “You don’t have an office?”
“Nope. Just a cubicle.”
He shook his head, turned on the heels of his shiny, expensive Italian loafers, and headed toward the conference room; the same one where I’d first made a fool of myself in front of him and his son. I followed behind him in silence, my curiosity mixing with anxiousness as I tried to figure out what he could possibly want to discuss that would require privacy.
The door to the conference room clicked shut, and I suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that I was very much alone with my “boyfriend’s” father… that was, if I could even call Grayson my boyfriend, considering how we’d left things last Sunday. Shit, maybe he really was going to fire me, and he just lied so I wouldn’t put up a fight. If that were the case, he had another thing coming, because I planned to go down kicking and screaming. They were going to have to drag my body out of this office building.
“So, what can I do for you?” I asked with false bravado.
“I just wanted to check on you, make sure you were okay after what happened Sunday. You had quite a scare. Cybil and I have been worried about you.”
Well, that was unexpected.
“Oh… uh… I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” Embarrassment had my cheeks burning at the reminder of how I’d acted in front of all of them.
“You know…,” he started, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck in obvious discomfort. “I know it’s not my place… I mean, I’m aware we don’t know each other all that well….” His disquiet was contagious, and I began to fidget from foot to foot as he stumbled through what he planned to say. “This may seem forward, but… well, the whole family was quite taken with you, Lola. All of us. I just wanted you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to… I’m here. I know it may seem awkward, giving our professional positions, but—”
“Thank you,” I interrupted, wanting to spare him any more awkwardness. The truth was, despite his blundering through that speech, I thoroughly appreciated the gesture. Probably more than he’d ever know.
A small smile of relief spread across Nolan’s face. “Yes… good. Well, I just wanted to say that. I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’ll let you get bac
k to it.”
He pulled the door open and held it in place, waving an arm out for me to precede him.
I started out only to stop and look over my shoulder when he called my name. “Yes?”
“I know I made a mess of that whole thing, but I meant what I said. If you need to talk, you know where to find me.”
I nodded, unable to speak past the swell of emotion clogging my throat. I’d never had any type of fatherly figure; I wasn’t sure how to feel in that moment other than overwhelmed.
“He cares about you, you know. A great deal. I know how things started between you and my son, and because of that I understand it may be hard to believe, but it’s true. He’s been a wreck these past two days.”
With that, he strode away, leaving me standing alone in the conference room, my mouth dry as if I’d just swallowed cotton.
“What was that all about?” I looked up to find Sophia and Daphne standing in the doorway with wide eyes. “You didn’t get fired, did you?” Sophia, the one who’d voiced the first question, asked. “Because if he did, we’ll burn this place to the ground. It’s all that asshole’s fault anyway.”
God, I loved my friends. After I’d told them about the whole disaster, they’d quickly rallied around me, showing unfailing support. I didn’t know what I’d do without them.
“No,” I giggled, feeling lighter than I had in the past two days. “He didn’t fire me, so put the lighter fluid away, psycho. It’s all good. He just wanted to make sure I was okay. It was actually… really nice.”
“He was checking on you?” Daphne asked skeptically.
“Yeah. Kind of threw me for a loop too. I thought he was going to fire me because of all the shit that went down with me and Grayson.”
The skepticism in her eyes gave way to sympathy as she and Sophia moved into the conference room, closing the door behind them. “So you still haven’t talked to him?”
Seducing Lola Page 17
