“That is smart,” he said, finally.
“I thought you’d appreciate it.”
He opened his mouth to say something, and closed it again.
“I had a good time last night,” I said.
Understatement of the century. I wanted to tell him that it was a night so memorable, I’d be sure to have fantasies about it continuously. I wanted to tell him how much my ass hurt when I sat down and how I kept smiling at the recollection of why. I wanted to ask him what his possessive chants meant. You’re mine. Was that just something he said during sex or was it something he said during sex with me? The thought made a flush creep into my face. I ducked my face to hide it.
“I wasn’t sure you did,” he said, “with you leaving before I woke up and everything.”
“Was that a first for you?” I asked, smiling at his handsome, serious face. He smiled slightly.
“You could say that.”
“How are we supposed to go to breakfast without it looking like something is going on?”
He was dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, looking hot as fuck, especially now that I knew what was beneath his clothes. Despite the burn in my inner thighs, I wanted to strip him and climb him again.
He looked thoughtful for a moment and sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You’re right.”
“I’m beginning to sense a theme here,” I said, smirking. “Me leaving, me being right . . .” His scowl encouraged me to continue. “You know what’s funny? The world seems to think that women are the chasers after a one-night stand. That we go along with it and then are all broken-hearted when the guy doesn’t call, because God forbid we use what’s between our legs to have fun the way guys do.” I paused to smile. His ears were red, which made me smile harder. “So I think it’s funny that you, Mr. I Have Work to Do came over here to chase me down.”
He was quiet for a beat before reaching down to pick up Bonnie and going inside my house. I followed, confused, but still feeling like I had the upper hand, until I shut the door and curtain and turned around to find Victor taking long strides toward me. I took a step back, my heart rate spiking at the sight of his narrowed eyes on mine, his head slightly tilted as he appraised me. When he reached me and placed both arms on either side of me, caging me in, I swallowed as I looked up at him.
“Like I said, people change. Besides, that’s how it works in nature,” he said, his eyes on mine. “Most of the time, males chase until the woman is forced to cave.”
“And that’s what you’re trying to do? Force me to cave?” I asked in a whisper.
“I’ll do whatever it takes if it makes you cave to this,” he said, lowering his voice.
“You’re not afraid of the consequences anymore?” I asked.
“I am.” He paused, his eyes searching mine. “I think you might be worth it, though.”
Even if my galloping heart would have let me speak, I had no response for that. This careful man who cared about his job more than anything else had taken a chance and chased me down, and it thrilled me.
“Come to breakfast with me,” he said. “I’ll leave through the back. We’ll take separate cars, but come.”
I nodded, in awe of what was happening, and when he lowered his face and brushed his lips against mine, I reached out and pulled him closer into me, taking his mouth in mine, and kissing him deeply. He groaned against my lips before pulling away.
“I’ll text you the address.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
I fed Bonnie before I walked to my car. On my way there, I sidestepped a jogger, almost losing balance because I was looking down at my phone screen.
“Nicole,” he said. My head snapped up from my phone, where I was typing a response to Victor, letting him know I was on my way.
“Hey,” I said, smiling at the hot jogger I’d met the other day. I couldn’t for the life of me remember his name. It must have been apparent from the face I made because he chuckled and said.
“Brent.”
I smiled. “Brent. Sorry. How are you?”
“Better now,” he said, eyes glimmering as he gave me a once-over. “I’m assuming you’re not headed to the beach.”
“Not today. I still haven’t been able to enjoy the perks of living here.” I sighed. “I work all day tomorrow, so that’s not looking promising either.”
“On a Sunday? Tough job.”
“You can say that.” I looked up and down the sidewalk. “It was nice seeing you again.”
“Maybe Monday?” he said. I looked at him with a frown. “The beach?”
“Oh.” I thought about it. “Maybe.”
He smiled. “I’m going on my run at noon. It’s the perfect time to catch rays.”
“Maybe I’ll see you then,” I said with a smile.
I watched him jog away. He was really freaking hot. Twelve months of zero interaction by any straight male and suddenly I had their attention. Unfortunately for the rest of them, my heart was set on one. I shook my head and sighed as I walked toward my car.
I GOT TO my parents’ house earlier than usual and dropped the bomb about Nicole coming over. My dad didn’t say anything, only raised his eyebrows. My mom, on the other hand, gasped and covered her mouth as if I was announcing my engagement.
“She’s just a friend, Mom,” I said. “A friend who I also happen to be representing in her divorce.”
“Oh. Dammit, Victor. I thought you were bringing a girlfriend,” she said, sighing. “Maybe she has friends.”
“Please don’t talk about my love life, Mom.”
“What love life?” she asked. “You have no love life. Even your friends are somehow involved in your work.”
I groaned. I really wished I could just be straight and tell her how I felt about Nicole, but I didn’t even know how I felt about Nicole. I felt this overwhelming sense of needing to see her again after last night. So overwhelming that I panicked when I realized she’d left. Panicked and chased her down. I had to. And then she’d tried to treat it like a one-night stand, as if I would jeopardize my job for a fucking one-night stand. I wanted to tell her to pack a bag and go away with me, but she’d mentioned that she had to work Sunday, so I knew she wouldn’t do it. Restaurants were out of the question because they were so public and I really wanted to touch her. I wanted to talk to her and look at her openly.
My phone rang in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked at it and frowned at Quinn’s name. Quinn was the founder of one of the biggest gossip blogs in the world, so big they’d turned it into a television series. He only called me on a weekend when something important was going on.
“What’s up, Q?” I asked upon answering.
“Dude. I was going to call last night, but then I got busy. How’s everything?”
“Everything was good until I saw your name on my phone screen.”
He laughed. “Yeah. Well. Yeah.”
I raised an eyebrow. My parents were watching me, so I put a hand up and excused myself, walking outside. “What’s up?”
“Somebody has been contacting one of my photographers and having him follow Nicole Lane.”
“Alessi. She never changed her name,” I said, my blood simmering at the mention of her name. “We knew she was being watched.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“I’m going to text message you some pictures right now. Look at them while we’re on the phone.”
At the sound of the vibrate, I pulled my phone down and looked at the text. It was a picture of Nicole and me on her balcony. I recognized it as the day she was inspecting it. In the photo we were standing very close to each other, looking into each other’s eyes. To an outsider it looked like we were about to kiss. The next picture was more of the same. Close. Almost kissing. My heart hammered. The way she was looking at me in those pictures was so fucking intimate. From the look in her eyes . . . from the look in my eyes, there was more than just lust going on there. We looked like we were . . . holy shi
t. I couldn’t even bring myself to admit that, even though for the first time in a long time I wanted to explore the possibility. Under different circumstances, I would have. Could have.
“Your photographer took this?” I demanded.
“That’s the thing, Vic, he didn’t take these. These were brought to me. The ones he’s taken of her have been just her doing everyday things.”
“Who brought these to you? What did they say?”
“You know I can’t give you my source. I’m showing these to you because you’re my friend and I’m not going to put them out there, but I can’t promise you that other blogs will extend the same courtesy.”
Fuck. I sighed and closed my eyes. We were just talking. Just talking, but I knew they could potentially turn it into something more.
“I have more coming in tomorrow morning. I’ll call you if I feel like it’s anything you need to see.”
“Call me if it’s anything with her at all.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Q.”
“Of course.”
As we hung up, my parents’ gate opened. I watched Oliver’s black Cadillac pull up and Nicole’s white Prius follow behind him. I felt a pang in my heart at the sight of her. She was so beautiful. I thought about the images on my phone. I remembered the very moment they were taken. I remembered my desperation and how badly I’d wanted to kiss her, touch her, hold her, fuck her. Make her mine. I’d gotten just a taste that day. Just a hint of what her lips felt like against mine. Our fate was set that day. Maybe even before then. Maybe it’d been set the day she stepped into that goddamn conference room wearing that tight-fitting dress and looking at me with her fuck me eyes. Whatever the case was, I would take care of this. I wouldn’t tell her about the pictures. Not yet. Not until I had more information. The last thing I needed was a worried Nicole.
“Hey Chicken,” I said as my sister walked over to me. She rolled her eyes and gave me a hug.
“Hey Vic. I see you invited Nicole.”
“She can’t go out to breakfast without being hounded. It was the least I could do,” I said. Estelle shot me a look that said she didn’t buy my story. I shrugged.
“Who’s the girl?” Oliver asked as he greeted me.
“Nicole.”
“The one married to that guy?”
“The one who was married to that guy,” I said, at the same time as Nicole walked up and smiled at my words. She looked so fucking good in that long black dress she wore. I wanted to peel it off her and discover what she had underneath.
“Oliver,” he said, offering his hand for her to shake. I wanted to kick his ass when he smiled at her like he was trying to flirt with her. “I hear I owe you a thank you for helping my wife and brother-in-law install my TV.”
Nicole laughed. “Victor did most of the work. I just sat back and watched him mount it and drank the wine Estelle offered.”
My heart hopped when she looked over at me with that flirty gleam in her eyes as she said it. Fuck. This girl did things to me. She did things to me and I realized something.
The woman I would have to let go of if I wanted to keep my career was the same woman I didn’t want to live without.
How’s that for life issues? I was half tempted to write a letter to Jensen Talks and see what my friend had to say about this fucked-up situation in the newspaper column he wrote. Oliver went inside and Estelle followed after she exchanged a tight hug with Nicole.
“Where did you bring me?” she asked, looking at the house.
“My parents’ house.”
From the look of sheer panic that crossed her face, I thought for a second time that maybe bringing her here was a bad idea. It was a good idea before I’d gotten that call, but now I knew what was to happen, I felt every part of me breaking down slowly, like a car running out of gas. I hated that feeling, and when Nicole’s smile dropped and she frowned, I felt it punch me in the gut.
“You really need to come with a warning label,” she said as she stepped in front of me. “A serious warning label. Are you regretting your decision? I can still leave.” She brought her hand up to me face. She was so fucking sweet, thinking of my feelings before her own. Comforting me even though she had no clue what I was thinking. I closed my eyes and leaned into her touch; it was so soft, warm and inviting. I never wanted to leave. I never wanted to let go of this moment. I cleared my throat and straightened. What the fuck was going on with me?
“I’m fine,” I said with a smile. “Come meet the people responsible for making the hottest man you’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Nicole laughed beside me. “Oh my God.”
I shrugged. Before I could say anything else, my mother walked toward us with a huge smile on her face, light eyes trained on Nicole.
“Hi. I’m Hannah, Victor’s mom. It’s so nice to meet you, Nicole,” she said, walking up to her and giving her a hug. Nicole smiled, a little blush on her cheeks when she pulled back. She gave me an embarrassed glance that I’d never seen and wish I could record and watch forever.
“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for having me over,” she said.
“Of course. Make yourself at home. Thomas. We have a guest,” my mom shouted, taking Nicole by the hand and dragging her forward.
“Mom, she’s not going to run away, you know,” I said.
My mom looked over her shoulder and shot me a pointed look, mouthing the words “shut up.” I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. I mouthed the word “client” as a reminder, and she shrugged. I walked behind them and into the kitchen, where my dad also greeted Nicole with a hug.
“Where are you from?” he asked.
“Argentina,” she said, smiling.
“Argentina. Beautiful place. Hannah and I have been there a couple of times. Great people. I’m Puerto Rican, and when I lived back home I made some connections in Argentina,” he said as way of explanation.
“Oh, that’s so cool. What do you do?” Nicole asked.
“I’m an orthodontist. It was cooler before I decided to slow down and stop traveling.” He laughed when my mom nudged him in the ribs. “But of course that means I get to spend more time with my lovely wife,” he said, pulling my mom into a side hug.
“You guys are gross,” Estelle said. “Also, I set the table.”
“Let’s eat,” my mom said.
We sat around the table, Oliver and Estelle on one side, me in my usual seat across from them, and Nicole in the normally empty seat beside me, while my dad sat at the head and my mom at the other end.
“I hope you eat carbs,” my mom said, bringing out the first dish: waffles. Estelle stood and went to help her.
“I eat everything. Do you need help?” Nicole replied.
“No, no. Stay right there. I don’t want Victor to have an early heart attack because we made one of his girl . . . friends work the first day he brought her over,” my mom said.
I tucked my hand under the table and reached for Nicole’s hand over her lap. She jumped at the notion, and I ran my thumb over her soft hand. I wanted to pull her close and kiss the hell out of her. Our fingers threaded around each other as if on autopilot, as if we held hands every day. It felt . . . right. It reminded me of what I had told Corinne about why I had never settled down. I couldn’t deny that the ease I felt with Nicole by my side, with my family, felt right.
“What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?” I asked.
“Eight in the morning. It’s supposed to be a twelve-hour day,” she said. I leaned closer to her.
“Would you mind leaving your car here today and picking it up tomorrow after work?” I whispered in her ear. Her eyes widened as I backed away. She shook her head, then leaned in and whispered in mine.
“I don’t have extra clothes, though.”
“Neither do I. We can stop somewhere along the way.”
She smiled, a big, happy smile. “Okay.”
Breakfast was great. Oliver talked about the kids at work. I tried not to talk
about work at all, which brought on a conversation about what a workaholic I was. Nicole talked about her job, which had Estelle and my mom enraptured. My mom practically begged her to design a dress for a friend’s daughter’s wedding.
“She’s been looking everywhere for somebody. Don’t you think this is the perfect solution?” she asked when I told her to please stop.
“That’s not what Nicole does,” I said defensively.
“I can,” Nicole said. I looked at her, trying to read her and make sure that she was okay with it. She didn’t know how annoying my mom could get about things she wanted to get done.
“She can be difficult to work with,” I said, squeezing her hand a little. “You have a lot on your plate.”
“I can handle everything on my plate.”
That smile accompanying the words with made me want to be everything on that goddamn plate. Once we were done eating, my mom, Nicole, and Estelle went off to the office room to talk about the dress, and my dad, Oliver, and I went to the living room to watch college football.
“Are we on for tomorrow?” Oliver asked every weekend and every weekend for over ten years I’d always responded a solid yes. This time, I hesitated. Sure, I’d have Nicole back in time for work, but I also had to meet with Quinn, and that was a priority to me.
“I’ll have to let you know in the morning,” I said. Oliver balked.
“You’re . . . kidding.”
“I have work to do tomorrow.”
His eyes widened. He looked around, at my dad, who was dozing off on the recliner, the television, as if Lee Corso had the answers to whatever question he had, and finally he looked at me again, jaw still dropped.
“I’ve known you most of me life, Vic. We’ve been through some real shit together,” he said, pausing. “And I . . .” he sighed, shaking his head, “I’m not going to say anything. I’m not going to get involved. I just hope you’re thinking this through.”
Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3) Page 18
