Her heart pounded as she considered her decision. A big part of her wanted to run and hide. But she wouldn't. Couldn't. She had to see for herself how Rob felt about his ex. It would drive her crazy not knowing.
"Yes, I still want to go. Can we go there early? I sort of want to compose myself before everyone else arrived."
"Of course."
~~~~~~~
"How do we know if she's here already?" Clarise asked Jessa as they waited in the already crowded establishment.
"She said she'll stand by the entrance at six. She has strawberry blonde hair and she'll be wearing a black and silver dress."
"There's still fifteen minutes to go."
They sat in silence as they sipped their drinks and observed other people, lost in their own thoughts.
"Do you think that's Andrea?" Clarise nudged her and nodded towards the door.
She turned her head and saw a tall, absolutely stunning strawberry blonde in a fetching black and silver dress and sexy high heels that showed off her gorgeous legs. The woman stood and scanned the crowd with supreme confidence. All eyes seemed to be on her and it was no surprise when a couple of men approached her, already chatting her up.
Her heart dropped to the floor with a big thud. If this was Andrea, she could see why Rob got attracted to her. She paled in comparison.
She was still trying to scoop up her heart from the floor when he appeared. He must have called Andrea for she twirled around. And ran to him. And threw her arms around him. And kissed him. On the lips.
She watched in shock for two seconds before averting her eyes. She couldn't bear to look.
"Jess." Clarise put an arm around her shivering frame.
"Clarise, I have to go. I can't stay."
"I'll go with you."
"No. Please. Stay and tell me what goes on between them tonight. Just tell them I wasn't feeling well or something."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Please."
"Okay," Clarise said reluctantly. "Will you be alright?"
"Yes. Don't worry. Could you distract them so I could sneak out?"
"Okay. We'll talk tomorrow." Clarise gave her a hug and walked towards Rob and Andrea.
She ran out, almost stumbling but grateful she didn't. She feared if she stayed there for a second longer, her chest might explode.
~~~~~~~
"You deserve the best, Jessa. It's not just because you're a brilliant writer or interviewer or editor," James Bradley said in that soft-spoken manner of his, "it's also because you are simply beautiful."
Jessa's face heated. Geez. This night promises to be an uncomfortable one. She kicked herself for her impetuous decision to go out with him.
She wasn't fishing for compliments when she asked him why he chose this restaurant - one of the most expensive in Sydney where you needed to book six months in advance. She was merely trying to make polite conversation.
She would need to stem her curiosity as to how James got a table at such short notice. After the dozen long-stemmed red roses which he insisted was a 'thank you' for her 'excellent' work with their advertorials, and now those comments, she was scared to ask. She didn't want him spouting any more declarations of his infatuation.
"Ah, I'm making you uncomfortable," James commented. "I'm sorry. I want you to enjoy tonight."
She gave him an outwardly pleasant smile before taking a deep breath. There was simply no choice but to be frank with the man. "James, yes, I'm afraid I'm a little bit uncomfortable. When I agreed to go to this dinner with you, I told you I just broke up with someone and … I guess I was a little bit rash in accepting your invitation. I'm sorry. If I wasn't clear before then I want to be clear now that I'm not looking for anything else from you but friendship."
James smiled wryly. "I'm coming on too strong, am I not? I know you just came out of a relationship and I'm not asking for anything else from you but to allow me to be your friend. That's all."
Her skepticism was undisguised and James laughed.
"Jessa, I admit I've been wanting to ask you out for a long time now. When I saw the opportunity, I took it. But I'm a reasonable and logical man. You're not ready for a new relationship. I know that. I just want to be your friend for now. But I'll also be honest and say that when the time comes when you are ready to move on, I want to be forefront in your mind for consideration. But right now, I can accept and I'm more than happy to just be your friend."
Jessa wasn't convinced. "I don't know how that's going to work, James. I can't be comfortable accepting flowers and expensive dinners from you."
"Like I said, I came on too strong. I'll have to make some adjustments - starting from now. So, I promised to be a shoulder to cry on. How about we talk about this guy you just broke up with?"
"You're kidding, right?"
"No," James grinned. "I want to be a good friend and listen to your problems. So if it makes you feel better talking about it, let's hear it."
She chuckled and shook her head. "Let's talk about something else, James."
~~~~~~~
Jessa was relieved the dinner with James turned from a potential nightmare to a pleasant one. He was actually quite a fun guy to be with - when he was only being a friend.
"So, did I pass the friends-only test, Jessa?" James asked as he drove.
"Sure," she replied cautiously, glancing at his profile.
"Great. Thanks. As your new friend, I'm inviting you and whomever you want to take with you to my birthday party in two weeks. I'll email you the invitation."
"Oh." She didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't want to lead him on even if he kept insisting they were just friends. It was clear he was interested and was simply biding his time.
"I'll see."
There was no available parking in front of her apartment block forcing James to double park and stay in his car. His disappointment was obvious when she pointed out to him he couldn't walk her to her front door.
"Thanks a lot for dinner, James, and for these flowers and for driving me home," she said as she prepared to get out of the car.
"No problem. Anytime. And look out for my birthday invitation."
"Okay," she said weakly. "Bye."
"May I give you a friendly kiss on the cheek, Jessa?"
She wanted to say no, but the man spent a lot of money on dinner and roses tonight that a friendly peck on the cheek seemed to be a reasonable request. "Okay."
James leaned towards her and planted a soft, lingering kiss on her cheek that somehow moved closer to her lips. She moved away and opened the car door quickly. There was no way you could call that kiss friendly.
"Bye, James." She hastily exited his car.
"Bye, Jessa. I'll see you again soon."
To her relief, a car was approaching from behind and James didn't have a choice but to get going.
She turned to walk towards her building and froze. A man was sitting on the steps outside the door.
"What are you doing here?" she cried as her heart started racing.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"Waiting for you," Rob said dispiritedly.
Jessa was rooted at the spot where she stopped. "How long have you been sitting there?"
"A couple of hours."
She frowned. "You could have called me first."
Rob lips twitched into something between a smile and a grimace but his eyes remained bleak. "You weren't answering my calls."
Her face flushed. Rob had tried calling her since last night but she'd avoided him. She just wasn't ready to hear that he wanted to go back to super-glamorous, sexy, stunning Andrea. Even though Clarise assured her Rob didn't pay much attention to Andrea during their drinks last night - apparently, he was even cold to her - the fact remained they kissed. On the lips. She couldn't blame him. Andrea was gorgeous so why wouldn't Rob want to be with her instead? He probably didn't want to show his true feelings in front of Clarise who was, after all, her best friend.
Rob glanced up at her with an anguished l
ook before looking away and standing up.
A bolt of pain hit her heart and she thawed a little. He looked sulky, angry even, but there was also sadness in his face. It occurred to her it wouldn't be easy on Rob to tell her they were over. She knew he cared for her even though he preferred his freedom - or someone else.
She swallowed her hurt and walked towards the door. The big bunch of long-stemmed red roses James gave her made it difficult to fish her keys from out of her purse.
"Uh, Rob, would you mind holding these flowers so I can get my keys out?"
The glare he gave her was close to murderous. Wordlessly, he grabbed her purse and extracted her keys. He opened the door and held it for her to go through.
They went up to her unit in silence.
Jessa puffed a little sigh of relief as Rob opened the door to her apartment. The air surrounding them was thick with tension and she needed to put a little bit more distance between them so she could breath. Mindlessly, she busied herself with looking for a suitable vase for the roses to give her time to calm her nerves. It was either that or give in to her urge to bawl.
"What are you looking for?" Rob asked in bemusement.
"My big vase so I could put the flowers in it."
There was a pause before Rob's cold voice said, "There it is."
She followed the line of Rob's pointed finger and her eyes landed on her rubbish bin.
Her gaze flew back to Rob. His arms were folded across his chest and he looked … pained. Her mouth went dry and her heartbeat accelerated. She didn't want to hope too much but —
"Why didn't you join us for drinks yesterday?" Rob asked quietly.
Her mouth parted in disbelief. Why would he even ask her that? She couldn't believe how insensitive he was.
"Why? What did I miss?" she hissed, her anger returning with a vengeance. You want to rub it in my face? You kissed her! Before she could verbalise her anger, he asked her another question.
"Why did you go out with that guy tonight?"
What? "What's it to you, Rob? The last time I checked I was free to date anyone I wanted," she lashed out. "You certainly didn't waste any time hooking up with your ex!"
"You wanted me to make sure how I feel about a long-term relationship," he retorted angrily. "I agreed to see her because I thought it would help me clarify why I didn't want long-term commitment." He exhaled harshly and his voice softened. "Turns out my issue wasn't with commitment, it was with whom I was committing to."
"What does that mean?" she shouted as fear, hurt, anger and frustration mixed together in an explosive fashion. She took deep breaths to get her self-control back.
Rob raked his hand through his hair. "It means I'm not averse to commitment, Jess, as long as I'm with the right person."
The look in Rob's eyes caused her heart to flutter and her anger to dissipate.
"And … who's the right person?" she whispered, her heart wanting leap out of her chest and jump into his.
"You." Rob's tone was flat.
Happiness burst within her but it was quickly arrested by the recognition that something was wrong. Rob delivered the news she was ecstatic to hear but he looked miserable. She closed the distance between them and placed her hands on his chest. She could feel his pounding heart.
She smiled up at him, her eyes shining. "I'm very glad to hear that, Rob. But what's wrong?"
Rob stared at her for long, breathless seconds. Eventually, he shook his head and captured her hands that were on his chest and lifted them to his lips. "Nothing." He smiled sweetly at her.
"Does this mean we're back together?"
"There's still one day left," Rob said as he gathered her in his arms. "But yes, please, can we end this break early?"
She lifted her lips to Rob's for a kiss that deepened very quickly. "Does this mean we don't have an end date anymore?" she asked against his passionate mouth.
Rob drew his head back without loosening his arms around her. "No end date, Jess. I don't want an end date. Can we commit to continue working on this relationship for however long we could?"
She nodded delightedly before remembering an important fact. "You kissed her."
"What?"
"Andrea. You kissed her."
"How could you know when you weren't there?"
"Are you denying you kissed her?"
"Yes, because I didn't. She kissed me. I didn't kiss her back."
Oh.
"How do you know?" Rob asked.
"I saw it happen before I decided to go home."
"You decided to go home after you saw her kiss me?"
"Yes."
He gazed at her, his eyes expressing sadness for a brief moment before he blinked it away. "She doesn't mean anything to me, Jess. If you hung around yesterday, you would have known that for sure."
He held her tightly for minutes before he started kissing her face.
Rob stayed the night and they made love until they were too tired to go for another round.
He was the usual passionate, attentive and expert lover in bed but Jessa felt there was something amiss. And she couldn't quite put a finger on it.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"Do you think Rob's starting to get serious about Jess?" Clarise asked Will as she loaded the dishwasher in Will's kitchen. Jessa had been quiet and introspective even as she told them during lunch that she and Rob had agreed to continue their relationship indefinitely.
"Yes. He is serious about her. He's a little overwhelmed but he's committed to making it work. He knows there's a lot they need to work on if they want to avoid a long-distance relationship."
"Do you think he'll move back here to be with her?"
"Yes."
"You sound so sure about that."
"I'm sure because he told me as much."
"What? And you didn't tell me?"
"I just forgot that bit, baby."
"Well, what exactly did he tell you?" This involved Jessa and Clarise wanted to know.
"He came to the conclusion the only thing he was scared of was losing Jessa."
Her eyes widened. "Wow, he said that?"
"Something along those lines."
"That's so sweet," she mused as she leaned against the kitchen benchtop. "I hope it works out for them."
"Me too."
"By the way, Megan told me they wanted to invite Rob to their wedding too, not only because he's seeing Jessa but also because he'd started playing tennis with Rick and the rest of your group."
"Oh, cool," Will said distractedly as he looped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck.
"Which reminds me," she said as she tilted her neck to give him more access. "I need to finalise Meg's hen's party."
"Hm. What do you girls plan to do?"
She smiled broadly. "I'm not telling you."
"Why not?" Will pulled away to look at her.
She shrugged. "What are you guys doing?"
"I don't know. Mark's organising it. We made some suggestions."
"What did you suggest?"
"Oh, you know, just go to a bar and all that," he responded vaguely.
"Are you going to have private strippers?" Clarise couldn't stop herself from asking. She trusted Will. She just didn't trust the strippers to keep their hands off him. She knew how hot her boyfriend was.
"Are you?" Will asked her back, arching an eyebrow.
"I asked first."
Will narrowed his eyes. "You're having strippers, aren't you? And you're organising it," he grumbled.
"No-o."
"You don't sound very convincing." Will braced both arms against the kitchen bench she was leaning against, trapping her within.
She ran her lips along his jaw and nipped.
"That's not gonna get you out of trouble," he warned although his voice got hoarse and his breathing changed.
"If - and that's an if - we're going to have strippers why would it bother you?" She ran a fingertip along his jawline.
"I don't want anyone else s
tripping for you but me."
"They won't be stripping for me, honey. They'll be stripping for everyone, but mainly, they'll be stripping for the bride-to-be. Rick's the one who should be complaining."
"The strippers won't care whether it's the bride-to-be or whomever else. They'll just go for hot women like you. I've heard all these unbelievable stories from my female cousins." Will shook his head at the thought.
She smiled. It looked like Will had the same worry she had with him and strippers. "I'm sure that only happens to those females who want to play. But as for the actual stripping show, it's the bride they target. They call them to the stage and make them do all these things."
"Like what?"
"Depends. Some are tame, some are really naughty."
"Well, for the record I don't want you having strippers for your hen's night."
She gaped at Will. Did she hear him right? "My hen's night?" she gulped. "Is that your roundabout way of proposing?"
Will gazed at her for what seemed like minutes. She was about to break the nerve-wracking silence when he answered. "No." He turned and walked away, leaving her stunned and confused.
She couldn't move from where she was standing in the kitchen. For a while there, she thought he was going to propose to her. Her chest was tight from disappointment when he didn't. And, boy, it hurt when he just turned away and —
Will sauntered back to where she was and anxiously scanned her clouded face. "That wasn't a proposal," he murmured. "This is." With that, he went down on bended knee.
Her jaw dropped to the floor.
Will grasped her hands and kissed them as he looked into her eyes. "Clarise, I love you so much. There's nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
Tears coursed down her cheeks. The overwhelming feeling of love and happiness choked her but she managed to whisper, "Yes."
Will breathed a sigh of relief and radiated joy. He pulled a box out of his jeans pocket and opened it. She gasped. In it was a solitaire diamond ring that was beautiful and perfect. Will slid it on her finger and stood up.
"I love you, baby," he croaked, his eyes moist as he cupped her face with his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs.
Heart Robber (Lifestyle by Design Book 2) Page 14
