by Calista Kyle
“Is there something going on between you two?” she asked.
I nearly choked on my champagne and broke out into a coughing fit. “Not in a million years.”
“Ok, sorry I asked,” Candace said looking at me doubtfully. “You sure there’s nothing going on? Because I felt a little bit of something passing between you two just now.”
“Trust me, there’s nothing going on. In fact, I can promise you that nothing will ever be going on between the two of us. He’s a jerk.”
“What’d he do?” Candace looked at me curiously, her head cocked to the side waiting for me to explain the hostility I felt for this man I’d only just met.
I really couldn’t understand it myself. Yes, he had spoken badly of my mother, but he wasn’t the first person to describe her in less than flattering language, and that was putting it mildly. Half of the people in the room probably hated my mother, for good reason too.
She was selfish, arrogant, and rude to most people. Her one saving grace was that she had talent. She was very good at her job, and when she wanted to be, she could be extremely charming and agreeable. She was a very good ally to have and an even worse enemy. That more than anything guaranteed her acceptance in most circles. People were just afraid of her.
I was used to people talking about my mother, but I’d never really experienced being talked about myself. It surprised me how hurtful I found it and I felt a new respect for my mother for being able to put up with it all these years.
“He’s just an arrogant jackass,” I said.
“But those are the best kind,” Candace laughed. “Arrogant, sexy, confident, plus he can’t take his eyes off you. I think you should go for it.”
“What?!” I looked up and back across the room to where I’d left him standing. He was staring at me, his eyes raking over me boldly. I felt a flush of heat creep up my body from my toes all the way up to the tips of my ears. Was he doing this on purpose? Trying to make me embarrassed? I turned my head away again, the tell-tale blush on my cheeks.
“He’s hot, Mel. You could do worse,” Candace said eyeing him appraisingly.
“Oh please. I’m not on the market for a new boyfriend,” I said.
“Who said anything about a boyfriend?”
“So what? You think I should just sleep with him, no strings attached?” I wasn’t an innocent flower, but I’d never had a purely sexual relationship with a man before either. Every guy I’d ever been with I’d been dating.
“You don’t have to whisper it like it’s a bad thing,” Candace said rolling her eyes. “It’s just sex. And yes, you should totally jump his bones. He looks like he knows what he’s doing, if you catch my drift.”
I turned back to look at him again. He was in a conversation with some other woman, so I took my time looking him over. He really was gorgeous with an easy smile and a twinkle in his eye. His black cashmere sweater fit nicely over his broad shoulders and toned chest. The sleeves were rolled up showing his tanned forearms. He was leaning casually against the wall, one foot propped up behind him as if he were on a photo shoot for a fashion magazine.
I couldn’t help the little tingle I felt in my belly watching him. It would be really easy to fall for his charms, I realized. I could just picture letting him take me home and imagine the feel of his large hands caressing my body, and his perfectly sculpted lips nipping against the hollow of my neck. It was making me weak in the knees just thinking about it.
I had to clear my throat before I felt calm enough to speak. “I’m taking a vow of celibacy,” I said.
Candace let out a howl of laughter. “You? Celibate?”
“Shhh! You don’t have to yell it so loud,” I whispered, looking around at the confused faces staring in our direction.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said.
“It’s not crazy.”
“Are you still pining after Chad, hoping he’ll crawl back on his hands and knees and beg you to take him back? Because that ship has sailed honey. You need to move on with your life,” Candace said.
I stiffened at her dismissive tone, and felt a bit defensive. Candace was brash and always spoke her mind. It was one of the things I appreciated about her, and could relate to. I knew she’d never pull any punches or tell me anything but the truth. But at times like this, I wished she’d just shut it. I wasn’t in the mood for her “tough love”.
“Why does everyone think I’m still pining over Chad?”
“Aren’t you?”
“No! I mean I’d get over him a lot sooner if everyone didn’t always constantly bring him up. It’s only been three months after all,” I said exasperated.
“You know what they say, once you fall, there’s nothing to do but to get back up and ride again. And that man looks like he’d be a good ride,” she said pointing her chin in his direction and waggling her eyebrows.
“That man looks like trouble,” I said.
Chapter 4: Mel
“Really Melanie, I sometimes feel as if I’m talking to a brick wall. Did you not hear me say that these seating arrangements had to be completely redone? I’m sure I mentioned it several times already.”
My mother frowned at me across the conference table where we held our weekly staff meeting on Monday mornings. She’d been going on and on about the damned guest list and seating arrangements for the past ten minutes. She had put me in charge of arranging the seating assignments for Chère Magazine’s 45th anniversary party, but you’d never be able to tell, given how controlling she was, nitpicking every little thing I did. I sometimes thought she relished belittling me in front of her staff. After she started harping about how Mrs. Rosemont couldn’t possibly sit next to Ms. Harrow, and anyone with two brain cells to rub together would know that, my eyes started to glaze over and I tuned out her voice.
Candace shot me a sympathetic smile across the table, but I just shrugged my shoulders. I’d had a lifetime of experience dealing with my mother’s criticism. The best thing to do was just to remain silent and wait for her to eventually tire herself out. There was no point in arguing, or pointing out the fact that she had originally approved the guest list and made the seating arrangements herself. She was always right, even when she was wrong.
“Are you listening to me Melanie? You’ve got that insipid look on your face again. If you can’t handle the responsibilities of your job, then you should speak up and tell me now,” my mother said.
I snapped my head up and looked at her. “No, I heard you perfectly, Ms. Abelgard,” I said. She made me refer to her as Ms. Abelgard at the office. It felt strange calling my own mother Ms. Abelgard, but then again, she made everyone call her that.
“Good. So you know that I need you to work around the clock to fix your mistakes.”
I nodded my head, smothering the indignation that was bubbling up inside me. I had followed her instructions to the letter and now that she decided to change her mind, everything was suddenly my fault. A hopeless rage flittered through my chest but just as quickly died out. Going against my mother was a fruitless endeavor. It was just easier to go along with what she said.
Besides, it wasn’t like I had anything else to do. Since starting work at my mother’s magazine two months ago, I’d been regularly pulling twelve hour work days. This was the first time in a while that I’d been single without a man, so I didn’t have anyone waiting for me at home. Losing myself in my work was actually a blessing, and a part of me thought that if I could prove myself as a hard worker, my mother would eventually show me some little bit of approval or appreciation.
My mother turned her attentions to other matters, so I was off the hook for now. Thankfully the meeting was soon over, and I gathered my papers in front of me and shoved them into a manila folder. Candace waited for me and we walked out of the conference room together.
“It’s almost time for lunch. Want to head out early?” she asked.
I looked back to where my mother was still in the room t
alking to the managing editor. “Yeah let’s go,” I said turning back to Candace. “I could use a break.”
***
We were seated at a table almost immediately which worked out for us since we only had an hour for lunch.
“This is a nice change of pace from the cafeteria or eating in our cubicle,” Candace said looking over her menu.
“I needed to get out of there,” I said.
She put aside the menu and clucked her tongue. “I hear you. Those staff meetings are the worst. It’s feels like a game of Russian roulette and you’re just praying she doesn’t single you out, you know what I mean?”
“Trust me, I know exactly what you mean,” I said.
“She seemed extra bitchy today for some reason,” Candace mused, as she squeezed a slice of lemon in her water.
“Maybe the party is stressing her out. All I know is to stay out of her hair when she gets in one of her moods.”
Candace stared at me as she chewed on a breadstick, a thoughtful look on her face. “I can’t even imagine what your childhood must have been like,” she said shaking her head in wonder.
I was about to joke and make light of my relationship with my mother, like I always did whenever the topic came up, but my response died in my throat. My attention was focused at the front of the dining room at the couple entering the restaurant. It was him. The Hunk—er—jerk from Lily’s party. He had just walked in following a tall slender woman. They were being led to a table by the back corner of the restaurant.
He looked striking in a fitted black suit that looked like it was tailor made. I couldn’t help but notice that he moved with a natural grace, weaving through the tables with ease and finesse. I wanted to stop staring, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. He finally spotted me and I could tell the moment recognition hit him. He paused briefly before shooting me a bright smile—a smile that sent shivers up my spine. I couldn’t help the way my stomach was doing somersaults and I mentally chastised myself. Why did I feel anything at all?
“It’s him,” Candace said looking over her shoulder to see what had gotten my attention. “And he’s coming this way.”
My heartbeat sped up with each step that he took closer towards us. I nervously sipped my water, wetting my parched lips. What was it about this man that made me so nervous? I’d seen plenty of good looking guys before. Hell, I worked at a fashion magazine where the world’s most beautiful models came and went every day. So it wasn’t just his looks that held me enthralled. There was something more about him.
As he stood there in front of me, I felt waves of energy just radiating off of him. He overwhelmed me with his presence and bombarded all my senses.
“Hello again,” he said in that deep smooth voice of his.
I stared at his chest, not able to bring my gaze up to look into his eyes. Somehow I knew it was safer this way. My eyes focused on the top of his shirt where the first three buttons were undone, showing a hint of light chest hair. Ok, maybe I shouldn’t look there, I realized, as the picture of me running my fingers over his chest suddenly took root in my mind. I blushed at the direction my thoughts were headed.
“Hi, I’m Candace. I don’t think we’ve met,” I heard Candace say, as she held out her hand.
I took the small reprieve to try to calm my nerves, breathing in and out slowly. When I finally looked up, my eyes fell on the woman he was with. She seemed a bit older up close, maybe in her early forties. She had brown hair that was streaked with blonde highlights. It hung stick-straight down past her shoulders. She wore a professional and chic gray pencil skirt with a white silk button down shirt tucked in at the waist. She smiled blandly at Candace and me, but when I met her eyes, she looked almost mocking.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mel,” he said turning back to me. “So I was thinking, we should get together sometime soon.”
“Why would we do that?” I asked, surprised by his familiarity.
His eyes twinkled at me in amusement as he bit back a smile. “Since you and I are best man and maid of honor for Roman and Lily’s wedding, I thought we should get together to plan their bachelor and bachelorette parties,” he said.
“Why would we do that?” I asked again. “I mean, they’re two separate parties.”
“Well, I was thinking we could combine them both and have a big bash out in Vegas,” he said.
I was about to ask him why we would do that, but I caught myself. I’d never been so tongue tied around a man before. I reminded myself to think before I spoke.
“A bash out in Vegas?” I finally managed to say. Ok, so it wasn’t the most brilliant or witty reply, but it was a start.
“Yes, that’s what I said. And before you ask me why we would do that, I think it’d be a lot more fun and special for Roman and Lily. I also think they’d appreciate having the parties together.” His tone was serious, but he couldn’t hide the slight twitch of his lips as he spoke. I knew he was probably laughing at me, and I should have been offended, but I couldn’t find it in myself to feel that way.
“Hmm, I don’t know about that. Lily mentioned to me that she didn’t want to do anything too extravagant or over the top. She actually didn’t want a bachelorette party at all,” I said.
“Is she crazy?” Candace chimed in. “Vegas sounds like fun and I’m sure once we’re out there, Lily will come around.”
“Candace is right,” he said. “We’ll make sure she has a great time. Besides a bachelorette party should always be a little over the top, don’t you think?”
So he and Candace were on a first name basis now? I had to fight to keep from rolling my eyes the way she beamed up at him. He was too damn charming for his own good.
“What do you say?” he asked.
“I didn’t take you for such a party planner,” I replied.
“I’m full of surprises.”
“Yes and I’m sure your poor assistant will get stuck hammering out the little details,” I said sarcastically.
“Well she’s right here, and you’re right, she probably will be the one to make sure everything gets taken care of. She’s good like that, right Natasha?” he said giving her a smile.
Natasha didn’t say anything, but the look of annoyance was clear on her perfectly made up features. She gave me a curt nod of the head and I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed at my big mouth.
“So, how about dinner sometime this week and we can go over our ideas,” he said. Staring into his eyes, I found myself saying yes before I realized what I did. “Great! Why don’t you give me your phone number and I’ll give you a call later on,” he said.
I rattled off my number and he programmed it into his phone. “I look forward to seeing you,” he said before he turned to head back to his own table.
After he walked away, I shook my head, trying to clear it of the muddle he’d made of it.
“Damn, that man is smooth,” Candace said, looking over her shoulder at him walking away.
“Did I just agree to go to dinner with him?” I asked, still slightly dazed.
“You sure did. Lucky girl.”
“Am I though? Or did I just get myself into trouble?”
“If that man is trouble, you can sign me up,” she said.
“Be serious now, Candace.”
“I am being serious. You just need to relax a little. You’ve been stressed out lately with work and then your break up with Chad. Ryan might be the distraction you need right now. It won’t hurt to have a little harmless flirtation with a handsome man like that. I could think of worse things to do with my time.”
“So he’s Ryan now?”
“Don’t try to change the topic, Mel. You deserve to have some fun in your life.”
I remained silent, letting her words sink in. It was true that I’d been a bit of a funk lately. I couldn’t even blame it all on the breakup either. The truth was, I’d been feeling a growing restlessness since before Chad decided to walk out of my life. It was as if I had no direction and so I clung
to him to give me an identity or a purpose. While I was with him, I could blind myself to those other areas where my life was lacking. Now that he was gone, I couldn’t hide anymore. That was what probably hurt the most—that loss of identity. I thought I’d been doing a pretty decent job trying to fix the mess that my life had become, but maybe I wasn’t as far along as I should have been.
“I don’t know,” I finally said.
Thinking about all of it was giving me a headache. I was so confused by my reaction to Ryan Marsden and all the feelings he brought out in me. Could I just have a casual fling with this man and not get my feelings involved? Did I even want to?
Looking at him, he seemed like someone who always got whatever he wanted. I was sure he wasn’t hurting in the sex and casual companionship department. He probably had a string of girls who’d love to sit by the phone and wait for his call. Why would he even want to bother with me? Especially when he held such a low opinion of my mother. Remembering his words brought me up short. It was like a bucket of cold water being thrown in my face.
Even though my mother wasn’t what you’d call loving or supportive, or compassionate or kind, or a million other things, she was still my mother and I wouldn’t stand around while some random person spoke badly about her and me by extension. I didn’t care if he was Roman’s best friend. And I didn’t care that his eyes were impossibly blue or that he had a dimple on his left cheek. And I most definitely didn’t care about the way he made me feel when he said my name and looked at me like he was trying to see into my soul.
Chapter 5: Ryan
“What are you chuckling at?”
I looked at Natasha and grinned as we headed to our table. “Nothing at all. Just enjoying life,” I said casually. The truth was, I was still amused by the expression on Mel’s face as I walked away. She looked dismayed that she had just agreed to go out with me. It was a good thing I took the opportunity to get her number before she changed her mind. Ever since Roman’s engagement party, I’d been hoping to see her again.
