Sweet Affection (Truth Book 3)

by Henderson, Grace

“I know.” She sings, grinning her ass off. “Now, I have to get back to Riker. He’s just washing up in the restroom.” She puts on her best American accent and Seb and I both chuckle.

  “Be a dear and get me a vodka and Coke. I’m sick of Champagne now. It’s all he drinks. What kinda man just drinks champagne?” Her rhetorical question has us both nodding along.

  “Oh, and I’ll call you in soon. I’ve just hit him with the I’m married and my husband’s a super successful architect bomb and he’s trying to digest it.” She leans forward and raises her hand to her mouth, hiding her words from Seb. “I think I broke his heart. He was just about to confess his undying love for me.” She whispers quietly.

  Seb rises from the chair and stalks over to her. He drags her hands away from her face and pulls her body flush against him by her hips. Then he dips her low and kisses the fuck out of her in front of everyone in the lobby. There’s a few disapproving mutters but it doesn’t stop him from not letting her up. I eventually clear my throat when I see a guy that looks like he may be management, whispering to a colleague and moving towards us.

  Seb detaches himself from her body and they both stand and stare at each other, breathlessly panting. Tiff’s the first to look away, she smooths her hands over her dress and fidgets with her clutch.

  “Yes… well, um, you make a very good point Sebastian. I’ll remember that.” She coughs and looks over to me, her cheeks rosy and flushed. “I’ll see you in a minute.”

  She walks away and Seb bursts out laughing as he falls back into the seat. “Still got it.”

  Between mine and Seb’s obvious charm and good wit, and Tiffany’s subtle yet sexy and alluring flirty manner, we have Garrison eating out of the palm of our hand, and by the time the clients he’s hosting for dinner arrive in the restaurant, he’s laughing with us like we’ve been friends for years.

  “I tell ya, you guys bat a thousand… I can’t wait to hear what ya’ll come up with next week. And Tiffany, babydoll, if you ever get tired of this guy, you look me up, okay?”

  He motions to the bartender, who makes quick work of the drink he’s making for another customer and practically runs over to our end of the bar.

  “Put whatever drinks these guys have for the rest of the night on my account.”

  His blatant show of ostentation causes us to all to exchange a look. I thought he was going to be a show-off and he is, but he also seems like a good guy, and the bonding tonight wasn’t completely forced. Tiff was right, he has crappy jokes, but he’s been decent enough.

  “That’s very generous of you, Riker. Thank you. We’ll just have one, then I’ve got to get back home.”

  “Okay. But if you wanna change your mind and go crazy, you know you can. Anyway, I better go, my guests are here.” He gets off his stool and straightens his suit as one of his entourage starts walking towards us. He points between Seb and I as he backs away, “Make it amazing, guys. I want something that’s going to blow the minds of the British people.”

  We nod and smile until he’s out of earshot, then I blow out a huge breath and fall back against the stool.

  “You were amazing, Tiff, my love.” Seb kisses her cheek and I do the exact same.

  “I second that.”

  “I’m glad you boys think so. You better get this deal, because I just used my best on him.”

  “We will.” I say confidently. “I’ve already got a few ideas, I’ll email them to you.” I direct to Seb.

  “You’re leaving?” He asks.

  “Of course he’s leaving. He’s got a beautiful woman to go home to.” Tiff reaches over and hugs me and I shake Seb’s hand.

  “She is beautiful and I’ve got something special planned for her this evening so gotta go.”

  Tiffany squeals and claps her hands together. “Oh my gosh, James you really are serious about this one. I have to meet her!”

  “Soon.” I promise. “See you later.

  It’s five in the evening. It’s going to be another hour before I get back home, and I desperately hope I get back to Stamford before Laurel otherwise my plan is going to be an epic fail.

  Laurel

  I yawn as I get out the car and grab my bag from the boot. I haven’t slept much the past few days, planning the setup of the new store has been so tiring but I’ve decided on a great company to do the shop-fitting so it’s finally starting to come together. Blake came up and met me for a couple of hours yesterday, on his way to another project he’s working on even further north, and gave them a good grilling. The project manager Brian, actually squirmed. It was very amusing, but he stood up well to the barrage of questions on timings, and methods, and the team’s experience so at least I know I’ve got second best. I have no doubt that Blake’s company is number one. They’re all booked up for the next six months though on various projects around the country. If I could wait, they’d do it for me but I can’t. This location is perfect and I don’t want to lose it.

  I sling my bag over my shoulder, lock the car and walk up the steps to the front door feeling like I need a little nap to wake myself up. I splay my keys to find the right one, then frown when I can’t see it. I drop my bag with a thud, then search through all of them slowly to make sure I haven’t missed any. Shit, I’ve lost it. I look down at the ground around me, shake my clothes like an idiot and still don’t see it anywhere. I sigh heavily, this is just what I need after a long day. My mum won’t be back from work for another couple of hours so I either stand around waiting, or go somewhere.

  I pick my bag up and walk back down to the car. After ten minutes of turning the car upside down I finally give in and see if James is home. He answers straight away.

  “Hey babe.”

  “Hi, I’ve just got home, but I’ve lost my key. I don’t suppose you’re in, are you?” I hold my breath, because it would be just my luck for him to be out when I feel like shit and just want to curl up on the sofa.

  “Uh, yeah, I’m here.” His tone sounds strange. And there’s muffled sounds in the background. “You wanna come over?” He asks uneasily after a long pause.

  “Yes please. Can I come now? I’ll be about ten minutes?” Now I want to go to find out what’s up with him. It gets all sorts running through my mind.

  “Uh, yeah okay, that’s fine. See you soon then.” He hangs up and I stare at my phone for a few seconds, shaking my head. There was no “Love you” or easy chatter like there usually is. He was fine this morning when he text me to say hi, but now I’ve got an anxious feeling inside.

  I get in the car quickly, needing to drive straight over there and see what’s happening. That may be jumping to conclusions but he was definitely hiding something. My heart’s beating quicker with each minute that passes. I replay the conversation over in my head, looking for different explanations and struggle to come up with one that means everything is okay. Shit, what if he wants to break up with me? Oh God, I’m going to cry. My heart couldn’t handle it.

  I pull in the driveway and James’ car isn’t here.

  Maybe it’s in the garage.

  I walk up to the front door, slowly, to steady myself, and knock.

  Nothing.

  I ring the bell.

  Nothing.

  I knock again.

  Nothing.

  I walk across the front garden and look through the bay-front window. It’s darkening outside and there are blinds across the window, but I can still make out the flicker of candles. There’s lots of them, scattered everywhere. Why would he have candles burning if he’s not there? I don’t even know what to think now. I walk back to the door and get my phone out to ring him again.

  “Hey, where are you?” I try to make my voice sound normal even though there’s a slight shake to it.

  “Oh, are you here…there already? I’m out, I’ll be back soon though.” Here? He said here. As in, he’s here too. What the hell?

  “You’re out? So, where are you?” I can tell there’s a bite to my voice now. I’m getting really frustr
ated and the second-guessing is tiring me out. He starts speaking and a muffled, crackling sound comes straight through the speaker. If I wasn’t so upset, I’d probably laugh at how unrealistic it sounds. But the truth is, I can feel the sting in my eyes.

  “Babe...I can’t...You’re breaking…soon.” Then the phone cuts out.

  I have to take a few deep breaths in to try and calm myself then I bite the inside of my cheek hard to try and stop the tears. I can feel my bottom lip quivering. As soon as I slump back against the door, a text comes through.

  It’s from James.

  Part of me doesn’t even want to read it.

  Let yourself in. Love you xx

  What? I try pushing on his front door. Really? And how am I supposed to do that? Idiot.

  I type a quick reply telling him it’s locked. My phone beeps almost immediately.

  That’s the funny thing about locked doors, keys usually work.

  I don’t have a fucking key. I scream out in frustration and contemplate chucking my phone at the wall. How can I open the door without a key? It’s his house, I don’t have a key. As though he’s right in front of me and I have something to prove to him, I get out my keys and look. I don’t have a key. One by one I pick them out muttering under my breath like a madwoman. Then I get to a large silver key that looks like the one I use for the store.

  But I’ve already passed that one.

  Fucking hell, I have a key.

  I breathe rapidly and turn to open the door, stopping short in the doorway when I see him standing there, leaning against the wall, wearing his signature smirk.

  “Took you long enough.”

  I once compared being with James Dawson to being on a see-saw.

  I was so wrong.

  It’s like being on the fastest, tallest rollercoaster you could ever imagine. One of those rides that leaves you right at the very top, just slightly hanging over the edge in anticipation of the huge dip that you’re about to be catapulted down, and the funniest thing is, I want the heart stopping, stomach clenching, scary-ass dip and then that climb to the top where you’re thinking, ‘How steep is the next drop going to be?’ but you still look forward to it anyway because it thrills you, makes you feel alive. I don’t want to coast leisurely round on the Teacups. I don’t want boring or predictable. I want the wind in my hair as I go a hundred miles an hour.

  I look straight in the eyes of the man in front of me.

  I don’t want to get off this ride. Ever.

  But all of that won’t stop me from giving him shit. It’s a girlfriend’s job, after all.

  “Jackass,” I fling at him as I back out the door, and before I turn completely I see the falter in his smile and the widening of his eyes that tells me I’ve shocked him. The wise-guy obviously thought I’d be so happy to see him I’d throw myself into his arms.

  Well, I do want that.

  But it’s not happening straight after that little stunt.

  I walk down slowly, knowing I need to give him time to catch up.

  “Babe, where are you going?”

  I ignore him.

  “Babe, stop. What’s wrong?”

  He grabs my arm and pulls me round in front of him.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to have some fun.”

  “At my expense.” I grind out. I’m putting on a pretty good show. I’ve even got the watery eyes. I’m not sad or angry. Just tired.

  He looks at me apologetically, realising he may have taken it too far and swallows hard, “I’m sorry.”

  I move to pull my hand away from his but he grips it tighter.

  “I just wanted to be a little creative. Do something different. I didn’t want to just ask you again. Where’s the fun in that? I had the best intentions and I’m so sorry if I upset you-”

  He carries on rambling but I’m stuck on the ‘ask you’ part. What’s he asking me?

  “Ask me what?” I eventually voice out loud.

  He stops abruptly and frowns, running his hand through his hair. “To move in with me. I took the key to your house and replaced it with mine. I want you here all the time.”

  My heart stops. Oh. My. God.

  I guess I’m slow on the uptake.

  I thought he was just having fun, messing around. I didn’t realise he meant for me to actually move in. Permanently. My heart starts fluttering erratically and I could kiss him I’m so happy. I can feel tears again, and the smile pushing at my cheeks, so this time I take my hand away with more force. I need to pull myself together. My mum got another all-clear from her appointment the other day. So now, she’s officially in remission and won’t have to have another appointment for six months. They’ll keep doing yearly mammograms to make sure nothing comes back. So maybe, I could move out.

  Could I?

  Yeah, I’m going to move out.

  “Wait, what are you doing?” He asks again, this time with much more desperation.

  I flip open the boot and reach inside, dragging out the silence. When I look back I smile and shrug a shoulder.

  “I’m getting my bag. I can’t move in here without any stuff, can I?”

  I walk back over reaching up to kiss his cheek and grab his hand in mine, feeling him relax as he blows out a long forceful puff of air. I bite my lip thinking about the evening I’m now playing out in my head.

  “Come on, I want us to christen my new home.”

  Chapter Three

  James

  Now that’s how I pictured this evening going. Minus the part earlier where Laurel was pissed, and nearly left. But it’s all good now.

  “That was amazing,” she pants in my ear as she curls her naked body into my side and runs her fingers gently over my chest. We’re lying on the floor in my living room surrounded by the glow of candles. Moving-in sex is definitely the best sex I’ve ever had. I just hope living together sex is even better. It’s a strange feeling knowing she’ll be here with me. It feels…peaceful.

  “It certainly was, roomie.”

  “Are you sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for?” She asks me, raising her eyebrow but smiling like she knows a secret that I don’t.

  “I thought I did, but now you’ve got me wondering.”

  “It’s not gonna be easy. I’m just warning you.”

  Now, I’m a little bit worried.

  “What’s gonna be hard? I’ll wake up to your pretty face every morning. I get to hear you laugh and kiss these lips whenever I feel like it, and I get to have this gorgeous body wrapped round me all night. The way I see it, I’m gettin’ a sweet deal.”

  She smiles as I kiss her once then sits up, pulling the blanket up her body to cover herself, and crosses her legs, Buddha style.

  “Right, I’m gonna tell it to you straight, and when I’m done you can decide if you still want to live with me. Okay?”

  I watch her silently. She’s still smiling but it doesn’t reach her big beautiful eyes that are darting over my face, shadowed with unease.

  “Okay.” I nod, gesturing for her to continue, and let me in on these big secrets she obviously wants to get off her chest.

  She takes a breath in, preparing herself and then straightens, pulling her shoulders back and looking directly at me.

  “I’m messy.”

  I wait for her to laugh and when she doesn’t, I try my best to bit back my own.

  “I’m shamefully and disgustingly ‘really can’t be bothered to clean up after myself’ messy. I leave my shit everywhere. I have so many clothes, sometimes after pulling them all out to try and find something to wear, I just leave them because it’s so much effort to put them back. For days on end they’re on the chair, on the floor, on the bed. I hate cooking. I don’t like cleaning. I clean my store from back to front, never have a spec of dirt in any corner, but when it gets to being at home, I hate it. I leave the cap off the toothpaste-”

  “And when you open a bottle of beer for me you leave the bottle cap on the side instead
of putting it in the bin.” Her eyes widen as I take over saying the things she was going to admit to me.

  “When you make a cup of tea, sometimes you leave the dirty teaspoon on the counter and the teabag in the sink. You don’t make the bed, and you leave the curtains closed all day. Your hair clogs up the drain in the shower which you never clear out. You also never lock the front door, even when you’re home alone. That one really gets me.”

  She swallows hard, and fiddles with the edges of the blanket in her hand without taking her eyes away from me. I’ve stunned her speechless. I love doing that. I can’t hold back the laugh that falls out my mouth but she narrows her eyes and lets out a little huff.

  “Babe, don’t look at me like that. Just ‘cause I’m a man, doesn’t make me completely oblivious. Everything you said, I already know. And none of it matters. I don’t give a shit. I just want you here.”

  She shakes her head in disbelief. Did she really think that I was going to say I didn’t want to live with her after that?

  “I promise I’ll try harder. But how can you be okay with all that?”

  “Because I love you.” I take her hand and pull her closer so she’s lying draped on top of me. “If I wanted a cook, or cleaner, or maid, I’d go hire one. I want a girlfriend. And someday a wife.” I feel her relax, and she smiles into the palm that’s cupping her cheek and kisses me gently.

  She pulls back biting her damn lip again, with that naughty glimmer in her eye that gets my dick hard.

  “So this girlfriend and someday wife, what would she need to do to be a good roommate?”

  Oh, shit.

  She strips the blanket away and I can’t think straight. I just see bare, tanned naked flesh I’m dying to sink my teeth into, and every coherent thought just flies right out my head.

  “Uh...” She lowers her lips to my neck and words get stuck in my throat. She sucks on my skin, moving gently to the spot behind my ear.

  “I think she should always walk around her new home in just her underwear. What do you think?” She whispers, turning up the seduction a few thousand notches.