She leads me to the elevators and pushes the button. “Be prepared to meet a lot of people. Everyone will ask me who you are when they see you.”
“How will you introduce me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Will you say, please meet the man currently obsessed with me?”
Delaney laughs. “No. I’ll say this is Lathan but later when you leave, I’ll tell all the women that you’re mine.”
I step closer. “Am I yours?”
“You said so yourself.” She grins. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“I have not.”
The elevator doors open just as I’m about to kiss her, reminding me this isn’t the place for that. We step on with several other people and ride quietly to her floor. When the doors open again, we step off and walk down a short hallway to two glass doors. She opens them, escorting me in.
“Well, let the fascination begin.” She gestures in front of her. “Welcome to the cubicle farm.”
I laugh softly. “What does this firm do?”
“Insurance. Commercial mostly.”
“And what do you do?”
“I’m a manager over a department. Want to meet my team?”
“Yes.”
Delaney leads me down a hall. It’s a dark building with no windows and is covered in gray upholstery. It’s not a suitable space for someone as vibrant as Delaney. She should be in the sunshine with a breeze blowing through her hair.
We approach a small cluster of six people who look up, interested at the stranger in their midst.
“Hey, guys,” Delaney says. “I’m giving my friend a tour of the office, and thought I’d introduce him to the best group of people in Boston.” They smile and chuckle, standing to meet me. “This is Lathan. Lathan, this is everyone.”
I extend my hand as each person shakes it offering their name. “Pleased to meet you all,” I say.
“Whoa, wicked cool accent,” a dark haired woman says to me. “Where ya from?”
“A small country in Europe.”
“What brings you to Boston?”
“Adventure.”
The woman smiles, shifting her eyes to Delaney, who smiles, then looks up at me. “Lathan and I met in the cooking class I’m taking.”
“Nice,” another woman comments. “I’m all for evolved men.”
“Evolved?” I clarify.
“Yeah, evolved men cook. Not some sports-watching, a-woman’s-place-is-in-the-kitchen-thinking, Neanderthal.”
Delaney laughs. “Stacey is very outspoken.”
“At least I’m not a Neanderthal in her eyes.”
“Far from it,” Delaney whispers. “Want to see my office?”
“Of course.” I turn to the group. “Again, a pleasure.”
They all say goodbye as Delaney leads me across the room to her office. Inside is a small window with just a glimpse of the city. She offers me a seat so I take it.
“They seem nice,” I say.
“They are. I enjoy working with them.”
“You like your job?”
She shrugs. “It’s fine. It’s not very exciting, but like I told you, I like reliability over excitability.”
“I’m not sure that’s entirely true. You seem open to adventure suddenly.”
She smiles. “I guess I’m inspired.”
Leaning closer, I take her hand in mine. “Do you know how much I long to kiss you right now?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t let you here.”
“I know. I’ll just have to drown in my desire for you until I can.”
“Drown?”
“Yes, a pleasant death until your lips revive me.”
“You’re too much.”
“Am I? If you can handle Janice, you can handle me.”
She laughs. “Oh, I can handle you. That’s not a problem.”
“I’m not so difficult to manage, am I?”
“No.”
Fiddling with a pen on her desk, I look up and smile. “Thursday’s a long time from now.”
“Yes.”
“Dinner tonight?”
“I can’t. I always have dinner with Fallyn on Fridays.”
“Tomorrow then?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“Perfect.” Releasing her hand, I sit back in my seat. “What will you do the rest of the day?”
“Paperwork.”
“Oh, right. Performance reviews.”
“Right. What did you do back in Havendon? Your family business.”
I feel my body tense. “It’s insanely boring and complicated. I’ll tell you some other time. Is that alright?”
“Sure. I should get back to work anyway.”
“Oh, of course. I guess I can’t sit here and stare at you all day.”
She laughs. “Sweet talker.”
“Genuine in intent, I assure you.”
She nods. “I’ll walk you down.”
“Okay.”
Once we’re back in the lobby, I hand the guard my badge. “Will you step outside for a moment?” I ask.
“Sure.”
We walk outside and I pull her into my arms, protecting her from the cold. “May I kiss you here?”
She smiles, nodding. “Yes.”
Leaning close, I plant a soft kiss on her mouth. Nothing more, just enough so she feels my passion for her. “I’ll call and confirm for tomorrow night.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“Have a great day, Delaney.”
“I will. You too.”
“There’s no doubt now that I’ve seen you.”
I start to walk away, but her voice stops me. “Lathan?”
Turning back, I walk to her. “Yes?”
“Are you legit?”
“What do you mean?”
“All this poetic speech and romantic commentary, is this what you’re really like with women, or is this just the hook? Once you’ve got me, does it change?”
“Oh, Delaney, you think I’m just romancing you to get in bed with you?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ve never met anyone who talks like you and says stuff like that. It’s nice, but…” she shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll tell you something.”
“Okay.”
“Where I’m from, we believe in courtship, something I believe has fallen away in most Western countries, but not in Havendon. Where I’m from, there are rules to romancing a woman, and I’ve been well taught. Am I romancing you? Most assuredly. Do I want you in my bed? I pray someday I have that privilege, but is that my sole intention? Absolutely not. My intention, my darling, is to make you smile when you think of me. To desire me as I desire you. Crave my company as I crave yours. Follow me on this adventure. That’s it.”
She nods, gazing into my eyes. “I want to believe you’re real.”
“I’m as real as I stand here.”
“I mean, all of it. The way you are, the things you say. I want to believe it.”
“Please do, but if you can’t yet, that’s okay. You’ll get there in time. I won’t change. You’ll see.”
She rises on her toes and kisses me softly. “See you tomorrow night, Lathan.”
“You will, Delaney.”
As I walk away, I glance back to see her eyes lingering on me. She stirs something in me, something I haven’t felt before. I might not want to fall in love, but I might not have a choice.
Back inside the building, I try to calm my beating heart. Lathan is unbelievable in the best way. I didn’t know men like that even existed. As I pass my team, I get all kinds of wiggling eyebrows as I pass. Stacey and Marie hurry over to me.
“So Lathan,” Stacey starts. “He’s hot.”
“I know.”
“Stupid hot,” Marie says.
“Agreed.”
I walk into my office as they follow me.
“Is he nice?” Marie asks.
“Very.”
“His accent is incredible,” Stacey comments. �
�I could just sit and listen to him talk. He could recite the ingredients on a box of cereal for all I care.”
I laugh. “You’re funny.”
“He came to visit you?” Marie asks.
“No, I bumped into him getting coffee and just invited him back here.”
“Interesting.” She nudges Stacey. “Isn’t that interesting, Stacey?”
“Sure is. Have you ever met any of Delaney’s other male friends, Marie?”
“Hmm,” she taps her chin as I just shake my head. “Don’t think so.”
“What are you guys taking up comedy all of a sudden?”
“I think someone’s smitten,” Stacey sings.
“I think you ladies have some work to do,” I sing back in the same tune, grinning.
Marie pops out her bottom lip. “Boo, I’d rather stay here and prod you for info on the hot guy.”
“I don’t know that much about him yet. I just met him. We were paired up in class and that’s why we’re hanging out.”
“Hanging out?” Stacey asks. “Or hanging out?” She winks.
“Isn’t the quarterly report due in a few hours?” I ask, changing the subject.
She laughs. “Fine, we’ll go back to work, boss. It’s just kind of fun seeing you with a man.”
I nod. I think so too. “Thanks.”
As the ladies leave, I think about Lathan again. God, how I want to believe he’s the real deal, but part of me hopes he’s not. I’d rather not get into him only to have him leave. The more time I spend with him, the more chance there is of falling. I don’t want to. I’ll try not to. The truth is, though, I might not have a choice.
Later that evening, I wait at the table for Fallyn to show up, looking over the menu. A few minutes later, she breezes in late as usual.
“Friday night, Thai fight,” she says, laughing.
“What does that even mean?”
On Friday nights, we eat Thai. I needed something that rhymed with night.”
I laugh. “You’re crazy.
“Yeah.” She sits down, pulls off her coat, and hangs it on the back of the chair. “How’s it going?”
“I have stuff to tell you.”
“Cool. Let’s order.”
Our waitress Sammy comes over, and we order our usual corn fritters, Thai coffee, and pad Thai for two. After she leaves, Fallyn folds her hands on the table.
“So, what do you have to tell me?”
“I bumped into Lathan this morning at the coffee shop by my office.”
“Yeah? That’s cool.”
“It was. I invited him to come back to work with me because he said he was interested in American workplaces.”
“Uh huh.” She sips her water. “How’d that go?”
“Good. He said…” I pause. “Here. Read this.” I pull out my phone and show her the text from last night.
“My darling Delaney?” she questions. “Wow.”
“I know.”
“This is nice.” She nods and then looks up at me. “Wicked nice. It’s like some Shakespeare shit.”
“Right? He was just like that today. He said he would drown in desire for me until he could kiss me again.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, I have to absorb that for a second.”
“Same here.” I unfold my napkin, placing it on my lap. “I asked him if he was legit and he said where he comes from men court women, and that’s what he’s doing with me.”
“Interesting. Do you like it?”
“Yeah. Who wouldn’t?”
“True.”
“He’s everything you could dream of, Fallyn. He’s sexy, charming, romantic, smart, hot. I’m doomed.”
She laughs. “Doomed?”
“There’s no way I won’t fall for him if he keeps this up. On some level, I hope it’s just a game so I can be pissed off when he shows his true colors.”
“Okay, now wait a minute. You want him to be an asshole? Haven’t you had enough of that?”
“Yes, but—”
“No,” she raises her hand. “I won’t even entertain the ‘but’. You found a nice guy. Better than nice. A one in a million kind of guy. Don’t you dare sabotage it.”
“I won’t.”
“Swear?”
“Yes.” I pause as Sammy drops off our coffee and fritters. “It’s just that it feels unreal, you know? Like there’s no way he’s really like this.”
“Have you ever met anyone from wherever it’s called before?”
I laugh. “Havendon, and no, of course not.”
“So, is it possible that he’s telling the truth and men from his country are really like this?”
“Yeah.”
“Right. So can we stop second guessing everything?” Fallyn takes my hand in hers. “This is what you want. You wanted to meet someone spectacular, remember? Lathan’s that. Embrace it.”
“He’s leaving.”
“Oh god.” She rolls her eyes, releasing my hand. “You’re gonna make me yell at you.”
“Please don’t.” I pick up a fritter. “Tell me if you met the man of your dreams, who told you upfront that he wouldn’t be here forever, how you’d feel going all in?”
“What guarantees are there in this life that anyone is ever gonna stay? Hmm? Maybe you could ask my mom?”
“Fallyn…”
“Seriously. Do you think if someone told her on her wedding day that my dad would die before he was sixty that she would say, oh well, forget it then? Do you think she would say you can’t say those vows to me because you won’t always be here?”
“That’s not the same.”
“No, it’s worse. Lathan’s not dying. He’s just from another country. It’s not like no one in the history of time has ever married someone from another country.”
“We’re not even talking about marriage.”
“Then what are we talking about?”
I sip my coffee reflecting on her words. “You’re right. I’m getting way ahead of myself. I just think falling for Lathan would be foolish.”
“Maybe. He might break your heart. You might break his. That’s a chance we always take regardless of country of origin. This isn’t any different.”
I smile. “Touché, my friend.”
“He might break your heart, or…” she leans closer. “He might be the love of your life. You won’t know unless you try.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“So can we stop obsessing about what might happen and just obsess over what actually is?”
I laugh. “We can.”
“Good. When will you see him next?”
“Tomorrow. He asked me out for tonight, but I told him I had plans with you.”
“Smart.”
“It’s true.”
“Yes, but also smart not to cancel with me for him. Make him work a little.”
“I would never cancel plans with you for a man. Not even that man.”
Fallyn flashes her toothy grin. “Sisters before misters, hell yeah.”
I laugh. “Always.”
Our Pad Thai is delivered and we dig in.
“What’s going on with you?” I ask. “Any prospects?”
“Nah. I’m good though. I needed a little break.”
I smile as I twirl my fork through the noodles. I know underneath Fallyn’s tough girl exterior, she wants to fall in love as much as I do. One minute she’s saying she wants to meet a guy, the next, swearing them off. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and Fallyn locks hers behind bulletproof glass. I’m the only one that gets a glimpse inside, usually after a night of drinking.
“What?” she asks, noticing my stare.
“Nothing. I just want you to be happy.”
“I want the same for you.”
“I know.” After chewing my bite, I ask, “How’s the swearing going?”
“Good. I’m down to like fifteen a day.”
I laugh. “Still excessive.”
“I can’t
help it. It’s a freaking verb in my life. A verb, an adjective, a fucking noun.” She frowns. “See?”
I look at my watch. “Yeah, but we’ve made it forty-five minutes and that was your first one. Improvement.”
She laughs. “Baby steps.”
After dinner, we kiss cheeks and walk in separate directions for home. Once inside my apartment, I plop on the couch with my favorite book to read a while before bed, but I’m interrupted by my ringing phone. I smile when I see the number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Delaney.”
“Hi, Lathan.”
“Am I interrupting dinner?”
“No, I’m home again.”
“Ah, well I hope I’m not pestering you.”
“Not at all. Everything alright?”
“Yes, of course. I was calling to confirm for tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
“Is eight fine? I’ll come pick you up?”
“Yes, that works.”
“Good. How was the rest of your day?”
“Fine. Yours?”
“Also fine.”
We’re silent for a brief moment. “Do you want to say something else?” I ask.
“No, just sleep well.”
“Thanks, Lathan. You too.”
“I’ll try. I’m truly excited to see you again.”
“Same here.”
“So I’m not alone?”
“Not at all.” I lean back against the couch. “I’m excited.”
I hear him exhale softly. “Wonderful. See you tomorrow.”
“Yep. Bye.”
“Good bye.”
Hanging up, I look at my phone for a moment. I’m definitely excited.
Standing in the middle of my bedroom, I absorb my new surroundings. Sylvia did more than transform it. She created an entirely new space. The once all white room with drab furnishings is now filled with lush fabrics in gray and turquoise, like a peacock’s feathers, large masculine furniture, and ambient lighting. It’s sexy and comfortable, exactly as requested. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I think about seeing Delaney tonight and wondering if she’ll come back here with me. I want her in this bed as much as I want the sun to come up tomorrow. A smile tugs at my lips. I wonder what she’ll think of me as a lover. Will I be everything she needs and wants? I won’t rest until her ultimate satisfaction is met.
I hear the bell ring and stand to answer the door for Sylvia, having convinced her that working on a Saturday in order to finish her masterpiece was her idea. It didn’t take much persuasion on my part, thankfully.
Unexpectedly Royal Page 7
