by Sterling, J.
I imagined her feisty attitude and couldn’t help how it turned me on, but I needed to focus on getting her to hear me out first before I thought about all the things I wanted to do to her body. And the list was growing by the day.
“Then I’ll ask Britney for their home address. You can show up there like a proper stalker,” Ryan said, and Nick laughed.
I hated that idea as well. It felt like an ambush, so I shook my head again. “I can’t do that either. It’s too personal, showing up at her home. Not to mention it’s a little creepy.” Going to Claudia’s place uninvited would be invading a very private space that I hadn’t been invited into yet. It would be one thing if I’d been over there before, but I hadn’t.
“It’s only creepy if she doesn’t like you,” Nick said with a smile. “Otherwise, girls think it’s romantic.”
Ryan frowned at him. “Since you have all the answers, little brother, why don’t you tell us what you think he should do.”
“If you won’t reach out to her online, get her to come here, or go to her house,” Nick said, “then what do you want to do? How are you going to talk to her if you won’t do anything that puts you with her in the same place at the same time?”
Nick was probably thinking back to what he had done to win back Jess. But that had been different. They had been dating and had a history when he showed up on her doorstep.
Claudia and I barely had anything together yet; we didn’t have a foundation. I still needed to build all of that, if she’d let me, and she definitely wouldn’t talk to me in a situation where I had the advantage. So, if I wanted to give her the high ground, I needed to go where she ruled, where she was queen. Where she wouldn’t want to kick me in the nuts the second she saw me, if only because it would get her into trouble.
“Do you think you can find out where they work?”
Ryan laughed and tapped furiously on his phone. “Easily. They might be asleep, so we probably—” He stopped mid-sentence as his phone buzzed in his hand. “Never mind,” he said, shoving his phone toward me so I could read the name of the bank and the branch they worked at.
I glanced over and committed it to memory. “That was too easy.”
Ryan’s phone vibrated again, and he laughed. “Britney says that better have been about Frank and the fact that he’s getting his shit together to win back her friend.”
I forced a half smile as Ryan typed something back to her. “What are you telling her?” I watched as he typed again, then stopped for a second before starting again. “Jesus, Ryan, you even text like a girl. Are you sure you’re a guy?”
He glanced up and stopped typing. “Do you want me to pull out my dick?” Before I could answer, he reached for the zipper on his jeans.
“No, thanks, I’m good.”
He typed away again and cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m telling her that it is about you and Claudia, but not to say anything. She said good, and I told her we might need her help. She said she’s in. Whatever we need that she can do, she’ll do it. And she said it’s about time.”
That made me smile, knowing that Britney was on my side.
As if Nick could read my mind, he said, “That’s a good sign. If she’s willing to help, then you know Claudia doesn’t hate you.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. Ryan, ask her if I need an appointment to see Claudia for a business loan.”
He gave me a wary look but was typing before I’d even finished talking. “A business loan?”
“That’s what she does at the bank. She’s in charge of small-business loans.”
Nick blew out a breath. “Good idea, getting on her schedule. Smooth.”
Ryan looked up from his phone. “She says it’s best if you do, and she’ll make one for you tomorrow when she gets to the office. She’ll text me and let me know the day and time.”
My throat tightened as I imagined waiting another day, or days, to make things right. I didn’t want to waste any more time. “Tell her to make the appointment for tomorrow, or I’m showing up without one.”
Ryan chuckled as he paused from typing to read Britney’s response. “She says you’re bossy. But she’ll text me tomorrow. She doesn’t think it should be a problem.”
“Tell her I said thanks.”
For the first time in days, I felt like smiling. I had a plan, and I was going to get the girl.
• • •
The next day, I showed up at the bank fifteen minutes early. Not wanting to alert Claudia to my presence, I stayed outside until exactly one minute before my two o’clock appointment time.
Britney had blocked off an hour on Claudia’s calendar and booked me as “Mr. Trout,” knowing that Claudia would freak out if she saw a Mr. Fisher on her schedule. I had laughed at the alias before worry set in, and prayed that Claudia wouldn’t figure out the ploy and suddenly call in sick for the rest of the afternoon. I knew I owed Britney big-time if this worked out in my favor.
My heart pounding, I pulled open the door and headed toward the small reception area in the center of the bank where Britney had told me to wait. I looked around, searching the private-banker offices on the periphery for my girl when I caught sight of Britney in hers. She waved and I smirked, continuing my search for Claudia.
When I spotted her, my heart leaped into my throat. She hadn’t noticed me yet, but watching her, it was like I hadn’t seen her in years. I took in her silky black hair pulled up into a ponytail, the ends brushing her shoulders bared by her sleeveless blue dress as she turned her head to glance at her computer screen.
My entire body perked up, reacting to the sight of her. I was like a starved man in need of food, and Claudia was my next meal. She was like a breath of fresh air after you’d been trapped underground for years without windows or sunlight. She was a drink of water after you’d been lost in the sandy desert, parched and dreaming of something cool to sip. Claudia was a fucking dream.
She grabbed a clipboard from her desk and walked toward the reception area.
“Mr. Tr—” The name stopped on her lips as I pushed to my feet. Her eyes locked onto mine, and I swore I saw her breath catch. “Frank. What are you doing here?”
“I’m your two o’clock,” I said, willing my nerves to shut down and pull it together.
“You’re serious?” She cast a glance toward Britney, who buried her face in a file folder, pretending not to be watching our every move.
I wasted no time. Without a word, I took the clipboard from Claudia’s hand as I rested my other hand on the small of her back and guided her toward her office.
“I’m serious. We have business to discuss,” I whispered into her ear, thrilling at the sight of tiny goose bumps appearing on her bare shoulder. Another good sign, I thought, even if her reaction had been involuntary.
She looked stunned but moved willingly with me, and closed the door behind us as I took a seat in the guest chair across from her desk. God, she looked sexy as hell, all professional and in charge.
“Why are you here? I’m pretty sure you don’t need a business loan.” She tried to sound tough as she sat down, keeping her spine ramrod straight, but I sensed the hurt underneath her businesslike tone.
“I needed to see you so I could apologize in person. You wouldn’t return my calls or my texts. You left me no choice.”
Her expression hardened before I could explain. Shit. I’d said something wrong.
“No choice? I left you no choice? That’s rich,” she spat out at me. “What about me and the fact that you neglected to tell me that you had a girlfriend the entire time you were”—she sucked in a breath, waving one hand in the air—“whatever it was you were trying to do with me. What was I, Frank? A conquest? A notch on your belt?”
Like the fool I so clearly was, I hadn’t been prepared for this level of anger. I knew she’d be upset, but hadn’t anticipated how deep that anger might run. The only way to counter her heightened emotions was to stay calm, keep my responses measured and even, and be honest.
I had to be more honest that I’d ever been in my life.
“You were unexpected,” I said, the words spilling straight from my heart. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I know I messed up, okay? I should have told you about Shelby, but I couldn’t.”
“You could have, but you didn’t.” She glared at me. “There’s a difference. I didn’t have a choice, but you did. You chose not to tell me, and I want to know why. Do you do this all the time? Is this some sort of sick MO for you? Is leading women on just a game?”
I shook my head, hating that she could think so little of me, but knowing deep down that I deserved it. I’d expected her to see me as the stand-up guy I had always tried to be, but when it came to Claudia, I hadn’t acted like one.
“No. God, no. I’ve never done this before. Not one time. I swear it.”
Her expression softened briefly before she hardened it again. She had the upper hand, and I needed to swing the pendulum in my favor somehow. I wouldn’t give up this easily.
Her lips pressed into a firm line. “Why should I believe you?”
Hell, I didn’t have a good answer to that question. Why would she believe anything I said to her? If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t believe me either.
“Because it’s the truth.” I reached across the desk for her hand, but she pulled it away, refusing to let me touch her.
“So you expect me to believe that in all the years you were with your girlfriend and not happy, you never wanted to cheat on her until I came into the picture?” Her accent thickened as she continued. “That’s what you’re telling me?”
My jaw tightened as I worked it. I didn’t like what Claudia was insinuating or how she was thinking. “Yes. That’s what I’m telling you. I’m not a cheater,” I ground out, even though technically it was a lie. “Yes, I crossed an emotional line with you. And, hell yes, I wanted to kiss you every fucking time you were near me, but I didn’t. And yes, Claudia, I do expect you to believe me.”
I was frustrated, even though I knew I had no right. I had dug this hole I was in all on my own, but that didn’t stop me from wanting this woman to send down a rope and help me climb out. Instead, it felt like she kept kicking me back down as soon as I neared the top.
Claudia crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair. “Why me? What makes me so special?”
Why her? Didn’t she have any idea the kind of effect she had on me, the sheer pull that her existence held on my soul? Fuck. How could I put this connection into words so she’d understand? How did you explain the unexplainable?
I stared at my hands in my lap for a moment, digging deep for the right words to express the crazy feelings I’d had for this woman since I first laid eyes on her. Everything I came up with seemed stupid or crazy, but when I glanced up and found her unexpectedly looking at me with yearning in her eyes before she masked it, the words came easily.
“I’ve never had my world so shaken up from a single look before, okay? But that’s what it felt like the moment I saw you. The very foundation that I stood on split and cracked in two. I knew I could never be the same again. It sounds cheesy as hell and like something Ryan would say, but I swear it’s the truth, Claudia. Meeting you was like looking up at the stars and realizing there was an entire galaxy up there that you never knew existed. And then, every time you walked outside and looked up, it would be all you could see. And now, you’re all I can see.”
“Jesus, Frank,” she said low, her voice breaking. “You can’t run around saying things like that to a girl unless you mean it.”
I stared into her warm brown eyes. “I mean it. I’ve never meant anything more.”
She swallowed and looked away for a moment, obviously trying to pull herself together. I prayed that meant she was trying to repair the cracks in her armor that I hoped I’d inflicted.
Her tone was stronger, but still a little shaky when she responded. “If I’m a galaxy, then what is your girlfriend?”
“I broke up with Shelby.”
Claudia’s mouth dropped open slightly before she closed it. “You did? When?”
“Last week.”
“So you’re single?” Her voice rose on the last word, and I bit back my smile.
“I am.”
I Have Questions
Claudia
Holy crap. Frank wasn’t only sitting in my office right now, but he had just dropped the most unexpected bomb in my lap.
He was single.
It was something I hadn’t wanted to hope for since it seemed like wishing for the impossible. Plus, it was selfish to hope for someone else’s relationship to end, even though I had wanted it to.
And now here he was, sitting across from me in all of his Frank Fisher glory, telling me that he was available and comparing me to the night sky.
I had to keep my legs crossed to stop myself from jumping into his lap and straddling him the way I’d done numerous times lately in my dreams. No, there were still a lot of unanswered questions I needed answers to, and unresolved feelings I needed to work through. This was an overload of information hitting me all at once, much like his voice mails had been.
“Say something,” he said softly, his tone pleading.
I didn’t know what to say or where to start. I was overwhelmed, my thoughts in a jumble, all mixed up and out of order. I couldn’t have sorted them out in that moment if I tried.
“Can we talk about all of this later? Preferably not where I work,” I said as I noticed my next appointment already waiting in the lobby.
“How about where I work instead? Tonight. Come by. It doesn’t matter what time.” When I didn’t respond right away, he firmed his voice. “Tonight, Claudia. Come.” It wasn’t a request.
“We’ll see.” I tried to be strong, to resist, but he knew better. It was as though he could sense my vulnerability when it came to him and my newfound information about his relationship status.
Frank stood up, his muscular body seeming enormous in my tiny office. “If you don’t show up, I’ll come here every day until you do.” He flashed that fabulous Fisher smile at me, the one that slayed women every night of the week, and my heart raced. “I’m not giving up.”
Looking down, I swallowed my smile. “I still have questions.”
“Bring ’em. Hell, make a list if you need to. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“Anything?” I glanced up at him through my lashes, unable to stop the teasing tone that came out.
“Yes. After tonight, I don’t want there to be anything between us. Except maybe some sheets,” he said with a laugh. “But probably not even those.”
As he turned and walked out of my office, I found myself staring at his ass and broad shoulders. He paused before he reached the front doors and glanced back, giving me a small smile.
Dammit, he knew I’d been watching him walk away.
I attempted to catch my breath as I headed to the lobby to greet my next appointment. Britney caught my eye through the glass wall of her office, practically bouncing in her seat with frustration. I held up a finger in her direction, telling her to wait, and then extended my hand to the customer waiting for me.
• • •
As soon as my next appointment left, Britney shot through my open door and closed it behind her before she plopped into my guest chair.
“Tell me everything. And don’t leave out a single detail.”
After I filled her in, she insisted she’d be going to Sam’s with me that night. “To make sure you don’t wimp out,” she said.
When she confessed that Ryan had texted her and that she had set up the meeting today for Frank, I could only pretend to be mad for so long when I wasn’t. At all. I was more shocked at how good she was at keeping me in the dark, pretending through breakfast and our whole commute to work that nothing out of the ordinary would be happening later that day. She was a skilled liar, and I’d never even known it.
“I wouldn’t have been able to keep it up for very lo
ng. I only had to last about twelve hours, just so you know. If it was any longer, I would have caved,” she admitted with a grin as she stood up to head back to her office, and I believed her.
As I sat at my desk pretending to work for the last hour of the day, I was a mess inside, my emotions running in high gear. I couldn’t believe that Frank had actually broken up with his girlfriend. But why had he done it? Why now? Was I part of the reason? And could I live with myself if I was? What did this mean for us? Did he want there to be an us?
The second we walked through our front door at home, Britney grabbed a pen and one of our bank notepads that she’d accidentally on purpose brought home. “I’ll help you write the list.”
Confused, I squinted at her. Had I somehow missed a portion of our conversation?
“The list?”
“Of all the things we want to know,” she said matter-of-factly.
Then it dawned on me. “Oh, the list of questions for Frank.”
“What other list would there be?”
“Groceries?” I said, trying not to grin.
She laughed and waved her phone toward me. “Why would I make a grocery list when we shop from our app?”
I hadn’t really considered making a list, even after Frank had suggested it. He’d probably been kidding when he mentioned it, but it might be a good idea. It would be way too easy to be distracted and forget what I wanted to ask once we were together at the bar. Plus, my mind tended to wander, and I could jump from topic to topic without stopping to breathe. A list would be a good idea, a smart way to keep me on track.
“Anyway, I need to take a shower,” I told her. “I’ll think about my questions while I’m in there.”
I thought for a second that Britney might suggest writing the list together while I showered, and was grateful when she agreed to wait and headed into her room.
• • •
“You ready for this?” Britney asked with a smile that brightened her whole face as we walked toward the entrance to Sam’s. “I feel like we haven’t been here in years.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s been two weeks. Not even that long.”
