I was hoping that after a good night’s sleep the answer might come to me, but I was even more confused in the morning. With a large cup of coffee and laptop in front of me, I started digging up as much dirt as possible on Dexter as I could. There wasn’t much dirt to be dug.
When he’d first decided to open an office in the city, he had spent a lot of time in London. From what I could tell, he had dated a couple of actresses and models and was even seen in public with a duchess. But no website anywhere mentioned a woman named Laurel. An hour after I started my research, the intercom buzzed and I let in a delivery man.
He was weighed down with packages. “Taylor James?” he asked.
I nodded and gestured for him to come inside. After he placed the items on table, I signed the delivery slip.
“Have a nice day,” he said, literally tipping his cap to me.
Once he was gone, I paced in front of the delivered items. I had a very good idea who had sent them.
The card in the vase full of flowers seemed like a good place to start. I plucked the notecard out of the arrangement and read the careful handwriting.
Thanks for a wonderful night.
Hope you are feeling much better by now. Without a proper diagnosis of your condition, I wasn’t sure what you would need so I bought a random assortment. Hopefully something does the trick.
Dex
It was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. It made me feel terrible that my only real affliction had been jealousy and suspicion.
Dexter had covered all his bases. He’d sent soup, chocolates, ice cream, cold medicine, Kleenex, cough drops, and a teddy bear encouraging me to “Get Well.”
It was hard to picture a man that sent get well teddy bears as a negligent baby daddy. Those two things just didn’t go together.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I messaged Dexter to thank him for the gifts. I would’ve called, but I knew that hearing his voice would make me lose my resolve. After he replied that it wasn’t a problem and inquired about my health, I invited him to come over so we could talk.
It must’ve sounded like an ominous request because he responded that he would be by in twenty minutes. That didn’t leave me much time to shower and make myself somewhat presentable. He arrived right on time and after polite greetings, I led him out onto the balcony. So far, Cessy had been diligently sleeping away her hangover, but our talking might wake her. I didn’t want us to be interrupted.
“Thanks again for everything. That was really very sweet of you.” I sat carefully on one of the small metal chairs.
Dexter remained standing. “I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”
“Yeah.” I thought hard about what I would say next. “I need to ask you something, and it’s pretty personal and presumptive so I’ll understand if you get mad.”
“No. I’m not a virgin.” He let out a breath. “Whew. I’m glad we got that over with. I knew you would figure it out eventually.”
“Stop being funny, Dex.” I tried to glare at him but had to return his smile. “This is important.”
“Okay. Funny turned off.” He finally sat in the chair across from me.
I busied myself playing with the drawstring of my hoodie. “Last night I overheard some women talking in the bathroom. About you.”
“Oh? Was it about how much they love having me as their boss?” He tried to sound carefree, but his smile said that he was nervous.
“Actually, it was about Laurel.”
Any part of me that had hoped the story wasn’t true faded away when I saw Dexter’s reaction.
“Well, I guess that explains why you weren’t feeling well last night.” He sat back with a sigh.
“Is it true?”
“Does it matter?” His arms crossed over his chest. “Everything thinks it’s true.”
“It matters to me,” I said.
Dexter looked at me, considering. “Laurel is pregnant, yes. But I didn’t pay her off. She didn’t feel comfortable working at the company anymore. People were already starting to talk. I’ve been supporting her while she finds something else. But we’re not together.”
It wasn’t the answer I had been hoping to hear. But I was glad that he had decided to tell me the truth.
“Look, Taylor. Maybe I should’ve said something to you, but we just met and I was pretty sure something like this would scare you off.” He leaned forward. “I’m trying to do the right thing with Laurel. I really am. I hope you can see that I’m not a bad guy.”
“You said it yourself, Dex. We just met. I don’t really know anything about you.” Before he had admitted that it was true, I’d been so certain about how I would react. I would end things now, make a clean break.
But now that I was sitting across from him, seeing how miserable he felt about everything, my resolve wavered.
“I still really like you, Taylor. I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I hope you’ll be willing to give me a chance.”
I looked away, focusing on buildings in the distance rather than his piercing blue eyes. I needed some time to think. “Maybe we should take a step back,” I suggested.
“Is that a polite way of telling me to bugger off?” he asked with a sad smile.
“It’s my way of saying that I need some time.” My chest tightened, reminding me that I was dealing with more than just Dexter’s revelation. “You have no way of knowing this, but I’m a little damaged on the inside. I can’t just instantly trust people. It’s going to take me time to decide if I can trust you.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. If time is what you need, I can give you that. But you should know that you can trust me, Taylor.”
“Maybe you’ll have to prove that to me,” I said.
“Maybe I will.” He grinned. “Since it appears you don’t have the plague, any chance I can convince you to spend the day with me?”
“Doesn’t that directly contradict my request?”
“No, of course not. This is just one friend asking another friend to hang out.” His eyes widened innocently. “I just thought you might need someone to show you around town.”
My resolve was quickly melting. “Just friends?”
“For now.” He winked. “At least until you can’t resist me any longer.”
“Okay.” I sighed dramatically. “I guess I can spend the day with a friend.”
“Excellent.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, go put on some comfortable shoes. I don’t want to hear any complaining about sore feet and blisters.”
“What do you have planned?” I asked suspiciously.
“Everything.” He pointed inside. “Go.”
I followed Dexter’s advice, pulling on comfortable shoes to match my casual outfit. It was a drastic change from what I had worn the previous night, but he didn’t seem to even notice.
“You make sneakers look good,” he said with his usual heart-stopping smile.
You make everything look good, I thought to myself. Dexter himself was also dressed casually- jeans, t-shirt, and baseball cap. I tried not to judge him too hard for being a Yankees fan.
“Does your plan for the day involve food?” I asked hopefully.
“It does indeed.”
We stepped outside, joining the other early morning pedestrians on the sidewalk. It was a perfect morning- sunny and warm, but not too warm. It was going to be an ideal day to play tourist.
Dexter led us a few blocks south, stopping at a tiny café that was nearly hidden from the street. “After you,” he said, holding open the door.
I was surprised when the door turned out to be a hallway, leading to a small outdoor garden. “What is this place?”
“Matilda’s,” he said. “It’s only open when the weather is nice because it’s entirely outdoors. They have great coffee.”
“I’m sold,” I said, taking in the romantic setting.
Beautiful flowers covered every open inch of the non-paved ground. Lush vines crawled up old t
rellises and soft piano music drifted through the air.
“Dexter!”
A portly woman with graying hair and too much makeup rushed forward. She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace that he returned with a laugh.
“Matty, it’s great to see you.”
“It’s been ages since you graced us with your presence,” she said, stepping back. “You brought a friend, I see.”
“This is Taylor. She didn’t instantly fall for my charms, so I’m doing my best to persuade her,” he said. “Can you help me out?”
Matilda smiled. “Take the seat in the corner and I will see what I can do.”
The seat in the corner turned out to be the best seat. Dexter held out my chair and I sat slowly, impressed by a nearby stone fountain that trickled water.
“You’re pulling out all the stops,” I said.
“This is one of my favorite places in the city. I come here at least once per week when I’m in town.” Dexter pointed to a window that overlooked the courtyard. “I used to rent that flat several years ago when I first started spending a lot of time in London.”
It was nice to hear Dexter talk about a normal past. I had been struggling to picture him as anything other than a suave, wealthy businessman.
“Is that how you and Matty got so close?” I said with a smirk.
“I didn’t know many people in the city back then. I used to come down here for breakfast almost every day. Matilda treated me like family.” He paused as Matilda approached with our coffee.
“I’ve taken the liberty of putting in your usual order. Times two,” she added, looking at me. “She’s pretty, Dex. You’ve done well for yourself.”
Dexter actually blushed. “Don’t scare her away, Matty.”
“Not a chance.” She stared hard at me. “This one fancies you, Dexter. I can see it in her eyes.”
Now it was my turn to blush.
“Matty.” Dexter cleared his throat pointedly.
“Alright, darling. I can take a hint.” She grinned at us both and sailed away.
“She’s very… interesting,” I said, watching her dance her way between tables.
Dexter reached for his coffee. “She’s one of my favorite people in the world.”
The smell of coffee wafted to my nose and I had to admit that it smelled delicious. Very carefully, I took a sip. “Wow. That is orgasmic.”
Dexter’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Interesting choice of words.”
“You disagree?” I challenged.
“With you? Never.” He leaned back in his seat. “Now, I’ve told you something personal about me. Your turn.”
“What do you want to know?” I asked, wrinkling my nose distastefully. “I’m actually very boring.”
“Tell me about your family.”
“Next topic.” I pretended to be busy blowing on my coffee.
Dexter’s head tilted. “Sore subject? Let me guess… absentee father?”
“My father killed himself three years ago,” I said bluntly.
“Whoa.” Dexter’s mouth dropped open. “I just shoved my foot all the way into my mouth, didn’t I?”
I shrugged. “You didn’t know.”
“Still. It was none of my business.”
“I didn’t mean to throw it in your face like that. I’ve just never talked about it with anyone besides my sister.”
“Sister?”
When I thought of Payton and her crazy personality, I smiled. “Payton. She’s my identical twin, actually.”
“No way.” Dexter’s eyes flashed. “That’s too good to be true.”
“Well, we may look alike, but that’s where the similarities end.” So many times growing up, people had been shocked to find that we were nothing alike aside from our appearance. “Payton is a wild woman. She likes to get into trouble, give people a hard time. But she’s brave and strong. I wish I could be more like that.”
“Is she back in Chicago?”
“No, actually. She is spending a few months in Rome. Supposedly practicing her craft- she wants to be a chef. But more likely she’s just hooking up with Italian men and eating a lot of gelato.”
“I like her already.” Dexter spun his coffee mug in a slow circle. “Any other siblings?”
I grimaced. “A step-sister.”
“Like in Cinderella?”
“Not quite that bad.” Since my mother had only remarried a couple years ago, I had already been out of the house before the new members of the family moved in. “Logan is a nice enough girl.”
Dexter nodded. “I can see that you are just dying to talk about this.”
“It’s not exactly a happy memory,” I snapped.
“I get it.” Dexter held up his hands defensively. “My mom had me when she was seventeen. My dad was never in the picture. Then, when I was twelve, she met someone. I wasn’t happy welcoming a strange man into my life. But Tom is a good man, and we get along swimmingly now.”
“It’s not the same.” I looked away, willing myself not to get emotional. “My mother was having an affair with Rick, who also happened to be my dad’s best friend. Dad found out and Mom said that she was going to leave him and take us kids with her. Long story short, Dad had a breakdown and ended up shooting himself in the head.”
When I looked back at Dexter my face was stony. “He was only dead six months when she married Rick.”
Dexter was so silent it felt like he had stopped breathing. It was the reaction I had always feared, which is why I had never told anyone the whole story.
“How can I ever accept the man that destroyed my family?” I wasn’t just asking rhetorically. I really wanted an answer. It didn’t feel good to hate him, and hate my mother. I wanted to be able to forgive them.
“Maybe you don’t have to forgive them,” he said. “What they did was wrong. Maybe you just have to accept them for who they are- imperfect human beings. Love is a choice, Taylor. You can choose to love them despite their mistakes.”
“I’m not sure I can.”
Matilda picked the perfect time to return to our table carrying plates of food. As a full English breakfast was spread before us, I struggled to regain my composure.
“Enjoy,” Matilda said after refilling our coffee.
Dexter and I enjoyed our breakfast in quiet. Listening to the small waterfall next to us, eating a delicious meal, and smelling the garden that surrounded us, it was easy to forget the last ten minutes of conversation.
“This place really is wonderful,” I said, giving Dexter a warm smile. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“Glad you like it.” His voice lowered and he said, “I’ve never brought anyone here before. You’re my first.”
I blinked hard. “Really? I feel so special.”
“You are special.” His hand reached across the table, covering mine. “I’m going to prove it to you.”
“Dex.” I pulled my hand away. “Just friends, remember?”
“I remember.” He nodded toward the door. “Are you ready for the next stop on our journey?”
“Sure, but don’t we need to pay?”
Dexter looked embarrassed again. “I eat for free here.”
“You do?” My eyes narrowed. “Why? Do you pay for your meals in sexual favors or something?”
He laughed hard. “No, nothing like that. A few years ago, Matilda mentioned that she might have to close. This place doesn’t get a lot of business. I offered to invest and in return, I get free meals.”
I knew that Dexter wasn’t investing in Matilda’s to make money. This place probably hadn’t turned a profit since it came into existence. Essentially, he was giving Matilda money so that she wouldn’t have to close her business. It was an incredibly sweet thing to do.
“You just keep doing that,” I said with a shake of my head.
“Doing what?”
“Charming me without trying.” I pushed my chair back and stood. “You must be compensating for a serious flaw.”
“No one is perfect, Taylor,” he said, rather darkly. “Especially me.”
Stepping out onto the sidewalk again felt like leaving behind a magical world. We were instantly back in London, surrounded by millions of people.
We fell into step with them, back in step with the city. It was easy to stroll next to Dexter, taking in the neighborhood. He liked to point out his favorite pubs and bookshops, giving me his own personal guided tour of the city.
With his baseball hat pulled low over his eyes, very few people seemed to recognize him. I only spotted a couple people pointing in our direction. I wondered if Dexter ever got used to the attention.
“I feel like I’m on a date with a movie star or something,” I said, noticing a group of people taking our picture. “Does it ever bother you?”
“I barely even notice.” He kept his eyes straight ahead as we walked. “People are only fascinated because I’m young. In a couple of years, no one will care how much I’m worth.”
“Give yourself more credit than that.” Even I, a pop culture deviant, could appreciate his legacy. He had created one of the most successful websites in history, not to mention developing an entirely new way for people to communicate. “You’ve done something pretty amazing.”
“It’s just a job, Taylor.” He seemed almost annoyed by my comment. “There’s more to me than just my success with Scuttle.”
“I know.” I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop and look at me. “You know I don’t care about any of that right? I liked you before I ever knew about your company, back when I was just a clumsy girl throwing water in your lap.”
A cocky smile spread over his face. “I knew you liked me. Now you’re grabbing my arm, pretty soon you’ll be inviting me into your bed.”
“And that moment was just ruined…” I rolled my eyes. “Forget what I just said. I used to like you- until I was exposed to your arrogant, gross alter-ego.”
Love in London (Restless Hearts) Page 4
