“So you are going to go? I don’t know, Timber. I don’t think you should. Alex is used to women just jumping up and being at his beck and call. You don’t need to be one of them.”
“I’m sure Cameron is used to women being at his beck and call, too. But isn’t that what you’re doing? And weren’t you just saying that he hasn’t even been acting right? So what gives? How is what I’m doing any different from what you’re doing?” Timber asked defensively.
“I’m just trying to look out for you,” Eva insisted. “And you can’t really compare yourself to Cameron and me. You and I are in two totally different situations.”
“I beg to differ, but, whatever,” Timber said, unconcerned about whether or not this was right or wrong. She had two options. Either sit at home alone yet again or have dinner with an exciting, handsome man that she was interested in. She decided on the latter.
“Well it looks as if your mind is already made up, so why don’t I let you go so that we can both get ready?” Eva suggested, her tone filled with exasperation.
“Sounds good,” Timber said, not wanting to end the call on a low note. “I’m glad that Cameron called and made plans with you, and I hope you two have a great time at dinner.”
“Thank you. And I hope you enjoy your date with Alex. I can’t wait to hear about it.”
“Thanks! Bye,” Timber said, glad that she and Eva had cleared the air. She quickly disconnected the call and dialed Alex’s number.
“This is Alex,” he answered after one ring.
“Hey! It’s Timber.”
“Hey you! Did you get my email?”
“I did. Did you see my response?”
“I didn’t. Are you able to come over for dinner tonight?”
“I am.” Timber smiled, trying her best to remain calm and contain her enthusiasm.
“Great. A car will be there to pick you up at six. You know I live pretty far out, so feel free to pack an overnight bag. You’re more than welcome to stay in the guest room.”
Timber paused, wondering just how sincere Alex was being as far as her staying in his guest room was concerned. She hoped he was serious considering she had no intention of sleeping with him. But in that moment, she decided to cross that bridge when she got to it.
“Okay, great. See you at six!” Timber said before hanging up and rushing into the bathroom to begin her beautifying regimen.
* * * *
It was 5:57 p.m. Timber was pacing her living room floor and panting like a woman in labor. Alex would be there in exactly three minutes. Her skin felt damp. Her legs felt jittery. She couldn’t sit down and relax because she didn’t want to wrinkle her formfitting red satin dress. But she needed to be still because she didn’t want to continue perspiring and ruin her makeup. So she stood in front of the window with her arms out at her sides, hoping that the crisp evening air would cool her off and calm her down.
A black luxury vehicle with black tinted windows pulled up in front of her house. Alex was there. Timber’s breathing became shallow. She backed away from the window and scurried around frantically for her purse, so unnerved that she forgot it was sitting right on the couch. She grabbed it, her overnight bag and her coat, then jumped when the doorbell rang. Timber rushed to the door, straightened her dress and inhaled deeply before opening it. A demure smile spread across her face. It fell when she saw that the person staring back at her was not Alex. Instead it was a short, stubby Latino man dressed in a black suit and driving cap.
“Good evening, Miss West. My name is Rafael, and I am your driver for the evening. May I help you with your bag?”
“Uhh…sure,” Timber stammered confusingly. She handed Rafael her bag and followed him to the car. She wondered why Alex hadn’t come to the door to greet her. Maybe he’d tell her once she got inside the car. But that wouldn’t be possible, because when Rafael opened the door and she slid inside, Alex wasn’t there. Instead there were two dozen yellow roses sitting where he should have been, with a card attached.
“Where is Alex?” Timber asked Rafael once he climbed in the driver’s seat.
“Unfortunately Mister Witherspoon is still at home, running late with dinner. He asked that I pick you up without him so that you would still be at his house on time.”
“Oh,” Timber responded disappointedly. She had been looking forward to taking the long ride back to Alex’s place with him, and wondered why he hadn’t called to let her know that he wouldn’t be there when she was picked up. But then, just as the frustration began to set in, Timber reminded herself of how busy Alex was, and how nice it was of him to invite her over for dinner in the first place.
She reached over, picked up the huge bouquet of roses and inhaled their heavenly scent. Then she tore open the envelope and pulled out the card. It read:
“My dearest Timber, please accept my sincerest apologies in my not being there to pick you up. Dinner has gone completely awry. I promise that I will make it up to you when you arrive. See you soon, Me.”
Alex’s note made Timber smile, and any residual frustration that she had been feeling completely dissipated. She put the card in her purse, rolled down her window a bit and took in the refreshing evening breeze. Then she closed her eyes and happily anticipated what would undoubtedly be another amazing evening with Alex Witherspoon.
Chapter Fourteen
Timber felt skittish when Rafael pulled into Alex’s long winding driveway and parked in front of his house. He came around and opened her door, and she stepped out of the car and took everything in. Alex lived in a very exclusive, secluded suburb filled with expensive homes. His modern, split level, stark white house was one of the smaller homes on the block, but nevertheless, it was quite impressive.
Rafael carried Timber’s bag and flowers to the door and said goodnight. She thanked him then reached up to ring Alex’s bell, but before her finger could hit the button, he opened the door.
“Hey you,” Alex said warmly. His smile was so inviting, and he seemed thrilled to see her.
“Hi,” Timber smiled, struggling to keep her composure.
He took her flowers and bag. “You look great. Come on in.”
“Thanks. And thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do since I wasn’t able to pick you up. I’m so sorry about that as well as the last minute plans. It’s been so hard for me to carve out any personal time to get together with anyone. But I’ve really been wanting to see you.”
“It’s okay, I understand,” she said, glad that he apologized and gave her some sort of explanation. The reminder that he could’ve called briefly or sent a quick message at some point over the past twenty-one days crossed her mind, but she quickly brushed it off and focused on the fact that she was there now.
Alex led Timber through the entryway and into the great room. His house was beautiful. High ceilings were adorned with soft recessed lighting, which shone down on dark hardwood floors, contemporary white leather furniture and colorful abstract artwork.
“I love your home,” Timber told him. “And it’s decorated beautifully.”
“Thank you, even though I can’t take any credit for it. I hired a great real estate agent and a very talented interior designer.”
Alex sat her bag down on the couch, and the pair headed into his huge gray and white kitchen. The countertops were made of marble, and the brand new appliances were stainless steel. Gorgeous pendant lighting hung from the ceiling and lit up the oversized island. And then, Timber noticed the scent of burnt meat lingered in the air. Unopened takeout containers had been shoved into a corner. This was obviously a result of his home cooked dinner gone wrong. She refrained from commenting so as not to embarrass him any further.
Alex placed her roses in a beautiful crystal vase that he had filled with water, then approached her and unexpectedly kissed her softly on the cheek. Timber’s face twitched underneath the touch of his soft lips. She closed her eyes and prayed that he hadn’
t noticed. He had.
“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling back and looking at her.
“Yes…I’m fine,” she said.
“Are you sure?” he continued, struggling to contain his laughter. “You seemed to have had some sort of reaction when I kissed you.”
“Yeah, uh…my face does that sometimes,” Timber lied, holding her hand up to her cheek self-consciously.
“Okay,” Alex replied amusingly. “Are you ready to eat?”
“I am,” Timber said, even though she was feeling a bit too nervous to eat. Hopefully by the time Alex served dinner, she would have calmed down.
He led her into his posh dining room and pulled out her chair. Then he went into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of wine and a tray filled with satay and spring rolls.
“I don’t know if Rafael told you about dinner,” he began sheepishly, “But it went wrong on me twice, so I ended up having to order out. I hope you like Thai.”
“I love Thai.”
“I burned two ducks before I just scratched the whole cooking thing.”
“Well I appreciate your efforts,” Timber assured him.
Alex left again and came back with a big bowl of noodles and another bowl of seaweed salad. He poured the wine and prepared their plates then sat down next to her.
“This looks delicious,” Timber said, the scent of the food enticing her appetite. She picked up her chopsticks and began eating, and the meal tasted just as good as it looked.
“Thank you again for coming over on such short notice,” Alex said.
“No worries. With your schedule, it looks like I have to catch you when I can.”
“And I know we haven’t spoken since our first date, but this acting thing is getting crazy. A lot of scripts have been coming in and I’m just trying to get attached to everything that I can while the iron is hot.”
“So your performance in Absolutely Nowhere must really be putting you on the map,” Timber said, feeling happy for Alex’s success on one hand, but wondering whether he really had time for a relationship on the other.
“I was getting a lot of calls before that movie, but after it hit theaters, things just snowballed. But listen, I don’t want to talk about me all night long. What about you? How are you and Soothing Bliss doing?”
“I’m doing well, and business is great,” Timber said, thinking of how nice it was to have a man in her life who actually cared about her business. “Orders have been rolling in nonstop and I’m experimenting with some new formulations. I’d like to come out with full lines of products that focus on one specific scent, like lavender, mint, eucalyptus. Those scents in particular are a few of my best sellers.”
“How is that expansion coming along that you mentioned? Have you looked at any spaces yet?”
“Not yet. But the minute I get some free time I’m going to move on it.”
“You’ve got to make the time, Timber,” Alex said. “If you keep stalling, the time will never come, and you’ll never advance.”
Timber paused, feeling somewhat pressured, and maybe even a little bit judged. She wondered whether Alex felt that working out of her basement wasn’t good enough. But for the time being, her current workspace was working for her just fine. The low overhead expenses meant that she was making quite a decent profit. But nevertheless, she knew that Alex was only trying to help, and that he believed in her products enough to encourage her expansion.
“I see you brought your overnight bag,” he pointed out without waiting for her response to his commercial space suggestion.
“I did,” Timber said.
“And I hope you know that there is no pressure for you to stay over. I just wanted to extend the invitation since we don’t exactly live around the corner from one another. Like I said, the guest room is all yours.”
“I appreciate that. Thank you.” Timber said. She actually liked the idea of staying over, because it meant that they would have tomorrow and maybe even Sunday to spend together.
When they were done eating, he cleared the dishes and came back into the dining room carrying two bowls filled with apple pie à la mode.
“Ooh, my favorite,” Timber said, clapping her hands. “I love apple pie.”
“I know,” Alex said. “I called Eva while you were on your way here and told her about my cooking disaster. I asked what she thought I should order for dinner and pick up for dessert. I’m glad she got it right.”
“Aw, that was sweet,” Timber said, touched that Alex had thought to call Eva to ask about what she liked.
“Should we take our dessert and wine into the theater room and watch a movie?” Alex asked.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Timber said, getting up from the table and grabbing their glasses. She followed Alex into a spacious room that resembled an actual movie theater, but on a much smaller scale. Twelve plush leather recliners were coupled together in descending rows throughout the room, and a huge screen was set up on the front wall.
“Wow, what a great space,” Timber said, feeling both overwhelmed and privileged being in the midst of Alex’s extravagant world.
“Thanks. I can’t take any credit for this room either. It was already set up exactly like this when I moved in.”
“Well it’s perfect for you, especially considering your profession.”
“That it is,” Alex agreed, walked towards the screen and setting their desserts down next to two front row recliners. “I’ve got this entire system set up on my phone, so I can connect to my streaming service and play any movie you’d like to see.”
“Nice,” Timber said, placing their wine next to their desserts and settling into one of the recliners. “I’m in the mood for a romantic comedy. What about you?”
“I’m more of an action/adventure type of guy, but you’re my guest, so whatever you say goes.”
“I appreciate that, thank you,” Timber said. Alex handed her his phone, and she scrolled through the film choices before settling on a huge hit from the 80’s that she hadn’t seen in years.
“Good choice,” Alex said. “I actually like this one.”
From his phone, Alex was able to dim the lights and start the movie. He sat down in the recliner next to Timber’s and then raised the arms between them on both of their chairs so that they could move in closer to one another.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked, grabbing a fur throw from underneath his seat and placing it over the both of them. Then he pressed the reclining buttons on their chairs until they were tilted into a more relaxed position.
“Very,” Timber said, feeling cozy underneath the throw and next to this dreamy man. “I hope I don’t fall asleep.”
“If you do, you’ll miss out on my infamous hot chocolate that I was planning to make for us a little later.”
“Oh really? What’s so infamous about it?”
“Well, it’s just a cool recipe that I created where I infuse the hot chocolate with sweet spices and seasonings, bittersweet hot fudge and marshmallows. Not to mention a candy cane to top it off. But hey, if sleeping is more important to you than that, then—”
“That sounds amazing!” Timber interrupted. “You’d better not let me fall asleep and miss out on all of that deliciousness!”
“And delicious it is,” Alex teased. “But I won’t, I won’t,” he laughed. “I also won’t be mad at you for not picking one of the movies that I was in for us to watch either.”
“Whoa,” Timber bellowed, nudging him playfully. “You can’t be serious.”
“Not really, but….”
Timber couldn’t tell whether Alex was joking or somewhat serious. Whichever it was, she tried to keep the mood light with her reply. “I guess I thought you’d feel self-conscious sitting here with me while watching yourself onscreen.”
“Me? Self-conscious?”
“You’re right. What was I thinking?” Timber laughed. Alex was indeed one of the most confident and self-assured people that she had ever met.
As the movie began to play, Timber picked up her bowl of dessert and focused on the screen. But she could see through the corner of her eye that Alex was focused solely on her.
“Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?” he asked softly.
“I don’t believe you did.”
“Well you do. You’re gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” Timber murmured. Alex had encountered some of the most beautiful women in the world. So for him to think that of her was extremely flattering.
She watched as Alex’s gaze drifted from her eyes down to her lips. He took her chin in his hand and leaned in slowly. She parted her lips, bracing herself for what she was sure would be the most phenomenal kiss that she’d ever had. And then, right before Alex’s lips touched hers, his phone vibrated loudly, causing them both to practically jump out of their seats.
“I’m so sorry,” Alex said, grabbing the phone.
Timber expected him to turn it off and pick up where they had left off before the intrusive interruption. But instead, he looked down at the caller I.D. and hopped up from his chair.
“I’m so sorry, babe, but I need to take this,” he said, darting out of the room.
Timber just sat there, completely baffled. She tried her best not to be offended. She knew that Alex was probably waiting on all types of calls when it came to his career. She reminded herself that his phone was his lifeline and connected to his livelihood. And she willed herself not to think about his interrupting their date to take a call from whom she hoped wasn’t another woman.
After what seemed like forever, Alex finally came back into the room and sat down next to her.
“Sorry about that,” he said breathlessly. “I just got some ridiculously great news.”
“Did you?” Timber asked, trying her best to sound excited for him. “What was it?”
“I just landed the role of a lifetime!” he said, now completely fired up. “This is it, Timber. This is the one. This is the part that is going to catapult my career to the next level.”
“That is awesome. Congratulations!” she said, genuinely happy for him. And in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel relieved that he had been gone for so long on a business rather than a personal call.
The Road To Bliss Page 12