by R. J. Groves
‘You don’t have to leave, yet.’ She frowned, confused, so he continued. ‘I’ll head to work after the gym. Got a few things to sort out before the day starts.’ A few things to look into. ‘Stay and sleep as long as you want.’ He grabbed his key ring and slipped the house key off it, holding it out towards her.
She sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist. God, if he’d thought to cancel on Connor earlier … But no, he’d never cancelled on Connor before. And he intended on keeping this one tradition they still had.
‘What’s this?’ she said, her voice a little hoarse.
‘My house key.’
Her eyes narrowed and she ran a nervous hand through her bed-messed hair. ‘Why?’
‘To lock up when you leave.’ He rose, picked up his wallet and took out a note, placing it on the bedside table. ‘This should cover the taxi ride.’ He registered her frown, but didn’t linger on it. He was already running late. ‘There’s a spare towel in the cupboard. Just make sure you lock up before you go.’
She brought her hand to her forehead in a mock salute. ‘Aye aye, Captain.’ He wished it didn’t sound as though she was distancing herself, and he wished he could have spent the morning with her. But he couldn’t. And he had to figure it out later.
‘I have to go.’ He moved towards the door, then back towards the bed to pick his phone up. Then he left, feeling her gaze following him. He didn’t look back. If he had, he wouldn’t have been able to leave.
***
Andie relaxed her pursed lips, the disappointment sinking in as she heard the front door close, and sighed, flopping back on the bed that still smelled of him, and sweat, and sex.
The gym?
On a Monday morning?
After being up all night? Leaving her naked in his bed, alone in his home, her lips ready for one more kiss, to go to the gym with his friend? With his key to lock up and some money to get a taxi ride home. And after the night before had been so amazing … She let out another frustrated sigh. God, she wished she could understand men.
One moment he was suggesting they make this whole thing casual, which led to a hard and fast session, followed by another very slow, intense, love-making session. Making love. She’d never known why it was referred to as that, but God, now she did. There was no other way to describe what that last one was. Tender. Sweet. Memorable. And that only made the whole thing worse. How could they keep things casual when she was already feeling like this after one night? It was only a matter of time before she was in too deep, if she wasn’t already.
Her eyes drifted to the key, then to the money on the bedside table.
Maybe that’s why he suddenly had to go to the gym. Maybe she’d muttered something in those incredible moments of bliss, or in her delirious naps that she’d managed to get between sessions. Maybe this was his way of getting her to leave without being kicked out.
Well, she didn’t have any experience with one-night stands, but it sure looked like it was a way of getting her out of his house. His key, though? Why would he give her his key to lock up? And what did he expect her to do with it after she locked up? That didn’t sound very one-night-standish. She rolled out of the bed and reached for her clothes, deciding that she’d rather shower at home. If he wanted her gone, she wasn’t going to waste his time. He’d probably be back inside the moment she left. It didn’t take long before she’d put her clothes on, made the bed, called a taxi, gathered up her things and locked up, leaving the money sitting on the bedside table.
Taxi money or not, there was no way in hell she was going to accept money from him. Especially not after a night like last night.
She spent the drive home staring up at the buildings as they passed by, taking in the calmness of brisk early mornings. The city had yet to awaken, and she found herself feeling lonely, even after a night of being in his arms. It wasn’t until the taxi had pulled up in front of her house that she realised she’d been silently crying for God knows what reason.
She swiped at her eyes, paid the taxi driver and went inside, feeling the emptiness and loneliness of her little abode swamp around her, despite the fact that Joey was home. She tiptoed to the bathroom and started the shower, slowly peeling away the clothes that still smelled faintly of chocolate and of him. She stood in the shower, the running water rushing over her as though it would wash away all the confusion and the tiredness and the aches that she felt. And she scrubbed her body until she could no longer smell him anywhere on her.
It did nothing to erase the memory of his lingering kisses.
***
‘All right, that’s it.’
Tay kept pumping the extra-heavy bar, feeling the burn down his arms, across his chest. He was hurting like hell, and it felt so good. Pumping away the pressure, the frustrations. But no matter how hard he pumped, he couldn’t shake the one thing he was trying to deal with—Andie, and the fact that he couldn’t get her out of his head. And that he hadn’t wanted to leave her alone in bed like that. Not when the sight of her creamy skin had him aching for another round. And the thought that he wanted her—and only her—more than anything else in the world.
Even when he’d learned not to want things a long time ago.
‘Tay, that’s it,’ Connor repeated, his tone stern this time.
He pushed harder again. Pushing until his arms felt like they were about to give way, and the blood was rushing to his head, and his chest felt like it was going to tear open. And still, there she was, clear in his mind. Her silky-smooth hair draped over her creamy naked body that fit against his so perfectly. He pushed again.
‘Are you a bloody fool?’ Connor yanked the bar from his hands and put it on the rack. Tay sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow.
‘I wasn’t finished.’
‘Like hell you weren’t. You know better than anyone not to push a new weight too hard. Are you fixed on injuring yourself?’
He took a drink from his water bottle and shrugged indifferently.
Connor swore. ‘Libby will kill me if I let you hurt yourself. You know that, right?’ Connor rubbed his forehead, clearly frustrated. ‘I don’t know what’s gotten into you, man, but I’ve never seen you be stupid with weights, regardless of how much pent-up energy you have.’
Tay deepened his breaths, feeling the ache slowly leave his muscles, but he still had the ache he’d arrived at the gym with. The one somewhere in his chest that started around the time a certain woman was sobbing in his lap. He closed his eyes, and all he could see was her. His grip tightened around his drink bottle and he opened his eyes, forcing himself to have another drink.
‘Big night.’
Connor’s eyes grew serious. ‘Trouble sleeping again?’
Tay felt his eyebrow lift. Connor was the only one who knew about all the troubles he’d had over the last ten years. Sure, Libby knew some things—the superficial things. But only Connor knew the true extent of it all. The nightmares. The doubts.
‘You could say that,’ he muttered.
Connor considered him. ‘Tay, if it’s gone too far—’
He waved his suggestion off. ‘Not that. I was—’ He rubbed his eyes again. ‘—I was with a woman.’
A woman.
For some reason, it didn’t seem right referring to Andie as just a woman. The woman, perhaps, but not a woman. No. She was more than that.
‘Oh, a woman,’ Connor repeated sarcastically. Tay frowned. ‘So, you just happened to be with a woman last night—on a Sunday night, mind you, when you don’t go out—and managed to spend the whole night with her?’
He shrugged, taking another sip of his water. He probably shouldn’t have told Connor. It would probably end up getting back to Libby. Which is why he wouldn’t say who he was with. To Connor, she would just be a woman, but Tay couldn’t ignore the heaviness in his chest every time she was referred to as that. But he hadn’t thought about the whole day-of-the-week factor. Or that Connor had observed him more than he knew.
‘So, that’s why
you were late, then? Had to find some way to kick her out?’
His jaw clenched, but he forced himself to take a deep breath. He would not tell his friend that she was probably still in his bed. Or that he’d lent her his key to lock up when she was ready to leave. That he’d practically implied that she didn’t even have to leave. In fact, a part of him hoped she’d still be in his bed when he got home later. The realistic part of him knew she wouldn’t be.
‘Funny,’ Connor continued. ‘I’ve got a friend who’s feeling lonely. I’ll have to tell him the soup kitchen is a good place to pick up.’
‘I didn’t go,’ he ground out, loosening his hold on his drink bottle. God, if he clenched any tighter, he’d probably break it.
Connor stopped, studying him, a frown on his face. ‘You always go.’
‘Well, I didn’t.’
‘Every Sunday night, for ten years, you’ve gone.’ Connor pinched the bridge of his nose and swore. ‘Tay, if this is Tr—’
‘Don’t say her name,’ he growled. ‘She is nothing like that bitch.’ Nothing like her. God, he hoped he was right.
‘Well, then, she must be some woman to have you so riled up.’ His voice was dripping with sarcasm. But then, what did Connor know? He was marrying the only girl he’d ever been in love with. He didn’t get to deal with a woman screwing him over and changing his life forever. He didn’t have to put his life back together piece by bloody piece.
Tay checked the time and wiped his brow again. ‘I’m off,’ he said, dismissively. ‘Got some things to sort out before work starts.’
‘Anything to do with the woman you were with?’
Everything to do with her. ‘So what if it is?’
He knew he was being curt with his best friend—the only guy who’d stuck by his side through all of it. But he just couldn’t help it. No matter what he did, his best friend and his sister would be sceptical about any woman he was with. Always questioning, wondering, waiting for her to be another Trudy. Trudy, who hadn’t really been a Trudy. The whole time, she’d been playing him. The whole time, she’d been moulding him to her ways, framing him. The whole time, he’d let himself be played, thinking it was love. Thinking she was The One.
He had no doubt in his mind that Connor and Libby would take a long time to warm up to any woman he introduced them to, if they ever warmed up at all. Which is why he never let it get that far. And why he never had anything more than a bit of fun with a woman. He pushed aside the thought of Andie once more and ignored the niggling in his chest. A bit of fun. That was all. That’s all it could be.
So, why did he feel guilty about what he planned to do next?
‘Just … be careful, won’t you? Your dad’s not here to help this time.’
He felt his jaw clench, but nodded. ‘You and Libby have nothing to worry about,’ he said, gathering his things. ‘I can look after myself.’
He thought he heard Connor grumble something as he left, but he didn’t catch what it was. His mind was still reeling. Had she really changed him so much already, that the things that were routine for him were easily looked over? That he was willing to drop the things that were near-on tradition to be at her beck and call?
His phone pinged in his hand and he looked down at the message. Two words from Helen. Two simple words that had the guilt settling into the deepest part of his stomach.
He’s here.
***
I left the key with your doorman.
Andie stared at the message she’d sent hours earlier. She’d meant it in good jest, hoping to break the ice between them. Hoping that the way he’d left her that morning hadn’t been just that—leaving her. Lips pursed, ready for a goodbye kiss, and just … leaving her.
Oh, she knew she shouldn’t be upset about it. He had kissed her as she woke up, after all. But that was different. She had hoped for a goodbye kiss. Something to show he was different to Joseph. So many times, she’d woken up to find that Joseph had already left, and the rest of the time he’d been finishing getting dressed like Taylor had been that morning. He’d never once given her a goodbye kiss, even when she’d ached for one. He’d never even given her a good-morning kiss.
She reminded herself that things were supposed to be casual between her and Taylor—whatever that meant. She’d been ready to take that as one night, and one night only, but she still had this stupid key to somehow return to him. She pressed her hand to her pocket, making sure it was, indeed, still with her.
She sighed, and was about to tuck her phone into her pocket when she finally got a reply.
I don’t have a doorman.
She started typing out a reply when Harley yanked the phone from her hand and looked at it.
‘Harley!’ she shrieked, making a grab for the phone. Her friend fended her off with a hand, her eyes wide.
‘My God, Andie,’ she teased, waving the phone just out of reach. ‘Mr Sexy-Brother, really?’
‘Oh, just give me the phone, would you?’ She held her hand out expectantly, and Harley gave it back with an eye roll.
‘You shouldn’t reply straight away though.’
Andie frowned. ‘Why not?’
‘It’ll show you’re desperate,’ Harley teased.
Her frown deepened. ‘Seriously? I’m trying to get his stupid key back to him. I sent that message hours ago.’
‘And he just replied, right?’ Andie nodded. ‘See? He took hours to reply.’
‘I’m sure he’s been busy,’ she muttered, twisting the phone in her hand.
The whole waiting thing didn’t make sense to her. When she sent someone a message, she wanted to hear back from them as soon as possible. If he’d purposefully put off replying to her message for so long just because …
‘It’s about his key,’ she muttered again, returning to typing.
The sooner he had his key back, the better. She tilted her head to one side, then to the other, stretching her muscles. Her whole body ached, an uncomfortable reminder of what had gone down the night before. Or rather, who had gone down … She blinked back the thought. Yes, the sooner she managed to stop the whole key thing from looming over her head, the sooner she could start trying to figure out what, exactly, they had.
Sure, he’d suggested—and she’d agreed—to keep it casual. But that was before … Before she’d had a real taste of what it was like to be with him, to have him caressing her body like she was the most fragile thing he’d touched, or looking at her like she was a treasure to be longed for. Or to feel him loving her so thoroughly and sweetly and … and slowly. Drawing out every moment like it was their last.
God, it quite possibly was.
‘Andie, I’m serious,’ Harley said, touching her arm, urging her to look up at her. She looked up to find a concerned look on her friend’s face. ‘He’s too much like—’
‘They’re nothing alike,’ she interrupted, feeling the doubt settle in as she said it.
Harley bit into her lip. ‘They’re both suits, aren’t they? They both have too much money to know what to do with.’
‘Taylor is different. He’s paying for his sister’s wedding. Joseph would never have done such a thing.’
Harley’s eyebrow lifted. ‘Right, so that means you should jump in his bed and throw yourself wholly in?’
‘I’m not—I haven’t—’ Had she? Well, it was debatable. She could already tell that she would be hurt, even if things ended now. ‘It’s a casual thing.’
‘You don’t do casual.’
‘How would you know?’
‘Because, Andie,’ Harley said, squeezing her arm. ‘You’ve been dreaming of a happily ever after since you could walk. We both have.’
She swallowed, blinking back the threatening tears. God, she’d never been so teary in her life. And all since he’d walked through that door being all impatient and arrogant and magnificent …
‘Yeah, well,’ she stammered. ‘I don’t believe in fairy tales anymore.’
‘Yeah, well,’ Harley said, mo
ckingly. ‘I’ll let you know when I believe that.’
Her phone pinged again, and she glanced at the message.
Andie?
Beside her, Harley scoffed. ‘God, what a … So, he’ll spend hours returning your message but expect you to reply straight away? Impatient—’ She drifted off, concern spreading across her face. ‘Didn’t Joseph …?’
‘Oh, shut it,’ she snapped. ‘It’s about his key, Harley.’
Though, it had been a trait of Joseph’s. Taking as long as he felt like to respond to her because of his busy lifestyle, but expecting a reply straight away because she supposedly had nothing better to do than stare at her phone waiting all day.
Determined to not fall in that trap again, she deleted the message she’d been typing and quickly tapped out a new one.
Oh … Then, who did I give it to?
Smirking, she hit the send button and shot Harley an I’m-in-control grin. Harley’s frown only deepened. It was barely thirty seconds before he started calling. Just to prove her point, she let it ring out.
Chapter 25
‘Where the bloody hell is she?’
Andie smirked as she helped her client wriggle out of the wedding dress and left her to change. He almost bowled her over as she came out of the changing room. She gave him as calm a look as she could manage, while inside, she was almost bursting with anticipation, waiting to see what his reaction was going to be. She shot a quick glance towards the clock on the wall. Clearly, his afternoon wasn’t so busy that he couldn’t come down to her work to find his stupid key.
She could still feel it weighing heavily in her pocket. She put on a surprised look.
‘Mr Ballin, what a surprise. Was I expecting you?’
She could have sworn she saw something twitch along his jawline. She suppressed the victorious grin. His eyes darkened, and the anticipation inside her escalated to a whole other level.
‘Where’s the key, Andie?’ he growled.
She couldn’t suppress the grin any longer. Not when he set himself up like that … ‘I can’t really remember,’ she said slowly, batting her eyelashes. ‘Maybe you could help me look for it?’