The Vine

by C. A Ellis

  I was instantly mesmerised by the beauty of the man holding me upright. I could feel his strength through his hands on my arms, and although my knees were weak, all I could do was nod as I pulled away, quickly releasing myself, and dodged past him out onto the street, because more than anything at that moment, I needed air…and fast.

  That was our first meeting, and unbeknownst to me, it was the day that pretty much changed everything. George had done Luke’s company’s accounts for years, and they knew each other very well professionally and personally. They would have the odd eighteen holes of golf together, and both had a mutual respect for one another. So when Luke started coming in for the account meetings, it was a bit of a surprise because Cole, his brother and business partner, had always been the one who came in for the meetings, and had done so for years—for as long as I had worked there anyway but from that day forward, Luke came to Sinclair’s instead of Cole.

  The first time he came into the office, I was shocked. The memory of our accidental meeting was etched into my mind, and I’d never dreamed I would ever see that sexy stranger again.

  I knew I was going to have to put up with seeing this Adonis every now and again, so I remained professional. When he visited, I just tried not to stare—not too much anyway. We started off very professional; we were both polite, all manners and coy looks. He was Mr. Castle, and I was Miss Maynard. Then after a few visits, he just started calling me Elizabeth, and he asked me to stop calling him Mr. Castle, and to please call him Lucas. And that’s when the light banter started. Then after a couple of months, the flirting started—on his part mainly, but I did play up to it a little. I couldn’t help it; this man just affects me.

  I’d had two previous boyfriends in my teens. Both boys were my age at the time and quite immature; they certainly didn’t treat me very well, but at the time, I thought I was in love. I gave my virginity to the first one after we’d been together a while, but soon after, I found him in an awkward position with another girl at a friend’s house party.

  The other guy I met was also a louse, who was out with his mates all the time, and who just called me every now and again for sex. Both relationships were before Mum and Dad’s accident and after that, and until I met Luke, I hadn’t been with any other men, not even for a date. I will never forget Luke asking me to dinner on that fateful Wednesday, because it was the change of our relationship from platonic and friendly, to the next level—dating. For most people, this is nothing, as they have dates all the time. But for me, this was a big deal; trusting and having faith in someone was what I had lost over the previous four years, and I didn’t know if I’d ever get it back.

  God knows I’d had enough counselling over the years to help me try and put my trust issues to the side, but I’d held a lot inside from the councillors and therapists, preferring to bottle it all up instead of being subjected to looks of pity about my situation.

  On this day—and I still don’t know why—I thought I at least needed to try and make a change to my life, and so far it’s the best decision I have ever made.

  That Wednesday, I greeted Lucas in reception as I had done on many occasions when he came into Sinclair for his meetings. I was trying to instigate our usual banter, but for some reason, it just didn’t seem to be sitting well with him. As the lift reached our floor, I was thinking what hard work it was today—usually conversation with Lucas just flowed, as he was so easy to talk to. Maybe he was in a bad mood or something, or maybe I’ve done something to make him upset with me. And then I mentally berated myself for turning a situation into being my fault, which is an awful habit that I have. If Katy were here, she’d kick my arse. It was really unusual with Lucas, but I was starting to feel quite uncomfortable.

  His behaviour at the moment was not like him at all. This was definitely not the man I had seen making some of the senior accountants physically shake with his normal abrupt, no-nonsense manner. Many a time, I’d seen Lucas storm out of a meeting room before stopping abruptly in front of me, and I’d assumed it was because he puts on so much of a front in the boardroom, but now I know it was because when he saw me, I instantly calmed him. I remembered melting inside a little when he let out that snippet of information, but before I knew all that, here he was with this strange, awkward manner, and I couldn’t for the life of me put my finger on why. Then, at last, I could see he was going to say something. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then promptly closed it, and then he did the same thing again. I didn’t quite understand the whole fish impression thing he had going on, and I didn’t know what to say or do, so I just didn’t say anything.

  In this awkward situation, I tried to find solace in his gorgeous eyes, and as I did, realisation hit me like a brick—Lucas was nervous about something. I just stared at him, and as he caught my eye, he just stared right back at me, seconds passing feeling like hours. The next time he went to speak, something did come out, and what he said shocked me more than the silence.

  Between the stuttering and mumbling of ums and ahs, I was able to gather what he was trying to ask me: “Elizabeth, I was just wondering if you would like to come out for dinner with me one evening.”

  Oh, my God, I thought, I’ve seen it all now. Lucas Castle has been reduced to a stammering wreck.

  “Well, Lucas, I—” But before I could finish, he was almost retracting his invitation.

  “It’s okay, Elizabeth, I understand. I’m a little older than you, and it might be weird with the whole work thing. It was just an idea.” He was babbling now.

  I had to stop him, firstly, because he was so obviously uncomfortable, and secondly, because he was so damn hot, I definitely wanted to go to dinner with him. “Lucas,” I said, but he carried on bumbling away with clearly unrehearsed dialogue. Boy, he obviously didn’t get turned down very often. Not that I’m the least bit surprised, I thought. I mean, who would turn down this statuesque god in front of me?

  “Lucas,” I repeated a bit louder this time, which seemed to work as he immediately closed his mouth. I looked at him seriously, almost prolonging his pain. “I would love to go to dinner with you.” And at that, his smile appeared. Wow, that smile—it got me every time. Although you would have thought I had told him he had won the lottery, and not just that little old me would have dinner with him. I smiled too, and then I got serious again. “There is just one condition.” Lucas raised his eyebrows in question. “You must call me Lizzy, not Elizabeth.” I smiled at him again, and he immediately returned it.

  “Okay, great, no problem, Lizzy.” I didn’t like it when people called me Elizabeth. Mum and Dad used to call me Elizabeth—only them, always only them. My wistfulness passed as Lucas spoke again, “Is this Saturday okay? And what time shall I pick you up? Would eight be okay?” He rushed out his words, which surprised me. After all, he was only talking about taking me out to dinner; surely with all the stunners he must have had, I was small fry. Realising I still hadn’t answered while my mind drifted, I quickly nodded excitedly, saying, “Sure that would be great.”

  I gave him my address, and at that point, Mr. Sinclair buzzed for me to show Lucas through. “Mr. Castle,” I said professionally, giving him a secret smile, “Mr. Sinclair is ready for you.”

  “Thank you, Miss Maynard,” Lucas replied before adjusting his cuffs and heading toward George’s office.

  Just as he turned the handle to enter, I saw his business face appear. From boy to man, I thought, chuckling to myself at the events that had just miraculously unfolded in my life in the last few minutes.

  About an hour later, the door had opened, and as I turned to look, my stomach somersaulted as Lucas walked out. It was ridiculous really, how this man affected me, and if my tummy was like this by just seeing him, how on earth was I going to eat a dinner in front of him? With that thought in my head, he walked formally straight past me, nodding with a curt “Miss Maynard” as he went.

  “Mr. Castle,” I whispered in a confused tone. What just happened? Had he changed his mind? I
then watched his back as he departed, and the doors closed as the lift plummeted, taking my stomach with it. What had I done?

  As I was sitting there analysing our conversation, the telephone rang. I answered, trying to sound as upbeat as possible, considering the scenario I’d just pictured of dinner with a certain handsome man this weekend had just been shattered into a billion pieces.

  “Good afternoon. Mr. Sinclair’s office.”

  “Hello, Lizzy; it’s Lucas.”

  I was silent; now I was really confused. “What’s going on Lucas?” I asked, trying and failing miserably to hide the hurt in my voice.

  “Hell, Lizzy, I’m so sorry.”

  Oh, here we go, I thought, he has changed his mind. He’s bloody well changed his mind. This is the first date I’ve accepted in over four years and now he’s blowing me off. Again Lucas’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Lizzy, after my meeting with George, I mentioned to him about me taking you out to dinner. I just thought I would say something to him out of courtesy because of the business aspect, but also because I know how close you are to him. I don’t know why, but it’s like he looks out for you or something, so I sort of felt I should clear it with him. But, Lizzy, he really wasn’t happy with it at all. In fact, he was quite angry, and to be honest, he went so red in the face I thought he was going to have a coronary or something. So I just passed it off as just a thought, and if he wasn’t happy with it then of course I wouldn’t take things any further.”

  “Oh,” was all I could think to say. I don’t think it was really Lucas that George had the issue with. I think it was all men in general. Although his reputation with women preceded him, and George knew him well enough that it probably hadn’t helped his case.

  Since the death of my parents, George had become a bit of a father figure, and I think because he knows all I’d been through, he was just being protective toward me. He wouldn’t want me getting hurt any more than I had been already.

  “But I really do want to take you out to dinner, Lizzy. I really do,” he pleaded.

  “Look, Lucas, I really do respect George and the fact he’s looking out for me, but I am a big girl, and I am certainly capable of making my own decisions. So I would love to go for dinner with you this Saturday night,” I said a whole lot more confidently than I actually felt. “Great,” he replied, and I literally heard the breath he’d been holding exhale. “Well in that case, Lizzy, I’ll pick you up at 8pm on Saturday.”

  “Looking forward to it,” I replied more coyly now, and with that, we bid our goodbyes and hung up. As I put down the telephone, a shiver of excitement ran through me. I had a dinner date this weekend with a tall, dark, and handsome man—my first real date. You certainly couldn’t count the boys I was with when I was younger, as dates weren’t really on their radar, just shagging. I shudder when I think of how I’d let myself be used in the past, and I could feel my mood sinking, so I brought myself back up. No way was I going to let those scumbags ruin my euphoria. I had a date with a gentleman this coming Saturday.

  I’m not sure how, but a god-like creature wanted me to go to dinner with him.

  Oh no, what am I doing? What am I going to wear? Where is he going to take me? As panic set in, my first thought was that I must phone Katy; she’d know what to do—she always knows what to do. I instantly called her mobile and she answered on the second ring.

  “Hey! How’s it going, babe?” I smiled; Katy’s voice always had that effect on me.

  “I’m good, but I really need your help. Can we meet for lunch?”

  “Oh, babe, I’d love to, but I’m up to my eyeballs with clients. Lauren’s gone home sick.”

  Katy owns a high-end beauty salon in Mayfair, and to be honest, she very rarely does treatments since just overseeing the running of the business and paperwork takes up enough of her time, but sometimes, like when staff is off sick, she always mucks in.

  “Okay, no worries. I’ll see you at home tonight.” I sighed. I must have sounded downbeat, because instantly Katy’s tone changed. “Is everything okay, Lizzy? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Really, don’t worry; I just wanted some advice. That’s all.”

  “Okay, Lizzy. If you’re sure it can wait, I’ll see you at home later then.”

  Regardless of what she had just said—and to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t really listening and needed to get this off my chest—I just blurted out, “I’ve got a dinner date on Saturday night.”

  “What?” Katy’s shocked exclamation came down the line so loudly I actually pulled the telephone back from my ear. “Who with?” she screeched.

  “Katy, firstly, you don’t have to sound quite so surprised. Is it really that unbelievable that I have a date? And secondly, it’s with Lucas Castle.” Silence.

  “Right, I’ll move a couple of appointments and I’ll be right over. We’ll grab a sandwich and talk.” And with that, she hung up; my mouth was still open ready to speak, but she was gone, just like that. Weird.

  Twenty minutes later, I got a call from reception. Thinking it was Katy, I informed them I was on my way down. I went in to tell George I was popping out for lunch, grabbed my bag and jacket, jumped in the lift and headed downstairs.

  As I entered reception, I looked around for Katy but couldn’t see her, and as I glanced at Rochelle, the receptionist, I could see she was grinning wildly at me whilst holding the biggest bunch of flowers I had ever seen. It looked like it consisted of every different flower known to man, and in every different colour.

  I pointed to my own chest, mouthing, ‘for me?’ In answer, Rochelle looked quite demented she was nodding so vigorously. As I walked over to retrieve them from her, she was squealing, “There’s a card too!” I took them from her as she hovered over me, practically hopping from foot to foot. “Thanks, Rochelle,” I said before making my way to one of the modern, black leather and chrome sofas.

  I placed the flowers on the glass table in front of the sofa, and pulled the gold envelope out of its holder amongst the flowers. I slowly pulled the card out of its envelope, my heart banging against my chest as I read the handwritten scrawl on the card.

  Lizzy, I cannot stop thinking about you,

  and absolutely cannot wait until Saturday night.

  Lucas X

  Wow, that was so nice of him to send me flowers before our date, but what’s that ‘I cannot stop thinking about you’ all about? That has got to be a line. Oh no, what if he thinks it was more than just a date he’d be getting on Saturday? Well, if that was the case, he could think again, because I was not that kind of girl—even if he did have eyes that hypnotised me, hair that I just wanted to run my fingers though, lips I knew I could probably kiss all night long and a face that was so knicker-dropping handsome…

  What am I doing? I mentally berated myself for letting my mind go to those sorts of forbidden places. I was immediately brought out of my daydream by Katy’s shrill voice at the main door. “Hey, Maynard, get your arse out here! We need to talk.”

  I left the flowers at the centre of the glass table for later, and tucked the card into my bag as I scurried along, trying to catch up with Katy as she retreated back out of the building.

  I followed her two streets before we met in Giuseppe’s, our favourite little Italian deli café. We queued up to order, Katy remained silent but I could see her looking at me from the corner of her eye.

  Katy ordered her usual—a tomato and mozzarella Panini and a peppermint tea—and then it was my turn to order, and as I was looking up to the menu display, I could feel Katy looking me up and down. I ordered a prosciutto, tomato and basil on Artisan bread, and then I ordered a cappuccino. By then, Katy was seated in a booth near the window, and as I slid in opposite her, she was quiet. Oh, dear, this is worrying. And then she started, “What’s happening with Lucas Fucking Castle, Elizabeth?”

  I couldn’t believe Katy had called me Elizabeth, because she knows and respects my feelings about that. Oh, dear, this is bad… this is really bad.


  “Well,” I started whilst I thought of what I should say that wouldn’t rile her up any further. I mean, we’ve had our little disagreements over the years, but I’d actually never seen Katy so mad. I carried on regardless. “You know that Castle Law has been a client of Sinclair’s for years. Well, I’ve gotten to know Lucas over the last couple of months, and he’s invited me for dinner and I’ve accepted.”

  “I thought Cole dealt with all the accounts-side of the business?” Katy questioned.

  “He did for years, but then I guess Lucas must have taken over that side of things,” I answer innocently.

  “Impossible!” Katy snapped, shaking her head. “Accounts are what Cole’s side of the business is. Lucas meets and obtains the new clients; that’s how it’s always ran. Remember, Cole’s only a few years older than us, and he and I were fuck buddies a few years back.” She looked at my expression of shock at her crude selection of words and continued, “Oh, don’t look at me with that face, Lizzy. Friends with benefits, or whatever they call it these days. Anyway, I know how they run their business, and I also know that the three of them are nothing but rich playboys.” She glares at me.

  “Katy, I really think you are overreacting. It’s just dinner.” I emphasised the ‘just dinner’ part, but Katy was shaking her head like there was just no way would she believe it. “Katy, please don’t be mad; this is the first date I’ve wanted to go on in years. I was really excited about it, and I wanted to share my excitement with you.”

  Since Katy was still silent, I continued, “I thought we’d get to go outfit shopping. You’d get to pamper me in your salon, which you always want to do…not that I ever let you. The last thing I expected was for you to be mad at me about it.”

  Katy’s face mellowed slightly, “Lizzy, Lucas Castle is a total womaniser. So please, trust me when I say you, my sweet girl, may think it’s just dinner, but he will have more—a lot more—on his agenda.”