A Lifetime With You (Falling For A Rose Book 5)

by Stephanie Nicole Norris

He released her, and Octavia straightened herself. “I’m fine,” she reassured. But neither Jonathon nor Selena believed her. Octavia glanced at them both and put her hands on her hips. “I am! Stop treating me like a patient, okay?”

  Jonathon’s eyes widened. “We’re not treating you like a patient. Where is this coming from?”

  “Look, Selena, I’m sorry for waking you. I’m usually here alone, so I didn’t realize I was so loud.”

  Jonathon frowned. “How long has this been happening?”

  Octavia glanced over at him then took her eyes to the clock on her nightstand. “It was just one bad dream. I’m all right.”

  “O, when I came in this room, you were visibly shaken and rocking back and forth. You are not fine. Why are you lying to me?”

  Octavia caught the hurt in his voice, and it made her feel worse.

  “I’m going back to bed,” Selena said. “Jonathon, if you leave, wake me before you go please so I can keep an eye on her.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he grounded out.

  “Oh good, then forget I said it.”

  “Wait a minute.” Octavia threw her arms up. “You’re both doing it again.”

  Jonathon folded his arms. “Doing what again?”

  “Talking like I’m a mental patient. I don’t need anyone to watch me. I’ve been very capable of watching myself all of these years. I don’t need you now.”

  It came out harshly, and Octavia recognized it as soon as the words left her lips. Selena stomped away from the room without another word, headed back to see if she could find slumber. Jonathon stood there watching Octavia, and it bothered her that she couldn’t read his thoughts.

  “Baby girl.” He reached for her, and Octavia wiggled away.

  “No, Jonathon, don’t. It’s not what you think.”

  “Why are you lying to me?”

  Frustrated, Octavia pushed off his shoulders. “It’s not your job to see that I’m okay. Okay! You’re not my family. You’re not my boyfriend. You’re just a friend, and friends don’t invade on another friend’s privacy if it’s not warranted. So just stop.”

  Jonathon took a step back. “Friends don’t push friends away when they’re trying to help. Friends don’t let friends self-destruct. I never have and I never will. So, don’t think I’m about to start now. Regardless of what you say.”

  Octavia was annoyed and livid. She plucked her hands to her hips. “And how will you help me, Jonathon? Huh? What are you gonna do? Save me from my dreams?!”

  “Octavia—”

  “No, you’re not. You know why? Because you can’t. And if I say I don’t want your help, then you don’t have a choice but to listen or you can just leave.”

  Jonathon stared her down. “You want me to leave, Octavia?”

  Octavia’s heart rocked as she gazed back at him. Jonathon waited for her to answer. He wanted to hear her say it.

  “If you want me to go, I will. You’re right. I’m not your family. I’m not your boyfriend. I’m nothing to you, right?”

  Octavia’s heart was teetering on a cliff. She stammered. “I- I didn’t say that. Now, who’s putting words in whose mouth?”

  “So, you didn’t just say that to me a few seconds ago?” Jonathon challenged.

  “I didn’t say you were nothing to me.”

  “But you implied it.”

  Octavia let out an exasperating breath. “Look, I just need to be alone, all right.”

  Jonathon slid his hand down his mouth. “No, you don’t, but since that’s what you want, I’ll leave.”

  Jonathon turned and left the room just as Octavia opened her mouth to speak. When the door slammed, she squinted and shut her eyes. After she realized Jonathon wasn’t coming back, she reopened them to find Selena standing in her doorway.

  “What?” Octavia gritted through clenched teeth.

  “Nothing,” Selena said, strolling back to her quarters with a shake of her head.

  Outside, Jonathon paced across the front porch. Never had he met a woman who could ruffle his feathers and grip his heart like Octavia. Life had thrown him a curveball. Before Octavia, Jonathon’s days were filled with work at Rose Security Group and his mother’s foundation, Jan’s Roses. Jonathon had been A-Okay with working with the organization and growing his business. His love life was null and void, but that hadn’t been a problem for Jonathon since he hadn’t been in the market for love.

  Then he met her, dancing with his brother Jaden at Jonas’ wedding. Seeing her from across the room had stirred Jonathon. The feeling was unfamiliar, yet it warmed his loins and rested against his soul like a soft caress. Jonathon had marched right across the space of the building, ignoring a few people who called out to him as he went straight for Octavia.

  “Hey bro,” Jonathon had said. “You don’t mind if I cut in, do you?”

  Jaden had smirked at Jonathon. “Nah bruh, do ya thang,” he said before moving off.

  That night, Jonathon and Octavia spent most of their time on the dance floor. They’d only left long enough to get something to drink before jamming to “Step in the Name of Love.” The irony was the more Jonathon wanted Octavia for himself, the more she seemed to push him into a friend zone. And for the life of him, Jonathon couldn’t figure out why.

  Over time, their closeness had spun into much more than friendship. Spending long nights staying awake just to hang out at her home or his. Talking about nothing and everything at the same time. Being with her was so easy and restoring. But there was a pain in his gut that told him Octavia didn’t feel the same. Jonathon battled nightly with it. This morning he was seconds away from telling her everything. That he loved her, unconditionally, and never wanted to spend another minute just being friends.

  But Officer Davis had knocked before he could get the words out, and the day had turned into a tailspin of activity. Jonathon stopped pacing and left the porch going to his Hummer. Inside, he glanced back at her house once more before deciding to pull off. If a friend had come to him with a story much like his own, Jonathon was sure he would advise the friend to move on. The girl is just not that into you. But Jonathon couldn’t. He loved her too much. Her laugh that sounded like a serenaded melody brought joy to his life. Her spiciness, with her wanting to show her muscle at times like earlier when she pretended she would quit her job to join his security team. Her self-sacrifice, with wanting to help in any situation, even when she could suffer later for it. Like with opening her home for Ayana Bradwell’s search and having nightmares of her parents’ death.

  For Jonathon, Octavia was everything. And he could never move on. Driving through the city, Jonathon’s mind was crammed with thoughts of her when his phone rang. Pulling it off his dashboard, he glanced at the screen.

  Mia’s face smiled across it, and Jonathon tossed the phone to the side. He was not one to ignore calls. No matter the time of day or night. But Jonathon wasn’t in the right state of mind to have a conversation with Mia. Mia Ford had been one of Jonathon’s friends for a few years now. He’d come to meet her when Mia’s father signed on to work for Rose Security Group. Their friendship was purely platonic even though Mia was a beautiful girl, and Jonathon had sensed a time or two that Mia was interested in more than friendship. But he’d made it abundantly clear that he didn’t mix business with pleasure. And although Mia wasn’t directly connected to him through business, he considered her off limits anyway.

  When Jonathon turned down Octavia’s street, he realized he’d been driving in circles, much like his thoughts.

  “Shit,” he said. “Damn girl got me losing my mind.”

  Jonathon passed Octavia’s house slowly, and all the lights were out. He rubbed another hand over his face and left her block, this time making sure to get as far away from her home as possible. Reaching for the phone now sitting in his passenger seat, Jonathon redialed Mia, and she answered on the first ring.

  “Hey you,” she crooned.

  “Wassup?” Jonathon said.

  “
I know it’s late, but I can’t sleep. Don’t you want to come over and keep me company?”

  Jonathon wished like hell Mia was Octavia. Why couldn’t it be her, he groaned. Jonathon’s eyes dashed to the time.

  “You’re home alone?” Jonathon asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Where’s your brother?”

  “On some guys’ trip in Las Vegas. I don’t need a chaperone if that’s what you’re insisting.”

  That brought a slight smile to Jonathon’s face.

  “Are you coming or not, if not, I’m going to throw on some clothes and head out.”

  “And go where?”

  “I don’t know, maybe wander around a little.”

  Jonathon snickered. “There’s no reason for us both to be out wandering at this hour. I’m on my way.”

  Chapter Eight

  “So, what’s got you riding around so late?” Mia asked when Jonathon strolled through the door.

  “You should tell me why you’re awake first. Your job is having their annual feed the beast party, right?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Mia mumbled, “but I wouldn’t mind it if a rich man came out of nowhere and swept me off my feet and told me I didn’t ever have to work again.” She batted her eyes at him, and Jonathon laughed boisterously.

  “I would be offended, so it’s a good thing I don’t take you seriously,” he said.

  “And therein lies the problem.”

  Jonathon laughed heartily again and followed Mia’s petite frame through the hallway to her bar room. She wore a T-shirt that stopped mid-thigh and exposed her brown legs and feet. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and the tattoo of a butterfly sat on her neck.

  “How did I guess you were relaxing in this room?” Jonathon asked.

  “Because you think you know me, but you don’t.”

  “Yeah, I think I know you quite well.”

  “And I know that you would like a drink as well.”

  Jonathon nodded. “True that, but only one.”

  Mia cut her eyes at him. “One? Since when?”

  Jonathon smirked. “It’s after one. A brother’s got to drive home.”

  Mia shook her head vigorously. “You can stay here. I don’t bite.”

  Jonathon peered at her.

  “I don’t,” she said, taking a sip of her wine. “Not in the way you think anyway.”

  Jonathon reached for a couch pillow and tossed it at her.

  “I’m just saying.” Mia handed him a glass of clear liquid. “Scotch?”

  Jonathon accepted it.

  “To late nights when we can’t sleep.” Mia held up her glass, and they clinked as they cheered.

  Jonathon took a mild sip. “Why do you have scotch in your arsenal anyway? You don’t drink it.”

  “Why do you think?” Mia took another sip of her wine.

  “For your brother?”

  Mia shook her head. “Try again.”

  “For your father.”

  “You have one more guess, and if you get it wrong, you do not get to pass go, and you don’t get to collect two hundred dollars.”

  Jonathon laughed. “Okay, I guess I deserved that.”

  “Un huh.”

  Jonathon took another sip, and their gazes held. “Me?”

  “Ah!” Mia sat her glass down and clapped her hands. “Congratulations, you have just won The Price Is Right.”

  Jonathon laughed and cried on the inside. If Mia felt about him how he felt about Octavia, the universe had some nasty jokes. And he didn’t like it one bit.

  “Thank you,” Jonathon said. “I’m flattered.”

  “Are you?”

  “I am.”

  “Flattered enough tooooo…”

  Jonathon’s brows rose. “To what?”

  “Yah know, spend the night.”

  “Are you that bored?”

  “Yeah sure, if that’s what it takes to get you to stay over.”

  Jonathon thought about her request. It had been a full year since he’d slept with anyone. It was kind of pathetic. Waiting for Octavia to open up and realize they were meant to be together was becoming pointless.

  “Maybe some other time.”

  Mia perked up. She hadn’t heard Jonathon say anything remotely close to that, and he wasn’t the type to make promises he didn’t intend to keep.

  “Should we put it on the calendar?” Mia asked.

  Jonathon polished off the rest of the scotch. “Nah, I’ll let you know.”

  “A girl can try, can’t she?”

  He chuckled again and traipsed toward the bar.

  “If you want more, help yourself.”

  Jonathon knew if he wanted to leave within the next few minutes one drink was all he needed. But he found himself saying, “Why not?”

  The next morning Jonathon awakened at 9 and found himself stretched out across a bed. Groggily, he sat up straight and searched the room for familiarity but found none. He rubbed a hand down his face and stood to his feet just as a door in the room opened.

  Mia strutted out wrapped in a towel with her hair pinned to the top of her head and water dripping from her ankles.

  “Oh, you’re awake,” she said.

  “Shit” was Jonathon’s response.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Jonathon checked his pockets for his phone and car keys.

  “You left them both on the kitchen counter,” Mia offered, aware of what he searched for.

  “You’ve gotten a few calls and a few text messages. One number called so much I felt like I should answer it.”

  “Did you?” he asked.

  “Yeah. If I was out of line, I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an emergency. They kept calling.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Ya homegirl, she said her name was Octavia. I figured that’s the one you call O, right?”

  Jonathon swore under his breath. Mia looked disturbed.

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her you were asleep, but if it were an emergency, I’d wake you.”

  Jonathon stood silent for a minute. “What did she say?”

  “Nothing really, she paused for a minute, and I thought she would say something else, but she didn’t. Just hung up the phone.”

  Jonathon let the scenario run through his mind.

  “I’m sensing there’s a problem.”

  Jonathon couldn’t be mad at Mia. Not really. She’d answered his phone with good intentions; he was the one stupid enough to fall asleep at her home.

  “You’re good. I’m heading out,” he said, going to the door. As he stepped into the hallway, Jonathon paused and turned back to her. “We didn’t…”

  “Have sex?”

  Jonathon nodded and braced himself for her response.

  “Would it be so bad if we did?”

  Her question was met with a brief silence. “Did we?”

  Mia folded her arms. “No. Look at yourself. You’re fully dressed.”

  Jonathon looked down at himself.

  “You fell asleep on the couch, but I was able to coach you back to the bed.” Mia smirked. “I thought about taking advantage of you for a minute, but when I put it on you, I want you to know it.”

  Jonathon’s brows arched, and he smirked and left the hallway. On the way out, he grabbed his cell and keys without making another stop. Jumping in his Hummer, Jonathon drove across town to his penthouse. He didn’t pause for breakfast once inside; instead, he went straight for a shower. Returning Octavia’s call had crossed his mind, but he needed to see her in person. To feel her out. If she truly weren’t interested in him, then Octavia wouldn’t be concerned with Mia answering his phone. But if she gave him any attitude at all, he would know otherwise, and right then and there, Jonathon would get down to it. He was done playing games with Octavia. If he felt any iota of frustration come from her, today would be the day he let out everything he’d wanted to say.

  Jonathon moved from the shower to the
sink, brushing his teeth and taking a small comb through his groomed beard. Refreshed, he left the bathroom for his bedroom and came across his ringing phone. The call appeared to come from Officer Davis’ cell.

  “Rose Security Group,” Jonathon answered.

  “This is Officer Davis. I’m over at station three. Will you and your men join us in our search today?”

  “Yes, sir. We’re on our way now.”

  “Excellent, I’ll see you here.”

  Jonathon ended the call and tossed his cell on top of the bed. His feet sank into the milky white shag rug as he strolled into his walk-in closet. Upon entrance, lights overhead and along the back walls illuminated. Jonathon approached a built-in dresser and hit a few buttons that in return released a lock and a dresser door slid open. Inside he pulled out a belt, and a nine-millimeter baby desert eagle then grabbed a pair of jeans and a crisp black T-shirt before leaving the room. Jonathon dressed and received confirmation from one of his men that they were en route to his location. While he waited, Jonathon strolled to his computer and pulled up the monitoring system at Rose Security Group. It was an ordinary day at the building with security guards checking people in and out. There were a few candidates that needed training next week, and Jonathon would need to be there to make sure it was done efficiently.

  When his phone buzzed, Jonathon powered down the computer and holstered his nine-millimeter before leaving the luxury apartment. He tried to keep thoughts of Octavia away, even though he’d see her in just a few minutes. Jonathon needed to have his mind clear and focused on what they all came together to do.

  Find Ayana Bradwell, safe and sound.

  Chapter Nine

  “You didn’t say we would have to do this again today.”

  Octavia turned to Selena with a hand on her hip. “You are more than welcomed to leave if you’d like.” Octavia gave her a thin smile.

  Selena squinted at Octavia and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of her. “Ever since your episode last night, all I’ve gotten from you is an attitude. You must want me to leave because I’m not too keen on staying where I’m not wanted.”

  “I called you over here, remember,” Octavia said. “You’re wanted. Look around, traffic is already picking up, and the phone’s been ringing nonstop since 9 a.m. Believe me when I say I want you to stay. But I don’t want to hear you complain about it all day. My night was just as lousy as yours, so if you’ll please cut me some slack and help me out.” Octavia tossed her hands up. “Or don’t.” She walked past Selena to grab more bagels from the pantry.