by Laura Pavlov
“How well do you know him?” Gigi asked as she fell into him.
“He’s from Willow Springs, G. I know all the Carlisles. I played ball with his brothers and hung out at their house a few times. But you all always talked about them being enemy number one, so I wasn’t about to say anything,” Gray said over his laughter as he wrapped his arms around Gigi.
“Well, hopefully our little Maura will be sleeping with the enemy in no time.” Coco laughed and my stomach fluttered at her words.
My phone vibrated and it was Crew saying that Brad was in the car outside my building. “Okay, his driver is here. I need to go. And no one is sleeping with the enemy, or the non-enemy. Whatever it is, that’s not happening. It’s our first date and he’s already made it clear that it can’t go anywhere.”
“Sounds familiar,” Gigi said, and she looked over her shoulder at Gray and everyone laughed some more.
“I always knew, baby. And he wouldn’t be inviting you to dinner if he wasn’t interested,” Gray said as I pushed to my feet.
“I agree,” Jett added. “Guys don’t make dinner for girls they aren’t into.”
“Leave him wanting more. Don’t give it up too fast,” Ivy said, and I rolled my eyes.
“Stop. That will not be a problem. I’m leaving. Love you, guys.”
Ivy hugged me and they all shouted out their goodbyes. My stomach dipped as I took the elevator down to the lobby. The high-rise we lived in was very swanky, and the doorman reached for the oversized front door when I walked toward him.
“Good evening, Miss Benson.”
“Hi, Joe. Have a good night.”
“You too, young lady,” the older man said. He was in his sixties and the sweetest guy.
I smiled when Brad stood outside the car and opened the door.
“Wow. This is such a Pretty Woman moment, right?” I asked, referencing a movie the girls and I had watched dozens of times together. I was feeling all the Julia Roberts vibes, minus the prostitution part of the movie, I laughed to myself.
“I don’t know what that means.” He chuckled.
I nodded and stepped in the car and gasped when I saw Crew sitting there waiting for me. “What are you doing here? I thought I was meeting you at your place.”
“I know we shouldn’t be seen out together, but I didn’t want to be a complete asshole and not pick you up. I just wasn’t sure if I should come to your door?”
“This is fine.” I dropped to sit beside him. He was wearing dark jeans and a black sweater. His dark hair was a little longer than when I first started working for him, and he looked sexy as hell.
“You look really nice.” His voice was gruff.
“Thank you,” I said, and he reached for my hand. I was completely confused about what any of this meant, but I didn’t want to question it.
The car ride to his place was quick as he only lived two blocks away from me, and I easily could have walked. We pulled into his garage, and he stepped out of the car first and reached for my hand before guiding me to the elevator. Crew lived on the top floor which didn’t surprise me. He liked nice things, that was obvious. And he worked hard for everything that he had. But what I liked most was that he was still that small-town guy who liked to ride his horse and hang out with his family. His ambition didn’t change who he was or where he came from. It was just a piece of the Crew Carlisle puzzle.
The elevator doors opened to his penthouse, and I gasped as I stepped off. The floor-to-ceiling windows provided a spectacular view of the city. The place was immaculately decorated, yet it managed to feel very homey at the same time. We stopped in the contemporary kitchen with clean lines and gorgeous white marble countertops, top-of-the-line appliances, and modern accents.
“Wine?” he asked.
“Sure. I’d love a glass.”
He poured us each a glass of Cabernet and handed me a tumbler and his fingers grazed mine, jolting my body to life. I don’t know what it was, but every time Crew touched me, the reaction was so strong and overpowering, it almost felt overwhelming at times. He opened the oven and pulled out a box of pizza which made me laugh.
“What? You don’t like pizza?” he asked, and his gaze narrowed as he took me in.
“Of course, I like pizza. It just doesn’t seem to fit in this fancy kitchen.”
“Trust me, this kitchen has seen more pizza than I’d like to admit to. You want to go sit out on the terrace? I know it’s chilly, but I have heaters out there, and the view is nice.”
“Yes. I would love that.” He handed me the paper plates and napkins and led the way to a back door with a few steps which took us to the outdoors.
The terrace was like something out of a magazine. There were trees with little white twinkle lights and two oversized couches with a coffee table between them. Crew set the food and his wine glass down and grabbed a blanket that was draped over the side of the couch.
“This will keep you warm if it’s too chilly.”
It wasn’t. In fact, I was warm. Maybe it was the heaters, or maybe it was just being in his presence. “I’m okay for now. Thank you. I’m guessing you’ve wooed a lot of ladies up here. This is definitely a chick magnet.” My head fell back in laughter, and I dropped to sit beside him.
“I don’t bring women to my apartment. You’re actually the first.” He flipped open the box and put a slice on my plate and one on his before dropping to sit beside me.
My jaw dropped open. “You don’t bring women here? Why? It’s uber romantic,” I said, taking the whole scene in.
“Yeah, my mom decorated the place for me. I had to keep reminding her that less is more. But she’s got a thing for interior design and a good eye, so I can’t complain.”
“So why don’t you bring women here?”
“Because when I take someone out, I like to go to a restaurant. This is more… intimate. I don’t do relationships, at least I haven’t since college. I think bringing someone here could send the wrong message,” he said, taking an oversized bite of pizza as he waited for my response.
What message was he sending me?
“Why am I here?”
“That’s a great question,” he said, and his tongue swiped out to wet his bottom lip and my breath caught in my throat. I’d never felt a physical pull toward a man before Crew. The attraction was so strong, I couldn’t think straight most of the time.
“Well, I guess for starters, we can’t really be seen out in public because you think you’re my boss.”
He barked out a laugh now. “I don’t think I’m your boss. You definitely work for me.”
“You don’t pay me. You’re more like my… professor. I’m getting an education from you.”
“Jesus, that’s worse.”
“Please. You’re five years older than me. That’s hardly a big deal.”
“All right. But that’s not the only reason this is a secret. What do you think your father would say about this whole situation? What does he think about you working for us?”
I winced. “He doesn’t know. I told him I worked somewhere else. He would never come to my place of work, so why even start the fight if we don’t have to?”
“There you go. So, we have a multitude of reasons why this is going to be—challenging. My grandfather would be pissed, for starters. You are an intern at a company that I run. Our families have a long hatred for one another. I can’t stand the sight of your father, so there’s another issue. But I just don’t give a shit, if I’m being honest.”
“Why?” I whispered as I scooched closer to him.
“Because ever since I kissed you, it’s all I think about.”
“You know I’m not going to sleep with you, right? I mean, that might be something you do casually, but I don’t. It’s something I take very seriously. And until we know what this is, that won’t be happening.”
&n
bsp; He nodded. “Well, kissing you has proved better than sex with anyone else, so I’m all right with this plan. For now.”
“For now? It sounds like the deck is stacked against us. This might end as quickly as it started,” I said.
“Maybe. Let’s take it one day at a time. If we spend time together outside of the office, there’s no reason why we can’t be professional at work. This shouldn’t be all that tricky.”
“Agree. Deal, boss man,” I said, clinking my glass to his and trying to hide my smile. “I mean, professor.”
He rolled his eyes. “Do not call me that. So, tell me how it went with Piper.”
“She’s really sweet. She hasn’t told her mom that she reached out to me. I didn’t tell her I spoke to my father because it’s so hurtful and I don’t want to cause her any more pain than he already has. I like her. She’s a really talented artist. She showed me some of her drawings.”
“I think it’s great you met with her. Have you talked to your brothers about it?”
“Yep. They were both upset but not totally shocked. My brothers work with my dad, and they’ve heard the rumors. They said they suspected he was having an affair with a lady at the office last year, but they didn’t want to tell my mother or me,” I said, pausing to take a sip of wine. “I guess they called him out, and whatever was happening between Dad and this woman came to an abrupt stop.”
“Class act.” He oozed sarcasm and he reached for another piece of pizza and slid another slice on my plate. “I am sorry about that for you and your mom.”
“He loves my mom, so I don’t understand it. They’ve been together for a long time. I don’t know why he’d do this to her.”
He set his wine glass down. “He’s a selfish, controlling man.”
He was right. My father was a selfish man. There was a good man beneath all of that, but right now I was having a hard time remembering that.
“He is. And Piper is really great. We’re going to go to lunch next week, and Wes and Lyle said they’d like to meet her at some point. We just all feel really terrible doing this when my mom doesn’t know what’s going on.”
“Follow your gut, Benson. If you think you should tell her, then trust that,” he said, and we both set our wine glasses down and he pulled me against his chest. The stars were dancing against the black sky, and a light breeze moved around us. I loved this time of year when winter was on its way out and spring was on its way in. I rested my head against his chest and his arms came around me.
“Who’d have ever thought you’d be the person I leaned on during a crisis?”
“Well, your bumper leaned on my bumper years ago, so maybe that was a sign.”
I laughed and tipped my head back to look at him.
It was definitely a sign.
Chapter Fourteen
Crew
Maura and I sat outside eating, sipping wine, laughing, and making out like teenagers under the stars for hours. I’d never been with a woman who I enjoyed this much.
The conversation.
The witty banter.
The laughter.
This girl was the whole package. A package I hadn’t realized I was looking for, but now that I’d been around her, I only wanted more. I was in a predicament. My hope was that the more time we spent together, we’d both realize we had nothing in common aside from growing up in the same small town. But that wasn’t the case.
She’d made it clear that she wouldn’t sleep with me, which I knew was a good idea, seeing as I didn’t see a way for this to go anywhere long-term. My mom always told me to try to live in the moment. Ever since we’d lost Belle, I’d found myself needing to put a deadline on things so that I wouldn’t have expectations that weren’t fulfilled. But for the first time in my life, I wanted to be in the moment.
With this girl.
It was well past midnight, and the temperature was dropping. I’d wrapped her in a blanket, and she’d been curled up on my lap.
“Tell me about Belle.” She pushed up and turned to face me. The twinkle lights on the terrace provided just enough light for me to make out her pretty features. “I mean, I know how she passed, and I know about her illness. But tell me what she was like.”
I reached for the bottle of wine and poured a little more in each of our glasses. Belle was not a topic I talked about with anyone outside of my family, and even then, I struggled with it. My friends knew the topic was off-limits and they respected that.
“I don’t normally talk about her.” I narrowed my gaze and studied her.
“Why? Do you not remember the good stuff?”
I thought about it and pulled her close to me again, wrapping my arms around her, breathing in all her goodness. “Belle was hilarious. A total firecracker. And a fighter. Not just against cancer, but she challenged all of us. She was smart and sassy and sweet, all wrapped in this perfect little package.”
She stayed perfectly still in my arms. “I’ll bet you were a very protective older brother.”
“Well, you know. She was small, and the fact that she was sick for a couple of years made me feel even more protective of her. But my favorite thing was her laugh. The girl had a contagious laugh. And she’d laugh at the most inappropriate things.”
“Like what?” she asked, turning to face me again.
“Well, I remember her belly laughing when my dad was painting her room and had the gallon of paint on top of the ladder. The whole thing came down over his head and all over the floor. My mother gasped. My brothers and I ran for towels, and Belle laughed until tears came down her face. Eventually, we all laughed.”
Maura smiled. “She sounds like a little firecracker.”
“She really was. And so fucking strong. Her little body went through the wringer. And she never complained. She liked me to go to her appointments whenever I could. I’d read to her. She loved when I’d read this ridiculous joke book that wasn’t even funny, but it made her laugh, so I did it.”
“I love how close your family is. It’s really special, you know? And even though her time here was way too short, it was special. You all loved her so much, and that isn’t something everyone has.”
My chest grew heavy at her words. I’d die for anyone in my family, without a second thought. And Belle left this earth knowing how loved she was. There was never a day in my life that I could remember where my parents didn’t let us know how much they loved us.
“Is your family close? I mean, outside of your father? I imagine he’s not easy to be close to.”
She reached up and ran her fingers through my hair and I closed my eyes at her touch. She had a way of soothing and healing all my rough edges. I didn’t know how she was doing it, but in the short time I’d known her, I could feel a shift. It was scary as hell giving someone that kind of power over you.
“He’s not all evil, Crew. Yes, his moral compass is clearly flawed. But he does love us. He’s a provider. He wants the best for his kids, and he does love his wife. That’s why this is so hard for me to wrap my head around.”
“I’m sure he has some redeeming qualities.” I doubted it, but he was her father. I wasn’t a total asshole. “What’s your mom like?”
“My mom is the best when you can actually get her to sit still and talk.” She chuckled, and everything about her was lighter when she was talking about her mother. “Being a wife and mother is the most important thing in the world to her. That’s why this is so hard. This will devastate her.”
“And your brothers?”
“They’re both great. The three of us are really close. And honestly, the Magic Willows are my family too. I have four built-in sisters.”
“The magic what?”
“We call ourselves the Magic Willows,” she said over her laughter. “Maura, Addy, Gigi, Ivy, and Coco. Take the first letter of each name… and you’ve got the magic. And being from Wil
low Springs… you’ve got the willows.”
I barked out a laugh and hugged her to me again. “You’re fucking adorable, Maura Benson.”
“You’re not so bad yourself, Carlisle.”
I tipped her head back and kissed her. She maneuvered one leg over me so she was straddling me. I tangled my fingers in her hair and my mouth covered hers again. I couldn’t get enough. She rocked her hips against mine and thoughts of Maura crying out my name a few days earlier had me moving to my feet, with her still in my arms. My dick was rock hard in desperate need of relief. And that wasn’t coming any time soon. Her legs wrapped around my waist instinctively and I carried her inside. I moved toward my bedroom, and she stiffened before pulling back.
“I’m not going to sleep with you. We don’t even know what this is.” Her gaze searched mine, and I saw the fear. She was nervous. Hell, I understood it. Sex wasn’t something she took lightly, and I wished I could say the same for myself. It had always just been sex for me. And I was damn good at it. In college, casual sex had been the norm, and with my lack of interest in having a serious relationship, it had remained that way for me. There were plenty of women who felt the same way about it. It was an act of pleasure. At least for me it was.
But I’d go without it for now, because spending time with Maura with or without sex didn’t matter. I just wanted to be with her.
“We’re obviously not having sex. But it’s late. I thought you could just spend the night.”
“Spend the night? Here? I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Because I have to work tomorrow. I don’t have any clothes,” she said, looking anywhere but at me.
I waited for her gaze to find mine. “Brad can go pick up a bag for you, if you want to call Ivy and ask her to pack you a few things. Or he can take you home early in the morning.”
She smiled and cocked her head to the side, and my goddamn chest squeezed. The heart I was convinced had been permanently broken was definitely beating now.
Pull yourself together, man.
“Why do you want me to sleep here if nothing is going to happen?” she asked as she ran her fingers through my hair.