by C. J. Thomas
She stood, throwing the half-eaten slice into the box as she picked it up along the way. “I think it was all the wine.”
Our eyes met and I swore she was tempting me. She was much smaller than I was, and I could handle her no problem, but she wasn’t afraid to square her shoulders and step up to me as if challenging my dominance. I liked that about her. It was what made her interesting.
“You can blame your friend for that,” I said, pushing the door open.
“How did she do it, anyway?” she asked as she skirted by me.
“We handle special requests all the time. Having a nice bottle of wine waiting upon arrival was easy. It’s the more obscure items that make my job more difficult.”
“Like what?”
“You don’t want to know,” I said, deadpan.
She offered me a slice of pizza. And as she rocked back and forth on her heels, I measured her status, finally deciding that she was most definitely single. I just couldn’t see her here, alone, if she wasn’t.
I rolled my shoulders back and looked her directly in the eye. “How about I take you to a fun bar in town instead?”
Her eyes swayed with mine. Then she angled her head to the side, keeping a quizzical look on her face. “That sounds nice—”
“C’mon. It will be fun.” I smiled, taking a small step forward to close the gap that kept me from her.
Finally, her eyes cast to the floor and she turned her back saying, “Maybe some other time. I’ve had a long day.”
Suddenly, my body felt heavier than only a moment ago. I nodded and turned to leave, not wanting to push her into doing something she didn’t want to do. But before I could get out the door, Sophia said, “Maybe I’ll see you again sometime, Nolan Foster.”
8
Sophia
I collapsed onto the bed, sinking into the down comforter, and watched the ceiling spin.
Nolan Foster had my heart fluttering.
I wanted to say yes.
I should have said yes.
And when my hands covered my face, I started laughing.
If Nolan kept me feeling confused, I would be stupid to deny how much I liked that we kept finding a way to cross each other’s paths. Tossing and turning, I wondered who this man was. And why I was crushing on him so hard. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had hot guys flirt with me before. Because I had. And they were mostly good experiences, but I had never known a man for so little time who managed to weaken my knees with a single glance in my direction.
God, he was sexy.
As if I hadn’t already swooned over his rugged good looks earlier, seeing him cleaned up tonight was causing the ache between my thighs to spread. Not to mention the brief sighting at the pool.
Sweet Mother Mary.
What made me take the long way back to the condo? And what were the odds of it being Nolan swimming at that same time in the pool that just so happened to catch my full attention? It was all surreal, and without having to say it, I knew the universe was conspiring to bring us together.
Clasping my hand on my belly, I focused on my breathing.
I felt it. Felt the stars aligning.
Nolan was incredibly handsome in all three of his outfits. But perhaps what he was wearing tonight was my absolute favorite of them all. I liked seeing him cleaned up and without his hat hiding his dark, unruly hair. And cranberry was definitely his color. It suited him well, bringing out his dangerously dark eyes that managed to make my heart skip every time he fixed them on me.
Flopping back onto my stomach, I buried my head inside the large fluffy pillow, unable to calm my racing heart.
I was all over the place with my emotions, questioning my decision to deny him a night on the town. Jealously left me in turmoil, convincing myself I had made the wrong decision. I was worried who he might find to replace me. Because a man like him certainly would. He knew that I was single, could smell the desire oozing off of me as I openly stared at his lips with round puppy dog eyes, imagining what it would feel like to have him kiss me. But he was too easy to say yes to, and I was sure he had a dozen other women on speed dial.
Suddenly, the room grew quiet as my eyes rounded into coins.
Women on speed dial…like the one I saw him with earlier.
Pulling in a deep breath, I wasn’t about to go down that path. It would only end in heartache, and that was something I certainly couldn’t handle in my current state of second-guessing and regret.
But forgetting my key? I couldn’t forgive myself. I knew what he was thinking, like I had purposely done it so I would have an excuse to call. I should have never had to see him again after he left earlier, yet I did. And not just once. But twice.
Though I couldn’t lie to myself, either. Nolan was intriguing. And I wanted to know more.
My arm draped over my forehead when I rolled onto my back. I listened to my heart beat in a slow pitter-patter as the number of blades on the fan doubled.
Shaking my head, I realized I was drunk, tired, and was ready to have this day be over with.
But first, I needed to indulge in one more slice of greasy pizza.
Reaching for the box perfectly perched on the nightstand, I dove my hand inside and pulled out the first one I touched. I munched it down like a starved animal and discarded the crust back into the box just as my cell phone started ringing.
Every muscle in my body froze.
I glanced around the room as if the noise was coming from something other than my phone.
This couldn’t be Nolan, could it?
He’d have my phone number from my reservation. And from calling him.
Taking a deep breath, I sat up in bed, fixed my hair, and snatched my ringing phone into my hand. Releasing all the built-up tension in my body, I sighed. “Hey.”
“Are you still locked out?” Sienna answered.
Dropping my feet to the floor, I scurried to the bathroom and pulled down my underwear. Lowering myself onto the toilet, I said, “No, the property manager was able to let me in.”
“So, I can’t help but wonder…”
I arched a brow.
“Did you do it on purpose?”
I rolled my eyes. “No thanks to your gift, I seem to have lost my mind somewhere between starting and finishing that delicious bottle of red.”
“I didn’t mean for you to drink the entire bottle in one sitting,” Sienna teased.
“We always finish at least two bottles when we’re together, so what’s the difference?” My eyes fluttered as I emptied my bloated bladder.
“Are you peeing?”
“For the hundredth time.” I groaned. “This elevation is wreaking havoc on my body. I’ve been chugging water like mad.”
Sienna laughed.
Pulling up my drawers, I needed to ask, “What you said in your text, did you mean it?”
“Absolutely.” She said it with such conviction, I knew that she was going to push me to put in my resignation. “Those fuckers you work with screwed you over. You’re better than them. They don’t know what they missed when not promoting you.”
I lowered myself back onto the bed with a feeling of breathlessness spreading over my chest. “I’m not sure I have what it takes to start a business.”
“You do.” I heard her hand slap her thigh. “You just don’t know it yet.”
“But maybe a business isn’t what I need?”
“I’m listening.” I could practically feel Sienna crossing her legs through the phone line.
“If I can drum up clients, I could do freelancing out of my apartment.”
“You can do anything,” she said with conviction.
Twirling my hair around a finger, I let my thoughts drift to what it would be like to work for myself. Freelancing might be even better than managing a small business. If I could pay my bills, then I could work when I wanted, do it on my own schedule.
“So,” Sienna broke my thoughts from wandering too far off the reservation, “what’s this man like?”
<
br /> I suddenly remembered my promise to send Monica a photo of Travis. “I never did send you a photo.”
“No, you did not.” There was a hint of anger in her voice.
“Well, he has a brother.” My eyes glossed over just thinking about having to describe how incredible Nolan was. I told Sienna everything. All my favorite features, and when I had her melting, I said, “And I also saw him swimming.”
“I’m sorry, but did I miss something?”
The tip of my tongue curled and touched the center of my upper lip. “He doesn’t know I saw him.”
“You were snooping?”
“Not exactly,” I said, telling her how it all went down. “And not more than five minutes later I was calling him to come let me into the condo because I forgot my keys.”
“Please tell me he came to rescue you in his swimsuit.”
“Not exactly.” I started laughing. “But he was definitely dressed to impress.” I told her what he was wearing and how cranberry was definitely his color. “Then he asked me out.”
Sienna’s laughing morphed into a choking cough. “He what? Did you say he asked you out?”
The excitement I was feeling coursed through my body. “That’s right.”
“So, what the hell? Why are you talking to me? You should be out with him.”
My lips snapped shut. I knew she was right.
“Shouldn’t you?” Her voice cracked.
My head fell back onto the bed. “I couldn’t do it.”
“Tell me what he looks like again.”
I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t like that. I’m sure he asks every woman who comes up here for the weekend to go out with him. Nothing makes me any different from those women. And it’s just the weekend, then I’ll be home.”
“If he’s as hot as you say he is, you might be right. But you should have still said yes!”
My chest tightened as I grimaced. “What makes him even more confusing is how I saw him with another woman earlier today.”
“Like, a girlfriend kind of woman?”
Feeling the pressure in my head start to swell behind my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose and murmured, “I don’t know.”
“For shits and giggles, let’s say she wasn’t.”
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek.
“What is it?” Sienna asked as if knowing what I was doing.
“I can’t stop thinking about having sex with him.”
“Me neither.”
I snorted out a laugh.
“But, really, a mountain getaway will do that to a woman.”
“What if he’s taken?”
“What if?” I could hear Sienna shrug her shoulders.
“Then what he did when he asked me out was wrong. And I don’t want to be with someone like that. Even if it’s only for one night of innocent fun.”
“You’re thinking too much into this.”
“It’s the day I had.” I yawned. “Besides, it seems too easy from his angle to prey on single women like me coming up from the city for a mini-vacation.”
“God bless those men’s souls.” Sienna whistled. “We need more men like him.”
“This conversation is over.”
We both laughed. Then I asked about how the wedding planning went tonight.
“We mostly just drank and gossiped.”
I smiled, a small part of me wishing I had stuck around and hung out with my two best friends.
“The good news is, I finally culled my list to 200,” she said excitedly. “Then Monica had to go, leaving me here with Gary.”
“So sorry to hear you’re stuck with your loving fiancé, alone,” I said sarcastically.
“Who cares about me.” Sienna clapped her hands. “You’re the single one getting picked up by burly mountain men who want to lay you.”
“When you put it like that, it sounds hot.”
“Because it is!”
I yawned again, feeling sleep creep into my eyes.
“You should go find him.”
“I don’t know what bar he was referring to.”
“There can’t be that many, can there?”
“I’m drunk. I just need to sleep.”
“If you keep this up, you’ll be single forever.”
My eyelids started drooping as I obsessed over my many flaws and shortcomings—making excuses to stay in. There were too many to list, and what Sienna said was true. I knew it better than anybody; if I didn’t stop making the wrong decisions, I would be the woman without a man. “Call me tomorrow,” I murmured.
“You know I will,” she said, ending our call.
Then I cuddled under the blankets and began to cry.
9
Nolan
My coffee had since gone cold when I received a call from my brother, Cooper.
Reaching my arm over the many fundraiser documents spread out over my work desk, I answered. “Is this the next governor of Colorado speaking?”
Cooper remained steady. “I talked with Charlotte, Nolan.”
Falling back into my leather desk chair, I furrowed my brow. “That’s wonderful. I’m glad you two have such a strong relationship.”
“She told me what you two talked about yesterday.”
Running my hand over my face, I knew that I should have seen this coming. Charlotte couldn’t keep secrets, but I didn’t think that me not wanting to bring Audrey to tonight’s fundraiser would be such a big deal. In fact, I thought that if anybody could understand where I was coming from, it would be my closest-in-age brother, Cooper. Apparently, not.
“Look, Coop,” I said. “You know I would do anything for you, but I can’t ask Audrey to join me tonight.”
He sighed. “You’re insane for thinking that I’m okay with this.”
Bringing my elbows to my desk, I said, “What’s insane is Charlotte flying back up here to attend tonight’s fundraiser after only leaving last night.”
“Yesterday’s flight was meant for me. Charlotte just hitched a ride.” Cooper’s tone was defensive. “Besides, that’s not the point.”
I cast my gaze to the paperwork below. Scanning the briefs, I wondered why Cooper wasn’t attending tonight’s event. “Remind me again why you called?”
“I need a favor.”
“Let me guess,” I tilted my head and rubbed one eye, “you want me to take Audrey as my date.”
“You can do it, Nolan. Do it for me,” he pleaded. “Do it because you know it’s the right thing to do.”
There was a knock on my door. I lifted my head to find a tall man with salt and pepper hair staring at me from under raised brows. Mr. Rothschild smiled and I waved him in.
“Listen, I have to go.”
“Don’t let me dow—”
I hung up the phone before Cooper finished talking, deciding I had enough on my plate already—especially since Mr. Rothschild was now here, clearly wanting a piece of my time, too.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Mr. Rothschild asked as he unbuttoned his gray blazer.
“No. No. Please take a seat.” I reached across my desk to shake his hand. “Just finalizing tonight’s event.”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to tonight.” He smiled, lowering himself into the empty chair opposite my desk.
“We’re expecting a full-house, with locals and families flying in to attend.” I nodded as I thought that the only benefit to tonight was the fact that we were raising awareness for an environmental cause dear to both our families’ hearts. Other than that, I wished that I had a good excuse not to attend.
“That was a great party your parents threw for your mother’s birthday.” He fixed his gaze on mine.
I smiled. “Mom was thrilled you and Mrs. Rothschild were able to make it.”
Leaning back, he said, “Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
I could barely look him in the eye after my conversation with Cooper. And the timing of his arrival was too much of a coincidence to make me not speculate what rol
e Cooper played in bringing Mr. Rothschild—Audrey’s father—to my office.
“Shame your parents couldn’t stay one day longer to attend tonight.” He frowned over a freshly shaven face.
As much as I respected Mr. Rothschild and what he meant to my family, I couldn’t stop myself from bracing for what I knew was soon to come. The pressure to take Audrey as my date was mounting, and it was only a matter of time before I was surrounded by opposition forces coercing me into making a decision I wasn’t comfortable making.
“You know Dad.” My fingers drummed on my thigh. “Once he has his mind set, it’s impossible to change.”
Mr. Rothschild laughed. “Your father knows what he likes.”
Yes, he does, I thought as if it, too, was only a matter of time before my father made the call, adding to the chorus of who I should attend tonight’s function with. Because if there was one thing that rang true with my family, it was that everyone had a strong opinion on what was right and what was wrong.
“Before I forget,” I pulled open the desk drawer and handed Mr. Rothschild a pre-written check. “They wanted to make sure that I gave you this.”
“It means a lot to us to have their support.” He grinned and tucked away the check inside his blazer pocket without even flinching at the amount that was given. “You know, Nolan.” He leaned forward and looked me directly in the eye. “Your family is important to us. I love you all as if you were my own children. I’d do anything for you, you know that, right?”
I gave him a knowing nod.
It was hard not to like the man. He was like a second father to me—to all of us Fosters. Always had been. And he was right in saying he would do anything to help us out—any one of us—in a time of need. I had seen it before, dozens of times, but today I couldn’t help but feel that the only reason he was mentioning it now was to subtly tell me there was no better time to reciprocate the favor.
We stared at each other as time suspended in air. Then he said, “I don’t want to keep you any longer.” His eyes scanned my desk. “I know you have a busy day ahead.”
We both stood.
Then he extended his hand and I shook it, thankful that he didn’t put me in a position where I would be forced to let him down.