I glanced at my iPhone XI instead of the Rolex on my wrist and hated myself more as the seconds ticked by. What the living hell would she ever see in me? A pretentious ass.
“It’s 7:30. But, I’ll take you home if you’d like.”
She shook her head indicative of a no response, but I had a feeling her mouth would say something different.
“Mr. Falsone. Here are the to-go orders.”
Fran set the sack near my feet and boxed up Phoebe’s lasagna.
“Thank you,” she said softly when Fran set it next to Phoebe and then cleared our plates.
“Would you care for dessert?” Fran asked.
With a simple nod, I deflected the question toward Phoebe. Her lashes fluttered before her eyes shot wide. “I’m so full…but.”
“Fran, would you mind boxing up a couple to go, please.”
“Of course.”
I supposed it might come across to Phoebe as showing off in front of her. But damn, I’d known this girl such a short time and I wanted her to experience the luxuries of life that I simply took for granted. I understood the whole money can’t buy happiness thing, but it sure didn’t hurt. This girl hadn’t been dealt the best of hands, yet she had more grace than anyone I’d ever met. She had every right to be angry at the world, but she seemed to take the hits as they came and stood tall while taking them.
When I glanced up, I caught her quickly swipe away a tear. “I’m going to the restroom.”
I was unable to stand before she slid from her seat and disappeared.
Fran arrived at the table with another smaller sack.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Falsone. It was nice seeing you this evening. It’s been a while since you’ve been in.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Fran. It was nice seeing all of you.”
My father had built this restaurant three years ago when I decided to move to Dallas. My nightly visits had ended last year when I stopped doing anything. Joe stood in the corner, never taking his eyes off of me. With Phoebe still in the restroom, I took advantage of that and motioned him over.
“Mr. Falsone?”
“I do not want her to see you.”
“I understand, sir.”
Joe’s suit may have been nicer than the ones I wore on occasion.
“I haven’t seen you for a while. Why now?” I asked.
“Sir, your father was working on a business deal and he just wants you…”
Joe strolled away from the table and disappeared into the kitchen as Phoebe returned. Her pale complexion seemed splotchy from the tears she’d shed.
“Can we go?”
She only had to ask once with her tear streaked face. She missed the kids way more than I anticipated. Suddenly I was worried this trip might never happen if she struggled this much. My heart hurt for her. I had no siblings and no one to love like she did.
I pulled up the text I’d sent to Hannah earlier and handed Phoebe my phone. She read it out loud.
Kids are great. They are happy and having fun. We just got back from the park they wanted to show me. Enjoy your time.
“You texted her?” she said, sniffing.
“I could tell you were worried. When you asked to leave, I knew you were thinking about them.”
Her neck snapped my way and she stared at me with a befuddled expression.
“What’s wrong,” I asked.
“I didn’t ask to leave because of the kids, Austin. I asked to leave because of you,” she whispered.
Chapter 3
Austin
Multiple Personalities
“BECAUSE OF ME?” I asked, hoping for some sort of clarification. That didn’t make sense.
“I’ve not dated. I mean, I know this isn’t a date. I…” Even with a splotchy complexion, she was breathtaking. “I’m not sure I know how to do what we’re doing. I… Well. I don’t know. Can we please just get in the car?”
With the two doggie bags in tow, we headed out the door. I opened the back door first and slid the sacks behind her seat before opening her door. She held her palms up.
“This. This is what I mean. You can’t open doors and order me dessert. This is business, remember? It’s not personal.” She slid into the front seat, and I closed the door as softly as I could, contradicting everything I felt like doing with the door. As I passed the trunk of the car, I tried to process what she was saying or clarifying. Inhaling a deep breath, I released it before I got in.
“A couple of days ago we started to discuss the boundaries of this arrangement before we seemed to get sidetracked. Maybe we should have that discussion now. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
We rode the distance back to her apartment in silence. Sometimes, not saying anything was better than saying the wrong thing. After I parked, I waited to gauge her response. Her deep breath let me know she had thoughts of her own on the matter.
“Do you have time to go for a walk?” she asked, surprising me. Though the sun was down, it was still warm.
“Of course. Can we run the food in first, so it doesn’t go bad in the car?”
“Yes.”
Outside the car, I grabbed the two heavy sacks from Saldano’s.
“What’s that?” she asked, and instant regret shuddered through me. Had I known what she was feeling I never would have ordered the food.
“It’s five orders of lasagna.” I reluctantly smiled. “I didn’t want yours to be gone when you got home from work tomorrow, so everyone got one.”
Phoebe’s lips parted but her eyes never left me. “Au-stin,” she said so softly.
“Oh, don’t go gettin’ sentimental on me. It’s pasta.” I ducked around her with a full grin.
“The kids are going to love it.”
The apartment wasn’t as cluttered with toys as it was the other night. The kids were sitting on the ground playing a board game.
“Pheebs!” Claire said, running toward her.
“What’s that?” Jake asked me. His eyes were as green as Phoebe’s.
“Lasagna.”
Everyone suddenly barreled toward me like I was handing out rations. Hannah grinned.
“Obviously dinner didn’t sustain them.”
Brushing the beautiful reddish-blonde strands away from her face, Phoebe’s smile lit the room. “They are always hungry,” she said to Hannah.
“Hannah, we’re going for a walk. Would you mind taking this to the kitchen?” I kept the dessert sack with me.
“Have you been crying?” Sloan asked Phoebe, Sloan’s eyes narrowed at me.
“Don’t, Sloan. I’m just fine.” She turned to me. “Ready?”
I nodded, forcing myself to look away from Sloan. I wanted to defend myself. Tell the girl I’d done nothing to her sister.
“Bye, Aushen,” Claire said, tapping my leg. Touched, I bent down and lifted her up. She had her sisters’ green eyes too. “Goodbye, you.” Her little arms plopped on each side of my neck and she laid her head on my shoulder. Phoebe stared at us, but Sloan came and took Claire from my arms.
Even though the sun had settled in the west, the heat was overwhelming. God did I miss Oregon on days like this. I followed Phoebe to a little park next to the apartment complex. She casually walked to a bench and sat down. I joined her.
“What’s on your mind, Freebie?” I asked. “Are you having second thoughts about this deal?”
“No. I need the money,” she laughed, but it wasn’t funny to me. “I promise I won’t pull out of this. I’ll see it through.”
The silence absorbed us but neither felt obligated to talk. Our situation wasn’t just unique. It was a sticky situation all the way around.
“Did you see how Claire responded to you just now?”
“Yes. She’s adorable.”
“That’s one of the reasons I’ve not dated much. They grow attached to people and then they get hurt too.”
“Too? Why would you be worried about getting hurt? This is about the mone
y for you right?” I questioned her. Though I needed to pay heed to her words, knowing those kids would grow attached, I figured it would be inevitable at this point. They were going to see me.
Even through the blur of dusk, I watched her green eyes close in thought.
“You know that when this wedding is over, you are not coming by for dinner. Let’s not kid ourselves, Austin. I’m not trying to be mean, but we don’t run in the same circles. This is a job you’ve hired me to do. Correct?”
When she turned to face me, her red curls floated across my face inundating me with a pleasant, fruity smell. My entire body responded in a way that it shouldn’t have, or maybe it should have. Hell, our lines were already blurred, and we’d just gotten started.
“First of all, young lady. You don’t get to tell me who I can eat dinner with and who I can’t. I may come and eat dinner with Claire.” I grinned.
Rolling her eyes, she shot up off the bench and sat in a rubber swing a few steps away. “So not only do you exhibit serial killer tendencies, but you’re also wanting to have dinner with my baby sister. Creepy, Austin. Super creepy.”
With an ornery smile, I swept around her and began pushing the swing from behind. “I’m neither a serial killer nor a pedophile. But I assure you, I don’t intend to leave the kids hanging. Has someone done that before?”
“Nick. Motorcycle guy from the other night.”
“He hurt you?”
She leaned back. I pushed her again. “We dated on and off for a while. Sloan likes his brother. That’s why she doesn’t like you coming around. When I ended it, the kids missed him. I don’t want to do that again.”
Using my strength, I stopped the swing and walked around to the front of her. Jesus she was beautiful. I swallowed the words I wanted to say and opted with what I knew she wanted to hear. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. Would it be best if I didn’t come in the house anymore?”
Phoebe’s feet made contact with the dirt beneath the swing, and she stood. “Yeah. That’s fine.” Her curt words stayed in the vicinity longer than she did.
“Phoebe,” I called, following her. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Tell me why you were crying earlier.”
She spun around on the sidewalk and stared at me. “Don’t you get it? Or are you a complete and total moron?”
The rhetorical question made me smile.
“Don’t smile like the cat that just ate the canary, Austin Falsone.” Her finger jetted up as if she were talking to the kids. “You are this tall, dark and handsome stranger that throws money around like its confetti. And to a girl that can barely pay bills and feed mouths at home, it’s hard to reconcile my place in all of this.” She paused as I stepped closer.
“You think I’m handsome?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s what you got out of all of that?”
“Selective hearing,” I whispered, fighting a grin. “Answer me, Phoebe.”
“I’ll give you an answer. You tell me the day we are leaving. I’m a quick learner. I won’t let you down. But this dinner, opening doors and pushing me on the swing confuses me. Text me the date, make sure I have a dress or two, and I’ll see you then.”
Shocked. Amused. A bit stunned. I watched as she spun around and marched back into the complex, slamming the door. I picked up the sack of desserts I’d set by the car and set it by the front door. I pulled out my phone when I got in the car.
Look Sybil. I’m not sure which personality I just met but I find her feisty and cute. I put desserts on your stoop for the nicer personality. We can totally make this go down by text. Besides, serial killers like to lay low. And you never answered my question.
The front door opened, and the sack disappeared. I sat with my phone in my hand, waiting for her to text back. After a couple of minutes, I drove away.
PHOEBE
The amount of discipline it took not to text Austin back was astronomical. I watched from the upstairs window as he pulled away. ‘So, you think I’m handsome?’ I mimicked his question. “Are you kidding?” I said out loud, tossing my sundress onto the chair in my room. “That man is sex with legs,” I whispered, taking off my bra.
“Sex,” Claire repeated from her toddler bed in the corner of my room.
“Hey sweetie. Shhh. I said t-rex, goofball. Go back to sleep,” I tucked the covers around her.
“I wuv you, Freebie,” Claire said softly in the sweetest voice on earth. There wasn’t a time that she said her version of my name that it didn’t make me smile.
“I love you too, Claire bear.”
I went back downstairs, making a mental note to get her a new mattress when I could. She’d outgrown the toddler bed. Hannah was still cleaning up. “I can take it from here. Thank you so much for your help.”
“Phoebe, they’re great kids. This is going to work out great for them and me.”
“Thank you. It’s going to be hard on me while I’m gone. We will need to keep in touch on Austin’s phone though. Mine works great for some texting and phone calls but it’s super slow.” I tossed the throw pillows back onto the sofa as she gathered her purse and things.
“Oh, Austin will have you that new phone by then he said. He wanted to make sure you could get pictures. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Stunned, I collapsed onto the sofa. My head crashed into one of Jake’s nerf guns. There had to be some sort of hidden agenda behind what Austin was doing. I didn’t understand it. I replayed the night at Braums. My embarrassed glances his direction. His tender smiles and the way he defended me. He hadn’t known anything about me then, so this couldn’t just be a pity thing. I blew out an exasperated breath. Why couldn’t I just accept that maybe some good things were going to happen for once?
I stared at my phone and sent the text before I could change my mind.
Yes
When I felt the vibration in my hand, a flutter flurried across my chest before I even looked to see if it was him. It was. Even on my cracked screen his name was perfect. Everything about him was perfect.
I opened the text.
I think you’re handsome too ☺ If we are driving, we leave in 9 days.
I giggled like a twelve-year-old girl. The smiling emoji at the end topped the cake. What was I doing? This was ridiculous. But right then I didn’t care.
As I lay there on the sofa, I closed my tired eyes and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t lay awake worrying about paying the medical bills. Those were going to be nearly gone soon. With a slight smile, a happy heart and a peaceful mind… I drifted off.
AUSTIN
Five days had passed with no contact from Phoebe. I was completely banking on her not bailing on me, but I honestly didn’t know what to expect from her at this point. I watched the bank account daily to see if the check would clear. It didn’t. I’d bought several dresses and even some casual outfits that I thought she might like because I wanted her to feel comfortable once we got to Oregon. Her new iPhone sat on my desk waiting to be activated. Even though I’d only known her a very short time, I found myself worrying about her more than I ever imagined I’d worry about anyone. I thought about her riding the city bus. I thought about her working several jobs. I thought about her barely making ends meet if they even met at all. The stress of her playing mom to her siblings and not having any help stressed me. And I sat at my big oak desk in my lush, comfortable office waiting for any sort of contact from her. I caught myself checking my phone more often than I ever had before. Hell, I’d even turned it on and off a couple of times to make sure it was working right.
My desk phone rang.
“Yes, Marilyn?”
“Phoebe Miller is here to see you. She is not on your calendar but insisted that I call. Security is with her now.”
I hung up without answering and bolted toward the lobby, nearly taking out three people as I barreled through the hallways. “Excuse me,” I threw out globally. When I rounded the corner to the lobby, Phoebe sat in a chair with a security guard next to her. Wha
t the fuck?
Her strawberry blonde hair nested atop her head in a messy bun, and the little v between her brows messed with my heart.
“What’s going on here?”
She popped out of her chair. “When I came in…”
“Mr. Falsone, we…” he interrupted, and her eyes fell to the ground.
I held up my hand to Jeff the security guard. “She was speaking,” I said with a clear caution in my tone. Phoebe’s eyes lifted to meet mine.
“When I came in, I had my gun in my purse and I’d forgotten it was there. I rode the bus down and I didn’t have any place to put it.”
No matter how hard I fought it, a grin found my face until I saw her blink back tears.
“Where’s the gun, Jeff?”
“We locked it up downstairs, sir.”
“Then why did you escort her up here?”
Jeff’s nervous tics flared up as I questioned him. A series of eye blinks and neck twists. I patted his back, trying to ease him but at the same time wouldn’t tolerate anyone disrespecting Phoebe.
“Well, sir, she wouldn’t state her business here and she didn’t have an appointment. We weren’t sure of her intentions.”
I glanced at Phoebe as a tinge of red flooded her cheeks. Goddamn those freckles. After her eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head, I turned to Jeff. “Phoebe has been stalking me, and it’s good that you stopped her.”
Jeff’s shoulders reared back just as Phoebe punched me in the shoulder. Laughing, I rubbed my shoulder and held up my hands at Jeff. “OK. As creepy as she looks, she’s safe. We will get her gun when we come back. Thank you for making sure I was safe. Phoebe is allowed to come up anytime, Jeff. Make sure you let the security staff know, ok?”
Jeff tried to smile at the teasing, but he took his job seriously for a reason. By the look at Phoebe’s cock-eyed jaw, I’d have to explain what had just happened once we were back in my office. I pointed down the hall. Marilyn winked at me as we both walked past, and I shook my head as if there was nothing between us.
Finally...My Forever (Just One of the Guys Book 4) Page 4