“And you won’t say a word about this, to anyone, I mean it,” I tell her firmly.
“Of course, brother,” Athena smiles sweetly.
“As much as I hate what you’ve done, our family sticks together,” Athena tells me.
She’s right.
Stones stick together.
Lauren and I meet at the restaurant a little later in the evening, and Lauren greets me at the table with a dazzling smile that's meant to make me feel better.
The truth is, I’m only slightly miserable over the fact that Tinsley has married Connor.
I know the truth that we are just waiting.
We wait.
“Oh, cheer up, the food is fantastic here, and I've already ordered you a drink, you can sulk into your whiskey as usual,” she beams at me.
Her seductive smile is in place, motioning to the drink already at my place.
I swallow a mouth full of whiskey and mull over her words.
If I look as though I’m about sulk, it’s news to me.
Lauren is the only one who's noticed as of late.
“Alright, let's talk about it,” she says.
Lauren points at me, then motions with her index finger to come forward with my thoughts.
“She married another man. Her head isn't on straight because I don't know a woman that would pick a balding little fat man over you,” Lauren’s statement is bold.
“He's not exactly fat, or little,” I remind her.
“They now own the most outrageously pompous energy company in the world,” I add.
“Oh, that bit,” she waves a hand.
“Whatever, everyone wants you, everyone wants to be you. Remember that,” she points out.
“Except the one woman who-” I start.
“Who what?” She interrupts me.
“Did she change you? Great. Did she make empty promises? Sure. Do you love her? Probably. But none of those things count for anything,” Lauren shrugs.
“I still love her, I do. Nothing will make that go away, the love I mean,” I state the simple facts.
“Love is bloody blind,” Lauren accepts another cocktail from the waiter.
“I'll have the goat cheese tortellini,” she orders.
“Beef cheek ravioli,” I look up at the waiter.
“And another whiskey. Keep them coming,” I say.
“You don't want wine?” Lauren raises an eyebrow.
I scoff.
“Wine is for those who are enjoying themselves; I am merely passing through at the moment,” I tell her in a bleak tone.
“Bring us a bottle of red, just in case. Something that goes with dinner,” Lauren prompts and dismisses the waiter in record time.
He returns with a bottle that even Tinsley would approve of, as well as the second whiskey for me.
“She's not worth it,” Lauren tells me.
“She married someone else under the duress of the situation. Do you believe whatever it is you're thinking?” She asks.
“Let's change the subject, this is making me more miserable,” I tell her abruptly.
“Alright. How's your daughter?” Lauren obliges.
“She's good. Happy. After all these years I just wanted to see Ava happy, now she's having twin boys,” I say.
“How lovely. I can't imagine you as a grandfather,” Lauren laughs.
“Neither can I quite frankly. Especially since Ava still calls me Noah,” I tell her.
“An awkward relationship, at best?” Lauren offers.
“Yes. I don't quite know how to connect with her,” I offer
It's as much honesty as I'm willing to give today.
“Do something fun with her. Children want to bond with their parents, even if they've never known them. Take her out somewhere, take her to a movie, or Coney Island,” Lauren says.
“She's pregnant,” I remind her.
“Well do something with her. Make her feel wanted,” Lauren explains.
Was that the issue with Tinsley?
That I didn't make her feel wanted?
“I can't bloody stop thinking about her,” I confess.
“You have a one-track mind, Mr. Stone,” Lauren shakes her head at me.
Then the food arrives.
“Pour me a glass of wine then,” she orders.
I do as she asks, pouring some for myself.
“More?” I ask.
“Of course,” Lauren nods.
I lie to Lauren for the first time in my life, because I don’t trust anyone with this secret.
Only my children.
“She didn't tell you she was marrying the bloke, did she?” Lauren asks.
“No. She doesn't tell me anything anymore,” I lie.
“Maybe it's time to let her go?” Lauren offers.
I will never let her go.
“You need to date,” Lauren tells me.
“Date a few women. See what's out there,” she adds.
“I wouldn't even know what to do on a date,” I lie to her.
“Pretend this is a date then. What would you say to me?” Lauren asks.
She stands up straight, and her pouty lips stand out to me.
“You're beautiful, and you've got the most enticing lips,” I offer.
“Well, you haven't lost your touch,” Lauren replies seductively.
A blush rises into her cheeks.
“If this were a date, dinner would be over by now, and I'd already had you in my bed,” I tell her frankly.
“I don't do dates. Dates are the prerequisite for sex. You know how I feel about that,” I confront her.
“Then sleep around,” Lauren suggests.
“I don't want to,” I argue.
“You need to,” she tells me honestly.
“You need to sleep with someone else, remember what it feels like to conquer women and leave them behind. That's the Noah that I know. This Noah? I know nothing about him. She truly changed you, but maybe it's time you use those changes to find a woman who does want you,” Lauren encourages me.
Tinsley does want me.
The woman who changed me is the only woman that I want to be with.
I don't even want to kiss another woman, though Lauren's lips are reasonably enticing, I would never hurt Tinsley like that.
“Let's go dancing,” I suggest.
“You want to go out? Dancing?” She mocks shock.
“There's a salsa club I always mean to go to, but I've never had the chance,” I try to smile.
“Alright,” Lauren spears another ravioli.
“Let's do it,” her voice is as enticing as ever.
But not to me.
To me, she’s an old friend I’ve never slept with.
The salsa club is a dive bar by our standards.
But I enjoy the little red lights strung around the place, the worn out tables, waitresses who are not dressed in the same damn uniform.
It's relaxing to be somewhere no one recognizes us.
Lauren and I find some seats at the bar, and she orders two margaritas.
“I don't drink tequila,” I raise an eyebrow at Lauren.
“Never have you ever. It's time we broadened your horizon's Noah Stone,” she shoots back.
The bartender produces our drinks as I slip him a fifty, ensuring that our service will be impeccable for the rest of the night.
“Keep the change,” I smile at the younger man.
“Oh, thanks so much!” He grins.
But the music is excellent.
Latin beats and Spanish music that make me feel far less uptight than I was.
This was what I needed, to disappear and be someone else even only for a night.
I'm not going to lie; I thought about things with Lauren a lot in the past.
But our timing was always off.
She was dating a Kennedy, or I was married, or Elizabeth was getting in the way.
Lauren is desirable to me, but she's not the brunette I always crave.
Lauren swivel
s her hips on the bar stool and runs her hands through her blonde hair.
It falls all over the place, and, as she pouts, she’s got the attention of every man in the room.
“Come on old man, dance with me,” she requests.
I oblige her and take her out to the dance floor.
I spin her away from me.
Lauren swivels her hips down to the ground and pops back up, and her body sways in perfect time with the music.
All eyes are on her in this little dive, and I'm quite impressed with how at ease she is.
We dance and laugh, make fools of ourselves and work up a sweat.
More drinks are had until the heat inside the bar is too much, and we both need to step outside for a moment.
Outside it's even hotter.
“I hate the heat in this city,” Lauren bemoans.
“Come on then,” I hail a cab.
I am invigorated, more like myself.
This combined with the alcohol is what makes me say my next words.
“Come up, to my place. I've got a terrace,”
“Let's go then,”
We slide into the cab and talk all the way up to midtown.
On the terrace Lauren breaths in the cool breeze.
“You've been holding out on me Stone,” she says.
“Have I?” I ask innocently as I hand her yet another drink.
We are well beyond the point of Tipsy, and a haze has fallen over me.
The drunken haze.
This is precisely what I needed because I can no longer think straight about anything.
I stand at the edge of the balcony; my arms spread wide.
“I'm the King of Manhattan!” I scream.
“Noah, the king!” Lauren raises her drink to me, and it sloshes around in her glass.
I am king of my domain.
And I will get Tinsley back.
I will.
The last image in my head is of Tinsley and me, holding our newborn.
22
Tinsley
September 2, 2017
I break down and call Noah.
I want him to hear it from me; I want him to believe that this is not his baby.
Telling him would only bring both of us ruin.
At least at the moment.
Now isn’t the time for a scandal like this to leak, it would ruin everything.
That’s what I tell myself anyway.
“Hello, Tinsley,” Noah groans into the phone.
“Are you alright?” I ask confused.
“No... I think I may still be drunk. Lauren and I went out last night,” he explains.
Lauren?
Lauren, the woman who I imagine he is with?
He was with her last night.
Maybe he will move on with her.
“Can we have lunch?” I ask.
It’s hard to ignore what he's just said.
“Sure. Where?” He grunts as I hear him moving around.
“Why am I on the terrace?” he asks.
“I wouldn't know. I wasn't there,” I have to remind him.
“God,” Noah groans.
“Let's make lunch for a little later? Maybe around three? I need to feel human again before I can handle sitting across from you without kissing you over and over again,” he mutters.
It's a blessing to hear this.
“Three it is,” I agree.
The Central Park Boathouse restaurant is quiet at this hour.
Our clothed table outside, right beside the lake, overlooks everything.
I’ve always loved coming here.
It’s only right that since this is where everything started to fall into place, that I tell Noah about the baby here.
“The weather is perfect,” Noah comments as the waiter comes to our side.
“And what can I get you two to drink today?” She smiles brightly.
“I’ll have water with lemon,” I tell her sweetly.
“Whiskey neat,” Noah smiles at me.
“Not drinking today?” He asks.
I usually order something, but I can’t now that I’m pregnant.
“Yes,” I smile brightly.
“And I suppose you want to know why?” I ask deviously.
Then I produce my gift.
Noah opens the box and looks at the watch, then he turns it over and reads the inscription.
‘You’re going to be a dad!’
“Don’t tell me…” Noah stops talking when he reads the inscription.
I see the elation on his face, and I nod as tears slip down my cheeks.
“You’re pregnant?” he asks in a low whisper.
“We’re pregnant,” I finally get the words out, on the verge of crying.
I was slightly afraid he wouldn’t be happy about this.
“This is amazing,” he clasps my hands even though anyone could be lurking around right now.
“I’m, so excited!” Noah exclaims.
The grin on his face is so broad, and his eyes lit up with happiness.
“You are?” I ask timidly.
“Tinsley of course, didn’t we want to have children? We’ve always wanted this, now it’s happening,” he comes around the table and pulls me up into a hug.
In his arms everything is right with the world, nothing is out of place.
The waitress comes back with our drinks and Noah orders for both of us.
“I can’t believe this, I’m in shock,” Noah tells me.
I bite my lip.
“Me too, honestly, considering how… not careful we are,” I acknowledge the fact that we’ve never really used a condom. Only a few times when I was younger.
But being together, and passion, just overcame us every single time.
I never cared.
“I always hoped you’d get pregnant. I won’t deny it,” Noah admits.
“We’re having a baby,” he says, almost to himself.
“I’ve always wanted children with you Noah,” I tell him.
He has to take a deep breath.
“Me too,” he smiles.
Everything else seems small and insignificant.
Nothing will stop us now.
“When do you find out the sex?” Noah asks.
“Oh, I’m not even sure at the moment, but I don’t want to know, I want it to be a surprise,” I tell him.
“A wonderful blessing of a surprise,” Noah adds.
“I suppose, we still have Connor to contend with. But we can shove that side for the moment,”
“Of course,” Noah smirks at me.
“We’ll torture him, but we’ll get to that,” he sneers at the thought of Connor.
“But we’ll have to set up a nursery in my penthouse, Athena will have to plan the baby shower,” he starts talking.
“Noah, let’s just calm down, and enjoy this,”
We chat about the baby as the food comes.
A long conversation, about where we would live, where we could go, the things we’ll show our child. Tinsley wants to raise him or her Catholic, and I am quite alright with that.
Whatever she wants, the answer is yes.
“Are you going to keep running?” he asks as we finish dessert.
“Well, I thought about it, and I just… I don’t want to put the baby in any harm. My doctor said it was alright, but I still, I want to be careful,” I explain.
“Of course,” Noah nods.
“It’s too bad, I enjoyed our runs together,” he admits.
“How about long walks together instead?” I ask.
“I couldn’t dream of anything better,” Noah agrees.
Noah suggests we take a cab back to his building, but at this point, I would like to walk.
My birthday is coming up, and I am no more excited to turn twenty-eight than I am for everything that looms over me.
We stop at the Bethesda Fountain, to admire the angel atop the fountain for a few moments, before we walk towards the water's edge, to stand inches away from
where The Lake begins.
It's a beautiful sight, the serenity of the lake, in front of us the city almost disappears, and behind us, the Manhattan skyline overshadows everything.
It's as though my future holds no promise.
“I can't believe it's come to this, we’re finally pregnant, and you’re married to another man,” he says.
“It’s not forever,” I say, and wrap my arms around him boldly.
“Me and you? That’s forever,” he responds
Then Noah licks his lips.
I know where he's going, and my lips press against Noah's before he can say another word.
Every greedy kiss is filled with the fire and the passion of desperation to make this work.
I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tightly.
When we do come up for air, we are both out of breath and distracted.
I don’t want to say goodbye.
I don’t want to be a stranger to him.
I can’t let go!
“You know,” I tell him with complete seriousness.
“My husband is working late tonight. He won't know if I'm home or not,” I suggest.
“Well, someone should keep you company,” Noah's low voice is in my ear.
“Yes,” My whisper comes back.
I let Noah take my hand, even though anyone could see us together.
I can't let him go.
I refuse.
23
Noah
September 2, 2017
We walk in the front door, and it feels familiar, as though we both know we shouldn't be alone, but here we are anyway.
“You want something to drink?” I ask.
“Sure,” Tinsley nods.
She sits down on the couch and crosses her legs.
“Water is fine,” she adds.
I come back with a glass of water, and set it down on the table before I pour myself a drink.
“You do look lovely,” I tell her.
“Kissable?” She smiles at me.
“If only I were a different man,” I sigh and take a sip of my drink.
Here we are, miles apart from what we want.
Ready to throw everything in our lives away for each other.
Again.
“If you were a different man, what would you do?” Tinsley raises an eyebrow
“I would hold myself back,” my whisper fades, as I lean over, and press my lips to hers even though we are an unnatural distance apart.
Denial_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel Page 11