by ZN Willett
Andrew leaned forward while his hands ran through his hair. "Are you two still close?"
"I still consider him a good friend."
Andrew's face hardened unexplainably. "Were you more than friends?"
"Ummm…" Andrew's intense stare was not only making me uncomfortable, but I found it was weirdly...hot. "We tried it for a minute, but after...we remained friends. I'm also friends with his wife, Jamie."
He sat back in his seat, brushing his thumb over his bottom lip as he continued to stare into my eyes. All I could focus on was the movement of his thumb. "So you two dated?"
I looked down a little uncomfortably by the line of questions. "Not really 'dated', dated. Just tried it out for a moment, but it was awkward and wrong."
"Uh-huh."
Looking back at Andrew, I couldn't quite read him. He had what seemed like a million facial expressions, and each one could tell his mood. But the look on his face was one that was hard to read. We sat in a moment of silence while he pondered over whatever it was he was thinking. It was then that she popped into my head. "And you and Brittney?"
He made a scowled expression when I said her name. "Don't believe everything you read, Andria."
What was that supposed to mean? Lately, the press was saying they're not together. So, were they? They sure looked like it today.
"I don't believe everything I hear or read, but surely you can see why I would think that you two..." It didn't sound right coming out at the time, but if he could ask me about Brandon, she was fair game.
He gaped at me for a moment as he searched my eyes for something I was unclear of. "Andria, in my profession, things are meant to look one way even if they are not."
"Okay?"
He leaned in closer as his voice lowered. "Like my movies. I play a part, but in real life I am far from that image. Do you understand?"
"Yes…no." He laughed. "Are you trying to tell me you two are not dating, but dating?'" I confused myself.
He placed a wicked smile on his face as he came in closer saying, "Oh, Andria. I love your—"
"Andria!" a voice stretched out my name—interrupting—as we both looked up at him.
I saw the last person I wanted to. "Hi, Frank."
He spoke at my chest. "I knew you would come. Why didn't you find me?" Then he finally noticed Andrew. "Andrew, what are you doing here?"
Andrew sat straight up. "I was going to ask you the same thing, Frank."
"Amy and I were looking for someone, but I have found something better," he said, scoping me out.
The guy was really starting to bother me.
Andrew rested his arm on the back of the booth behind me as he asked, "You know my manager, Frank?"
I moved in closer to him and saw a gleam of approval in Andrew's eyes. "No, not really. We met today. He was the one who gave me the tickets."
Frank looked between the two of us. "We met at Grant's. Her meeting was before mine. How lucky was I? When I saw her…she was with Don."
"Is that so…"
"Don is our attorney," I blurted out. Not sure why I felt the need to explain. The look on Andrew's face was just telling me to do so.
"Beauty and brains, Drew. Her book is up for a film adaptation."
Andrew's arm tightened as his eyes filled with surprise. "You're a writer?"
I looked at Frank who seemed smug that he knew that and Andrew didn't. "We haven't gotten that far."
"Who do you write for?" He asked in a clipped voice.
"Ummm...for me, and EM Publishing."
"What kind of writer are you, Andria?"
I wasn't sure why the conversation was turning into an interrogation, but I answered. "I am a romance writer, Andrew. I wrote Deception."
"You're A.P. Moore?" Frank asked loudly. Andrew looked pleased that Frank didn't know as much as he had originally implied.
"You know my book?"
"Everyone does, Andria," Andrew answered smugly.
"Come on," Frank interrupted. "You really wrote that hot book?"
He was really getting on my nerves. "Ummm, yes, I wrote Deception." I answered with a glare.
"You're full of surprises, Ms. Moore." Andrew said coated in honey as he placed that smirk on his face.
I couldn't take my eyes off those lips, which made me unaware that Frank was bent directly over me before he asked, "So, Andria, would you like to have a nightcap—"
"Frank, she's having one now," Andrew growled out.
Did I mention the man was hot when he was annoyed?
Frank placed an evil grin on his face as he looked directly at Andrew. "Drew, don't you need to find Brittney?"
In that moment, my heart fell. No matter how incredible he was, and how interested he seemed to be, he was her's. I could not nor would I compete with her. "I better go—"
"Andria, wait," Andrew said as he looked directly at Frank. "Why don't you go find Brittney since you're so interested in her. Andria and I aren't done. You can leave, now, Frank."
Frank rose back up with both hands up as if he were surrendering. "Drew, hey man, I was just—"
"I know what you were doing Frank," Andrew said glaring at him.
Frank never dropped the grin as he looked over towards me. "Andria, you have my card," and with that, he walked away.
Andrew ordered a drink on the rocks as he sat there looking at me with a penetrating stare. It made me uncomfortable, yet again hot as hell at the same time. He didn't say a word, and when his drink arrived, I watched as he swiveled the cold glass in his hand before taking a sip from those beautiful lips. When his tongue swiped the liquid from them, it made me a little woozy.
I finally had to break the awkward silence. "I was going to tell you I was a writer."
"I know you were. I should have asked what you do, but we got caught up in the past. So, you're here for business?" He asked and leaned in.
"It coincided with my Thanksgiving trip. I stopped here first to see my best friend Erin, before going to Baltimore tomorrow."
He took another sip as I watched. "And you live…"
"In Dallas."
"I see."
Something had changed between us. I wasn't sure what, but Andrew seemed heavy in thought, and the night turned the moment Frank had interrupted.
"Well, Andrew, it's getting late. It was…this was nice," I said standing up.
"Let me walk you back to the elevator." He placed some cash on the table as he followed me from behind.
We said nothing until we stood facing the front of the main elevators. I didn't want the moment to end, but it was time. I peered over to my side for one last look at Andrew, memorizing every detail before finally saying, "Andrew. Thank you again for the champagne and…"
He stepped directly in front of me with his back towards the elevator door. "I want to see you again."
My heart stopped.
I know I was supposed to say something, but I couldn't think rationally. I was sure my ears were playing a trick on me, and my brain became scrambled. "Ummm, I'm not sure," was I crazy? My mouth was having an insane moment. "What about Brittney?"
Maybe not that insane.
"There is no Brittney," he stepped closer.
I couldn't take my blue eyes away from his hazel ones that radiated as he smiled.
"Don’t always believe what you read, Andria. You, of all people, should know that." He winked. "I will call you," and with that, the elevator door opened.
He did not take his eyes off of mine as he stepped to the side. I entered the elevator as my eyes never wavered from his until the elevator door closed.
The next morning I woke up in a daze, reeling from my conversation with Andrew Hughes last night. He said that he wanted to see me again, and I still couldn't believe what I had heard. At first, I thought that I had to have dreamt it, but if that had been the case, creepy Frank wouldn't have appeared.
It had taken what seemed like forever, to finally fall asleep last night. All I could do was to think about Andr
ew over and over again. He was very different from whom I had imagined, and better looking in person, which was hard to believe. He had a wicked personality, and he was sexy-as-hell. …Well, a little like I had imagined—but meeting the real Andrew Hughes was eye opening.
When I finally decided to get out of bed, doubt started to creep into my mind about him. As I was in the shower, I started to have thoughts like: He probably hits on a lot of girls. He was probably drunk. No, I know he was drunk. We did have a lot to drink.
It's Andrew Hughes. Andrew, freaking, Hughes, I was talking to. And he wanted to see me again? There was no wrapping my head around that.
Erin and I were meeting up for breakfast with Miles before I left for Baltimore. We met at a diner in Old Town Alexandria that was close to her brownstone. I was officially meeting Miles. He was a tall—very slender—good looking guy with a nice smile. He had long sandy brown hair, a pale complexion and had a heavy southern accent. He had moved to Virginia a couple of years ago from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to work as an accountant for his current company.
Miles had some other talents as well. When he first came to Virginia, he met a group of guys at a bar, and soon discovered they were looking for a guitar player. He offered up his skills, and they've been a band ever since. Erin mentioned that they were really good. They're an alternative band that uses a bit of southern influences. I thought she was biased until she sent me one of their CD's. I loved it and often wrote to their music.
Miles seemed to really love Erin, and treated her like the spoiled princess she was. I couldn't ask for anything more.
It was hard for Erin and me to talk about what happened last night without being rude to Miles. He said it was all right, and let me tell the gist of it. But, I didn't want him to think that I wasn't interested in getting to know him. It was our first meeting.
When Miles went to the restroom, Erin attacked me. "So, are you going to go out with him?"
"What kind of question is that, Erin? Of course, I'm going to go out with him. But, I don't think he'll call."
She rolled her eyes. "Are you joking? He will call."
"We were drinking, and he didn't even ask me for my number. Oh, my, God, Erin. He never asked for my number! It was just…" I started to panic.
Erin placed her hand on mine. "Andria, please stop. He can easily find your number, and he wasn't that drunk."
"How, Erin?"
"Don't worry about the how, just start preparing for the when," she said sternly.
“Miles is a great guy, FYI.”
She smiled big. “He is! He hinted about taking me to meet his family. This makes me totally nervous,” she laughed as Miles sat back down.
"So, Darlin’, what did I miss?"
"Oh, nothing Miles, just a little girl talk."
With that simple statement, I was back to getting to know Miles.
I drove back to the hotel to pick up my things before heading to my dad’s. I looked around the lobby for any sightings of Andrew, but it was a bust. I grabbed my things and headed to the front desk to get a copy of my bill. "Ms. Moore, there was a message left for you." The agent walked to the back and returned with a large basket. "It was actually this," she said as she placed the basket on the counter.
Peeking into the basket, I saw bottles of The Anchor's house bottled beer, with The Anchor printed t-shirts, snack items, bottle openers, and a bunch of other novelty items. As I opened the card, my eyes grew wide when I saw Andrew's signature. I grabbed the basket as if it were a bomb, and ran to my car. Throwing it in the front seat, I sped out of the hotel like some crazed maniac. Then, like all maniacs, I started to laugh hysterically.
Coming to my senses, I pulled into a parking spot and read the note. Yup, it was only the sight of his signature that made me go mad.
I reread the note five times before starting on the road again. I glanced at the basket numerous times and started to eat the nuts half way there.
As I pulled into the driveway of my father’s home, I realized that nothing had changed. There were a few new shrubs, but everything looked exactly the same. After my parents’ divorce, my father stayed in my childhood home until I was around ten. That was when he moved closer to Baltimore. The small single-family dwelling has been home ever since.
Dad walked out rubbing his graying beard. As he walked straight towards me with open arms, I noticed his mustache had vanished. "Andria, you're late."
I hugged him, "Good to see you too Dad. There was some traffic. You shaved your mustache?"
I have asked him to shave thousands of times, but he always said it was a part of him. He shuffled his boot-clad feet kicking up snow on his jeans. "You…ummm, Pilar likes it. Hey, you've asked me to and…whatever. I'm just glad you got here safe, Kiddo. Let me get your bags." I grabbed the basket, and we walked into the house.
He brought my luggage upstairs to my old room while I placed the basket in the kitchen. "Andria," Pilar said as she wiped her hands before giving me a hug. "We're so glad you could make it."
Her wide brown eyes were bright, yet tired as she placed loose strands of long black hair into her bun. "Thanks, Pilar. Umm, you didn't have to start dinner. I was going to—"
"Nonsense! You've done enough of feeding Dan for all of these years. I'm glad I get a chance to do that now."
My father was a horrible cook and the only reason I had done most of the cooking was because I couldn’t stomach his cuisine. The man cooked everything in a crock-pot, and chili every night quickly got old. "Ah, yeah. I bet he’s happy with that." I smiled as I grabbed a soda from the refrigerator.
Pilar and my father met at one of my school functions. Her daughter Jaimie was one grade ahead of me. They both were single parents and started meeting for lunches and then dinners and so on. Pilar also has a son Carlos, and her son-n-law happened to be Brandon. Jaimie and Brandon dated their senior year in high school, eventually getting married.
Even though Brandon and I were good friends, Jaimie and I had never seemed to mesh well. She treated me as a threat. Brandon said it was her personality, and she was like that with everyone, but I wasn't naïve. I knew she only tolerated me because of him. Now that her Mom was my dad's girlfriend, that didn't make our relationship any better. You would have thought with Brandon marrying her, she would be comfortable around me. But, unfortunately, that wasn't the case. For his sake, I tried to make sure I was civil, even with her occasional snide remarks.
"Hey, you didn't have to bring me a gift." Dad’s blue eyes gleamed as he picked up a bottle of beer.
"It was actually given to me by a guy I met."
"I don't know how I feel about some guy giving you a basket of beer. You don't know this fella." Dad’s eyebrows furrowed, and he gave me a concerned look.
I grabbed the bottle opener and opened a bottle for him. "It's not like that Dad. Everyone kno—It was just a joke."
"Still not sure what a basket of beer has to do with a joke, Andria."
"It's from that pub I hung out in at college. Hey, how was your hunting trip yesterday?"
I knew the topic of hunting would change Dad’s focus. I laughed when Pilar knowingly shook her head and continued to season the turkey. "It was a good day. We did a little ice fishing, as well. I was telling Pilar we should have a boil tonight. I can pick up some fresh seafood at the market." He winked at her. Then pinched her side rolls as she swatted his hands away from her stomach and continued prepping.
It was weird seeing my dad…playful. "That sounds like a great idea. I'll do that, and we can give Pilar a break for the night."
She stopped patting the turkey with butter. "Oh Andria, you don't have to—"
"I want to," I smiled. Seafood boil was now on the menu.
Carlos, Brandon, and Jaimie came over to join us for dinner, along with a couple of Dad's army buddies and their families. It was a house full of people, which felt strange because it had always been just Dad and I. We weren't very social and it seemed to work for us, but things had changed
. It wasn't too bad. I always wanted to know how it would be to have a large family around for the holidays.
After dinner, I went upstairs to my room, and called Erin to fill her in on the gift Andrew left for me. It had been busy, and that was the first time I had a moment to breathe. We giggled and laughed like schoolgirls before I hung up. On my way downstairs, I saw Brandon heading to the bathroom. "Were you trying to get away from us?"
I positioned myself against the wall. "I needed to call Erin, and no, I was just thinking it felt strange having a house full of people."
"Funny how things change, huh?"
"Yeah…"
That made me a little sad not having my mom here, but my parents were happier people apart from each other.
"You look good," he said as his eyes swept over me.
I crossed my arms. "Thanks. How's married life?"
He shifted from one foot to the other. "Not what I expected."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not saying I don't love Jaimie, or enjoy being married to her. It's not as simple as I thought it would be."
I walked closer to him. "Are you two having problems?"
He nervously looked over my shoulder down the stairs. "No, nothing like that. It's just…like you said, it feels weird having a house full of folks. It feels weird being married, that's all."
I hadn’t spoken to Brandon much since he and Jaimie were married last summer. But, I knew my friend, and something was definitely up. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"It's nothing. Hey, I finally read your book."
I gave him a special copy, but I never thought he’d actually read it. "You really read it?"
"Of course I did. It wasn't too bad." He sent me a teasing smile.
"Well thanks for that compliment. I thought you said it was a chick lit."