Beyond Doubt (Beyond Love Series #2)

by Bolton, Karice

  “You didn’t have to do this,” I told him, taking the flowers as he quickly kissed each cheek.

  “I thought I better start playing catch up to whoever sent you the others,” he teased.

  He took a step back, and his gaze traveled slowly along my body sending a trail of shivers in its wake.

  “A friend doesn’t have to worry about things like that, but I love them. Let me run upstairs and put these in water.”

  He smiled as his gaze met mine. “You look beautiful.”

  His compliment melted me on the spot, but I didn’t want to let it go to my head.

  “Thanks. We do look pretty good for two friends just chatting over a casual meal. Wanna come up for a second?”

  His smile deepened as I turned toward the elevator. “Absolutely.”

  The moment the doors closed, I felt the familiar electricity run between us and wondered if he felt it too.

  “This is going to be harder than I thought,” his voice low as he rocked back on his feet.

  “Isn’t it though?” I asked, afraid of the sensations pulsing through me.

  “Yeah, it is.” He took a step toward me, and I instinctively moved the roses to block him and started laughing.

  The elevator doors opened, spilling us into the hallway.

  “You know what I think?” I asked, unlocking the door. He came up behind me and I felt the familiar charge run through me.

  “What’s that?” he asked, his voice low as his hands slid along my hips.

  “That you need to stay on this side of the door while I put these flowers in a vase.”

  He released his hands from my hips as laughter replaced the tension in the air. I quickly pushed through the front door and left him standing in the hallway.

  I was completely at his mercy and had to get a grip. This crush was getting out of hand, and that’s all it was. There was no future with him. He wasn’t that type. My only hope was that when we sat through a dinner we’d bore each other out of our minds. But something told me that wasn’t going to happen. I grabbed a vase out of the kitchen cabinet and filled it with water. I unwrapped the brown paper around the roses and snipped the ends off the stems and arranged them in the vase. Not wanting Gabby to run across them, I took the vase to my room and sat it on my nightstand. I took a step back and attempted to regain my composure, but knowing Aaron was waiting for me in the hallway was all it took to get my pulse going again. I needed to settle down. I needed just a few more minutes away from him.

  “I got lonely out in the hall,” Aaron said, jolting me right out of my wishful thinking as he lightly tapped on my door. I spun around to see him taking in my bedroom. He was grinning as he looked around, his eyes canvassing every section of the large space. My bedroom was quite roomy with a sitting area overlooking the city. The walls were taupe, the furniture white, and the decorative pillows turquoise. It was homey and far more sophisticated than any other bedroom I’d had up to this point. I could thank Gabby for that.

  I followed his gaze to my bed, and pure delight shot through me as he glanced back at me, his eyes scorching.

  “You don’t take instruction very well,” I huffed, turning him around and pushing him out of my room.

  “Very true. Let’s get going before they run out of tables.”

  I followed him back down the hall and kept to myself in the elevator, wondering if I was someone who actually enjoyed torturing myself. We stepped onto the sidewalk and the warm air touched my skin as we began our walk. Every time I felt his body move closer to mine, I stepped away, rerouting our direction slightly.

  “Here we are,” he said, ushering me toward a black door that was ornately carved. “They have patio seating on the side of the building. Thought it would be nice for a night like tonight. Being cooped up in the hospital all day was draining. I need some fresh air.”

  “I completely understand that.”

  He opened the door and I walked under his arm to a large seating area. All of the wood was dark teak and the long stretch of seating was covered in red velvet. The lighting was dim and the crowd of people in the bar was overflowing. I noticed quite a line of people waiting for a table in the restaurant as well.

  “Mr. Sullivan,” the hostess cooed. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

  She glanced at me, her eyes sizing up his latest conquest, before turning her attention back to Aaron.

  “Do you have a table for two on the patio, Tammy?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she replied, grabbing two menus. “Always for you.”

  I felt the distinct shift in the room as the large group of people who had been waiting for a table saw us get seated immediately. Feeling a little uncomfortable about it myself, I turned and grimaced an apology before quickly following Aaron and the hostess, weaving through the crowd of people.

  Tammy showed us to our table, handing us our menus, and I caught a glimpse of folded money in Aaron’s palm swiftly release into her palm.

  “Thank you, Mr. Sullivan.” She smiled and gave him a quick nod before turning around and leaving us alone.

  “I see how it works now. I wonder if that would work at Applebees?” I smiled. “I’ll have to try it.”

  Aaron started laughing and shook his head, but the moment his eyes connected with mine, I felt the tinge of excitement race through me. I needed to get my emotions back on track, keep the subjects neutral. Wait…That was neutral. God, I was in trouble around him.

  “How’s your dad doing?” I asked. “It’s okay to still call him your dad, right?”

  He laughed. “I do. He’s the one who raised me. They think he’ll get out tomorrow, and then he’s got to take it easy for a few weeks.”

  “I’m so glad to hear it. Gabby felt so guilty.”

  “About what?”

  “She thought she was too hard on your dad, and she’s always paranoid about karma so…”

  Aaron laughed. “Gabby was like that as a little girl too. If something went wrong in her life she would analyze everything that led up to it. I would’ve thought she’d grow out of it.”

  “It probably just got worse, especially after—” I stopped myself.

  “The transplant,” he finished, his voice catching slightly.

  I nodded and glanced at the menu.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself,” he said, more to himself than me.

  “We’ve all got our regrets,” I said. “And I know she’s just so happy to have you back in her life.”

  Our eyes met and I saw the relief flooding through his expression.

  “Is she happy?” he asked.

  “I think she’s getting there. Jason has certainly turned her on to a different set of possibilities. She’ll kill me for telling you this, but she’s really not all that into selling cheese.”

  His laughter was melodic as his eyes met mine. “Would you be?”

  “Not really,” I confessed. “But I’m thrilled to have the job. It will definitely cut down on my financial aid bill at the end.”

  “Have you thought about transferring to the legal department for—”

  “There’s no transferring within divisions for twelve months from the hire date,” I stated robotically.

  “There are always exceptions to the rules.”

  “Is that so?”

  He nodded. “Think about it. You wouldn’t be the first HR made an exception for.”

  “We’ll see,” I said, opening up the menu.

  “The linguine with the mussels and oysters is phenomenal,” Aaron suggested.

  I shook my head. “No way. Not a seafood girl.”

  “And you live in Seattle?”

  “I’m okay with some fish, just not things that look like they blend in with the rockeries.”

  “Have you ever even tried an oyster or a mussel?” he asked.

  “No. I haven’t had anything like that and plan on keeping it that way. It just looks like a rubbery mess of goo.”

  “You’re how old
and never had shellfish?” his brow arched.

  “Food selection has nothing to do with maturity level.”

  “It very well may.”

  “It’s not like I’m the only one in the world who isn’t into seafood.”

  “How do you know if you haven’t even tried it?” The smirk that appeared on his face was far too adorable for his own good, but it did nothing to convince me to try the slippery suckers.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “The smothered chicken sounds perfect.”

  “That’s mature.”

  “What?”

  “The eye-roll over shellfish.”

  “It wasn’t over the shellfish. It was over how very persistent you are. You’re quite controlling.”

  “And you’re not? You’re wrapped so tight, I’m worried one false move and you’ll come undone.”

  “I just might.” I stuck my tongue out quickly and rolled my eyes again.

  And my heart nearly stopped when he did the same, revealing a tongue piercing. His smile grew as he waited for my response, and I saw a glint of silver reflect from his tongue once more. How had I not noticed before? A tongue piercing… a suit with a tongue piercing.

  “Brandy, why are you blushing?” he teased.

  I opened my mouth and then smacked my lips together, laughing.

  He smiled, his eyes fastening on mine. “What’s this I hear about you not liking motorcycles? Have you ever tried riding one?” he asked, changing the topic.

  I shook my head quickly, trying to regain clarity. “I’d like to see my thirtieth birthday so I tend to avoid things that might make that impossible.”

  He whistled softly.

  “What?” I asked.

  “That must be a long list you’ve got going.”

  “It’s not.”

  “I bet it is.”

  “It really isn’t.”

  “So parachuting is out?” his eyes twinkled.

  “Seriously? Come on. Who even acts like that’s part of normal activity?”

  He shrugged.

  “Are you telling me you’ve jumped out of a plane?”

  “Many times. And look, I’ve even lived to tell you about it.”

  “What did it feel like?”

  “Incredible. The rush is something that’s pretty hard to replicate.”

  “Is that why you did it? For the rush?”

  “I did it because it was part of my job, but I loved it. The speed the body falls through the air…”

  I shuddered just thinking about it.

  “Too much?” he asked.

  I laughed and nodded.

  “So what’s the craziest thing you’ve done?” he asked, leaning back in the chair.

  Hmm. The craziest thing I’ve ever done? This was going to be a challenge.

  “You got anything?” he asked, snapping my attention back to the question at hand.

  “I’ve got one,” I said.

  “Spit it out.”

  “I went up in a hot air balloon for my eighteenth birthday.” I sat back in my chair, completely satisfied with my answer.

  “Not bad. Would you go again?”

  He read right through me.

  “Absolutely not.”

  “I think that’s going to be my duty to you as your newest friend.”

  “What?”

  “Make you live a little, face your fears…”

  I groaned just as the server came to take our orders.

  “And it’s going to start with tonight’s meal. We’d both like the Pasta allo Scoglio,” Aaron said, handing our menus to the server.

  After the server left, I looked at Aaron, who was completely amused with himself.

  “I don’t like being forced into doing things,” I said, unfolding my napkin. “And I’m not afraid of shellfish so this shouldn’t even count. I just don’t like them.” I wanted to be mad at him, but he looked so happy I couldn’t be.

  “I’m not forcing you. I’m only giving you a little push,” he replied. “And you can’t say you don’t like them because you’ve never tried them.”

  “I don’t have to try them to know I won’t like them.”

  “If you could look at me and tell me without a shadow of a doubt that you hated shellfish, riding bikes, and rock climbing then I wouldn’t push you into doing any of them. But by the sounds of it, you’re making an uneducated guess, which doesn’t sound very lawyer-like to me.”

  I scowled at him. “How’d you know I’m going into law school?”

  “I’ve got my sources,” he replied, his brow arched.

  “Cole?” I asked.

  “No. Not Cole. Not this time. So how’d you decide to go into law?” His question surprised me.

  I glanced at the twinkle lights that outlined the patio and caught a glimpse of someone on the sidewalk staring in my direction. Our eyes met quickly before the shadow of a person darted into the night, leaving me with an uneasy feeling. I turned my attention back to Aaron who was waiting for my response.

  “I grew up helping my mom in the non-profit law center she started and I loved it—everything about it. When I was in Junior High, I’d go in after school and help with filing and things like that. My friends thought I was nuts, and I probably was. As I got older, I helped to prepare the documents and quickly became infatuated with the stories that always came along with each case. I just knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps…help people who couldn’t otherwise help themselves. Good legal representation shouldn’t only be reserved for the wealthy, and I feel like so many people get penalized in the courts. I don’t know; I’m probably rambling.”

  “No. I get it. I really do,” his voice softened. “It’s really refreshing to meet someone who knows what they want out of life.”

  I laughed and took a sip of my wine. “Career-wise, yes. Every other part of my life is still up for debate.”

  He laughed, but his eyes wore something else behind his expression.

  “What about you? I know you work for your father, but I have no idea doing what or where you’ve been for the last ten years. Gabby mentioned that you and Jason met in the military?”

  Aaron nodded and shifted uncomfortably as he debated what to tell me. I could tell his mind was running a mile a minute, and I hoped I’d be able to crack through at some point, someday.

  “We did. We both were at a point in our lives where we needed to see the world, really experience it, and the military provided that.” He let out a sigh. “And more.”

  The server placed our plates in front of us and asked if there was anything else we needed, which there wasn’t.

  “It was a wake-up call for me. I had a pretty easy life up to that point, and I don’t think I really thought everything through when I joined…”

  “Yeah?”

  He nodded and his eyes darkened with his admission. “But it gave us both the start we needed,” he continued. “One thing I knew for sure when I got out was that I didn’t want to re-up. We had come up with an idea for civilian surveillance using an app, and it turned out to be something that was missing in the marketplace, so we got several lucrative offers. The last one being from my father. Jason wanted the cash and out of it completely. He was never really into the company past the idea. But I wanted to stay on and see the business through. I was able to negotiate that into the sale, and the rest is history.”

  “So what do you actually do now that it was brought into the fold of your father’s company?”

  “I oversee development and manufacturing.”

  I pulled my phone out of my purse and swiped the screen until I came to our home security app.

  “Are you telling me that this is yours?” I asked, pushing it in front of him.

  He nodded.

  “Well, then that explains why Gabby’s father was so quick to put it in our condo. It’s pretty cool. Except that it doesn’t work.” I flashed a smile.

  “What do you mean? Are you filing an official complaint?”

  “No. I
think it’s user error. We screwed it up somehow a few weeks ago and haven’t been able to connect since.”

  “I’ll check it out sometime,” he said, finally grabbing his fork and loading it with pasta.

  “So you’re more than just a pretty face?”

  He cracked a smile and shook his head as he continued eating. I glanced down at my plate and tried to get up enough nerve. As I wound the linguine around my fork, avoiding most of the shellfish, I took a bite and was completely blown away by the flavor.

  “This is delicious,” I said.

  “I told you I wouldn’t lead you astray.”

  “Yet.”

  He flashed a grin but his eyes caught something behind me. My stomach knotted at the thought of him being incapable of having one meal without scouting the female selection surrounding us. Fighting the urge to look behind me, I took another swallow of wine and hoped it would help relieve the jealousy that so easily swept in. I had to get over this if we were only friends.

  Aaron quickly glanced at me and then back behind me. Unable to hold it in any longer, I waved at him.

  “I’m over here.”

  His lips broke into a smile. “Yes, you are, and you’re very hard to miss.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what’s so interesting behind me? Or should I ask who?” I raised a brow.

  He grinned as his eyes relayed some sort of internal victory.

  Damn him!

  This friend thing wasn’t going to work. I was an all or nothing kind of girl.

  He leaned in close and whispered, “It’s getting late. We should probably get you back home. We can’t let this night turn into anything more.”

  And with those words my hidden hope of being more than friends with him were shattered. I nodded and followed him out the restaurant.

  Gabby and I piled out of the elevator into our hallway, groceries in hand for our delicious dinner tonight after a grueling workday. I was making chicken fajitas and couldn’t wait. We both worked out at lunch in anticipation of tonight’s meal, and I was just thrilled to have Gabby at home for the night. Since she started seeing Jason, she’d spent most nights there, which was fine since all I seemed to do was study. As we neared our door, I saw a little box on the floor.