Romantic Promises (Alluring Promises Series, #2)

by Baker, Janice

  Matt: Hey Gorgeous. Feel like grabbing some coffee while I eat breakfast?

  I stared at the time and wondered how early he kicked Ava out. Why didn’t he just take her out to breakfast?

  I read the next text.

  Matt: Are you mad at me or something?

  Mad? Was he thinking I was mad about Ava? Well, I was last night while I sat in my room alone and jealous. I was definitely jealous last night. Today, after my renewed thinking and resolving how Matt is with women, I was going to be calm and…not jealous.

  I decided to ignore his question.

  Me: I’m having my coffee now.

  My fingers hovered over the touchpad, unsure of what else to write. I decided to leave it at that. I would think that suggested I’m not heading out for breakfast with him since I don’t eat breakfast and already having my coffee.

  I walked into my room and grabbed my old laptop. I usually use my work computer for everything, but if I wanted to log onto the dating site, I wasn’t going to use my work laptop for personal use.

  I set it down on the table next to my notebook and turned it on as I sat down in front of it. I logged into the dating site that Aubrey set up for me and checked the text she sent me a while ago with my account name and password. Several chat boxes popped up the second I logged on from men who were apparently doing the same thing I was this morning.

  A knock at the door pulled me from reading what one man wanted to do to my “sweet fucking body.” I cringed when I clicked on his fat, balding picture. I made a mental note to delete him from my list as I walked towards the door.

  I glanced through my peephole and giggled. Matt was making a funny face in front of the peephole. I opened the door, still smiling.

  “You like that?” He asked, grinning from ear to ear. I nodded and stepped aside, letting him in my apartment.

  He walked over to the back of my couch and leaned against it, crossing his ankles and folding his arms.

  “What’s your plan for today?” He asked.

  I had no idea what I was going to do except log onto the online dating service. My eyes flicked over to my laptop as I heard several “pings” emanating from it. I looked back to answer Matt and realized he had followed my gaze and was staring at my laptop also. He gingerly walked over to it.

  “Wha’cha got going on over here?” He asked as he bent down to look at the screen. He pulled his brows together as he looked at my notebook next to my laptop and picked it up. He began reading my very short list and looked over at me as I walked up, slightly embarrassed, next to him.

  I swallowed, realizing how pathetic I must look having a list and online dating service. “I was…”

  “Making a list?” He asked as he smirked at me.

  I shrugged, knowing what he was thinking. “I…sort of. I was just going to change some things in the profile that Aubrey set up for me.”

  “Are you one of those crazy women that need a checklist for any guy they’re going to date?”

  I shook my head, laughing that it seemed that way. “No. I just…” I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes. “I was just trying to figure out what I want from someone I date. Those were the things I could come up with.”

  Matt stared at me for a few seconds, his face softening slightly before looking back down at my very small list. “Romance, huh?”

  I bit my lip, feeling silly. “Yeah, I guess I’ve never had that, so I thought if I put it on my little list that…” I trailed off feeling really stupid. “I just think it would be nice to have, that’s all.” I swallowed, feeling my eyes well up slightly.

  I sat down in the chair and crossed my legs, leaning on the table with my elbow. “What about you? You’re not the romantic type I remember you telling me once before.”

  He sat and leaned down, resting his elbows on his knees. “Nah, I tried that once. Romance didn’t work out for me.” He glanced around the room.

  I sat back in my seat. “Explain,” I commanded. I wanted to know the reason behind him feeling like this. Maybe romance was just tough for some guys. Maybe Charles is just one of those guys and I should give him another chance. Or maybe I’m longing for something guys just can’t provide.

  “When I tried that with Stephanie, that was my last time,” he said casually.

  “Romance? Like being sweet to someone, buying them gifts, giving them all your affections?” I teased.

  He smiled at me. “Is that the definition? Then yeah, I’ll never do that again.”

  “Why? What if you find that one person that could be ‘it’ for you?”

  “Are you trying to be that person?” He teased with a smile.

  “Not if you can’t promise me romance. What woman doesn’t want a man to be romantic, to do things out of the blue for them, to shower them with affection and love?” I shrugged, “I don’t know any woman that wouldn’t want that.”

  Matt chuckled. “Aubrey.”

  “You’re wrong. Aubrey claims she doesn’t want that, but all women do. If a man is willing to do all that for them, why wouldn’t you accept it?”

  “Did Charles not do any of that for you? Mr. Perfection?”

  I swallowed. “No, he doesn’t do those things for me. He takes care of me. He never just…sweeps me off my feet.”

  Matt’s smile fell, his eyes pulled together as he told me, “You’re speaking of him in present tense.”

  “Am I? Did I?” I frowned. “I guess after all that time, it’s hard to just turn off thinking we’re still together.”

  Matt nodded and looked away. “Yeah, I guess after Stephanie, I did that for awhile.”

  I stared at him waiting for his story. I sang, “Wait-ing.”

  He rolled his eyes at me and pressed his lips together and gave a small head nod. He clapped his hands lightly. “Okay. Well, my high school sweetheart and I thought for sure we’d be married. In my mind, we would have kids by now.”

  “Kids? Plural?” I asked, slightly teasing, but was curious to see how many kids Matt would want.

  “Yes, plural. I had it already mapped out actually. Three kids, two boys and a girl. I always wanted a sister, so I wanted my boys to have one.”

  His little fantasy family was endearing, but I had to ask why he wanted it just that way. “Two boys?” I questioned.

  He gave a sheepish smile and slightly shrugged his shoulders. “Although I’d never admit it to Z, he was my best friend growing up. He annoyed me, but we were always there for each other. I had an added bonus with Flynn. They were inseparable, so I had twin brothers following me around.”

  “That must have been fun,” I noted, with a soft smile.

  “A little. It was tough during high school since I was four years older than they are, so they were more like annoying little tag alongs, especially when I went on dates and stuff. They were relentless in their teasing.” He let out a soft chuckle as he shook his head. “They sat behind me at movie theaters and threw popcorn at me and my date.” He shook his head, laughing. “Jerks.”

  He looked like he was reminiscing too much and I wanted to hear what happened with his girlfriend. “Back to the girl part, Matt,” I prodded.

  He grimaced as he stood up and started pacing. “Yeah. Stephanie and I …yeah. I wanted to marry her. Everything revolved around her. I wanted to go to the same college as her, but didn’t make it in. My grades weren’t good enough, so I focused on the college closest to her without causing my parents too much pain in their wallets. It was a couple hours away, still too far for me.

  “Our second year of college I bought her a ring — not an engagement ring. We agreed to wait until after college when we both had jobs, but the ring was more like a promise ring. Anyway, towards the end of the second semester, I used the last bit of my money I had in savings, which wasn’t much for a college kid and got a room at a nearby hotel that wasn’t too cheap looking. I bought roses and spread the petals from the door to the bed and some on the bed. I bought champagne, cheap champagne because I was running out
of money. And I went to her dorm room to surprise her and…a guy opened the door. He asked who the hell I was and I did the same, but told him I was her boyfriend. He claimed the same. Stephanie stood behind him, shaking, but couldn’t get her words out. I pulled her into the hallway and made her explain. Turns out she had dated the guy for most of the school year and I had no idea. Even at Christmas she was able to keep up the charade. I thought she was visiting family she hadn’t mentioned before — turns out it was him.” He huffed. “So there it is. My sob story. Man, depressing, huh?”

  I chuckled. “Not depressing. I guess it’s nice to hear why you are the way you are.”

  “The way I am?”

  “Umm,” I searched the room with my eyes trying to think of how to put his philandering. “How you…date a lot.”

  “Yeah. Well, I guess some things in our past make us who we are.” He looked back at me, his eyes serious. “What about you. I know your mom is pretty demanding. What else is there that drives you, Vanessa?” He sat down in his chair again and pulled my chair close to his so we sat with our knees touching. He placed his hands on my knees as he asked, “Tell me something about you that I don’t know.”

  I sat there for a moment debating on telling Matt my little secret about how I grew up. If I told him this, he would probably be completely repulsed by me and I would know where I stood with him. We would both be on our merry way and just co-workers. Maybe I was telling him this more so to push him away and I’d stop wanting something more from him. I pressed my lips together and cringed. “Umm, well, I have a bit of a secret.” I bit my lip, looking up into his eyes.

  “Oh yeah? You didn’t used to be a guy or something,” he teased.

  “Umm, no. I actually used to be…well,” I took a deep breath and blurted out the rest, “on the heavy side.”

  “The heavy side?” He asked.

  Just tell him, Vanessa. I chastised myself. Get it over with. “Yeah, I was a pretty heavy teenager. My mom was so embarrassed by me that she sent me to every fat camp that ever existed. One was in Europe, which is actually where I lost all the weight.” I chuckled nervously as I placed some hair behind my ear and looked around. I couldn’t look at Matt right now. I just wanted to get my story out. “My counselor spoke French and I didn’t tell him that I also spoke French. That was part of my rebellion.” I gave a small laugh.

  “What did he say?”

  “He said I probably lost all my weight because I was finally away from that hideous woman who was pestering me. I knew he meant my mom. I can’t do anything right in her eyes.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Well, marry a doctor. She likes to show off, so when Charles proposed to me, she was elated.”

  “What about your job? Isn’t she proud of you for graduating college and being so persistent with your career?”

  My eyes flashed to him and I almost laughed. “Oh, God no. That actually was a huge thorn for her. My Dad gave me a pat on the back though.” I smiled remembering that for once, I felt I did something right in his eyes. “That’s more than he’s ever shown me,” I confided under my breath, gazing into space, I was trying to keep my eyes dry, but the tears were welling.

  “Do you have any pictures of you then?” Matt asked in a caring tone.

  “I…umm, there aren’t any.” I said sadly. I was a little glad he wouldn’t see me that way, I was so depressed all the time.

  “What do you mean ‘there aren’t any’? They were your teenage years, you have to have some.”

  “No, actually if there are, my mom shredded them. I didn’t mind her doing that either, though. I don’t want any pictures of that. They were tough years.” My eyes teared up and Matt rubbed my back. Great, now he really sees my weakness.

  “So you stress eat? Was that what was happening at the office that day I barged in on you and you were eating that sandwich?”

  I rolled my eyes, embarrassed that he remembered that. I guess I must have looked pretty bad. “Yeah, I had met Charles out for lunch and he was with his…very perfect co-worker.”

  “So you stayed with him because of your mom?” I nodded. “Wow.” He gave a low whistle. “Well, I’m glad you finally dumped his ass. You can’t keep trying to live up to some type of image she wants for you. You need your own path.”

  I ignored his statement, knowing that I still have to break up with Charles completely and tell my mom.

  “Is that why you strive so hard at work?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you strive really hard to be the top dog. Are you competing for something I’m supposed to be aware of? Is there a prize I don’t know about?” He teased.

  “No, no prize. I just….I finally worked my way up to a position where I wanted to be and then you came along and were ‘given’ everything. I had finally earned the respect I’ve been craving my whole life and you come in and are given it.”

  “Respect you’ve been craving your whole life,” He repeated thoughtfully.

  Embarrassed, I stood up to get away from this conversation. I said way too much, but Matt grabbed my arm and pulled me to his lap. He wrapped his strong arms around me.

  “Is that why you seem so competitive at work?”

  “I’m not competitive. I just…” I stopped not knowing what else to say. I was completely embarrassed that I had just opened up all my inner thoughts and feelings. My plan had been to spend my day chatting with single guys and here I was pouring out my guts to Matt, the guy who gets everything he wants in life.

  Matt patted my leg as he pulled me in tighter. “I think you try so hard to act so authoritative. You try so hard to command attention. If you would just “be” like you are right now…”

  “Be?” I interrupted him. Slightly defensive, yes, but also I wanted to know what he meant by that.

  “You’re just being yourself right now with me. I’m enjoying being with you. I don’t feel like you’re trying to make me listen, trying to top me or something.”

  “I don’t do that,” I insisted defensively. “I just want to get everyone’s attention. I want them to listen to me and my ideas.”

  “I think you’re going about it the wrong way though,” Matt told me softly.

  “What do you mean?” I looked down at my ring and started to fidget with it. This whole conversation made me terribly nervous and squeamish. If he felt this way, what did the rest of the office think of me? He put his hand on top of mine and gave my hand a small squeeze.

  “You come across as bitchy instead of a helpful HR person. You’re so busy trying to make everyone listen to your policies and the handbook. They’re just people that want to be able to go to you for help with their issues.”

  I bit my lip trying to absorb what he was telling me. “I didn’t think I was doing that. I just wanted everyone to…” I stopped knowing I was going to repeat what he just said. “I just worked so hard to get to where I am and I want to make a name for myself in the HR community with my peers.” I shrugged knowing that wasn’t the point of my career. “You’re right, I’ve kind of lost focus, I guess.” I bit my lip and then looked around before settling on his warm blue eyes. “Is that why no one lets me call them by their first name?”

  Matt smiled, raising his eyebrows he asked, “Did you ask them?”

  “Well, no, but you were there for a day and had everyone by their first name. I was there for two months and no one told me to call them that.”

  “I didn’t ask, Vanessa. I just went ahead. They told me their full name and I just started calling them by that.”

  “But that just seems disrespectful,” I protested.

  “We work in the office together. You should think of it that way — that you work with the person, not the name.”

  “I’m sure Mr. Buchanan wouldn’t think that way. Why do you get to call him Perry?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You call him Perry. He’s never once told me to call him that.”

  “Why would you wait?
Call him that and see what happens. If he tells you not to call him that, then you know. Until then, you call him that.”

  “It just seems disrespectful.”

  “I called him Mr. Buchanan for a long time, but after we established a rapport, I started calling him Perry,” he nudged me with his shoulder. “It was on a good sales day. He never corrected me and I kept going. You take a chance and see what happens, Vanessa.”

  “I play by the rules. You don’t and seem to get away with everything.”

  “And where has that gotten you?”

  I thought for a moment before answering him slowly, “Nowhere.” I took a deep breath as he pulled me tighter and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Safe. Secure. I melted into his arms feeling as if I were always meant to be there. Comfortable. I put my head down and nuzzled into the crook of his neck, hugging him tightly. I felt his warm lips on my cheek as he gave me a light kiss.

  That “friends” thing wasn’t supposed to include kissing, was it? I’m sure I also wasn’t supposed to feel this warm feeling I was having with Matt right now.

  His lips grazed my chin, my heart picked up and this overwhelming urge to kiss him overcame me. There was no thinking anymore, it was just a natural pull between us as our lips touched ever so softly. His mouth opened at the same time as mine and in that very moment there was that same “breath” that we shared; that essence that I claimed, our souls meeting. We both stared into each other’s eyes and in that very second that we shared that breath, nothing else mattered. Policies forgotten, friendship status set aside, jealousy was nowhere in sight. It was just our two souls feeling that moment right before our lips touched.

  The most incredible kiss two people could ever possibly share happened right then between Matt and myself. It was soft, warm, caring and full of deep empathy for each other. Our tongues glided together in the most perfect and passionate kiss I’ve ever experienced. Our romantic rain kiss last Sunday was fantastic. This…sharing of our souls…was nothing short of…pure bliss.

  My eyes welled up with faint tears, my heart throbbed with yearning for this kiss to never end.

  Ringing in the distance startled us both out of that moment. We both pulled back slowly and stared into each other’s eyes, mesmerized by what just transpired between us. The look in his eyes confirmed that he felt the same exact way that I just did. Right now, there was no doubt in my mind that this thing between us might be more than friends. At least in my mind, I felt that way.