The door dinged, alerting me that someone had just come in, and I perked up, thinking Miller was back. Normally, he was here when I came in to work, but today he had sent me a message that he wouldn’t be in till later. I deflated a little bit when I realized it wasn’t him, just a delivery guy, but I sat straight back up once I realized what he was holding.
“Monroe Hartley?” he asked, looking at the slip, and I nodded my head. “All right, this is for you. Sign here, please.”
I distractedly signed the slip of paper, telling him goodbye as I examined what he sat on my desk, pulling out the tiny card attached and signed by Miller. “You’ll need these for tonight.” It was a good thing that Amelia wasn’t around because she would roll her eyes at me for being so giddy. Instead of sending me a big bouquet of flowers, Miller had sent me a bouquet of Milk Duds. How in the hell did he know that was one of my most favorite things in the world? And it was so much better than flowers. Sure, flowers were pretty and smelled good, but they only lasted so long. I couldn’t stop myself before I had one of the boxes popped open and a Dud placed in my mouth, loving the way the caramel stuck to my teeth, one of the reasons most people hated them.
“Didn’t you read the note? Those are for tonight.” I jumped in my seat and turned around slowly, looking guiltily at Miller as he stood there with a smirk on his face. I bounded toward him, wrapping him up in a hug.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” I said as I stuck another one in my mouth, and he shook his head, grinning. “How’d you know anyway? These are kind of like my secret obsession.”
“It’s not that big of a secret. I think I’ve seen about twenty empty boxes in the trash can since you started working here.”
“Very observant, Mr. Buchanan.”
“I try.” He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Aren’t you going to ask me what we’re doing tonight?”
“Nope. Even though it’s killing me, I’ll let you surprise me.”
“Are you sure? I could just tell you.” I knew it was killing him to keep it in, but I shook my head.
“Nope, I’m good.”
“Fine,” he huffed. “I have some paperwork to fill out from a deal I just finished up. I’ll be back out in a little bit.” He tapped me on the ass before I sat back down and I had to force myself to stay seated instead of going into his office and attacking him on his desk.
I checked my phone before getting back to work, seeing that I had yet another message from my mom. She was worried that I was going to flake out at the last moment or something, and not end up showing for the holidays.
I sent her a quick text, ensuring her that I would definitely be there and she replied right away.
I know you will be, I made sure of that.
I frowned as I looked at the screen, trying to figure out what exactly that meant, but I got distracted and set it down when the door opened and dinged, alerting me that someone was here.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Miss Monroe Hartley?” He couldn’t get the sentence out without a grin breaking through halfway, and I leaped out of my chair, launching myself at him. Luckily, he caught me, laughing the whole time. I squealed while he spun me around in a circle, something he knew I hated because it always made me nauseous when we were kids. I couldn’t believe he still did it because I had thrown up on him more than once.
“What in the hell are you doing here, Carter?” I finally managed to ask as he set me back down, wrapping an arm around my waist to steady my feet.
“Well, I’m glad you’re so happy to see me too, sis.” My sister Holland stepped forward, giving me a one-armed hug, and I smiled at her. I had finally noticed her when Carter was spinning me around, but I was a little caught up in the moment. I was glad to see her, but believe it or not, my relationship with Carter had always been closer than that with my own sister. I think I had talked to her on the phone a total of three times that I could remember since I moved here to go to school.
“I am,” I said, brushing back the hair that had escaped my bun. “But what are you guys doing here? And together? Most of the time you two are at each other’s throats.”
“Oh, trust me.” Holland held up a hand, a look of disgust thrown in Carter’s direction. “That hasn’t changed, but Mom kept insisting that someone come down here and drag your ass home, so I volunteered and then this guy decided to literally jump into my car as I was backing out of the driveway.”
Carter shrugged his shoulders, giving me a sheepish grin. He looked different than the last time I saw him over this past summer. He had completely shaved off all of the black, chin-length hair he had for years, and I wasn’t so sure I could get used to it. All of that hair being gone helped to define his features even more, not hiding those piercing blue eyes, which were normally dancing with amusement, and showing off the dimples that rested in each cheek. I think he had even grown a few inches, making him tower over me more, but he wasn’t quite as tall as Miller.
A throat cleared from behind me and I did a mental face palm when I saw Miller standing there, a slight frown on his face, and I realized why quickly since Carter’s arm was still around my waist. I shrugged it off and walked over to Miller.
“Guys, this is Miller Buchanan. He’s my….” I paused, not really knowing how to describe our relationship, since it was a little odd that he was my boss, too.
“Boyfriend,” Miller finished for me, “and boss.” Well, then. I guess we did have a label to our relationship and I was perfectly happy with it.
I introduced him to Carter and Holland, explaining that I had no idea that they were going to show up. “I can’t believe Mom sent you down here to get me. It was completely unnecessary.”
“Yeah, I planned on driving Monroe up. I didn’t want her going all that way on her own.”
I looked sideways at Miller, who smirked at me, and then turned my head back in Carter’s direction, seeing the hardness of his eyes and the way his jaw was set tightly. He did not seem too happy about that and I didn’t really know why. Sure, we had dated in high school, but it was never anything serious, and it had been years since we had spent much time together, other than occasionally hanging out when I went back home. Carter seemed extremely jealous and Miller thought it was funny. Well, this should be interesting.
“You were?” I asked and Miller nodded his head. “I was going to talk to you about it tonight.” He frowned slightly.
Tonight. Great. I was excited that Carter and even Holland were here, but I had been looking forward to whatever Miller planned for us. But now that he was apparently driving me home, I would still be able to spend some time with him. I wondered if he actually planned on taking me or just decided he was once Carter showed up.
“Okay. Well, I’m guessing you two planned on staying with me since I have another day of finals before I can leave.” I plucked my keys out of my purse, pulling off my apartment key and handing it to Carter. “Do you still have my apartment address?”
“Sure do, I plugged it into the GPS. Holland’s sleeping on the couch, right? I call dibs on your bed again.”
My eyes widened and now it was Carter’s turn to smirk. Yeah, there was palpable tension in the air and I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. Now Miller was glaring.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Carter. I only let you do that because you were exhausted after helping me move in and I slept on the air mattress in the living room. Remember?”
“Right,” he dragged out, making it seem as if something else happened in my bed.
“Well, you two should probably get going, I have tons of work to do. I’ll head home in a few hours and we can figure out something for dinner.”
“Sounds good to me.” Holland urged Carter toward the door and for the first time in a while, I was thankful for my sister. I know that sounded bad, but my relationship with her had just never been good. “Oh yeah,” she called over her shoulder, “I think you and Carter need to have a private talk later.”
Carter elbo
wed Holland in the side. “Way to keep that big mouth of yours shut. I told you not to bring it up.”
“Oops,” Holland replied sarcastically, pushing on Carter again after waving to me. “We’ll see you in a little bit.”
Well, that was interesting to say the least. By the look on Miller’s face, I’d say he felt the same way, with possibly a little bit of jealousy thrown in. I hated to think it, but the fact that Miller was jealous of Carter was funny.
He had nothing to worry about when it came to Carter.
“WELL, THAT WAS…a surprise.” Monroe laughed slightly before turning toward me. “I had no idea they were going to show up like that. It sort of ruins your plans for tonight, sorry.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault.” I grabbed her hand, pulling her toward my office. I was trying not to let her “friend” Carter get to me, but it was pretty damn hard. As soon as I heard the front door open, I got up from my desk to see who it was and saw this guy, immediately recognizing the way he looked at her.
It was the exact same way I looked at Monroe.
I had never been jealous before Monroe came along, I guess because I’d never felt like this for any other girl, and it was making my blood boil. “If you want, they can come too. That way I can get to know ‘em a little bit better. Or you can just hang out with them for the night. Either way is okay with me.” Not really, but I had to bite my tongue. I was trying not to be overbearing, especially since her sister was unexpectedly in town. Monroe didn’t talk about her sister much, but they were family.
“They can be included in our plans?” Her eyebrows scrunched together and I laughed.
“Um…yeah. I mean, I planned on you staying the night afterward and I definitely wouldn’t include them in those plans.”
“I would hope not. I’d rather spend at least some of the night with you too, so I’ll bring Holland and Carter with me.”
I collapsed onto my chair, worn out from the day already, having been out at a job site since seven in the morning. Monroe sat down on my desk right in front of me, dangling her legs back and forth, and tilted her head sideways. “So, tell me the truth. Were you really planning on driving me home? You know I can manage perfectly fine on my own, right? You can’t just up and leave. You have businesses to run.”
She made some good points, ones that I didn’t think about when I blurted out that I intended to take her home. Luke was pretty much set running Pure on his own, but Buchanan Builders was another story. “Well….”
A slow smile crept over her face and she leaned forward, grabbing onto both of my hands to pull my chair closer to the desk. “You’re jealous, aren’t you? I bet you said that just because you didn’t want me to ride home with Carter. Right?”
Damn, was it really that easy to figure out what I’d been trying to do? I didn’t like that Carter, plain and simple, and I really didn’t want Monroe spending more time with him than necessary. Trust had always been a big issue in my life, mainly thanks to my ma saying she would come back for me, time and time again, and never actually doing it. I knew that trust would be a big thing in our relationship, and it’s not like I was going to or wanted to stop Monroe from hanging out with whoever she wanted, but the idea of that being Carter was grating my nerves so badly it felt like my insides were on fire and I’d just met the guy.
I didn’t answer her but instead grabbed her feet and pulled them around my waist, sliding her body from the desk onto my lap.
“Are you trying to distract me?” she asked, moaning when my mouth landed on her neck.
“Not at all,” I murmured against her skin, and her throat vibrated with laughter. “What? I’m not.”
“Mmhmm. But are you really….” She pushed on my head and I fell back into my seat, her green eyes twinkling at me with amusement. I’m glad she found this situation funny because I sure didn’t. I guess I really was a brooder.
“Don’t pout,” she scolded, pushing back a stray hair and shifting slightly, which didn’t make me want to stop at all. “I was trying to ask if you’re really driving me home. I know you can’t stay because you have to get back here and handle things. And I know you wouldn’t want to miss the holidays with your family.” She paused, sighing loudly but I kept my mouth shut because I knew she wasn’t finished. I liked her babbling. It was cute, and most of the time I ended up getting a whole lot more information than I would any other time.
“I mean, I know we just started dating, so I wouldn’t expect you to leave them,” she continued. “Plus, that’s a super long drive and so boring. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to drive all the way there and then all the way back, and then how would I get home? I guess I could get someone to drive me back but then I would be putting that person in the same situation and I just wouldn’t feel right. I think it’s best if I just drive my own car home and Holland and Carter can ride back together, or Carter can ride with me or whatever. I don’t know why my mom thought it was necessary to send my sister down here to retrieve me. I’m a big girl.”
“Are you sure about that?” I squeezed her waist, which I could probably wrap my arms around twice if I tried. She nodded her head. “I get that you could go by yourself.” Preferably not with Carter, I added mentally. “But I want to take you home and I don’t give a shit that our relationship is new and what people think. No one else matters when it comes to our relationship but you and me. Got it?”
She was silent for a minute, making me wonder once again if things were moving too quickly between us. Maybe I’d overstepped by saying that I was driving her; maybe she wasn’t ready for me to meet her parents. I wasn’t used to being in situations like this. But then she finally answered me and I completely forgot about that nagging voice in my head.
“Got it.”
“All right, then. Now, since we won’t be able to do everything that I planned for tonight, how ‘bout we get started?” I leaned forward to kiss her, but she stopped me with her hand, pushing on my chest.
“You aren’t the only one that has plans, Mr. Buchanan.” She slid backward off my lap, went to my door to lock it, and I started to argue until she moved to sit in front of my chair on her knees, one hand moving to pull down the zipper of my pants, and I groaned when she took my dick in her hands. “See? I can make some pretty good plans too, right?”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I murmured right as she took me into her mouth and the rest of the world ceased to exist as I buried my hands in her hair.
YEAH, THIS WAS not a good idea. At all. I should’ve just cancelled the plans for tonight and rescheduled them for some other time. I was trying to concentrate on the movie but it was impossible. Every time Monroe moved an inch closer in my direction, Carter would start talking about the good old times, drawing her back to him. I knew he was doing it on purpose and it pissed me off. Plus, there wasn’t exactly a ton of room in the back of my truck so we were already in tight quarters.
“This whole date you set up was pretty sweet of you,” Holland said from the other side of me, and I was a little relieved to have something to take my mind off of Monroe and Carter, who were now talking about the time they went to prom together. Yeah, I really didn’t want to hear that story. “Sorry we ruined your plans. If we weren’t here, things could get pretty hot and heavy.”
“Um….” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that so I turned back to look at the movie screen I had set up by the pond where I’d taken Monroe on our first date. It was one of those big giant blow up ones, and we were watching it from the back of my truck, complete with popcorn, beer, and of course, her milk duds. I’d already known about her obsession, but Amelia pulled me aside on our “double date” and told me that was the key to Monroe’s heart. I doubted it was that simple, but if it made her happy, that was all that counted.
“You better watch out for Carter. He still has it bad for my sister, which is the main reason he came.”
I grunted in response, already having known that myself. It was clear to just about anyone. “Don’t worr
y though. Monroe was never serious with Carter, more just friends than anything, really. I think she’s completely oblivious to how in love with her he is.”
“And how would you know?”
Holland frowned, blinking her eyes rapidly. She and Monroe were almost complete opposites when it came to looks. Where Monroe’s head barely reached my chest, Holland was almost as tall as me. She had blonde hair that drastically contrasted Monroe’s dark, almost black locks, and she was stick thin. Monroe had some curves on her that I loved. Holland was more Tanner’s type, definitely. She actually reminded me a bit of Marissa.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. I just know you and Monroe aren’t that close, so how would you know how she feels about him?” I glanced over at Monroe, who was now watching the movie, and Carter was sitting there staring at her, looking like a lost puppy dog.
“Listen, I know Monroe and I aren’t close. That’s mainly my fault. I wanted to hang out with my friends when I was younger, not with my nerdy sister who acted like dance and books were the only things that existed. Okay, that came out a little harsh.”
I didn’t respond because I sensed that there was one thing that was similar between her and Monroe, and when she continued on and on, I knew that I was right.
“I just mean that Monroe’s not much of a people person. She’s always been quiet and that’s okay. Me, on the other hand, I like need to have people around me all the time. You know, this is actually the first time I haven’t had a boyfriend since I was twelve. That’s a big accomplishment, but it’s also saying a lot about me.” Her legs were now swinging back and forth, and I guessed she wasn’t too crazy about not having a man in her life. “It’s actually pretty surprising that Monroe has a boyfriend. Carter was her only one that I know of and even that wasn’t anything special. He took her for granted, I think. My sister’s special and I think he had to make a stupid mistake to realize it.”
Midnight Ballerina Page 20