Blush: A Strangers-to-Lovers Romance

by Rachel De Lune

  “Done. There’s got to be some advantages to this, right?” His eyes swept over me, and I knew that our little confrontation from earlier was weighing on his mind. He wasn’t holding all the cards, and I needed to remember that.

  Silence filled the ride into town.

  “I want to go and have a drink with a friend in The Parlour Bar, first,” Eric demanded.

  “No. If you want my help, you do as I say, and we go to Companion, we jump the queue, and then we grab a drink.”

  “There’s an important client I need to stop in and meet.” Uncle Eric stopped and tapped my arm as if his command would be obeyed.

  “Well, then maybe you should have done that tonight instead of insisting that I be your wingman when I’d clearly didn’t want to. My terms. That’s my price.” I levelled a stare at him and clamped my jaw shut to contain the annoyance at the situation once again.

  He nodded, the smallest of gestures, but it was a win.

  When we did arrive, Uncle Eric played along. We walked right along the queue, although it wasn’t that impressive considering it was early.

  Matthew was on the door and immediately let us through when he saw us.

  “Thanks, man.” I shook his hand, and Uncle Eric gave him a nod. A group of women, late twenties, were at the front of the line, and I made sure to give the blonde a quick smile before turning back to Matthew.

  He mouthed a ‘what the fuck’ as I passed, and I shrugged my shoulders. I’d fill him in later in the week.

  The bar was steady. No long queues, a table or two available, and thankfully, considering my mission, plenty of women in their usual attire of too short or too low. Even looking around the room for my target brought a sickening feeling to my stomach. I wasn’t even dating Astrid, but this didn’t sit well with me. That girl was special—and I didn’t care if that made me a fucking sap to admit that I had feelings for her already. I’d do whatever I had to in order to move our little dating game into a full-blown relationship. All I had to do was convince Astrid of the same.

  “Go and grab us two beers this time,” I ordered to Uncle Eric.

  He gave me a nod, and we parted ways. I surveyed the room and picked out a couple of tables we could target. With no idea of what my uncle was really looking for, I chose attractive and approachable.

  I took a step toward the table I’d chosen, but my phone buzzed in my pocket and stopped me in my tracks.

  I hope you like Italian food. Do you know Remmi’s?

  Italian is perfect. Can’t say I do, but as I said, lady’s choice. I’ll pick you up at 7. Drinks first?

  I put my phone away and resumed the game.

  “Ladies, how are we doing tonight?” Both were older than me, but still ten years younger than Uncle Eric.

  “Fine, thank you.” The blonde was quiet and sucked on her straw while her friend did the talking.

  “Can I get either of you a drink? Perhaps another cocktail?” I clocked the dregs at the bottom of their glasses.

  “Well, that depends. Drinks tend to come with strings attached.”

  “No strings, I promise.” I put up my hands and stepped back. “I’m with my friend, who’s just grabbing us a beer.” I gave her a wide smile and cringed on the inside.

  “Hey, Leo.” My uncle found us and put the beers on the table. “Will you introduce us?” He looked at me for the next step.

  “Ladies, this is Eric.” He put his hand out to greet them. But as the pleasantries rolled on, I saw someone who definitely shouldn’t be here.

  The girls, and I do mean girls, who I stopped from coming in the other night were all grouped together in one of the booths at the back, giggling and laughing with a table full of drinks.

  “No fucking way.”

  Everyone stared at me. “Sorry, I’ve got to take care of something. Excuse me.”

  I made a beeline for the girls and stood facing them.

  “What do you think you’re doing in here?”

  The girl with the attitude was the one to answer. “What does it look like? We are having a good time.”

  “Well, not anymore. You’re underage. Out.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “Oh, believe me,” I laughed, “I can, and I am.”

  She lent over the edge of the table, her little ego all inflated with alcohol. “You’ll have to physically throw me out, and the minute you touch me, that’s assault.” She slid back into her seat with the look of utter triumph. I was going to kill Matthew for letting her in.

  I turned and signalled the bar. Richard was working, and I gave him the sign with my hand that I’d need this to be wrapped up. He nodded, and I waited. A minute, tops, and I’d have the back up to deal with this princess.

  I stood on sentry as I waited, the girls starting to simmer down, all bar their ringleader. She was happy to stare daggers at me, and no doubt would scratch my eyes out if she had the opportunity.

  “Didn’t think you were working tonight.” George came up to assist.

  “I’m not. But I recognised these. Underage. Don’t know who let them in, but they are out of here.”

  George wasted no time at all and began to escort a few of the ladies to the back door.

  “Touch me, and I’ll scream,” Miss drama queen threatened. Her eyes narrowed on me, and she pouted her lips like she might be intimidating.

  I just laughed again. “Would you rather I call the cops? Witnesses will say you’ve been drinking underage.”

  “You served me.”

  “And what would dear old daddy say to all this?” I leaned in to challenge her. I couldn’t manhandle her out of here, no matter how much I wanted to.

  George came back and had Matthew with him as well this time. The fuss had been noticed by a few others nearby who were now all focussed on us. “Got to wrap this up, guys.”

  All the other girls had seen sense and gone quietly. This troublemaker was special though.

  She made a huge show of shaking her head, grabbing her drink, and downing it, before sliding, pretty inelegantly, out of the booth to be escorted out. But she was fucking plastered and fell forward on her toothpick-stilettos.

  I caught her fall and righted her balance, hoping that Matthew would deal with her. After all, it was his mess for letting her in. I’d have to speak to Richard about how she’d got through.

  With the girl out of the picture, I headed back to my uncle, to see how he was getting on. I clocked him, and he was a lot closer to the quiet blonde. Her friend was busy on her phone, ignoring them, but taking quick looks around as if searching for someone.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar face at the bar. Sawyer again. She turned away, and before I had time to find out why she was here, the girl from our table was right in front of me.

  “I know I asked about strings earlier, but that drink is looking pretty nice right now. I think I’ve lost Becky to your friend.”

  “Uncle. He’s my uncle.”

  “Well, she’s into the older guy.”

  I look back to where Sawyer was sitting, but she was gone.

  “So, how about that drink?” The press of her body against mine brought my attention back to her, and I took an instinctive step back. I didn’t want to lead this girl on any more than I had. Nothing would happen between us.

  “I’ll happily get you a drink, but there really are no strings attached. I’m seeing a girl, and I’m only here to help out my uncle. I’m sorry.”

  “Figures. I’ll have a sloe gin fizz.” She turned and went back to the table, so I headed to the bar.

  “Hey, Richard,” I called him over. “The brunette that was here a few minutes ago, was she here long?”

  “Can’t recall, sorry, Leo. What can I get you? And good shout on the girls.”

  “No problem. A sloe gin fizz?” I asked hoping he’d know what the fuck that was.

  “For the friend with Eric?”

  “Yep.”

  “Got it.”

  I checked my p
hone as I waited for the drink.

  Are you busy?

  It was from Astrid.

  Sorry, at work. I’ll call you tomorrow?

  Shame. You’ll have to let me know what’s keeping you away from me, on our date.

  Work isn’t that interesting. I promise. And I’d much rather be spending time with you. What about I stop by after I’m done? I won’t be much longer.

  I waited for her reply, but Richard delivered the drink to the bar. “On the house, considering your assist.”

  “Thank you. I doubt Matthew would have let them in.”

  “I know. I’ll look into it. Have a good evening.”

  I took another quick look around the bar for any sign of Sawyer before delivering the drink back to the table. Uncle Eric seemed to be onto a good thing.

  I was out of there.

  I checked my phone three times before I reached the tube. Still nothing back from Astrid. I couldn’t make up my mind if she was playing hard to get or just being cautious. Sure, we’d rushed into sex, but it seemed we were playing catch up on everything else.

  The idea to show up at her door crossed my mind and stayed there. But I wasn’t going to turn into her stalker. For now, anyway, I’d have to wait for Friday.

  10

  Astrid

  I’d given up counting the times I picked up my phone to respond to Leo. It was ridiculous. I was being ridiculous, but that, it seemed, was what this man had turned me into. A stupid, lost my head, ga-ga of a girl who couldn’t string a sentence together, or remember she was in control of her life.

  For the entire night, I listened out to see if Leo would turn up at my door unannounced, or if he’d call. He did neither, and I had to give myself a stern talking to. What fairy-tale land had I fallen into where I didn’t look out for me first, or feel like I needed a man to make me feel happy? If I’d wanted him to show up, I should have asked, not hoped.

  And then I pictured his face, his eyes, and his body, littered with freckles that were both so damn cute and so fucking sexy all at once. I took a breath, needing to rid myself of my own Leo fantasy and go to sleep. It was my own doing. Nobody was to blame for my restless frustration other than myself.

  My alarm shrieked, and I was sluggish to move from my slumber, after all, it felt like I’d only just drifted off to sleep. Still, I had deadlines, so I hauled my body from the warmth of my bed and set about my morning routine.

  Leo was still on my mind like he’d spent the night there in my dreams. It made me think about the look on his face when he’d woken up in my bed. A helpless look that had turned him ashen. It was more than just not remembering where he was, and that only made me want to know what exactly he was hiding. But I also wanted him to trust me with his secrets.

  I was slipping down a slope I wasn’t sure I could haul myself back from, or that I wanted to.

  My legs were heavy as I ran and even sitting back at my desk with the edition nearly complete, I was distracted, going over the same sentence three times, my doodles useless.

  By lunchtime, I’d decided to call it a day. Everything was in place for the edition to be published. I just wasn’t as far along with the other work as I’d wanted to be. I was still stuck on the spread I was working on after visiting the gardens, and I’d thought several times over now, that maybe it was Leo that was making me second guess everything?

  I shut everything down, put my pens back in their pot and my notebook away. All I needed was to talk this all through with the girls. And we were meeting later. I’d explain things to them, and they’d let me get all the girl-drivel off my chest and put this all into perspective. I hoped.

  We were meeting at Sawyer’s tonight. Something that she frequently offered and we took advantage of. Her apartment was gorgeous, and all paid for by her dad. We had that in common, but where I’d used my head start to focus on what I wanted to do with my life, Sawyer had taken liberties and assumed that her father would always be there to bail her out. She’d never worked a day in her life, and Belle and I often struggled to see why she wasn’t bored most of the time.

  Belle stopped at mine, and we travelled into town together. Ever since that creep on the tube, I’d been far more careful.

  “Hey, ready?” I closed the door behind me, and we headed out. It was a little way to reach Sawyer’s, and Belle and I often enjoyed the downtime together before the intensity of Sawyer.

  “Sure, although I don’t want to be late tonight. It’s not even the weekend, and I’m already shattered.” Belle hung off my arm as we walked to the station.

  “Same. Let’s set it at ten. No later. Deal.”

  “Perfect. Thank you.”

  With our plan in place, we arrived at Sawyer’s and headed up in the elevator. Her apartment had an amazing view of the city. Glass, open plan, everything minimalist and barren. The home had no soul, just designer things or items she thought she should have. I’d given up trying to influence her, even though she read my magazine from cover to cover, nothing seemed to sink in.

  “Finally!” Sawyer greeted us at the door, a glass of wine already in hand.

  “Started without us, I see?” We hung our coats up, and our shoes echoed as we walk down the marble floor entryway.

  “Just being prepared, girls. I’ve poured already for us. Make yourselves comfy.”

  We sat on the sumptuous sofa that took over the main living area. We sank into the upholstery, and I knew that both Belle and I were thinking the same thing—how wonderful it would be to curl up on this and fall asleep.

  “One for you, and one for you.” Sawyer brought the goblets of wine over.

  “Cheers,” Belle toasted.

  “Right then, any news?” I started, even though I knew my little update would be the juiciest of the night.

  “Hey, I assumed you’d be updating us on all things Leo.” Belle’s eyes popped open, full of intrigue.

  “Are you still seeing him, then?” Sawyer questioned, before taking a sip of wine.

  “Yes. Actually.” I couldn’t be sure, but I swore she’d rolled her eyes at that.

  “Did you finally go on a date?” Belle shuffled forward, giving me her full attention.

  “Yes. I wanted to see if I could size him up.”

  “And? Don’t keep us hanging.”

  “Belle, seriously, I can’t believe that Astrid’s dating schedule gets you this excited.”

  “Shut up, Sawyer. Just because you don’t have a romantic bone in your body.”

  “Girls, it’s fine. We don’t have to talk about Leo.”

  “Yes, we do. Come on, girl. Spill.”

  I looked over at Sawyer, who seemed bored of this conversation already. But I needed to get this off my chest.

  “We went for coffee. And I took him to the gardens.”

  “Kew? Your place?”

  “Yeah. It felt right. And you know I’m not the usual dating type. I wanted to go anyway. So I asked him along.” I tried for blasé, but I wasn’t sure I pulled it off.

  “But, that’s not a date. That’s like proper relationship-visit-type-stuff.” Belle scrunched her nose up as if she couldn’t comprehend what I was telling her.

  “It was nice. I wanted to get a sense of who he was. We weren’t there long.”

  “You didn’t get along?” Sawyer chipped in.

  “Oh, no. We did. We have a connection that… I can’t explain it.” I trailed off, suddenly feeling like I might betray Leo if I gave voice to our feelings, but the smile that cracked my face was a dead giveaway. “It was just far too public for what I wanted to do with him,” I skipped to the sexy part.

  Belle shrieked at the top of her lungs. “Astrid, what are you like?”

  “A single women in her twenties wanting to have a good time?” I smiled at her and waggled my eyebrows, keeping things light-hearted. I didn’t want them to shout down the emotions that I had for Leo despite the short amount of time we’d known each other.

  She raised her glass, and I leaned forwar
d to clink with her.

  “So you’re sleeping with a stranger. Wise move, Astrid.”

  “What’s the matter with that? We’ve all had one-night stands before. Why is this so different?”

  “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all.”

  “Hurt? I’m sleeping with the guy. That’s all.” Although I knew that wasn’t the whole truth.

  “For now,” Belle added, winking at me.

  “Well, all you seem to be focussing on are his obvious traits. You don’t really know him.”

  “And I won’t unless we spend time together and date. That’s how you get to know each other, Sawyer.”

  “So, what do you know about him, after sleeping with him and going on a couple of dates?” She pinned me with a righteous look that I would have loved to wipe off her pristine face. But she was right. I’d learned very little about Leo. In fact, I couldn’t remember his last name. “What does he do? Where does he live? Last name? All simple questions you could answer on a date if you weren’t so obsessed with sleeping with your knight in shining armour.”

  “Hey, what’s the problem, Sawyer?” I was getting pretty pissed off that she was putting me through an interrogation like this.

  “I’m just trying to be the realistic one. You don’t know him, and I don’t want you to romanticise him simply because he rescued you.”

  “I’m not. I like him. I really like him. Actually, I’m pretty crazy about him, and I don’t appreciate you treating me like a kid.” I sat up straighter, forcing Sawyer’s words to bounce off me, rather than sink to my heart.

  “I’m being a friend. After all, someone’s got to look out for you. For all of us. We stick together, don’t we?”

  “Yes. So how about you try and be happy about me meeting someone.” I looked at her expectantly. I was already sick of her giving me a hard time. She had no reason to be so against Leo.