My sight jumped from person to person as they went back and forth. And only one word came to mind.
Family.
The laughter and the jokes didn’t stop until almost three o’clock in the morning. Because we hadn’t set up the guest bedroom yet, Malik and Brad went downstairs to Bianca’s former apartment to sleep on the oversized couches that still remained in that living room.
Bianca didn’t want to bring any furniture that her parents paid for with her into our apartment.
Stifling a yawn, I waved as we watched them argue until the elevator door closed.
“I love them, but I’m glad we’re alone,” Bianca whispered after we closed the door. “I’ve missed you.”
Pressing her against the door, I kissed her the way I would’ve the moment she entered the apartment if we didn’t have guests.
“You’ve missed me, too, I see.”
Her words were breathy and her smile was radiant.
With my arm around her shoulder, I tangled my hand into her hair and pulled at her curls. Our bodies were molded to one another as we moved to the bedroom.
“What happened at work? I could tell you didn’t want to say anything in front of the guys when I asked you earlier so I dropped it.” I rained kisses against the top of her head. “But now I want to know what happened.”
I felt Bianca’s demeanor change as she left my side to get her purse. She pulled something out of it and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
I hope that’s not what I think it is.
But as I looked from the small card in her hand to the troubled expression on her face, I knew it was exactly what I thought it was.
“Remember a couple of days ago when Nina went on her lunch break and didn’t come back for three hours?”
I nodded, unable to rip my attention away from the card in her hand.
“Well she didn’t tell me until today that she received a call about the vandalism. The man on the phone said he had a tip and he thought he knew who did it. She was going to call the police and have them meet her, but she said it wasn’t that far away so she went to check it out on her own.”
That’s not smart, Nina, I chastised Bianca’s supervisor in my head.
“What happened when she got there?”
“Nothing. No one was there. Nina ended up having lunch there by herself. While she was gone, I signed for a package for her. The delivery woman left and I put the package in her office and didn’t think twice about it. We were busy yesterday so I guess she didn’t open it until today. She called me into her office and…”
I could see she was bothered so I didn’t want to rush her. But my breathing had become shallow as I waited for her to get to the end of the story.
I ran my hands down my face. “What was inside the box, B?”
“Resumes for assistants. I didn’t say anything to her, but as she thumbed through the resumes, I saw the back of some of the sheets. It looked like it had the letter B on the back.”
My heart stopped momentarily.
Fuck!
“And there were also flowers. Black rose petals.”
“So it’s all related,” I muttered, pointing out the obvious.
“Yes, that’s what I assumed too. But it was confirmed when I left her office while she was on the phone with the detective and I found this on my desk.” She held the card up.
“What does it say?” I asked in a strained whisper.
The absolute silence in the apartment went from comfortable to chilling in the presence of the note.
Bianca chewed the corner of her lip before reading aloud. “I’ll stop when you stop.”
She reached her hand out toward me, extending the card between two fingers.
Nervously, I plucked the card from her hand and reread the words. It was the same font, same cardstock, same type of message as the ones we had received before.
I’m going to fucking murder him!
Turning my head upward, I growled ferociously. I fought the urge to punch the wall.
“Are you okay?” I asked sharply. Making my way to her, I took a deep breath and repeated the question in a less frantic tone. “Are you okay?”
Bianca’s eyebrows were up and her eyes were questioning. “Yeah, I’m okay. It helped take my mind off it to come home to you. And then laughing and joking with the guys was fun. I’m okay, Ro. I just want this to stop.”
Cupping her face, I gave her a strained smile. “I’ll make it stop. I’ll do whatever I have to do to make it stop. If it takes me riding back to Richmond with Malik and Easy and confronting Ashton again, I will. If it takes us getting a restraining order, I will. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and make you happy.”
Bianca sat down on the bed, pulling me down with her. “I know and I love you for it. If Ashton is doing this to get my attention, I will respond to his email or I’ll call him and let him know once and for all that if he doesn’t stop this, I’ll call the police. He really isn’t a bad guy and I can’t see him doing something like this. If he didn’t do it and we involve the police, he will lose his teaching job. I don’t want to do that.”
“If it’s not Ashton, who else would be harassing you? They would’ve had to know about Art House because the first message came to me. The rest have been directed at you. An ex-boyfriend? A guy you’ve gone on a date with? A—”
“Why are you so sure that the person isn’t someone from your past? You received the first note. And after that situation with Meredith earlier this year, it’s possible.”
Meredith!
I scrubbed my face with my hands as I let the name of the obvious choice roll around in my head.
“You’re right.” I shook my head. “I was so sure it was Ashton, I didn’t even think about it possibly being Meredith.”
We sat in silence, processing the information. I heard Meredith’s accusatory voice as she stood at the end of my driveway.
It’s the only way to get your attention.
I let the sentence repeat in my head over and over again. And then I remembered I hadn’t told Bianca about the most recent run in with Meredith.
I cleared my throat. “I forgot to tell you something.”
Bianca tilted her head to the side as she stared me down. She must have sensed my hesitance. “No more secrets.”
Taking her hand into mine, I assured her. “No more secrets. With the move and going to Richmond to get my stuff, it slipped my mind.”
She pursed her lips comically. “Mm hmm.” Leaning forward, she kissed me. “Okay so what did you forget to tell me?”
“Meredith showed up at my house when I was leaving to come to you on Sunday.”
Bianca shrank back with a jolt. “What?” Tucking her leg underneath her body, she repositioned herself on the bed. “What about the restraining order?”
I shook my head and shrugged. “I guess she doesn’t care. But she was there because she thinks that Monroe won’t write her a reference letter because of me. So she wants me to convince Monroe to write her one. And she got pissed off that I said no.”
Bianca’s eyes bulged and she let out a little laugh. “Let me get this straight. The woman who stalked you and pumped Benjamin for information about you is mad because you won’t convince her former supervisor to overlook her unprofessionalism and creepy behavior? Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
We stared at each other for a second before laughing at the ridiculousness of it.
“Okay let’s think about this,” Bianca began. She stood and started peeling off her clothes. “If it’s either Ashton or Meredith, what is their end game?”
My eyes traveled the length of her beautiful body as she stood before me in just a pale pink bra and panties set. My mouth watered.
“Hey!” She touched my chin, tipping my head upward. “My eyes are up here.”
“Yes,” I acknowledged, grabbing her around her waist. “But your body is right here.”
She laughed, squirming out o
f my arms. “You’re a mess!”
I planted a kiss against her soft belly before letting her go. “I’m listening. You’re distracting me, but I’m listening.”
She put her hands on her rounded hips. “Well then what do you think their end game could possibly be?”
All humor left the room as I thought about the answer to that. “Meredith wants me to help her get her reference letter from Monroe. She made the comment that you are the only way to get my attention so maybe she’s fucking with you to force me to talk to Monroe. And Ashton wants you.” I looked at the crumbled up card. “I’ll stop when you stop. Maybe Ashton wants you to break up with me and he’s saying, he’ll stop fucking with you if you stop…this.” It was hard for me to even get the sentence out.
Maneuvering herself into my lap, Bianca wrapped her arms around my neck. “Ashton’s jealousy isn’t going to stop this. I love this. This is everything I’ve ever wanted.” She emphasized the word this and my heart clenched each time she did it.
Letting my hands slide down her back, I cupped her ass. “I can’t keep letting someone mess with you, B.” I kissed her. “You mean too much to me.”
“Well let’s end it. I’ll email Ashton and break it down for him gently. I’ll let him know that I’d appreciate not being contacted again. If he does contact me, that’ll be enough for me to get a protective order, right?”
“Should be.” I stood up and tossed her to the middle of the bed. Pulling my shirt off, I continued, “If he admits to being the one behind the cards, the emails and the vandalism, it should be enough to seal the deal. But if he doesn’t admit to it, linking him to everything will be a stretch. But it’s a start. And I’ll call Monroe in the morning and ask her to write Meredith’s letter. If anything happens after they get what they want, we’ll have to involve the police.”
“No, I’ll involve the police.” She removed her bra and panties, tossing them across the room to the hamper. My eyes devoured her as I listened to her. “You don’t need anything messing with your Charlotte Spence contract. If I have the protective order and proof of being harassed, Nina will know that I’m not dropping the ball or bringing unnecessary drama to the gallery. It’ll be better that way. Whichever one of them it is, they will get the closure they need and leave me the hell alone.”
I saw her eyes drop to my semi-hard dick as I removed my last article of clothing.
Mimicking her tone, I put my hands on my hips. “My eyes are up here.”
Bianca laughed. “Get your sexy ass in the bed.”
Once I had her warm body pressed against mine, I started to relax. I didn’t realize how tense I was until our bodies melted into one another. Kissing her shoulder, I pulled her closer.
After a beat of silence, I pointed out, “We probably should’ve turned off the light before we got comfortable.”
She giggled. “I agree.”
Groaning, I rolled away from her so I could cut off the lamp on my side of the bed. Before I turned the light off, Bianca spoke up.
“Let’s send the emails tonight.”
I turned over so I could see her face and she continued.
“That way Monroe and Ashton will get them first thing in the morning. I got lucky today that Nina didn’t notice my initial on the back of all of the resumes. If possible, I’d like to avoid any other incidents.”
Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I dropped back against my pillow. “Let’s do it. The sooner the better.”
“The sooner the better,” she repeated, grabbing her phone from the nightstand on her side of the bed.
“Monroe,” I read as I typed. “I understand why you chose not to write the reference letter for Meredith and I thank you. But due to other circumstances, I want you to reconsider. I don’t think she’s going to stop showing up until you do. It would make my life easier if she went away. Please write the letter. Roman.” I hit send and looked at Bianca. “Done.”
“Okay, how does mine sound? Ashton, I hope this email finds you well. Although I appreciate your concern regarding Copeland Jenner, there’s no need. Your theory is invalid. You’ve always presented yourself as a friend and I like that very much about you. You’re smart, nice and a pleasure to be around. You are a great man. But you are not the man for me. There is no question in my mind that I’m with the man I’m meant to be with. I am happy with him. I am in love with him. And what he and I have is real. I am so sorry if I wasn’t clear when I moved away. Although we had gone on a couple of dates, once I realized who my heart belonged to, I couldn’t continue to date you. Maybe I should’ve explained that a little more thoroughly before I left for New York, but at that time, I didn’t know what my future held. Now I do. And it’s with him. I wish you the very best. Bianca.” She looked at me. “What do you think? Too much? Too little?”
My heart rattled in my chest with each line of her email. Two thoughts rolled through my mind.
I want to spend the rest of my life with this woman.
I knew that asshole Ashton sent that email about Copeland.
“I think it’s perfect, B.” I kissed her temple. “You are perfect.”
“But does it sound too…I don’t know?”
“No, it’s straight forward and sweet. Just like you.”
“Okay. I didn’t want to put your name because I think that’ll make him even madder.” Her finger clicked against the screen. “I just hit send.”
Putting our phones on the nightstand, I turned off the lamp. The room went instantly dark. The blackout curtains kept every sliver of light out.
Reaching out for her, I let my hands roam over her body until we were comfortably intertwined with my front pressed solidly against her back. With my eyes closed, I buried my face in her hair, inhaling her vanilla and coconut scent.
She let out a contented sigh and my heart rate sped up.
God, I love this woman.
“This is our first time spending the night in our bed in our apartment,” Bianca whispered happily.
“The first of many,” I whispered back to her.
Drifting to sleep, I felt a sense of happiness that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
----------
Chapter Twenty-One
I woke up abruptly when I didn’t feel Bianca in bed with me. Stretching, I climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of basketball shorts. Padding my way around the apartment, I listened out for any signs of Bianca.
“B?” I called out as I rounded the corner into the kitchen. I called out a little louder when she wasn’t in there. “B?”
Walking through the living room, toward our studio, I heard sniffling.
Increasing my pace, I burst through the door to find Bianca sitting at the desk with her head in her hands.
My gut twisted and my heart was in my throat. “B,” I choked out, rushing to her side. I turned her chair toward me and dropped to my knees. Grabbing her thighs, I slid her to the edge of the chair so that I could hold her close to me. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
When our eyes met, I had to push the heel of my hand into my chest to stop my heart from shattering.
“B, please. What’s wrong?”
She took a shaky breath and then stood, leaving me kneeling in front of the empty chair.
I watched her pace from one side of the room to the other before I stood and tried to head off her path.
She jutted out her chin defiantly. Her lip quivered and her eyes were wet with tears, but nothing dropped. She looked as though she were trying to make herself look mad, but she only looked sad.
And hurt. What is going on?
I reached out to her, wanting to cup her face, but she shook her head and took a step back.
What the hell is happening right now? We just had an amazing night. What could’ve happened between when we fell asleep and right now?
“I got a response from Ashton.”
Okay I get it…that motherfucker happened, I thought angrily, balling my hands into fists. What the hell d
id he do to my girl?
My vision clouded over with rage. “I didn’t think he would take your rejection well, but I didn’t think he would do anything to make you cry.” The words dripped from me venomously. I could almost taste the hate I had for that man. “I’ll take care of it, B.”
When my eyes focused on hers, I noticed the way she was looking at me. It was still hurt, still angry, and something else I couldn’t put my finger on.
“What did he say?” I asked, her eyes bringing me back to the present.
“He said something about you. Can I ask you a question?”
“You can ask me anything. No secrets.”
“No secrets.” She hesitated for a while and I saw the questions wrestling across her beautiful features. Her face had a cute scowl.
She is so sexy when she gets mad. But something is different this time.
It was her eyes. They were clouded by something.
“Have you been seeing Copeland Jenner?”
The question knocked the wind out of me. “Absolutely not. Is that what this is about?” I shook my head profusely. “I don’t know what he said that could get in your head like this, baby, but you have to know that he’s full of shit. You have to know that. He’s jealous. He wants you and he’s willing to say or do whatever he can to break us up.”
Tentatively, I reached out for her to which she dodged my advance.
I felt my face fall almost as hard as my stomach plummeted. My emotions were all over the place, swirling with uncertainty and rejection.
How could she let something he said get in her head?
I felt myself starting to free fall so I started pacing.
“What is going on, Bianca? Why would you believe him over me?”
“So you’re telling me that besides the time you saw her in the art building, you didn’t meet up with her at any other time. There was no coffee date. There was no flirting. There was nothing.” Her voice broke as she said the words that had apparently filled her with doubt.
That’s it, I thought, stopping to look into her eyes. I had figured out the emotion I saw mixed with anger and hurt. Doubt.
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