by Linda Verji
She wanted to tell him that high-heels made her look taller and more commanding, but their cold war was still on so she merely grunted. “Yes, sir.”
“Stop calling me-” He paused to suck in a deep gulp of air. “You don’t have to take a cab home tonight. I can drive you.”
Silently, she bent to put on her pumps before standing. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
Without a backward glance, she walked away from him and up the stairs to the break-room. As she changed into her street-clothes, she couldn’t help wondering why he bothered being so nice to her when he thought so little of her. Why waste time driving her home when he thought she was just using him? Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to completely avoid her? She didn’t understand him at all.
Once she was done changing, she grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. Roman was still in the dining room, and when he spotted her, he rose but didn’t make his offer again. Without a goodnight or goodbye to him, she exited the restaurant. The moment she stepped out, the cold, night breeze smacked her straight in the face.
“Ssss.” Hissing and shivering, she pulled her jacket tighter around her body and rushed towards the road. A cab stopped for her almost immediately, and with a grateful smile she got in.
It was only when they were halfway to her place that she noticed a car trailing them. The plates were familiar enough that she didn’t even need to think about whose car it might be. Roman. She kissed her teeth.
Here was another instance of his confusing behavior. Yes, she’d noticed that he followed her cabs home every night. She had half a mind to confront him and tell him that it was creepy and bordering on stalking, but she knew him well enough to know that he was only doing it to make sure she got home safe. Oh wait! What was she talking about? She didn’t know him anymore. Still, even without knowing his true motives, she appreciated it. Her neighborhood wasn’t exactly an icon of security, and it was good to know that someone was looking out for her – even if that someone was Roman.
Her cab stopped in front of the gates to her apartment building. Pretending that she couldn’t see Roman’s car parked a short distance away, she paid her fare then headed into the building. Her apartment was on the fourth-floor and the time it took her to get up the stairs should’ve been enough time for Roman to leave. Without putting on the lights, she crossed the living room and headed to the window. She drew the curtains away slightly to peer out into the dark street. Roman’s car was still there, and it stayed there until she finally put on the lights. Then he drove away, leaving her even more confused as ever.
If she was such a groupie, why did he act like he cared about her?
CHAPTER 5
April thought she was doing well with her plan to get over Roman, but despite her best intentions she often found herself looking for him. Her brain seemed programmed to zero in on him as soon as he walked into any room she was in. So on Saturday afternoon when he walked into the restaurant later than he usually would, she immediately noticed. She also noticed that he was wearing a baseball jersey bearing the logo of the Little League club he coached on Saturday mornings. He only wore that jersey when they were going against another team.
Forgetting that she wasn’t talking to him, she caught him by the stairs and asked, “Did we have a game?”
He frowned as if taken aback by her question before nodding. “Yeah!”
“You didn’t tell me,” she complained. Usually, when the Robin Jays had a game, she took the morning off to cheer them on.
He studied her for a long uncomfortable moment before saying, “I didn’t know you were still interested in them.” Then before she could respond he strode up the stairs.
Frowning, April watched him go up with the stairs. What was that about? Did he assume that the only reason she supported the Robin Jays was because of him? Sure, she’d started going to their games because they were an important part of Roman’s life and she wanted to support him, but she’d grown to love those kids just as much as he did. It was unfair and hurtful that he was purposely cutting her off just because the two of them were at odds.
Irritated and intent on confronting him, she followed after him to his office. With a sharp knock and without waiting for his response, she shoved the door inwards. As soon as she stepped into the room, she came to an abrupt halt. Apparently, she should’ve waited for him to respond to her because he was naked from the waist up.
Her eyes widened as she surveyed his partial state of undress and heat flushed up her face.
He lifted his head to meet her gaze. Annoyance flashed in his eyes. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
“I-I- do.” She swallowed hard as her hungry gaze lingered over the hard planes of his chest, savored each rippling muscle, caressed his smooth skin. “Sorry.”
Grabbing the baby-blue shirt that was hanging on the coat rack, he asked, “What do you want?
“I-um-” she stumbled over her words as she tried to remember what it was that had brought her up here.
“What do you want?” he repeated as he pushed his arms into the shirt.
What had she come here to say? Um… um… um… Lord, this man is sexy! When she saw that he was staring at her in irritated question, she gave herself a mental slap. Get it together, girl!
Realizing that she’d completely forgotten what had brought her tearing into his office, she reached for the nearest reason she could find. “Do you have anybody coming in that I need to save a table for?”
“No,” he responded shortly without looking up at her. His focus was on buttoning the shirt and closing off that delicious view. “Is that all, or is there something else?”
She gave a quick start. “Um… Cat Rotham is in town.”
This time he looked up at her and his eyebrows rose up in a silent ‘so?’.
“She always drops in when she’s in town,” April explained. The A-list actress was the type of person that didn’t need to make a reservation. She was popular enough that a visit from her always led to a boost in traffic for almost a month. “Should I hold a table for her?”
“Is that a question or an answer?” Roman sniped.
What was with the surly tone? April almost asked him if he was on his period, but held back because… well, they weren’t on joking terms anymore.
“Is that all?” He stared at her.
She narrowed her eyes as an immediate retort that she would be done when she wanted to be done rose to her lips. Managing to quell that retort, she answered coolly, “Yes, that’s all.”
“Good.” Turning his back on her, he dismissed her with a wave, like someone swatting a fly away.
Reeling from his curt dismissal, April exited the office. Well, this was a change. For the last week or so, he’d been acting confused about why she was angry at him and silently asking for forgiveness. But today, he was acting like he was angry at her. Was this his way of responding to the silent treatment she’d been giving him? Or was his annoyance about something else?
Hours later, she discovered that his annoyance was about something else… or rather, someone else. To be specific, Javier Consuelos. At around nine p.m., the baseball player popped up out of nowhere. When he came into the restaurant, April wasn’t at the front desk so the restaurant’s back-up host, Toby, guided him to a table. However, as soon he sat down he asked for April, making it obvious that he wasn’t at Tellers for the food or for Roman.
But like a well-tuned radar, Roman found him.
Most people would’ve thought that he was just his usual self because his expression was closed. But she knew him too well. The stiff way he sat, the way his eyes were blank, the way he kept tapping his chin as he stared at Javier… he was angry. When April came to a stop beside their table, the gray of his eyes turned stormy as he stared at her.
But Javier seemed completely oblivious to the anger swirling around them. Giving April an admiring once-over, he beamed. “If it isn’t the beautiful April.”
“Javier, good to see you.” She smiled
back at him. “Have you been served yet?”
“No.” Javier shook his head. “I don’t trust anyone but you to take care of me.”
“April isn’t a waitress,” Roman cut in curtly drawing April’s gaze to him. Apparently it was possible for him to get even angrier. The vein at his temple was now ticking.
“I know that.” Javier’s dancing eyes remained locked on April. “But she doesn’t mind taking care of me. Isn’t that right, April?”
“Of course. I don’t mind at all.” April’s smile grew. “What would you like tonight?”
Javier’s ability to flirt was bottomless and incessant. Every time April so much as passed by their table, he had something cute to say to her. April was used to attracting the attention of some of their diners so it wasn’t a big deal. Nevertheless, she was glad that Javier never got uncomfortably lecherous or crossed the line. Even better, his unsubtle flirting seemed to get Roman angrier by the second.
The angrier Roman got, the happier April was. She’d been punishing him the wrong way. This was more effective than silent treatment, and more fun.
Javier stayed until they closed the kitchen. Because he was Roman’s friend, he didn’t leave with the other diners. He and Roman hung out at their table as Teller’s staff wound down their activities for the night. By the time April came down from the break-room in her street-clothes, the young man was still there and he gestured for her to come over.
“Roman and I are going out for drinks at Nox.” Javier asked, “Do you want to come with?”
“I thought we were going alone,” Roman cut in before April could answer.
“Well that’s not fun.” Javier gave April a raised eyebrow. “What do you say, April? Drinks on me?”
April’s first instinct was to refuse. She was dead-tired, and the lace-up boots she had on were killing her. But one look at Roman’s stormy expression and she found herself saying, “Why not?”
“April!” Roman glared at her.
“What?” she returned his glare with one of her own. Fine, she was a petty, petty, petty woman. But after close to three years of always being the jealous one, was it so awful of her to want payback? Turning to Javier, she said, “I wouldn’t mind a drink.”
“Great!” Oblivious of the tension throbbing between her and Roman, Javier pushed back his seat and stood up. “You’re in my car, April.”
“No, she’s with me.” Roman shot her a look as he too stood up.
“Nope.” She smiled at Javier. “I’m with him.”
She could’ve sworn that she heard Roman growl low in his throat. But before she could savor and celebrate that growl, Javier set his hand beneath her elbow and guided her towards the door. To be honest, she didn’t remember most of what she and Javier talked about on the way to Nox, mostly because she was watching Roman’s SUV in the rearview mirror and grinning the whole time.
As soon as Javier parked his car, Roman swung up beside them and exited his car. As the three of them walked into the bar, April kept close to Javier but she was keenly aware of Roman walking beside them. She could feel the tightly-leashed anger radiating from his every long stride and the stiff set of his jaw as he looked at everything but her.
Nox had branded itself as a luxury bar and not just anyone could enter it. Thankfully, both Roman and Javier were instantly recognizable and the three of them got in without much of a hustle. Since it was a Saturday, the dimly-lit bar was packed, yet it still maintained its subdued and muted ambience. Patrons casually lounged in the dark leather seats, listening to the soft rock music coming from the speakers above or watching the football game playing on the numerous screens around them while they sipped on their drink of choice and chatted.
With most of the bar’s patrons being either moneyed or celebrities, no one took much notice of the three new entrants. Javier led the way to a corner table and pulled out a seat for April. As soon as they were all seated, a waiter appeared at their side ready to take their orders.
“Whiskey, please,” April ordered. “On the rocks.”
“Eat something first.” Roman spoke for the first time since they’d arrived. “You didn’t eat at the restaurant.”
“Yeah, you should eat!” Javier added, “They’ve got a pretty good selection of finger-foods here.”
April made a face. “No thanks. I don’t want food.”
His mouth pinched, Roman said, “You’ll get drunk if you don’t eat something.”
“No, I won’t.” She turned back to the waiter. “ A glass of whiskey.”
“April!” Roman barked.
“Chill out, man,” Javier came to her defense. “She said she’s good.”
Roman ignored the younger man and insisted, “Eat something.”
“Leave me alone,” she retorted. The poor waiter who was caught in between, shifted his gaze nervously from April to Roman then back to Roman. She drew his attention back to her with a firm, “Whiskey.”
Roman didn’t argue further but if looks were branding irons then she’d be tattooed with his anger. Once the waiter had taken the men’s orders, he quickly scampered away, likely relieved to have escaped the tense atmosphere.
Javier seemed to have finally caught on to the angry sparks crackling between Roman and April. His heavy eyebrows came together in a frown as he watched them. “Is something going on between you two?”
“No.” They both barked.
“Okay,” Javier said even as he gave them a disbelieving look. Luckily, he didn’t pursue the question further. Instead, he turned to April, “So tell me about yourself?”
She forced a smile to her face as she turned to him. “What do you wanna know?”
He winked. “Everything.”
She chuckled. “You don’t want to know everything.”
“Oh yes I do.”
“Are you sure you want to know everything?” She waggled her eyebrows.
“Everything.”
“Even about the bodies I have stashed in my closet.”
Javier threw back his head and laughed. “As long as I don’t end up one of them, we’re cool.”
She and Javier continued to trade jokes as they got to know each other. From the tenor of the conversation, one would’ve thought there were alone at the table, but April was keenly aware of the third person at the table. Even though he rarely added into the conversation, Roman was a big, looming presence hovering between them. And all his attention was on her.
Every time she glanced in his direction she found him watching her – no, glaring at her. Whenever their eyes met, he didn’t turn away. He merely stared at her with those angry eyes and sipped his beer. It was damn uncomfortable and left her feeling flustered. But it was also amusing. Obviously, he hated that she and Javier were getting along so well.
“I just noticed that we’re wearing matching clothes,” Javier dragged April’s attention to him.
“Are we?” She glanced at his red polo-shirt and black khakis then at her red sweater-dress and boots. She smiled. “We are.”
“We match really well.” With a grin, Javier turned to his friend, “What do you think Roman?”
Roman’s gaze shifted from April to Javier and back to April. “You two look good together. Maybe you should date.”
April sat up straighter as her gaze narrowed on him. Where did that come from?
Javier’s eyebrows shot up. “Can we?”
Roman offered him a crooked smile. “Why are you asking me?” He used his nose to gesture towards April. “Shouldn’t you be asking her?”
“Because you’re her friend, and mine.”
“I’m not her dad.” His eyes on her, Roman sipped his drink. “If you two want to date, go ahead.”
His words were mild, but they sent immediate hurt lancing through April. Was he handing her off to his friend now that he didn’t want her? Anger, hot and red, rushed in to replace that hurt.
Bastard! She picked up her whiskey and tossed it back in one shot. Immediately, it scorched a path dow
n her throat, leaving a bitterness that matched her anger. Who the hell did Roman think he was? Her pimp? She glared at him.
Roman’s eyes were on April as he spoke to Javier. “But you might have a little trouble convincing her…”
“What do you mean?” the younger man asked.
“April, isn’t there someone you like already?” Roman baited her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
This bastard! That was a low blow if ever there was one. Fine. If this was how he wanted to play it, then she was willing to play ball. Canting her head, she asked, “Is there? I don’t think so.”
Roman’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Really.”
“You heard the lady. There’s no one.” Javier beamed widely. “So April, what do you think about dating me? We even have Roman’s permission.”
“Hmm.” She glared at Roman. “Let me think about it.”
CHAPTER 6
Roman was fully aware that he was being childish but he couldn’t help himself. Seeing April and Javier flirting was driving him crazy and he was using all his energy just to keep from exploding. Perhaps it would’ve made more sense for him not to even come with them, after all they were making no bones about him being the third-wheel here. However, he knew that if he wasn’t here, he’d be going even crazier trying to imagine what they were up to.
“Don’t you want to know more about me?” Javier scooted closer to April so that the two were seated so close their knees were probably touching under the table. It took everything in Roman to keep from leaping across the table and forcibly shoving the man away from April.
“I think I know all I need to know about you.” Giving Javier a drunken smile, April shook her phone. “I have Google.”
Javier let out a guttural laugh. “Google doesn’t know me. I got secrets that Google doesn’t know.”
“Ooh! A man - man of secrets.” April slurred her words slightly. She leaned towards Javier as she said, “Share some.”
“I don’t just share my secrets with anyone.” Javier winked at her. Roman’s hand balled into a fist – Damn! How he wanted to punch the man’s eye.