Fool For You (Made for Love Book 4)

by R. C. Martin

  “Hey, what do you know? Me too!”

  “Well, we’ve got a full day ahead of us,” she announces, smacking her hand against my ass. “Hop in the shower, I’ll make you some coffee, and then we’ll drop by Little Bird for more coffee and muffins.”

  “And what, pray tell, are we doing today?” I ask as she follows me into my apartment, shutting the door behind her.

  Last year, she took me on a hike and we picnicked for breakfast. Then I spent a couple hours at Generation Ink, where Trevor worked on my back piece. After that, we both got facials before dinner with my favorite artsy men and Carrie, followed by way too much dancing. This year, there wasn’t anything in particular that I wanted to do, so I left all of the planning up to her.

  “This morning we’ll do breakfast, and then we’re going shopping. After that, we’ll break for lunch, and then you and I are going to get pampered!”

  “Really?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at her. “Pampered how?”

  “Oh, you know, manicures, pedicures, and a trip to the salon so you can get that hair did for tonight!”

  I frown, a tad bit concerned with the length of that list. “Harp, we don’t have to do all of that.”

  She rolls her eyes at me before shoving me toward the bathroom. “Don’t give me that I’m-a-recent-grad-and-you’re-a-teacher-so-we’re-both-poor face. Mom and dad pitched in. And Ben might have insisted that he should be in on it, too.”

  “Wait, Ben?” I ask, looking at her from over my shoulder.

  She offers me a dopey smile before pushing me once more toward the shower. “I told you he was a keeper. Now get that tatted ass in the tub so we can go.” She slams the door as she makes her exit and then yells, “And don’t worry about your hair; they’ll wash it later!”

  I pause for a second, letting everything she’s just said settle in my mind. While the day she has planned for me sounds extravagant, I won’t turn it down. It is Theodora Day, after all. My parents will call me at some point this morning—they always do—and I look forward to hearing from them, giving me the opportunity to thank them for their contribution. But it shocks me that Ben has offered to help me celebrate today. I’ve only met him once, and he and Harper have only been together for a couple of months.

  I guess he must really like her.

  I try not to read into his generosity too much, but I can’t help but think of Judah and his lack of excitement. He hasn’t said a peep about today since it was mentioned to him last week. He told me that he’d check his calendar and get back to me about his availably, but he never did. After the way Geoffrey practically guilt-tripped him into coming, I didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up from fear that he wouldn’t be able to come. Besides, I’m a spaz when it comes to birthdays. I can’t fault the man if they aren’t his thing. Not to mention, we’ve only been dating for four weeks.

  But Ben—

  “Why am I not hearing any water in there?” asks Harper, slapping her palm against the door. “Chop, chop, birthday bitch!”

  I laugh, in spite of how much I hate it when she calls me that, because her excitement really is contagious. I’m also quick to start my shower, remembering that the sooner I wash up, the sooner I’ll get my morning coffee. “There. Happy?” I cry out.

  “You know I love it when you do what I say!” she sings.

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Harper and I end up at Mexican restaurant for lunch, where we plan on splitting a plate of tacos and eating all the chips and salsa we want. Since the weather is nice, we opt for an outdoor table, and I can only pray that my sister doesn’t ask the wait staff to sing to me. I might have a great appreciation for birthdays, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

  I check my phone for the millionth time, and I’m disappointed when I find that I have no new notifications. With a sigh, I set it face down on the table, willing myself to ignore it for the next hour.

  “So. How are things going with Judah?” asks Harper, her eyes dropping to my phone before returning to my face.

  “Subtle,” I mumble.

  She laughs, reaching across the table to rest her hand over the top of mine. “You’ve been checking the damn thing every thirty seconds, as if you’re afraid the ringer is broken and you’re expecting a call from Chris Pratt.”

  I wrinkle my nose and shake my head. “You mean Chris Hemsworth. He has an accent.”

  “Fuck the accent. Chris Pratt fights dinosaurs. Plus, he’s just sexy as shit.”

  “Yeah. Okay,” I mutter with an eye roll, not really in the mood to argue.

  “All right—for real. What’s going on with you and bad cop?”

  “We’re still seeing one another. We’re good, I guess,” I reply with a half-hearted shrug.

  “That was so convincing. Come on. Spill.”

  “He knows it’s my birthday today. He hasn’t said a word. No call. No text. Nothing. And I haven’t spoken to him since Tuesday.”

  “What happened Tuesday?” she asks before popping a chip into her mouth.

  “I asked if he wanted to meet up for dinner, but he said he couldn’t.” When I don’t continue, she looks at me expectantly, signaling with her hand that she wants more of an explanation. I shrug, not really sure what else to tell her.

  “Teddy Bear, come on, that’s not weird, right? Does he usually take you out during the week?”

  “Once. That first week. He hasn’t since then. Though, he did meet up with us last Thursday for drinks at The Tap Room.”

  “Okay, so he’s not a weeknight kind of guy.”

  “But it’s my birthday. And I—” I stop talking, snapping my jaw closed before I tell her that I let him put his mouth between my legs and I haven’t really heard from him since. I’ve been trying not to read into it. He had been so amazing Friday night, and I imagined that everything that happened between us made us closer. I told him things that I don’t usually tell anyone, and his response had been so understanding and protective. Now, I’m not really sure what to do with his silence.

  “And you what?” Harper asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “I…I just—I miss him, I guess,” I confess.

  “Aww, babe, that’s so cute.”

  I frown before I reach for a chip and throw it at her. “Don’t patronize me. I’m being honest.”

  “I’m sorry, but it is. You’re so smitten. I’ve never seen you quite like this before,” she says with a grin.

  “Whatever,” I mutter, checking my phone once more.

  “Okay, no. See, you can’t do that. You’ll drive yourself crazy,” she insists, snatching my phone out of my hand. I watch as she drops it inside of her purse. Just as I start to protest, she holds up her hand and speaks before I can. “I get that you miss him. I do. This, right here, this is what makes dating so sucky. Maybe he forgot. Maybe he’s just busy. Maybe he doesn’t give a single shit about birthdays. Who the fuck knows? But you’ve got to give him room to do Jude while you do Teddy. Besides—it’s only one o’clock. He might surprise you.”

  “Well, I’ll never know if you’ve got my phone,” I argue.

  “Hey!” She points a finger at me, a scowl pulling at her brow. “Today is about you, Theodora Rose Fitzpatrick—not Judah and whether or not he’s going to remember that today is about you. You’re too busy being fabulous to worry about him right now. Got it?”

  I inhale a big breath and let out a sigh before I nod my agreement. I do so on principle alone, my heart not convinced that Harper is right. Nevertheless, today has never been about a guy and I should at least try to let all thoughts of Judah go for the time being. With an afternoon of pampering ahead of me, I have so much to look forward to, and even more to be grateful for. Besides, now that Harper is holding my phone captive, all I can do is sit back and bask in the possibility that perhaps ignorance really is bliss.

  I fail miserably at not thinking about Jude. In fact, I think in my attempt to not think about him, I think about him more. The entire time I’m getting my hair
washed, trimmed, dried, and straightened, I think of all the ways in which he has touched me. I think of every place that he has kissed me, licked me, and bit me. By the time we leave the salon, headed for my apartment to get dressed for the night, I physically ache for him. And when I beg Harper for my phone and she finally gives in to my request, I almost tear up when I find the only person who’s tried to reach me this afternoon is Geoffrey.

  Now, the sexy dress I let Harper talk me into purchasing for tonight seems like such a complete waste. Half the reason I agreed to the dress is because I was holding out hope that Judah would get to see me in it.

  “Maybe I should text him,” I blurt out as Harper pulls into the parking lot of my apartment complex.

  “No way! I will not allow it. We’re going to go inside, we’re going to get dressed up, and then we’re going to go meet your awesome friends for dinner.”

  “Yeah—my awesome friends and your boyfriend. How is it that Ben is going to be there but Jude isn’t? Are you sure I shouldn’t just text him? There’s no rule that says I can’t remind him, right?”

  “There is a rule,” she states as she turns off her car and shifts in her seat to face me. “It’s called the You-don’t-want-to-look-desperate-on-your-birthday rule. If he doesn’t at least acknowledge you in the next six hours, he’s an asshole—and then maybe you should reevaluate the whole bad cop thing you’ve got going on.”

  “Harper!” I mutter, frustrated and hurt by this entire situation, and powerless against my own emotions.

  “I’m sorry,” she sighs. “I just want you to have a good time tonight—Jude or no Jude. It’s Theodora Day. We’re going to drink and be fucking merry! So can we please just go upstairs and get ready? I want to see you in that little lacy number we picked out.”

  I nod, knowing that we only have an hour before the gallery closes and we meet up with everyone for dinner. Harper hasn’t told me where we’re going, insisting that it’s a surprise, and I cling to the anticipation of the unknown. Today really has been relaxing and fun, all thanks to my big sister, and I refuse to be a brat simply because everything didn’t turn out exactly as I had hoped.

  When she smiles at me, I force a smile in return. Then she leans across the console and kisses my cheek, which turns my smile into a real one.

  “Come on. Let’s head up.”

  We gather all of our belongings and make the trek up the stairs to my apartment. Just as we reach the landing, I spot something sitting at my doorstep.

  “Judah,” I breathe, racing for the vase full of long-stem red roses. I bend down to pick it up, holding them tight as I spin around to face my sister—the biggest grin on my face. “Not an asshole!” I proclaim.

  She laughs as she approaches and then plucks the note from out of the holder. I don’t think fast enough to stop her from reading it, but it doesn’t matter. She takes the little card from the envelope and holds it up for me to see it without even pausing to take a peek herself.

  “Definitely not an asshole.”

  “See? All that worrying for nothing.”

  She’s right. She’s right, and there’s no point in denying it. Instead, I bury my nose in my roses to hide my smile.

  “All right, you love-sick goof, get your tatted ass inside. The night’s still young, and we’ve got more celebrating to do.”

  I do as she says, bringing my roses straight to my bedroom so that I might admire them as we finish getting ready for the night. Harper and I do our makeup side by side, and she totally hogs the mirror the whole time. It amuses me more than anything else, reminding me of when we used to share a bathroom at our parents’ house. I don’t need a whole lot of working room anyway as I apply only a small amount. With my eyes outlined in pencil, my lashes coated in mascara, and my cheeks tinted with a hint of blush, I call it good. Harper tries to argue that I should let her do my eyeshadow, but I counter with the argument that I’ll only sweat it off when we go dancing later. She then spends another ten minutes in the bathroom while I head back to my room to get dressed.

  I stare at the dress laid out across my bed for a moment, still appalled that she was able to convince me to get it. It’s two pieces. The bottom is a skirt that sits high on my waist, over my belly button. The nude fabric is tight and stops mid-thigh, just below my garter tattoo. The navy blue, lacy overlay extends from my waist to my knee, hiding but not exactly covering the lower half of my dreamcatcher. While I’m not usually one to show off my tats, that isn’t what makes me pause.

  The top is definitely what makes the dress sexy. The nude portion is a bra—and that’s it. The lace overlay is like a clingy, short-waisted tank top. It also hides but doesn’t cover my back piece—which is why I decided to keep my hair loose tonight, my red locks straightened down to my waist. Then, to finish the outfit, I’ll carry my favorite teal clutch and wear my bright pink, platform stilettos.

  “That dress will look a lot better on your sexy bod then it does on the bed. Chop, chop, Teddy Bear,” Harper demands, smacking her hand on my ass. I turn to offer her a playful scowl, and she winks at me before stripping down to her undies to slide into her short, little, purple sequin dress.

  By the time we’re ready to go, it’s seven o’clock on the dot—only, Harper doesn’t seem in any hurry to get going. When I ask her about it, she informs me that Ben will be picking us up, and that he’ll call when he’s arrived. I nod, thinking nothing of it.

  Fifteen minutes later, when he’s yet to arrive, I start to grow antsy.

  “He’s really late, Harp. He’s a lawyer—aren’t they usually more punctual?”

  “Relax. He probably just got stuck in traffic or something. He’ll be here any—” She’s interrupted by the sound of her phone alerting her to a new text. She looks down at her screen before smiling over at me. “It’s time.”

  “Yay!” I squeal, hurrying for the door.

  “Wait—two seconds,” she insists, catching me around the elbow.

  “What?”

  “I just want to get one last look at you.” I watch her face as she sweeps my hair off of my shoulders and down my back before she smooths out my skirt—an act that’s completely unnecessary since I haven’t even attempted to sit down since I put it on. “You’re beautiful,” she murmurs. “Happy birthday, Theodora.”

  “Thanks, Harper,” I reply, reaching for her hand.

  She gives my fingers a squeeze and linked together is how we leave my apartment, heading down the stairs to meet Ben. Except, when we reach the bottom, I don’t see Ben at all. Instead, I see a massive, black, stretch Hummer taking up an obnoxious amount of space in the parking lot. When the back passenger door opens, Harper squeezes my hand. I don’t bother looking at her, my curiosity holding my full attention. My jaw falls open when I see Judah. He’s in a black suit, which is not out of the ordinary—except it’s my birthday, and he’s here, in a huge Hummer, and he looks so fucking hot, I can’t take my eyes off of him.

  “Definitely not an asshole, right?” Harper whispers in my ear.

  I manage to tear my eyes away from Judah as I look beside me at my sister. “You knew?” I gasp. She grins at me and I can’t decide if I want to smack her or hug her.

  “He called me Sunday. I think you might have snagged yourself a good cop after all.”

  I look back at Judah, and I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. However, I do know that there is way too much distance separating me from him. Without another word, I drop Harper’s hand and hurry toward the parking lot. I can’t move fast and gracefully in this skirt and these heels, but I don’t give a single shit what I look like. The closer I get, the more excited I become; and as soon as I’m in reaching distance, I yelp as I jump up and throw myself at him.

  I don’t get very much height from my awkward leap, but he catches me around the waist anyway, offering me a smirk when we’re face to face.

  “Hi,” he says, his deep, sexy voice melting me on the spot.

  “Hi.”

  “There are som
e people inside who thought you might like to go to dinner. Hope you don’t mind if I tag along.”

  I giggle, tightening my arms around him. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  “It’s Theodora Day. I had to find a Theodora to celebrate with.”

  “Judah?”

  “Yes, Teddy?”

  “I’m going to kiss you now.”

  I watch as his eyes drop to my lips right before I press them against his. When I flick my tongue out, seeking entrance into his mouth, he opens up and takes over, kissing me deeper. I almost forget where I am, wrapped in his arms and lost in his kiss—that is, until Harper smacks my ass. Again. It surprises me, and I squeak as I pull my mouth away from Judah’s.

  “Plenty of time for that shit later. We’ve got to get on the road.”

  I glance over my shoulder just in time to see her climb into the Hummer, and then I look back at Jude before I ask, “Where are we going?”

  “To dinner.”

  I can tell by the mischievous look in his eyes that he won’t tell me more, but I’m all right with that. He’s here and that fact alone means that tonight will be nothing short of amazing.

  “Freckles! They won’t let me open the champagne until you get in here—so get your ass in here,” Geoffrey yells.

  I laugh before I ask Judah, “There’s champagne? For me?”

  “Sweetheart, that’s just the beginning,” he replies, setting me on my feet. “Get in, or you’ll never know what I have planned for you.”

  Every fiber of my being wants to kiss him again, but I restrain myself. He offers me his hand to help me climb into the Hummer, and Geoff is right there, ready and waiting to pull me inside. I fall into his lap and he wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tight. I relax against him and kiss his cheek, happy to see him, too.

  “Looks like I get to keep my balls, eh?” he teases, referring back to our bet about whether or not Judah would make it tonight.