An Unexpected Love (Complicated Love Series #2) (9 page)

“Yeah, sure, Brandon.”

He seems to sigh before replying. “Great! I will pick you up at 7:00 p.m. My brother is meeting me there, with his date for the evening.”

“Okay, see you then.” I hang up and raid my closet for something nice to wear.

Any excuse to dress up, and I’ve taken it especially meeting someone new. I’m not sure what this date of Brandon’s brother is going to turn up in, so I have to look my best. I’m wearing a red strapless dress that ends just above my knees, and a black bolero just in case it gets cold. I complete my outfit with my killer black heels. I call them killer heels because after a while of walking in them my feet feel like they’ve all but died, but I don’t care because they make my legs look incredibly long. I fluff my hair and leave it down because Brandon loves it that way. He always comments on how gorgeous I look and how soft it is when he touches it, which is actually rare. I put on minimal makeup and, as they say, less is more.

It’s just reaching 7:00 p.m. so I rummage through my wardrobe to find my black clutch which is hidden under a pile of shoes. I really need to sort this wardrobe out sometime because I have no idea how I ever find anything in this mess. A car horn sounds outside and looking out my window I see Brandon’s car pulling up. I stuff my purse and cell into my clutch and make my way downstairs and to his car. Sliding into my seat, I look across at Brandon. He’s looking as gorgeous as ever in navy blue trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He smiles and looks me up and down.

“Wow! Tracy, you look absolutely stunning.” He kisses my cheek before driving off. We drive in silence and I’m not entirely sure where he’s taking me. I’m actually looking forward to dinner tonight, but I’m slightly nervous about meeting new people. I’ve gotten used to having Brandon and Lily by my side, but new people scare me. For just over a year, Brandon has been there for me and I haven’t needed anyone else.

Meeting Brett the other night was the one time in all these years when I’ve brought someone home with me after getting plastered. It was stupid when I didn’t even know the guy, and I’ve vowed to myself that I won’t let that happen again. Even though I’m aware of Brandon’s hook ups, I can’t do it to him. And it’s not because I’m in love with him or anything, it’s just that I don’t treat him right and doing that would make it even worse. I do care about him and to me he’s my best friend.
How long can I go on stringing him along?
It’s not fair to both of us. We pull up outside a silver paneled building that looks stunning and I notice a sign that says Patina. I haven’t been here before, but it looks lovely from the outside. I don’t wait for Brandon to open my door to get out. He hands his keys to the valet and grabs my hand before walking through the doors of the restaurant. Brandon smiles at the
maître d
' who greets us on the way in
.

“Hi, we have a reservation under Lock?” The
maître d
'
looks through her diary.

“Ah, yes, here you are, Mr. Lock. Let me have someone to show you to your table.”

“Thank you, has the other half of our party arrived yet?”

“No, Mr. Lock, they haven’t arrived.”

A waiter turns up and we follow him to our table and I’m slightly relieved that his brother and date aren’t here yet. It gives me a bit of breathing space to relax and maybe have a drink before they arrive.
I wonder what Brandon’s brother is like?
I wonder if he’s anything like him.

The waiter shows us to a table in the far corner that’s in a quiet part of the restaurant. Brandon does the gentlemanly thing and pulls my chair out for me. I sit down and he sits beside me. The waiter asks if we would like anything to drink. Brandon orders a bottle of red and I’m not entirely sure what wine it is, but when it’s brought over and Brandon approves it, I don’t moan when I taste the lovely fruity flavor. It will definitely do.

“Do you like the wine?”

I take another sip before replying, “Mmm, it’s really delicious. You chose well.” I smile and take another sip. I want to know more about his brother and his date, so I ask a few questions.

“What’s your brother like?”

“He’s completely different to me, and a lot of the time we don’t get on, but he’s having a bit of a hard time of it lately, so I thought it was a good idea to invite him over here to get away from his problems.”

“That’s a lovely thing to do. How long is he staying for?” I take another sip and I’m trying really hard to be ladylike when all I want to do is guzzle it down.

“I’m not sure how long he’s planning on staying. He’s only been here a few days now, and I’ve been at work a lot, so I haven’t really seen much of him. I’m guessing he’s already been out and about…probably with a few women already.” I laugh at the way Brandon is looking disgusted at his brother’s antics, but he doesn’t realize that I know what he’s been up to.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s not that bad.”

“No…he’s a lot worse apparently, but I’m only going by what I’ve heard from some friends back home.”

“What’s his date like then?”

Brandon frowns. “I have no idea…I’ve never met her. He just phoned and said he was bringing a date.” I take a sip of my wine and see Brandon stand.

“I think we’re about to find out because here they come now.”

I go to stand up but I don’t get a chance to because I lock eyes with the man that I have dreamt about for years and he’s walking toward our table. I choke on my wine because I can’t believe who’s making his way toward us. My mouth hangs open as I take in his gorgeous physique, and I hate that he looks even more gorgeous than he did all those years ago. The years have been good to him. They stop at our table and I can’t look away.

I’m standing a few feet away from the guy that had broken my heart without knowing it, five long years ago…Karl Stanford.

I’ve been in Los Angeles now for about two days and I’m finding it difficult to adjust to how different it is over here to London especially the weather. The weather is brilliant, and I could just get used to it. I spent the whole of yesterday checking out the beaches. I traveled down to Venice beach to check out the place that’s raved about so much. Miles of white, sandy coastline with beautiful palm trees dotted along the shore. Some of the buildings were brightly colored with fantastic street art decorating them. I walked along the boardwalk where there were street performers and there was a huge basketball court where some young guys were playing. Man, they had skills. It was packed out, but for a guy like me I enjoy crowds especially the hot, sexy, females in these pieces of string that they call a bikini. My God, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I definitely had to bag one of these or a few before I went home.

I spent most of the day at Venice beach and later in the evening I made my way to a bar called Brennan's. It was an unusual sort of place that was considerably quiet, and I preferred that. I ordered a beer and kept myself entertained by watching American football on the television. I wasn’t sure who was playing or how the hell the game was played, but I persevered and got into it. Brandon kept ringing me, but I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. He picked me up from the airport and helped me settle in on my first day. I’m staying here with him for two weeks, but I find we don’t have very much in common. So I was relieved when I got up and saw a note from Brandon saying that he was working late and that I had to entertain myself, so that’s how I found myself here. At about 10:00 p.m. the television was switched off and loud music started playing as more people began to turn up.

It was impressive that the place was so quiet and then in the blink of an eye it became a club at night. Women in skimpy clothing were turning up in groups, and I had a good view from one of the booths. As more people started to turn up, the double doors at the back, were opened to reveal a dance floor and stage. It looked like they had live bands here on occasion, but I read the lineup one of the waitresses put on the table and they didn’t have a band scheduled. Oh well, I’m sure I can find something else to occupy my time.

My eyes are drawn to a petite, slender woman with dark black hair and an amazing tan. Her longs legs look beautiful and sculpted with the pale green miniskirt she’s wearing, which has silver diamantes plastered all over it. Her silver heels really set off her legs and I could just picture them wrapped around me as I thrust into her. She’s talking with her girl pals, and I’m just sitting here watching her carefully as she talks animatedly to her friends. I wave the waitress down and ask her to send a drink over, requesting it to be whatever she’s currently drinking and I instruct the waitress to tell her who it’s from. I watch the waitress go back to the bar and talk to the bartender who looks across at me before making the drink and passing it to the woman. The bartender whispers in her ear and she glances over at me. All her friends can’t help but look over too, and I give her a little wave. She stands there giggling with her friends before she takes the drink and sashays across to me.

“Hey handsome, I heard I have you to thank for this.” She lifts her drink.

“Well, yeah! I saw a beautiful woman and I wanted to show my appreciation for the stunning view I see before me.” She giggles again and I pat the seat beside me. She slides in next to me and makes herself comfortable.

“What’s your name, gorgeous?” I place my hand on the back of the booth behind her while I wait for her to reply.

“I’m Katrina.” She places her hand on my thigh and slowly rubs her hand up and down. I love a forward woman.

“Well, Katrina…your night is about to get so much better.” I give her my charming smile and we sit there enjoying each other’s company.

It’s safe to say that I woke up in Katrina’s apartment after a very wild night. She sure had a sexual appetite and I made sure I satiated her needs. I got a missed call from Brandon and when I checked the voicemail, he was only phoning to invite me out to dinner tonight with him and his girlfriend.
Oh, how wonderful for me.
I’ll be sitting there while he rubs my nose in how perfect his life his, and how perfect his girlfriend is.

What a great evening to look forward to.
Not!

I tried to be an utter gentleman to Katrina and stayed while she made me breakfast. We exchanged numbers and I gave her a passionate kiss at her apartment door before I headed back to Brandon’s apartment. I wanted to keep Katrina happy because I’m here for a while and she may come in handy for when I’m horny and need a good fuck. I’m happy when I get back and find that Brandon isn’t home. Stripping out of my clothes, I take a long hot shower to wipe the sweat and sex away from my body. I hear my cell ringing in the bedroom. I’m rushing into the bedroom, just in time to answer it. It’s Brandon.

“Hey bro, what’s up?”

“Where were you last night? I noticed you never came home. Don’t tell me you’ve been busy already?” I grin and chuckle at his question. Even though we don’t see or talk to one another, he still knows what I’m like.

“If you’re asking if I got laid last night, then the answer is yes, and man she was hot, bro.”

“Okay, okay, I do
not
need details.” He seems quite sad. “At least someone is getting some,” he mumbles. I’m not sure if I hear right.

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

He sputters before replying, “Oh nothing…it’s all good. Remember the dinner tonight? I’ve booked a table at Patina’s, so I’ll meet you there because I’m picking up my girlfriend.”

“That’s cool, bro.” I have a light bulb moment and decide to do something I don’t usually do. “I tell you what, I might invite my bed buddy to come. So I’m not some stupid third wheel. I don’t want to be there while you two are slobbering all over each other.” Brandon goes silent and I’m not quite sure what his problem is.

“Okay, fine, I’ll see you later.” He sighs and ends the call. I text Katrina and ask her to accompany me and she seems excited by her stupid smiley faces on the text messages. At least I have a date, and maybe a good night to look forward to.

Katrina arrives at the apartment and my God she is gorgeous. I’m so looking forward to dessert later. She places a kiss on my cheek before sashaying toward the bathroom to
“top up her make up”
as she tells me. I’m wearing my black trousers and navy blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I slip on my black shoes and I’m ready to go. Katrina had driven in her BMW M4 Convertible, so she offered to drive to the restaurant instead of getting a taxi. I couldn’t believe it when I stepped onto the street and saw Katrina point her keys at the car and it flashed as she opened it.

“Holy shit, babe, nice wheels.” It’s super sleek in black and looks like it’s brand new by the shine. Katrina giggles before sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Just a little prezzie from a male friend. He was very grateful for some help I gave him and he wanted to show his appreciation,” she purred. She looks very pleased with herself, and I’m kind of impressed that someone bought her something so expensive.
I wonder what she had to do for it?
I chuckle and slide into the passenger seat.

“Beats taking a cab everywhere, doesn’t it?” She giggles again and she takes off toward the restaurant.

We pull up outside and Katrina hands the keys to the valet. I make my way to the
maître d
’ and
give Brandon’s last name. She lets us know that Brandon and his girlfriend are already here, so I follow the waiter that appears, through the restaurant. He stops and points to the table where Brandon and his girlfriend are sitting. From what I can see his girlfriend is a knockout and I’m slightly jealous that she’s with my bro. I tell the waiter that I’ve got it from here and make my way toward their table with Katrina following closely behind. Brandon spots me and I smile while he whispers something to his girlfriend.

I’m not expecting to see her.

His girlfriend looks up and I’m completely lost. I nearly stagger and trip over my own feet because I’m shocked that it’s
her
right in front of me. The woman I’ve tried to forget for years but have been unsuccessful in doing so. I try to appear calm as I come and stand before them as they stand.

Tracy Campbell is looking at me with her mouth agape and all I can think is…
What the hell do I do now?