Heart Robber (Lifestyle by Design Book 2) (9 page)

Eggs and baked beans on toast sound like a tempting breakfast,
she thought as she mentally rummaged through the contents of her fridge. She checked her alarm clock and was shocked to see how late it was. It was already ten-twenty. She'd never slept in this late, but then again, the night she just had was far from ordinary.

Last night with Rob had been one of the most memorable of her life. It was a night she knew she would have great difficulty erasing from her mind. Not that she wanted to. She would never regret their time together, no matter how short it ended up being.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she swallowed hard to push them back. She'd almost forgotten it, almost got carried away with the fantasy of Rob falling for her, but what they had was just a casual sex experience. Yes, it was a beautiful, touched-the-depth-of-her-heart connection, but still only casual. It couldn't possibly last.

As much as she tried to deny it before, she'd sensed that Rob had become someone special to her. After last night, there was no question. She had fallen in love with him.

With a sheer force of will, she pushed all thoughts of tomorrow from her mind, aware that if she let herself think about it, she'd end up bawling her eyes out. That wasn't an option with Rob still in her apartment. She'd give herself a good cry after he'd left. For now, she'd simply enjoy what was remaining of his time with her today.

With a heavy heart, she moved to get out of bed. She was halted by a strong arm that snaked around her waist.

"Where are you going?" a sexy, just-woke-up voice asked.

"I, uh, was going to make us breakfast."

"But what I want is right here," he said huskily, nibbling on her shoulder and pressing her closer to him.

She smiled, his playfulness erasing much of her despondency. "Don't you want to eat some food?"

"Oh, yeah, I want to eat all right. You're so delicious I want some more," he rasped.

She swatted his shoulder, giggling. "You're terrible!"

"Terrible? Well, then, you leave me with no choice but to prove to you again how much you love being in bed with me."

And prove himself again he did.

*******

They managed to drag themselves out of Jessa's apartment and into a Thai restaurant five minutes' walk away to get some real food.

Rob was glad Jessa didn't have any other plans for that Sunday. He wanted to spend the rest of the day with her before he had to leave for the airport later. Not necessarily for more sex, although he wouldn't mind having more of it, as he couldn't seem to get enough of her, but just to
be
with her.

He watched her peruse the menu. Whether he wanted it or not, she had started to mean something to him. But where did that leave them? He lived in another state. He would only be in Sydney for four short months. He couldn't imagine her being happy with someone she only saw once or twice a month and he couldn't imagine himself being patient enough to wait for those few-and-far-between days to be with his woman.

And what on earth was he doing contemplating a relationship with her, anyway? He didn't need one and didn't want one.

A casual arrangement was still the only option as far as he could see. No commitments, no strings. Just enjoy each other when they could. He couldn't see how anything else could possibly work.

He pulled out his phone when he felt it vibrate. It was a text from Will.

"Will wants to meet me for coffee at around three-thirty in the city," he informed her.

"Okay," Jessa replied. He saw the disappointment she wasn't able to hide.

"Why don't you go with me? Clarise will be there, too."

The invitation was out before he could stop himself. What would Will and Clarise say? He didn't want to confuse their friends. What would they think if he and Jessa turned up together?

He gave himself a mental shake. Will and Clarise knew the score between him and Jessa. And they were their friends, who undoubtedly cared about the both of them, no matter what choices they made regarding each other. Besides, it would mean some more time in Jessa's company before he left.

He saw the hesitation in her eyes. He was about to cajole her into going when she answered.

"Okay, sure. I'll go with you."

He smiled in relief.

*******

Clarise and Will were already seated on a booth when Jessa and Rob got to the coffee shop. The two lovebirds were cuddling, no less, with Will's arm tightly around Clarise.

Jessa felt a stab of envy. She had been of two minds about joining them for coffee because they'd be in the company of two people absolutely smitten with each other. It would just highlight to her what she would never have with Rob. But she couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend some more time with him before he left. She didn't want to say goodbye yet.

When they were all seated, a young female server, who looked no older than nineteen, walked to their table as she fiddled with a device in her hand. She looked up to take their order and her eyes landed on Will first, who was still consulting the menu. She stared at him, her lips slightly parting. She was silent and unmoving for long seconds.

"Ahem. I'll have the chocolate pancake and a skim latte, please," Clarise said rather kindly to the girl staring at her boyfriend.

The server blushed furiously. "I'm sorry. What was that again?"

Clarise repeated her order and the girl tapped it on her handheld device. The server then turned to Jessa, who only ordered a hot chocolate. When she turned her attention to Rob, her jaw dropped and her sharp intake of breath was audible. When she recovered, she tapped in Rob's order for a cappuccino.

She started walking away when Will called out. "Excuse me, you haven't taken my order yet."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! What would you like?" The poor, embarrassed girl was red. She couldn't even look at Will.

"I'll have a flat white and a fruit flan, please."

"Okay," the shamefaced girl squeaked as she hurried away.

"You guys enjoyed that, didn't you?" Clarise said with mirth in her eyes.

Rob just smiled, while Will squeezed Clarise tightly and gave her a loud kiss on the lips.

Jessa glanced around uncomfortably. Normally, she enjoyed seeing Clarise so happy with Will. But she was acutely aware of Rob sitting next to her, and the fact that she couldn't have him the way she wanted - the way Clarise had Will. It made her bluer than blue.

The men started talking about business and she tuned out. She tried to look nonchalant and pretended to observe the other patrons at the place while she worked to suppress her emotions threatening to bubble up to the surface.

She gasped as she felt her foot being kicked under the table. Clarise gave her an are-you-okay look. She tried a big smile. She should have known Clarise would notice. But this wasn't the time and place to talk about it.

When their orders arrived, they were brought by a male server. The previous girl was probably too mortified to come back to their table.

"So how come you guys only ordered drinks? Not peckish?" Will asked.

"No, we had a big lunch at a Thai restaurant. We were so hungry we ordered too much," Rob responded.

"What made you so hungry?" Will's eyes were full of mischief.

"A combination of things," Rob said with a smirk.

"So I take it you
got off
at the right spot at Crows Nest yesterday?" Will teased.

"Thanks for asking, Matthews," Rob responded with a glare at his friend. "I certainly
got off
at the right spot. At the right time, too."

Clarise piped in. "Haven't you been to Crows Nest before, Rob? I thought you lived in the North Shore before you moved to Melbourne."

"Yeah, I did, Clarise. Will was just concerned I might have forgotten how to get around Sydney using public transport."

"No, it wasn't the getting around I was concerned about. It was the
getting off,
" Will clarified with a broad grin.

"I know the button to push on those buses when I want to get off. I've been on them many times before," Rob replied with a piercing stare.

With the conversation being as strange as it was, it dawned on Jessa that the men weren't talking about using public transport in Sydney. She thought about how many times Rob
got off
last night and that morning. It was impressive. He certainly didn't have any problems in that area. It still intrigued her that he might have had troubles with it in the past.

"You had problems getting off before?" she heard herself ask Rob. She didn't know what came over her. Maybe she was looking for an ego boost.

Will roared with laughter and Clarise gave him a disapproving look. "Will!"

"I'm sorry. I honestly don't know why I find that so funny," Will said to Rob as he tried to contain his laughter. "Anyway, are you going to answer Jessa's question?"

Rob sighed loudly then looked at Jessa. "No, I've never had any problems getting off. Will assumed I had issues with it when the situation was I didn't get
on
. You can't get off when you don't get on first."

She frowned. "Why didn't you get on?"

"It wasn't the bus I wanted. It was highly frustrating waiting for a particular bus, but it was worth it," Rob told her with an upward tug of his lips.

*******

The smile Rob gave Jessa was full of meaning and it didn't escape Will's attention.

He was keen to know what was really going on. Jessa's melancholy face and courageous smiles told a lot but he wasn't sure about Rob. He decided to give Rob some food for thought. He knew what it was like not to realise how much you really cared about someone until losing them was staring you in the face. Much as he'd enjoyed ruffling Rob's feathers, he didn't want him to miss his chance with Jessa. She had four other dates lined up.

"So when do you come back, Rob?" he asked.

"In two weeks."

Will reached for Clarise's hand under the table and squeezed it in warning before turning to Jessa. "Hey, Jess, I heard you have four dates lined up for the next two weeks."

Rob's startled reaction was subtle but it was there. His expression was stony as he looked at Jessa and waited for her to respond.

Jessa glanced at Will with surprise. She didn't seem to know how to answer him. He winked at her and gave her what he hoped was a comforting smile. She smiled back at him with understanding in her eyes. "Yes, I do."

Clarise joined in. "Have you chosen the outfit you're going to wear for Tuesday?"

"Not yet. But it'll be one of those you girls helped me choose."

"What's the name of the first guy you're going out with?" Will asked in a curious tone.

"Warren, I think."

"What about the guy for this Saturday?"

"Simon."

"How come Warren gets a Tuesday date and Simon snags a Saturday?" Will asked.

Jessa shrugged. "It was the night Simon suggested and I happen to be available."

"I bet Simon really likes you; that's why he asked for a Saturday night date."

Rob interrupted, giving Will a menacing squint. "Hey, look, Jessa and I aren't an item but we still have just spent the night together. Do you have to talk about this in front of me?"

Will leaned back in his seat and tried not to look smug. Oh, yes, Rob was jealous. He hadn't seen his friend like this before. Not even with Andrea, who was the only woman so far who had taken the official title of Rob's girlfriend. When he went to a bar with Rob and Andrea in Melbourne, a man slipped a piece of paper with his phone number in Andrea's hand. Rob just laughed it off and obviously didn't care that his then-girlfriend was being hit on by another man.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Rob," he pushed.

"Of course not," Rob responded with a deep scowl. "Jessa can date whomever she wants."

"Don't worry, I will," Jessa retorted.

*******

Jessa took a deep breath to steady herself. But Rob's comment made her angry and she wanted to hurt back, even if logic told her she couldn't expect him to care how many men she dated.

"So," she continued, her eyes hard, "if Saturday night dates mean the guy really likes me, then Jim must really like me, too. He's my other Saturday date."

"You have two dates on Saturday?" Rob's surprise was evident in his voice.

"No, not on the one Saturday. I'm seeing Warren this coming Saturday and Jim next Saturday."

The air around them charged with tension as Rob stared at her.

After a beat, he turned to Will and Clarise. "I hate to be rude and break up this party so early, but Jess and I need to discuss something before I leave for the airport. So you two stay here and finish your food. I'll fix the tab for our table on our way out. No arguments," Rob said to Will, who looked like he was going to protest. Then he faced Jessa. "Can we go, Jess?"

Jessa saw the pleading look in Rob's eyes and caved. "Okay."

They stood up and hugged their friends goodbye.

On their way out, she glanced back and saw the satisfied look on Will's face and Clarise's encouraging smile.

*******

Rob held Jessa's hand as they walked silently towards the car park. Inside her car was the only place he could think of that would give them some of the privacy they needed. They didn't have the time to go back to her place.

Will had been in a pestering mood and had succeeded in getting him riled up. He may have been stoic on the outside as he listened to all the talk about the men Jessa was going to date but inside he was screaming,
No fucking way!

It had been in the back of his mind that Jessa was going out on other dates, but he refused to think about it. He couldn't stop her dating other men, anyway. He didn't have the right. By the same token, he wouldn't expect her to stop him from seeing other women. She wouldn't even know what he'd be up to when he returned to Melbourne.

But when she announced she was going out on a date next Saturday, something inside him snapped. That was the day he was coming back to Sydney. And Jessa wouldn't be with him. She'd be with another man. The reality of it hit him hard and his breathing constricted. He wasn't done with Jessa yet. He was far from done with her.