The One (3 page)

Part I

The
encounters

“
The trouble with love is, it doesn
’
t care how fast you fall.
”

Kelly Clarkson, singer.

CHAPTER 1

Take me home
…

LAX. Los Angeles International Airport, USA. January
2011.

“
You
’
re kidding, right?
”
Julian asked, his smile broadening.

He was on the phone making plans for the
evening and Todd was giving him a preview of what he had in store for them.

“
No man, I swear! We
’
ll pick up Marcus and I
’
m telling you
…”
Todd said seductively. Julian could never
resist a good game.

“
You are aware, I am a working professional
and I do have to show up for work sometime in the morning?
”
Julian derisively pointed, as they both
knew, nothing in his line of work could be construed as a 9-5 job.

“
Are you saying no?
”
Todd asked,
“
Because if you are, then I
’
ll just cancel the helicopter ride to
…”

He just burst out laughing. Only Todd
could arrange a high-rollers poker night on a yacht off the Catalina coast on a
weekday. A chopper ride to the vessel would certainly make a lasting impression
and set the tone.

“
So, who
’
s going to be there? How about the buy-in?
And, what kind of entertainment are we talking about
…”
the conversation resumed.

Julian had just dropped off his girlfriend
of two years at the United Airlines gates of the international airport and was
looking forward to a night on the town with his boys. Walking to the parking
lot to retrieve his car while animatedly talking on his Blackberry with his
friend Todd Spencer and not really paying attention to his steps, he nearly
collided into a stacked luggage cart. Carelessly pushing it off with a leg to
avert stumbling on it, and distracted by the conversation, he didn
’
t realize the force of his move until he
heard a scream behind his back.

“
Watch it!
”
yelled a male voice.

Julian turned his head to see what had
triggered the warning, but before he could make a single move to stop it, he
watched the cart roll down a short ramp to bang loudly into the rear of a
running car parked near the curb.

“
Todd, I will have to call you back!
”
he said, flipping his phone shut, as the
furious driver, alerted by the smashing noise, jumped out of the vehicle to inspect
the damage, an intimidating thunderous expression on his face.

“
Unfucking
believable! Son of a bitch! Have you seen this?! Can
’
t you watch what you
’
re doing?!
”
The large man exclaimed, as he was
pushing away the cart, letting the luggage scatter around as he did. He was
closely inspecting the broken tail lights, the dents on the boot of his car,
and tension was mounting in the air.

“
I
’
m sorry
…”
Julian said, pulling his wallet out of
his pocket.

“
Damn right, you are!
”

“
Look, here
’
s my card. My business manager will sort
this out for you
…”

“
Business manager? Are you freaking
kidding, man?!
“
The man was shaking his head, as he
spewed his discontent and grabbed the card in a swift movement,
“
Don
’
t you have insurance -
…”
. He interrupted himself as his eyes
landed on the name on the velvety piece of paper.

While trying to calm down the angered man,
Julian noticed that the cart and luggage belonged to a young slender woman who
was looking at him with smouldering murderous eyes and who had yet to utter a
word.

“
Are you trying to pull one over on me?
”
The man asked with suspicion, openly
observing his face.

Julian looked back at him, and said,
“
No. It is me.
”

“
You
’
re not one of those look-alikes?
”
The man said with a pout, as his gaze was
going from Julian to the woman.

“
Do you know him?
”
he aggressively asked her.

The imposing man was approaching her with
wrath in his demeanour, and Julian felt a rush of protectiveness.
Instinctively, he wanted to shield her of any harm from this large and angry
figure. Coming forward, blocking the man in his path, he stated, once again,
that he was
responsible for the trouble
and would attend to any damage; the man did not need
to concern himself with the lady.

“
Here, let me show you my driver
’
s licence
…
so you know it is really me
…”
he said, pulling out the ID, and showing
it to him.

“
Wow! It is you for real!
”
The man chuckled, holding the card up
close and looking back at him.

“
Ok. So, I ring your guy and he
’
ll take care of it? Just like that?
”
he exclaimed with deference and
disbelief, as his entire body relaxed.

“
Yes, he will. Actually let me take your
name, and I will call him to tell him to expect your call.
”
Julian replied with relief. He could feel
the woman
’
s gaze on him and it perturbed him.

Names and business cards exchanged, the
angry driver finally smiled, asked him for an autograph for his wife, and went
back to his car as the LAX patrol officer was already waving at him to move it.

Once the situation neutralized, Julian
turned his attention back to the woman. She hadn
’
t moved, so he retrieved the fallen
luggage and placed the suitcases back onto the cart. Feeling contrite, he
smiled and started to mumble an apology, but she just shook her head and said in
an impatient tone:

“
Save it! That
’
s what happens when wankers must be on
their phone instead of looking where they
’
re going
…”

Julian was speechless for a second,
surprised by her use of an invective he hadn
’
t heard in the US for some time, and much
less in reference to him.

“
Well, there
’
s no need for names, but if I
’
m a wanker, then I reckon, you
’
re a bitch
…”
he finally ground out, as he felt his
temper rise. He was getting agitated, almost despite himself.

 
“
You
’
re just preventing me from getting reacquainted
with my bed, and right now, it
’
s pissing me off
…
Please move, so I can get a taxi to take
me home!
”

He couldn
’
t believe the way she was addressing him. Didn
’
t she know who he was? Julian McCarty, God
’
s gift to women all over the world? And no
one,
no one
, spoke to him that way. He was simply stunned.

He just looked at her, unable to speak,
quite taken aback, as it had been quite a long time since anyone of any gender
had actually had the gall to treat him with such contempt, and in public, no
less.

She had bangs, long layered curls, a pair
of sunglasses perched on her head, and was wearing a simple white tunic in
perfect contrast with her light caramel skin. Some sort of long, high,
intricate boots completed her stunning silhouette. An attractive woman. Very
much so.

He wondered if she was wearing anything
underneath the tunic. The thought caught him by surprise, and he shook his
head, thinking
, what the hell?
She wasn
’
t even his type.
Too temperamental
,
he thought. Yet, she was unnerving him, and he felt a spike of desire. They
briefly stared at each other and something seemed to shift in the air. He was
sure she felt it too, as she was the first one to move, turning her head,
looking somewhat flustered, and trying to find some sort of escape route.

She took the handles and pulled the
trolley from between them, walking away and leaving him behind her, mouth agape
and dismissed.

As she was about to cross the pathway to
the taxi stand without another look for him, Julian caught up with her, and
seized by an overpowering urge he could hardly explain, he found himself
literally grabbing her elbow, spinning her sideways.

She looked at him, shocked, and trembling
with anger, asked,
“
What now? Are you bloody insane?
”
seething her words. Clearly exasperated,
a slight accent tinging her voice, she reiterated,
“
What the hell do you think you
’
re doing?
”

Before he had a chance to think, the first
words rushing out of his mouth were,
“
I
’
m sorry! I
’
m sorry
…
I didn
’
t mean to
…
Hmm
…
I
’
ll take you
…“
. He paused, and focusing on his
breathing, said more calmly,
“
Yes. I apologize. I didn
’
t mean to startle you
…
I will take you, wherever you are going,
”
and continued,
“
This is the least I can do
…”

Her head tilted, and she repeated in a
dubious tone, eyebrows arched and lips pouting,
“
You
’
ll take me?
”

“
Yes. Wherever.
”
he assented, suspended in time, and
noticing sounds and people were receding around him, as his gaze was fixated on
her face.

She was openly staring at him. Their eyes locked,
and he spotted that the amber of her irises was flecked with intense strands of
green and grey, making her look almost hypnotic.

One could get lost in these eyes
, he thought, as he felt his throat go
dry.

He also realized he was so anxious for her
answer that their surroundings seemed to have completely faded. He simply didn
’
t hear or see anything anymore. He could
only focus on the way she stared at him, the way her glare made him feel; open,
raw, and exposed. What surprised him more was his own reaction to the look she
was giving him. He was suddenly self-aware. He could feel the muscle at his
temple pulsate. Sudden heat was consuming his body and rushing through his
veins. He couldn't think and found himself unable to articulate a coherent sentence.
He was rooted. His heart pounded erratically and so loudly, he could actually
hear it in his ears. He almost felt light-headed; the feeling was so strong,
his hand grasped at the handle of the cart, grazing hers. Right there and then,
as shocking and impossible as that seemed, just with that look, it dawned on
him that he would beg her; he couldn
’
t let her walk out of his life when she just stepped in it.

“
All right.
”
she finally murmured, lowering her gaze
and breaking the moment.

He blinked, not quite believing it.

Afraid she
’
d change her mind, he quickly grabbed the
cart with both hands and started walking towards the parking lot, not even
checking if she was following. His thoughts were a mess. He was a mess,
chastising himself, and thinking -
what the hell are you doing?
- All he
knew was that something was happening, he wasn
’
t sure what exactly but he knew he simply
couldn
’
t part with this woman being angry at him
or worse yet, just disregarding him as lint.

They reached the car and she arched an eyebrow
in surprise,
“
Dutch. You have taste in cars.
”