Unravel Me (8 page)

“Why am I not surprised?” he smiled. “Come on.”

Two plates of pasta were arranged on the coffee table along with some garlic bread and a small salad. We ate in silence mostly because I was petrified I’d spill something on his pristine rug. He cleared the dishes, instructing me to stay on the couch and wait for him.

Andrea Bocelli's clear, tenor voice floated through the room joined by the powerful vocals of Sarah Brightman for their popular duet
Con te partirò.
I turned, noticing Alastair standing in front of the media cabinet. He held a remote and scrolled through a list of songs.

“Do you have a preference?” he asked.

“Whatever you like to listen to is fine with me.”

“Alright.” He set down the remote and flopped onto the couch next to me. Sighing into the cushions, he draped his arm over my shoulders. “This is rather comfortable.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never sat in here before.”

He shot me a sideways glance and grinned. “I have, once or twice.” Tucking me into his side, he continued, “There’s not usually a gorgeous girl next to me though. This relationship thing may have its advantages.”

I laughed. “I’ve been upgraded to arm candy for your living room? Sweet.”

Resting my head on his chest, I lost myself in the rhythmic beating of his heart. It sped up when I placed a hand on his thigh.

“Do you have to fly home tomorrow?” The soft warmth of his lips brushed against my forehead. I squeezed his leg.

“Yeah.”

Enveloping me in his arms, he repositioned himself so we were both lying on the couch, fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. Leaning his forehead to mine he whispered, “Stay. Live with me."

A full brigade of butterflies and fireworks exploded in my stomach. I froze in the midst of his stare.

Unaffected, he continued, “I want the sound of your laughter to fill this house. I want to fall asleep next to you every night and wake up with you every morning.”

“I—”

“If you’re worried about your job, don’t be. I have it on good authority a highly rated news magazine program is looking for a new executive producer. I can get you an interview tomorrow.”

“Christ,” I muttered. “Does your company own this show?”

“No.”

This had to be a joke. It wasn’t possible for me to drop everything and move to Glasgow at a moment’s notice, let alone switch jobs on a whim.

“Your brain is overheating, kitten.”

I rolled my eyes at his smug grin. “Well, you try being me for a second with some hot English guy saying all these super romantic things. It’s not easy for me to say no to you, Alastair.”

“I know,” he kept grinning. “Think about it. And then say yes.”

“Oh my God,” I snorted. “You’re impossible.”

Keeping that ridiculous grin plastered to his face, he leaned in and kissed me softly. It turned my brain into a useless pile of gray matter.

“Will it always be like this? Will it always feel this way?”

The innocence and wonder reflecting in his eyes brought tears to my own. I didn’t know the answer to that. Nobody did. I told him the only thing I felt in my soul.

“It will as long as we love each other.”

Swallowing hard, he nodded and held me tighter. “I hope you’re right,” he whispered.

CHAPTER SIX

“Amelia Grace, why do you never answer the phone?” my mother’s chipper voice blared through the receiver. “Your father and I have booked a flight to Orlando. We arrive on Friday. It would be nice if we got to see our daughter.”

I erased the voice message and rested my head on the steering wheel. I loved my parents dearly and missed them but I sort of wanted this weekend to be all about vegging out on the couch. They usually took an impromptu vacation every summer to the west coast or Bermuda or somewhere that wasn’t Central Florida. I could only imagine why they were gracing me with their presence.

I glanced up at the threatening black clouds. The second I stepped out of my car, the sky opened up and poured its wet bucket of sadness all over me. Grimacing, I ran toward the restaurant wishing a magical dome would appear and save me from the downpour. Nope. I ran right through a puddle instead. My feet squished in the now soaked sandals I thought would be so cute to wear today.

“Stupid summer rain,” I grumbled.

I saw Stephanie as soon as I walked through the restaurant doors. She sat at the bar, flirting mercilessly with a guy who exuded the casual air of a California surfer. When I first moved to Orlando we had flirting down to a choreographed science when we’d go out. She was a master. No man was safe when she turned on the charm.

“Lia,” she called, waving me over. “Come sit.”

Smoothing down my damp hair, I perched on the stool next to her.

“This is Bradley.” She introduced us.

Unassumingly handsome with shaggy blond hair and chocolate brown eyes, he was the poster-child for the type of man Stephanie drooled over. I leaned forward, shaking his hand.

“Bradley just moved here from Maine,” Stephanie informed me, poking my side with her elbow.

“Yeah. A really, really small town called Castine,” he said. “I was offered a job down here, so I packed up my car, threw the dog in the backseat and headed south.”

“Maine, huh? I’m originally from Connecticut.” I smiled.

He laughed. “A couple of displaced New Englanders in all this Florida heat and humidity. How long have you lived here?”

“Almost six years.”

“How about you?” he turned to my best friend, “Are you from New England, too?”

“Oh God, no. I was born and raised here. I grew up in Oviedo.”

“My first native Floridian? I didn’t think any of you actually existed.”

“We do.” She laughed coquettishly and morphed back into full on flirt mode. The protocol was for me to remain nearby and only intervene if she flashed the signal. Catching the bartender’s attention I ordered a glass of sparkling wine and fiddled with my phone. Alastair’s invitation to live with him flitted through my mind. I would love nothing more than to be with him permanently.

“Come on, Lia. Our table’s ready.”

Looking up I saw Stephanie hug her new conquest goodbye before following the hostess. We were seated at a table by the window.

“You two seemed to hit it off,” I remarked, raising an eyebrow.

“What? Yeah. He was nice.”

Stephanie was flustered. Unbelievable.

“
Nice
? Who are you?”

“Huh?” She blinked. “Oh. He was okay. We’re going out on Friday.”

“Are you inviting him to your big new job celebration?”

Her face brightened immediately. “I still can’t believe they hired me. And I’m moving to Glasgow in two weeks. This is crazy. You have to come with me.”

“I just got back yesterday,” I laughed.

“So?” she exclaimed. “You have to help me move and get all settled. It’s only fair. Tell Bruce this is more important than the show and writing thirty second stories and editing stupid video.”

The panicked look on her face would have been priceless had she not been serious. Getting hired at Finley Marketing and Advertising as a graphic designer may be a dream job for Stephanie but leaving the city she loves and all her friends behind weighed heavily on her.

“I’ll see what I can do. At this rate Bruce might tell me to stay over there.”

“That would be the best news ever. Live with me, find a fabulous job and we will own that city.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“It is.” She looked me up and down. “Besides, you’re still glowing from the weekend so I know at least one other person would be thrilled if you moved there.”

“Let’s not get a—”

“It’s the next logical step.” She waved her hand to brush off my protest. “I mean, my God, look at that ring. I’m surprised you got on the plane to come back. Don’t give me that look. You know I’m right. Besides, long distance relationships are tough. Especially when it’s across an ocean.”

“So now you’re pro-Alastair?” I sat back, folding my arms.

“I was never really anti. He’s a little moody and stiff sometimes but he treats you like a queen. Darren likes him and he would tell me if there was something off about him. The other stuff is… I shouldn’t have given what Cassie said so much stock. I worry about you and hearing all that negative gossip about him pissed me off.”

I watched her squirm in the chair. She hated apologizing. I sipped my wine to hide the amused smile growing on my lips. Nothing fooled her though. She narrowed her ice blue eyes.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” she grumbled.

“Maybe.”

“Listen, I will support this relationship one hundred percent. But,” she leaned forward, “I swear, if he pulls another stunt like he did in England I will go after his ginger ass like a princess on fire.”

“Your enthusiasm for that is scary.”

“You’re my unofficial-little-sister-official-best-friend. He hurts you, he hurts me by default.” A chagrined look crossed her face. “Besides, he did fly four thousand miles to patch things up with you. The romantic in me is jealous and swooning at the same time.”

“I can probably ruin this relationship without his help,” I mumbled.

“That sounded ominous. Is something going on?’

“Oh, you know,” I sighed. “Just my awesome self-doubt.”

“Stop it. He loves you. You love him. Enough said.”

“Anyway,” I chuckled, “my parents are coming to visit this weekend. Know anybody who can get them tickets to a show or the ballet or something so I don’t have to be a one-woman entertainment stop?”

“Ah, I love your parents,” she exclaimed. “Your mother kills me. And your dad is a riot. Nobody at the station has tickets to anything?”

“Yeah but I was away so I missed out.”

“There’s a Predators game on Saturday if they’re into arena football.”

“My dad will love it.”

“I’ll ask Justin to give me his suite tickets. That way we can go with them.” She flashed a mischievous smile. Justin owned the salon where she worked and was currently dating the Predators’ public relations manager.

The server arrived to take our orders before I had a chance to give Stephanie a snarky reply. We spent the next couple hours brainstorming ideas for her party and being silly. We probably drank more wine than was necessary. It dawned on us that she’d be living in Glasgow for the next milestone in her life: the illustrious thirtieth birthday. Always one to find an excuse to celebrate, Stephanie declared she’d have a massive party at one of the nightclubs downtown. Of course, I’d have to fly out there to join the celebration. Seeing her so excited made me so happy.

“Ugh. My bladder is getting old,” she complained. “I’ll be right back.”

I laughed watching her dart off to the ladies’ room. She hadn’t been gone five seconds when I felt a presence behind me.

“Lia.”

The voice saying my name sent a small shiver down my spine. Steeling myself, I turned. Standing in his tan dress pants and crisp white button down shirt, Nathan looked like the poster child for a L.L. Bean catalogue. He moved closer and held my arm. I stiffened, ready to make a scene.

“May I sit?”

“No.”

Ignoring me, he sat in Stephanie’s seat. “Have a nice weekend?” His tone dripped with acid.

“Spectacular.”

Nathan leaned back in the chair with an air of over-confidence. “Nice ring. You didn’t tell him about the photos, did you?”

Anger squeezed my chest in an unrelenting grip. “No.”

“I figured you wouldn’t. Knowing you the way I do, all the facts have to be tied up in a neat little package before you attack. You should have been a prosecutor.”

I wanted to burn the smile off his face with a blowtorch. “What do you want?”

“Look, I know this situation hasn’t been pleasant for you. I’m afraid it’ll only get worse.”

“How do you know that?”

“There’s something that family doesn’t want the general public to know. His uncle went to great lengths to keep it hidden. From what I’ve learned it has something to do with your boyfriend and an incident from his early twenties. I don’t like where this is going, Lia. He’s not good for you.”

The room spun violently. More secrets? An incident? I clasped my hands together and stared at Nathan. I needed to play this smart.

“Stop being so dramatic. It’s not like you didn’t do stupid shit in your early twenties.”

“Right. But my stupid shit isn’t sealed in a file. Something big happened. I want to know what and I want you to see the light about him.”

Rage simmered deep within me, giving me a strange quiet calm. My focus sharpened along with my instincts. This was a game for Nathan, a battle of wills. I wouldn’t -
couldn’t
- let him win.

“So much for you wanting to gain my trust, then.”

He bristled at my tone, displaying an expression I’d seen a million times before - disgust. “Wake up, Lia. Whatever my faults were in our relationship at least I never hid anything from you.”

“Yeah. You were a real keeper.”

“What is it about him that’s so goddam special? He’s a womanizer sitting on a mountain of cash. You’re not a gold digger so his bank account means nothing to you. It certainly can’t be his sparkling personality.”

I smiled slyly, holding his piercing stare. Frustrated, Nathan rested his forearms on the table. I folded my hands in front of me. There was a time when his look would frighten me or make me back down. The realization that I’d been so blinded by what I thought was love for him burned brightly. I’d never loved him. I was only trying to win his approval. In the process, I’d lost part of who I was deep down.

“Jealousy has always been an ugly color on you,” I said with a smug smile.

Nathan grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly. Determination flashed through his eyes like a building storm. “I don’t want things to be like this between us. I’m not your enemy.”

We stared at one another, which made me slightly uncomfortable. Regardless of his envious outburst, nothing but sincerity bled from him.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I said cautiously. “We don’t have the best history.”

“That’s not true. Remember the first time we went away together?”