An Unexpected Love (Complicated Love Series #2) (8 page)

I can’t believe I’m doing this, I’m at Heathrow Airport and I’m ready to fly to Los Angeles. I’m going to see my step-brother Brandon because he found out that I was selling the business. He lives in Los Angeles and he’s lived there for quite a while now. He loves it out there and is always saying I should come out for a visit. He used to live in Oxford too until he decided to take the plunge and move abroad.

My stepbrother has offered me a job at his firm and I decided on the spot to go and try something new. He never actually said what his business was, but I’m happy to take him up on his offer. I’m going to be staying with him while I’m over there, and he’s going to show me the sights. I’ve always wanted to do the usually touristy places like the Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Universal Studios and, of course, the beaches. It is going to be epic.

I’ve checked in and I’m now sitting in the departure lounge waiting for my flight. I’m very nervous since I’ve never flown, but my stepbrother was cool and bought me a first class ticket. Apparently, it’s supposed to be better in first class. I get out my cell and dial the office number. I want to check in with Claudia before boarding my flight. Claudia is looking after the business while I’m in Los Angeles. I’m hoping it doesn’t take long to gain some interest in the place. It would be great to have a buyer sooner rather than later. I really hate leaving Claudia again, but she literally pushed me out the door and told me to have fun. When I told Claudia that I was selling the firm she didn’t actually seem surprised. But I felt terrible for all the staff and especially Claudia considering all the work she’s done over the years, but this is the right thing to do for me. Claudia told me that maybe this will be her time now to finally retire. She’s worked for fifty years and is now coming up on her seventieth birthday. She doesn’t really have to work, because when her partner died he left her with a big sum of money, but Claudia is very active and couldn’t stand sitting around at home all the time. I admire that about her. She says she might retire, but I can’t see that happening. She’d get too bored. She might actually be glad when I’m no longer her boss. I chuckle to myself while I’m waiting for her to pick up.

“Hello, Reach Architect Design. You have a vision, let us help you reach it. Claudia speaking, how can I be of assistance?”

“Hey Claudia, how’s it going there?”

I hear her breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s you, Karl.”

“Are you okay, Claudia? What’s wrong?” She seems pissed off or something because she doesn’t really seem herself.

“I’m getting annoyed with the phone calls I’m getting from people wanting to know more about the sale. On the sign outside it explicitly says who the estate agent is that’s overseeing the sale, yet they keep ringing here!”

“Wow! Claudia, how many people have phoned regarding the sale?” I’m shocked that there have been so many calls. Maybe it will sell fast.

“Only two…”

I can’t help but burst out laughing. The way she said it, I thought she’d been bombarded with calls.

“Two Claudia…I thought it was more from your reaction.” I chuckle.

“Stop laughing, it’s not funny. That was two too many! It’s annoying when there’s a sign outside where you can clearly read the details regarding the sale. Why phone me?”

I place my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing at her otherwise I’ll make her angrier.

“Apart from that, how is everything going?”

“Everything is fine, Karl. Nothing really to report.”

“Good…that’s good. If everything’s fine, then do half days if you want. You will still get paid for the whole day because it’s the least I can do for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Nonsense! I’m okay doing what I’m doing, and you don’t have to thank me in any way for helping and being there for you, Karl. You’re a good kid, and you’ll make some woman extremely happy one of these days. Just make sure to you get married before I croak it.”

I groan and shake my head. “Must you say that? That’s a lot of pressure, especially since I don’t want to settle down with anyone. Marriage isn’t for me, Claudia. You know this.”

“And yet I still don’t believe it. You’ll find someone you love so much that you will want to commit for the rest of your life. The past should be left there, and because you got hurt once, doesn’t mean you will never find happiness.” I’m shocked by her previous comment because I’ve never spoken to Claudia about my past.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s so obvious that you’ve been hurt. The way you are with women, and you keep saying you don’t want to commit, but you’re not fooling me, Karl. You will get there one of these days, probably sooner than you think and when you least expect it.” I can’t help but think back to five years ago, and the gorgeous blonde haired beauty that could have captured me if I hadn’t left. I can’t stop thinking about her even after all these years. My thoughts went immediately to her when Brandon asked me to come over to Los Angeles. I know that’s where she lives. I hear the call for my flight and pick up my carry on and start walking toward the gate.

“Look, Claudia, I have to go. I will speak to you when I can, and if you need me just call.” I end the conversation and pass my ticket to the woman at the gate before walking down the jet bridge to the plane. I’m looking forward to chilling out and having fun. This is just what I need to take my mind off everything. I just hope going to Los Angeles doesn’t have me completely obsessing over the woman who has been on my mind on and off over the last five years.

I’m riding in a taxi with Lily and we’re heading to The Vault. It’s a club downtown, but I’ve never been to this one before. Lily goes quite a bit and says it’s freaking awesome…that’s a phrase she uses about everything. The taxi driver drops us off a block away from the club because it’s so difficult to park right outside it. Walking in my super heels is hard, but they’re my favorite heels. I’ve gone all out for my big night back into the club scene. I’m wearing a black halter neck dress that dips down in the front and rests between my breasts and also sits comfortably just past my bottom. A pair of red lace knickers just in case I bend over and flash anyone, they are one of more expensive pairs. If you’re going to flash anyone while in a drunken state at least do it in style. Lily thought it was a good idea and she suggested wearing my red lace panties. I love when she calls them panties, it makes me feel sexy and kind of dirty. I’m wearing my red sparkly super heels to match. We arrive at the front entrance and we have to wait in line. Lily is standing beside me shuffling from side to side. She decided not to bring a jacket and she’s only wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a pale pink bodice. Lucky for her she wore a pair of flat pink pumps, she hates high heels and having to walk a block to the club, well she had the right idea because my feet are killing me already. She’s worn her hair up in a French Twist while mine is curled and left down.

“I can’t wait to get in there. You’re going to love this place. It’s freaking awesome!”

I giggle when she says her favorite phrase. “I bet I will, but I’m not a fan of waiting in line to get in.” I pout and wrap my arms around myself to keep myself warm.

“Ahh, don’t worry, girl. We won’t be out here too long.”

An hour later and I’m freezing my ass off. We are one away from the door now, and I’m really tempted to flirt with the bald headed, round-bellied, bouncer at the door just to get in. I’m sure bribing him won’t work. He might want more than just some money and I’m not shagging him or giving him a blowjob, just to get into a club.

After another twenty minutes, we are finally inside and heading straight to the bar. I order a vodka and lemonade while Lily goes for a
‘Sex on the Beach’
cocktail. There’s nowhere to sit because it’s packed and it almost feels claustrophobic. We make our way toward the dance floor through the tall tables with no chairs which are dotted around to place your drinks on. One table doesn’t seem to have anyone on it so we plonk our drinks and start chatting.

“This place is so busy tonight, Lily,” I shout over the music that’s so loud it’s making my ears pound.

“I know, isn’t it freaking awesome?” She bops along to the song that’s currently playing out of the massive speakers located around the room. The lights from the ceiling are strobing around the dance floor in blues, greens, yellows, pinks and so on. I used to love the club scene, but I’m just not feeling it tonight. Scanning the club, everyone is either deep in conversation which is hard to do as the music is super loud, or they’re bumping and grinding on the dance floor. Lily is not far from joining them with the way she’s grinding up against the guy standing next to her. I didn’t see him appear, but he’s one serious hottie. He looks over at me and smiles before whispering in Lilly’s ear. I see her nod her head and then look over at me.

“I’m just going to the bar with Colton, I will be back in a sec,” she shouts so loud in my ear that I think I’ve just gone deaf. I nod my head and she disappears into the crowd. She hasn’t been gone long before a guy in faded denim jeans and a ripped green T-shirt pops up next to me. He has deep chestnut hair that’s spiked up and a piercing in his eyebrow, lip, and quite a few in his ear. He looks kind of hard-core but a definite hottie with those magnificent rippling abs I can see poking through his tight T-shirt. I’m finding it impossible to not drool right about now. His arms are so big that I would love to have them wrapped around me. Before he has a chance to lean across and talk to me, Lily and Colton arrive out of nowhere with shots. They are bright green in color and look delicious. Colton and the mystery guy shake hands, they must know each other. We all grab a shot and Lily counts to three before we knock them back. It tastes really sweet but, oh my God is it good. It’s not very strong which is great because I’m not keen on strong shots, so these suit me just fine. The mystery guy whose name I don’t know leans across to speak to me.

“Hey, beautiful. Sorry, I didn’t get to introduce myself, I’m Brett.” He feathers a kiss on my cheek and I can’t help but blush.

“Hi, Brett, I’m Tracy. It’s nice to meet you.” I don’t know what else to say because he’s looking at me strangely. His eyes are smoldering and they're making my knickers extremely wet. He grabs another shot off the tray for me and then another one for him. He raises his shot to mine and whispers in my ear, “To a great night and even better morning.” I smile and tap my glass to his before knocking it back. We smile at each other before he grabs my hand and we leave Lily and Colton at the table to go and have a dance.

I think this night has suddenly made a turn for the better.

I wake up in the morning with a pounding headache. It seems to be the norm when I spend the night out drinking. I don’t remember a lot about last night and to me, that’s a good thing. It shows it was a freaking awesome night as Lily would say. I glance over at the space on the other side of my bed, and I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad that Brett didn’t come home with me. It sounds terrible because I’m with Brandon, but in the past I’ve known Brandon to have a few sleepovers. He thinks I don’t know about it, but he’s no James Bond. Lily has seen him about sometimes in clubs with different females and then he leaves with them. It does make sense why we haven’t slept together in a while. I don’t think he has always done it, but it has become strained between us recently. I don’t blame him at all really, and to be quite honest, I don’t really understand our relationship because when I go to business dinners with him he always introduces me as his girlfriend. I haven’t slept with anyone else since we’ve been together, but I have made out with quite a few and I’m not proud of it. I’m kind of relieved that he does too. I hop out of bed completely naked. That must have been fun trying to get my clothes off in my drunken state last night. Lilly has sent me a text message in the early hours of the morning.

Lilly:
Just checking in and making sure you got home okay? I’m just heading back with Colton…my God, he’s lush! I can’t wait to do unspeakable things to him! lol Text me in the morning and let me know how you are. You were sure knocking them back, and it was so nice of Brett to call a cab and take you home. I want details tomorrow, girl! Love you <3

Brett called me a cab last night? How sweet of him. Suddenly, I hear some banging coming from the kitchen. Oh my God, who is that, I hear a very masculine voice shout shit before I hear a loud bang. I quickly throw on some pajamas, open my bedroom door and creep to the kitchen. I smell coffee and I’m pretty sure that’s bacon cooking. I walk into the kitchen and see Brett standing in just his faded denim jeans from last night and his lean abs are on display.
He is so drool worthy.

“Hi,” I squeak. My mouth is bone dry and I’m finding it slightly hard to swallow. He spins around with a frying pan in his hand, and I see bacon sizzling in it.

“Hey, gorgeous, breakfast is nearly ready. I’ve put together bacon sandwiches
for us.” He smiles and places the bacon on top of the bread on both plates. They look absolutely delicious. I sit down at the breakfast bar and Brett puts my plate down in front of me. He makes his way over to the coffee machine and pours two cups of coffee, placing one in front of me.

“Thank you. This looks really good, Brett.” I’m really nervous because I was so drunk last night that I don’t even know if we slept together. Watching him as he drinks his coffee slowly, he looks so relaxed with me even though we’ve only just met. It doesn’t mean we had sex, but why else would he be here? How do I even bring the sex subject up? I gulp a mouthful of my coffee and regret it when it burns sliding down my throat. I’m coughing and my eyes are watering.

“Jesus, are you okay?” He comes around to my side and bangs on my back trying to help, but it’s not helping in the slightest.

“I’m fine. The coffee was a bit too hot.” I drop my eyes embarrassed to be seen coughing and spluttering. He laughs before moving back to his seat and continues eating his breakfast.

“It was a fun night wasn’t it? I certainly enjoyed it.” I look up from my breakfast and Brett winks at me. Oh shit, I’m sure we had sex just from that comment alone. He suddenly bursts out laughing and I’m confused as to what’s so funny.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Sorry,” he chuckles again “It was just easy to wind you up. I knew what you were thinking and the answer is no, we didn’t have sex. I only wanted to make sure you got back okay and when I got you out of the cab, you couldn’t walk. You begged me to stay, so I slept on the couch. I kind of wanted to make sure you were okay throughout the night.” His face goes a lighter shade of pink and I can’t help but smile at how lovely he was for doing that for me.

“Thanks, Brett.”

“No problem…now eat your breakfast.”

I smile and continue eating this lovely breakfast he’s made for me. I’ve definitely made a new friend.

Brett left not long after we finished breakfast, but not before we exchanged phone numbers. Even though I found him incredibly sexy, after speaking with him I know he will make an excellent friend. Deep down he isn’t really my type but he would make a good friend. I called Lily earlier and, of course, she got lucky with Colton. She moaned about her hangover, but she was super chirpy with Colton in the background. I’ve had a pajama morning, and I’ve enjoyed reading a few books I’ve been dying to read.

Finally deciding it’s time to get dressed, I strip out of my pajamas and have a hot shower before brushing my teeth and fluffing my hair so it looks more presentable. My phone is ringing from the other room, so I rush out and pick it up before it rings off. It’s Brandon.

“Hey baby, it’s been a while. How are you?”

“I’m good, Brandon. Been busy with work and such. What’s up?” I’m nervous about why he’s phoning because he tends to only phone when he wants me to attend a business dinner or one of our dates that are few and far between these days. I don’t know whether they should even be called dates.

“Well, I was hoping you would accompany me to dinner tonight? My brother is in town and I was hoping that he could meet my girlfriend?” It seems funny when he calls me his girlfriend, and I’m sure I’m being used here to be some sort of show off piece for his brother.