Fighting for Love (4 page)

My time of solitude was over and now I had to get ready for work. The day at the beach with Caleb was just what I needed to get my mind focused on the right track. After talking and making out on the sand all afternoon, we finally split ways even though I knew he wanted to finish what we started. Hell, even I was sexually frustrated, but I knew it would be a mistake to have sex with him after knowing him for only two days.

We did make plans to go out to dinner on Sunday, since Saturday night he had to work, and we decided to ask Hayley and her boyfriend, along with Lexi and Will, to join us. I thought it would be fun, and that way I could spend time with my friends and him.

Once I finished pinning up the last of my hair in a classy updo my hair stylist showed me, I slid on my brown knee-high boots and hurried out of my room, making loud clanking noises as my heels beat against the hardwood floor on the way toward the kitchen. The house actually belonged solely to me and was completely in my name, but Jace helped pay the mortgage each month, as did Lexi when she used to live in the house. It was a contemporary style Victorian home with arched doorways, hardwood floors, and one of the most wonderful views of the bay on the third floor. I fell in love with it instantly.

The kitchen was Jace’s favorite place and one of the most striking rooms in the house. It was all white marble and white countertops; very sleek and bright. Jace had his back to me, facing the stove, and was wearing only a pair of dark blue running shorts that hung low on his hips.

His body was perfect for television and he got the chance to show it off plenty of times on the big screen. He also worked hard to keep those sculpted muscles and smooth skin; however, it was his charming smile that always won the producers over. Not to mention he had the biggest heart out of anyone I knew, but he liked to keep that quality about him a secret.

In college, after my world flipped upside down, Jace and Lexi both stayed with me in my apartment for a few weeks. On the nights I cried myself to sleep, Jace would come into my room and hold me while I sobbed in his arms. Even to this day, when I’d have nightmares—which, thankfully, weren’t as common anymore—I’d wake up to find him curled up next to me in my bed.

A slow smile spread across my lips, and in my mind I couldn’t help but think,
It’s such a shame he’s gay.
He would make the perfect boyfriend.

“Hey,” I said, walking past him to the refrigerator. After searching the shelves for the orange juice, I finally found it hidden behind everything else on the top shelf and pulled it out.

Jace peered at me over his shoulder and grinned wide before placing the two omelets he was making onto plates. “Hey, did you have fun on your day off yesterday?”

“I did. It was nice to get out and do something other than work,” I admitted honestly. Grabbing a couple of glasses out of the cabinet, I poured us both some orange juice and sat down at the table. “I also didn’t spend it there by myself,” I added slyly.

“What?” Jace exclaimed, turning to me quickly. “Did I miss something? Since when did
you
meet someone?”

“Well, try not to sound too shocked,” I teased with a roll of my eyes. “It was two days ago at the after party. You know the party you couldn’t be my date to because you were busy. Anyway, Lexi’s sister brought one of her friends, and we kind of hit it off. He was the one who hung out with me at the beach yesterday.”

Jace put the dirty dishes in the sink before bringing our plates with the omelets over to the table. He set mine down in front of me and took the seat to my right. “That’s awesome news, Shels. I’m glad you’re finally deciding to date again. You haven’t slept with this guy, have you?”

“No,” I blurted out incredulously. “I don’t want to move that fast, Jace. In a way I want to just because it’s been so damn long since I’ve been with someone, but I’m smart enough to know I shouldn’t.”

Jace nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a good decision. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Neither did I.

My phone was charging on the kitchen counter, and since I’d had it off all yesterday afternoon I figured it was time I turned it back on and face the thousands of messages I was sure to have. The second I turned my phone on, before I could even take a sip of my juice, it started beeping … over and over.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I exclaimed. “I knew it was a mistake to turn it off.”

Trying to hide his smirk, Jace shook his head and finished up his omelet. “I guess you’ll be busy today,” he teased.

Groaning, I pushed my phone aside and mumbled, “Yeah.”

As I started in on my breakfast, I thought,
Maybe I’ll wait a little bit longer to listen to my messages.
It was the first week in June and every month I was given an assignment for the ten page spread. I was pretty sure most of my messages were from my boss giving me the heads up on who I was to spend my next month researching.

After finishing my omelet, I drank the rest of my juice and put my plate and glass in the sink. Jace was still at the table finishing up and flipping through a
Maxim
magazine when I asked, “So, Jace, how did the audition go yesterday? Do you think you did okay?”

Nonchalantly, he shrugged his shoulders and kept his gaze on the magazine. “Yeah, I think I did pretty well. I’ll find out next week if I made it.”

“That’s great—” I began, but my sentence was cut off by my phone ringing … again. Jace reached for my phone on the table and tossed it to me from across the room. Catching it midair, I glanced down to see that it was Bryan, my boss.

“No surprise there,” I mumbled to myself before answering it.

“Good morning, Bryan,” I greeted him.

Bryan Winters was pretty laid back, but he only allowed certain people in the office to call him by his first name and I happened to be one of them. He was a workaholic in his late fifties with salt and pepper hair, and in extremely good physical shape for his age. In his youth he used to be a professional tennis player, and when I told him I used to play for my high school team he made it mandatory that I play the game with him at least once a week. It was always a good time and I enjoyed it. Not to mention, he made sure I stayed on the clock when I played even though I told him it was fun … not work. He insisted, and with the unyielding Bryan Winters you could never reason with him when he had his mind set.

“Good morning to you, too, Shelby,” Bryan responded warmly. “I called you a few times yesterday, but you never answered my calls. Did you check your messages or emails?”

Sheepishly, I sat down at the bar, and in a quiet voice said, “No, actually I didn’t. I had my phone off since you told me to take the day off.”

The line went quiet, but then Bryan whistled and burst out laughing. “Well, well, I thought I’d never see the day that you actually put work aside to take a day off. Good for you, young lady. So listen, as you know it’s time for the new spread for our July edition. The reason I called was because your athlete’s agent wanted to meet over lunch today. I wanted to give you his number so you could call and set up a time. I know it’s kind of last minute, but he insisted.”

“Oh yes, of course,” I answered quickly, rushing to the junk drawer. It had everything in it like pens, take-out menus, matches, and mints that restaurants would give you with the check. I grabbed the first pen and piece of paper I could find. “Okay, I found a pen. I’m ready when you are.”

“All right, his name is Garrett Wells and his number is …”

As he said the number, I wrote it down—along with the agent’s name—on the old grocery list I had happened to grab out of the drawer.
Hmm … Garrett Wells.
That name sounded awfully familiar for some reason.

“Bryan,” I started curiously, “who is it that I’m going to be writing about?”

His phone began to break up and all I heard through the static was the sound of his jumbled words and his deep laugh. “Bryan, can you hear me? You’re breaking up on me,” I exclaimed into the phone. Unable to figure out what he was saying, I hung up and rushed over to Jace to tell him good-bye before I was late.

Wrapping my arms around his neck from behind, I kissed him on the cheek and squeezed. “I’ve got to go. Have a good day and don’t get into any trouble. I’ll see you tonight.”

Patting my hands, he turned his head and kissed me back on the cheek. “Me get into trouble … never,” he countered sarcastically with a twinkle in his eyes.

Snickering, I ruffled my hand through his hair before grabbing my keys and purse, and headed out the front door. It was a cool, breezy morning; the sun was hidden by a thick sheen of clouds, making the smell of the bay more pronounced. Almost a complete opposite of yesterday when I spent the day at the beach. As soon as I got into my black Infiniti Q60 convertible, my phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Lexi: I heard we’re all going on a date Sunday. Caleb called Hayley and Josh and asked if we all wanted to go out.

Me: You heard right :)

Lexi: I’m glad to hear it. So the beach was fun?

Me: YES! It was fun. I have to drive now. Talk to you soon.

Heading down the road toward my office in downtown, I decided to go ahead and call the number Bryan gave me for the agent.

On the second ring, he picked up. “Garrett Wells,” he answered.

“Hello, Mr. Wells. I’m Paige Monroe with Physique Sports and Fitness Magazine. How are you today?” I asked eloquently.

“I’m doing great, actually, and please call me Garrett,” he replied with a chuckle.

“Very well then, Garrett, and the same goes for my name as well. Anyway, Bryan told me you wanted to meet over lunch today. Is that still something you’d like to do?”

“Yes, of course,” he replied. “My client and I are looking forward to working with you. I know your office is in San Francisco, and since I’m only about thirty minutes away from there I’ll just come to you. Is there a special place you’d like to meet? Because if not we can meet at the Presidio Café. I’m a club member out there, and if I call them they’ll set us up a private table.”

Lexi and I had gone to the Presidio Café several times over the past couple of years. It was a great place to eat lunch and nothing could beat their clam chowder; I ordered it every time I went.

“That sounds great, Garrett. It’s actually one of my favorite places. What time would you like to meet?”

“Uh … let’s see. Is noon okay? That should give me enough time to call them, hunt down my client, and make it out that way,” he recommended. “Oh, and if you get there early just go on in and tell them that you’re meeting me. They’ll seat you right away.”

“All right, noon it is,” I complied excitedly. “I’ll see you then.”

We said our good-byes and I hung up the phone. Doing the spreads for the magazine was something I always looked forward to. It gave me the chance to meet some really great athletes and to see how their minds worked. Other than the writing part it was the best thing about my job.

I ARRIVED AT THE PRESIDIO
Café fifteen minutes early. As soon as I went inside, I immediately recognized the petite, redheaded hostess at the desk. Her name was Laura and she was always there when Lexi and I came for lunch. It had been a couple of months since I’d been there, but I could tell she recognized me by the smile on her face.

“Long time no see,” she said warmly. “Are you meeting someone for lunch?”

Smiling, I strolled up to the desk. “Actually, I am. I’m here to meet Garrett Wells. I’m not sure if he’s here or not.”

“Oh, he’s here,” she said, grinning widely. “It’s kind of hard to miss him when he’s in a room. Anyway, shall I show you to your table? He hasn’t been here that long.”

“Lead the way,” I told her with a flourish of my arm.

The Presidio Café was a huge open room of casually elegant tables, as well as an immaculate terrace where you could eat and enjoy the view of the golf course the café rested upon. However, most of the patrons were inside since it was a cloudy and dreary kind of day. Laura led me past the tables in the center of the room over to a corner by the fireplace where a single round table sat.

The man, who I assumed was Garrett Wells, watched me approach with an appreciative smile on his face. He was definitely a good looking man, dressed in his expensive gray suit, and from the vibe I felt coming off of him he knew it, too. With perfectly gelled golden-blond hair, a face as refined as his, and striking blue eyes, how could he not be?

He stood before I reached the table and held out his hand in greeting. “Paige Monroe?” he asked to confirm.

With a smile on my face, I shook his hand and nodded. “Yes, but you can call me Shelby. Paige Monroe is the name I write under. I assume you’re Garrett Wells?” I countered.

He let my hand go and pulled out a seat from the table for me. “That’s me. Would you like to sit down?” he offered.

Nodding, I took the seat he offered and placed my bag under the table by my feet. He sat down in the chair to my left, never taking his eyes off of me. “I have to say, you completely blew me away when I saw you walk in. It’s not every day you meet a woman with beauty and brains.”