Love and Lattes (9 page)

Chapter Ten

He took a step toward Rebecca, but she shook her head. "How could you, Chase? How could you do this to me?" She turned and fled down the stairs leading to the lower floors.

"I have to go after her." He gave Julia another quick peck on the lips. "Can we continue this later?"

"What did she mean, Chase?" Suspicion rose in her throat like bile.

"I can't explain right now. I need to go talk to her." He held Julia's face in his hands, his expression pleading with her. "I'll find you later. I have a feeling you and I have a little talking to do, too."

He walked out of the room leaving her standing alone without giving her the chance to respond. What was going on? Was he so concerned about Rebecca's feelings he was willing to leave her after such an amazing kiss?
Does Rebecca mean more to him than kissing me?

She wanted to trust Rebecca was simply overreacting to seeing the boss kissing an employee, but the twisting in the pit of her stomach told her there was more to Rebecca's reaction.

Julia wandered down the stairs slowly, unsure of whether or not she wanted to find out what waited for her down below. She scanned the second floor but didn't see or hear Chase anywhere. They must be on the first floor somewhere. Why was this store so big?

She ran down the stairs, suddenly anxious to find them, knowing she wouldn't be able to think of anything else until she knew exactly what was going on between them. The first floor was more congested with small rooms than the two floors above her, so she couldn't see all the different areas from the stairs. She walked from room to room, ignoring customers along the way.

"Can you believe Chase?" Julia heard a voice say from the next aisle over. She slowed her pace.

Chase?

"Poor girl has no idea what she's in for," another voice said.

Julia froze. She couldn't go another step without hearing this conversation. Who were they talking about?

"Poor her? How about poor me?" the first voice whined. "I'm supposed to be the next one on his radar, not some new girl. I've been dropping hints for months trying to get him to ask me out and all of a sudden some cheap bimbo comes and steals him right out from under me. I could just yank out her nasty hair for getting in my way."

Yikes. I wouldn't want to be that girl.

"Don't worry. Chase is too much of a player to settle down. He'll have a little romp with her, and he'll be back on the market next week."

There has to be another Chase.

"You're right," Julia heard one of the girls say. "There's no way he'll go for that ugly black hair. Everyone knows he prefers natural blondes like me."

Oh my god, they're talking about me. I'm the cheap bimbo with the nasty hair.

"Yep. Too bad he prefers natural boobs. These babies cost my daddy a fortune. Why's he wasting his time with that one?"

"Maybe he's started drinking during the day and has had one too many."

"Or ten too many." The girls' laughter rang out, cutting through the noise of the busy bookstore. "Don't worry. A couple of days and Chase will be on to the next girl."

"Hopefully he'll be on me." They giggled again at the joke.

The girls' voices trailed off as they wandered out of the room and disappeared into another one across the hall. Julia's head spun as she watched them leave while thoughts of Mrs Dupree and Rebecca came rushing back to her. That's why they both threatened her—they were marking their territory because they didn't want to share him with yet another girl.

Tali had tried to warn her when she said Chase didn't stick with one girl long. How could Julia be so stupid not to see what was so clearly on display the entire time? Chase was a player. He didn't care about her. He just wanted her because she was something new and different to try out.

Julia's stomach rolled. She held onto the nearest bookshelf and took in deep gulps of air. She'd been so stupid to think a guy like Chase would be interested in a girl like her.

Well, she wasn't going to get played anymore. She didn't need Chase. Thank God she'd quit her job already since Chase obviously would have only kept her around for a few more dates before ditching her anyway. Now he wouldn't get the chance. This time, she would leave on her own accord and not because she was told to. This time, she would take care of her own needs before worrying about some guy.

Julia stood up straight and squared her shoulders. She would walk out of here with her dignity. Chase couldn't take that from her.

Julia had already done a loop of the entire bottom floor but hadn't seen Rebecca or Chase anywhere. That meant they had to be in the back storage room—exactly where she needed to go to collect her things before she could leave. She didn't want to see either of them again. Maybe she could sneak into the back unnoticed.

As she crept up to the door, raised voices came from inside the back room. Praying the hinges wouldn't creak, she gently pushed it open a crack. Inside the room, she could see them standing by the boxes of books waiting to be put on the new display shelves.

"Chase, I can't believe you would do that to me." Julia heard Rebecca say, sounding as though she spoke through heavy tears.

"I'm sorry you saw us together. I know it's not appropriate for me to be kissing the new girl since I'm the boss."

"You're right it's not. She's been here like thirty seconds, and you're already making out with her in the travel section?"

"I know that kiss was wrong and I promise I'm going to rectify the situation with Julia immediately."

Rectify the situation?
Is that all I am to him
—
a situation?

"I don't care about that stupid girl, Chase. I care about you. Why can't you see that after all of these years?" Julia watched as Rebecca stepped closer to Chase and put her hand on his chest. "You," Rebecca said. "
You
, you clueless idiot. It's always been about you."

Chase didn't say a word. He simply stood with a look of confusion on his face. Apparently, he had no better idea what was going on with Rebecca than Julia did.

"I—I don't even know what to say." He took a step back and ran into the bookshelves behind him.

"Then don't say anything." Rebecca closed the gap between them again. "I love you, Chase. I always have. I know you love me too."

"I do love you," he said so softly Julia almost wasn't sure she'd heard him.

She froze, horrified by the sight of Rebecca grabbing Chase and pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss. His hands appeared on her hips and Julia struggled not to be sick.

She was such an idiot. Why hadn't she been smart enough to listen to Tali's warning about him? He was a player and he'd played her like the naive outsider she was. He probably saw her as an easy target since she wasn't from the neighborhood and didn't know his history with women.

Julia backed away from the door, letting it close with a click behind her as she ran to the bathroom in a daze. She pushed through the door and sighed with relief the bathroom was empty. Tears bubbled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them.

She stared at herself in the mirror, ashamed she'd been so easily fooled. She'd come to work today hoping her new job wouldn't be too boring and instead she'd gotten caught in Chase's game. How could she let herself be so stupid? Couldn't she see there was no way a guy like Chase would ever be interested in a girl like her when there were all these beautiful women from the Meadow wandering around trying to snag a date with him?

She grabbed a paper towel and wet it with cold water from the faucet. She patted her face with the cold towel, hoping to erase the hurt she felt. She should have heeded the warnings about Chase. Instead, she'd foolishly let herself get swept away with him as if she were a character in one of her romance novels, and look where that fantasy had gotten her.

"I'm done with him," she said to her reflection, the resolve in her voice helping to settle her stomach.

She would quickly grab her purse from the break room in the back, do her best to ignore their make-out session, and then she'd leave this store and Chase behind her for good. She could do this. She wasn't going to give either of them the satisfaction of knowing how much they'd upset her.

Julia pulled the bathroom door open with more force than she'd intended, accidentally slamming the edge against the wall with a thundering boom. She didn't stop to see if anyone had noticed; she simply stormed to the storage room door and took a deep breath before pushing it open.

She kept her eyes focused on the break room ahead of her, refusing to let her gaze wander to where Rebecca sat on a box wiping her eyes. She couldn't see Chase in her peripheral vision, but she didn't care where he was. Maybe he'd gone to get Rebecca a coffee and a cookie, his signature "move."

"You'll never be good enough for him, you know."

Julia's feet stopped moving in spite of her head telling them to keep going.
Move. Don't get sucked into another conversation with this woman.

"He's going to get tired of you and then he'll toss you aside like he always does."

What was she talking about? Chase wasn't going to get the chance to toss her aside.

"A guy like Chase Bloom will never end up with a girl like you."

Julia tried to make sense of Rebecca's ranting but she didn't understand. Why wouldn't Chase end up with her, if there was still a chance for them to date, which there wasn't?

"Oh I get it. You don't know who he really is. Who his family is." Rebecca laughed. "That's why you're stupid enough to think he'd want to be with you."

"Okay, I'll bite. Who is Chase and what's the deal with his family since you obviously want to tell me?"

Rebecca stood and crossed the small room to stand in front of Julia. She wore a look of satisfaction on her face. "Chase just happens to be the heir to Bloom Industries. You know, solar and wind energy technology? Those pretty black panels on the roof, and the pretty blue bill you get in the mail every month. Ringing any bells for you yet? His family is prestigious and wealthier than you can imagine. He's the best catch in the neighborhood and way too important to date a nobody like you."

Julia shook her head. "So that's why you're so interested in Chase. He doesn't turn you on. His money does it for you. I get the sick obsession now." The hamster had jumped on the wheel and practiced sprints in her brain. "Is that why you're always hitting on the men who come into this store? It doesn't matter if the guy is Chase, just as long as you become someone's trophy wife. Same story with Mrs Dupree and her daughter, right?"

"Chase has always been my first choice, but little tramps like you keep getting in my way."

"Stop, Rebecca," boomed Chase's voice from behind Julia. Chase's hand circled her arm and she turned to face him. "I need to talk to you about this. It's not what you think."

Fury bubbled inside her as hot, angry tears threatened to wash away the dignity she'd hoped to hold on to. "Leave me alone. I'm not going to fall for your lies again."

"Julia, please. Listen to me for a minute."

"No, Chase." She pulled her arm back from him. "I've heard more than enough already."

"You only know what you think you heard, but that's not the whole story."

"I heard you tell Rebecca you love her. What more is there to say? Besides, she's more in your league than I am anyway."

"She kissed me before I could finish speaking. I do love her, but like a sister. She's been in my life for years."

"Those feelings are still there, you're just too busy fooling around with everyone else to notice," Rebecca pleaded from the corner. "If you would give us another chance, you'd see you do love me, and not like a sister."

"Another chance?" Julia couldn't see straight through the anger clouding her senses. Not only was Rebecca crazy and obsessive, she was also another one of his ex-girlfriends. Great.

"We went on one date a few years ago. That's all. It was nothing."

"I'm not so sure she thinks it's nothing." Julia nodded toward Rebecca.

"I know you still have feelings for me. You just need a little reminder of how good we were together. If you could stop dating every pretty little thing on two legs that walks through the front door, maybe you could see how much you love me."

"I'm done talking to you about this, Rebecca. Either accept the fact we're never going to be together again, or pack your things and leave. I don't want to fire you, but I'm not going to let you continue to work here with these delusional dreams of us being together either. We'll never be together."

"The only reason I work here is for you."

"Then I think it's time you found another job. You can start looking right now. Pack your things and go."

Rebecca stalked out of the back room, but paused in the doorway. "You're going to regret this. She's not good enough for you."

"Get out of my store, of my life—everything. Just go."

While Chase stared after Rebecca, Julia snagged her purse from the break room. Now it was her turn to leave. Rebecca, although blunt, was right. Chase was only interested in adding new digits to his contact list. He wasn't interested in having a real girlfriend. Chase could live his life as a player if he wanted to, but she wasn't going to be one of his toys.

Chapter Eleven

"Where're you going?" Chase asked as Julia brushed passed him.

"I'm going to find a new job. You can move on to the next girl on your list now, I'm done."

Chase stood stunned as the door swung back and slammed shut.

Julia couldn't walk away from him like this, not without knowing the truth about his feelings. She couldn't leave thinking he had some big list of girls to try out. He didn't want any other girl. He wanted Julia.

He caught up to her just as she reached the front door. "Wait." He came to a stop behind her. "Let me say something before you go."

Julia stopped with her hand on the doorknob. Her shoulders rose and fell with her deep breaths, as if she were gulping back tears. He hated himself for being the one who made her cry.

She turned slowly to look at him, the pain evident on her face. "You don't need to explain anything to me. We just shared one night together, that's all. It meant nothing."

He took a tentative step toward her. "It meant something to me. Despite what you heard about me today, I'm not a player. I'm the furthest thing from it. These women all think I am because they see me dating different girls all the time. They assume I must be sleeping with all of them—using them. The truth is I haven't dated anyone seriously since I moved back here and took over the store two years ago."

"You're just another player, Chase, and I'm not your toy."

"You've got it wrong. Give me a chance to explain."

When she didn't reach for the door again, he assumed her hesitation was a good sign. He took another step forward so only a few inches remained between them. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he held his hand back, knowing she wasn't ready.

"It's true I haven't dated anyone more than once or twice. I know the girls here all want to be with me because of my last name. They don't care about getting to know the real me. I look at these girls who come in here every week buying books I know they'll never read, and all I can see is the dollar signs in their eyes when they look back at me. But not you, Julia. You see the real me."

Tears streaked down her cheeks as she stared at him. "What I see is a player. That's who you are. You just haven't admitted the truth to yourself yet."

Julia turned her back to him and the pain in his chest tripled. She didn't believe him. "Julia, wait," he said again, hoping desperately she'd stop, hoping she'd give him a chance to prove to her somehow his dating intentions had been good, not slimy.

He couldn't believe after all this time of searching to find the right girl—the one who made his world make sense—he'd finally found her only to have her slip away.

Julia didn't answer him as she walked out the front door. As the door closed with a click, he knew he'd lost the only woman he'd ever loved.

* * * *

Julia heard a knock at her door. She groaned as she got up from the couch.

Please don't be Chase.

Three days worth of relentless phone messages had been more than enough. She didn't need to see him in person too. Peeking through the window before pulling the door open, she sighed with relief when she didn't see Chase standing there. Instead, a gigantic bouquet of flowers greeted her.

"Delivery for Julia. Where do you want 'em?" the delivery guy asked.

Julia narrowed her eyes. There was only one person who would send her an extravagant bouquet of flowers like this—Chase.

"Let me see the card before I accept delivery." She took the card from amongst the lilies and opened it. Despite her anger, tears prickled her eyes as she read the note.

"Here's my list: Julia, Julia, and only Julia."

She wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. "Can you do me a huge favor?"

"Depends what it is."

She reached for her handbag and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. "If I give you this, will you deliver these somewhere else?"

The delivery guy looked between the money and her tear-streaked face. He sighed and grabbed the folded bill from her hand. "Where to?"

"Chase Bloom at
Bloom's Books
." She grabbed a pen and scribbled out his message then wrote a new one below it.

"Here's my list: Rebecca, Charlotte, every other girl in the Meadow. But not me."

She shoved the card back into the flowers and watched as the delivery guy walked down the garden path back toward the bookstore. She wasn't interested in Chase's messages, but maybe he'd finally hear hers.

Julia closed the door and went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. She needed something to make her feel better and tea might be a good place to start. She filled the kettle with water from the tap. Memories of Chase on her couch watching her while she filled glasses of water for them came flooding back to her. She twisted the faucet knob hard, shutting off the water and slammed the kettle onto the stove, trying to shake the memories from her mind.

"Wow. What'd that kettle ever do to you?" Tali's voice came from behind her.

Julia turned around. "Nothing. I just want a frickin' cup of tea, okay?"

"Okay. Got it." Tali sat on one of the bar stool at the kitchen counter. "Do you also want to talk about whatever else is obviously bothering you?"

"No, I don't."

"I think you need to or else all your appliances are in trouble."

Julia knew Tali wanted to lighten the tension with a joke, but she wasn't in the mood to laugh. "I'm really not ready to talk."

"I think you need to talk whether you feel ready to or not, so spill or I'm going to stay here all day until you do."

"You're such a nuisance."

"I'm also a good friend who's willing to listen. Come on, I might actually be able to help."

Julia put her elbows on the counter and sighed, feeling completely defeated. "It's just this stuff with Chase. I can't believe I let him use me like that."

"Like what? You both wanted to go to bed together."

"True, but at the time I didn't know he jumped into bed with anyone with boobs."

"He doesn't."

Julia stood straight and crossed her arms. "He does. I was threatened, Tali. Threatened. Not once even, but twice, and I only worked there one day."

Tali shrugged. "So? That doesn't mean anything except Rebecca and Mrs Dupree both need a little visit with a Valium and reality once in a while. I know for a fact Chase isn't a player."

"And you know that how?"

"Because Chase and I dated briefly." Tali scratched at an invisible stain on the counter top with a polished nail before flicking a used tissue out of the way.

Julia threw her hands in the air. "Oh well that's just great. Now I'm your sloppy seconds."

"No you aren't. Chase and I only went out a couple of times before we both decided there wasn't anything clicking between us. If Chase was a player, we would have slept together, and we didn't."

Julia couldn't believe what she was hearing. First she finds out her friend has also dated Chase in the past, and now Tali was sticking up for the guy who'd used Julia for his own fun and games. "Nice. I can't even count on you to back me up anymore."

The kettle whistled and Julia poured tea for both of them. "I can't believe you're siding with him after what he did to me."

Tali snorted. "What, you mean like how he told you how beautiful and amazing you are, or how he told you how much he liked you and how he wished he could take you to Paris one day? Yeah, he's a total bastard."

"You're not helping." Julia slid a cup of tea to Tali, the hot liquid sloshing over the sides.

"Actually, I am helping if you just stop being hotheaded long enough to listen to me."

"Fine. I'm listening." Julia leaned back against the counter and sipped her tea. Whatever Tali had to say better be good, because there wasn't much she could imagine would change her mind about Chase.

Tali stared at her tea for a moment before looking Julia in the eyes. "Do you think I'm a player?"

Julia laughed. "No. Why would I?"

"Because I do the same thing as Chase."

"No you don't. You date guys because you're trying to find that right person. You're trying to find love. Chase is looking for sex. You even warned me about him in the café."

"I didn't warn you because he's a player. I just didn't want to see you get your heart broken falling in love with him if he didn't feel the same way for you. I've seen too many girls fall instantly for him, but it's not his fault when he can't return those feelings." Tali shook her head. "I know you don't want to, but if you stop and think about it—really think about it, you'll see Chase and I are exactly alike. If you don't think I'm a player, I'm not so sure it's fair for you to think he is either."

Julia started to protest but Tali held up her hands for her to wait.

"I've known Chase since the fourth grade, and he's never been a bad guy. Sure, he's never been a saint, but who has? Before Chase left for college, I could understand if you wanted to call him a player. He was the hottest guy in our high school graduating class and every girl wanted to date him because he was Chase Bloom. But when he came back from college, he was different. He didn't seem interested in going out and partying anymore. He was serious about his business and he was serious about who he dated too."

"I bet he was."

Tali clicked her tongue and stood. "You can think what you want about us, but Chase and I are the same. We both date people because we hope they might actually be the one, but when we realize they aren't, it doesn't make sense to keep dating them and leading them on. So we let them go. If that makes us players in your eyes, then that's your problem."

Julia wanted to say something, but Tali crossed the room and slammed the door on her way out before she had the chance. She didn't think of Tali as a player. Never once had that thought ever crossed her mind. Tali dated with the sole purpose of finding love. Was her friend right about Chase doing the same thing? Had she overreacted?

Yes
.
She had jumped to conclusions about Chase. Maybe they weren't fair. Crap.

The sound of banging on the door rang through the small guesthouse. Julia pulled open the door, annoyed Tali wouldn't leave her alone long enough to figure out her thoughts.

"What now, Tali?"

But Tali wasn't who stood at her front door.

* * * *

Chase stared at Julia standing in the doorway. She looked more beautiful than he remembered—tear-stained, puffy-eyed, and obviously angry, but amazing. A crumpled tissue peeked out of her front pocket. Behind her, a pillow and fuzzy pink blanket lay in a puddle on the couch. He sighed. He had done this to her and now he had to make things right.

"You're not Tali."

"No, but please don't slam the door in my face." He needed a few minutes to get her to understand. "You won't return my calls, you won't accept my flowers… You left me no choice but to show up here."

"Did it ever occur to you I did those things for a reason?"

"Yeah. And I'm ignoring them." He took a step toward her. "We need to talk. You need to listen to me so I can explain."

She leaned against the doorframe. "Okay, I'm listening."

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again without saying anything. Finally, he could say everything that had been running through his mind for the last three days and now he couldn't find the words. It was important he got it right the first time since he didn't know if he'd ever get another chance.

"So yeah, maybe I have been a player in some ways." He shook his head and held up his hands in protest when anger flashed across her face. "But not the ways you think. I dated all those girls because I hoped to find a connection with them, and when I didn't, I moved on. I know my way sounds harsh, but I just don't see a reason to continue dating someone when I know none of them are the one for me. I'm not just looking for a girlfriend who fits me right now. I'm looking for a girlfriend who fits me for always."

"So you just get to sleep with a lot of women and then use the excuse you don't have a connection with them to get out of having to date them anymore. Nice scam you got going there."

"It's not like that. Do you usually meet guys at the bar and then sleep with them the same night?"

She sucked in a breath, her expression turning from anger to something else—embarrassment? Guilt? "Of course I don't. I—you, you were different."

"Of course you don't and neither do I. That night was different for both of us because we both felt something we hadn't before with other people." He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand, his fingers gently stroking the tender skin behind her ear. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment before meeting his gaze again. God he wanted to pull her close and kiss her.

"I found the connection I've been searching for in you, Julia. You're not like those other girls. When I look into your eyes, I know you're seeing me—the real me. I love the fact you're not from the Meadow and you have no preconceived notions of who I am. I can be myself around you, which is exactly what I've always wanted."

Julia stepped away from the door and rested her hands on his chest. The heat of her touch penetrated his button-up shirt, causing warmth to spark in more places than just his heart. If felt so good to feel her close to him again.

"I do see the real you. I'm so sorry I listened to everyone else and misjudged you." Tears spilled down her cheeks with her words and he wiped them away. "I can't believe I did that. The whole time I've lived here, I've hated how everyone judges me at a glance. Now here I am doing the same thing to you."

"I know you judged me because you thought you were protecting yourself, but I don't understand why you wouldn't listen to me and give me a chance to explain."

Julia sniffled. "I've been afraid that if I gave in and listened to you and actually let myself date you, you would keep me around for a little while and then toss me aside like my last boyfriend did."

"I wouldn't do that to you."

"I'm sorry I held my ex-boyfriend's actions against you. I shouldn't have. You're nothing like him. I should judge you for you, not anyone else." Julia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, smiling weakly at him through heavy lashes.