Ready to Love Again (Sweet Romance #2) (15 page)

“What?” he asked in a mildly mocking tone.

“We can’t do this here, not tonight, not in front of my best friend.”

“Why?” He pouted, his eyebrows drawn down and his lips pinched together.

“We…we just can’t.”

I looked over to see Justine and Daniel no longer dancing, but also not walking towards us. That was good, maybe I had time to cool down from the flush that had crept from my neck to my face. I looked at Chase as I took his hand in mine under the table.

“Justine doesn’t know about us. She can’t know. That’s why we can’t do this tonight.”

“I see. Am I your dirty little secret?” He laughed.

“No, I just haven’t told her anything. It’s not like we’re a couple, so I haven’t had anything to tell her.”

Chase looked a little taken back by my words. What was he thinking? Maybe he thought because of what had happened, that we were a couple—or at least headed in that direction. Nobody ever makes a point of asking the question ‘will you go out with me?’ anymore, so maybe he assumed. I didn’t know and I didn’t have time to figure it out because Justine and Daniel came back carrying shots.

A song I recognised as being by The Vamps began to play and Justine began to sashay on the spot, spilling a little of our drinks. I took my shot from her, downed it in one, and headed for the dance floor.

“Vertigo” by Jason Derulo came on and I made my way through the crowd to dance on my own.

I felt like someone was boring holes in the back of my head, but I didn’t turn round as I continued to dance.

Lexi made her way over to me and we danced together as Caine left to get a drink. We didn’t talk, just danced in time to the music together, causing a few heads to turn our way. Ever the attention whore, Lexi ramped it up slightly by taking hold of me and running her hands up and down my arms as we moved.

“Side FX” began to play and that gave Lexi even more reason to sex it up with me as we moved our bodies to the beat.

Guys’ eyes were out on stalks as they watched, women were showing a little of the green-eyed monster and our group of friends were as transfixed as anyone. Chase’s eyes were roaming my body as Lexi ran her hands over me. The flush that crept across his face suggested he was getting more than a little turned on.

As the song ended, I made my way back to our group, holding Lexi’s hand and leading her from the dance floor.

Chase gave me a little wink as we got back to our booth. Justine just smiled along with the boys as they cat-called us for being so sexy.

***

As we made our way from the club an hour or so later to our waiting cab, we said goodbye to the boys. They all gave us all a peck on the cheek goodnight and Chase’s lasted a brief moment longer on my cheek. I didn’t want to leave him, but the girls were tired and wanted to head home.

The three of us made our way into my bedsit, laughing but trying to keep the volume down for the sake of the neighbours. Lexi fell to the couch and removed the five inch stilettos she had been wearing. Justine landed softly on my bed as she struggled to bend to undo her own stilettos. I had been the only one sensible enough to wear flat shoes and gladly my feet weren’t aching even after all the dancing we had done.

I headed to the kitchen and put on the coffee machine. It was safe to say that we all needed a little sobering up. I didn’t want anyone vomiting in the night. If there were stains on the carpet, I wouldn’t get my deposit back. Not that you’d notice an extra stain or two on this awful carpet, but still.

Walking back to the girls, coffees in hand, I noticed a look cross Justine’s face that was unreadable. Usually my friend was an open book and you could tell what she was thinking, but right now, I had no clue what was going on in her mind.

“So what the heck was that all about?” she asked, her tone indicating she was holding back how mad she really was.

“What are you talking about?”

“All that business with Chase.”

I looked to Lexi who just shrugged at me.

“What business with Chase?” I didn’t want to volunteer anything she didn’t already know. Or thought she knew. I wouldn’t admit to something unless she could back up what she was saying.

“The flirting, the kissing…” she trailed off angrily as she took her coffee from me.

“Kissing?” I gave Lexi her mug of coffee and settled down on my side of the bed.

“Don’t deny it, Alyssa Young. I saw it with my own two eyes!”

I didn’t know what to say so I took a large gulp of my coffee, scalding my tongue in the process. 

“Don’t ignore me, Alyssa.” Justine huffed as she looked directly into my eyes.

“It was one silly kiss. I’d had too much to drink.”

If she was like this over a kiss, imagine what she’d be like if she found out we’d slept together. 

“Don’t lie to me, Lys. You two were flirting outrageously this entire night. At the bowling alley, it seemed harmless enough but then at the club…I can’t believe you, Lys. What are you doing?”

I really didn’t want to air my dirty laundry in front of Lexi, but it didn’t seem like my best friend was going to let up. What is it they say about telling a lie? Keep an element of truth to it. Seems stupid, but if you are caught doing something and can’t talk your way out of it, then telling something close to the truth seems like the best option. I couldn’t be honest with her, not in front of Lexi, and not if she was going to go ballistic over a little kiss. A kiss I hadn’t realised she had seen.

“I was tipsy. Chase initiated the kiss and I didn’t stop him. It was nice to be kissed after so long. But I put a stop to it, Justine, I told him we couldn’t do that again.”

“Nice to be kissed after so long? Your husband died, Lys. My brother, Ethan, you remember him? You were his wife and he committed fucking suicide. You can’t have forgotten that!”

“What the fuck, Justine? That’s not fair. Ethan was the love of my life. He was my best friend. No, I haven’t forgotten him, for Christ’s sake! But he died two years ago and I’ve spent that time grieving the loss of a piece of my heart. But I’m trying to get on with my life as he would’ve wanted me to.”

“Would’ve wanted you to? Are you fucking serious? He would’ve wanted you to move on but not to be the kind of girl who sticks her tongue down a random guy’s throat in the middle of a club.”

It wasn’t like Justine to swear, she only swore when she was really mad—a sure sign that tonight she was fuming. She paced from the side of my bed to the window and I went to my bedside drawer to take out a cigarette. I walked to the window, opened it and lit my cigarette.

Lexi looked uncomfortable as she watched Justine pace and me smoke, something she hadn’t seen me do before.

“He’s not a random guy, we work together.”

“Oh and that makes it better somehow?”

“I’m just saying. I don’t go around kissing just any guy, you know.”

“Okay, he’s not random, you work with him. So has there been more than this once?”

I didn’t know how to respond. I couldn’t tell her the truth, she would flip her lid.

“No, this was the first time, I swear.”

“This isn’t right, Lys.”

Her temper seemed to be dissipating. I was thankful for that. Justine is the kind of person who has a long fuse and when she blows, you better be careful. But then she also cools down quickly enough that we can actually talk sense. Wherever her brother is concerned, she’s like a lioness protecting her cub. He was her twin and they had had a bond like no other.

“I’m sorry, Justine. Please, can we forget about this?” I asked as I stubbed out my cigarette and finished my now cold coffee.

“I don’t get it, Lys. I just…You’re right, let’s just forget about it for now. We’ve had too much to drink to talk seriously.”

That wasn’t what I was hoping she’d say. I wanted her to let it go completely, not just until she was more sober.

“Let’s just get some sleep girls,” Lexi interjected.

“She’s right,” I said, hoping that I could just get her to forget about it once we were sober in the morning.

I closed the window and found my pajamas. I went into the bathroom to get changed. I wasn’t embarrassed to get undressed in front of the girls but I needed a moment of peace. I sat on the lid of the toilet and put my head in my hands. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, I realised that Justine was right and what had been happening between Chase and me had to stop.

Walking into the bedroom, I saw the girls were changed and Lexi had my spare blanket over her on the couch. Justine was on one side of my bed, turned to face the wall.

I got into bed and lay awake for ages, trying to clear my mind enough for sleep to come but it was too busy running over what I would say to Chase and how I would feel once we had spoken, how he would feel. Okay, we weren’t an item, but it had been the start of something.

Chapter Nineteen

Upon waking up, I discovered an empty space in the bed next to me and a note on the pillow.

Lys,

Sorry about leaving before you got up. I need time to think. I’m sorry we argued last night, but I stand by what I said, that’s why I’ve gone home. I hope you can forgive me and that Gage, the boys, and myself can come and see you sometime when you’ve found somewhere to live. Good luck finding somewhere. See you soon. Love you.

Justine xx

Just like that, my morning turned to shit before it had even begun.

“Good morning,” Lexi said as she came out of the kitchen with a mug in each hand.

“Morning, Lexi, how did you sleep?” I tried to smile but my mood was sour.

“Not too bad. Hey, I was thinking, if you don’t have plans, we could go house-hunting.” She smiled at me and I wondered how she could be so chirpy the morning after a night out.

“Well, Clark and I are supposed to be going at some point but if you don’t mind it being the three of us, I could give him a call and we could go.”

“That sounds like a plan. I love looking at houses. I found some gorgeous places when I first moved to the area.”

“Oh, I thought you were from around here originally?” It was both a statement and a question.

“No, I’m from a place called Ridgewood. Nice place but no publishing houses to work at. I started applying for jobs further afield and this is where I ended up.”

I took a sip from the steaming mug she handed me.

“Do you have family in these parts or was it just where the best job was?”

“It was the best publisher that offered me a job, so I settled here. My family are all back in Ridgewood,” she replied as she drank her own coffee.

“Do you get home to visit much?” I was being nosy, but I wanted to think about something other than my best friend leaving.

“I see them as often as I can. They didn’t want me to move so far away, but they eventually came round to the idea, knowing how happy I am here.”

“That’s good. I’ll just give Clark a call and we can go look at some of these gorgeous houses.”

I fished around my bag for my phone, having forgotten to put it on to charge last night.

Clark agreed to meet us at my place half an hour later so I went to freshen up and brush my teeth.

“Justine left early,” Lexi said as I walked back into the bedroom, “Was it anything to do with last night?”

“Yeah. She was mad at me, left me a note on my pillow,” I replied glumly.

“That’s a shame, but I’m sure she’ll come round. I don’t want to pry into what she said, but if you want to talk, I’m a really good listener. I know I seem like a spoiled little rich bitch, but just because I come from a wealthy family doesn’t mean anything.”

“Thanks, Lexi,” I said and truly meant it. In the coming days, I might need someone to talk to and I didn’t think I could talk to Justine. There were some things to be said that she wouldn’t want to hear.

Lexi went to freshen up while I made a couple of calls to the owners of the houses I wanted to see.

Looking every inch the supermodel, Lexi stepped back into the bedroom. It wasn’t hard to imagine why she always looked so good. Perfect hair, skin, teeth. She really was one of the prettiest women I knew.

Someone knocked on the door and Lexi went to open it.

“Oh hey, Clark, come on in.” She stepped aside.

“Good morning, ladies.” Clark smiled at us both as he stepped inside.

“Are you ready to go house-hunting?” Lexi asked as she reached for her purse on the couch.

“With two gorgeous ladies, how can I resist?”

I grabbed my bag and walked to the door.

“Who’s driving?” Lexi asked.

“I’ll drive if you like,” Clark said as the three of us stepped out of my bedsit into the warm rays of the morning sun.

Clark unlocked his car and we all piled in. The first stop of the day was a gorgeous Georgian house I had seen on the internet. I was looking forward to taking a closer look. Clark turned the radio up as “Sexx Laws” by Beck came on. I found myself singing along and it wasn’t long before Clark and Lexi joined in.

Pulling up at the first house a few minutes later, I heard Clark whistle as he looked up at the place.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?”

“It sure is!”

We all got out of the car and walked towards the front door, stopping to admire the front garden on the way. There was a beautiful herbaceous border that you would usually find with a Victorian era property, but it seemed to go well with this place due to its stunning colours. At the front door there was what appeared to be a climbing rose on the right-hand side, blooms of red appeared at intervals and looked remarkable.

“Which of you beautiful young ladies is Alyssa?” came a voice from the front door. I looked up at the mention of my name and saw an older lady looking out at us.

“That would be me,” I answered.

The lady stepped out into the sunshine and I saw she was just as finely kept as this property. She looked around fifty and was dressed impeccably.

“I’m Josie.” She extended her hand toward me and I took her hand in mine.

“Good morning, Josie. These are my friends, Clark and Lexi.”

“Pleased to meet you all,” she said as she shook hands with them both.

Josie turned to head back into the house and we followed behind. I looked around the foyer and was impressed by what I saw. The decorating was in keeping with the style of the house and the wallpaper had the foyer feeling bright and spacious. We were led into the first room on the right which turned out to be the den. It was a pale green colour and had a large window that let in a lot of light. There was a desk and chair set in front of a bookcase. The wood of the desk and bookcase looked like cedar and I was very impressed with how the whole room was put together.

“This is my late husband’s den, Alyssa. It was his favourite room in the whole house.”

I gulped. She’d lost a husband too. This had been his den. I had to wonder if Ethan had still been alive, would he have loved this house, this room. I moved towards the bookcase, feeling as though I had no control over my own body, as if I was on autopilot.

“It’s quite remarkable,” I replied as I looked at the rows of books and traced my hand lightly down the spine of an old looking book.

“He loved spending hours in here reading and writing.” Josie smiled a little sadly.

“He wrote? Did he ever publish anything I might have heard of?”

“Sadly he never got round to publishing his work. He never thought he was good enough.”

“That’s a shame.”

I looked around the room and marvelled at how the sunlight lit up the room. It really was beautiful and I could see this becoming my office if I bought the house.

We took a tour of the rest of the house. Every room was beautiful. There was plenty of natural light and the decorating was all in keeping with the style of the house. There was a large dining room, sitting room, and kitchen, with a comfortable sized nook that I could see as a room for just reading and relaxing. There was also a room that Josie called the “Great Room” that I thought would be perfect for entertaining guests. Outside, there was a deck that was surrounded by flowers, much like those in the front garden.

Lexi, Clark, and I marvelled at the size of the back garden as Josie invited us to stay and drink tea on the deck.

“This place is perfect,” Clark said as Josie left us to go and make a pot of tea.

“It sure is beautiful,” Lexi agreed.

“I could certainly imagine myself living here,” I smiled, “but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I have another two houses to see today and I don’t want to just buy the first place I see.”

“I think you’ll end up making an offer. You’d be barking mad not to,” Clark said as he looked out over the back garden.

The garden was beautiful, with its multitude of colourful flowers, a sundial, and a bird-bath. There were also fruit trees overhanging the edge of the fence, ripe with delicious looking apples and pears.

“How do you like your tea?” Josie asked as she laid the tray on the small table on the deck.

“Milk and one sugar, please,” I replied as my gaze continued to roam the expanse of space outdoors.

We drank our tea and made small talk with Josie. She seemed a lovely lady and she told us about her husband, Ben. It turned out she was the one with the green thumb and it was her idea to plant all the beautiful flowers. She said the fruit trees were her next door neighbour’s but they had always told her she was welcome to the fruit that overhung on her side. After picking some fruit for us to take away with us, Josie showed us to the door and I thanked her for the tour and told her I would be in touch soon.

We drove to the next house and even from the road, I could tell it was remarkably different to Josie’s house. It was a large white house and the garden wasn’t anywhere near as beautiful and well-kept as Josie’s. We walked up the path and knocked on the large black front door. The door opened and a young woman greeted us.

“You must be Alyssa,” she said to me.

“Angie?” Lexi asked, sounding surprised.

“Oh my goodness, Lexi, hi!” Angie exclaimed as she looked over at Lexi, her smile widening.

“You two know each other?” I asked, looking at Lexi.

“We went to school together, haven’t seen each other in what…it must be at least three years,” she replied as she made her way past Clark to hug Angie.

“Far too long if you ask me,” Angie agreed, hugging her friend. “Come on in.”

We all moved inside and Angie led us into her sitting room. I looked around and noticed what a different feel the house had. It didn’t have the same kind of character and was decorated in complete contrast to what I had seen at Josie’s place. Not to say it wasn’t nice in its own way, it was just not what I had expected.

We took a seat on the couch as Angie walked over to her daughter in the play pen that was in the corner of the room.

“We haven’t seen each other since Rylee was born,” Angie said as she picked her daughter up.

“Oh gosh yes!”

Angie put Rylee down and she toddled over to Lexi with her baby doll in hand.

“Hello, Rylee.” Lexi smiled down at the pretty little blonde-haired girl.

“Hello.” She smiled up at Lexi and held out her baby doll.

Lexi took the doll and started playing with Rylee as Angie asked me if I wanted to take a tour of the house. Lexi was perfectly content to sit and play with the child, something I hadn’t imagined her doing before. Clark came along for the tour and we remarked on how nice a place it was. It was obviously more homely and lived in than Josie’s, partly due to the fact that Angie and her husband Mark were a younger generation and had a child living in the house.

I took in details of the layout and décor, also the back garden that was a reasonable size, yet not as well tended as the garden that kept popping up in my mind. Clark had been right and I thought that I would probably make Josie an offer. Not that this place wasn’t nice, it just wasn’t suited to me.

As we said goodbye to Angie, I told her I’d be in touch soon, but I knew in my mind that it wouldn’t be to make an offer.

We drove to the third property and I saw that it had almost as much charm as Josie’s. It wasn’t Georgian, but it had character. After viewing, I told the owner I would call soon, but though it had been a beautiful place, I had to admit Clark was right. I was already thinking of what I would do with regards to buying furniture and how nice it would be to sunbathe on the deck, knowing that the neighbouring properties didn’t overlook that particular part.

***

Lexi, Clark, and I went for lunch at The Mermaid and talked over my options. I had the money to make an offer on Josie’s house, I could give her the full asking price, and still have some money left over for furniture. They both agreed it was worth every penny she was asking. So with my mind made up, I phoned Josie.

After my phone call, I went back to the shithole I was used to living in. I had to admit, I wouldn’t miss a single thing. I hoped the sale would go off without a hitch and I could move into my new home soon.

Lexi had gone home and Clark was making a coffee in my shoebox of a kitchen; meanwhile, I was sat on my not-so-comfortable sofa with a catalogue I had picked up to try and select some furniture. Josie had offered to sell me all the furniture that came with the house as she was downsizing, but I still needed things like a new mattress, kettle, microwave, and the all-important coffee machine. There were things I didn’t mind having second-hand, but I won’t sleep on anyone else’s mattress and Josie didn’t own a coffee machine. She said a few of the appliances had seen better days and that I would be better off buying them new, but I could do that at my own leisure when I was settled. The one modern convenience she had that I was grateful for was the dishwasher. I hate washing up. I mean, who really likes washing dishes? The other chore I hated was cleaning the toilet but until the day they invent a self-cleaning toilet, I’m stuck with it.