What He Wants: Trusting You prequel novella (8 page)

Except, I couldn’t go back … my heart wouldn’t let me.

IT WAS A Friday afternoon on a hot summer day—one of the last summer days left—and I enjoyed it on my back deck soaking up the sun. It was closing in on fall time, but the way our weather had been here in North Carolina I chose to keep my pool open just a little while longer. It was September and we still had ninety degree days. I prayed every day for a cold winter, but I never got my wish. Hell, I’d love to see snow, but we hadn’t gotten that in a couple of years either.

However, lying out by my pool was good for relaxation. Especially after spending the whole day with high schoolers who mainly spent their time secretly texting when they should’ve been paying attention to their books.

I did decide to give them a break since it was Friday and also the night of the rivalry football game. They were all too excited about that to concentrate on anything else. Even though I never had to work because of all of the money my ex-husband made, I knew I wasn’t ever going to sit on my ass and do nothing. Being a high school biology teacher wasn’t exactly a money making job, but it was something I was excited about doing. The settlement money I got out of Daniel would keep me afloat for a lifetime without having to work, but I enjoyed being at the school; it made me feel like I was doing something right.

Sweat dripped down my brow as I slipped off my sandals and placed my sunglasses down on the glass table beside my lounge chair. I was about to dive into the pool when my phone started buzzing beside my half drunk glass of sweet tea.

I smiled when I saw who it was.

Korinne Matthews was one of my closest friends growing up, and when we both separated to go to different colleges we sort of grew apart. It wasn’t until one fateful day when she showed up at my doorstep that our friendship rekindled like no time had passed whatsoever. She was an interior designer who I had made an appointment with to decorate my house, not knowing she was the same Korinne of our childhood. Now we talked almost every day.

“Why hello there, Korinne,” I answered happily.

“How are you?” she asked, but then spoke again, “Oh wait … Let me guess, you’re sitting by your pool like you do every day when I call you.”

I laughed and slipped my sunglasses back on so I wouldn’t have to squint. “You know it. Oh yeah, and also avoiding my ex-husband’s calls. I think he’s apologized over a million times now. He keeps sending me text messages saying he still wants me and loves me.”

Korinne scoffed, “When is he going to take the hint? It’s been a year now. Please tell me he’s not wearing you down.”

“Definitely not,” I shrieked. “I’ll admit I loved him, and he was good to me for a while, until his ego got the better of him. I can’t forgive him for cheating on me. It’s not going to happen.”

“I understand, Mel. So what else is new?”

Gazing out at the pool with its cool water beckoning me, I sighed. “Well, I’m trying to enjoy the last few days of summer now that I have them. Its nice getting home early in the afternoons and spending them out here. I’m looking forward to the fall and winter, though.”

“Oh, me too. Watching the leaves change colors at our home in the mountains is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. Other than my little girl that is.”

I smiled. The thought of little Anna-Grace’s smiling face as I bounced her in my arms would always stay with me. One day I’d have a child of my own. I was thankful I never got pregnant with Daniel, especially now that we were divorced.

“How is she doing? I bet she misses her Aunt Melissa,” I said.

I could hear the baby giggling in the background and Korinne laughed. “Oh, she’s doing well. She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. I swear all she has to do is look at Galen and his heart stops.”

Galen, her husband, scoffed in the background and chided into the phone, “Don’t let her fool you, Melissa. Korinne’s wrapped around Anna-Grace’s finger, too.”

Korinne chuckled. “Okay, fine, I’m wrapped around her finger, too. I guess it’s hard not to when you spend years thinking you can’t have kids and then you finally get pregnant. Anyway, the reason why I called is because I wanted to know what you were doing tomorrow night.”

Going to bars, I guess
, I thought to myself.

“I’m not sure,” I said slowly, curious as to why she’d ask. “Why? What do you have in mind?”

“Well,” she began, “there’s a party tomorrow night and I want you to come. Galen’s company is celebrating the expansion of his firm, and I thought it would be something you’d like to take part in. It’ll be fun with lots of people.” After pausing for a brief second, she delightfully added, “…good people.”

I knew that tone and I knew it very well. Korinne had a reason for me going to this party and it wasn’t so she could see me. Exasperated, I groaned and muttered, “Kori, seriously. Have you not learned your lesson yet? You need to stop trying to play matchmaker … I’m not interested. After me telling you no the past few times I thought you would’ve gotten the hint.”

She begged, “Please, Mel, it’ll be fun. I’ve wanted you to meet this guy at our firm for the past couple of months. He’s really hot and Galen just hired him as his lead architect for the West Coast accounts. Come on, what else do you have to do tomorrow? If all else fails you can hang out with me the whole time.”

I sat in silence for a moment, contemplating. Korinne was a good judge of character, so if she said the guy was a good man I had to believe her, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was a charity case.
I can get men on my own.
I just tend to get the wrong ones. It wasn’t like Korinne was setting us up on a blind date or anything, and if I didn’t want to talk to him I didn’t have to.

“Please,” she pleaded. I rolled my eyes and hung my head. There was no way I’d get out of it. She would beg me until I gave in.

“Are you going to give me an answer sometime this year?” Korinne asked, snickering.

Sighing, I huffed out a breath and gave in. “Okay, fine. I’ll go, but it’s not a blind date. I’m going for
you
and you only since you asked me to. I’ll meet your friend and that’s it. I don’t want any expectations you hear me?”

Korinne burst out laughing. “You
are
still the little firecracker that you were in high school. Don’t worry though. He has no clue he’s meeting you tomorrow either. So whatever you’re thinking, I didn’t plan on it being a blind date. I just think you need to meet him. He’s extremely good looking. Very nice, too.”

Well, at least he didn’t know about me, which was good. Blind dates were awkward enough without that pressure. “Good. Well let’s keep it that way and not tell him about me,” I told her. “I don’t want you going into detail about my past. You tend to talk too much.”

“Hey,” she scolded. “You have nothing to worry about, Mel. I don’t think he’d want to hear about your loser ex-husband anyway.” Korinne’s daughter began to fuss in the background. “All right, my lovely friend, the little one needs to be fed and put down for a nap. I’ll see you tomorrow night, seven o’clock, at the firm downtown. The party will be on the very top floor, but there’ll also be people there to guide you. Dress nice and you better have a smile on your face when I see you.”

Grinning, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Okay, you have my word. See you then.”

We both said our good-byes and hung up. The last thing I wanted to do was let my friend down when she’d done so much for me.
Who knows, I might actually have fun.

THE DRESS I picked out for the evening was a one shoulder, olive green sheath gown that was classic but not overly formal. I had bought it long ago when Daniel and I would attend dinners and parties every weekend. It was one of the dresses I never got around to wearing. Since it was still hot and humid outside, I decided to wear my hair up, placing it into a messy ball of curls at the nape of my neck and adding in a white flower to help decorate the style. Once I completed the finishing touches of makeup to my green eyes, I was ready to go.

I was running a little late, but I didn’t want to get there too early anyway. Hopping into my red Lexus LFA, I slowly made it out of my gated neighborhood and then onto I-85 once I got through all the residential areas. Traffic wasn’t too bad downtown, so it only took about twenty minutes to get from my house to the front of the M&M Architectural building that Korinne’s husband owned. When I pulled up, the whole group of valet attendants gaped with their mouths hanging wide open.

Getting out of the car, I smiled and passed the keys to one of the wide-eyed valet attendants who then handed me a ticket, keeping his eyes completely glued to my sports car. It was a rare and expensive mode of transport, and was one of the things Daniel got me that I didn’t want to get rid of. I was never a materialistic girl, but I had never had a brand new car until that one. I loved it.

“Do you mind if I take a picture of it?” the valet guy asked sheepishly. “I’ve only ever seen one other of these around here before. My fraternity brothers are gonna freak out.”

Grinning, I nodded and motioned toward my car. “Go for it. I don’t mind at all. Just take care of her for me, okay?”

“You have my word,” he promised, staring at it in awe.

Shaking my head, I left him to do his thing while I started through the revolving glass doors. The elevators were up ahead and I saw several people waiting to board them, so I joined them in the wait. When the doors opened, I sidled into the same one with another couple who both acknowledged me with a grin.

“Are you going to the top floor, too?” the lady asked, pressing the top button.

“Yes, thank you,” I replied, leaning against the handrail.

We rode in silence as the elevator took us to the top floor. I couldn’t stop the butterflies from fluttering around in my stomach, but it felt more than that … almost like a pull on my soul. Something about being in the building just felt odd. It was as if there was a magnet pulling me to the top faster than the elevator could take me.

I refused to admit out loud I was nervous, but deep down I really was.

As soon as the doors opened, I took in a calming breath and sighed. The couple strolled out and left me alone in the elevator, which was perfect; it gave me time to get the nerve to walk into the crowded room where I knew no one. Peering out over the mass of people, my stomach dropped when I couldn’t spot Korinne or her husband, Galen. Slowly I strolled out of the elevator and into the fray of people.

A waiter passed by with a tray of champagne, so I grabbed a glass and sipped it while searching the crowd. Instead of walking around like I was lost, I noticed a vacant seat overlooking downtown Charlotte and decided to take it. I sat down and finished off the rest of my champagne that went down way too easily.

“Would you care for another one?” one of the waiters offered, approaching me and taking my empty glass. He was a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and kind eyes; he reminded me of my father with the way he smiled.

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

I accepted the glass he offered with a smile of my own. Nodding, he grinned again and made his way through the crowd. Turning my back from the people in the room, I focused on the hustle and bustle of the nightlife down below. The lights twinkled and glowed like the stars in the sky … it was peaceful, magical.

“How are you doing this evening?”

Startled, I jumped at the sound of the voice behind me. A young man—maybe a year or two younger than me—with a wide smile on his boyish-looking face stood there, his grin growing wider. He was cute with his short, sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and dimples on both cheeks. He was also dressed in an immaculate three piece suit, but I was definitely not interested.

He held up his hands and took a step back. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just saw you sitting here by yourself and thought I’d come over and say hello.” He extended his hand in greeting, so I grasped it and shook firmly. “My name’s Jason,” he added.

“Melissa,” I answered, letting go of his hand. “Yeah, you scared me there for a second. I wasn’t expecting someone to come up behind me.”