So far, the most annoying thing about this situation was that she did want to keep it on the down low. More so from Phoenix than anyone else. She said she just didn’t need the aggravation from his worrying. But she did say she wanted to be discreet around their other friends as well.
“Only because we share mutual friends. I’d hate for things to get awkward down the line if things should change between us.”
Should.
Never had such an insignificant word held so much weight. It was the only reason why Nine hadn’t argued or asked for further clarification on what she meant. It gave him hope that maybe she too was hoping things wouldn’t change or rather, if they did, it’d be for a better reason: that she was ready to move things forward and label this a committed relationship.
For now, Nine could live with things as is, as long as he didn’t hear about any other guys in her life. But with every new hookup they had, he knew damn well he’d be ready and willing to try the relationship thing the moment she said she was ready.
He’d even gone as far as granting her the favor she’d asked: that he not tell even O or Beast about them. “It’s not so much that I care if they know I’m doing this. But, technically, all three of you are my clients now. Not only is it unprofessional, but again, should anything change, it’d be too weird.”
And there was that word again. Nine knew he was grasping, but, for the most part, that she might be falling for him too wasn’t that unreasonable a thought. In fact, until the morning she’d given him her I’m not ready to jump back into a relationship speech, he’d been fairly certain she was feeling the same thing he was.
There was no question of whether or not she was enjoying their time together. She’d admitted it openly before anything even happened between them that she was attracted to him and enjoyed their conversations. So Nine figured he’d just be patient and wait it out before deciding if he would start making demands. But patience had never been Nine’s virtue. Only thing keeping him from making demands already was the one obstacle he knew he didn’t stand a chance of overcoming just yet—Dee’s refusal to bring anyone she didn’t deem worthy into her daughter’s life.
In his effort to pretend he was all for the just-for-fun thing and highly recommended the “me time,” Nine hadn’t earned himself any points in the being-deemed-the-grown-up-choice challenge. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he was trying not to suffocate her and possibly spook her into calling even this fun thing off before things got weird. But on the other, he wanted to prove he wasn’t just another douche she could lump in with the guys from her past.
For the time being, he decided he just wouldn’t mention exclusivity and hoped the not-dating-two-guys-at-once rule still stood. He made O promise to act like he didn’t know what was up with them and not to tell Beast. Beast knew now about the broken engagement and relationship between Dee and Brad. Between that fact and Ali being so close to having that baby, Beast probably wouldn’t even care at that point.
So far their hookups had consisted of meeting up at a bar or restaurant, when she didn’t have Chelsea, then ending up at her place for an all-night good time. But in between all the laughter and the lustful moments, Nine could feel their connection getting even deeper. It’s what gave him hope that maybe he’d be a serious consideration for someone who could be part of her life as a whole—Chelsea and all.
They’d been lying in her bed after a long and profound lovemaking session. The television was on, but neither was really watching. Nine was lying there staring at the ceiling when he had a thought. He’d been so caught up with everything about the situation and walking on air the past two weeks, he hadn’t even thought to ask.
Turning to Dee, who was channel-surfing, he challenged himself to keep his hands and lips off her for at least a little longer. It’s exactly why he hadn’t thought to ask something that could mean a lot. Each time he’d been around her, he’d been too distracted by his drunken lust to think of this, and the answer could be crucial. But he had to make sure it came across as just another one of his many curious inquiries. “Hey, I forgot to ask. How’d you break things off with Brad? I mean what reason did you give him?”
She turned to him, eyes slightly widened, but said nothing at first, as if maybe she had to ponder the question—or her response. “I just told him the truth. That I didn’t think we were a good match. That I hadn’t been feeling it for a while, and I didn’t think it was fair to drag it out any longer.”
“And what made you come to that conclusion. That you weren’t a good match?”
Nine glanced away at the guy throwing a tantrum on the television as if he wouldn’t be hanging on every word of her response and dissecting it meticulously. He turned back to her in time to catch that damn shrug, but it was telling. Nine was beginning to read her body language pretty well. She was making less of this just as she’d tried with their getting so caught up in their dancing at the wedding.
“I don’t know. It just didn’t feel genuine.”
She sat up a bit, getting comfortable with the pillow behind her against the backboard. Glancing at him but quickly turning back to television, she added something else. “Something you said previously made me think. I’d forgotten I said he was gone a lot until you reminded me. It’s how much it didn’t bother me that he was. I remembered, growing up, how happy my mother always was when my dad got home after being gone for days. We all were. Then I had a conversation with my mom when she was out here a few—” Dee paused to take a sip of the water bottle on the nightstand before going on. “Uh . . . not too long ago. She flew out before my stepdad, and we had a chance to have lunch and catch up. Somehow the subject came up, and I didn’t realize just how much she hated my dad being gone so much. It was one of the things that ultimately led to their divorce, and it really made me think more on that. I actually appreciated the fact that Brad was gone so much.” She shook her head with a roll of her eyes. “I thought it was normal. I was free to come and go without having to take him into account when making plans. Like the night I met you.”
She stopped again, staring into his eyes for a moment. Nine gulped, wondering if she was thinking the same thing he was. Thank God, he hadn’t been there. They might not be here right now if he had.
As if reading his mind, she went on quickly. “I probably wouldn’t have gone or I would’ve taken him. I wouldn’t have enjoyed the girl time I’d been enjoying with Ali up until all the drama started. Anyway, another thing my mom said that really hit home was the same thing you did, the night I stopped by the shop to go over the website stuff. That she’d stayed with my dad longer than she should’ve for all the wrong reasons. Mainly because she thought it was the right thing to do.” With another shrug, she added one more thing. “It’s when I decided I needed to break things off because I was doing the same thing.”
Interesting.
“What did Brad say?”
“Well, he tried to convince me to give it a little more time. Maybe we could break off the engagement but not the relationship. Said he suspected his being gone so much had to do with my decision and that he’d cut down on his business trips. But, honestly, I didn’t want anything to do with him at that point. It didn’t make sense to prolong the inevitable, when I knew my feelings wouldn’t be changing.”
“So he gave in, just like that?”
“No.” She laughed, and somehow her laugh didn’t warm him as it usually did. Of course the guy wouldn’t. “We hashed it out for a while before he finally gave in, but he still calls, trying to convince me to get together again so we can try to work it out. But I just don’t see the point anymore.”
“Don’t?” Nine was cautious not to sound the least bit demanding. “You said you didn’t keep in touch with him.”
“Well.” She lifted the remote, changing the channels again. “I don’t consider him calling me to invite me to have dinner or coffee and me turning him down every time, keeping in touch.”
Biting his
tongue because he wanted so badly to ask why the fuck she was still answering his calls if she wanted nothing to do with him anymore, Nine said nothing.
“Oh look, Atonement.” Nine turned to the television, still hot about the fact that she was, in fact, still keeping in touch with her ex, no matter how she put it. “Ever seen it? It’s so good, but I haven’t seen it in a while.”
“No, I haven’t—” Nine did a double take when the pretty brunette on the screen smiled, revealing that familiar smile. “Is she . . .?” He paused as the girl bit her lip. “Is she the same girl from Pirates of the Caribbean?”
“Yes. Keira Knightly. She’s been in a lot of movies, including one of my favorites, Pride and Prejudice. Just about all her movies—”
“She reminds me of you.” Nine glanced away from the television and back at Dee.
Dee scrunched her nose, looking up at the television. “She’s pretty, but she’s a brunette with dark eyes.”
“Her teeth. They’re not perfect, but they give her character. Like you.” He glanced up at the television again. “She’s as pretty as most lead actresses in a romance usually are, but that smile . . . It adds to her character, making her uniquely beautiful.”
He turned to face Dee again, and she seemed a bit stunned. “Are you saying I’m beautiful, Nine?”
“Hell, yeah.” It surprised him that she’d even question it. “But I’ve said you’re beautiful before.”
“You’ve addressed me as beautiful. I didn’t think that counted.”
“Of course it counts.” He moved closer to her. “Why wouldn’t it?”
“I just remember you saying someone beautiful could be hot but someone being hot didn’t automatically make them beautiful or something like that.”
“I remember.” Nine smiled, moving even closer to her because he was done keeping his hands and lips off her. “I said you were hot. I didn’t know you well enough then to know if you were beautiful. I do now, and you’re as beautiful as they get.”
That seemed to stun her too but in a good way, so he didn’t care. One thing about Nine was, aside from being a risk taker, he was known for being honest when it came to his opinions—almost to a fault if you asked either of his moms about his brutal honesty. That’s all he was doing here—being honest because he meant every word. To hell with not sounding whipped. At least he wasn’t making demands yet, and he was letting her keep in touch with Brad—for now. But he was done holding back. At least about this.
“You’re beautiful, Dee,” he whispered then pecked her softly, still staring in her eyes. “So fucking beautiful.”
Chapter 20
Drew
“So this is love, mmmmmm.”
Drew waltzed around her kitchen, singing and humming the song her daughter had been playing so much lately. Chelsea always got stuck on one Disney movie or other for days, and Drew inevitably got whatever song she replayed a million times stuck in her head. This week it’d been Cinderella.
Admittedly, it had been days since Chelsea played it. Breathing in deeply, Drew waltzed over to the fridge. “So this is what makes life divine.”
Chelsea’s giggling stopped Drew’s lovestruck prancing in its tracks. She turned to her daughter, who stood by the kitchen door, holding Drew’s phone up in the air, with her hand over her mouth, still giggling. “Daddy heard you.”
Feeling her face flush, Drew took the phone from the still-giggling little brat. Chelsea ran away with Tank hot on her heels, barking in excitement. “Don’t get him too fired up in the house, Chelsea. He’s gonna break something.” Bracing herself, she squeezed her eyes shut for a second before saying hello.
“Please tell me you’re not all aglow.”
Clearly, Phoenix had heard the song as much as Drew had lately since he knew the next line of the lyrics. With her eyes still closed, she attempted to play it off as casually as possible, laughing softly. “I’ve had that song stuck in my head for days. Thanks to your daughter.”
“Really? Thanks to Chelsea or Nine?” Drew’s eyes flew open and her stomach dropped. “She says you’ve been doing a lot of dancing lately too.”
“What are you talking about? You know how she plays those songs over and over—”
“I just got back from having a drink with Brad, Dani.”
The embarrassed flush she’d felt moments earlier from his insinuation morphed into something she preferred—anger. “Why?”
“He asked me to please meet with him. Said it was about you and important.”
“Let me guess,” she said, slapping the dish towel she was holding on the counter. “He wants you to try and convince me he’s the one for me?”
“Well, that was part of it. More like he wanted my advice on how he could convince you. But I know now Nine’s the reason you broke things off and who you’ve likely moved on to.”
“He said that? I never told him that.”
“No, but like me and very likely anyone else who witnessed you two at the wedding, it’s the conclusion he’s come to.”
“Well, it’s not.” She stalked out into her small patio because she didn’t want Chelsea to hear her. “I just never felt anything magical with him. I can’t help that the spark just wasn’t there, okay? I explained that to him. Granted, I used a little more tact and kinder words, but he understood perfectly well why I did it.”
“Seriously, Dani, I don’t mean to meddle in your personal life, but I just can’t help worrying about you getting hurt.”
“I’m a grown-ass woman, Phoenix,” she said, feeling even more annoyed. “Even if I did allow myself to indulge in a hot man-whore after hanging in there that long with someone who didn’t do it for me, I know better than to fall for him.”
“God, I knew it. It was Nine who you were with that morning I called and heard someone in the background, wasn’t it?”
“You know nothing about him.”
Phoenix groaned loudly. “Jesus, Dani, you do this all the time. You fall for these hot studs, because I’ll give you that much.” He lowered his voice. “The man’s a hot piece of ass. Problem is most other women would agree, like the two he walked out with that night, and he knows it.”
For an instant, Drew felt her throat tighten, but she shook it off. She was in this for the fun of it, and she’d walk away unscathed when and if the time ever came.
“Like I said, I’m a grown woman, Phoenix. I went into this knowing perfectly well what I was in for. I have zero expectations of—”
“He saw you the night of the rehearsal dinner.”
Drew took that in, not sure what he meant. “Who?”
“Brad. He said he got there and watched as you and Nine carried on. He said you looked so completely captivated with him it made him sick to his stomach.”
Drew pinched the rim of her nose as Phoenix paused in what she assumed was his way of letting that sink in. She had no idea how to respond to that because Phoenix knew her too well. Trying to deny she’d been captivated by Nine since day one was futile, so she didn’t, and he went on.
“He said he texted you to ask if he should meet you there or at home, and you told him to not bother. Told him to just meet him at home but still hung out with Nine for a while. He almost confronted you when you and Nine drove off into a dark corner of the parking lot, but Nine got out so quickly he decided to give you the benefit of the doubt. Then you got home and barely let Brad touch you, saying you were tired. Next day he had to refrain from being a dick to Nine and stomach watching you two together again all day and then sit through that nauseating dancing. Two days later you dumped him.”
He stopped there, and they were both quiet so long it got awkward. The very song she’d been singing and dancing to earlier, came blasting through the door, and Drew couldn’t help but laugh dryly. Chelsea was at it again.
Taking a deep breath, she decided just to be honest. “What do you want me to say, Phoenix? Yes, Nine is easy to talk to, and he makes me laugh, and maybe having such a good time with him did make
me realize I was settling with Brad. But I didn’t dump him for anyone. I didn’t even know anything would be happening between Nine and me. In fact, my breakup with Brad came weeks before anything happened with Nine. I’m just enjoying being a free spirit right now. Nine and I are both in agreement that this is a just-for-fun thing.”
Phoenix scoffed. “Like that ever works out.”
“Well, it’s working so far.”
“So you’re okay with the fact that just the other night I saw him having dinner with one of the chicks he left the wedding with and they looked pretty damn cozy kissing and cuddling?”
Feeling something squeeze her heart tightly, Drew went quiet long enough for Phoenix to notice. “Dani?”
Swallowing hard, Drew did her best to sound sincere. “Yeah, I’m okay with it.”
“Honey, are you forgetting who you’re talking to?” Phoenix asked in a softer more concerned voice. “You’re so not okay with that.”
“I am too,” she insisted, in spite of her nearly quivering lip and growing ache in her throat. “Neither of us has made any promises. I’m free to see whomever I want and so is he.”
“Yeah, well, before you hang up and go cry in your pillow, I haven’t seen him since the wedding.”
“Damn you, Phoenix!” She exhaled loudly, feeling the weight of the world lift off her chest. She wiped the corner of her eye with a relieved chuckle. “You’re such a jerk.”
“I know and I’m sorry. But I was just trying to prove my point, and I think I did. I’m still editing clips of that wedding for my website portfolio. Between the footage of you two in it and what Brad told me today, no way can you convince me you haven’t already fallen for this guy—hard.”
“He’s fun,” Drew said softly.
She had nothing else. Phoenix was right. Besides Charlee, Phoenix was the only other person in the world who could see right through her. She was only surprised it took him this long to call her on it. Though technically, he had the very next morning after the wedding.