He brushed his fingers through my hair, slowly and softly, as we lay together for another five minutes. Eventually, I kissed him and had to start getting ready for work. I was buttoning up my shirt when William's hands landed on my hips, his mouth in the nape of my neck. I shivered, feeling his hands and hot breath on me. William was always responsive to me, and I was to him, but lately, our schedules kept us from really spending time together.
"How'd the weekend go with Alexander?" he asked, still pressed to me. My body tensed, but I tried my best to relax so he wouldn't notice. The last person I wanted to talk about was Alex, but I knew I had to act as if it didn't bother me.
"Fine. He unpacked and I cooked. Nothing major."
He leaned forward and kissed the top of my head. "Good. I hope he comes back around."
I turned to face him and asked, "Did something happen between you two? You guys seem to butt heads a little. Or perhaps it's just the Lancaster testosterone." I smiled a little so he wouldn't take me completely serious, but I really did want to know.
"Just things in the past with us. No worries. He'll be fine." He dipped his head and kissed my cheek, giving me a vague response that he typically does whenever it deals with Alex or his late wife. I never pushed it. I wanted him to tell me on his own terms. I knew what it was like to want to keep things hidden, not wanting to consciously think of them, so I always let it go.
BY WEDNESDAY, MY schedule was back to the crazy routine of long work hours and coming home just in time to see William before he went to bed. We were used to seeing each other just a couple hours at night before bed and sometimes in the morning before we both left for work. It worked for us. It made the times we were together that much more special.
I avoided Alex like the plague. He was busy preparing for job interviews, and I was busy keeping myself away from him. After the stunt he pulled Sunday night, I wanted as much distance between us as possible.
I woke up late Thursday, hitting the snooze button one too many times. I hurried and got ready, rushing out the door before stopping in the kitchen to grab something to eat since I wouldn't have time to stop anywhere.
When I reached the fridge, I saw a small brown bag with pink lettering on it. It was from the bakery a few blocks down so I peeked inside. There was a bagel with a small cream cheese cup and a plastic knife. I held it up to my nose and inhaled the raisin and cinnamon scent. It was my favorite flavor.
I smiled as I thought of William making sure I had something to eat on my way out. I opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle before making my way out.
"Good morning," I heard Alex's voice from the other doorway. I cringed, really hoping I'd dodge him this early in the morning.
"Not now, Alex." I wasn't in the mood for his crap. I stuffed the water bottle and bagel into my bag and began walking toward the front door.
"Not now, what?" he asked, following behind me.
"Not now, you." I turned around to glare at him, but he was smirking at me. "What's funny?"
"You're adorable in the morning." He leaned against the doorway of the hallway and crossed his arms. His eyes burned into mine.
I turned around, grabbing the door handle and hissed, "Screw you, Alex."
"Anytime, sweetheart. Just say the word," he replied. I glanced at him briefly, which ended up being a bad idea. His smug grin only pissed me off more, so I flipped him the bird and yanked open the door.
"Enjoy your bagel," he called out right before I slammed the door shut on him. God, he was infuriating.
As I arrived at my office, I buried myself in as much work as possible. I responded to emails, made appointments, and even re-organized my desk as I stuffed my face. My assistant was on vacation starting today, so I made sure I wouldn't be overbooked but had just enough to keep me busy.
"Have time for a lunch date?"
My head popped up as soon as I heard William's voice. I nearly screamed as I saw him standing in front of my desk. "Oh my god! What are you doing here?" I jumped up and rounded my desk, wrapping my arms around him.
"I just thought I'd come and surprise my fiancée and take her out to lunch. Is that all right?" He smiled and kissed my forehead. "That's if you have time."
"Of course!"
I peeked into Laura's office and told her I was taking my lunch. She was on the phone and waved me out, so I took that as an okay. I grabbed my purse and led William to the elevator where we discussed where to go for lunch.
"So what are you in the mood for?"
"Hm … " I hadn't even thought about lunch, but now that he mentioned it, I was quite hungry. That bagel helped a bit, but it was from hours ago. "There's a cute little deli just a few blocks from here."
"Wherever you'd like, darling." He stepped into the elevator and cupped my face, looking deep into my eyes.
"Yes?" I nervously sucked my lip in between my teeth as I looked back into his.
"Nothing." He shrugged and smiled. "You just look really beautiful today."
"Thank you." I smiled back and welcomed his lips as he leaned in and placed his mouth against mine.
I soaked in the moments William and I had together. There weren't many like this, but they were special. I loved having his attention on just me, even if it was only for a short lunch.
"The turkey club is really good," I said as we stood in line, waiting for our turn. "But you'll have to clarify you don't want the bacon."
"But what if I want the bacon?" he mocked, chancing a glance at me.
I scowled, shaking my head at him. "Then you'll die," I replied bluntly as we made our way to the cashier.
"I doubt that," was his last remark before we placed our order and found a small table to sit at.
I shook my head as he took a large, exaggerated bite into his sandwich, which, by the way, he left the bacon on. I bit into my chicken chipotle Panini just as his phone started to ring.
I sighed as I ripped the cover off my fat-free strawberry yogurt. "Do you have to answer that?"
He pulled it out of his dress shirt pocket and checked the name before silencing it. "I'll call them back."
"Thank you."
WE MADE LIGHT conversation until most of our lunch was finished and then I remembered I needed to ask him about his upcoming schedule. "When are you flying out again?
"Next Tuesday. I have to be in Dallas for an evening meeting and then from there I'm flying out to LA."
"When will you be back?"
"Thursday evening, darling. Then I have an early conference call Friday. But I'm home over the weekend."
"That's great." I smiled, hating that he'd be so busy. "You'll be around this weekend?"
"Yes, I believe so. Why?"
I sipped my drink before answering, "My event?" I prompted, a little irritated that he'd forgotten.
"Oh, yes. Of course, darling." I smiled happy he had at least cleared his schedule for it. I've been looking forward to it for months and was nervous just thinking about it.
Chapter Thirteen
I stepped into the kitchen and saw another brown bag with pink lettering on it. I grabbed it and instantly smelled the delicious scent of cinnamon. I peeked in and saw another bagel just like the morning before. I was getting pretty fond of William's new habit.
I grabbed a plate and set the bagel and cream cheese on it. I poured a glass of orange juice and sat down to quickly eat. I'd have to leave in ten minutes if I wanted to get to work on time.
"Good morning," I heard Alex before I saw him, but my body instantly reacted. I sat up taller, my body tensing just at the sound of his voice.
I swallowed and answered, "Morning." I was still actively trying to avoid him, but I knew I couldn't for long. He seemed to find ways to interrupt any quiet and alone time I had. "You're up early," I said just before seeing that he was in running shorts and sweat was dripping from his bare chest. His hair was slicked back and his body looked tight as if he had just worked out. "You run?" I asked, a bit shocked I didn't know this before now.
"Yes." He walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water out.
"Since when?" I asked but then shoved a bite of bagel in my mouth. I should be ignoring him. Avoiding him. Anything but talking to him while he stood looking like that in front of me.
"Keeping tabs on me now?" I could tell he was smirking by the flirty tone in his voice.
"No. Was just asking."
"Good looks and tight muscles don't just happen overnight."
"You're so arrogant," I spat out, finishing my juice and bagel so I could get the hell out of there.
"I'd say confident, which most chicks dig, by the way." He winked, and I wanted to slap that stupid grin right off his face. He knew what he was doing, and I wasn't going to let him.