Beyond Doubt (2 page)

The elevator hit a bump right before it landed at the lobby, and I was thrown off-kilter as I took a step toward the doors.

I let out a sigh just as his fingertips gripped my arms from behind, taking me completely off guard. My belly muscles contracted as I felt his soft touch signal something deep inside me that I wanted nothing to do with.

“Glad I was so memorable,” his voice rumbled. “It was Aaron.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, spinning to face him.

“It looked like you were about to go over again,” he said, smiling innocently, his eyes piercing. “Just wanted to protect my sister’s best friend from tumbling.”

Neither of us could deny the energy that was running between us, but I was going to do my best. My friendship with Gabby was far more important than anything this could ever amount to. That I was sure of. He was trouble. I could tell by the gleam in his eye, his mussed up hair, and that look. I would only amount to a prize he could stack with the other females he’d acquired. I could sense that much about him. If there was one thing I got out of college, it was how to sniff out a player. And he was a player—among other things.

His phone rang, and his one hand let go of me as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket. He silenced it quickly, before he slid it back in his pocket and locked eyes on mine once more.

I shrugged his remaining fingers from my other arm, turned around, and proceeded off the elevator in a quick strut but not before he caught up to me.

“Where were we?” he asked, knowingly.

The magnetism he exuded was impossible to miss as he moved ever so smoothly through the lobby. I noticed all the necks turn to watch him glide after me, and I got the distinct feeling I was in over my head. I still wasn’t sure of what terrible things Gabby’s long lost brother had done, but if she said they existed, then I believed her.

“I was headed for a latte, and I have no idea what you were up to. As of now I’m beginning to feel like you’re stalking me,” I said, pushing my way through the revolving glass doors.

The sidewalk was bustling with workers headed to the many skyscrapers that were stationed in this corner of the city. I passed by a gardener and said a friendly hi as he was watering the building’s large planters. I hoped that Aaron would get the message: the gardener was more interesting than you, buddy!

“Do you think that’s how I operate to get a woman in bed?” he asked, his lips tugging into a smile. “I tend to like my women agreeable and excited, not frightened and on the run.”

The shock of his statement did nothing but delight me, which told me my only line of defense was to pretend he didn’t exist. Besides, he couldn’t exist, not in my world.

I ignored him, trying to stifle a laugh and decided not to go to the coffee shop across the street. My plan was to shake him.

I had to shake him.

“Still going to get coffee?” he asked, his low voice vibrating my common sense right out of me.

“Yes. That was the plan,” I said, attempting to act dismissive. But that’s all it was—an act.

“Is there a problem with the Starbucks across the street?”

“I don’t like it.” I pursed my lips together and kept walking. And that was a complete lie. It happened to be my favorite near the office. They knew my name and drink before I even got to the counter.

“You don’t like Starbucks or you don’t like that particular Starbucks?”

“That particular one,” I replied, walking quicker.

“And why’s that?”

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to face him.

So much for my plan.

“Are you always used to getting what you want?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Mostly.” The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, and I wanted to deck him and jump him simultaneously.

“Then what is it you want?” I asked, his eyes intense as amusement filled them.

“How about I buy you a cup of coffee and we can discuss.”

“I can buy my own, and I was planning on it being a solitary act.”

“You know you’re curious,” he whispered, taking a step closer. “I can see it in your eyes.”

I wondered what else he could see in my eyes…the fact that he was the main character in all my fantasies the night before, or how about the guilt that was pulsing through me since I allowed him in my dreams in the first place? Either one was a viable option, but I hoped I wasn’t that transparent.

Against everything I stood for—and the friendship I cherished above everything in my life—I nodded in agreement.

“I’ll give you five minutes and that’s it,” I muttered, unable to look him in the eye.

“Great. I think I can relay my proposition to you in that amount of time,” he grumbled, as I spun around to the crosswalk.

Proposition?

Trying to shake the gnawing feeling of desperation tinged with excitement, I darted across the road and landed at the Starbucks that was completely out of the way, and he was right behind me.

The line wove through the coffee shop, allowing me to peer at all the mugs and trinkets as I stood waiting for what seemed like hours. I needed to do anything but look at him. Keeping myself busy tracing the lines of the mugs with the space needle etched onto the ceramic, I was surprised that he wasn’t speaking—relieved—but surprised.

And then I jinxed it by sneaking a look out of the corner of my eye.

“So I’m sure you’ve heard all sorts of things from my sister,” Aaron began, completely throwing me off guard.

“Actually, I haven’t heard a thing about you. Ever. And the ride home with her last night provided just as many insights,” I said quietly, before stepping up to the counter to place my latte order.

Digging for my debit card, I felt Aaron’s body come deathly close to mine as he recited his drink order to the waiting cashier. He was no more than an inch or two behind me, and with one accidental wiggle, I’d find my body pressed up against his. He swiftly handed over a twenty-dollar bill to handle both of our drinks, and I let out a disgruntled grunt. He placed his one hand on my shoulder as he waited for his change, and my body wanted to sink into his. Even though it was an innocent gesture, it felt far more escalated and like he was staking claim, or at least that was what I hoped. My heartbeat quickened as I felt the space between us shrink. This was absurd. The feelings that were crashing around inside of me from merely being in close proximity to him were crazy. It felt like all my nerves were on end, tingling with the slightest movement, the slightest touch.

He was good.

Too good.

Too experienced.

Anger began to quickly replace the amusement that had momentarily settled in my mind as I got my wits about me. Who did he think he was?

I didn’t want to make a scene in front of everybody at Starbucks. But, again, who did he think he was? He took his change and dumped it all into the tip jar before taking a step back from me. Was that supposed to impress me?

A big tipper. Whoopie!

Letting out the breath that I didn’t even know I was holding in, I scowled at him and marched to the end of the bar.

“You’re welcome,” he said, grinning as he came up behind me.

“Thank you,” I muttered, staring at the barista as she placed the lid on my cup.

“Have a good day,” the perky barista said. But somehow her gaze didn’t include me while she stared at Aaron, smiling.

“We will,” Aaron replied. I could almost hear the wink in his voice as he grabbed his drink off the counter.

The nerve!

I walked away from the bar toward an empty table for two. The morning paper was scattered across it, which I shoved to the side. I had to get my head on straight. He was off-limits. He flirted with anything that had a pulse. He was a creep. He was a player. And most importantly, he was my best friend’s long lost brother.

But he was gorgeous, and there was something so intriguing about him.

“Beneath that scowl, I know there’s more,” Aaron said, pulling out the chair from the table.

“You are bad news,” I said, confident in my best friend’s assessment. After all, he was her brother. She would know.

He arched a brow and crossed his arms, stretching the suit jacket’s material to its maximum. I could only imagine the definition under that material. No, let me rephrase. I already had imagined the definition under the fabric, and it was not for the faint of heart.

“I won’t disagree with that,” he said, clearly amused.

Annoyed, I took a sip of my latte and let my gaze fall to the brown tile floor and then to my phone. It was a quarter to eight. I didn’t have to be to my lovely cubicle for fifteen minutes.

“So what was it you wanted to discuss with me? A proposition of some sort?” I scoffed, feeling his eyes on mine.

There was silence. He was waiting for something.

I looked up and his gaze fastened to mine. That’s what he was waiting for.

“I thought Gabby would have told you about me,” he began.

“All I know is that I didn’t even know you existed until last night.” And I wished it had stayed that way. God, his lips were full and…

“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Aaron said, his tone softening, the playfulness leaving. “I’ve done some things I’m not proud of.”

“Yeah?” I asked, not amused. “Care to elaborate?”

“Listen, I want the chance to talk to my sister, apologize to her, explain things to her. A lot happened and…” his voice trailed off, catching me off guard. The confidence completely evaporated from him, and his ego dissolved into nothingness. He ran his fingers through his dark hair as he thought about what next to say. His mouth puckered as he blew out air and looked toward the ceiling. He looked so vulnerable, nothing like the man chasing me down the sidewalk.

“I think you’re the key to getting to speak with my sister,” he replied flatly.

Shaking my head, I broke my gaze from his. “Not going to happen. If she wants to talk to you, she will. I’m not going to force anything. I don’t know what happened between you two, but I want no part of it. She’s my best friend and as far as I’m concerned you don’t exist until she says you do.”

“Brutal,” he muttered, scooting forward in his seat.

“Whatever bad blood is between you two… is between you two. Buying me a cup of coffee isn’t going to make me forget where my loyalty resides. She’s like a sister to me and what we’ve been through binds us together forever. Having a good looking, not-so-sweet-talking brother pop up out of the blue isn’t going to shake that. You may be able to weasel your way with others but not with me. You want to talk to her? Grow a pair and talk to her.”

And with that, I grabbed my cup and purse and walked out of the Starbucks. But something inside me told me it wasn’t going to be the last of him, no matter how hard I tried to make it so.

Twelve hours earlier…

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, noticing Gabby walking a bit like Frankenstein. “Your shoulders look like they’re up to your ears.”

Gabby nodded, and I felt her discomfort from here. Poor girl. I had no idea what was happening, but the almost perfect life I thought Gabby lived seemed to be shattering with every step closer to this stranger. I wanted to be angry that my best friend didn’t tell me she had a brother, but I was just baffled. Yet, here I was about to meet him. I continued following her through the scattered tables until we slowed some. Her hesitancy worried me.

I looked around the ballroom and still felt a little out of my comfort zone. Okay, that was a lie. I felt
completely
out of my comfort zone. It didn’t matter what kind of dress I pulled over my head, this crowd—these people—were entirely out of my league. And not like in the “oh-woe-is-me” mentality, but more in the “I want nothing to do with this type of phoniness” business.

The ballroom was dressed majestically for the auction with flowers cascading from the ceiling, and gigantic flower arrangements tucked wherever there was an empty space. From the moment I had stepped into the Chateau, I felt like I was exploring a secret garden. And all this so that Gabby’s parents could raise money for someone or some family that landed on their radar. It was a different world for sure, and not one I felt completely comfortable navigating in. I mean the money spent decorating the place could’ve been given to the family, right? I obviously didn’t get it.