Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me Book 3) (6 page)

"I'm fine," he assured me, patting my shoulder before letting his arm fall. "You don't need to worry about me."

Chapter 9

Brock stood up the instant he finished his story. Apparently, I was being dismissed. He assured me he was fine, forgave me for blaming him, and now he was sending me on my way.

The problem was, I didn't want to leave. I should have been all right with the idea of heading home. After all, there was nothing more to say. He had been more than gracious about the whole thing, and I knew I should let him get back to his project.

"I know it won't make up for it," I said, "but I'd love to go grab you some dinner if you let me."

He smiled. "I was just messing with you about that."

"I know you were, but I really wouldn't mind if you're hungry. It's the least I can do." He started to shake his head as I was still speaking, and I could see that he was about to deny me, so I continued on, trying to convince him. "I know a great place for takeout not far from here. They're a farm fresh, organic type of place since you're obviously conscious about your, uh, health or whatever. I could pick up a chicken wrap or something and bring it back by here. I wouldn't mind at all. I wanted to go by there to get something for myself anyway."

He smiled at me with that same amused grin that made me want to squirm and continue rambling. "You really don't need to do that," he said.

"I've already got my heart set on it," I said. "That is unless you've eaten."

"I haven't," he said.

"Great," I said, smiling.

"Caesar, bar-b-que, or Thai?"

"Thai," he said. "Unless you recommend one of the others."

"Thai's great. I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

He smiled and thanked me as he walked me to the door. I got in my car and called Bruno's to place an order for three Thai wraps—one for myself and two for Brock. I figured a big guy like him might have the appetite for two, and if not, he could save it for tomorrow.

I stretched the truth a little bit when I told him Bruno's was right around the corner, but I knew he would like it, and I wanted to get it for him. It took me fifteen minutes to get there even though I drove fast. Thankfully, the order was ready when I arrived, and I got right back in the car after paying for it.

I felt a mix of emotions as I drove back to Brock's place. I still felt crummy for making the wrong assumptions about him, but I was definitely relieved he had forgiven me. I was also experiencing a slightly odd feeling similar to attraction that must have been caused by overexposure to his flawless chest and abs. I tried to remember but didn't think I had seen Shane without his shirt the entire time we were dating.

I smiled as I drove, thinking about what a dork I was for replaying that moment when Brock answered the door with jeans and dirty hands, and nothing but a towel hanging over his shoulder. I literally shook my head to try to clear the picture from my thoughts.

"I ordered two in case you were hungry," I said, handing him the brown paper bag when I arrived at his studio a few minutes later. "They're great straight from the fridge if you want to save one for later."

He reached out and took the bag from me with a sweet smile. "I'm starving," he said, "so I'll probably destroy both of them here in a minute. What do I owe you?"

"Oh, nothing."

He lifted the bag with a sincere smile. "Thanks for this."

We stared at each other for a few seconds, before we both spoke at the same time.

I said, "I'd better be going."

And he said, "You wanna stay and eat?"

I really did want to, but I knew he was just saying it to be nice. I smiled. "That's really sweet, but I'll let you get back to what you were doing." I glanced around before looking back at him. "Your furniture is amazing, by the way. I didn't get to tell you that earlier. I thought you just worked with metal. I didn't know you did all this stuff with cushions and everything. That couch was really comfortable."

"I do all the metal work myself. If a piece has cushions, then I draw plans for them. I work with an upholsterer who brings the vision to life. I could probably learn to do all of it myself, but I really like my guy, and I would just as soon stick with welding."

"It really is beautiful," I said. "All of it. I saw that table you made for the Happy House, and the chairs in Carly and Micah's basement, but it's really incredible seeing this many pieces in one place."

He smiled and nodded humbly. "Thank you," he said. "It's a blessing to be able to make money at something you love."

How had I ever misjudged this guy? Here he stood, all battered and beaten on my behalf, and he was still so sweet, gracious, and humble.

"Your ribs," I said, thinking about his battered state. "Did that happen in the fight?"

He chuckled and touched a hand to his side. He had on a shirt, but I knew that was where the scar was. "No, that's not from the fight. I got it when I was in the military. It's ugly, huh?"

"No, it's definitely, it's not, it's not ugly at all. I was just wondering if, but you said it was from a long time ago. That makes me feel better. I noticed it earlier, and I was just wondering, you know, cause I would feel bad if it was from the fight. I mean, I already feel bad about everything else." I gestured by waving my hand in the general direction of his face.

What in the world was wrong with me?
I was a babbling idiot, and he just stood there smiling sweetly, waiting for me to finish.

"Uhhhh" I groaned out loud. "I'm sorry I'm such a dork. I just feel bad that you had to get in a fight to get my ring back."

"I told you not to feel bad," he said. "It wasn't your fault. If anything, Tyler should be the one apologizing to both of us. Don't worry, I'll give him a good whoopin once he's healthy."

I laughed. "Thank you for being so cool about everything," I said.

He smiled as he lifted the bag slightly. "Thanks again for the sandwiches."

"Don't blame me if you get hooked," I said. "I made sure there was a menu in the bag since you probably will."

He smiled at me when I said that. The side of his upper lip was still a little swollen, making his smile slightly asymmetrical in an extremely handsome way. I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Stop being ridiculous," I said.

I assumed I thought it, but apparently, I said it out loud because he said, "What?"

"Nothing," I said. "I'm tired and hungry. That makes me babble." I waved at him. "Thanks again for everything you did to get my ring back, and thanks for forgiving me."

"Don’t mention it," he said. "I'm glad you came by."

I was turning to leave when I said, "Me too," from over my shoulder. I waved to him again as I walked out the door.

I wasn't sure how it was possible to feel a sense of closure and longing at the same time, but that's exactly what I felt as I drove away. I was definitely happy I had gone by to talk to him, but I still couldn't get over how I treated him—especially after learning everything he had gone through to get my ring back. I wasn't really hungry, but I ate half of my chicken wrap on the way home because I knew I needed some sustenance.

I called Carly after I stashed the uneaten portion of it back into the paper stack. "Hey Chica," she said answering the phone.

"Hey," I said. "I wanted to let you know you were right about Brock."

I heard a sharp intake of breath, and then I heard her rustling around as if she was trying to find a quiet spot to talk to me. "What happened?" she asked, obviously intrigued. "Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah, I'm just leaving his studio right now."

"You went over there?"

"Yes, and he is just about the sweetest guy I've ever met. He looks all tough, and dark, and mysterious, and then he talks and the words that come out are sweet, and gracious, and forgiving."

"Aw, I'm so glad you went over there," she said. "It sounds like you worked out whatever hard feelings you were having. I told you he was a good guy."

"He didn't have anything to do with my ring getting stolen," I said. "His friend took it to support his drug habit. Brock didn't know anything about it."

"I knew he wouldn't do something like that," she said. "But it was hard to tell you that when everything pointed to him. How'd he get the ring back?"

"I think it was a bit of a fiasco," I said.

I wasn't sure if Brock wanted people knowing the whole story, so I hesitated to repeat it.

"What happened?"

"He didn't tell me every detail," I said, "but I think he had to go through a lot to get it back, which made me feel even worse about being so mean to him."

"You didn't know," she said.

"I know, but I still feel bad. He was really nice about it."

"I'm glad. I think it's great that you went over there and talked to him."

"Me too," I said. "Thank you for nudging me in that direction."

"That's what friends are for. Hey, speaking of that, don't forget about Micah's thing this Friday. You told me to remind you."

Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought she had mentioned that Brock would be there too. It seemed like when she said it I was revolted by the idea, but now I felt differently. Not only was I looking forward to seeing him, but I also felt as if I should do something for him—like bring him some sort of gift or token for everything he had gone through to get my ring back.

"Are you there?" she asked, since I was silent for so long.

"Yeah, I'll be there," I said.

"Great," she said. "It should be fun. I sent an invite to your house. You should get it sometime this week. Bring Ryan, Isaac, and Annie too."

"I'll see if they can come," I said.

Carly and I said our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone just as I was pulling into the driveway of my house. All of my roommates' cars were there, but Annie was the only person in plain sight when I walked in the door.

"Where you been?" she asked as I walked in. "Was it volunteer night?"

I set my bags by the door, took my shoes off, crossed to the couch, and plopped onto it in a dramatic fashion. "Yes, but I finished with that a while ago," I said.

"Sounds like there's more to this story," she said.

I sighed. "There might be some six pack abs."

Isaac chose that exact moment to come into the living room. It was like he had a radar indicating when people were talking about health and fitness. "Who had a six pack?" he asked.

"She was talking to me," Annie said. "Who had a six pack?" she asked.

I sighed again. "Brock."

"The guy who stole your ring?" she asked.

"Yeah, but turns out he didn't take it."

"I thought he brought it back," she said, walking from the kitchen into the living room to sit beside me on the couch.

Isaac went into the kitchen and started digging in the fridge as if he wasn't really interested in our conversation anymore.

"He did bring it back," I said, "but he wasn't the one who took it. It was a big misunderstanding."

"It sounds like you like him," she said, giving me an intrigued, wide-eyed look.

"It's not so much that I
like
him; it's more like I feel really bad about
disliking
him. He had to go through some unexpected crap to get my ring back, and I was really mean to him about it."

"Did you work it out?" she asked.

"Work what out?" Ryan asked, coming into the living room to join us.

"Trish was wrong about that dude taking her ring," Annie said.

Ryan shot me curious expression, and I nodded, confirming that Annie was right.

"And she saw his six pack," Isaac said from the kitchen.

"I did not!" I said. "I mean,
I did
, but that had nothing to do with the story. Basically, I just went over there and apologized for the misunderstanding."

I wasn't sure why I felt like I had to defend myself when the subject of the six-pack was brought up in front of Ryan. He and I had never had had a romantic encounter, but for some reason I thought his feelings would be hurt if he knew how I had looked at Brock that night. There were two things about that scenario that disturbed me. One, I didn't want to admit that there had been even the slightest attraction toward Brock, and two, I didn't want to admit that Ryan would care.

"I think I need a shower," I said, feeling overwhelmed by those thoughts. I got up and headed toward my room. "Oh, and Micah's band is having an album release party this Friday," I said as I walked. "Carly wants us all to come if we can."

Chapter 10

All three of my roommates agreed to come with me to Micah's album release party the following weekend. Annie committed to it right away. She worked regular business hours at a bank, therefore had nothing else going on Friday at 8pm and wanted to check it out. Isaac said he'd go as well, which surprised me. My hunch was that it was more about hanging out with Annie than having any interest in the show. Ryan was scheduled to work a bartending shift, but he traded with someone in order to get out of it. I was happy to have them all come along.

I didn't know what to expect other than it was to be held in an old, historic dance hall on the outskirts of town. Carly had also told me they were expecting a good crowd, which didn't surprise me because I'd heard Micah's music and knew it was good. I wanted to ask Carly a little bit more about it, so I went by the Happy House that Wednesday after school since I knew it was her regular day to volunteer. I could have called her, but I was bored and felt like going by there to tell everyone hello.

I came in during the middle of her science class and ended up helping her out with the experiment. I was slightly surprised to find Thomas and Mary Katherine sitting next to each other when I came in, but I acted like I barely noticed other than greeting her and telling her I was glad she made it out to another class. Thomas was looking dapper with a button-down shirt and his hair freshly combed, which made me smile.

Carly had a stinky, messy experiment that dealt with burning various foods and recording the times it took each one to completely burn up. It was interesting though, and she was glad to have me around to help her monitor everything and clean up the mess.

"I'm glad you came by," she said to me while she was gathering up her things after class. "Were you coming to check on Mary Katherine?"

"I didn't even know she was coming," I said.

"Thomas knew," Carly said in a quiet voice. Everyone had already headed out toward the living room, but I could tell by the way she said it that she thought they might still be looming in the hallway. "He called Micah yesterday and told him all about her," she said. "I think he's in love."

"I wonder how he knew she was coming today," I said, still being quiet.

"I'm pretty sure they exchanged contact information."

I put my fists to my mouth and shrugged my shoulders, scrunching up into a ball with delight at the prospect of Thomas finding a lady friend. "Isn't she pretty?" I asked.

"So pretty. I had a hard time giving my lecture tonight because I was so preoccupied by their cuteness.

"I wonder if she'll come to the concert on Friday," I said.

"Oh, I should've mentioned it to her," Carly said with a worried glance into the hallway as if wondering if she'd already left.

"I'm sure Thomas will invite her," I said.

She smiled, nodded, and continued putting her things away.

"That's actually one of the reasons I came by tonight," I said. "I wanted to find out more about the show."

"It's gonna be amazing," she said. "KROS is doing some radio promotion for it. I think it's gonna be even bigger than we originally thought."

"What should I wear?" I asked.

"Jeans or whatever," she said. "It's not dressy or anything if that's what you're asking."

"I just wanted to know what to tell the roommates," I said.

She looked at me. "I know you straightened everything out with Brock, but I just thought I'd warn you that he and Shane are going to be there."

"You told me," I said, shrugging as if it was no consequence to me. "I probably won't even see them if it's as packed as you say."

"I hope it is. I'm so excited for Micah, and it's a great album."

A few seconds of silence passed between us while she pulled her bags onto her shoulder. "I know it doesn't matter to you, but I thought I'd also warn you that Emily's friend, Chelsea, is going to be there as sort of a date or whatever for Brock."

I let out a little laugh. "Why would that matter to me?" I asked. "I think it's great that he's dating someone. I've actually met Chelsea up here one time. She's a cool girl. They'd make a cute couple."

Carly shrugged. "Emily would be happy to see them hook up because she and Chelsea are such good friends. Chelsea's been trying to get with him for a while, but Brock's really not into dating."

"Well, I'm sort of glad you told me," I said. "I got him a little something and was planning on giving it to him on Friday, but that would just have been awkward if he was there with someone."

She smiled at me in a way that told me she thought I liked Brock, so I quickly backpedaled.

"I didn't get it because I like him or anything. I just felt bad about being so mean and felt like I needed to repay him somehow for his trouble with getting my ring back."

"What sort of trouble?" she asked. Carly knew I had more information then I was offering, and I could tell she was curious.

"He had to fight for it," I said.

"Fight?" she asked, looking confused. "Like fistfight someone to get it back?"

"Yes, but it was an organized match—like in a boxing cage or whatever. The guy who had it told him if he won, he could have it back."

"Who'd he have to fight?" she asked, still looking like she didn't believe it.

"Some guy named Nick The Hammer."

"Are you kidding me?" she asked.

"No, but don’t mention it to him. He seems like a pretty private guy and I don't want him to think I went around repeating it."

"I won't," she assured me. "I can't believe that, though."

"I couldn't either, but I know he was telling me the truth."

"I know, he's a nice guy, isn't he?"

"Too nice," I said. "That's why I felt so bad for blaming him for everything."

"What'd you get him?" she asked.

"What?"

"You said you got him a gift. What was it?"

"Oh, it's nothing," I said, feeling like it was a stupid idea now that I knew he was dating someone.

"Tell me," she said, nudging my shoulder playfully.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it feels wrong now that I know he's going out with that girl."

Her eyes widened as she stared at me smiling. "Do you like him, Trisha?" she whispered.

"No!" I said defensively. "I just couldn't think of what to get him. He seemed like such a practical, guy that I knew he wouldn't care about a random gadget or gizmo."

"So what'd you get him?" she asked, still wide-eyed.

I sighed. "Uhhhh, it doesn't matter. It's stupid. I just picked something random that I thought was practical. I'm gonna end up returning it anyway."

She smiled and pushed at my shoulder again. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm not telling you," I said. "I'm not giving it to him, and I feel like an idiot for buying it in the first place."

"Don't say that!" she said. "I think it was nice. He'd probably love it."

I just smiled and shook my head, feeling embarrassed that I'd even mentioned it.

"What was it?" she pressed.

"Nothing!" I said with a
drop it
expression.

"Tell me," she said smiling.

I knew she wouldn't leave me alone about it until I told her. "I just tried to get something practical," I said.

"And?"

"Some lounge pants and a bottle of shower gel. It's the only thing I could think of that all guys would use."

"Are you talking about that expensive soap you always said you liked?" she asked. "You were obsessed with that stuff. I remember you smelling it on that guy in college and asking him what it was. Is that what you bought?"

"Yeah, but it's only because I didn't know what else to get."

She stared at me for a long time.

"What?" I asked finally.

"You totally like him," she said.

"I do not!"

She put her hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. "I can tell you do, Trish, and I think it's great."

"I don't like him like that," I defended.

"Let me finish," she said. "I think it's great, but I do have to warn you that he's different. He's private. He doesn't really let people into his world. That girl Chelsea's been trying for months and the only reason Brock agreed to escort her this Friday was to get his brother and Emily off his back about it."

The thought of Brock escorting Chelsea gave me a stomachache, but I acted unaffected. "I know he's private," I said. "And I don't care who he's going to the show with. I just felt bad about the ring, and I wanted to get him a little something. End of story."

Carly lifted her hands in surrender, but smirked as if she could see right through me. "Okay," she said. "But for what it's worth, I think you'd be great together—way better than him and Chelsea."

I smiled. "You better not tell Brock that. The last thing he needs is someone else trying to set him up."

"I think you should at least give him the gift," she said.

I laughed and shook my head. "You're crazy!" I said.

"I think he'd appreciate it."

"Sorry, but no," I said as we began to make our way out of the classroom and down the hall that led to the living room.

"I'm glad you're still here!" Carly said when she caught sight of Mary Katherine and Sarah Miller. "I wanted to tell you about an album release party this weekend. My husband's band is playing—"

"Thomas already invited me," Mary Katherine said.

"Mary Katherine's riding with us," Thomas said. He stared at us with a serious expression as if wondering whether or not we'd put it together that it was a date.

"Oh, good!" Carly said.

"I'm gonna ride with them too and sit in the middle!" another student named Benji announced from behind them.

"No you're not!" Thomas said, turning to scold Benji who laughed.

"You're welcome to come if you want, Benji," Claire said sweetly.

"Yeah, but he's not riding with us," Thomas said.

This made Mary Katherine giggle and bat her eyes at Thomas who, in return, stood up a bit straighter.

"He can ride with us if he wants to," Claire said.

Thomas looked at him. "Fine but he's not sitting in the middle." It was unlike Thomas to act that way to anyone, but Benji was always doing his best to get under Thomas's skin, and obviously Mary Katherine was a subject that was off limits.

"We've got things going on Friday night anyway," Benji's mom said. "Thanks for the invite, though."

Thomas smiled sweetly at Benji as he and his mom said goodbye and headed out. Claire didn't bother bringing up the way Thomas acted toward Benji since we all knew he had it coming.

"We'll drop Mookie off at your house at seven," Sarah said, as we all made our way to the door.

"I guess I should wear a dress," Mary Katherine said, stopping shy of the door, and causing a big, traffic jam. She stated it as more of a question and regarded us girls curiously.

"I'll probably wear jeans," Carly said.

"Me too," I added, "but I'll probably put a nice sweater with them, and some heels."

"What color sweater?" Mary Katherine asked.

"I was thinking green since my eyes are green," I said. "Either that or brown."

"I think green," she said before turning to Carly. "What about you?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a black shirt I really like. I thought I might wear that one."

Mary Katherine nodded.

"We should go, Mookie," Sarah said from the back of the group since her daughter was the one holding everyone up in the doorway.

"I thought you might look pretty in a dress like you were saying," Thomas said as if he hadn't heard Sarah's statement.

"You do?" she asked smiling shyly at him. "Because I have a blue dress and a pink one."

"I would like to see either of those," Thomas said.

Mary Katherine smiled.

"I think she should just wear whatever she's comfortable in," Claire said.

"I'll wear a dress if Thomas thinks it's pretty," she said.

They were the cutest couple I had ever seen, and my face wanted to crack in half with the gigantic smile that was welling up inside me. I was so happy for Thomas that I wanted to cry.

When Mary Katherine finally decided she was content with leaving, she turned and began walking out the door. We all yelled goodbye to each other one last time as we got in our respective vehicles.

"Don't return that stuff!" Carly yelled to me as she waved. I just waved and smiled as I rolled my eyes at her.