Sweet Reflection (7 page)

James

My plans are all laid out on the coffee table for my meeting with Alex. She told me she had a few issues she wanted to discuss so I said we could talk here although now I realise that my house may be slightly too intimate. We had a great working relationship during the time I worked on her flat in London then after a few drinks one night things got a bit out of hand. We both regretted it the next morning and it’s been fine since then but I’ve got this nagging feeling she wants more. She’s been different since Blake and I started working on her house. She giggles too much at things we say even when they’re not funny. She walks around in next to nothing with no shame, and it’s starting to really piss me off.

The doorbell goes and I run into the kitchen to put the ice back in the freezer. I flex my hand to test my knuckles and they still hurt like a motherfucker. But that guy deserved it. I shake off all thoughts of Laurel; this is work, I need to concentrate. Jogging back to the door, I reach for the handle.
Showtime
. I open it wide and smile down at her, “Hey, come on in.” She doesn’t respond with words. Her body smashes against mine and she pushes me back into the house. It takes a few seconds for what we’re doing to register but it finally hits me and I grab her arms to push her away. “Alex, stop,” I say after I’ve ripped her lips away from mine. “We did this already, and agreed we wouldn’t do it again. I thought you came here to talk about the house?” Oh God, she obviously got the complete wrong idea when I suggested meeting here.

“And I thought you wanted me? Last time was so much fun, don’t you think it would be even better to repeat it?” She strokes her hands over my chest but I shrug away from her touch. She’s attractive; great in business, really knows what she’s talking about, but way too high maintenance.

“It was great, but let’s leave it at that. Now, I’ve got the plans ready, let’s go and look through them and you can tell me what you were worried about.”

I feel like it’s better to ignore it rather than carry on talking about it and I hope she gets the hint so I head back into the sitting room and make my way over to the chair. If I sit on the sofa she might sit next to me and try something again. The plan doesn’t work when she takes a seat on the arm of the chair. She crosses her legs and it causes her tight skirt to ride up exposing the fastening on her suspenders. Fuck, she’s too much. I need to get away from her or I’ll do something I regret. I stare at the papers in front of me, looking but not actually seeing anything and all I can think about is what I’ll be faced with if I turn my head to the side. She reaches down to pick up the pen and points to some areas that she wants to change. The alcove I wanted to build in was too small, as was the walk-in-wardrobe and I hadn’t designed a place for her to store her handbags. The coloured tiles in the kitchen weren’t right and she wanted a different room to be the games room. All fairly easy problems to fix and I make a few notes. Her hand moves and she runs the tip of the pen up and down my back, stroking me. I clear my throat and let out a warning, “Alex…”

“What? Doesn’t it feel good? I saw you looking at my legs, wouldn’t you like to see what I’ve got on underneath this skirt? You’ll like it, I promise,” she whispers in my ear, and my restraint is slowly coming undone.

I jump out the chair to put some distance between us.

“We can’t. Look, I’ll revise the plans and get a new set sent to you with the changes.”

Her eyes narrow, and she stands and straightens. She’s the kind of woman who always gets what and who she wants. Hell, it’s taken every ounce of willpower inside of me to walk away.

“Are you really saying no? To me?” Her voice is too damn scary, it’s high and shrill.

“I just think it’s better if we keep this work related. There’s a lot do with the house. I need to focus on that.”

She shakes her head and walks over to me. “You can’t say no to me. I won’t allow it.”

I don’t know who she thinks she is, but now she’s coming across as crazy I’m glad I said no. Or maybe she’s just embarrassed so I decide to change tack. I make my voice sound as sensitive as I can manage, “Alex, you don’t have a choice. I’m sorry this isn’t going to happen. You’re great though, and I’d like us to get along for the sake of this project.”

What she does next sends an uneasy shiver around my body. She laughs, and it’s not a happy laugh, it’s cold and calculating, and something about the way she’s looking at me leaves me feeling troubled.

“No-one says no to me,” she says through clenched teeth. “I’m going to give you a few days to realise the mistake you’ve made though because I’m feeling generous. You don’t want to push me James. I’ll see myself out.”

I’m standing in my living room having just been threatened because I turned down sex. I can’t believe it. My jaw is wide open but the shock fades and anger replaces it. What the fuck? Crazy bitch. The front door slams shut and I fall back into the chair. I can’t keep working on her house with her acting like that but I’m under contract and we’ll lose a load of money if we’re the ones to back out. I know Blake was excited by the deal because it means he’ll be able to give Cassie a big wedding, not that she’s bothered, but it means a lot to him. Would Alex listen once she’s had enough time to calm down? Maybe she’ll realise how crazy she acted and apologise. Ha, yeah right. I skulk upstairs to my office with the plans and get to work adjusting them. The quicker I can get them completed, the quicker we can finish the work we’re doing and I can get away from her.

Chapter Five

Laurel

Monday morning arrives slowly. I’ve been thinking about James way too much but I’m relieved when it’s finally here and I can throw myself back into work. It’s the only thing in my life that is stable and fulfilling at the moment. It’s so busy and my once little store has now grown into a flourishing business, I just wish I could give it a lick of paint, but it’s not worth closing the store for and I don’t know if I could get it done myself in a weekend. When I finish my morning appointments I confirm lunch with Cassie and busy myself with some paperwork until it’s time to meet at the café next door.

There’s no-one at our usual table at the back so we drop our things and go up and help ourselves to the salad that they always have out. It’s really busy and there’s a big queue but at least we get the chance to talk.

“How’s it going at the florists?” I ask Cassie. Since her grandmother had a heart attack last year, she’s been doing a lot more to help her out, but she seems to love it.

“It’s so busy, I think I’m going to have to take on an extra couple of people, especially now we’re getting closer to summer. There’s so many weddings booked in. The Bride you referred to us last week, Sally, she’s practically ordered the entire shop. Her wedding must be costing a fortune.”

“Yep, she has eight Bridesmaids and she’s just confirmed a Vera Wang.”

“Oh my gosh, eight? Crazy.”

“Yeah it’s a bit of a nightmare when they all come in to try their dresses on together. She’s trying to let them all have a say but it’s just too many different styles to cater for, I’d tell them all to like it or lump it. They don’t have to be a Bridesmaid if they don’t like my choice.”

“Ha, well you’re a lot more direct than most people. How’s Proposals?”
“We’re the same. Busy, but I’ve not got enough space to grow any further now. I need to decide on what to do next. And the building could do with a bit of updating, I just wish I had the time and money.” She laughs as we’ve to the front of the queue and we start filling our plates.

“Money definitely helps. Why don’t you apply to the bank?”

I turn my nose up as I think about having to talk to Sam again. “Yeah I could do. I need to research it a bit more really. It might help to get a bigger property. ”

“Well I’ll keep my ears open and let you know if I hear of anything. And I’ll ask Gran, she always knows what’s going on around here.”

“How is Julia? I haven’t seen her around in a while.”

“She’s recovered fine, but she’s a lot slower than she used to be. It doesn’t stop her from trying to work though. I think she just wants to still feel involved.” We squeeze our way back through the crowds to the table and order our drinks from the waitress.

“So, shall I book you an appointment to try on some dresses? I can’t wait to see you in them. You’re going to look gorgeous.”

Cassie face lights up and I’m so happy I can do this for her. Although I’m going to have to get an extra supply of tissues in for that day. “Oh I can’t wait.” She exclaims excitably. “Have you got a free slot Thursday? I can get a break from the store around three?”

“Perfect. Jess will be in too so you’ll have my full attention.” We talk more about designs and then move on to the flowers. It’s been ages since Cassie and I have had this much ‘us’ time, and I realise I miss it. I miss her. I’m a lot closer to her than Emma and Jen, and I feel completely at ease with her that maybe I should open up to her about James. I’ve tried to a few times but I know they’ve grown closer and spend a lot of time together that I don’t want her to be put in an awkward position or to have to worry about letting something slip. In the end, I back out and decide to keep it to myself.

I walk Cassie back round to the florists after lunch because it’s on the way to my car, “So, I’m going over to the site now to talk to Ryan about a few things I need doing at Proposals, do you want to come? Give that hot fiancé of yours a kiss?” I tease, but she looks so genuinely disappointed that I feel a bit guilty.

“No I can’t, I’ve got a pretty big appointment I need to take care of then I have something to do at home. Actually, can you ask him to meet me there, around three? I know he’s really busy but I’ve got a surprise for him.”

I start laughing at the glint in her eye, “You know he’ll drop everything he’s doing and race back to you.”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” she winks and I give her a quick hug before heading over to the address Ryan gave me. It’s only down the road so I said I’d drop by. Hopefully, James won’t be there and I’ll be able to relax easily.

I walk under the beam squeezing my eyes shut tightly when I realise I should really have a hard hat to be in here, just in case. As I’m silently cursing myself for not being more careful I look up and freeze in my tracks. My eyes rake over the building and I’m dizzy from the abrupt change in tempo, the scene unfolding before me is now in slow motion and boy, am I thankful for that. The British sun, which is usually covered by clouds the majority of the time, has decided on this fine day to make an abrupt appearance.
Hallelujah
. All I’m able to make out in my dazed state is the row of perfect glistening bare torsos that are on show just for me. I suppress a giggle that Cassie missed out on this. In the background of my mind I can hear the gravelly voice of Etta James bursting out about what she wants to do and all I’m missing is a diet coke in my hand. A deep husky laugh churns my stomach but I follow the voice to the other side of the barn. I let out an imperceptibly quiet moan at the longing that’s rippling through my body. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him shirtless; last summer was a constant battle with cold showers, ice-cream and Scrabble to keep my mind off all the things I wanted to do to him. Did it work? Absolutely not. But I tried.

I take a deep breath in and sigh it out as I absorb every glorious part of his anatomy. He bends down to pick up a hammer and my lip is captured in between my teeth before I can say ‘holy hotness.’ His tool belt wraps round his leans hips and his dark fitted jeans hang so low that my tongue darts out wishing it could lick every inch of the perfectly sculpted abs. His arms are lean and defined but toned and strong, his chest is glistening with sweat as he reaches up to hammer at a beam above him. The grin on his face gets wider as he talks to Blake whose standing against the wall next to him with his arms folded. Together they’re a killer duo, both their bodies are pretty much male perfection. I’m blatantly staring at him but he’s so engrossed in working and chatting that he hasn’t noticed me yet. I’m snapped out of my trance by a whistle that sounds from behind James and it catches his attention too.

“Oi J, you should start charging.” One of the other workers nods over to me and I want the world to swallow me up. Shit. I quickly start walking forward as though I’ve just arrived and act as cool and calm as I can muster.

“Didn’t know this was in your job description, Dawson,” I shout across the site trying to shrug off the embarrassment of being caught ogling him like a creeper. He looks over with a scowl but it softens when he sees me and the corner of his lips pull up in a smile; it may just be my imagination but he looks pleased that it was me watching him.

“It’s not babe, but I’m always willing to get my hands dirty.” He winks; my heart beats too fast, I feel like it’s either going to crash out my chest or fail suddenly. Why does he have such an effect on me? No other man has given me these butterflies or got my pulse racing as much as he does. In comparison to this, Darren feels like a schoolgirl crush. But at the time, he had definitely crushed me. Maybe he didn’t mean as much to me as I thought.

Blake follows James walking over to me, and picks me up in a bear hug, lifting me off the ground and twirling me round. He reaches down and kisses me on the cheek dramatically, “Hey gorgeous.” He smiles and the dimples come out.

“Always the charmer Mr Richards.”

“Of course Miss Matthews, the future Mrs Richards wouldn’t have it any other way.” He says playfully.

I laugh and nod in agreement, “That’s true. I’ve just left her at the florists, she gave me a message for you but I don’t think you’d want the whole world to hear.” I gesture to all the guys that have gradually closed in on us and are working at half-speed, pretending not to listen. He grabs my arm and pulls me through the non-existent doorway of the next room, leaning his ear down close as I relay the message she gave me. I pull away and bite the inside of my cheek as his eyes widen at my words. The sparkle in them would be enough to make me melt if he wasn’t my best friend’s fiancé. He stares at me, his lips pursed as he considers what to do next and in an instant he’s stalking back to James and I have to put a hop in my step to keep up with him.