Page 30 of At First Smile
The thought had me spending extra time getting ready. I shavedeverywhere. The strapless tea-length blue dress that I tugged over a matching pair of lacy pink panties and bra hugs my soft curves. I styled my hair to hang straight and loose over my bare shoulders. My body is silky from the brown-sugar scented moisturizer I’d smoothed over every inch.
After Stacy leaves us, we take our seats. The chair across from me that Harley once occupied sits empty, but Rowan retakes the pilfered one he’d tucked beside mine.
“So, this is a date?” My fingers wrap around the glass’s stem.
“As far as anyone in this room is concerned,” he almost growls.
I snort. “Does that include me? I mean I’d like to know if I’m on a date or not. You know…open and direct communication.”
“If it was a date, could I ask about who Alex is?” He curls his fingers around his pint.
I let out a hard breath. “He was my boyfriend. I broke up with him on New Year’s Eve.”
“What happened?”
“He was a liar.” I fiddle with the blue sapphire pendant on my necklace.
Besides JoJo and Trina, I’ve not told anyone this story. The only thing my colleagues know is that we’re not together anymore. Well and the version of our breakup that Alex – ever the Svengali – has told them.
Rowan’s hand rests on my knee. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”
“I want to tell you.” I square my shoulders. There’s something about Rowan that unspools all my truths.
Despite the topsy-turviness that twists inside me with this man, his energy settles me. I feel safe with him. Safe enough to do things that I don’t normally do. Like put on the cutest dress I have, sit in a bar, and order a drink for a man who never promised to meet me, but I knew would be here. To share with him things I’ve only told my best friends and some things I haven’t even shared with them.
“Alex is a pediatric oncologist at the hospital where I work. He’s ten years older, good looking, accomplished, and charming. We’d run into each other at the coffee cart and chat. There was some flirting. I work with the Gifts and Volunteer Department. We coordinate fund raising, annual gifts from donors, and the hospital’s volunteer program. I’m the volunteer coordinator but dabble in just about everything.”
“Of course, you dabble in everything. I’m not surprised. You’re utterly impressive with your many talents.” His praise is like a breathy kiss from the sun, warming my body.
“Thanks.” I continue, ignoring the heat flushing my cheeks. “He approached me during a fundraiser in July and asked me out. It was a bit of a whirlwind. JoJo called it love bombing. He had all these over-the-top romantic gestures. Flowers sent to my office a few times a week. Lavish romantic dates at fancyrestaurants. Surprise weekend getaways. Lots of gifts and sweet words.”
His head tilts. “Love bombing?”
“It’s when someone attempts to influence or manipulate you by showering you with attention.”
He leans against the chair’s hard back. “And he did that?” It’s almost a snarl.
“He tried.” I sigh. “I let it blind me. No pun intended. Aunt Bea was getting worse. For so long, she was my entire world. I think the fear of losing her made me cling to the idea of something with Alex, ignoring the red flags.”
“What red flags?”
I lean against the chair’s hard back, letting it bolster me. “He always seemed to know where I was, showing up and acting like it was a coincidence. He’d chalk it up to this cosmic connection he insisted we had. He constantly texted, wanting to know what I was doing. I always put Cane Austen in the same place, but she’d somehow get moved when we were on trips together or I was at his place, so I’d be forced to do human guide with him until I found her. He’d shrug saying the maid must have moved her or that I must have been so tired from the previous night that I misplaced her.”
“Fucking bastard,” he hisses.
“That he is.” My mouth forms a firm line. “I broke up with him after he proposed to me in front of half the hospital during our annual New Year’s Eve gala.”
The memory slams into me. Alex’s seethed protest, “You’re lucky that someone like me wants you,” echoes in my still angry heart. Teeth gritted, the velvet box clutched in his hand, as he snarled insults at me counting all the ways I should be grateful that he wants to take care of me.
“I wasn’t ready to get married. As blinded as I was to who Alex was until then, I knew my head wasn’t in the right spacefor marriage. It had barely been a month since Aunt Bea died. In the aftermath, it came out that he was more concerned about his reputation than me. He wanted me for all the wrong reasons. He thought the blind woman with my nice girl reputation and minimal notoriety as a disability advocate would boost his profile. He also thought he could control me…still does.”
“Still?” Electricity akin to a raging thunderstorm radiates off Rowan.
“He sent flowers almost daily and magically appeared at places when I was out. I blocked him on all social media and don’t post my photos when I’m in SoCal until after I’ve left that location. He still showed up. JoJo used her sleuthing skills to discover he’d linked my phones to an app that locates friends who’ve given you permission to track them.” I sip my drink, letting the alcohol wet my drying throat. “I never gave him access. He’d found out my passcode, broke into my phone, and linked our phones without me knowing.”
“I’ll fucking destroy him.” Rowan shuffles, like he wants to stand and go after Alex, as if the man was in the room.
I grab his arm to settle him down. “I understand the sentiment, but you’ll have to get in line behind JoJo and Trina. They have first dibs and very elaborate plans for his demise.”
