Chapter 2
2
Nicole
H e was movie-star gorgeous. That was the first red flag.
His clothes came from the designer stores I could only afford to look at through the display windows. That was the second red flag.
By the time he even took a seat at our table, I knew he was bad news, and like every other hot rich guy before him, he tried to score it with Jessica by going through me.
Tall like a model, built like a porn star, with the face of an angel, Jessica was the embodiment of every straight man’s wet dream. Sadly, few of them cared to look deeper to discover the amazing person she was inside and to cherish her the way she deserved.
“She doesn’t date random guys from bars and clubs,” I said to Invi.
“Who?” He looked confused.
I had to give it to him. His game was strong. As Jessica left, he didn’t stare at her ass. In fact, he didn’t glance at her at all.
“Listen, Invi…” It was an interesting name that suited him well. Once he said it, I couldn’t imagine him being called anything else. “I appreciate the guts it takes sometimes to approach a woman like that. I don’t want to offend you or to hurt your feelings. But Jessica is not interested in meeting guys right now. She’s dealing with a lot in her current situation and… Well, if you care about her well-being even a little bit, you would just say goodbye to me right now and leave. Spare her and you an unpleasant conversation.”
A confused smile lingered on his lips. “Who’s Jessica? I mean, I deeply sympathize with her difficult situation. But I’m afraid I don’t know who you’re talking about. I also don’t understand why I have to say goodbye to you already. I only just met you.”
Did he really think I’d buy it?
“Okay.” I inhaled. “I tried to get you off easy, but if you want it the hard way…” I leaned in. “My friend isn’t interested in you. She already has a rich, good-looking asshole who is treating her like shit. Wasting her time on another one is the last thing she needs right now. I talked her into coming out with me for a glass of wine and a little dancing after a very stressful day we both had, and I don’t want her to regret it. She’s not here to pick up guys.”
Understanding finally relaxed his face—a damn good-looking face, I had to admit. His long, ink-black hair was tossed into a carefree bun with an artistic flair. His equally dark facial hair was meticulously trimmed and shaped into a pair of trendy sideburns and a short stubble of a beard that further made me think he must be in the arts.
A sculptor or a successful artist, maybe?
He could’ve been an actor or a model. Only then I would’ve certainly seen him somewhere. A face like that wouldn’t be easy to forget.
His eyes of the most fantastic emerald green stood out against his light-brown skin. I stared at them in fascination before realizing that he must be wearing colored contacts. No eyes could be naturally this intense.
“Jessica must be your friend,” he said with realization. “The one who went to the bathroom. Sorry, I got a little confused, but she never said her name. Also, my apologies if I seem a bit slow at grasping things, I’m new to this world.”
To this world?
Did he mean he was new to this city? Or to the country, maybe?
He spoke without an accent, but his manner of speaking seemed a bit strange. It could be foreign.
“Where are you from?” I asked.
“I’m…um, from a small town. A long way from here.” He shifted in his seat, looking uneasy but not getting up to leave.
I feared he might be of that persistent, obsessive type, who saw getting into my friend’s pants their mission especially because I said she wasn’t interested.
Jessica so didn’t need this right now. She still believed her current relationship was salvageable, despite her asshole boyfriend’s frequent absences and lame excuses. I’d found out that he also cheated on her extensively. The scumbag had even propositioned me, in the nastiest of ways. But I knew it’d break her heart if I told her that. She was so looking forward to doing the cake decorating challenge with me this weekend. It didn’t seem kind to dump on her the news that would devastate her.
Now, I felt guilty about talking Jessica into coming out with me tonight when she just wanted to go straight to bed in her hotel room after we’d won the second round of the cake decorating challenge and advanced into the finals.
It had been by far the most stressful day for both of us ever since we’d opened a bakery together. I hated to compete, especially with someone like Aidan, or Chef Aidan, like he insisted on being addressed. But the competition of this level was sure to put our bakery on the map. The prize money would allow us to open the second location. The final round was going to be televised and broadcast all over the country, which could potentially expand our online market too.
I knew our pastries were good. People would line up sometimes for over an hour for a chance to get some of our stuffed croissants. But the online orders were slow, and the special occasion cakes seemed to be a hard sell in the small town where we lived.
“But I didn’t come to your table to meet Jessica,” the handsome stranger declared, obviously trying to save face in response to the rejection.
“I know.” I nodded, humoring him. “You came to share the duck joke.”
He grinned. The smile lit up his eyes, making the silver sparks in his green irises dance with humor. I didn’t know that color contacts could do that.
“I was too flustered to come up with anything better,” he admitted with disarming honesty. “I really wanted to make a good impression on you but couldn’t think of a single funny thing to say.”
“It’s hard, isn’t it? Especially, when you’re put on the spot like that,” I sympathized. “But you don’t have to waste your time on trying to impress us. There are plenty of interesting young women here. Go talk to them.” I waved a hand at the dance floor. “Just think about something cool to say beforehand. I’m afraid that duck joke won’t get you far with women.” I giggled.
“But it made you laugh.” He slid his gaze to my lips.
“Yeah, well…I laugh a lot, which makes things awkward sometimes.” I suddenly felt flustered, too, my cheeks flushing with unexpected heat. “But I’m not the golden standard for all womankind. Trust me, you’d be better off chatting to someone else.”
“Why would I want to talk to anyone else when I’m already talking to you?”
I blew out an exasperated breath. “Because you’re just killing time, waiting for Jessica to return from the bathroom, hoping against all odds that you still might have a chance with her.”
“I’m not interested in your friend, Nicole. Why are you so sure that I came here for her?”
How long was he planning to keep this up?
“Because I’ve known her since kindergarten,” I said. “Jessica and I have been best friends for almost all of my twenty-seven years. And in all those years, not once a hot dude like you approached us with the genuine intention of asking me out. She would never date anyone who uses me as an easy way to get to her. And frankly, I’m sick and tired of being taken as her bubbly, approachable matchmaker. It happens so often that by now I’ve developed a strong aversion to your type.”
“What is my type? ”
I waved a hand at his perfect hair, stunning eyes, and the expensive clothes that hugged his wide shoulders and muscular arms ever so handsomely.
“You know… The hot, cocky type. The guys who look for an arm candy rather than a life partner in a woman.” I lifted my wine glass to my lips to signal that this conversation was over and he was free to leave.
Invi failed to read the signal, however.
“An arm candy?” he asked, staying put.
“Exactly.” I set my glass back down after just one sip. “That’s not what Jess is. She’s a sweet girl, with many layers that would take time for the right guy to peel back and discover her gentle, loyal, beautiful soul. You see? Jessica isn’t candy, she’s a pastry, kind of like our signature stuffed croissants. Only no one cares to dig that deep and peel off her layers. Most men are just happy to remove her clothes.”
“And you decided I’m one of those men too?” he asked with a bitter smile. “You gathered that based on nothing but my appearance because, clearly, you’re not listening to my words. I keep telling you I’m not interested in your friend.” He leaned over the table, resting his hands on it. A large ring with a pale-blue stone graced one of his long fingers. “But appearance is not more important than clothes. To really get to know a person, one should spend some time with them.”
“And you’re saying you want to spend some time with me? ” I cocked an eyebrow, not hiding my sarcasm. This one might just turn out to be the most persistent of them all.
“Yes.” He held my stare. “I’m very interested in peeling back all your layers in search of your beautiful soul and your gentle heart.”
I took another sip of wine to hide the effect his words had on me. No one had spoken like that to me before, ever.
“Alright. Let’s pretend for a moment that you came here because you were really interested in me .”
“I am.” He nodded. “There is no need to pretend. What do you want me to do to make you believe that I’m very interested in you as my potential eternal love?”
I choked on my wine, putting the glass on the table hard.
“What?” I coughed.
Holy doughnuts.
It all started to feel like a movie. One of those cheesy romantic movies, with a green-eyed hero, who said stuff that would normally make me laugh so hard I’d risk choking on my popcorn. Except that Invi wasn’t looking at me from a movie screen. He was right here, reaching across the table to take my hand in his. And for some reason, with him, it stopped being cheesy. Instead, it felt…sweet.
His long, warm fingers wrapped around mine. Light flickered in the blue stone of his ring. Hope shone in his eyes that stared at me so intently, it made my heart flutter like a butterfly and my bones turn to marshmallows.
“If your heart is free, Nicole, please give me a chance. Spend tonight with me,” he pleaded.
“Why me?” was all I could muster, trapped by his gaze and enthralled by his touch.
“Because I like you,” he said sincerely. “And I hope there is a chance you’ll like me too.”
My mind told me to play it safe and run. From Jess’s dating woes and from my own limited experience, I knew that guys who looked like him meant nothing but trouble and heartache for the girls like me.
But…
‘Appearance is not more important than clothes,’ his words echoed in my head.
Had I been too judgmental about Invi? Had I jumped to conclusions too quickly when assigning him to “a type?” So far, he hadn’t said or done anything inappropriate or even slightly unlikable, aside from that joke. I had to admit I’d judged him mostly based on his looks.
Jessica returned from the bathroom but didn’t sit down.
“Should we go?” She glanced at Invi’s hand covering mine on the table.
He didn’t look like he saw her, keeping his extraordinary eyes on me while waiting for my reply.
“Well… I…” I blinked, breaking the spell of his stare. “I can’t promise you the whole night, Invi, but I suppose you can have a dance or two if you want.” I turned to Jessica. “He asked for a chance to get to know me.”
“Please, join us.” Invi got up from the table and moved Jessica’s chair for her to sit down.
“Actually, I’m ready to leave,” she said, giving him a probing look, then turned back to me. “Or do you want me to stay, Nic?”
“No, you can leave if you want. I know you’re tired. I won’t be long, either. I’ll grab an Uber back to the hotel in a little while.”
“Alright.” She swiped her cell phone from her back pocket and pointed it at Invi, then snapped a picture, making him squint in the flash. “If you so much as lay a finger on my friend, your mug is going into every paper and on every website out there, and the caption won’t be anything you’d ever want to read next to your photo. Got it?” She thrust a finger his way. “Show her a great time, then get her back to our hotel safely.”
“Yes, my lady.” He bowed his head with the elegance of a noble knight, indeed.
As he turned to me, a guy appeared at Jessica’s side.
“Why is a pretty girl like you standing here all alone?” He sidled closed, casually putting a hand on her lower back. “Dance with me, sexy baby.”
She cringed with a sigh. “I have a boyfriend.”
“So?” Her creepy admirer shrugged. “He isn’t here, is he?”
“The lady isn’t interested in your advances,” Invi stated loud and clear, offering Jessica his arm. “Allow me to escort you to your ride, Jessica.”
“Hey, buddy, you have that chubby one.” The sad-excuse-of-a-man jerked his chin at me. “I’ll take the hot one.”
He grabbed Jessica around her waist, pulling her into his side as she clung to Invi’s arm. Leaving his right arm in my friend’s possession, Invi calmly gathered the offender’s shirt in his left fist.
“I said the lady isn’t interested.” He slowly lifted the assailant off the floor.
“Hey—” the man croaked, choked by his own shirt that gathered under his arms with its front clenched in Invi’s fist.
He could’ve probably punched in his defense or maybe kicked at least, but he looked too shocked to even try. I didn’t blame him. I was shocked, too, staring with my mouth wide open at his feet dangling over the floor.
“Stay right here and don’t move.” Invi deposited the poor guy behind him, leaving him standing there like a piece of discarded furniture. “Shall we?” He offered his other arm to me. “If you please to accompany your friend with me.”
I rested my hand in the crook of his elbow, stunned and a little smitten by his manners.
And so we went, with Invi “escorting” both of us through the crowded club like some knight in shiny armor leading two court ladies through a castle’s great hall.
Jessica leaned forward, catching my gaze.
“Wow,” she mouthed, her eyebrows rising toward her hairline.
“I know,” I mouthed back, thoroughly intrigued by this unusual man, who frankly didn’t fit into any type I knew.