11. Tanya
11
TANYA
We are about a block away from the art gallery when Chandler turns to me.
“You should know there is going to be paparazzi tonight. We should only have to deal with them outside of the gallery and there will be security there to keep them back, but I wanted you to know so that you aren’t surprised.”
I shift in my seat, uncomfortable with the thought of people taking my and Sophia’s pictures like that. My mind flashes back to the pictures of Chandler and me that I found on my Google search.
“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that. Sophia is so young; I don’t want her to be scared.”
He waves a hand through the air.
“It will be fine. I’ll be there with you guys. Besides, having her first exposure to the paps in this environment is better than us being ambushed in the street, right?”
I don’t like the way he is blowing off my concern; I’m not some child who is acting out, but before I can say anything, Steven pulls the car up to the curb in front of the gallery. I still want to tell Chandler off for being so flippant about my worries, but my stomach fills with butterflies as I see all the people with cameras lining each side of a makeshift walkway, and I have to take a deep breath.
“Alright, ladies, are you ready?”
Chandler smiles at us as someone opens the door for Chandler, he gets out and holds his hand out for Sophia to take, and I follow close behind her, ready for her if she needs me. There are people packed together on either side of the walkway and bright flashes of light are blinding us every few seconds. I can hear people yelling, trying to get the attention of whoever is on the walkway. It’s more intense than I could have ever thought. The people are pushing and shoving each other to try and get a picture, and as they spot Chandler, they start yelling his name and shouting questions. Sophia takes Chandler’s hand, and for a moment, I think she’s going to handle the flashing camera lights and people yelling okay, but then someone shoves a mic in her face, and she gets shy. I place my hands on her shoulders and pull her back against me, ready to rip the reporter a new one, but Chandler steps between us and directs the reporter’s focus to himself.
I kneel in front of Sophia. “You okay, sweet pea?”
She shrugs her shoulder and my heart breaks for her.
“Come here.”
She steps into my arms immediately, and I try to think of a way that I can pick her up while wearing this dress and heels. It’s a skin tight red dress that reminds me of the dream I had the other night. The one where Chandler and I slept together.
“I’ve got her.”
Chandler turns away from the blushing blonde bimbo reporter and turns Sophia to face him so he can lift her into his arms. She buries her face into his neck and hides the rest of the way into the gallery. I make sure I hide it, but inside I’m fuming. At the reporter for scaring my child, then flirting with Chandler, and at Chandler for blowing off my concern and putting us in this situation to begin with. I want to say something to him, but I know now isn’t the time.
We are inside the building now, and I follow behind Chandler as he makes his way over to the hostess to grab the information on what is here tonight for sale.
“Hello and welcome! Here is a list of all the items that are for sale tonight for the charity and their prices. There are pieces from many artists from all over the city, and you can find information on them on the pamphlets that are next to each of their works.”
She hands Chandler a piece of paper, and I can’t help but notice that her eyes are glued to him and her smile is awfully bright. My mood darkens when I realize that I will most likely have to deal with this kind of behavior all night, women flirting with Chandler. Can’t she see that he’s holding a child? It’s like Sophia is invisible to her.
I clear my throat and step up next to him, placing my hand on the arm that is holding our daughter with and smile at the woman.
“Thank you so much, we’ll be sure to check those out.”
I turn to Chandler and Sophia and make sure the hostess hears me when I speak to Sophia.
“Sweetheart, do you want to come with Mommy to the restroom or do you want to stay with Daddy?”
Soph turns her face to peek out at me and softly says, “Stay with Daddy.”
I nod and rub her back, my heart giving a little jolt at the fact that he is making her feel safe after what happened outside.
“Okay, I’m going to run to the restroom real fast, and then I will catch up with you two.”
When I look up at Chandler, he is smirking at me and his eyes are dark. He’s been giving me this look a lot lately, and every time I see it, my stomach fills with heat. I don’t want to admit it, but I like it when he looks at me that way.
He turns so that his back is to the hostess and leans down so that he can place his lips to my temple.
His voice is soft as he whispers, “I know what that was about. It’s incredibly sexy when you’re jealous and staking your claim.”
I jerk back from him in surprise, my face flaming with heat.
“I-I wasn’t doing that.”
His smirk deepens, and I roll my eyes at him before turning quickly and heading to the restrooms. I need a minute to myself. In the span of ten minutes, I’ve had to deal with being thrust into the limelight, watching my daughter be frightened by rude people, and then watching a very attractive, younger woman flirt with Chandler. The night has just begun, and I’m already exhausted.
It’s going to be a long night.
I’m able to finish in the restroom quickly, and I’m back by Chandler’s side before he and Soph can get too far. I don’t look at Chandler as I step up to his side, but I can feel him looking at me. Sophia squirms in his arms to be let down, and as he places her on her feet, someone comes up to us from his other side.
“Chandler! I’m so glad you could make it!”
A very tall blonde woman wraps her arms around Chandler, and it doesn’t escape my notice that she is incredibly beautiful. Chandler pats her politely on the back, not turning to face her fully.
“Victoria, nice to see you. I heard you were holding a function, and I had to come and show my support.”
Victoria pulls back some but keeps an arm around Chandler’s waist so that her body stays close to his.
“You just couldn’t stay away from me, could you?”
I must make some kind of sound because the both of them turn to look at me. Chandler is amused and Victoria looks like she is going to say something rude until she sees me and her face turns to shock.
“Tanya?”
Her face pales and she looks like she’s seen a ghost, and in some way, I guess she has. I don’t say anything; I just look between her and Chandler, pulling Sophia closer to me. The movement draws Victoria’s attention to her and her head snaps to Chandler.
“You have a child?”
I really don’t want Sophia here to witness this conversation. I have no idea how Chandler is going to react; we haven’t talked about how to handle telling people about us.
“I do. Tanya here was in a bad accident when she disappeared and has been dealing with amnesia. We just recently found each other.”
I don’t like that he is telling people about what happened to me, but I don’t really see any other choice for him. Most of these people knew me and are going to want an explanation.
“Amnesia?” Her tone is snarking, and she gives me a disbelieving look.
Chandler either doesn’t hear the snark or chooses to ignore it. He removes Victoria’s hands from around himself and steps back to my side. It’s a good feeling to see him reject her and come to my side. Her face darkens at the move, but she quickly covers it up with a fake smile.
“Well, isn’t that a fairy tale story. When did you make your way back, Tanya?”
I don’t want to talk to this woman about my life, but I can’t figure out a way to avoid it.
“I’ve been living in Willow Creek. Chandler attended a gala there and found me.”
She eyes me up and down, and I get the feeling that she was counting on me staying gone.
“How nice. Chandler, you should have let everyone know that she was back. I’ll get the word out that your lovely Tanya is back so we can all celebrate. I’ve got to mingle now; don’t leave without saying goodbye.”
She kisses Chandler on the cheek and spins around, her hair flipping behind her as she stalks off.
“She seemed nice.”
Chandler snorts and turns to face Soph and I.
“Come on, let’s look around and see what they have. Sophia, point out some of the art you think would look good in your and Mommy’s new place.”
Sophia nods her head determinedly, and I know she’s going to point out just about every piece of art here tonight.
She runs off, and Chandler and I let her go ahead for a minute.
“Victoria and her parents are close friends of my family. Her parents are actually my godparents.”
I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse about her.
“I grew up with her; she’s practically my cousin.”
I can’t help the snort that escapes me.
“I don’t think she views you the same way.”
He gives me a questioning look, but I just point to Sophia and walk ahead to catch up to her.
We let Sophia guide us through the gallery, and I’m surprised how much she likes it. I thought she would be bored within ten minutes of arriving, but with Chandler reading her all the stories behind the art and the artists, she seems to be entertained.
We spend thirty minutes looking around at everything, and I’m just starting to relax when a deep voice calls out for Chandler.
“Chandler Bishop, since when did you start coming to art galleries?”
The three of us turn to find a man headed in our direction. He’s about Chandler’s height with light brown hair that falls around his face and dark brown eyes that look almost black. He looks like he might be a few years younger than Chandler. His walk is confident, and you can tell that he grabs the attention of the room as he moves through it.
I turn to look at Chandler’s reaction to him, and the scowl on his face tells me he does not like this man. It’s interesting to me that there is someone he visibly shows disinterest in. I thought he liked everyone.
Once the man is close enough, Chandler nods at him.
“Damien.” His voice is cold and pitched deeper than normal.
He moves to stand just in front of Soph and I, blocking us from the man’s view, but it has the opposite effect, and the man’s eyes lock on me.
“And who is this beautiful woman?”
I’m surprised to find that he doesn’t know who I am. Everyone we’ve seen so far has known who I am. He holds his hand for me to take, and when I place mine in his, he turns it and brings the back of my hand to his mouth. I’m sure it’s meant to be a charming gesture, but all I want to do is yank my hand from his and wipe it off.
“Pleasure to meet you; I’m Damien Hawthorne. Chandler’s only competition.”
I look over at Chandler and he’s glaring daggers at Damien, he should be thankful looks really can’t kill.
“I’m Tanya and this is Sophia.”
Damien looks down like he’s just noticing Soph for the first time, and when she meets his eye, she takes a step back into me and scrunches up her nose.
“You’re not going to kiss my hand like that, right?”
Chandler lets out a guffaw, and I squeeze Soph’s shoulder.
“Sophia Roberts, that is not polite.”
She keeps eyeing him disdainfully, and I look to Chandler for help.
“Well, Damien. I think you’ve made my daughter and fiancé uncomfortable; I’d appreciate it if you backed off.”
His expression is open, and there is a smile on his face, but even I can hear the venom behind his words. Damien straightens and looks to Chandler with an expression that looks like he just discovered something great.
“Daughter? I didn’t know you had a kid, let alone were engaged.”
Damien looks to me again, and the predatory look he gives me makes my skin crawl. This is the second person to make me feel like I was just a pawn in some larger game that I don’t understand. The feeling of not belonging from earlier resurfaces.
“You don’t have that deep of an insight into my life, Damien. There is a lot you don’t know.”
This only causes Damien’s smirk to deepen. Ignoring Chandler, he turns back to face me and reaches into his pocket for something. He holds out a white card for me to take.
“Call me when you get bored with this one.”
The fact that he is doing this in front of Chandler and our daughter makes me sick. I don’t move to take the card, and Damien just smiles wider as he puts it back in his pocket.
“Understandable, I’ll just leave you with my name to look up later then, Damien Hawthorne.”
He smiles at each of us, winking at Soph before he turns and walks back the way he came.
“What a creep.”
Chandler is fuming next to me, almost shaking with his anger. I reach over and place my hand on his arm to get his attention.
“I don’t know what’s going on between you two but ignore him. He just wants to get under your skin.”
He gives me a tense nod and motions for Sophia to lead the way again to more of the art. He’s quiet for the rest of the time we are there, and after an hour of him brooding, I suggest we leave when I see Sophia yawn.
“I think we’ve seen everything here, let’s just go home.”
Chandler relaxes at my words and smiles for the first time since Damien Hawthorne showed himself.
“Good idea.”
He picks Sophia up and settles her on his hip before taking my hand and leading us out the front doors and straight to where Steven has the car parked across the street. He doesn’t slow for the paparazzi and doesn’t stop until we are at the car. He waits for Soph and I to get in before climbing in after us. Steven takes off without a word, and for the first time today, I relax fully.
No one talks on the way back home, and Sophia falls asleep just before we pull into the garage. Her head is slumped over, leaning against Chandler’s arm. I watch the two of them as he stares down at her, stroking her hair out of her face, there’s so much love and wonder on his face. It’s a sight to see someone else who loves her as much as I do.
Steven pulls into the garage, and Chandler doesn’t even hesitate to pick up Sophia to carry her up to the apartment. She stirs a little at the movement, and he just softly shushes her back to sleep. I can’t take my eyes off of them and how much they look alike, not only do they have the same eye color, but the shape is the same too, both shaped like almonds. They both have straight noses and one sweet dimple on their left cheeks. I sneakily take my phone out of my purse and snap a picture. Chandler must see because he gives me a look that says he saw what I did, and I just smile sweetly at him.
Once the doors of the elevator open, I walk ahead of him to unlock the apartment and guide him through the dark place, moving toys and clothes out of his way and opening Soph’s bedroom door for him. He lays her in bed, and I take over getting her changed into her pj’s and tucking her in. Chandler leans against the door frame and waits for me, smiling when I turn to walk out of the room. We make our way to the living room, and I find that I don’t want him to leave.
“Do you want a drink?”
“Sure.”
I pour us both a glass of wine, and we settle onto the couch. He lets out a long sigh, and I can see how tired he is.
“You really don’t like that Damien guy, do you?”
He groans at the mention of Damien.
“No, he’s a pain in my ass and is constantly trying to steal my clients. It’s worse now that he’s set his eye on you. He knows it will drive me crazy.”
I don’t know if it’s from the wine or having him so close, but for some reason, I have the urge to tease him.
“I don’t know; he is pretty attractive. Maybe he was just being nice.”
His head snaps in my direction, and I have to work to keep from laughing.
“Don’t even think about saying anything else. I can’t even wrap my head around you finding him attractive.”
I shrug one of my shoulders.
“I’m just saying. He’s a good-looking businessman; he could get anyone he wants.”
Chandler sits forward and places his wine glass on the coffee table before turning to me and yanking me over so that I’m pressed into his chest.
“You’re going to regret teasing me, Tanya.”
He digs his hand into my side, and I let out a surprised laugh, not expecting him to tickle me.
“Hey! Stop that.”
I push him away from me, and the smile on his face makes me smile in return.
“You deserve it for saying that Damien Hawthorne of all people is attractive.”
I open my mouth to tease him some more about it, but he narrows his eyes at me and lunges at me until he is laying on top of me, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Don’t even think about it, woman. I can’t be held responsible for my actions if you keep going.”
I smile up at him, and we both realize at the same time what position we’re in. My smile slowly fades from my face as his eyes darken and trail over my face. His head lowers an inch, almost like he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. My heart is racing in my chest, and I know he can feel it with how tightly he is pressed against me.
“Can I kiss you?”
Before I can even think about his question, I nod my head, and he slowly lowers his face to mine until our lips are pressed together. It starts off as a soft kiss. His lips simply pressed into mine, but when I sigh into it, he groans and runs his tongue along my lips, seeking entrance. I open my mouth to him, and as he deepens the kiss, I can’t help but tug on his suit jacket to try and pull him closer.
He doesn’t try to take it any further than the kiss, but it’s starting to drive me crazy that he’s not touching me. I push his jacket off his shoulders and run my hands up and down his broad back. I pull my lips away from his just enough to whisper in his ear.
“Touch me, Chandler. I want to feel your hands on me.”
I know it’s probably not smart for us to sleep together, but I haven’t felt this kind of passion in years. In the last nine years I’ve only slept with one person, and it was when Sophia was around two. I feel desperate for Chandler now. Ever since I had that dream of us, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and I want him. Right now. I can deal with the outcome of it later.
Chandler lets out a breath and presses his forehead to mine, squeezing his eyes closed.
“Are you sure? If we go any further than this, I don’t know that I will have the strength to stop.”
His words have the opposite effect on me that I’m sure he meant them to. My body fills with heat, and I squirm under him at the thought of him losing control with me.
“I didn’t say anything about stopping.”
“Baby.” He groans the word, and my whole body clenches with how good he sounds saying it.
He stands suddenly, and just when I think he is going to stop this anyway, he leans down and picks me up bridal style and rushes to my bedroom. He bursts through the cracked door and falls onto the bed with me under him. He starts kissing and sucking along my neck, and I almost can’t get the words out with how good it feels.
“The door. You have to... you have to close and lock it.”
He jumps up from the bed and sprints to the door closing and locking it quickly before sprinting back over to me. He stops at the end of the bed and stares down at me, his eyes trailing over my body. It reminds me of the dream.
“I still can’t believe you’re here.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I sit up and pull the straps of my dress down and pull it until the top of my dress is around my waist, showing him my lacy red bra. He takes one step to me and traces one finger along the edge of it where my breasts are spilling over the cups. His touch feels electric, and my breathing becomes shallow.
“You are so beautiful.”
He cups my face in his hands and leans down to kiss me, slowly lowering us back down to the bed. His hands slide down my neck to the straps of my bra. He pulls them down before moving to undo the clasps at my back, freeing my breasts. His mouth never stops moving down my body, and as he flings the bra off to the side, he captures one of my nipples into his mouth.
“Chandler.” His name comes out on a gasp.
He finishes pulling my dress off of me, forcing my hips to lift so he can slide it past my butt. He pulls away from my breasts when he can’t reach further down to take the dress off my feet and starts trailing kisses down my sternum, to my navel, stopping at the edge of my matching red panties. With the dress finally off, all that I’m wearing is my underwear, so he stops to sit up and look at my body.
“You are far too dressed.” I reach for his shirt as I say this and start to pull the hem from out of his pants where he has it tucked.
He lets me unbutton his shirt before he stands and undresses at the edge of the bed.
“Move up the bed.”
I can’t take my eyes off of him as I move to do as he says, until my head hits the pillows. Once he is fully undressed, he climbs into bed and starts kissing up my legs until his face is level with my stomach. He lays gentle kisses along the stretch marks there, and if they were ever going to be an insecurity of mine, they weren’t going to be anymore. He pulls my panties down my legs and lifts my legs into the air so that he can pull them off. Once he throws them in the same direction as my bra, he grabs onto my thighs and holds them against his chest. Kissing up and down my calf, one hand sliding down until he cups me between my thighs, making me moan.
“Already so ready for me, baby.”
He pushes one finger against my clit and circles it slowly until I’m squirming uncontrollably.
“Chandler, please.”
He slides his finger down my slit and pushes it inside of me, the feel easing some of the tension, but not enough for me. I want more.
“Are you ready?”
I nod frantically, just wanting him inside of me already. He spread his thighs to settle on either side of my hips, my legs still up against his chest, and runs his tip up and down my center, pushing to press into my clit. My hips jerk up at the feeling, and he chuckles deep from his chest. I grip the sheets in my hands on either side of me. My body tight with tension from waiting for him to thrust into me.
He takes one hand from my legs and lines himself up with me, pausing for a second before very slowly pushing inside of me. He groans as I arch off the bed; the feel of him inside of me is so good.
“Fuck, baby. You feel so good.”
He doesn’t keep a slow pace, as soon as he is all the way inside of me, he starts thrusting hard and fast. His hips shaking the bed with how hard he is moving in me. I can’t stop from yelling out at the sensation, and I can already feel my orgasm starting to build.
“I’m not going to last long, baby. It’s been too long since I’ve felt you wrapped around me. God, it’s better than I remember.”
We’re both panting, and I watch his face as I slide my hand down to where we are connected and start to circle my clit. He moans as he focuses on my hand and starts to thrust harder into me.
I know it’s not going to take me long to come, and from the way his thrusts are becoming frantic, I know he’s not far off either. He moves my legs to settle around his hips and leans forward to place his hands on the bed next to me, the angle making him thrust deeper into me.
“Yes! There, right there.”
He doesn’t let up, and as my orgasm starts to flood my body, I can’t help but arch up, my body tensing as I break apart. Chandler not far behind me.
“Fuck.”
He grunts through his teeth and thrusts one more time into me before stilling. We’re both out of breath, and I watch as his body shakes with aftershocks. It’s the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I cup his face in my hands and softly kiss his lips.
I don’t know what is to come from all of this, but something deep inside of me knows that this is right, closely followed by that sense of dread again. Like there is something important that I need to remember. Something that could change everything about how I feel.