Chapter 8
LANCE
Maybe I calculated it wrong. I thought writing up a contract would be quick, but it’s Sunday. Damn it, it’s freaking Sunday, and my lawyer took way longer than I expected for him to work things out. Even with the extra pay.
I get into my car and throw the folder with the contract at the passenger seat. Then I pick up my phone and type a quick message to my daughter.
Lance: Are you girls at the house?
Putting the phone over the folder, I turn the car on and set off. Marie’s Café is half an hour away, and then I have to get back to Alina. If she’s still waiting. They were supposed to drive back home after lunch, and by the way my stomach churns, I think they won’t be there by the time I make it.
Genevieve replies to my message only after I finish my business at Marie’s Café. I’m sitting behind the wheel when my phone buzzes.
Genevieve: Of course not. We’re already back at the dormitories.
Shit. It’s almost three in the afternoon.
How the fuck did I take this long to get everything ready?
Alina will be so upset. I thought the entire thing could be ready before noon, and I would make brunch for the girls before they left.
I would have the time to talk to Alina, settle everything, and we could talk about where this relationship will go.
Something tells me she thinks I bailed on her.
Burying my foot into the gas pedal, I drive as fast as I can to Genevieve’s apartment. It’s in the college campus, but in a quiet area. I remember her mentioning she wanted Alina to move in with her, but Alina didn’t feel comfortable taking advantage of their friendship.
It would have been easier for them to live together today. Leaving the car parked on the street, I race to the front door and ring Genevieve’s apartment.
“Yeah?” she replies after a couple of minutes.
“It’s me. Is Alina with you?”
She scoffs. “No. Hold on.” And she hangs up. I stare at the comm for a moment before I hear her voice coming from above. “Now I understand why you’re always single, Dad. You’re a bad boyfriend.”
I step back until I can see her, gaping down at me from her second-floor window. “I’m so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to take this long.”
She shrugs. “Honestly, I’m not mad. Just disappointed.”
“I’m so sorry. Let me explain. I promise I’ll make up for it.”
Genevieve grins. “Of course you are. But most importantly, you have to go apologize to Alina. She’s really upset.”
Her words pierce into my heart. The first woman I fall in love with in years and years, and this is how I treat her. Ghosting her after our first night together. Genevieve is right. There’s a reason I’m always single. And it has nothing to do with my size.
“Send me her address,” I ask, and Genevieve pulls her phone out.
“Already did.” And she smiles. “Go get her, Dad.”
“Thanks,” I shoot back before whirling around to enter the car again.
Popping the address into the GPS, I breathe out in relief when I see it’s close by.
Burying my foot into the pedal again, I drive to the other side of the campus and park in front of a three-story building with ugly brown paint peeling off the walls.
She deserves better. She deserves so much better than this.
I ring her apartment, and it takes a couple of minutes for her to reply as well. “Yes?” Her voice comes out muffled, with sleep or tears. I can’t bear the thought of having hurt her.
“It’s me, love. It’s Lance.”
Silence fills the line. Finally, she clears her throat. “Come on up.” And she buzzes me in. I take the stairs and find her apartment in the back of the building, gripping the folder in hand, my heart thundering.
Alina opens the door to her apartment and motions me in without a look in my direction. After she closes the door, I turn to face her, and her red eyes almost break me.
“Oh, love,” I call out, letting the folder drop so my hands curl around her face. “I’m so sorry. This should have been faster, and I should have let you know earlier. I’m sorry, I wanted to be back in the morning.”
She blinks rapidly. “Where were you?”
I bend and pick up the folder. “Here.” And I offer it to her. She opens it and skims the contents, but I’m too impatient to let her read it all. “It’s a contract with Marie’s Café.”
She snaps an insulted gaze at me. “They sold it?”
“No. Well, more or less. We found mid-ground. They keep the coffee shop and the rights and everything, and I can build the mall around it. They’ll be part of the mall, but nothing has to change.
My architects will work out a layout, and they’ll receive financial aid from my company to keep running while the constructions happen.
But they won’t have to close, and they don’t have to change. ”
Her jaw drops. “Really? But... why? You seemed so intent on buying it. What happened?”
“You happened,” I tell her, stroking her cheek.
“You happened, Alina. And this is the way I found to show you that I’ll do anything to make you happy.
Anything. I’ve never felt anything like this for anyone.
I’ve never fallen so fast or so hard. And I wanted to surprise you, but I ended up upsetting you. ”
She shakes her head. “I thought you wanted to put some distance between us.”
My brows shoot up. “Why would I do that?”
“Because... Maybe because you regret what happened last night.”
“No. Never. I would never regret that.” And I hug her closer, bending so my lips brush hers. “I’m in love with you, Alina. That’s the truth of it. And I promise I’ll get better at telling you where I’m going next.”
A smile stretches her lips, pure blinding light. “I would like that. I would, because I’m in love with you too, and I don’t want this to end.”
Burying my fingers in her hair, I tug her closer and kiss her. I kiss her and kiss her, then walk to the nearby couch and sit down, bringing her to my lap. She fits perfectly, my hands around her ample hips, her fingers brushing my stubble.
“There’s something else,” I say, and there’s hesitation on her face. I’ll have to prove to her over and over how much I love her, so she never hesitates with me, ever again. “Your knowledge on security systems. I want it.”
She arches an eyebrow. “I don’t think I can sell you that.”
I grin. “No, but I can hire you.”
Her eyes go wide, and she starts laughing. And God, I’m obsessed with the sound of her happiness, and so I put all my effort into hearing her laugh as often as I can. We spend the rest of the afternoon discussing plans for our relationship, her new job, and the shopping mall.
And by the end of the day, there’s one thing I’m sure of. She’s the woman of my life, and that will never change.