Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
SIMON
I drove straight home from Fit Gal and raced through a shower before I started tidying up. I hadn’t had a girl at my house in weeks, and especially not one I cared about. After spending most of the weekend prepping for the pitch at home, my place looked like it could be declared a disaster zone.
The housekeeping company sent people twice a week, but today hadn’t been one of those days and everything was exactly as I’d left it—which was not ideal. Takeout containers littered the living room, the clothes I’d been wearing on Saturday still lying on the floor where I’d shed them on my way to my bedroom to take a shower.
Beer cans were scattered around the open spot on my dining room table where my laptop had stood and I hadn’t done any dishes or even packed them into the dishwasher in days. I made my bed and tossed the lube that had been on my nightstand into my drawer. Then I hung up my towels and straightened up in the bathroom before I got started in the kitchen.
Just after I was done and while I was wondering if I had time for another quick shower, the doorbell rang. My heart thudded and lunged into my throat, and I groaned as I swiped my forearm across my sweaty forehead.
Well, I guess I have my answer. There’s no time for another shower. I should’ve cleaned up first and then grabbed one. Fucking fantastic.
Lifting my shirt to wipe my face, I strode over to my front door and pasted on a cocky grin before I opened it. No way was I letting her see me literally sweat over her visit.
Abi looked amazing, her face devoid of any makeup and her hair damp and loose, yet she was so naturally beautiful that I was a little taken aback.
In the meantime, she frowned and then a slow smirk started spreading her lips. “Why are you sweating? Were you speed cleaning your house to impress me?”
Fuck, busted. I still refused to let her know about it though, so I chuckled. “I don’t need a clean house to impress you.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You’d need way, way more.” Despite what she’d said, however, I didn’t miss the way her gaze dropped to rake over me, nor the slight flush that crept to her cheeks as she lifted her eyes back to mine.
I smiled and stepped out of the way, waving for her to come in. “If you’re going to check me out, you might as well do it inside.”
She scoffed as she walked past me. “You wish, Astor. I was just trying to figure out how dirty your place must’ve been, but it looks like it was a real mess.”
I laughed and shut the door behind her, allowing myself one more quick glimpse of her ass for the day. “It wasn’t so bad, but if you’re interested in getting it dirty, all you need to do is say the word.”
“We’re going to work, right?” She looked at me over her shoulder and her cheeks were still a little flushed, but she had a no-nonsense look on her face that told me not to push it right now.
I nodded. “Josh’s video team got back to me. They’re available tomorrow afternoon. Lucky for us, they had a cancellation. All I need to do is confirm.”
“Do it. Dave’s people are fully booked and they were trying to shift some things around for us, but I haven’t heard back yet. I’ll let them know we’ve found someone else.”
She fell into step beside me as I led her from my foyer to my dining area, and while I saw her taking a look around, I didn’t offer her a tour. Later, maybe, but I knew her well enough to know she’d deny wanting one if I asked right away.
“Make yourself comfortable,” I said when we reached my dining room table where I’d already set my laptop up. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, I’m okay for now.” She hesitated before she added, “Thanks, though.”
“You’re welcome.” I pulled out a chair for her next to mine, ignoring the eye roll she gave me in response. Then I sat down and pulled up my emails. “Alright. I’ll confirm with the videographers, but our next step is going to have to be finding people who are willing to appear in the commercial.”
“I texted Eden and Hazel about it earlier,” Abi said as she slid her laptop out of its bag and set it down in front of her. “We can call my sisters in a minute and I’ll make sure the others are available tomorrow afternoon.”
As she said it, she logged into her computer and quickly fired off an email to the team she’d been in contact with. I confirmed with Josh’s people, giving them the location we’d decided to use and an update of the ideas we wanted the commercial to convey.
When Abi’s email was sent, she immediately put in the call to her sisters. They answered within seconds, both of their faces appearing on her screen. She gave them a smile that also felt a bit like a warning.
“Hey, guys. Sorry to bother you again, but we’ve just found out that there’s a camera crew available tomorrow afternoon. Will you be able to help us out?”
“Wait, you’re at Simon’s?” Olivia asked, eyes widening as she leaned closer to the screen. “Is that his house? Where is he?”
“It is his house and he’s right here.” Abi’s blue eyes darted in my direction. “Would you like to say hi?”
I grinned and swallowed past the sudden wave of sadness that crashed into me. Moving forward, I scooted my chair a little closer to hers and waved at her sisters. London grunted and arched both eyebrows at me as she shook her head, but Olivia was mildly friendlier.
“Well, look at you,” she said with a slight smile on her lips. “I wish I could say it was good seeing you again, Si. You’re looking good. I will say that.”
“Thanks, Liv.” I blew out a breath through my nostrils before I corrected myself, realizing that I probably didn’t have the right to call her by her nickname anymore. “Olivia. Congrats on the Anderson campaign, by the way. You really set the bar with that one.”
She chuckled. “Thanks. It’s been quite a ride, but we’re happy to have gotten the results that we have.”
A masculine voice called her name, the unmistakable twang of a Texan accent telling me that it was probably Charlie, her husband. Abi groaned and gave her sister a stern look. “Before you say that you have to go, are you in for tomorrow?”
“I’m in,” she said absently, her attention already on someone behind her laptop. “I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow, okay? Bye! Sleep tight, Abi. Simon, I?—”
The laptop shut before she could finish her sentence, but I heard her squealing with laughter just before the call cut out. London sighed dramatically on the screen and folded her arms. “Those two. They really are so sweet, they’re giving me cavities. I’m in too, but watch yourself, Simon. Abigail, call me when you get home.”
With that, she ended the call from her end and I glanced at Abi. “Well, I’d say that went about as well as could be expected.”
Except for the gaping hole it’d left in my heart. Those two girls had been almost like sisters to me in the past and seeing them again was what had brought on that wave of sadness that was still lapping at my insides. I would have given anything to be able to banter with Brooks like that again.
Abi giggled and turned to me, but as usual, nothing escaped her notice. It only took her a beat before she frowned, her gaze sweeping over my features and her voice softening. “Hey, are you okay? Is this because Liv said that thing about it not being good to see you? Because she just likes breaking balls?—”
“It’s not that.” I raked both hands through my hair and linked my fingers together at my nape, squeezing. I inhaled a deep breath. “Any chance you’ll let it go?”
“Nope.”
“I didn’t think so.” I dropped my hands to my lap and shrugged as I turned to my laptop, ready to get to work. “It’s nothing big, okay? I guess it’s just that sometimes, in moments like this, I wish I could call Brooks and invite him to be part of it too.”
Abi’s face fell and she reached for me, grabbing one of my hands and wrapping it in both of hers. Her touch was soft and warm, her grip firm and her eyes filled with shimmering pain as they locked on mine. “I’m so sorry, Simon. I didn’t even think about that. I should have, though. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I shifted so I was facing her fully again, placing my free hand over our joined fingers. “I never really thanked you for walking with me through the beginning of that grief, did I?”
“You never needed to.” She said it so softly that her voice was barely more than a whisper. “You still don’t have to.”
“But I do.” I felt like I was ripping open the stitches on wounds so old that it shouldn’t even have been possible to rip them open anymore, yet I didn’t think they would ever fully heal. “I remember trying to push you away after he died, but you showed up for me every time. You were the one person who was always there for me no matter what I did or said to you.”
“That’s because I loved you.” She cleared her throat and suddenly released my hands. “You know what? I think we’ve gotten enough work done for today. We’re set with the camera crew for tomorrow and we’ve got a decent amount of women onboard. Hazel is talking to some of our other friends too.”
Disappointment rattled through me, but I nodded. “Yeah, okay. It seems like a bit of a waste for you to have come all the way over here just for that, though.”
“Who says I’m leaving?” She rallied visibly, blinking the sadness and remembered hurt out of her eyes before she smiled at me. “Do you have anything fun to do around here, or are you a boring, lonely old man now?”
I scoffed. “There’s a sand volleyball court downstairs if you’re up to it?”
“You’re on.” She stood up and extended her hand, waiting for me to take it before she took the lead back to my front door.
Abi didn’t let go of me until we walked into the fitness and entertainment center that made up the lower floors of my building. She glanced at me after we’d entered. “Where to next?”
“Follow me and prepare to weep. The guys and I play this pretty often. We won our event at the Fit Gal Games for beach volleyball, too.”
“I didn’t even know they had volleyball there.” She pouted before she winked at me. “If you had been playing against us though, you’d have lost. It was probably better for your egos that we were at either tennis or soccer instead.”
“Those are fighting words,” I joked, pushing past that wave of grief that had crashed into me out of nowhere. It’d been so long and I was so used to being barraged with it so unexpectedly that I’d become a pro at shutting it down. It always caught up to me again eventually, but I wouldn’t let it overwhelm me right now. “When was the last time you played?”
“It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure volleyball is like riding a bike. It’ll all come back to me as soon as we start.”
Abi and I walked into the back where a rack of balls was at the ready next to the court. I chuckled as I scooped one out and passed it to her. “We’ll see, but I’ve got a feeling you’re going to be singing a whole different tune real soon.”
“Prepare to be surprised, Simon Astor.” She pumped her eyebrows at me, obviously trying to cheer me up and not doing a bad job at it. “Back in the day, I let you teach me and I backed down so you could feel good about yourself, but I won’t be doing that today.”
I laughed. “Oh, you let me teach you? More like begged, if memory serves.”
She scoffed, but I saw the humor shimmering in her eyes. Abigail was definitely trying to distract me. To make me feel better—and while I wasn’t sure why she cared, I was grateful to her for it.
“Alright. Fine.” I grinned as I kicked off my sneakers and took my position on one side of the net. “If you’re so confident, how about we put a friendly wager on the game?”
She’d sat down to pull off her shoes and socks, but she cocked her head at me. “That depends. What do you have in mind?”
“If I win, I get a kiss. If I lose, I can’t ask for one again. So what do you say, Abigail Walker? Just how confident are you really?”