5. Luna
CHAPTER 5
Luna
I checked on Alice again, adjusting the blanket that had slipped down her little body as she tossed and turned on the couch.
The little girl had been a total surprise. Once we finally cleaned up the mess upstairs, we sat on the couch and ate our pizza. She suggested we watch some show I’d never heard of, and I insisted I introduce her to the world of Austen.
Turns out, seven-year-olds aren’t too interested in second-chance romances. Her little snores started up within fifteen minutes of me pressing play.
I paused the television and pulled out my laptop to take care of some emails. If Beck came back soon, I’d still be able to make the meeting with my designer. We agreed to meet at a coffee shop a block over, so it would be easy for me to slip out as long as the tiny human had some adult supervision.
Again, I checked the time. How much longer would he be?
Just then my phone chimed.
Speak of the devil.
Beck was checking in, asking about Alice. My goal was to give him heart palpitations.
Finally, he mentioned he was about ten minutes away.
I felt an odd catch in my chest. In the shock and confusion of being put in charge of his daughter, I hadn't fully processed the new reality:
Beck Bennet lived next door.
When the hell was he planning on telling me this? Sure, it's not like we didn't bicker like an old married couple whenever we were together. Or that he conveniently never called me after the best sex of my life even though I deliberately gave him my number.
I never gave out my number.
One-night stands were one-night stands for a reason.
Except with Beck, it had felt different from the jump. From the second he knocked into me at that party, there was the invisible string tying us together.
But then invisible strings were the stuff of fairytales.
After that night with Beck, I swore off bad boys. Turned off the neon sign on my forehead that drew guys like Beck to me like a moth to the flame. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop that other man from trying to…
I pushed thoughts of that night to the side. That night that made me avoid intimacy
Since then, I’ve dated nice guys. Clean cut, polo shirt and khaki wearing guys who’d fit in seamlessly at a country club. There was a string of them: Connor, Noah, Daniel, Carter.
Ohh Carter. He was the most recent of my failed relationships.
All part of my attempt to erase the best night of my life from my memory.
A motion detector alert flashed on my phone, bringing me back to the present.
Beck was back.
I set my laptop on the coffee table and got to my feet. I smoothed out the skirt I’d kept on despite the change of plans.
Beck knocked on the door. I opened the door quickly, not bothering to greet him, before turning on my heel back to the living room.
“You have some nerve just dropping your daughter off.” I glanced over my shoulder to glare at him.
“It's not like I had a lot of options, trust me,” he grumbled.
I lowered my voice, Alice still sleeping soundly on the couch. “Well, you trusted me with your child. Which seems like terrible parenting in my book.”
Beck's face softened as he spotted his daughter. “Did she give you any trouble?”
I shrugged. “Broke a vase, but she helped clean it up. Otherwise she was good, minus the fact she spent the afternoon with a perfect stranger. She was much easier to spend time with than her dad.” I gave him a pointed look.
“You're not a stranger.” Then a deep v formed between his brows, and he did a little motion with his fingers. “Let's rewind. What do you mean she broke a vase?”
Alice stirred. Our conversation paused as our attention swayed to her.
“Daddy?” she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
“Yes, sweetheart. I'm here.” Beck bent down and picked up his daughter, cradling her against his chest.
It made my heart tumble, the reaction foreign to me.
Beck brushed the hair out of her face and kissed Alice's forehead. “Let's get you home.”
He carried her to the front door, turning before he made his exit. “Thanks for watching my baby.”
I nodded, unsure what to say.
Then, just as he was leaving I called out, “Don't think we won't talk about this new neighbor thing.”
He chuckled softly, his good-natured laugh ringing like bells in my ears. “I expect nothing less.”
* * *
Beck hadn't followed up. Hadn't come over to explain why he was suddenly my new neighbor.
“The audacity!” I bellowed, filling Faith in on everything.
We were at her place in the city, and I was busy petting her dog, Willow, behind her ears. Willow usually stayed at the home upstate, but occasionally Sebastian and Faith brought her to the city for their quick twenty-four-hour visits.
Willow loved the city. There were so many new smells and places to explore. But the city wasn't the best place for a pup who was used to wandering around.
Faith leaned forward, hands planted firmly on the blanket around her as we faced each other on her gray sectional. “He didn’t tell you he moved next door?”
I shook my head. Faith's expression was appropriately incredulous, just as it should be.
“Nope. Just one day, out of absolutely nowhere, I go to leave my house and poof, there he is.” I snapped my fingers. “Just like that. Like a fucking genie. And then he asked me to watch his daughter.”
Faith's jaw dropped. “Wait. You watched Alice?”
“Yup,” I said, popping my ‘p.’ “The man said he had an emergency and just left his daughter with a complete stranger!”
She held up a finger. “ Wait , you're the stranger in this scenario?”
“Yes! I'm an unfit guardian. And she doesn't even know me. And the worst part of it—she likes pineapple on her pizza !”
Faith gasped in mock indignation. “Not pineapple on pizza! Sacrilege!”
I playfully pushed her arm. “Oh, shut up. You know it's questionable.”
Faith rolled her eyes. “Let the innocent seven-year-old decide what she likes and doesn't like on her pizza.”
I crossed my arms. “You're not seeing a problem with any of this?”
Faith shrugged. “Honestly, not really. So the guy you had a one-night stand with and never called you back moved in next door. NBD.”
I hitched forward. “No. Big. Deal? Are you serious right now? Aren't you supposed to be my friend? You literally just said that Beck is the guy I can't stand.”
Faith smiled coyly. “Don't you think all that built-up tension means something?”
I poured another glass of Pellegrino. “Please. It means we're likely to combust when we're together.”
Faith narrowed her eyes. “You know, you never did tell me what happened between you two.”
I crossed my legs. “That's because nobody needs to hear this story.”
“You realize that only makes me want to hear it more, right?”
“I promise. It's not that exciting.” Panty-melting sex was actually very exciting. What happened after? Not so much.
“Tell me. Tell me,” Faith chanted.
I shoveled a giant forkful of noodles into my mouth.
“I'm pretty sure you're the one who encouraged me to climb Sebastian like a tree. Why clam up now?” Faith asked. “Besides, now might be the time to throw that sage advice back in your face.”
The noodles tasted like soap on my tongue. I set the bowl down and used the napkin from my lap to dab the corner of my mouth. What happened between me and Beck was something I never spoke about. To anyone. It was too embarrassing and nothing embarrassed me.
Except the sharp pain of rejection that came from the hottest man to walk this planet.
I mentioned the multiple orgasms, right? I'm pretty sure I mentioned those once or twice.
How I’d canceled plans the day after we hooked up in anticipation of his call. How I watched the screen to see if he’d called, going so far as restarting the phone because something certainly had to be wrong with it if he said he was going to call but didn't. I'd checked the charge no fewer than half a dozen times that day.
And when he still hadn't bothered to call days later, the feeling of being let down crushed me. Reminded me of another man who was full of promises and no follow through.
But Beck…
I felt the loss of the potential of him. I didn't love him—I wasn't crazy enough to fall for someone that quickly—but there was something kindling between us.
Or so I foolishly thought.
Faith's teasing grin disappeared. “Now I'm worried he hurt you and I need to go kick his ass or something.”
“He didn't physically hurt me, if that's what you're concerned about.”
“Hurt isn't always physical.” She set her glass down on the coffee table with a thunk. “I’m going to pull a you and kick his ass.”
Faith went to stand, and I tugged her arm down. “Fiiiinneee. You win. I'll tell you everything.”
I pulled the pillow out from behind me and placed it in my lap, playing with the little poms that surrounded all four sides.
My mouth suddenly felt dry as the Sahara. I sipped my water and cleared my throat. Faith looked on as if she were biting her tongue, waiting for me to begin.
“It was eight years ago.”
Faith squealed. Her eyes bulged. “I knew it!”
Her wine almost sloshed over and onto the couch.
“Careful!” I shouted.
Faith settled, swiping up a streak of wine from the outside of her wine glass looking properly chastised. “Sorry.”
“Eight years ago. We were at a party hosted by one of my college friends. I was on the prowl. Beck fit the bill. And voila, we hooked up.” I made a grand gesture with my hands.
Faith's smile fell. “Worst. Storyteller. Ever. Don't quit your day job.”
“I never said the story was going to be good.”
“Stop lying to yourself. Obviously it left an impression. Everyone who is everyone knows there is some sort of combustible history between you two. The story has to be good if it's left this much of an impression.”
She had me there.
Faith tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I know you aren't used to all this girl talk, so I'll take it easy on you.”
A laugh burst from my chest. “How kind of you.”
“Let's start from the beginning,” she said, ignoring me. “Tell me exactly how you felt the moment you first got a look at him. Please tell me he was wearing a leather jacket.”
I laughed again, some of my unease ebbing. “He wasn't wearing it when I met him at the party, but he definitely had his leather jacket on when he took me home.”
Faith clapped her hands together. “I fucking knew it.”
So I shared with her everything that happened at the party.
“Who suggested taking the party elsewhere?” Faith asked.
My lips twitched. “Me.”
“Yes!” she said. “Love an empowered woman who knows what she wants.”
I pointed to myself. “And this woman wanted him. All of him.”
“And you got him.”
“I did.” I patted myself on the back.
“Something tells me it's the after that was the problem.”
“That's where it got messy. Or didn't because he didn't call.”
She narrowed her eyes. “He asked for your number but didn't call you?”
“Mmhmm.”
“And you’re still mad about it?” she hypothesized. “It seems like something you would have brushed off.”
I suddenly became very interested in my nails. Perhaps I should swap out the cherry-red polish for something even darker. A deep navy or maybe just go all black.
If I had to really examine it, I would venture that I was still mad about it because if he had called me, I might not have gotten into the situation that happened mere days after Beck and I hooked up.
“Luna—”
“Faith—”
She poked my arm. “You like him. That’s why it hurts so much.”
I swallowed. “I like him a lot.”
“As in present tense?”
I shook my head. “No. No present tense. Dude didn’t call me. If he was the man for me, he would have figured out a way to reach out.”
Her brows knitted together. “When did you see him after that? When was the first encounter?”
“He came to my club with Sebastian once.”
Faith gawked. “No, he didn’t.”
I nodded. “He did. Didn’t know it was mine. He damn near tripped over his feet when he saw me. Luckily I’d worn my best bustier. The man practically had his tongue hanging out of his mouth.”
“So what happened next?”
“Once the initial shock wore off, he had the audacity to be mad. At me .”
“Why would he be mad at you if he’s the one who didn’t call?”
“Great question.”
“And have you asked him that question?”
I sank back into the couch. Had I asked him ?
If I was being honest, I probably hadn’t. I couldn’t think clearly through the red haze of anger that had overtaken me that night. Sebastian hadn’t mentioned he’d be bringing a friend, and I don’t think I had been kind to either of them. Sebastian had pulled me aside afterwards to ask what had happened, but when I didn’t answer him, he didn’t push it.
Smart man.
That was six months ago. I’d seen him several times in the past couple of months now that he was busy protecting Faith from aggressive paparazzi and public interest in the former socialite. Luckily, that interest died down, making it safer for Faith to go out on her own.
“Have you?” Faith prodded.
“Probably not…” I said, sheepishly. “I’ll ask him next time I see him.”
Faith tilted her head, as if to say really ?
I nodded reassuringly. “I promise. Besides, I’ve cooled off. I’m totally fine now.”
My friend arched a perfectly tweezed brow.
“Yep, totally fine.”