Chapter 10 #2
When the knock came at the door, a thrill of excitement moved through me. Once I opened the door and saw Taj standing on the other side, there was no containing the smile that spread across my face.
He smiled back. “Hey, you.”
“Hi.” I waved him inside. “Come in. Come in.”
Taj stepped just inside the apartment, carrying a bag, and waited while I locked the door behind him. “Nice place.”
“Isn’t it? I already love it. Do you want the tour?”
Still smiling, he nodded. “Absolutely.”
Taj kicked off his sneakers by the door and followed me deeper into the apartment.
It was an open-concept space, so standing in the middle of the room, he could see the kitchen, dining area, and living room.
After he set the bag down on the countertop, I gestured to the door off to the side of the dining room and said, “That’s that bathroom, and over on the other side of the living room is the door that leads out to the balcony.
Those doors over there house the water heater and HVAC unit.
And behind that one is the little laundry room. ”
“Nice. Was it already furnished?”
I shook my head. “No. No, I had to furnish it. As you can see, it’s still rather bare in here. It’s actually driving me insane not to have all the little decorative details, but I didn’t want to go too crazy until I was convinced about my plans to stay here in town permanently.”
Taj’s brows shot up. “I didn’t know that was an option. You think you might stay here indefinitely?”
It surprised me as much as it surprised him. I hadn’t come here with that intention. In fact, I hadn’t expected to be here more than a night or two before I moved on to whatever the next destination was.
If it hadn’t been for meeting Taj the night I arrived and receiving that gift box from him the next morning, I probably would’ve already been gone.
“It’s certainly a possibility now.”
Something washed over his expression that I couldn’t quite read. Relief, maybe?
Unsure I was prepared to deal with whatever that look was about, I ignored it, took him by the hand, and led him to the last spot he hadn’t seen. Pushing the door open, I said, “This is the bedroom.”
Taj didn’t immediately respond. In fact, he seemed to just stare at the bed, lost in thought.
I could only assume he was noting precisely how bare the apartment was, since the bedroom consisted of nothing more than just a bed and a nightstand at this point.
The clothing that I did have was hanging in the closet or folded on top of the shelves in there.
“I realize it doesn’t feel like much of a home at this point, but it serves its purpose for now,” I said.
He finally turned to face me. “You brought it with you.”
“What?”
One half of his mouth quirked with a smile. “The snow globe. You have it on the nightstand.”
So that’s what he was looking at…
I nodded, returning the smile. “It’s my favorite thing I own. That snow globe is a big part of the reason I decided to stay in this town for a while, Taj.”
“And you keep it by the bed?”
“Yes. I love shaking it up every night and watching the snow fall around that couple and Christmas tree before I go to sleep.”
Taj’s hand squeezed mine, a moment of sweet silence stretching between us. “I’m glad you like it so much, and I’m so glad I decided to approach you that night you were standing beside that tree in the park.”
My insides warmed. “Me, too. I feel like I owe you a debt of gratitude.”
“You don’t.”
The look he was giving me was making my belly tremble. God, I felt nervous. Was this what people meant when they said they got butterflies in their belly from someone?
Unable to process the feeling that look gave me, I focused on what I could handle, shrugging as I moved out of the bedroom back toward the kitchen.
“But you’ve been so great. Honestly, I don’t think I could have been any luckier than to have found a friend in you when I arrived here.
That’s a big part of the reason I’m so glad you accepted my invitation to have dinner with me tonight.
I feel like it’s one way I can show my appreciation for how wonderful you’ve been. ”
Something I couldn’t read moved through his expression, but whatever it was, he didn’t reveal it. “I can’t imagine why you think I wouldn’t have accepted your invite.”
“Well, it’s just that I’m sure you’re busy and probably have other things going on,” I explained. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you would be rude. Just that you likely have a lot to deal with being the CEO of such a big brand, especially with the project you’re currently tackling.”
“Oh, don’t you start with me, too,” he warned, a light in his eyes.
“Start with you?”
“Telling me how much I work and that I need to take a break,” he clarified.
And for the second time since I met him, I realized just how much I didn’t know about Taj.
Evidently, there was someone else on his mind.
Was it a friend? Family member? It couldn’t be a girlfriend, right?
Not that it should have mattered to me. I was in no position to dive into a relationship.
What kind of crazy person would I be to even consider it mere weeks after leaving my fiancé at the altar, even if I hadn’t loved him?
“You hear that often?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Ugh, all the time. Even on the night I met you, I heard about it. My buddies, my sister, our family friends. They all think I work too much.”
I arched a brow. “Do you?”
His lips twitched. “I take great pride in the things I do. If I’m going to do something, I intend to put my full effort in every time.”
Smiling, I said, “So, what you’re saying is that you’re a workaholic.”
Taj laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
I nodded, shooting him a look that told him I didn’t believe a word. “In all seriousness, I think it’s admirable. And if you love what you do, I can’t say I blame you.”
“Well, thanks. So, I have three things I’d like to address with you.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“First, are you free tomorrow?”
My brows knit together. “Yes.”
Taj spun around much like I’d done mere moments before he arrived. “I completely understand why you’re keeping it to just the necessities here, but there is one thing you don’t have that you need.”
I’d slept here for the past two nights. There wasn’t anything I encountered in that time that led me to believe I was missing anything. “There is?”
His features softened. “For someone who loves them as much as you do, you need a Christmas tree. And I think you should let me take you to get one tomorrow. In fact, it’ll be my treat. Consider it a housewarming gift.”
My heart skipped a beat. Of all the thoughts he could’ve had about the lack of décor or furniture, Taj only cared about the one thing he believed would really make me happy. “This is an apartment.”
“And for now, it’s your home. So, what do you say?”
Shaking my head, I answered, “I’m not sure how I could turn you down.”
“Perfect. I’ll be here bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t have to work?”
He shrugged. “I’m trying to ease up and prove to everyone that I’m not a workaholic.”
I pressed my lips together, feeling such lightness in my chest at his teasing. “Alright. What else?”
“What else?”
“You said you had three things you wanted to address with me.”
Understanding dawned on his features. “Right. Yes. Um, do you have plans for Christmas?”
I didn’t want to be presumptuous, but at that question, my belly dipped. There could only be one reason he’d be asking about that. “Um, no. No, I don’t have any plans.”
Taj took a few steps in my direction, closing the distance between us. When we were just inches apart, he said, “I’d love it if you’d spend Christmas with me.”
I swallowed roughly, his confident presence making me feel something I hadn’t felt in a very long time. Maybe ever. “I… I… You don’t already have plans?”
“I have some. I’d like you to join me, though.”
Licking my lips, I rubbed my palm against the center of my chest. “I won’t be intruding, will I?”
He shook his head, the corners of his mouth tipping up in a smile. “Not at all.”
My throat was tight, but I rasped, “I think I’d really love that, Taj. Thank you for inviting me.”
Sensing my emotional state, Taj wrapped his arms around me and offered a reassuring squeeze. “I promise it’s going to be a great time.”
Tipping my chin up to look at him, I said, “Now I really do need to feed you. Maybe over dinner you can tell me about these people who think you work too much.”
Taj laughed.
I grinned.
“Well, before you do that, there is that one last thing,” he noted.
I’d been so moved by the invitations he’d extended for Christmas tree shopping tomorrow and joining him on Christmas Day that I forgot he had one more thing to share. “Right. What is it?”
“I brought dessert. I figured since you were cooking, it was only fair. Plus, I thought we could celebrate you moving into your new place with some cake.”
“Dessert? You bake, too?”
He jerked his head back. “God, no. We’d probably wind up in the hospital with food poisoning if I attempted something like that. Chloe made the cake.”
An unwelcome pang of jealousy washed over me. “Chloe?”
He nodded. “The owner of Chloe’s Cakes. She’s one of my sister’s best friends, but she’s also a very close family friend. Her dad was a snowboarder for my dad’s company, so I’ve known her all my life.”
The jealousy vanished. “I feel like you know a lot of people.”
“A fair amount.”
Smiling, I reasoned, “Maybe you could tell me about them over dinner.”
“If that’s what you want, I absolutely will.”
So, that’s what we did.
I got dinner plated for us before Taj told me all about the family and friends he had in his life. And afterwards, we ate the most delicious chocolate cake.