Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Leyla
“Not every woman.”
I was starting to wonder why Niko thought he needed help with his dating game, given how easily he said things like that. I had no idea if he remembered a conversation in the library years ago when he said the same thing to me, but I surely never forgot. Was he trying to kill me with that line?
His repeated words reverberated through me like a promise. Long after I’d gotten home, they were still whispering to me. Days later, as I sat in a board meeting, they were making my heart flutter.
“Isn’t that right, Leyla?” Luke asked, his voice louder than usual. Snapping back to the present, I looked at him. His eyes were wide, sending a clear message: wake up and join the adults. He pushed the report we’d been talking about toward me, saving my butt.
“Yes,” I answered, looking at the paper in front of me. “We are on track to meet our quarterly goals. Sales are up 4%, and the sunscreen focus group gave us great feedback.” Thankfully, I knew all of this like the back of my hand.
Luke nodded and took back over the conversation. Forty-five minutes later, everyone left the conference room except for him and me.
“What’s going on with you? When I looked over, you had a goofy grin and unfocused eyes,” he teased, his eyes crossed and a stupid grin like the Joker on his face. He moved in time to avoid my elbow and reached for a pastry.
“Shut your face,” I grumbled. “But thanks for the save. Ugh, just, I don’t know. I’m confused.” Rubbing my palms over my eyes, I groaned. “Do you think anyone noticed?”
“I think Rhina was laughing behind her tablet, but other than that, no. I think you’re good. Want to tell me what’s got you so confused and moony-eyed?”
Scowling, I said, “Not moony-eyed.”
His eyebrows lifted and his lips pursed. I wasn’t going to get out of this unscathed.
“Fine,” I said, exhaling the word like it offended me. “I went surfing. With Niko.”
“Oh, wow. That’s a big deal. I’ll hold back my comments about how he got you back on the board and not me, you know, your best friend.” He rolled his chair away from me and pouted, his arms crossed over his chest. Such a baby.
Rolling him back, I said, “Sorry. Don’t be mad. He came up with it, and I didn’t want to say no. It was for our first practice…thing.”
“You mean your first practice date? Just call a spade a spade.” His tone was all mischief.
“Tomato, tomahtoe. Anyway, I can’t remember if he and I ever talked about him loving surfing, but it was amazing to be back out there. I’m still riding that high and can’t wait to go back. Let’s go together this weekend.”
“I don’t need your pity surf.” He was so ridiculous.
“Please stop. It was so great. Not just being out there, but being with him. We laughed and talked. It was just perfect.”
“Oh man, the moony eyes are back,” he teased. “Did you get any details on who this woman is?”
My smile disappeared. “No. We talked around her, not about her. I gave him some tips on how to talk to her, but I swear, it felt like we were actually talking about me. I know it’s crazy, but the things he said. It was like we were on an actual date.”
“Ohhhh. You love him. You want to date and marry him.” His singing voice ruined his impression of the incomparable Sandra Bullock.
This was my fault, having a best friend who I forced to watch romcoms with me for years. He could recite all the good lines without missing a beat.
“Don’t quote Miss Congeniality to me, and you are categorically incorrect,” I said, turning my back on him so I didn’t smash that pastry into his smug face.
“Gotta say. Did not see that coming. Man, Sofia was right.”
Swinging my head over to look at him, I squealed, “What? Right about what?”
“You and Niko. She said after everyone left the other night you two would fall in love and soon.” He looked me up and down and smirked. “By the look on your face earlier and your reaction just now, I’d say my wife was right.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. She and Vicky have been teasing me for weeks. They just want to get me out of my man ban.”
“Yeah, speaking of the man ban, Niko seems to be an exception, am I right?”
“How many times do I need to say it’s a pretend date?” I already knew what was coming.
“And yet.” Here it comes. “You just said it felt like a real date.”
Looking up at the ceiling, I grunted. Walked right into that one.
Turning back to him, I exhaled. “Yes, I did. But he’s interested in another woman, in case you’ve forgotten that little tidbit.”
Shrugging, Luke gathered his things and stood up. “All is fair in love and war, kiddo.” He shoved my chair hard, sending me rolling into the table like the jerk he was, and left.
For the next week, Niko and I were like ships passing in the night at work. Checking my phone to see if he’d texted had become an Olympic sport. Knowing I was being ridiculous, I stayed as cool as I could when I was around him.
We’d run into each other in the hallways or the elevator, but stuck to work-related topics. I could see how uncomfortable he was, and it seemed he wanted to say more, but he never did.
In meetings, I would glance over and find him looking at me. He would startle, then smile and look away. Finally, on Friday, I couldn’t take it anymore and went to his office to talk.
Knocking on the doorframe of his open office door, I waited for him to look up. He was engrossed in whatever he was reading, so it took a minute for him to realize I was standing there.
When he finally looked up, he jetted out of his seat and stood. I loved it when he did that. So old-fashioned and frankly, attractive as all get out.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. How long have you been standing there?”
Chuckling, I said, “Just a minute or two. I did knock.”
As he walked toward me, he said, “No, it’s my fault. I was reading about how to avoid emulsions from breaking down during heat spikes.”
“Riveting,” I teased.
He watched me, maybe making sure I was joking. When I chuckled, he followed. He pushed his hands into his pockets. I noticed it was a nervous habit.
“Guess I’m just boring.” His smirk set my heart racing.
We stood there, gazes locked again, neither of us moving or speaking. Did he feel this attraction, or was it all on my end? I had to remind myself he wasn’t interested in me that way, no matter how he looked at me. But it was confusing to say the least.
Clearing my throat, I said, “The lab results you emailed me look promising. I wanted to say that you’ve been here for a little more than a month and have been a great asset to our team. This isn’t a formal evaluation, but I thought you might want to know.”
He nodded, and my heart fluttered. Gosh, I was starting to react to just his head nod. Who was I kidding? I was reacting to everything he did.
“Leyla, would you like to go to dinner with me?”
Whoa, where did that come from? I didn’t know if I was hallucinating or not, but I answered, “Yes” so quickly, I wasn’t sure it had even happened.
“You will?” he asked, his voice so earnest. He was so handsome, it hurt to look at him.
“Yes.”
He nodded again. “This can be our second practice date.”
Record scratch. Wait, what?
Niko looked at me expectantly, his expression growing more serious. Shoot, I must be frowning.
“Ah, yes, yeah. That’s great,” I answered, forcing a smile. “When were you thinking?”
“Are you free Sunday night by any chance? I kept meaning to call you, but it’s been a little crazy around here this week.” His hands had left his pockets and were now wringing in front of him. Looking down, he stopped abruptly and put them behind his back.
“Sunday night would be fine. How’s six?”
“Six would be fine,” he parroted. “I could, um, pick you up. Like a, like a real date.”
My brain snagged on the word ‘real’ and held on for dear life.
“Sure. I’ll text you my address.” I turned to leave, my heart in my throat.
“Leyla?” I turned back to see he had stepped closer to the door. “I’d like to take you to Juniper and Ivy, if that sounds good to you.”
“I love that place. Okay, I’ll see you on Sunday.”
I power-walked back to my office, dissecting our short conversation. Locked eyes, goofy grins, invitation to one of the nicest restaurants in San Diego. I wondered if he’d mentioned the name of the restaurant so I was prepared and knew what to expect. So Niko-like.
Then my stomach dropped. He also referred to it as another practice date.
Luke was right. All is fair in love and war. I just prayed my heart wouldn’t come out of this more wounded than it already was.
Refusing to get Sofia and Vicky’s input into my outfit, Sunday afternoon found me digging through my closet like I was mining for gold. They would come over and make such a big deal of it. And it wasn’t a big deal. Just dinner. Friends, that’s all.
“This is so dumb. You have tons of clothes to choose from, Leyla. Just pick one,” I mumbled to myself. If only it were that easy. I didn’t want to seem too eager, but I didn’t want to look like I didn’t care, either. It was maddening.
Looking at the body-hugging black dress that I’d worn several times with Ethan, I knew it would be perfect for the restaurant we were going to, but it held too many memories I’d rather forget. Throwing it to the back of the closet, I kept digging.
Thirty minutes later, I pulled out a dark-green dress with the tags still on it. Barely remembering when I’d bought it, I looked it over and knew it was the one.
It was an off-the-shoulder chiffon midi dress with a wrapped bodice, a defined waist, and a modest slit down the front.
Remembering Niko liked to be early, I made sure I was ready well before six. Taking a sip of ice water to calm my nerves, I checked the mirror one last time.
I’d pulled one side of my hair up and secured it with a fancy pin. Besides a slightly smoky eye and a berry lipstain, my makeup was light and as natural as possible. After watching several IG reels, I realized ‘natural look’ took as many steps as not wearing any at all.