Chapter 29
twenty-nine
. . .
WYATT
I raise my hand to knock on Blair’s door, but she opens it before I can. I suck in a breath. My eyes take her in, starting with what she is wearing: a short black silk dress, hitting mid-thigh, with thin straps and a scooped neckline. It teases me and immediately makes all the blood in my body rush to my dick. When my eyes make it back up to her face, her eyebrows are raised as if to say, Like what you see?
“You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you. So do you.” She bites her bottom lip like she’s nervous. “Shall we go?”
I walk her to the car, open the door, and help her in. When she lowers to get into the seat, her dress rises, coming dangerously close to showing me what might be under it. I shut the door and do my best to adjust the discomfort in my pants before I get into the car.
I’m taking her to a nice place in Santa Monica. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I also chose this restaurant because of its proximity to my house. If everything goes well, I’m hoping I can convince her to come home with me.
While I’ve dated a few women, I never thought a relationship would be in the cards for me. Most women want more than I can offer, or they like my bank account or proximity to fame. But Blair doesn’t care about all that.
For the first time, I let myself think about a future with her, and when I look over at her, she looks like mine.
At the restaurant, I take Blair’s hand in mine as the hostess leads us to the back.
“This is awfully romantic.” She looks up at me before she slides into the booth, and I move in right next to her.
“I’m shooting my shot. I hope that’s obvious after what’s happened between us.”
“We gave into a moment,” she says casually. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
I keep my eyes straight ahead as I take a minute to process what she just said. I don’t think I misread how she felt. Every touch, every kiss healed the wounds of our past.
“Maybe.” I clear my throat, trying to find the courage to say it meant everything.
“Maybe what?”
“It kinda meant something.” I chance a glance at her. She’s looking at me, waiting to hear more, so I go for it.
“It meant something to me. If it didn’t to you, I’ll understand. Or I’ll try to. But I don’t want that to be just a moment. I want more moments with you.”
“I think?—”
“We can avoid talking about it for now and just enjoy the night,” I say, interrupting her to stop her from overthinking this and shutting down any chance we have before we even get started, especially if all she needs is time to adjust to the idea of us together. “We’re friends who have reconnected and are attracted to each other. And we both need to eat.”
She hesitates but, thankfully, changes the topic. “So, how were the TWA offices yesterday? Did you find the six million in savings everyone is talking about?”
A server arrives to get our drink order just in time. If Blair knew her name was on that cost-savings list, I’m not sure she would be here with me right now, especially since it was my idea that generated the first draft of employees who would be impacted. It never occurred to me that her contract would expire so soon.
“What do you think about all this change happening at TWA?” I ask her, trying to change the subject a little.
“I’m hopeful it’s good. The industry is changing, which means the way we all do business has to change. The Manhattan Group has a fantastic women’s sports portfolio. That’s promising.”
“Would you ever consider shifting your focus to represent athletes?”
“No. I mean, never say never, but I don’t even really want to stay at TWA forever.”
“Really?”
“Don’t look so surprised. You know how I like to champion women.”
“I do. You say that like you don’t do that every day, though.”
“It’s getting harder.”
“So, if not TWA, what would you do?”
“The dream is to open up my own shop, one where the only focus is women and other underrepresented groups.”
“An advocate for the snubbed and disregarded.”
“Well said.” She raises her glass to toast mine, and I relax a little. Maybe getting laid off might not be such bad news to her after all. Maybe it’s just the push she needs.
We spend the rest of dinner catching each other up on what our lives are like now. I share more about Jake, what it’s like working with my dad, and how watching Sophia blossom into a star has been so surreal. She tells me more about Jess, and I can tell that Jess probably knows more about me than I realize. I find myself laughing more than I have in a long time, and I don’t want this night to end.
“Let’s take a walk outside.”
I lead her out to the back of the restaurant, where a deck stretches out over the beach. On the right, casual lounge seating crowds the fire pits, which radiate heat to chase the chill away. We walk to the left for a little privacy and to take in the ocean’s view under the full moon.
Blair props her elbows on the rails, and I stand next to her, close enough to feel the heat of her body, but I keep my hands in my pocket so I’m not tempted to rip that dress off of her.
“It’s a beautiful night,” she says.
I keep my eyes on her. “It sure is.”
She turns and looks up at me, and I pull one hand out of my pocket and place it on the railing, slightly caging her in.
“Thank you for dinner. This was fun.”
Being this close to her is intoxicating, and I lean down to kiss her.
She welcomes my lips, and the kiss starts soft and sweet. My lips brush gently across hers with the message that I can be patient and this is real.
She turns toward me, and my hand goes to her hip, squeezing and pulling her close to me. I lean back and look at her to make sure she’s ok, and she brings her hands to my chest and tilts her head down.
I put my other hand behind her neck to tilt her head back up to me and meet her lips again, this time with more pressure, pushing my tongue between her lips.
She reciprocates and presses her body even closer, bringing her arms up, wrapping them around my neck, and grazing her fingers through the hair at the back of my head.
We kiss like we’re starving, and my hands move from her hips down to palm her ass. When I run my hand down her thigh to lift it, it breaks the spell.
“We should stop. Anyone could walk up at any minute.”
“Come home with me.”
I return my hands to her waist and pull back so that we are still close but not mashed together. I continue to pepper kisses on her lips, hoping I never have to stop.
“Ok.”
I go in for one more deep kiss and then gently cradle her face and neck as I brush her hair aside.
“Let’s go.” With a smile, I place my hand on the small of her back and guide her out to the valet.
At the front of the restaurant, I hear the woman’s voice before I see her.
“Wyatt! Oh, my God! What are you doing here?”
Bethany, my old friend with benefits, walks in and immediately makes a beeline for me with her arms out and a smile on her face. I’ve avoided seeing her the last few times she’s been in town. We’ve never been exclusive, but I don’t want Blair to get the wrong impression.
Blair stiffens and steps away, and I instantly feel the loss.
Bethany wraps her arms around me, and her lips graze the side of my mouth before I can fully pull away. I’m fuming at her rudeness and lack of tact. She can obviously see I’m with Blair.
“Bethany, this is Blair. My date.”
She looks Blair up and down with a fake smile plastered on. “Hi, Blair. Nice to meet you.”
I glance over and watch as Blair’s face pales and she offers a stiff nod in response.
Bethany turns back to me. “Is this why you didn’t have time for me this weekend?”
Fuck. This is getting worse by the second. Bethany knows our arrangement was casual. I’ve got to end this. Just then Blair steps up and loops her arm through mine.
“We better get going, babe.” A sense of pride simmers as I realize she’s staking her claim.
“Good to see you again, Bethany.” I step around her, hoping we can get out of here before this overshadows our night.
I grab Blair’s hand, but when we make it to the valet, she pulls it from mine.
“She’s the girl from Firefly.”
I have no idea what she’s talking about. What girl from Firefly? She must see the confusion on my face.
“When you asked me to meet you for dinner. That first time. She was sitting with you at your table when I arrived.”
That was the week I blew Bethany off, not knowing I would see Blair again. It was a fluke that we ran into each other that night.
“Is that why you slipped out without saying goodbye?” I ask.
She nods.
“She was there with her colleagues. We weren’t together. She just stopped by to say hi.”
“And she was supposed to be your plus-one at Jake’s wedding.”
“I never asked her to go with me to Jake’s wedding. That was all my father. He suggested it, and I just ignored him, so he made assumptions.”
“You should stay. I can call an Uber. No reason you shouldn’t catch up with an old friend. Besides, it’s late. I should get home.”
Blair is backing up and trying to walk away; I can tell she is rattled. Stepping toward her—I have no intention of letting her escape—I place my hand on her hips and bring her close.
“I’m sorry. Would you believe me if I say it all sounds and looks way worse than it is?”
Her eyes narrow, and her head tilts as if she’s saying it’s exactly what it looks like.
“Truth?” I say, throwing out our favorite peace treaty.
“Always the truth,” she replies.
“Bethany is someone I was seeing casually before I saw you at the studio lot with Sophia. She’s from New York, but her firm has an office here in LA, so she travels back and forth. It was a convenient setup for both of us, but it’s over.”
Blair doesn’t say anything, and I can see her mind spinning as doubt about being with me creeps across her face. I realize that it’s going to take more than a drive to my house for her to recover from that interaction. It’s like a spotlight has just landed on how much we still don’t know about each other, on how much time has passed.
Fuck.
“Come on. I’ll take you home.”
She’s quiet on the drive to her house. I walk her to her door, but before she goes in, I pull her back to me. When I tip her chin up, a small sigh passes through her lips.
“I’m sorry. I have a past. But so do you,” I tell her. “But there’s been no one serious and nobody in quite some time.”
She nods but doesn’t look away.
“This is moving a little too fast for me,” she confesses. “I like you—you know I do—but I need a minute.”
I tangle my fingers through hers, not wanting to let go. Then I lean down and kiss her gently.
“Ok. I’ll follow your lead.”