Crown's Chance at Love (19 page)

“You are the most incredible woman I have ever met…” he whispered leaning down, kissing me sweetly and slowly. His lips were lightly grazing and licking mine. He shifted his body to where we were in the same position side by side, facing one another, our fingers laced; he pulled away and kissed my nose.

“Tell me another random thing about you,” I whispered.

“I don’t like chocolate.” We smile at one another .

“How can you not like chocolate?” I asked incredulously. He shrugged at me smiling boyishly.

“Your turn sweetheart.”

“Hmm… I like when you call me sweetheart.”

“I’ll keep that in mind… I’ve always wanted to drive cross country…”

“Like a road trip?” I ask softly and he nods, “That sounds fun… would you be one of those people who took pictures in front of things like the World’s Largest Ball of Yarn?” he laughs and nods again. His pale blue eyes are warm and dancing.

“I’m addicted to romance novels.”

He chuckles leaning in to kiss my nose.

“I like your eyes…” I whisper again, staring into his eyes.

“I like yours… but I’m sure you know that.”

“How would I know that?” I ask softly.

“The way I can’t seem to stop looking away from you,” he says and something inside of me clenches. From any other man I would have thought this was a cheesy statement, but the way he said it, the honesty in his eyes shining through, I knew he was telling me the truth.

I smile, knowing I am blushing furiously.

We shared random little tidbits about ourselves until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. Falling asleep facing one another our fingers interlaced together.

That night I slept better than I had in the over three years.

***

Mike

Morning came by too fast. Being spring, mornings seemed to start earlier and earlier and light started to stream into my room. I opened my eyes slowly and saw her sleeping right next to me.

Talking to her until we both fell asleep had been one of the best things I had ever done in my almost forty years. She was so sweet and surprisingly funny. We had told things to one another that not many knew of the other. I wanted her to get to know me. To know the type of man I am, so that when I told her the truth, she’d know more than just the fact of who I shared blood with. So that when she knew the truth she would know more than how I had affected her life that one October morning that I hated myself over.

I watch her sleep. Her dark black eyelashes are framing her eyes, her creamy skin is soft and flawless. When she had stepped out of the bathroom, without makeup in just my shirt, my heart had been infested with butterflies. She had looked stunning.

Next to me right now her mouth slightly open, I want to kiss her pretty little pink mouth so bad, but I dont want to risk waking her up. Glancing over at the clock, I take in that we still have an hour and a half until we have to wake up, so I snuggle up close to her. Instinctively, she wraps her leg over mine, and I close my eyes. Easily drifting back to sleep with my fingers tangled in her hair.

***

Her body is warm, soft and comfortable, so much so I seriously didn’t want to open my eyes, but I could feel her trying to lightly nudge me awake.

“Mike…” she whispered in a tone I could tell that she had a smile on her face,. I tried to fake sleep so that I wouldn’t lose her next to me but she leaned in, her lips lightly kissing mine. I couldn’t pretend sleep after that. Taking her in my arms, rolling us over so that her soft warm body would be beneath mine, I opened my eyes and smiled at her.

“Good morning beautiful,” I whisper as I move forward, kissing her and she kisses me back. I take control of the kiss, making sure it was soft and sweet, making sure things didn’t get out of hand.

“Good morning, “ she said smiling brightly when I broke the kiss. “How did you sleep?”

“Well once this little minx stopped talking to me,” I said playfully and she laughed. God I loved her laugh and how it made my heart flipp. “Best fucking sleep I have had in years honey. You?”

“Wonderfully. I liked sleeping next to you,” she said her hands cupping my face, sweetly. Everytime she did that it tugged at something in me.

“Good, me too.” I tell her.

We stayed that way for a bit, just staring at one another, enjoying the silence of the morning. Somehow ignoring the lust flowing through us, my hard erection poking her belly, the heat radiating off her skin and the way her nipples had beaded up do tightly I could feel them against my chest, through the t-shirt she wore.

“Is it horrible I don’t want to get out of bed?” she asked softly, her fingers still caressing my face.

“I know baby… but we have to. Come on. You shower, and I’ll make us breakfast.” I suggest because there was no way I could be in my room, knowing she would be completely naked in my shower only a couple feet away from where I was.

***

He walked into his office a little after ten. He couldn’t seem to shake the permanent grin he had plastered on his face and the sheer feeling of contentment he had in his chest. Sabrina was something he really hadn’t been counting on. He emailed his assistant, Robin, and asked her to cancel any other pre-scheduled dates he might have made. He couldn’t risk a repeat of the Montecito dinner happening again. He knew he should stay away from her or atleast try to, but the pull to her was too great. He would just have to be careful. He closed his eyes and smiled.

He thought about how she had felt in his arms. How they had whispered into the darkness, telling one another things that not many knew of them. He liked the idea of getting to know her, of her getting to know him. He liked how it had felt having her in his space, in his home. She fit there. They had an undeniable chemistry that they had given into in her office, but he was proud of himself for not having taken it to another level.

Checking his messages, his heart sank as he heard Patrick’s attorney on the other line. Attorney’s telling him that Patrick was still insistent on talking to Sabrina. Running his fingers through his hair he sighed as he looked out towards the city. He would have to figure out how to calm his little brother. He couldn’t risk her finding out who he was. Not yet at least.

He wanted her to know who he was before she found out. In doing so, maybe Sabrina would find something in him that she liked enough that it would make it difficult for her to walk away from him.

Sabrina

Stretching my back, I look around my kitchen, thinking I should probably add a coat of paint in here, maybe something yellow to brighten it up.

Finishing my work day early, I had been able to pick up the kids from school. Now the four of us were in the kitchen working on various things. Penny and Mark are at the kitchen table doing homework, each of them with earbuds in their ears, listening to their music blaring out from their ipods. Watching them, I wonder if I should ask them to lower the volume, worrying about the long term effect of the blaring music. Smiling, my eyes land on Chris sitting at the breakfast counter pretending to read, as he glances towards the living room where he had left the NFL channel playing. All of this is happening around me as I work on cooking dinner.

A month had passed since my impromptu sleepover at Mike’s condo. A month that had flown by in a blur. Between weddings and a charity event at the kids’ school, mixed in with Mike having to fly back East because of a big deal his best friend, John Davenport, and him were working on, I had only seen him once.

Once in a whole month.

But even with everything going on with our schedules we had somehow managed to talk to one another every day. Every day and night, with silly and sweet text messages in between calls.

The one time we had seen one another we had gone to dinner and gone to see the new Pixar movie with the kids. Mike had held my hand the whole time, which had made me feel at ease and had rushed a flurry of butterflies in my stomach. I would catch glimpses of the kids looking at us and they would just smile. Even Chris had seemed to have been charmed by Mike. At the end of the night he drove us back home. Once the kids were in bed upstairs, Mike and I had sat on the couch drinking coffee and talking. He had kissed me, chastely and sweet, making sure not to push things too far. But with every touch, every kiss, every caress, my skin had quickly started to feel warm and tingly.  Almost as if he could hear the naughty thoughts in my head, he had chuckled telling me he couldn’t take things further with the kids upstairs.

Instead of it being a reminder of how complicated the situation might be, it had made me want him more.

Mike had been a complete gentleman. This big, strong, sexy, sweet man being chivalrous because I knew exactly how tempted he had been. He had been completely aroused, long, thick and hard, but he had never pushed for more. If the obvious hadn’t been enough of a clue, I could tell by his touch, how it almost felt like he was claiming me as his with how closely he had held me. Then before midnight, he left.

I had seen something in his eyes that I knew showed in mine…he hadn’t wanted to leave. I hadn’t wanted him to leave either. I had wanted to be next to him all night long again but I couldn’t get myself to ask for what I wanted. Especially with the kids home. It was way too soon to even go there yet.

It had been interesting getting to know him, getting close to him even with being separated by an entire coast.

Now, in the middle of the week, a little over a month after Mike had bumped into my life, everything was the same yet completely different. Something in me feels awake, almost renewed, letting me feel lighter than I have been before. Emmi made it a point to remind me it was a
good thing.

Emmi and I had met up several times the past month and each time she watched me intently and always smiled brighter at me than she had in a long time. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders in a way. A weight that unknowingly I had put there.

Even my parents and sister had brought up the fact that I seemed a little different. I knew the kids had mentioned Mom’s new
friend
, but I wasn’t sure if I should mention it to them, or even how I would. Once I did, it made whatever was going on between Mike and I, a little more real. Somehow more serious. I wasn’t ready for that, especially since Mike had made it a point that we were just getting to know one another.

Then there was Nick. After Sean passed away, my brother completely out of the picture, Sean’s brother living out of state, Nick had appointed himself to the male role model and uncle figure. I was perfectly fine with it. I was extremely thankful for it. Nick was a great man. But because of that strong relationship with the kids, the kids had talked to Nick about Mike…a lot.

I was sure that all of it had been positive but I knew Nick. I knew it irritated him. Especially with everything happening and him being stuck in Hong Kong. Nick was our protector. I would forever be in his debt with how he pulled me out of my own grief. Indebted to him for pushing me to be better not only for my kids but for myself. He had helped me crawl out of the frighteningly numb dark hole I had fallen into after Sean had died.

I knew how easy it could have been for the two of us to have fallen for one another, and a year ago it could have led somewhere. Maybe. If  not for that embarrassing night that made reality crash down over us. Whenever I thought about what happened that night I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry.

He was my best friend. He was the man I went to with everything. I knew he was only being overprotective when it came to Mike. To say Nick didn’t like Mike was saying it lightly. Anytime the kids or I brought him up, or they told him what they had been up to I could almost hear him rolling his eyes, scowling at the mere mention of another man in our lives.

Yet because Nick was the type of man that Nick was, he promised me that once he flew back home, and he came to LA he would do his best to keep an open mind when it came to Mike once they met in person. I wasn’t sure how true it would be, or how open minded he’d be, but it wasn’t like I could do anything to change his outlook.

As I was prepared a salad, the doorbell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. Popping a slice of cucumber into my mouth, just as i was about to walk towards the door, my phone rang. Digging into my huge cluttered purse I found my phone and looked at the screen. Not being able to hide the smile that fell over my face as I read
“Mike Calling”
flashing on my phone. Without a second thought I answered it.