I See...Love (A Different Road Book 1) (21 page)

I grab some underwear and my standard chef white shirt and black pants, and then head into my bathroom. I look at the counter and it looks like a bomb went off. All of my things are shoved to the back, and several items are lying on their side. Everything that is, except for the bottle of my favorite perfume, which is sitting dead center on the counter. I glance at the shower and it looks like a tornado went off on my shower caddy.

Then an idea hits me. I close my eyes and touch the counter. I need to see what he sees with his hands. The amount of product my fingers touch is overwhelming. I quickly open my eyes, and then grab the trashcan. I toss everything that I never use and leave only the basics. Then I turn toward the shower and do the same thing. Who needs bottles of conditioner, deep conditioner, leave in conditioner, and ten minute conditioner? After I’m done organizing, I jump in the shower and get ready for my day. Before I leave, I spritz on some perfume.

Nina, Maddy, and I have a little five-minute meeting in our office, and then Maddy and I help each other load our vans, so we’re ready for the day. I have three meals in a box to deliver, and two personal chef clients today. I’m glad I’ll be busy all day. Hopefully, it will help me keep my mind off River and just how much I hope I see him later today.

At each client’s house, I find myself constantly checking my phone to see if I’ve missed his call. I have ten different meal remnants on my phone from constantly sliding my fingers over the screen. Each time the screen lights up, I’m disappointed that he hasn’t called yet.

At my last client’s house, I feel my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. My hands are wrist deep in a vegetarian meatloaf mixture. I quickly wash my hands, and then pull it out of my pants and read the display. My face lights up when I see that it says,
River calling
. I feel the smile creep up my face, and then I lock myself in the client’s laundry room.

“Hello,” I answer, quietly.

“Joss, it’s Josh. River asked me to call you to extend an invitation to dinner at his house tonight,” he says, all business like.

I don’t know what to say. River is so busy that he doesn’t have two minutes to call me himself? He has to have Josh call me? I’ve been waiting on pins and needles all day anticipating his call, wanting and needing to hear his voice.

“Joss,” Josh calls.

“Yes,” I say.

“Tonight. Dinner at River’s house?” he asks.

“Yes, what time?” I ask.

Josh covers the phone and has a conversation with someone. Is he talking to River? Is he right there? Of course, he’s there. River and Josh are never more than two feet from each other.

“Does eight o’clock work for you?” he asks, uncovering the phone.

“No, actually it doesn’t. Tell River I won’t be attending dinner, I have to condition my hair tonight,” I say, and then I hang up.

Shit! Why did I do that? I should have just accepted. Since when do I act like a clingy, adolescent, spider monkey? It pissed me off though that River didn’t find it important enough to call me himself. Why am I so stubborn? I’m sure we would have had a fantastic time tonight, and, most importantly, I would have seen him. I don’t want to become out of sight, out of mind.

I exit the laundry room and finish up at my last client’s house. After I clean up my mess, I head home arguing with myself the whole way, if I should call River, or I guess, Josh, back and still accept. Does that make me look desperate? Why am I thinking about this so much? I bet River hasn’t even given it a second thought. Now I’m grumpy. As I turn down my street, I see a fancy red sports car parked in my driveway, and a handsome, well-dressed River leaning against the passenger door wearing a dark suit and a pair of dark tinted sunglasses. He’s relaxed and has one leg crossed over the other at the ankles.

Oh, God, does he look amazing.

Instantly my chest breaks out in a rush of tingles. I take my foot off the gas and slow down, as I check myself in the rear view mirror for spices or food that may have flown up on my face or in my hair. I rip my hair out of my ponytail and desperately fluff my matted down hair with one hand. I check my white shirt for food stains and wipe the flour off my black pants. I realize what I’m doing and roll my eyes at myself. He can’t see you, Joss. Then, I chastise myself and say so what that’s not a reason to look like a slob. I fumble through my purse for some mints and pop one into my mouth as I pull into the driveway alongside River.

I take a deep breath and open the door. Before my foot can even touch the ground, River is at my side, putting his hand around mine, and then he helps me out. He does his usual deep inhale of me, and then he gets that wicked grin on his face that I love.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, once I’m on both feet.

I glance at Josh, who quickly looks the other way, and then I close the door and nervously wait for his answer.

“You didn’t want dinner, that’s fine. I came to help you condition your hair,” he says in a throaty whisper.

I open my mouth, and then quickly close it. My insides start to turn to mush, and I think about his talented hands in my hair, massaging my scalp with gobs of slick conditioner. Yes, please!

Then, as if on cue, my stomach growls loudly. Not just loudly, but the kind of growl that takes on a life of its own and sounds like a monster digesting a dragon in your belly.

“Not hungry, I hear,” he says.

Shit.

I’m actually starving. Lunch was a bag of extra fajita vegetables from a client’s house as I was driving to my next client’s house at two o’clock. I think I could eat both the monster and the dragon right now.

“Did you need to change before we go to dinner?” he asks.

I think I could kiss him right now. What am I talking about? I think I will. I turn to face him, touch the side of his face, roll up on my tiptoes and place a soft kiss on his lips.

“Yes, please,” I say. “Come on inside while I change and get cleaned up. I can get you a beer, it will only take me about ten minutes, then we can go,” I continue.

I take River’s arm and lead him inside. Josh stays put at the driver’s side door. I turn around to look at him, his face is to the ground and he looks so sad. It has to be killing him to be here, and to know that Nina is just inside the house. I know he wants nothing more than to be with Nina, and I know even though Nina thinks she’s doing what’s best for both Josh and River, she really wants to be with Josh, too. I see the conflict in Josh’s eyes. He’s dedicated to River and he’s in love with a woman that he thinks he can’t have. Josh is such a good man. I’m still working on that one for you, Josh.

“Josh, did you want to come inside for a beer with River?” I call from the doorway.

“Thank you, but no, I’ll wait here,” he replies.

It makes me really sad. I wish River could see how much it’s killing Josh not to be with Nina.

I open the front door and glance up at River. His tanned face and his dark, messy hair look phenomenal with those dark sunglasses on his face. Then, I giggle out loud. I didn’t intend to giggle out loud.

“What is it?” he asks, squeezing my hand.

“So, the sunglasses?” I ask.

“I know. They came to my office today from a high-end designer. I thought I’d try them out. You wouldn’t believe the things people send me. Do they look good?” he asks, facing me.

I swallow hard. Do they look good? Is the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum in Paris? No, they don’t look good. They look so freaking amazing that they should be illegal, that’s what they look like.

“Oh yeah…they look more than good,” I tell him.

Just by looking at River and the way he carries his body, you would never know that he is blind if you didn’t know him. He has the prettiest pale blue eyes I’ve ever seen. He walks with confidence and carries himself as if he’s fearless. Other than Josh holding his arm all the time, which I’m sure gets mistaken for him being gay, you’d seriously never suspect that he’s totally blind.

“Then I’ll keep them,” he says, as we walk into the house.

I go to the refrigerator and take out a beer. I crack the lid off, and then walk toward the back of the house where he’s standing and place it in his hand.

“I’ll only be a few minutes,” I say, and then head into my room.

Nina sneaks out of the office and dramatically over exaggerates tiptoeing down the hallway toward my room. I can’t help it, I giggle. She looks like a giant praying mantis coming down the hallway. She’s so funny.

“You know he heard you come in here,” I tell her, taking off my clothes.

“No way! I was as quiet as a church mouse,” she replies.

“He’s a ninja remember. I’m sure he has a card in his wallet that legally certifies him as a legitimate ninja. He’s like that kid from that one movie that can catch a fly in midair with chop sticks.”

Nina giggles, and then she walks over to my closet and takes out a sundress and a pair of sandals. She places them on the bed while I go into the bathroom and freshen up. I run my brush through my hair and dab on some lip-gloss. I spritz on the perfume that’s still sitting in the center of the counter, and then go back into my room and put on the dress Nina pulled out for me.

I’m done in less than six minutes. Nina never did come into the bathroom to make a fuss over me getting ready.

“How do I look?” I ask.

She gets a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face. She brings me in for a hug and squeezes me tight.

“You look breathtakingly beautiful,” she replies, then lets me go.

Nina and I leave my room together, and I find River in the exact same spot that I left him. The only thing that’s different is the beer that I handed him has been emptied.

“I’m ready if you are,” I tell him, walking up behind him.

He turns around and that magnetic force we seem to have takes effect. His nose gently brushes up my throat, as he smells me. His lips gently drag over my cheek and he kisses my lips. I hear Nina behind me take in an,
oh my God, that was sexy as hell
breath. Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel. I take the empty beer bottle from his hand, and then I take his arm to walk toward the front door. Nina takes the bottle from me, and then mouths the words, “I’m so happy for you.”

I open the front door and find Josh resting on the car much like River was when I came home. I turn around to look to see if Nina sees him. Yep, she sees him. She did that, oh my God, he’s sexy as hell breath again. But, this time it was about Josh.

I walk River to his car while Josh opens the back door. River helps me inside, and then he turns and whispers in Josh’s ear before he himself gets into the car.

Josh pulls out his cell phone and makes a phone call as he walks back around toward the driver seat. River takes my hand as Josh starts to drive toward downtown.

I had Josh make reservations at a well-known sushi restaurant in downtown Malibu. It wasn’t necessarily a reservation; it was more of a ‘River Mason is on his way, have your best table available.’ This restaurant requires reservations six months in advance, but guaranteed they’ll be posting it on social media that I ate there and our meal will most likely be free.

Josh pulls into the parking lot and stops the car at the front door. He exits the driver side, walks around the car, and then opens my door. I step out, and then extend my hand to help Joss out of the car. As Josh pulls away, Joss takes my arm and we walk inside the restaurant. Even though I can hear a crowd of people waiting for their seats, once we’re inside, a hostess is immediately at our side.

“Right this way, Mr. Mason,” she says.

As we walk through the restaurant, I can feel Joss’s body tense up.

“What’s wrong?” I whisper, leaning into her hair.

I know what she’s going to say. I can feel every eye in the restaurant on us. This is why I prefer to eat in the comfort of my own home. I like to make a scene and get the attention when I’m out by myself, but I don’t like the fear coursing through Joss’s hand right now.

“Nothing,” she quickly says.

The owner of the restaurant quickly comes over and ushers us the rest of the way to our private table. We are catered and treated like royalty. Even though he won’t charge me for our meal, he’ll definitely be getting a nice tip.

Joss and I order our food, and throughout the meal, several additional specialty entrees are brought out for us to try. I’m sure it’s in hopes that I’ll rave about his signature dishes. He even brings out his best bottle of wine without me having to ask. I’m relieved the earlier tension I felt from Joss has disappeared.

I have to say dinner was a surprise. At first, I thought I was in for a disaster, but other than a few clueless people approaching our table, for my autograph, we were left alone to enjoy our meal. People are so dense. I’m not an actor or a famous football player. Why do they want my autograph? On the way out, I make it a point to tell the owner that we will definitely be repeat customers. I put Joss in the car and I give instructions to Josh to stop and pick up a pint of ice cream on our way back to my house. Joss and I both wait in the car while Josh runs in and gets our order.