It's Got A Ring To It (23 page)

Ten minutes into the conversation, I deemed Raquel an ally with the
potential to earn friendship. Together, we entered
Bouchon
,
a beautifully authentic French restaurant with the best breakfast in town.
Despite the hunger pangs rumbling in my stomach, my mind reeled with the
highlights of the conversation that had just unfolded. Raquel could easily have
been a detective with all the clues and bits and pieces of details she’
d
overheard or pried out of
John, her fiancé and one of Myles’ best friends. She filled me in on everything
from the
beginning,
from the time Myles and I met at
the bridal boutique up to our impending
New Year ’s Day
meal. Through her, I
recounted every moment with the new information from his perspective.

While we were gown shopping with our sisters, I was loathing him and
he was doing everything in his power to maintain focus on his sister. She knew
about our meetings at the shop and at my parents’ house for Lena’s wedding photography
appointment. He couldn’t believe his luck that I turned out to be her sister.
After our little tryst on the side of the house, she said that Myles called
John and the third leg in their tripod, Andrew, to tell them all about this
woman who had flipped his world upside down. According to Raquel, Andrew and
John recognized that Myles was quickly falling for me and tried to get him to
pull back a little. Once they found out about Myles and Ethan meeting at m
y parents’ house—
that
was all the proof they needed. Immediately, they warned him that I would go
back to Ethan and kick him to the curb. Which is why he didn’t call.

The guys even tried setting him up on a few blind dates, but the
women were always too something or not enough
of
something else. Raquel was adamant that
he
had changed. His normal
lighthearted, jovial demeanor seemed to be subdued. Early in the day on New
Year’s Eve, he’d stayed a step behind his friends and seemed to be somewhere
else mentally. She figured he had to
be
lovesick, which was why she got so
excited when she saw the sign on the door.

More than anything, Raquel was ecstatic at the prospect of having
another woman around.
For too long, she’d been just one of
the guys.
Since
elementary school,
i
t
had always been Myles, Andrew, and John
.
Then she came along and threw a wrench in
their whole bachelors for life plan, when she hooked her ball and chain to
John. By the end of the conversation, she was already trying to figure out if I
had any nice friends to pair with Andrew.

When we finally drifted into
Bouchon
, a
voluptuous sexpot of a waitress, who seemed too
risqué
for the waking hours, in her black
lace bustier and second-skin leggings, escorted us through the restaurant,
threading us between tables of early birds and afternoon stragglers. We were
inside the Venetian, but the atmosphere oozed with a little taste of the French
countryside. Beyond the French doors, I could almost smell the sea, mixed with
the sweet buttery warmth of bread and muffins from the bakery. The
pewter-topped bar and the streaming pattern of fleur-de-lis floors added the
extra j
e
ne
s
ais
quoi
. Outside
the sound of fountains trickling, made the winter chill worth enduring.

At every turn, my heart flipped in anticipation. I’d spent the night,
or at least the better part of the morning, with Myles. But this wasn’t the
Myles who’d left me questioning all of his motives. This was Myles, through Raquel’s
rose-colored glasses. The sweet guy with loads of thoughtfulness and
compliments.
The Myles with the insatiable appetite for
me
.
And now, I was going to
face him in the light of day, along with the peanut gallery who’d fought tooth
and nail against me.

As we rounded the corner, inside the main dining room, near the
patio, the group sat in a small alcove reminiscent of a sidewalk bistro. Myles
was the first face I saw, on the far left at the head of the table with an
empty seat beside him. The table was set for six, with four chairs flanking the
sides and one at each end. He rose at the sight of me with a contagious smile
that chilled me to the bone. His eyes watched me with a spellbinding grip,
beckoning me toward him. Quickly, I looked away and scanned the rest of the
group.

Raquel eased into her place on the other side of Myles next to the
guy, who I presumed to be John
.
After seeing Raquel, I pictured some tall, dark, and handsome Ken doll
match with a sweep of
Bieber
hair. But, he was a
man’s man in every sense. Easily, I could see him chopping lumber or playing
basketball
—
something
that require
d
use of
his masculine hands. His body was built for labor. Average height, from what I
could see. Tall enough for her to wear her highest heels and still reach up for
a passionate good
night
kiss at the door. Green eyes and waves of a red rust mane,
well
-
suited
for his broad shoulders and
lean physique. But he had a laid-back quality to him with light blue jeans and
a long-sleeve white tee buttoned midway on the chest.

Only when I made
it
to my chair beside Myles, did I get a glimpse of the guy whose back was
facing me as I arrived at the table.

“Everyone, this is
Laila
,” Myles introduced
me first
.
“You’ve
already met Raquel. That’s John, one of my best friends. Lisa. And my other
best friend
—
”

“Drew
.
” I
finished his sentence. Myles’ eyebrows creased together. The attention at the
table was solely focused in my direction. And by the look on Drew’s face, he
was just as lost. We hadn’t actually met. The last time we shared a space, it
was a one
-
way
advantage.
He
might’ve caught a glimpse of me, but mostly,
I was eying him from afar to
make sure he honored his intentions
.
Maybe I looked familiar to him. Otherwise, he had
no clue
,
who
I was.
It was a date, or a non-date. Just not with me.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember meeting
you
,” Drew eyed
Myles and me
inquisitively.

I opened my mouth to answer,
but
shut it with a slight sigh, realizing
that I might have put my foot in my mouth for the umpteenth time. I studied the
woman next him. All the introductions came with a relationship link, except for
her. Who was Lisa? Was she paired with
Drew.
By the
seating arrangements, Lisa could have been his date. “U
h
…
you know a
friend of mine, Brooke. We were all on a flight from Vegas to New York
recently,” I offered hesitantly.

At the sound of Brooke’s name, his eyes lit up like the
F
ourth of July, which was
even more puzzling and possibly disrespectful, depending on Lisa’s status.
“Yeah, I remember. How is Brooke?” he asked.

I was hoping he’d give me some kind of indication as to whether or
not I should continue, but he didn’t. “She’s well,” I remarked, without adding
more.

For a second, Drew hesitated, staring. His eyes pleaded for me to say
more. Finally
he asked
,
“
H
as she mentioned me?”

Lisa’s eyes darted in my direction at his query
.
I
couldn’t have been more thankful to see the
busser
placing water glasses
from
a folding tray, making
his way around the table
as he requested our meal selections
.

When the server left, I didn’t even attempt to restart the
conversation where we’d left off. Drew and Lisa were wrapped up in a
conversation, as were Raquel and John, allowing
Myles and me
a quiet moment. When he turned
to me, I wasn’t expecting his words.

“
Laila
, I need to apologize to you
.
”
H
is eyes met mine. I thought he was still
talking about not calling, so I waved at the air, as if it was nothing but
water under the bridge. Then, he explained. “I’m sorry that I made love to
you.”

The words were jagged and sharp, the way they cut me so deep. At that
moment, I lost my breath and my heart dropped. All the color drained from my
face and my crossed legs beneath the table twitched nervously. My eyes glazed
over and through blurred vision, I looked him in the eyes. “Fine.”

“It’s coming out all wrong,” Myles frantically tried to clarify. “I
didn’t mean it like that. I meant that I didn’t want to make love to you
—
”

And before he could push the dagger
in
any f
a
rther, I was flying by the seat of my pants,
flinging my purse about. “It was nice meeting all of you,” I whispered past the
lump in my throat, back to the group. Raquel rose from her seat, pleading for
me not to go
, as
Myles
reached for my hand.

“Please don’t go. Just let me explain myself.” Myles’ chest rose and
fell in rapid succession. His furrowed brows and pursed lips were fixed on me.
He tried to help me understand, as he fumbled over h
is
words. “I
can’t do this here.”

My legs were like lead. Everything in my soul urged me to run, but my
heart glued me in place. “Try
.
”
I mustered. I knew all eyes were on him
,
and his were on me.

“What I’ve been trying to
say,
is that I
wish that we were together under different circumstances. I’m selfish. And as
I’ve just found out, I’m apparently jealous. I want you all to myself,
Laila
. I think I can speak for all men, when I say no man
wants to share.” He paused briefly and I felt the weight of his stare searing
through my back straight to my heart. “At least not when the woman matters.”

Against my better judgment, I turned to him only to be captured by
his pleading expression. The hardened demeanor that masked my emotions slowly
slid away
,
and in its
place was only the aftertaste of self-loathing. It seemed no matter how many
times he took me on the same roller coaster, I couldn’t escape the thrill.

“
Laila
, I know you’re with Ethan, but I
couldn’t help myself. There’s something about you that makes me different. I
don’t act, or talk,”
—
the
corners of his mouth lifted and his smiling eyes softened
—
“like myself. Or, the self that I
thought I was,” he jested.

For a moment, I’d forgotten where we were. Movement off to the left
of Myles caught my attention. Raquel stood awaiting the outcome. Suddenly, I
was cognizant of the fact that Myles and I had become the morning matinee. All
eyes were adeptly trained on us. There wasn’t a stir in the room aside from the
twinkling backdrop of Louis Armstrong’s rustic version of
“
La
Vie
e
n Rose
.
”
I froze in place as
heat seared
my face, leading
a trail down my neck.

By the blank look on his face, I couldn’t tell whether Myles cared or
not, but he stayed the course. “What I need to say is, I don’t regret making
love to you. It’s just that
…
”
—I saw a
lump r
ise
and f
a
ll in his throat,
which
highlight
ed
his already prominent
Adam’s
apple
—
“I’m falling for you,
Laila
. I want a fair chance at being the only man in
your life.”

“Myles, it’s been over between me and Ethan for weeks,” I confessed
matter-of-factly.

I watched as the new information registered. His whole demeanor
changed. Tension released from his shoulders. His braided brow unraveled and
the rueful contortion of his face twisted into that knowing smile that warmed
me from the inside out.

“I’m not even sure why I went back to him in the first place
.
” For some reason, I felt
compelled to explain myself. “Going backward is always a bad sign.”

At first, Myles ogled me, seemingly searching for truth. When he
finally determined that he was satisfied with my
admission
, he drew me into his body, melding
my body into his. “How do you feel about going forward with me?”

There really wasn’t a question about it, but I refrained from
answering too quickly. “Under one condition.”

“Anything
.
”
H
e beamed.

“We have
to
start
over from square one. Pretend we never met and we know nothing about one
another. It’ll be hard not to talk about everything, or remember where we’ve
been,” I admitted. Flashes of the night before played in my head.
My lips lightly brushing the smooth ridges of his chiseled chest.
The hungry grip of his hands exploring every curve of my
body.
Mostly, the swaying of our bodies rhythmically grinding to the
sound of our labored
breath
. “At least for me. But,
it’ll
be
worth it to give us a fair shot without the hearsay and two cents from our
friends and family.”