Sapphire Universe (13 page)
“Okay baby, call me later?” I try to hide my disappointment by clutching the couch pillow. I’ve never been clingy and I wouldn’t start now, but he makes it really difficult.
“Most definitely, but not today.” He says back putting on his jacket.
I hug the pillow harder. “Oh, okay then.” Then my coat lands on the back of the couch next to me.
“Hurry up Princess.”
I look at my coat then at him and he sighs and runs his hand through his hair like he does when he’s nervous. I’m starting to pick up on his mannerisms, which isn’t surprising considering I’m focused on him every second of the day.
“Nina, along with my father, you’re the biggest part of my life right now. I want you two to meet. It’s important to me.” Oh.
“Let me change my clothes real fast.” I stand up and start to walk towards my room when Connor steps in front of me smiling.
“You look perfect. My dad is an old flirt
and it’s going to be bad enough without you getting all dressed up, okay.” He pulls on the end of my ponytail to tilt my head up and pecks my lips. “Come on, we’ll get lunch after.” He says holding the front door open for me.
“Alright baby, let’s go meet your old man.”
When we get to the car he spins me around and kisses the daylights out of me. I’m breathless when he releases me and his eyes are bright when he says, “By the way, I love it when you call me baby.”
Twenty minutes later, Connor pulls into the driveway of a blue ranch style house on the north side of town. There is a white porch and what looks like about 15 acres fenced off around the house and I notice a red dog house in back and a bed for a garden under the snow around the perimeter of the house stopping on either side at the fence d
ividing the front and back yard. It’s adorable. Homey. The type of house I had always pictured having. I love it and immediately know I will like his dad. Connor holds my hand as he walks me up to the front door and uses his key to unlock the door.
“Welcome to casa de Wright.” Connor says as we step into the house.
The kitchen flows into the living room and there’s a stone fire place in the main room with a bookcase above it. It’s warm and earthy and I feel at home, like I belong here. A deep gravelly voice breaks through my reverie.
“Con, is that you? Ben just took off. Kicked my ass at poker again, that dirty rotten cheat.” Connor’s dad comes out of the hallway into the kitchen and grins when he sees Connor and me in the living room hand in hand. “Well I’ll be damned. She is purtier’n a mile o’ new fence that one. I knew you had some brains under all those muscles son. Bout time you used em
.”
“Dad I’d like you to meet my girlfriend Nina Ryan. Nina this old coot is Lester Wright.” I reach out and take
Lester’s hand in both of mine.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Lester. I’m a little bit in love with y
our home here. Oh and your son’s not bad either.”
Lester blinks at me, looks at Connor and doubles over laughing while still holding my hand.
I know that laugh and hearing it from Lester makes me excited to know more about the man who had such a big part in making the man I was falling so hard for the person he is.
“Oh, just perfect! The pleasure is all mine my dear
and please call me Les. Don’t believe a thing my son has told you about me either. Come on lets grab a drink.” He releases my hand and walks into the kitchen to grab some glasses from the cupboard.
“Just water thanks Les.” I say to him.
“Me too Dad.” Connor comes up beside me at the bar and wraps his arm around my waist to pull me to his side and kiss my temple. I smile up at him and catch Les staring at us with a teary eyed expression out of the corner of my eye. He quickly goes back to filling the glasses when Connor and I turn from each other.
“Now tell me about yourself Nina Ryan. I have to know all about the girl who has been putting my boy here through the wringer.”
Lester’s eyes crinkle at the corners and I notice his are brown and not the vibrant blue that Connor’s are. Les also has thick brown hair with some streaks of grey, but he and Connor share the same smile, chin and height.
“What do you want to know?” I ask him smiling.
“Well whaddya do besides walk around lookin like an angel.” I giggle at his compliment.
“I told you he was an old flirt.” Connor mumbles around a smirk.
“Now, now Con, don’t interrupt the girl. Nina dear?”
“I’m a grade school music teacher.”
Les smiles at his son. “Have you heard her sing yet?”
Connor looks down at me. “Your comment about her being an angel pretty much sums it up.”
Wow.
“I just bet it does.” Les looks content and happy to see me with his son and it makes me feel ten feet tall. I’ve missed this. It’s a feeling that only a parent can give their child and I realize I’m receiving a gift from another member of the Wright family.
“It’s not exactly Assistant to the CEO in a New York office, but it pays the bills and I love it.”
A look passes between Connor and Les and I get the feeling I’m missing something. “Yea well, doin what you love beats makin money in my book every day.” Les says still looking at his son.
“I saw you have a dog out back Les.” I say trying to break up the weird tension in the room.
“Oh Samson. He’s an old Golden. Wouldya like to meet him?
He may lick your nose off your face but he’s harmless other than that.” Les walks to the sliding glass door in between the kitchen and living room.
“I’d love to meet him!” Les opens the door and in barrels a large puff of yellow fur. I kneel down and am tackled and licked all over instantly.
“Hey there boy! I’m Nina. You’re a sweet boy aren’t you Samson.” I scratch his head and he makes a low pathetic noise and pushes further into my lap.
“Yea I know how you feel there Sam.” Connor says and I look up to see him smiling at me and Samson’s exchange.
“Good boy.” I pat Sam one last time before I stand up and brush the hair off my shirt.
“Sorry about that Nina I shouldn’t let him jump on people like that but he’s a spoiled old boy.” Les apologizes.
“Oh I love dogs. A little hair is more than worth a greeting like that.”
Les gets a faraway look on his face. “Your mother used to say that Con, remember.” I blink up at Connor a little bemused.
“Yea Dad, I remember.” He whispers while staring at me.
“She loved that dog too. Got him when we moved out here about eleven or so years ago. Connor was in college and Michigan just got to be too much for Trisha and I so we moved out here and bought this place. She died a few years back. Cancer if you can believe it.” Les is still staring off into space and when I follow his gaze I notice it’s on a portrait of a beautiful blond woman with sapphire eyes.
After we leave Les’s with strict instructions that Connor must bring me by next week for dinner we head to the Chinese restaurant downtown where it all started. We get inside and the glossed up groupie is standing at the register once again. Her eyes flash down to where mine and Connor’s hands are locked together and her face droops a little.
“Welcome back. What can I get you today?” She says looking only at Connor.
Connor looks down at me “Princess? You want some dumplings and Lo Mien?”
I smile back at him
and the frown the woman is wearing deepens. “Sure baby.” I say and squeeze his hand.
“She’ll take the steamed dumplings
and the chicken lo mien with a Mountain Dew.” Connor pauses while she writes the order down.
“And some kung p
ao chicken, with fried rice, sweet and sour soup and Pepsi, right?” The little Jezebel says sweetly at Connor.
“Please.” Connor replies curtly and pulls me against him with his arm around my waist.
The woman frowns again and adds his order to her ticket.
That’s right lady, he’s mine!
When we sit down at our booth, Connor raises an eyebrow at my smug grin. I shrug and take a long drink of my Mountain Dew.
“Sorry about my dad earlier. I don’t think he will ever get over my mom. It was kind of a double blow when he was diagnosed with cancer right after she died. He was still mourning her while he was in chemo.”
It breaks my heart to think about lively and warm Lester sick and heartbroken by his wife’s death. “I can imagine how hard that was for him. I feel like I know him already, you guys are so much alike. You have your mom’s eyes though.” I look into his beautiful blue eyes for the millionth time and think that I really never stood a chance against a man like him with clear blue eyes that see everything.
“You know that Friday at your house, when you were drunk and being adorable, before you puked your
guts out.” He says smiling and I blush. “When you looked at me and said my eyes were sapphires, it was like my mom was speaking through you. She used to say that to me. When I would get in trouble, she would tell me that one day I would meet a girl who wouldn’t let me get away with everything just because I flashed my sapphires at her. I thought about that on the bus when you gave me such a hard time over sitting next to you, but it was that Friday at your house with your head in my lap that I realized it was you she was talking about.”
I stare at him in awe, not believing that he just shared something so special with me. “I don’t know about that. If you knew how much those blue babies affected me you might feel differently.” I say, my voice soft with emotion.
Connor kisses my hand. “No Princess, I wouldn’t. Especially when I lose my mind a little every time you turn your emerald ones on me.”
We’re still staring at each other when our food comes. We eat in comfortable silence and Connor motions for the check once we have both finished. When it arrives, Connor picks the receipt up off of the tray and I see something scrawled on the back. I read the two lines of bubbly handwriting and my vision turns tinged with red.
I reach across the table and snatch the receipt out of Connor’s hands.
“Nina, you’re not paying.” Connor says misinterpreting my actions. “Besides that’s my copy anyway.”
I smirk at him and flip it around so he can see where Brittany’s name and phone number are written. Connor’s eyes bulge and I smirk back at him as I stand and make my way to the counter. Once I get there, I slap the receipt down and look a shocked Brittany in the eyes and smile.
“This must be the new take out number right? Because unless you are going to deliver Chinese to me and my boyfriend when we are too worn out to crawl out of bed, you will not be receiving phone calls from him. Ever.” I smile more brightly at her horrified expression. “Oh and you have some gloss on your teeth.”
With that parting note, I turn and walk out of the restaurant with an amused Connor on my heels. I squeal when he comes up behind me and throws me over his shoulder in a fireman carry.
“Connor what the hell?!”
Connor slaps my ass and chuckles. “I figured if you were going to make caveman claims on my body I should follow your lead.”
“Only if you follow through with it and drag me back to your cave and ravish me. We wouldn’t want to disappoint our ancestors.” I say and swat him back on his perfect rear end. “And that’s Miss Cavewoman to you!”
CHAPTER 8
The next two weeks are the best of my life, but I’m finding Connor and my happiness have become dependent on each other. Connor comes over to my apartment every night. After finishing Star Wars we move on to Pirates of the Caribbean and we have the same argument over my favorite man in this series as with the previous.
“Okay let me guess. You like Mr. Cotton right? The mute guy with the parrot.”
Connor guesses.
“Puhlease. Like I’d choose some old guy over Johnny Depp.”
Connor just laughs at me and tickles me silly till I swear on all the apple cider in the whole universe that Connor Wright is sexiest man on earth. Every day we get closer in every way possible. Neither of us can keep our hands off of the other. If we are in the same room we are touching each other in some way. He has given me so much hope that maybe there was such a thing as a faithful man and a happy ending that I can’t deny my feelings any longer.