My Creative Billionaire 2 Page 5

  I wasn't sure how to feel about any of it, so I ignored it, took my pictures and headed over to Lanie's to pick her up. She had something to do on Thursday night during our usual girl night, so we were getting together that night, which was perfect.

  No way in hell I wanted to be alone.

  *

  "Wow. You look like hell." Lanie opened the door to her apartment and stepped out into the hallway. "You really did have a rough day."

  "I told you I did." I wrapped my arms around my chest, wishing I had gone home and freshened up a little before dinner instead of going to the pet store. What was I thinking? I was horrible with pets, kids and other people. Too much responsibility made me want to hide under my bed.

  "I'm sorry, boo." She wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "I'm thinking tacos and margaritas tonight. How does that sound?"

  "Delicious. I wanted to go to a movie, but I have to be in early in the morning. There's no way I'm going to make it on five hours of sleep. So just dinner tonight?"

  "I'm down with anything you want to do." Lanie smiled at me. "Tell me about your crappy day."

  "You tell me about your date last Friday. You haven't filled me in yet. You said it was terrible with a capital T and left it at that. I wanted details."

  She pinched her nose and widened her eyes fully, using a nasally voice and looking insanely creepy. "He was a lot like this, and he drooled a little when he chewed his food. I'm pretty sure he was from another planet."

  I snorted and walked out into the chilly fall night. "The Mexican place you're talking about is just down the block, right?"

  "Yeah." She pulled her hand from her face. "He was horrible. We barely made it through dinner, and I lost my appetite when he took his second bite of dinner. Never again. I'm done dating. Period."

  I laughed and slipped my arm into hers. "No. You're too great of a catch. We just need to find the right guy. A good guy."

  "This coming from the woman that told me the guy she was after was a good guy." She pulled me closer as we half stumbled down the broken sidewalk in our heels.

  "He was. He is." I shrugged. "He's just scared, Lanie. We all are in some way, right?"

  "Hell yeah. I'm terrified." She shivered and giggled. "So does that mean you're going to give him another shot?"

  "I'm not sure yet. I want to, but my pride isn't letting me." I shrugged and released her as I approached the door.

  "Then tell your pride to take a hike. I'd give him another chance if it's just fear."

  "Right, but what if he runs every time we get close?" I walked in behind her and breathed in deep, letting the greasy smell of chips and cheese offer me comfort. "Then what? I just grow old and heartbroken over a man who's never going to commit?"

  She told the hostess that there were two of us and glanced over her shoulder. "How many chances have you given him, Erica? One? Two? Ten?"

  "This would be the first." I got her point before she made it, but it wasn't that easy. He used me. Made love to me and gave me more hope for love than I'd had in a long time. And then he left... without a word.

  "Then give him another shot." She followed the hostess to our table and sat down, giving me a look. "Is he going to have that showing soon? I seriously want to go with you guys. I have this weird feeling that I'm going to meet my man there."

  "What? Really?" I laughed and picked up the menu.

  She pushed it back down. "I'm being for real. Don't forget to take me."

  "It's two weeks from Friday. I'll find out how many tickets he can get, and if nothing else, you can have mine."

  "Good. That's real love right there."

  "Or something like it," I mumbled and turned my attention back to the menu. The last thing I wanted to do was stand beside Matt while he revealed a painting of me completely nude to the elite in Seattle, including Kent and Damon. Maybe it was a bad idea to let him sketch me in the first place.

  Too late now.

  Chapter 7

  Matt

  The weather was a little bit more biting in Seattle than Texas, but it was good for me. I pushed myself hard, forcing my jog into more of a run as I moved down the harbor with the other joggers. Erica was constantly on my mind, driving me mad with the need to have reconciliation. My family thought so much of her, and I was right behind them, but she wasn't having anything from me. My indecision to call left me not even friend-zoned, but put into the category of a new employee that she'd never seen a day in her life.

  "Tonight," I mumbled and turned to head downtown. Traffic was crazy, but it would keep me alert and aware of my surroundings and not let me dive too far into the hamster-wheel conversation in my head. Should have called. Told her you loved her. Asked her to be yours. Should have called. Told her you- "Fuck!"

  I jerked back as a car honked and skidded to a stop beside my thigh. A second later and the guy would have hit me. I glanced up to see the sign across the street telling me to stop. Lifting my hands, I apologized as he got out of the car. Sickness swelled in my stomach.

  "I'm sorry." I continued as if I didn't know him.

  "Matt? Jeez, man. You gotta watch where you're going. I almost hit you." Mitch moved around the front of his sleek black Lexus and reached out to grip my shoulder. "You okay?"

  "Yeah. I thought coming downtown to jog would help me keep my focus." I snorted and glanced around. What were the freaking odds that I'd almost be hit by the man after my girl? My luck all the way. "That didn't work as planned."

  He laughed, but I could tell he was shaken. "It's a good idea, but maybe do it at night or earlier in the morning when it's not rush hour traffic."

  Someone honked behind us and Mitch turned to offer the other driver some choice words as I worked to catch my breath. My heart was thundering in my chest. He drives a Lexus. Wears a suit like a boss. Has his shit together completely.

  "All right, well, sorry about that." I pulled from him and nodded as he glanced back, his cheeks flush.

  "You too, and be careful. See you Monday, son." He turned and walked back to his car.

  I waited for the walk symbol to come up and jogged across the street. Son? Was he so much older than me that he needed to call me son? Did he call Erica child? Make her call him daddy? I growled in disgust as my thoughts continued to dive in the dumpster.

  She was coming with me to dinner and the art store tonight. It was my time to try and win back a small piece of her. Surely her feelings were still intact seeing that she'd been after me for two years and I hadn't even looked her way.

  Or maybe that was the fun part. Maybe she was all about the chase.

  I jogged across the street and almost got hit again. "Shit."

  Time to head back to the harbor and jog where the other joggers were. In a car-free zone.

  *

  I got back home around ten and stripped before getting into the shower. My phone rang about the time I moved under the warm spray and let out a long groan.

  "Really?" I opened the curtain and reached out for the phone. Erica. Well worth the trouble. "Hey. You're not canceling tonight, so don't even try."

  "No. I was just worried. Mitch told me he almost ran you over this morning." The tension in her voice caused my heart to swell. She was hurt and angry, but no way was she over me. Not even close. I just had to play my cards right and she would be mine.

  "It's no big deal. I wasn't paying attention. Too much on my mind." I ran my hand through my partially wet hair and wished like hell that she was in the shower with me. We'd get clean just to get dirty again.

  "What's that in the background? Is it raining where you are?"

  I chuckled. "Yeah. I'm in the shower."

  "Oh." The pause between us was comfortable, though I hoped that she was envisioning being in here with me.

  "I'll be up there in a little while. I'm not going to be able to mope around this apartment all day. Get off early and let’s go see the city together."

  "I have a million things to do today. Let's meet up at seven or eight tonig
ht."

  "No way. Delegate. I'm coming up around one or two."

  "Matt. That's in two to three hours. There's no way I can-"

  "Make it happen. I want to see you. I don't deserve to, but I'm not taking no for an answer. All right?" I felt something swell inside of me that wanted to force her to behave. The good old Bryant aggression.

  "Yeah. I'll be ready," she whispered roughly as if someone had sucked the air from the room around her.

  "Good. See you in a bit." I hung up and moved back under the showerhead, closing my eyes and enjoying the warmth of the water. My body ached for me to take care of myself, but the hope that I'd have her trapped beneath me by the end of the night forced me to deny myself. I wanted every ounce of pent up lust and energy to go into her.

  I finished up and got out, changed clothes and made a pot of coffee before sitting down and starting to work on my sketch. My phone buzzed, and I picked it up, hoping it was Erica again. Damon.

  "What's up, bro?" I answered and tilted my head to press the phone to my shoulder so I could continue to work on my sketch. I'd have it done by the time I headed up to the office. After that, it just needed to be blown up and transferred to the large canvas for painting.

  "I heard you almost got hit while jogging this morning." He sounded exasperated.

  "This Mitch guy sure is a talkative little bitch." I snorted and brushed my thumb down the front of Erica's chest, smearing the charcoal a little.

  "Are you all right, and what the hell do you have against Mitch? Have you even met him?"

  "Yeah. I'm fine, and I met the old coot on Wednesday when I went up to the office to tell Erica I was in town. He brought her a large vase thing full of flowers. Seems like he's got his eye on a much younger woman. Mine."

  "Oh shit. Seriously?" Damon chuckled.

  "It's not funny. He's the kind of man she deserves." I sat back and held in a sigh.

  "How do you know the type of man she deserves? You're being a presumptuous cock, by the way."

  "Thanks. That's almost a compliment coming from you." I got up and wiped my hands down the front of my shirt.

  "Fix this shit with Erica or I'm going to fix it for you. There's only room for one asshole in the family, and I'm the older brother. I get first dibs."

  I smiled. "This is true. I'm working on it. It's not as easy as you think."

  "Oh, I'm well aware. You and Kendal have been all over me to fix my problems with Beth, but it's a little more complicated than a 'sorry’, right?"

  Kendal was Damon's best friend from college, and just happened to be the accounting professor that Bethany was working for. It was a hot, complicated mess.

  "Yeah, it's much more complex than that." I got up and glanced at the clock. "Wish me luck. I'm headed up to the office to get her. She agreed to fish tacos and a trip to the art store."

  He groaned. "You guys are so damn weird."

  "Or maybe we're normal and you're weird."

  "Whatever. Good luck. Keep me in the loop."

  "Not a chance." I hung up and slipped the phone into my back pocket before putting on a pair of tennis shoes, grabbing my wallet and keys and heading out.

  Seattle was beautiful, the utopia I needed it to be. It wouldn't take too long before I'd close down the lease on my place in Dallas and move to the Northwest for good. It was far too complementary to my personality to deny it.

  I got in the Audi and drove toward downtown as a million thoughts moved across my mind. Maybe half the struggle with Erica was more like a struggle with myself. I wanted to be loving and fun, but the minute the bedroom door closed, I could feel this aggressive beast rise up inside of me. It was so far away from how I saw myself that I struggled with it all the damn time.

  If I could figure out a way to accept that I was complex... not one dimensional, then maybe things would work out. Maybe.

  I pulled up to the side of the building and lifted my hips to get my phone out, but paused. Erica jogged toward the car as the wind blew hard. How long had she been standing by the door, waiting for me? It warmed my heart and re-instilled the hope in my chest.

  She hadn't given up... not yet. Her blond hair whipped around and she let out a soft yelp as she got in the car, slammed the door and turned to face me.

  "Jeez. The wind is crazy.” Her blue eyes were filled with more questions than I could begin to answer.

  I reached over and gripped the side of her face, pulling her close and kissing her softly several times. Some part of me expected her to pull back, but she didn't. I enjoyed a few more kisses, licking at her lips to taste as I growled low in my chest.

  "I don't like Mitch bringing you flowers." I kissed her again and moved back to my seat.

  "Then tell him that." She buckled up and pressed her hand to her chest. "And keep your lips to yourself until I decide if I'm over you."

  "You're not." I pulled out into traffic. "But I'll let you come to that conclusion yourself."

  She snorted, the sound too damn cute. "You almost get hit by a car and now you're going to be ballsy?"

  "I should have been ballsy from the beginning." I licked my lips, wanting to taste her again. "It's the struggle inside of me that I'm fighting, Erica. It's got little to do with you or us."

  "There isn't an ‘us’, Matt. You left without a word and I'm not sure I'm willing to let that happen again. How many more times will you leave because of your internal struggle?"

  "You need to go change at your place?" I reached over and took her hand into mine, not willing to back off for even a second.

  "Yeah." She let out a soft sigh and glanced toward the window beside her, as if giving up on fighting me.

  "I'm not leaving again, okay? Let's just have fun today and you accept my apology. I woke up to a note from you that sounded like something you'd leave the pool boy who works for you." I shrugged as she turned her gaze back toward me. "You deserve better than me. Far better. I'm just trying to work through that."

  "Are you interested in me? In us?" The neediness in her voice scored me.

  "Yes, baby. Very." I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed her several times. "I'm sorry for my fear, for my ignorance. Let's rebuild our friendship and push when we're ready to push, okay?"

  "Okay," she whispered and reached up to brush tears off her cheeks.

  She was crying? Shit. My need to run flared up, but I swallowed it back down and continued to kiss her hand until we pulled up to her apartment.

  "I'll be right back." She reached for the door, pulling her hand from mine.

  "Want me to come with you?" I released her.

  "No. Just wait here." She got out and I watched her until I could no longer see her. My cock was rock hard, my heart racing, my palms sweaty, but the dominant part of my spirit was in complete control.

  I wasn't giving up on 'us' anytime soon, if ever.

  Chapter 8

  Erica

  "Dammit," I muttered as I walked into the darkness of my apartment. I'd promised myself I wouldn’t let him sweep me off my feet, and he hadn't yet, but it was a matter of time. "Yeah, minutes."

  If he wasn't everything I'd dreamt he could be over the last few years it would be different, but he was. Just because he had tucked tail and run the weekend before didn't mean he wasn't still that man underneath the fear.

  I pulled my dress over my head and changed into a pair of jeans, a nice blouse and black flats. A quick brush through my hair and touch up on my lipstick and I was jogging back downstairs. Annoyance at the fluttering of my heart rose up sharply in my chest. How could I so quickly forgive him?

  Because he was earnestly sorry. He wasn't a dick, he was lost but searching, just like I was.

  He watched me like a hawk as I walked toward the car. It's the way I'd wanted him to look at me since meeting me.

  What about Mitch?

  "What about Mitch?" I snorted and reached for the car door. The older man in my office and I had hit it off really well. If Matt wasn't in the picture, I'd not have though
t twice about taking Mitch up on his offer for another dinner, and another, and another. I glanced over at Matt as he smiled.

  "You look good. Really good." He ran his hand up my thigh and squeezed softly.

  "Just friends right now." I pulled his hand from my leg. "Remember? Until I feel like I can trust you with my heart."

  "All right." He pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed toward town. "But don't let that old bastard at the office take my place. He could be your father. He called me son this morning."

  I laughed loudly and clamped my hand over my mouth. "Did he really?"

  "He did." Matt gave me a funny look. "He's lucky I didn't refer to him as pops just to give him a taste of his own medicine."

  "He's a great guy, Matt."

  "Yeah, and one that wants to get in your panties. Fucking dirty old man!"

  "And you blame him?" I lifted my eyebrow, flirting a little.

  "What? Hell no. He's smart. Who wouldn't want to spend time with a beautiful woman like you? I'm just pissed about it." He gripped the wheel a little tighter, causing his arm muscles to flex.

  "I see that." I reached out and ran my hand over his forearm. "There's nothing going on between us. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about us."

  "We're just friends, remember?" He clamped his hand over mine and leaned forward, licking at my fingers.

  I stifled a groan and pulled my hand from him. "Stop it."

  "Not a chance in hell. I messed up. I gotta make it up to you."

  "You sure do." I snuggled back in my seat, letting the sadness inside of me dissipate for the time being. We might not become anything, but it was nice to be around him again regardless. "Hey. I wanted to go by sometime soon and pick up this little puppy I found at the pet store."