Reserved the pitstop ser.., p.18
Reserved (The Pitstop Series Book 6), page 18
It also feels that way.
“Are you okay?” I ask when I notice the corners of her mouth are downturned. Man, why is she still so beautiful when she’s frowning?
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She turns her head to look at me.
“I don’t know, you just look serious,” I say, poking her cheek and making her chuckle.
“I was thinking. You know what that is, right?” she teases.
I tilt my head to look at her for a brief moment before focusing on the road again. She’s grinning like she knows exactly what she just did.
“Stop playing on my weakness, Nevaeh,” I say, glancing at her once more to show her my smile.
Silence fills the car again, but when she looks out of her window, she’s smiling. I made her smile.
See, there’s a reason why I keep claiming I’m awesome. I make the people around me smile, and that’s arguably one of the best traits a person can have.
“When am I going to see Val?” Nevaeh asks a while later, clearly remembering my sister was the one who was supposed to pick her up. Which Val wanted to do, but I had Gabriel steal all of her car keys so I could go to the airport instead.
“She had some things come up, but I will be joining you for your appointments,” I promise.
“Oh no. If you’re coming, every apartment is going to seem small. Your ego is going to take up all the space,” she says, and I swear, I almost hear my heart screaming: she’s the one!
And now I kind of want to jump out of a moving train.
Nevaeh and I have looked at three different apartments, stopped for food, and laughed so much, I’m sure I will be sore tomorrow. None of the places we went to fit her needs, especially because of how expensive they were.
We have one last appointment for an apartment that Nevaeh told me is the cheapest out of all the ones she wanted to look at today. The landlord of the building greets us at the front desk, his eyes going wide when he sees me approaching.
“Mr. Romana, it is an honor to meet you,” the short, balding man says in French and extends his hand for me to shake.
“It’s a pleasure, but we’re here for the lovely woman beside me, so if it’s possible for us to speak in English so my friend understands, too, I would greatly appreciate it,” I reply in French as I shake his hand, smiling with my usual level of charm.
“Of course, monsieur. Please, follow me.” Nevaeh furrows her brows, asking me what that was all about with a single look, but I merely hold out my arm for her to take. She grins at me before lacing hers through mine, letting me lead her toward the apartment.
It’s a small, two-room place with a large window at the far back. The bathroom is tiny, with a shower on the left followed by a sink and a toilet on the right. The hardwood floor in the room itself is light, just like the walls.
It’s so small, I feel like throwing Nevaeh over my shoulder and carrying her out of the apartment and straight to mine.
But then I notice her spinning around once, smiling like she’s never seen a more beautiful place to live. Compared to the rest of the apartments we saw, this one is a lot nicer and cheaper, so I get why Nevaeh looks at it with hearts in her eyes. Even though it’s only two tiny rooms, she’s in love with it.
“This apartment screams independence to me. It’s close to work, in my price range, and I can picture how I would set up the space already,” she mumbles, and I’m not quite sure if she’s talking to me or herself.
“You could put your bed here,” I reply anyway, and she turns to look at where I’m pointing.
“Yes, that’s exactly where I’d put it, too,” she says.
“Have a closet here and a shelf over there,” I go on, pointing all over the apartment. She takes a step toward me, closing the distance between us until I can smell her intoxicating perfume again.
“Put a tall mirror next to the closet,” she says, her eyes glued to my lips where I run my tongue over my bottom one.
“I’d place it in front of the bed,” I say, smirking at her before clearing my throat to get the landlord's attention. “How much lower can you go on the rent?” I ask in French, and he shakes his head, not impressed by my question.
“I already went as low as I could, Mr. Romana. I cannot lower it more,” he replies, but I turn on my charm again and within a minute, we’re shaking hands once more.
“Alright, I managed to convince him to lower the rent by two hundred euros, but that’s as far as he will go,” I tell Nevaeh once the landlord leaves to get her a contract.
“What? Are you serious?” I nod.
Nevaeh covers her mouth with her hand, looking around the room again like she can’t quite believe this is all happening. That it’s real.
I know that look.
It’s how I look at her.
The landlord, Nevaeh, and I go over a few more details before she signs the contract and he tells her she’ll get the keys as soon as she makes her first rent payment. He leaves moments later to give us another few minutes to look around while Nevaeh moves toward the window, looking down at the people strolling by. I step toward her, keeping my distance even though wrapping my arms around her from behind is more than a little appealing.
She turns around, running straight into my chest. Okay, maybe I was standing a bit closer than I thought, but she’s laughing, the sound light and happy. My arms are finally back around her so I can drag her against my chest again.
“Thank you,” she mumbles, and I rub her back. “For coming with me and helping me get this apartment,” she adds.
“You’re very welcome.” I pull her impossibly closer. “To be honest, this was also a very selfish move because now you’re here, and I get to see you more often,” I admit, making her step out of the embrace to nudge me. “Hey,” I complain, my fingers poking her sides to make her giggle.
She attempts to walk away, but I grab her wrist gently, guiding her back against my chest. Our laughter fills the empty apartment, but when she lifts her chin so her mouth is closer to mine, I can’t help but lower my lips. My nose brushes over hers, our breaths becoming one as I fight with myself.
“If I kiss you, would you hate me for it?” I find myself voicing the question without even thinking the words.
Nevaeh’s breath trembles as it hits my lips, but she doesn’t pull away. No. She takes a subtle step into me, lips almost brushing.
“I think it would do something more opposite, Adrian, so you really can’t kiss me,” she says, and yet, she still doesn’t move away.
Not until another breathless moment passes and we both realize nothing can happen, not right now.
“We better hurry. Knowing my sister, she made dinner as a bribe for us to get back as soon as possible.”
Chapter 31
Nevaeh
Gabriel is sharing a story from his childhood while we eat the food Valentina and he made. She smiles at her fiancé while he goes on to tell me about Jean, his brother, who is studying business. The love I see in Val’s eyes and then in Gabriel’s when he catches her staring at him turns my stomach upside down. I’ve never felt a love like theirs. I can’t help but wonder how many people are lucky enough to experience it in their lives.
Adrian pulls me out of my thoughts as he guides my hair behind my shoulder, resting his head on his hand and watching me with half a smile.
“What?” I ask, and he looks down at his plate, a faint smirk on his full lips.
“I like having you here,” he admits, and my stomach turns for an entirely different reason.
His eyes drift to his sister before he looks away again and clears his throat.
“Anyway, I should probably head home,” Adrian says and sits up straight.
The words falling from my lips come out too fast for me to stop them.
“Take me with you.”
Surprise laces his features, and when I check to see Val’s and Gabriel’s reactions, they have the same shock on their faces as Adrian.
I let out a nervous laugh before adding, “I’d love to see where you live.”
Nothing is going to save me from this awkwardness. If anything, I’m only digging myself a deeper hole.
“And then I’ll drive you back here later?” Adrian asks, obviously unsure what I want. I don’t even know what I want. My first instinct was merely to spend more time with him because whenever I’m with him, I don’t think about work, Mama, or anything else that makes my blood boil. I only see him, feel him.
“Sure. I mean, if you want.”
Oh God, this is getting worse by the second.
A chuckle vibrates off his chest, and he grins with his tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek to hide his amusement. He stands up only to lean down and whisper something into my ear.
“If we start talking about what I want, mon paradis, then we’re going to have a very simple conversation we’re not allowed to have,” he says and holds out his hand to help me up from my seat.
With a blush settling on my cheeks and my heart racing, I take it but keep my distance from him. Val and Gabriel have luckily moved on by making conversation with each other, which takes some of the embarrassment off my chest.
I attempt to pick up my plate, but Val frowns at me.
“You leave that plate where it is,” she warns, and I raise my hands in surrender. “Good. I’ll see you later.”
Her face lets me know she doesn’t think I’ll be back, and, if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think so either.
Adrian grabs my hand and leads me back to his car. We don’t speak the entire drive, but my heart pounds rapidly anyway. Nothing is going to happen between us, so why doesn’t my body understand that? The drive to his apartment in Monte Carlo is short. There are lights all around us, and we pass the famous casino. I’ve never been a big fan of gambling, but since I’m moving here, I doubt I can get around going at least once. The city is buzzing with life. People are everywhere, enjoying the spring evening weather as it slowly turns to summer.
Adrian drives into the parking garage of his building, and we walk by a row of expensive cars. Grenzenlos, Porsche, Maserati, any luxury brand can be found here. I let out a low whistle when we pass by a baby blue Bugatti.
“No way,” I blurt out and study the car more closely. Adrian stops and turns toward me, pointing at my camera bag.
“Do you want to take a picture?” he asks with a teasing grin, and I narrow my eyes before giving him a playful glare.
“No, I’ve just never seen a beauty like this one in real life before,” I reply, and he lets out a hurt huff.
“You’ve met me,” he defends, and I stop myself from face-palming my forehead.
“I stand by what I said,” I assure him, and he lets out a groan that makes my heart skip a beat.
“Let’s go before you frustrate me even further,” Adrian points out while we’re walking toward the elevator.
“How am I frustrating you?” I ask as the doors open and we step into the small confinement.
Adrian presses his floor, causing the machine to start up and take us there with a rumbling noise.
“The list is long. Would you like all the reasons or just the top two?” My jaw almost drops, but I manage to catch it before it hits the ground.
“Why are there so many?” I twist my head to study his face, but he’s covering it with his hands.
“Okay, bottom of the list? You’re stubborn in a way that makes me want to shake some sense into you sometimes. You pretend you’re okay when you’re unbelievably overwhelmed. You tease me even though I told you it turns me on. You have so much talent but doubt yourself anyway. And you didn’t talk to me about how much it bothered you to see me with Melanie at the club,” he says, and I struggle to find the breath he knocked out of me.
Adrian leads me out of the elevator and opens his apartment door. We walk inside while I wish I could focus on anything other than his words. He grabs my shoulders before his hands slide onto my neck, causing my eyes to close from his touch.
“Melanie and I slept together once, Nevaeh. She’s very nice, but a little touchy, and thinks she might have another chance with me. She doesn’t. I don’t want her,” Adrian explains, rubbing his thumbs along my cheeks.
My eyelids flutter open so I can look at his sincere expression.
“You don’t have to justify yourself, Adrian. You’re free to sleep with whomever you want. We’re just friends,” I say, but he cocks a brow, not believing me.
“It bothered you anyway, didn’t it?” he asks, and I step out of his embrace. He watches me like a hawk, and my emotions spill out of me before I can stop them.
“Yes, it bothered me. I hated that she touched you. It made me jealous.”
There is no anger in the way he looks at me. If anything, there’s understanding, and that only frustrates me more.
“It bothers me, Adrian, so much, because I have no right to be jealous. We’re friends. That’s all we can be. There you go. All my secrets laid bare for you so you can hate me or be upset with me,” I say and run my hands over my face.
“I also don’t want you to touch anyone who isn’t me, let alone have someone else touch you,” he admits, his hands lifting to my hips to drag me closer.
His mouth falls back down to mine, his lips almost brushing mine when we’re interrupted by the sound of my ringtone filling the room. I take it out of my pocket to turn off the jerk who destroyed what could have been the moment Adrian and I first kissed when my heart sinks into my stomach.
Lincoln’s name flashes on my screen, causing Adrian to step away from me.
“Answer it. He’ll be worried if you don’t,” the Monegasque says before leaving the room.
I hit Answer, concern stretching through me. We haven’t spoken in a long time, and now he calls me. Something’s not right. What if it’s Elena? What if something happened to my parents? Anxiety spreads through me, taking me captive until I’m wheezing out a breath.
“Lincoln? What’s wrong?” I ask, covering my stomach with my hand.
The silence on the other side makes me nauseous.
“‘What’s wrong?’ I’ll goddamn tell you what’s wrong, Nevaeh. You’re in Monaco looking at apartments because you’re moving there and didn’t tell me? Are you kidding me? We don’t speak and you decide to fucking leave the country to avoid me?”
Relief floods through me.
“First of all, calm down. That’s not the reason I’m moving. My boss offered me a job here, and I took it. It has nothing to do with you, and we’re not on speaking terms,” I say quietly, softly, keeping my anger at bay and also trying to avoid Adrian from hearing how angry Lincoln makes me.
“Why are you speaking so quietly?” Of course, that’s what he wants to focus on. I’m about to respond when he draws his own conclusion. “Oh my God, you're with Adrian, aren’t you?” he asks, and I let my silence answer his question. “I see how it is. I’m sorry I interrupted date night—” I have to stop him right then and there.
“You’re impossible, Linc, absolutely impossible. I’m sick and tired of you pretending to have some fucking claim on me. I’m not yours and never will be,” I remind him, but he lets out a harsh laugh. “I didn’t want to let go of you for a long time, Lincoln, because you were my best friend for my whole childhood, but this is toxic. You are toxic for me, and I don’t want to have you in my life anymore,” I reply and hang up before he can yell at me again.
As I raise my head, I notice Adrian walking out of what I assume is his bedroom and leaning against the door frame.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and I let out a deep breath, which sounds more like a sigh.
“Some people in my life want to make things more difficult than they need to be. Lincoln is one of those people,” I explain honestly, earning a small smile from the tall blonde.
“But you love him,” Adrian points out, and I almost laugh.
“I don’t remember my life before him. He was my best friend for a long time, and I love that version of him, but this version, the one who has to fight with me about everything and chose silence as a solution, is not someone I share those feelings for,” I say and shift my weight from one foot to the other.
Adrian’s gaze is on me as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.
“Lincoln hasn’t learned how to properly treat a woman he’s interested in yet, and it shows in his behavior toward you,” Adrian states, shaking his head in disapproval. “You deserve someone who knows what he wants but doesn’t make you feel like shit when he can’t get it,” he goes on, and I finally manage a smirk.
“Hmmm, I wonder who you could possibly mean?” I say sarcastically, making him chuckle as he pushes off the wall. “The good thing is, I’m way too busy for a relationship. Plus, drivers are off-limits,” I say and step past him and toward his balcony.
“For now,” he mumbles from behind me, and I smile.
The view is breathtaking. The sea is straight ahead with countless yachts at the harbor. Lights highlight the buildings on each side of us, but it’s quite dark where we’re standing. Adrian hung a few lights on the railing, and there is light brown outdoor furniture with a cocoon patio chair on the very left. It’s cozy and elegant at the same time.
“I’ve always wanted one of these,” I admit as I move toward the cocoon chair.
It’s quite large, enough to fit at least three people. My fingers trail over the woven material as Adrian walks past me and sits down, pulling me with him. I fall onto his chest and let out a wholehearted laugh. We shift around until I’m on my back with my head resting on his thigh so I can look up at him while he stares down at me. His fingers push my hair from my face before his thumb runs over my bottom lip, sending shivers down my back.
“You’re very smooth, Mr. Romana, I’ll give you that,” I say and Adrian’s body shakes with a laugh, his other hand moving onto my stomach. I suck in a sharp breath, and he immediately removes it.
