Finaly My Heart's Desire (Meant for Me Book 2) (7 page)

I couldn't tell if he was saying the words because he felt bad about not noticing me years ago, or if he actually meant them. He seemed earnest, but I didn't dare let myself believe it. My chest rose and fell as I tried desperately to regulate my breathing and remain stoic.

"We were kids," I said with resignation.

A piece of his damp hair had fallen forward and was hanging over his eyebrow. I reached up to smooth it back.

"We should probably get back downsta—"

My words were cut off by the sound of Robin clearing his throat. I glanced over to see him standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, staring at Shane and me as if wondering what in the world was going on.

Chapter 9

Robin scared the living daylights out of me when he cleared his throat. I was almost certain he'd seen me straighten Shane's hair, so I began stuttering excuses the second I realized he was there.

"He, uh, hey Robin, I’m glad you're here. Your mom asked me to bring Shane up here and choose something from your closet for him to wear, but you're probably better suited for that type of thing." I smiled at Robin, who was looking us over with an appraising eye.

"It looks like you did just fine," he said.

"Okay, good," I said. "We were just headed back downstairs." I turned towards Shane and reached out to take the bundle he was carrying. "If you'll give me your valet ticket, I'll have someone bring this to your car."

He handed the clothes to me before reaching in his pocket. "It's wet," he said, carefully handing me the small, soaked piece of cardstock.

I took it with a smile and looked at Robin. "I'll take care of this if you want to deliver Mr. Rollins back to his brother and Micah."

"I can find my own way down," Shane protested.

"I don't mind," Robin said. "I know right where they are." He looked at me. "Meet me in the great room after you take care of that."

I nodded and turned for the door without so much as a glance toward Shane. I was so shaken by the whole thing that I could barely breathe. I was breathless and soft-spoken the whole time I gave instructions to the valet. I couldn't stop wondering how much Robin had heard. He had to have seen me straighten Shane's hair, but I hoped and prayed we'd been speaking softly enough not to be overheard from the doorway where he was standing.

I kept reliving the moment when Shane called me stunning. I could picture his sweet expression as he said it, and it made my heart want to leap out of my chest.
Had he truly said that he only kissed the other girl's hands to get away with kissing mine?
I literally laughed out loud thinking about it. I was delirious with nerves and emotion. I had spent more than three years of my life pining away on this guy. I would have given anything to hear him say those words back then. I gave instructions to the valet and then walked to the great room to meet Robin, simultaneously trying to remember and forget every detail of the encounter with Shane.

Robin was standing in the middle of the great room talking to a group of three other guys. Micah, Carly, Brock, and Shane were also in there. They were off to the side, talking with some people I assumed were potential investors. Carly and Shane both glanced at me when I was looking at their group, but I just gave them a quick smile and wave before focusing my attention on Robin again.

Robin held his arm out, and I walked right up to him. "Hey baby," he said.

I smiled and sided up next to him. He bent to kiss me, and I tilted up, offering him my mouth. I assumed it would be a quick, tasteful kiss giving our surroundings, but he had other things in mind. Just as I was starting to pull away, his hand came around the back of my head and he began to kiss me deeply. His tongue entered my mouth with a much greater force than was appropriate for standing in formal attire the middle of a crowded room.

One of the guys he'd been talking to was his friend Ted, and I heard him say, "Get you some!" in an approving tone. Robin's tongue swept through my mouth two or three times before he finally let me go. I touched my face to make sure my lip-gloss wasn't all over the place as I smiled sheepishly. My eyes moved to Robin, who was looking, I knew, toward the side of the room where Carly and Micah were standing. I saw him smile confidently and lift his chin at whomever he was making eye contact with, which I could only assume was Shane.

The party went on for hours longer, but my brother and his whole crew left long before it was over. I spoke to them briefly before they left, but I didn't have the presence of mind to ask whether or not they made necessary connections with investors. I didn't even think about it until after they were gone. I assumed I would speak to either Micah or Carly the next day and find out.

Other than that kiss in the great room, Robin never said anything that led me to believe he was angry about what he had seen upstairs. I was extremely grateful for this, and thought the close call was behind me. He and I stuck around until the last of the guests had gone home, and it was just after midnight by the time we left.

I already had my keys in my hand when he said, "You'll ride with me. I'll bring you back here to get your car tomorrow."

I gave him a confused expression, but before I could say anything he spoke again. "You're spending the night at my house tonight. We'll come get your car tomorrow."

I never spent the night with him. I would stay over late, watching movies or whatever, but I always slept at my own apartment. I told him this, but he said he needed me to drive since he had a few too many drinks. He said I could sleep in his bed and he would take the guest room if it made me more comfortable.

"Why don't you just crash here if you're not okay to drive home?" I asked.

Rather than answer my question, he threw me his keys and sat in the passenger's side of his car.

I was still standing in the driveway feeling reluctant to move when he laid on the horn. He didn't stop honking it until I opened the door and sat down in the driver's seat. We drove the whole way to his house without speaking. I asked him one question at the beginning of the drive, but I knew by his one-word answer that he wanted to be quiet.

"I'm gonna have to borrow a t-shirt and boxers to sleep in," I said, kicking off my hi-heels the moment we stepped into his house.

"You know where they are," he said. He wasn't making eye contact with me. I could tell he was upset.

"Robin," I said, in an effort to get him to look my way.

He glanced at me, stone-faced.

"I'm tired. Should I shower in your bathroom?"

He nodded as he stripped off his jacket, and I watched as he loosened his tie and ducked out of it. "I thought you said you were taking a shower," he said.

"I did. I am." I turned and lifted my skirt so I wouldn't trip over it as I made my way up the stairs.

I chose a T-shirt and pair of boxers from his gigantic, highly organized closet before going to the bathroom. I pulled the pins from my hair and took a long shower, washing my hair and scrubbing every inch of my body. When I was done, I dried off, wrapped a towel around my head and put on his clothes. They smelled like him and made me feel clean and comfortable like I could lie down and go right to sleep.

"It took you long enough," he said from behind me. He startled me, making me gasp as I turned to face him.

"I didn't know you were in here," I said covering my chest with my hand.

He was wearing his dress slacks but nothing else. "You look good in my clothes," he said.

I let out a nervous laugh. "That's convenient because that's all I had besides my dress, and I really didn't feel like sleeping in that."

He strode toward me slowly, looking me over with a predatory stare like he wanted to eat me alive. "I'm gonna make love to you tonight, Emily," he stated calmly.

I cocked my head and gave him an incredulous smile. He knew my stance on the matter, and even though we joked about it sometimes, he knew I wouldn't budge.

"I'm gonna hit the sack," I said, ignoring his statement. "I'm tired."

He came to stand right in front of me.

"I'm done with the shower if you're ready for yours," I added, smiling.

"What did you say to that guy in my bedroom tonight?" he asked. He was standing so close that I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

My heart instantly started pounding at the mention of Shane.

"What?" I asked, acting like I hadn't heard him so as to buy some time.

"You heard me. What were you saying to that guy? I saw the way you two were looking at each other. I know you weren't talking about wet shoes."

"I told him I thought I recognized him from a long time ago," I said because I was a terrible liar and knew my answer had to be close to the truth.

"Why didn't you tell him that at the wedding?"

I hesitated, unable to think of a reason. "I don't know," I said.

"I wanted to kill him when I saw you reach up and touch him the way you did."

I breathed a nervous laugh. "I was just helping him with his hair," I said. "He had to jump in the pool to help a little girl, and his hair was all messed up. I was just helping him out."

"He could have taken care of his own hair," Robin said. "You had absolutely no reason to touch him."

"It's not like I was giving him a massage, Robin. I just put his hair back in place. I think you're overreacting."

I could see the sudden movement from the corner of my eye—the way his body twisted and his arm swung from the side, but it all happened so quickly that there wasn't enough time to stop the back of his fist from connecting with my jaw. I heard a cracking sound and felt a sharp impact that made me fall backward.

The most painful part was the way my back fell onto the bathroom vanity on my way down. The pain made my knees give way, and I crumpled to the ground, shielding myself from any more blows. My face and back were throbbing with a painful, burning numbness that had me feeling stunned and confused. I stayed curled up, shielding myself, unable to believe the force with which he hit me. He had never done anything like that before. After a few seconds, I risked a glance up at him.

"I am not overreacting, Emily!" he yelled. "I saw the way you looked at him, and I will not be made a fool of."

Was he actually basing this on the way I looked at Shane? Had he not heard anything we said to each other?

I was quiet for several seconds, trying my best not to cry. "Robin, I think I need to leave," I said as calmly as I could. I kept my eyes on him warily as I attempted to get to my feet. My back ached with the effort, but I managed to stand slowly.

"You're not going anywhere. I already told you, I'm making love to you tonight."

I couldn't stifle the sarcastic laugh that passed through my lips. "Yeah, that's not going to happen," I said.

"What did you say?" he asked, daring me to repeat myself.

"I said I'm going home. You need some time to cool off and we need to figure out whether or not things are going to work out between us."

"Whether or not things are going to work out between us?" he asked, spitting out the words incredulously.

"Yes, Robin. I don't think what's going on between us is healthy."

"I don't think it's healthy for the woman I'm going to marry trying to make me jealous every time I turnaround."

"I wasn't trying to make you jealous. You're jealous all by yourself."

At that moment, an innate part of me understood that something inside him had shifted. I could tell by the way he stared at me that I wasn't getting out of there until he had proved his point, and I knew his point was far from being proved.

My only hope of escaping there without being sexually compromised or further injured was to outwit him. He was smart, but he had been drinking and I hoped I would be able to pull that off. I said a silent prayer, asking God to help me.

My expression softened as I stared at him. I reached up and to remove the towel that was on my head. It had partially fallen off when he hit me, but I removed it completely, letting my damp hair fall over my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, baby," I said, stepping toward him and reaching up to touch his cheek. My heart was going a million miles an hour, and I swallowed hard trying to channel the actress inside me.

He stared down at me with an injured expression.

I sighed and smiled at him. "I love you," I said. "And if you want to make love to me, I think tonight will be the perfect night for it."

He cocked his head a little, seeming somewhat surprised by my change of heart. I almost said something about how someone like Shane could never compare to someone like him, but I just couldn't make those words leave my mouth.

I stared up at him through my lashes, trying to seem meek and seductive at the same time. "I want our first time to be special, though, baby. I need you to be gentle with me."

"I will," he said. "I won't hurt you."

I scanned his bare chest with my eyes and then ran my fingertips down his neck, over his chest and down the muscles of his abdomen. "Would you take a shower so we can both be clean?" I asked.

He breathed deeply, and I could tell he was contemplating whether or not he felt like it.

"Please, baby," I whispered. "I want everything to be perfect."