Here With You (9 page)

"I'm but your humble servant." He pushed the assignment pages between them. "Should
we start on this?"

Rachel stared at the print outs and felt panic at the thought of completely bombing
in front of him.

"Chemistry isn't your subject, is it?" he asked gently as he hooked up the Bunsen
burner.

She glanced at him sharply. "Why would you say that?"

"The look of utter terror on your face." He grinned and held out a test tube. "Want
to do this?"

"No."

He laughed, his hair flopping back, his dimples cute. The sound of his laughter made
her feel warm, even if it was at her expense.

Flushing, she tried to not to notice the curious looks from the students around them—or
the hatred from Madison.

"I'll make a deal with you," he said.

"What sort of deal?"

"I'll carry us through this project if you help me with my English term paper. I suck
at writing."

"Writing is so easy though."

"For you maybe, but for me it's like pulling teeth." He turned to her. "What do you
say? We can work after school."

"Not today," she said automatically, blushing when she realized he didn't mean to
start right away. "It's just I have plans already today."

"What plans?"

She was going to Romantic Notions to wait for Griffin Chase. She
had
to give him the poem. She'd gone the past few days after school and waited for him
until that lady who was his best friend closed the shop and went home, but he hadn't
shown up yet. Rachel knew it was only a matter of time though. All the news sources
reported that he was on a private island, working on his next album, but she'd seen
him with her own eyes. It hadn't been some weird doppelgänger either.

"Rachel." Aaron waved his hand in front of her face.

She frowned at him. "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, don't tell me what you've got going on. Just tell me when
we can meet."

The lingerie store closed by seven each night. "Would after dinner be okay?"

He shrugged. "My parents are never home, so whatever works for you is great. Will
your parents care?"

She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. "It's just my dad, and he's always at
work."

"Are your parents divorced?"

The tears sprang up so suddenly they startled her as much as they did Aaron. She ducked
her head and pretended to search for a pencil as she blinked them away.

A Kleenex appeared in her line of vision. She looked up, to find Aaron looking contrite
and worried.

No one had cared about her feelings in so long.

"I shouldn't have been so nosy," he said softly.

She shook her head, taking the tissue and blotting the edges of her eyes. "It's not
your fault. It's just my mom died. It was a year and a half ago, but still."

"Is that why you moved to San Francisco?"

She nodded, not wanting to tell him about getting drunk at the party. She felt stupid
enough on her own about that. "My dad thought we needed a change of scenery and a
fresh start," she said with only a small amount of bitterness.

Aaron made a face. "That sucks. You must miss your friends."

She did, but they apparently didn't miss her. Not even Diana had texted her back.

"You were close to your mom?" he asked as he handed her a set of goggles.

"She was my best friend." She glanced at him. "I know that sounds weird but we were
really close. She was awesome. Beautiful and talented. She was an editor for a big
publisher."

"No wonder you love English."

She frowned. "I don't love English."

"Yeah, you do." He struck the flint and lit the burner. "You pretend like you don't
care and aren't paying attention, but you do. I can tell by the look of disgust on
your face when you disagree with something Michael says."

"I don't have a look of disgust," she protested.

"It’s like this." He lowered his head and scrunched his face.

A rusty laugh escaped her lips before she could bite it back. "It's not."

"I'll hold up a mirror next time I see it." He grinned at her. "Who do you have dinner
with usually?"

It took her a moment to follow the shift in the conversation. She shrugged. It seemed
pathetic to say that she usually ate a bowl of cereal standing up at the counter.

"Then maybe you can come over for dinner first before we work on my essay," he said,
lining up the test tubes. "I make a mean frozen pizza."

"Maybe." She handed Aaron tongs, realizing her lips felt funny. It took a moment before
she realized she was smiling.

Chapter Ten

"Right at this moment, Valentine and the Hulk are
getting it on.
" Marley winked as she lifted her coffee cup. "Have you thought about that?"

"I try not to think about my friends getting it on
,
"
Nicole said, shaking her head and returning her attention to her sketchpad. On impulse,
she gave the woman in her drawing red hair, for Valentine, because her friend would
look awesome in this romantic pink bustier.

"But she's getting it on with
the Hulk
. It boggles my mind."

"They're on their honeymoon, but they may not be getting it on."
As she drew in pink ties on the sides of the panties
,
she
wonder
ed
what Marley would say if she knew Griffin Chase was hanging out in her apartment.
Or that he'd kissed her and held her hand.

"Are you serious? Did you see the way he looked at her? At the wedding, I seriously
thought he was going to eat her up."

"I know. It was so sweet. That was a romantic night."

"What are you doing?"

"Just doodling." She closed the sketchpad and put the
pencils aside before her friend peeked
.

Marley tapped the table, staring at her expectantly. "So..."

She shook her head. "What?"

"What the hell, Nicole?" Her friend threw her hands in the air. "Are you going to
tell me wh
y
Griffin Chase
came and pulled you out of the reception
or not? I've been waiting
days
. Do you know how hard it's been
to respect your space and
not demand
an explanation
?"

She sighed. "You recognized
Grif
?"

"Is there anyone in the world who wouldn't recognize him?"

"I'm sure not everyone is a fan of his music."

"Forget his music. The man is
hot
. Have you looked at him? He oozes charisma and sex. He swaggered into the room and
stole every woman's breath
, in a cowboy hat no less. He should have just looked ridiculous.
"

Nicole frowned.

"Were
you
immune?" Marley narrowed her gaze with suspicion. "Don't lie to me."

She lowered her gaze to her teacup. She normally drank coffee, but she'd thought she'd
try chamomile tea. If there were ever a time when she needed to be calmed, it was
now with Grif back.
"It's not like that between me and Grif."

"That's not how he looked at you," Marley said.

Her belly
fluttered
, but it was probably indigestion
. "How did he look at me?"

"Like you were a Stradivarius and he wanted to run his hands all over you."

She swallowed. "He plays guitar, not the violin."

Marley raised her brow.

"He kissed me," Nicole blurted, unable to hold it back even though she knew she should.
"He came back into my life, told me he wanted me to help with his music, and then
he kissed me."

"Wait a second." Marley held up a hand, thinking. Finally she shook her head. "Okay,
I'm not sure which of those statements to attack first."

"Tell me about it." She slumped on her elbows, her chin resting on her hands. "I've
been grappling with it all for days now."

"How do you even know him?"

"He was my best friend, but that was before he became a rock star."

"I can't believe you never told us you were friends with Griffin Chase.
Valentine's going to kill you when she finds out.
"

"
Grif and I
aren't friends anymore. We lost touch ages ago. I never expected to see him again."

"But he kissed you."

"
Yes
." She leaned forward, speaking quickly. "I don't understand that. He shows up out
of nowhere, kisses me, and then doesn't try it again."

"Are you upset because he kissed you, or because he hasn't kissed you again?"

She pursed her lips. "Both."

Marley nodded. "I would be, too."

"But he's just going to leave, so it's better that he doesn't, isn't it?"

"There's no chance he'd stay?"

"Music is his life. He may not feel it right now, but performing is what makes him
happy."

"I read he ended a tour
a few months ago
."

She nodded. "He's burnt out. He needs to finish his next album and he wants me to
help him remember his passion for music. He thinks I'm some sort of muse."

"How far are you willing to go to inspire him?" Marley held her hand up. "Before you
get into all the reasons why you shouldn't get involved in him, let me play devil's
advocate. You obviously like him. Why not play with him? You know the boundaries.
You can protect yourself."

Could she? "What if he doesn't want to go that far?"

"Please. He can have any woman in the world, but he's here with you." Marley frowned.
"Don't you want to kiss him again?"

"Yes," she said instantly, without thought.

"There you go."

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind her.

Nicole turned around.

The woman from Back to the Fuchsia stood behind her with an armful of white tulips
and a beleaguered expression. "I stopped by Romantic Notions to deliver these. It
was closed, but then I saw you in the window, so like a creepy stalker I thought I'd
accost you here."

"You're the sweetest stalker ever." Nicole took the bouquet. "There's no card."

"They're from your guy." The woman rolled her eyes. "Kooky celebrities."

She frowned at the flowers, knowing instantly who the florist meant. "Grif isn't my
guy."

"Funny, since he wants flowers delivered to you every
other
day." She held her hand out. "Since you're just down the street, I'll deliver them
myself, so I might as well introduce myself. Julie."

"Nicole, and I don't want flowers every other day."

"I know. Kooky celebrities." The woman gave her a crooked smile. "They have their
own ideas. See you in a
couple
."

Nicole watched Julie leave. Then she turned around and stared at the flowers in her
hand.

"You're going to need a whole bunch of vases
,
"
Marley said, sounding smug.

"It seems so."

"And a couple boxes of condoms, because no guy sends flowers to a girl he doesn't
want."

She frowned at the tulips.
They were her favorite.

"Just do it." Her friend sat back, looking eager. "
You'll always wonder, and what do you have to lose?
"

"I don't know. My heart?"

"No way. You're much too sensible to let it go that far."

Was she? She touched a flower petal and wondered if she'd passed sensible when she
let Grif back into her life.

Half an hour later when she returned to Romantic Notions, the door was unlocked. Knowing
she'd locked it, it could only mean Olivia, her boss and the owner, stopped by to
check in. Eager, Nicole went inside.

Olivia stood at the counter, looking over the books, her baby boy squirming on her
shoulder. Her hair was clipped back, a dark trail down her back. She wore dark jeans,
a red top, and the most contented expression Nicole had ever seen. She looked up as
the door chimed and smiled. "Nicole, you're a goddess."

"And I didn't even return with a latte for you." She hugged her boss, careful of the
baby. "I didn't realize you were coming in today."

"Parker and I needed to get out of the house." She smiled softly at her son, running
a hand over his head. "He's an adventurer, like his dad."

"May I?" She set the tulips on the counter and held out her hands.

"He's feeling especially rambunctious today," Olivia said as she passed him over.
"He may spit on you, too."

Parker lunged at Nicole with a happy gurgle when she reached for him.

"Yikes." She caught him quickly, settling him on her hip.

"He moves a lot, but you won't drop him," Olivia said.

She hoped not. She bounced him a little, loving the delighted coo and the way his
fingers caught her shirt and held on. She stroked his thatch of dark, downy hair and
breathed in his baby scent, enchanted by the way he smiled at her. "I'm in love. He's
adorable."

"I know. I tell Michael he's just like me." Olivia winked at her and then pointed
to the books. "You're rocking the business. I think I should just take maternity leave
forever and let you run the store."

She tried to imagine working there forever, but it didn't feel right. Sure, she'd
been there the longest of any job, but forever was a long time. But to her boss, she
just said, "I love working here."

"Let me put these in water for you and then we can go over the state of the union.
I ordered a shipment of Chantelle that doesn't seem to have arrived yet." Olivia picked
up the flowers and headed to the back. "And then you can tell me about your admirer."

"I don't have an admirer," she said quietly, not wanting to yell in Parker's ear.

She didn't think Olivia heard. Her boss came out of the back and set the vase of tulips
next to a display of black satin Aubade and then immediately began quizzing her about
what'd been going on since she'd been in a couple weeks ago. Nicole knew Olivia felt
a little bit out of the loop, like she was abandoning her old baby for her new one,
but Olivia managed to run things just as efficiently from home.