Love in London (Restless Hearts) (5 page)

A portly woman with graying hair and too much makeup rushed forward. She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace that he returned with a laugh.

“Matty, it’s great to see you.”

“It’s been ages since you graced us with your presence,” she said, stepping back. “You brought a friend, I see.”

“This is Taylor. She didn’t instantly fall for my charms, so I’m doing my best to persuade her,” he said. “Can you help me out?”

Matilda smiled. “Take the seat in the corner and I will see what I can do.”

The seat in the corner turned out to be the best seat. Dexter held out my chair and I sat slowly, impressed by a nearby stone fountain that trickled water.

“You’re pulling out all the stops,” I said.

“This is one of my favorite places in the city. I come here at least once per week when I’m in town.” Dexter pointed to a window that overlooked the courtyard. “I used to rent that flat several years ago when I first started spending a lot of time in London.”

It was nice to hear Dexter talk about a normal past. I had been struggling to picture him as anything other than a suave, wealthy businessman.

“Is that how you and Matty got so close?” I said with a smirk.

“I didn’t know many people in the city back then. I used to come down here for breakfast almost every day. Matilda treated me like family.” He paused as Matilda approached with our coffee.

“I’ve taken the liberty of putting in your usual order. Times two,” she added, looking at me. “She’s pretty, Dex. You’ve done well for yourself.”

Dexter actually blushed. “Don’t scare her away, Matty.”

“Not a chance.” She stared hard at me. “This one fancies you, Dexter. I can see it in her eyes.”

Now it was my turn to blush.

“Matty.” Dexter cleared his throat pointedly.

“Alright, darling. I can take a hint.” She grinned at us both and sailed away.

“She’s very… interesting,” I said, watching her dance her way between tables.

Dexter reached for his coffee. “She’s one of my favorite people in the world.”

The smell of coffee wafted to my nose and I had to admit that it smelled delicious. Very carefully, I took a sip. “Wow. That is orgasmic.”

Dexter’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Interesting choice of words.”

“You disagree?” I challenged.

“With you? Never.” He leaned back in his seat. “Now, I’ve told you something personal about me. Your turn.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked, wrinkling my nose distastefully. “I’m actually very boring.”

“Tell me about your family.”

“Next topic.” I pretended to be busy blowing on my coffee.

Dexter’s head tilted. “Sore subject? Let me guess… absentee father?”

“My father killed himself three years ago,” I said bluntly.

“Whoa.” Dexter’s mouth dropped open. “I just shoved my foot all the way into my mouth, didn’t I?”

I shrugged. “You didn’t know.”

“Still. It was none of my business.”

“I didn’t mean to throw it in your face like that. I’ve just never talked about it with anyone besides my sister.”

“Sister?”

When I thought of Payton and her crazy personality, I smiled. “Payton. She’s my identical twin, actually.”

“No way.” Dexter’s eyes flashed. “That’s too good to be true.”

“Well, we may look alike, but that’s where the similarities end.” So many times growing up, people had been shocked to find that we were nothing alike aside from our appearance. “Payton is a wild woman. She likes to get into trouble, give people a hard time. But she’s brave and strong. I wish I could be more like that.”

“Is she back in Chicago?”

“No, actually. She is spending a few months in Rome. Supposedly practicing her craft- she wants to be a chef. But more likely she’s just hooking up with Italian men and eating a lot of gelato.”

“I like her already.” Dexter spun his coffee mug in a slow circle. “Any other siblings?”

I grimaced. “A step-sister.”

“Like in Cinderella?”

“Not quite that bad.” Since my mother had only remarried a couple years ago, I had already been out of the house before the new members of the family moved in. “Logan is a nice enough girl.”

Dexter nodded. “I can see that you are just dying to talk about this.”

“It’s not exactly a happy memory,” I snapped.

“I get it.” Dexter held up his hands defensively. “My mom had me when she was seventeen. My dad was never in the picture. Then, when I was twelve, she met someone. I wasn’t happy welcoming a strange man into my life. But Tom is a good man, and we get along swimmingly now.”

“It’s not the same.” I looked away, willing myself not to get emotional. “My mother was having an affair with Rick, who also happened to be my dad’s best friend. Dad found out and Mom said that she was going to leave him and take us kids with her. Long story short, Dad had a breakdown and ended up shooting himself in the head.”

When I looked back at Dexter my face was stony. “He was only dead six months when she married Rick.”

Dexter was so silent it felt like he had stopped breathing. It was the reaction I had always feared, which is why I had never told anyone the whole story.

“How can I ever accept the man that destroyed my family?” I wasn’t just asking rhetorically. I really wanted an answer. It didn’t feel good to hate him, and hate my mother. I wanted to be able to forgive them.

“Maybe you don’t have to forgive them,” he said. “What they did was wrong. Maybe you just have to accept them for who they are- imperfect human beings. Love is a choice, Taylor. You can choose to love them despite their mistakes.”

“I’m not sure I can.”

Matilda picked the perfect time to return to our table carrying plates of food. As a full English breakfast was spread before us, I struggled to regain my composure.

“Enjoy,” Matilda said after refilling our coffee.

Dexter and I enjoyed our breakfast in quiet. Listening to the small waterfall next to us, eating a delicious meal, and smelling the garden that surrounded us, it was easy to forget the last ten minutes of conversation.

“This place really is wonderful,” I said, giving Dexter a warm smile. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“Glad you like it.” His voice lowered and he said, “I’ve never brought anyone here before. You’re my first.”

I blinked hard. “Really? I feel so special.”

“You
are
special.” His hand reached across the table, covering mine. “I’m going to prove it to you.”

“Dex.” I pulled my hand away. “Just friends, remember?”

“I remember.” He nodded toward the door. “Are you ready for the next stop on our journey?”

“Sure, but don’t we need to pay?”

Dexter looked embarrassed again. “I eat for free here.”

“You do?” My eyes narrowed. “Why? Do you pay for your meals in sexual favors or something?”

He laughed hard. “No, nothing like that. A few years ago, Matilda mentioned that she might have to close. This place doesn’t get a lot of business. I offered to invest and in return, I get free meals.”

I knew that Dexter wasn’t investing in Matilda’s to make money. This place probably hadn’t turned a profit since it came into existence. Essentially, he was giving Matilda money so that she wouldn’t have to close her business. It was an incredibly sweet thing to do.

“You just keep doing that,” I said with a shake of my head.

“Doing what?”

“Charming me without trying.” I pushed my chair back and stood. “You must be compensating for a serious flaw.”

“No one is perfect, Taylor,” he said, rather darkly. “Especially me.”

Stepping out onto the sidewalk again felt like leaving behind a magical world. We were instantly back in London, surrounded by millions of people.

We fell into step with them, back in step with the city. It was easy to stroll next to Dexter, taking in the neighborhood. He liked to point out his favorite pubs and bookshops, giving me his own personal guided tour of the city.

With his baseball hat pulled low over his eyes, very few people seemed to recognize him. I only spotted a couple people pointing in our direction. I wondered if Dexter ever got used to the attention.

“I feel like I’m on a date with a movie star or something,” I said, noticing a group of people taking our picture. “Does it ever bother you?”

“I barely even notice.” He kept his eyes straight ahead as we walked. “People are only fascinated because I’m young. In a couple of years, no one will care how much I’m worth.”

“Give yourself more credit than that.” Even I, a pop culture deviant, could appreciate his legacy. He had created one of the most successful websites in history, not to mention developing an entirely new way for people to communicate. “You’ve done something pretty amazing.”

“It’s just a job, Taylor.” He seemed almost annoyed by my comment. “There’s more to me than just my success with Scuttle.”

“I know.” I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop and look at me. “You know I don’t care about any of that right? I liked you before I ever knew about your company, back when I was just a clumsy girl throwing water in your lap.”

A cocky smile spread over his face. “I knew you liked me. Now you’re grabbing my arm, pretty soon you’ll be inviting me into your bed.”

“And that moment was just ruined…” I rolled my eyes. “Forget what I just said. I used to like you- until I was exposed to your arrogant, gross alter-ego.”

“It was only a matter of time.” He pointed to the structure in front of us. “Second stop- straight up.”

“Up?” I looked toward the top of the pillar and was surprised to see an observatory deck. “What is this place?”

“The Monument.” He pointed to a sign nearby giving the history of the landmark. “It was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London. 311 steps all the way up so we better get started.”

I suddenly understood why he had been so adamant about comfortable shoes. “The view better be worth it.”

“It will be,” he said with certainty.

Dexter led the way as we climbed, stopping occasionally to look over his should at me. About halfway up, he asked, “The view is worth it, right?”

“Ha.” I scowled. I couldn’t deny that I had been checking out his firm butt. Since it was directly in my line of sight, I’d barely been looking at anything else. “At least now I’ve found your redeeming trait.”

“Funny,” he said, not-quite-smiling.

By the time we made it to the top, my legs were beginning to burn and I felt slightly dizzy from the winding repetition on the way up.

“Oh!” I was pleasantly surprised to find that the view had been more than worth the climb. “Nice work, Sanders.”

“We’re still talking about my butt, right?”

“You’re incorrigible.” I slapped his arm and he caught my hand, pulling me out further.

Dexter led us to the edge. “See that building there with the gargoyle type thing on top?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s my office.” He smiled proudly. “Scuttle takes up the top three floors.”

It was cute to see him finally showing some excitement when talking about his company. “When do I get to see the inside?”

“Whenever you want.” His hand pressed against my lower back as he looked over my shoulder. I got a whiff of his clean, manly scent and my heart jumped.

“It really is a beautiful city,” I said, more to myself than him.

“We’re just getting started.”

Dexter tapped the arm of a nearby tourist and held out his phone. “Would you take our photo?”

I was surprised. “Really?”

“We need to document this moment,” he said. “Smile.”

His arm went around my shoulders easily and I leaned into him, forcing a smile despite the butterflies in my stomach. I was surprised that the picture actually turned out pretty well.

“That figures,” I said, frowning at it.

“What?” Dexter looked at it closer.

“We’re up here with the wind whipping around after having climbed all those stairs and I look like a crazy person while you look like a model. Figures.” I handed him the phone.

“You
are
insane.”

I remembered what he had said just prior. “Why was it so important to document this moment?”

He leaned close, lips a few inches from my ear. “Because this is the moment where you start to realize that you are crazy about me.”

“Oh, please. Get over yourself.” But my heart was still racing and my knees felt weak. I was confident that neither of those things had anything to do with the climb.

“The lady doth protest too much.” He gestured to the stairs. “Let’s go. Next stop.”

“You going to put that picture on Scuttle?” I teased.

The climb down should’ve been much easier than going up, but now my legs were numb and I was feeling breathless. As much as I didn’t want it to be true, I was immensely attracted to Dexter. That was going to make it hard to stick with my just friends approach to our relationship.