Seductive Chaos (Bad Rep #3) (26 page)

“Hasn’t Mitch mentioned what he’s thinking about all of this?” I asked her, knowing my mention of the Rejects’ bassist would get a reaction.

Gracie stiffened instantly, as I knew she would, and dabbed her mouth daintily with a napkin. She took her time answering me.

“I haven’t really spoken to him about it,” she said after a while.

“And why is that?” I dug. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about what was going on with her and Mitch. And it helped to focus on someone else’s floundering personal life than fixate too long on my own.

“We just haven’t really talked,” Gracie responded, as if it were no big deal.

“You act as if that’s not major, G. You and Mitch used to talk every day, even when he was on the road. What changed?” I interrogated her further.

Gracie was starting to look increasingly uncomfortable. She fidgeted a bit and started to pick at her bagel.

“Well. . .um. . .” she began.

“Well, um, what?” I pushed.

“We had sex,” she said, dropping the bomb I had been expecting but was no less shocked to hear.

“Are you flipping serious?” I squealed, my voice reaching a piercing volume.

Gracie winced and nodded.

“When was this?” I asked, trying to be considerate of the fact that my roommate looked less than thrilled to be talking about this particular subject. But I wanted to know what happened. Because even though this seemed like a good thing, obviously it hadn’t turned out all sunshine and roses. Something had gone wrong afterwards.

“When we were in Raleigh,” Gracie admitted and it all clicked into place. I had wondered at the time where she was all night while I lay in her hotel room crying my eyes out. But I had been too mired in my own drama with Cole to put too much thought into it.

“So. . .” I prompted, wanting her to continue.

Gracie glared at me, clearly annoyed that I was pressing the issue.

“So, Mitch told me he loved me. I told him I couldn’t be with him. He got pissed. I got pissed. We fought. Now he’s dating some girl named Sophie he went to high school with.”

Wow, that was a lot of information for first thing in the morning.

“He’s dating someone? So soon?” I asked, still trying to process my friend’s angst filled story.

Gracie nodded, her jaw clenching. “Yeah. Apparently they had talked on and off for years. They dated for a while when they were seniors. He had mentioned her to me before, but whatever. It’s not like I have any say in what he does or who he sees,” she spat out defensively.

“Are you jealous?” I couldn’t help but asking.

Gracie glared at me again, but this time with a hell of a lot more venom.

“Why in the world would I be jealous? I just told you I turned him down. I told him that I couldn’t be with him. Mitch is my friend. That’s all he’ll ever be,” she argued.

“Except you’re not even really friends anymore,” I pointed out.

Gracie sighed. “Well, yeah, there is that.”

“But you slept with him,” I said slowly, trying to piece together the things Gracie
wasn’t
saying.

Gracie sighed again. “Yes, I did. I was drunk. Mitch was drunk. I was lonely and at the time I was feeling things, never mind, it doesn’t matter. I ruined an amazing friendship because I couldn’t keep my legs closed. I just had no idea Mitch felt that way.”

“Are you blind?” I laughed incredulously.

Gracie frowned. “I just didn’t think, I don’t know. I just can’t focus on a guy right now. No matter what I thought I felt at the time. Not with me only now starting to get my life back together.” She was insistent.

I had been worried something like this would happen eventually. The day had finally come when Mitch was tired of waiting around. And Gracie’s heart had gotten smooshed in the process. I just wish she wasn’t so damn stubborn.

She set her plate down on the coffee table and absently picked at a piece of fuzz on her skirt. “He’s with someone else now, so it doesn’t matter what I think about any of it anyway. It’s all a moot point.”

“That doesn’t explain why you aren’t talking,” I said.

Gracie gnawed on her bottom lip. “It’s too weird now. Stuff was said that can’t be unsaid. Some things you can’t come back from.” She got to her feet in a sudden, fluid movement.

“It sucks. I miss him. I really do. But he doesn’t seem to want to hear anything I have to say. And I have to accept that. I hurt him. I didn’t mean to, but I did. And if this Sophie girl can make him happy, then
I’m
happy.”

She was such a horrible liar.

But I didn’t call her on it.

We were quiet for a moment. We were both such a mess. Our love lives were in tatters at our feet. Both of us held prisoner by feelings we’d rather not have.

“I’ve got to get going. Wish me luck,” Gracie said after a while, giving me a forced smile.

I stood up and hugged her again.

“Good luck, G.” I rubbed her back and squeezed her hand.

As she walked out the door, I knew it was time we got up, dusted ourselves off, and stopped letting the men of Generation Rejects run over our hearts.

“I
have something to ask you but I’m worried you’ll turn me down again,” Theo’s rich voice filled my ear as I leaned back in my desk chair.

We were only fifteen minutes into our now usual morning check-in. This morning had begun with the typical rundown of gala specifics that I was finalizing. The fundraiser was next weekend and I was up to my eyeballs in details. But I was excited. I had even been able to snag some extra tickets for Gracie, Riley, who would be down for the weekend, and Maysie. We were all planning to get dressed up and go together. I appreciated my friends’ support. Lord knows I’d need it.

If I didn’t expire from stress before then.

Marion had recently given me a new assignment. It was a concert series coming up in May. She seemed impressed with how I had taken charge of the Kimble event. She didn’t hesitate to pay me the compliments I needed to hear. She was a good boss. Efficient but not overbearing. And I liked being able to do well and prove she hadn’t made a mistake in hiring me.

If I were honest with myself, part of me would be slightly relieved once the gala was over. I loved that Theo and I had become friends but I was also aware of how precariously we were tiptoeing along the edge of dating. And I also knew that my less than subtle avoidance wouldn’t hold him off forever.

He had been considerate in not pushing me. But from the tone of his voice, I knew that he was through waiting.

“Okay,” I said, clicking my pen in an anxious gesture.

“I know you wanted to wait until the gala was over, but considering it’s only a little over a week away, I don’t think we would be doing anything wrong by having dinner together. There’s this great French place that just opened in Granton. It’s getting amazing reviews. I’d really like to take you there tonight if you’ll agree.” Theo’s offer was given with a mixture of barely concealed impatience and eagerness.

I sat up a little straighter in my seat, running through excuses in my head. Saying
I have to wash my hair
seemed like too much of a burn and
I have a doctor’s
appointment
was totally ridiculous.

Did I want to go out with him?

This was the question of the moment and one I flip-flopped on several times a day. Without being able to stop myself, Cole’s face as I had seen it last night danced across my mind.

This was all his fault, the bastard.

So in a moment of defiance towards Cole and his unnatural hold over me, I clenched my fists and gave Theo the answer he wanted.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

“Really? Am I hearing things?” Theo joked.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I really had put this poor guy through the ringer. It was time to reward him for his persistence. Being pursued by such an amazing guy was flattering. And who knows, this may be exactly what I needed to move on once and for all.

“No need for a hearing aid, I want to go,” I assured him.

“Thank god! I was beginning to think I would be entering senility before you agreed to a date with me,” Theo admonished good-naturedly.

I forcefully banished all thoughts of Cole from my mind. I couldn’t let him have anything to do with my decisions. He could have no bearing on my love life anymore. Not that he ever should have to begin with.

“Well, what time should I be ready?” I asked brightly.

“Text me your address and I’ll be by around seven thirty?”

“Sounds great,” I said, feeling determined.

I would enjoy myself, or die trying.

That evening I dressed in my nicest red dress. Nothing low cut or overly revealing. I styled my hair into soft curls down my back and my makeup was understated yet flattering.

I did a little twirl in front of my mirror and gave myself a low whistle. I looked hot. Damn hot. I knew Theo would approve.

So why was I thinking of Cole’s reaction while I got ready?

Gracie was out to dinner with Jordan and Maysie. She was still in a funk when I had gotten home. She wouldn’t say how her interview had gone so I hadn’t pushed it. Truthfully I needed to be in the right frame of mind for my evening ahead and Gracie’s depressive personality wouldn’t help.

My doorbell chimed as I slid my strappy black heels on my feet. I spritzed my wrists and cleavage with some vanilla perfume and grabbed my tiny clutch.

I opened the door to find Theo holding the most obscenely large bouquet of flowers I had ever seen. His shy smile lit up his face as he took me in.

“Oh my god, you’re gorgeous,” he said, his mouth gaping slightly as he started with my feet and made his way up my body.

I preened at the compliment and took the bunch of flowers from his hands.

“Thank you, come inside while I put these in some water,” I said, waving him into the apartment. I pressed my face into the blossoms and breathed in their smell.

And then sneezed.

And not a delicate, dainty sneeze. This was a nose-full-of-snot-sprayed-five-feet-away sneeze.

And I couldn’t stop. I kept freaking sneezing.

I dropped the flowers onto the counter and rushed around, trying to find a tissue. I attempted to pinch the bridge of my nose in an effort to stave off the flow of mucus that had already started to drip disgustingly.

“Crap, are you okay?” Theo asked, following behind me.

“Achoo!” I sneezed violently and held my hand up for him to leave me be.

I wiped my nose, once I had located the tissues and eyed the flowers warily. “Are those Gerbera daisies?” I asked.

Theo looked confused and picked up the bunch of flowers that had set off my sneezing attack.

“I really don’t know. I just picked these up because I thought you would like them.”

My nose started to tickle again and I pressed the tissue to my nose again.

“I’m horribly allergic to daisies. I’m sorry.” I was now stuffed up and my eyes were watering like crazy. I was in danger of going into a full-blown allergic reaction if he didn’t get the flowers out of my apartment.

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry! I swear I didn’t know!” Theo looked stricken and I felt horrible. What a crappy start to our date. I hated the niggling feeling that this didn’t bode well for any sort of dating experience between the two of us.

“You had no idea, Theo. It’s fine. But you’re going to have to take them out of here. It’s the pollen. It causes my hay fever to go nuts.”

Theo opened the front door and tossed the offending bouquet out onto the sidewalk.

“Is that better?” he asked.

I continued to cover my nose and nodded. “Just give me a minute to get myself together,” I said, my words muffled by the Kleenex. “Make yourself at home. I’ll only be a second.”

I hurried into the bathroom and cringed when I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and puffy. My nose was as red as fucking Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’s. I blew my nose and found some antihistamines in the medicine cabinet.

I tried to fix my makeup but there wasn’t a whole lot I could do. I thought briefly about calling the night a wash but I knew I had already given Theo enough of a runaround.

I came out of the bathroom, a smile plastered to my face. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Theo jumped up from the couch and like the gentleman he was, he didn’t make any comment about my red face and swollen eyes.

“Are you sure?” he asked, peering at me.

I nodded. “I’ve taken something so this,” I indicated my messed up face, “should be fine in no time.”

“If you’re okay, we should get going. I made us reservations for eight.”

I followed Theo out to his Hummer, making sure to hold my breath as we walked past the discarded flowers.

Theo and I had always enjoyed an easy banter. However, tonight was different. Maybe it was my psychotic sneezing fit or perhaps it had to do with the fact that this was an official date, but conversation was a lot more stilted than usual.

We ended up talking shop for most of the ride to the restaurant, which I found to be incredibly boring. The last thing I really wanted to talk about on a date was my job. But it was the only thing that truly connected us.

The restaurant Theo had picked was called Bistro Margot and it was packed. It was a good thing that Theo had made reservations. We were seated right away at a dimly lit booth near the back. It was private and intimate, with a candle that flickered madly. The atmosphere was very romantic if not a little try too hard.

I opened the menu and my eyes bulged as I took in the prices of the meals. Holy cow! $30 for an entrée?

“The food looks fantastic,” Theo enthused, smiling at me. I wish I could share his excitement. Because nothing seemed remotely appetizing. My experience with French food was limited. Okay, it was non-existent. But I didn’t want to look like an ignoramus so I pretended to study the menu seriously. I could pretend that I knew what Porc a la Dijonnaise meant. But even the descriptions weren’t very helpful.

When the waitress came to take our order I pointed to the only word I recognized. Steak Tartar. Theo looked surprised by my selection.

“You like Steak Tartar?” he asked. I waved my hand indifferently.