The Lovely Garden (2 page)

I tucked some hair behind my ear, my super-secret flirting move that never worked, and smiled softly. “I’m not wearing any perfume.” However, I had taken a shower. It was probably my shampoo and soap he smelled. They were both lavender scented. It’s my favorite flower.

A far-off look came in his eyes, like he was a million miles away from me. Then he came back. “I like lavender.” Impressive. Not many people know flower scents off the top of their head. It must have showed on my face. “My mother loved to garden. Lavender was one of her favorites.” Past tense. His mother was no longer in the land of the living. I wanted to press, but this was not the time nor the place. My curiosity could wait.

“So,” Charles started, a little louder than necessary, “what do you do for a living?”

“I’m an administrative assistant for a small corporation.” Pretty fancy way of saying “Office bitch.” Answering the phones, payroll, making coffee, all that fun stuff. At least most of my coworkers are awesome. There were only eight of us, we kind of had to get along. The one thing we agreed on was the boss was an asshole. Made for good breakroom conversation.

Charles cocked an eyebrow. “It doesn’t sound like you enjoy your work.”

Is that how it really sounded? I hadn’t meant for it to. “No, no.” I held up my hands. “I actually love what I do.” Paperwork was my thing. I loved filing paperwork and organizing it. A little ironic since my apartment was a disaster. “I just have an as- a terrible boss.”

“Ah.” He got that far off look in his eyes again, but this time it was different. As if he was searching his memory for something. “I know someone that is looking for a new administrative assistant, and she’s not an asshole.” I was in the middle of taking a sip of wine and ended up choking on it. “I could always talk to her about you.”

It took me a minute to stop coughing and answer him. “Thank you, but no. I think I’m okay where I’m at for now.” Sweet of him to offer, but I would feel awkward from taking a job offer from someone I had just met. I wouldn’t be working for him, obviously, but he would be the one to hook me up. And if this date went south I doubt the offer would still stand.

“I understand,” he said with a smile. “Just hate to see people in a job they don’t like.”

Time for a shift in conversation. “So, what do you do exactly?” I knew he worked with Billy, but that had been all I had gotten out of him on that. Asking him directly might incite him to give me a full answer.

“I’m a consultant, among other things, for an advertising company.” “Among other things.” That could mean so many different things. He was being purposefully vague about his job. It made me curious, but if he wanted me to know, he would have told me. So I dropped it.

“That sounds like interesting work.” Not really, but I had to say something nice. “Do you like it?”

He smiled. “I do. It can be tough at times, but I love it.” And he did. It was plain on his tired face. If my boss wasn’t such an ass, I would have the same look. Too bad for me. “What do you do for fun?” We really were going to go through all the stereotypical date questions.

“I watch campy action movies and read books. You?” Might as well tell the truth. I was boring and my hobby was only interesting to me and others that liked to watch B-Action flicks. I preferred to leave the outdoor stuff to others.

“I really don’t have much free time. I had to make room for this in my schedule.” That was good to know. That he wanted to come on this date. If he was as busy as he said he was, then he could have just used it as an excuse to get out of it. The fact he didn’t made me respect him, and think maybe I did have a chance to get him into my bed. “Mostly, I try to get caught up on news, read, and exercise.” Man, I couldn’t imagine being that busy. I have no idea what I would do with myself. Go insane most likely. Those stupid action movies are what kept me sane.

There was a lull in the conversation. I had no idea what to say, and it seemed Charles was waiting on me. When he finally got the hint, he said, “Jennifer tells me you’re a painter.” That was a blatant lie. She never told him that.

“You know,” I started, picking up my glass of wine, “It’s never a good idea to lie on a first date.”

Amusement was not what I expected to see on his face after calling him out on lying. “No it’s not. Jennifer said you were good at catching lies, but bad at telling when someone was flirting with you.” That wasn’t a lie. I wish it was, but it wasn’t. For some reason, I have trouble noticing someone hitting on me. Unless they outright said they liked me, it went over my head. Don’t know how many times Jennifer had to tell me that a guy was hitting on me after it was too late.

“We all have our faults.” Lame, I know, but it was the only thing I could think to say. “How about you? What faults does Charles Anthony Bonner IV have?” The wine glass found my lips. I downed the rest of the wine.

He cringed as he reached for the wine bottle and poured me another glass. “That name for one. I hope I’m more creative when it comes to naming my children than my parents were.” I hoped that meant he wanted children, as I did. That was sometimes the dividing factor in a relationship, not that this was a relationship. Not that I had high hopes for a relationship with the guy. “My biggest fault,” he started, setting the wine bottle on the table, “is I work too much.”

“Some people wouldn’t say that’s a fault.” I took another sip of wine. It was so good I couldn’t get enough of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if I drank too much.

“It is when you don’t have time for anything else.” His light brown eyes caught mine. “Or maybe nothing else was worth my attention.”

The heat started to rise in my cheeks. I looked away from him, feigning interest at the empty table next to us. Definitely hit on me right there. A moment and a gulp of wine cooled my head. I turned back to Charles and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Kevin came with our food. Perfect timing since I had no idea what to say, and I was pretty damn hungry.

The rest of the meal was quiet. It was mostly because the food was so good. It was the best tasting spaghetti I have ever had! The meatballs were the best part. They were definitely freshly made. I was an expert in frozen meatballs, and these didn’t share that taste.

Cooking anything but breakfast foods was not my forte so it was mostly pre-made meals I could pop in the oven or microwave. One day, I planned on learning to cook, but when you work a full-time job that ends up being more than a full-time job, there wasn’t much time left in the day for cooking school. Or even looking up videos. And there was no way I would sacrifice my movies. No way in hell.

The bottle of wine almost gone and I definitely felt it. My head was swimming. When Charles offered me another glass, I had to refuse. “If I drink anymore, I won’t make it home.” Besides, my glass wasn’t even empty.

He poured the last of the wine into my glass anyways. “I can always have someone drive you home. Or you can stay in my house. I have plenty of bedrooms.” That made me a little more than curious. A lot curious, actually. Few people can claim they have multiple rooms in their house. I felt like I had to see such a house. That drive was exacerbated in my tipsy state. It would also get me one step closer to his bedroom, where I wanted to be. Maybe. He could have been trying to be polite. Offer me a place to stay since it was his fault I was in my inebriated state.

I gulped down the rest of my wine. “I’ll check out your place?” The alcohol had given me more courage than I had believed. Tipsy and drunk Amy were really forward, from what people have told me.

Charles smiled back. “Then, let’s go.”

If I had been a little more sober I would have felt manipulated. I wouldn’t have followed him to his car, I would have just called it an evening and went home, wondering if he had actually been flirting with me or if it had been wishful thinking. But I
was
tipsy, I
did
follow him to his car, and I
had
gotten into his car, a goofy smile on my face which he gladly returned. Then, we took off into the night, headed in an unknown direction, hoping for some fun.

CHAPTER TWO

The house was much bigger than I expected. So much bigger. It was like one of those mansions you see in the gossip shows about celebrities. Ridiculous. There was no reason for a single man to have a huge house like that. Unless he didn’t live alone. Charles was a fairly attractive man. What were the chances of him actually being single?

Pushing my insecurities aside, I turned to Charles. “Are you trying to impress me, or do you really live here?” It wouldn’t be the first time someone had gone above and beyond to get into a woman’s pants, though it rarely happened to me. Jenny had more than one tale of men and their need to impress.

Charles gave a low chuckle. “This has been in the family for generations.” Houses like that were always passed down. “There have been quite a few additions since it was first built.” We pulled up in front of the house, and he put the car in park and shut it off. “Welcome to my humble abode.” There was such a childish grin on his face I felt the need to shut him down.

“No.” A small smile threatened to crack my overly serious expression. It was hard for me not to laugh. And he could see that.

“Not funny?” I shook my head and scrunched up my nose. “No. Well, you can’t blame a man for trying.” The smile he gave me might have been on the flirtatious side. It was dark, which can play tricks on the eyes. “Let’s go inside. I’ll give you a quick tour.” He exited out of the car before I could say anything, eager to show me around.

Charles’ excitement was infectious and so I opened the car door to follow. He was there offering me his hand as soon as I swung my legs out of the car, and I took it, glad for the help. He even shut the door for me before dragging me toward the house. If I hadn’t been wearing flats, I would have tripped in the gravel; heels were never my thing. Though I hadn’t expected my date to say anything about my choice in footwear. “I like your shoes. Very practical.”

My eyes and mouth widened. “Are you making fun of me?” I giggled, my arm in his.

He held up his forefinger and thumb, keeping an inch between them. “Just a little bit. They are practical. Most of my dates would have fallen by now.”

“Well, this girl doesn’t like to be on her back.” Yeah. I said that. The double meaning didn’t cross my mind until I saw Charles’ face. My face didn’t turn red until he said, “I like a woman on top.” It was a joke, for sure, but I didn't know how to respond. All that came out of my mouth was a little “Oh.”

We reached the front door. Charles dug into his pockets and retrieved his keys. “What? Your people not here to open the door?” I felt I had to redeem myself with something. It seemed to work since he grinned.

“Who’s making fun of whom, now?” If it hadn’t been super childish, I would have stuck my tongue out at him. I didn’t know how that would have gone over; not many men liked childish antics. So far, I hadn’t screwed it up. There still might be a chance to get into his pants.

It took a few seconds for him to locate the correct key, and unlocked the door. He pushed the door open. The door swung open without a sound. “Ladies first,” he said with a sweeping gesture toward the inside of the house.

I didn’t hesitate to walk through the doorway, more than excited to see the inside of the house. It was the first time I had been this close to a house that big, much less been inside of one. And it was breathtaking.

Polished hardwood floor stained a dark brown. A staircase with carpet so white it was hard to believe anyone had walked on it with handrails that matched the floor. The walls on either side of me were a beige color and old photographs in ornate frames lined them. It was sparse, but what little decoration I could see was not cheap.

As I stared in awe, Charles shut the door and moved behind me. I could feel the heat coming off of him and his scent engulfed me once again. For a moment, I forgot about the house and just took a deep breath, taking in the smell that had captivated me earlier. I wanted to turn around and bury my face in his clothes to get a better smell, but kept myself from doing so, unsure if it would be welcomed.

I gazed at him from over my shoulder. His light brown eyes were on my left hand, and his twitched as if it itched to grab mine. I did nothing to encourage it, but I did nothing to discourage it. He settled on brushing his fingertips up my arm. My skin erupted in goosebumps, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. A small gasp escaped me.

When his fingers reached my shoulder, he started a trail down, nails gently scraping against my flesh.“I have a confession to make,” he said, raising his eyes to mine.

I stepped away from him and turned. “Isn’t that something you should say to a priest?” There was a coy smile on my face and I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. Charles graced me with a smile and moved forward. Before he made it to me, I stepped into another room.

There were two recliners, a couch, a loveseat, and a wooden coffee table. A white throw rug sat in the middle of the floor to protect the hardwood floor from the furniture. There was a fireplace, but it appeared as if a fire hadn’t been lit in it in for a long time. There was no television, but I could guess it was a living room of sorts.

Again, Charles was behind me. I turned to face him. “I guess I could listen to your confession.” I took a step away from him and almost ran into the coffee table. It wasn’t smart to walk backwards in a house you were unfamiliar with.