Chapter 34
Allena raised her brow at Justin and said, “We’re a situation now?”
“I don’t know what we are,” he said flatly. “You left pretty abruptly the other day.”
“I didn’t want the kids to see me,” she said frankly, spooning a little sugar into her coffee. “It
would only confuse them.”
“It confused me, too,” he said and met her gaze. “I thought you might have..."
"Might you have what?” she prompted when his words trailed.
He sighed. “Stayed,” he responded. “Talked. Listened. I don’t know... something.”
“I didn’t want to overanalyze things,” she said. “I still don’t.”
“When we were in bed together, after we made love, I asked you to marry me,” he reminded her.
“Again. So, have you considered it?”
She sat back in her seat, her eyes bright but glaring at him. “Seriously, this is what you wanted to talk about? And how?” She laughed brittlely. “You really suck at proposing, Justin.”
“I was only trying to—”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” she said hotly. “You’re trying to solve an equation or fix a problem, but I’m a woman, Justin. I’m a person. I deserve more than to be thought of as anyone’s easy option. I want to be the only person in the world they see. I want it all—the flowers and poems and, hell, even romantic declarations from below a balcony if I can get them.” She pushed the coffee aside and got to her feet. “Thank you for the offer,” she said tightly. “But, no, thank you.” She walked off, and Justin quickly dropped a few bills on the table and raced after her. He reached her by the doorway and gently grasped her arm, turning her around.
“Allena, please listen,” he said, taking a breath and garnering his courage. “I promise you, I see you as the woman I—”
“Allena!”
A voice bellowing her name cut through his words, and they both turned to face the sound. A man, carrying an overnight bag in one hand and a jacket and a huge bouquet of flowers in the other, came barreling towards them. He was a big guy. Tall and broad with arms the size of tree trunks and a beaming smile. Justin’s gut sank. It had to be the fireman.
“Bobby?”
Justin dropped his hand immediately and watched as the guy zoomed in on her and swiftly hauled her into his arms in a hefty bear hug. He took a step back as emotions swirled in his stomach—confusion, hurt, anger—then gathered momentum. The hugging was going on for far too long.
But it gave him a good opportunity to take a long look at the man embracing the woman he loved.
Handsome, he supposed you’d call him, in a rugged kind of way.
It was official. He hated him.
But it didn’t look like Allena hated him. In fact, it looked quite the opposite.
Which made him madder than hell, and he wanted to punch the intruder in his perfectly straight teeth. Fight or flight—that’s all he could think about. And had no illusions. Not that he’d had to hold his own in a bar brawl lately, but he’d had a few fights alongside his cousins when he was at high school and generally came out without too much damage done. However, if he fought the fireman, he was pretty sure the guy would knock him out with one punch. Still, leaving wasn’t an option, either.
“Hey, beautiful,” the other man said now that she was out of his arms. “Let me take a look at you.
Wow,” he said, giving an appreciative whistle. “You’re even more gorgeous in person.”
Justin’s hands tingle, and he fights the urge to stand in front of her like a jealous fool.
“Ah, Byobby,” he heard her say. “This is my former boss, Justin De Nero. Justin.” She said his name quietly, like she was wishing him to be somewhere else. “This is Bobby Ernest, my…”
Future husband? Future father of her children? Future, full stop?
Her words trailed off, and he didn’t want to think about it, let alone shake the other man’s hand.
But he did, hating every moment of the interaction. And then he forced himself to make polite conversation, all the while letting his hopes for a real future die inside.
Because he’d lost her, for real this time.
The thing about emotional drama, Allena discovered, is that sometimes it jumped up and bit you when you least expected it. Like now, she thought, once she’d untangled herself from Bobby’s embrace and made the introductions. Because now she had to figure out what on earth she was going to do and say to a man she’d encouraged to come—to meet her.
and then, because of everything that had happened since Igor’s collapse, promptly forgotten all about.
Well, almost forgotten.
She did know he planned on visiting. But she wasn’t expecting him to show up in the foyer of her hotel while she was with Justin. And she had no idea what Justin must be thinking.
Not happy was the first thought when she met his gaze and saw his expression.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Bobby said with a broad grin. “You’re the IT guy, right? From Johnson Company?” he asked, making the profession sound as dull as ditchwater.
“Not anymore,” Justin corrected.
“I see,” Bobby said, still grinning. “So if things work out between me and Allena, you don’t need to worry about her doing her IT work in the future,” he smiled. Allena could feel the tension emanating from Justin as the seconds ticked by and was relieved when Bobby excused himself to check in.
“I know we need to talk,” she said to Justin, moving to the side so they had some privacy. “But not now.”
He didn’t budge. “I’m not comfortable leaving you here with some guy you’ve never met.”
“It’s a public place,” she reminded him, gesturing around at all the people. “And I’m perfectly safe here. Please go.”
Justin stiffened. “You’d rather be with him than with me?”
“I’d rather not have this conversation,” she replied.
His gaze narrowed. “Wait a minute. Were you expecting him?”
“Not exactly,” she replied. “I mean, I knew he was coming, but I—”
“You knew when?” he demanded. “Before or after we—”
“Before,” she said quickly. “But I wasn’t sure when he—”
“And it didn’t occur to you to contact him and tell him not to come here? And explain that you were already—”
“Already what, Justin?” she demanded, cutting him off. “Taken? Hooked up? Off the market? Engaged? I’m not your property. I can do what I like and with whom I like.”
“And you like this guy?” he asked incredulously. “Is that it?”
“Yes, Justin, I do. Enough to marry him? I don’t know,” she shot back. “Maybe. He’s nice. And he made the effort to come all this way to see me. So, I’m going to respect that effort and spend some time getting to know him. Now please leave and don’t cause a scene.”
Fuck!
Justin strode off without another word.
She waited until he was out of sight before concentrating on the man who was now back in front of her, and who was clearly delighted to see her and seemed even nicer in person than in all their video chats.
Once he’d checked into his own room she met him for a drink in the bar and talked about his trip, his job, his hometown and hers, and their possible future. He spoke about London, telling her about all the places he would take her if she visited. Allena realized she should have been jumping for joy because a really nice man—and one who clearly liked her—had traveled a very long way to meet up and hopefully kindle their romance. But she wasn’t jumping. She wasn’t anything other than completely miserable. And confused.
This is what you wanted, remember?
Someone romantic. Okay, he ticked the box, as over drinks he gave her the flowers he’d brought and a lovely book of poetry he thought she would like. And he’d written a sweet message on the inside page.
Someone insightful—because he immediately asked her if she was okay with him being there and assured her there was no pressure and they could get to know one another at whatever pace she wanted. Someone who saw her—which he obviously did, as he told her several times how beautiful she was. Someone who made her laugh—he ticked that box too, because he was funny and charming and made her smile.
Yes, Bobby was perfect. Except for one important fact.
He wasn’t Justin De Nero.
And it didn’t feel as though Justin was going to be purged from her heart any time soon.
Only Allena knew she owed it to Bobby to make an effort. He was friendly, talkative, and utterly unthreatening. She should have been falling in love with him with each passing second.
But she wasn’t. “Can I take you to dinner tonight?” he asked as they crossed the foyer to the elevator.
“Sure. The restaurant here is really good.”
“I actually feel like pizza,” he said cheerfully. “Can we get that here? Or can you suggest somewhere else?”
She told him about Cassie and Jayden's favourite pizza place and made arrangements to meet him back in the foyer at six o’clock.