Chapter Five
Carina
It took until eleven-thirty for Carina to emerge from the state of shock she had been in all morning. Everything was coming to a head and she was finally feeling the full impact of the events she had thought she had moved on from. With Eric in the front office still exerting his control, still bullying her, her nightmare was again alive and well.
Carina had thought about going to the police when Eric had hit her, but in the end she had reconsidered. It would have been her word against his. And she wasn’t sure she would have prevailed. But there were other factors that had prevented her from going to the authorities.
Her wounded pride.
Disappointment.
Embarrassment.
So embarrassed that she couldn’t even bring herself to tell her closest friends that a man who she had thought she had loved and trusted struck her. She knew it wasn’t rational to feel this way. She had done nothing to deserve the abuse, but she couldn’t share this with Morgan and Mia.
Which meant Mia couldn’t find out that Carina had asked Josh to be her pretend boyfriend. Mia would naturally ask questions. She would want to know why Carina had recruited Josh, a man she had just met, to stand at her side and help her deceive and piss off her ex/boss. And while Carina tried to formulate a believable response, Mia would know she was full of shit. Because Carina wasn’t one to play games.
And then there was her family. If her brothers had discovered what Eric had done to her…well, there was no way Eric would live long enough to be able to fuck another woman in his office. Not that Carina didn’t fantasize about Eric’s quick castration at the hands of her brothers, but she didn’t want them getting into trouble with the law, not for her, and not because of that pig she had almost married.
Her thoughts were interrupted by her jumpy, vibrating phone. She looked out at her students, who were thankfully doing exactly what she wanted them to do. They were busy illustrating their favorite scene from their summer reading assignment when she noticed Josh’s text:
“Pick you up at noon. Front entrance. And Carina, no second thoughts.”
How did he know that her lunch break started at noon?
How did he get her number?
She couldn’t worry about the answers to those questions because…holy hell! How could she have forgotten their lunch date? Easily. Her mind had been on how she was going to nail the slime ball down the hall.
Carina was in no mood to eat or pretend for an hour that everything in her life was wonderful. She may have just met Josh, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t take no for an answer. That if she told him not to come to her school to pick her up, he would just show up anyway. To avoid a confrontation, she texted Josh back and agreed to meet him at the Reading Terminal. Surprisingly, he didn’t counter her text and insist that he escort her to lunch. She read his response:
“As you wish.”
***
Josh
Josh wanted to pretend he had no idea why he hadn’t followed through with his plan over the weekend. Two nights ago, as he watched Carina drive away from the Phillies’ parking lot, he had every intention of clearing his mind of Carina with a mindless fuck. But every time he reached for the phone he felt something very similar to what he could only define as guilt.
Which didn’t make any fucking sense.
He didn’t owe Carina anything. He was her pretend boyfriend, appointed to send Eric Ross a message. That Carina McGinnis was taken and no longer a woman Eric Ross could have. Josh checked his watch and wondered if she was going to show. It irritated him that she had requested to meet him at the Terminal instead of allowing him to pick her up from work.
You shouldn’t feel irritated. You shouldn’t feel a goddamn thing.
Frustrated, he shook his head and scanned his surroundings. Unclear about what kind of food she liked, he had purposefully suggested the Terminal. There were dozens of vendors to choose from, dishes from all over the world. Polish kielbasa, chicken curry, and the best prosciutto he had ever tasted could all be found under one roof. He would often stop by for lunch between classes.
Josh sat down at a table for two. Less than a minute later he spotted her, triggering his hands to grip the table’s edge. The khaki shorts, t-shirt and sneakers she had worn at the ballgame had been replaced with a charcoal-gray knee-length skirt and a crisp white button-down shirt. Her black heels displayed her toned calves. He stood and watched her. He should have waved her over to draw her attention, but he realized how enjoyable it was to gaze at her when she thought no one was watching her every move. It was only when she started to walk in the opposite direction of his table did he speak her name.
Even over the hustle and bustle, Carina heard him and turned to meet his stare. Her long, brown hair fell uninhibited down her back, but a few locks stayed behind and landed on her shoulder. People were moving every which way, trying to cram in lunch before hunkering down at their place of work for the remainder of the day. But she just stood there, stunning, serene, a calming presence in a world that needed everything yesterday.
Knowing his time with her was limited, he walked over and took her hand. It was a presumptuous move, a display of affection that he typically didn’t partake in, but the desire to touch her was that overwhelming. “You look beautiful.” Her face turned a delicious shade of pink. The sight made his cock ache, and for a split second he entertained the idea of foregoing lunch and taking her back to his apartment.
“Thank you for the flowers.” She smiled. “Eric definitely noticed. If you were wondering.”
The mention of Eric’s name made his cock calm the fuck down. “Good. That was the point,” he said, his voice brisk. Her smile disappeared and he immediately felt like shit. “I would have loved to have seen his face when they were delivered.”
“Trust me, he was pissed,” she said with a nervous chuckle.
How pissed?
“And thanks for not telling me I-told-you-so. You were right, no Italian family to be had.”
Honestly, Josh didn’t want to win that bet. He didn’t want to think that her boss would lie and try to lure her to his office.
Creepy fuck.
He shook that thought from his mind and said, “I hope you’re hungry.”
Carina gave him a smile that reached her eyes. “Starving.” After doing a lap of the Terminal and taking in the various vendors, they each settled on Chinese. They took their plates to their table and much to his delight, she dove into her food. Carina’s phone buzzed. She dug it out of her purse and stared at the display. “Sorry. Mind if I take this? It’s my brother, Jake. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”
“No, go ahead.” Josh sat back and watched her face go from worried to relaxed within seconds of their conversation.
“So you’ve been cleared to play this weekend?” Carina took a sip of her iced tea.
It took a moment for Josh to connect the dots. It finally hit him that Jake McGinnis was the Jake McGinnis, starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He stared at her as she continued to have a comfortable and rather average conversation with her celebrity brother.
“Yeah, I’m going to Brennan’s this weekend. You know how crazy the restaurant will be, with people trying to snag one last dinner out at Lucrezia before Brennan closes the restaurant’s doors for two weeks so he can enjoy a much-needed vacation. He’s been working non-stop.” Carina looked up at Josh, smiled faintly and mouthed, Sorry.
She was adorable.
“She called me last night. As always, Morgan has offered to help. She’s driving down on Friday morning. Shame you’ll miss each other.”
Josh withdrew his phone and Googled Brennan McGinnis. The search immediately brought him to Lucrezia, a seaside restaurant in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Carina wrapped up her call and threw her phone back in her purse. “Sorry. I don’t normally take calls when I’m out with other people. I was just worried about Jake, him being injured and all.”
“But he’s fine? He’s still due to make his start this Sunday against San Francisco?” Josh asked.
“You figured it out.” Carina smiled. “Yes, thank God it wasn’t his throwing shoulder.”
“And Brennan?” Josh asked.
Carina bit her lip and tapped her fingertips against the round metal table. He leaned over his plate, broke his egg roll in half and took a bite.
“I have four brothers. Jake, you know of, of course. Brennan owns a restaurant in Stone Harbor. This weekend is one of the busiest for him and he needs all hands on deck. My friend Morgan and I help him out by waiting tables this one and only weekend of the year.”
“And the other two?”
Carina cut one of her dumplings in half. “My brother Luke co-owns the Lucrezia Winery with my father and Gabe is a deep-sea fisherman. It’s a shame I won’t see Gabe this weekend. He’s not due back until next week.”
Josh noticed the inflection of her voice. How disappointed she was that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet up with one of her brothers. It was obvious her family meant a great deal to her.
Adorable and sweet.
“How about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Carina had made a significant dent in her lunch and was well on her way to cleaning her plate. She popped another dumpling into her mouth.
Josh didn’t want to look like an ass. He had probed her about her family. It was only fair and polite for her to ask about his. He would keep his answer short. No need to burden her with the intricacies of his dysfunctional family. “My sister Julia passed away in a car accident eight years ago.”
Carina dropped her fork, making a clang against the metal table. “I’m so sorry, Josh.”
“Thank you.” He smiled at her. “Luckily, I have wonderful friends. Erin is like a sister to me. She reminds me of Julia in many ways, though Erin has a mind and spirit of her own.” Josh sat back in his chair. “So, tell me about Mia. How did you two meet?”
Carina was polite and didn’t call him out on the fact that he was intentionally changing the subject. “We were college roommates and instant friends. We both majored in education, went to every class together, and were determined to land teaching jobs right out of college.” Carina chuckled. “Which resulted in neither of us having a thriving social life.”
Adorable, sweet…and innocent.
What the fuck was he doing? Having lunch with a woman who was clearly not his type, a woman who probably believed in love and wanted the fairy tale? He should run, just thank her for her company this afternoon and get the hell away from her. But his curiosity and his cock got the best of him. He needed to know.
Had she ever physically been with someone? What about Eric fucking Ross? He didn’t realize he’d verbalized his last two questions until it was too late.
“Are you asking me if I’m a virgin?”
He knew he was being a dick. That he had no right to ask. But he couldn’t help himself. “Yes, I guess I am,” he said. Carina’s face grew fiery red, but this time it wasn’t due to embarrassment. She was pissed.
“I never slept with that…that…” Disgust radiated off her. She took in a deep breath and let it out, as if she was trying to calm herself. “Eric and I never had sex. But I’m not a virgin. I’ve slept with one person, a total of one time, during my freshman year of college.”
He quickly did the math in his head and almost choked on the other half of his egg roll. She couldn’t be telling the truth. Mia was twenty-six years old, which meant Carina was probably…
“You haven’t slept with anyone in eight years?”
Carina stood and threw her purse over her shoulder. “So sorry to disappoint you. My nonexistent sex life must be quite a deterrent to someone such as yourself.” She picked up her empty plate, spun around and left him…speechless.
She couldn’t be more wrong. Her inexperience didn’t repel him. In fact, he found himself even more attracted to her.
And that couldn’t happen.
No strings. No baggage. And most importantly, no feelings. That was what he had wanted for the past eight years. What he needed.
Because he couldn’t risk losing someone he cared about ever again. Although it nearly killed him to do so, he sat back in his chair and watched Carina walk out of the Terminal.