CHAPTER 4
Leila
I looked at the boring chicken salad in front of me as I sipped the ice water and thought about my day. Nan loved the beach house and knew that Cameron would as well, making me want to gag. She still had a few others that she wanted to see and that was the plan after lunch.
I felt someone looking at me and glanced up to see a guy sitting in front of me, his gaze full on my face. I frowned as he didn’t look away like any other person would.
“Can I help you?” I asked as he kept staring at me.
“I want to take you out,” he told me, his voice certain. I wasn’t used to this kind of confidence and my mouth dropped open and someone brought over a tray of food for him.
“I don’t date,” I replied as he shrugged and sipped his drink.
“So, we can just spend an evening in. That works as well.” I was dumbfounded. This guy was gorgeous and could get any woman that he wanted. I thought I was decent looking but not worth all of this. I suppose that I should appreciate his honesty in what he wanted, given that so many people skirted around the subject.
“Surely you have plenty of…attention from women. You don’t need me.” I glanced down at the salad and stabbed my fork into it to take a bite. Nan was expecting me in an hour at the other house to start the rest of my afternoon.
Yippee.
“It isn’t about need, it’s about want.” I chewed my salad as I took him in curiously. He was quite muscular with dark, tousled hair and blue eyes that looked like the ocean to me. He was gorgeous but a guy like that screamed trouble to me. I wasn’t experienced enough to begin with for someone like that and I didn’t need to even give him a second thought. “Let’s have dinner tonight.”
“I can’t. I have a busy schedule,” I deflected his words as he raised an eyebrow at me. “I have to finish this and rush off to work as it is. Thank you, though.”
“You’ll go out with me,” he assured me as I smirked at him. The men in this city were certainly something and this one was the icing on the cake. I ate the salad, picking out the chicken and vegetables before finishing the greens, all the while feeling the guy still looking at me.
It was unnerving, and I was relieved to finish and take my tray to the trash bin. I knew that he was still watching me and shivered as I walked towards the door, my legs trembling in my heels as I pushed open the door.
Once outside, I took a breath of the fresh air and acknowledged that I was attracted to him. I was but it wasn’t going to happen. Bryce, my ex, was also a good-looking man and I gave him a chance only to end up with a broken heart. We dated for just over two years and I found out that he was cheating on me with multiple women despite asking me to live with him throughout the relationship. Thank fuck I didn’t.
I moved shortly after that, just wanting to blend in and get a fresh start. Carlsbad wasn’t all that big, and this opportunity was better than anything I found in San Diego, so here I was. I breathed again, in and out, before making my way to the car so I could go meet Nan and Cameron.
I laughed as I drove. My body went on high alert with that man in the deli and I actually ached. I hope that he didn’t see how much I wanted to take him up on his offer and just enjoy a carefree, wild night. Women did that all the time and it was fine. I was just too shy and scared to give in to the need that he’d filled me with, need that was new to me. Bryce was cute and good in bed, but I never felt this way about him.
Perhaps I was ready to give it a go again. I’d have to talk to Viv later and regretted not taking a photo of him. She’d want to see it, so she could tell me what an idiot I was for saying no. I knew that she just wanted me happy and doing more than working all the time. Everyone in my life did but I still remembered that shame that Bryce caused me when I realized that the whole town knew about his antics.
I couldn’t go through that again, not even in this big town. I was stupid enough to fall for Bryce before that happened.
I pulled into the elite neighborhood and let the voice guide me to the house. It was a huge brick house that overlooked the ocean from a distance and I knew that it wouldn’t be enough for Cameron. I parked a few feet behind her brand-new BMW and got out as her boyfriend turned to look at me with a cocky smile on his face.
The smile on my face was forced as I walked forward, greeting them through clenched teeth. I didn’t even want to walk into the house with the look that he was giving me, and told Nan to go ahead. I’d join them in a bit. The way that his eyes raked over me hungrily before he followed her made me shudder and I heard my phone ringing in my pocket. I answered it, relieved that I could stay outside for a bit longer. It was my office telling me that I got a call from a potential new client today, and Marcie gave me his information as I jotted it down. I didn’t recognize the name and wondered how this guy found out about me as I slipped the paper into my purse along with the phone.
I walked into the empty house, looking over the beautiful features as I wondered why it was taking her so long to choose. Every house that we looked at was amazing and I would have picked one a long time ago. Nan’s kids were grown and gone so the only people that would be living with her was her boyfriend-man child. Her husband was being extremely generous in the divorce settlement from what I’d heard, and she was spending every bit of it. I went through the open living room and kitchen and looked outside to see a pretty view of the ocean. I knew that the beach was a ten-minute drive away, which wouldn’t bother me at all. Cameron could handle that for his surf mornings that Nan went on and on about.
“Nice place,” Cameron said behind me as I gulped and turned around, looking for Nan. She was nowhere to be seen and I stepped back as he moved closer.
“Where is she?”
“Deciding if the bathroom is up to her standards,” he told me, his eyes locked on mine as he moved even closer. “The best part of this process has been getting to see you so much. I could give a shit about any of these houses, to be honest.” His voice was low, and I moved to the kitchen, walking around the island as I heard him behind me. I heard stories about agents being attacked in homes and wondered if this was going to happen to me today.
“Why don’t you tell her that? Don’t lead her on!” I snapped as I walked towards the front door, reaching for my phone.
“I’m getting a place to live. Why would I do that?” Cameron asked as I reached for the front door. “It’s not like I’m going to marry her. She’s not even the only person that I’m seeing, and I convinced her easily to go with you as an agent. Nan is stupid.” He grabbed my arm and I froze as he held me in place. “I want to see you.”
“I don’t date.” I told the man at the deli the same thing, but now my voice was high and shrill as I tried to move.
“I’m sure you fuck,” Cameron said as we both heard heels coming towards us. He let go and turned towards Nan as she approached us, talking about how the bathroom wasn’t big enough. I kept my face turned towards the door, knowing that I looked as scared as Cameron made me feel just before her arrival.
“Fine. We can go then,” I said as I opened the door and walked outside. Nan asked Cameron if I was all right as I strode to my car, leaning against it for support.
They walked up, and I froze as Cameron stood in front of me, his arm draped around Nan as she asked about going to a different house. I locked the house from the app on my phone, walking up to try the doors and make sure that they were locked as I thought of some excuse to leave.
“I’m sorry, Nan. I am not feeling well, and I think that it might be lunch.” I made a face as I walked back up to her, seeing the disappointment in her eyes. “I’ll call you to reschedule.”
I was in my car and backing up as she told me to feel better, knowing that the house was locked. That was all that mattered right now, and I started crying as I drove back towards my house. I couldn’t keep working with her, not if he was a part of the package. Cameron had always been a creep towards me but today was different. It was worse. I called my manager and explained to her what happened and was assured that I was not going to see this client ever again. Madeline assured me that she’d send out one of the guys and throw some money to me from the sale since I’d put up with Nan this long. I thanked her and hung up as I drove a few blocks from my apartment, calming down some. I parked in my complex and looked around the sunny sky, deciding to go get a drink at the bar on the corner and catch a car home.