Chapter 32
Allie
I had been extremely lucky to walk into work late that morning to discover that James himself hadn’t yet arrived. There was a message on my desk that he wouldn’t be in that day due to a personal family emergency. I assumed he and his wife were meeting with their lawyers to sign the divorce papers. She was probably the happiest woman alive at this very moment, knowing she was about to be free of him forever.
So I took advantage of his absence and called Melissa. I asked her to join me for lunch, and she happily agreed. I hadn’t told her how everything with Steven had taken a turn for the better, and I was eager to sit down with her to share some good news for once. She had been my rock when things got tough, and I wanted her to know that I was finally happy. Things were looking up.
She agreed to meet me at a fun, swanky bar down the street from my office. At one in the afternoon, I arrived and found us a table by the window. Then I waited for her to get there.
It didn’t take very long. She showed up in a rush, dropping her purse and briefcase on the floor beside her chair and shrugging out of her ankle-length black winter coat. She sighed like she was decompressing, and then smiled at me. I stood up and gave her a hug, and then we both took our seats.
“You look great,” I told her.
“You too little sister. There’s a glow about you. What’s that about?” Melissa asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
I grinned. She had seen right through me. “Well, I have some things to tell you. It’s a long story. A lot has happened since I saw you last.”
“Saw me? You could see me through all those tears and over that bucket of ice cream?”
“Hey, now,” I scolded. “No need to remind me of how bad it was. I remember quite well.”
We were interrupted by the server and took a minute to place our orders. Once that was taken care of Melissa rested her chin on her knuckles and leaned in close. “Tell me everything. What’s happened?”
I couldn’t stop the smile that stretched my cheeks. I was smiling so big that it hurt. I was blushing.
“Oh, my God, Allie,” Melissa said, a smile of her own breaking across her face. “Seriously. Tell me. I can’t handle the anticipation.”
“Okay,” I said, still grinning like an idiot. “Steven and I are official.”
“Official? Like, in a relationship official? Are you kidding?”
“Nope, not kidding. He asked me last night. We’ve never been better. He gets why I didn’t tell him about Andrew and the whole near pregnancy thing. And he said that as long as I never keep a big secret from him again, he wants to be with me. Not friends with benefits be with me, but like, be with me.” Those damn happy tears were resurfacing in my eyes.
Melissa let out a delighted squeal. She popped up out of her chair and rushed to my side, where she squeezed me in a big hug. When she went back to her seat, she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt with excitement. “I’m so happy for you, Allie. Oh, my goodness. You’ve wanted this for so long. You both deserve this.”
“Thanks, Melissa.”
“You know,” she said. “Mom thought you and Steven would end up together. She told me she figured one day the two of you would get married.”
“Married?” I gaped. “I don’t know about that. You and I both know that Steven is afraid of commitment. Besides, if I’m with him, I don’t need anything to prove our love to other people. I’ll take whatever he’s willing to give me.”
“Uh, huh,” Melissa said with a smirk. “So if he ever did ask, you’d tell him you didn’t need the ring or the wedding?”
“Well, of course not.”
Melissa and I both burst out laughing. She shook her head at me. “Seriously Allie, everyone has been itching to see the two of you get together. All our friends talk about it. I can’t believe you and Steven never noticed.”
“No way,” I said, shocked. “People have been thinking he and I would be a thing all this time?”
“Yeah, for ages,” Melissa shrugged.
Suddenly, a shadow was cast over our table. Melissa and I both looked out the window and started laughing when we saw Chance and Steven pressed up against the glass making faces at us. We waved for them to come sit with us.
Seconds later, Steven was squishing in behind me and sitting in the chair beside me. He draped one arm across the back of my chair and leaned back. I could feel him looking at me. “What were you ladies talking about?” he asked with playful curiosity.
“You,” Melissa and I both said in unison. We started giggling once more.
Steven raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? About this morning?”
My cheeks burned fiercely. I shot him a horrified look, and he threw his head back and laughed. As Melissa and Chance started chuckling, I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. “You’re the worst,” I groaned.
Steven rubbed my back and continued laughing. “Ah, you know what you signed up for.”
“Yeah,” Chance said, “and it’s about bloody time, too. I’ve been waiting for years. Everyone has.”
“Apparently,” I muttered.
Steven and Chance ordered their meals, and the kitchen timed everything well so we could all eat together. We laughed and chatted about unimportant things. It felt so good to be sitting with the people I loved; it felt better to be sitting with them as Steven’s girlfriend. It was a feeling I never thought I would have.
When we were done eating, Steven dropped enough cash on the table to cover everyone’s bills. When we all insisted we would pay for our own, he told us to stuff it. Then he looked at me and put his hand on my knee.
“Want to come to my place tonight? I want to cook you dinner. Come straight after work, if you want.”
“Of course, I want to come over,” I said, smiling as he leaned in and kissed me.
“Alright, you two,” Chance teased. “Even though you’re together now doesn’t mean we want to see it in action. Keep that shit in the bedroom, will you?”
Steven held my face in both his hands and kissed me harder. I giggled and tried to pull away, but he held on fiercely, intentionally proving to everyone in there that he didn’t give a damn whether or not they wanted to see us kissing.
When he pulled away, he smirked proudly at Chance, who rolled his eyes at the ceiling. I was blushing again, and I could feel the heat on the back of my neck. It had never felt so good to be embarrassed.
Melissa was watching me with happy eyes. She didn’t seem to mind the impromptu display of public affection. If anything, she seemed pleased to have seen it.
“You two are meant for each other,” Melissa said as she got up and put her jacket on. “I have to get back to work. I’ll catch you guys around. And Steven,” she added, “you’re a lucky guy. There aren’t many people good enough for my baby sister. But you get the stamp of approval.”
“I am lucky,” he agreed, pulling me against him and kissing the top of my head.
Melissa left smiling. The three of us sat for a little while longer chatting. Chance left after fifteen minutes, and Steven and I stayed huddled up beside each other people watching through the window.
“I should probably go back to work,” I said, wanting nothing more than to stay with him.
“Probably,” Steven admitted, sounding as put off by the notion of separating as I was. “But you’ll be at my place before we know it. The wait will be worth it. Maybe I’ll make something new.”
“Whatever you make, I’m sure it will be delicious,” I said as we stood up and put our coats on.
“You have so much faith in me.”
“Your cooking has never disappointed me before,” I said truthfully. “Besides, I’m really only in it for the good company.”
Steven smiled at me and kissed my forehead. “Me too.”
He walked me back to the office. We held hands the whole way. It was weird at first, but once we were a couple blocks down the street, it started to feel right. He stopped in front of shop windows and pointed at things he thought I should buy. His eye was drawn to clothes I was too nervous to wear out in public. I didn’t like being the center of attention. Steven thrived off of it.
He pointed at a red dress in one window. “You would look so good in that,” he said, pulling me back to him by the hand when I made to keep walking.
“It looks expensive,” I said, my eyes scanning over the sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves. “I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear something like that. It looks like a Christmas dress.”
“Maybe I need to take you somewhere worthy of wearing it,” Steven said, and we left the shop window behind.
He brought me back to my office, and we said a long goodbye in the parking lot. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. He showered me with kisses and kept pulling me back to him every time I tried to leave. Laughter bubbled up out of me as I put up a weak fight of trying to get away. Neither of us wanted to part.
I was so in love with him.
“Steven,” I pleaded, “I have to get back in there. I’ll see you tonight. I’ll come right after work.”
“Okay, okay,” he submitted, letting my hand fall from his. “I’ll see you soon. Every minute is going to feel like torture.”
“Stop being such a romantic,” I laughed, walking away but looking back at him over my shoulder. He stood staring after me with his hands in his pockets. He was smiling.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around how I had gotten so lucky. My heart was light in my chest as I went inside and took the elevator up. Even if James Lipton had been at work, he wouldn’t have been capable of ruining my mood. I hadn’t felt so genuinely happy in a long time. I was fairly certain that Steven felt the same way.
When I sat back down at my desk, I pressed a finger to my lips. I could still feel the softest tingle there; the remnants of Steven’s kiss. I sighed and turned on my computer monitor. I was useless for the rest of the day and didn’t care. I watched the clock, desperate to get out of the office and be back in Steven’s arms.