"These are for you, love," I said as I handed the roses to Janice.
"Oh, you are too sweet," she said as she took them. "My husband is going to be so jealous when he sees these."
Hmph, jealous. Jealousy was for the weak,I thought as I headed towards Becca's office. She wasn't going to like it, but I wasn't going to let her go on that date alone.
* * *
I picked Alicia up from her apartment and headed straight for La Petite Rose. Alicia must have gotten all the looks in her family. She was beautiful, with a glistening shoulder-length ebony bob and curves in all the right places, but she wasn't for me. Months ago, Alicia was the kind of woman I would have chased after, but now she didn't compare to my girl.
Alicia spoke nonstop during our drive, but I couldn't be bothered to listen. All I cared about was seeing Becca and making sure that jackass she was going out with tonight didn't get close to my girl.
As I pulled the Bugatti up across the street from the restaurant, I saw Becca already seated at the table. I sat in my car and watched as Janice's son arrived and shook Becca's hand. He was about my height, with the same lean build, but with perfectly-styled, spiky blond hair. Taylor had a confidence to him that came with being secure with yourself, unlike my cockiness, which was all show.
He sat across from Becca and she looked at her watch. He said something, and she smiled and shrugged before pulling her phone out of her bag and checking it.
She was wondering where I was. She was waiting for me.
Becca smiled at her date and I had to look away. What was I doing? Whether she had feelings for me or not, it was obvious to me that she wasn't ready to accept them. Maybe she didn't think I was good enough for her. I knew she was too good for me.
"Does she know?" Alicia asked, reminding me that I wasn't alone.
"Who?" I asked.
She pointed to Becca sitting at the window.
"Does she know you're in love with her?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"It is to me," she said. "Why don't you go in there and tell her?"
Glancing back at the window, I watched as Becca laughed. I missed her laugh. I missed everything about her.
"The timing isn't right," I said as I put the car in gear. "She deserves to be happy now. I don't think I can give her that. At least not right now."
I needed to do one thing before I took my foot off the brake. I reached for my phone and started a text.
Gideon:You're in luck, I got a better offer tonight. Enjoy your date.
I stared at the window as Becca picked up her phone. I hoped she would text back. I wanted her to say she was disappointed I wasn't coming. I wished for her to respond with anything. Instead, her nose scrunched as she read my text, then she put her phone back into her bag.
Alicia was right, I loved Becca. But when I thought about us, I knew love wasn't enough. She deserved better than what I could give her. If that meant our time would never come, then so be it. I needed to work on myself before I could be a man worthy of her.
"Let's get a drink," I said. "My friend just opened a bar at the beach."
"Sounds perfect," Alicia said.
Chapter Thirteen
Gideon
Alicia spent the drive through the canyon talking nonstop. She didn't need me to reply or even pretend to be interested, she just kept talking no matter what.
I honestly didn't mind it. It was easy to tune her and everything else out. I just concentrated on the road.
Navarro owned a bar with one of his brothers off the coast road at the edge of Canyon Cove. It was just something they always talked about doing so when they had enough capital, they found the right location and everything else fell into place.
Dusty's was a small, dimly lit bar with surfboards hanging on the walls and a few tables scattered about. The televisions only played the Surf Channel and on warm days, the walls were folded back onto themselves for a view of the ocean. It was a typical surfer bar with the exception that most of its clientele were some of the wealthiest of the city's under thirty crowd.
