Page 33 of Come A Little Closer

While my situation with her didn’t allow me to simply ask her out, especially not after the way she’d run out of my house when we’d kissed, that didn’t mean I couldn’t go after her at all.

Things were different with her. I was different with her.

The fact was that I wanted Tallulah. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and despite how our evening had ended last weekend, I’d seen the way she’d looked at me this week. She’d wanted me to kiss her again, and I’d wanted to do it. I just knew I didn’t want it to end the way it had before.

At least her spark was back. So that was something, and it was huge. Almost giving me a heart attack had been good for her, and frankly, I’d enjoyed the burst of adrenaline.

Deciding to see how the night went and to play it by ear, I finished my work and finally left my office, arriving home with just enough time to get ready. The vendors Tallulah had arranged were crawling around every inch of the place, frantically trying to finish setting up for the party they’d had so very little time to prepare for.

I grabbed the arm of the first guy that hustled past me, a clipboard in his hand and sweat pouring down his face. “Excuse me, I’m Niall Morrison. This is my house. Have you seen my events manager, Tallulah Pruette?”

The guy blinked at me a few times, then finally seemed to snap out of his frenzied rush enough to respond to my question. “Tallulah. Right. Of course. No, she left about ten minutes ago. I walked her out to her Uber myself. She said she had to go get dressed so she could get back here on time. We’ve got this handled, though. She left us with very detailed instructions.”

“I’m sure,” I said, releasing him. “Thank you, and thank you for all your hard work here today. We’ll see to it that you’re properly compensated.”

“Just a positive review online would be great, sir,” he said. “Tallulah has already seen to payment of our invoice.”

“Of course.” I nodded and thanked him again. Then I took off, my mind torn between admiring the creepy, Gothic palace she’d turned my house into and wondering why she was still Ubering when I’d let her have the truck.

Eventually, there was just too much going on in the house for me to keep wondering about the transportation issue. In just a couple days, she’d transformed the space completely, and right now, if I hadn’t known that someone—I—lived here, I would’ve thought that it was exclusively an events venue.

The company that did the themed bars had set up along one wall of the main hall, and their equipment fit so well that it looked like it belonged there. Meanwhile, the caterers were busy putting final touches on the cocktail tables and the decorating team was placing a few more curated items in spots marked with brightly colored post-its.

When I’d left here this morning, the place sure hadn’t looked like this and I could hardly believe what she’d managed to pull off today. Honestly, I was impressed. More than impressed actually.

Making my way upstairs, I suddenly couldn’t wait to see her. I raced through a shower, tucking a towel around my hips when I got out and striding directly to my dressing room. A walk-in closet in my bedroom, it had been renovated and expanded by my interior designers to become a cavernous his-and-hers dressing area.

At the time, I’d thought it was a waste of space making it so big, but when I walked in now, I could almost see Tallulah’s things filling all the empty rails and shelves. Immediately when I realized what I was thinking, I shut it down.

Kissing her was a far cry from having her move in with me. Shaking my head, I picked out a suit for the evening and quickly put it on, wanting to be ready and downstairs when she arrived.

When I got back down there, the party had begun on the street but there was still no sign of her. I left the house, moving into the cool night air and joining my neighbors on the street for the fair, but I kept an eye out for Tallulah, not wanting to miss her when she arrived.

Miss Jenny sidled up to me as I got a drink from one of the stands. “How about it, child? Did you a bring a date tonight, or are we setting you up?”

I chuckled, setting my drink down to take her hands and then moving back a little bit so I could look her over. In a spectacular purple creation complete with peacock features and large golden jewelry, she was a vision to behold.

I smiled. “You look stunning as always, Miss Jenny. How do you do it?”

“Do what?” she asked.

“How do you strike awe into our hearts and minds with every last one of these events? Seriously, how many outfits like this do you have?”

She laughed, squeezing my hands before she released them. “The benefit of growing old is that you’ve had many years to accumulate your treasures, my boy. I know what you’re trying to do though and you’re not going to distract me. Did you bring a date or not?”

I looked around again, seeing the street fair in full swing with people milling all around, but Tallulah still wasn’t here. “I didn’t bring one, but I do have someone joining me a little bit later. Perhaps that was the mistake. I should’ve brought her.”

“A woman likes to be collected from her home by her beau, Niall. Remember that for next time, and do introduce me to your friend when she arrives.”

If she arrives, I suddenly thought, wondering if maybe she was waiting somewhere to scare me again. As the night started to drag and there was still no sign of her, however, I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d changed her mind about coming after all.

I desperately didn’t want to doubt her, but I realized it was probably time to resign myself to going stag tonight. No matter how excited I might’ve been to spend an entire evening with a woman for a change.

15

TALLULAH

Sayra dumped two entire bags of clothes on my bed, planting her hands on her hips as she grinned at me. “It’s lucky we’re the same size. If you can’t find something perfect to wear in all that, then I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.”