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Chapter Three
Lexi
I can still feel his eyes on me, even after the door closes.
Those dark chocolate orbs I feel clear down to my soul.
It’s amazing how one pair could render me speechless, helpless, and ready to throw my panties out the window, all at the same time. And the worst part is: he knows it. I can tell by the way he gives me that cocky smile (something that also wets my panties).
Setting my stuff down on the counter, I head into the bedroom to change my clothes. Most of my stuff is still in boxes in Abby’s old office, but there are a few pairs of comfy leggings in her dresser. As I peel off the sweater and slacks I wore to lunch with my grandparents, I can’t help but think about the man on the other side of the wall. I can still feel him; it’s as if his eyes are penetrating the wall and watching me. You’d think I’d be creeped out, but I’m not.
Not even a little bit.
I’m so far on the opposite side of creeped out it’s not funny. The way his dark hair looks a little shaggy on top begs for my fingers. The hairdresser in me could get lost for hours, tugging and playing with those locks. Throw in that yummy scruffy beard, rich chocolate eyes, broad shoulders, muscular frame, and those tattoos that make me want to trace them (with my tongue), and you’ve got one dangerous and heady combination of man.
That’s why I need to stay away from him.
He’s everything I want, and nothing that I need. Oh, he’d probably show me a good time, just like they always do, but then he’d walk away, leaving me heartbroken and yearning for more. I read enough romance novels to know that the bad boy is always ready and willing to engage in a little extracurricular sexual activity, but will up and leave without so much as a warning. The hero doesn’t fall in love with the heroine like in those books.
Not in real life.
With a new sense of resolve in my grip, I set out to start to unpack my stuff. It’s very fortunate that I don’t have to actually search for an apartment and furnish it. I’d say the timing was about perfect when I finally got the balls to step away from my marriage. Abby and Levi are practically living together anyway, and after me staying with her for one week, he made it official. She was torn, at first, between wanting to move across the hall with her man and staying behind with me. She was worried that they hadn’t dated long enough to warrant moving in. Of course, once he reminded her that they’ve loved each other for years, it made her decision to go a little easier.
Abby only took a few pieces of furniture with her: her desk and cabinets from her office, as well as her kitchen table, which is bigger and nicer than the one Levi had. Lucky for me, I went ahead and took his old, smaller one, which made the apartment perfectly furnished. I love the mismatched pieces, mostly because they’re nothing like the perfect things I had in my old house with Chris.
My husband always wanted the best of the best. We may have started our marriage with hand-me-down furniture, but as soon as the money started rolling in, we started replacing them with new, sleek pieces. Before long, everything I had didn’t feel like my own. It felt like I was living someone else’s life, trapped in someone else’s dream.
My dream?
Well, that’s simple.
I want a baby. I’ve dreamed about becoming a mother for so long, I feel like it’s all I’ve ever wanted. I had the house, the husband who doted on me, and the job I loved. Even if that was all a façade. The doting husband started off flawless, but things quickly changed. Once he graduated college, Chris became focused on his career. He wanted it all, the best that money could buy.
The problem was when he was out chasing his dream, he left me and mine behind.
He rarely attended anything like family functions or random lunches with friends. He chose to work, always reaching for the next rung on the ladder. I was lonely.
When I told him I wanted a baby, he was hesitant. He wanted to wait until he secured the promotion at work, until we built a new home, until the time was right. Well, the time was never right. I didn’t need all of that to be a mother. In fact, the more I wanted it, the less he seemed interested. We went from having sex almost nightly to never. Once I broached the subject of having a baby, something changed in my husband. I went from being his first priority to being kicked off the list. Every dream, every goal he had was pushed to the front of the line, leaving me alone and sad.
But not anymore.
I’m determined to make the most out of my newfound freedom. I have a job I love, a family I adore, and a place to call my own, thanks to taking over Abby’s lease. I don’t need a man to make my dreams come true.
With a new sense of pride and determination, a new plan starts to take shape.
One that will secure me just what I need to make my dream come true.
* * *
“Did you hear that Clayton Cooper caught Lisa with his brother?” Christine whispers conspiratorially as I add color to the strip of hair I’m holding between my fingers.
“Seriously? Didn’t he ask her to move in?” I ask, wrapping the hair in foil.
“Yes! I heard she told him she had to think about it. Then he caught her that night at his brother’s house, doing the horizontal hustle on the couch,” Christine exclaims.
“When did this happen? I swear I just saw them not that long ago.”
“A month ago, I guess.”
