AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He would see to it.
Six
“You can close your mouth now, Rissa,” Nadia said the next morning to the woman sitting across from her desk. Marissa Phelps had been Nadia’s best friend since second grade. When Pam had moved her sisters with her to Denver, Nadia and Rissa had stayed in touch by engaging in summer visits, occasional sleepovers and then attending the same university after high school. It was at the University of Wyoming where Rissa had met Shayne, the man she married. The couple had three beautiful children under the age of ten.
Rissa closed her mouth but leaned forward in her chair with her eyes still widened. “Jaxon Ravnel actually told you that he intends to marry you?”
“Yes, that’s what he said. Can you imagine anything so downright ridiculous?”
“I guess you can,” Rissa said, eyeing her speculatively.
“Of course I can. What man tells a woman something like that?”
Rissa shrugged her shoulders as she sat back in her chair. “A man who knows the woman he wants and intends to get her. A man who wants more than a bed partner. He wants a future with the woman he loves. A man who—”
“Love has nothing to do with it,” Nadia interrupted, frowning. “Jaxon doesn’t even know me.” Rissa’s words had put her on the defensive. “You can’t love someone you don’t know.”
Rissa scoffed at that. “I heard it happens that way at times. Otherwise, there would not be any of those love-at-first-sight situations.”
Nadia shook her head. She didn’t believe in that kind of phenomenon either. “Get real, Rissa. Jaxon Ravnel doesn’t love me. Besides, I’m definitely not his type. He’s a man who’d prefer a woman with a high degree of sophistication. One who possesses style, grace and pedigree. Not someone who for years was a tomboy. Even now I only act prim and proper when there’s a need. I have no problem being outspoken and opinionated. Being known as a rebel and renegade doesn’t bother me one bit.”
“Maybe he likes you the way you are.”
“Let me say this again, Rissa. Jaxon doesn’t know the way I am because he doesn’t know me. Besides, I’m not sure I even like him.”
Rissa smiled. “If you recall, I didn’t like Shayne at first either. However, he eventually grew on me. But then, maybe not liking Jaxon right off the bat is a good thing. You were smitten with Benson the minute he got in your face at that football game, and you see what happened with that.”
She wished Rissa didn’t make her remember that day or the guy. Yes, she might have been smitten with Benson the first time he’d turned those dreamy hazel eyes on her, but it was only after he’d taken her on a couple of movie dates that she had convinced herself he was a supernice guy. That’s when she had fallen in love with him. Supernice her ass. He had proven just what a scum he was.
“Well, I don’t want Jaxon, or any man for that matter, to grow on me nor do I want to grow on him. I’m not in the mood.”
“Obviously you were in the mood for that whopper of a kiss he laid on you last night,” Rissa said, grinning.
There were days Nadia regretted that Rissa kept her in check. Unlike her sisters, who hadn’t a clue about her attraction to Jaxon, Rissa knew everything. She’d even told Rissa about the kiss that still had her swooning. When Paige and Jill had called that morning to see how dinner with Jaxon had gone, Nadia had told them everything had gone well. What she hadn’t told them was what he’d said about marrying her. Nor had she told her sisters about their heated kiss.
“That kiss took me by surprise. I hadn’t been kissed in a long time, so my mouth was more than ready for some action.”
Rissa chuckled. “I guess it helped that the action was delivered by the same man you’ve been dreaming about for over a year. Don’t you want to compare the dream with the real thing? You can’t even say it’s been a long time since you’ve slept with a man because you’ve never slept with one. I’ve told you more than once what you’re missing.”
Yes, Rissa had. Too many times. To the point where Nadia had gotten curious, too curious for her own good. It didn’t help when Jill and Paige would go on and on about how much they enjoyed their husbands in the bedroom. That was one of the reasons Hoyle had been such a disappointment. She had figured although she hadn’t been looking for anything long-term with him, that maybe after they’d gotten to know each other better, a little roll between the sheets wouldn’t be so bad. It would have rid her of her virginity and appeased her curiosity. Like with Benson, she was glad she’d discovered just what an ass he was before sharing her body with him.
“Are you going to tell your family what Jaxon said about his plans to marry you?” Rissa asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Heck no. They like Jaxon. If anything, they would pity him for even contemplating such a thing and warn him off.” She paused and then said, “Benson taught me a hard lesson. When I do marry...if that day ever comes...I will marry for love. I will know beyond a shadow of doubt that the man I marry loves me. Truly loves me. I won’t take a chance with my heart again.”
“Does that mean you won’t sleep with a guy until you marry him?”
“No, I didn’t say I had to love whatever guy who will become my first. To be quite honest, he doesn’t even have to love me. However, I need to feel that I truly do know him and there won’t be any surprises later on that I couldn’t handle.”
“So, what are you planning to do, Nadia? You might want to come up with a plan because I have a feeling Jaxon Ravnel has one of his own. Sounds like he intends to wear down your resistance like Shayne did to me. And if that kiss is anything to go by, he’s already begun his attack.”
The last thing Nadia wanted to think about was that the kiss had been part of a planned attack by Jaxon. In fact, she didn’t want to talk about him at all anymore. That meant it was time to send Rissa on her way; otherwise he would remain the topic of their conversation.
Looking at her watch, she said, “Shouldn’t you be leaving for work?”
Rissa was the assistant manager of a bank that was a half a mile up the road. Since the bank didn’t open until ten, it was Rissa’s normal routine after dropping her kids off at school to stop by Dream Makers Acting Academy every weekday morning to share a cup of coffee and girl-talk with Nadia.
Rissa gave Nadia a knowing eye, fully aware of why she’d asked. “Not yet.” After taking another sip of her coffee, Rissa inquired, “Has anyone signed on as a sponsor of this year’s Christmas play yet?”
