Man Seeks Woman 2, Man Seeks Wife Read online

  I felt my face scrunching up. I really hated Christmas. Bah-humbug,

  We’d both pushed our plates aside and ordered another cup of coffee. “Wow.” Brad nodded slowly as he slipped down into his chair, spreading out his long legs underneath the table. His tanned hands folded across his stomach in stark contrast to the white shirt he wore. “That’s a heck of a lot to worry and think about.”

  I snorted and sucked down half of my now cold coffee and grimaced. “I know, right.”

  We sat in silence, with our fresh drinks watching the people come and go; the waitresses clean the tables and wipe down the laminated menus, secretly watching us and trying to listen into the conversation between us.

  Nosey bastards,

  Brad stood up and stretched his arms above his head. He still wore his uniform. Actually it was strange to see him wearing Cop’s clothing. In the club the other night, he didn’t seem old enough to be in that sort of employment but obviously, I guessed wrong.

  “I’ll take you home.”

  Grabbing my bag, I strapped it over my shoulder and wrapped my thick orange scarf around the bottom half of my face. “You don’t have to do that. I can get the bus.” I had a couple of fares left on my Oyster before it needed topping up again.

  Brad grunted but didn’t say anything. He walked off in the direction of the counter and paid for dinner. I rolled my eyes as I walked past him when the woman with the stink fluttered her thick coated eyelashes at him. Poor Brad looked like he wanted to be everywhere else except where he was.

  To save him because I was such a nice person, I walked over to him and pushed into his side. He was still almost unmoving until I pinched his butt cheek making him yelp. I slipped into his side, under his arm, wrapping my own arm around his waist and smiled sweetly up at him when he looked down at me with the biggest frown on his face. “Hey, sweet chops. You were taking so long and you did promise me a good sesh and a bottle of wine. Remember, tonight is our baby making night.”

  Brad’s eyes bugged and the woman behind the counter gasped. I bit my lip to stop from laughing out loud. One of my brows rose at him telling him to get with the program.

  He shook his head and seemed to get that I was trying to rescue him. Good God, it might have been better if I’d just told the woman to fuck off and get lost. Just as I was about to pull away, Brad pulled me even more into his side, turning me a little and his head came down. Oh no, he wasn’t.

  He did.

  His lips touched mine, his tongue just dipping out to lick against the seam of my lip. I was in too much shock to do anything but stand there and cling onto him with my fingers digging into his thick black coat.

  A throat clearing had Brad breaking away. I stood there like a lemon, my eyes riveted to my friend, wondering the fuck that was all about. I was supposed to save him, not have him want to eat my face off.

  “Goodnight.” Brad said to the woman behind the counter and grabbed my hand, pulling me from the cafe. The cold December chill made me shiver as I blindly followed Brad to the curb where a black Ford Focus sat parked. The lights flashed and he opened the passenger door for me. “Get in.”

  Taking my hand from him, I gripped the top of the open door. “What was that about?”

  Brad shrugged. “We were playing up, right?”

  “Yeah but...”

  “Get in, Vic.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Black Box.

  I stood on my doorstep watching Brad driving away down the road wondering whether I’d stepped into the Twilight Zone without knowing it. What he did in the cafe was just plain weird.

  The entire drive home, he’d said many a thing including talking about work and the weather but never once mentioned the kiss. For once in my life, I was truly lost for words. That was well deep for me. No matter how much my brain was shouting at me to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, my mouth just couldn’t come up with the words.

  He’d just dropped me off, leaned over me to open the door and told me to go inside and like I was a robot or something, I’d just followed his instructions.

  Weird,

  Shaking my head, I fiddled with the bunch of keys in my hands until I found the one for the bottom lock. I unlocked that first then jiggled the keys again for the top lock. Pushing the metal into the lock, I jumped nearly six feet in the air when a Police car came zooming past me with its sirens on. I looked over my shoulder as my heart thundered in my chest. They always seem to be right next to you before they flick the siren on, scaring the shit out of you.

  I watched until the squad car disappeared around the corner, listening to the waning siren dissipate as well.

  My nose ran as I closed the door behind me, clicking the latch into place then sliding the chain across. I unwrapped my scarf and hung it on the little coat rack that was screwed to my wall. I shuffled my coat off and hung that as well. As I walked through the living room, I kicked of my boots and let them drop to the floor with mini thuds.

  I stopped dead at my piece of shit coffee table, sucking in a breath at the same time. My hand went to my chest as my brows pulled together.

  “What the Fuck?” I whispered as I eyed the suspicious thing that so wasn’t there when I went out earlier. Where the hell did that come from?

  There was a black box the size of a shoe box placed in the middle of my coffee table. My magazines, newspapers and odds and ends of post had been removed so that was the only thing on the top surface.

  Slowly, I lowered myself down till I was on my knees and crawled over to the table, eying the thing like it was a bomb or something. The closer I got to it; I could see the glint coming off of it. So it was a kind of metal box then.

  Tonight was just getting weirder by the minute. Seriously fucked up Twilight Zone shit,

  I reached out and poked at the box with my index finger. It didn’t shift along the table, so it was heavy. I bit my lip and leaned into the table even more, so I was hovering over the box wondering where it had come from and what the hell it was.

  Licking my lips, I reached out and placed my fingers on the top of it and shouted in fright when the box started to ring.

  Huh?

  My head slowly lowered towards the metal thing listening to the subtle vibration and music coming from inside. My brows were pulled so far together, I was sure they would become one.

  Then it hit me that the box wasn’t actually ringing, it was obviously something inside that was.

  Duh!

  Shaking my head and clucking my tongue, I lifted the lid of the box and groaned.

  Sebastian.

  I rubbed my hands up and down my face, walked back a little on my knees and sat back on my legs. I sighed heavily and eyed the box from where I was. Part of me wanted to quickly crawl over and have a good dig about in the box and have a nose but, the other part of me didn’t want to touch the thing.

  He’d obviously done this for a reason.

  My curiosity worthy of a cat got the better of me. I crawled back over and took a deep breath.

  There on top of everything was a thick red rose with a dark green stem, thorns removed. I plucked the flower up and brought it to my nose. No-one had ever given me flowers before and never a rose. I didn’t even know if they smelt or not.

  I held it to my nose as I glanced back in the black box. There sat the iPhone Sebastian had given me months ago with its white leather casing, the charger and the leads to go along with it. There was also an envelope that was ivory in colour pressed along the back of the box with my name scribbled across the front of it. A big bunch of keys and fobs to various things sat on a bright silver keychain with my name attached in little diamonds. I picked up the bunch of keys and held them up to my face. My brows scrunched up in wonder, trying to figure out what the hell they were for. I’d never seen so many keys on a ring before.

  I flicked through them and focused on the fobs. Only when I did this, did I realise that they were fobs to cars. Two BMW fobs, a Mercedes and a Land Rover
tag.

  Oh, my, God.

  Sebastian had given me the keys to his cars, well, the ones in the garage below his flat.

  Oh shit.

  I fell back with gravity and plonked down onto my bum with a flop. The keys in my hands fell to the floor between my legs. I blinked and looked down at them seeing the shiny, bright and what looked like new cut keys to various doors and locks. Then again, I realised that Sebastian had also given me the keys to his flat and other things.

  This was too much. After what felt like forever, I pushed up off the floor and grabbed the keys, setting them on the table quietly. I dug through the rest of the box seeing a small expensive box of gold foil wrapped chocolates and strawberries. Two of each to be exact,

  I small laugh left me at the reminder of our chocolate and strawberry night. Obviously, he hadn’t forgotten.

  I unwrapped a gold foil package and sucked a chocolate into my mouth, moaning at the rich thickness exploding on my tongue. Screwing the wrapper into a ball, I threw it over my shoulder and dug back into the shoebox. My nails scrabbled to pick up a card lying at the bottom of the box. I finally got hold of it with my nails and held it up in front of me. It was a credit card, a black credit card with my name stamped along the bottom in silver lettering. I turned it this way and that watching the light glint off the newness of it and my name.

  He’d given me my own credit card for fuck sake. I didn’t even own my own credit card that I’d gotten myself because I had a credit score worth shit.

  This was too much. Way, way overboard.

  The Beatles song came to mind, “can’t buy me love.” I hummed the tune as I fingered the card in my hands, letting my fingers sail over the silver lettering, feeling my whole name on the top of it.

  A scrap of something black folded in the corner of the box caught my eye. I reached inside and plucked up the lace, letting it dangle from my index finger as I bought it up to the light.

  Holy shit, it was a black silk satin and lace thong. A very nice, expensive looking silk satin and lace thong,

  My eyes narrowed when I saw a little white piece of paper pinned to the front of them. I gripped the paper and bought it closer so I could see the small note written on it.

  ‘Victoria, your replacements for my rip-roaring ways. Your S.B x’

  Oh my God, what was I going to do with him?

  Shaking my head, I placed the thong and card on the table next to me and went back to the box. There was one more thing left, if I had counted everything correctly. The only thing that seemed to be left was a small red suede box, by the looks of it, a jewellery box.

  My hands suddenly shook when I reached inside and pulled the box out. It was a small box, about the size of a—oh no—ring box.

  Oh no, he didn’t?

  My heartbeat pounded so heavily through my body, I could feel it in my mouth. My mouth dried up, my cheeks scraping against the sides of my teeth. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth making swallowing hard and thick. I licked my now dry lips and bit on them hard with my teeth as I opened the box.

  Before I could see inside, I snapped it back again with a heavy click and squeezed my eyes closed.

  No, no, no. I couldn’t look.

  Yes, I could.

  Three times I did this before I thought I just might have had a heart attack.

  No, I didn’t have balls big enough to open the box and look inside. I didn’t want to. Who the fuck was I kidding? Of course I wanted to look inside, God did I ever but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I mean, what if it really was – no I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t even think it.

  I grabbed everything that I’d taken from the box and stuffed it back in except for the phone and closed the lid, pushing the box away from me.

  I got up from the floor and began to pace, chewing on my thumb nail in the process.

  What had happened to my day and night? Where did it go wrong? Or where did it go right?

  Walking back over to my coffee table, I stopped in front of it and stared down at the phone that seemed to be glaring up at me but daring me to pick it up. With a huff, I lifted the iPhone up and pressed the screen on; the email app was already open waiting for me. There was also one email in my inbox.

  I bit my lip as my thumb hovered over the screen ready to tap it, to open the email. Closing my eyes with a sigh, I did.

  From: [email protected]

  To: [email protected]

  Subject: I’m Sorry.

  Victoria,

  It’s so nice to speak with you...finally. If you’re reading this email, it means that you’re finally home and have noticed the box and contents sitting on your coffee table.

  To be blatant, I needed your attention. You have the ability to block me out at every turn so I had to resort to underhand tactics to get your attention.

  I assume I have your attention now? If so, goody goody. If not, you stump me.

  I guess the first thing I want to say is Sorry. I know it may mean nothing to you but it means something to me, especially when I hurt you so. I know Monday was a shock for both of us and in more ways than one.

  I want, no, need to apologise for my behaviour with regards to Naomi and Leo but also with the way in which I treated you in my office. It was wrong and reproachful of me to do what I did and again ...I’m sorry.

  The man in me, the pride, the lion, wanted to handle the Naomi situation myself much like I did the first time but I guess just like then, I fucked up. I seem to be doing this a lot around you. There’s something about you that makes my head spin and my thoughts scatter into a million tiny pieces.

  Again, my Victoria, I’m sorry.

  To be honest, I don’t know what more to say. It seems I can’t get the words out in person and when I do, they seem to be wrong or make your cry or hate me or maybe all three.

  Just...I’m sorry.

  I love you.

  Sebastian.

  Sebastian Blackwell

  CEO Blackwell & Sims

  P.S. Please come home to me, please.

  Chapter Sixteen

  VIC 1

  For a long time, I sat and stared at the screen, continuously flicking it every five minutes when it began to dim. His words rolled over and over in my mind. How could I not forgive him for what he had done? He was trying; I had to give him that.

  If I read the big picture, he was offering me all he had on a plate and laying himself out there for me to have. He was giving me a choice of whether I wanted him and what he had.

  The answer was I did want him. I would be a fool and stupid as fuck to deny myself and the feelings he brought up inside me. I’d be arrogant and ignorant to ignore that my heart belonged to Sebastian.

  The one thing that I didn’t like though and we would seriously have to talk about and that was the presents, gifts, offers whatever they were. I didn’t want him and don’t want him for his money. It had never been about the money, well except in the beginning but after falling for him and then him hurting me and me giving him the money back, it wasn’t about the dosh.

  He could have nothing and yet my iron clad heart opened for him, just him.

  Finally gathering up the courage and dealing with the shit in my head, I hit the reply button and began to type.

  From: [email protected]

  To: [email protected]

  Subject: re: I’m Sorry.

  Seb,

  Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian, what am I going to do with you?

  Okay, I admit it. I hold my hands up in defeat. You have my attention.

  But, you piss me off one minute and make me want to hate you but the next you’re adorably sweet and all I want to do is jump you...damn man.

  Sebastian, you thoroughly confuse my already warped mind and I’m not sure I can do anything about it.

  I accept your apologies for the Naomi stuff, baby stuff and your behaviour. How could I not? If I admit the truth, it was a good sesh between us and a ni
ce hard fucking but your arrogance and hard-headedness is and was annoying but that’s water under the bridge now.

  Anyway, you, you little shit broke into my home. I’m not sure I can be so forgiving on that. How do you explain yourself, mister?

  Yours whether I like it or not,

  Vic.

  P.S. I love you too even though I would like to hit you with a very big shoe.

  Not even two minutes later, the phone in my hand buzzed with a new email. That meant he’d been sitting there waiting for me to reply.

  Interesting,

  From: [email protected]

  To: [email protected]

  Subject: re: re: I’m Sorry.

  Victoria,

  God, I have missed you.

  You don’t know how good it is to speak to you again, even though I cannot hear your voice. Just seeing your name appear on my phone is enough. Reading your words that make me smile is more.

  First off, there are a million things I would like you to do to me. Perhaps I could list a top five and you decide?

  That is not the first time I have heard that men piss off women. I am told by my Brother Lawrence all the time that he’s in the doghouse as they say for many a reason because he’d annoyed Laura in some shape, way or form.

  Upon reflection, I guess us Blackwell Brothers seem to have the same problem.

  I don’t want to confuse you, darling, I want to love you and vice versa.

  Ugh! I’m not sure I agree with your term of ‘fucking’ but to save face, I will agree and close my mouth on the subject. I have apologised and thank God, you have accepted my apology. I agree, bridge, water and all.