Sweet Spot by Stella Rhys
17
LIA
I worea peach colored sundress on Monday that matched the satin ribbon on my truffle boxes. It was a borderline cheesy thing to do but I was too happy to care.
My weekend had been perfect.
Beyond perfect.
After getting the good news from Elaine, Lukas popped a bottle of Krug and drank his glass while watching me run around the room calling my friends and family to relay the good news. We stayed the night and when I woke up nervous on Sunday, he booked me a massage at the spa on the hotel’s thirtieth floor. After killing a bottle of champagne at dinner, we went back to the room. The bubbles and the excitement had me dozing off fast but in the middle of the night I woke up hot and breathless from a dream.
All it took were my fingertips drifting down the ridges of Lukas’s abs for him to wake up and roll, cup my jaw and roll on top of me. His fingers inside me were enough to make me come. Of course, the actual sex did the trick, too.
Twice.
I was still glowing from it – so much so that Elaine made a comment about my “dewy skin” during our meeting at a beautiful restaurant on 18th and Broadway. She picked the place because of the ornate floral arrangements and slightly retro feeling that matched much of what I wanted for my own shop. Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, we covered everything about the upcoming project, from décor to location – down to the street.
I wanted to open near home, in Gramercy Park. For such a small, aristocratic neighborhood, it was incredibly diverse, full of both old money and young students from the famous art schools in the area. It was my dream spot for opening my first storefront and in order to find the perfect listing, Gail provided me with several business cards from her most trusted realtors.
I was all set and completely reenergized. I was so completely over the moon that my smile barely faltered when my phone buzzed with a text from someone unexpected.
Ritchie.
Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, I stared down at my phone. The edges of my lips finally twitched back down as I swiped my thumb across the screen to read his first words to me in two years.
RITCHIE:Hey Lia I hope you’re well. Actually I know you are… saw your dad at the store this morning and he was pretty ecstatic for once. Said you got some big investment deal over the weekend? That’s crazy. I’m so fucking happy for you and I mean that. This has been your dream for so long. It kind of pains me that Mom isn’t around to see.
RITCHIE:So… aside from congratulating you I wanted to text you to let you know I’m finally selling the house. Thinking of getting out of town like you did. Maybe starting my own business. Long story short I was cleaning when I found a box at the back of Mom’s closet that she labeled for you. It says FOR LIA in her crazy ass handwriting lol. I lifted it and it sounds delicate so I’m not about to ship it. And since there’s still a bunch of other stuff that was yours here, I figured I’d see if you’re interested in coming up here to get it.
RITCHIE:That’s all. Sorry for the random text. Hope this is still your number. And I hope you do come by because me and everyone else would be happy to see you and hear about your successes. You deserve all of them. Talk soon I hope.
* * *
Thanks to the unexpected message, which prompted a twenty-minute call with Sara, I was late to meet Lukas for drinks – or as he called it, a “date.” His need to make that clear on the phone had put a giant smile on my face, as if I needed any more reason.
Of course that smile was finally wavering now, thanks to the shock of Ritchie’s message. We hadn’t spoken in so long. The last words he’d said to me were cruel and bitter. He’d gone as far as to mention that our old friends wished me the worst for what I did to him. He’d said so many terrible things that stuck with me for years and still did.
So why the hell was I considering going back to that house?
“Miss, please follow me.”
The host I’d given my name to grabbed one of the matte white menus and ushered me through the sexy lounge area, to the back and through French doors that led to the garden patio. It was a sprawling area with ivy walls separating each table and the most breathtakingly up-close view of the Empire State Building I’d ever seen.
Damn.
I was going through a distinct I made it moment as I strode across the roof and followed the host up a short flight of steps to what seemed like some VIP area.
“Here you are, miss. Your party’s right here.
“Oh. Thank you.”
I was surprised when he left me standing there in front of a long table of beautiful people, half of them women – most of those women beaming brightly as they talked to Lukas, who smiled politely despite multiple glances at his watch.
When he spotted me, he practically jumped from the table.
“Thank God,” he breathed out when he came to me. “I was getting ready to get out of here and find you.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. But before he could answer the question, I spotted Emmett coming back from presumably the bar because he had a tray of drinks with him. Trailing at ease behind him was Julian.
“Oh! Hey! I thought you stood my boy up so I made it a party,” he said brightly, spilling several shots as he switched his tray to one hand and held out the other. “Heard all about you, Lia. I’m Emmett, by the way. This is my brother, Julian.”
Julian and I laughed upon looking at each other.
“Yes, of course. Nice to meet you, Julian,” I said as Lukas slipped his arm around my waist. “You know, I never got to thank you for that time you eavesdropped on my very personal conversation and relayed every detail to Lukas. So, thank you.”
Julian smirked. “Hey. It sped up the process of – ” He gestured vaguely at us. “Whatever this is. So you’re certainly welcome.”
I snorted. Whatever this is. It was a vaguely rude but strangely apt description so I took no offense. Lukas, however, was amusingly wary of my feelings as we approached the table.
“For your information, I’m an asshole but Julian puts me to shame on a daily basis,” he said, holding me closer to his side. “Nothing you can’t handle but feel free to ignore anything he ever says.”
“Got it,” I giggled as everyone at the table adjusted themselves to face Emmett, who gestured grandly at us.
“Everyone, most of you know my brother, Julian. I’ve also got here my brother from another mother, Lukas, and his girl, Lia. Everybody say hi.”
I blushed as everyone turned and gave the loudest, cheeriest “hiiii” complete with two-handed waves. But it wasn’t their attention that burned my cheeks – it was the fact that Lukas stiffened when Emmett introduced me as his “girl.”
Damn it, Emmett, I cursed him inwardly while smiling outwardly in thanks for the seat he pulled out for me. I eyed Lukas as he sat down but instead of the awkward expression I expected, he was already grinning and greeting the suited guy sitting across from him. His name was Bryce and judging from the conversation, he worked with Julian for the Empires’ front office and was someone Lukas sold a home to this year.
“Your man’s a horrible person, by the way,” Bryce said to me, grinning at whatever look Lukas flashed him. “He convinced me to buy a place so fucking out of the budget that now, Jess and I have to put off having kids for at least a couple years. And I might have to work part-time as a groundskeeper for the arena.”
Everyone burst out laughing as Lukas grinned and shook his head. “Don’t listen to him. He’s lying – that house was barely out of his budget and he doesn’t want kids, anyway.”
“Hey. I didn’t when Jess and I first met, asshole. But now I’m married, so it’s different,” Bryce said.
“What, did she threaten divorce if you didn’t want kids?” Emmett snorted.
“Abso-fucking-lutely she did!” Bryce boomed to more laughter. “And I’m pretty much dependent on that woman, so she ain’t going anywhere. Also, I’m soft as fuck now and anything that puts a smile on her face, I’m gonna give it to her.”
“Jesus Christ. You’re making me nauseous,” Julian said across the table.
“Hey, don’t be mad that you can’t get hard for anything but your job. Hell, even Lukas has found someone – when are you gonna settle down?”
I thanked God that the entire table was looking at Julian because I was red from my cheeks to my collarbones over the continued assumption that Lukas and I were in some kind of official relationship. I was so uncomfortable I didn’t even dare look at Lukas anymore. His hand was no longer on my back or anywhere near me, and as potentially irrational as it was, I interpreted that as his need to put a distance between us – just in case I was getting too excited about his friends giving me the girlfriend treatment.
I felt my stomach twist with nerves when Bryce turned back to us. I knew his type – not malicious, just a ball-buster. He was probably a genuine friend, just bad at figuring out when he’d crossed the line.
“So, speaking of kids, Lukie-boy, have you changed your stance yet?” he asked, catching what I assumed was a glare from Julian because suddenly he was defending himself to him. “What’s that face for? It’s an honest question.”
“What, no kids for you?” I murmured to Lukas, daring to peer up at him. His eyes were on the menu but I knew he wasn’t reading anything as he responded.
“No.”
“Damn, you didn’t know?” Bryce cringed. “That’s like, his number one rule.”
“Bryce,” Julian warned.
“What? It’s fine. We all have our rules. Like this guy here,” Bryce nodded at Julian. “His is don’t fuck with my work. Even Emmett has one – don’t make me choose between you or my dog,” Bryce said to more laughter. “And with Lukas, it’s don’t even ask me about having kids. Never gonna happen. That was my rule at one point too, though. But things change once you find out that’s a deal breaker for some people.” Bryce turned to me. “That a deal breaker for you?”
I had never thought about it till this moment – this moment during which a dozen people, most of them strangers, were looking to me with polite curiosity, waiting on the answer that I now realized was a resounding yes. Of course, the right move was probably to lie about that, just to save everyone from a potentially awkward moment. Is it a deal breaker? My first thought is to say yes, but like you said yourself, Bryce, things change. I may feel that way now, but depending on the circumstances and the partner I’m with, how should I know how I might feel down the line?
It was a perfectly diplomatic answer.
At the same time, it was probably presumptuous to lie for the sake of Lukas’s feelings – in all likelihood, he didn’t care if this was a deal breaker for me. Because I wasn’t his girlfriend and this wasn’t a relationship. Just hearing his friend call me his girl made him turn into stone, so why did I need to deny a truth I knew well about myself when it wouldn’t affect him at all?
“I think since the day I understood what a mom was, I wanted to be one,” I finally said to instant nods from several other women at the table. It was my first time saying the words but I knew in my heart there were none truer. I smiled faintly to myself. “I probably missed out on several rites of passage in my childhood and adolescence but a mother figure was never one of them. I was lucky enough to have two and they were both amazing in their own ways. They both made me pray that someday, I could enrich someone’s life the way they did mine, and being even half as good of a role model as they were to me. So yes, I’d say I’ve always understood that I’d eventually have a family of my own. Of all the goals and dreams I’ve ever had, that might actually be the one I want most in the end.”
“Yes,” one of the other girls promptly said, relieving me of what probably would’ve been several seconds of awkward silence. “A hundred percent what she said.” Adamantly, she raised her glass. “A toast to mothers.”
“To mothers!” everyone said in that same, bright unison we were greeted with. It was nice, positive moment that I wished we could keep and move past but of course, Bryce was still in search of his answer.
“Damn, Lukas, you hear that? That’s gotta change your mind, right?”
I had no right to care about whatever answer Lukas gave. I reminded myself of that and still, my heart dropped when he spoke.
“It’s not happening, Bryce. End of story.”
“Still? You of all people should want kids.”
“Bryce, stop talking,” Julian said, shooting an icy look that chilled even my spine. And with that, Bryce went quiet but the damage was done. The table was still, silent and several of the girls were sneaking me looks of genuine sympathy, since to them it looked as if my boyfriend had just dropped a bombshell on me. I smiled back to try to put them at ease.
“To be fair, we’re just… friends. Really,” I said awkwardly, glancing at Lukas in hopes of catching his look of relief. But he was unreadable. “So… if any of you thought that was Lukas being a total monster just now, please give him at least some credit back,” I joked, breathing easy when I got a few laughs.
God, this was hard. Meeting the friends without warning was hard. So was hearing that Lukas was decidedly childfree. I didn’t know that, I didn’t know I’d care but clearly, I did and now I needed to get up and get some air.
I was at the end of the line for the bathroom I didn’t actually need to use when Julian ambled by, finally undoing the top button of his white shirt as he leaned against the bar. He stood two feet from me and I wondered if he’d even seen me but then he spoke to me without looking over.
“I’m ordering a drink. Champagne for you?”
My brow twitched with confusion. “You’re talking to me?”
“No. My imaginary friend. He has a drinking problem.”
I blinked at him, confused for multiple reasons. “Why would you assume champagne?” I asked, though that was really my least pressing question.
“I hear you did champagne with Lukas all weekend. Figured you might want to keep it going.” He glanced at me. “From what I understand, you’re good at keeping streaks alive for years at a time.”
The smart remark drew my feet promptly away from the line and to the bar. “Okay. So, what exactly is your purpose here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t tell if you’re being hostile or if you just carry an unfriendly air with you on a regular basis,” I said bluntly. “So since I can’t read minds yet, care to tell me what’s going on? We both have drinks back at the table. I can only guess that you either have something you want to tell me in private or you’re looking to get really hammered right now.”
“It’s the former. I’m not really one for getting drunk, let alone hammered.”
“Didn’t think so. So go ahead. What is it you’d like to say right now, Julian?” I asked. I normally wasn’t this bold or up front, but I didn’t think twice about it – I’d been unrecognizable to myself as of late, but the changes I saw were nothing I took issue with. Of course, they took Julian by surprise. He was mostly stoic but I caught that brief twitch in his brow.
“I can tell why he likes you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you’re an odd mix of cute and innocent and sharp as a whip. In case you’re unaware, that’s every man’s Kryptonite,” he said casually, changing the subject before I could process the compliment. “I should let you know that what my brother said before was no mistake. He does that every time Lukas brings a girl around his friends.”
I squinted. “What do you mean?”
“He mislabels every one of the flings as the ‘girl’ or the ‘girlfriend’ because he enjoys making Lukas uncomfortable. Every time Emmett does it, Lukas will correct him in front of everyone like an asshole,” Julian said, turning briefly away to order some drinks. “You’d think he could just let the comment thing slide in front of so many people, but he doesn’t. Because that’s been his rule for as long as I’ve known him and even prior to that. No girlfriends.”
“I thought his rule was no kids,” I said dryly.
“That as well. But that brings me to the fact that that conversation clearly upset you just now.”
“And why exactly are you bringing that up with me?”
“Because I need to ask you a favor.”
I was sure I couldn’t have looked more confused. “What?”
“I need you to wait till the end of the month before you run off on Lukas.” Julian faced me fully now. “Obviously, you like each other. He likes you enough to let Emmett call you his girl in front of all these people. You like him enough to be upset by the fact that he doesn’t want kids. So do me a favor and wait before you undoubtedly end things over some freak-out about your career or your time or the fact that he’s distracting you,” Julian said almost mockingly, pissing me off despite the sheer accuracy of his words. “There’s a day coming up soon that’s going to be a hard time for him. It’s the anniversary of what I hope is the worst thing that’ll ever happen in his lifetime, and it’s why Tess is away right now. It’s why I need you to wait till that day passes. You can ghost him all you want after but till the end of the month, I need you to stick around.”
I stared in disbelief of what he was both telling and asking me. “Are you not going to provide details about what this day is?”
“No.”
“Are you serious?” I asked incredulously. “You can’t possibly make that kind of request without giving me some context.”
Julian took his Scotch in his hand. “I gave more than enough context for a nice girl like you. You’re not going to be able to hear that and walk away without guilt a this point so yes, I can make that request without saying anything further because I just did,” he said, taking a drink from his glass. “Your champagne’s on the bar,” he added before walking back to the table.
I was stunned as I watched him go.
And angry.
And intrigued.
What the hell was I feeling right now? I couldn’t pin it. Before this conversation, I was pretty sure I was disappointed in Lukas and upset with myself for caring that he didn’t want kids. But as I excused myself from the table, I’d reminded myself it was good to know that particular deal breaker because there was no endgame with Lukas. I’d gotten understandably carried away this weekend and I needed to get that under control – that was what I was thinking as I stood in line for the bathroom.
But now I was ticked off at Julian, curious and vaguely worried about Lukas, and in general, confused. I wanted to find Lukas and find out everything about him, but I was also afraid to face him again. A part of me feared that he’d just reached his limit with me – that Bryce had just reminded him that no quality of sex was worth the burden of a woman seeking a relationship. I could imagine him sitting at that table right now, trying to figure out how to tell me that he suddenly had to go and that we probably shouldn’t see each other after this.
For several minutes, I stood at the end of the bar, paralyzed with complete dilemma.
But soon enough, I was watching Lukas walk over to me with his head tilted just so.
“Why do you keep doing this to me?” he asked with a gentle laugh. Just hearing it made me relax my posture.
“Do what?”
“Leave me alone with those people.”
“Aren’t they your friends?”
“Some of them. Some are Emmett’s friends. Some are people I imagine he just met at another bar. He tends to collect people over the course of a night.”
I smiled. “Well, they’re not a bad collection of people. Save for… maybe Bryce.”
“He’s not all bad. He’s just a professional ball-buster,” Lukas said, helping me off my barstool. “Can I take you somewhere else now?”
My eyes fluttered with surprise. “You still want to take me somewhere?”
“Why wouldn’t I? If you thought hanging out with Emmett and Julian was going to count as our date, then your perception of me is still as shitty as it was the day we met.”
I snorted. “I promise you, it could never get as bad as it was the first night.”
“Good,” Lukas said, pressing those smirking lips on the side of my head as he took my hand and led me away from the bar. “Glad to know some things do change.”
