“She’s a basketball junkie, she goes to all the games she possibly can,” I explained. And with where this conversation was headed, I needed to extricate myself before they were marrying me off to some nonexistent NBA player. “Hey, been great chatting, but I have to get back to work, I still have bookwork to do.” I blew kisses to the girls and headed back to my office. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw two missed calls.
I turned to the mirror mounted on the back of the door, cringed and then reached for my small makeup bag so I could do a quick touch up. One last pat down of my flyaway strands, followed by a quick dash of lipstick, and I was as ready as I was going to be.
Taking a deep swallow and an even deeper breath, I dialed his number via FaceTime. He answered on the first ring, but I had my hand over the camera and screen.
“Hello, I’m so glad to hear from you. But I can’t see anything.”
“I’m blocking it, I can’t see you either. I didn’t want you to pick up and be shocked and have a heart attack or something.”
“I’m young, and . . . I don’t know, um, virile. I think my heart is safe.”
I laughed. “You’ve been warned, I’m going to remove my hand.”
“Please.”
I quickly slid my hand off the phone, showing myself at the same time as I saw him.
He was adorable in a hot and sexy kind of way. He brought his other hand up to scratch his jaw, and my breath freaking caught. The man had the kind of hands a woman would want on her.
“Holy fuck.” I slapped one hand over my mouth, shocked that I had said that out loud. Then Stella’s words came to my mind about a twenty-four-inch dick, and I had to pinch my lips tight because big hands and all that.
Aaron’s hearty laugh bellowed through the phone. “Damn girl, I’m so glad you said that. At least I know I’m not the only one with a habit of cussing. I was trying to watch my mouth around you.”
“You’ll be right at home around my friends.”
He seemed to be concentrating on my picture, and in that moment, I was thankful I had fixed myself before the call. “You’re beautiful.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
“So, FaceTime is okay now?” I nodded. I felt like a preteen, the only thing missing was the bubble gum that I could stretch and twirl while I stared at my shoes playing coy.
“It’s weird; I’m not sure what to say. I feel like I know you and at the same time I’m meeting you for the first time.
“I feel like I’ve known you forever, like we’re best friends who haven’t seen each other in years. Except for Gage—”
“Your friend from work?”
“Yeah, besides him, you’re the only other person I really talk to,” Aaron said.
“I think that’s the big difference between men and women. Women have more of a gang mentality. We need a tribe around us. I can think of about twelve friends who I see almost weekly that I could call at any time to air something out with. A perfect example is you.”
“Oh, I made the list?”
“You did. Though, I might kick some of my other friends off the list. They’ve been giving me one hell of a hard time because it’s been three weeks and we are still talking. I mentioned you worked for Romero Holdings. They said that was the owner of the Orlando Lightning, the basketball team.”
“Yep, that is who I work with,” Aaron confirmed, as if working with famous people was no big deal. “Look up the Lightning schedule and you will know where I’m always traveling to.”
“Aaron, can I ask you something?”
“Anything, but if it’s about my job, can it wait until we meet in person?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I wish I had just asked him outright, but if he asked me to wait, I would.
“Hey, I have to run. I have a red-eye flight tonight, and my ride leaves in fifteen minutes.”
“Oh, okay, be safe.”
“It was nice seeing your face, you are so beautiful. I want to see you again.”
“I’d like that.” I disconnected and then moved the mouse on my computer and typed: “Orlando Lightning Schedule.”
I got nothing done yesterday after talking to Aaron. If he followed the Orlando Lightning everywhere, it meant he would probably be back in Orlando sometime today.
I got to work on placing the weekly orders, from food to alcohol and finally, supplies. I opened QuickBooks and began entering the latest receipts and balancing the records. I was lost in my routine tasks, and once they were all entered, I moved on to payroll. By the time that was done, it was almost time to do the line check before the dinner rush started.
The chatter of voices from my dining area dimmed, and it took me a second to glance to the security camera feed on my computer to find out why. I studied the crowd, wondering what was going on. Several people were all looking toward the door. When I spotted Mikki, I got nervous because she looked like a kid at a parade and her favorite float was passing. She was jumping up and down with a ridiculous expression on her face. Panning the area, I spied a familiar face, and my heart did a quick double beat. Aaron, FaceTime, drunk dial, Aaron was here, and he had captured several people’s attention, especially Mikki’s.
Aaron was very businesslike in a suit that was custom made for his body and hugged every inch of him. The man was meant to wear suits that was for sure.
“Vivian, you aren’t going to believe who just freaking walked in.” Mikki barged into my office. “Aaron friggin’ Skkye, that’s who. The one I mentioned to you just the other day, the shooting guard—”
I held up my hands to stop her. “I know who Aaron is.”
“He won the
