Against All Odds Choices (2ndt in a series of contemporary romance books for Kindle) (3 page)

I was faintly
aware of Leo getting out of the car. I heard an opening and closing of the
trunk, but I didn't turn. My eyes were pinned on the mansion in front of me.

The roofs were
a comforting color of blue, while the exterior walls were all shades of gray
bricks. The entrance door was wide and had a tall archway, while the windows
gave out the impression that the inside had high ceilings.

All of a
sudden, my door opened. I jumped in startle, whirling my head to see the cause
of my surprise. And there was Leo, with an amused expression on his face,
carrying both our belongings in his right hand.

“
Cat got your tongue?” he laughed.

I guessed
there was still a dazed look on my face for him to make that comment. To save
myself a bit from the embarrassment, I ignored what he said and continued to
admire his home.

“This place
looks incredible, Leo,” I complimented, taking my time to look around while I
got out of the car.

They had a
huge lawn, and what seemed like a garage that could fit eight or ten cars. Oh,
and the house looked like it was three-stories tall – not including the attic,
if they had one.

“It's not
much,” he shrugged cockily.

I could see
the smug look he wore that he was obviously not trying to hide.

“
This
is not much, huh?” I asked rhetorically, with a raised eyebrow. “I was waiting
for that inflated ego of yours to come out.”

“Don't tell me
you're not the least bit impressed.”

“I am.”

He grinned
triumphantly.

“By the house
– or mansion – whatever you call it,” I continued. Smirking, I added, “Not by
you.” Then, like a kid, I stuck my tongue out briefly to tease him.

He considered
and nodded. “Fair enough. For the record, we call it 'villa.' Now, let's go
in.” Using his free hand, he gently took mine into his and pulled me toward the
front door.

An old plump
woman greeted us as soon as we reached the front door. She wasn't that old,
really. If I would have to guess, I'd say she was in her late forties or early
fifties. It was slightly hard to say because of her dyed shoulder-length brown
hair.

“Leo!” she
exclaimed as she ran up to him and kissed him on the cheek. She pulled back and
had a good look at him. “It's been quite a while, young man!”

“I was just
here last summer,” replied Leo defensively, though he was grinning ear to ear.
There was warmth in his eyes as he looked at this woman, like he was looking at
his own mother. However, they looked nothing alike.

“Bah!” she
said, waving a hand dismissively. “Feels like ages, is what it is. I was so
ecstatic when you called a couple of days ago informing me that you'll be
coming over to stay for the weekend. God knows this place could use a little
more people in it.” She spoke a bit too fast that I didn't realize I was trying
to catch up until it she stopped, and her eyes wandered over to me, noticing my
existence for the first time. “And who might this be?”

I would have
been nervous, if not for her off-guarding warm smile that she gave me.

“This is
Bridget,” answered Leo. “The girl I told you about.”

I flashed him
a questioning look.

“I told her
that you'll be spending the weekend here with me,” he explained, running a hand
at the small of my back like he was soothing me.

“Hi there, sweetheart,”
the woman told me. She took my hands into hers. “I'm Susan, the ever
trustworthy caretaker of the Russo Villa,” she added, gesturing around us.

I smiled at
her. She was so bubbly for a woman her age.

I liked her.

“Hello,” I
greeted back politely. “It's nice to meet you.”

“Trust me,
dear,” she said in a low voice, looking at me meaningfully. “The pleasure is
all mine,” she beamed. Then, she let go of my hand and clapped her hands once.
“Right, so the fridge and cupboards are all stacked with food. The pool is
cleaned, grass is cut, and the rooms are all ready to use – even though I
assumed that you'll only use one room,” she added teasingly, which led me to
blush and Leo to clear his throat.

Well, that was
awkward.

“I'll be back
tomorrow afternoon,” continued Susan. She kissed Leo's cheeks again, then mine.
“You kids enjoy yourselves!”

With one last
smile, she left and headed toward the open garage.

“She's so
sweet,” I remarked, watching Susan get in her red MINI Cooper.

“She's one of
the reasons why this place feels like home.”

My eyes turned
to Leo. He was also watching Susan, who was now driving away.

I thought back
a few minutes ago when I first saw him greet Susan, and remembered how he
looked so young and vulnerable. Just for that tiniest moment, I envisioned him
as a kid who knew nothing much about the world and didn't care about anything
but to play and have fun. No responsibilities.

In then made
me thought back to a time when I was only a child who only ate, played, and
slept. No bills, work, and priorities.

Well, I had
none of that now.

This weekend,
it was all about getting away from it all.

“So,” started
Leo thoughtfully, facing me. “How about we take our stuff upstairs, then head
to the beach? Maybe even stop by in town and stroll around?”

I raised an
eyebrow. “Is this a date we're talking about?”

“Why, are we
not allowed to have one?”

“No, it's just
. . . We've never gone on a date before.”

I looked away,
biting my lip.

It had been
straight to sex most of the time these past two weeks. A total booty call, one
could say. Then again, Leo's caring personality made it slightly complicated.

Leo nodded in
understanding. “Well, there's a first time for everything.”

My eyes found
him again. It was odd, and this might just be me and my wishful thinking, but
he looked hopeful. It was like he really wanted to go on a date with me – even
though he was the one who suggested the 'no strings attached' thing in the
first place.

And without me
knowing – or realizing – I was beginning to be hopeful, too. That somehow,
maybe, this relationship we had might lead to something more. My conscious and
logical mind wouldn't want it – that 'something more', but the emotional part
of me would beg to disagree.

Even though I
knew that this date was just a way for me to fall even more for Leo, I couldn't
find myself to refuse him. At least, not anymore. Not like I used to.

I was already
falling.

“Okay,” I
smiled.

That simple
word was a key that led to something different than what we usually did. It was
a big step – for both of us.

We spent hours
strolling around town and the beach.

Let me be
specific, Leo and I spent a long time walking around while holding hands. I
wasn't sure who held whose hand – it just happened. It wasn't like he didn't
held my hand before. He had done that numerous times, but I guessed this was
the first time that people actually saw it long enough to see and maybe assume
that we were a couple.

At least, it
felt like we were a couple.

Yeah, how
silly of me.

Nonetheless, I
enjoyed every bit of it. We didn't get to do something like this very often.
And it was nice. We were just hanging out, talking about ourselves. I guessed
we spent too much time on bed these past weeks that we never really stopped and
got to know each other a little bit. But we were clearly making up for that
now.

We were
walking down the beach as the sun was setting (pretty romantic, I know) when he
said something that even made this night more memorable.

“It's time for
dinner,” he said. “C'mon, I know this amazing restaurant in town.”

Of course, I
couldn't protest. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to. This night was just
incredibly simple and perfect that I couldn't ask for more.

So I just
nodded as we headed to his car.

He took me to
a French restaurant. And since I knew nothing about French, he ordered a
full-course meal for both of us. I just hoped he didn't order something weird
or something that smelled bad because I knew for a fact that rich people ate
that kind of food. I've seen it, and I swore to myself that there was no way in
hell that I would try it.

It turned out,
the courses were all right. Leo wanted me to try his favorites so he ordered
bits of everything. And later, we ate cheese. It seemed like a French
tradition, but I wasn't sure.

As we were
waiting for our desserts, we talked about his college life.

He told me he
majored in Business Management, getting ready to take over the company from his
dad. He said he wasn't even sure that he'd inherit it because his older brother
was always the favorite, that was until his brother passed away.

Leo was just
wanted to have fun then, not taking anything seriously. He stated that he
always had a thing for breaking rules and he had a problem with authority.

“I was in
trouble almost all the time,” he laughed, shaking his head.

“I wouldn't
have pegged you for the one who got caught,” I teased lightly.

I was trying
to understand him, even though I didn't like what he used to be that much. Then
again, how could I be sure that he wasn't like that now?

“I was
reckless and irrational,” he admitted. “Your typical rich kid act, only much
worse because I was aware of the power of my family. On the other hand, I
wouldn't be wiser now if I hadn't made mistakes in the past.”

“So you think
you've changed?”

He looked at
me. “I know I have.”

“But you still
like that part of your life.” It wasn't a question.

He didn't
reply. We just stared at each other. He had that unreadable expression again.
That poker face of his had frustrated me every time he put it on because I
always thought I knew how to read people. And he was a walking example that
there was always an exception.

To think, he
was one who I wanted to read the most.

How ironic.

Finally, the
desserts came, saving us from more silence.

“How many
boyfriends have you had?” queried Leo out of the blue.

I almost
spluttered the water I just drank at the suddenness of his question.

“Just
curious,” he said conversationally.

I eyed him for
a moment, then gave in, “Two.”

He looked at
me in disbelief.

“Hard to
believe?” I asked, slightly amused by his reaction.

“Quite,” he
nodded, his eyes were full of curiosity now. “I'm guessing you have a high set
of standards for a guy.”

“Nope. I'm
going out with you, aren't I?” I replied innocently, tilting my head to the
side.

Leo burst out
laughing. “Not officially, though.”

I didn't get
to respond because then we heard someone call his name.

“Leo!”

We turned our
heads at the direction of the voice at the same time. And there, walking toward
us in graceful strides, was Michael Vanderbilt. He still looked as handsome as
ever with his blue eyes and neat blonde hair, looking like the perfect
All-American boy that he most probably was.

“Michael!”
grinned Leo, standing up and giving Michael Vanderbilt a bro hug. “What are you
doing here, man?”

“Just taking a
break from all the madness in the City,” said Michael. His eyes slowly went to
me, then went back to Leo. “I'm guessing you're doing the same.”

Leo nodded.
“You could say that. By the way, this is Bridget.”

Michael’s eyes
returned to me. “Ah, yes. We've met before, if I'm not mistaken.”

I cleared my
throat awkwardly. “I work at –”

“I know,”
Michael cut me off, smiling. He continued to stare at me for a moment before
looking at Leo. “Is this the girl you were talking about?”

Leo gave him a
look that fairly said, 'Shut up.'

Michael just
chortled and put his hands up defensively.

“Yeah,” sighed
Leo, his eyes wandering to me. “She's the one.”

I knew that I
shouldn't take that statement seriously. And I knew that Leo meant nothing by
it, other than merely answering Michael's question. Yet . . . I couldn't stop
my heartbeat from accelerating or the heat that quickly went to my cheeks.

'She's the
one.'

Maybe a part
of me wanted for that sentence to mean something. Because maybe a part of me
thought the exact same thing about him.

Geez. Here I
go again.

Stop, Bridget.

I shook my
head and returned to reality, just in time to catch Michael nodding as though
in understanding with Leo.