Lipstick Kisses : A Sexy, Standalone Contemporary Romance (14 page)

Chandler drove up to Santa Barbara, for a photo shoot today. I told him he could just spend the night up there rather than make the drive home tonight after a long, tiring day of work.

I continue to work late tonight since he won’t be there. Coming home after dark sets me on edge now, ever since the last attempted break-in, but I push those thoughts out of my mind as I turn into the driveway and pull into my garage. I kill the engine. Immediately, I notice a shadow behind my car in my rearview mirror. I panic and hit my garage door button, watching as the door closes down. My heart is racing and I don’t know if it was a figment of my imagination or if it was someone. My eyes frantically scan the garage to make sure no one made it in as the door was closing.

Opening my car door, I can hear Kahlua barking from inside the house. He doesn’t usually bark this much when I come home, but usually, Chandler is inside and home with him, keeping him calm. Chandler keeps both of us calm. I miss him tonight more than ever as my hand trembles to unlock the door.

“Kahlua, it’s me,” I say, hoping he will stop barking. “Hey, baby,” I soothe, giving his head a rub. His tail is wagging now.

I disarm the alarm and go into the kitchen to make myself some kind of dinner. I’m starved. Another reason I miss my cowboy—he cooks for me. I count my blessings. A good man who loves me and feeds me. How perfect is that?

After rummaging around in the refrigerator, I decide to fix myself a turkey sandwich, something quick and easy. I’m exhausted from a long day of running Lipstick Kisses.

I carry my plate and a tall glass of pomegranate juice to the sofa. I’m looking forward to watching the last episode of
Ballers
that I taped on the DVR. Click. It’s running, and I immediately become engrossed in ogling Dwayne Johnson. Damn, he is a fine specimen of a man. I love watching anything he’s in. He’s such a versatile actor, not to mention that he is incredible eye candy.

Suddenly, Kahlua starts barking as he runs for the front door. I tense. He rarely barks. Plus, I’m already spooked from what I think I saw when I pulled in tonight.

First, I remember that I forgot to re-arm the alarm when I came home. So I make a dash over to the control panel. This way, if anyone tries to break in while I’m here, a call will immediately go to the alarm company.

“Hush, boy, what is it?” I ask Kahlua, who is still barking at the front door.

I turn on the porch light and then look through the peephole and see nothing. I walk to the bedroom, where through the window, I can get a better look onto the porch. I see no one.

Why does this kind of thing only happen when Chandler is gone?

Kahlua is standing next to me. He’s calmer and no longer barking.

“What would I do without you, boy?” I stroke his thick coat of fur. He’s my companion and best friend. Kahlua has been with me through thick and thin, always been here for me after a long day’s work. Now, he’s my protector too.

I could never get to sleep on a night like this if he wasn’t sleeping at the foot of my bed. Dog—a man’s best friend, or in this case, a woman’s best friend.

Chandler calls, and I debate whether to tell him.

“Hi, I miss you,” Chandler says as soon I answer the phone. We always talk before we go to sleep when he’s away.

“Hi, Cowboy, how was work today?” I ask.

“Good. We had good weather here today. They seemed happy with pictures, but a long, tiring day. How about you? Did you work late tonight?” he asks.

“Yeah, I figured I might as well, with you gone and all.”

“What did you eat for dinner?”

“A turkey sandwich.”

“A sandwich for dinner?” he scoffs.

“My personal chef was away this evening and I had to make do,” I tease, but I’m still tense. “Something strange happened tonight.”

“Like what?”

“Well, when I first pulled into the garage, I thought I saw someone or something move behind my car,” I start.

“What did you do, are you all right?” he says, his voice filled with concern and worry. I shouldn’t have even told him. Now, he will worry unnecessarily.

“I’m fine. Kahlua is here to protect me, remember? Plus, I do have the alarm on,” I reply, trying to reassure him although I’m still a little shook up.

“I hate when I have to leave you for the night. I’m not taking any more out of town jobs from now on.”

“Chandler, you can’t do that.”

“Watch me. Your safety is more important to me than any job.”

“That’s very sweet of you to say, but really, we’re fine.”

“I hate to scare you even more, but do you think it’s someone you know? I know you never want to talk about Blake, your ex, but do you think it could be him?”

“I have no idea. I haven’t had any contact with him in months. I can’t imagine it would be him,” I say, but we did end on a very bad note. He was angry. I bruised his precious ego and all. He never loved me though.

“Is there anyone else? Perhaps a scorned lover,” he pries.

“No, I haven’t had that many lovers, if that’s what you are alluding to, mister!”

“I know, that’s not what I meant. Just any guy bordering on obsession with the lovely Nikki Russo.”

“Stop it. I don’t believe anyone would be obsessed with me. Come on.”

“Well, I just wish I were there to protect you. I can drive back now.”

“No. Don’t you dare. It’s too late.”

“I’m leaving first thing in the morning then. You call the police if anything else happens tonight,” he cautions, and we say our goodnights.

I go in early the next morning, and Kelsey is already in as well.

“You’re in early this morning,” she says, following me into my office.

“Yeah, I had trouble sleeping last night. Chandler was gone. And I swear, someone came around again last night and spooked me,” I say, placing my things down on my desk and shuffling through the mail.

“What? Tell me what happened,” she exclaims.

“Well, it could have been my imagination, but Kahlua was barking, so I do think someone was there. When I pulled into my garage, I thought I saw a shadow in my review mirror. I was able to close the door and get in the house. Then later in the evening, Kahlua started barking at the front door. I looked out the peephole and saw nothing. It could have just been another animal or something that spooked Kahlua.”

“Oh my God, again? Who do you think it could be? I think it’s someone you know—Blake or someone else,” Kelsey says.

“Please don’t keep saying that. It freaks me out! Let’s get to work. I need to take my mind off this. I told Chandler, and he said he’s never going out of town again. That’s just plain silly.”

“How sweet though! He loves you and wants to protect you. Chivalry still lives on in Chandler Winslow.” Kelsey smiles.

“Yes, I suppose it does. I’m one lucky girl.”

“You’re both lucky.”

I’m busy at my desk, looking over our sales projection for the month. Stewart reports that he feels our Cherry Campaign did wonders for sales. Buyers responded well to our ads of my hot boyfriend and Bella wrapped around each other. Great. Sex sells. What can I tell you?

Kelsey buzzes me and tells me Jonathan is on the line.

We chat briefly, catching up on the latest, but something about our conversation feels forced. I haven’t seen him since the day he helped install my alarm. He’s tried to get together a couple of times since then, but I always made an excuse.

“What’s up?” I look up from my work when Kelsey opens my office door.

She closes my door quietly, which can only mean she has a secret to tell me.

“I was just thinking. You don’t think it could be Jonathan, do you?”

“What could be Jonathan? What are you talking about?” I ask, crinkling my brow in confusion.

“You know—who has been lurking around, trying to break into your place.”

“That’s crazy. It’s not Jonathan,” I reply, but her comment causes me to pause.

“Oh, is it crazy? Think about it. He usually knows when Chandler’s gone, doesn’t he?”

“Maybe that first time. But he was so helpful in getting the alarm system put in and everything,” I reply, defending him. It couldn’t be him, but I suppose he would fall into the scorned lover category Chandler mentioned last night.

“I think he is a possible suspect. He’s been acting all jealous about you and Chandler. Plus, he basically admitted he wished you were still with him.”

“You know, Chandler asked me last night if I had any scorned lovers, and of course, I denied it.”

“So he has no clue that you and Jonathan ever slept together?” Kelsey asks.

“I’ve never told him, although he thought Jonathan acted a little strange with us once and intimated that he felt Jonathan was interested in me, and I said we were just friends. I’m getting to the bottom of this. I might feel better if I knew it was Jonathan rather than some random person. I’m going to have lunch with him and ask him point blank.”

“No way. You’re kidding, right?” Kelsey exclaims.

“No. I won’t put up with someone making me feel unsafe and threatened in my own home. It will piss me off if it’s him,” I say with anger in my voice.

“Do you really think he will admit it, if it is him?”

“Probably not, but I can tell by his body language if he’s lying. That’s why I want to ask him in person.”

“You’re a brave girl, Nikki.”

“Hey. I didn’t get to where I am today by being a shrinking violet.”

Nikki: Want to meet for lunch?

Jonathan: Sure, what time and where?

Nikki: The Grill at noon.

Jonathan: I’ll be there.

I picked our usual spot near my office to meet for lunch. Dammit if it’s Jonathan who has been stalking me. Weirdo. I’m pissed and a little creeped out if it is him, but he’s relatively harmless, right? Okay, I could just be jumping to conclusions. I tap my pen on my desk and replay the day I came home and he was there showing me how to use the alarm. The way he was looking at me, and then when he brought up our being together, made me uncomfortable.

“I’m meeting Jonathan for lunch at The Grill at noon.” I walk out of my office and tell Kelsey, who is sitting at her desk. She swivels around in her chair. “You’re kidding. Are you going to actually confront him about it face to face?” She gasps, as if he’s going to do something crazy.

“Yes. Maybe you should come and be my backup an hour into the lunch. Show up at one o’clock, just in case it gets out of hand or something, which I can’t imagine it would.”

“Nikki, are you sure you want to do this? I don’t have a good feeling about it.”

“I can handle Jonathan. I need to know. I’d almost rather have it be him than some random burglar or stalker.”

“I guess I see your point. All right, I will show up at The Grill at one o’clock.”

“Thanks.”

I arrive at The Grill at high noon, and Jonathan is there waiting for me. He’s punctual today.

“Hi, Nikki, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he says, greeting me with an outstretched arm so I’m forced to give him a hug. I’m tense. Can you blame me?

“Hello, Jonathan.” I give him a curt hello.

The hostess seats us toward the back of the restaurant. I hope Kelsey can find us back here if I need her to rescue me.

“How have you been?” he asks.

“Not that good,” I reply, breaking our eye contact and looking down at the menu for a moment to gather my courage.

“What’s wrong? Are you all right?” he asks.

“Well, when I came home the other night, I could have sworn I saw someone in the shadows when I pulled into my garage.” I keep my eyes on Jonathan’s reaction. His body language will give him away.

“Oh, really? Are you sure it wasn’t your imagination?” he asks, but his eyes dart away from mine for a split second and his body stiffens. Bingo. Kelsey was right.

“Well, I’m not sure. I was able to close the door before he came into the garage. Then later, Kahlua started barking at the front door as if he sensed someone was out there. I looked but didn’t see anyone. It really spooked me.”

“Hmm, where was Chandler? Isn’t he over most nights?” he asks, and I can detect the jealousy in his voice.

“He was up at Half Moon Bay for a job.”

“Well, your alarm was on, right? You haven’t changed the code, have you?” he asks, making me realize he has the code. God, as soon as I get home tonight, I need to figure out a way to change the code.

“No, I haven’t,” I reply. But I will.

“Maybe it was nothing, another animal Kahlua was barking at or something,” he says with a wave of his hand. He’s trying to make light of it, as if I’m just some paranoid female.

“Maybe.” I start to peruse the menu, although I almost always get the same thing every time I come here. They have the best kale salad with this lemony garlic dressing that I’m addicted to.

“Are you seriously serious about that cowboy-turned-model boyfriend of yours?” he asks, crossing his arms on the table. He’s so fucking annoying. I almost want to call him out on this bullshit of him stalking me.