Page 7 of Our Forbidden Romance 1

I won’t, but it’s worth a shot. I stare at my screen, waiting patiently for her to reply, but she takes longer than the previous ones. I impatiently tap my fingers on the wooden surface of my desk. Five minutes pass, then ten, and I’m convinced she is going to ignore me. Finally, my phone goes off, proving me wrong yet again.

Fine! You say one wrong thing to me, try to touch or do anything to annoy me, and I leave. Do I make myself clear?

I groan. Her bossiness turns me on.

Okay. I promise to try x

I have to think of somewhere no one can see us. It doesn’t leave many options since everyone seems familiar with my family and me. It may take time to do so.

Where do you want meet?

I can come to you. Be there soon. Do you want food? x

My place? Why can’t we meet somewhere else? And no, I don’t want food.

I need to be careful with how I word what I say next. I can’t come out and tell her the truth.

Because I don’t want to run into anyone I know, they will ask too many questions x

Okay. See you when you arrive, Ezra. Don’t think too much into it because nothing is going to happen between us.

I leave the conversation there. I gather my things, heading over to my bar I leave the empty glass there, thankful I only had one sip of my scotch or I’d need to get someone to drive me, and I don’t want my driver dropping me off somewhere I shouldn’t be. I know she said she doesn’t want food, but I will pick something up.

* * *

I pull up outside of Alana’s apartment building an hour later than planned. I ran into a business associate, and he wouldn’t stop talking. We ended up having a coffee. I’m rather annoyed it took me so long to get here. I lift the coffees and the bag with food; I ended up getting a mixed selection of pastries and cookies. Hopefully she will like something I have in the bag.

I check myself in the mirror before I exit the car. I don’t look too shabby, even if I say so myself. I make my way inside. Her place is on the second floor of the building. She shouldn’t be living alone, at least not in this part of town, it’s one of the seedier parts. It’s probably all she can afford on the salary she earns. I dislike the thought of her here alone. What if something happens to her? Or someone breaks in? How would she defend herself?

I knock loudly on her front door, waiting patiently for her answer and let me in. It only takes a minute when I hear the door being unlocked. At least she locks her door when she is home, that is something positive, I guess.

She opens the door and rolls her eyes at me. “That isn’t a nice way to greet your guest,” I tease.

“Do you want me to slam the door in your face?” she asks with a hand on her hip and a serious look on her face.

“I would rather you didn’t.” I chuckle. I can’t help it, she has fire and sass, and it amuses me.

Alana steps aside and invites me in. She looks different from when I saw her earlier. Her hair seems to be done, and I swear I see some makeup on her face, and I notice she has changed her clothes. Hmm, I wonder if that is for my benefit? If it was, she didn’t have to. She looks pretty without all of it.

Alana walks away heading to her living room, and I follow. She takes a seat on the sofa and pats the space next to her.

“I wasn’t sure how you took your coffee, so I got you a black one,” I say with a smile as I hand one of the cups to her.

“I usually take it black, but with two sugars, or a latte. Thanks for the coffee,” she says sweetly. It’s the first time she has been nice to me since last night: progress.

Alana excuses herself to get sugar. I look around. The place is tiny, but she has made it look nice. Lilac and silver wallpaper decorates the walls, and grey carpet complements it. The sofa is a two-seater and not very comfortable, it has seen better days. A bookcase in the corner of the room, small, but packed with books. I notice there aren’t many personal items around, no family photos. There is dampness in a corner of the living room causing the wallpaper to peel from the walls.

“It isn’t much, but it is enough for me until I can afford somewhere better,” I hear her say from behind me.

I turn to focus on her. “You have done a great job with such little space,” I say, hoping she doesn’t take my compliment the wrong way.

“Thank you.” She smiles. I feel relieved she didn’t take me the wrong way.

Alana retakes the seat next to me, taking a sip of her coffee. “What’s in the bag?” she asks curiously, eyeing it off.

“Open it and see.”

She reaches for it, opening it her face lights up when she spies what’s inside. “Cookies!”

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