He's a gallery curator with a fetish for perfection. No one's ever gotten close to him; how could they? They're never as perfect as the portraits, the sculptures, the art that never changes. Trust did not come easy for him.
Then one day, an intern...
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As Javier sat across from Bethany, his mind was all over the place making it hard to concentrate on what the petite blond was saying. He didn't expect her to show up in town right now. He thought he had more time before he had to make his final decision.
“Babe you're not even listening!” He heard her complain.
“I thought I told you not to call me that?” He replied
“Why not? We're as good as married”
“No we're not. What are you even doing here?”
“Well right now I'm sitting in a restaurant having dinner with my …”
“Do not finish that sentence” he warned her as the waiter came back to refill their glasses.
The last thing he needed was a waiter tired of living check to check overhearing their conversation and selling their story to the first media company for the right price. He might not be a millionaire but his grandfather's riches were no secret and that alone made him a media target. Which is why he tries to avoid them at all cost. He waited until the man had walked away before turning back to her.
“We both agreed to not rush the other.” He said to her
“We agreed that the year you got the gallery, in case you haven't noticed we're almost out of time”
“Is this really how you want your first marriage to be?”
“If I can help it, this will be my only marriage.”
She licked her lips seductively then bit her bottom lip as she blatantly stared at his lips. He shifted in his seat and looked away from her. He knew Bethany could satisfy him in bed, he knew that all too well and so did she. Sex had never been a problem between them, its the lack of emotion behind it that had always held him back.
He shook his head and reach fork his fork, he cut a piece of stack and started to chew. The meal he usually enjoys suddenly tasted like cardboard in his mouth.
“This is about her isn't it?”
He looked up so fast, sure his face wore a surprised expression.
How in the world does she know about …
“Bella, this is still about her right?”
He released a relieved breath realizing she didn't know about Jessica. Besides what was their to know? They never slept together. Never been on a date, so technically there was nothing to find out right?
“Javier?”
He blinked and looked at her, he realized he was staring but not responding.
“Why would you even bring her up?” He asked her as he cut off another piece of stake.
“Because I know I'm right. Even from the grave she's keeping you away from me. When do you plan to let her go?”
“That's a cold thing to say, even for you”
“She left you remember? For him? So how are you still in love with her?”
“I'm not in love with her alright!?” He snapped
The couple from the table next to them looked over at the sound of his outburst. That's not what caught his attention though. He realized how true his words were. He was no longer in love with Isabella. Bethany was right, she had betrayed him but little did she know Isabella was no longer the woman standing in her way. That's when he realized he felt a little more for Jessica than he ever allowed himself to admit.
“I'm finished eating, can we go now?” She asked
She didn't bother waiting for his answer she crumpled her napkin and tossed it on the table as she pushed back from the table and walked away.
He sighed and called over the waiter so he could settle their bill. It was no secret that Bethany had always had a crush on him. Its been that way for as long as he could remember. Through grade school she had followed him around like a lost puppy. By the time the reached highschool he had started dating Isabella and he had watch Bethany change from the soft quiet girl she was to the woman she is now, bitter, resentful and cold. The only place she wasn't cold was in his bed when he allowed her to have her way.
She had made it no secret that she wanted him. It had always been a rival between her and Isabella. He knew she had been crushed when he had decided to date Isabella but he couldn't help who he wanted. He cringed when he remembered that broken look on her face when he had walked down the halls hand in hand with Isabella. She had ran out of school that day leaving her bag hanging from her open locker. He had taken it up on himself to deliver her bag that evening but her grandfather had told him she didn't wish to see him.
A week later she had showed up at school, gone was her jeans and T-shirt replaced by designer labeled clothes, her ponytail had been replaced by shoulder length curled with highlights and her breast seemed to had magically grown three cups bigger. He quiet personality had disappeared along with the appearance she once had.
He walked out of the restaurant and found her standing outside shivering from the cold. He shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to her. Then they walked in silence to his car. His mind drifted to the day their grandfathers had announced their little trick clause in their wills. She had been giddy with happiness while he had sat in his grandfather's office feeling livid and torn between a girl that he only ever considered a friend and a emerald green eyed girl he had fallen in love with.
How ironic was it that here they were years later with the same situation seem to be happening all over again. He glanced at her as he pulled the car out of the parking lot, she seemed to be a world away from here right now. He reached out and touched her leg. She turned to him with a stiff smile.
“I get it, I'm just not good enough for you but we have a situation here and its time you stop avoiding it. I'm not getting any younger”
Why does that seem to be every woman's favorite line for when I'm stuck in my head, or is it just me?
“mujer” he grumbled
“hombres” she replied sarcastically
“You learned Spanish?” He asked surprised
She shrugged and went back to looking through the window as he drove home.
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