Beautiful Rose (Beautiful Rose 1)

"Good. Did you make it?"

She smiled, covering her mouth. "Yes. If there is one thing I do well, its cook.” She grinned. “I had to learn to look after myself early, so…”

"I know exactly what you mean," I murmured. "Except we had a cook, a nanny, a cleaner…you can only imagine the chaos when I eventually moved out on my own." I laughed and she laughed with me. I tried to ignore how beautiful her face became when she smiled.

"Look Rose, I wanted to apologize for my behavior over the past two weeks. It really has nothing to do with you, there’s just some things from my past that I need to deal with."

She looked shocked by my revelation. "You have . . . sometimes it feels as though we're getting along really well, and then you close up." She spoke carefully, aware of the line we were balancing on, and not wanting to step over it. "I understand, though. You're my boss, not my friend. I don't expect to have the relationship you have with the other staff. You've known them a lot longer than me," she added.

And I'm not attracted to them.

"Still, it's not fair of me, the way I've been acting. I'd like us to be friends," I added. “Come and see a movie with me.”

She looked as surprised as I felt. I had no idea where that had come from.

“Okay.” She smiled at me. One look at that face and there was no way in hell friends was going to be enough for me.

#

As we wandered down the street toward Holland Theatre, I talked about growing up in London. She was fascinated hearing my childhood stories of Alex and me getting into trouble.

“Was it a big change moving over here?”

“Definitely. It’s a completely different world over here. I mean, I lived in London but New York makes London feel like a small town. It was difficult to adapt at first, especially with things like slang and just the differences in lifestyle.”

“I’d love to travel,” she said wistfully. “I’ve been to a few places with my family, but that’s hardly the same thing. You can’t really embrace the culture of a place from a suite in a five star resort.”

“Funny, I used to think the same thing,” I chuckled. “Your family, were you close before they kicked you out?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve always felt like I was on the out with my parents. No siblings, not even any cousins…it’s all pretty sad really. When your family is that small you think you’d want to do all you could to preserve it. Not my parents though.” She spoke so nonchalantly, but I suspected that underneath that shell hid a lot of pain.

We clicked instantly and the more time she spent with me just getting to know one another, the more she relaxed. We decided to skip the movie, and wound up back at the bar. I made us a coffee, while Rose waited. She leaned against the counter of the bar and watched me work my magic with the espresso machine.

“I love a man who can handle his frother,” she teased, biting her lip as she smiled. Her eyes danced with amusement.

I chuckled. “Wait till you see what I can do with my tongue,” I quipped.

I laughed as she blushed furiously. If only she’d heard some of the things that used to come out of my mouth. I placed our coffees on the counter, and Rose carried them over to a booth in the corner. Spotting the pictures I’d taken before the renovations, I reached out for them.

“Here.” I held the photos out for her. She eyed them curiously and took them.

“Wow, is this here?” she asked. “What a transformation!” She looked around and shook her head in amazement. “You did a hell of a job. I can’t believe it’s the same place.”

I nodded as she slid them across the table to me, letting my fingers touch hers. She jumped, pulling her hand away, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“Come up here,” I said suddenly. I stood up, and made my way to the stage. My guitar sat on the edge of the stage. “I’ll play you something,” I grinned. I pointed to an armchair. “Sit.”

Positioning myself on the edge of the stage, I began to play.

I can’t help how I feel, but I still push you away

How can I get over you when you’re there every day,

Things move forward, but I’m stuck in the past

Can’t trust these feelings, can’t trust they’ll last

Love lost and found, time slowly moves