Author: Aly Martinez
Category: Contemporary
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/aly-martinez/page,9,605557-the_difference_between_somebody_and_someone_the_difference_trilogy_book_1.html
Throwing me a line, she answered, “Only if there’s pizza. I’ve already sacrificed a cookie for you. A girl’s gotta eat.”
It was dinner time in a busy area of Atlanta. Getting a pizza delivered was going to take forever, but I did not give a single shit if it meant she’d stay.
“Done.” I stood up and gave her leg a squeeze before I started toward the bag Emily had set on my filing cabinet earlier.
It took two hours for our pizza to arrive, and in that time, we barely even made a dent in her father’s records. How the man was still in business was a mystery that may never be solved. By the time we stopped to eat, we weren’t to the point where an actual CPA was even useful yet. It had been all organizing, deciphering, and scanning. And if she had been any other client, Emily would have been delegated this part of the process.
But it was Remi and she had yet to stop talking, chattering away and charming me all the while. Which basically meant I had yet to stop smiling. I was going to be sore as shit the next day. My strained facial muscles did not know how to handle the rare workout.
“So, you live with two guys?” I asked, dragging my second piece of pizza onto a paper towel.
She sat on top of the table in my conference room, her legs crisscrossed with piles of papers stacked around her. “Yep. Contrary to popular belief, men and women can be friends. I’ve known them since high school, and nobody’s ever fallen in love or into bed with each other. So it’s not nearly as scandalous as you’d probably assume.”
I smirked. “I’m not assuming anything.”
“Most people do.” She pinched a section of cheese off the top of her pizza and popped it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before inquiring, “Tell me something about Bowen Michaels. You’ve got to be sick of listening to me prattle on about myself by now.”
I wasn’t. Not even close.
I propped my feet onto the chair beside me. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
“That’s a tall order.”
“Yes, okay. Let’s start with that. How tall are you really?”
“Six-four.”
She nodded multiple times. “Okay, very nice. And do the other nerds know you work out?”
I wanted to laugh, but I wanted to hear hers more than my own. “I mentioned it in the group chat once. They have assured me my pocket protector is not in jeopardy.”
Just as I’d hoped, her laughter was musical. A whimsical symphony that would no doubt be on a loop in my head for the foreseeable future.
God, it felt good.
Being there with her. Happy and free. I hadn’t felt either of those emotions in what felt like an eternity.
Remi was fascinating. I was cataloging her details one hundred percent more than her father’s financials.
Her favorite color was purple.
She loved to travel almost as much as she loved spending a Friday night on the couch, rewatching old seasons of The Bachelor.
She liked white wine, not red.
And any given Sunday, she could be found pretending to do yoga in the park. As she was actually there to people watch.
“Favorite restaurant?” she asked.
“Mai Thai.” I pointedly raked my gaze around the room. “Though I hear you can eat free at The Wave.”
She laughed. “You better start working on your sob story now, Michaels. Unless you have—” Horror hit her eyes for a blink before she buried her gaze in her lap. “Never mind.”
And there it was. I didn’t need to ask for clarification. It had been two days since I’d told her about Sally. A part of me wondered how she hadn’t asked me more about her already.
“It’s okay,” I said, sitting up in my chair and discarding my half-eaten slice on the table. “I’m well aware I have a four-course-meal-worthy sob story. Don’t be embarrassed.”
“I didn’t mean to bring her up.” She popped her head up, looking thoroughly flustered as she stumbled over her words. “I mean, bring it up. Like the plane crash. I don’t like to talk about it, either.” She let out a groan. “That’s not true. I’ve actually found it really therapeutic to talk to Aaron about it. And if you ever want to talk about it, I’m happy to listen. I just don’t want to force you or anything if you aren’t comfortable.” She paused and stared at me. “I’m going to stop talking now.” Then she pulled an imaginary zipper across her pouty lips.
Chuckling, I stood up and moved around the table. I caught her legs, turned her, and slid her to the edge. I did not delay in stepping into the open space between her thighs. “Relax.” With my thumb and my index finger, I unzipped her imaginary safeguard. The light pass over her mouth caused her lids to flutter. “You didn’t say anything wrong. One day, we’ll have to talk about the plane crash. It’s a part of both of us. But it doesn’t need to be tonight.”
She nodded. “Since I’ve kinda already opened the door, can I ask you something before we shut it again?”
My palms slid over the curve of her hips, drawing her even closer. “Of course.”
“How do you know you’re ready to move on? From her.”
My hands stilled and the muscles in my back strained. Son of a bitch. After such a good night, this was about to fucking suck. “I don’t.”
It was her turn to stiffen, but her fingers wandered up my forearms to my biceps. “Thank you for being honest.”
My gut wrenched. “What I do know is that today, tonight, has been incredible. You have been incredible, and I’ve loved every minute of being here with you. You deserve a better answer than what I just gave you. But if you’re willing to give me a little time, I’m going to work so damn hard to get my head straight and figure it out.”
“Okay,” she whispered, looping her arms around my neck. “That’s fair.”
I shook my head adamantly. “No. It is absolutely not fair to you, but it’s all I have right now, Remi.”
She smiled, gliding her fingertips up the back of my neck into my hair. “Then that’s enough.”
I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to lay her out on the table and lose myself, make the world cease to exist outside that conference room. I wanted to give her everything I had, but not like this. She deserved the entire fucking world, not half a man who was drowning in the past.
“We should finish organizing this stuff before it gets too late.”
“Yeah. That is definitely the best use of our time right now,” she replied breathlessly.
It probably made me an ass, but her disappointment was seriously sexy.
Remi
It was past nine when Bowen walked me to the door. His conference room was a wreck of my father’s papers, and I felt guilty for abandoning the mess, but he’d called it controlled chaos and told me to leave it until he had the chance to log everything the next day. It was a much bigger project than I had ever imagined. Certainly bigger than a free consult. The smirk he was wearing when I asked him to send me a bill for his time told me not to hold my breath. But I was persistent. The fact that the man who had rejected me thrice now had his pinky hooked with mine as he held the door open for me was proof.
“Thank you,” I said when we got outside. I needed to go home. I had a meeting with a new client at eight the next morning, a date night outfit to shop for as soon as the mall opened, and then a full afternoon of showing houses to an out-of-town couple.
I didn’t want to leave though.
My body had definitely been on to something when it reacted to Bowen at the courthouse. Above and beyond the fact that I could have stared at the sexy man all damn night, he was seriously amazing in every other way as well. Kind and funny. Witty and smart.
Trust me. It was hard to find a man who could keep up with my sarcasm. But he did, and it was an even bigger turn-on than the whole rolling-up-the-sleeves thing. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that the flexing had been driving me crazy all damn night. I wanted in those arms.
Luckily, his handkerchief hadn’t made another appearance, so I�
�d been able to keep myself in check—for the most part.
“No, thank you,” he replied as the door swung shut. “I’m glad I was able to convince you to hang out with me tonight.”
I looked down at our tangled fingers. “I don’t know how much convincing it took, but I’m glad you did too.” The parking lot was empty except for my SUV and a new, silver extended-cab Chevy in the corner. A grin broke across my face. “So the truck is real.”
He chuckled, and it didn’t matter how many times I’d heard it that night—it pleasantly surprised me each time. “Yep. Don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes for our bank heist on Saturday.”
Laughing, I swayed into him.
He dropped my finger and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. As I’d imagined, it felt safe and good. He had me in height by at least a foot, but with me pressed against his front, we were the perfect fit. I took a minute to absorb his warmth before forcing myself away. As much as I hated to go, leaving was the only way to speed up to the weekend.
He walked me to my car and waited for me to unlock the door before pulling it open like a gentleman. From Bowen, I wouldn’t have expected any less.
“Be careful driving home.”
“I will,” I chirped.
I tossed my purse onto the passenger seat and started to climb in, when a thought pulled me up short. I hadn’t said it earlier during our brief discussion about the plane crash, but it felt wrong to leave it unspoken.
“Hey, Bowen?”
“Yeah,” he replied, grinning down at me.
“I want you to know that you can take all the time you need…ya know, getting your head straight. I can tell how much you loved her, and that’s never a bad thing. If you ever feel up to talking, I’d love to hear about her someday.”
His smile fell immediately, but I didn’t regret saying it. It was important to me that he knew my concern about him moving on wasn’t out of jealousy. I didn’t know him well yet, but I wanted to. And if that happened, a day would come when he’d have questions about my past too. I couldn’t expect acceptance and understanding without first offering the same to him.
“Anyway…I just needed you to know that. Have a good night, Bowen.”
When I started to get into my car again, his hand came down on my arm. The tug he gave me, turning me to face him, wasn’t rough, but it definitely wasn’t gentle.
And neither was his mouth as it came down over mine.
A low growl vibrated in his chest, and my body hummed as he palmed the side of my face, his tongue exploring my mouth with a tangible desperation. I moaned, clinging to his sides as he guided me backward. I had no idea how he could still be spatially aware as he ravaged my mouth with the most erotic kiss of my entire life, but he turned our bodies so my back gently landed against the rear door.
His chest came flush with mine, his entire presence engulfing me in heat, branding me in ways I’d never be able to explain.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t see.
All I could do was feel him consuming me with every stroke of his tongue.
Little by little, the frenzy slowed, but even when he did finally break the kiss, he didn’t move away. “Remi,” he panted into my mouth.
“That’s me,” I panted back for lack of better words. Or, ya know, thoughts in general.
His quiet laugh breezed across my skin, and then he was back to kissing me—deep and dizzying.
I didn’t know how long we stood there, mouths fused, hearts pounding. It could have been hours just as easily as seconds. Regardless, it wasn’t long enough. As fast as it had started, with one final peck, it was over. He took my hand and pulled me away from the car, his other arm folding around my hips. But it wasn’t the same without his mouth.
“Remi, look at me.”
Boneless, I sagged in his strong arms, my lids fluttering open.
Bowen stared into me, a storm brewing in his eyes. It wasn’t quite angry, but it was unsettling all the same.
“Are you…okay?” I asked.
He searched my face, a slow and tangible inspection. “Are you?”
“Mmmm, your pocket protector might be in danger of being revoked after a kiss like that, but yeah, I’m pretty damn sure I’m just fine. I think this is what the accounting world calls a swoon surplus.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and then whatever kiss-induced trance he was in vanished. One side of his mouth hiked a fraction. “You’re lucky I have a new affinity for that sexy mouth, smartass.” He pinched my side. “Now, go. Get out of here, and text me when you get home so I don’t have to worry.”
I smiled. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
His eyes got dark, but he took my hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back. “Really? Because I’m starting to think you’re the only thing I should be worried about.”
I bit my bottom lip.
I could have stood there with him all night. It didn’t matter that we were in a parking lot. Or that I would have gotten no sleep. I would have been with Bowen, and that would have been more than enough. But at his urging, I slid into my car. I grinned huge when he leaned in one last time, pecked me on the lips, and closed my door. Then he stood on the curb, watching as I drove out of sight.
Damn. Why was Saturday so far away?
As soon as I climbed out of the car, I pulled my phone from my purse. There were several messages from clients that I’d missed while hanging out with Bowen and at least six from Aaron all with various degrees of “Where the hell are you?” But seeing as Aaron’s Lexus was parked next to my SUV in the driveway, I decided to text Bowen first.
Me: I’m home.
His reply was almost instantaneous.
Bowen: Good. Now try to get some sleep.
Me: You too. Thanks again.
Bowen: No need to keep thanking me. The pleasure was all mine.
I wasn’t sure I agreed with that. The way he’d pressed me against the car, his mouth moving over mine, his hands teasing my sides… Well, it was all pretty damn pleasurable for me. I didn’t feel the need to tell him any of that though. I was still grinning like a maniac when I walked into the house.
Aaron, on the other hand, was not.
“Where the hell have you been?” he snapped, suddenly sitting up on the couch, his plaid pajama pants sticking out from under a throw blanket.
I curled my lip. “Oh, hi, Aaron. So good to see you too.”
“Don’t give me that crap. I was worried.”
I smiled. It seemed to be a running theme for the evening. Though, as twisted as it might have been, I liked the idea of Bowen worrying about me. With Aaron, it was just annoying.
I lifted my hands and turned in a circle. “As you can see, I’m fine. I had some…work I needed to finish up.”
“I called your office.”
Uninterested in playing a game of whose day was it to watch me, I gave up. “Okay, fine. You caught me. I was out with a wildly attractive man who kissed me breathless and awoke a sexual desire within me that I never knew existed.”
He rolled his eyes. “So you’re just not going to tell me at all?”
I laughed at the irony and kicked my shoes off as I walked over to the couch. Flopping down beside him, I gave the blanket a hard tug. “So, what are we watching?”
He glared at me for a few more seconds but eventually scooted over, fluffing the blanket so it covered both of us. “I was trying to call you because the settlement amounts came out tonight.”
I swung my head in his direction. “What? Tonight? I thought they wouldn’t be ready for at least another week?”
He shrugged. “I think they want this over. I ended up with six hundred thousand dollars.”
My jaw unhinged. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah. My thoughts exactly. You should check your email.”
It had never been about the money for us. Aaron and I had agreed from the start that a good portion we were awarded from the settlement would go right back to a fund fo
r the families of those who had lost their lives. There were too many children who had lost parents, husbands and wives widowed, and families torn apart to ever benefit from the profit of their losses.
As a group of twenty-seven survivors, we’d decided the money should be divided on a sliding scale and allowed our attorneys to hire an outside company to objectively make those decisions. Those who were injured the worst and would likely require long-term if not permanent care would receive the most compensation. Aaron had been one of the few to walk away with minor injuries, so six hundred thousand dollars was far more than he’d been expecting. However, I had convinced him to submit the records from his therapists. Not all injuries were diagnosed in the emergency room. Survivor’s guilt was a very real condition for him.
I hooked my arm with my best friend’s and leaned my head on his shoulder. His anxiety when I’d gotten home suddenly made a lot more sense. A pang of guilt hit me when I realized he’d been alone when he read that email all because I’d been too preoccupied with Bowen to answer his texts.
Shit. Bowen.
Based on the time stamp on my email, they’d been sent while the two of us had been flirting and eating pizza. He hadn’t so much as touched his phone when we’d been together. That meant he too was going to be opening the email alone—if he hadn’t already.
It wasn’t the day to talk about the plane crash. I’d already crossed the line by mentioning his fiancée before I’d left. It had led to a smoldering kiss, but I didn’t think checking up on him and opening that door after he’d so clearly told me he wasn’t ready was going to garner me the same results this time. But I couldn’t very well ignore the fact that he too was a survivor.
I offered Aaron a tight smile. “You want a glass of wine?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I already took my meds, so I’ll have to settle for another cucumber water.” He swiveled, retrieved a glass from the end table, and then passed it my way.
“You made cucumber water?”
“Don’t give me shit. It was healthier than the handle of tequila I reached for first.”
“Excellent point. It is late. Maybe I’ll have some cucumber water too.” Carrying my phone and his glass, I walked to the kitchen and backed into the only corner not visible from the den. Then I typed out a message.