Hey There, Delilah... (27 page)

Even though tomorrow night is the charity ball
, and I’ve seen Delilah every day for the past nine days, her words from the night I first slept next to her keep ringing in my head. “I love you,” she said to me when she thought I was asleep.

She keeps catching me at work, staring off into space
, asking what I’m thinking about. I tell her “nothing,” but in reality, those three little words have taken over my mind. What’s even more concerning is that I’m fairly sure that I love her back. My life has been completely turned upside down and inside out by this woman and I can only come up with one reason for that... LOVE. I’m in love with her. Does that scare the ever-living fuck out of me? Hell fucking yes! But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want Delilah in my life. I want her with me…forever. And if that means buckling down and being with only one woman for the rest of my life, then so be it. As long as it is
this
woman. And I think tomorrow night, at the charity ball, will be the perfect place to tell her.

I’m waiting for the inevitable call. I smile to myself. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say. It’s
finally the night before the charity ball, and I am having Saks courier Delilah’s dress to her. I know that she has no idea that I did this for her. My only regret is not seeing her face when she opens it, but I want to wait until tomorrow to see her in it. I’m sure I will be blown away. I’ve also set up an appointment at one of the top salons in New York for her to get her hair and make-up done. That is written on a note inside the box with the dress.

I’m relaxing on my favorite leather chair in my condo, sipping on some red wine
– Delilah’s favorite - when the call comes in. I clear my throat and take a deep breath.

“Hey there, Delilah,” I answer as I normally would.

“Don’t ‘Hey there, Delilah,’ me! What the hell is this?” Delilah squawks into the phone.

I stifle my laughter and ask, “What is what, Doll?”

“This dress! And this note about the salon!”

“What about it?” I reply calmly.

Delilah stutters. “I…wha…why! Why?”

“Because you’re my girlfriend and I wanted to do something nice for you after all
of the work you’ve done helping me with the charity ball,” I say softly.

Delilah is silen
t. So silent that I’m not sure if she’s still on the other end of the phone, or if she hung up on me.

“LaLa? Are you still there?”

“Yes,” she replies quietly.

“What are you thinking, sweetheart?” I ask.

“I just…I never…just, thank you, Nick.”

“You are very welcome, Doll. I can’t wait to see you looking spectacular tomorrow,” I say.

“I can’t believe you did this.” Delilah sighs.

“Well, get used to it because this won’t be the last time I buy you things,” I say with a small chuckle.

Delilah laughs softly. “I don’t know if I will ever get used to that.”

“That’s okay.
I find your reactions quite amusing.”

Delilah barks out a laugh. “Gee, thanks.”

“Do you like the dress?” I ask, curious as to what she thinks about what I picked out.

“It’s beautiful, Nick. Thank you again,” Delilah replies.

“And the color is okay?”

I picked a deep red since I absolutely love how Delilah looks in red.

“Love it,” she replies and I can hear the sincerity and smile in her voice.

“Good,” I smile.

We chat for a bit longer before hanging up. I rest back in my chair and sip my wine. Tomorrow is going to be great, I can feel it. I’m going to have the most gorgeous woman in the world on my arm, and I am going to be the envy of the party, for sure. I can’t wait to show Delilah off to all of those stuffy bastards.

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I stare at myself in the mirror. Who is this person? Do I know her? No, I don’t think so. She is seriously hot, though. I’ve just finished putting my dress on. My hair and make-up are already done, and I must say that the salon did a fabulous job. My hair is beautifully curled and swept over one shoulder, held in place in the back by some bobby pins. My make-up is flawless and natural looking, complete with smoky eyes and glossy lips. Since my dress is red, the make-up artist said that red lipstick would be overkill. Can’t say that I disagree.

The dress is incredible. It’s a bit heavy because it’s covered in beads, but
it’s not too bad. It has a low v-neck line, showing off a lot of cleavage. It’s not exactly an empire waist line but it’s close, with a sash laying right at the base of my rib cage. The bottom half hangs straight down to the floor. It has draped cap sleeves, which are covered in shimmering beads that are the same deep red color as the fabric. I absolutely love this dress and Nick could not have done a better job picking it out.

I finish up by putting on long silver and diamond dangling earrings and a matching silver and diamond cuff bracelet that Nick said he
“borrowed” from Harry Winston. I hope like hell that he borrowed them because I am not keeping them. They have to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars…each. There is no way in hell I can keep them, so I will be making sure that Nick returns them as soon as this charity event is over.

There is a knock on my apartment door making my heart flutter wildly. He’s here! Oh
God, am I really ready for this? I’ve never been this dressed up in my life. What if Nick doesn’t like the way the dress looks on me? What if he doesn’t like my hair and make-up? He’s never seen me this done up before. I take a deep breath, pull up my big girl panties, and start for the door. I have to gather up some of my dress to walk so I don’t trip. Even with five-inch heels, the dress is touching the floor. There was no time to get it hemmed, so I am wearing really high heels, and I look a lot taller. That’s always a plus.

I take another deep breath right before I open the door. My whole world stops. Standing in the hallway is the most insanely gorgeous man I have ever seen. I swear my heart stops beating and my lungs stop breathing. Never in my life
has one glance at a man affected me so strongly. I hear Nick inhale sharply, making my eyes snap up to his.

“Good God, Delilah…I’m…I’m speechless. There are no words to describe how spectacular you look,” Nick says in awe, his eyes wide as he looks me over from head to toe.

I blush madly and give him a shy smile. “Thank you, Nick. You look pretty spectacular yourself,” I reply.

That
’s putting it mildly. The man is dressed to kill and I know all of the women, including me, will be drooling all over him tonight. His tux is black and tailored to perfection, just like his suits always are. He’s wearing a white dress shirt and a black bowtie. Very classic, very elegant, very suave. His dark hair is styled nicely so that it is brushed back off his forehead. So many words come to mind as I look at him - debonair, dashing, and sophisticated.

“
Thank you, Doll. Shall we go?” he asks with a grin and holds out his elbow.

I smirk, grab my black clutch purse off the table next to the
door, and take his outstretched elbow. I lock my door then put my key in my purse. Nick leads me down the hallway to the elevator and hits the button. As we wait, I can feel Nick staring at me. I glance over at him, catching the look he has on his face. It’s a look that I can’t quite decipher. The smile is gone and his eyes are…I don’t know, but there is something in them that I’ve never seen before.

“What is it?” I ask softly.

Nick shakes his head to signify that it’s nothing. I don’t get the chance to push him more because the elevator opens and the next thing I know, I’m being whisked away in a black stretch limo by the man I am madly in love with.

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I glance around the room. There is not one person
here that I know. I look over toward the bar and find Nick talking to a few other men. I smile to myself; he is so handsome. I watch him as he laughs at something someone says and it’s a genuine laugh, not a fake one. His eyes lift to meet mine, and he looks at me for a moment then winks before someone else catches his attention.

He turns when a female hand touches his shoulder from behind, giving me a glimpse of the woman who dares to touch my man.

I suck in a sharp breath when I see who it is. The evil queen bitch, in the flesh. The woman who single handedly made Thursdays the worst day of the week. The devil whore herself. It is none other than my boyfriend stealing, backstabbing, Botox loving, ex-boss, Veronica the Bitch. Then it hits me. I’m talking like full out shovel to the face kind of hit. This is the same Veronica that put this whole shindig together. The same Veronica that is Nick’s ex-girlfriend. The same Veronica that I accused of using this party to get back together with Nick. What. The. Fuck.

Nick gives her a smile and I can’t tell if
it’s fake or if he is actually happy to see her. He leans down and she gives him a little peck on the cheek. My hackles rise. There is no fucking way I am going to let her anywhere near my Nick. I stand up and make my way through the crowd over to them. I hold my head up high, knowing that I look fucking incredible – hell yeah, I do – and sidle up next to Nick’s side, sliding my hand across his stomach to show that bitch whose property she just kissed.

Nick glances down at me, a little shocked to see me, but he smiles wide anyway. “Oh, hey there, Delilah.”

I catch Veronica’s eyes narrow, as she looks me over. I ignore her and smile up at Nick. “Hi, honey. Did you get my drink yet?” I ask innocently.

“I was just about to,” he replies with a soft smile before bending down to kiss me on the lips. He then turns back to Veronica. “Veronica, this is
my girlfriend, Delilah Sampson. She’s the one who organized to have all of these wonderful desserts tonight,” he says proudly and I want to kiss him all over.

Veronica’s mouth drops open and she gapes at me. Yeah, that’s right, suck it, bitch!

“Delilah Sampson? Frumpy, unattractive, Delilah Sampson? You’re kidding with me, right, Nick?” Veronica scoffs.

Nick frowns.
“Do you two know each other?” he asks.

“I used to work for Veronica,” I state, sending her a hate filled glare.

I can see and feel the moment it dawns on Nick as to what I’m talking about. His mouth thins outs and his body tenses.

“I see,” he says stiffly. “How about that drink, Doll?”

“Sounds good,” I say.

“See you later, Veronica,” Nick says curtly before he leads me down to the other end of the bar.

I glance back at the evil bitch and if looks could kill, she would be a dead woman right about now. I smile smugly at her before turning back around. Nick and I get our drinks and head back to the table. He pulls out my chair for me before sitting down himself.

“I’m sorry, Delilah.
I had no idea,” he murmurs quietly.

I nod. “I know you didn’t.”

“Listen, forget about her, okay? I want us to have fun tonight. Let’s not let her ruin it,” Nick says then gives me a quick kiss on the lips.

They
come away glossy and I giggle as I use my thumb to wipe the gloss off his full lips. Nick chuckles. “What? Not my color?”

I laugh as Nick puckers his lips and makes kissing noises. I shake my head at him and roll my eyes. What a goofball.

The rest of the evening seems to go off without a hitch. We have a few drinks, dance, and laugh a lot. Nick tells me that I am the envy of the ball, which makes me burst out laughing because it sounds like something out of a fairytale. He insists that almost every man in the place has had his eyes on me at one point or another during the night. I find that hard to believe. There are women here who are much more beautiful than I am.

Veronica
keeps her distance all night, which I am glad about. I did catch her giving me dirty looks a few times, though. Oh well, she’s not my problem anymore. Nick and I take a break from dancing and I excuse myself to the bathroom. I’m in a stall, having a fantastic time trying to gather up the back of my dress so that I don’t pee all over it, when I hear the bathroom door open and a couple of cackling women enter.

“…Nick’s so just
trying to make Veronica jealous. There is no way in hell that he would actually go out with that chick,” one of the women says.

I freeze, half
of my dress gathered up in my arms. My heart starts pounding and I hold my breath so that I can listen to what they are saying.

“I know, right? Veronica sa
ys that he’s been begging her to take him back for months now,” the other one relays.

“Oh yeah? I’m not surprised.
Those two were perfect together. Veronica is just making him work for it now. I’m sure she will take him back.”

“Definitely. She plans on marrying him
, so of course she will take him back.”

“You can just see it in his eyes that he wants her back.”

“Absolutely.”

I want to
throw up. Could what they are saying possibly be true? No, no, it’s just gossip, that’s what women do. But there is still part of me that wants to believe them, that wants to doubt myself and the relationship that Nick and I have. It does seem too good to be true, and I do still find it hard to believe that a guy as gorgeous as Nick could actually want me. Could he possibly be using me to make another woman jealous? No. No, he’s not that heartless.

A wave of guilt hits me.
I can’t believe that I’m even thinking the worst of Nick like that because of what a few stupid sluts are saying. He’s been nothing but open and honest with me since we started dating. Damn Ryan, this is all his fault, totally screwing up the confidence and trust that I should have with Nick because of what he did.

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