Dirty Little Player (Book 4) The Dirty Little Secrets Series

Chapter Ten/Carina

I was nervous. Admitting that to myself caused a strike of fear to slide through me. If I was nervous that meant I liked him more than a friend should.

After dropping the third plate of the day, shattering it on the floor, Becca glanced at me with a raised brow. She studied me too closely and I realized it was too late to hide anything from her.

"I think you need a break," Becca said, a kind smile sliding over her face. "Do you have any tables?"

"I just dropped off my last table's check." I shrugged. "I leave in thirty minutes."

"Well, you're still taking a break. I'll clean up your area," she said, giggling. "After all, I want to know what's made you so anxious. You've been spilling and dropping things all day...Everything but the tea. I think it's time for that to be spilled."

My mouth fell open. "Lance has rubbed off on you."

"In more ways than you could ever imagine," She said, flashing her brilliant smile. My heart melted at seeing her so happy but as always there was a tinge of jealousy. I wanted to be that happy but I worried I would never experience it.

Immediately after the thought, Gideon's face floated through my mind and I dropped another plate. Thankfully, this one didn't shatter.

"Okay. You are definitely taking a break before I have to buy all new dinnerware," she said, shaking her head. "Break room. Now!"

I winced. Once Becca set her mind to finding out something there was no stopping her. I sighed, resigned to pouring out my heart to her. I walked into the break room relieved to see no one was there.

She followed me a few minutes later, her brow raised. "This must be serious." She grinned as she sat down. "Who has you twisted in knots?"

I chewed on my bottom lip. "You won't believe me."

She chuckled. "Oh Gideon showed his true self to you and now, you're all twisted over him."

I blinked. "You figured that out quickly."

She put her elbows on the table, resting her chin against her fists and smiled. "It's not that hard to figure out when I know him and I know you. Both of you have been fighting something that everyone else knows was going to happen sooner or later."

"No—"

"Don't deny it," she chuckled. "If it makes you feel better, we all also know as much as you two want to dance the horizontal mambo, what you feel for each other is much stronger even if you don't know it yet."

I sighed hearing Lance in her words. "I'm getting that. I'm not sure he does."

She blinked surprised I admitted it so quickly. "What did he do to get you there?"

"You know I wasn't out because I was sick yesterday," I shifted.

"I figured that out," She said, her brows furrowing. "I assume your mother or sister stopped by."

I nodded. "My mother. She informed me Nicola is pregnant with Evan's baby and wanted to make sure I wouldn't cause trouble," I said, taking a deep breath. "I told her I wouldn't but I also kicked her out of my life."

"Finally," Becca said, grabbing my hand. "I know that was hard to do but it is for the best."

I gave her a sad smile. "I was a mess," I said, taking a deep breath. "Gideon called when he found out that I wasn't at work and figured out I wasn't sick. He came to my apartment."

Becca's brows rose, "Did you two—"

"No," I said, quickly. "But what he did made me feel—"

"Oh," Becca said, her mouth curving into a smile. "What exactly did he do?"

"Brought me soup. Listened to me. Watched a movie with me. "

Becca's brows shot up. "You told him about your mother and Nicola...And Evan."

"And he was encouraging," I said, straightening. "Becca, he never tried to do anything...Not even a kiss. I fell asleep on his shoulder."

Becca's face lit up. "I told you there was more to him than the salacious stuff. He's actually sweet."

"Yeah," I said, wincing, "But I'm already starting to like him too much and we're supposed to be just friends."

"So... Lance and I were just friends. Lena and Asher were just friends," Becca shrugged. "I can't say that about Jay and Nica but I know there are plenty of couples in this world who were just friends."

I thought about it for a moment and shook my head. "I don't want to get hurt again."

"And that's why I am going to advise you to go slow," Becca patted my hand. "Everything has a tendency to fall where it's supposed to."

"I guess," I sighed realizing she was giving really good advice.

"You'll see," she said and then, rolled her eyes. "While we're talking, there will be a small gathering at my house on Sunday. Lance insists it's his right to grill and I made sure it happens after your shift."

I curled my lip because the last time Lance tried to grill the food was questionable and half raw. "Is he trying to kill us?"

Becca giggled. "Don't worry," she said, shaking her head. "I'll be cooking too. Promise to throw the food away when he's not looking. I don't want to hurt his feelings."

"I'll do that," I said, smiling.

Nica came into the room. "There you are," she said, rolling her eyes. "Gideon is out there. He says he's waiting for you."

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said, trying to avoid Nica's curious gaze as I made my way out of the kitchen to the man who was twisting my heart. I wondered if the risk of a broken heart was worth it with him.

**********

I stopped, my heart in my throat when I found Gideon, standing near the entrance of the restaurant, a single rose in his hand. He was wearing a dark blue suit that hugged his muscular frame. His hair was combed away from his face. He stood straight and assured as he sniffed the perfect red rose in his hand.

I took a deep breath and joined him as he handed me the rose, a grin on his face. "I went back and forth on whether this was appropriate. I decided it didn't matter. You deserve all the flowers you want in the world and I'm just giving you one of them."

"I don't know about all the flowers in the world but this is beautiful," I said, sensing Nica coming out of the kitchen and staring at us with what I was sure was a grin.

"There is a special showing at the museum at seven," he said, raising his brow. "It's enough time for you to change if you want."

I nodded, shifting because I wasn't sure I had anything to wear. He glanced at me and raised a brow. "I anticipated that you may not have something to wear and I really want to take you to the museum, so I had my mother choose something. I hope it's something you'll like."

I raised my brows, "I don't think I could—"

He grinned. "Yes, you can," he said, chuckling. "It's just a dress. I don't expect anything from you. Besides, material things like a rose or a dress should never mean that you have to give anything to anybody. True affection comes from the things they do... not things they buy."

I blinked as memories of all of the things Evan and my other exes bought for me floated to the forefront of my mind. Usually, they were gifts of apology. I couldn't remember one moment where he did something that was of my interests or even a moment where he encouraged me.

Gideon studied me for a moment with a smile on his face. "Do you want to go to your apartment to change?"

I nodded, stunned that he was being thoughtful. It was something I would have thought impossible a few months ago. I frowned as his words moved through my mind. If the gifts didn't mean anything...Only the actions driven by affection, why was he being affectionate?

My heart trembled in my chest as I fell a little more toward Gideon. I could only hope he would catch me as I fell.