Chapter Twenty

C hapter Twenty

A ndy

Sergio: Arna is on the way up.

M y heart rate increased as I flicked the television off and headed to greet her. We decided that meeting here was best after she accepted my invitation and despite her insistence on driving herself, it seemed easier to have Serg save her the hassle. It also meant she couldn't race off like she did the first time – an indication of how selfish I apparently was when it came to her.

Throughout the previous week, I found receiving her emails quickly became the highlight of my day. I would make excuses to sneak into my locker, desperate to see if there was another new notification and I didn't even care that half the team thought I had a stomach issue with my excessive amount of toilet breaks . She was difficult to read and as much as I tried, I could never anticipate how she would respond to my more suggestive banter. Which, given the predictability of every other woman I had spent time with, stirred a fascination in me. So, the team suspecting I was unwell didn't bother me given the alternative, which was them to see how pathetically gone I already was for this one.

For the first time in a long time, there was something other than football seeping into my thoughts and it brought with it a quiet uncertainty. I was already out of my depth, that much was clear. This was now the second time she would be in my apartment and when I asked her here, the intention was clear. Tonight was the first time we finally acknowledged there was more to this than work.

It was a date and that was a definite shift.

When the lift doors opened, I saw her laughing with Graham and my stomach flipped. I was glad I abandoned my original plan of wearing sweats and a shirt, instead choosing a black button down and chinos. Unabashedly, I raked my eyes down her body while her vision remained trained on Graham. She wore a figure-hugging black dress which cut off mid-thigh, leaving her long legs on display. Happy I was still standing at the lifts, so I had the time to genuinely admire her, I leaned against the open doors and let out a heavy breath.

She was something else.

Graham nodded in my direction as he gestured for Arna to continue without him and turned to his desk. I wasn't expecting to feel so nervous but suddenly, I was a little lost. I couldn't remember if I'd ever cared about a date, but I knew I had never taken one to my apartment and I was suddenly wishing I had some practice as it now seemed crucial I didn't mess things up.

She was smiling as she entered the lift, leaving a trail of butterscotch in her wake. She always smelt bloody edible, like a forbidden dessert, and I dropped my arm allowing the doors to seal us inside.

"Hey, you." I greeted softly, unable to keep the smile from my face.

"That's my line." She said, leaning back against the railing which bordered the lift, and I was relieved to see her fumbling with her purse, clearly nervous.

"Did the photos go okay for you?" I asked, hoping she was able to get what she needed both for her sake and so that I didn't have to do it all again. I was happy to do it for her and it turned out to be far more enjoyable than I would have expected, but I wasn't going to be lining up for another shoot.

Her eyes widened and she nodded emphatically. "Oh, Andy, I need you to see them. They are amazing. There are some of you and the team that are exactly what I was hoping we would be able to get. Thank God the camera crew were good." I felt myself relax as she transformed into her animated self, recounting her favourite images.

"The female photographers were fine. The bloke was a tool." I retorted, my ridiculous comment irrelevant to the feature.

"Don't you think he looked a little like an axolotl?" She asked straight faced and when I thought back to the douchebag who was hitting on Arna at every opportunity, I threw my head back and laughed.

"That is both strangely accurate and not at all what I was expecting you to say."

"What were you expecting me to say?" She asked curiously as I opened the door to my apartment and gestured for her to pass. She paused just inside the doorway, waiting for me to respond but the words were lodged in my throat. Her eyes sparkled as she stared up at me, her expression shifting the second she realised we were now standing only inches apart. Her lips parted on a sharp intake of breath, and she straightened, lowering her hands by her side as she lifted her chin ever so slightly. She was doing her best to appear unmoved by the proximity of our bodies but the fast rise and fall of her chest gave her away. The air stilled as my gaze bounced from her luscious fucking lips to her eyes.

There were so many things I wanted to do to her at that moment – most of them inappropriately sweet. Seeing her body respond the way it was when I hadn't even touched her made me wonder what would happen if I traced her jaw with my finger or brushed my lips against hers.

I knew when I asked her to have dinner again that I was acknowledging there was something between us. Heck, at least on my end there was, but how could I be sure she was interested too? Her acceptance tonight was comforting but what if she was yet another woman who only wanted me for the ten seconds of fame that came along with being photographed on my arm?

"I hoped you would agree that he was a dickhead." I answered, my words slicing through the air and breaking the moment. Stepping around her, I walked backwards a little further into the house, my eyes still fixed on hers but needing a second to think. She followed me slowly, almost cautiously, as we moved deeper into the apartment. Pup's words silently ricocheted in my mind – be selfish for once – and I halted for a split second before making the most of her silence and taking a step in her direction.

The tension in the air was palpable as we stared at each other, a shy smile forming on her face to mirror my own. Usually, I felt impassive in the company of a woman, but not with this one. I was suddenly desperate to do what I'd been thinking about since the first time I saw her. Her eyes closed as I grazed my finger down her cheek, very nearly telling her how fucking soft her skin was under my touch. Lifting her chin, I brushed my nose across her neck and breathed her in. Holy shit. She smelt like butterscotch, but this close, there were also hints of honey. She angled herself to face me completely and her eyelids fluttered open as I brushed my lips across her jaw before moving up towards her mouth. Drinking in the sight of her flushed complexion, I brushed away the few wisps of hair from either side of her face.

Her questioning eyes flickered between my own – and I waited while those gorgeous blues studied me, giving her a chance to stop this before it was too late. But she didn't pull back, instead, raising her chin a little more invitingly and I softly pressed my lips to hers, framing her face with my hands.

The sound of her purse hitting the floor was the only warning I received before her hands swept up the back of my shirt, setting my skin alight.

Fuck.

Moving a hand down to wrap around her waist, I deepened the kiss. She tasted better than I could have ever imagined, and I groaned when she pressed herself against me tightly, as if she was just as desperate for me as I was for her. Her touch moved to my chest before she brought her hands out and around to the top of my shirt, opening the highest button. Immediately, I missed the feel of her hands on my skin and as if reading my mind, she tenderly touched me, the contact like kindling set alight. I aligned our hips, under no illusions that she wouldn't be able to feel just how fucking hard she was making me and her responding little moan was my undoing. I was hot. She was hot. This was hot.

But just as I was about to pick her up and march her to my bedroom, my phone buzzed in my pocket. She pulled away, gasping as she looked up at me, her hands still pressed against my chest.

"I'm assuming that's a phone and not something more interesting." She said cheekily and I closed my eyes drawing on the small pinch of patience I had left.

"Ignore it." I snapped before taking her mouth again, but the caller was persistent. Reefing the phone out of my pocket, ready to silence the call, I stopped when I saw it was my mum and like a wet blanket the night cooled. While we were suspended in the limbo of lust, I had just enough clarity to remember it had been over a week since I'd spoken to them so I knew she would keep calling if I didn't answer.

"It's my mum. I'm so sorry." I hit the answer button, thankful she hadn't decided to video call me for once. Arna smiled knowingly, her cheeks flushing the most adorable shade of pink.

"Hey Mum, how are you?" I answered before clearing my throat. I took Arna's hand, not wanting to leave her standing alone and led her into my living area.

"Darling, are you home?" I stilled at my mum's question, instantly knowing where this conversation was going.

"Um, yeah, why?" I kept my tone impassive, masking the edge of irritation.

"Surprise! Dad, Dylan and I are in the lobby. We were in the city for some shopping and decided to pop in with dinner." She sounded so bloody excited and now she knew I was home there was no way I could get rid of them. She never would have expected I would have a guest, as other than the monthly poker nights, my apartment was my sanctuary – but of course of all times…

"Oh, great. I'll tell Graham to let you up." I stammered disingenuously. Hanging up I turned to Arna, her hand still firmly in mine, deciding it would be easier to see where this went rather than focus on the shock of her meeting my family so soon.

"So, um slight change of plans. How do you feel about meeting my parents and brother?" Removing her hand from mine, she stepped away, her face indecipherable as she narrowed her eyes. "Fuck, I'm so sorry, they decided to surprise me. It's okay if you want to leave." I rambled.

"Talk about a cock block." She huffed exaggeratedly and my relieved laugh was sudden and loud. "I mean, it's not ideal, but I'm happy to stay if you're okay with that." She added.

"You are the most interesting person I've ever met, Arna Frost. And now my family gets to meet you too." I placed a quick kiss on her lips, and she smiled, clearly relieved with my response.

I sent a quick message to Graham to let my family up to the apartment as Arna walked to the front door collecting her purse from the floor.

"Probably shouldn't leave this there." She giggled, before moving to place it on the bench. "So, your parents and your brother? This is going to be insightful."

She had no idea how right she was, because my family were going to lose their mind when they saw I had a date here. As the only people in this world who truly saw me, they knew I did not have women at my apartment. They also knew that more than anything, I despised the media. I could only imagine their reactions when they first saw Arna and then discovered what she did for a living and honestly, I was apprehensive. How would Mum react given how nervous she was when anywhere near journalists – especially with no time to mentally prepare herself.

A double knock was followed by the front door opening.

Arna and I were still standing in the living area when we both turned to see Mum waltzing into my apartment and I caught the exact moment she realised I wasn't alone.

"Hi, Hon - ohhhh, hi." Mum's voice went up an octave clearly intrigued by what she was seeing. "We didn't mean to interrupt, but I brought dinner and Dylan couldn't decide so there is plenty." She held up some bags and shrugged apologetically before heading to the bench to put them down. Dad and Dylan followed and other than their conversation ceasing upon seeing Arna, Dad showed no visible reaction, however, Dylan's eyes widened and then the little fucker laughed.

"S'up, old man." He said, before slapping my hand and hugging me.

"Hopefully when you turn twenty-one your balls will drop." I retorted, ruffling his hair.

"Oh, I am all man." He assured, stepping closer to Arna as he spoke. "I'm Dylan, Andy's much cuter, younger brother."

She grinned and held out her hand towards him. "I'm Arna, it's nice to meet you." Instead of shaking, he took her hand and held it before kissing her on the cheek. When he stepped back, he winked at me and I narrowed my eyes.

"Piss off, you little grub." I shoved him playfully and he walked backwards with his palms up in the air, the picture of innocence.

I greeted Dad with a handshake. "Arna, this is my dad, Rob. Dad, this is Arna."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rob." She exuded confidence as she smiled but I noted the slight tremor in her hands.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine." Dad's attention flicked to my own briefly and I almost rolled my eyes. Despite maintaining a straight face, I knew he was bloody loving the fact they were here right now as if he sensed they interrupted something interesting.

"I can see the resemblance. You are very alike." Dad laughed and put his hand on my shoulder. He was almost as tall as I was and I'd been told plenty of times over the years that he and I were very similar, especially now his hair was cut short, the mullet of his youth long gone.

"Yep, gets those rugged good looks from his old man, for sure." Dad said and Arna giggled lightly in response as Dylan and Mum returned. As expected, she headed straight for Arna.

"Hi, I'm Vicky and who might you be?" She looped her arm through Dad's, and I took a small side-step moving closer to Arna. Mum was the kindest person I knew and if she could, she would have already wrapped her in a hug and peppered her with questions, but judging by her restraint she was shell-shocked. Would she be as warm once she knew she worked for Urban?

I wanted to pull Arna into me and squeeze; surely this was overwhelming for her. Shit, if it were reversed, I would be freaking the fuck out, but she was either the world's greatest actress or she was much less uneasy than anticipated.

"Hi Vicky, I'm Arnabelle. It's lovely to meet you." Arna leaned forward giving Mum a kiss on her cheek.

"Very, very lovely." Mum replied, intentionally ignoring me. "Let's eat dinner before it gets cold. We have a lot to catch up on, it seems." Mum added as she quickly gave me a giddy double thumbs-up and herded everyone into the kitchen. I looked wistfully at Arna, walking ahead in that dress which was begging for me to take it off. Of course, it was when I finally had her to myself and acted on everything I was feeling, that my family would arrive unannounced. I didn't even need to contemplate my choice of drink as I reached for the beers – desperately in need of cooling off.