As fast as her legs could carry her, without giving away the impression that she so desperately wanted to get out of here so that she can finally breathe something other than Valentina’s choking perfume, she hurried out of the court.
Bae-cation, she said. My daddy pulled some strings, she bragged. Colleen felt infuriated! At Valentina for being so beautiful, with an opposite attitude. And at Andre for not telling her that his ex-girlfriend was going to be at the tennis game she got them tickets to.
Okay, now she was sounding like they were in a relationship. When really, all that was there between her and Andre was something even she couldn’t quite put to words yet.
Was it love? Hell no.
How could she fall in love with the man she met twelve days ago?
Maybe it was just a little bit of likeness and attraction. He was gorgeous after all.
“Just a little bit of likeness,” she muttered to herself as she stomped into the lobby.
When she was on the floor leading to her room, she heard Andre call her name from behind. And, instinctively, she quickened her steps yelling, “Go back to your tennis buddy and ex-girlfriend, Valentina! I’m sure she must be dying to catch up on the last five months, handsome!
“Come on, Colleen,” he begged, trying to keep up with her pace but it was of no use. Before she took the next turn that would see her enter her room and most definitely shut the door behind her, Andre appeared in front of her, grabbed her by the wrists, and hauled her into the closest room beside him, a mostly empty, small closet with cleaning supplies in it.
“What the hell are you doing?” Colleen stared up at him as he kicked the door shut, advancing on her, matching her step by step as she backed away from that proximity that made her go senseless. Until there was nowhere to run. Andre had pushed her against the wall and now, the only thing that separated them was a hairsbreadth.
“Are you jealous?”
“Jealous? Why would I ever be?” Thank goodness for the tenacity that managed to show but the truth was that her insides were melting.
Unable to gaze into those big dark hazel eyes anymore, Colleen looked away. But Andre was not having it. He brought his finger to Collen’s chin, lifting her face so that their gazes locked.
“Does Valentina bother you?” He asked, this time his voice had a certain level of sternness that forced the words right out of Colleen’s mouth.
“No.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“I was exhausted.”
“Why are you upset?”
“I’m not.” Colleen maintained, not half as convincing as she wanted to be. Her voice was shaking, her eyes were saying something entirely different. She was lying.
Slowly, Andre brought his second hand to her face to cup her cheek, moving impossibly close to her. “You do not have to worry about Valentina.”
“I’m not-”
“Colleen,” Andre said in a warning tone. “I hauled you in here because I want to remain a gentleman. If I followed you to your room and you told me to leave, I would have to because I respect that boundary. But in here. . .” he pulled her face closer to his so that their foreheads were almost touching. “We can both get what we want without feeling like we disrespected each other.”
Just as he was about to cover the remaining space between their mouths, slant his lips possessively over hers, and do the one thing he had sworn to himself he wouldn’t initiate until she made a move, the door flew open.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Lourdes,” the concierge immediately apologized on seeing who she walked in on. “I just came to drop off this broom. I am so sorry.”
She quickly threw the broom into the closet and ran off.
When Andre turned back to Colleen, she looked to have been shot by a thousand bolts of electricity.
In other words, she had regained her senses. And on that note, she slipped away from between him and the wall, running off into her room before he appeared in front of her again to continue from where they had stopped.
AT the fitting store the next day, Andre was bodily present but absent-minded. Needless to say, he had been smiling to himself the entire morning. So when Sean called to him and he didn’t answer, he knew it could only be one thing making Andre look lost. A beautiful woman.
“Okay. Spill it, man. Who is the woman?” he stepped down from the platform, still with his wedding suit on, to go sit with Andre on the sofa.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Andre answered, feigning unconcern.
“You know that script doesn’t work for me. Who is it? Colleen? That reminds me, what is the
relationship between you two? Since Valentina, you have never gone to a tennis game.”
He grimaced. “You make it seem like Valentina was the reason I stopped going to watch tennis games.”
“Then why did you stop?”
“Two things,” Andre lifted two long fingers. “Firstly, as you know, I am a very busy man. If it’s not a Nadal or Federer game, I can easily catch up with highlights on YouTube. And secondly, you know I like to go to games with someone who understands the game. Someone who can analyze it and proffer predictions just as me. It just so happens Valentina falls into the second category.”
“But Colleen doesn’t. Yet you came to the game with her.”
“Because she is different.” The smile was back. The smile that screamed, ‘Andre is gone!’ was back. “With Colleen, it’s just about me wanting to be with her. And I don’t just mean being in the same room or building with her. I mean her being by my side. Literally.” He looked at Sean who was nodding approvingly. “I don’t know, man. She’s just different.”
“I understand. That’s exactly how I feel about Stella. How long have you been feeling this way?”
“Probably since the day we met.”
Sean drew back, narrowed his eyes on Andre, released it, then narrowed his eyes again.
“What?”
“You mean to tell me that since your DESC program began, you met a woman who caught your eyes and body, by all indications, and you have done absolutely nothing? I expect that she would have found her way into your bed already. That’s kinda how Andre Lourdes works: see a beautiful woman, woo her, if need be, get her in all kinds of positions, and the next day, everybody will be on their merry way.”
He chuckled humorously, shaking his head.
Sean continued to look at him, perusing his friend’s expression with surprise. “Except you don’t just want to just get Colleen in your bed. You want something more.”
Andre was quiet for the longest while, replaying what Sean just said in his head. Of course, he doesn’t just plan on getting her into his bed and forgetting all about it the next day. He doubted he’d even be able to forget all about that night if it ever happened. But Colleen deserved better. Plus, he was trying to prove to her that he wasn’t that cold-hearted person the magazines described him as. If she wanted him just as much as he did her, he was going to wait for her to make the first move.
If he isn’t halfway in over his head and out of control by then. Whenever ‘then’ is.
Suddenly, Sean got on his feet, got on the sofa, and started screaming. “Andre Lourdes is in love, people! There’s going to be a wedding next year!”
“Come on, Sean! Get down from that chair and stop embarrassing us. You’re going to be a married man for goodness sake!”
“Says the man who showed up at the airport with a placard. Since that’s the case, I’d better enjoy my last days as a bachelor telling the magazines that Andre Lourdes has found love in the most unexpected time. Summer! I’m sure the media would be more than happy to hear all about it.”
Andre sighed, rolling his eyes. “Call me back when you’re done embarrassing yourself. By the way, Sean, that breast is awful. Tell the tailor to do something about it. You don’t want to look like you have grown breasts overnight on your wedding day.”
“Will you be bringing her to the wedding?” Sean stopped bouncing to ask Andre who was absolutely sure that if he said yes, the city of Detroit wouldn’t hear the end of it.
So he simply stood from the sofa and exited the room with Sean shouting after him, “Andre Lourdes is in love!”