Flawed (Imperfectly Perfect Book 1) Read online

  “Yeah, and if she thinks Rob is rejecting her, it will crush her. And now I’m getting married and I haven’t even told her about it. I’m probably the worst friend ever.”

  “Well, that stone on your finger isn’t going to go unnoticed.”

  Christina was our friend and it was almost unfair that we were both happy and in love while she wasn’t. I felt guilty for not having the guts to break it to her that Rob wasn’t interested in a relationship. Erica was right—we were shitty friends.

  Erica stretched her hand to look at her finger. “Lovely isn’t it?”

  I took her hand in mine and inspected the diamond. It was indeed lovely.

  “I’m not happy, but if this is what you want then …” I shrugged, not knowing what to add. “Don’t worry about Dave and I. We just don’t mesh. Maybe with time the awkwardness between us will wear out.” I released her hand. “What are we going to do about Christina?”

  “I have no idea,” she mumbled under her breath with a grin slowly building. She couldn’t contain her joy. “I didn’t expect Dave to propose today.”

  “You have to tell her, Erica.”

  Erica tucked a blonde lock behind her ear nodding. “I will. She’s coming.”

  The girl kept surprising me.

  “I’m not saying a word. This is your mess.”

  “Not fair, you know Rob isn’t into her, but you never said anything to her either.”

  “But I’m not the one hiding an engagement from her. You’re getting married, Erica, and your best friend doesn’t even know about it. You’re worse.”

  “Tell me about it. I suck.” Erica sighed searching through her bag and took out a candy bar. “I’m anxious and when I’m anxious I eat.”

  “You always eat regardless of your mood.”

  Erica finished her latte and candy bar then ordered a chocolate muffin.

  It didn’t take long for Christina to join us. Erica dropped her muffin and tucked her hand under the table. Christina sat down with a thoughtful expression. She was staring at Erica, but her mind was elsewhere. I cleared my throat in an attempt to gain her attention, but it didn’t work. Christina was lost in deep thought. Erica and I communicated through gestures that went unnoticed by her. It was awful seeing my friend like that.

  “So… Christina,” Erica said. Her words were shaky. “I have news.”

  “What?” Christina answered.

  “I—I’m.”

  Christina narrowed her eyes at Erica a little irritated. “What is it?”

  “I’m getting hot.”

  Christina wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes. “Take off your clothes then. It will help you ventilate.”

  I shot Erica a disapproving look. She simply shrugged and continued eating her muffin with her left hand under the table. I wasn’t going to say a word. This was Erica’s mess and she had to fix it.

  My skin suddenly heated. I felt him before I saw him. I raised my chin and gazed across the street through the glass window of the coffee shop. “Why did you invite them?” I said, through gritted teeth.

  “I had no idea you guys were fighting, and we wanted to tell all of you at once that way we don’t have to repeat ourselves.”

  Christina fixed her hair quickly and adjusted her white blouse tucking it into her jeans. She took out a mirror from her purse, inspected her reflection and teeth. Erica and I exchanged a glance. At some point, we were going to have to tell her what we knew.

  Andrew, Robert, and Dave walked in. The three of them drew attention, how could they not. Three handsome men in dark shaded suits were impossible to ignore. I folded my arms over my chest and met Andrew’s leering eyes with my own smirk.

  The table was small for everyone, they dragged another one and linked it to ours, luring more attention to us. They could have lifted it but no, they dragged it over, scraping it across the floor. I didn’t move or help them resettle. Christina was all over the place smiling a little bit more than she should. Erica nearly melted at the sight of her fia—, her fian—. My brain refused to finish the word.

  Andrew sat next to me and placed a kiss on my neck. I tried to seem unaffected, but it affected me. He moved his mouth to the shell my ear and whispered, “I’ve missed you. You’re beautiful as always and with no bra.” Of course, he had to notice. He was peeking down my neckline. “I’m sorry, Mel.”

  Goosebumps covered my bare arms. It was easy being mad from a distance, but up-close, not as easy. Especially when he gave me that smile.

  “What are you sorry for, Andrew Malcolm?” I said, shifting my chair to create space between us.

  “You know,” Erica said, interrupting us. For a moment, I thought she was going to say something related to the sudden engagement but then she continued, “I read in a magazine that the first date dictates how the rest of your relationship will go. And since you, Andrew, have been chasing Melissa from the day you met then you’ll probably do it forever.”

  “I’m beginning to think so myself,” Andrew answered with a humor-filled voice.

  “Aren’t there waiters here?” Rob complained.

  “No,” Christina quickly answered. “You’ll have to go to the counter and order.” She motioned with her chin towards the line at the till.

  “Anyone want anything?”

  Dave and Andrew asked for a bottle of water and Erica another muffin. Christina followed after Rob with quick strides, trying to match his long ones and I waited for Andrew’s answer.

  “To be honest, I’m not sorry, Mel.” That was not the answer I expected and it infuriated me. The asshole didn’t believe me, that’s what he should be sorry for. Predicting my next move, he clasped onto my arm, almost painfully, keeping me in place. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “See what I mean?” Erica laughed. “But can you guys fight later?”

  Andrew gave me a look that immobilized me, and slowly he slackened his grip. “We’ll talk after this.” I nodded and he let go of my arm.

  Christina and Rob returned and we waited for the announcement.

  Dave draped his arm around Erica’s shoulder and kissed her temple. Christina frowned with the gesture, utterly perplexed. Erica smiled, biting her lower lip and then there was silence.

  The silence prolonged, therefore Andrew asked the question they all wanted to ask, “What the fuck is going on David?”

  Dave chuckled and took Erica’s hand bringing it up to the table. “We’re getting married.”

  “Who’s we?” Christina spat, and the sarcasm in her question didn’t go unheeded.

  “Dave and I,” Erica answered with her face down. Her bangs covering her big blue eyes. “Dave and I are getting married.”

  “What?” Christina breathed. “What the fucking hell?”

  I glanced at Andrew from the corner of my eye. He shook his head. He didn’t know about this either. Even Rob who always had something to say was at a loss for words.

  “It may seem rushed, I know.” Dave raised Erica’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “But when you know you’ve found the one why wait?”

  Christina cursed and then cocked her head to look at me. “Did you know about this?”

  “No. I’m as shocked as you are.” It wasn’t a complete lie, I had in all honesty, just found out. “If this is what she wants and she’s happy all we can do is support her decision,” I said the words but didn’t fully mean it. In my mind, Erica was making a mistake.

  “Why did you hide it from us, Erica?” Christina’s eyes narrowed, the frown on her face was frightening. Her jaw was tense and we could hear her teeth grind.

  “I—I,” Erica stuttered.

  “We didn’t tell anyone because we never thought it would lead anywhere,” Dave said. “We hooked up once and then it happened again and again. And here we are today.” He placed a kiss on Erica’s lips.

  Andrew drew back his chair and stood. “Well, congratulations are in order,” he said and opened his arms to his friend. “If you’re happy then I’m happy.” Da
ve jumped to his feet, and they hugged. Then Andrew kissed Erica’s cheek and congratulated her. I sat still and blew Erica a kiss. I didn’t want to give Dave an uncomfortable hug.

  “I have a question,” Rob said, frowning. “When you told me you met a girl, you meant Erica, right?”

  “Yes,” Dave laughed lightly. “It’s been her the entire time.”

  Rob stood and congratulated them both. “Have you told your folks?” He mocked. “Do they approve?”

  “How could they not? She’s perfect.”

  Christina’s hands were closed into fists and her chest heaved. She was not taking the news well. “You’ve met his parents?”

  “I’m sorry, Tina,” Erica said, pleading for understanding. “I was going to tell you.”

  “But you never did.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Okay, okay,” Rob said, narrowing the attention to him. “Right now, we’re celebrating. You guys can do the girl talk later. Couldn’t you have picked a better place for this? We’ll have to toast with kids’ beverages.” Rob raised his water bottle. “To Erica and Dave.”

  The situation was resolved for the time being and after the toast, everyone left except for Andrew and I. With every passing second, it was harder to stay mad at him. I wasn’t sure if I was really upset anymore. I did have my share of fault. I could have told him sooner.

  “You thought I was after your money,” I accused before he could say anything.

  “I never said that Melissa.” He sounded resigned.

  “That’s the thing, you didn’t say anything. You didn’t say that you believed me. You didn’t tell me what was bothering you or why you punched the poor man who did nothing to you. You said nothing and I’m no mind-reader in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “I didn’t think you were after my family’s money. You never asked me for anything, and you offered me money when I first told you about my aspiration. If my attitude has suggested otherwise, then I’m sorry for that. But you could have told me, Mel. I thought we could be open to one another.”

  Andrew was right, and I knew it but I wasn’t going to admit that so easily. “It wasn’t some big secret I was keeping, sooner or later you would have found out anyway. I’m sorry it had to be that way and since we’re being honest tell me what happened yesterday for you to lash out on that guy.”

  Andrew placed his hand on my knees and squeezed. “I had a disagreement with my mother.”

  He moved his hand up with tender care and caressed my arm, pricking my skin. The power of his touch was beyond anything I’d ever experienced. I stilled his hand and held it in mine.

  “Then you should take anger management classes or something. You can’t go around punching people when you have a fight with mommy. Was it because of me?”

  The strained look in his eyes gave me the answer.

  “It’s done Mel, don’t worry about it.” I didn’t want him arguing with his parents because of me, but then I never said a word to that woman so what could she possibly have against me?

  Chapter 14

  Melissa

  Tomorrow morning I’d be leaving. It’d been six years since I’d left the warm beaches of Rio. The tropical climate, the sexy musical rhythms, and my past. I missed home. However, it also reminded me of the shame I had brought to myself and my family. My greatest fear was of being recognized. Although Andrew thought that was very unlikely to happen, I couldn’t help but wonder that it could.

  Andrew sat on my bed busy typing on his computer as I packed. He’d been working on overdrive these days. He’d taken on the Malcolm Technology project and had Ricky helping him. He was working himself too hard, but I didn’t want to say anything. I had encouraged him to take the project on. All I could do was support him.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  Without taking his focus from the computer screen, he answered, “Working on a case and the software at the same time.”

  Andrew hadn’t told his father he planned on leaving the law firm. He was petrified of his father’s reaction. But that was the problem with Andrew, he considered what everyone else thought more than he should. He was afraid of taking risks, afraid of failure, and afraid of disappointing people.

  That was why he needed me.

  He fed off my energy and encouragement. He could do it; I knew he could, but his doubts and insecurities prevented him from going forward. The strength to pull this off was within him. I wished he could see himself the way I saw him.

  I shut the suitcase and placed it on the floor. “Has Ricky found a place for you guys to start your office?” I climbed on the bed and snuggled next to him.

  “Not yet, he’s still looking.”

  “I want to help, Andrew.”

  Andrew exhaled, closing his computer screen. “You’ve helped enough by existing.”

  Sitting up straight, I rumbled in Portuguese that he was an ass. He needed money. Money that I could offer, but he wouldn’t let me help. Men could be foolishly stupid. I would not see him any less if he took money from me.

  “Let me help, Andrew, please.”

  “Melissa, you could lose your money. There is no guarantee that this will succeed, and I’ve already decided that I’m selling my apartment to cover the initial costs.”

  He didn’t need to do that. Andrew would not fail, he had me. I wouldn’t let him. I would do anything I could to make it happen for him. Even if it meant demanding for an advance on my inheritance. Whatever it took I would do.

  “What if you made me a partner? I wouldn’t be giving you the money. It’d be an investment.”

  Andrew studied me in silence for a minute. “You really want to do this?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “How much partner do you want to be?”

  “Not much.” I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what it would even entail. “I could buy about five or ten percent of your company’s share and you could use that money as starting capital instead of selling your home. And I’ll help in any other way possible. We’ll make this happen, even if I have to go from door to door around San Diego advertising for you. You can do this, trust me.”

  His lips curved up shyly. “Okay, I’ll sell you twenty percent.”

  My eyes widened both surprised and excited. “I have so many ideas. I’ll be devoted full time to this project once I come back.”

  “Woah, woah, woah.” Andrew scowled. “Slow down. You’re not thinking of dropping out of school, are you?”

  “No, I will block the semester and continue later. It’s no big deal.” I shrugged.

  “Melissa…”

  “Even if I don’t graduate it doesn’t matter. I’m one of those lucky people. I will always have a job no matter what.”

  “In daddy’s business?”

  Jesus, for a genius he could be really dumb sometimes. “No! In Malcolm Technology.”

  “Given that we don’t fold.”

  I smacked his arm, hoping it would send some sense into his brain. I was a thousand percent team Malcolm and if we did fail—which I highly doubted—at least we’d failed together.

  “Okay, I’ll sell you the shares with the condition that you finish school.”

  I offered him my hand, and he shook it. “Done.”

  Chapter 15

  Andrew

  How could she have this amount of trust in me? She believed in me more than I believed in myself. Melissa was the force that I’d lacked to take a risk on something I wanted. She had never second-guessed me once. She was willing to put her time, effort, and money into my project with no guarantee of success. She fueled a little fire inside of me that was growing every day. I needed her in my life and of that, I was certain.

  Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she told me the ideas she had. And there were a lot of them.

  “What do you think?”

  “Wonderful ideas. We’ll have to sit down with Ricky and share them.” Melissa launched herself at me nearly knocking us both off the bed.

 
“I have a present for you,” she said directly against my mouth. I tried to kiss her, but she pulled her head back. “Take off your clothes, sit on a chair outside and wait for me.”

  She peeled her body from mine and wandered to the bathroom, moving her hips exaggeratedly as she went. With excitement, I jumped to my feet and followed her instructions.

  Melissa took a little longer than expected but that was her … always on time. She left me to my risqué imagination. After what seemed to be an eternity her voice peered from behind the bedroom door.

  “Close your eyes,” she ordered. Instantly, I closed them. “Are they closed?” Her voice was clearer, and I could smell her. “Only open them when I say so. No peeking or else no present.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  The clicks I heard when she moved were a clear indication that she was wearing heels. Then I heard music. It was one of those samba things she liked listening to, but the tempo was slow.

  “You can open them now.”

  I opened my eyes and blinked until she came clearly to view.

  Holy fuck.

  Blood rushed from every part of my body and assembled on my dick and it throbbed. I parted my lips to allow more oxygen intake. Melissa had to be the definition of sexy. The curves on her could drive any man insane. Thank heavens she was mine and only mine.

  Melissa was wearing a tiny red string, a bra, and fabulous black heels. Then she began to move to the rhythm of the music. Her hips swayed from side to side, in sync with the music. Her feet interchanged in a way that I purely couldn’t explain.

  I’d seen her dance before, yet I was impressed every time. She was excellent at it. Slowly she twirled, and her entire body oscillated gorgeously.

  My hand met my dick and following her rhythm, I stroked it. If I died tonight, it would be a happy death. I groaned as my desire to touch her grew. But she was out of my reach, dancing for me. The music sped up a notch, and so did she. Her hair bounced as she danced.