B00AAOCX2E EBOK (22 page)

Dropping to my hands and knees, I crawled slowly in time to the beat of the music, stopping to peer under my bed for my red ballet-style flats. Pulling them out, I reclined on my butt and laced them up to the middle of my calves. Once they were fastened, I spread my legs and arched forward, using the hand positioned on the ground to roll my body into a standing position. Swiveling my hips, I marched over to the opened closet door and wrapped my hands around the open frame, arching backwards and swinging my head as the tune segued into a harder beat.

“Imagining life as a stripper?”

I squealed and opened my eyes to find Ian watching me from the doorway with a smirk.

Relaxing, I chuckled and strode up to him, sliding my arms around his neck and pulling him farther into the room. I thrashed my head from side to side, then swayed my hips up against his. I giggled when one of his brows hiked his forehead. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked.

“Nothing. I just felt like dancing.” I turned to look into my mirror again, but drew up short. “Wait a minute. What exactly are you doing here?”

Ian leaned to reach for something just outside the door, coming up with a black hamper stuffed to the brim with dirty clothes. “I need another load done. I’m running out of socks.” He gave me a beaming smile, then crossed to my bed, dropped the hamper on the floor and flopped down on my bed.

Who did he think he was kidding? “God forbid you didn’t bring them to me right now,” I said, drumming my fingertips on my inner hipbone.

“Like I said, I’m running low.”

“We both know you’re not here because of the laundry.”

Ian rolled onto his back and crossed his arms under his head. “Why am I here, then?”

“Oh, it couldn’t be the fact that my blind date will be arriving in about ten minutes, now, could it?”

His shit-eating grin said it all. “Oh, was that tonight?”

I stepped to the bed and grabbed one of my pillows, smacking him square in the face with it.

Ian wrenched the pillow from my grasp and slid it under his head with his eyebrows waggling. “Hey, thanks.”

Huffing, I threw up my hands and stalked to my dresser. Opening the wooden jewelry box on top, I rifled inside for some earrings.

“Hey, I know,” Ian said, as if the idea had just occurred to him, “you should blow that guy off and come out with me.”

Boy, did I want to, but I made my bed by pushing Chelsea to set the date up; now it was time to lie in it. “Sorry, but I’m not doing that.”

Ian thrust out his lower lip in a pout. “I see. You’d rather spend the night with a complete stranger than come out and play with me.”

I sighed. “You know that’s not true. But who I’d rather spend time with is irrelevant. It’s all set.”

From my peripheral vision, I saw him flail his arms and legs on the bed like he was three seconds away from throwing a tantrum. “Come on. Do you really think there’s a chance in hell that this is going to be a love match?”

“Never say never.” I looked up from my jewelry box to see him gazing at my legs with a deep frown. “What?”

“You forgot a couple of buttons.” His finger pointed to the slit at the front of my dress, which opened all the way up to my thighs.

“No, I didn’t. This is the way it’s supposed to be worn. Otherwise, I won’t be able to walk.”

“Oh.” With a disgruntled look, he reached over for my iPod from the nightstand and began scrolling through it.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” I warned. From the jewelry box, I pulled out two different earrings: a dangling gold earring with red beads and a gold cartouche with my name engraved in hieroglyphics. I held one up to each ear and studied myself in the mirror. I turned so Ian could see them. “What do you think?”

“They look great.”

“You didn’t even look. Come on, which ones?”

Sighing, Ian tore his eyes from my music player and looked at both earrings. He pointed to the cartouche. “That one.”

I put the dangly one back into the box and pulled out the matching cartouche, sliding one into each ear. Shaking out my loosely curled hair, I spritzed on some perfume, and then checked my gloss for smudges. “Okay, I’m ready, which means it’s time for you to go.”

Ian continued to study my song-list as if I hadn’t even spoken.

“Ian, don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. It’s time to go bye-bye,” I said. “Scram.
Adi
ó
s
.
Ciao
!” I went to the bed and lifted my foot to the mattress, kicking it several times and making it impossible for him to read the iPod screen. “Vamoose!”

“Okay, okay.” He released an exaggerated sigh and swung his legs over the side of the bed, forcing himself into a standing position. “You’re still meeting us at O’Shea’s, right?”

“That’s the plan.” I picked up my purse from my dresser and hung the strap over my shoulder. “Now, come on.” Placing my hands on the small of his back, I pushed him toward the door. “Scoot.”

Ian leaned back against my palms, putting up a resistance. “What time will you be there?”

“I’ll get there when I get there,” I cried in exasperation. I finally managed to get him out of my room. “Now quit stalling. He’s going to be here any minute, and you
won’t
be.”

“Why are you so eager to get rid of me?”

“Because,” I panted as we neared the front door, “this date is going to be hard enough as it is. I’m not going to subject him to your overprotective brother routine.”

“First of all, I don’t have a routine.” Ian slid to the side, propelling me into the door.

“Hey!” I whirled around to catch him, but I needn’t have bothered. He wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, he stepped right before me, blocking my path away from the door. The sudden change in his expression made me go still. It was nothing overt, but there was something… a sharpness in his eyes, a pinch to his mouth, that made my heart stutter and quickened my breath. “Secondly,” he said, “I’m
not
your brother.”

Swallowing to moisten my suddenly dry throat, I nodded. "I know that."

He stepped closer and his hands slid over my hips. "Do you?"

Time slowed down and my heart sped up. My mouth opened and closed as I failed to come up with a reply.

“Because what I’m feeling around you lately is anything but brotherly.” His eyes dropped to my mouth, lingering for a long moment, before he looked back up again. “And it’s frustrating as hell that you keep pretending things aren’t changing.”

I blinked, stunned by his admission. I’d seen things here and there to indicate he saw me differently than before, but to hear him admit it out loud was mind-blowing. I didn’t know if I wanted to do a happy dance or run away. I shivered, instead. His hands still cupped my hips, and his thumbs kept brushing the sides of my inner hip-bones, causing my nerve endings to spark and snap like firecrackers.

My shuddery exhale made Ian’s eyes sharpen. Their green hue darkened and he stared at without falter, analyzing my reaction.

I felt like a deer in headlights and imagine I looked like one, too. I gulped, trying to command the individual muscles in my face to move, but they felt paralyzed. And he still wasn’t moving.

Do something, dammit!

Ian’s eyes traveled down my face again and stopped on my mouth. His lips pressed together, and it was clear he was debating whether or not to close the gap between us.

He was
so
close. All I would have to do was lift my head off the door and our mouths would touch. The only thing stopping me from doing just that was the small, niggling voice in my head reminding me of his words from the day before. “What about what you said at the panel?”

“What did I say?” he murmured, keeping his eyes on my lips.

“About mixing friendship and relationships?”

“Hmm.” He nodded and moved in a little closer. “What about what you said?”

“What did I say?”

“About taking risks?”

I had said that. I’d also said the girl had to decide if it was worth it. “
Is
this one worth it?”

His gaze darted back to my eyes. “You tell me.”

“I really don’t know.”

Ian closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. A moment later, he dropped his head on my shoulder. “Me, either,” he said. “This is so confusing.”

Tell me about it.

The two-tone chime of the doorbell sounded throughout the apartment.

“That’ll be my date.”

The weight of his sigh settled all the way to
my
toes. “Yeah. You should get that.”

Was he now telling me to go on this date? It would kind of make sense. We could probably both use some distance to think.

Lifting his head, Ian brought his interlaced hands behind his neck and walked a circle. I smoothed my hands down my skirt, trying to scrub away the heat left behind by his hands.

Clearing my throat, I took a breath and pulled the door open.

Although I was distracted and shaken, I couldn’t help being surprised by my first glance at Garrett. He was really good looking, and dressed to the nines in a suit jacket over a black shirt and pants. Pretty and shiny, crossed my mind. But what took me back most of all was the open and friendly smile on his face. There was none of the haughtiness and self-importance I was used to seeing in the eyes of Parker and his brood.

I couldn’t say the same for myself. I felt awkward as all get out, even more so when I caught Ian studying me.

Garrett held out his hand. “Ivy, right?”

“Yes, nice to meet you.” I shook his hand. Garrett turned his attention to Ian with the same smile.

“Garrett,” he said in introduction, holding out his hand.

Ian didn’t even look at his hand. “Ian.”

Garrett dropped his hand with a shrug and looked between us with his brows lifted. “Are you coming with us?”

I blinked.
Weird question.
Why would he assume that? Was it his usual practice to bring along a third-party on a date?

My eyes went to Ian, and I saw a flicker of surprise. Then the surprise melted away and a tight, scheming smile pulled at his mouth. I could practically hear the wheels turning in his fat head. He opened his mouth. “You know what, I was—”

“Just leaving,” I said. “He was just leaving.”

Ian’s mouth snapped shut and he smirked. “She’s right. I’ve got some things to think about, anyway.” He shot me a loaded look. “But I’ll see you at O’Shea’s.” There was a threat in his voice; nothing overt, but I didn’t miss it.

“Cool,” Garrett said.

Ian’s mouth twisted on the side as he stared at me. The frustration in his eyes was overshadowed by something a little wild and unstable. I heard his private message loud and clear:
to be continued
. I couldn’t look away and had no clue how to respond.

Looking satisfied his message was received, Ian walked around Garrett and slapped him on the shoulder. “Treat her well or I’ll bury you,” he said with a dark laugh as he slipped by.

Garrett’s amused smile surprised me. “I’ll treat her like a queen,” he called as he turned his head to watch Ian go. He craned his neck back to watch Ian as his booted feet pounded the concrete stairs to the second-floor landing.

My brows pulled together in suspicion when I saw the smile playing around his mouth and the flicker of his eyebrows. It was a look I’d seen many times before, but never on the face of one of my dates.

Remembering himself, Garrett turned back to me with a friendly smile. “Fun guy. Are you ready to go?”

I bit my lip on a laugh and nodded.

Silly, sweet, naïve Chelsea.

***

Two hours later, I approached the door of O’Shea’s as a laughing group of girls stumbled out. When they were gone, I walked in and looked around. O’Shea’s was the largest bar in town. The main room was well lit, housing the primary bar and a sitting area just inside the door. Pool tables sat around the perimeter of the room. A hall in the back corner led to a darker room that frequently hosted a band and a floor for the dancing-inclined crowd.

I scanned the room for my friends, pinpointing them at a table in the middle of the room only after I heard my name called over the music. Amery waved her arms to get my attention. I waved back and made my way over. Next to Amery sat Casey, and next to him, a slight blonde with a pale complexion and a wide-eyed expression. Casey’s date, I guessed. Amery’s date, Chris, sat on the other side of her, where he seemed to be engaging in a fairly heated debate with Parker beside him. Chelsea sat beside Parker, and I saw her watching me with worried eyes and a crestfallen expression on her face, no doubt due to the absence of Garrett. I looked away from her and turned my focus to Ian.

He sat facing away from the door with his elbows propped up on the table and his chin resting in his hands. His thumb stroked his chin while he watched me near. His eyes were guarded, cautious, and hard to look away from.

“Where’s Garrett?” Chelsea asked without preamble when I arrived. At the same time, Amery said, “Where’s your date?”

I glanced behind me, pretending to search for him and then shrugged. “Guess he took my advice and got lost.”

Seeing the distress in Chelsea’s eyes made me feel a little guilty for the sin I was about to commit, but it was for the greater good of helping out a new friend.

There were no empty chairs at the table, or anywhere nearby. I glanced down at Ian, who still watched me. Hearing Garrett’s voice in my head –
Go for it!
– I decided to forego finding one. Instead, I pulled Ian’s arms off the table and sat down on his lap. Looking over my shoulder at him, I winked. “Hey.”

His brow lifted as he studied me. “Hey.”

“So, what happened?” Amery asked.

I pulled my eyes away from Ian and waved my hand. “Give a girl a minute,” I said. “Let me order a drink and relax for a second, and then I’ll share all the gruesome details.”

Across the table, Chelsea’s frown deepened.

A curious silence reigned over the table as I flagged down a waitress. I had everyone’s undivided attention – I better make it good.

I looked at Casey’s date and smiled. “Hi, I’m Ivy.”

“Carrie,” his date said with a shy smile. She was cute, a little geeky, but looked like a sweet girl. Just what Casey needed.