Cinderella Screwed Me Over (20 page)

“One of the calves crapped on me when I picked him up and took him to the barn, and I thought that was a good bullshit story. But I think yours is even more full of crap.”

I laughed. “I’m too tired to come up with a response to that. I’m sure I’ll think of a good one by the time you get here.”

“Okay. It’ll probably be about ten.”

“See you in a while, then.” I hung up and put a pillow over my head, hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep before having to start my day.

By the time Drew made it down, I was not only ready, but also feeling ahead of the game thanks to all the work I’d done last night. As he and I settled onto the couch, I asked, “Isn’t this the second Saturday in a row you’ve spent with the redhead?”

“Her name is Lisa, and yes it is.” He kicked off his shoes and stuck his feet on my coffee table. I’d given up on asking him not to. “We actually met in Broomfield on Wednesday, too. And we’ve been talking on the phone.”

“You hate talking on the phone.”

Drew shrugged. “I usually do.” A slow smile spread across his face. “But I’ve been talking to Lisa for at least an hour every night.”

“Does Michelle know she’s already been replaced?”

“Michelle went a little crazy. She kept coming to the house and yelling at me. She told me I was a loser who still lived at home and went on and on about how stupid I was. So then I was like, ‘If I’m a loser, why do you want me?’ Then she cried and begged me to take her back.” Drew shook his head. “Finally I just had to tell her, making sure I jabbed hard enough for her to get the point, that we were over and there was no chance of ever getting back together. Then she went all
Fatal Attraction
on me.”

“She boiled your bunny?”

“She keyed my truck.”

I shook my head. “You sure know how to pick them.”

“Lisa’s different, though.”

“Until you dump her and you learn how crazy she really is.” If there was a mentally unstable girl, Drew was drawn to her. For about two to three months.

“She won’t. In fact, she’ll probably dump
me
, and I’ll be the one who calls her at all hours of the day, begging for a second chance.” Drew leaned forward, propping his forearms on his knees. “So what’s going on with you?”

“I’m kind of dating this guy. Keeping it light, that kind of thing. Oh, and I got one of Anthony’s friends punched in the face while we were at a bar.”

“And you say I’m trouble.” Drew nudged me with his elbow. “Tell me about the fight. You get any hits in?”

“I wish.” I told Drew the story, then grabbed my phone off the table and showed him the picture of Karl’s black eye. “His job is about peacefully resolving things, and he had to walk in looking like this.”

“But this isn’t the guy you’re dating?”

I shook my head. “No, this guy’s just a… I guess he’s a friend now.”

“So when do I get to meet your boyfriend? I’ve got to see if he’s good enough. That’s a brother’s job, you know.”

I set my phone down. “One, he’s not my boyfriend. And two, you and Devin seem to think it’s your job to torture my boyfriends.”

“That’s ’cause you always date city boys who can’t take a joke. I don’t think you’ve had a decent boyfriend yet. Except Gil, and that was forever ago.”

“Thanks for rubbing it in, jerkface.” I scooted to the edge of the couch. “Let’s go get something to eat, I’m starving.”

Drew took his feet off my coffee table and slipped on his shoes. “After, let’s go to the mall and you can help me pick out a shirt. Just nothing too prissy. I want to impress Lisa, not have her question my sexuality.”

I stared at Drew, thinking I must have misheard him. “You’re going to let me pick out a shirt for you? Hmm. Maybe there really is something different about this girl.”

“Damn straight.”

My phone rang. “I bet that’s the devil, calling to tell me he’s freezing his ass off.”

It wasn’t actually Lucifer. Just a charming guy with devilish good looks, calling to ask me what I was doing tomorrow night.

Chapter Nineteen

When I heard knocking, I glanced at the clock.

He must be excited to get going, because he’s a few minutes early.
Jake wanted me to help him pick out furniture for his place. First order of business was going to be finding a coffee table. He’d been eating at the restaurant or off his lap since he’d moved in.

I stuck in my hoop earrings and hurried to my door. Swinging it open, I said, “Hey, I—”

Instead of Jake, Stephanie stood there, tears streaming down her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Anthony and I got into this huge fight,” Stephanie said. “I should’ve warned you I was coming. But I’m so mad and sad and argh! I just punched in the code and hurried up, hoping you were home. I decided that even if you weren’t, I’d hide out here for a while.”

“Come on in. You know you can always stay here, even if I’m gone.”

We walked across the room and sat down on the couch.

Stephanie rubbed her temples. “We never used to fight. But lately…everything’s just such a struggle. It’s like we don’t even speak the same language. He was such a jackhole tonight, then he tells me
I’m
overreacting.”

I put my hand on her back. “What happened?”

She shook her head and took a deep breath. “I didn’t know he was a chauvinistic pig. He expects me to be sitting at home like a fifties housewife, with the house all cleaned and dinner cooked and ready the instant he steps in the door. I work, too!”

“You do. I don’t know how you get so much done.”

“I know I’m not working as many hours right now, but that’s because I’m doing all the planning for the wedding. Any time I ask his opinion, he says he doesn’t care, but his mom cares about
everything
. And then there’s this typo I’m dealing with, and all he can say when he gets home is, ‘What’s for dinner?’ Like I’m his maid or cook.” Stephanie’s voice got higher and higher with each sentence. “Is this how it’s going to be the rest of my life? I should’ve never moved in with him. I wish I was still living with you.”

A loud knock sounded on my door.

“I’ll be right back.” I crossed the room and answered the door.

Jake leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips, his hand going to that spot on my hip that drove me crazy. “Ready, gorgeous?”

“Um…” I glanced back at Stephanie. “I’ve got a situation.”

“I’m sorry,” Stephanie said, wiping tears off her face. “I didn’t realize you were busy. You two go out. I’ll just hang here if that’s okay.”

“I’m not going to leave you like this,” I said.

Jake stepped into the room, looking from Steph to me, then back to Steph. “Is everything okay?”

Stephanie sniffed. “I’m sorry. I’m a big fan of you and the changes I’ve seen in Darby since you two have been dating—or whatever she’s allowing it to be called. Now here I am, ruining it all by coming and telling her how horrible men are. Even the ones you think are good.” A couple more tears escaped and ran down her cheeks. “It turns out she was right all along,” she said, her voice so high I could barely make out the words. She jerked her thumb toward the bathroom. “I’m going to go get a tissue.”

I turned to Jake and kept my voice low. “She and Anthony got into a fight. I’m not sure exactly what happened yet. You see, something happens to a girl when she gets engaged that makes everything seem like a bigger deal. I’ve learned that brides-to-be tend to get a little…dramatic.”

Jake nodded like he understood, although I doubted he did.

“Anyway. I’m thinking our furniture shopping is going to need to be postponed.”

Stephanie reentered the room, a wadded-up tissue in her hand, and flopped back down on the couch. “Hey, you’re a guy,” she said, looking up at Jake. “Maybe you can tell me why guys think it’s a woman’s job to take care of everything.”

I put a hand on Jake’s chest. “You might want to run while you can,” I whispered. “You don’t have to stay.”

Jake grabbed my hand and led me to the couch. He sat on the far end but angled his body to face Stephanie. “Tell me what happened, and I’ll try to clue you in on the guy perspective.”

Stephanie kicked off her shoes and tucked her legs under her. “All day long I’d been excited to see him. Then he finally comes home, and the first thing he does is ask me what’s for dinner.”

Both Jake and I stared, waiting for the rest.

“Like I’m supposed to serve him or something,” Stephanie said. “Why’s it my job to make dinner?”

“Guys just don’t think sometimes,” Jake said. “We say whatever pops into our heads. All he was probably thinking was that he was hungry. I bet if you would’ve said something like, ‘I don’t know. Where are you taking me?’ he would’ve been happy to go out.”

“But…” Stephanie’s eyebrows scrunched together.

“Do you take turns cooking dinner or do you usually cook or do you go out most nights?”

“Most nights I cook. I actually like cooking most of the time.” Stephanie leaned back into the cushions. “Great, now I feel like an idiot. This wedding stuff’s making me crazy. Just today, I got the thank-you cards in the mail and they spelled my name wrong, so thinking of what to do about that on top of what to make for dinner, it all seemed like too much.” She frowned. “And the more I explain it, the stupider I feel. I better call Anthony.” She grabbed her phone and disappeared down the hall.

I twisted to face Jake, still processing how easily that had gone. “You fixed that in record time. I probably would’ve just complained about guys all night with her until she calmed down. You come in, say a few words, and now she’s already calling Anthony to explain.” I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not secretly trained in counseling or something, are you?”

Jake put his arm over the back of the couch. His fingers grazed my shoulder, then he twisted them in the ends of my hair, sending a tingly sensation along my scalp “Nope. Just had some experience with stuff like this before.”

“You think you’ve got women all figured out, then, do you?”

Jake shook his head. “No way. Every time you think you do, they change the rules on you. Like they could love the way you were yesterday and hate it the next day.”

“Every now and then, we change our minds. It’s our prerogative. The big secret is”—I leaned in conspiratorially—“sometimes, even
we
don’t know why. There are times after we pick a fight where we’re as confused as you are. But there’s no way we’re admitting it.” I shrugged a shoulder. “That’s why we have boobs.”

Jake’s eyebrows shot up.

“See, after we’ve acted crazy, and the guy’s wondering what he’s doing with us, we use them to mesmerize him, so he forgets that we’re crazy.” I shot Jake my most seductive smile and leaned the assets in question against his arm. “And by the way, if you look at my cleavage right now, even though I’m the one talking about it, I’ll accuse you of not caring about what I say and of just treating me like an object.”

Jake swallowed hard, keeping eye contact with me, though I could tell he was fighting his impulse to look down. A mischievous glint flickered through his eyes. “And treating you like an object would be bad?”

“It depends on how big a deal you make about how smart, funny, talented, etcetera, etcetera I am first.”

Jake slid his hand behind my neck and swept his thumb along my jaw. “Have I told you how smart, funny, talented, and etcetera I think you are?”

“You think I’m going to fall for that when I just fed you the lines?” Before he could answer, I kissed him. Using his hand on my neck, he pulled me closer, forcing my lips open with his tongue. His other hand slid up my thigh, and even through jeans, my skin burned from his touch.

Stephanie’s voice got a little louder. I pulled away from Jake, my breaths coming out shaky. I’d momentarily forgotten my best friend was even here. I only heard snippets of the conversation, but whatever she was saying, it sounded tense.

“Maybe I didn’t do such a great job of fixing things after all,” Jake said. “I’m assuming her fiancé isn’t a complete jerk.”

“He’s very nice, actually. They have small fights here and there, like all couples do.” I listened for a second and caught the word
mother
. “Sounds like they’re onto fighting about his mom now. Every relationship’s got a sore subject; theirs is his mother. It’s the kind of problem girls get together to complain about, but after a little venting it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. It’s the big stuff—like lying and cheating—that’s unforgivable.” I pulled my attention off Steph’s conversation and looked back at Jake. “You claim guys say whatever they’re thinking, like they’re honest all the time. I’ve been around too many liars to believe that.”

“The things we think will get us into trouble, we keep in,” Jake said. “That’s why when we say something we think is totally innocent, we’re so shocked and confused when you get mad. Then we use the classic, ‘You’re overreacting.’”

“Which, by the way, women really hate. If you want me to overreact or be grouchy, just tell me that I am.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“Let’s try this out,” Jake said.

I raised an eyebrow, silently warning him he better be careful.

“You’re completely crazy…about me.” He leaned in, his lips near mine. “Did it work?”

I shook my head, but couldn’t help smiling. “See, this is the problem. You know how to spin everything to your advantage. In my experience, it’s the charming guys who are the most dangerous. They make you think they care, but they’ve got ulterior motives. In fact, you just told me that you’d keep in the things that would get you into trouble. So how am I supposed to trust you?”

He put his hand on my knee and ran his thumb across the top of it. “I guess my insisting that you can won’t change your mind if you don’t trust me in the first place.”

“Exactly.”

“I guess I’ll just have to prove it, then.” His eyes locked onto mine. “However long it takes.”

Chapter Twenty

Stephanie rinsed off her plate and stuck it in my dishwasher. “Last night was just what I needed. It felt good to relax and laugh and forget about everything else for a while.” She wiped her hands on the dishtowel hanging from my oven handle and spun to face me. “I still feel bad for messing up your date with Jake, though.”