Cinderella Screwed Me Over (26 page)

I bit my lip, barely managing to suppress a moan. “I came to thank you for last night.”

His warm breath tickled my neck. “Much better than a card.”

This was the moment to follow up with the rest of it.

“I’m on my way to meet some friends for dinner,” Jake said. “You wanna come with me?”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your plans. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate what you did last night. Even though I didn’t deserve it.”

Jake put a hand on my hip, the way he had the first night we met. And like the first night we met, it sent my pulse skyrocketing. “You wouldn’t be intruding. We’re just meeting at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game. Tina and her boyfriend will be there, and a couple of guys I play in a basketball league with.”

Meeting his friends. More entanglement. Opposite of what I was supposed to be doing…

He slipped his hand behind me and pulled me tighter against him, making my thoughts go fuzzy. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

The grin he flashed did me in. Especially as I took in his T-shirt, jeans, and baseball cap. Casual and sporty looked good on him. I, on the other hand, was wearing a cream-colored silk shirt that didn’t seem like a good idea when it came to eating bright orange wings. “Do I have time to change?”

…

Jake and I walked into Buffalo Wild Wings. Flat-screen televisions hung on every wall, so no matter where you were, you could see some kind of sporting event playing out. He grabbed my hand and led me to a table in the back with a great view of a giant screen.

“Hey, everyone,” Jake said. “This is Darby.”

A sea of greetings came at me.

“You know Tina.” She was next to an attractive guy with a shaved head and the biggest arms I’d ever seen. “That’s Vinnie.”

“Adam…” Jake pointed at the scrawny guy with the goatee, then the athletic-looking guy with the dirty-blond hair. “And that’s Pete.”

“Nice to meet you all.” I scooted in next to Tina and Jake sat on the other side of me.

“I’m almost done with your friend’s vases,” Tina said. “They’re turning out really well, if I do say so myself.”

“You totally saved the day.”

“I owe you, too. I’ve had several people come in and tell me you referred them.”

Jake put his arm around me. “So which wings do you want? They have just about every kind you can think of. We usually get a big thing and mix and match.”

My phone rang and I groaned. “Sorry. It’s my boss again. Just get whatever; I’m not picky.”

With the music and the talking, I couldn’t hear myself think, much less what Patricia was saying. I nudged Jake. He moved, and I tried to get away from the noise.

I stepped into the quietest corner I could find, pressed my phone to my ear, and used my free hand to plug the other ear. “What was that?”

“Where’s Nadine?” Patricia asked, annoyance filling her voice.

“I have no idea. Did you call her cell?”

“Of course I did. I need a number from her, but she’s not picking up. I was hoping you had it.”

“Didn’t Nadine give you the entire vendor list?”

Patricia exhaled loudly enough I could hear it through the phone. “I’m out to dinner. I don’t have it
with
me.”

Sure,
she
gets to go out to dinner.

As luck would have it, I had the number she was looking for stored in my phone. I rattled it off, hung up, and headed back to the table.

“So she’s just going to come in and out whenever she feels like it?” Tina asked.

Jake shrugged. “It’s not like—”

“Hey, Darby,” Adam said, nice and loud, leading me to believe that Jake and Tina were talking about me.

“Sorry about that,” I said. “I’ve got this big project at work that my boss won’t leave me alone about.”

Jake stepped aside so I could get to my seat, then sat back down beside me. The guys were all focused on the Rockies game going on the wall opposite us. A guy from the Yankees caught the ball that the batter popped into the air.

Everyone groaned except Jake. His lips curved into a megawatt grin. “You guys are so going down tonight.”

Adam reached for a fried mozzarella stick. “No way. We can still win.”

Glancing at the score, I saw the Rockies were down by seven. “So you’re a Yankees fan,” I said to Jake, though it was pretty obvious, what with the cheering and the Yankees cap he was sporting.

“Born and raised. Every year these guys claim the Rockies are going to win one, but they always lose.” He put his hand on my thigh. “You care about baseball?”

“Uh, no. The only more boring sport on TV is golf. Or bowling. I can handle a football game now and then, but I don’t care enough to go out of my way to watch one.”

Adam’s mouth dropped. “I don’t know if we can let you hang out with us if you don’t care about sports. It’s what we’re all about.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret. Most girls don’t care about sports. They just say they do to impress you. Once you’re hooked, they’ll start complaining about how much you watch. Only a select few actually like to sit around yelling at the TV, acting like they can influence the outcome of the game.”

“She’s right,” Pete said. “I’ve had girlfriends who say they’re huge sports fans, then a few months in, they want to go out when the game’s on. And if you come to a place like this, they accuse you of ignoring them.”

“Tina likes sports,” Vinnie said.

Tina nodded. “I do. I grew up in a house with four brothers and played every sport I could in high school. I don’t yell at the TV, though.”

“Oh!” Jake hollered. “Look at that hit! Go three, go three.” The batter rounded the bases, making it to third seconds before the baseman caught the ball. Jake inclined his head to me, though his gaze remained on the TV screen. “See, if the Rockies win, I have to buy. If the Yankees win, they have to pay.” He raised his voice, glancing around the table. “What are we up to now? Like, three in a row?”

The other guys complained and grumbled. I sat there, listening to them discuss the best teams, thinking about my no-sports-fanatics rule.

How do I know if Jake’s just your average fan or the guy who can’t miss a game? And how much does it matter, since I can’t stop breaking my rules with him anyway?

A few minutes later, a heated debate about pitchers broke out. None of them could agree who was the best, and they all had strong opinions about it.

Jake nudged me. “Care to weigh in?”

“My favorite pitcher is glass,” I said. “I got it at Pottery Barn. It’s handblown—kind of like what Tina does, but not as colorful. I especially like it when it’s full of something to drink.”

Jake shook his head, but he was smiling. “Pretty funny. Since you don’t really care, just say Mariano Rivera. The guy’s won five World Series with the Yankees and is one of the best closers of all time. Isn’t that impressive?”

I put my hand on his neck and ran my fingers through the ends of his hair. “Next time I can’t fall asleep, I’m going to call you and have you tell me baseball stats. I’m sure I’ll be asleep in no time.”

Adam jumped up, rocking the table. “Look at that! He’s out.” He pointed at Jake. “So much for your big hitter.”

The trash talk started up again, barely settling down when the waitress brought a giant platter of wings, fries, and onion rings.

I sat back and ate, watching everyone else get really into the game. Every now and then Jake would smile at me, squeeze my thigh, give me a quick kiss, or ask how I was doing. The bustle of the place, the way the guys got so into the game—I was actually enjoying watching it all unfold.

“That’s game,” Jake said as both teams came onto the field. “Sorry, suckers. Maybe next year.”

Pete, Vinnie, and Adam frowned and hung their heads like they’d had something to do with the loss.

Adam tossed a napkin onto his plate. “I’m so sick of losing. Maybe I’ll just jump on the bandwagon and switch teams.”

As they argued the strategy needed for the Rockies to start winning, Jake took the black binder holding the check, put several bills into it, and held it out low for the waitress as she walked by. He gave me a quick peck on the lips. “Hope that wasn’t too boring.”

“I had a good time,” I said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been around crazy sports enthusiasts. And I forgot how good an entire meal of fried stuff could be.”

He laced his fingers with mine. “Ready to go?”

He’d paid the bill even though his team had won, and now he was going to sneak away before his friends found out. Steph was right. I was an idiot for not holding on to him.

Jake helped me to my feet and wrapped his arm around me. “See you guys later. Ball on Saturday morning, right?”

I waved. “It was nice meeting you all.”

Earlier I’d been prepared to give my speech about not getting too involved; walking out of the restaurant with Jake’s arm around me, I was sure it was way too late.

Chapter Twenty-five

You can tell a lot about people by the way they act when they don’t think anyone’s looking. I lingered near the bar of the restaurant, watching Drew and Lisa laughing and talking. I couldn’t believe I’d let him convince me to go to dinner with them—I was the third wheel way too often. But Drew was right. There
was
something different about Lisa. For one, I didn’t immediately dislike her. Most of the girls he dated got on my nerves within the first thirty minutes. But Lisa was actually easy to talk to and totally down to earth.

“Can I get you something?” the bartender asked, drawing my attention away from my brother and his girlfriend.

“No thanks.” I walked across the room and sat opposite Drew and Lisa.

She leaned her elbows on the table. “Drew talks to me about all the stuff he has to do on the ranch, and it sounds like a lot of long, hard days. How’d you like growing up there?”

“I hated it at first,” I said. “Moving there at thirteen wasn’t exactly easy.”

Her brows knit together as she turned to Drew. “I thought you said you lived there your whole life?”

“I did. Darby and Janet didn’t move in until Janet and my dad got married. I was fourteen.”

“Oh. I knew Janet was your stepmom. I guess I didn’t realize Darby was your stepsister. You two are so close.”

“It wasn’t always that way. I thought Drew and Devin hated me. I didn’t realize that’s just how brothers are.” I picked up a fry, swiped it through the puddle of ketchup, and tossed it in my mouth. “I never would’ve survived high school without them, though.”

“Darby learned to be tough by the end of her time on the ranch,” Drew said. “She actually turned into a pretty good cowgirl.”

“Aw, thanks.” I took a sip of my drink and turned my attention back on Lisa. “Drew tells me you’re a veterinarian.”

She tucked her red hair behind an ear. “I specialize in dogs and cats. I haven’t seen horses or cows since vet school.”

Most of the girls Drew dated couldn’t handle the farm. It never made any sense to me. They didn’t want to be there but freaked out when he dumped them, even though being with him would mean being on the farm. Sitting here, I started to wonder if Drew was actually going to break his pattern.

Great. If Drew falls in love and does the wedding thing, I’m going to have no one to hang out with. Or live with
.

Lisa kissed Drew’s cheek. “Excuse me, honey. I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”

Drew moved out of her way, then watched her walk away, a goofy grin on his face.

“Traitor,” I said.

He grinned at me. “I told you she was great.”

…

Monday after he got off work, Jake came over, even though he’d spent most of yesterday evening at my place as well. I’m pretty anti-let-me-cook-and-serve-you when it comes to men, but Jake had cooked for me twice—three times if you count the brownies. So I’d made him Sunday dinner, going so far as to set my table with candles and buy a good bottle of wine. It felt like a big step, and for me, it was. I was preparing meals and making plans that revolved around his schedule. We talked about my job, and options for my career if things at work continued going badly. And instead of pushing him away because of that, I just went with it. Mostly because I was so damn happy around him I couldn’t help myself.

We ate the leftovers and settled onto the couch to watch a movie. I scrolled through the selection on my TV, enjoying being tucked next to him. “How about this one?”

His eyebrows lowered. “It looks…awful. The guy in it bugs me.”

“He’s funny.”

“Go down two more. I remember thinking that one sounded good.”

I clicked down to the movie he wanted and hit the info button. I started reading about the true-life events of two brave men in World War I. And then my mind shut down. “I can’t even read what it’s about without getting bored. After my day today, I need something funny. And this one,” I said, scrolling back up to my original choice, “will be funny.” I stuck out my lower lip. “Are you telling me that you won’t watch it with me?”

“Don’t,” Jake said, the corners of his mouth twitching from fighting a smile. “That’s not fair.”

I worked at looking even sadder. “All I want is to sit back with a funny movie, and even after I watched baseball with you, you’re going to make me see it all alone?” I leaned in and kissed his neck. “Come on. You know you want to watch it with me.”

Jake laughed. “You think you can just pout and get your way?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Fine. We’ll watch your stupid movie.”

I grinned at him. “Oh, okay. If you insist.” I bought the comedy and settled in next to Jake, happy to have a simple night at home to relax and watch a movie with my really cute…whatever he was.

Shortly after the movie got going, my eyelids felt heavy—I’d stayed up too late with Jake last night and it was catching up with me. I blinked a couple times, and with each blink it took a little longer to keep my eyes open. I rested my head on Jake’s shoulder, thinking I’d just close my eyes for a minute.

When I awoke, the credits were rolling up my TV screen, accompanied by an obnoxious wannabe rap song. Apparently, my minute had turned into two hours.

“You know how you pouted to get your way?” Jake asked.