Cross the Line (Boston Love Story #2) (6 page)

“How do you know?”

She gives me the look — the one that says
honey, I’ve known you most of your life. I know you better than you know yourself.

I sigh deeply. “Just tell me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Lila.”

“Fine! But don’t bite my head off.” She tries — and fails — to hide a smile. “You won’t get over him until you’ve taken him for a spin.”

“What do you mean?”

She glances up at the ceiling, as if seeking guidance. “God, it’s like talking to Rory Gilmore, season
one
. Except she had more sense when it came to boys.“

“Lila.”

Meeting my eyes again, she grins. “Sometimes, the best way to get over someone emotionally is to get under them.” She pauses a beat. “Physically.”

“Nakedly?” I squeak.

She laughs. “All I’m saying is… give that bike a ride around the block
once
and you’ll realize it’s not all that special. There are plenty of other bikes in the shop with cushier seats, and better bells and whistles. Some of them have seven speeds and when those gears click into place….
Damn
, it’s the best ride of your life, if you know what I mean.”

I stare at her blankly. “I have absolutely no idea what you mean.”

“Sex, Phoebe. I’m talking about
sex.”

My mouth drops open. “You think if I
sleep with him
, it’ll be easier to forget about him?”

“That’s exactly what I just said.”

“Actually, you gave me a very convoluted metaphor about bicycles and—”

“Phoebe!” She cuts me off. “Just trust me. Guys like Knox… it’s all about the allure. The initial attraction. Once that wears off… you’ll realize it was nothing but infatuation.
Lust
, not love.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Well, you’ve tried everything else — including pretending he didn’t exist for ten years — and none of it has ever worked. You’re still as bonkers for him as you were that time in seventh grade when you walked in on him buck naked in the pool house with his hands—”

“AH!” I cut her off. “You swore you’d never mention that! And I am
not
bonkers for him. I hate him, remember?”

She snorts. “
Riiiight
.”

“Lila.”

“I don’t know why you’re giving me such a hard time. Of the two people at this table, I’m the only one with real, actual relationship experience.”

“One night stands with half the male population of Boston is certainly
experience
. But I don’t think it qualifies as
relationship
experience.”

“Do you want my advice, or not?”

“Not really.”

“Fine.” She pushes back her chair in preparation to stand. “Good luck getting over Knox on your own!”

“Wait!” I say instantly.

She freezes, a smug smile on her face, and settles back into her seat. “That’s what I thought.”

“So.” My voice is grudging. “You suggest…what, exactly?”

She gives me a look. “Seduce him. Screw his brains out. And then walk away without any questions or regrets, finally free to move on with someone who deserves you.” She leans in. “Make
him
suffer over
you
for once.”

“That simple, huh?” I ask skeptically.

“That simple.”

I consider her words for a moment. “Even if you’re right, I wouldn’t really know where to start. When it comes to seduction…” I search for the right words. “I’m sort of…”

“Virginal?”

I glare at her.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.” She holds up her hands in surrender. “And your Virgin Mary status doesn’t really matter. That’s why you have me. I’m basically an expert at catching men. Keeping them, on the other hand…” Her grin twists into a grimace and a tiny pang of sadness flashes through her eyes. She quickly buries it. “Just think about it, okay?”

I fall silent, mind reeling with possibilities, heart racing inside my chest.

Could I really do it? Go after Nate? Seduce him, sleep with him, and then walk away, like an addict who promises to quit after just
one last drink
, that
final drink
, the one they need before they can finally get clean?

He won’t give me forever… but maybe he’ll give me one night, just enough to sate my desire and allow me to move on, scot-free, with someone new. And, as an added bonus, in the process, maybe I’ll make him taste regret when
he
has to watch
me
walk away for once.

It’s actually kind of a perfect plan.

I’ll get my night of passion. Then, I’ll get my life back, unencumbered by longing from someone who’s never felt the same.

I just hope it doesn’t cost me my heart, in the process.

Lila might think it’s just infatuation — primal, surface-level attraction — that will go away once I’ve banked the flames burning inside me. But I know the truth — what I feel for Nate is a hell of a lot more. A hell of a lot
deeper
. And once I get a taste of him…once I cross that line… I worry I’ll be more addicted than ever. A junkie, strung out on heartbreak.

Lila’s words taunt me.

You’ve tried everything else — including pretending he didn’t exist for ten years — and none of it has ever worked…

At this point, she’s right… I don’t have any other options.

“So?” Lila’s voice snaps me back into the present. “Which is it? Giving up or giving in?”

I swallow hard. “Do I have to decide now?”

“You’ve had nearly twenty-four years to think about it. Now’s as good a time as any, don’t you agree?”

I clench my fists so hard I’m surprised my nails don’t break the skin of my palms.

“Tick, tock.” Lila stares at me. “Life is slipping away as we speak. The sooner you decide, the sooner you can seduce him, the sooner your real life can start with someone new.”

“Fine,” I whisper, voice shaking. “I’m in.”

Lila cups one hand over her ear and leans across the table. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I’m in,” I repeat, a fraction louder.

“Again?”

“Crap on rye,” I grit out. “I’m
in
! I’m so
in
it makes me want to die.”

“So, you’ll listen to me? Let me be your seduction guru? Your sex coach? Your erotic instructor?” She grins. “You’ll follow my flawless plan to trap, tag, and tap the elusive Nathaniel Knox?”

“He’s not an animal, you sociopath.” I stare at her. “Maybe you and Brett Croft would be perfect for each other, after all.”

“Oh, shut up.” Her voice is laced with excitement — she’s practically
giddy
— and I wonder, not for the first time, if Lila likes living on the edge a bit
too
much. “Step One in our plan of attack — you have to do it again.”

“Date a sociopath?”

“No, idiot. You have to make Knox jealous.” Her eyes gleam. “And, thankfully, driving men crazy is one of my specialties. When I’m done with you, he’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand.”

I nearly choke on my sip of tequila. “You do realize this is
Nate
we’re talking about?”

“Honey.” Her grin widens. “The wildest stallions are the most fun to break.”

“Sociopath,” I mutter, taking another gulp of my drink.

Lila claps again. “Ohh, this is going to be so much fun!” 

Fun is one word for it.

Personally, I think
terrifying
,
mortifying
, and
nauseating
fit the scenario better.

I only cut carbs when I’m

using a pizza cutter.

Phoebe West, considering the Atkins diet.

“Hello?”

“I told Chase this was going to happen. Told him! But did he listen? Noooo.” A familiar female voice bursts over the line, far too peppy for this time of morning. “
Open your own gallery,
he said.
It will be fun,
he said.” She snorts. “Well,
it’ll be a freaking disaster
is what
I
said, but does he listen? Nope. Why listen to Gemma? She’s only ever right… Oh, yeah! That would be
all the time
.”

“Gemma?” I ask, rubbing bleary eyes and feeling like my head might explode.

“No, it’s Danny DeVito.” I can practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Yes, it’s Gemma. Keep up, will you?”

I sit up in bed, phone pressed to my ear, and glance at Boo with my eyebrows raised.

Don’t look at me
.
You know I like my beauty rest,
he conveys, flashing a row of pointy white teeth as his mouth widens in an adorable doggie yawn. His head cocks to the side as he pins me with a pleading look.
Though, now that we’re awake… time for walkies?

I shake my head at the dog and try to focus.

“Gemma, did we have plans?” I murmur, voice still scratchy with sleep.

“What do you think of calla lilies?” she asks, totally ignoring me. “Too macabre? Do they scream funeral parlor?”

“Um… lilies are nice?”

“You’re right,” she continues. “Too macabre. Thanks, Phee.”

I blink slowly. “I have no idea what’s happening right now.”

“You and me both, girl. See you tonight!”

She clicks off without another word.

“Bye,” I murmur to no one.

What the frack?

I stare at the disconnected phone in my hand for a few moments, totally stupefied, then collapse back against my pillows with a huff. My eyes slide closed.
Maybe I can fall back asleep for a few more minutes…

The thought has barely left my mind when I feel Boo’s weight settle in the middle of my chest. A second later, something warm and wet darts out and licks the length of my cheek.

“Not the face, Boo!” I grumble.

He ignores me.

***

Feet stuffed into slippers, silk bathrobe wrapped tightly around my body, I fight off shivers as I wait for Boo to do his business. Which, I know from experience, could take anywhere between three minutes and seventy years. I take a big swig of my coffee, hoping it’ll ward off the chill while kickstarting my brain into gear.

Gemma’s wake-up call came far too early. I consider redialing her, just to grumble about the indecency of ringing someone at six on a Saturday morning, but I know she won’t answer. Her gallery,
Karma
, opens tonight, and I’m sure she’ll be running around like a fangirl at Comic Con all day, trying to get everything done before time runs out. Then again, even if the opening wasn’t tonight, she probably wouldn’t answer. I’ve never met someone so unreliable with a cellphone in my entire life.

In the few short weeks since we met, I’ve witnessed her slaughter four different iPhones. One fell in front of a taxi as we crossed Comm Ave on our way back from brunch. Another slipped from her grip and plunged straight down a sewer grate on Newbury as she flipped off a rude cabbie. I think she flushed the third one down the toilet at the penthouse loft she shares with her mega-hot boyfriend, Chase. And I have no idea what she did with the fourth one, though I’m sure it came to a colorful end, like its brothers before it.

It’s become a cycle, of sorts — she’ll violently massacre one phone; Chase will quietly replace it with a new one. And so it goes.

Totally symbiotic.

This would be weird, if it were anyone else. But it’s
Gemma
. The girl flies through life like a kite without a string, driving everyone around her crazy — including Chase. (Who, I might add, is nothing like his cousin — in either looks or personality. Brett Croft is dark, Chase Croft is light. Like Loki and Thor. Or, if we’re sticking with the Somerhalder theory… in vampire-speak, if Brett is Damon Salvatore, Chase is Carlisle Cullen. Just, you know, hotter and not at all sparkly.)

Shit, did I just make a Twilight reference?

I will spontaneously combust in shame in three… two… one…

Gemma and I became fast friends after we met at the gala last month. I made a point to visit her in the hospital after her brush with death (it’s a long story) and as soon as she was released, she called and asked me to brunch — which was basically three hours of drinking mimosas and dishing over Croft family drama. I’m not entirely sure why she decided to insert herself into my life — she already has a group of seriously kick-ass friends — but she seems hell-bent on getting to know me.

I’m hell-bent on letting her.

Gemma is a hoot to be around. Witnessing the sheer chaos of her life is better than HBO. Hell, give me a bag of popcorn (extra butter) and a large Diet Coke, and I could binge-watch for days. 

On our third girl-date, she got me drunk on Old Fashioneds at Top of the Hub (the panoramic bar on the top level of the Prudential Center, where the only thing steeper than the views are the cocktail prices) and I spilled
everything
. My love for Knox. His indifference. The night he stopped by my place. Lila’s plans to help me get over him. My fears that the closest I’ll ever get to a man seeing me naked is that one time Boo jumped into the shower with me.

Sigh.

She was sympathetic and, like Lila, determined to fix things. Though, I have a feeling Gemma is more interested in playing matchmaker than helping me move on. In fact, she’s a tad
too
excited by the idea of me and Nate dating, as evidenced by the way her eyes lit up as she squealed,
Ohmigod! You and Knox? Together?! That is the cutest freaking thing I’ve ever heard! And once, I heard a baby panda
sneeze
at the zoo!

I tried to get her on board with the plan to
love-him-and-leave-him
  —
fornicate-and-forget
? (I’m still working on the lingo) — but whenever I bring it up, she just nods with a dreamy look in her eyes, likely planning the color schemes of Nate and my wedding. Somehow my love life, which was nonexistent until about a month ago when he showed up at my house, has been snatched from my grip and placed into the control of two crazy women. Between Lila’s grand plans pulling me one direction and Gemma’s Yenta-schemes pushing me in another….

I’m totally fucked. And probably liable to get torn in half.

“Come on, Boo, be a man. Make a decision,” I call into the crisp spring morning. “You’ll never catch a bitch if your willie freezes off out here.” 

His head swings around and I swear, he narrows his eyes at me.  Sometimes, I’m almost positive he understands English.

“Don’t glare at me like that,” I mutter. “I’m just looking out for your welfare.”

Finally, he picks a spot and unleashes a seemingly impossible amount of pee for such a small creature. No wonder he’s so sassy — he’s literally full of piss and vinegar.

Back inside, I suck down another mug of java and check my phone. It doesn’t surprise me to see three waiting text messages.

Lila
: Are you awake? We need to strategize for the gallery opening tonight.

Lila
: A little birdy told me Knox will definitely be there. Time to put Phase 1 into effect! Tactical plans include a sexy dress and killer heels.

Lila
: Are you awake now?

I roll my eyes.

After I agreed to let Lila commandeer my sex life (a plan she immediately christened S.H.A.G. — Seduction Help and Guidance) and assist me in getting over Nate for good (now known to all parties involved as S.P.A.N.K. — Severing Phoebe’s Attachment to Nathaniel Knox) she’s been making plans. Semi-terrifying plans, all of which are intended to aid me in my quest to seduce him. The only problem is… he isn’t exactly cooperating. A month has passed and, to Lila’s mounting frustration, no progress has been made. If anything, I think we’re backsliding.

For instance, three weeks ago, she spent hours dolling me up for my first visit to Gemma and Chase’s penthouse, totally convinced that Knox would be there, as he often does private security for Croft Industries.

He wasn’t.

The only people at the loft were Gemma and her friend Shelby — dressed in pajamas, drinking wine like Napa Valley had just announced it was going through a dry spell, and shoving popcorn into their mouths as
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
played on the flat screen. It was safe to say they looked at me strangely when I showed up in a sparkly Roberto Cavalli mini skirt and my new black Prada pumps. Sure, everyone knows I’m a clotheshorse… but that was pushing it. Even for me.

The following week, Lila set me up on a truly awful blind date with a man named Kirk, who she vaguely introduced as a “friend of a friend.” Since I’m pretty much her only friend, and I sure as hell didn’t set
myself
up with a man who called to mind
Star Trek
for more reasons than just his name (really, the mustard yellow sweater was a poor choice) she wasn’t fooling anyone.

I don’t care if your intentions are pure, Lila — stop setting me up with creepy dudes you meet on the internet.

If her plan was to make Nate jealous, Kirk was
not
a good choice. Yes, he was handsome — but the man was dull as a box of sidewalk chalk. I’ve had more fulfilling conversations with Suki, the three-year-old toddler whose family lives in the brownstone next to mine. When the night came to a close, I begged off with a fake headache and walked home alone.

To no one’s surprise, Nate was
not
waiting for me in my darkened living room, vibrating with intensity and warning me to stay away from Captain Kirk.

When her set-up failed, Lila resorted to her tried-and-true high school tactics, back in the days when we’d stake out her crush-of-the-week in my SUV, hunched low in our seats to avoid detection. I’m not sure why she thought this would be successful — it hadn’t worked on the star quarterback six years ago, and it’s not the kind of plan that improves with age. Still, she staged a drive-by at Knox Investigations, the low-slung black building in the Seaport district where Nate runs his private investigations business. I’ve never been inside and, to my knowledge, neither has Lila…. But that didn’t stop her from riding past it
three times
before I realized what was happening and was able to wrestle the wheel from her grip.

Clearly she’s getting desperate, since none of her normal schemes are working.

But tonight…. Oh, tonight is the game changer. For the first time since I — foolishly — agreed to follow her lead, she knows with one hundred percent certainty where Nate will be.

See, tonight’s guest list is sprinkled with Boston’s elite, all eager to drop an obscene amount of money on pieces of modern art –one more canvas for their vast collections. It’ll be a star-studded affair, full of venomous socialites, scheming businessmen, and pretentious French finger-food that, for all the allure of foie gras, can’t hold a candle to pigs-in-blankets.

My natural habitat.

Anyway, the result of all these wealthy patrons gathered in one place means one thing: paparazzi.

Lots of it.

Between the crowd of reporters staked outside and the hundred or so attendees wandering around inside… Chase won’t be taking any chances with Gemma’s safety. And there’s only one person he’d trust to run point when it comes to protecting the love of his life.

I’ll give you a hint — rhymes with
hate
.

He’ll definitely be there and, in Lila’s mind, that amounts to one thing — her plans finally being set into motion.

Hence the series of increasingly urgent text messages on my phone. As I watch, my cell lights up with a new one.

Lila
: ANSWER ME! Otherwise I’m coming over, kidnapping Boo, and holding him for ransom. You know I will.

God, all this scheming is messing with her head — she’s becoming downright maniacal. I don’t doubt her threats, though, so I tap out a response, a vindictive grin twisting my lips as my fingers move over the screen. After the torturous Captain Kirk incident… I can’t stop myself from returning the favor when such a prime opportunity presents itself.

Phoebe
: Actually, I’m not feeling well… I don’t think I’m going tonight.

My phone rings immediately.

I laugh as I connect the call and lift it to my ear. Before I can get out a single word, Lila starts yelling.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU AREN’T GOING?! This is the plan, you ungrateful cow! You’re not backing out. I won’t let you. Not after everything I’ve done for you! Not after all my hard work and advice and outfit planning and eyebrow shaping and
years
of straightening the back of your hair whenever you can’t reach that fuzzy layer that hides underneath! No. Phoebe Evangeline West, you are going to that fucking gallery opening looking like the finest piece of ass Knox has ever seen, even if I have to
drag you there myself!
DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!”