Happy Hour: From the Black & White Collection (3 page)

sucked in a deep breath. He’d never seen her so carefree and he wished he’d snagged her for the dance

before Trey.

Then he realized what was different. Grace was flirting. Seriously flirting. With him and, if he wasn’t mistaken, with Trey.

“You’ve got a little drool on your chin. You may want to wipe that off before they come back to the

table.” Cheryl was giving him her usual shit-eating grin and he grimaced. Grace’s best friend had been riding his ass for the past month about making a move on Grace, but something had always come up.

“Very funny, Cheryl. I’m glad I can provide you with so much entertainment.”

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Happy Hour

Cheryl took a sip of her soda. “It’s not me I want you to entertain. It’s Gracie. You’ve given me seven hundred and twenty-nine excuses the past few weeks about why you can’t ask her out. Don’t you think it’s time you grew a pair and took the plunge?”

Jamie shook his head. He was used to Cheryl’s straightforward comments. “Tell me again why I hang

out with you?”

Cheryl burst into laughter. “If you only knew how much you and Grace had in common. I think she

asked me the same damn question about an hour ago.”

“I’m not surprised,” Jamie muttered.

“I’ll tell you why you hang out with me. Because I tell you the truth and I don’t let you get away with shit just because you’ve got those baby blue eyes and dimples that make most women bend over backward

to do your bidding.”

Jamie fell silent rather than admit the truth of Cheryl’s statement. She and Grace were straight

shooters and he preferred their company to that of women his own age, who tended to agree with

everything he said and giggled incessantly.

Jamie ran his hand through his hair. “You and Trey are starting to sound like the same broken record

lately. I’m not sure why the two of you think anything has changed from the status quo. You know as well as I do, Grace wasn’t ready for another relationship after Drew died. She said flat-out she wasn’t going to date, wasn’t going to bring some strange man into Maddie’s life after she’d just lost her father.”

“I also know,” Cheryl interrupted, “that excuse stopped being valid quite awhile ago. Maddie’s more

than mature enough to handle her mother dating and has even mentioned it to Grace. Hell, the girl tried to set Grace up with the divorced father of a friend a few months ago.”

“And Grace turned down the offer.” Jamie remembered Maddie’s matchmaking scheme well. He’d

lost more than a few nights’ sleep fearing the hook-up would take and he’d lose his shot at asking Grace out himself.

“She wouldn’t turn you down.” Cheryl’s response was confident and Jamie felt the tiniest spark of

hope emerge.

“What makes you so sure?”

“She’s my best friend. I know her. Trust me on this.”

“Is she ready for more than casual dating?” Grace was a very good friend. He wasn’t about to risk that

relationship for just sex. When he approached Grace, he was going in for the long haul. He was thirty-two and fucking sick and tired of the dating scene. Grace was everything he wanted in a woman and a helluva lot more.

Cheryl smiled. “You’ve been thinking about more than just asking her out, haven’t you?”

He shrugged and Cheryl pointed to Trey and Grace on the dance floor. “You better hurry your ass up

before someone swoops in and gets to her before you.”

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“You didn’t answer my question, Cheryl. I’m not about to throw away a friendship for a fling.”

“She’s worried about Maddie leaving, scared about the prospect of being alone.”

Cheryl’s comments washed over him like a bucket of ice-cold water. “Sounds like a lousy reason to

date someone. Fear of being alone.”

Cheryl shook her head. “That didn’t come out right. Grace is a warm, vibrant, caring woman who’s

just spent the last six years of her life giving up a lot of her own needs because she felt like she owed it to Drew to raise their daughter in a safe, normal environment. She didn’t accept dates because she didn’t want to run the risk of feeling something for someone and upset the routine of Maddie’s home life. But, Jamie, in doing that, she let some prime years pass her by. Now she’s forty and facing a lifetime alone. You know as well as I do she’s not meant to live life as a single. She loved being married and she loved making a home with Drew and Maddie. That home’s going to be empty soon and I want to make sure she doesn’t accept

that as her lot in life rather than try for something more, something special.”

Jamie looked at Grace dancing with Trey. He was trying to teach her how to bump and grind and she

was laughing. He fought back the twinge of jealousy pushing its way to the surface when Trey drove his

hips into her ass.

“They look cute together,” Cheryl said.

Jamie turned to her angrily, ready to set her straight on the subject, but Cheryl’s laugh cut off his

reply.

She held up her hands in mock surrender. “Easy greasy. Those blue eyes of yours are suddenly the

most unusual shade of green.”

“They’re just dancing.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. You’ve had months to make a move, Jamie. Do you really think other men are

going to remain blind to Grace’s beauty forever? She’s put out some serious hands-off vibes in the past, but I think you can see that shield’s been put away tonight. Even Trey has noticed.”

He looked at his friend and knew Cheryl’s words were true. Grace
was
different tonight. She was open and…well, ready. Ready to move on, ready for the next adventure.

“You’ve made your point, Cheryl.” She had. Jamie was finished playing this game by Grace’s rules.

Tonight the game plan changed.

“Damn,” she joked. “And here I was just getting on a nagging roll. You give in far too easily. Not

even a challenge, really.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

Lady GaGa’s voice faded away and a new song started playing. “Woot.” Cheryl stood up quickly.

“Hot damn. ‘Dancing Queen’. I paid a quarter for this.” She boogied her way to the dance floor, dragging Grace back out to the center as she and Trey were walking off.

Trey came back to the table alone, shaking his head. “Fucking ABBA. Where’s Lucas?”

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Happy Hour

Jamie gestured to the bar. “Saw an old friend of his. Went over to say hi.”

“Oh.” Trey turned to watch Cheryl and Grace dancing and Jamie felt an uneasy chill at the look on his

friend’s face.

“You and Grace looked like you were having fun on the dance floor.”

Trey grinned. “Grace is a good dancer—for a white chick.”

Jamie fought back a scowl. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to pick her up.”

Trey shrugged. “Grace is cool. She’s a lot of fun. Maybe she wouldn’t mind taking a ride on the

midnight express with me.”

Jamie’s temper reached the boiling point. “You better be fucking kidding. Besides, correct me if I’m

wrong, but I’m pretty sure I’ve told you a few thousand times how I feel about Grace. So what’s the real deal?”

Trey shrugged. “I don’t see a sign around her neck that says off-limits, property of Jamie Fisher.”

Lucas came back to the table and both of them fell silent. Jamie was seething, furious at his friend’s

comment. Then he realized Trey was right. He’d done nothing but talk about Grace—and not even to her.

He’d never asked her out, never let her know he was interested beyond a few racy innuendoes. When he

thought about it, Trey had given Grace more hints about being interested tonight than Jamie had in their entire friendship.

Jamie looked back at Grace and Cheryl dancing and laughing. Before tonight, he’d had some sixth

sense about Grace that told him she wasn’t ready. Suddenly that feeling was gone and he’d be damned if

Trey swooped in now that the time might be right for him to make a move.

The music changed to David Allan Coe and Jamie saw a grin cross Lucas’ face. “There’s my song.

Who’s in?” Jamie shook his head and neither of them even looked at Trey, knowing his distaste for country music. “Fine,” Lucas said. “I’ll grab Gracie and Cheryl.”

Jamie sighed. This was becoming a fucking epidemic. If it went on much longer, he’d feel compelled

to beat the shit out of both his friends.

“I thought you needed a kick in the ass,” Trey said. Jamie looked at him and realized his friend was

picking up their argument right where they’d left it.

“So you’re trying to make me jealous?” he asked, relieved. They were best friends, had been for

years. Obviously Trey had spent one too many nights listening to him talk about the sexy English teacher.

Trey nodded. “I was…but somewhere along the line that plan backfired. Grace
really
is hot.”

Jamie took a drink of beer, trying to cool his throat and his anger. Trey was interested in Grace and he couldn’t help feeling that perhaps she was interested in his friend too. She’d touched Trey on the dance floor a few times in ways that made him think the feeling might be mutual.

Dammit. She’d always had this underlying sex appeal that attracted him, but tonight it seemed

magnified a hundredfold. His cock had been rock hard for hours. It’s a shame all the blood in his body was

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Mari Carr

hanging out down south. He could use a pint or two of it in his brain so he could figure out what the hell was going on.

“Backfired?” he repeated. “So you aren’t trying to make me jealous anymore?”

Trey had never poached on his girlfriends in the past. But Grace didn’t belong to Jamie. Not yet.

They sat in silence for several awkward moments as the truth came crashing down on top of him.

“You can’t have Grace.” Jamie stated flatly and he watched Trey struggle for a response.

His friend’s back appeared to come up a bit. “You’ve had months to make your move. Shit, you’ve

had years. If you’re not going to, I don’t see why I should have to bow out.”

“You’re right. I’ve had months, but I also think I was right to wait. Grace wasn’t ready before.”

He could tell the only word Trey heard in his sentence was
before
. “But she is now?”

Fuck. He found himself wondering once more if Grace’s interest in Trey was real. Had her touches

been sincere? What if he’d waited too long?

Jamie shrugged, unwilling and unable to answer the question.

Trey looked at him, his face far too serious for what was supposed to be a fun evening out. “I’ll tell

you what I think. I think she’s a powder keg about to explode.”

“You do realize she’s twelve years older than you.” It was a low blow, but Jamie was scrambling for

ground.

“I’m not looking for forever, Jamie. Just one night. I happen to think there are a lot of things I can

give Grace. Things I don’t think she knows she wants yet. The way she’s been looking at me tonight, the little touches, the sexy smiles. She’s reaching out for something. I know you. You’ll snatch her off the dating market the second she places her big toe on the board. But is that fair to her, man? She’s gone from married to single parent, never experiencing anything else in between.”

Jamie suspected there were some hidden desires inside Grace and suddenly he understood what Trey

was suggesting.

“I’ll never let you touch her,” Jamie said. His words were true.

“You’ll never let me touch her alone.”

Jamie’s eyes widened. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, but no sound emerged. He

could see Trey taking a perverse bit of pride in leaving him speechless.

“A threesome?” Jamie whispered.

“Do you think Grace would go for it?”

Jesus. Jamie wasn’t sure
he’d
go for it, but now that the idea was out there, he had to admit it was a secret fantasy of his.

“I don’t know. Are you serious about this, Trey? Would you really go through with it?” He

knew Trey, knew this was uncharted waters for both of them.

Trey considered the question. “Yeah, if she wanted to and you were okay with it, I think I would.”

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Mari Carr

Happy Hour

“I’m in love with Grace.” The words flew from his lips, but he wanted them said, wanted Trey to

understand.

“I know that, man. I’ve known that forever.”

Jamie nodded, but Trey’s answer wasn’t enough. He would never risk Grace’s emotions, her feelings

on something that Trey might consider just a lark. “I need to know how you feel about her.”

Trey grinned. “I’m fucking crazy about her, but I’m not in love with her. She’s an awesome friend

and I think she’s one helluva woman. Let’s just say my feelings reside in the ‘friendship with healthy bit of lust’ realm.”

“That’s not good enough.”

Trey ran his finger around the rim of his glass. He was silent for a few moments and Jamie sensed his

friend was struggling to explain his feelings. Finally, he looked up. “She’s a good friend, Jamie. Probably one of the best I’ve ever had. I’d never do anything I thought would jeopardize that relationship. I may not be in love with her, but I care about her. A lot. There’s an attraction between us. I don’t wanna fuck up anything between you two, but I’m pretty sure I’d spend the rest of my life wondering what it would be like to be with her. Just once. And, at the risk of sounding cocky as shit, I sort of think she’d wonder too.”

Jamie sat back and considered Trey’s comments. While Lucas was definitely a player, Trey was a nice

guy. He’d never hurt anyone he cared about and Jamie knew it.

Trey leaned forward, placed his elbows on the table. “You know. You’ve made a lot of excuses for

why you’ve never asked Grace out, but I think there’s one excuse you’ve never admitted, not even to