Jealous in July (Spring River Valley Book 7) (6 page)

“My files?”

Her heart skipped a beat. Had she only daydreamed that he’d asked her to work for him while Mitzi was on vacation? “You know, to organize them?”

“Oh! Right. Sure. Any time you’re ready. Go get yourself some coffee and drop by my office whenever you’re settled in.”

“Hey, Brenda.” Chase appeared then, stepping off the second elevator. He must have been right behind them in the lobby.

“Hi.”
She cast him a meaningful look, but he skillfully ignored it.

“Hey, Chase.” Riley gestured with his newspaper. “Did you read the article on page ten about
internet security? It mentioned a couple of things I think we should implement in our personnel files.”

“No…I haven’t,” Chase replied, but his gaze was fixed on Brenda
’s.

“Let’s talk at lunch.”

“Sure, uh, Brenda, how’s your air conditioning? I really felt bad dropping your off at your hot apartment the other night. Did the super get it fixed yet?”

Brenda stared at Chase, her mind whirling. “No, not yet. He’s working on it.”

“Well, my offer still stands.”

“Great, thanks.”

Riley smiled questioningly at the two of them, then abruptly walked away. Brenda let out her breath and shook her head. “My God, that was a lame conversation.”

“I told you, the guy’s brain is banana pudding.”

“Not him, you. What was that about? Your
hot
apartment?”

“What?” Chase raised his hands in surrender. “God’s honest truth, I felt bad. I didn’t make that up.” He lowered his voice. “Besides, did you see the look he gave us?
Then he rushed off. He’s probably plotting something.”

“Oh
, please. He probably needs coffee. He looks exhausted.”

“So do you.”

“What? Thanks a lot.”

Chase cringed. “Sorry. I mean, well, the heat…a few hours in a nice cool movie theater will do you some good.”

“I’m in a nice cool office. I’m fine right now, thanks.” The words echoed in her head. Since the moment Chase had appeared, her pulse had thumped wildly in her ears. The chilly air blowing from the overhead vents did nothing to calm the heat in her cheeks. Why had his offhand comment upset her so much? Did she really look bad? She wanted to bolt to the nearest ladies’ room and check.

“Really, I didn’t mean you’re not beau
— that you don’t look fine. I just was worried about you in the heat. People die of heat stroke when the temperatures are this high, you know.”

She eyed him sidelong. “Usually those are elderly people. I’m not geriatric yet.”

Chase sighed. “I see I can’t win here. I give up trying not to accidentally insult you. I’m going to work, but how about I buy you lunch to make up for my obviously lunkheaded remarks?”

She considered it. Every logical fiber in her body screamed no. She would be spending the morning working with Riley. Who knew what might come of that? Her answer slipped out of her lips before she could stop it. “All right, fine. I’ll see you at noon.”

What had she done?

Chase smiled and headed off toward the personnel office
, leaving Brenda to contemplate her folly. If this façade went on any longer, she’d lose her mind. She had to work things out with Riley ASAP and put things in perspective with Chase before she did something she would end up regretting.

“I was afraid you’d change your mind about lunch,” Chase whispered as he took his place behind Brenda in the cafeteria queue at noon.

She offered him a wry glance over her shoulder, a curl of her bangs partially obscuring one eye. “I don’t mess around when it comes to lunch.” She winked at him
, and his heart fluttered. He’d have rubbed his chest, but he preferred to ignore the physical reactions she caused, at least until he had a better idea of where things stood with her and Riley. They’d been working together all morning, and he’d half expected her cancellation of their impromptu lunch date to come attached to a wedding invitation. After all, if a woman like Brenda had wanted Chase, he wouldn’t waste any time. Riley had to be completely brain-dead. Poor bastard.

They filled their trays with the day’s special and headed for a table in the far corner of the sunny cafeteria near where
floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the river. Chase set his tray down and moved to pull Brenda’s chair out for her. She eyed him as though he was from Mars.

“What?”

“I forgot, chivalry is alive and well where you come from.”

“
Good manners never hurt anyone. My mother insisted I act like a gentleman, at least in public, from the time I was three.”

“Well, good for her. She sounds like a lady I’d like to meet.”

Chase bowed his head as he sat down. “I wish you could. She died a few years ago, but I’m sure she would have liked you, too.”

Brenda’s gaze fixed on his, so intent for a second that he held his breath.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

He waved it off with a half smile. “It’s okay. How’s the
pot pie?” He would have traded a few more minutes of discomfort to have kept her eyes locked with his just a little bit longer, but he wanted their lunch “date” to be pleasant and not full of long, sad stories about a young man losing the woman who’d raised him. Maybe some other time he’d tell her his semi-tragic life story, but for now, all he really wanted was to see her dazzling smile.

She took the hint. “It’s…really good. The
y don’t normally make it in the summer. It’s a nice change.”

Before he could take a bite, Chase’s gaze landed on Riley who was heading in their direction. Damn, just when he wanted the guy to continue his power lunches eaten over his desk, he decide
d to show up with a heaping tray of food.

Brenda’s eyes tracked to him as well, but they didn’t light up as they usually did when the object of her affection arrived. In fact, she gave no reaction at all, even when Riley asked if one of the two empty seats at their table was taken.

Chase shrugged. “All yours.”
Damn
. What else could he say?

Riley slumped into his seat and sighed. “I was ordered to take lunch now because I’ll probably be working through dinner. Brenda, thanks for your help with the files. I won’t be able to work with you this afternoon. Tyler called me into a
one-o’clock meeting with the people from TCL Trucking. Now that they’re going global, they’ll be needing tons of contracts drawn up. Maybe tomorrow we can steal a few minutes to finish up.”

“Sure, no problem. Just buzz me whenever you need me.”

Chase grinned. “TCL’s global account. Sounds like big money for the firm.”

“Dry stuff,” Riley said between bites of his lunch. “But lucrative.”

Brenda’s eyes seemed to glaze over. Chase debated with himself. Should he let her wallow in Riley’s boring dissertation on trucking contracts so she could get an idea of what a date with him might be like? Or should he make his next calculated move?

The latter won out. He pointed his fork at his lunch. “You know, Brenda, this reminds me of the
beef Wellington they serve at Taverna Fiora. We should give it a try the next time we go there.”

He caught the momentary panic in her eyes, but she recovered quickly and nodded. “
All right, as long as I can have their blueberry cheesecake again for dessert. That was fantastic.”

“Taverna Fiora?” Riley managed to look mildly surprised. “Do you two go there often?”

“We’ve only been once so far…together,” Chase replied pointedly.

“I was there for a wedding reception once. Before the new manager took over. It’s mu
ch nicer now.” Brenda dug into her food, clearly struggling not to gawk at Riley.

“So the food there is good?”

“It’s awesome,” Chase said. “And the atmosphere is very…roman—”

“Festive,” Brenda cut in. “Very festive.”

“Good to know. A friend of mine is supposed to be coming back from Iraq in a few months, and a bunch of us are looking for a place to hold his welcome home party. I knew TF catered, but I wasn’t sure how the place was inside.” He focused on Brenda. “Would you say it’s a nice place for a non-wedding party?”

“Oh, sure. The outdoor garden is a bit intimate, but the regular banquet rooms are good for any occasion, I would think.”

“I’ll have to suggest it to my friends. Maybe I’ll check it out one of these weekends if I get some free time. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of you two.”

Chase and Brenda locked eyes while Riley picked at his food. They both remained silent, until he spoke again.

“I haven’t been out to a good restaurant in longer than I can remember. The delivery guy from Romanelli’s Pizza thinks I have a crush on him. It’s a little creepy.”

Brenda stared
, and Chase raised a brow.

Riley eyed them both clinically. “Guys, it’s a joke. I order in so much…wow…this is a tough crowd.” He laughed.

“So you don’t get out much?” Chase asked.

“That’s sort of what I was implying with the pizza remark. But, yeah. Essentially, if I’m not here, I’m at home with my face in a book.
The last time I went on a date was…oh, gosh, back in May.”

“Oh? That’s not really that far back…” Brenda’s cheeks flushed
, and her stare hardened.

Riley didn’t seem to notice. “
Somebody fixed me up on a blind date, but it didn’t go well. I got called in to work in the middle of dinner, and as it turns out, my date went home with the bartender. I hear they’ve been together ever since.”

Brenda studied her plate. She moved some food around, but didn’t take another bite.

Chase silently cursed Riley. What a dunce. He had no idea he’d just skewered the girl right through the heart. What did he need a blind date for when Brenda was right in front of him? “So you haven’t been on a date since then?”

“Who has time? Well,
I
don’t have time anyway. I’ve been threatened by a number of people, though, that if I don’t go out and have some fun the second I’m done with the bar, I’ll be kidnapped and left on a desert island.”

Brenda pursed her lips, but said nothing. The conversation steered itself around to sports, then back to trucking contracts before a text message from upstairs had Riley on his feet.

“Gotta go… The clients are here early. Catch you guys later.”

Silence fell over the table when Riley walked away. Chase waited until he’d left the cafeteria
, then leaned toward Brenda. “I’m sorry.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “A blind date.”

“I know. Stupid.”

“
Yes, I am.”

“Not you. Him! If he can’t see
—”

“That’s the whole point, Chase. I’ve been expecting him to notice me, to suddenly realize I’ve been gazing at him like a lovestruck puppy for eighteen months. He has no idea because he’s not a mind reader.”

“So what’s your plan?”

She pushed back from the table. “To get over myself. That’s my plan.”

“How exactly do you plan to do that?”

“Maybe I’ll take a long walk off a short pier. I’m a
first-class idiot.”

“No, you’re not. You just need a distraction for a while. Look, it’s going to be a
gorgeous evening. How about we go do something fun tonight after work?”

She sighed. “Like what?”

“Leave it up to me. Go home after work and put on something comfortable, and I’ll pick you up around six.”

“Come on, I need more information than that.”

“I’ll only tell you this, it may involve walking off a short pier, if that will make you feel any better.”

“That might be the only thing th
at will.”

* * * *

“I need to know why I fixate on unavailable men.” Brenda paced through her living room, the phone balanced on her shoulder while she straightened up. Chase was on his way to pick her up, and she’d calculated she had about ten minutes for Samantha to diagnose and cure her current neurosis so she could somehow manage to enjoy herself on a date with a guy who wasn’t Riley Thayer.

“Riley isn’t unavailable, Bren. He’s not married, not engaged, not dating anyone
, and he hasn’t taken vows of celibacy. That’s the definition of available.”

“Sure, that’s easy for you to say. You’re getting ready to have dinner with Aiden, your boyfriend.”

“Bren, take a deep breath. Relax.”

Brenda tried to comply. She sighed and settled on the couch for a second, enjoying the cool stream of air coming from the A/C. Thank God the super had fixed the system. She was sweating this evening enough without actually sweating besides. Why had she agreed to go out with Chase again? Was she subconsciously trying to punish Riley who, incidentally, might never know about it? Or was she trying to prove something to herself?