Love Like You've Never Been Hurt (8 page)

“I didn’t know, you know,” he murmured next to
her ear. She raised her eyes to meet his.

“I could tell, the shock on your face was almost as bad as
mine.”

“Yeah, but for me it was a good shock.”

After a few moments silence he heard her say, “It was a good
shock for me too.”

He held her a little closer. “Really?”

“Really.”

Wow, she’d surprised him again. But he still had to say what
he’d come to say. “You know if you don’t want me
around I won’t come up here.”

She jerked her head back and looked up at him, her green eyes dark
and unreadable.

“You’d do that?”

“I will do that if it’s what you want.”

“You’d let Pete down?”

“Pete would understand, he’d do anything for you.”

“He would.”

“So would I.”

Her eyes darkened even more. What was that about?

“You would?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want you to stay away.”

His heart beat a little faster, wondering what would come next.

“No?”

“No.”

“What do you want, Emma?”

“I want you to be my friend. Then we don’t have to
worry about any of that other stuff.”

“Your friend?”

“Yes, like Pete and Ben, Please be my friend, Jack. I’d
like that.”

The song ended and she stepped back from him. “So, what do
you say, buddy?” she flashed him a cheeky smile.

“OK, then friend.” They walked back to the others. How
had that happened? He didn’t want to be her friend. Well he
did, but only as part of a much, much bigger package! He wanted to
kiss her, to hold her, to make her moan his name, to wake up next to
her. All those things that lovers do and friends can’t. Damn!
What the hell had just happened?

Pete was puzzled as he watched them approach the table. Emma was
smiling, cute as a button, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
Jack, on the other hand, looked miserable. This, he decided was a
good time to bring a close to this eventful evening.

“Guys, I need to get going.” He was surprised how
eagerly Jack jumped up to join him. They said their goodbyes to the
others, found Scott to wish him one last happy birthday and headed
down to the resort’s main square. The taxi company that
operated from there was on alert to a party night and they took the
first of a long line of cabs that stood ready. After Pete gave the
driver his parents’ address, he turned to Jack.

“So, what happened?”

“She asked me to be her friend, like you and Ben, so we
don’t have to worry about all the other ‘stuff’!”

“Oh, man!”

“What do I do?”

“Not a lot you can do, old man. Be her friend.”

“I’ve been relegated to the friend zone before we even
started!”

“Give her time, she’s scared.”

“Scared of what? What the hell is her problem?”

“She was married,” said Pete, deciding Jack deserved
to know at least the basic story. “She fell head over heels in
love with a guy in the early years in LA. He swept her off her feet
and she bought into all the romance and flowers shit. Trouble was,
after they got married the guy kept the romance and flowers going on
with a couple of actresses and a couple of models too. He married Em
and kept sleeping with the rest of them anyway. You probably know
him, he’s a director, Rob Rivera.”

“Shit! I do know him, by reputation at least. The guy’s
well known for it.”

“Yeah, he’s an asshole of the first order. Em was
young and naïve, she wanted her own fairytale. Now though, she
doesn’t believe in fairytales anymore and she doesn’t
trust her own judgment. She thinks if she likes a guy then he’ll
turn out to be another jackass and break her heart, so it’s
simply easier for her not to go there.”

“Oh, man.”

“The only positive I can offer is that if she’s scared
you’ll hurt her it can only be because she likes you, a lot.”

“Well that’s great, but how do I show her I won’t
hurt her if she will only be my friend?”

“Give her time. Be a real friend and maybe she’ll come
around.”

“Looks like the only option I have.”

On Wednesday evening Emma was baking again as she waited for Holly
to arrive. They’d only caught up last week, but since she was
leaving for Summer Lake on Friday she didn’t know when they’d
get chance again, though she did plan to get Holly up there soon. She
hadn’t forgotten her plan to get her together with Pete that
would be lovely. Holly was happy and healthy and, unlike herself,
free from emotional damage. Emma was sure that the two of them would
get along well, perhaps much more than that. She smiled; they would
make a lovely couple. Hmm, a lovely couple. Oh, well. That was for
other people, not for her. She thought of Jack, as she had so often
this week.

What would it be like to make a lovely couple with him?

“
Oh, stop it, Em,”
she chided herself. He was gorgeous, a successful, self-made man who
was funny and smart. He traveled all over the country designing
beautiful, beautiful buildings – yes she’d checked out
his work online and loved what he did. Even the Phoenix Headquarters,
Pete’s building as she’d always thought of it, was
actually Jack’s building; he was the architect. But really, a
man like that could have any woman he wanted, and as many as he
wanted! She wasn’t stupid; he might want her right now, but for
how long? If she were fool enough to start anything with him she’d
be falling for him and dreaming about happily ever afters right
around the time he was moving on to an actress in LA or a model in
New York. No, it was much more sensible to stay friends with a man
like that. They could hang out and have fun, and he really was fun to
be with. He’d be one of the gang at the lake and there’d
be none of the pain or heartbreak. It was a much better idea. So why
didn’t it feel like it?

The doorbell chimed and she went to let Holly in.

“Oh, no. I smell goodies. I’ve warned you about this.”
Holly took off her jacket and came through to the kitchen, “Uh-oh.”
She was now serious. “What’s wrong, Em?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I smell chocolate cake, which you usually make to go
with bad news and sad times. And you look like you lost a dollar and
found a penny.”

“Humph! How do you know me better than I know myself?”

“Because, my dear, I am able to observe from the outside
while you are so caught up in the inner turmoil you can’t see
beyond it. So spit it out, who peed on your parade? I thought you’d
be full of beans and eager to get up to your lake. Was Carla mean to
you?”

“
No, Carla was
surprisingly understanding.” She’d called her agent first
thing on Monday morning to cancel the
Geraldine’s
Way
meeting and to
tell her she’d decided to take the summer off. She smiled, “I
don’t think she’d let Leandro escape from her bed since I
saw her on Friday. She’s too loved up to be cross with me at
the moment.”

“Well, good for her, but what about you? Have you seen more
of the delicious Mr. Benson? I’m guessing not, judging by the
chocolate cake.”

Emma hadn’t yet filled her in on the developments of the
weekend.

“The delicious Mr. Benson is now officially my friend. We
are having dinner together, as friends, tomorrow evening.”

Holly furrowed her brow, “What’s this ‘friends’
thing about? I’m not sure I like this.”

“It’s the sensible option, given the circumstances,”
said Emma in a mock pompous tone with her nose in the air. She went
on to fill Holly in about the weekend and how she had reached the
conclusion that friendship with Jack was the sensible solution.

“Screw sensible! Sounds like the guy is crazy about you.”

“He acts like it too,” Emma smiled, remembering his
hug and his breath on her cheek, “But, as you know, I can’t
be trusted.”

“Em, you’ve so got to get past this, sweetie. Date the
guy! See where it goes. Have some fun – and some hot sex! If it
lasts, it lasts. If it doesn’t, too bad. It’s better to
have loved and lost and all that.”

“But for me it’s not better, don’t you see? For
me it’s better to just not go there. Now move over while I get
that cake out of the oven. And why can’t you be happy for me
that I have a nice new friend? Pete and Ben are two of the most
important people in my life, along with you and Missy of course, so
how can it be bad to add Jack into that?”

Holly shook her head. “You’re crazy. If I met a guy I
liked as much as you seem to like this Jack, I would throw caution to
the wind and dive right in.”

“
But Holly, you don’t
know what it’s like to lose the people you love most in the
world. The ones you think will always be there for you.” Her
eyes filled. “When Mom and Dad were killed, I told myself I
would never love anyone else in my life, so I wouldn’t ever
have to feel that pain again. I know that was silly kids’
stuff, but obviously it’s stayed with me at some level. Then I
let myself love Rob and we know how that turned out. So, yeah, maybe
I am crazy, but I cope in the ways I can.” With that she banged
the chocolate cake onto the counter top. Then, ashamed of her
outburst, she turned to Holly and rolled her eyes. “Yep, you’re
right, definitely crazy! Sorry about that.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Holly touched her arm. “I
shouldn’t have kept on at you. It’s just that I sense a
chance for happiness for you. I so want you to have that because you
deserve it more than anyone I know and because you’re my friend
and I love you.”

“I know you do, and I love you too.” She got a twinkle
back in her eye. “You know, if you really want to see me happy
there is something you could do for me.”

“Do I spy a set-up coming on? What do you want me to do?”

“Come visit me at the lake. In a couple of weeks we’re
having a big party for Gramps and Joe. They both turn seventy-five
the same week, so Ben and I are arranging a big cookout for everyone.
It’ll be so much fun. Since my life is going to be up there for
a while, I want you to be a part of it. Say you will?”

“I’d love to. It’ll do me good to escape the
city for a weekend.”

“Excellent! Come on then, time to eat cake.”

Jack sat at Mario’s waiting for Emma to arrive. Goddammit,
he was nervous! Didn’t that just beat it all? He was waiting
for a woman who had openly stated that she didn’t want to get
involved with him, who had been perfectly clear that they were
meeting as friends, yet he was more nervous than he’d been on
his first date as a kid. He was freshly showered and shaved with a
little extra of his favorite sandalwood cologne. He wore dark jeans
and a black, short sleeved shirt that showed off his muscular arms. A
party of women at a nearby table kept looking over at him, whispering
and giggling. A leggy brunette rose from her table in the corner and
sauntered towards him.

“It would be a shame for us both to dine alone,” she
purred, “why don’t you join me?”

“Actually,” he gave her a gracious smile, “I’m
waiting for my girlfriend.”

She put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled. “Your loss.”

Jack was used to this; it seemed that women who knew what they
wanted often wanted him.

Of course, Emma chose that moment to appear. As the brunette
walked away, Jack stood to greet Emma and pulled out her chair.

“Hi.”

“Hello, Mouse.” She looked at him. “Well, hey, I
figure it’s what all your real friends call you, right?”

“Yes, it is. Is that a friend of yours?” she asked,
looking towards the brunette who was now watching them from her
table.

“No.”

“Oh?” She obviously wasn’t going to let it go at
that. Jack had already decided, given what Pete had told him, that
honesty in everything was the only way to go if he ever wanted to be
anything more than her friend. He sighed; this wasn’t the start
he’d hoped for.

“She thought I was eating alone and asked me to join her.”

“Do you want to join her? I could leave.”

“Of course not!” He was horrified. “I want to
have dinner with you!”

“Just checking, I didn’t want to cramp your style.”

Oh, she was infuriating. He’d love to tell her that the only
thing cramping his style was her insistence that she wanted nothing
more than friendship from him. OK, calm down. That wouldn’t
help his cause. The waiter came with menus and returned with the wine
Jack ordered. Once he’d nodded his approval he reached across
the table to take her hand.

“Let’s forget that and start again, can we?”

“OK,” she smiled as she removed her hand from his and
picked up the menu.

“So, how are your plans going for getting out of dodge?”
asked Jack once they had ordered.

“Much better than I expected. I wiggled out of the one
looming commitment I had without my agent giving me the hard time I
thought she would.”

“Well done. How did you manage that?”

She giggled. How could a giggle be so sexy? She went on to tell
him all about Carla and the crush she’d had on Leandro for
months.

“I think she still had him tied to her bed when she took my
call!”

Jack laughed, wishing Emma would tie him to her bed. “That
sounds like one scary lady.”

“Oh, she is. She’s amazing. Most people in the
business are totally intimidated by her.”

“But not our Mouse,” he said gently.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m picturing all the hotshots and ball busters
wilting in the face of the mighty Carla, but the one they call Mouse,
she stands her ground and gets her way.”

Emma smiled. “That’s where Super-Mouse comes in.”

Jack smiled, thinking of Pete calling her that in his office.
“That, and knocking over men twice your size.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Please don’t be! I thoroughly enjoyed our first
meeting. And our second.”