Not Just Friends (Brookfield)

Not Just Friends

Lacey Wolfe

Acknowledgments

Thank
you so much to my readers who’ve fallen in love with the Brookfield series as
much as I have. I absolutely love this town I’ve created and the characters
that come along. I hope to see this series grow and that you as my readers
continue to love it as well.

Thank
you to my editor, Tara Chevrestt, for helping me polish this baby up. I love
the working relationship that we have and out ability to simply ‘click’ on
things.

Ella
Jade, thank you for continuing to catch my over used words. You’ve got an
awesome eye. I’m so glad to have met you and love working with you.

A
big giant thank you to my street team as well. A wonderful group of readers who
help me promote and let me dangle ideas in front of them to get their opinions.
Sometimes I wish I could write faster!

Back Cover Blurb

Can
the quiet bookstore owner land the playboy?
Alyssa Duncan’s life revolves around books. If not for the fact the town’s
playboy Connor Phillips has a secret reading addiction, she most likely
wouldn’t be on his radar…or his friend.  The two personalities just don’t
mesh…or do they? She gets a chance to find out when a book-reading bet leads to
dinner. Alyssa experiences a wide a range of emotions. She’s elated her
beyond-friendship feelings seem returned, but his reputation precedes him. Is
she just another gullible female in a string of women? As a relationship begins
to develop with Connor, going past the limits of friendship, things grow
muddled and complicated when an ex-boyfriend shows up in town and things aren’t
what they seem. 
When the dust finally settles, will Alyssa find true love with someone or end
up with just another friend?

Chapter One

Alyssa
Duncan’s alarm clock beeped on the front desk, alerting her that it was her favorite
hour in her book store. Closing time.

 It
wasn’t because she disliked owning The Reading Corner. No…quite the opposite.
This was her time to be alone with all the books. She got to walk around and
put each one back in its place. She rubbed her hands down the line of books on
the shelves, making sure they were pushed all the way back.

Oftentimes,
she would find a book she’d yet to read and would take it upstairs to her
apartment. Alyssa was lucky. Her shop was one of the few stores left in
Brookfield with an apartment above it. She loved living above her store.

Tonight
Alyssa was in the mood for a historical romance. She wanted to be swept away to
the 1700s. Perhaps she could read about a widowed duchess and a proclaimed rake.
Those were always fun. She skimmed the titles until something caught her
attention. One of her regular customers had been in last week gushing about it.
Alyssa tugged it from its place and read the blurb.

It
was perfect.

She
did one last check to make sure everything was in order.  She went to the glass
front door to see if she’d locked it, when someone across the street caught her
attention. Connor Phillips sat in front of the town’s bakery, The Cookie Shop.
A tall bombshell of a blonde was sitting opposite him, giggling. Alyssa could
see Connor smiling. He had one of those movie star grins. A slight curl to the
lips and it would instantly melt any girl’s heart.

Connor
was a friend of hers. He had a secret that she bet none of these women who
flocked after him knew. He was an avid sci-fi reader and gamer. The sexy
playboy was a deep-down nerd. And that was the only reason he ever had anything
to do with her.

Willing
herself to look away, she pushed her feelings of jealousy deep within her.  She
turned off the lamp on the front desk and left for her apartment. As Alyssa
entered her home, she was greeted right away by her black cat Zoe. The cat
rubbed against her legs and softly meowed.

Alyssa
reached down, picking her up. “Did you miss me today?”

She
waited a moment, but as usual, the cat didn’t answer. Zoe leapt from her arms
and made her way to a corner, where she bathed herself.

Alyssa
popped a frozen meal into her microwave and went to change into some sweatpants
and an oversized T-shirt. She pulled her dark locks up into a messy bun. In the
bathroom she removed her contacts and put on her glasses.
Ahhh,
now she
could fully relax.

The
microwave dinged. She used a potholder to get her meal and plopped down at the
kitchen table. She’d begin her book as she waited on the food to cool. Flipping
the book open, she read the acknowledgements as she always did. She liked to
see who helped the author along the way. As she opened the book to chapter one,
her phone chirped, letting her know she’d received a text. She decided to
ignore it. She never liked to be disturbed when she read. But whoever it was
didn’t want to be ignored, since her phone chirped again.

Alyssa
groaned, dug it out of her purse, and read the two messages.

Can
I come up? – Connor

Put
the book down and let me in. *wink wink* - Connor

She
giggled and wondered what he stopped by for, especially since she’d just seen
him on a date. The new book he wanted didn’t come out until next week. She made
her way back downstairs to the bookstore, where she saw Connor standing at the
door, smiling while holding two paper cups she assumed was coffee. God, he was
a sight. Dark, almost black hair that he always wore with that just-out-of-bed
look, with ice-blue eyes that bore into one’s soul.

She
unlocked the door and let him in. “Hey, Connor. What can I do for you?”

He
handed her a coffee. “It’s Sunday evening and you’re closed tomorrow, which
means you’ll be on a reading binge tonight. Figured you could use some coffee.”

She
grinned. He knew her so well. Too bad he’d never see her the way she did him.
“I picked up a historical romance.”

“Did
you try the book I recommend yet?”

Sci-fi
wasn’t for her. She had tried it, but couldn’t get into it. “Soon.”

“I
don’t believe you. Maybe we should take a bet.” He leaned against the wall.

“A
bet? Are you serious?”

“Dead
serious. I bet by the end of the week you still haven’t read it.”

She
took a sip of her drink. Ah, her favorite. Mocha with a splash of raspberry. “What
are the terms of this bet?”

“If
you have, dinner’s on me. If you haven’t, dinner’s on you. And I warn you, I
have expensive taste.”

Alyssa’s
heart fluttered. Dinner? A meal together? They’d never gone anywhere. In fact,
she didn’t know if anyone knew they were even friends.

Connor
reached out, touching her shoulder. “Do we have a deal?”

Oh
God, she was supposed to speak. She wasn’t sure that part of her was working
any longer. “Uh-huh.”

Connor
grinned at her, a dimple forming on his cheek. “What’s the matter? Cat got your
tongue?”

No,
a cat did not have her tongue. In fact, if a cat did, she was pretty sure she’d
be screaming right about now, not being mute.

“You
kinda threw me off, asking me to dinner.”

“Oh,
I’m sorry. Was that something you weren’t interested in?”

Ha
ha
,
there wasn’t a woman around who didn’t want to have dinner
and more
with
Connor Phillips. She just never thought it would be her. “We have a deal.”

“Good.”

Alyssa
wondered if this meant he might be interested in her. That he could possibly have
eyes for her. As she stared at him with a God-knew-what kind of smile on her
face, she didn’t notice at first the blonde bombshell she’d seen earlier was now
standing outside waiting. Alyssa glanced back at Connor, who caught her focus
and turned to glance at the woman.

“Crap,
I forgot about her.”

Alyssa
raised an eyebrow. “Date?”

“For
this evening.”

Her
heart sank. Connor wasn’t interested in her. She would never look like blondie
out there. He wanted to take her out as a
friend.
That was it. It was
time she realized it and the fact they would never be anymore than they were.
And after tonight, the woman standing out in the cold would know the same
thing.

“I
guess I better get out there.” He took a sip of his drink and stepped away from
the wall.

“Yeah,
she seems a little mad.”

Connor
leaned closed and whispered to her, “She’ll get over it.” He brushed a light
kiss on her cheek. This was the first time he’d ever been that close to her.

The
woman outside tapped on the door, obviously not liking what she had seen.

“You
better go,” Alyssa said. “Besides, I think my dinner’s cold. I’d just taken it
out of the microwave before you got here.”

“Enjoy
your meal and the coffee as well.” He waved and then went back out the door,
greeting the woman waiting for him.

Alyssa
wanted to watch but didn’t. It was hard enough knowing the man she secretly fantasized
about was once again out with another woman.

Chapter Two

Connor
woke up late Monday. His evening the night before had lasted longer than he’d
anticipated.

He’d
dropped off his date, practically fighting her off of him. Usually, he would’ve
had a little fun with her. Why not? He was young, attractive, and wasn’t bad
off with money. But lately one woman had caught his attention, and he wanted to
know her badly. He couldn’t get a good feel for her though.

Was
Alyssa attracted to him or not? Last night she’d been adorable with her hair up,
wearing those comfy clothes. He could imagine sitting on the couch with her in
the evenings, each with a book in hand, a fire in the background.

Most
of his friends would never believe that he would be happy with such an evening.
Little did they know… he was tired of the lifestyle he currently lived. But it would
take the right girl to make him settle down. Somehow that contradicted him not
liking how he lived life now, but it was hard to give it up.

His
phone buzzed on his nightstand. Glancing at it, he saw the familiar number of a
client. “Connor speaking. What can I do for you, Nate?” He climbed out of bed
in search of coffee.

“I’m
not feeling comfortable with the stock I bought Friday. I watched it all
weekend and I’ve got a feeling it was a bad choice on my end. I should’ve
listened to you. Got time for me to come in today?”