Straight To You: A Novella (Taking Chances Series Book 1) (3 page)

“Sure thing. See ya,” Bobby said with a bright smile.

“Be sure to come on over when you’re ready to get your heart racing.” Monica directed her wink at Jeremy. “You know I’ll give it up for you anytime.”

Bobby’s eyes grew wide and he struggled to keep his mouth shut as the girls walked away. When they were out of earshot he gave Jeremy a piece of his mind. “Are you insane? Monica just offered herself to you on a silver platter! Why didn’t you bite?”

Jeremy ran one hand through his hair. He noticed Monica waving at him and gave a nod in acknowledgement. “There’s no reason to bite when I’m not hungry.”

Bobby tipped his water bottle towards Jeremy. “Are you blind? She’s totally hot, like Palm Springs in the middle of July hot.”

Jeremy had to admit Monica was easy on the eyes. She had the right figure for spandex and had no qualms about showing off her assets. Her offer weighed on his mind, but he resisted it and quickly tore his eyes away from her body. The temptation was strong, but he needed to be stronger. Other qualities now took precedence on his list of must-haves in a woman. “Like I said, I’m not interested.”

“Wow, I don’t get it. You have the reputation around here for being the most eligible, but unavailable bachelor. You could have any girl you want. What are you waiting for?”

“The right one.”

“And how do you know which one is the
right
one?”

“Just as well as you know which ones
aren’t
the right ones,” he said with a wry smile.

“And you’re just going to sit around waiting for her to show up?”

“For God to make our paths cross? Yeah,” he replied. “I think she may have shown up today in fact.”

“What?”

“I was at a jewelry store earlier buying a gift for my mom and there she was.”

“Just like that?” Bobby shook his head in disbelief. “You saw a girl and knew she’s the one? What did you have - an instant connection?”

“Actually a reconnection. We were friends back when we were kids. We went to the same church, but lost touch when I moved out east. I never expected to see her again. It was a really pleasant surprise.”

“Yeah? What’s she like now? All grown up?”

“She has changed a lot. But she still has the same down-to-earth personality she had before.” That quintessential girl next door quality he had grown to appreciate in a woman.

“With a killer bod, I hope.”

Jeremy cracked a smile. “There’s more to a girl than her body, Bobby. Or the color of her hair for that matter.”

“Yeah, yeah, talk all you want, but there’s got to be some sizzle or things are gonna fizzle. You know what I mean? I’m all for a nice personality, but you need some physical attraction, too. Remember Roger Rabbit and Jessica? They had some heart thumpin’, eye buggin’ chemistry between them. You need to be sure there’s plenty of that going on.”

“Only you could turn a story about a cartoon rabbit and his
redheaded
wife into something romantic. Relax, man. I hear what you’re saying. I can assure you there was plenty of chemistry going on between me and Ashlynn.” If the number of times she blushed that morning was any indication of her attraction towards him, he didn’t need to be concerned.

“So did you get her number?”

“Actually, no. I thought about it, but decided not to.” There was something very pure about her that made him want to approach the relationship slowly. Perhaps it was the way she wore her emotions on her sleeve or because they had known each other when they were young. Regardless, he had made enough mistakes in the past when it concerned women. He didn’t want to make any more, especially if it involved someone as sweet and unassuming as Ashlynn. “I don’t want to rush things. I’ll connect with her again, reestablish our friendship, and see where things go.”

“Ah, so that’s your game plan? Slow and steady, huh?”

“You know what they say: slow and steady wins the race,” he confirmed with a confident grin. “The important thing is I know exactly where to find her.”

He would definitely be making another trip to the jewelry store in the near future.

THREE

Ashlynn counted the string of small wooden squares on her desk. She held a small set of pliers in one hand and silver plated links in the other and was trying to wrestle one of the links open. She wanted to try making some jewelry with wood instead of the crystals she normally used.

Usually she welcomed working with her hands, but today she just wanted to be distracted. She had been in the middle of reading for her developmental psychology class when the tears in her eyes caused the text to blur. The chapter about aging tugged at her heartstrings, especially when she came across a picture of a couple holding hands. The way the man gazed at the woman reminded her of her parents. How she missed seeing them like that.

As a child, she always reacted in disgust whenever her dad snuck up behind her mom to kiss her. It had all been an act however. She had loved seeing her parents’ affection for each other. The way they looked at one another with such trust and openness. Their intimate exchanges both fascinated and overwhelmed her.

Her parents’ relationship made her believe all those fairy tales she heard of could come true. She didn’t need a fairy godmother; she just needed to find someone who would love her like her dad had loved her mom. Surely God would give her a man like that … wouldn’t He? But at this point in her life, she thought she would have more luck winning the lottery. Or even being struck by lightning. Or maybe both on the same day?

Ashlynn squinted her eyes and tried once more to pry the link open, this time with success. She paused as she considered the design she wanted to make for the necklace. The ringing of a cell phone stirred her out of her creative trance.

She didn’t recognize the number on the screen. “Hello?” she answered tentatively.

“Ashlynn?” The deep voice on the other end conjured up an image of blue eyes. “This is Jeremy, Jeremy Adams. How are you?”

“Jeremy, hi!” She cringed at the high pitch of her voice. Way to play it cool. She swallowed and tried to keep her tone even. “I’m good, thanks.”

“I dropped by the store today, but the owner said you weren’t scheduled to work. She gave me your number, I hope you don’t mind.”

Mind? After a week of looking up anxiously whenever the front door at work opened, she had given up on ever seeing Jeremy again. She made a mental note to thank Zoe. “Of course not,” she replied. “Yeah, I interned at a school this morning and then had class in the afternoon. It’s good to hear from you. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, thanks. It’s been a little crazy at work, but things are calming down now.”

“Oh, yeah? What do you do? I didn’t get to ask you last time.”

“I’m a Strategic Negotiator.”

“A what?”

Jeremy chuckled. “The job sounds more complicated than it really is. Basically, I negotiate contracts and find the best pricing for computer services and products.”

“Sounds like you need to do a lot of smooth talking for that kind of work.”

“You could say that. There’s also some mind games involved, which I love. You can find out so much about a person’s intentions by the tone of their voice and the words they use. If you can also see their facial expressions, you can easily pinpoint their weaknesses.”

“It sounds like you’ve got people all figured out. I sure wouldn’t want to be on the other end of a negotiation with you.”

“Yeah, I remember you had trouble playing Two Truths and a Lie,” he teased. “I could always tell by the color of your cheeks which statement you made was the lie.”

“Ugh, yes. Unfortunately my cheeks often have a mind of their own.” She covered her eyes with one hand as she recalled their encounter at the store. “
You,
however, never had any problems keeping a straight face. I guess you found the perfect way to put your skills to good use.”

“And get paid for it. Can’t complain about that.” He paused for a moment. “Hey, the reason I called is I wanted to let you know my mom loved the jewelry. She wore the set to church and said she got so many compliments.”

“Oh, I’m glad she liked it. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Her exact words were “You got some help with this one, didn’t you?”

“I’m afraid to ask, but what kind of gifts do you
usually
buy for your mom?”

“Let’s just say she has enough gloves to keep her and half the city of Boston warm.”

Ashlynn let out a giggle. “Well, you know it’s the thought that counts. I’m sure she appreciates the fact you’re concerned about her well-being, or at least the well-being of her hands.”

“Ah, thanks for the sentiment. You may have the makings of a smooth talker in you yet.” Jeremy cleared his throat. “But the credit for this recent gift really does go to you. So I’ve been thinking, I’d like to take you out for dinner to thank you for helping me out.”

Ashlynn’s eyes grew wide. Was this his indirect way of inviting her on a date? What were the odds that Mr. Perfect did exist
and
he might actually be interested in her? In her world, not very high. More than likely, he was just being polite. “Oh, you don’t need to do that. I mean, it was no big deal. I was just doing my job.”

“Hmm, I see my powers of persuasion aren’t working on you.”

Ashlynn detected a lighthearted tone to his words. She decided to play along. “I’m just trying to see how good your negotiation skills are.”

Jeremy chuckled. “I’m afraid I’m at a disadvantage since I can’t read your expressions. But they are definitely better than my dancing skills, that much I can tell you.”

“Oh hey, the Macarena!” An image of Jeremy swaying his hips awkwardly in a circle popped into her mind. “Your comment just reminded me of that one game night at church. Remember the one where we played Pictionary, boys versus girls?”

“How could I forget? You girls had some telepathic thing going on. One of you would barely draw a straight line and someone would guess the right answer.”

“I know, the boys didn’t stand a chance! But you were all such good sports about losing that I
almost
felt bad we made you guys dance. But it was so entertaining to watch.”

“Well, how about this. If you agree to dinner, I’ll see if I can show you some of those moves. You wouldn’t want to miss this twice in a lifetime event, now would you?”

“Really? Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse.” Ashlynn smiled as she realized he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Maybe his offer wasn’t merely out of obligation. A girl could only hope. “Sure, dinner sounds good. It would be fun to catch up with you.”

“Great. How about tomorrow?”

“Sure, I’m free.”

“Why don’t you text me your address and I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll see you then.”

“See you then. Bye.”

Ashlynn hung up the phone and ran downstairs, excitement bubbling up within her. She popped into the living room just as her brother jumped up from the couch with both hands in the air.

“Yes!” Ben yelped in triumph. “Thirty-six points!”

A petite woman wearing white sweatpants and a tie dyed T-shirt sat next to him. She stared at the Scrabble board and shook her head, her black ponytail swinging from side to side. “What in the world is whizzbang?”

“Don’t you know? It’s the sound of fireworks when we...” He wiggled his eyebrows at his wife who playfully hit him on the arm.

“Ew guys, get a room.” Ashlynn wrinkled her nose as Ben and Melanie laughed. “It’s been four years and you’re still acting like newlyweds?”

“Come on Ash, aren’t you the romantic here?” Ben smirked. “As I recall, you were the one who watched
23 Dresses
about twenty-three times.”

“It’s
27 Dresses
and I only watched it seven times. Anyways, I just don’t like imagining my stinky brother … no offense, Mel,” Ashlynn said with a shudder. “I’m sure you’d no sooner want to think about
me
doing you know what.”

“Oh, no no no,” he retorted. He shook his head as he considered the possibility of such a scenario. As her older brother by eight years, Ben had always been more of a parental figure to her, but even more so in the past decade. He still had a hard time admitting that Ashlynn wasn’t a little girl anymore. He saw the way guys checked her out, which made him all the more eager to do whatever it took to protect her. “Any guy who lays a finger on my baby sister’s going to have to deal with me.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet, Ben.” Melanie heard the genuineness behind Ben’s words, but she also knew her husband had never been in a physical fight in his life. “It’s a good thing I know a doctor who can tend to your, I mean, the poor guy’s wounds after you get through with him.”

“Hey, if you need to practice your medical expertise, Dr. Peters, I’m your man,” he said to Melanie. They exchanged a smile before he turned to Ashlynn. “But you, young lady, should take note that I’ve been working out.” He flexed both arms to allow his biceps to peek through the short sleeves of his green V-neck.

“Please, Ben. I’m twenty-four, not fourteen,” Ashlynn said with an exaggerated eye roll. “Besides, you don’t have to worry about the next guy I’m going out with. He’s a perfect gentleman.” A
gorgeous
, perfect gentleman in her opinion, but her older brother didn’t need to know that.

Melanie clapped her hands in delight. “Ooh, do tell. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Do you remember Jeremy Adams from First Pres.?” She directed her question at Ben. She filled Melanie in on their history. “We went to the same church before he moved away during high school. Well, he’s back in the area and he came into the store last week. I sold him a set of my jewelry for his mom and apparently she loved it. Now he’s taking me out tomorrow to thank me.”

Ben looked less than impressed. “Jeremy Adams? Yeah, I remember him. Isn’t he the one who had all those girls staring at him with googly eyes?” He batted his brown eyes so his lashes fluttered like butterfly wings. “Every time I came back home from college, I saw him surrounded by girls. He seemed to love the attention, too. I don’t know, Ash. He sounds like trouble to me.”