The Wrong Man (17 page)

“About last night….”

I huffed a short laugh and lowered my sunglasses to skewer him with the full force of my scornful disbelief.

“You did
not
just say those three words in that tone.”

“Uh… I did, but I didn’t mean….” He looked away for a moment, as though trying to find the right words.

“I’ll give you another shot, Mr. Westley. Make it good.”

“It was amazing.”

His dark glasses hid his eyes, but I was fully aware he was staring at me with meaning. I was taken aback by his sudden intensity.

“Yeah….” I replied feebly.

“Come on, Bran. Is that the best you can do?” he chided with a lopsided grin.

I chuckled softly and returned his smile. “It was… fabulous.”

“Much better.” His expression was thoughtful as he set his hand on my knee.

“Jake, what are we doing? I’m confused on top of being hung over. Lethal combination. I have so many questions and—”

“Okay, shoot. I’m an open book. Ask away.”

I studied him for a moment as I tried to make sense of my uncertainty.

“Why is your ex in town? Is he staying with you? Why did you come to Halo last night?” I looked down at Mack, petting him attentively when I slipped in the question whose answer I was most curious about. The one that made me feel the most vulnerable. “Why did you leave this morning?”

“Hey.” Jake took my chin gently between his thumb and forefinger, turning me to face him, then tenderly rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. “I had to get back for Mack. I left him with Derek last night, but I couldn’t count on him still being there to take care of him and… it’s complicated but then again, it’s not.”

“If you’re trying to confuse me, you’re doing a good job.”

Jake leaned over and kissed me softly. I reveled in the public display of affection. It was something we’d never had in our previous “relationship.” Of course, the moment my mind went there, I went cold from the memory.

“I’m not trying to confuse you. Derek called me Friday and said he was going to be in LA this weekend, and wanted to know if Mack and I were free.” He massaged the bridge of his nose and pulled off his sunglasses distractedly before continuing. “Talk about confused. I haven’t spoken to him much over the past few months other than the occasional awkward hello when I’d run into him at the market. I was curious. We had a lot of legal mumbo jumbo to deal with when we dissolved our partnership, so I figured maybe his sudden interest had to do with dollar signs. But that wasn’t it.”

“What was it?”

Jake twirled his glasses and gave me a funny look. “He told me he’d made a mistake.”

“Oh.” My heart sank. Fuck. I looked away, straightening my legs as I tried to quell the urge to stand up and walk away. I wasn’t doing this again. I’d learned my lesson. Twelve fucking years ago.

“I told him I wasn’t interested.”

I snapped around to face Jake. His expression was resolute. He meant it. “Oh?”

“After last night, you can’t seriously think I want to get back with my ex.” His brow was furrowed in disbelief. Jake shrugged and looked forward. “I’m not sure what’s going through his head or why he’s had this sudden change of heart, but I’m in a good place now, and I’m not interested in going backward.”

I let out a humorless snort as I eyed him over my coffee cup. “Darlin’, you and I are the epitome of going backward. We are a mistake that should never be repeated. Being friends with you on any level is a stretch, and the fact we had sex last night… wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.”

“Bullshit.”

We stared at each other intently. To be engaged in this conversation with this man as we idly sipped coffee on a random bench on a busy Los Angeles street with people moving around us was surreal.

“Jake….”

“Bran, let’s just eat breakfast and leave the rest for now. I’m not going to try to convince you to run away and marry me….”

I scoffed and folded my arms over my chest, though the sentiment made butterflies dance inside me.

Jake chuckled and set his thumb back on my chin. “Are you listening?”

“Maybe.”

“I’ll take that as ‘I’m hanging on your every word, Jake’.”

I giggled at his attempt to mimic me and found myself softening as I propped my elbow on the back of the bench and gave him an exaggerated syrupy stare.

“Better,” he laughed and nudged me playfully. “Let’s be what we are. Friends who really want to have sex with each other. The rest will fall into place.”

I laughed outright at his oversimplification. Mack gave me a startled look before glancing up at Jake.

“I’m not the crazy one, Mack. Your daddy is.” I sighed and took another sip of coffee before turning to Jake. “So basically this boils down to sex.”

“Definitely.” His smile was broad, as though he was happy to finally be understood. “But we’re friends too.”

“For the sake of clarity that means I shouldn’t worry about your extraordinarily hot ex wanting to rekindle a romance or—”

“Irrelevant. The past.”

I bit my bottom lip thoughtfully before continuing. “Look, yesterday I’d pretty much decided this had to end. Me, you… even Mack. We”—I gestured between the two of us manically—“aren’t a good bet. I guess after last night, it would be stupid to pretend I don’t want this. But I’m going to need a couple things from you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Even if we’re
just
old friends having sex, I need to know I’m the only friend you’re fucking. And—”

“Whoa. I didn’t say we’re
just
friends. You’re more than. What I feel about you isn’t casual. And I don’t fuck around.”

“Good.”

“What was the other thing?”

I swallowed hard, looking up when the hostess called Jake’s name. He raised his hand but didn’t stand up. He obviously wasn’t budging until I spoke.

“Don’t leave me in the middle of the night. Ever. I hate it.”

My skin felt warm with embarrassment as the words left my mouth. I hated sounding needy or vulnerable, but hey, it was the truth. Waking up alone after sharing an amazing sexual experience with a lover was depressing. Lonely. It was probably why I’d been so quick to invite Trevor to live with me. I liked my own company fine, but if I could be with a lover instead, I preferred it. And I wanted to know he’d be there in the morning.

Jake smiled kindly, running his fingers over my ears. I heard his name called again, but he had something more to say.

“I didn’t have second thoughts this morning. And no regrets. I had to take care of Mack. That’s all. I wouldn’t have left otherwise.”

“Okay.”

His generous mouth turned up at the corners slightly before morphing into a wide grin of pure sunshine. It radiated from him in waves. I couldn’t help but return the gesture as he stood and held out a hand for me to hold.

“You ready?”

I stood and took his hand. “Ready.”

Ready for breakfast. Yes. Everything else? I wasn’t so sure. What I did know was I felt a surge of sheer exhilaration just holding his hand. I walked on a cloud beside him and wondered if anyone thought twice about the handsome, broad-shouldered hunk possessively guiding me through the crowd. Twelve years ago I would have made a deal with the devil to hold hands with him in public. Remarkably the passing of time didn’t diminish the heady sensation one little bit. It was every bit as fabulous as I’d imagined.

We were seated outdoors under a wide canopy and quickly supplied with menus and glasses of ice water. Mack took his spot under the table between us and laid his head on his paws. No doubt he’d perk up as soon as the food arrived.

“What kind of things does Mack like to do that aren’t sand based?” I sat back and took a quick sip of water.

“Translation… not the beach?”

“Yes! How about a dog park? Or better yet, the mall! We can walk him around the Grove—”

“Uh, no. No malls.”

“Why? We’d all be entertained. Shopping and walking. Mack would like it.”

“No. He hates the mall. And so do I. But the park is cool. Let’s do that.”

“Hmm. I think you’re making decisions for him.”

“Of course I am. He’s a dog.”

“You’re using him to gain a vote. Two against one. Don’t think I’m not paying attention here.”

Jake rolled his eyes and entwined his fingers through mine. “Let’s start with the park and go from there.”

I leaned in closer and lowered my sunglasses to give him a meaningful stare. “Not so fast. He’ll poop out, and you’ll say ‘Sorry Bran, maybe next time.’ Let’s go heads or tails. Winner decides park or mall. What do you say?”

“I sense a trap. Do you have a dual-sided coin or something?”

I chuckled and sat back. “Not with me. I’ll win fair and square.”

I won. And yes, I chanted a litany of “I won, I won, I won” intermittently through breakfast and as we waited for the valet to bring Jake’s SUV around, because maturity wasn’t always my strong suit.

“Does it register at all with you that I’m the guy driving? I can turn the car toward Chavez Ravine so we can sit in the sun watching the Dodgers play while we chomp on hot dogs all afternoon. Better idea?”

“Are you threatening me with sports and nitrates?” I squinted at him as I pulled my seatbelt on but took a quick look at the signs to make sure we were heading in the right direction nonetheless. We’d opted to drive around the block to the Grove to save Mack’s energy. Walking there one way would have done him in.

“The mall is a threat. Or in this case, my punishment. Baseball is a valid alternate activity on a beautiful summer afternoon.”

“But Mack couldn’t join us.” I fluttered my eyelashes innocently as Jake pulled into the huge parking garage behind the mall.

“True. We’ll have to go some other time then. Are you kidding? Another valet service.”

“We can park, but no… wait.”

“What?”

He stopped in the roundabout between the valet and the garage entrance, and turned to me questioningly.

“Let’s go to the park instead,” I said.

“Huh?”

“I changed my mind. I—there’s nothing for Mack or you here. It’s fabulous, but it’s stores and restaurants. Let’s go somewhere he can play. I can google a dog par—”

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Come here.”

I cocked my head sideways but slid closer to him, letting my elbow brush against his on the SUV’s armrest. There was a parking attendant waving us forward on one side and a driver patiently waiting behind us. In other words, not a great place to stop. But when he hooked his hand around my neck to draw me forward and kissed my mouth, everything and everyone else melted away. Including my fears and reservations. They’d return… I wasn’t a complete idiot. But I decided to take my own advice and live in the moment. No questions, no regrets.

L
ATE
AFTERNOON
sun cascaded through the windows of BGoods, reflecting brightly off every polished and shiny surface. The lighting gave the space an incandescent and inviting feel. Luke turned the page of the online catalog he was showing me and nudged my arm.

“What do you think? The smoky gray tile or a charcoal?” He aligned the choices side by side on the screen and gave me an expectant look when I didn’t reply immediately.

“How much light does the bathroom get? And how much of the tile will be visible from the bedroom?”

“Ooh. Good question! Well, my client seems like the closed-doors type. You know, the guy who never lets much light in any given room, but I—”

I followed the direction of Luke’s gaze when he paused mid-sentence. I watched in amusement as a beautiful smile transformed his face from serious interior designer to lovesick fool.

“Man, you have it bad,” I taunted, bumping his hip playfully and stepping around the register to greet Michael and his delicious friend, Alex.

Michael and Alex were both stunningly handsome Latin men. Tall, dark, and sexy, they were certain to turn heads when they walked into any room together. Michael was slightly taller and leaner with a serious countenance, while Alex was perpetually cheerful. He had to be one of the most gregarious people I’d ever met. He was quick with a joke and graced with the extraordinarily attractive ability to laugh at himself. I was told he’d been a serious competitor before he retired from professional soccer, but his affable nature made it hard to believe he’d do harm to anyone for the sake of a goal. They were a welcome diversion any day of the week.

“Hello, hello! Were we expecting you two? Lukey keeps all the best info to himself.” I rolled back the sleeves of my lightweight white Oxford shirt before crossing my arms over my chest in mock indignation.

Alex let out a hearty chuckle before throwing his arms around me, trapping me in a big bear hug before planting a wet kiss on my cheek. I yelped and twisted out of his grasp, giving him the reaction he was after. He threw back his head and laughed loudly, his expressive eyes twinkling with merriment.

Luke had played a half-hearted attempt at matchmaker when he first introduced Alex to me, but I think it was obvious we simply weren’t each other’s type. There was no spark. Alex was good-looking, successful, and fun, but he reminded me a little of the Labrador retriever barking wildly at him in warning. Actually, Alex probably had a lot more energy than Mack.