It was possible they’d done more than just flirt, but she would never ask, and with a bit of luck, Anne would never tell. She’d tried to warn the other woman off without coming out and saying Greg was a cheating bastard, but she didn’t want to hear that.
“How are you doing?” Tucker leaned in and asked as he yet again topped up her drink. How was it that he still smelled so damn good?
“Fine. Are you trying to get me drunk, Tuck? You’re topping me up pretty regularly.”
“Crystal told me I was in charge of making sure your glass was full at all times. I’m just doing what the hostess wants.” He shrugged.
“She’s a good friend.” Mel laughed, taking a sip. “How are you surviving?”
“Just fine.” He smiled at her.
“You two look very cozy,” Anne said.
“Just refilling the drinks. Can I top you up?” She liked the way Tucker deflected her.
“Oh thanks. So, did you two date in high school?”
“Ah, no.” Tucker laughed. “Mel was way too cool for me, and I moved away before either of us was really into dating. Or before I was anyway. I was a late bloomer.”
“I’m sure you were cool,” Anne cooed at him, batting her lashes.
“Yeah, I really wasn’t.” He smiled. “I was very, very uncool. But I’m cool with that.”
“So what happened? I mean, you don’t seem so nerdy now.” She was giving him a very sexy once-over.
“People grow up, even nerds know how to fake it.”
“I would never fake it,” Anne said. What was she talking about? Not nerds, that was for certain.
“Lucky you!” Tucker said. “I have serious nerdy tendencies, so I have to fake it a bit. Then again, stuff that seems cool at sixteen—smoking, getting drunk, stringing girls along—isn’t actually all that cool when you’re an adult.”
“Exactly,” Dan joined in. “There’s that great internet thing about being nice to nerds because they’ll rule the world. I wish someone had told me that as a pimply, knock-kneed teen. It might have helped on those lonely nights.”
“You think you would have left your room and chased girls instead of hanging out playing computer games and watching Dr. Who?” Crystal asked.
“Probably not, those were some of the best days of my life. No girl was worth abandoning The Doctor for.”
“No girl?” Crystal asked in mock offense.
“Not back then, babe. Maybe if you’d been the girl next door.”
Then he and Tucker launched into a long chat about their favorite television show.
“I think they’re soul mates,” Crystal said.
“It might be the start of a beautiful bromance,” Mel teased back.
She hoped so. She really was pleased her friends liked Tucker, because the more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. If only she wasn’t on a man-ban and Tucker wasn’t just fine hanging in the friend zone.
He had probably been a bit enthusiastic topping up Mel’s champagne because the walk home seemed a lot slower than the one to the barbeque. Mel was dangling her heels over one finger and ambling along. She looked adorable.
“That was fun, right, Tuck? They’re nice people. Well, not Anne so much, but everyone else. I like Eva’s new boyfriend. He seems nice.”
“They are nice, and he seems like a good guy.”
“Well, you’d know. I’m not such a great judge.”
He didn’t want her getting morose. They’d had a really lovely couple of days, and he wanted her to finish up happy. What he really wanted was for it not to finish at all, but that wasn’t an option. “You were right about the house. It’s going to need a whole lot of work.”
“It’s a money pit for sure. I don’t think either of them can even change a lightbulb. It should be interesting. I can see myself helping with lots of painting.”
“You paint?”
“Sure, I painted my apartment all by myself. It was empty then. I picked the colors, cleaned the walls, painted them all. It was really fun. Exhausting but fun.” She smiled up at him, looking proud of herself and content.
“Wow, that was a big job.”
“Yeah, took me about six weeks in between trips and stuff.”
That was a side to Mel he hadn’t expected. Then again, she’d grown up in a hands-on do-it-yourself household, so it stood to reason she had some skills.
“You must have felt so satisfied when it was done.”
“Yeah, well, you know, you did your place. Your place is so beautiful, seriously, Tucker, it’s amazing. You should throw a big party there one day. It’s a great party house.”
“Yeah, I’m not really sure I know enough people for a party, Mel.”
She pulled a little pout. “Really? You must.”
“Work people, I guess, the astronomy club, not sure the chess guys are party people given they’re all about eighty.”
“Tucker, I have to tell you that you are a very attractive and lovely man, so you should not be hanging out with old men and alone so much.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He slung an arm around her shoulder. Her walking was losing focus. It was easier to guide her along from there.
“Yeah, you should find an activity where there are more chicks. I know you don’t see it, but the ladies really like you.”
“Oh?”
“Look at Anne, she was practically climbing into your lap.”
“That’s just one example, Mel. And I think she’s like that with everyone.”
“No, I’ve been watching how women look at you . . . they like you, Tuck.”
“You’ve been watching, huh?”
“Yeah, it annoys me actually. I’m there with you, they don’t know what the deal is, and they’re ogling you. It’s very rude.”
“Ogling, huh?” He couldn’t help but smile. She was jealous. Jealous was good.
“Yeah, and I mean that’s good for you, Tucker, because it means if you put yourself out there . . .”
“Good for me. I’ll keep that in mind.” The only woman he was interested in was leaning against him right now. He didn’t think her recommending he put himself out there was exactly the direction he wanted to go in.
“Yeah, I mean just cause I’m on a man-ban doesn’t mean you need to be on a woman-ban.”
“I knew that, honey.”
“Except I will selfishly be sad that you are dating and I can’t have you all to myself.” That was more promising.
“I’m not dating anyone right now, so let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Okay.”
She walked on in silence till they got to the building. “You heading home tomorrow?”
“I think so. I really should go to the office in the afternoon, stuff to catch up on.” He would do that, but he didn’t really need to.
“I’ll miss you, Tuck.” She looked up at him with her big brown eyes. He had never wanted to kiss a woman as much as he wanted to kiss Mel in that moment, but . . . it felt like the wrong move.
“Likewise.”
He followed her up the stairs to the building and stopped outside the door. “I should probably head off.”
She looked at her watch. It was only nine. “Come in for one drink, Tuck. I might not see you again in ages.”
Okay, she twisted his arm, just like that. All she did was ask, and he went in. He was such a pushover.
Now that she had Tucker in her apartment, she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do with him. Well, actually that wasn’t it. She knew exactly what she wanted to do, but it was Tucker and the man-ban. But she was hot and tired, and she’d had some champagne, and the way he looked at her like she was Christmas. It made it hard to remember why kissing Tucker, at the very least, was a bad idea.
“What’s your pleasure?” she asked. He looked like his eyes were going to bug out of his head. Poor choice of words, Mel. “Water, beer?”
“Ah, water,” he said, his voice husky.
“Yeah, I think
I’ve had enough too. It was fun, though.”
“It won’t be if you wake up with a hangover.”
“Oh yeah, I don’t drink much these days, I’m out of practice. Not like back at university. I might have been a bit wild back then.”
“Really?”
“Weren’t you?”
“Well, I was in a frat that had some pretty wild parties. I was on the edge of wild. Wild adjacent you might say.”
“Get out. You were in a frat, like in all those American movies?” She’d always been fascinated by the American Greek system because nothing like it existed in Australia.
“I was. It was kind of cool.”
“Kind of? Sit down and tell me every gory detail.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it’s not that interesting.”
“It will be to me, now spill.”
An hour later, she was still asking him for details. “Tucker, this is so cool.”
How could a guy who had stolen the opposing school mascot, streaked across campus, and lived in a fraternity for all those years think he was a nerd? She just didn’t get it.
“I think it was just a pretty normal college experience.”
“Well, my college experience was a daggy dorm room, working in the cafeteria, eating a lot of ramen noodles, and being an RA in between parties. It wasn’t uncool, but it wasn’t the stuff movies are made of.”
“Maybe because no one makes movies about Australian university students.”
“Could be because it’s not that interesting.” She sniffed.
“It’s the same. You go to class, you write papers, make friends, drink too much, embarrass yourself, get your heart broken. It’s universal.”
“Oh, Tucker, did some girl break your heart?” She looked so crestfallen.
“Not really. I thought so at the time, but in retrospect, I think my ego was bruised more than my heart was broken.”
“Well, that’s a feeling I know quite well.” She let out a sigh.
“And on that note, it’s time for me to go.” Tucker stood to leave. “Don’t get up.”
“Of course, I’m getting up.” She was on her feet, and her arms were wrapped around his waist in a hug. He could rest his chin on the top of her head, but he didn’t. He just hugged her back. “This has been so great, Tucker. Thanks for a wonderful weekend,” she said into his chest.
“My pleasure. It was lots of fun.”
“Are you coming back to Sydney soon?”
“I don’t know really.”
She looked up at him; her kissable mouth formed a pout. “Oh. Well, maybe I’ll get an overnight in Brisbane soon.”
“I hope so.” He really did.
He wanted to kiss that mouth, but instead he kissed her forehead. “See you soon.”
“Yeah, see you soon.”
5
It was Thursday, and Tucker was working away in his office when Rachel, his PA, came in and shut the door behind her. That was not usual behavior for her.
“Tucker. We need to talk.”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” she said, sitting in a chair opposite his desk. “But there is definitely something very wrong with you. You’ve been like a bear with a sore paw all week.”
He went to frown at her but realized he was in fact already frowning. Maybe she was right, maybe he was a bit out of sorts.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was acting that way.”
“It’s okay. I just wondered if you wanted to talk about it.”
“It’s a girl.”
“Of course, it is.” She grinned.
“It’s not funny. I like her, but she’s just had a bad breakup, and so she’s on a man-ban.”
“A man-ban?”
“You know, she’s sworn off men for a while.”
“Oh right, well, that makes sense.”
“Yeah, but that’s not great for me, is it? Also, she lives in Sydney and she’s the first girl I ever loved, you know, back in the day. Maybe the only one.”
“Oh wow, Tuck, that’s big. Do you have a photo?”
He found one on his phone from when they’d been by the pool at the hotel and handed it over.
“She’s gorgeous. Heck, I might fall in love with her,” she teased. “So tell me the full story.”
Half an hour later, Rachel was up to date on the full Mel situation.
“So you flew to Sydney to see her? I wondered why you didn’t conference call like usual.”
“Well, she didn’t know that I flew to see her. I just kind of worked the system.”
“So, what’s next?”
“Nothing, that’s the issue.”
“So make a plan. What about Valentine’s Day? It’s just around the corner.”
“I don’t know.”
“Look, Tucker, I think you need to go for it. If she’s not interested, you cut your losses, but if you let it drag on . . . I think that’s worse.”
“What about the man-ban?”
“Seriously, that’s just her saying to herself, ‘next time I date he’s going to be worth it.’ So be worth it.”
“Is it that easy?”
“Probably not but nothing worth having ever is, right, Tucker?”
She was right.
It was Friday, and apart from a quick thanks for a great weekend text on Sunday, Mel hadn’t heard from Tucker. She was checking her phone obsessively between flights.
“You need to stop that, honey,” Miles said when they landed in Melbourne. “You’ll break it.”
“Am I that bad?”
“Seriously, you’ve been that way all week.”
“Sorry.”
“Just text him. You’re friends, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but . . .”
His face flashed a cheeky grin. “Ah, but now you’ve realized this one’s a keeper.”
She felt a blush rise up her cheeks. “I think I have.”
“So text him anyway.”
“I’m playing hard to get.”
“You’re playing how not to get the guy. You’ve told him you’re not dating, you’ve dumped him in the friend zone, and now the poor bugger is supposed to guess that you’ve changed your mind?”
“Well, when you put it like that . . .”
“Text him.”
“I will when we get back home. Not much point now, we’ll be taking off soon.”
“Okay, but do it.”
Mel wasn’t sure what to say exactly. Still, she had a planeload of people to board right now, she would worry about it later.
Two hours later and it was time to go home. She couldn’t help but remember how excited she’d been this time last Friday to meet Tucker for the movie. Today, she just felt flat. No fun adventures were looming, no swimming in rooftop pools, and no hanging with Tuck.
Sometime last weekend she’d gone from thinking of Tucker as a friend to thinking of him as so much more. She liked him. Probably more than she’d ever liked a guy in her life, and that was scary.
Her track record was a disaster. That’s why she was supposed to be taking a break from men and working on herself. Except all she was working on was driving herself crazy thinking about Tuck, who still hadn’t sent her a text. That was off because the week before he’d been quite communicative, but then again, he’d been coming to town, so there’d been a purpose. Still, another photo of the sunrise would have been nice.
She drove home in the bumper-to-bumper Friday night traffic and wished she’d planned something fun for the weekend, but between work and giving some extra yoga classes, she hadn’t gotten around to it.
The weekend stretched out before her looking dull and lazy. Oh well, she could read a nice romance novel, take a nice long walk, and color-code her underwear. Man, she felt dull.
Until she walked up the stairs to her apartment and saw a big bunch of pink roses waiting. She didn’t need to open the note to know they were from Tucker. No one else would send her flowers. She ripped o
pen the card, and the note said:
Valentine’s Day? Tucker.
Oh my goodness. He was asking her out for Valentine’s Day. Surely that meant something more than friendship, maybe it didn’t. Maybe he felt sorry for her. No, that wasn’t his style. It had to mean something because why else would he send flowers?
She took a photo of the flowers and sent him a picture with the message:
Look what I got.
Did they come with a card?
Yes. And yes.
Excellent. I’ll call you later, off to work drinks.
Now she had two things to do. Find the perfect outfit for Valentine’s Day and wait for Tucker to call. That sounded pathetic even in her own mind, but it was the truth. She hugged the flowers and did a little happy dance inside her apartment.
Now that she had said yes, Tucker needed a plan that would knock Mel’s socks off. He wondered what that plan would look like? A nice dinner? A picnic? A concert? Maybe what he thought of as a romantic night wouldn’t be what she wanted.
Rachel had tried to explain that if she really liked him, it was as much about the gesture as the outcome. She should be there for him and everything else was gravy, but Tucker wasn’t so sure.
The roses had been a big hit, so that was something.
He needed to determine if he would bring her to Brisbane or go to her. Which was more romantic?
It was Saturday morning, and he was doing laps in his pool. He’d lost count at twenty because his mind was focused on the date. The plan. He supposed, when he came up for air, that at least he had gotten some exercise out of his frustration.
Tucker went inside and turned on his espresso machine. He needed a strong coffee, and he needed it now. He opened his tablet and googled Valentine’s date ideas. An hour later, he had drunk three cups of coffee and was more confused than ever. Some people went to crazy lengths to impress. He wasn’t sure he was up for that.
Then he had an idea. Maybe they could spend the day in Sydney and fly up to Brisbane for dinner. That would be perfect.
He decided to wait till the afternoon to call Mel. It was good to string her along a bit, Rachel had said. Don’t be too eager. Meanwhile, he hopped online and made arrangements for what he hoped would be a very memorable date.
Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm The Heart Page 7