“Then that’s the other half of the battle.” Wes makes the pronouncement as if it’s mission accomplished. Josh and Erin’s relationship: Fixed. He can now take it off his to-do list.
“You forgot the part where she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me,” I remark dryly.
“Not you, your behavior. All you need to do is change the latter and she’ll come around.”
I shake my head, mystified. “What?”
My uncle is brilliant. He’s not one of those stereotypical techie nerds. He’s actually a bit of a ladies’ man. My mother has often accused me of being like him. But what he just said makes no sense at all. Or it flew over my head or under my radar. Either way, I’m lost.
“You’re going to see her this weekend at Mitch’s party, right?”
“Yes,” I reply warily.
“Good. Then your goal is to convince Erin to give you another chance. And this time, you need to trust her. Not every woman is like that other one.”
He means Stephanie. “I don’t think she’s—”
“Don’t you?” Wes cuts in, cocking his eyebrow. “I think this time you weren’t going to risk not being part of a decision whose outcome meant the world to you. But you didn’t even give Erin a chance to prove herself. You didn’t give your relationship a chance to cement a foundation of trust.”
It takes several moments to digest his words—and painfully conclude that he’s right. While I’d made the connection between the circumstances, I failed to see how much what Stephanie did to me impacted the way I handled things with Erin. How it may have colored my view of women in general.
Wes stares across the desk at me, his expression sage. “And if she gives you another chance, you have to give her one too.”
I nod solemnly. “I promise, this time I will.”
A smile breaks out across my uncle’s face. “Good. Now I’m going to help you get her back.”
Erin
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Nobody’s perfect.
A litany of those phrases has been playing over and over in my head since the talk with my mother. The following day in a room full of my friends, I can’t help but think about how much they relate to me and Josh, who should be arriving with the rest of the guys soon.
Us girls arrived early enough to take advantage of the facials and mani-pedis offered earlier this morning. After being exfoliated, buffed and massaged, we’re lounging in our bathing suits on the wraparound porch that overlooks the swimming pool and the lake, sipping homemade iced tea and lemonade.
It’s a good thing we booked the party for this weekend. The weather is perfect. A cool breeze is coming in from off the lake, ensuring it’s not suffocatingly hot. The humidity is relatively low for this time of the summer, and not one single cloud mars the blue blue sky.
The place is idyllic. I feel like I’m in a Countrytime Lemonade commercial. The rooms have a bed and breakfast feel. It has the kind of solid furniture you would find in a real bedroom, actual paned windows, suffused with a ton of light. So far, everyone is thrilled with our accommodations.
“I can’t believe you’re thinking of moving to LA,” April says, stretching her long, tanned legs out in front of her and propping them on the ottoman.
Rebecca glances at me and smiles. “I think it would be great.”
“You’re only saying that because she would be heading to your neck of the woods,” Olivia pipes in. Olivia’s the pretty blonde sitting beside April on the sofa and my other friend from New York. Next spring, she and Zach are getting married, so we’ll all be back together for that. As it is, if I take the job, it’ll be nice to have Rebecca and Scott close by.
Jane and Tonya, friends Paige used to work with at the restaurant, and Julie and Allison, friends from college, are also here.
Chelsea pouts. “I just got here and you might be leaving. That’s not fair.”
April chortles. “Now you sound exactly like your sister.”
“That’s because they’re identical twins,” Rebecca says.
“I don’t know if I’m going to take the job,” I remind them as I admire my newly polished toes perched on the same cushioned ottoman April has hers on.
First I need to see if I can salvage my relationship with Josh. My mom is right, nobody’s perfect. And it was bitchy of me to compare him to Dale. My only excuse is that I was hurt—and disappointed. Josh had fallen off his pedestal, revealing himself to be the funny, generous, beautiful, flawed man he is.
Paige, queen for the weekend, is stretched on one of the two chaise lounges, the picture of sublimely pampered. She’s positively glowing.
“And what about Josh?” Chelsea asks innocently.
The place goes silent. Tonya and Jane look at each other and I can see the speculative gleam in their eyes.
I haven’t seen Chelsea since we first met at the park. We’ve spoken on the phone a couple times since I broke up with Josh but only for a few minutes, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.
At my silence, Chelsea’s gaze touches all the girls gathered around before finally returning to me, a faint line creasing her brow. “What’s going on?”
“Josh and I…aren’t together anymore.” I hate saying the words out loud. Nothing about it feels right.
“They’re on a break,” April counters.
I sigh and roll my eyes. “We’re not on a break. We’re broken.” But hopefuly this weekend we can put the pieces of our relationship back together.
“Well I can tell you right now, it’s not over.” If you can’t tell, April is pretty bullish about us getting back together. Too bad I don’t have half her confidence.
“Did you break up because of the job?” Allison asks.
“Yeah, something like that,” I hedge. I don’t want to talk about it until I talk to Josh.
Olivia pushes up on her elbows. “Can I just say that I always thought you two would get together.”
Rebecca nods in agreement. “It’s called chemistry. Either you have it or you don’t.”
“Right, but that’s not everything. It’s only a part of what makes a good relationship,” I say, reaching for my lemonade. Not as good as my mom’s but it comes close.
Paige regards me. “Erin, you know he adores you. And I can say that because I’ve known him a long time. He was nuts about you way before he was willing to admit it.”
Of course my best friend thinks I should give him another chance, but she’s been careful not to push too hard. She also teared up when I told her I was seriously considering taking the job. She might hate what he did but she understands why he did it.
“So this is where all the pretty girls are,” Scott’s voice booms from the other end of the porch.
I turn with a start to find Troy and Mitch emerging through the French doors off the salon. They’re immediately followed by Scott, Trent, Zach, two guys I don’t recognize, and then finally Josh. It’s a male cavalry that could give my two favorite Chrises—Evans and Hemsworth—a run for their money in the sheer hotness factor.
The sight of Josh sets my heart racing and my body thrumming. He’s all dressed in white; cargo shorts and a fitted t-shirt. The only thing I don’t like is that he’s wearing sunglasses, which means I can’t see his eyes. And I need to see his eyes.
I can’t believe it took me three weeks and a mother-and-daughter heart-to-heart to help me realize how much I love him. How perfect he is for me.
Chelsea’s gasp has my head whipping in her direction. She’s staring at the guys in wide-eyed horror. It takes me a few double-takes to pinpoint the actual source of her distress.
“What is he doing here?” she whispers as she gazes furtively at Trent.
“Who? Trent?” I whisper back.
She jerks her gaze from him and stares at me in slack-jawed silence. “That’s Trent?”
“Yeah, who did you think he was?” I shield my mouth a
s the guys draw closer.
“No one. No one,” she replies hastily, turning and ducking her head like a turtle trying to disappear under its shell.
Uh oh. I smell drama.
Soon we’re surrounded by the men, the greetings flying thick and fast. Mitch, Zach, Troy and Scott quickly find their better halves, laying claim to them with kisses and gestures that reek of familiarity and love. The two guys I’ve never met are Mitch’s friends from work, and they grab the chairs between Tonya and Julie. Which leaves Chelsea and Trent and me and Josh.
Suddenly I’m all nerves, aware of how skimpy my bikini is. It’s Josh’s favorite. But I’m glad I’m wearing a coverup, as transparent as it is.
“Oh, that’s right, you two haven’t met yet. Chelsea, this is Trent. Trent, Chelsea,” Paige laughingly says when she’s able to pry her lips from under Mitch’s. He’s taken over her chaise and she’s now sprawled on top of him, where she appears more than content to remain.
Knees bent and arms wrapped around her chin, Chelsea peeks up at Trent. I get that she’s shy but right now, she’s all nerves.
“We’ve met.” Trent’s smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes and there’s a bluntness in his tone that is very unlike him.
“At the bar you told me about.” Chelsea’s nearly tripping over her words as she hurries to explain, addressing Paige. “But we didn’t introduce ourselves.”
For a moment, it looks as if Paige doesn’t know what to make of this meeting she’s only now learning about. She eyes them warily. “You didn’t throw a drink at him or anything like that, did you?” she teasingly asks, her smile faltering.
Trent stares at her utterly deadpan. “As a matter of fact, she did.”
Chelsea’s eyes go wide. Troy chokes back a laugh.
After a beat, Trent smiles. “Just kidding.”
Personally, I can’t tell if he’s kidding or not, but Chelsea appears relieved and eager to change the subject. Swinging her feet onto the porch, she directs her attention to Josh. “Hi, I’m Chelsea. You must be Josh.”
In the midst of all the introductions, how had theirs been missed?
“In the flesh.” Josh flashes her one of his disarming smiles and suddenly I’m aware of how most guys must react to her when they first see her. If blondes have more fun, gorgeous blondes are the life of the party.
“Would you two please sit down? You’re giving my neck a crick,” Rebecca mutters crossly, gesturing to the empty seats around us.
One of those empty chairs happens to be on my left, the other one across from me next to where Olivia is curled up beside Zach.
I only care where Josh is going to sit. He hasn’t spoken to me yet and I’m growing anxious. I’m waiting for a sign that all isn’t lost. That we’re not over despite my efforts to crush any notion of “us” to smithereens.
He moves first, skirting the outer edges of the sitting area to take the seat next to Liv and Zach. Trent then settles in the chair beside me. I look down, unable to meet Josh’s gaze, and begin fidgeting with the edge of my coverup.
Is it better than he’s over there and not beside me? You know what? I have no idea. I’m just sitting here waiting for a sign. A tiny smile would do.
But over the next half hour, I get nothing. It seems he talks to everyone but me. I wore this bikini for him. He practically drooled the first time he saw me in it. If he’s drooling now, I can’t tell, not with his damn sunglasses in the way.
Then conversation turns to our respective careers and job. Zach and Troy entertain us with tales of life in the NFL, and Tonya, Jane and Allison bombard April with questions about her modeling career.
I look over at Josh and hate that what he’s thinking, what he’s feeling, who he’s looking at remains hidden behind a pair of Ray-Bans. And why hasn’t he spoken to me yet? Maybe he can’t forgive me for some of the awful things I said. The unfair comparisons I made between him and Dale.
Well, I guess since I’m so like him, you’re better off without me. That had been when he’d finally walked away. Given up.
Dispirited, I drain the rest of my now lukewarm lemonade.
“I heard you’re a graphic designer. I find that absolutely fascinating,” Chelsea says, addressing Josh.
What’s with this girl? Why is she talking to him? Doesn’t she know he’s taken?
No, the last she heard you’d broken up with him and might be headed to LA, dum dum.
Josh chuckles. “I’m actually a developer and a Key Animator.”
“Man, I can’t even draw a decent stick figure,” Scott playfully grouses.
Rebecca turns and kisses his chin. “That’s not true. You do a perfectly decent hangman.”
Everyone laughs.
“Can you tell us what you’re working on or is that top secret?” Allison knows almost everything about the movies coming out because her parents own a couple local movie theaters.
“Actually, I’ve been offered a new job. Well, not exactly a new job, just some added responsibilities in a new office.”
My breath catches in my throat. I’m now painfully alert.
Mitch looks as if this is news to him. “A new office?”
Josh pushes his sunglasses to the top of his head, and stares at me. “Yeah, in LA.”
The breath I’ve been holding leaves me in a rush.
Paige and April make a squeeing sound.
“You’re moving to LA?” I hear Scott’s question through the filter of the buzz in my ear.
“I don’t know. That’s up to Erin.”
I heard that as clear as a bell. Suddenly, it feels as if we’re the only ones there, everyone else is background, muted and colorless.
Josh’s smile sets my heart knocking against my ribs. “What do you say, should I take the job in LA?”
Oh my God. I clap my hand over my mouth.
One of the guys—not sure which one—clears his throat.
“Maybe you guys should go and talk,” Paige says.
“Yeah, in one of the rooms. I have a feeling they’re going to be needing the bed,” April says, coughing out the last word, her teasing snark as wicked as ever.
Josh pushes to his feet, his eyes never leaving mine as he approaches. Holding out his hand when he’s standing in front of me, he says, “What do you say, Erin, will you talk to me?”
I place my hand in his and let him pull me up.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Josh
I hold her hand all the way up to the room, and that she allows it gives me hope. Once inside, I close the door and then take a moment to drink her in.
That fucking string bikini. The green contrasts beautifully with her hair, and it showcases her body in a way that gave me a semi when I caught sight of her. God, I remember the first time I saw her in it; that image had fueled my spank bank for months afterward.
My roving gaze returns to her face. She looks nervous and still a little shook.
“Hi,” I say, memorizing her every feature.
“Hi.” Her voice is breathy and soft.
I clear my throat and have to shove my hands into my pockets to keep myself from reaching for her. Hopefully, there will be time for that after. “I have a few things I need to say to you before I explain about what I said out there.”
I take a deep breath and then launch into my speech. “You were right. Keeping the job offer from you was selfish. I wasn’t thinking of you, I was thinking of myself and what I wanted. And you’re right about me not putting a lot of faith in women. At least not when it comes to relationships. I have a tendency to initially assume the worst. I guess it’s guilty until proven innocent instead of the other way around.”
That’s one of the truths about myself I still have a hard time accepting even though it’s been staring me in the face for years.
“I’m not trying to make excuses for myself because nothing can justify what I did but I was terrified of losing you. God, I’m still terrified of losing you,” I say with a nervous laugh.
&nb
sp; Her expression softens and her blue eyes glisten with unshed tears.
“I thought that if you were offered the job, the choice would come down to the job or me.”
“Oh, Josh.” My name hitches on an unsteady breath.
“Talk about thinking too much of myself, right?” I shake my head. “It’s not as if you wouldn’t also be leaving your best friend, your goddaughter and your entire family. The place where you were born and raised.”
I follow the graceful line of her neck as she swallows. “No, Josh, you were right. You would have been the biggest factor of all.”
“Yeah but I can’t compete with the opportunity of a lifetime,” I confess derisively.
She takes a step closer, putting the delicious scent of her on blast. My hands curl into fists in my pockets. I dare not touch her yet.
“But you don’t have to. It’s not one or the other. We could have talked it out and come up with something that worked for both of us.”
“What if the only thing that would have worked for me is not having you a thousand miles away? Because the thought of not being able to see you for days, much less weeks on end, is enough to drive me crazy. Which is why I want to be wherever you are.”
Erin smiles and it’s probably the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen light her face. “I haven’t decided whether I’m taking the job.”
“Then maybe we should make a list?”
She nods. “Pros and cons, and we’ll come up with a decision that works for both of us.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to give me another chance?”
Closing the small gap between us, she puts her arms around my neck. My hands come out of my pockets so fast, you’d think I’m a gunslinger in an old Western who’s an expert in quick draw. I crush her against my chest.
A hiss of pleasure escapes my lips at the feel of her against me. Her perfect breasts, her slender waist and her thighs. My semi isn’t a semi anymore.
Before I can kiss her, she pulls back, putting the brakes on me devouring her. “Wait. There’s a couple things I want to say too.”
Taking my hands in hers, she leads me to the king-size bed dominating the room and pulls me down beside her on the edge of the mattress. Only after we’re seated do I realize her legs are shaking.
Played (Trapped Book 3) Page 27