Triple Shot

by Ava Riley

  With little luck at setting up a lunch date with Susan, Josiah decided to pull out the big guns. Yep, he finally groveled at Tessa’s feet to set something up for him. Tessa had asked Susan to meet her at Joe’s Crab Shack, but Tessa wouldn’t be showing up, instead Josiah would be there to greet Susan with the excuse that Tessa had something come up. As long as Susan didn’t bail, it would work out perfectly.

  ****

  Susan put the last period on the article she’d just finished and hit send for approval from Dominick, her editor. The article was titled, “Men – Why They Cheat and Why Their Women Forgive.” Yes, she’d come up with the idea after the Josiah-Erin episode, even though he never actually cheated on anyone, at least not that she knew of. He just lacked the common sense to do the right thing. Luckily she’d never had to deal with having been cheated on, but some of the women Susan interviewed needed to be taken by the shoulders, shaken, and told to wake up and smell the sunshine. It had been appalling to hear that some women had been cheated on by the same man multiple times. There wasn’t enough love in the world for her to be so forgiving. And the research she’d done only proved to her that the old cliché of “once a cheater always a cheater” stood true. Glancing at her watch, she realized she had just enough time to make it to Joe’s Crab Shack for her lunch appointment with Tessa. She quickly shut down her laptop, poked her head into Dominick’s office to inform him she’d be out for lunch then made the short walk to the parking lot.

  As she approached her car, she noticed a single pink rose pinched at the stem between the windshield and the wiper on the driver’s side, beneath it a small white envelope. Pulling the wiper away from the window, she grabbed the envelope before it slipped past the hood and placed the rose on top of her purse. Before reading what the card said, her eyes skidded to the bottom in search of a name. Josiah! Quickly her eyes skimmed the writing.

  A beautiful rose for a beautiful woman.

  Josiah

  That had been all that he’d written. The sentiment was sweet, but she didn’t know how she felt about the small gift. Picking up the rose and bringing it to her nose, she inhaled the sweet scent. As she shoved the card into her purse, she noticed that the rose stem had been shed of its thorns. Florist didn’t normally trim the thorns off because it shortened the lifespan of the rose, not unless requested and most men didn’t have the sense to make the request. Josiah had…he’d been thoughtful enough to make sure that the pain of the thorns wouldn’t take away from the beauty of the rose. She stood smiling as she brought the rose to her nose once more. Great, she thought, a rose without thorns and suddenly his actions with Erin were stricken from her mind. Not quite, but pretty damn close. At least it was a start. As she drove to Joe’s she contemplated whether she should tell Tessa about the rose. Sure Tessa was still pissed at Josiah, but for the past week she’d been trying to get her to go have dinner with him and she’d become more persistent after their night at Eddie’s. This little treasure she wouldn’t be sharing with Tessa, at least not right away, because then she’d never hear the end of it from the woman.

  Susan pulled into the parking lot near the boardwalk where Joe’s Crab Shack took up residence, five minutes late. Normally it would be an issue, her being late, but she found that often times with Tessa, five minutes late actually had been right on time for her. Grabbing her purse but leaving the rose on the seat, she strolled onto the boardwalk. Although it was the middle of the week, tourist and fisherman filled the railings, or couples walked hand in hand up and down the boardwalk. Some people were obviously on their lunch break either having just left Joe’s or waiting for a table to open up. Her quick steps slowed to a crawl when she saw Josiah leaning against the side of the building, one booted foot up against the wall while he spun his cell phone between his thumb and forefinger. Delicious, she thought, as she took in the sight of him. He wore his trademark Wranglers, a black t-shirt that stretched across his chest and tucked into his jeans showing off the muscles in his abdomen, as well, and the black Stetson she’d seen him in the first night she laid eyes on him. Today was the first time he wore it since their first meeting. For some reason, a flash of happiness hit her at the knowledge that he’d not worn it the night he spent with Erin, she wasn’t sure why that passed through her mind, but it did all the same. Suddenly, she wondered why he was outside of Joe’s. Had he been waiting for someone? Panic hit her in the chest where her heart lay and the thought of him waiting for Erin slammed her in the temples. Just as unfamiliar emotions began to swirl around her head, Josiah lifted his eyes to her, the cell phone’s motion coming to a halt and his mouth lifting at the corners in a sexy smile as he caught her eye. Watching as he pushed himself away from the wall, she breathed a sigh of relief. If she would have brought the rose with her to show Tessa, he would have seen her with it. She didn’t want him to know that she was pleased with his offering. Not yet at least.

  “You made it. I was beginning to worry you wouldn’t.”

  “Made it?” she questioned him. She was here to meet Tessa for lunch, not him, so why would he make such a statement? she silently pondered.

  “Oh I’m sorry,” Josiah said, shaking his head as if remembering something. “Tessa called me and said she was supposed to meet you here for lunch, but that she was tied up and asked if I would come in her place. Although I’m thinking tied up is code for, she’s spending the afternoon with Cade. You never know with her. Anyway, she said if she cancelled, you wouldn’t get out of the office.”

  “Uh-huh,” Susan responded, keeping her eyes on Josiah, and crossing her arms under her breasts. The way he fidgeted with his cell told her all she needed to know. His rambling, although it made him a little more sexy, gave her the added proof she needed that him and Tessa were in cohorts together. “Tessa never planned on meeting me, did she? You two set this up,” she accused with a finger pointed in his direction.

  Josiah lifted his gaze up to Susan, the look of guilt shimmering in his eyes told her what she waited for him to confirm. “Busted,” he said as he threw his hands up. “Look, it was all my idea. Tess just facilitated it for me.”

  “Mmmhmm. I know Tess well enough that if she didn’t want to do something, then there wasn’t enough time in a day to convince her to do it.” Susan shook her head, letting out a sigh. “Well, we might as well eat since I’m already out of the office Tessa thinks I’m chained to.”

  “Great, they’re holding a table for us,” Josiah said as he pushed his arm out indicating for Susan to go before him. Susan closed her eyes briefly as he placed his hand at the small of her back. She wanted to push it away but the heat from his fingertips seeping through the barrier of her cotton shirt felt too damn good to ask him to remove his fingers. Instead, she enjoyed the feel of it and walked into Joe’s with Josiah at her side. The smell of freshly cooked seafood, along with Joe’s famous crab biscuits, bombarded her senses and suddenly she found herself famished.

  “Thank you for the rose, by the way,” she said as Josiah led her to a table in the far corner.

  “You’re welcome,” he responded helping her seat herself then lowered himself in his own chair.

  Chapter 19

  Susan pushed papers around on her desk trying to look busy. Since her lunch with Josiah, she’d not been able to concentrate on anything other than him. They’d talked briefly about the incident with Erin as Susan didn’t feel much like spending her lunch break talking about the woman. Josiah needed to clear the air, as he put it, and Susan had decided that she’d avoided the conversation long enough. Hell, Rowan and Cade had already moved on, so why shouldn’t her and Tessa. Well, Tessa was a whole other story, but Susan really had no right to be angry with him or begrudging. Actually, after they talked about it then dropped the subject, Josiah promising never to bring up Erin’s name again in conversation, she’d had a great time with him.

  Josiah turned out to be not only a gentleman, but had a great sense of humor. Susan found out that he was the youngest of three kids, the
only boy, and that he had always been extremely close to his family. Susan made sure to avoid any talk of her own family; she wasn’t yet ready to divulge the complications with her mother. When Josiah revealed that he had spent time in Afghanistan, Susan had been shocked, to say the least. Tessa had never told her anything about Josiah’s military life, except that he was an ex-Marine. Or as Josiah quickly corrected, former Marine. “Once a Marine, always a Marine. Hoorah!” He had said with all the seriousness possible. Damn, what she wouldn’t give to see him in his uniform, she thought, as the cursor on her laptop against the stark white empty page mocked her. Instead of daydreaming about Josiah, she should be writing her next story. Only problem…she had no idea what to write. Until the thought of Josiah at war, patching up Marines and soldiers and in harm’s way, made her pause.

  “Hey, boss, you got a minute?” She asked Dominick as she peered into his office.

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “I’ve got an idea for a story I want to run by you. See what you think.”

  Ten minutes later, Susan sat at her desk and began to do an internet search on the effects of war on men, women, and their families after someone has come home from doing their time in the midst of fighting. Typically, she wouldn’t do a story like this, but when she thought of Josiah in Afghanistan away from his family and then coming home and trying to adjust, it peaked her interest. Hell, she might even be able to get him to give her an interview. He had been so eager to talk about his time there, but they’d had to cut the conversation short since her allotted lunch break had come to an end. Staring at the results of her search, she grabbed her phone and sent Josiah a text message to the number he’d given her when he’d walked her to her car.

  Would you like to meet for dinner tonight?

  Within moments he’d sent her a response: I thought you’d never ask. Any time, any place.

  Great. Seven, at Pasta and Pesto? It’s a great Italian place.

  I know it well. I’ll meet you there.

  ****

  Josiah stepped out of the shower, ran a towel over his chest then down to his abdomen, drying off as quickly as possible. The time had gotten away from him since he’d taken a call from the military shrink assigned to him upon his return to the states, around five-thirty. He’d intended to make it quick, but the doc wanted to make for certain that Josiah wasn’t having any signs of PTSD now that he was back home and settling into the civilian life. Much to the doc’s surprise, and his own really, Josiah was handling life outside the military just fine. Although he did still need to make a decision about whether he planned to stay in California and go into practice with Cade and Rowan or head home to Texas and find something there. After today’s lunch, California was looking to be the more appealing of the two. The time he spent with Susan this afternoon had been enjoyable, and even if nothing developed between them romantically, she definitely would be someone he could hang out with. The qualities he valued in a woman, she held. She was funny, straight forward, honest, and she’d already proven to him that loyalty to her friends and loved ones was one of her strongest attributes. The beauty she possessed just made the package complete. Josiah ran a towel over his hair, tossed it in the brown wicker clothes hamper in the corner then dressed, leaving just in time to get to the restaurant to meet Susan.

  Josiah and Susan sat on the outside patio of Pasta and Pesto, the cool air chasing away the heat of the day. They’d just finished their dinner and were enjoying a glass of red wine, when Susan dropped the bomb on him. She wanted to interview him for a story she’d been contemplating about adjusting to life after war. The story didn’t really peak his interest, he’d seen the likes of it done too many times from too many angles, but when her face lit up as she told him her idea, he decided he couldn’t turn her down. Although, he did inform her that he probably wasn’t the best candidate for the interview since life had been a pretty easy transition for him. The support of his family while he was gone and even upon his arrival home had always kept him grounded and kept his mind where it needed to be. Coming out to California and seeing his friends again only strengthened him and cleared his mind putting his time in Afghanistan behind him as much as could be left there.

  “I need more than one point of view,” she’d said. “People need to know that there are some that come back and continue with ‘normal’ lives with the help of friends and family. They need to know how important it is and what a difference a support group is to helping those who’ve seen the gruesome effects and how it helps them cope.”

  Josiah supposed she was right. Apparently he’d just taken it for granted that he had such a great support system with his family and found himself realizing that all the calls and talks from the shrink would have been necessary if he hadn’t had that support. The waiter brought over the bill, placing the black leather bill holder on the table, but before Josiah could reach for it, Susan snatched it up.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Paying the bill,” she responded as she tucked her credit card inside and gave it to the waiter before he got a chance to leave.

  “Hold on,” Josiah said to their waiter. “I’ll be taking care of that.” The waiter stood dumbfounded as if he wasn’t sure if he should leave or not. Susan waved her hand at him to encourage him along.

  “I’ve got it. Plus, since I brought up the article I can claim this as a working dinner and turn the receipt in for reimbursement.”

  “Smart girl,” Josiah winked.

  “I have my moments.”

  Yes you do, Josiah thought. And he’d like to see a few more of those moments. Not so much to reveal her intelligence, he already knew what she had to offer there, but more along the lines of her other assets, the ones she had covered up at the moment. When the waiter returned and Susan signed off on the bill, she stood to leave and Josiah followed after her. They walked to the parking lot, Josiah taking his time as he listened while Susan continued on about the article she planned to write, and him mentally kicking himself for meeting her at the restaurant instead of picking her up. The night was ending entirely too early for his liking. If he had driven the two of them then he’d be taking her home instead of dragging his feet to draw out their time together, and who knows, maybe staying for a night cap.

  The headlights to Susan’s car flashed, indicating that she’d unlocked it with the keyless remote and Josiah’s mind went into overdrive. How could he get her to stay with him a little longer? Most likely she wouldn’t be up for The Launchpad and a stop at a local coffee shop might not sound too appealing either if coffee affected her the same way it did him. He couldn’t drink the stuff at night or he’d be awake until the morning hours. Opening the driver’s door with his left hand, his slid the fingertips of his right hand down her spine to the dip in her back resting his hand just slightly on her ass, smiling as he felt a shiver run through her body.

  “Thank you for dinner,” he whispered into her ear, a few strands of blond hair that had escaped her ponytail, tickling his nose.

  “You’re welcome. Thank you for joining me.” Josiah smiled when he saw Susan swallow hard. They stood for several moments without any words – Susan fiddling with her keys and avoiding any eye contact with him.

  “Are you up for a drink at The Launchpad?” he blurted out, wishing like hell he could suck the words back into his mouth and wishing he could think of a better place to take her. Wishing he had a place of his own to take her because right in this moment he’d wanted nothing more than to feel his body pressed to hers.

  Susan shook her head, pinching her bottom lip between her teeth as she continued to run her thumb over the length of her key. Damn, that small gesture sent all the blood he had in his body to his nether region causing his cock to grow hard. If he went home alone tonight, he’d either be spending time in a cold shower or making friendly with his hand. Neither of them appealed to him near as much as finding Susan lying naked underneath him with his cock buried deep inside her wet core.


  “I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow, so a trip to The Launchpad is not a good idea,” her words bringing his focus away from his cock and his attention on her. “Besides, I have no desire of taking a chance on the possibility of running into Erin. She frequents that place so often you’d think she worked there.”

  “I guess you could say she does, right?” Josiah laughed trying to shake off the image of him with Erin. That had been one of those moments in his life that he wanted a do over on.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Susan reached for the door handle then turned again to him. “If you’d like, we could just go to my place for a drink. All I have is cheap beer, but it’s better than nothing, I suppose.”

  “I love cheap beer,” he said with a grin. Honestly, he didn’t have any intention of drinking anything, unless it was covering her body, or dripping from the heat between her legs.

  Chapter 20

  Josiah sat on the sofa in Susan’s apartment while she went in the kitchen to grab a couple beers. The sounds coming from the other room made him smile as he heard her rummaging through a drawer.

  “Are you sure you don’t need help?” he asked.

  “Nope, got it,” she said as she sauntered into the living room passing off a beer bottle to him and then lowering herself next to him.

  Josiah glanced at the label, Turquoise Blue, unfamiliar with the brand or the maker. Taking a drink, he did his best to swallow the liquid without spewing it out in front of him. The stuff was bad, worse than anything he’d ever let slip past his lips, and how they got away with labeling it as beer was beyond him. He was certain if he could see himself he’d have the infamous bitter beer face. Unable to take another drink, he placed the bottle on the coffee table and leaned back into the sofa with his hands on his thighs and tried to wipe the sweat from his palms without her noticing.