That familiar guilt started up again, making my head hurt slightly and my stomach ache.
My phone beeped with a text message. Pulling it back, I didn’t recognize the number.
“Mom, I need to go. That might be the real-estate agent trying to get a hold of me. Tell Daddy, Jack, and Millie I love them. Talk soon.”
“Be careful! Don’t be wandering around at night, and make sure Morgan knows if you’re going to look at houses with a boy . . . I mean, a man.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled at the same time. “My agent is a female and I told her. I love you, Momma. Talk soon.”
“Bye, darling. Think about what I said.”
“I will,” I whispered.
Once the call ended, I pulled up the text message and stared at it for the longest time. My stomach dropped.
Unknown: Hey there! It’s Charlie. I hope you don’t mind I got your number from the business card you gave Tucker. We’re all going out to a comedy club tonight and would love for you join us. I’m hoping to laugh this baby right out of the womb.
Charleston Monroe . . . or as she was now known, Charleston Middleton . . . was texting me. Inviting me out with her and her husband. My father would be so happy, and no doubt would be trying to get me to talk business. When I told him my plans for my career, I thought he was going to have a breakdown. Luckily though, Millie stepped in and decided she needed to be the next Whitaker to run the family business. My brother Jack and I were thrilled.
Staring at the text, I couldn’t help but wonder if Nash would be there tonight. I wanted to ask but knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. He made it clear last week . . . friends only. That was what I wanted as well.
Wasn’t it?
After storing her number into my phone and doing a little hop of glee, I replied.
Me: Hi, Charleston. Wow . . . how sweet of you and Tucker to invite me. I’d love to come.
Chewing on my lower lip, I hovered my finger above the little blue arrow that would whisk my reply back to her. With a deep breath, I hit it.
Almost immediately I saw the little dots bouncing on my phone. I couldn’t deny my excitement. I loved being friends with Morgan, but I had longed to make new friends and feel like I was settling in a bit more here in Austin.
Her reply popped up.
Charleston: First, call me Charlie. Second, of course! We can pick you up or meet you at the comedy club. If you plan to meet us, I would suggest taking an Uber. Parking is sort of hard to come by.
Me: I can meet you guys there.
Charleston: Perfect! Meet us at the Austin Comedy Club at 8 tonight. See you then!
I changed Charlie’s name in my phone and headed over to the closet to change. The Realtor would be here any minute. I paused and looked back down at my phone. I wonder if they had invited Morgan? Why had Morgan not been a part of their group? I couldn’t help but wonder. I made a mental note to ask her about it.
Three hours later I stood in the lobby of the Austonian. My Realtor wore a huge smile.
“So? What did you think, Ms. Whitaker?”
I sighed. “Well, the ones we saw were all beautiful; pricey, though.”
“You’re not going to get a better view anywhere in the city.”
“Is there something else that isn’t so . . . showy?”
“Kaelynn?”
My body froze and I spun around to see Nash standing there.
“Nash?”
He smiled and my stomach dropped to the floor, at least, it felt like it had.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’m here to meet a client. What are you doing here?” His gaze moved from me to the Realtor.
“Looking at places, but I was just telling my agent here this was a bit . . . much.”
I wasn’t lying. I had told her that. To her credit, the Realtor nodded along with me.
Nash’s smile turned into a full-blown grin. “Yeah, you won’t find a bargain deal here, that’s for sure.”
“Nash, thanks so much for meeting me here.”
Glancing over his shoulder, Nash turned and reached his hand out for the older gentleman’s hand. “My pleasure. I’m excited to see the project.”
“You’re doing something here? In this building?” I asked.
With a smile still present on his face, Nash nodded. “Yes, Mr. Dillion was recently at Charlie and Tucker’s home for a party and liked my work. Asked me to give him a bid on a buildout for his penthouse. Mr. Dillion, this is Kaelynn Dotson. Kaelynn, John Dillion.”
The Realtor snapped her head to stare at me with a confused expression. I knew it was because Nash had used Dotson as my last name.
When I looked at Mr. Dillion, I gave him a polite smile. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.”
“You as well.”
I let out an awkward laugh. This is where my small white lie was going to start blowing up in my face. I could tell myself I wasn’t lying to anyone all I wanted, but it wasn’t true. I was living a lie. The thought made me feel sick to my stomach.
The need to get out of there became overwhelming. “Well, I won’t keep you from work. Great seeing you, Nash.”
He nodded, then lifted his hand in an awkward wave. “Was great seeing you, Kaelynn.”
Watching him walk away, I let out the breath I was holding in. My agent walked up next to me and softly said, “Ms. Dotson?”
“My mother’s maiden name,” I replied, pulling my gaze off the elevator and focusing back on her. “Okay, truth is, I need something that doesn’t say I can afford a two-and-a-half-million-dollar condo in downtown Austin. I don’t want to be the friend who has all the money. I want to blend in.”
“No judgment from me. I think I have the perfect place for you. Let’s go.”
Fifteen minutes later, I was standing in a two-bedroom condo that overlooked Zilker Park. It still had a price tag, but it was far less than all the other condos we had looked at today. I stepped out onto the patio and grinned like a fool. The green park below led out to the Barton Springs Creek. It was a beautiful sight. I could see all the way over to the park itself. It was the top-floor penthouse condo, but it was a far cry from the penthouse I had looked at earlier at the Austonian. That was something my folks would like. I had a private little area up on the roof that would be perfect for snuggling up and reading a good book or maybe writing some. It wasn’t over the top, even though they considered it the penthouse.
“It’s two bedrooms, two baths. A little over a thousand-square feet and all with the price tag of five hundred thousand. It’s been on the market for a number of months, so I’m sure we could get them to come down at little. There is an on-site club house, fitness room, spa, and office space that can be used for meetings and such.”
I listened to the agent while I took in the view. “This is it. It’s perfect! I’ll take it!”
Now it was her turn to smile. “Awesome! Then let’s head back down to the office. I’m so happy you found one you liked.”
“So am I! So. Am. I.”
I’d had just enough time to race back to my place, give my notice to the hotel of when I would be moving out, and get ready for tonight. After calling an Uber, I sent Charlie a text.
Me: I’ll be there in about two minutes.
Charlie: Perfect! We’re already here. Just come on in and we’re sitting in the back corner to the right. See you soon.
“Okay, Austin Comedy Club,” the Uber driver said above his loud music. I hadn’t minded the music, though. It was nice to have my thoughts drowned out on the way over here. The conversation I had with my mother earlier kept replaying in my mind. I needed to tell Morgan the truth. I knew she would understand once I explained it. Morgan wasn’t the type of person to judge me.
So why hadn’t I told her the truth already?
I knew the answer. I loved having her as a friend, loved the raw genuineness of our relationship, and I didn’t want that to change. Friends in the past always made snide remarks about how
I could afford to go on a trip to France, or why did I drive this car when I could easily afford that car.
I sighed. “Poor little rich girl and her problems,” I mumbled, hating myself for worrying about this when other people had real problems in this world.
“What was that?” the driver asked, pulling up to the club.
“Nothing. Thanks!” I said, slipping out of the car and making my way inside. Once in the building, I headed to where Charlie said she and Tucker were. I stopped when I saw them. It wasn’t just Charlie and Tucker.
“Crap,” I whispered as I saw Terri, and who I was guessing was her fiancé, Jim. Then next to Jim was another guy I didn’t know. He was good lucking with dark hair and scruff on his face that made him look both relaxed and businesslike. He laughed at something Jim said. Then to the right of that guy was . . . Nash.
“Oh. No. Charlie, why?” I mumbled. I was about to turn around and leave when my eyes caught hers. She smiled big and used both hands to wave me over, making sure everyone at the table saw her in the process. When my gaze drifted back to Nash, he was looking down at his phone and hadn’t seen me yet.
“Kaelynn! Come on!”
That made him jerk his head up and look around. My eyes popped over to Charlie, and I focused on her as I approached the table. I could feel his eyes on me, along with a bunch of other people. Charlie’s nonstop flailing of her arms and calling my name caused a number of people to look up and watch me.
“Hey, um, hi, everyone. I didn’t know, I mean, I thought . . . I guess I . . .”
I finally stopped talking as I let my gaze wander around the table. The dark-haired guy sitting between Nash and I think Jim, gave me a once-over. Nothing but sinful thoughts swam in his eyes. I smiled politely, but I didn’t feel anything toward him. No attraction at all.
“Kaelynn, I didn’t know you were coming,” Nash said, standing. Nash, on the other hand, was another story. I felt a very strong attraction toward him. Everything inside of me came to life the moment he said my name. I chewed on my lip and gave him a soft smile. My eyes darted to Charlie, who was wearing a shit-eating grin on her face. She clearly had seen the attraction between myself and Nash.
“Did I forget to mention it was the whole gang?”
Narrowing my eyes at her slightly, I replied, “Yes. I believe you did.”
TO SAY I was shocked to see Kaelynn was an understatement. I gazed over at Tucker, who simply raised his shoulders in a sad attempt to say he was clueless. Looking at Charlie, she winked at me before focusing back on Kaelynn. I was going to kill her.
“I invited Morgan, as well, but she stated she wasn’t sure she would be able to make it.”
“Morgan?” I asked, a bit shocked. We had never included my sister in anything we did as a group. Ever. Not that I didn’t want to; it just never came up. Morgan had her friends; I had mine.
Charlie shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, I felt kind of bad we never invite her.”
“Morgan? Your little sister? How’s she doing these days? I haven’t seen her in forever. Still smoking hot?” Blake asked as I turned and gave him a heated gaze. The asshole grinned and winked at me.
Bastard.
I went to pull out Kaelynn’s chair when Blake jumped up. “Why don’t you sit over here next to me, sweetheart.”
The anger I felt was probably similar to what Tucker felt when Blake endlessly flirted with Charlie all those years. Even though Blake had moved to the Northeast after college graduation, he still made his way back to Austin to visit. And he still found a way to flirt with Charlie as much as he could before she and Tucker officially became a couple. Now that Charlie was off the market, it looked like he had set his sights on Kaelynn. There was no way I was going to let that happen.
Using my hand against her back, I guided Kaelynn into the chair I’d pulled out for her next to me.
Glancing back over to Blake, he rose a brow and smirked. When I sat down, he leaned in so only I could hear him.
“Was that your way of calling dibs, dude?”
I shot him a dirty look. “No.”
He smiled and replied, “Good to know then.”
When I reached for my beer, I shot a look over to Kaelynn. She smiled as Terri introduced her to Jim. I saw Jim extend his hand and they shook. Then Blake spoke.
“Blake Grant, how do you know Charlie?”
Kaelynn reached her hand in front of me to shake Blake’s hand. “Oh, well, um, it was actually Nash who introduced me to Charlie.”
Blake’s brow rose again, and for some reason that really pissed me off.
“How do you know Nash?” Blake asked.
A slight blush hit Kaelynn’s cheeks, causing a weird feeling in my chest. I could see the little matchmaker Charlie watching my every move.
“She’s friends with Morgan, helping her with her new business,” I answered for Kaelynn.
That caught Blake’s attention. “Really? What do you do?”
The tap on the microphone brought the audience’s attention to the stage, and everyone focused on the host. Everyone but Blake. He was still staring at Kaelynn. When he saw me watching him, he held up his hands.
“What?” he asked, then broke out into laughter before turning his sights forward. I was positive I shot him daggers, and I had no idea why.
That was a lie.
I knew exactly why. He was attracted to Kaelynn. And why wouldn’t he be? She was attractive, friendly, had a heart of gold, and was not by any means Blake’s type. He’d work at getting her into bed, then would walk away looking for the next one-night stand.
Sighing, I took another drink of my beer. When I felt Kaelynn’s body against my arm, I froze. The heat it sent rushing through my body shocked me, yet at the same time, it made my dick make my pants feel tighter.
“If you’d rather I not be here, I can say I need to leave.”
The warm feel of her breath against my neck as she leaned over to speak to me had me fighting to find my own air. I turned my head to look at her, causing her to pull back slightly. Our faces were so close together I could practically feel the pull of her mouth to mine.
“What?” I managed to get out.
“I can leave. You seem a bit agitated Charlie invited me. I totally get it, and it’s okay.”
Swallowing hard, I forced my mind to make my mouth move. “I don’t want you to leave, Kaelynn. I’m glad you’re here.”
When she smiled, it wasn’t just my chest feeling funny. It had moved to my stomach now. If I hadn’t known any better, I would swear I was on some thriller ride that had been spinning me around and upside down.
I returned the smile and had to fight to divert my wayward thoughts, so I brought my attention back to the comedian the host had introduced.
The rest of the evening was spent pretty much laughing. We had dinner, laughed, talked a bit, and then laughed some more. When the night began to dwindle down, Kaelynn excused herself to use the restroom, and Blake excused himself as well. I watched him as he followed Kaelynn down the hall to the bathrooms.
“So, are you going to sit there and let Blake go flirt with Kaelynn? Or are you going to realize you need to go take a whiz too?”
It was Terri’s voice that pulled my attention away from the retreating back of Blake.
“What?”
She rolled her eyes as Jim laughed. “Dude, you know Blake is going to hit on her. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to talk her into a quickie in the bathroom.
Charlie huffed. “Kaelynn doesn’t seem the type to be into a guy like Blake.”
“Agreed, but if you’re interested in her, letting Blake get the upper hand is not smart,” Terri stated.
“I’m not interested in her that way. She’s a friend of Morgan’s, so she’s a friend of mine. Morgan would probably kick my ass anyway . . . Well, I mean if I was interested in her in that way.”
All four of my friends stared at me like they knew the words coming out of my mouth were bullshit.
Charlie r
eached across the table the best she could with her stomach preventing her from getting closer to me. “Nash, it’s time to move on. Open yourself up to someone. Not all women are going to treat you like Lily did.” Charlie looked at Tucker and said, “Sorry, babe.”
He held up his hands and said, “You won’t get an argument from me on the behavior of Lily. I’m still pissed at her.”
I let out a breath and gave her hand a light squeeze. “I appreciate you being concerned, Charlie, but I’m fine. I’m not looking to get involved with anyone. Besides, she’s Morgan’s good friend, and who knows how long Kaelynn will even live here? Starting up something with her would be the wrong move.”
Charlie looked disappointed in me as she let go of my hand and leaned back in the booth.
“That has got to be the worst excuse I’ve ever heard. Like seriously the worst.”
“I agree,” Terri said.
The waitress came and cleared our table, and I couldn’t help myself. I glanced over toward the restrooms.
Where in the hell were they? Was Jim right? Had Blake put a move on Kaelynn and they were now steaming up the bathroom mirrors as we speak?
Finally, Kaelynn emerged with Blake next to her. She laughed at something he said. I couldn’t help the frown that quickly appeared on my face.
“Don’t worry, dude, Blake isn’t that fast, and a smart woman would know how full of shit he is,” Jim said with a chuckle. Terri hit him on the chest while I shot him a dirty look.
Stopping at the table, Kaelynn smiled as she looked at me and then Charlie.
“I better get going. I’ve got to drive to Houston tomorrow to meet with a client.”
“What? We were going to go get coffee. Since my plan of laughing this baby out tonight didn’t happen, I’m thinking coffee might do the trick,” Charlie stated with perfect assurance.
Kaelynn laughed. “I wish I could, but I really need to be going.”
“Do you need a ride home?” I asked.
“I already offered, dude,” Blake stated, his hands in his pockets and a shit-eating grin on his face.
My eyes darted over to Kaelynn. Her cheeks turned slightly red. “Thank you for the offer, though.”
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