Someone Like You

by Karen Rock

  The boy’s nostrils flared with each breath, and a hint of defiance touched his expression. He leaned against a counter cluttered with barbecue fixings, his light brown hair blending with the oak cabinets behind him.

  “I don’t have to talk to you.” Josh ripped a sheet of paper from the fridge and began shredding it. Niall was pretty sure it was his grandmother’s pecan pie recipe.

  “That belongs to someone else, bud.”

  Josh shrugged, his expression defiant. “So.” He threw the paper pieces into the air like confetti. “What are you going to do? Hit me?”

  Niall felt a thud of concern. “Do people hit you?” He pictured soft-spoken Beth and couldn’t imagine it.

  “Fat chance.”

  But something in the kid’s tone was off. He was hiding something. If Niall knew Josh better, he’d press the issue.

  “I fought in the same war as your dad.” Niall forced himself to look at Josh directly.

  “Did you know him?” Josh rocked up onto the edges of his feet, then back to the flats, a light appearing in his eyes.

  Niall drew in a deep breath, hating to lie. “No. But I know what it’s like to be a soldier. Always on guard. Waiting for the next attack. Ready to strike.”

  “What’s this got to do with me?” Josh’s jaw tightened. His eyes scanned the ceiling, the cabinets, then the floor. Anywhere but in Niall’s direction.

  “You’re not in a war.” Niall caught Josh’s eye at last and held his gaze. “Life isn’t against you.”

  “Yes. It is,” Josh blurted, then spun around, his thin back now facing Niall. “Just forget it,” he said, lower. “I can handle it.”

  Niall turned Josh by the shoulders, feeling the boy tense beneath his grip. “No you can’t. That’s why you need anger-management therapy.”

  Could Kayleigh hear any of this from the living room? It amazed him that she still trusted him, saw him as her old friend and believed he could make a difference with Josh. He’d changed, yet she still wanted his friendship and help. It made him wish he could be that guy she’d once known. But the path to that person had closed long ago.

  Josh studied him then blew out a long breath. “I already went once. It was some guy who wanted me to talk about my feelings.” Josh made a gagging sound, and Niall could have joined him. But if the kid was in trouble, something needed to be done.

  Niall opened the fridge, pulled out a couple of sodas and handed one to Josh. “What happened?”

  The tabs popped, and they drank before Josh answered.

  “He asked me how I felt, so I told him I wanted to punch him. Now I have to see someone else, except I won’t go back. What’s the point? My school wants me to do it, but Aunt Kay can’t pay tuition anymore. I’m going to public school either way.” His last words ended on a hiccupping sob, and Niall fought the urge to hug the kid.

  After losing his father, Josh didn’t need more upheaval in his life. Kayleigh’s selflessness in helping Chris’s family impressed him, while her decision to do her own thing and start her own company worried him. If she followed that path, there was a real possibility she’d let herself and Chris’s family down, unless... Resolve tightened his jaw.

  He’d offer Beth tuition money, but how would he explain the donation? No. There had to be another way.

  “How about you and I spend some time together with your mother’s permission? I can teach you some defense moves. Get your anger out that way. Then therapy won’t seem so bad.”

  Josh recoiled, his upper lip curling, as he banged the soda can down on the counter. “You just feel sorry for me because my dad is dead.”

  “No. That’s not how it is.” Why would the kid assume that someone being kind meant he was being pitied? Then it hit him; he felt that way, too.

  “Yes, it is. When my dad died, everyone was extranice because they felt sorry for me.” His eyes were cold, dead and flat as he peered at Niall. “And I don’t want it. I just want my dad, but that’s not going to happen.”

  Niall’s pulse sputtered, then stalled. Regardless of his own reservations, he knew what he had to do. He owed it to Chris.

  “My offer stands whenever you’re ready.” Niall looked straight into Josh’s eyes. “And you’re not switching schools.”

  The boy laughed, skeptical, the sound of a child who’s been promised much but received little. “They said my dad would come home. Grown-ups always tell you things that aren’t true.”

  “I won’t let you down, bud.”

  Kayleigh appeared. “Everything okay in here?”

  Josh brushed by her and fled down the stairs.

  “Fine.” Niall raised his soda as if to toast her. “In fact, I was about to tell Josh the news. You and I are going to be business partners.”

  “That isn’t funny.” Her hand rose to her cat pin, her features tense, eyes unblinking.

  “No. It’s not,” he agreed, though he found himself wearing a grin regardless.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A BAG OF muffins swung from Kayleigh’s clenched teeth as she balanced a coffee holder and pressed Niall’s apartment buzzer.

  For the third time.

  She glanced up at the brownstone’s number: 573 Jefferson Avenue. Yes. This was the place he’d moved to, according to MaryAnne. She pulled out her cell phone. 9:00 a.m. Anyone would be up and about by now. And Niall had always been an early riser. So why wasn’t he responding?

  Feeling flushed and sticky in the morning humidity, she shook her hair back from her neck. Was Niall rethinking his decision to join her? After his announcement, he’d followed Josh outside, promising they’d talk another time.

  She leaned her forehead against the cool stone beside the speaker. Please don’t let him have acted on impulse. One he now regretted. Maybe she should have pressed him about his decision at the party.

  Did Niall believe in her? She needed to understand his motives for agreeing to join her. As business partners, transparency was crucial. They’d always been honest with each other. Could she still count on that?

  She ignored the nervous dance of her heart and glanced around Jefferson Avenue. The newly restored area was impressive, with stately rows of attached, earthen-toned, three-story homes, connecting wrought iron gates and fenced-in areas containing flower-filled planters. Stone facades contrasted with the leafy green sycamores lining the residential street.

  At the foot of the building’s tall concrete stoop, a man paused to let his terrier sniff a spent firecracker. It was peaceful here. She could see why Niall had little interest in leaving.

  But no one should isolate themselves. Perhaps this business venture would help him as much as it’d help her. At lunch last week, she’d worried that he’d become too abrupt and rude. Yet from the touching exchange she’d overheard between him and Josh, that sensitive, considerate person still existed. Somewhere.

  There was only one way to find out. She jabbed his apartment buzzer again, this time laying on it long and hard, followed by a series of short beeps. He might have lost interest in the world since his injury, but the world—namely she—wasn’t about to leave him alone. He’d agreed last night, and she would hold him to it. She was done being ignored or dismissed.

  “What?” a husky voice crackled through the intercom.

  At last.

  She ripped the bag from her mouth and leaned close. “It’s me.”

  A long frustrated-sounding sigh came through the brass grid. “Not now, Kayleigh.”

  She poked the buzzer again for good measure. “You were supposed to say, ‘Great. Let’s get started.’ But since you didn’t, how about just letting me in, okay?”

  Bass boomed through the street as a vintage 1970s car with gleaming rims cruised down the block. It slowed, and a male passenger leaned out and pointed at her.

 
“What up, girl! Lost your key? Need help?”

  A window sash slammed open above, and Niall shouted, “Beat it!” as the entranceway opener vibrated. Yes! She pulled the iron grate and pushed through the heavy door.

  Her visit this morning was a leap of faith that he’d want to get started right away. Oh, who was she kidding? She needed to get started right away. With no income and the clock ticking, she didn’t have a moment to waste. Even on an ill-tempered hermit of a war veteran who’d rather waste his life than appreciate it. He’d promised that they’d talk later, and that time was now. It was her turn to call the shots.

  When she reached his second-floor apartment, she stuffed the bag in her mouth again then raised her hand. But before she knocked, the door swung open, revealing a bare-chested Niall wearing low-slung gray army sweats. The muffin bag thunked to the floor.

  Niall’s smooth, broad chest tapered to a flat stomach defined by shifting muscle and small scars. Her lungs gave up any pretense of working as her gaze lingered on diagonal hip ridges that disappeared into his waistband. He was all lean muscle and sculpted lines. His was the kind of body featured in magazines, billboard ads and paintings, not hidden away in a Brooklyn apartment.

  Yet here it was. He was. They were. She gulped, suddenly feeling self-conscious and regretful of the blueberry muffin she’d wolfed down on the bus ride here. No wonder she never shook those extra couple of pounds—or five...okay, ten if she was honest. But even if she ate nothing but salad and worked out every day, she couldn’t imagine ever looking as cut as Niall, at least, not without the help of her Spanx. He was gorgeous, and she was—she discreetly lifted her arms away from her body—sticky.

  “What are you doing here?” He pushed his rumpled hair out of his cocoa-brown eyes, his just-rolled-out-of-bed look making it impossible to think, let alone speak. What was wrong with her?

  He peered down at her. “Kayleigh? You in there?”

  A relieved laugh escaped her. She needed to hear one of their old jokes to put things back in perspective. This was Niall. Not some stranger to lust after. She’d known him when he’d been reluctant to take off his shirt to swim, unwilling to be teased for his scrawniness. Her eyes slid his way again, lingering on his broad chest. No chance of that now. She sighed and reined in her runaway thoughts. Time to shake off these weird feelings and get on with business.

  “I’m here for our first meeting, partner.” She scooped up the bag and straightened. “Plus, I brought breakfast.”

  “You should have called.” Niall glanced over his shoulder, then leaned muscular arms on either side of the door frame, blocking an interior view. “Let’s meet another day.”

  Kayleigh held up the coffee container, the sweet hazelnut smell filling the hallway. “Even just for a cup?” She had to get through that door. Until she did, Niall might back out. She had a limited liability corporation document in her shoulder bag, and she wouldn’t leave until he explained why he wanted to be a part of her start-up and signed it, making their partnership official.

  She pulled out one of the muffins she and Gianna had baked last night. “And I’ve got a chocolate-chip muffin. Your favorite, right?”

  A hungry look entered Niall’s eyes as they lingered on the treat, his nose flaring at the sweet, rich scent. Finally, he glanced away and shook his head.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m really not—” A loud stomach rumbling cut off his words, making his face relax into a real smile that stole her breath.

  “Fine.” Amusement filled his voice. He lowered his arms and shrugged. “You win. But I haven’t picked up, so don’t mind the—”

  She brushed by him, then pulled up short to check out the damage left by the hurricane that had blown through his apartment. It was a spare space, all the more cramped given that every surface was covered in newspapers, take-out containers and—of all things—clothes.

  “Laundry day?”

  “Nope. This is pretty much every day.”

  Before marrying Beth, Chris’s place had looked like this. She gave Niall a sideways grin, hoping it hid the nerves that skittered through her stomach at his proximity. “Well. I like what you’ve done with the place.”

  “Sorry about the mess.” His sheepish tone disarmed her. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  She followed him into the kitchen and set the bag and coffee on a clear spot on his counter. “I should have called. I assumed that we would—” When his eyes leveled on hers, she found it impossible to lie to him. Plus, she’d vowed honesty would be the rule in her business. “I was afraid you’d back out.”

  He pulled the coffees out of the cardboard holder and offered her one. “I gave my word.”

  Relief swept through her, and she nodded, removing the cover from her drink and ripping the tops off three packets of artificial sweetener before dumping them into the brew. Niall had never misled her and always kept his promises. She shouldn’t have doubted him.

  “So why do you want to be with me?”

  “Excuse me?” he sputtered, lowering his coffee cup.

  “In the start-up,” she clarified, feeling herself blush.

  He shrugged, his expression evasive. “Can’t a guy change his mind, or is that just a woman’s prerogative?”

  “Equal opportunity and honesty are the rules in this business. So why, exactly, are you joining me? You seemed convinced this would fail at our lunch.”

  He gestured to some papers by his computer, and when she wandered there she saw the Five Leaves matchbox and some printouts with notes in the margins about dating websites and apps.

  “You’ve been researching.”

  He joined her, and she felt herself tense in awareness at his closeness. Why was he making her so jumpy?

  “Yes.” When he spoke, his warm breath touched her cheek.

  She stepped away and tried not to breathe in the scent of him. It made her head swim. He was a friend and now a potential business partner. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—think of him in any other way. The last time she’d gotten involved with a business associate had ended in disaster. She’d let her emotions fool her once; a second time, and she’d be the fool.

  Plus, Niall was like a brother and, after losing Chris, the only one she had left. She’d never jeopardize their relationship—now that she finally had him back—by giving in to some inexplicable attraction. Most likely, it’d disappear once they spent more time together and were comfortable again.

  “And what conclusion did you reach?” she asked.

  “That we could do better,” he said, assurance filling every syllable.

  She searched his eyes, looking for a lie in them, but saw only truth. He believed in her, saw the potential in her app. His quiet confidence erased every doubt that’d crept its way into her thoughts this week and she smiled, feeling slightly giddy. At last. A real partner. Better yet, her old friend. A person who wouldn’t betray or mislead her as Brett had.

  “I agree. So let’s get started.”

  She wandered into his living room, cleared an area on his coffee table and set down her coffee and shoulder bag. “I thought we could go over the terms of our partnership agreement.” She pulled out her LLC document. “Then I’ll give you my market presentation, business plan and functionality layout to help you design the app. I have it in hard copy and—” she fished a flash drive from the bottom of her bag “—on PowerPoint. It’s something we can use when meeting with potential investors. I’ve already lined up a meeting this week and two more next week, so the sooner we get—”

  Niall held up a hand, stopping her word flow. “Just leave the information by my desk. I’ll go over it later.” Niall disappeared into a room off the back of his living room, and she looked down at her twisting hands and jittering knee.

  One of today’s agenda items would be addressing his dismissive manner. Perhaps it was a s
ide effect of being alone for so long? She’d try to understand, but she wouldn’t accept it. After being sidelined and overlooked at work, she wouldn’t let that happen in her start-up. Most important, as friends and partners, they were equals.

  At last, Niall returned wearing a white T-shirt, his hair flatter and a bit wet, his clean, soapy smell making her breathe deep. Kayleigh forced her mind back to the meeting. He would not go over her materials without her. She wasn’t an employee to be sent away.

  “Let’s iron out some basics to start.” She pulled out her notepad and a to-do list clearly outlining the meeting’s agenda. “First, we need to go over our LLC agreement, decide on a name for the app, discuss the functionality of the software, the markets we intend to reach, the best way to reach them...”

  Niall took a bite of muffin and wagged a finger. When he stopped chewing, he said, “There’s a way this arrangement needs to work. If you want some ground rules, here are mine.”

  He held on to the couch’s arm and lowered himself beside her. She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it when she saw the firm clench of his jaw. He was serious, and if she wanted his signature on their partnership agreement, she needed to hear him out. Besides, good leadership didn’t mean talking over others. It meant listening, too.

  “Okay. Go ahead.” She munched on her cranberry muffin, the tart flavor making her suck in her cheeks.

  Niall’s mouth quirked, but his eyes didn’t waver as they stared directly into hers. “We aren’t going to work together in the physical sense.”

  Kayleigh swallowed her second bite too fast and coughed, feeling for her coffee as her eyes watered. What? How could they work together if they were never together? She must have heard him wrong.

  Niall limped into the kitchen, then reappeared with a glass of water. She accepted it gratefully and waited for the cool liquid to soothe her burning throat before speaking.

  “What do you mean?”

  Niall shifted, and his knees brushed hers, a vague featherlight touch. “The majority of this work can be done remotely. We’ll use email to communicate, the phone when we have to and Skype as our last resort.” He held up her flash drive. “I’ll review your business plan and presentations, make my own suggestions, then email it back to you. Once we’ve reached consensus, I’ll sign the partnership agreement.”