Anybody but Justin

by Shelli Stevens

  He was right. His words sent stabs of guilt into her gut and she knew it was mirrored on her face.

  “You pretty much blew off our friendship six months ago.” He paused. “What are you running from?”

  You. The possibility of us. The words lingered thick on her tongue and she was hesitant to say them aloud. Fortunately, she didn’t have to.

  The firm knock had them both glancing toward the door to her apartment.

  He glanced back at her. “Are you expecting someone?”

  Gabby drew in an unsteady breath and gave a slight nod. “Yes. I have a…I’m going out tonight.”

  Understanding dawned in his eyes and he rocked back on his heels.

  “I see.”

  She swallowed hard, knowing there was no reason for her to feel guilty. Absolutely none. She had the right to date whoever she wanted. So why did she feel like the biggest witch right now?

  Another knock came from the front door—sharper this time.

  “I need to get that,” she muttered and moved toward the door.

  Justin turned to follow after her. “I’ll leave.”

  She winced, but didn’t protest. It wasn’t as if she could invite him to dinner with her and Steve.

  Before opening the door, she turned to face Justin again.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

  His gaze darkened and lingered on her lips. “I’m not.”

  Another heated flush swept through her. There was no doubt just what he wasn’t sorry for.

  He leaned forward and his breath feathered against her ear.

  “And I won’t be sorry next time, either.” His lips brushed her ear, sending a rush of shivers down her spine. “Remember that, Gabby.”

  She stepped back, his bold promise making her unsteady as her hand wrapped around the knob of the front door.

  “Just go,” she whispered, and then tugged open the door.

  Steve stood on the other side of the door, still dressed in his suit and tie from his day job. His eyes widened in surprise at Justin, who strode past, giving Steve a curt nod before disappearing down the hall.

  “Who was that, Gabrielle?”

  “An old friend,” she said with a forced smile. “We used to be roommates. We just went jogging together to catch up.”

  Steve stepped into her apartment, his brows drawn together in a frown. “You lived with him?”

  “Yes. No need to worry, we were just good friends.” Until six months ago.

  She kept that little bit to herself.

  “All right then.” Steve’s expression relaxed and he smiled. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day.”

  She’d completely forgotten about their date tonight. And when he leaned in to kiss her, she turned her head so that his lips brushed across her cheek harmlessly.

  “I’m sorry,” she stuttered, knowing he would get suspicious. “I’m still all sweaty from my run. Do you mind if I grab a quick shower?”

  “Not at all.” He straightened with a nod and loosened his tie. “I’ll just sit and watch the news.”

  Of course. The news. Who watched the news when the game was about to come on? Justin would have considered it a crime to pick the news over the game. And she totally would have to agree.

  Oh, God, what was she thinking? This was not about Justin. This was about Steve. A respectable man with a stable job. Who made it very clear he wasn’t looking for anything temporary. This man wanted long term. He was the kind of man most women wanted to marry. He was everything Justin wasn’t.

  “All right.” She bit back a sigh. “Help yourself to anything to drink. I’ll be out in a few.”

  “Thanks, Gabrielle.”

  She went into the bathroom and shut the door, letting her head fall against the wooden frame.

  This was a mess. A total mess. After months of trying to move forward and get her life in order, she’d finally come to the point where she’d wanted to change, wanted to have her first stable relationship. But now that was all shot to hell.

  Justin had managed to firmly plant himself back in her life—and worse yet, her heart.

  The next morning, Justin went into work with a bitter taste in his mouth and a headache that wouldn’t quit. He almost wished it were something as simple as a hangover, but no, it was a helluva lot more complex.

  Or then again, maybe it was a hangover of sorts. A hangover from his encounter with Gabby last night.

  He should have known she’d be dating someone else. Someone new. But what was up with the guy in the suit? In the years he’d know Gabby, he never would have pegged her to get involved with someone so…so damn starched looking.

  As Justin had left her apartment, the man had stared at him like his constipation pill had just kicked in.

  What could she possibly see in him?

  Stability.

  The word sent another wave of bitterness up his throat. Gabby wasn’t about stability. She was about having fun. Or at least she used to be.

  When she’d been melting in his arms last night, it had seemed perfect. What he’d kept telling himself was a bad idea suddenly seemed like the perfect solution.

  They were two of kind. The fact that they hadn’t fallen into bed earlier was a damn shame. One he intended to remedy. The question was how to convince Gabby.

  “Hey, boss, need you to check out something on the site.”

  Justin glanced up as Henry, one of his electricians, appeared in the doorway.

  “You okay, boss?”

  “Yeah. Sorry. Got a lot on my mind.” He sighed, trying to clear his head from all thoughts of Gabby.

  “Whatever you did, send her flowers.”

  “What?” Justin glanced sharply at the older man.

  “Send the girl flowers. She’ll get over it.” The other man grinned. “It’s been working for me for the last twenty years.”

  “How do you know it’s a girl problem?”

  “It’s always a girl problem. Unless it’s a boy problem.”

  Justin sighed in exasperation and scowled. “It’s not a boy problem.”

  Henry laughed. “Didn’t think so. Not with your reputation.”

  “Do I have a reputation?”

  The smile wiped from Henry’s face and he cleared his throat. “No. No, course you don’t.” His gaze darted back outside the trailer.

  Justin grabbed a hard hat and put it on with a sigh. Apparently he did have a reputation.

  Twenty minutes later he returned to his trailer. Between the problem with the wiring and Gabby, it was just too much to deal with without his cup of morning Joe. He went to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup.

  “I would have gotten that for you.”

  He glanced up to see his secretary, Haley, standing in the doorway, notepad in one hand and a pen in the other.

  “Thanks, no need.” He gave her a brief smile and glanced away.

  He’d been extra careful lately not to encourage the woman. Haley had never come right out and said anything to him, but she made it very clear in other non-verbal ways that she’d be open to visiting with him outside a construction zone.

  The idea held little appeal to him, though. Odd, since she was an attractive woman who seemed nice enough.

  And it wasn’t just Haley. For a while now, no woman had seemed to grab his interest.

  “I was just about to make a lunch run to that Greek restaurant down the road,” Haley said, watching him from beneath her lashes. “Want anything?”

  “Thanks. I’ll pass.”

  “You sure? They’re fabulous.”

  “I’m not big on Greek food. Thanks, though.”

  Greek food screwed with his digestive system. Gabby had known that, which was great, since she couldn’t stand the stuff either.

  His chest tightened at the thought of her. He needed to do something to show that he wouldn’t give up. Something to show her how much she meant to him. Maybe Henry was right and he should send some flowers.

  The idea fell
flat in his head. Gabby wasn’t a flowers type of woman. She’d always made cracks about how guys were so predictable and boring with their methods of wooing.

  If anything, flowers would just annoy her further.

  Unless… An idea popped into his head and he grabbed his car keys, deciding it was time to take his lunch break.

  “You’ve got flowers.”

  Gabby glanced up from her computer, her brows snapping together as she stared at the flower-loaded vase Phoebe held out to her.

  “Flowers?”

  Guilt had her gut clenching. Poor Steve. He was probably trying to make amends after last night. Hoping she’d change her mind.

  Seeing Justin again had put her on the edge all night. She’d snapped at Steve more than once, getting really bitchy when he’d tried to engage her in a conversation about the stock market.

  Ugh. Who talked about the stock market over a dinner celebrating their five-month anniversary? Then again, who made big deals over monthly anniversaries?

  Well, maybe some people did, but she certainly wasn’t one of them. And then he’d brought up that one thing that had really killed it for her…

  Gabby held out her hands to accept the vase from Phoebe, wishing she were the type to appreciate flowers more.

  “I wish someone would send me flowers,” Delanie murmured. “Lucky girl.”

  “What, the senator doesn’t send you flowers?” Gabby drawled, mentioning Delanie’s recent high-profile love interest.

  Delanie rolled her eyes and turned back to her computer. “If he does, I’m sure they’re picked out by his secretary. Nothing like what you got.”

  It wasn’t until Gabby held the flowers in her hand that she realized it wasn’t your average vase.

  “Oh my gosh.” She set them on the desk and pressed her fingers to her lips, giggling. “These flowers are in a beer mug.”

  Phoebe smiled. “Yeah, you just noticed? I couldn’t stop laughing when I signed for them.”

  Gabby leaned forward and sniffed the white mini carnations popping out of the mug that gave the appearance of beer head—she had to give him props for being creative with the vase and flower choice.

  “You know,” she murmured. “I never would have pegged Steve to send such a fun bouquet of flowers.”

  “Maybe he didn’t,” Delanie suggested suddenly.

  Gabby gave her friend a skeptical glance and reached for the attached card.

  “Nobody else…” she trailed off, her nail pausing in its unsealing of the envelope. Her pulse quickened.

  No. He wouldn’t have. Would he?

  She slid her nail all the way across and popped up the fold of the envelope so she could retrieve the card.

  He would.

  Phoebe gave a soft laugh. “Judging by your expression, I’m going to guess they’re not from Steve.”

  “No. They’re not.”

  “The old roommate?” Delanie asked, her face lighting up.

  “Yeah. I don’t get it.”

  There was a knock on the door and the receptionist peeked her head in.

  “Delanie, you have Amelia from the safe house in the other room waiting to talk with you. Do you want me to tell her it will be a few minutes?”

  “No, thanks, Laurie. Tell her I’ll be right there.” Delanie sighed and stood up from her desk. She gave Gabby a pointed look. “I want to hear everything when I get back.”

  Gabby rolled her eyes and waved her away. “There’s nothing to hear.”

  After Delanie had disappeared, Gabby glanced back at the card and frowned.

  “Okay, wait a minute. It’s signed See you tonight. Justin.”

  “You’re going out with him tonight? Hey, you’ve been holding out on us.”

  “No! I’m not going out with him. I have no idea what he’s even talking about.”

  She shook her head and dropped the envelope to the desk. Something slid out from the envelope, flat and rectangular.

  Her pulse sped up even faster, and she gasped, reaching for it.

  “What? What’d you find?” Phoebe peeked over her shoulder. “A ticket?”

  “Not just a ticket. A ticket to the Giants game tonight.”

  “Oh wow. This guy not only sends you flowers in a beer mug, he sends you tickets to a baseball game? Gabby, I do believe you’ve found your soul mate.”

  “Stop it,” she muttered, smoothing her thumb over the ticket and almost salivating as she recognized the box seats Justin purchased every year. “I shouldn’t go.”

  “Of course you should. And you will. This man knows you. He knows you won’t be suckered by a dozen roses and the promise of a candlelit dinner. But hot dogs at a baseball game?”

  And I’m easy like Sunday morning. Gabby pulled the rubber band from her ponytail and scowled, knowing her friend was right.

  “What time’s the game?”

  “Seven-fifteen.”

  “Perfect. You’ll have plenty of time to get ready once you leave here.”

  Gabby groaned. “It isn’t right, Phoebe. Justin is on my don’t go there list.”

  “Why not go there?” Phoebe sat on the edge of Gabby’s desk, her lips pursing. “I mean, just who do you think you’re convincing anyway? It’s so obvious you’re hooked on him.”

  Chapter Four

  Gabby’s stomach dropped, her throat tightened at Phoebe’s all-too-accurate observation. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Sure it does,” Phoebe said softly. “And that’s why you’re fighting it so much.”

  The phone rang, saving Gabby from answering. Grateful for the interruption, she reached for the receiver. From the corner of her eye, she saw Phoebe slide off her desk and walk back to her own.

  She hung up the phone a minute later and sighed.

  “Bad news.”

  Phoebe glanced up from the paperwork she was going through and lifted an eyebrow.

  “How bad?”

  “That was Lacy from down at the safe house. Becky Martinez went back to her husband this afternoon.”

  “No.” Phoebe’s face crumpled with devastation and she leaned her elbows on the desk, burying her head in her hands. “Oh God. We try so hard to help them…”

  “Hey.” Gabby stood up and crossed to her friend’s desk.

  The helplessness and bitter disappointment hit her hard, but not as much as it did Phoebe, being that she was an abuse survivor. She didn’t know much about Phoebe’s past, only that she’d been in a bad relationship in her college years and it was why she’d come to work for Second Chances.

  She placed a hand on Phoebe’s shoulder and said quietly, “You know how hard this is. Sometimes it takes a couple of times. The good news is we’ll still be here when she wants to come back.”

  “If. If she comes back,” Phoebe said thickly. “Good God. When she first came in here… I’m surprised she only had a few scars.”

  “I know.”

  Second Chances had a registered nurse working for them, but Loretta’s injuries had been at the point of her needing to be admitted to the hospital. She’d adamantly refused when the gentle offer had been made to take her there.

  “I’m sorry.” She squeezed Phoebe’s shoulder again.

  “I know.” Phoebe nodded and lifted her head, her smile weak and her eyes watery with obvious tears of frustration. “Thanks, Gabby.”

  “No problem. Can I get you some water? Chocolate? Anything?”

  “Well, there is one thing.”

  “Anything,” Gabby said fervently. “I’ll drive down to Ghirardelli’s and get you the biggest—”

  “I don’t want chocolate.” Phoebe rolled her eyes and gave a soft laugh. “I just want you to promise me something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Promise me you’ll go to the game with Justin tonight.”

  Gabby’s stomach flipped with butterflies. “Are you sure you don’t just want the chocolate?”

  Phoebe narrowed her eyes. “Come on. It’s not like you weren’t going t
o go anyway.”

  “You’re right.” Gabby walked back to her desk and picked up the ticket, sliding it between her thumb and forefinger. “I can’t say no to the Giants, you know that too well.”

  And so did Justin, which meant it looked like her fate for the night was sealed.

  She sat back in her chair, refreshed her email and hoped she wasn’t making a very stupid decision. She’d settle for semi-stupid though.

  Justin lifted his painfully overpriced beer and took a swig, shaking his head.

  She wasn’t going to show. The game was just minutes away from starting and Gabby had yet to make an appearance.

  Disappointment clenched his gut and he cursed under his breath, reaching for his beer.

  She must have been serious about keeping her distance from him—he’d never known her to miss a game before. Especially when it was a free ticket.

  He’d known it was a risk, that she might very well chuck his flowers—which would be a damn shame since they’d been like the anti- flowers bouquet—and not use the ticket.

  The hype of the game kicked off as the players ran onto the field and the announcer began calling their names.

  Shit. He glanced at his watch and sighed.

  “This seat taken?”

  Tension rolled through his body and he jerked his head up, shielding his gaze from the setting sun with his hand.

  “Didn’t think you were going to come,” he admitted gruffly and let his gaze rove over her. Her silhouette showed a toned body, the jeans and pink tank top showing the soft side of her curves.

  “You know me better than that.” She sat down onto the seat next to him and lifted one eyebrow, her mouth pursed. “You play dirty, Justin. You knew the minute you put that ticket for tonight’s game in there, you’d hook me.”

  “I’d hoped.”

  She’d left her hair down under the white and pink Giants cap. The reddish blonde waves fell around her face, softening her look from the usual braids or high ponytail she wore.

  Her lips were shiny with gloss and the realization surprised him. Gabby had rarely worn makeup when they’d lived together. She’d never needed to, though.

  But tonight, everything about her indicated that she’d made an extra effort with her appearance.