Stars in the clear, dark sky caught my attention. I decided to make a wish, just like I did when I was a little girl.
Whispering softly, I recited the poem from my childhood. “Star light, star bright; first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
As my lids closed, a swath of warm fabric covered my shoulders.
“You looked cold.”
Mason’s deep voice was warmer than the suit jacket he draped over me. Sandalwood, maybe with a hint of citrus, invaded the air. Whatever it was, it assaulted my senses in the best way possible.
“Thank you.” I turned to look at him. “What are you doing out here?”
Between the moon, the stars, and the white twinkle lights strung across archways and softly illuminating the patio, Mason’s eyes appeared to swirl with greens and browns. They were beautiful, but more than that, they were kind.
He smiled. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. I’m sorry Scott isn’t here, Gretch.”
I shrugged. “Me too.”
That was the truth. Yes, Mason was handsome and if I weren’t taken, I’d definitely be into him. But who was to say he’d reciprocate my feelings?
Wanting to change the subject, I asked, “How‘ve you been? How’s California treating you?”
“It’s great. You’d love it there. It’s a lot warmer.” He chuckled.
A shiver ran through me, but I doubted it had anything to do with the chill in the air. “When do you go back?”
“New Year’s Day.”
Oh, that was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t think he’d be staying that long. “That’ll be nice. Maybe we can have lunch one day before you take off.”
He nodded. “I’d like that. When does Scott get back?”
“I don’t know.” That thought alone was depressing. “Hopefully before New Year’s Eve.”
I’d always thought that couples should ring in the New Year together. If not, it would be a bad omen of things to come. Maybe that sounded ridiculous, but it was how I felt.
My thoughts were interrupted by a gust of cold wind.
“We should get back inside.” Even though I was cold, I slid off Mason’s jacket and handed it to him. “Thank you.”
When our hands brushed, a tingle ran through me.
And it wasn’t because of the cool night air.
* * *
Scott informed me via text the next day that he needed to stay in Michigan until the second week of January, which meant I’d be alone on New Year’s Eve.
Great.
I plopped down on my sofa with a pint of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream, a can of fake whipped cream, and a spoon. Yup, this was my life—ice cream, yoga pants, and the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movies.
Once I finished scraping the sides and bottom of the carton, I set it on the small table next to me and glanced at the bouquet sitting on my coffee table. My thoughts went back to Drake and Lucy’s wedding. They were so happy as they’d headed toward the limousine Jack had waiting to take them to the airport. But when Lucy turned her back to us and tossed her flowers in the air, I didn’t expect them to land in my hands.
If superstitions were true, I’d be the next one walking down the aisle. One thing was for certain—I wasn’t ready for that. I was twenty-three and didn’t even know where my life was headed.
I grabbed my laptop and thought about working, but then decided against it. So I called my friend Sophie instead. She was the yang to my yin.
“Hey, girlfriend. What’s shakin’?”
“Hi, Soph.”
“You sound like your dog died. What did dickface do now?”
I let out an audible sigh. “Please don’t call him that.” Even though I had some choice names for Scott, I didn’t want him disrespected. “He’s not going to be here for New Year’s Eve.”
“Fine, whatever. Are you calling me to ask me out?” She let out a laugh. “Because if you are, then I’m in.”
Not that she could see me, but I smiled. “No, I just called to talk, but maybe we should go out.”
“Yes. Let’s get kick-ass outfits, go to a club, and find a hunk to kiss at midnight. Ooh, maybe one of your brothers can be there. You know, one of the single ones. They’re so hot.”
“That sounds great, except for the part where you said my brothers are hot. And kissing someone at midnight? Um . . . you do realize that just because Scott isn’t here doesn’t mean I can go around kissing random people.” I pulled a blanket off the back of my couch and snuggled underneath it.
“I didn’t say people, I said a hunk. That’s singular, and you don’t need to give him tongue. But I don’t think a peck is cheating.”
“Sophie, it is so cheating. God, it’s no wonder you’re single.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Her tone was full of humor, but she was serious. Sophie was extremely outgoing and could have any man she wanted. She was tall, voluptuous, and beauty-queen gorgeous. I once asked her why she didn’t go into modeling, but she said she loved pizza too much.
“I’m sure you will. But if you don’t mind spending New Year’s Eve with me, you’ve definitely got yourself a date.”
“Perfect, so I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?” All I could think of was I needed to go to the market for more ice cream.
“Tyson’s, silly. We need to shop for killer dresses. I’ll pick you up at eleven.”
Retail therapy sounded perfect. “I’ll be ready.”
After I hung up the phone, I placed the bouquet I’d caught on my bedroom dresser and got ready for bed. I was about to put my phone on the charger when it dinged with a message from Scott.
SCOTT: I’m sorry.
GRETCHEN: For?
SCOTT: Not being there.
GRETCHEN: I miss you.
SCOTT: I miss you more.
I smiled. It didn’t matter what anyone said, he was the one for me. Yes, we’d had our ups and downs, but what relationship didn’t? Scott made me happy—most of the time—and that was a lot more than some people could say.
SCOTT: Are you in bed?
GRETCHEN: Yup.
SCOTT: What are you wearing?
I lifted the sheet to look down at myself.
GRETCHEN: A Nationals T-shirt.
SCOTT: The one I left there?
GRETCHEN: Yes.
SCOTT: If I was there, do you know what I’d do to you?
I shifted my legs under my sheets as my lady parts started to throb.
Gretchen: What?
As I stared at the screen for a reply, my phone rang. A picture of us appeared. I pushed the green button.
“Hi.”
“You want to know what I’d do to you.” His deep voice vibrated through the phone.
“Mm-hmm.”
“First, I’d remove your panties.” When I let out a breath, he said, “Do it.”
“Excuse me?” Was this even happening?
“Take them off, Gretch.” His domineering voice shocked me.
“Scott, I can’t. I’m not going to have phone sex with you.”
As much as my body protested my answer, I couldn’t do this with him. I wanted him here, not hundreds of miles away. Nope, if he wanted me, he needed to be here in the flesh. When he had me on my sofa, his phone call had been more important. I hadn’t forgotten that for a moment.
“Come on, Gretch, we’ve done this before.” He let out an exasperated breath. “You know if you’d let your inhibitions go a little bit, you’d have more fun.”
My mouth fell open at his comment. I was tired of having orgasms with a phone pressed to my ear. “Not going to happen tonight. If you wanted me that badly, you would be here.”
“You know I can’t be there.”
That’s when it dawned on me that he hadn’t asked me to go to Michigan with him to ring in the New Year. Come to think of it, he’d stop asking me to go a couple of weeks ago. At first, when he thought he might
be transferred there, he continually asked me, but now, not so much.
Why? That was the question I didn’t want to ask. Maybe I didn’t want to know the answer.
“I can’t do this right now.”
“Fine.” His clipped tone told me he was frustrated with me, but I was annoyed with him as well.
I decided to change topics. White roses tied with a burgundy ribbon caught my eye. “I caught the bouquet at Drake’s wedding.”
“That’s nice.”
His lack of enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed. Doing my best to tamp down my irritation, I said, “You know what that means, right?”
“Yeah, it means you’re supposed to be the next to get married. That’s a silly saying that single women created to make themselves feel hopeful.”
“Wow, you’re being a dick tonight.” Granted, I didn’t want to get married right now, but his reply sounded like maybe right now meant never.
“A dick? Why? Because I wanted to have phone sex with my girlfriend and she shut me down, or because I don’t believe in a silly superstition?”
I needed to end this conversation. Clearly, we were both on edge. “I’m tired. I’ll talk to you tomorrow after I get home from shopping with Sophie.”
“I’ll be tied up most of the day, but you can leave me a message and I’ll try and get back to you. If not, I’ll see you when I get back,” he said, dismissing me as if I were no one to him rather than his girlfriend of almost three years.
“So I guess, happy New Year in advance?”
“Yeah, happy New Year. ’Bye, Gretch.”
Before I could say any more, I looked at the blank screen that indicated the call had ended. “’Bye, Scott. I love you too.”
Sleep was inevitably rough that night.
* * *
The next morning, I had two cups of coffee before Sophie picked me up for some serious retail therapy. We scoured the stores for the perfect outfit. Sophie was tall, so shopping was a bit easier for her. I wasn’t super petite, but it took me longer to find the right outfit.
“So, have you talked to the douche bag again?” Sophie pushed dresses across the rack, metal hangers screeching along the pole as she looked for my size.
“Last night. He called and wanted to have phone sex.”
The older woman standing next to me cleared her throat. After I shot her an apologetic look, I lowered my voice to continue.
“I turned him down. If he wants to get off, he should be here with me, or he can watch porn for all I care.”
Sophie let out a laugh-snort as we moved to the next rack of cocktail dresses. “Seriously, let him beat off for a bit. He’ll get sick of his hand soon enough, but what about you?”
Before I could answer, she squealed, startling both me and the older woman who hadn’t moved far from us. Maybe our conversation intrigued her.
“Here it is.” Sophie was holding a black fit-and-flare cocktail dress.
I looked at the pretty dress and smiled. “It has pockets.” If there was one thing I loved, it was a dress with pockets. All I needed was my ID, lipstick, and keys. This was perfect, no handbag required.
“You can wear your new Louboutins with it. You’ll look amazing, not to mention tall.”
When I came out of the dressing room wearing the dress a few minutes later, Sophie clapped. It fit as if it were designed for me.
We decided we were in need of much-needed cocktails, so we headed to Juno’s to decide where we were ringing in the new year.
“What can I get you ladies?”
Sophie eyed the waiter up and down before her gaze landed on his name tag. Her tongue grazed her lips. “That depends. Are you on the menu, Ethan? I haven’t seen you here before.”
He chuckled. “Not until after ten, and today is my first day.” After he gave her a wink, he looked at me.
“I’ll have a cosmo, please.”
Ethan smiled, then turned toward Sophie.
“I’ll have the same. I’m Sophie, by the way, and this is Gretchen.” She gestured toward me.
“It’s nice to meet you both. I’ll go get your drinks.”
Sophie’s gaze followed him to the bar. “Damn, his ass is fine.” She let out a sigh.
“Focus, Soph.”
“Oh, I’m focused.”
My friend, God love her, had a one-track mind. But she was single and enjoying every minute of it.
“New Year’s, Soph, not Ethan’s ass.”
“What about your brother’s place?”
I knew Josh was having a New Year’s bash; he hosted one every year. According to him, this year’s party was going to be epic. The last time I spoke with him, he practically begged me to go. I was sure it was so he could keep an eye on me.
“I don’t know.”
“We can always come here,” she said.
Ethan was back with our drinks. He set them down, gave Sophie a smile, and was gone.
“I don’t think Juno’s is the place for Louboutins,” I said, and we both chuckled.
After another round of drinks, we decided Josh’s restaurant, Prism, would be the place. Sophie was thrilled, and said she wanted to kiss a Prescott man at midnight. All I could do was shake my head.
“Please don’t hit on my brother. That would be too weird for me.”
“Fine, take all my fun away. It’s not my fault your brothers are walking gods.”
It was a curse I’d put up with my entire life. I swear, I had more slumber parties than any other girl in school. At first, I thought it was because I was popular, but then I realized it was because of my four older brothers.
“What about dick-for-brains? Will you tell him you’re going out?”
I could feel my lips quirk to the side, knowing she was referring to Scott, even though her prior nickname for him was douche bag. Knowing Sophie, she was going to have a new one for him each time we spoke about him.
“If I talk to him, I’ll tell him.” That was the truth too. Normally I’d call, or at the very least text him, but right now my head and my heart were at odds.
CHAPTER 4
~ Mason ~
I’d spent the majority of my week visiting my family and friends in Virginia. It was great to be back home, but wearing winter coats wasn’t anything I missed. Even though I hadn’t been in California a year yet, I already missed the warmth. My muscles contracted as soon as I walked outside.
Back at my hotel, I was thinking about Gretchen.
That’s a lie; I was thinking about her boyfriend. This was something I’d usually talk to Lucy about, but I didn’t think Drake would want me interrupting their honeymoon. He wanted to keep the location private, so all he told her was they were going somewhere warm. Before the wedding, the poor woman nearly went nuts trying to figure out where he was taking her. It was like trying to decipher what you were getting for Christmas without being able to shake the box.
As I flipped through the channels while relaxing on my bed, I kept trying to rationalize what I had seen at the airport. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation for the mystery redhead. Scott and Gretchen definitely weren’t broken up, or she would have told me. Right?
I wasn’t sure why, but those thoughts started to consume me. Yes, I’d been attracted to Gretchen ever since I met her at the Nationals game, but lately it was more like torture. All it took was thinking of her soft, wavy hair or remembering her fun-loving laugh to get my body all worked up, leaving me wanting someone unavailable.
Josh and Jack had both told me to meet them at Prism on New Year’s Eve, but I didn’t know if I should go. Part of me wanted nothing more than to see Gretchen, assuming she’d be there. But the other part of me was so furious at her boyfriend, I was afraid of what I might say to Scott—or worse yet, what I might do.
Rather than wallow in my thoughts, I decided to go to Juno’s. Maybe I’d be able to meet someone to occupy my mind and relieve other parts of my body.
* * *
After a beer and a shot of tequila, I was feeli
ng pretty good. The bar wasn’t too crowded, most likely due to the holiday. But some of the regulars were here, some of whom I hadn’t seen since my move out west.
“Well, well, lookee who we have here.”
The sugary tone, along with the feeling of a finger running across the back of my neck, caught my attention. I swiveled on my stool and glanced over my shoulder.
“Hey, Shelly.”
The perky waitress with quite a reputation sidled up next to me, obviously wanting something or someone. When she set her tray on the bar and ran her free hand through my hair, I quickly surmised it was me she was after.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” Her tongue peeked out to lick her ruby-red lips. “My shift is over. Want to have a drink?”
I couldn’t help but smirk as I lifted my glass. “As you can see, I’m already drinking.”
With her lips close to my ear, she said, “No, silly. Not here. My place or yours?”
She smelled like roses, looked like a model, and according to rumors, fucked like a porn star. But I wasn’t in the market for a one-night stand.
“Shelly, as tempting as that sounds, how about I just buy you a drink? We can catch up a bit.”
Her eyelids fluttered as her big blue eyes looked at me. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
She let out a sigh and nodded. After she sat on the stool next to me, we enjoyed a couple of drinks as we chatted about her life and my life in California, and then we called it a night.
Tomorrow was the start of a new year. It was a time for resolutions and trying to keep them. There was one resolution I intended to keep, and that was to stop lying to myself.
I’d never come between a couple in love, but I wasn’t sure that’s what I would be doing, especially after what I saw when I arrived in Virginia.
CHAPTER 5
Charmed: A Prescott Novel (The Prescott Series Book 3) Page 3