The Unblocked Collection

by Marni Mann

  “An old friend?” he asked. His eyes didn’t move from her face, and Taylor shrugged in response. “That’s one way to put it. Taylor and I…” His voice trailed off as though he were thinking about how to phrase his answer.

  Taylor cleared her throat. “We dated.”

  “Dated?” I wished I hadn’t said that out loud. It was just a surprise to hear her use that word. Being friends, I understood. But dating? Derek didn’t date; he fucked. Dating made it sound like they had a relationship.

  “It was a very, very long time ago,” Taylor clarified. “When we were just kids, too young and foolish to know what we were doing. But yes, we dated for quite a few years. We even lived together for a while.”

  They’d dated for quite a few years…and they’d lived together.

  That was an interesting revelation.

  It didn’t come across as her throwing it in my face. It sounded more like she was trying to soften the blow. She could tell the news had shocked me. And it had; I was speechless, actually. I was also extremely confused. I had told Derek so much about my relationship with Reed. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t mentioned Taylor. There was no reason to think she was lying, but I still needed him to confirm it.

  The answer was in his eyes before his mouth even opened. “She’s telling the truth.”

  I said I wanted more from him.

  I guess I hadn’t thought about what that might include.

  NINE.

  DEREK

  WHAT THE HELL was Taylor Hall doing here? When she walked away all those years ago, she ripped my goddamn heart out. She was the only one I’d ever loved, the one I’d given everything to, the one who knew all my plans, my pain, and she thought she could walk in as easily as she had left? She had some fucking nerve to show up at my house unannounced, stand in my kitchen, and act surprised that I had built my dream home. I’d come through with every promise I’d ever made; she just hadn’t given me enough time to deliver on the ones I’d made to her. She shouldn’t have been surprised I had succeeded; she should have been surprised I hadn’t thrown her out of my house yet.

  I pulled Frankie’s back into my chest and wrapped my arms around her waist. Her body immediately loosened. She was the only one who mattered now. “You didn’t come here to check out my dream house, Taylor. Cut the shit and tell me why you’re here.”

  She ignored my question and looked at Frankie. She was the least submissive woman I’d ever been with, and it appeared she hadn’t changed in our time apart. “It may be a stretch,” she said, “but because your name isn’t all that common, I have to ask: are you Frankie Jordan? The real estate mogul?”

  That wasn’t a coincidence; she wasn’t in our industry, so there was no way she just happened to know who Frankie was. I wanted to know how Taylor had heard of her, if she’d been surveilling me somehow. I wouldn’t get a straight answer from her—she didn’t care what I wanted, everything was about her, and always had been.

  “Yes, I am,” Frankie answered.

  Taylor’s plump lips broke into a smile. They’d gotten bigger since she’d left town. “Then my timing couldn’t be more perfect. Since you work in construction, I came over here to ask you this question, Derek, but Frankie is the one I really should be asking. I’m looking for a place in Boston—”

  “Taylor,” I said, stopping her before she could say another word. I knew where this was going, and there was no way I’d let it happen. “Frankie only works in high-end real estate with an exclusive clientele. She doesn’t sell houses.”

  Frankie squeezed my hands and looked up at me. “Derek, it’s okay.” She turned back to Taylor. “Maybe I can help you.” Frankie wasn’t vindictive, but there was a reason she wanted to help Taylor. I presumed it was to gain a little control over where Taylor lived, to ensure it wasn’t near her place or mine. “And if I can’t find what you’re looking for, someone at my office certainly can.”

  “Are you heading back to the city tonight?” Taylor asked her. “Maybe we could—”

  “Frankie’s staying here tonight.”

  “Of course.” Taylor continued to keep her eyes off me. “I’m sure Derek’s taking you out to dinner.” She finally looked at me. “To Blu? Your favorite?”

  I gritted my teeth together at the memory. It was my favorite, but that had nothing to do with the times I’d eaten there with her. It had the best food in Portsmouth. The owner had even become a client. And it wasn’t too fancy, just good, hearty food. Back then, I could barely afford anything in that place, but I’d taken her there anyway, even if it meant I ate popcorn for dinner for the next week. I hadn’t forgotten…apparently, she hadn’t, either.

  “Just as I thought,” she said. I didn’t like her cocky grin. And I didn’t like that she could still read me. “Frankie, I’m only in town for two days, so I’d like to get working on this right away. My company is transferring me to Boston, and the move needs to happen quickly. Very quickly, in fact. So before I leave, I need to have a deposit down on a place. How about I meet you guys at Blu, and I’ll give you all my requirements. Then I’ll leave so you can have dinner.”

  “No.” My hands tightened around Frankie’s waist. She noticed because I felt her breathing change. “Tell her now, Taylor. Then it’s time for you to leave.”

  She looked at her watch. “I can’t. I only had a few minutes, and I’ve already spent those catching up.” That wasn’t what we were doing here. Not even close. “I really have to go.”

  “No—”

  Frankie gazed at me. I knew that stare. She was trying to find a balance between work and us. If that meant dining with my ex to close a new deal, then that’s what she would do. She was dedicated, I had to give her that. But that didn’t mean I had to like it. “It’s fine,” she said. She stared fiercely at Taylor now, in business mode. “Come by the restaurant tonight and we can talk about what you’re looking for.”

  “You’re not staying past the appetizers,” I said.

  “Understood.” Taylor took a few steps out of the kitchen. “Seven? Seven-thirty?”

  “Eight.”

  “Eight it is, then,” she said. “Your place is lovely, Derek.” She looked directly at Frankie when she said it. “Really lovely.” She sighed, took one last look at the ocean, and turned to leave. “I’ll show myself out. See you both tonight.”

  I waited to hear the door shut before I turned Frankie around to face me. “I know you have questions. Ask them.”

  “I just find it strange that you never even hinted about having an ex—any ex.”

  My hands dropped from her waist and I walked to the fridge to grab a beer. When I asked if she wanted one, she declined, so I screwed the top off mine and took a long drink. This was another conversation I didn’t want to have. I knew bringing Frankie here would open up some shit, but I didn’t expect every fucking skeleton I had would come rolling out of my goddamn closet.

  She moved to the other side of the kitchen, keeping the island between us. It was a familiar set-up; that was her safe place, where she felt like she could ask the questions and not get persuaded by my hands…or lips. I stayed where I was, leaned my ass into the counter and held the beer in front of me. “We met in middle school and were pretty much together until we were twenty-two. Then she took off, and I stayed behind. There isn’t really much else to tell.”

  Her forehead kinked. “Since middle school? Your history together is that deep?”

  It was a long time…and a long time ago. The years we’d been together hadn’t been easy. She was there for me when my father died, when Hayden and I began planning our revenge, when I was laying the ground work to start my company. She was the one I told everything, the one I trusted with my secrets. I counted on her as much as I counted on my family.

  “It means nothing, Frankie. I haven’t seen her since we broke up. Seeing her now doesn’t change anything, especially not the way I feel about you.”

  “So why didn’t you tell me about her?”

  “Sh
e’s in the past, and I wanted her to stay there.”

  “Derek…”

  I knew what she was going to say, what she was thinking.

  I closed the gap between us, keeping my hands off her but my attention fully engaged. “I get it. You told me about Reed, and I should have mentioned Taylor. Having her show up here was not the way you should have found out about her. But you’ve got to know there’s nothing there. She’s not who I care about…that’s you, and you only.”

  “Good.”

  I smiled at her one-word response. “Just…good?” I didn’t want her to feel any jealousy. There was no reason for her to; Taylor was nothing to me now but history. “You don’t have to help her. There are plenty of realtors who can find her a place.” I reached for my phone. “I’m going to have Will call Julia right now.”

  “Julia? Wow…you really do hate Taylor, don’t you?”

  I laughed. “Actually, Julia and Will are together now.”

  She covered her mouth. “Get out!”

  I shrugged. “They’re hooking up, at least. So it would be an easy connection to make.”

  She shook her head, laughing as hard as I had. “Now that’s a duo I never saw coming.”

  “I agree.” I leaned forward and kissed her, just a quick one so I could have her taste on my lips. It had been too long. “You’re a good person, Frankie. A hell of a lot better than me. But you don’t have to do this.”

  “I know I don’t, but I’m a professional and I can work with your ex,” she said. “It’s not like you broke up a few months ago. It’s been years. I’d say that’s a sufficient amount of time. And if I’m going to find a balance, this is a perfect opportunity to figure out what that looks like.”

  I reached around her waist and tugged on her flannel so her body pressed against mine. “You’re wearing this shirt to dinner.”

  She cringed. “I’m definitely not wearing it to dinner. Or the yoga pants.”

  I took her earlobe between my teeth and sucked it until it turned red. “There’s only one way you can get out of it.”

  “What’s that?”

  When I whispered what I wanted in her ear, she slid out of her pants and jumped onto the island, moving her ass to the very edge. Slowly she lifted the bottom of the flannel, revealing her thighs, the lips of her pussy…her whole fucking cunt. It looked so delicious.

  “You want this?” she asked me.

  I nodded, keeping my eyes directly on it. I more than wanted it. I wanted to worship it, to own it…to live in it.

  The stove was full of food, and all I wanted to eat was her.

  “Then come show me,” she said.

  It was a demand, for sure. But it was one I was absolutely willing to submit to.

  TEN.

  FRANKIE

  “ONE BEDROOM, at least one and a half bathrooms, and the building has to have an elevator, and a doorman, and a gym, and a rooftop pool, and…” Taylor paused to take a sip of her beer, smearing red lip gloss over the top of her mug. Derek wasn’t thrilled that she’d ordered one, but there was no reason for her to stick with water when he and I were sharing a bottle of wine. “…and a walk-in closet,” she said. “That one is definitely a must.”

  One-one, gym, pool, closet, I typed into my phone. “I’m sure we can find a building that has what you’re looking for. Any other necessities?”

  “Granite would be nice.”

  Anything but laminate, I typed. “How about parking? Or close to public transportation?”

  “I won’t have a car,” she said. “Subway access would be good, but the closet is more important.” She wrapped her fingers around the bottom of the mug. “Can you put together a list of places and I can weed out the ones I don’t want to see?”

  “Of course.” I felt Derek’s eyes on me. I smiled and reached under the table to squeeze his leg. My last question was my least favorite to ask a new client, especially one I knew nothing about. “What’s your budget?”

  “I can spend up to five.”

  Five?

  She had interrupted our date for a budget that wouldn’t even cover her utilities and parking. I heard Derek sigh when she said it.

  “I’m sorry, Taylor, but five hundred isn’t going to get you a one bedroom in the city,” I told her.

  “Not five hundred—five thousand,” she clarified.

  That was a number I could work with—much heftier than I was expecting, actually. I typed her budget into my phone and emailed all the information to Brea. She would forward it to an appropriate agent in the leasing department. “I’ll send you some listings by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I appreciate your help with this, Frankie.”

  I nodded as the waiter came to our table and stood between Derek and me. “Are you ready to order your entrée, Mr. Block, or would you like to start with an appetizer?” He knew Derek’s name, which meant he really was a regular here.

  “We’ll start with an appetizer,” Taylor said. “It’s my treat, guys.”

  “You don’t have to treat us,” Derek said. I could tell he was running out of patience. I really didn’t want her here either, but I wasn’t one to turn down business—ever. I could put my personal thoughts aside for the sake of my company, and since I had all her requirements now, she wouldn’t be staying much longer.

  “Please, it’s the least I can do. Frankie has been so kind to offer to help me.” She looked at me, her lips smearing together to spread what little lip gloss she had left. “Order a few. Whatever you like.” She looked at the waiter. “And bring me the bill.”

  I reviewed the options on the menu and chose two, reading them off to the waiter. As I did, I heard Taylor ask Derek about his family. I turned my attention back to them just as he told her they were all doing fine.

  “Just fine?” She plopped her elbows onto the table and pushed herself forward, her chest leaning into the edge. With her dress so low cut, her breasts were practically spilling out. They were much larger than mine, but Derek wasn’t looking at them…he was barely looking at her at all. “Your mom said Hayden was doing fantastic. She’s a partner at her firm. Single, but having lots of fun. It looks like your mom is doing great, too. She said that you and Hayden won’t allow her to get a job, so she’s been volunteering. She also told me about Timber Towers.”

  His hand was now on my thigh, his fingers brushing back and forth to my knee. “Like I said, they’re all doing fine.” There was just as much tension in his voice as in his touch.

  Taylor knew about Derek’s mom and sister. Until this weekend, he hadn’t even spoken to me about his family. Even after opening up to me yesterday, I still knew nothing about his living relatives.

  “How are things with your uncle?” she asked.

  Another person he hadn’t mentioned. By the look on his face, he wished Taylor hadn’t mentioned him either.

  “There’s nothing to say about him,” he said.

  “Why?” she asked. “It’s not like I don’t already know about your past. There’s no reason to hide anything from—”

  “I’m not talking about this.” His tone was sharp and adamant.

  If she knew him as well as I thought she did, she’d know he was done with the topic and she wouldn’t be getting anything else out of him. Derek surely didn’t need to be saved, but the conversation needed to shift, and it looked like I was the only person willing to do that.

  “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, Taylor? Derek knows what you do and where you’re moving from, but I don’t.”

  “Phoenix.” She looked behind us. When she caught the waiter’s attention, she pointed at her glass. “When I left Portsmouth, I moved to Florida. Then I was in Denver for a little while.”

  “Okay, your time is—”

  I interrupted Derek and said, “So your company is transferring you to Boston?” Before he kicked her out, I wanted to know a little more.

  She drained all but a sip of her beer. “Yes.”

  “And what is it th
at you do?”

  “Marketing—stuff like that.”

  “Ah, excellent, a career I know much about.” I crossed my legs to get more comfortable. “Do you work in digital? Print? Consumer? Business to business? Or are you—”

  “I do a little of everything.”

  “I see. So are you in sales, account management, or design?”

  “I bounce around a lot, you know? Wherever I’m needed most.”

  No, I didn’t know. And I still didn’t feel like I knew anything about her. There were multiple agencies in the city that specialized in full marketing services. I’d worked with most of them over the years in some capacity. What I’d never heard of was an employee who worked in all fields. Designers didn’t sell; account managers didn’t design.

  “Which agency is it?” I asked.

  She ran her fingers over the rim of her mug. “It’s new to the area,” she said. “It started in Phoenix, and we’re trying to open in Boston.” She still hadn’t answered my question. “Once we’re up and running, maybe I could show you some of our services? I’m sure I could get you guys a great deal on some T-shirts or some fun pens.”

  “That would be great,” I said. “We’re always looking for…T-shirts.”

  If she worked in promotional marketing, I wasn’t sure why she hadn’t just said that from the beginning. Something felt off about her answers…and her. I just couldn’t place what it was yet.

  She smiled, licking the final bit of gloss off her lips. “So Derek, after your mom told me about Timber Towers, I got a chance to drive by last night. What a property. So many floors and units. You’re really showing your uncle what you can do, aren’t you?”

  “Many, many units,” he said, the annoyance obvious in his tone.

  “I assume you’re in charge of selling them?” she asked me. She crossed her hands on the table in front of her, showing off bare wrists, and a silver ring on her index finger. For someone who had such a large rental budget, it surprised me that she wasn’t wearing any expensive jewelry. The strap of her purse was cracked and wasn’t real leather, her maxi dress was too big for her body and wasn’t designer.