So Much Better

by Marie Rochelle

  “Hello, Richie,” Keri replied after a short pause making him wonder what was going on. Was she upset about something? “How does the hotel look? Is it the way you wanted?”

  “The place looks terrific, but I did run into one little problem and I won’t be able to pick you up tonight. I hope you aren’t too disappointed.”

  “No, I understand. Take care of whatever problem came up and I’ll check in with you later at the charity. I have to go, bye.” The phone clicked in his ear preventing him from saying another word.

  No, something wasn’t right. He would find someone else to take the caterer back home. He needed to go over to Keri’s house and find out what was going on with her. She wasn’t acting like herself and he was concerned. Did he do something wrong last night? He thought they had an amazing time, but maybe he had hurt her. God, his blood ran cold at doing anything to cause Keri pain.

  He couldn’t help the caterer. She would have to understand and he would find someone else to take her back home. Spinning around, Richie was about to leave when the frantic caterer ran up to him with a worried expression on her face.

  “Thank you so much for giving me a ride back home. I forgot all about the trays I left in my cooler at home. This is my first big job and Taylor told me that if I messed up it would be the last time I worked for anyone in this town.” Tears streaked down her cheeks.

  Taking a tissue out of his pocket, Richie handed it to the poor woman. Damn Taylor. He couldn’t toss her away now. She was already a bundle of nerves as it was. He had to take her home or she was going to have a panic attack right in front of him.

  However, when he got back to the charity event tonight, he would apologize again to Keri for not picking her up and find a way to make it up to her. He had several ideas, but he knew which one she would like the best.

  “Come on…let’s go so we can get back before the first guests start to arrive.” Richie went toward the exit sign with the crying caterer walking a few steps behind him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Wow…you look sensational in that dress. I think Richie is going to fall more in love with you when he sees you in it.” Shay teased as Keri checked her reflection one last time in her bedroom mirror. “You might not even make it out on that stage tonight for other men to bid on a date with you,”

  Keri brushed down the last lock of her hair before doing on final twirl to make sure everything was in place. The strapless lacy hunter green dress did look fantastic on her body. It hugged her curves making her seem hotter than she really was. It sure did get rid of her good girl image.

  “I’m not interested in Richie. I could care less if he likes or hates my dress. I didn’t buy it for him. I got it for me,” she lied as she shut her closet door and picked up her mask off the nightstand.

  “How can you say that after you slept with him last night?” Shay asked. Getting up off the bed, she limped over to Keri and fixed the emerald necklace around her best friend’s neck. “You have waited forever to have sex and you always dreamed about Richie being your first.”

  “Are you okay? I noticed you are limping more than usual tonight. Did something happen?”

  Shay shook her head. “You know how it is with my leg. It acts up something awful when I move it the wrong way, but I‘ve had this limp since I was three years old, so I’m used to it by now. I’ll take a couple of pain pills and it will act a little better. I just don’t want you to toss Richie away. I think he’s a great guy and perfect for you.”

  “Forget about Richie. Do you need me to stay home with you? I can call Tate and tell him not to pick me up. I’m sure the charity will still make a lot of money without me being there. I can stay home and we can watch the Criminal Minds marathon on television. I know how much you love Shemar Moore.”

  “You aren’t going to use me to hide from your problems. You’re going to this event and working things out with Richie. I bet he doesn’t even know you’re upset with him. He’s going to be pissed as hell when he sees you walk in with Tate. I still don’t think it was a good idea you called him.”

  Keri was tired of wondering about Richie’s emotions. He didn’t give a damn about hers or he wouldn’t have left this morning. No, she took her night with Richie as what it was, a one night stand and that was it. She wasn’t interested in dating Tate and he knew it. He was only her ride to and from the hotel tonight.

  “First, I’m not trying to hide from Richie. Aren’t I dressed and ready to go like I promised I would be. I keep my word unlike some people and Tate knows there isn’t anything romantic between us. We are only friends.”

  Picking up her small metallic purse off the bed, Keri left the bedroom and strolled for the kitchen to make sure Snuggle had enough food for the night because she wasn’t sure when she would be back home.

  “Don’t try to avoid this conversation. You know that Richie will drag you away from Tate the second you walk through the door.” Shay sat on a kitchen chair and watched her as she got Snuggle’s food ready.

  “He won’t be able to do that because he’ll already be on stage. I made sure I wouldn’t get there early. I didn’t want to hear his lies.” Keri took care of her pet’s hunger needs and then joined Shay at the table. She loved Shay like a sister, but she wasn’t interested in getting any advice about her love life tonight. All she wanted to do was get this over with and come back home alone. She had always laughed at that one saying ‘be careful what you wished for’ but now she wished she’d listened to it. How many times had she wished to be with Richie and when she finally got him it turned out horribly?

  No, she was going to try her best to avoid him and if he knew what was good for him. Richie would stay out of her way too. Now when it came to work, she wasn’t just sure what would happen but she would deal with that Monday morning.

  “Stop over-thinking stuff in your head.” Shay laughed tapping her on the back of her hand.

  “I wasn’t doing that.”

  “Yes, you were. Your right eyebrow does this weird thing at the side when you’re worrying about something you shouldn’t.”

  “Fine.” Keri sighed. “I was thinking about Richie and how I could have been so wrong about him. I shouldn’t have pushed things, but he’s in my past now.”

  Shay studied her like she wasn’t quite sure what was going on in her mind. For a long moment, she looked back at her friend wondering if she should prepare herself for the worst, because with Shay she never knew what might come out of her mouth.

  “I’m done with you. For months all you talked about was Richie this and Richie that. Now you have the man and you’re ready to dump him without even talking to him. I swear if you weren’t my best friend in the world I would think you’d lost your mind.”

  “I can’t believe you’re on his side,” Keri said jumping up from the table. “He slept with me and then left me a note. Why shouldn’t I be angry with him? You’re acting like he did nothing wrong.”

  The ringing of the doorbell stopped Shay from giving her some more of her advice. Leaving the kitchen, Keri hurried to the door hoping to get there before Shay could lecture her anymore tonight.

  Opening the door, she smiled at Tate who looked gorgeous as usual in a dark gray suit. “Don’t you look good? It’s a shame you aren’t in the charity event tonight. You would bring in a lot of money for the kids.”

  “Has Richie seen you in this dress?” Tate asked as he walked into the house. “He’s going to have a fit when he sees you. You look stunning. Green is definitely your color, sweetheart.” Bending down, he planted a chaste kiss on her cheek surprising Keri because Tate was usually the type to go big and kiss a woman on the mouth.

  “No,” was the only reply Keri gave Tate. She was done talking about Richie.

  “Keri, do you want me to stay here until you get back?” Shay asked as she came into the room.

  Moving back from Tate, Keri noticed how Shay’s eyes lingered on him. Most women were taken aback by how good-looking he was and Tate con
stantly played on that fact. He was a born flirt. She couldn’t wait to see how he acted with Shay.

  “Shay, I would like for you to meet, Tate Davidson. Tate Davidson, this is my best friend Shay January,” Keri said making the introductions.

  “Nice to meet you, Tate.” Shay smiled as she walked up to him, her limp a little worse than it was earlier.

  Tate glanced at her then over to Shay. “Nice to meet you too, Shay,” he answered, hastily and then refocused his attention back on her.

  Keri was a little taken aback that Tate didn’t say more to Shay. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the hurt look that passed across her friend’s pretty face before she quickly masked it.

  He usually flirted with every woman that came within five miles of him. Surely, he wasn’t unfriendly because of Shay’s disability because if that was the case, she would have a talk to him about that once they were in the car.

  “Are you ready to go? We need to hit the road. I’m sure Richie is wondering where you are.”

  Despite the fact Keri was pissed at Richie, her heart kicked up a notch. “Did you tell him you were bringing me tonight?”

  “No, I wanted to have the element of surprise on him,” Tate grinned. “I wanted to see his reaction when we walked through the door together. I love pushing his buttons and me bringing you to the charity will do it.”

  Keri wasn’t going to get into a debate with Tate tonight. She only wanted to get to this fund raiser and get back home. She already had plans to climb into bed with a good book after she was done with her part. Whoever won a date with her would have to call her at work to set up their dinner date.

  “Tate, let’s go and you better not cause any problems,” Keri stated as she picked up her items off the table by the door. “Shay, do you mind making sure that Snuggle is back inside before you leave. He’s outside right now. I don’t leave him out there at night.”

  “Sure, I can do that for you,” Shay answered and then glanced at Tate who was looking at her too. “Call me when you get home. I want to hear everything.” Turning away from them, Shay went back toward the kitchen.

  “How long have you known her?” Tate asked as soon as Shay was out of the room.

  “Since we were kids, why?” Keri wondered where Tate was going with his questions.

  “Does she always dress like that?”

  Okay, now she was really interested in finding out what Tate thought about Shay. Why was he so concerned about her clothing? It didn’t make any sense to her at all. She had mentioned to her friend that she would take her out shopping to get rid of all those long skirts and shirts she loved to wear, but Shay told her no. So, she never brought up the topic again. However, she thought Shay was too pretty to be dressing like she was an old maid instead of a twenty-eight year old woman.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Tate glanced away from the kitchen door and looked down at her like he couldn’t believe she had even asked him that question. “Shay looks like she doesn’t want to attract a man’s attention. She’s hiding behind those clothes and she shouldn’t.”

  Whoa! Keri couldn’t believe Tate was actually thinking about someone who wasn’t him? What in the hell was going on? Maybe Richie’s little brother was telling them the truth when he told them he was a changed man.

  “I agree with you, but she’s vehemently against me trying to freshen up her look. I wish I could get someone else to help me, but Shay would disown me as her friend.”

  “It might just take the right person to make her see what a knock-out she could be,” Tate mumbled under his breath, but Keri heard him anyway.

  Keri would have loved to stay and talk about helping Shay, but they really needed to go or they were going to be late. “Tate, it’s time to leave. We can discuss my best friend more on the way to the hotel.” She turned and headed for the door with Tate at her heels.

  “Let’s go. I can’t wait to get there, so I can pick on Richie.”

  Concerned, Keri turned and looked up at Tate. “You aren’t going to do anything to stir up any trouble tonight are you? I don’t need you and Richie arguing.”

  “No, I’ll be a perfect angel.”

  Lord, Keri knew she was in trouble now as she spun back around and went out the door. Not once in Tate’s life had he ever been an angel.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Where in the hell was Keri? Richie thought to himself as he made another walk around the crowded room. He had been looking for over an hour and she wasn’t here. Did she decide not to come tonight because he couldn’t pick her up? God, he barely had enough time to run home and get dressed himself after bringing the caterer back with all the food.

  He needed to talk to her to make sure everything was still good between them. He couldn’t let her think he only wanted sex from her and then dumped her after he got it. He was sure that Keri heard him tell her that he loved her before she fell asleep last night.

  If his meetings today had ruined his relationship with Keri, he was going to kick himself in the ass and then beg her to overlook his stupidity. Shit, he had so much planned for tonight and everything counted on Keri showing up.

  Richie was headed toward the bar for a drink when he spotted Tate walking through the doors. He quickly made his way over to his brother and stopped him. He had a sneaking suspicion that his brother knew about Keri’s whereabouts. “Have you seen Keri?” he asked.

  “Yes, I have,” Tate grinned at him like he knew something Richie didn’t.

  “Where is she? I need to talk to her before she goes on stage.” Richie wasn’t going to let his brother play games with him tonight. He was going to tell him where Keri was.

  “I gave her a ride here and as soon as Taylor saw us she grabbed Keri because I believe she’s about to go on stage. If I was you, I wouldn’t go anywhere.”

  What was going on? Why was his brother warning him to stick around? He wasn’t fond of the feeling he was getting at all. What was about to happen he wasn’t going to like? It must be something bad for Tate to warn him ahead of time about it.

  “Come on. I want a drink,” Tate said heading for the bar. “We can see Keri perfectly well from the back of the room and I think the further away you are the better.” Without waiting for him, his brother walked away assuming he would follow him which Richie did.

  “What am I suppose to see?” Richie asked after the bartender had placed his drink next to him.

  “Patience. You’re about to see,” Tate answered then took a sip of his beer.

  Standing in the back of the room. Richie watched as the announcer walked out with a microphone in his hand and stood at the side of the stage. He didn’t see what the big deal was so far. If Tate was messing with him, he was going to kick his brother’s ass and then fire him tomorrow at work.

  “Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming tonight for the first annual St. Patrick’s Day charity event. Every bid here today will be donated to the local children’s shelter. So, let’s begin by bringing out the first gorgeous lady.”

  Richie still didn’t see anything special until the woman walked out from the back of the stage and it was Keri. She was wearing a hunter green dress showing off curves that only he was suppose to know about. The fabric hugged her body like the garment was made for her and no one else. The hem of the dress stopped right above her knees showing off well-toned legs. Legs that were wrapped around his waist last night as he made love to her. After looking at the bottom, his eyes shot up to the top noticing how it’s strapless bodice making her breasts look like more than a mouthful for a man.

  “Doesn’t she look hot?” Tate taunted. “I bet she’s going to get a lot of bids for a romantic date. I knew Keri was cute, but who would have thought she could be sexier than a Pussycat Doll?”

  Richie was so lost in looking at Keri that he didn’t even hear the announcer finish talking about or suggesting the first bid until Tate snapped his fingers in front of his face.

  “What?” he shouted, sl
apping his brother’s hand away.

  “Are you going to let someone else win a date with your woman?” Tate asked. “The bid is already up to a thousand dollars. If you don’t so something soon, Keri is going out on a date with a man who isn’t you.”

  “One thousand going once, one thousand going twice,” the announcer said.

  “Ten thousand dollars,” Richie shouted out making everyone in the room gasp and swing around in their chairs to look in his direction.

  “Ten thousand going once, ten thousand going twice,” The announcer looked around the room one last time. “Sold for ten thousand dollars! Congratulations, Mr. Davidson, for your generous bid. Looks like you’ve shocked the entire room.” The announcer chuckled. “You’ve won a two hour date with the gorgeous woman wearing the green dress.”

  The audience applauded while Keri snatched off her mask and got off the stage storming in Richie’s direction.

  “Okay, I don’t want to be here to hear this, so I’m leaving. Have a great night.” Tate hurried away right before Keri got to him.

  If looks could kill he would be buried six feet under right now. Oh yeah, Keri was more than mad at him, she was pissed as hell. He could only guess what she was livid about when it came to him. He should have picked up Keri instead of helping out with the problem earlier, but he would make it up to Keri. He had a surprise upstairs for her that was going to blow her mind.

  “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Keri snapped. “I didn’t need you to interfere. I was having a good time.”

  Was she kidding him? Richie didn’t like what Keri was telling him at all. Did she really think he would allow another man to take her out after the night they shared together? He was in love with her and another man better not get within twenty feet of her or he would regret it.

  “I made a donation to the children’s shelter by winning a date with a sexy woman. I think the date should begin right now, don’t you?” He reached for Keri’s arm, but she slapped his hand away.