Between Us 2

by Christine Bell

  Between Us

  Reid and Lola, Book Two

  Christine Bell

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Also by Christine Bell

  Copyright © 2015 by Christine Bell

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  This one is for Amber. You make me better at this, friend. And I appreciate you more than you could possible know. <3

  Introduction

  Lola Taylor never stays in one place. After seeing her own mother put aside big dreams to wind up spending her life in Masonville, Kansas until her untimely death, the last thing she wants is to be stuck somewhere. Even if it means being stuck with a guy like Reid McDaniels. But with every kiss and every touch, he’s drawing her deeper, making her want things she has no business wanting…

  Reid McDaniels makes no bones about it. He’s crazy about Lola, and only wants the chance to show her how good it can be between them. But just when he thinks happiness is within reach, his past rears its ugly head and threatens everything he and Lola have been working toward…

  Chapter One

  Reid

  “So you’re going on a date with a girl you have no interest in, have I got that right?”

  I yanked open the refrigerator door and peered in, just so I had an excuse not to make eye contact with Olivia. She was way too perceptive and the last thing I needed was her looking too hard and realizing exactly how screwed up I was over this thing with Lola.

  It had been five days since I’d gone to her dressing room to fight it out with her, a plan that was only partly successful. We did wind up fighting…then we wound up fucking. We never came to a resolution. At least, not one I was cool with. And I had to believe—and maybe I was being a sucker—that she wasn’t really cool with it either.

  So then why hasn’t she called you?

  “Reid?”

  Olivia had crossed the kitchen tiles to stand right beside me and was craning her head around the refrigerator door to gaze into my soul in that creepy way she had.

  “Jesus, stop doing that, would you?” I muttered, plucking out a carton of chocolate milk before closing the door and glaring at her.

  “Sure. Once you answer me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, her dark eyebrows raised in a challenge.

  “Fine, yes, okay? I’m going on a date with Dee.”

  “Who you don’t like,” she tacked on, following me like a puppy as I headed into the living room and dropped onto the couch with an exasperated sigh.

  “Right. I mean, I do. She’s nice.”

  From what I could tell, anyway. And from what Lola had told me about her when she was trying to pimp her to me.

  How screwed up was that? I was crazy about Lola and, if her physical reactions to me were any indicator, she was pretty hype about me too. So why was she trying to pawn me off on her friend in the world’s weirdest game of Denial: Not Just a River in Egypt?

  When I confronted her about the ridiculousness of it all, she’d stood her ground. And I, in another genius move, called her bluff. Now, I had a date tonight with a really nice girl under completely false pretenses and I felt like an asshole for doing it.

  “For a guy who claims to hate drama, you sure are creating a lot of it with this girl,” Olivia observed lightly as she leaned a hip against the arm of the couch.

  She had that right. I cracked open the carton and took a slug before wiping my hand over my mouth. “I guess.”

  Thing was, I already knew I was taking it too far. I should’ve taken the high road. Been the mature one and let Lo have her little commitment-phobic meltdown and then waited her out. We were good together. She was just scared and needed some time.

  Instead of giving it to her, I’d let my emotions and my pride get the best of me and pressed the issue.

  Annnd now I was going on a date with her friend.

  When I could still taste the minty flavor of her toothpaste in my mouth. When I could still feel the weight of her breasts in my hands. When I couldn’t close my eyes without remembering how it felt to be inside her.

  Fuck.

  I scrubbed a hand over my face and Olivia chucked me on the arm.

  “I’m not trying to make you feel bad or anything. And don’t get me wrong. Bash and I had loads of drama before things settled down into the utopian bliss you see now.” Her eyes twinkled with mirth before she grew serious again. “If you and Lo go that route, I won’t judge. Sometimes it takes being in it to really understand. But no need to drag this poor girl into your little play. Especially when she doesn’t know her lines, you know, bro?”

  Double fuck.

  “I hear you,” I said finally, setting the carton on the coffee table in front of me and facing her. “And, I promise, my intention isn’t to hurt this girl. I’m not going to do anything without thinking it all through.”

  She nodded grimly and gave me the thumbs up. “Good start.”

  She was dead right, and knowing I was going to do the right thing by Dee made me feel better already. If only I could say the same about things with Lo…

  One problem at a time.

  “Thanks for the talk, Liv, I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome.” She straightened and grinned down at me, tucking a strand of her glossy brown hair behind one ear. “Now, I’ve got to get to the gym. Your brother is on two-a-days prepping for the fight and I want to bring him some lunch.”

  Guilt pricked me hard at the reminder. Bash was fighting in the boxing match that would make or break his career in less than two weeks, and here I was, all caught up in my own nonsense. I needed to get this taken care of ASAP because Bash needed all our support for the upcoming bout.

  Too bad it looked like Lo wouldn’t be ringside with me.

  My stomach clenched and I rolled to my feet, the trusty old serenity prayer ringing through my head. Boston wasn’t good for much in my youth, but you couldn’t toss a stone in any direction without hitting a church and, a believer or no, sometimes those little nuggets made me feel better.

  I might not have the power to control the outcome of this thing between me and Lo. The ball was in her court, at least for now. What I did have control over, though, was the way I handled this delicate situation with Dee. And I was going to make sure at least one person in this shit-show didn’t get hurt in the crossfire.

  I grabbed my cell phone off the side table in the hall and thumbed a number from my list of contacts.

  “Hey. It’s Reid…”

  * * *

  Lola

  “You’re playing a dangerous game here, Lo. Have you ever heard the phrase be careful what you wish for?”

  Reid McDaniels’ last words to me played over in my head again for the thousandth time, and I pinched my eyes closed and groaned.

  How was I going to get through the next few hours? It seemed like an impossible task. When Dee told me tonight was the night Reid was taking her out to dinner, I’d been totally prepared. I knew it was coming and had spent days readying myself for the blow.

  But when it came, it still obliterated me. Dee had dropped it, oh so casually, into the conversation over a shared salad between shifts at the restaurant a couple days before.

  “Your friend Reid got back to me. We’re going out Friday
night!”

  She was practically vibrating with excitement, but I’d barely heard her over the blood rushing to my ears. I wasn’t sure whether she was too jazzed to take note or I was a better actress than I thought, but she didn’t pay any mind to my distress, which was good.

  Because this was what I wanted. Reid, off limits.

  “Arg!” I groaned again and planted myself face first into the pile of throw pillows beside me.

  He was taking her to Vic and Anthony’s restaurant. Double blow. I’d been wanting to try that place since I’d first come to Vegas but hadn’t gotten the chance to get out that way. It was off the Strip, and without a car, it never seemed worth the effort.

  But maybe it’s worth the effort tonight?

  I clenched the pillows tighter over my ears to silence what was clearly the voice of Satan himself, offering me a fat, shiny apple I knew was filled with worms.

  You have been dying to go there…

  “No. Nope. Not happening,” I muttered.

  What would be the harm in just checking it out?

  What would be the harm, indeed?

  Dee was a friend. And so was Reid. Sort of. I wanted him to find someone who made him happy. It wasn’t so weird that I would be curious to see how they got along and whatnot.

  If I went there to check up on them, it was kind of like being a good person and friend, really.

  Once I got the idea in my head, it stuck tight, like black tar in the midday sun. I couldn’t shake it. It only took ten minutes to convince myself that I was doing the right thing.

  I glanced at my watch and then stood and scurried into my bedroom, legs on autopilot. An hour before their date officially started, so there was no time to lose. I pawed through my clothes and finally came up with an all black ensemble and a beige trench coat. Once I dressed, I eyed my reflection in the mirror dubiously through a pair of oversized shades. This wasn’t a superhero comic. Just changing clothes and putting on glasses wasn’t going to make me unrecognizable.

  That was when things got weird.

  I grabbed a blonde wig I’d worn to the club for one of my routines. And then added a silky black scarf to top it off.

  Note to self: If you have to don a disguise to go somewhere and watch someone, you’re probably doing something wrong.

  But even with that stiffly delivered warning from my conscience, one hour and an eighteen-dollar cab ride later, I found myself standing in front of Vic and Anthony’s wearing a scarf, a trench coat and a pair of oversized sunglasses.

  I stepped through the door of the restaurant on trembling legs, wishing with everything I had for the strength to walk away, all the while knowing that I wouldn’t. Couldn’t. As ridiculous as this was, like some bad scheme concocted by a pair of bungling twins in a Disney Channel show, I was going through with it.

  Because if I didn’t? If I had to sit at home and think of the two of them sitting by candlelight together?

  I’d lose my frigging mind.

  Wondering if he was smiling at her, flashing that dimple.

  Wondering if those bright, inquisitive eyes were focused only on her as she talked, and if those same eyes randomly went dark and fierce with want.

  Wondering if I was really as special to Reid as he made me feel like I was.

  I sucked in a breath and threw my shoulders back. If I was going to go through with this--and I was--there was no point in going in half-assed.

  “Table for one, please,” I said to the hostess as I approached the podium she stood behind.

  She looked up and eyed me, brow furrowed.

  “Excuse me?”

  It wasn’t until that second that I realized I had donned some weird accent. Dutch…or Scandinavian maybe? Whatever it was, it was terrible and she clearly couldn’t understand me. I was already in for a penny, though.

  “I said table for one.” I gave her a haughty stare straight down my nose, which she seemed to respect, because she snapped to it.

  “Certainly. Right this way, miss.”

  I followed along silently, taking surreptitious glances around the place in hopes of spotting Dee or Reid. As luck would have it, he chose that moment to turn in his chair and give me his profile, sending my stomach dropping to my toes.

  He was alone, and he looked fantastic. He was dressed more formally than I’d seen him until now, in a white button-down shirt and a striped blue tie, and a blast of jealousy shot through me, so strong it made my hands shake.

  “How about right here?” I murmured to the hostess, still working my visiting-dignitary voice. I gestured toward a booth a dozen or so steps away from where Reid was seated. Close enough to hear what they were saying if they talked loud enough, but far enough away that, between the costume and stealthy menu placement, they wouldn’t see me.

  Hopefully.

  “Sure,” the hostess said, and set a menu on the table as I sat.

  She walked away as I sat there in semi-shocked silence, the weight of what I was doing hitting me all at once.

  I was a stalker.

  Like, a bona-fide, actual, for realz stalker.

  Before I could spiral into full panic-mode, Dee sauntered up to Reid’s table and he stood to pull her chair out.

  She looked beautiful and it made me want to hurl.

  Long, black hair hung in a fat braid down her back, and she was rocking big, gold hoop earrings that set off her dark skin like a kiss of sunshine. Her full lips were glossy and her cheeks were pink. The picture of happy, healthy youth.

  And sanity.

  She looked totally sane. Not at all like a creepy stalker.

  Already she was one up on me, and it was a big one.

  I wet my lips and picked up the menu, straining to see the words through my extra dark sunglasses in the dim lighting.

  “Can I start you off with something to drink, miss?”

  I looked up to see a waiter standing there, pad and pen in hand.

  “Yes, please. I’ll have the…” I strained harder and then gave up. “I’ll just have a diet coke.”

  He nodded and strode away just in time for me to peek over the top of my menu and see Dee reaching out to pluck a piece of lint off Reid’s shoulder.

  I gritted my teeth and tapped my foot restlessly under the table. If he had lint on his shirt, I’d eat my nifty little scarf. She just wanted to get her hands on him.

  And frankly, I couldn’t blame her one bit. His shoulders were glorious. If she had seen them naked like I had, she would be telling him to skip dinner altogether and get the check.

  My stomach flopped violently at the thought and I took a long sip from the glass of water that had materialized in front of me.

  They had started talking animatedly and I slouched over the table, practically pulling a muscle in my diaphragm to catch some of their conversation.

  “Well, I’m hoping to eventually settle on the west coast,” Dee was saying, her pretty, white teeth flashing in a warm smile.

  Reid’s voice was more muffled because his back was mostly to me, but I heard enough to realize he was asking questions and obviously engaged.

  Because he’s sweet. And a good date. And a great listener, my subconscious reminded me, not so gently.

  He was all those things. Plus hot. And awesome in bed.

  So what was I doing here instead of in Dee’s seat?

  My thoughts were derailed as she leaned in, the vee of her shirt splitting wider to flash a deep slit of cleavage.

  I chewed on my lip as I tried to crane my neck far enough to get a gauge of Reid’s reaction. Was he taking advantage of the view? Or was he still too enthralled with her big, brown eyes to shift focus?

  “Here’s your diet coke, miss. Were you ready to order, or did you need another minute?”

  My waiter stood smiling down at me patiently as I sat back and smoothed my wig bangs away from my forehead.

  “Uh, yes. I’ll take the salmon, please.”

  He proceeded to pepper me with a dozen questions, ranging fr
om salad dressing preferences and the cook on the fish to how I wanted my potatoes.

  “However you think is best, thanks,” I murmured, desperate to hear more of what was going on a few tables down.

  “Two brothers,” Reid was saying to a rapt Dee.

  The conversation seemed easy, and the longer it went, the more my stomach hurt.

  Why wouldn’t he want that instead of the constant push and pull our short relationship had consisted of? It was a no brainer.

  By the time my fish came half an hour later, I was flat out miserable and too nauseous to eat it. I’d have given anything to rewind. To go back to the very moment I’d decided to do this because it was clearly my worst idea ever and there was no end in sight. At least with my large drink menu standing on the table, strategically placed to hide my face, I was pretty invisible. If I stood to go and had to walk by them to leave, even with the glasses and wig, there was no guarantee one of them wouldn’t recognize me.

  I’d made my bed of nails and now I had to lie in it. And I deserved every single second of the pain.

  I shoved the salmon I’d mangled with my fork to the side and blew out a sigh. No more eavesdropping for me. I was going to sit here and wallow until I could run home with my tail between my legs. And then I was going to take a long hard look at my life and make some changes. Because this? This was for the birds.

  I hunkered lower in my seat and tried to zone out, busying myself by using the back of a spoon to fashion my potatoes into the shape of sailboat. I’d just opted to switch for the knife so I could start on the more intricate masts and possibly a jolly roger when I felt a tap on my shoulder, right as a low male voice sounded right next to my ear.

  “What’s the matter, fish no good?”

  My heart stopped cold as I looked up and locked gazes with Reid McDaniels.

  Busted.