The Boy Next Door

by Jessica Jarman

  “You’re very sexy. I’m sure Paul can’t keep his hands off you even with the little belly.” Darcy held a silky black dress in front of herself.

  Colleen snorted. “Oh please, if you had this poking out from your body and sitting on your bladder, you wouldn’t be calling it a little anything. You just wait ‘til it’s your turn.”

  “Don’t think that day will ever come.” Darcy moved on to the next rack.

  “Whoa, whoa, chicky. What does that mean? You’re young, you’re in a relationship, what’s the problem?”

  “Nothing, just drop it.” Darcy waved her hand, trying to push the subject away. “So have you thought of names yet? Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

  “No, and I have no clue. Now talk. What is wrong with you? You seemed so happy last time we talked, so what happened since then? Was Mac an ass? You know that’s a man thing, right? It comes and goes, really.”

  Darcy chuckled. “He’s fine, and I know about guys being asses. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. We are doing just fine. I just don’t see me having kids. Obviously, it isn’t meant to be with Richard, and there aren’t a whole lot of prospects of it happening any time soon. I figure I get to spoil your kids.” She forced a grin.

  “I’m sure you will, but, honey, aren’t you and Mac—”

  “We’re friends,” Darcy interrupted in a harsh whisper. “We have sex occasionally. Nothing more. He doesn’t want a relationship and neither do I. Look at the mess I made of the last one.”

  “First of all, you did not make a mess of anything. What is wrong with you? A man cheats on you then he is the one in the wrong. And Mac doesn’t want a relationship? Did he tell you that?”

  “He told his mother he wants to focus on his career. I hardly think that includes getting involved in a long-term, complex relationship.”

  “Well, I think you should discuss this with Mac. What a man tells his mother isn’t necessarily what is going through his mind.” Colleen laid a hand on Darcy’s arm.

  “It’s plain he doesn’t want this to go further. When we discussed the parents, he agreed that it would be a good idea not to tell them. If he wanted to get serious, he would have insisted we tell them. It’s okay, really, Col, I’m fine with it. I’m ready to be a single woman with no one to answer to.”

  Her friend raised an eyebrow and studied her before nodding. “Okay, if you say so, but I still think you should talk to him, not your mothers.”

  “I know Mac. His work is very important to him. He has worked hard to get where he is and is aiming even higher. I’m not going to mess that up for him.”

  “But, Darcy, what about you? What do you want?”

  “Hon, I have good friends, a great job and fabulous sex. I’m not lacking. Now I’m going to try this on. I feel like dressing up tonight.” With a wave, she strode to the dressing room with black silk trailing behind her.

  ———

  Darcy flew into the house several hours later. If the gods smiled upon her, her mom would still be getting ready and she’d have time to throw herself together for dinner. She ran into her father at the top of the stairs.

  “Hi, Dad, I’ll be ready in a jiffy.”

  “No hurry, sweetie, your mom’s still deciding what to wear. She bought a few dresses while she was out today.” He did so well holding back the eye roll she knew was lurking within him.

  “Well, I’ll hurry anyway and keep you company while she finishes up.”

  Feet flying, she entered her room and tore her new dress from her shopping bag. She then noticed the package on the bed, a flower box. Her heart jumped. Mac had gotten her flowers. What did that mean? Maybe he could be interested in a relationship. She groaned inwardly—they were just flowers, not a freaking ring!

  A note from her mother lay next to the box. Darcy, these were delivered for you. You must have an admirer. Do tell.

  She rolled her eyes. Her love life, or sex life as the case may be, would never be conversation material with her mother. Shaking her head, she made quick work of the bow and pulled the top off.

  Large gorgeous yellow roses filled the box, their soft fragrance drifting to Darcy’s nose as she did a little dance. He remembered yellow roses were her favorite. What a sweetheart. Pulling the card out of the envelope, she teared up at the message inside. Sometimes I know you better than you know yourself. Thought you could use these. You are in my thoughts and heart.

  There was no signature, but it had to be Mac. Who else would send her flowers?

  The phone shrilled once, followed seconds later by her dad’s yell.

  “Darcy, hon, phone call.”

  Her heart leapt. Maybe Mac got off early. She could drive over after dinner tonight. They could share a bottle of wine and if it ended up in the bedroom, she certainly wouldn’t object. A proper thank you for the flowers could lead to something interesting. With a grin, she picked up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Don’t hang up. Darcy, you have to listen to me.” Richard’s voice grated its way into her ear.

  “Look, I don’t have time for this. Do not call here. It’s over,” she ground out.

  “Don’t say that. We were happy. I know I made a mistake. I’m sorry. I said the wrong things earlier. I was just so upset because I love you and I need you here with me. Please come home.”

  Oh good God, he was begging. That didn’t happen every day, a girl having a man beg her to come back.

  “I am home, Richard. I’m not coming back. Ever. Understand that. Quit calling me.” She ended in a near shout.

  “Darcy, you won’t find anyone who loves you the way I do. I know you so well. I know what you need.”

  Red lights flashed inside Darcy’s head. The flowers. They weren’t from Mac—they were from Richard. Disappointment needled her. Of course, the sleazy ex would be the one to send her the beautiful blooms. It wouldn’t fit for the man she cared for to do that.

  With a curse, she slammed the phone into its cradle. “Damn him! Why does he have to ruin everything?”

  A knock sounded. “Darcy, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, Dad, I’m fine. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Her movements mechanical, she dressed and got ready for dinner. On her way out, a small zing of satisfaction filled her as she dumped the flowers into the trash.

  She listened with half an ear to her parents on the drive to the club. The whole situation with Richard ran through her head. What was she going to do about him? What could be done really? Begging, for crying out loud!

  They were led to their table immediately, and Darcy’s radar started going haywire at the sight of a man sitting there.

  “Darren, good to see you, good to see you!” Her dad stepped forward to shake the man’s hand.

  Her mother introduced them. “Darcy, this is Darren Sinclair. Darren, Darcy.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Darcy forced out, shaking his hand. He held on way too long, making it necessary to pull away from his grip. She resisted the urge to wipe her hand on the skirt of her dress.

  Barely.

  They sat and ordered drinks. This was definitely a night for wine, she decided. It was going to be a long night.

  “Darcy, I’ve heard such wonderful things about you from your father.”

  At Darren’s statement, her mother leaned over to inform her, “Darren works for Daddy’s firm. He’s bound to make partner soon. He is such a fine worker, a good provider.”

  She felt her mother’s knee nudge hers under the table, and it dawned on her completely. They were matchmaking. Anger burned in her, more at herself than her mother. She should have expected this.

  Her gaze darted between her parents and Darren. The men talked about work, though once in a while, Darren would turn and toss a smile her way. Darcy nearly gagged when she glanced at her mother. The woman was practically drooling over the guy. She looked at Darcy and raised her eyebrows.

  What the hell? What was so special about Darren What’s His Name? Maybe he was
perfectly nice, she certainly didn’t know, but he wasn’t all that. Darcy gave him the once over. Black hair slicked back from a receding hairline to swirl around the beginning of a bald spot. It reminded her of a burned cinnamon roll. He did have nice eyes, a pale translucent blue. But they wandered to her chest a bit too often for her liking. What was the man looking at? It wasn’t like she had anything significant.

  “Excuse me, I need to use the ladies room.”

  Darren gave her a thumbs up, winked and clicked his tongue twice before saying, “Gotcha, babe.”

  Babe? She’d just met the man and he was calling her babe? She had to get away from this table. Practically sprinting across the dining room, she ducked into the ladies room.

  Not having to really go, she sat on the settee near the entrance. She’d barely caught her breath when the door pushed open, and her mother bustled in. The older woman quickly sat next to her and patted her hand.

  “Isn’t Darren a sweetheart?”

  Uh no. “Mom, I’m not interested in Darren, and this is really uncomfortable. You know I hate when you matchmake. You did this to Mac and me all through school. I didn’t like it then, and I sure as hell don’t like it now.”

  “Darcy, there’s no need to cuss. I’m not matchmaking. Your dad just mentioned that Darren was alone. He has no family in the area, so I thought it’d be a good gesture to invite him.”

  Not sure whether to believe her or not, Darcy shrugged and stood. “Let’s get this over with. I want to go to bed.”

  She’d had enough crap.

  Apparently the powers that be disagreed and thought she needed more.

  Dinner had been fine, except for the leers toward her chest. She shouldn’t have worn her new dress. The silk clung and dipped low. It was revealing, yes, but most men wouldn’t ogle, or at least they wouldn’t be so blatant in doing so. She made it through coffee and dessert without saying anything and felt a medal was in order for her patience and self-control.

  When her father’s credit card was returned, she almost burst into dance. This evening was finally over. She could go home, curl up with a book for a bit, and go to sleep.

  “…Darcy would love to.” She caught the tail end of her mother’s comment.

  “What would I love to do?” she demanded, her voice sharp.

  “Darren is taking some of Dad’s cases since he’s not working as much, so he needs to come to our house to pick up some files,” her mother explained.

  “And this affects me, how?”

  “You’re going to ride home with Darren, so that if we get separated while he’s following us, you can get him there. Shall we go?”

  Darcy groaned inwardly. There wasn’t much way out unless she wanted to look like a complete ass. Oh well, she could handle a ten-minute drive with Mr. Wide Eyes.

  They went out to the cars. Darren held the door open for her to get in his huge truck. It wasn’t easy work getting into the front seat in her little black dress, and Darcy suspected he got quite a nice glimpse of ass as she struggled up. He put a hand on the small of her back, gave her a little boost. She was grateful until that hand slid down and patted her on the rump. Her head whipped around, but he was already turned toward her parents. She narrowed her eyes at the ring of slick hair twirling his bald spot before sighing heavily and slamming the door shut. Whatever he’d said to her parents had her mother grinning. Suspicion filled her mind. What was going on?

  They didn’t speak as he pulled out of the lot and followed her parents’ car for several miles. She was beginning to relax when he turned a corner.

  “Darren, you just lost my parents. They went straight. Go around the block and we can catch up.”

  “I thought we’d go somewhere a little more private.” He put his hand on her knee and ran his hand up her thigh, almost to her crotch, pushing her dress up as he went.

  She slapped his hand off her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  The slime had the nerve to look surprised and confused. “Well, I thought…” His voice trailed off.

  “No, please go on. What were you doing putting your hands on me? We don’t know each other, you jerk.”

  “Darcy, I’m sorry, really. I just thought after talking to your parents that was what you wanted.”

  “Whoa, whoa, pull over. Pull the damn truck over!” Her voice rose to a screech. When he put the car in park, she pulled the seat belt off and twisted to look at him. “You need to explain now.”

  His face was molted red and he reached up to loosen his tie before beginning. “Well, your dad had mentioned you were in town. He knew, too, that I was alone here. No family or anything, so he invited me to come tonight. He mentioned several times how lonely you were. I thought it was a hint. When your mother called today to tell me what time to be here, she specifically told me that you had broken off your engagement and that you were looking for a man. I took that to mean…”

  “What? That I had my parents out trolling for my sexual partners?” Darcy was horrified, not only by Darren’s interpretations, but at the very fact her parents said those things, painted her as some lonely, sex starved woman.

  “God, Darcy, I am so sorry. Really.”

  The guy did look genuinely horrified. She shrugged her shoulders, though a talk with the parents was high on her to do list. “No harm done, I guess, but you can just bring me home.”

  With a nod, he put the truck in drive and brought her the rest of the way. The house was dark as they pulled up.

  “Uh, just tell your dad I’ll get those files later.”

  “Yeah, whatever.” Darcy was already wrenching the door of the truck open to jump to the ground.

  “I really am sorry.”

  She slammed the truck door and strode to the house. Only a small lamp lit the front entrance. A stack of files sat within the circle of light beneath. Ah, they were chickening out. They didn’t want to have her blow up at them obviously. Well, she would corner them at breakfast. Right now all she wanted was a shower and a wave of amnesia to wipe out any memory of the night’s events.

  Chapter Seven

  Darcy woke slowly as the light slashed through a crack in the curtains. She glanced at the clock. Good, her parents should still be at the breakfast table. A little talk was in order.

  Rolling off the bed, she strode to the dresser and grabbed some clothes from the drawer. Pulling them on, she sent up thanks that sleep had come easily the night before. She’d been so angry, but the shower had made her drowsy enough to drift off shortly after her head hit the pillow. A rare thing. She had a tendency to think things to death, which often cut into her sleep time.

  She grabbed her large canvas bag, stuffed it with her sketchbook and supplies. After her talk with her parents, she’d head out to her favorite beach to relax and get a bit of work done in the process. She needed some alone time—some time to think about the direction her life would be taking.

  She walked into the bathroom, got a towel and sunscreen and tucked them into the second compartment of her bag. She made quick work of cleaning up and headed upstairs. Voices traveled to her as she climbed the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

  Both her parents sat at the table, but they were not alone.

  A man chatted with them. Darcy’s eyes about popped out of her head when she saw him. Was this guy for real? From the waist up he looked semi-normal, not bad really. Light brown hair, green eyes that crinkled when he smiled. But she couldn’t even concentrate on that. Her focus centered on his crossed legs. He had on golf shoes, whatever the hell they were called. But instead of normal pants, he had on long socks tucked into plaid pants that stopped just below at the knees. What did they call them, knickers? Well, whatever, they looked damned ridiculous.

  “Good morning, honey.”

  Darcy cringed at her mother’s sunshiny voice. What was she up to now? As if that wasn’t obvious. Her mother was doing exactly what she predicted, except not with Mac. The one time in her life when she wanted to be with Mac a
nd her mother started pulling eligible men out of the woodwork.

  And though this wasn’t her father’s doing, he certainly wasn’t stopping it. He’d go along with it, convinced by Mom that this would make Darcy happy.

  Yep, this was going to stop. As soon as Golf Man was gone, her mother was going to be set straight. This would not fly.

  “Morning.” She grabbed a mug and filled it with steaming coffee.

  “Darcy, this is Stuart Davis. He and Dad are going golfing this morning.”

  She narrowed her eyes at her mother for a moment. Maybe Mom would get the hint and back off. Who was she kidding? This was her mother. The woman never backed off when it came to her daughter. Giving up the older woman for now, she turned to Stuart.

  “It’s a beautiful day for it. Hope you have a good time. Mom, I need to talk to you.”

  “Okay, hon, sit down.”

  “In private.” Another forced smile toward the trio.

  “Now, Darcy, don’t be rude. We have company. Sit down and I’ll make you some breakfast.”

  Gritting her teeth, she sat down across from Stuart. What was she, a child? Her mother scolded her for being rude, told her sit, and she listened. She was thirty, not thirteen. But, no. To avoid looking like an idiot in front of a man, she would sit and make small talk until he left. Then Mom would get it.

  “I just want coffee. No breakfast. Where are you golfing today?” she asked her father.

  “Oh, just out at the club. Nothing fancy.”

  “Are you doing eighteen holes?” There. That was the extent of her knowledge of golf.

  “Yep,” Stuart spoke up. His voice was quiet, kind of shy sounding.

  “Darcy’s an artist.” Her mother voice echoed through the room.

  Oh God. Poor Stuart just looked stunned at the loud outburst, then he looked at her and smiled. “Really? What sort of artist? Painting?”

  “Mostly. I do sculpt when the urge hits and I also love photography, though I’d never make any money on it.” She laughed.

  “What kind of things do you paint?”

  Okay, he was nice and kind of cute in spite of the goofy golf clothes.