Making the Grade

by Marie Harte

  “Way.”

  They gossiped about the other women before Hailey had to go. But as she left, she tripped over something left on the doorstep.

  “Damn. Death by gift bag?”

  Faith grabbed the offending item off the floor and looked into a brightly colored bag. The tag read, Thinking of you. “No name,” she murmured.

  “What is it? Open it.” Hailey rubbed her hands together. “You have a secret admirer.”

  “It could be a bomb.”

  “Right. In pink tissue paper and decorated with ribbon. Get real.”

  Faith pushed past the paper and found an adorable stuffed dog, a bag of Chukar Cherries and a gift certificate to her favorite coffeehouse. The cherries gave him away. “Friggin’ Brian.”

  “Oh. He sent you an apology and a gift. Now you have to give him a second chance.”

  “Like hell.”

  “I’ll start calling you Sydney,” Hailey warned. “Remember when she and Derrick had that disastrous first date? Poor Derrick had to resort to family—Gage and me—to get Sydney to give him another shot. Now look at them. I think she’s moving in with him this spring.”

  Faith frowned. “You’re not involved in this, are you?”

  “No way. I learned my lesson with Sydney. Granted, she’s glad about Derrick now, but then she was a pain. And you’re meaner than she is.”

  “Good. Remember that.”

  Hailey gave her a wide smile.

  “What?”

  “I’m so glad you’re over that Dr. Sphincter.”

  She laughed. “Pichter.”

  “Yeah, him. Time to be girlfriends again, right? No more moping over guys. Brian apologized, so you can let it go.” At Faith’s silence, Hailey glared. “Faith?”

  “Fine. I’m over it. I’ll just write him a note and have Sydney drop it off for me since she’s so buddy-buddy with the guy.” Sydney had sold Brian his house not too long ago and thought he could do no wrong.

  Hailey left, and Faith dragged her gift bag inside. She loved the stuffed dog—a tiny brown Lab—chocolates and gift card. But she’d be damned if she’d let a man buy his way into her affections again. Instead, she put everything back in the bag and added a note of her own.

  The next day, as Brian was leaving the house to go for a jog, he found a familiar bag on his doorstep. A glance around showed no one out of place on the street, so he took it inside with him. His heart racing, he looked through it, only to see his gifts still there. Disappointed, he sifted through everything and found a note written in a feminine hand.

  Brian,

  If you think this halfhearted attempt to buy your way into an apology worked, think again. I’m not for sale, and no one is too busy not to call the day after. Take your gifts and shove them up your ass, because we’re never “getting together” again. Period.

  Sincerely,

  Faith Sumner

  He sighed. Back to the drawing board.

  Chapter Three

  Faith worked like a demon, doing anything and everything to keep her mind off that sexy blond snake who refused to leave her alone. As if texting and calling her a week too late would make everything okay. Could the guy just get the picture and drop dead already?

  Her boss poked his head in the doorway. “Faith, I need you.”

  “Yes, Dan?”

  She followed him down the hall to his office. Though the company was based out of Atlanta, they did business throughout the greater Southeastern area and had been venturing west, picking up new lanes of traffic as the economy slowly recovered.

  He pointed her to a seat. “I have a new client I’d like you to work with. Rex Samson, head of Squirrel and Feather Microbrewery. He’s coming to us to facilitate shipping.”

  “Wait. S&F Brews? That Rex Samson?” Hell, anyone who liked beer knew the guy. He was a wunderkind in the microbrew industry, but she only knew that because Dr. Ass had been a huge fan.

  “Good. You know him. Get familiar with the file I sent you. You have a meeting with him next week to discuss terms and lanes. It’s not a contract set in stone, so do your best to persuade him that we can see to his transport needs better than he can.” Dan grinned. “Now get out of here and go home. It’s nearly seven. Even I’m not that much of a taskmaster.”

  “Not all the time,” she muttered, loud enough for him to hear, and rose.

  “I heard that.” He waved her away, still smiling.

  As she left, she noted the pictures of his children and grandchildren on his desk and wondered if she’d ever have the kind of love that lasted more than forty years. At the rate she was going, she’d be happy to date a guy more than twice in two weeks.

  Feeling down again, she returned to her office and gathered up her things. She turned to leave, only to see someone in the doorway holding a bunch of roses.

  “Faith Sumner?”

  “Yeah?”

  He held them out to her and handed her a card. “These are for you.” After giving her a minisalute, he left.

  Had to be Brian. She recognized the script on the envelope and cursed him for embarrassing her at work, despite the late hour and no one seeing the flowers. It was the principle of the thing. She hurried home with a death grip around the roses. Once in her apartment, she tore open the card.

  They’re sweet but have thorns. They remind me of you. Nothing to trifle with, but so beautiful you can’t help yourself from holding tight and suffering the pinch.

  B.

  Boy, the guy fried her, because everything he did came up smelling like—well, like roses. He’d even used the correct spelling and punctuation. She should throw out the flowers, but it had been so long since she’d gotten flowers from a guy. Even longer since she’d smelled anything so sweet and hadn’t had to do anything for them.

  She decided to keep them but didn’t plan on telling him that. Instead, she wrote him back a note, ignoring the slow softening in her defenses.

  Two days later, Brian was pleasantly surprised when Derrick stopped by his place to grab a beer.

  “Hey, Derrick.” Walking back to the kitchen, where he’d been hanging out with his buddy Rex, Brian nodded to the fridge. “Help yourself.”

  He found Rex outside on the back porch, still bitching in a low Southern drawl about his latest disappointing threesome. The guy had money, looks and a fascinating charisma that seemed almost magical. People rarely said no to him, and Rex retained a healthy ego. The product of loving parents, his best friend had grown up on other end of the familial spectrum from Brian.

  Brian snorted at thoughts of Hangin’ Judge Goode, his repressive, disapproving father.

  “I’m tellin’ you,” Rex continued as he spotted Brian’s return. “Three ain’t always all it’s cracked up to be.” The guy spent time at “the club”, Freddy’s pride and joy. Augusta’s premier private sex club catered to those with the money to afford its exorbitant fees and who preferred a kinkier lifestyle. Brian remained a silent investor, but at the rate he wasn’t getting lucky, he wondered if he ought to try their services.

  “Oh, before I forget, Sydney asked me to give you this.” Derrick tossed an envelope at him.

  “What’s that?” Rex asked.

  Brian recognized the handwriting on the envelope. Shit. He didn’t want to get into his embarrassing failure with Faith in front of them. Hoping to change the subject, he thought to introduce his friends. Before he could, they nodded at each other.

  “Hey, Rex.” Derrick took a sip of the beer he’d pulled from Brian’s fridge before answering. “That? That’s most likely Brian’s second crash and burn with the sexy-as-hell Faith Sumner. If I wasn’t with Sydney, she’d be my next go-to. Swear.”

  “Oh?”

  Brian glared at the pair. “Put it back in your pants, Rex. She’s off-limits.”

  Rex wiggled his brows, and Derrick snickered.

  Brian read the note, tucked it away and told himself he was done playing nice. But it was interesting to see how many different ways Faith
could tell him to shove it. How ironic that she ended her notes so politely with “Sincerely, Faith Sumner”.

  “Tell me more about this woman,” Rex insisted.

  “No.”

  Derrick answered for him. “She’s tall, curved in all the right places, with light brown hair and bright green eyes. Pretty nice too, but she’s got baggage.”

  To hell with it. Brian pulled up a chair to listen. Had the weather been warmer, they could have taken the conversation into the pool. But in Georgia, February provided warm, not hot, temperatures.

  “I overheard Sydney talking to Hailey about it.” Derrick took a swig of beer, then pointed to Brian. “You didn’t hear any of this from me.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Tell us already,” Rex urged, obviously interested. Hell.

  “Faith was dating some rich doctor a while ago. Turned out he was a real dick. Cheated on her, made her feel like shit about herself and basically tried to buy her back when she dumped him, like she was a whore for hire. Hey, her words, not mine,” he said to Brian, who glared at him for referring to Faith as a whore. “She pretty much swore off dating because of him.”

  Which helped explain her aversion to wealthy men. Great.

  “She’s been seeing my brother for therapy and getting her head on straight. Then she finally took a chance and went on a date with Brian. Who managed to fuck up considerably.” Derrick shook his head. “Dude, what did you do? After Faith gave her that last note, Sydney was swearing up and down that men suck for days. It took a lot to talk her off the ledge.”

  “Whatever.” Brian refused to feel embarrassed because of his huge gaffe. He was working to make amends, wasn’t he? “Point is, I’ve been trying to see her again to talk to her, but she’s not taking my calls.” Or texts, notes, gifts…

  Derrick sighed. “Been there, done that. I had to resort to begging Hailey to get Sydney to go out with me.”

  Rex laughed. “Right. I remember the stories now. Didn’t your girlfriend throw wine all over your lap at some upscale restaurant? Smooth move, Derrick.”

  Derrick flipped him off. Rex laughed harder.

  “Yeah? Well, I don’t have any brothers,” Brian complained. “Only a nosy little sister I’d just as soon keep out of my business. I’m on my own with Faith.”

  Rex shrugged. “So show up at her door and force her to listen.”

  “With my luck, she’d call the cops. She was really pissed at me.”

  “What did you do, exactly?” Derrick asked.

  “I fucked up, okay?” Brian flushed. “Let it go.”

  “My guess?” Rex stared at him. “My boy slept with her and never called the next day. That’s classic Brian.”

  “Really?” Derrick blinked.

  “No, not really.” Brian slugged Rex in the arm. The big mouth. “I used to do that, back when I was young, like, in college. Unlike some, I’ve since matured.” The knowing look he shot Rex made his friend frown. “Hell, I’m thirty-four years old. Time to think about the future. I don’t want a fuck buddy. I want a steady girlfriend, and someday, a wife.”

  “Whoa, easy there.” Rex held up his hands. “Let’s not be too hasty. Life is good when you’re free of commitment. Tell him, Derrick.”

  Derrick’s shit-eating grin didn’t help. “Hell no. I’ve got a fine woman now, and I’m not giving her back. Brian, if you like Faith, don’t stop trying. God knows I put up with a ton of shit dealing with Sydney and her issues, but I love her. And damn, son, that woman gets to me like crazy.” He shook his head at Rex. “Dumbass here has no idea what he’s missing.”

  “Hey.”

  Brian envied the Warren brothers and their intimate relationships. Hell, he’d seen how happy Freddy was with Dylan and Harper. He wanted that, but with one woman by his side. He didn’t think he could handle two.

  Rex groaned. “Oh my God. You’re not seriously going to play her game, are you? If this chick is giving you a hassle, it’s because she wants you to chase after her. That’s the kiss of death if you want to uphold the pole position.”

  Derrick frowned. “Are you serious? Pole position? What the hell are you talking about? He wants to date her, not race her.”

  Rex’s argument with Derrick about the merits of sex versus love somehow devolved into the merits of Formula One versus Indy cars, but Brian tuned them out in favor of planning his next move with Faith. Derrick made sense, and his insights about Faith added to what Freddy had already told him.

  Brian understood how to make his next move. Now he just had to get rid of Frick and Frack so he could make that happen.

  Later that evening, he knocked on Faith’s door.

  No one answered, so he waited.

  An hour later, he was rewarded when Faith walked down the hallway to her unit. She stopped dead upon seeing him. “Go away.”

  “Hi, Faith. Can we talk?”

  Damn, she looked good. Even furious, green eyes shooting daggers into him, she made him want to slam her up against the wall and fuck her until neither of them could stand. The woman excited him, no question. But Brian was more than his hormones. He hoped.

  She sighed. “Will you leave me alone after we talk? Because frankly, you’re annoying.”

  Brian paused. He’d been called many things over the years. Attractive, engaging, amazing, but never annoying. “Tell you what. Listen to what I have to say, and after that, I’ll go, okay?”

  She studied him, and he had a feeling he could make things work.

  “Um, no.” She breezed past him, unlocked her door, entered and had nearly shut it in his face when he wedged his foot in the gap.

  “Fuck this.” He pushed his way inside, slamming the door behind him.

  “Get out.”

  “Call a cop. But first, you’re going to listen to me.”

  She firmed her lips and made a move to walk past him right back out. He yanked her into his arms and over his shoulder, then slapped her on the ass.

  She froze.

  “You want to keep acting like a child, I’ll spank you like one,” he growled, more than irritated. She said nothing else, so he walked to her couch and tossed her on the cushion. “Now sit there, shut up and listen.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Great impression you’re making, Goode. Mind if I dial 911 while you rant?”

  He swallowed the retort he wanted to make and spoke before she could grab the cell phone he could see sitting on her table. “Look, I tried to apologize, but you won’t hear it. You want the truth about that night?”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it. ”The truth? Yeah. Let’s try that.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  He blew out a breath and remained standing over her, ready to catch her should she try to bolt before he could get the words out. “Fine. I’ve been into you since the Halloween party. That wasn’t a lie. I waited until New Year’s, then tried calling you. You refused to go out with me. Then you said yes. And I was in heaven. Our date started out great, and then…you joked about wanting me for my millions.”

  “And?” She shrugged.

  “I thought you were serious.”

  She frowned. “But you don’t—”

  “Have any money? I do. A lot of it.”

  Faith shook her head. “Hailey told me you were a blue-collar guy, a hard worker with a small paycheck. But so nice and polite.” She snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  “My sister nagged Hailey to lie so you and I could go out. I had no idea at the time.”

  “Your sister?”

  “Freddy Thompson, Dylan and Harper’s girlfriend.”

  Her eyes widened as she studied him. “Oh hell. You do look alike.”

  “I know.”

  She groaned. “Freddy’s your sister? Damn.”

  “Tell me about it. All I knew was that the woman I finally had a chance to go out with blatantly admitted to wanting to be with me for my millions. Then she kept mentioning my connections and my money throughout dinner.”

  He had the satisfaction of seeing her tur
n red as she answered, “I was teasing you.”

  “I know that now. At the time, I’d thought you were another scheming user out to take me for what you could.”

  She scowled. “So you thought to teach me a lesson by fucking me?”

  The crude words sounded odd on her lips, but the images they provoked made him hard. He sat beside her, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

  “No. I was going to call it a night and just not talk to you again. I’ve been with women wanting nothing more from me than my wallet. It burns. I’m tired of being used. I thought we’d go our separate ways.”

  She seemed to soften. “But…?”

  “But then I put my hand on your shoulder, and I couldn’t think of anything but getting closer to you.” Like right now. “I didn’t mean to kiss you, or to take it that far.” He cleared his throat and stood before he kissed her all over again. Then he backed away from her, trying to get a handle on his resurgent lust. “I lost all control. That kiss… I know it’s no excuse, but you went straight to my head.”

  To his relief, she blushed. “Oh. Well, that chemistry worked both ways. I can’t blame you for all of it.”

  “Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “I’m not sorry for what happened between us, only for how it ended. I swear, I never meant for things to get ugly. It’s just… I’ve been used before, and it’s not a great feeling.”

  “I can empathize.”

  “I’ll bet. You’re gorgeous. You must have guys hitting on you all the time.”

  Her cheeks remained pink. “Kind of.”

  “So you know how hard it is to be looked at for more than what you can do for people.”

  “Yes, but Brian, you’re really good-looking. Any woman would want you for more than your wallet. You have to know that.”

  It was his turn to feel uncomfortable. “I guess.”

  “Please. You’re handsome, built and come with your own cheering squad. You can’t be having that much trouble getting a date.”

  “I could say the same about you.”

  She didn’t answer.

  “My point is that I overreacted instead of asking you if you meant what you said, and I’m sorry. I didn’t like having sex with you and walking away.”