AnglingforLove

by Lea Barrymire

  Brent looked up from his computer and scowled. He watched Jared rub his hands together like an evil scientist and mumble about to-do lists and plans of the diabolically sensual things he wanted to do to Arin when she arrived. Brent had watched the same reaction a dozen—no, two dozen times. Jared would get his hopes up that they’d found the one who could complete them. Then they’d meet the girl, spend time with her, slip down the path of love until she put the brakes on for one reason or another. Seeing the look again made anger and sadness vie for top spot in his emotional hierarchy.

  He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to calm his friend. “You need to stop it right there. I’m not going to watch you get all stupid over another woman and then mope for months after she breaks your heart. This chick is obviously coming out of a long relationship. She’d booked this trip as an anniversary present, right? Not the type you want to get involved with, right?”

  Jared scowled for two heartbeats before the grin was back. “Hey, if we played it your way we’d never even try to find someone. Yes, we’ve had a lot of false starts, but man, I really like her. I mean she’s—”

  “You don’t even know her.”

  “Yes I do, and so do you, sort of. She’s one of the contractors you’ve worked with before. I even remember you chatting with her a few weeks ago on the phone and laughing.” His smug smile was enough to make Brent want to hit him.

  “Okay, so what? She’s a geeky chick. That doesn’t mean she’s going to be a perfect match for us.” Even as he said it, he wondered who they were talking about. He went back over the weeks. Who had he been chatting with who was a woman? There had been that lady from Orlando or somewhere. She’d been funny, but hadn’t she been really old? He gave in and hated himself for it. “Okay, so who is she?”

  Jared snickered then, with a grin, spilled. “Arin Walters. She’s the one who designed that logo you loved for Rick’s ranch. Remember? The siren. Isn’t that what you called her?”

  Brent did remember. He fell back against the couch and closed his eyes. Arin Walters. The cute-voiced designer from Pennsylvania. She’d been so much fun to work with. She’d been smart and snarky on the phone, giving as good as she got when they were brainstorming. He’d gotten hard every time they’d talked and he’d had to jerk off after most of their conference calls. Just knowing he was scheduled to talk to her was usually enough to get him hard and achy. She’d called out to something in him. He couldn’t believe she’d lost the boyfriend and was coming to his ranch.

  He looked up to find a silently laughing Jared staring at him, shoulders shaking and a hand over his mouth. Brent flipped him off but couldn’t deny that he was intrigued. Seemed as if they both liked this woman before she’d even stepped foot into their state. That could spell bad news for all of them. And he knew that both he and Jared would be devastated, again, if they fell for a woman and she didn’t reciprocate their feelings. He shook his head at his best friend and threw a prayer to the heavens that this wasn’t just another horrible-ever-after story.

  Chapter Two

  “Come on, baby. You know she didn’t mean anything to me. I was just being stupid. Please call me back—I miss you.” Robert’s voice grated on Arin’s nerves as she listened to the tenth message on her voicemail.

  She sighed when the next message started the same way. Two days had gone by and she still couldn’t get him to leave her alone. Two days full of messages on her cell, at home and at work. She’d been dodging him at her door, listening to him whining at her through the wood as he promised never to cheat again. With a growl, she stopped the answering machine. She was pretty sure the last four would be from him as well. She really thought about unplugging her damn phone for a while. She could call everyone who mattered and tell them to text her cell.

  Out of habit, she grabbed her cell phone before plodding toward the kitchen. Dinner, wine, movie, bed. That was the extent of her evening plans. She was leaving for Four Oaks Lodge in the morning and didn’t want anything to ruin the feeling of freedom blanketing her thoughts. She’d barely made it through her work day. Her thoughts had all been focused on this vacation. She’d had her coworkers ribbing her over her lack of concentration but she couldn’t get mad. She knew she’d been glassy-eyed and out of it. The idea of being out of state, away from everyone and everything, was so alluring.

  As the microwave beeped, her phone vibrated on the counter. She glared at the device and cringed, before checking the caller ID. Jared Stark. Well, Mr. Hottie was texting her again? Huh. They had exchanged some fun and flirty texts over lunch. She opened the microwave door and juggled the hot plate of nachos. She slid her phone into her pocket, scooped up a glass of wine and headed to the living room.

  She couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face when she read the message from Jared. Hey, sexy. Thought you might want to know we were cleaning our equipment so it’s ready for you tomorrow.

  She giggled as she responded, typing quickly before she lost her nerve. Glad you two are trying to get all spiffied up for me.

  Over the last two days she and Jared had made long strides in getting to know each other and exchanged texts from mild to glaringly flirtatious. She knew that he worked as an IT guy at a university and he’d had a bad day yesterday because of his boss.

  She also knew that Brent had worked with her on a few projects together. She’d never admit it to anyone, but he was one of her favorite clients and his voice was sexy as hell. The girls in the office all picked on her whenever she was scheduled to talk with him. She’d taken all of those conferences in her office with the door closed to keep the noisy women from seeing her blushes.

  At first she’d been embarrassed to find that not all of the texts had actually been from Jared. It seemed that Brent often grabbed Jared’s phone and texted from it as well. She’d had an entire conversation with him earlier in the day about a design she was working on. It made her laugh at how the universe worked. When she’d partnered with him on a project she’d had a really good time chatting with him and trading barbs about their ideas. Knowing that she’d be spending her vacation around him made her stomach flutter with anticipation.

  Her favorite text so far was the one she kept going back to throughout the day. Even now her cheeks pinked as she thumbed to it. Jared had alluded to things, talked about them as innuendo, but had never had come right out and said something sexual before. He’d said something about working better as a team and she’d teased back about playing nice with others. Then there’d been a pause in the conversation a moment before his words showed up.

  We’ll have 2 show u we play really nice 2gether *wink*

  Her phone vibrated again and she opened the message. She chuckled.

  No worries, babe. We’re getting all cleaned up 4 U.

  She really enjoyed the teasing and flirting. She tried to think of something sexy yet innocent to say but came up with nothing. Instead she threw out a comment she wouldn’t have made in a million years before chatting with Brent and Jared.

  See you guys tomorrow. I’m off to bed to dream about trout and other things.

  She made it through a few nachos and a swig of wine before her phone signaled a new message. She took a deep breath or two before picking up the device. Jared’s next statement was cute and a perfect ending to a long day. Cute, babe. Go to bed so you’re rested and ready for me tomorrow. Brent says ‘Sweet dreams, lil’ girl’.

  She wrote back with a see you tomorrow and turned off her phone. No point in waiting or Robert would end up calling. She sighed and laughed to herself. She was excited and scared about meeting Jared and Brent after the last few days of conversations. Jared was obviously a full-on flirt, but some of the personal stuff about his work and about Brent made her think that he was really talking to her as a friend. Brent was more reserved but still flirted with her. She’d find out if her guesses were correct in less than twenty-four hours. She turned on the TV and counted down the minutes until she could go to bed in preparation
for an early morning flight.

  * * * * *

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing at Denver International Airport in just a few moments. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened for the remainder of the flight, and thank you for flying with us.”

  Arin couldn’t help the grin that pulled at her lips. She had started smiling the moment she’d parked in the long-term parking lot at the airport in Philadelphia. Even lugging her suitcase across the terminal and trying to maneuver it around other travelers hadn’t wiped the happiness from her system. Her fly rods and tackle were secured and traveled with her as carry-on, her suitcase was jam-packed with clothes for all kinds of weather and her purse held nothing but money, her phone and a wallet. She didn’t want her arms or mind weighed down with all the crap from her normal, day-to-day life. This was her way of doing something different, something to spring herself from the mundane prison she had built over the last six years.

  The walk through Denver’s airport to her connecting flight was leisurely. She spent some time wandering through the shops, then sat in a seat at her next gate, staring out the window. She loved watching planes at the airport. As a child her father used to bring her and her brother to the airport nearest them. To feel the pressure changes as the planes took off over the road was exciting to a child and fueled dreams of traveling as she aged. What a rush it all used to be for her.

  Her phone rang the second she turned it on. Abby was checking in on her. Arin was so glad to have someone who worried about her, but honestly this was a little overboard even for her friend. “Hi, Abs. I’m just getting settled to sit for a while in Denver. What’s up?”

  “How was your flight?” Abby sounded worried. Great.

  “My flight was fine. What’s going on? You sound concerned.”

  “Asswipe, aka Robert, has been calling me for the last four hours trying to get information on where you are, because you haven’t been returning his calls.”

  Ah, so he was resorting to harassing her friends now? She envisioned gouging his eyes out with a spoon and feeding them to him. Worry crowded out the need for revenge. “You didn’t tell him anything, did you?”

  “God no! Do you think me capable of something so stupid? I want you to enjoy your time away, without worries of him.”

  “Well, just keep dodging his calls and I’ll deal with the asswipe when I get back home.” She grinned at the nickname that so definitely described dear ol’ Robert. “Thanks for being such a good friend.”

  “Pssh. You’d do the same thing for me. So when do you get to your rendezvous with Mr. Hunkypants and his partner? Do you think they’ll try to make an Arin filling in their sandwich? Mmmm, shared by those two hotties. I am so jealous.”

  Arin giggled and wondered what Jared and Brent would think of this conversation. She’d shared every text with Abby and they’d chuckled and blushed over most of them. Jared was a fantastic flirt and had lightened her days with little innuendos and comments every few hours. And Brent was just as funny but in a more subdued way. Not only had their suggestive comments and hints fed her fantasies for the last couple of days but they’d kept her grinning when she’d wanted to cry. “I’ll see them in a couple of hours. Please don’t start in on the sandwich thing again or I’m going to be blushing for the next two hours. And yes, before you tell me, again, I’ll call you once I’m at the lodge and settled in.”

  “Good girl. Go have fun with them and I’ll talk to you in a little bit.” Abby disconnected and Arin smiled.

  She listened to her phone bing and she sighed. Crap. Missed calls. Four of them, to be exact, and three messages. With a sigh, she listened to the first message. Robert’s whining grated on her nerves and set her stomach clenching. She deleted the message before listening to the whole thing. She tried to understand. He was upset about having lost her. He wanted her back. All the normal bullshit that cheaters came up with to excuse their behavior spewed from his mouth. It’d taken everything in her to ignore his calls the days before. In Denver she felt far from the pain of his betrayal. The freedom just to delete the message and know that he was nowhere near was so liberating.

  Message number two played, another attempt by Robert to get her to call him back. This time anger clouded his voice. Well, screw him. He’d decided to cheat on her. He could just deal with her ignoring him.

  The last message was from Jared, Mr. Hunkypants himself.

  She snorted. You’ll end up calling him that to his face and never live it down.

  He wanted to let her know that he’d be waiting for her in Billings at the airport. At least his voice wasn’t whiny or angry. She could hear the smile in it.

  Shaking herself from her thoughts, she watched a small prop plane pull into the area outside the gate. Her brows furrowed. What the hell? The next flight was a puddle-jumper? Really? It wasn’t that she was afraid of flying—she enjoyed it, in fact—but to travel in something so small… Well, that was slightly frightening. She watched in fascination as the pilot climbed from the plane and a single flight attendant descended the stairs. Four passengers exited the plane and grabbed their luggage. Wow, this was going to be an experience.

  Her trepidation didn’t diminish throughout the forty-five-minute wait. She watched her luggage unceremoniously shoved into the miniscule belly. The pilot wandered out from some hidden door below her and stalked to the plane. She watched in fascination as the attendant carried two plastic bins filled with sodas and napkins up the four steps into the cabin. Well, no dining service needed for this little one, huh?

  All too quickly, the announcement was made that she could board. She exited the gate through a door that led to the tarmac and walked across the blacktop to the stairs. Three other passengers followed her into the small space. She sat with a grimace and scolded herself for worrying. In a matter of an hour she would be in Billings, on her way to a fun few days.

  * * * * *

  “Arin Walters?”

  Shivers skated over her skin before she could even turn and acknowledge the gravelly male voice that was requesting her attention. It felt as if she spun in slow motion, like in some hokey romantic movie, hair whipping around her face and a surprised look stealing across her features. She almost snorted at her own musing until she caught a glimpse of the man attached to the sinful voice. Oh my—

  “Um, yeah, that’s me.” Color flowed up her cheeks as she stammered over the introductions. Ugh. She was so out of practice interacting with anyone new. In her defense, anyone with ovaries would have stammered when they saw him. Wow. The few pictures he’d sent hadn’t prepared her for him in real life. Somehow the camera hadn’t caught the full package.

  “Hi, I’m Jared.” A muscular hand attached to a muscular forearm extended toward her from an equally muscular shoulder. Warmth radiated from his smile and took her breath away. Her gaze skimmed down his body of its own volition, taking in the wide chest that narrowed to a trim waist and the thighs that she just wanted to nip. If there was a male’s body part that drew her in, it was a tight ass and muscular thighs.

  She caught the slight movement of silent laughter shaking his chest. Her eyes snapped up to his face and she felt renewed redness in her cheeks. He grinned, with mischief sparkling in his blue eyes, in response to her chagrin. She realized she had just been staring, open-mouthed, for way too long. Mortified, she tried to get herself back on track instead of visualizing him naked, an ice cream sundae covered in all the extras.

  “Hi. Sorry. It’s been a long day,” she said, after clearing her throat. She took his hand and lightly shook it before hastily letting go. She looked around, trying to spot the other sexy man she’d been talking to. She sighed and hoped that Jared would let the momentary lapse in decorum go without drawing attention to her obvious visual assault. “Did Brent come with you?”

  “No, he’s home working, or something like that. But he’s excited to finally meet you. He’s been talking about you a lot this week. Don’t tell him I told you that though, or he’ll b
eat me up.” A chuckle that could only be classified as sinful rumbled in his chest before he motioned to the rod case and tackle bags she was carrying. “Do we need to grab your luggage? I see you brought some gear with you. You do realize we supply all the equipment you’ll need for this trip, right?”

  He smirked, but the look was ruined by boyish dimples in both cheeks. The situation and the absolutely surreal moment had a burst of laughter slipping between her lips. It felt good to laugh, and not that fake sound she reserved for everyone lately. This one was full, shake-in-your-shoes laughter, rolling tears and all. She waved off his look of confusion as she wiped her eyes. No way was she admitting to the despair she’d been feeling for the last few months to this hotter-than-sin male. He didn’t need his ego stroked any more than it already had been by the open-mouthed drooling she’d been doing a moment before.

  “Well, sometimes it’s more appropriate to bring along equipment that you know will meet your needs instead of just hoping the supplied items will be…sufficient.” She chortled when his smirk fell and his eyes took on a glazed shine for a moment. Oh yeah, she could flirt with him all day. The most surprising thing was that she found she was enjoying the banter more than she could remember enjoying most conversations she’d had in the last few months.

  “Whoa, babe, and we’ve only known each other for a few minutes.” He mimicked fanning his face as her cheeks burned with a blush. He chuckled and turned toward the baggage claim area. “Come on, let’s get your bags and we can head to the lodge.”

  As she followed in his wake, she started down the self-doubt trail. How could she be so forward with a strange man? Especially after everything she’d just gone through with Robert? How could she talk so sexually to a perfect stranger? Sure, they’d flirted over the phone but doing that in real life probably wasn’t a good idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid. What do you want him to think, that you’re loose or something? All you need is for him to think that you’re looking for a piece.