“You’re seeing Keegan tomorrow night.”
“Yes. I am.”
She stopped and he knew she wanted him to say something. He just didn’t have a clue what to say. If she’d said she was going out with any other man, he’d have blown a gasket.
“Does that bother you?” she asked.
“No.” It honestly didn’t.
“Are you still not talking to each other?”
He stroked a hand along her hair. “You don’t have to worry about that. Keegan and I will work things out. We always do.”
“But you can’t do that if you don’t talk.”
He knew that. He just didn’t know what he could tell her that would ease the worry he heard in her voice. So he ignored it.
Sometimes ignorance really was bliss. And sometimes ignorance was just plain stupidity.
With a sigh, she dropped her hand from his cheek and let it rest on his shoulder. “It’s getting late. I should get home.”
And that was the last place he wanted her to be. If she were any other woman… if this had happened before the explosion, he’d have been more than happy to send her packing or simply carry her to his bed and make her forget she’d wanted to leave.
Selfish.
“If that’s what you want, Jules.”
He tried to keep the edge out of his voice because he wasn’t upset with her. Not in the least.
He was pissed off at himself.
*
When her alarm went off at 6:30 the next morning, Jules groaned and turned it off with a huff followed by a jaw-cracking yawn.
She hadn’t been able to fall asleep until close to two in the morning. All she could think about was Erik. She hadn’t wanted to leave him but she knew she couldn’t stay.
Not only did she have to work this morning but she couldn’t justify spending the night in Erik’s bed and, ten hours later, jumping Keegan’s bones.
Yes, sex with Erik had been seriously hot but she hadn’t planned to have sex with him.
Sex blurred her brain to everything else.
And she needed to be on her toes if she was going to figure out what she was going to do about this relationship. Or even if there was a relationship.
But first, she needed to get through the day.
Carol had a bridal shower booked, and she’d recruited Jules to help her with the cooking and waitressing. Typically, Jules did one or the other, but one of Carol’s regular waitresses was laid up with a sprained ankle.
Jules was the only one available on short notice. Most of the women Carol employed were mothers whose children played hockey or soccer or baseball or whatever sport was in season. When they had a day off, they weren’t ready to jump in and take someone else’s shift.
That almost always fell to Jules and the two other college girls Carol employed.
Usually she didn’t mind. Before, she could use the extra money.
Now that she didn’t have to worry about money… Well, she couldn’t leave Carol in the lurch.
And today’s event was going to be sheer torture.
The bride-to-be was a woman Jules had gone to school with. She’d belonged to the popular girls’ clique that had included that bitch, Allison Terre. Alli was sure to be at the party.
And if word had gotten around that Jules was seeing Keegan and Erik… Well, Jules could only hope to stay in the kitchen and prep trays.
By midmorning, she’d determined luck had deserted her completely.
One of the other waitresses had a cold, so she had to stay in the kitchen with Carol wearing a mask. Sure, it sucked to wear the mask but Jules wished she had one right about now.
Because no sooner had she started to make the rounds with a tray than Alli had walked into the room.
She hadn’t noticed Jules at first. She’d been too busy giving hugs and air kisses to the rest of the guests, all dressed with the express purpose of outdoing one another.
Your inner bitch is showing, Jules. Tone it down.
With a deep breath, she tried but knew it was going to be a losing battle.
Luckily there were more than enough guests for her to avoid Alli, the bride, and their friends.
The older women at the shower didn’t bother to look beyond the tray, as they talked about their latest trip to Europe or their Hawaiian cruise with those gorgeous and oh-so-helpful stewards whom they tipped so well for their service.
Eww. Jules had to work hard to erase those images from her head. Most of these women looked like they’d had a few too many trips to the Botox bar and the plastic surgeon. And then to think about them seducing younger men…
Just eww.
But she figured it was better than listening to the women her own age talking about their careers and the men they were dating and how huge the bride’s solitaire was.
A little better anyway.
But of course her luck had to run out sometime.
Alli caught her just as she was about to escape back to the kitchen with her partially empty tray.
“Hello, Julianne. We’ve been seeing each other a lot more lately than I think we did in high school.”
Alli laughed as if she found that hilarious but Jules knew it was a dig.
Jules just nodded and smiled and tried to keep walking, but Alli put her hand on her arm. Jules didn’t feel threatened. Alli wasn’t digging her fingers into her skin but the command was there all the same.
Jules stopped and forced a pleasant smile. “How are you, Alli?”
“Oh, I’m just fine.” The other woman’s icy blue eyes flashed up and down Jules for a second. “I understand you’ve got a new man in your life.” She paused. “Or is it two?”
Jules bit her tongue to stop her immediate urge to tell the woman to take a flying leap into a volcano.
Instead, she smiled. “Would you like a cucumber sandwich? I’m about to take the tray back to the kitchen for more.”
Still holding her gaze, Alli smiled, her expression turning downright mean, and Jules knew the other woman was about to go in for the kill.
“Riley and Malone are big fish for such a small…pond. I’d love to hear all about how you met them. Rumor has it there’s an interesting story there.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Jules saw two of Alli’s friends approaching. Shit. She was about to be surrounded. Like sharks, they must smell blood in the water.
“Sorry, Alli, there’s really nothing to tell. And I am working today, so—”
“So is it true, Julianne?” asked Ginger Macintyre, another former classmate of Jules and Alli’s. “Are you dating Erik Riley?”
“I’d just like to know how you can stand looking at Erik’s face all night and not want to run,” the third woman chimed in.
Jules felt every muscle in her body tense and her eyes narrowed down to slits.
Deep breath. No punching the guests. Even if they deserve it.
Jules didn’t know the woman but if she hung around with Alli and Ginger, she probably didn’t want to.
“I mean, it’s such a shame,” the bitch continued. “That accident was so totally tragic, I understand why he’s not been able to find a woman who’ll put up with that.”
“At least, not one he hasn’t paid for.”
Alli threw that zinger in and, while the other women smirked at each other, Alli kept her eyes on Jules.
A flush burned Jules’s cheeks as Alli’s smile turned hard. But Alli couldn’t possibly know that flush was all about anger and not embarrassment.
Jules wanted to pop the bitch in her smug little smile.
And then she wanted to tell Alli and her friends all about the hot, steamy, sweaty sex she had with both men. How they treated her like someone special and not like a toy they’d bought.
“You know, I dated Erik right after he and Keegan moved here,” Ginger said. “And I’m not so sure there’s not something going on between them. If you know what I mean.”
Ginger lifted her eyebrows at Jules, as if they were sharing secr
ets.
Jules wondered how high the bail would be if she took her serving tray and bashed the women’s heads with it.
While Ginger and the other woman started to giggle like teenagers, Alli kept her unnerving gaze on Jules.
“Or maybe their tastes are a little more…unconventional.”
Even though Jules had braced herself for someone finding out about her relationship with Erik and Keegan, she hadn’t actually thought about what would happen if anyone openly confronted her about it.
Silence seemed the best course of action, but Jules had never been one to back away from a fight. Or know when to hold her tongue, apparently.
Letting her own mouth curve in a knowing smile, Jules leaned closer to Alli, like she was going to share a secret.
Alli’s gaze narrowed but the other women moved in with mocking smiles.
“Would you like to hear about how wonderful they are in bed? Because I could go on for hours. And so can they, actually. Or do you want to know about how they wiped out the mountain of debt my mother and I were drowning under because of her breast cancer?”
Ginger’s mouth dropped open with each word Jules said. Her friend’s eyes were so wide, Jules swore it had to hurt. But Alli… Alli was putting two and two together and coming up with…well, probably the right answer.
“I guess the rumor mill got it right this time.” Alli practically spit the words through clenched teeth. “Good for you, Julianne.”
“Yes, they are good for me, Alli. They’re both very, very good.”
Without another word, she spun on her heel and headed back to the kitchen.
That bitch. That miserable fucking bitch.
She wanted to go back out there and light into Alli again. Wanted to rip her hair out and have a straight-up cat fight.
But as mad as she was at Alli for putting her in that position, she was just as pissed off at herself for opening her mouth and stooping to Alli’s level.
By the time she’d set her tray on the counter where they’d placed the appetizer warming pans, Jules swore she had smoke coming out of her ears.
Jesus, how stupid could she be? The party had barely started. Jules would have to face those women for the next three hours. And knowing Alli, she’d probably told more people and they would tell their friends until everyone out there knew Jules had slept with two men who had then cleared her debt.
She’d thought life had gotten bad when she’d had an affair with a married man. That the nasty glances and the whispering she’d endured at the functions she’d worked were bad.
Add having an affair with two men and taking money from them…
Good thing you’re planning to leave, isn’t it?
Shit. She should’ve kept her mouth shut.
“Julianne, what’s wrong?”
Carol stepped up beside her, wiping her hands on a towel, her expression full of concern.
Because she didn’t want to worry Carol, and because she’d made this mess herself, she shook her head and forced a smile.
“Nothing. Sorry, just a little headache.”
More like a migraine beginning to hammer at her skull.
Carol didn’t look convinced. “Do you need to sit down for a little? I can—”
“No. Really. I’ll be fine.”
Carol frowned but sighed. “Okay, but if you need to sit, just let me know.”
What she needed was a do-over of the last ten minutes.
What you really need is to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.
And with the two men she wasn’t sure she could give up.
*
Keegan stared at the name on his phone screen, finger poised over the big red no button.
Why the fuck is she calling me?
He should let it go to voice mail. He really had no idea why Allison Terre wanted to talk to him.
Whatever it is, it probably isn’t anything you want to get involved in.
He hit “No” and shoved the phone out of reach across his kitchen table.
Fingers drumming out a fast-paced rhythm on the table, he stared at the phone. He should work out, go for a run, anything to get rid of this nervous energy.
Would Erik pick up if he called?
God damn it. He wanted to talk to his best friend about his date with the woman who’d come to mean so much to him in so short a time. But how did he clear up a week’s worth of silence with a phone call?
He shouldn’t have let it go on this long because now he didn’t have a clue what to do.
His phone vibrated, annoying him once again. Allison had left him a message.
With a half-assed growl, he retrieved his phone and called up the message.
“Hello, Keegan. This is Allison Terre.” She gave a little laugh that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. “I hope you remember me, otherwise I’m going to be totally embarrassed. I called to see if you’d like to accompany me to the next chamber mixer. I know we talked at the last one, but you skipped out before we could have a decent conversation. I’d really love to spend some time getting to know you. If you’re not busy, of course. I realize a man in your position doesn’t have a lot of time. And I’m sure you don’t have a lot of time to meet women in your…circle. Anyway, I just thought I’d throw my idea out there and see if you’d like to go. Give me a call. See you soon.”
The message ended and he shook his head.
What the fuck?
Which was about all the time he wanted to give that particular phone call.
He dismissed it with a shake of his head, his brain already working through the problem with Erik. If he could just get his friend to see how self-destructive he was being. How not letting go of his rage against Eggert Labs was going to destroy what they’d built all these years.
But he never picked up the phone.
And when his doorbell rang at a minute past six-thirty later that day, he’d managed to forget the phone call completely and put Erik out of his mind.
So he could completely focus on Jules.
Who looked absolutely stunning in a figure-hugging blue shirt with some kind of design swirled all over it and a pair of jeans that made her legs look five miles long.
She held bags in her hands and had a smile on her lips that he wanted to kiss.
He took the bags instead.
“Come in. It’s damn cold out there tonight.”
Her smile twisted, as if he’d said something funny, but he had no idea what that would have been.
“Feels like snow,” she said, as he closed the door behind her then followed him through the kitchen.
“A little snow would be nice around this time of the year.”
She cocked her head at him. “Do you ski?”
“Not in years.” He set the bags on the counter. “Erik and I used to—”
“Used to what?” Reaching into the bags, she started to withdraw ingredients, but she turned to give him an encouraging smile. One that didn’t quite meet her eyes, he noticed.
“We used to go to Vermont to ski every winter. Before.”
Nodding, she continued to unload the bag. “So you haven’t gone in at least three years. That’s a shame. There are some decent slopes in the area. Maybe you’ll want to try those.”
He almost said he’d love to but Erik wouldn’t go. And it wouldn’t be the same without Erik.
“Sure. Do you ski?”
“Nope.” Her smile widened. “Never been. Snow is really pretty when you’re watching it fall from inside the house. But that means it’s really cold outside. And I love to be warm.”
She’d be warm if she stayed between him and Erik.
Fuck.
He needed to get his head together, needed to concentrate solely on Jules.
So that’s what he focused on while he helped her make dinner and while they ate. She didn’t bring up Erik again and they stuck to safe topics that never got boring. At least not for him. Anything Jules had to say was something he wan
ted to hear.
Especially if she’s moaning my name as I fuck her into an orgasm.
He had an erection all through dinner. Luckily, the table hid it because he didn’t want her to believe all he thought about was nailing her to the bed. Or the wall. Or on the table.
Of course, he’d take any of those places if it meant he could have her.
Because, holy hell, he wanted her so fucking much.
By the time they were finished eating, he needed a moment alone so he told her to take the wine into the great room and he’d meet her there after he cleaned up.
She didn’t argue, just grabbed the bottle and their glasses and headed off. He watched her walk away until he couldn’t see her anymore. The sight of her ass in those tight jeans made him salivate.
He filled the dishwasher without a care for how the dishes were stacked, and he drew it out as long as he could.
But he couldn’t stay away from her for long. She was like an addiction.
He found her standing by the window, looking out into the dark. He didn’t know if it was coincidence or not that she was staring in the direction of Erik’s house.
She turned as he stopped next to her.
“Thank you for dinner.”
Her smile made his cock swell. “Thanks for being my sous chef.”
“I’m glad you’re here tonight. I’ve missed you.”
Her smile became a little more natural as he said exactly what he was thinking. It got him in trouble more often than not but, damn it, he meant it. He didn’t want her not to know.
“I’ve missed you too. That’s really the main reason I wanted to see you tonight.”
He controlled the urge to pick her up and carry her to his bedroom. “But it’s not the only reason you wanted to see me tonight.”
She held his gaze. “No, it’s not.”
Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for whatever she was about to throw at him. “So what’s up?”
Now her gaze slipped and she stared back out the window. “I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with my life.”
The hair rose on the back of his neck and his heart rate increased. “And have you made a decision?”
“I’ve been thinking about culinary school.”
Which would take her away from him and Erik. “Is that what you want to do?”
She sighed. “What I want is to have my own restaurant, and I know if I study at a good school, I’ll be a better chef.”
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