by Rachel Lacey
But when they got to her car, he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Night, Em.”
“Good night, Ryan. See you tomorrow.”
With a nod, he strode off into the darkness. Shaking her head at herself for the ridiculous warmth flushing her body, she got in her car and drove home. Inside her apartment, Smokey waited, perched on the back of the couch, meowing loudly as soon as Emma was through the front door.
“Hello to you, too,” Emma said. With her bright blue eyes and extremely vocal nature, Smokey might have some Siamese heritage, but her steel gray fur gave nothing away for certain.
Emma liked having someone there to say “hi” to when she walked in the door. Usually, she enjoyed having the place to herself with only Smokey for company. Sometimes, though, like tonight, she felt lonely and restless.
It was only eight o’clock, and she wasn’t tired. She was in the mood for company, for conversation. Except Gabby was home with Ethan, and Carly was home with Sam. She texted Mandy to see if she wanted to come over and watch a movie, but Mandy replied that she was “otherwise occupied” tonight.
Dammit.
All her friends were getting laid tonight. Except her.
Feeling even more restless and with a serious side of sexual frustration, she remembered Ryan’s advice about the hot bath. Her muscles were already grumpy so she started the water running, then went into the kitchen for a glass of wine. A few minutes later, she sank into the hot bubbles and all her troubles melted away.
For a few minutes anyway. That nagging feeling of loneliness just wouldn’t leave her alone tonight. She missed her mom, dammit. The emotion rose up so suddenly and unexpectedly that, before she knew it, she was sobbing into her bubble bath.
She put her wine down on the edge of the tub, buried her face in her hands, and cried until she’d run out of tears. She and her mom had been so close. Her dad had taken off before she was out of diapers so it had always just been the three of them: Emma, Derek, and their mom. But while Derek was off dare-deviling with Ryan, Emma’s closest friend had been her mom. They’d done everything together, gone shopping, to the movies, even gossiped about boys.
When a drunk driver ran her off the road when Emma was just fifteen, she’d felt like her life had ended, too. Derek, who’d just turned eighteen, enlisted and went off to boot camp. Emma had gone to live with her friend Clara Mackenzie and her family. She was so grateful to the Mackenzies for taking her in when she’d had nowhere else to go, but she’d never felt like part of their family. She’d always felt more like a guest in their home.
Then, just two years later, Derek died, too, lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
Emma hiccupped and blew her nose. Then she downed the rest of her glass of wine and dried her eyes. Enough of that.
Still feeling lonely and unsettled, she went into her bedroom, changed into her pajamas, and started flipping through channels on the TV, looking for something to watch, preferably something lighthearted and funny. She settled on an old episode of Friends. It was one of the episodes where Monica and Chandler had started sleeping with each other but were hiding their relationship from the rest of the group.
Would it be that way if she and Ryan hooked up?
Stop it. This was ridiculous. It was time to quit fantasizing about Ryan Blake. She’d spent the better part of her life lusting after him, and it should have become obvious to her years ago that it was never going to happen.
But he kissed me.
And then he went right back to treating her like a friend. So now it was time to find herself someone new to fantasize about. She needed a man, someone who hadn’t known her since she was a kid, someone who could give her the kind of excitement and companionship she was sorely lacking right now.
Sniffling past the last of her melancholy, she grabbed her phone and clicked on the Tinder app. She’d created a profile last year. It was fun swiping through photos of available guys. Of course, she’d never actually gone on a date that way, but hey, this was her year to step outside her comfort zone. She looked at the photo she’d chosen for her profile, a silly snapshot of her with her hands in the dirt, planting a rosebush, taken by Mandy, if she remembered correctly. Eh. It was cute, but maybe she’d ask one of her friends to take a sexier picture of her tomorrow. She spent a few minutes updating her profile—while Chandler hid Monica beneath the bubbles in their bath to protect their secret relationship—and then, taking a deep breath, she switched her Tinder status to active.
Boom.
Take that, Ryan. Maybe the man of her dreams would click on her photo any minute now. Or at least a bad boy to give her the hot fling she’d been lusting after. Ha. She was so ridiculous. Giggling at herself, she started swiping. Left to pass. Right to like. If a guy she “liked” also liked her photo, they were a match and could start chatting. And if all went well? A date.
Left. Left. Left…She made it through at least twenty guys without anyone catching her eye. Was she just picky or were the pickings slim these days?
Next up was a tattooed man posing on a motorcycle. Todd Pierce, age thirty-five, from Silver Springs. He wasn’t all that attractive, and the ponytail wasn’t doing anything for her, but just for fun, she swiped right. Still giggling, she took a screenshot and texted it to Mandy.
Then she got back to business. By nine thirty, she’d swiped right on five guys. She wasn’t too hopeful about any of them, but she made a pact with herself that she would go on a date in the next week. Her phone pinged with an incoming text message. Hoping it was Mandy, she closed Tinder.
What time are you coming out tomorrow? It was from Ryan.
She scowled, annoyed that her heart beat faster just at the sight of his name. Ryan was one of the most organized people she knew. Surely he’d written down their appointment. Ten, she wrote back.
That’s what I thought. Just making sure.
Sure you’re not checking up on me? She meant it as a joke, but the silence that followed her words hung heavy in the air. She squirmed, picturing Ryan in his bed, wearing nothing but boxer briefs…No, strike that, wearing nothing at all…
Just going over tomorrow’s schedule, he answered finally.
Ugh. Why did he have to be so annoyingly platonic where she was concerned? Okay, well, if that’s it, I need to get back to some very important business. She pulled up the screenshot she’d sent Mandy, the one showing Todd Pierce the biker with the Tinder logo clearly visible, attached it to her message, and hit Send.
What the hell? His reply was instantaneous this time.
Gotta go. In search of a hot date. See you tomorrow at 10.
Her phone rang. Ryan. A funny quiver took hold in her stomach. “Did you call to offer dating advice?” she answered.
“What’s this about?” His voice sounded low and scratchy and so friggin’ sexy.
Annoyed with her traitorous body for practically melting at the sound, she let out an exasperated sigh. “I need a man, Ryan. It’s been a long time. Know anyone?”
“Em—”
“What? We’re just friends, right? Don’t friends help friends find dates?”
He exhaled into the phone. “You’re going to need to ask one of your girlfriends for help with this one.”
“Then why did you call?” she asked, frustrated because Ryan was the only man she wanted, and the one man she couldn’t have.
“I don’t know.” He sounded as frustrated as she felt.
“I’m hanging up now,” she whispered.
“That’s probably best.”
And with a click, she ended the call.
Chapter Six
Ryan was going to lose his fucking mind. He’d just caught Trent up on the ropes course smoking a joint when he was supposed to be repairing a line damaged by a fallen tree limb after last night’s thunderstorm. And Emma…Emma…was on her hands and knees in the dirt potting plants and gossiping with Mandy about the men she’d contacted last night on fucking Tinder.
There was no logical expla
nation for the fact that he felt like a goddamn Neanderthal at the thought of her going on a date with someone else. No explanation except that he was a damn fool because he was so hot for Emma he could barely see straight when he was around her, yet he’d been the idiot who insisted they remain just friends.
“Lookin’ good,” he said, stopping a few feet away from where they were busy planting some kind of purple and yellow flower in the beds Emma had built around the front perimeter of Off-the-Grid’s office building.
Emma looked over her shoulder at him. “Do you like them?”
“Yeah. They look great.” They definitely brightened up the side of the building, but not nearly as much as Emma’s presence did.
“So what did you think of Todd Pierce?” Mandy asked, sitting forward on her knees.
“Who?” Ryan asked, drawing a blank.
Mandy rolled her eyes dramatically. “Emma said she sent his photo to both of us. She’s thinking about asking him out. What do you think?”
Ryan bristled, remembering the photo of the ponytailed loser on the cheap foreign bike she’d texted to him last night. “I think…” The only motorcycle she ought to be riding is mine. “I think that guy looks like bad news.”
Emma gave him a dirty look. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
Dammit all. He ought to be cheering her on because, if she started dating someone else, it would let him off the hook for turning her down. He went inside to his office and typed the loser’s name into the search engine. A mug shot popped up from the local news website. Todd Pierce had been arrested last week for drunk and disorderly at the Rusty Bucket, a bar in nearby Silver Springs.
* * *
Emma and Mandy washed up and headed into town to the deli for lunch.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do after Lucas and Mary retire?” Emma asked while they waited for their sandwiches.
Mandy had worked at Artful Blooms for about three years. Before that, she’d taught Zumba at the fitness center. Before that? Emma wasn’t sure, but Mandy was definitely a Jill of many trades. “Not sure. I might see if any of the other landscape firms in the area are hiring. I really do enjoy it.”
“I hope you find something.”
“I will,” Mandy said, looking unconcerned. “Let me see your phone.”
“Why?” Emma asked as she typed in the code and handed it over.
“I’m checking out some more hot guys for you.” Mandy pulled up Tinder and started swiping photos.
“Hey!” Emma made a grab for the phone.
“Chill. I have good taste. If I pick someone you don’t like, just ignore them.”
“Hmph.” Emma sat back with a sigh. Well, maybe she’d have better luck letting someone else pick out her next date anyway. It wasn’t as if she’d done a very good job on her own so far.
“Ooh, I like him. I really like him.” Mandy held the phone out so that Emma could see. A rugged-looking man with longish hair and intense blue eyes was on the screen.
And yeah…he was hot. Not someone Emma would have ever picked out for herself, but…“Definitely. Swipe right.”
“Oh.” Mandy’s eyes widened, and she held up the phone. “He had already liked you so you’re an instant match.”
“Are you serious?” Emma snatched the phone out of her friend’s hand. Sure enough, Rugged Hot Guy—real name Joe Relka—showed as a match on the screen. A button below his picture invited her to start up a chat with him.
“You going to ask him out?”
“No way. Not yet anyway.” Emma clicked through the photos in his profile. In addition to his close-up, there was a snapshot of him hamming for the camera out in the woods, pointing over his shoulder toward a black bear visible in the background. “Okay, I’ll send him a message. What should I say?”
“Ask him if he still has all his fingers and toes.”
“What? Why on earth would I ask him that?”
“The bear.” Mandy gestured toward the phone. “You’ve got to mention the bear. Be interesting. Make him laugh.”
“Hmm.” Emma typed out, Are all your dates this furry? Then she hit Send before she could chicken out.
Mandy reached for the phone, snorting with laughter when she saw Emma’s message. “Perfect.”
Emma giggled as she reached for her Diet Coke.
“Dude, this is addictive,” Mandy said after she’d swipe-liked five more guys for Emma. “I’m totally setting this up on my phone. Maybe we can have a Tinder double date.”
“That’s assuming I get a date.”
Mandy gave her a look. “Are you kidding me? You’re fun and adorable. They’ll be lining up. And meanwhile, you’re driving Ryan crazy.”
“You think so?”
“Did you see the look on his face when I asked him about Todd Pierce? I thought smoke was going to start coming out of his ears.”
“I can’t believe you did that anyway. I was never actually going to go out with Todd Pierce and certainly not after you found his mug shot.”
“Sure did get a nice reaction out of Ryan, though, didn’t it?” Mandy looked smug.
Their sandwiches arrived, and Mandy handed Emma’s phone back to her. Emma took a bite of her turkey club and chewed through her thoughts. “Well, maybe I’m partly doing this to make him jealous, but he’s made it pretty clear he wants to keep us in the friend zone so, unless he makes a move, I’m going full steam ahead with Tinder.”
“That’s the spirit,” Mandy said, sipping her iced tea. “We’ll definitely get you a Tinder date. I’m going to swipe some more guys for you after we finish eating.”
And she did. By the time they made it back to Off-the-Grid, Mandy had added eleven guys to Emma’s “liked” list. They spent the afternoon planting bushes along the edges of the ropes course. Then Mandy headed out to get ready for a hot date of her own.
Emma slid her phone out of her back pocket and checked Tinder. Joe Relka had replied. I usually prefer them clean-shaven, followed by a winky face. Want to come over to my place tonight and show me? Emma scrunched her nose in distaste. What a perv. She deleted Joe Relka from her list. Moving on…
Oh, she had another match! It was a guy she’d liked last night. His profile picture showed him in outdoor gear. Blond hair. Beard. Not hard on the eyes. Not even a little bit. And he had a really nice smile. For the first time, she felt an actual tingle of excitement over the idea of going on a date.
Take that, Ryan.
Grinning, she shoved her cell phone back into her pocket. She spied Trent on a platform overhead, full attention on his own phone. “Hey, Trent,” she called.
Trent glanced down at her, that shock of straight, black hair hanging in his eyes. He needed a haircut badly, but she suspected the ’do was considered cool among his circle of friends. “Hi,” he said with a wave.
“What’ve they got you working on up there?” she asked.
“Oh, uh, I’m getting rid of a downed branch.”
Hmm. Looked more like he’d been playing games on his phone. Emma liked Trent a lot and wanted more than anything for Ryan to bond with his newly found brother, but Trent might be in need of a swift kick to the seat of his pants if this was how he spent his days at Off-the-Grid. She was extremely curious to see him play at the club next week, to see if he truly had talent as a DJ or if it was just another excuse to avoid school.
“Need some help?” she asked.
“Nope. I’m good.” Trent shook his head furiously as he set to work tugging at one of the lines overhead.
“Okay then. Good luck.” Emma walked toward the main building to freshen up before she headed home. Ryan’s bike was still parked out front.
The door to his office was slightly open, just enough for her to catch a glimpse of him seated at his desk. She slipped past his door and into the bathroom at the end of the hall. She used the facilities and spent several minutes at the sink, scrubbing dirt from her hands and arms. When she opened the door, Ryan stood in the hallway, leanin
g against the doorway to his office. “You’re not going out with Todd Pierce.”
She sucked in a breath. “That’s none of your business.”
Ryan kept his eyes on hers, looking all macho and protective. “You made it my business when you texted me his picture. He’s bad news.”
“You don’t even know him.” Her stomach quivered from all the butterflies flapping around inside it.
“I looked him up.” His voice was low and gravelly.
“You did?” The hallway seemed to constrict around them, pushing them closer together. Her heart was about to pound out of her chest.
“The guy’s got a record, Em.” His brown eyes burned into hers.
“I know. I looked him up, too.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “And you’re still going on a date with him?”
“Who said anything about a date?” she asked, trying desperately to look nonchalant even though her body was totally short-circuiting from all the chemistry in the air between them.
Ryan’s expression was intense and unflinching. “Mandy said you were thinking of asking him out.”
Emma wasn’t sure if she’d moved or if he had, but she was standing way too close to him now. Close enough to see the gold flecks in his dark eyes and feel the warmth of his body on hers. “She was trying to get a rise out of you. Did it work?”
He scrubbed a hand across his jaw and shook his head with a smile. “Guess it did. Whatever is and isn’t between us, no way I’m going to stand back and watch you go out with a criminal. You’re too good for that.”
This time she knew she’d taken another step closer, going up on tiptoes to glare right into his eyes. “And in case you weren’t paying attention, I’m trying to be less good. I’m tired of boring, clean-cut guys. I want excitement, and adventure, and”—she put a hand on his heavily inked biceps—“tattoos. I want a guy who pushes me out of my comfort zone and gives me the kind of mind-blowing sex I’ve only read about in romance novels.”
Ryan’s pupils had dilated until his eyes were black, and the look in them said he wanted to give her all those things and then some. Her hand was still on his arm, her breathing erratic as lust burned its way through her belly. They stood that way for several wild beats of her pounding heart.