After Tonight

by Erin Nicholas

  “You can still get a signed copy,” Derek said, giving her a little smile. “You could get it read before the big murder-mystery event.”

  It wasn’t much of a mystery, really. If people had read the book they knew how it would turn out. But they were still expecting a big crowd of people who wanted to live the book by seeing the places that Kade had described in the story and meet the people who had inspired some of the characters. Like local millionaire Levi Spencer, who had ended up as a sidekick to the detective in the story because of his near nightly negotiations—i.e., whining—with Kade. Of course, the sidekick had been brutally killed in chapter seven. But Levi thought that was the best thing ever and was now in negotiations with Hailey to let him use fake blood and stage the murder scene at City Hall himself.

  And Derek couldn’t forget the small-town doctor who doubled as the county’s medical examiner and had been the one to blow the case wide open. None other than his buddy Kyle Ames. Who was not all that pleased with being the story’s hero, because it meant that the doting fans would want to meet him. And dote on him.

  It was all going to be a ton of fun. Derek couldn’t wait.

  But Ashley wasn’t returning his grin. She shook her head. “I don’t think so. But if you want to hang out Saturday night, let me know.”

  He knew what she meant by hang out, and he knew it did not involve a discussion about Kade’s book. Or really a discussion of any kind, other than deciding who would start on the bottom. Got it. He nodded. “I’ll let you know. Not sure what’s up yet.”

  “Okay. See ya later.”

  Ashley walked away and Derek shook his head. Not only had he asked a woman on an actual date—and been turned down—but he realized that it was very likely the first time since he’d seen his first pair of breasts that he’d turned down sex.

  Okay, he was technically just putting it off. It’s not like he and Ashley needed to make concrete plans right now. He could still end up with her in his bed.

  But he wasn’t going to. He was going to ask someone else out.

  And he blamed Riley Ames. Completely.

  He shot a frown in her direction again, but she was completely oblivious to him.

  Why did it matter what she thought?

  Or rather, why did what she think of him influence what he thought of himself?

  But suddenly he wanted to know that he could ask a woman out on a date and she’d want to go. A real date. Not hanging out as foreplay. Parties out at the river, dancing at a street dance, shooting pool here at the Come Again, even sitting at football games were all just a chance to flirt and do some major hinting. It was all foreplay. The lead up to sex. The opening act.

  And now that Riley had gotten into his head, he really needed to prove that someone would want to go out with him even if that was all it was going to be.

  He shoved a hand through his hair and looked around for something to do. But he had everything cleaned up. Dammit.

  The door opened again and he looked up, hopeful. Maybe another of the girls he’d gone out with recently would come in and help reassure him that he was a nice guy who was good for something other than orgasms.

  Lucy Geller stepped through the door—and Derek smiled. The universe didn’t think he was all bad.

  Lucy wasn’t someone he’d gone out with before, but she was what he’d loosely call a friend. And she was nice.

  Maybe that’s what he needed. To be a nice guy, maybe he needed to hang out with nice girls. God knew, that would be something different. Not that the girls he spent time with were all bitches, but they weren’t Lucy-nice. They were I’ll-be-nice-and-suck-your-dick-on-the-drive-back-to-your-place nice.

  He cleared his throat. Yeah, maybe to be a guy who did things other than have sex with the girls he took out, he needed to hang out with girls who didn’t just want to have sex with him. And maybe that was best accomplished by spending time with someone he hadn’t had sex with yet. Because—and he was only kind of bragging when he thought it—once they’d been in his bed, it might be hard to convince them they wanted to be anywhere else with him.

  “Hey, Luce,” he said.

  She was wearing a pale-yellow sundress. Much like the one Riley was wearing. But where Riley had her arms and legs—and tattoos—exposed, Lucy was wearing a light sweater over hers. It was a far cry from the baggy sweatshirts, but it was still hard to really get a good look at her shape. Unlike Riley, where every curve was clearly on display.

  Derek frowned at that. The last thing he needed on top of everything else was noticing how Riley filled out her clothes. Jesus.

  “Hi, Derek.”

  Lucy gave him a sweet smile, and he purposefully focused on her lips. Yep, shiny peach lip gloss. And very nice lips underneath it.

  “Can I get you something?” he asked.

  Instead of a coy, flirtatious look like he so often got with that question, Lucy looked around the room. She spotted Riley and smiled. “Nope. I’m meeting Riley.”

  “No coffee? Nothing?”

  Lucy looked back at him. “Oh. Um.” She studied the chalkboard behind him where he had a few of the hot drinks he served at night listed. “Could you make cocoa?”

  Cocoa. Yep, Lucy Geller was unlike the girls he usually hung out with. “Cocoa it is.” He had chocolate syrup for the café mochas and chocolate martinis he served. “I’m guessing you’re a whipped-cream kind of girl?” he asked with a wink.

  She simply nodded. “That would be great.”

  Not a hint of a smile, not a teasing quip, nothing in response to the whipped-cream-kind-of-girl comment. Or the wink. She really just wanted whipped cream on top of her hot chocolate. Huh. Yeah, this was new.

  She started in Riley’s direction, and Derek noticed that Riley had her headphones off now and was watching them.

  “Lucy,” Derek said quickly before she got past the bar and within earshot of Riley.

  She turned back. “Yeah?”

  “I’m really looking forward to Kade’s murder-mystery weekend.”

  Her brows rose, but she nodded. “Oh, me too.”

  Derek knew that Lucy was a huge Michael Kade fan. To the point that she stammered over her words and stumbled over her own feet in front of the author. It was adorable. “I was planning to be there on Sunday,” he said of the book signing. “You need any help getting ready for it?”

  She faced him fully. “Well, um…actually…”

  She tucked her dark hair behind her ear, and Derek noticed that her fingers and her ear were both really small. That was a weird thing to notice, but it occurred to him that Lucy was very petite. She was probably only five-two or so, and he was 99% sure that she’d never worn a pair of high heels. It also occurred to him that this was the first time, other than the lip gloss thing the other day, that he’d ever really noticed her body.

  “I’m happy to help with anything,” Derek said quickly. Okay, it wasn’t really asking her on a date, but it would be spending some time together, and he got the impression that working up to this with Lucy might be a good idea. If she didn’t catch the teasing about whipped cream, then he was going to have to dial back his usual approach. Take it easy. Make a plan beyond “wanna do some shots and get naked?” Not that he ever said exactly that, but his reputation did a lot of talking for him.

  “I could actually use a couple more hands,” Lucy said.

  See, if that had been Ashley saying that, he would have made some comment about hands and what she was doing with hers, along with some suggestions for his, but…this wasn’t Ashley. Or Jeni. Or Anna. Or Abi. Or Madison. Or any of the other girls he would have also said that to.

  “Just tell me what time to be there,” he told her. Sincerity. That’s what he’d try with her. Not that he was ever not sincere about doing shots and getting naked, but this was…different. And maybe different was good. Maybe it was exactly what he needed.

  “How’s noon?” Lucy asked.

  He nodded. “Fine. But…let’s have lunch beforehand. H
ow’s eleven?”

  There. That was a nice invitation. There would be no shots, no nakedness. It would be a casual chance to get to know her a little…

  Lucy blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. Again. The same hair. That was already behind her ear. “Oh, I don’t…you don’t have to do that.”

  He watched her, a little confused. “I’d love to take you to lunch, Lucy,” he said. Also sincerely.

  She wasn’t making eye contact now, and her cheeks were even brighter pink. What was it with women blushing around him lately? Women never blushed with him. At least, not the women he usually hung out with. Just Lucy. And Riley.

  “I just—”

  “Hey, honey.” Suddenly Riley was right there beside Lucy. “You ready to get to work?”

  “Um, yeah,” Lucy said, almost seeming relieved. “I brought all the stuff.”

  “Great.” Riley pointed to the table she’d just vacated. “Go on over. I’ll get us something to drink.”

  “I ordered a hot cocoa,” Lucy told her.

  “Awesome. I’ll bring it over.” Lucy moved off and Riley whipped around to face Derek. “What are you doing?”

  He frowned. “What? I’m not doing anything.”

  “Lucy looked completely uncomfortable.” Riley narrowed her eyes. “What did you say to her?”

  Derek felt the getting-familiar frustrated tension inching up his spine. “I asked if I could help with the book signing on Sunday.”

  Riley put a hand on her hip, looking highly suspicious. “How did you say it?”

  “What are you talking about? I just asked if she needed any help.”

  “Did you say it like ‘hey, Lucy, need any help on Sunday?’” Riley was, apparently, trying to imitate him. She’d dropped her voice and emphasized “help” in a this-might-mean-something-dirty way.

  He sighed. “That doesn’t sound like me.”

  She lifted a brow.

  “No, I didn’t say that. I didn’t mean that either. I sincerely,” there was that word again, “want to help if she needs it.”

  “She doesn’t.”

  “She does,” he said. “She said that she could use an extra pair of hands.”

  Riley sighed. “She didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Like what?” But he knew what Riley meant. She got the way that could be flirtatious.

  “What else did you say, Derek?” Riley actually seemed annoyed now.

  “Okay, I was a huge asshole. Is that what you think?” he asked, annoyed too. “I offered my help—sincerely—and then asked her to lunch. What a dick, right?”

  Riley stared at him. “You asked her to lunch?”

  “Yes. Before we set up for the signing.”

  “Just the two of you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you asked her on a date.”

  He shrugged. “Yes.”

  Riley took two steps to the edge of the bar and pointed her index finger at him. “No.”

  He looked at her finger, then back to her face. “No? Seriously? Like I’m a dog?”

  “You are a dog, Derek Wright,” Riley said. “And you are forbidden to ask Lucy on a date.”

  “I’m forbidden?” He actually laughed at that. “By who?”

  “Me.”

  “And what makes you think I’ll listen to you?” he asked.

  Her eyes narrowed, and she got a look on her face that actually made a chill go down his spine. “You don’t want to mess with me, Derek,” she said. “I’ve been to prison.”

  But he couldn’t help it. He snorted. “You were in jail. And all the charges were cleared.”

  “Still.”

  “For a cybercrime. It’s not like you killed anyone.”

  “Yet.”

  He leaned onto the bar across from her. “You’re not so tough.”

  “I could make you very miserable.”

  Now that he kind of believed. “I want to take a nice girl to lunch. What’s so wrong with that?”

  “You’re not good enough for her.”

  Okay. So that was exactly what he’d figured Riley thought of him. And it was maybe true. And it was what he kind of wanted to change. He blew out a breath and focused on Riley, letting sincerity show in his expression. He hoped.

  “So, tell me how to be good enough.”

  Now it was her turn to snort. “Just give you a list and you’ll do it?”

  “Yeah.” Why not?

  “Why do you want to be good enough?” she asked, instead of answering.

  “Maybe I think it’s time for me to…be a better guy.”

  She seemed a little stunned by his answer. She frowned, then wet her lips. And for an instant, Derek noticed that her lips were pretty nice too.

  He shook his head and focused. Wasn’t that just like him to be thinking of another woman’s lips mere minutes after asking another out? And seconds after saying he thought he should be a better guy.

  “Lucy is a nice woman,” he said. “And we live here in the same town, have a ton of friends in common, have known each other for a long time. What’s wrong with lunch?”

  “She’s not your type,” Riley said.

  “Exactly.”

  Riley studied his face for a long moment. “You want to turn over a new leaf? Or are you actually thinking that you’ll show her what she’s been missing?”

  “You mean am I thinking about taking Lucy over to your mom and dad’s basement?”

  “Yeah,” Riley admitted. “Is it bugging you that Lucy is one of the few women in town you haven’t been with or something?”

  He frowned. “Sarah was a very willing participant in all basement activities, Riley. I know you kind of love making me out to be this big bad guy, but every pair of panties that end up on my bedroom floor are put there by their owners.”

  She swallowed but then said, “That doesn’t answer my question. Is Lucy appealing because her panties haven’t been on your floor yet?”

  “Maybe I’m thinking that I need to find out what all the hype is about, keeping panties on.”

  She chewed her bottom lip. Finally, she nodded. “I think you do need to learn that.”

  “So I have your permission?” he asked dryly.

  Riley shook her head. “No.”

  “You can’t stop me from asking her out.”

  “I can keep her from saying yes though,” Riley said. “Trust me. Lucy listens to me, and she’ll definitely listen if I tell her stay far away from you.”

  “You’re a brat.” And he meant that very sincerely.

  “I know. But I care about my friends.”

  Finally, he scowled at her. “Did Sarah tell you something happened that night? Is that why it’s such a big deal to you that I stay away from your friends?”

  “It was more what happened after that night.”

  “What happened after that night?”

  “You never called her or asked her out again.”

  Shit. He straightened and ran a hand through his hair. “No, I didn’t. It was sex. That’s it.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So she wanted me to take her out? Ask her on a date? Spend some time with her with her panties on?” he asked.

  Riley was chewing her lip again. But she nodded.

  “So why are you so against me doing those things with Lucy?”

  “Because I don’t actually think you know how to do those things,” she told him. “I don’t think you have any idea how to be a boyfriend. I don’t think you know how to be with a nice girl.”

  Yeah, she was definitely a brat.

  But she also had a point.

  And he hated that.

  “I’ve got hot chocolate to make,” he said, pushing back from the bar. Hot chocolate. For a nice woman. Maybe the nicest he knew.

  Riley seemed to hesitate, but finally she nodded. “I’ll take one too,” Riley told him as he turned away.

  He was unable to keep from asking, “And are you a whipped-cream kind of girl?”

  “
I’m more of a melted-marshmallow girl.” Then, seemingly out of the blue, she gave him a grin. “Even on my hot chocolate sometimes.”

  And damned if there wasn’t a teasing glint in her eye. So she wasn’t passing up the chance to tease about whipped cream. And more.

  “You sure?” he asked. “I’m very good with a whipped cream can.” Was he trying to see what she’d do or say to that? Yes. Yes, he was.

  “Yeah, that’s pretty much a given, Sex God,” she said—and actually laughed.

  Sex God. It might have been sarcastic, but Riley Ames had just called him a Sex God.

  “Which is exactly why you should stay away from Lucy,” she added, effectively taking him right back down a notch.

  “Lucy’s got enough whipped cream and Sex Gods in her life?” No one could really have enough of either, in Derek’s opinion. Which might be the entire problem.

  Riley just looked at him for a moment. “I think Lucy has exactly the right amount of both in her life.”

  Then she pivoted on her heel and headed for her table.

  And Derek was left with a number of thoughts like so the melted marshmallows aren’t too hot then? And I could too be a good boyfriend. Probably. And Riley really does wear that dress well.

  Dammit.

  3

  “Everything okay?”

  Riley realized she was scowling as she took her seat at the table with Lucy. She smiled and shook her head. “Sure. Derek just drives me nuts.”

  Lucy nodded, playing with her pencil. She looked worried.

  Riley leaned in. “What’s up?”

  Lucy met her gaze. “I just…”

  Oh, crap. Riley worked on not sighing. “Lucy? What’s going on?” But she knew. Derek the Debaucher had gotten to her.

  That had been stupidly easy for him.

  “Derek asked me out,” Lucy said.

  Riley pretended she didn’t already know that. “No kidding. When?”

  “Just now when I was up at the bar.”

  Don’t overreact. “What did you say?”

  “I said he didn’t have to do that.”

  Riley felt her scowl return. “He didn’t have to do that? What’s that mean?” He shouldn’t have done it, but it wasn’t like he was doing Lucy some big favor.