by K. A. Linde
“Oh, boy,” she grumbled. “This is going to cost me a pretty penny, isn’t it?”
“Probably.”
I parked in the driveway and was glad that we had gotten here early. The street was going to be jam-packed here soon. We hopped out of my truck, and Morgan came around to my side.
“So, that’s what you want to do? Schmooze people for donations?”
“I’m pretty good at schmoozing.”
“You’ve never schmoozed me,” she accused. She batted her pretty little eyelashes up at me.
“Is anyone able to schmooze Morgan Wright?”
She giggled. “Depends on who it is.”
I liked her giggle, too. It was even rarer than her real laugh. I’d gotten both in one night. I guessed she really needed to get out of that office. I wondered when the last time she had gone out was or if she socialized outside of work at all. She’d even stayed in on Halloween to work. I knew because I’d invited her to the party my friend was throwing. Admittedly, none of us had really been in the partying mood around Halloween after Austin returned from rehab. I’d only gone because I’d promised the girl I was seeing that I’d make an appearance. I’d broken up with her that night. Another one bit the dust.
“And, anyway, it’s more than that. Donations isn’t the only thing we do. It’s how we stay in contact with businesses and alumni. We also negotiate contracts and make sure the university continues running.”
“Sounds like a big job.”
“A little bigger than being your secretary.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”
I knocked twice before walking into the house with Morgan on my heels. “Knock, knock,” I called out. “I’m home!”
“Well, look who decided to show his face,” Stephanie said.
“Hey, sis,” I said, dragging her in for a hug.
She squeezed me extra tight and then punched me in my kidney as she screamed, “Ha! Gotcha!”
I coughed at the sudden jab and then darted for her. I grabbed her around the middle and picked her up off her feet before dropping her onto the carpet. She gasped as she hit the ground and tried to kick me.
“Wow, things really haven’t changed,” Morgan said behind me.
“Mor!” Steph cried from the floor. “Let me handle my dipshit brother, and then I’ll come snuggle you.”
A tall man with ginger-red hair walked into the living room at that moment and stared down at the display with wide eyes. Morgan stepped over me and Stephanie.
“Hi, I’m Morgan Wright,” she said, extending her hand.
“Thomas Cooper. I’m Steph’s boyfriend.”
“He’s in real estate,” Steph volunteered from the floor.
“Nice to meet you.”
“How do you know Steph?” he asked.
“We grew up together. Toddlers to high school.”
“She’s the bitch who took the valedictorian spot from me!” Steph told him.
I guffawed and pushed Steph back down to the floor.
“Guilty,” Morgan said without a trace of guilt.
I got up off the floor and brushed off my suit pants. I shook Thomas’s hand. “Good to see you again, man.”
“You, too, Patrick.”
Steph jumped up and adjusted the long front-angled blonde bob she was sporting. “Pleasantries over. Let’s drink.”
“Party hasn’t even started,” I said. I’d been much more conscious of how much I drank and for what reasons ever since my best friend had gone to rehab.
“I’m the party,” Steph said, as if it were obvious.
Morgan and I shared a look. I could see the same thoughts flitting through her mind. We were eerily in sync today.
Thomas followed Steph into the kitchen, and Morgan nodded her head, as if to ask if we should follow.
“Feels kind of weird, doesn’t it?” I asked.
She nodded. “Casually drinking feels like it has consequences now. Even more than it did after my dad died.”
Her dad, the infamous Ethan Wright, had died of an alcohol overdose. I’d been in college at the time with Austin, who had dealt with the death by drinking heavily. Morgan had only been sixteen, and I couldn’t imagine how hard it had been for her.
“I know what you mean.” I put my hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the kitchen.
“It’ll probably be okay.”
I nodded. “I think so.”
She took a deep breath and then let it out. A smile returned to her face, and my eyes darted to her lips again.
Why the hell am I noticing her lips today?
Normally, she wore lipstick. That had to be it. Today, she didn’t have any lipstick on, and I could see that they were chapped from her worrying away at them with her teeth.
“Where’s Mom and Dad?” I asked as Thomas passed me a beer.
Morgan took one, too. I loved when girls drank beer. Or hard whiskey.
“Out back, being ridiculously cute,” Steph said with a sigh.
“So, Dad’s grilling, and Mom is trying to tell him how to do it better even though we both know he’s the only one who has ever touched that grill?”
“Pretty much.”
Morgan took a long swig of her beer. All fears of alcoholism running in her family forgotten. I had two healthy, well-balanced, and adjusted parents…and Morgan had zero. She had four amazing siblings, but it wasn’t the same thing.
Steph slung her arm around Morgan and urged her out to the backyard. Thomas watched them with curious eyes.
“Your girlfriend seems really nice,” Thomas said.
I sputtered, spewing beer all over the kitchen. “She’s…she’s not my girlfriend.”
Thomas backed away with a laugh as I grabbed a towel to mop up my mess. “Sorry. I just thought…you know, you showed up together and all.”
I saw the entire encounter through Thomas’s eyes in that moment. Morgan and I showing up together, joking and having a good time. My baby sister’s friend from high school. Our knowing eye contact. My hand on her back. Fuck, we must actually look like a couple.
“She’s, uh, she’s my best friend’s little sister. She’s way too young for me.”
Thomas laughed. “You and I are the same age, man, and I’m dating your sister.”
That realization slapped me in the face. It wasn’t like I hadn’t dated someone younger than Morgan before. We were only four years apart. But, with Mor, it felt like such a bigger age gap.
“Her brothers would kill me for even having that thought.”
Thomas held up his hands. “Well, don’t kill me for having that thought about your sister.”
“Treat her right, and I won’t have to.”
“Done.”
We shook hands like gentlemen and followed the ladies out the back door. My mind was still on the observation Thomas had made about me and Morgan. My eyes found her as soon as we walked into the backyard. She was standing with Steph, laughing uproariously at whatever outrageous story my sister had been regaling her with. Color had come back into her cheeks, and her long brown hair swayed around her face. The slacks and blue silk blouse that had seemed so ordinary when I stumbled into the conference room earlier hugged every feature. Every. Single. Curve.
Her eyes locked on mine for a second, and I realized, in the waning light, they weren’t solely dark brown. They had flecks of gold around the irises. And they were emotive. So was her mouth. And quite literally everything about her.
She tilted her head when I didn’t turn away. What the hell did she think was running through my head? She couldn’t know. She’d think I was a total creep. There was no way that she would be interested in me. Fuck, I cannot believe I’m having these thoughts.
She was so hot. Like stunningly hot. Why had I never noticed before? Had I just tried not to look? Just seen her as young as Steph? I didn’t even know. Because, now that I was seeing her…I couldn’t stop looking.
And I was pretty sure her three older brothers were g
oing to murder me for thinking about their little sister like this.
Three
Morgan
“So, are you and Patrick finally…you know?” Steph asked me.
I laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“In high school, the puppy-dog eyes were annoying, but now, he’s just an idiot if he doesn’t see it.”
“He’s not an idiot. He just has no interest in me. I’m fine with it.”
Steph snorted. “Yeah. Uh-huh. I’ll believe that when pigs fly. You can’t fool me. I knew you long before you were CEO of Wright Construction. Which, by the way, congratulations!” Steph squeezed my hand and did a little jig.
“Thank you.” I was glad that we were moving the conversation away from Patrick. It was hard enough, being stuck in my head with the constant loop that he didn’t want me. It was another thing to talk to another person about it and realize how lame I sounded, still pining for him.
I took another long drink from the beer in my hand and turned my attention back to Patrick. He was talking to his parents and Thomas by the grill. Other people had shown up for Steph’s party a while ago, but it was still pretty small. I was glad it wasn’t a huge event.
As if he could feel me looking at him, Patrick glanced in my direction. Our eyes met, and I waited for him to make some stupid face or nod in my direction or just plain ignore my gaze. That was the norm after all.
But he didn’t do any of those things. In fact, he stared back at me. My body heated at that look. His eyes were saying a hell of a lot more than I’d ever seen there before. He swallowed hard as his eyes swept my body from top to bottom. And I wasn’t fucking imagining it. When he had first come out of the house, I’d thought that look was a mistake maybe. But there it was again. Something had changed…and I didn’t know what it was. Or if I was reading into things.
When he hastily turned away, I tried to clear my head. This was Patrick. He didn’t see me that way. Though I’d always wanted for things to move forward, I never really believed I had a chance. Even when I was going to ask him out earlier, it had been more to put a final nail in the coffin. I’d assumed he’d turn me down, and then maybe I could move forward.
Now, I didn’t know what to think.
Patrick and Steph’s parents served burgers on paper plates with sides on a foldout table in the back. I mingled with some of the girls I’d gone to high school with. Even though many of them still lived in town, I never saw anyone. I didn’t really have time, and we didn’t have a ton in common. My life was work, and theirs were their families.
I picked up my fourth beer from a cooler when I felt Patrick’s presence at my side.
“Hey, lightweight. Are you going to be okay with that?”
I sent him a dazzling smile as I popped the top. “I don’t think I’ve had a drink since that night we got smashed at Louie Louie’s this summer. I forgot how good it felt to relax.”
“Good thing you’re not driving.”
“Oh God, you know I’d never.”
“I know. That’s why I’m sober as fuck.”
I laughed and nudged him. My buzz had loosened everything up.
Good-bye, inhibitions.
Patrick steadied us both by placing his hand on the small of my back. Something ignited inside me. All I could think about was kissing him. His lips weren’t far from mine. I just had to stand up on my tiptoes. I leaned forward into him until our sides were nearly pressed together.
“Patrick?”
“Yeah?” he said, his voice coming out strained.
“I’m glad I came with you.”
He released a strangled cough and then pulled back from me. He became suddenly infatuated with the shirtsleeves he’d rolled up on his button-down earlier.
“I’m glad you decided to come to the party. Maybe we should lay off the beer,” he suggested. He snagged a water from the cooler and passed it to me.
My cheeks heated when I took it from him, avoiding eye contact.
What the hell is wrong with me? I’d made that sound so freaking sexual. Why did I think he’d want to kiss me? God, I really need this water.
I started downing the bottle just as Thomas cleared his throat and drew everyone’s attention to him.
“Hey, everyone. I’m so glad that all of you could be here today for my lovely Steph’s birthday. Steph, could you come over here?”
Steph ran up to where he was standing with her arms raised high like she was Rocky. She winked at him, and he laughed.
“I know most of you don’t know me, but we both wanted to thank you for being here on this special day. And I’m especially glad that all of her friends and family are here in one place today.”
Then, he faced Steph and dropped to one knee. Steph gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as he produced a black velvet box.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
“Smooth,” Patrick said.
“Stephanie Tara Young, will you marry me?” Thomas asked with a smile.
Tears ran down Steph’s cheeks as she nodded. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes.”
She pulled Thomas up to her and thoroughly kissed him. When she finally released him, he took the diamond out of the box and slid it onto her ring finger. Everyone cheered in celebration. Her dad popped open a bottle of champagne, and soon, we were all toasting the couple.
“Did you know about this?” I asked, sipping on the champagne.
Patrick shook his head. “I heard him talking to Dad earlier, so I guessed. But no one told me.”
“Pretty romantic of him to get everyone together like this for her.”
“Oh, yeah?” He shot me a questioning look. “Aren’t you normally president of Club Cynical?”
“Still am. Most of the people here I judged pretty hard when they got married and had kids. Hell, I felt that way about both Jensen and Landon.”
“But?”
“Well…since Sutton…”
“Right,” Patrick said.
I didn’t have to explain it to him.
My younger sister’s husband had died this summer. It was a tragedy like nothing else. They were young and hadn’t been married long. He’d left behind my now broken sister and their eighteen-month-old son, Jason. Sutton colored everything that I’d once found cynical with a new outlook.
“But I’m happy for Steph. Thomas seems like a great guy.”
“He is.”
Patrick nodded his head toward his sister, and I followed in tow. He picked Steph up when we approached and twirled her in a circle.
“Congrats, sis. I knew, someday, someone would love you,” Patrick said.
Steph smacked him. “Jackass.”
I cracked up and pulled Steph into a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
“I can’t believe it!” she cried, thrusting her hand out toward me. The diamond was pretty massive with a halo around it. It fit Steph perfectly.
“It’s beautiful!”
I moved over to congratulate Thomas as well. We spent the rest of the party talking about all the plans that would have to go into the extravagant wedding that Steph clearly wanted. I even got wrapped up in the wedding talk. I’d had to help Sutton with her wedding after all.
But, by the end of the night, I was tipsy and exhausted. I hadn’t had this much people time outside of work in a while. It was nice and made me want to go home and crawl into a ball to recharge.
“You ready to head out?” Patrick sidled up to me and seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.
“Yeah, but I have a question.”
“What’s that?”
“I thought I was promised mashed potatoes.”
Patrick shot me an incredulous look. “I didn’t promise them. I said, if you were lucky.”
I batted my eyelashes at him, hoping I looked innocent. “Are you sure I’m not lucky?”
He searched my face for a second before answering calmly, “Maybe you are. I guess I could make you some mashed potatoes at my place.”
I tried to mask my shock when I
gripped the empty beer I’d been nursing for a while now. “That’d be good. You clearly owe me.”
“Clearly,” Patrick easily agreed.
We said good-bye to Patrick’s family. I got a knowing look from Steph that I chose to ignore, and then we were bundled back up in his SUV. Patrick tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel to the song on the radio, and I tried not to glance over at him.
This was friendly.
Just a friend offering to hang out.
There was nothing different.
Except…there was.
I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe the flirting. Maybe the looks. Maybe the ease in which he’d invited me over to his place.
I knew that I shouldn’t question when something this unbelievable happened to me, but, well, this was me. If something seemed too good to be true, it usually was. I followed my gut in business. My gut was telling me that something was happening with me and Patrick.
My heart might be singing a happy tune. My brain might be telling me I was an idiot. But I was following my gut. I hoped that this wouldn’t all blow up in my face.
Patrick parked his car in the garage at his house, and I followed him inside. I’d been to his place before a couple of times with Austin or for some kind of party. I’d never been here with only Patrick. The house felt empty with just the two of us in it even though it wasn’t that big of a house. I’d always liked that it was a modest size and cozy with furniture you were meant to relax in rather than for decoration. It was too homey to be a typical bachelor’s pad, like Austin’s house had been before he sold it. Everything about it screamed Patrick.
“Make yourself at home,” he said, pulling off his jacket and tossing it onto the back of a chair at the breakfast nook. “Want a drink? I have all of that top-shelf bourbon that Austin got rid of when he stopped drinking.”
“Uh, sure. I didn’t realize he’d given that to you.”
“Most of it he got rid of.” He pulled down a fancy bottle with a long, skinny funnel top. “But some of this stuff can only be purchased through the company, so he gave it to me. I keep it all put away when he’s over, and he doesn’t ask about it.”