Again (Time for Love Book 3)

by Miranda P. Charles

  “Yes. And I heard you wanted to win it from him.”

  “I do. But Connor doesn’t seem to be playing fair,” Lucas said.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, getting impatient to hear about this challenge.

  “Well, the rules were that we pick at least one girl from those of you who crashed his farewell party in Melbourne. You girls seemed to be up for some fun, so we thought it was a great idea. Anyway, we said that Connor and I would bed the same girl—or girls—and let the ladies score us based on our bedroom performance. The women’s decisions were to be final. If they think I’m better in bed, I win the title fair and square. If they think Connor’s better, he retains the title.”

  Amanda held her breath, not daring to show emotion in case Lucas curbed his sharing of details.

  “I saw Connor leave with you, so I knew you’d be the judge. And since Agnes and I were already getting along famously, she was to be the other one. But it seemed that Connor didn’t tell you about the game. Which makes me think he’s cheated.”

  “Cheated as in how?”

  “Don’t take any offence, okay?” Lucas asked. “I’m just going to tell it as I see it.”

  “Sure,” she said casually, putting on her Miss Professional mask.

  “Lori said you’re not the kind of woman to sleep around. Connor must have picked up on that, so that was why he chose you for the game. You see, by you refusing to have sex with me, then you have automatically cast your vote in his favour.”

  “Who did Agnes vote for?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even.

  “That was another thing. Unfortunately, their timing was messed up. They were just about to head up to Connor’s room when Agnes had to go. So they haven’t done it yet. Agnes is happy to come to Sydney to finish this game and settle the winner once and for all. But seriously, Amanda, if you didn’t know anything about this, then you shouldn’t count at all. I’ll need to speak to Connor about what’s fair.”

  Amanda swallowed the bitter taste on her tongue. “This title seems so important to you,” she said.

  Lucas laughed. “Frankly, it’s not the title, Amanda. It’s about winning against Connor. The two of us are super competitive, especially against each other. Neither of us gives up that easily.”

  “Excuse me,” she murmured, heading out of the room. Her heart was racing and her mind was blank—except for one question: Did Connor make her believe he loved her to ensure he won Lucas' challenge?

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Connor walked into his apartment and turned on the lights. He checked the time. It was almost eleven. Amanda wasn’t back yet from her dinner with Ash and their mum.

  He undid his tie, wondering what time she’d be home. He smiled, thinking they’d have to make it official very soon. He’d love for her to live with him permanently. She already stayed at his place at least four nights a week anyway.

  He was unbuttoning his shirt when his security buzzer sounded. Did Amanda forget her keys to his place? He went to answer it.

  “Hello?”

  “Connor, it’s Ash.”

  “Ash? Come on in.” He pressed a button to let Ash into the building.

  This was totally unexpected, and from the sound of Ash’s voice, it wasn’t good. His heart hammered. What happened?

  He opened his door just as the elevator coughed up a stony-faced Ash.

  “Hey, bro, what’s up?” Connor said, his scalp tingling with anxiety.

  Ash pushed past him into the living room after giving him an unreadable stare. Connor closed the door and went to face his girlfriend's brother.

  “Ash?”

  With a swift move that took Connor by surprise, Ash grasped him by his shirt collar. “How could you do that to my sister?” Ash hissed.

  “Do what, Ash?” he asked calmly.

  “You know fucking well what I mean. You played her, toyed with her feelings.”

  “Who told you that?” he asked with irritation. “I’m assuming it’s not Amanda, because that’s not how it is. Your sister would have told you exactly what happened. And where’s Amanda?”

  Ash let go of his collar, shoving him as he did so. “Don’t even think about showing your face to her again, Connor. If you so much as try to call her, I’ll punch you.”

  “What is going on, Ash? Amanda’s my girlfriend. We’ve been going out for a while now. We been waiting for the opportunity to tell you and your mum in person.”

  “Your girlfriend?” Ash asked with venom. “Why? So you could ensure Lucas doesn’t win your obscene game? You used her, Connor. You knew she’s not the type to agree to the kind of games you play. And yet you went ahead and seduced her for the purposes of winning a challenge.”

  Connor shook his head, his breath leaving him at Ash’s accusations. “It wasn’t like that, Ash,” he insisted.

  “Oh? There was no challenge? It's your word against Lucas’. Even Lori and her friend Agnes are ready to back up Lucas’ version of events.”

  Connor broke in sweat. “There was a challenge, Ash. But I accepted it with the intention of not playing by the rules. I intended to lose! I never meant to go ahead with the game, meaning I never planned to have sex with whomever Lucas slept with—or anyone else for that matter. That would have guaranteed him getting my title ‘fair and square’, and he’d finally let this stupid rivalry go. But I met your sister and the attraction was just too great—”

  Ash’s fist came flying to Connor’s face.

  Connor reeled, tasting blood on his lips.

  “Don’t you dare try to put a spin on this, Connor,” Ash said furiously, pointing a finger at him. “You hurt her so badly.”

  Fear gripped Connor’s heart. “Where’s Amanda, Ash?”

  “Are you kidding me? You think I’m going to tell you?”

  Connor hastily pulled his phone from his pocket, dialling Amanda’s number. It went straight to voicemail.

  “Baby, it’s me. Ash is here and there seems to be another misunderstanding. Please call me. Please.”

  “You’re not gonna hear from her again, Connor,” Ash said in a deadly voice.

  “No, Ash, please. Is she at home? I need to see her,” he pleaded. At Ash’s silence, he headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Ash asked.

  “To your sister’s.”

  “She’s not at her place, Connor. You’ll just be wasting your time.”

  “Then where is she?” he demanded, striding towards Ash.

  “She’s with Brenna. And you don’t know where Brenna lives, do you? I sure as hell am not telling you.”

  Connor retrieved his phone again.

  “If you think any of her best friends would tell you Brenna’s address, think again,” Ash said dryly.

  Connor chucked his phone on the sofa and raked his hair. “Ash, you gotta help me.”

  “Why?”

  “She can’t think it’s all a game, Ash. She’d be so hurt. And it’s not true. I love Amanda. I love your sister,” he said, his voice cracking.

  Ash simply stared at him.

  Connor took a deep breath, trying to contain his emotions, and failing. His eyes swam in tears. Why couldn’t he put an end to this nightmare?

  “If you really love her, Connor, why didn’t you tell her about all this? Why weren’t you fully honest with her?” Ash asked, his voice softer.

  “She already knows about the stupid title. And I already told her I'd slept with her because I wanted to, not to keep being Mr. Fuck King. I thought it was all settled and Lucas had let go of the challenge. It just never occurred to me that Lucas is still so stuck with this,” he explained.

  “You have to admit it sounds bad,” Ash said. “Frankly, with your reputation, people would rather believe what’s apparent than what's true. And what’s apparent here is that you were a player having a game with one of your player friends.”

  “Did you talk to Lucas?”

  “He was with us at dinner tonight.”

  “Wha
t?!”

  “Apparently, he thought you were cheating. You were supposed to tell Amanda about the challenge, but you didn’t. He thinks you picked her so you would win, knowing she wasn’t likely to sleep around.”

  Connor blanched. “He told you that? Was Amanda there when he said that?”

  “He told Amanda that, and Amanda told me when I caught her in tears in the kitchen.”

  “Oh God.” Connor slumped on a chair, burying his face in his hands. His chest throbbed in pain and he felt so hopeless. He had no proof to show that his intentions with Amanda that night were because he couldn’t stay away from her, and not because he wanted to win some challenge. All events did point to him being a cad. Yet it wasn’t the case at all. But all he had to disprove it were his words.

  Would Amanda choose to believe him again? Or had she had enough?

  His phone rang and he snatched it, hoping it was Amanda. But it was Lucas.

  “Hello,” he answered coldly.

  “Hey, Connor,” Lucas said, sounding concerned. “I’m in Sydney.”

  “I know.”

  “Has Amanda told you?”

  “No. She probably hates me like she’s never hated anyone in her life,” he said flatly.

  “Hey, I’m sorry. She did get quite upset. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I was just explaining about our arrangement—”

  “For fuck’s sake, Lucas, can’t you let it go?” he asked angrily. “I told you you could have that stupid title. Stop with the competition already. I don’t want to be part of your stupid games!”

  “All right, all right,” Lucas replied, trying to placate. “Again, I’m sorry. So I take it something’s going on between you and Amanda?”

  “Yes. At least something was going on. Apparently, she never wants to see me again.”

  “Sorry, Connor. Really. If Amanda doesn’t want to talk to you again—”

  Connor hung up the phone, not letting Lucas finish, but his last words echoing in his head. ‘If Amanda doesn’t want to talk to you again...’

  “Ash,” Amanda’s voice said.

  Connor’s head whipped towards the door. Amanda was here. She was home.

  “Baby,” he said with relief, getting up and hurrying to her.

  But Amanda ignored him. She headed straight for Ash. “What are you doing here?” she asked her brother.

  “Well, I thought I’d talk to him,” Ash replied.

  Amanda glanced at Connor and her eyes widened in horror. “Did you hit him?” she asked Ash.

  Ash shrugged.

  “I didn’t mind,” Connor said, stepping closer. But Amanda still didn’t acknowledge him. Instead, she took Ash’s right hand and inspected it.

  “It’s okay,” Ash said. “I didn’t break my fingers or anything.”

  Amanda shook her head. “Since when did you get so violent?”

  Ash just shrugged again.

  Connor stared at Amanda, willing for her to look at him again. Her walls were back up. He felt them acutely. “Amanda,” he said softly.

  Finally, she turned to him. “I knew Ash was bound to do something silly. So when I got your message that he was here, I thought I’d come and pick him up.”

  “Amanda,” he said pleadingly, the hope and excitement from a minute ago fast vanishing into thin air, replaced by alarm. Amanda’s face and voice were devoid of emotions.

  “I don’t want to talk, Connor,” she said, pulling Ash with her toward the exit.

  “You know I love you. You know that,” he said insistently.

  Amanda shook her head. “There are just too many lies, Connor,” she said flatly. “You hide too many things from me. How do you expect me to trust you?”

  “But I’ve already told you everything. How was I supposed to know Lucas’ perspective on the challenge?”

  “You didn’t tell me about the challenge,” Amanda said.

  “But when I said Lucas loved competing against me, that’s what I meant. It didn’t occur to me to tell you all the details. It just didn’t come up.”

  “I don't want to talk about this anymore, Connor. I just don't.”

  Connor exhaled gustily. Amanda had needed some time apart from him before. And they were able to sort things out eventually. But something was different about her this time. She was just... cold. Too cold.

  “Amanda...” he croaked.

  "It's over," she said, then walked out without a backward glance.

  Tears fell from his eyes, his heart shattering to pieces.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Amanda hugged herself as she rode the lift with Ash. It was taking all her effort not to cry. But if she started now, she was afraid she might not be able to stop.

  “You’re hiding again,” Ash murmured.

  She glanced at him, but remained silent.

  “When you put on this emotionless exterior, I know you’re hurting like hell inside.”

  That did it. Ash’s words pricked her safety bubble, and tears silently streamed down her face.

  They exited at the ground floor and Ash halted her, making her face him. “You love him?”

  Amanda looked down the floor, answering him with a sob.

  Ash put his arms around her and stroked her hair as she cried on his shoulder.

  “I just don’t know if I should believe him or not, Ash,” she blubbered.

  “I was very mad at him, too. But from what I’ve seen, I think he’s telling you the truth.”

  “What truth?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “That he loves you,” Ash said softly.

  Hope flared within her. “You think?”

  “Yeah. I know all this drama involving Lucas makes him look bad. But when I teased him about his Fuck King title weeks ago when I first heard about it, he seemed to genuinely hate it. I think he’s being honest when he says it’s Lucas who couldn’t let go of this competition thing, not him.”

  Amanda stared at Ash, worrying her bottom lip. “You honestly don’t think he slept with me that night in Melbourne only so he could win the challenge? ‘Cause it makes sense, you know.”

  “What makes sense?”

  “That...” She sniffed. “That he only noticed me that night because he was looking for someone who’d help him get the upper hand over Lucas.”

  “Oh, Amanda. What about after that? He said you guys have been going out for a few weeks now, which I didn’t know about. Do you think he keeps on asking you out because he’s still playing Lucas’ game? And you have keys to his place! Which tells me this must be more serious than you guys let on. How come you never told me about the two of you before? You know Connor’s my friend, too.”

  “We wanted to tell you in person—when both of us are available—because we thought you might overreact. Which you did. You hit him!” she said with a frown.

  “I didn’t know the whole story then. I hit him before I realised how he really feels about you.”

  “Why am I such a scaredy-cat when it comes to love, Ash?”

  Ash smiled at her affectionately. “Because you’ve been hurt a few times before. It’s a normal reaction. But you don’t want the past to keep you from your future happiness.”

  Amanda sighed. Was it really about Connor not being trustworthy, or was it about her simply being afraid to trust? Memories of Connor proving his love with words and actions flooded her mind, and she knew what she had to do.

  “I better go back upstairs,” she said, smiling. “I think I overreacted, too. ”

  Ash nodded. “If you need me, call.”

  “Thank you, Ash,” she said, hugging him.

  “Anytime. Tell Connor that if he hurts you again, I’ll give him another one.”

  Amanda chuckled. “You know, if Connor and I work out, could you ease off being such an overprotective brother? Connor’s kind of overprotective too. I don’t need the two of you competing for the title of Amanda’s Overprotector of the Year.”

  Ash laughed. “We’ll see.”

  *****

&n
bsp; Amanda took a deep breath before inserting the key and turning the knob. Connor’s door opened silently and she walked in. Her heart stopped when she saw Connor splayed on his couch, his arm over his eyes.

  “Connor?”

  Connor jerked to a sitting position. He stared at her as if he couldn’t believe she was standing there.

  She gaped back at him, dumbstruck by his countenance.

  Connor had been crying. His eyes were red, his expression disconsolate. If she still had any doubts about Connor's feelings, the naked emotion in his face would have obliterated them.

  His gaze went to her hand, which was holding his keys. “Did you come back to return those?” he asked in a strangled voice, his pain evident. “Well, I'm not taking them back.”

  Connor's words brought Amanda out of her stupefied state. “No,” she said, putting the keys back to her purse.

  She sat down next to him and put her palm on his face. “Connor,” she said softly, her own tears falling down her face.

  Connor’s eyes filled again. “Amanda, I don’t have any other way to prove to you that I never intended to complete Lucas’ challenge. I don’t know how else to make you believe that his game had absolutely nothing to do with my decision and desire to sleep with you that first time. All I can do is say I love you over and over again. I love you, Amanda. I love you. I love you. I love you—”

  Amanda lunged at him, kissing him urgently on the lips.

  Connor groaned, crushing her to him. “Baby, I love you,” he said again. And he continued to say it while he planted heated kisses all over her face.

  She cupped his face to look into his eyes. “I’m sorry I got scared again,” she whispered.

  Connor caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. “As long as you keep coming back to me.”

  She smiled. “Is there anything else I need to know?” she asked softly, combing his hair with her fingers. “About Melbourne, about any other challenge or bet, about your previous flings or girlfriends? I’d just hate to overreact again.”

  Connor leaned back on the couch, deep in thought. “Well, apart from my plan to talk to Lucas so we could put this matter to bed, I can’t think of anything at this point,” he said after a long pause. “That’s not to say there will be nothing that could come up later that you might dislike about me. What’s more, I’m sure I’m bound to do things that would annoy you—like spend too much time in the garage instead of cuddling in front of the TV with you.”