by Lori Ryan
Those eyes that that were so steamy and sinful, they made her feel like she could melt into a puddle at his feet if she didn’t look away.
Just last night she had wondered what he would be like all grown up, and here he was in the flesh, as if her thoughts had conjured him out of thin air.
And oh, what incredible flesh his was. Jill had guessed Andrew would be good looking as an adult, but good looking didn’t begin to describe the perfect model of manliness sitting before her.
She casually let her eyes drop to his chest and was amazed at the hard expanse of it, evident under the snug fit of the sweatshirt he wore. Andrew’s jeans hugged lean hips and long legs and she suspected there wouldn’t be an ounce of fat under those clothes.
The soft, faded material of his jeans tugged tightly across his thighs as he raised his feet onto the rungs of his kitchen stool. Jill swallowed a groan and dragged her eyes away from his lap. Except her gaze caught on other parts of his lap as she tried to pull away and she couldn’t prevent the quick glance at his zipper or the imagined images of what lay beneath it.
Crappity, crap, crap. Stop looking, Jill!
She forced her eyes up, but even that was problematic. Just the sight of his hands when he accepted the mug sent Jill’s mind reeling in naughty directions. She shivered when his hand brushed hers and wondered what those strong hands would feel like on her skin, around her waist, or skimming up to her breasts. She blushed and had difficulty drawing her eyes to his face.
What was wrong with her? She almost cringed to think she was sitting in her grandparents’ kitchen thinking about a naked Andrew Weston.
I must be more overdue for a meaningless fling than I thought, Jill mused as she watched him wink at her over his mug. On so many men, a wink like that would look like such as arrogant gesture. For Andrew, it just looked easy and sexy. Just part of who he was.
She wondered if she could sleep with him. He sure seemed to be laid back and not exactly Mr. Commitment, which boded well for a casual fling.
On the other hand, Andrew was too close to home to mess around with. Their families were close. Things would be uncomfortable down the road when they had to see each other after it ended. Probably not wise to mess with him, even if he was a Greek god brought to life in her kitchen. She buried a sigh and focused on friendly chit chat instead of sexy fantasies.
Chapter Five
Andrew wandered toward the back of the 26th floor of the Sutton Capital building. It was quiet with many of the staff out to lunch. He said hi to a few people as he moved through the floor, but he was hoping Jack was in his office.
On his way to his friend’s office, though, he passed Roark Walker, head of Suttons legal department and a close family friend of Jack’s deceased parents.
The older man with the close-cropped white hair and dark skin greeted Andrew with a warm handshake and hug. “How’s your grandmother? I told Mrs. Poole we should bake something for her and bring it by but she’s fighting me on it.”
Andrew grinned. He didn’t tell Roark that Jack’s housekeeper had already brought muffins by the house for Nora.
Roark spent more and more time lately at Jack’s house with Mrs. Poole. The two had an odd relationship. Andrew would swear Roark was half in love with Mrs. Poole but she spent most of her time scowling and snapping at him. Which was odd for a woman who treated most of the people in her world like they were family whether she’d known them for five minutes or five years.
“Nora’s doing well,” Andrew said. “Frustrated at being stuck in the house.” That was putting it mildly. Nora didn’t do bed-bound well.
Roark jerked a head over his shoulder. “You’ll find your boys out on the terrace.”
Andrew smiled. The older man always called Jack, Chad, and Andrew ‘the boys.’
“Thanks, Roark. I’m sure Nora would love a visit if you have time.”
Roark nodded. “I’ll make a point to see her soon.”
Andrew kept going and wove through the desks that filled the main office space for the administrative staff and walked to the doors to the outdoor garden terrace that had become an ad hoc employee lounge. One of the human resources staff had nestled bistro tables and chairs among the foliage and there was now a sitting area with overstuffed outdoor armchairs and a firepit.
The firepit was rarely lit, but they occasionally set it up and sometimes even roasted marshmallows out there after hours. It made working late on big projects more enjoyable if you could take a break for gooey marshmallows and melted chocolate sandwiches.
Jack and Chad were sitting in two of the armchairs, feet propped on the unlit firepit.
Andrew went through the glass doors and grinned at their surprise. He hadn’t told them he’d be swinging by.
Jack tilted his head at a chair. “Sit. We’re being lazy while the staff isn’t around to see it.”
Andrew had to laugh as he sank into the chair. These two were the least lazy people he knew. Though, everyone had noticed Jack had started cutting back on his hours in the office when he married Kelly.
He still worked weekends and late nights when he absolutely had to but he no longer showed up before six am and left after eight at night.
“How’s Nora doing?” Chad asked.
“Stubborn is how she’s doing.” Andrew scowled as the other two men grinned at his response.
“She doesn’t want to do her physical therapy,” he said, “so I have to stand there every time the therapist comes to the house and remind Nora that we can check her into a residential rehab center if she doesn’t do the work. You would think after having that conversation three times a week for two weeks, she’d get it and we could be done with it.”
The men were laughing, but Chad glanced at the doors, his face going grim.
“Listen, as long as we’re here, I wanted to talk to you guys about Sam.”
Samantha Page was currently on leave from Sutton Capital while she worked for the FBI but they were hoping she’d come back when she was finished.
“How’s she doing?” Jack asked, sitting up and putting his arms on his legs as he leaned forward. “Any better?”
Chad shook his head. “Not unless crying on the couch as she watches the Wizard of Oz is better.”
Andrew cursed under his breath.
Samantha had come to work for them shortly after Chad took over security at Sutton when he’d finished out his last tour with the Army Rangers. She was a brilliant hacker who really could be doing more with her mind than working for them, but she and Chad had hit it off and she seemed to have found a place at the company.
Sam was socially awkward and quirky as hell, but to them, that was all the more reason to be there for her when she needed them. She wouldn’t reach out for help. She’d sit at home and try to handle what was happening on her own.
And since what she was doing for the FBI was related to Kelly’s kidnapping earlier that year, they all wanted to be sure she got through it.
“Will she talk to you about it?” Jack asked.
Chad lifted a shoulder. “To the extent she can. We had a conversation about a hypothetical woman who was helping the FBI track down women kidnapped and sold into slavery by a kidnapping ring. The gist of it was that Sam’s found five of the twelve women they know about and they’ve been rescued along with several other women they found during the operations.”
“Hypothetically,” Andrew said.
Chad gave a nod. “I told her its important for her to focus on the fact she got those women home and that’s a lot more than anyone could have hoped for. Most women who are sold like that don’t ever get out. But you guys know Samantha. She’s beating herself up that she hasn’t been able to track the others. This kind of work is hard on her.”
“Will she see someone about it?” Andrew asked.
Chad nodded. “She says she will. I’m going to speak to a friend of mine who works with former veterans and see if he has a recommendation for someone she can see about all this.”
They could hear the office beginning to fill up as people returned from lunch and the buzz of conversation filtering out onto the patio also meant people would be able to hear them.
Andrew stood, making a mental note to call Sam when he could. Maybe he’d see if she’d done any more work on her multiplayer online game she was designing. He didn’t play them, but she’d told him about the world she was building one day at lunch and it sounded pretty freaking amazing. And that kind of creativity would probably be good for her right about now.
“Hey, Kelly and I are going to get drinks with a friend of hers after work today. You guys want to swing by?”
Chad shook his head. “Can’t make it tonight.”
Andrew shrugged. “I can.” He grinned. “I don’t have to wake up in the morning for work.”
Jack and Chad only rolled their eyes at him as he lifted a hand in a lazy wave and left them to get back to work.
Andrew walked into the bar in downtown New Haven and immediately saw Jack and Kelly. They sat at a tall bar table at the end of the long room. When Andrew approached, Kelly hopped down off the stool and hugged him.
Jack and Kelly were married last May to ensure Jack remained CEO of his father’s company, Sutton Capital. They remarried in August after they fell in love during a whirlwind romance that took everyone, including them, by surprise.
Andrew had been happy to discover he really liked having Kelly around. She was a sister in the same way Jack felt like a brother. He loved them both and was more than happy they’d found each other. Still, at times lately, Andrew had pangs of jealousy for the life Jack had found with Kelly.
Andrew had fallen in love once before and discovered just how dangerous it was to share such intimate feelings with someone. The woman he loved had betrayed Andrew’s love. Had also taken money from Andrew’s parents in the process and the deception left him crushed and reeling from the blow.
He didn’t doubt he might fall in love again someday, but he would have a problem revealing that love if he did. There was no way he wanted to make himself that vulnerable again. He just couldn’t imagine putting himself in that position, even if that meant he could never have what Jack and Kelly shared.
Pushing that regret aside once again, Andrew smiled at the happy couple in front of him.
“What’s the special occasion?” Andrew hadn’t seen much of them since he’d taken the leave of absence to get Nora settled in at home. He was glad to have the excuse to get out and see them.
Their grins were huge as Kelly spilled the news. “We’re having a baby!”
Jack pulled Kelly to him, wrapping his arms around her from the back, his hands settling on her still flat tummy. The look on his face said it all. Andrew didn’t think he’d ever seen his friend this happy. And that made him happy.
“Aw, Kels, that’s great!” Andrew pulled Kelly in for a bear hug and kissed her cheek. He grasped Jack’s hand in a shake that turned into one of those one-armed man hugs.
“Gonna be one lucky kid, guys,” Andrew said.
He meant it, despite the sting of loss he always felt when he thought about kids. Jack and Kelly were two of the best people he knew. He and Jack were at Yale together years ago and he knew Jack would make a great dad.
He might not have known Kelly long, but anyone who knew her for even a short time knew she was kind and generous. She was a special person.
“The baby’s due in June,” Kelly’s smile grew. “We’re not telling anyone other than family and you right now, though, because I’m still in my first trimester, so keep it quiet.”
“You got it,” Andrew grinned.
Jack handed Andrew a beer and the two men clinked their bottles in a silent toast.
Kelly’s excitement was contagious. Jack caught Andrew’s eye and gave him a silent look, asking him if he was okay with their news. Jack was one of a very select group of people who knew how painful news of babies and children could be to Andrew. Andrew gave him a slight nod and smiled. He didn’t want Jack worrying about his feelings at a time like this.
“By the way, one of my friends is meeting us here tonight,” Kelly said. There was a hint of mischief in her tone. “She’s gorgeous and super talented. She just moved to town a little while ago and wants to meet more people. I thought she might like meeting you.”
Her smile had matchmaker written all over it.
Jack mouthed ‘sorry’ to Andrew behind Kelly’s back but Andrew barely registered the words. His mind flashed to an image of Jill sipping hot cocoa in her grandmother’s kitchen. For some reason, he wasn’t really in the mood to meet another woman, no matter how perfect the woman may be.
Andrew briefly wondered what that was about before he excused himself to go to the bathroom. He needed to get away from there and clear his head before Kelly went any further with her plan.
Jack turned to Kelly as soon as Andrew was out of earshot. “Hon, you realize he’s pretty committed to bachelorhood, right?”
Kelly brushed off Jack’s warning. “Nonsense. That man wants to be married just as much as you did when I found you. He’s just as clueless about it, too.”
Jack let out a bark of laughter. It was true he hadn’t had a clue that he was looking for love and marriage when he and Kelly began their marriage. He’d been completely caught off guard when he fell head over heels in love, but he could honestly say he’d never been happier in his life.
But Andrew’s story was very different from Jack’s and Jack knew it would take a hell of a lot for Andrew to ever trust a woman again.
“No, sweetheart, he really doesn’t. Andrew has three categories of women in his world. Nora and Lydia are family. He trusts them and loves them. Then there are his friends. Andrew has lots of friends and many of them are female, but they’re just that: friends and nothing more. Ever. He lets them get to know him and he probably trusts them on some level, but he never dates them.
“His third category would be the women he has arrangements with. They’re women he sleeps with and nothing more. They’re not girlfriends. He doesn’t trust them. He doesn’t let them get to know him. He doesn’t build relationships with them. And he never, ever mixes any of those worlds. We don’t meet the women he sleeps with. If he needs a date for a work function, he brings a friend. Never a real date. I know that’s hard for you to understand, Kelly, but he needs it that way. It’s just the way he is, honey.”
Kelly’s face fell and she frowned at Jack. “That can’t be. Why would anyone live like that? Why wouldn’t he even introduce the women he’s with to you and Chad? You’re his best friends.”
“Chad and I are used to it. Andrew was hurt once and he didn’t get over what happened. Hell, it was bad. None of us expected him to be able to get over it, so we don’t take it personally that he’s like this. I know you want to change him, Kels, but you can’t. You gotta let him be who he is.”
Kelly shook her head. “But why? What happened to him?”
Jack knew Kelly’s heart was in the right place and he hated to have to disappoint her. He looked over his shoulder in the direction Andrew had gone. “I’ll tell you when we get home.”
Jack didn’t think Andrew would mind if he told Kelly, but he wanted to give Andrew a heads up first.
“Oh, there’s Jill,” Kelly said as she looked over Jack’s shoulder to the door of the bar. “It can’t be as bad as you say. You’ll see. He’ll like Jill.”
Kelly looked so hopeful, Jack just let it go.
Kelly raised her hand to wave her friend over. Jack turned to see a good-looking blond woman headed their way. She was older than Kelly. Jack estimated the woman to be closer to Jack’s and Andrew’s ages of thirty-three and she was, without a doubt, Andrew’s type. Blond and petite with an open smile.
Even so, Jack worried that Jill and Kelly might have higher expectations for a relationship than Andrew would be ab
le to give. He also knew there wasn’t going to be any way to stop Kelly once she set her mind on something, and apparently, right now, she wanted to set up these two.
Jill smiled and shook hands with Jack when Kelly introduced him as her husband.
“Jack’s best friend, Andrew, will be back in a minute. Did I mention him to you earlier?” Kelly asked Jill.
Kelly’s effort at nonchalance was clear, but the setup was obvious and Jill had to fight not to cringe. She didn’t know if she was ready for this.
“Andrew is the Chief Financial Officer of Jack’s company and he’s ridiculously smart and good looking. Really good looking.” Kelly ignored Jack’s ‘hey!’ at her description of Andrew.
Jill’s mind flashed to Andrew Weston in his faded jeans and old sweatshirt. A far cry from the guy Kelly was describing, but he’d been on Jill’s mind since the morning he’d come over to say hello.
“He’s a really fun guy, too. I think you’ll like him.” Kelly smiled.
“Uh,” Jill hesitated. “I don’t really think I’m looking for a relationship right now, Kelly. I was thinking I’d just take a break, you know?” Except for fantasizing about my hot-as-hell neighbor. Jill pictured Andrew’s lazy sex-charged smile and shivered with pleasure.
But then, there he was. Andrew Weston was right in front of her, in the flesh, coming up beside Kelly with that wide, sexy smile on his face.
“Jill! What are you doing here?” He asked before she could close her mouth.
She probably looked like an idiot, drooling over him.
Kelly and Jack turned to Andrew as one. “You guys know each other?”
Jill blushed but Andrew explained, “Jill lives next door to my grandmother. She used to visit her grandparents when they lived there years ago and now she’s back. I was crazy in love with her when I was fifteen and used to watch her out by her grandparents’ pool,” Andrew said as he winked at Jill.