Lost in You (Flirting with Forever Book 1)

by Amanda Bailey

  “Quote from The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,” Piper finishes, gasping, and drops the T-shirt into her lap. She puts her hands over her mouth to keep herself from squealing. “Madi, it’s so perfect. Thank you.”

  “I know how you love your Sherlock. I couldn’t resist getting it for you when I saw it, my genius friend.” I wink at her, feeling a little bit better. Piper is about the smartest person I know. That English department would do well with her at the helm, so I hope everything works out for her after her earlier outburst.

  Piper pulls a gift bag out that she’d stowed under the table and hands it to Zoey. “For you, my lovely.”

  Zoey’s eyes light up. “I love that we did this, you guys.” With that, she digs into the bag, pulling out a wood-framed sign. “Oh my gosh.” She pauses to swallow. “It says, ‘You’re in a safe place to spill the tea.’”

  Piper nods. “I figured it would be great for your office, Zoey.” Then on a chuckle, she says, “Maybe we should have gotten it out earlier so we didn’t have to pry Madison’s problem out of her.” Her gaze slides to me and she winks.

  With a giggle, Zoey holds it against her chest for a second, all smiles, before she carefully puts it back in the bag. “Thank you so much, Piper. It’s just what my office needed.” She takes a second to wrap an arm around Piper, giving her a hug before scrambling out of the booth to pick up the huge box she’d brought in. “This one’s for Quinn.” She wrinkles her nose as we have to make room on the table for the box.

  Curiously, it’s very lightweight.

  Quinn pulls the wrapping paper off, then pokes around for a minute through Styrofoam pieces. “Hang on, there’s another box.” Lips twitching with laughter, she pulls out another wrapped box. “Well, at least we can take the big box off the table.” She opens it, finds another wrapped box inside of that one, repeat. She eyes Zoey carefully. “Is the real gift the laugh you’re having over there?”

  Zoey can’t contain herself. “My mom used to do this for me at Christmas to make it more fun. Sorry,” she giggles, “I think the gift is in that one.”

  Quinn pulls it open to find a mug and a gift card to our local coffee shop inside. She smirks as she reads the saying on the side. “‘Science doesn’t care what you believe.’” Snorting with laughter, she exclaims, “Too funny. Okay, all that unwrapping was worth it. Thank you, Zoey.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Quinn passes a bag over to Hadleigh. “For our resident naughty girl.”

  “Uh-oh. Now I’m scared. You all trusted Quinn with my gift?” Hadleigh looks at all of us, an expression of mock-fear in her eyes.

  I can’t help but laugh. “None of us knew who had whom. Luck of the draw, girlfriend.”

  “Right. Here goes nothing.” Hadleigh quickly pulls a book out of the bag and flips it over to take a look at the title. “Oh. My. God. So funny.” She turns it around for everyone else to see. “Bad Girls through History.” She giggles. “So perfect for me in so many ways. Thank you.”

  Quinn snorts. “Wait until you read some of that. Definitely don’t use it in your world history class.”

  Hadleigh grins wickedly. “I can’t wait to look through it.” She winks at Quinn, then pins her gaze on Sophia. “Okay, one last gift. Obviously, I had Sophia.” She hands her a small gift bag, and covers her mouth with her hand. I can see out of the corner of my eye that she’s already trying not to laugh.

  Piper’s eyes meet mine across the table and she mouths, “Do you know what’s in there?”

  I shake my head with a quick shrug. I really don’t, but knowing Hadleigh, it’ll be good.

  Sophia takes a deep breath and gives Hadleigh the stink eye. I think we all know this is most likely not a science mug to match Quinn’s if it’s coming from Hadleigh.

  Sophia dips her hand in and comes out with … edible underwear.

  Oh, Hadleigh.

  The whole table freezes for a second before bursting into laughter.

  Piper is the first to be able to speak. “Oh my gosh, Hadleigh.” She giggles. “I can’t believe you.”

  Hadleigh grins devilishly, holding both hands up. “What? They’re engaged now. We all know what they are up to.”

  Quinn rolls her eyes. “When’s the wedding again? You’re going to end up pregnant before you get down the aisle.”

  Sophia’s eyes gleam with excitement. “The middle of June.”

  “Doesn’t she look just blissfully happy?” Piper interrupts, patting Sophia’s shoulder and giving her a goofy, margarita-fueled smile.

  “It’s all the sex,” Zoey snickers behind her hand as our gazes all snap to her.

  My eyes widen, and before I know what I’m doing, the words fall right out of my tipsy mouth on a giggle. “Heath must really know what he’s doing.”

  “Ew, gross!” Quinn shudders, making me laugh harder. “You remember I have to work with the two of them in the same department, right?”

  Amid more lighthearted laughter, Hadleigh nods knowingly, and I see the naughty look in her eyes right before she very solemnly says, “He definitely knows how to dick her down.”

  No sooner are the words out of Hadleigh’s mouth than Piper chokes on some water and Zoey snorts loudly, then covers her mouth, a horrified look on her face.

  We devolve into one booth of six hysterical women in no time flat.

  These women. I have never felt so sure that I’ve finally found my tribe. I feel like I belong when I’m with them.

  Now, if only I could get the other pieces of my life in order.

  Chapter 2

  Shawn

  I’ve only just come out of the stockroom from doing some inventory, but whatever Sophia and her friends are talking about over there sure must be amusing. It’s all excited chatter, gales of laughter, and every once in a while, a giggle-snort catches my attention. If I strain to hear, snippets of their conversation drift to my ears. Whether or not it’s a good idea to listen in is debatable.

  The brunette sitting on my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s right must be feeling her margarita because she doesn’t seem to realize how loudly she’s talking. It’s like her volume has accidentally been turned all the way up.

  “We aren’t talking about C-O-C-K. This is a book club.”

  Oh, boy. Did I just hear her spell out what I think I did? I stifle a chuckle and try to mind my own business. My face flushes red. Definitely not a conversation that I need to overhear.

  In the same moment I decide maybe I should go find some earplugs, the women dissolve into fits of laughter. “Piper, you can just say it, you don’t have to spell it.” Tears stream from Sophia’s eyes, and her body shakes with amusement.

  I head out from behind the bar and stride purposefully toward the back hallway on the pretense of needing something—anything—because I don’t want them to see me howl with laughter. I shake my head as I near their table and attempt to avert my eyes. Their supposed “book talk” is some funny shit.

  As I walk past their table, my gaze flicks over to the group for just a split second. My body startles in recognition of a familiar face, but I continue on to the storage room.

  I’d be able to pick Madison out of any crowd. That long, thick, curly mane of hair is impossible to control, so she just lets it float around her shoulders and do what it will. It’s been like that ever since I can remember. She’s someone I was aware of in high school, and then I’d gotten to know her better when she’d dated my best friend right after we all finished up our respective college degrees. Madison. I roll her name around in my mind, thinking about how I’d actually asked Heath about her just the other day. I’d spotted Sophia out with Madison a couple of times and was curious to know how she’d been since I’d last spoken to her. I remember her as a sweet, sensitive girl—she definitely hadn’t deserved what Chase had done to her.

  It’d been a long time since I’d seen her at all, and now it’s happened for a third time in just a few weeks.

  Seeing her again is dredg
ing up all sorts of memories—things I’d tried to shove way down deep and forget about. At the same time, though, there’s just something about her; something that makes me want to take a chance and talk to her again.

  When I finally return from the storage room with a roll of paper towels in hand, the ladies are scooting out of the booth, exchanging hugs. A few of them take off pretty quickly, but Sophia, Madison, and another girl who I seem to remember as another science teacher, stick around chitchatting. Quinn, maybe? I’m not great with names, but give me a song, and I’ll remember every last lyric.

  “Hey, Shawn, come here a sec, would you?”

  With a slightly raised brow, I wander through the tables toward Sophia and her friends. “Hey. Did your book club meeting or whatever go well?”

  “Our ‘whatever,’” she cackles. “Yeah. That sums it up nicely.” She shoots her friends a sassy grin. “I want to introduce you to some of my new friends. This is Quinn, who I think you may have met before. She works with me and Heath in the science department.” She gestures to the tall, thin brunette with hazel eyes.

  I nod and hold out a hand to her. I guess my memory is better than I thought. “Nice to see you again, Quinn. How the hell you put up with Sophia and Heath all day, I’ll never know.”

  She chuckles, shaking my hand. “Your guess is as good as mine. It’s been a wild ride so far this year.”

  Sophia pokes her in the stomach. “Hey!” She gives us both a fake pout and then gestures to Madison, whose pale skin has flushed pink from her neck to her cheeks. “And this is Madison. She’s our librarian.” Sophia winks at me, making me assume she’s already heard from Heath that I was asking about her.

  Fucking hell, Heath. He wasn’t supposed to have said anything to Sophia. So much for just casually mentioning that I’d seen his fiancée with a new friend—a friend I happened to know. I didn’t mean for him to actually say anything to Sophia, knowing how she delights in her matchmaking talents.

  I hadn’t been asking for a reintroduction. I’d just been … curious about the girl I used to know. My former best friend’s ex. I’d do well to remind myself that this is the girl Chase had boasted he was going to marry … that is, until he screwed things up so badly. Total idiot.

  As I look into Madison’s bold jade-green eyes and hold out my hand, my throat goes dry. She’s even more gorgeous now. She accepts my handshake with a cautious grin. Some unknown feeling hits me square in the chest when our hands connect. I blow out a quick breath and try to follow the conversation, even though my thoughts have scattered in a dozen different directions.

  Her shoulders lift to her ears and she giggles—a sound so pure, it works its way inside me, warming me to my very soul. “Shawn and I actually know each other already, Sophia. Sorry to burst your matchmaking bubble.”

  Caught by surprise, laughter barks out of me. “I see you are getting acquainted with the meddling woman who has weaseled her way back into my brother’s heart.”

  Sophia looks from Madison to me and back to her again. “Well, I thought it was worth a shot with your little issue, Madi.”

  “Thanks, but I used to date his friend.” Madison wraps an arm around Sophia, and I notice the two of them sway on their feet just a tiny bit. Hmm. Maybe it’s time for some water.

  “Right.” I have no idea what to make of her comment, but I need to talk about something else. I jerk a thumb toward the bar. “Why don’t you all come sit over at the bar with me. I assume you’re waiting on Heath?”

  They nod and follow me over, each taking a seat on a stool. Madison sits directly in front of me. I don’t bother asking, but pour a glass of water for each of them and slide the drinks across the bar.

  There’s something that I’ve only admitted to myself—I’d wished, more than once, that it had been me dating Madison instead of Chase. But she’d been one hundred thousand percent off limits as my best friend’s girl.

  Back then I still had eyes and a brain, so I couldn’t help but see Madison and appreciate her beauty, inside and out. It hadn’t been easy for me to hang out with the two of them feeling as I had, but I’d done it.

  Fortunately for me, it hadn’t been long after she and Chase had gotten together that I’d met and started dating Dana. She’d provided the distraction I’d needed from the growing, unrequited, impossible feelings I’d developed for Madison.

  There’d been a few times we’d gone out for drinks as a foursome, and I remember many of the conversations I’d had with Madison revolving around her trying to find a job. She’d just finished up her degree in library science and had struggled to find an open position. I remember thinking it had been adorable how excited she’d been when she landed the job as the librarian at the high school.

  I study Madison for a second, bits and pieces of memories bombarding me. My favorite is a night out at a karaoke bar when she’d sung numerous times. Her voice might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. I’d listened with my eyes closed as her dreamy, breathy voice had flowed over me like thick honey.

  My attention returns to the three ladies, who alternately seem to be steadying each other on their seats. One of my favorite parts of my job is observing people and their interactions. I can’t even help but be amused by these three. I’ve always found women to be more interesting to study after they’ve had a few drinks because they are each so different.

  For instance, Quinn has come completely out of her shell, talking and laughing, and seems younger than the quiet, in-control woman who had come in earlier. Sophia, aw, hell. Sophia isn’t that different yet, but just wait. If she gets too much further into her cups, she’ll mistake me for Heath. She has the world’s best alcohol goggles ever. And then there’s Madison. I eye her for a moment—she’s totally not paying attention to me. In fact, she’s turned quiet and introspective. Sure, she smiles and laughs when it’s appropriate, but I can see the gears in her head working so hard that she has smoke coming out of her ears. Each woman is completely unique in her personality, as is the change brought on with alcohol consumption.

  Men? We’re easy. We think with our dicks half the time as is. Then we get drunk and think solely with our dicks. And then we act like dicks. And then everything goes all to hell from there, which is why bar fights break out. That’s my theory, anyway, based on years of research and observation from behind the bar.

  The bell above the door jingles and in walks Heath with my niece, five-year-old Ava, in his arms. “There’s Fia now, see?”

  Sophia turns on her stool, hops down, and bends over, holding her arms out to Ava as Heath sets her on her feet. “Hey, pumpkin! How are you?”

  My heart squeezes in my chest. Someday. Someday I’ll have that.

  “I’m good, Fia. Daddy says I just have one more day of school and then Santa’s coming!” She gives Sophia a big grin, several of her teeth adorably missing.

  Sophia smiles right back at her and delivers a peck to her little nose. “Yep, soon. Santa’s coming soon.”

  Heath looks up at me with a quick flash of a grin as he looks at the line up in front of me. “How’d things go tonight, ladies?”

  “Pretty fun, I’d say.” Quinn slides off the stool and grasps at the bar top as her legs decide whether they want to hold her up or not.

  Heath tries to cover his smile with a cough. “You need a ride, Q?”

  “Yeah,” she giggles. “Your brother makes a mean margarita.”

  I shrug at him, my eyes comically wide for effect. “Same damn margarita I always make.” I chuckle, shaking my head. “They seem to have hit a few of these ladies just right.”

  “How about you, Madison?” Heath helps Sophia into her coat, and then does the same for Quinn. “You need a ride home? The chauffeur is about to leave.”

  I glance at Madison, who seems to still be off in another world. “I think she’s staying for a bit.”

  Madison finally looks up, startled to find everyone leaving. “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to have some more water, then I
’ll walk home. I don’t live far from here.”

  I shake my head. “You won’t be walking. Too cold.” I glance at Heath, Sophia, and Quinn, who are looking at me curiously. I wave them on their way. “I can get her home. Don’t worry about it.”

  I don’t know what they’re thinking. No, wait, that’s a lie. I do know what they are thinking from the looks on their faces, but one hello doesn’t mean jack. Helping someone home doesn’t mean much more.

  “Madison, are you good with that?” Quinn calls to her from the doorway.

  She swivels on her stool to wave at them. “Yeah, I’m fine. See you guys at school.”

  “Okay. Time to head out, then.” Heath corrals the two women and Ava in front of him, and they exit to the steadily dropping temperatures outside. “Shawn, I’ll be by tomorrow for a drink. See you at school, Madison.”

  Madison gives them a small smile. “Bye, guys.”

  Sophia punches her fist into the air on the way out, glancing over her shoulder at us. Her words drift to me as she whisper-shouts, “My work here is done!”

  Great. The matchmaker still thinks she’s on the job.

  As the door shuts, I go back to cleaning up, preparing the bar for the next shift. The door opens again, bringing Lenore in, the bartender who will be working the rest of the evening, and I give her a wave and a nod as she heads for the office. She’ll be out in a few minutes, and then I’ll be able to get Madison home.

  I pat the bar in front of Madison and push another glass of water across to her. “You okay there?”

  “Hmm?” She glances around. “Oh. Yeah, sorry.”

  “You’ve been thinking hard about something.” I rest my hands on the top of the bar, trying to accurately assess just how tipsy she is. I don’t think she’s that bad off. It seems more that she’s become really preoccupied by whatever she’s worrying over. And it is some sort of worry. I can see the complex emotions on her face, wave after wave of them.

  She takes a long drink of the water, her throat working to swallow as I watch her. She then props her elbow on the bar, holding her head up with her hand. “Yeah. I tend to think too much when I drink.”