6
Riley
It’s Wednesday, my actual birthday, and I’m meeting up with a couple of work friends at a bar to celebrate. Actually, they’re my only friends. My friends from college and grad school moved on with far-flung jobs or fled to the suburbs to start their families. I work so much I haven’t had time to keep up with everyone. In any case, I don’t expect Jack to remember I invited him to join us tonight. I haven’t heard from him since Sam’s wedding reception. Four days. No texts, no phone calls. What did I expect, the wandering bachelor would suddenly be a doting husband just because he thought a Vegas wedding would be fun? As soon as we get through Friday’s birthday dinner with my parents, we’re done. I’m not even sure why he’s willing to deal with my parents since we’re calling it off anyway. I think the real reason is that, under his playful side, way deep down under his defensive wall beats a good heart. And that’s probably why I’ve been thinking about him so much.
I have to stop thinking about him so much.
I have to stop wanting him so much.
I have to move forward. I’m officially twenty-six, soon to be single again, and there’s a certain freedom in that. I need to focus on the positive. I’m not disappointed or hurt in any way over Jack because that would imply expectations for what was never a real relationship. We were playing boyfriend and girlfriend. The man wouldn’t even kiss me for real! And it’s not like he’s shy!
My friends, Cindy and Beth, show up at my cubicle and peer in, smiling. “Ready, birthday girl?” Cindy asks.
Like me, they’re both single and in their twenties. Cindy wears her light brown hair in a short bob that highlights her petite features. Beth is retro in a cool way. Her dark brown shoulder-length hair flips up on the ends, and she regularly wears turtlenecks under her blazers with chunky pearls. They’re both hardworking accountants like me. This is a rare midweek outing for us.
I smile. “Ready.” I pull my purse from my desk drawer and follow them out.
Once we’re in the hallway heading to the elevator, Cindy says, “It’s so convenient that it’s ladies’ night at Wynn’s on your birthday. Cheap drinks and lots of men.”
“Ugh, I’m so done with men,” Beth says. “You can only get so many ‘you up?’ texts before you lose all hope. Would it be so much effort to actually take me out on a date?”
I punch the button for the elevator. “Most guys are so terrified of commitment they can’t even commit to a date. Half the time they’re a no-show.”
“Did you get stood up recently?” Beth asks.
“No, I’m just saying in general.” It’s not like I expected Jack to remember I invited him to birthday drinks. I didn’t even tell him where we were meeting up. No communication for four days is a clear signal—he’s not into me.
A few more people get on the elevator, and we get quiet. When we get to the ground floor, I follow the crowd out to the lobby. My friends and I veer to the side exit, heading toward Wynne’s.
“Happy birthday,” a masculine voice says so close I startle, stumbling to the side.
I recover and look up into the bluest of blue eyes, twinkling with good humor. “Jack! How did you find me?”
“You told me before where you worked, which I already knew from all Sam’s bragging.” He smiles, and I melt. “Looks like I caught you just in time. I texted you for the bar address, but you ghosted me.”
“I didn’t ghost you.” I stop short and pull my phone out of my purse. It’s dead. Probably because I watched my favorite show on an app on my lunch break to cheer myself up about having no Jack in my life. Irony.
Cindy elbows me in the ribs. “Uh, Riley, could you introduce us to this mysterious stranger?”
I stuff my phone back in my purse and turn to Jack, who looks absolutely delicious in a navy blue short-sleeved button-down shirt with jeans and black loafers. He’s here for my birthday, for me. He didn’t forget me. All the tension drains from my body and, in its place, a spark of pure happiness. I can’t help my goofy smile. I’m ridiculously happy he’s here for my birthday.
I realize suddenly my friends are staring at Jack too.
He smiles, a confident with the ladies smile. “I’m Jack Rourke. Riley’s boyfriend.”
“What?” Beth and Cindy say in unison.
“You never said a word,” Beth says to me, her eyes wide.
“When did this happen?” Cindy asks.
“We kept it quiet because…reasons,” Jack says. “Mind if I join you for birthday drinks?” His lips curve up in a charming smile.
“Absolutely,” Cindy gushes.
“For sure,” Beth says breathlessly.
My friends send me significant looks, and I shrug helplessly. I didn’t want to explain everything at the office. It doesn’t look professional that I got carried away in Vegas. Plus, I know it’s temporary. I’m still glad he’s here.
We head out the door. Cindy and Beth lead the way, whispering to each other. Probably about Jack and why I haven’t said a peep about him. I really didn’t think he’d show.
The bar isn’t far, only a couple of blocks away. I slow my walk to fill Jack in. “I didn’t tell people at work about our Vegas craziness. Doesn’t look professional is all.”
“No big.”
“I wasn’t sure you were coming. I haven’t heard from you.”
“I’ve been busy.”
Classic brush-off. “Yeah, I get it. Me too.”
“No, really. Remember what I told your parents about becoming project manager? Well, I met with my older brother Dylan on Sunday, and it took some time to convince him I was serious, but ultimately we hammered out a timeline to make that happen. He started me as crew chief on Monday—that used to be his job before he became CEO—so now I’m starting to get a feel for the scope of a project big picture, not just my part in it. I’ve been legit busy. There’s a lot more to it now that we’re into real estate development. The projects are on a massive scale, involving community stakeholders, our philanthropic branch, and the actual construction and all that entails with crew, permits, and inspections.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you.”
“You don’t sound happy for me.”
I know I’m setting myself up for disappointment, but would it have killed him to send one little text in four days? Then I remind myself Jack owes me nothing, and he’s really tried to make the best of things. He did text today too.
“Sorry,” I say. “Still trying to get my head around being twenty-six.”
He nudges my arm. “Oooh, so old. Wait until you’re thirty and you suddenly turn gray overnight, wrinkles and saggy skin everywhere.”
I laugh. “You’re thirty!”
He drops his jaw comically. “Am I? When did that atrocity happen?”
I shake my head, smiling.
He stops short on the sidewalk. “Hold up. I got you a birthday present.”
My heart hammers as I watch him digging in his pocket for it. Is it jewelry? “You didn’t have to do that.”
My friends keep walking toward the bar, and I let them. We’ll catch up.
“Course I did.” He dips his head, his voice a low rumble in my ear, “It’s my wife’s birthday.” A shiver of excitement goes through me.
He steps back and pulls a screw out of his pocket, handing it to me. “Stop screwing around. Wait, that’s not it.” He pulls out a rubber band. “Nope.” He tucks it back in and comes up empty-handed. He gives me a lopsided, boyish smile. “It’s me.”
I smile. “Oh, well, that’s a nice gift too.”
He leans close, and my breath catches. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Obviously I like you.” My cheeks heat.
“What’s there to blush about?” He lowers his voice. “Obviously we like each other or we never would’ve gotten married in Vegas.”
I wave airily, a weight lifting off my shoulders. “I don’t know why I’m blushing. I’m out of practice flirting or whatever.”
He cups the back of my neck an
d kisses my cheek. “The real present is I got you a brick on the sidewalk leading to our new playground. It’ll have your name engraved in it, so you’ll have a little piece of posterity in our first development project.”
I stare at him, stunned. “What a wonderful gift! Thank you!”
Cindy and Beth turn. I must’ve said that too loudly.
“What did he get you?” Beth yells.
We catch up with them.
“What’s the gift?” Cindy asks when we reach them.
“How did you two meet?” Beth asks, her voice hitting a high note.
Jack turns to me.
I can’t help my beaming smile. “He got me a brick with my name on it for a project he’s building.” It’s a really cool gift.
“How did you meet a builder?” Beth asks, checking Jack out. It’s hard not to notice his bulging biceps peeking out of his shirtsleeves and his corded muscular forearms. Plus his gorgeous…everything.
“He’s Sam’s best friend,” I say.
Beth gasps. “The hot one Sam said never—” She slaps a hand over her mouth.
Jack smiles widely and turns to me. “The hot one? That’s how you described me to your friends?”
“She’s thinking of Rick,” I say coolly and then ruin it by blushing. Rick is Sam’s roommate.
Jack barks out a laugh. “Rick’s a nice guy, but not by any stretch of the imagination is he the hot one.” He turns to Cindy and Beth. “What else did she say about me?”
They look to me, and I shake my head. I’ve described Jack as delicious, sex personified, and, ahem, man candy. They also know Sam told me to steer clear of him because of his rep.
Beth smiles. “I need a few drinks in me for that one.”
“Got ya covered,” Jack says with a wink.
Beth blushes, turns to Cindy, and they giggle, hurrying ahead to the bar.
A stab of possessiveness for my temporary husband has me bristling. I keep my voice light. “I can see why you never stick with a woman. No reason to when they fall at your feet.”
He slings an arm over my shoulders and says under his breath, “That was before we got married.”
I tell myself not to read into things. He’s a natural flirt. “Yeah, about that. I figure we can call it off Monday morning.”
“I was thinking the same thing. We’ll do the parental birthday dinner on Friday and call it good as soon as it’s business hours. I’ll leave it up to you when to tell your parents it’s over.”
“I’ll tell them soon after.”
“They’ll probably be relieved.”
Yes, but I won’t be.
Gah. This is such a mess. “You don’t have to go on Friday. I’ll tell them it ended and deal with the fallout.”
“I’m not gonna leave you in the lurch. I take responsibility for my actions, even when they go south. Especially when they go south.” One corner of his mouth curves up. “Though they never went this far south before. Usually it’s all in good fun.”
“I apologize in advance for the unfun that Friday brings.”
“At least we have tonight.”
“Come on!” Beth yells, holding the door to the bar open and gesturing for us to hurry. “Jack promised me a drink.”
“It’s ladies’ night,” Cindy says. “You’re our guy!”
I’m going to have to share Jack tonight, and I can’t help but wish I didn’t.
Jack
I didn’t know I’d be the only guy tonight. I thought it’d be a large group of Riley’s work friends. Still, it’s no problem. Her friends seem fascinated by me. It’s like they’ve never met a construction worker up close before. So far they asked me to flex my guns and show them my calloused hands. I’m like a rare breed compared to the guys they’re used to, who are glued to computers all day. I meet all kinds of women in the bar pickup scene in Williamsburg, from tech nerds (mostly from Sam’s work) to hairdressers. I don’t care what they do. I look for chemistry because that means a good time, and that’s all I ever wanted.
I glance at the birthday girl. She’s pouting, but trying not to look like she’s pouting. Frigging adorable. She doesn’t like her friends making a fuss over me. We’re at a high-top table in the bar area, her friends sitting across from us. Once her friends got a drink in them, they started blatantly checking me out. Probably helped that I told them the first round’s on me. I’ll take care of the entire bill at the end as a surprise. I don’t know why, but I love surprising people. Probably what got me started on pranks, knowing what someone else doesn’t and then springing it on them. I’m a little twisted.
I squeeze Riley’s shoulder, giving her a little attention too. Pink floods her cheeks like it does every time I touch her. Now that’s chemistry. I’m actually glad we have a buffer tonight. It makes it easier to resist her. She’s wearing a cream blouse with a gold link pattern that ties loosely at her neck in a bow. I so want to snag that bow and tug, slowly opening up her modest blouse. Yes, I’m undressing her in my mind. That’s allowed in temporary marriage situations, as long as it stays a mental exercise. Our annulment is never far from my mind.
Beth drains her second martini and leers at me across the table. “Do you have any single brothers, coworkers, or friends just like you? I mean super hot.”
That’s specific. I bite back a smile.
Riley bristles. “Why not just ask him out in front of me?”
“I didn’t ask him out,” Beth says, shooting me an embarrassed look. She leans across the table, whispering loudly to Riley, “Chill, girl. Obviously he’s into you. He’s been touching you all night.”
Riley leans forward and whispers fiercely, “Not true.”
It hasn’t been all night. Just for about an hour.
Beth rolls her eyes. “Hair tug, arm nudge, shoulder squeeze. Wake up, Riley. You might not have a name for whatever this is, but clearly he’s into you.” She turns to Cindy. “And didn’t he say he was her boyfriend earlier?”
Cindy nods solemnly.
I take a pull on my beer and watch it play out. Riley promptly shuts up and takes a sip of wine, her cheeks blazing bright pink.
I’ve always been intrigued by Riley, but I kept my distance on Sam’s orders. Now that I’ve gotten to know her better, I’m even more intrigued. There’s something so tempting about a buttoned-up woman, especially now that I’ve seen glimpses of a looser fun side in private. She even pranked me. I wonder if it’s me who brings that fun side out. She’s been a little on edge with her friends. Course, that could just be because they’ve been ogling me since I got here. Like now. Subtlety is not their strong suit.
I give her friends my most charming smile. It’s nice to have a fan club. “In answer to your question, Beth, you won’t find another me, but I do have single brothers.”
“Ooh,” Beth and Cindy say in unison.
“Names, please,” Beth says, pulling a pen from her purse and a small notepad.
“Connor, Brendan, and Beast—err, Garrett. We call him Beast because he’s overly muscled.”
She sets her pen down. “I’ll take Beast.”
“Beast sounds good to me too,” Cindy says enthusiastically.
Riley drains her wine.
Beth bites her lower lip and glances at Cindy before turning back to me. “Does he like regular girls?”
My chest puffs out. They think I’m super hot and it’ll be hard for them to compete for the equivalent. Freaking adorable, these accountants. So earnest.
I lean across the table. “C’mere, I’ll tell you a secret.” They both lean in and Riley does too. “You’re not regular girls. You’re the total package, smart and pretty, and any guy would be lucky to go out with you.”
“Aww!” Cindy and Beth say in unison.
Riley huffs.
I turn to her. “You too.”
She scowls.
Damn, it’s tough to keep three women happy at the same time. I rub Riley’s lower back. She doesn’t push my hand away.
I turn to
her friends. “Unfortunately, Beast is only twenty-three and not ready to settle down. Brendan is worse than I used to be, as in super casual. That was before I met Ry here.” I pause at their enthusiastic aww and glance at Riley. Her eyes are warm and maybe a little hopeful and that makes me warm too. I turn back to her friends. “And Con, well, he’s kinda the reserved, quiet type.”
Beth scribbles down her number. “Tell Brendan to call me if he wants to get drinks.”
Cindy sighs. “That was my choice too. I meet enough quiet guys at work and conferences. Bo-ring. If I wanted to hear myself talk, I’d just go home and talk to my cat.”
“Don’t you wish Jack had an identical twin?” Beth whispers loudly to Cindy. They giggle.
I glance over at Riley, who’s staring into her empty glass, still trying not to pout that her friends are into me. Who knew I’d be so popular with the accountant crowd? I’ve got to up the fun factor for the birthday girl. “Hey, you ladies up for a club? Cole’s isn’t far from here. It’s in a former bank, and the bar is in the old vault.”
The women exchange looks, a rapid-fire silent communication going back and forth between the three of them. I can’t tell where they’re going to land on the club thing until they get verbal again.
Cindy puts some bills on the table. “Actually, I have to study. Still need to pass part four of the CPA exam.”
I hand back her cash. “On me.”
Cindy smiles, her eyes soft. “Thanks so much, Jack.”
“Thanks, Jack,” Beth says, giving me a fist bump. “You rock.” She glances at Riley. “I’m going to call it a night too.”
Both women walk over and hug Riley, whispering to her.
“Ladies,” I say, offering my hand. They both give me a firm handshake, smiling.
I turn to Riley after they leave. “Looks like it’s just us. You up for a club?”
Her eyes brighten as she nods. Fun Riley wants to come out and play. “Let’s go.”
I signal the waiter and pay the bill. Finally, we’re on our way for birthday celebration part two.
I guide her out of the bar, one hand on the small of her back, and open the door of the bar for her. Once we’re outside, I say, “Since it’s just the two of us, I know someplace better we can go in Chelsea. It’s got a rooftop lounge with great views of the city. There’s still music and dancing up there too.”
Rogue Rascal (The Rourkes, Book 9) Page 8