Dating by Design Series - Box Set

by Jennifer Peel

  Are you home?

  Miss me?

  No. That was a lie. I made you some thank you cookies and I have some kisses for you. Can I come up? I thought maybe if he thought I was kissing him, he would let me in his apartment.

  You’re here?

  I’m in your parking lot. How come the kissing didn’t even faze him?

  Prime those lips. I’ll meet you in the lobby.

  He was going to be disappointed. I grinned evilly to myself. I grabbed the cookies and candy and headed for the stylish building. The lobby had a sitting area filled with art deco furniture. It matched the modern feel of the building and gleaming black floors. I thought about what my brothers would think if they thought I was dating a guy who lived in such a citified place. They would tease me and torture him relentlessly. I guess it was a good thing Zander and I weren’t really dating.

  The seating area had a good view of the elevators, and no sooner had I sat down than the doors opened. I was hoping to see Zander, but instead Leann reared her gorgeous head.

  Her long blonde hair fell down in beautiful waterfall curls. She had a presence of poise and command. And she looked like a million bucks in her tailored black suit with killer heels to match. She belonged in a building like this. I looked down at my t-shirt and running shorts. One of the perks of living in the South during November.

  Leann honed in on me and headed my way.

  I sat up straighter and smiled.

  Leann looked around. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

  “He’s on his way down.”

  Her jewel-toned eyes narrowed while a skeptical grin filled her face. “I find it odd that a girlfriend wouldn’t meet him in his apartment.”

  I found that odd too, but I wasn’t going to mention it, especially since Zander was coming off the elevator. His smile was all but gone when he noticed the blonde bombshell.

  Leann, on the other hand, found delight in it. “I was just telling your girlfriend, here, how strange it is that she didn’t come up to meet you. Makes me wonder how solid you two are.” She perused him like a piece of meat.

  I wasn’t going to have that. “How sweet of you to worry.” I stood up, leaving Zander’s treats on the table in front of me. I headed for my pretend boyfriend, who was looking uncharacteristically worried, and joined his side.

  He wrapped his arm around my waist and I loved every second of it.

  I ran my finger down his cheek and smiled. “You see, there’s a perfectly good explanation. We’re one of those old-fashioned couples. We’re saving ourselves for, you know, the big day. And every time I’m alone with him, it’s such a huge temptation, so we’ve just decided it’s better to stay out in the open. But even then,” I pulled myself closer to him, “it’s so hard to keep my hands off him. I mean, can you blame me?”

  Zander’s jaw dropped and I tipped his chin up for him, while trying not to laugh at his reaction or hers.

  She stood there stunned at least for a moment. “I find it hard to believe—”

  “I know, right? I couldn’t believe it either when Zander told me that he was saving himself for that special someone.”

  Zander cleared his throat. “Darlin’, let’s not air all our secrets.”

  “Sorry, honey.” I placed my hand on his chest. “I just love you so much and I want the whole world to know.”

  He cracked a small smile before we both turned to face a confused Leann. Her face was bunched up and she kept shaking it. “I got the impression . . . I mean, I heard from . . .”

  “Yeah.” I smirked. “You really shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” I meant every word of it.

  “Well, mazel tov.” She left in a huff.

  I waved goodbye to her. “Thank you. We’ll be sure to send you an invitation.” I was about ready to laugh until I met Zander’s eyes, which didn’t look happy at all. And he sure let go of me as fast as he could.

  “What the hell, Meg? I don’t know whether to thank you or be angry at you.”

  I smoothed out my shirt and stepped back. “You’re welcome. She’ll never bother you again.”

  “And neither will any other woman in this building.”

  I waved off his concern and headed to get the cookies and candy. “If your theory is right, it won’t matter. They’ll come on to you whether they think you’re taken or not.”

  “Not now that they think I’m some thirty-one-year-old virgin.”

  “Then who wants to be with them anyway, if they look down on that?”

  “I do.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Tell them I’m crazy and you broke up with me.” I picked up the treats and shoved them toward him. “Thanks for helping me last night. I’ll see you at work.”

  He stared down at them before reluctantly reaching for them.

  “I didn’t poison them.”

  He took them, but still acted as if he was unsure. “I’ve never had a woman make me cookies before.”

  I shrugged. “See you later.” I turned and walked toward the exit.

  Zander caught up to me holding up the bag of candy. “Hey, this is false advertisement.”

  “The bag is clearly marked kisses.”

  “How did your test go?”

  I paused before opening the door. “I think it went really well.” I spoke into the door before pushing it open. He didn’t say another word before I made it outside. I took a deep breath, taking in the cool but comfortable fall air. I felt like an idiot for coming over here. In my head, I said I was only doing it to say thank you. But I could have given him the cookies at work on Monday. I knew it was because I wanted to see him, even though I knew the kind of man he was. And now I’d ticked him off. It was probably a good thing.

  “Meg.”

  I stopped, surprised to hear him call my name. I turned to see him strutting toward me. He looked fantastic in his t-shirt and faded blue jeans. They made him look lean and masculine.

  He looked me over from head to toe. He lingered on my bare legs. “Where are you going dressed like that?”

  “The opera.”

  He smirked as he neared. “Thanks for the cookies, but I want to exchange the kisses.” He was close enough now that my senses were enveloped by him.

  I held my breath. “I have a no return policy.”

  He leaned in with barely enough room for the plate of cookies between us. “That’s too bad.”

  It was. I mean, it was a good thing. I had to step away from him. It was like his cologne turned off my brain. “I’m going to go for run,” I stuttered. If I didn’t leave, I was bound to do something stupid.

  “Do you want company?”

  “Um . . .” Yes.

  He answered my unspoken thought. “Give me a minute to change.”

  “I was going to drive to a nearby trail, so—”

  “I have a better route we can walk to.” He turned and left, leaving me to stand there speechless.

  I should leave. Really, I should. Leave, I kept telling myself. I didn’t. Instead, I stretched out my hamstrings, maybe did some pacing; some definite deep breaths happened. We’re friends, I kept telling myself. And he only wanted me to kiss him so he could say he won. It wasn’t happening. Now I wouldn’t even let him kiss me. I knew if I did, I would be hooked.

  He was down in no time. He had swapped his jeans for athletic pants and his flip-flops for running shoes. But the grin that drew me in was still there, and his presence. “I ate one of the cookies. Not bad.”

  “Was that a compliment?”

  “You can take that however you’d like.”

  “That’s the last time I make you anything.”

  “Why don’t I think that’s true?”

  “Where’s this trail?” I walked away from him. Such arrogance.

  He laughed and followed after me. “It was good.”

  I kept on walking.

  “Really good. Best cookie ever. And by the way, you’re going the wrong way.”

  I stopped and met his playful gaze. “Maybe
I should go home.”

  “No way. You owe me now.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Let’s start with how you just emasculated me. And then you brought me about five thousand calories I’m going to need to run off. And I like having something good to look at while I work out.” He directed me in the right direction and we began to head that way.

  “Do you really think it’s unmanly?”

  “What?”

  “Waiting to sleep with someone you love.”

  “I don’t fall in love.”

  “Right, I forgot.”

  We walked in awkward silence toward the lake near his apartment complex. It was a breathtaking view, with hundreds of trees in the vicinity showing off their autumn foliage. It was the one thing Wyoming lacked. Back home it seemed like we went straight from summer to winter. And the trees didn’t have the array of colors they did here.

  “This is beautiful.”

  “I thought you might like it. And don’t worry, I’ll take it slow so you can keep up.”

  “We’ll see who’s breathing harder when we’re done, city boy.” I took off on the path that wound around the lake.

  Zander easily caught up and kept pace with me.

  “What are you up for? 5k? 10k?”

  At first his eyes widened, but he recovered in no time. “I’ll go as long as you want to.”

  “All right.” I checked the fitness tracker around my wrist. “I usually try and keep an eight-minute-mile pace for a 10k, does that work for you?”

  I swore he puffed out his chest. “Not a problem.”

  We made small talk the first few kilometers, but I noticed Zander started concentrating more on his breathing the farther along we got. I may have picked up the pace a tad for fun. It wasn’t brutal, but it wasn’t a walk in the park. At the 5k mark I realized I was doing a seven-minute-mile pace, and Zander’s face was unusually red. I was going to call him on it, but I figured I had “emasculated” him enough for the day.

  I grabbed my side. “Ouch.” I slowed my pace and faked a stitch in my side.

  “Are you okay?” He could barely get it out. His breathing had become labored.

  “Do you mind if we slow down or take a break? I have this killer stitch in my side.”

  His paced slowed to a crawl in a second flat. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  I came to a stop and continued to rub my nonexistent pain.

  Zander was bent over breathing harder than was probably healthy.

  “Maybe if we sit down in the grass?” I suggested.

  He didn’t need me to ask twice. He hit the grass and lay down.

  I sat next to him and tried not to laugh. “Are you all right?”

  “Perfect.” I barely understood him

  “Are you sure?”

  He opened his eyes and focused in on me. “Your side doesn’t hurt, does it?”

  I laughed. “Nope.”

  He sat up, still breathing hard. “It’s been a while.”

  “I could tell.”

  “You’re getting too much pleasure out of this.”

  “Probably. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. I should have brought you some water.”

  He took a few deep breaths. “I’m fine.”

  “Okay.” I decided to lie back on the soft grass and watch the few wispy clouds swirl above me.

  He lay back down and joined me. His handsome head turned my way. “Do I hand over my man card now, or do you have any more fun in store for the day?”

  My head turned toward him. Our faces were only inches apart. Too close, too intimate, but again, I didn’t want to turn away. “I’m sure I could think of something.”

  “I bet you could.”

  “You don’t have anything to prove to me. And if you did, you might be in trouble.” I gave him my best wicked grin.

  I expected a snappy comeback or a smirk, but instead he reached up and tucked some sweat dampened hair behind my ear. “Why do I believe you?”

  Chapter Eleven

  I almost kissed him. Lying there so close together, his gentle touch and the way his eyes penetrated mine had me not thinking straight. And it seemed so natural. If he hadn’t abruptly sat up, I would have.

  I wonder if he knew. He was on the quiet side as we walked back to his place. “I’m going to need you to stage a breakup scene with me. I need to restore my reputation.”

  That caught me off guard. “What about Leann?”

  “I think you turned her off for good. I can get another fake girlfriend.”

  “Then you don’t need me to stage anything, just bring the new woman around.” I picked up my pace.

  “That could take a while. I can’t pick just anyone to play my girlfriend. I have standards.”

  “Well, I’m out, so you better find someone quick. Or who knows how many women you may lose the chance to be with in the meantime.” His apartment complex was in view, thank goodness. Feelings of anger and jealously were brewing beneath the surface.

  “What’s that tone?”

  “I don’t have a tone.”

  “Believe me, darlin’, you do. It sounds a lot like the lecture you gave me on Monday.”

  I stopped and looked up at him with furor. “I did not lecture you.”

  “It sounded an awful lot like a lecture.”

  “You’re a grown man. You can do whatever you want with whomever you like. I don’t care. I’m not your mother, certainly not your girlfriend. Heck, I don’t even know if we’re friends or why we’re having this conversation.” I didn’t run, but I walked as fast and furious as I could.

  “You sound like you care to me.” He jogged beside me.

  “Well, I don’t.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Why does it matter to you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  That stopped me in my tracks. We stood staring at one another. Did he feel the heat too?

  “I’m going to head home. Thanks for running with me.”

  “Why do you keep skirting this topic with me?”

  “Because I barely know you. And it isn’t my place to judge how you live your life.”

  “But you are judging me.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  He arched his eyebrow.

  “Maybe I am. I was just hoping that all guys weren’t like my ex-boyfriend, but I guess I was wrong.”

  “Lucas?”

  I stepped back, surprised he knew his name and remembered him. “Yeah.”

  “What was his problem?”

  “According to him, nothing. It was all me.” I turned around and headed for my truck. The wind had started up and I was getting chilled. I rubbed my arms with my hands. My body always seemed to cool way down after a workout.

  “Do you want to come in and warm up?”

  “Are you inviting me into your apartment?”

  “No.”

  “I would have said no anyway. Laundry and grocery shopping call. I’ll see you later.”

  He took my hand. “We’re friends, right?”

  I looked down at our hands. They felt too good together. “Maybe friendly coworkers who made a really dumb mistake pretending to be something they’re not.”

  “I don’t think they make a status for that on Facebook.”

  “Are you on Facebook?”

  “Hell no.”

  I pulled away from him. It was harder than it should have been. “See you Monday.” I headed for my truck

  “So you’re breaking up with me?” Why couldn’t he just say goodbye?

  “It’s what you wanted, isn’t it? You can tell all the ladies in your building you broke up with me. I would hate for you to feel emasculated.” This time I quickened my pace in the escape and he didn’t stop me. But he was still outside watching me when I drove past the building entrance to exit visitor parking. He raised his hand to wave goodbye.

  I drove off feeling ridiculous, but at least now we were done with the short-lived
charade. I was now more than ever determined to graduate and find a new job. Even though I liked my job and it paid well, it wasn’t my dream. And Zander was definitely not my dream, no matter what my body said. It didn’t matter that every time he touched me or looked at me my body sang. It was fine, though. I was going to stay away from him. No more dropping off cookies and candy.

  ~*~

  I needed to find myself some nice church boy, but I was afraid they no longer existed. I went to church on Sunday anyway. Mrs. Marshall insisted on it. She wanted Lana and I to plan the bridal shower after lunch at her home. It felt weird to plan a bridal shower with a girl still in high school, not to mention for my boss I hardly knew. But Mrs. Marshall was persuasive and I loved weddings and a good love story. And Kenadie and Jason definitely had a good one.

  Jason seemed like a decent, standup guy. Maybe he had a brother, or friends other than Zander. Or maybe when I quit Binary Search, I would be able to afford the service. There were some guys I was pretty compatible with, but there was a no dating the clients policy in place for obvious reasons. Even though Zander broke it by dating Brooke. Why couldn’t I quit thinking about him?

  I knew having lunch at Mrs. Marshall’s might involve seeing Zander, but we worked together, so avoiding him wasn’t a possibility at the moment. I didn’t bother to ask her if he was coming. I knew that would only fuel her obvious need to throw us together. She needed to get over that. We were statistically and irrevocably improbable.

  I dressed up pretty, though, just in case Mr. Right walked into church. You never knew. The weather was nippy, so I wore a cute plaid skirt, with a form-fitting turtleneck and some great black leather boots I had snagged on clearance over the summer. I had been waiting for the perfect time to wear them and today was the day.

  I walked into the quaint church and headed for the Marshall clan. The seating was different this time. Rick and Lana were sitting on the same row as everyone else. I didn’t see Renee or her sons. I wondered if trouble was brewing again for them. I hoped not. They seemed to really love each other as far as I could tell, but I couldn’t imagine it was easy when children and exes were involved.