by Kensie King
My stomach clenched. See Lucas in person? Again? I didn’t know if I could. Not even if he wanted to apologize.
“That’s all?” I asked, folding my arms.
Elise nodded. “Cross my heart. I admit, yesterday I was trying to set you up. But now that I know something happened between you guys. Not a good something. Now all I want is for you to get closure.”
Closure.
That word struck a chord in me. Mentally, I’d put Lucas in the past. I’d shoved him to the deepest, darkest corner of my brain and told myself I was moving on. But my ego was still a little bruised and my heart felt the same way.
Would an apology help with the rest? Get me past the rage I’d felt when I’d seen him yesterday?
Elise grabbed something off the desk in her room and handed it to me. It was an envelope.
“He wanted me to give you this. And just so you know, I warned him that if he even thinks about hurting you again, I’d chop off his balls.”
“That’s sweet.”
She grinned. “I know. Luke is one of my oldest friends, but that doesn’t mean I like some of the things he’s done. If you want to talk about…whatever it was that happened, I’m here.”
I didn’t know if I could. It was bad enough that I’d been stupid enough to spend the weekend with Lucas and believe he might want to make something more of it. But it was worse that one of my closest friends now knew the person who had made me feel that way.
“Thanks,” I said to her and brought the envelope to my room.
Was it pathetic that I actually wanted to see him again? No. I shook my head. It wasn’t pathetic because I wanted to tell him what he’d done was despicable. I wanted him to know he’d hurt me and then I wanted to walk out with my head high.
Dumping a cup of coffee on him hadn’t been my finest moment, but now that we were a little closer to even, maybe we could discuss this like human beings.
I wasn’t going to even try to deny the fact that seeing six feet of a very muscular man wouldn’t hurt either. No matter what he’d done, Lucas was easy on the eyes.
I tore the flap of the envelope and reached inside. There was a note card, something plain and crisp with masculine handwriting on it.
Meet me for lunch, please. I’d like to fix this. You know where.
Lucas
Meet him for lunch? He was right. I knew the place. The same place we’d met the first time.
I straightened my shoulders. Fine. If he wanted to play it like this, I’d do it his way.
But I was going to make sure I had the upper hand this time.
There was no way in hell I was going to let Lucas walk out on me again. This time, he was going to be the one left wondering just what he was missing out on.
7
____________________
LUCAS
I checked my watch for the third time. Ronan—Roe—still wasn’t here yet. Maybe Elise hadn’t given him the note. Or maybe she had and Roe didn’t want to come.
I couldn’t blame him. Standing me up wasn’t half as bad as what I’d done to him.
But he didn’t strike me as that kind of person. I’d made it clear I wanted to fix this, and he seemed reasonable. Like the kind of person who’d want to put this behind us.
The door opened and someone stepped through. I was poised to rise from my seat until I saw it was a couple and not Roe.
Dammit.
The waiter walked over. “More water?”
I shook my head. One more minute. I’d give him one more minute and then I’d get the hell out of here. There were hundreds of ways to find a boyfriend in this city—sitting alone at a restaurant wasn’t one of them.
I clenched my jaw, realizing I didn’t want just any boyfriend. I wanted Ronan. His optimistic look on life, his quick smile.
The partners would eat that up.
After another minute had passed, I pulled out my wallet. I’d only had water, but I’d at least pay for the space I’d taken up for the last thirty minutes.
The door opened again. I didn’t bother to glance up until a pair of legs stepped into my line of sight.
My gaze jerked up. I was immediately consumed by him. His scent, his confident stare, the slight curve to his full lips. If I had been standing, it would have damn near knocked me on my ass.
“Ronan,” I said, shifting in my chair.
He waved off the gesture. “Don’t get up. And it’s Roe now.”
His voice was smooth and just as confident as those dark eyes that bore straight into me. Fuck. Maybe he wasn’t here for an apology at all. Maybe he was here for payback because he looked like a predator. And I was the prey.
Roe sat across from me and arched one of his eyebrows. “How have you been?”
I cleared my throat and nodded at the waiter, who seemed to be waiting for instruction. He came over and poured more water.
“Would you like anything else?” he asked Roe.
He smiled at him in a flirty way, those laughing eyes that I’d fallen for before. It made my gut clench because I was here for a reason, and I wanted that smile aimed at me.
“No, thanks,” Roe said. “This shouldn’t take long.”
After the waiter walked off, I leaned in. “Thanks for coming. I’ve been doing well. How about you?”
He shrugged, his shoulders moving dismissively in the casual suit jacket he wore over a gray sweater that brought out his eyes. This was not the Roe I remembered. Not the laid-back air about him or the length of his dark hair, sending a few sexy strands over his forehead, or the outfit that said he had important places to be, but this wasn’t one of them.
Even the smile had vanished. When I’d first met him, that was the one thing that had struck me hard. His smile. The unaffected warmth in it.
The frequency of it.
But none of that was here this time.
“I’ve been busy.” His eyes flashed with a hint of anger. “But since I don’t have a job anymore, I guess I’ve got a little extra time on my hands.”
It was a verbal punch, and one I took in stride. Him losing his job was indirectly my fault, and I felt bad about that. That’s why I was here. Or at least part of it.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said.
“Why? It was my fault.” He smiled, though there was a hard edge to it. “And it was absolutely worth it.”
“Roe,” I murmured.
“What?”
The words almost caught in my throat, and as soon as I said them, I regretted it. “This isn’t you.”
His eyes narrowed. He leaned, keeping his voice low. “How dare you act like you know me. You didn’t take much time to get to know me if I recall correctly. You have no idea who I am.”
There it was. The heat I was expecting. The anger. I knew this hadn’t left him unscathed. It hadn’t left me unscathed. I thought about Roe often. Too often. Whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not, we’d had something. Something powerful. Yes, I was the asshole who’d fucked it up, but it had been there whether we liked it or not.
And in that moment, the idea of getting it back occurred to me. Seeing Roe like this, polished and holding his own, made me want a chance with him again. Made me want to get back what we’d started.
I checked myself, lifting my water to sip and remind myself why we were here. An arrangement—that was all. One that would help us both and serve to get Roe back on his feet. A sort of apology.
“You’re right,” I said easily, stuffing aside emotion. “Things have changed. We’ve both changed. But that doesn’t change the reason why I’m here.”
“And why’s that? You said you wanted to fix this.”
“I do. I didn’t…” I spread my hands, unsure how to tell him how badly I’d fucked up. “I made a mistake. And I didn’t treat you right. I regret that every day of my life.”
He folded his arms, some of the anger leaving his face. “Go on.”
“I’m sorry.”
Roe blew out a breath. No matter how hard he tr
ied to play tough, I could see beyond that hard façade. This—these words—meant something to him.
“Thank you,” he said, moving to stand.
“Wait.”
He blinked. “What? You said you wanted to fix this. Now you have.”
“Hold on.”
But he’d already tucked his chair back into place and started toward the door. I scrambled to drop a few bills on the table before running after him.
He stood out on the sidewalk, hands tucked into his pockets as he lifted his face to the sun. Composing himself, maybe? Or simply enjoying the nice day? That was more like the Ronan I was used to. Even in the short time I knew him, I recognized that he liked to—no, needed to—wring every ounce of pleasure out of every moment.
“I wasn’t finished,” I told him.
His eyes locked on mine. “I was.”
Fuck. I couldn’t tell whether he was fire or ice right now, but it was working. He was making it clear that he was done.
“I said I wanted to fix this,” I said.
“And you did.”
“Not quite.”
This time his composure dropped. “What? What else can you possibly want? You already hurt me, Lucas. Are you trying to do it again?”
“What? No. Dammit, Roe. I said I was sorry.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Wait. Fuck.” I gripped his arm. This wasn’t going at all how I expected. “Will you please stop trying to walk off? I haven’t fixed this the way I need to.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve done enough.” He calmly pulled his arm away from me, but I didn’t miss the way his Adam’s apple moved with what looked like a painful swallow.
Shit. I hadn’t wanted to hurt him. I wanted the opposite.
I sighed and just came out with it for both our sakes. “There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
I stepped in front of him so he’d look at me. So I could meet his gaze when I said, “Say you’ll be my boyfriend.”
His expressive eyes went wide, mouth dropping open.
“You heard me,” I told him. “Say you’ll be my boyfriend.”
“Are you serious?” His laugh sounded pained. “You think that’s going to make up for what happened?”
“It will if I do it right. Elise is moving in with her boyfriend. I can give you a place to stay. A healthy stipend to get back on your feet. And you can wear that outfit every day to torture me if you want. It’s sexy as fuck and it makes me want to know what’s underneath.”
I swore I saw his lips quirk. It wasn’t a lie. I wanted to unwrap him layer by layer, and the idea of that pissed me off. No matter how much I reminded myself this was supposed to be a simple agreement that benefited both of us, having Roe in front of me was doing things to my body I hadn’t felt in a while.
“This is ridiculous.” He shoved a hand through his hair, dislodging a strand that curved down over his forehead.
“It’s not.” I brushed the hair from his forehead absently and then tucked my hands in my pockets when I realized what I’d done. “I need to settle down and you need money and a place to stay. I think it helps us both.”
“It’s going to cost you,” he said, making me blink.
He was really considering this? “Name it.”
“I’ll make a list,” he said, turning again.
“Roe, wait. Does that mean yes?”
He angled back just for a moment. His lips curved, making my feet fuse to the ground. “Yes.”
8
____________________
ROE
“Wait.” Elise paced at the end of my bed. “You’re moving where?”
I stuffed more clothes into a box, not caring if they got wrinkled. I’d send them out for dry cleaning once I got to Lucas’s place. And I’d make him pay for it.
My lips curved. I was crazy. This whole thing was crazy. And it was also perfect. Lucas said he wanted to fix this and I decided I was going to let him. I just had to tell people we were a couple and then I’d get a chance to start my life over.
As long as I kept my distance from Lucas, I’d be good. I’d get the benefit of somewhere to live and extra cash without having to worry about the complications of a relationship—especially with him.
“I’m moving in with Lucas,” I said, dumping more clothes into the already overflowing box.
I mashed them down but before I could close the lid, Elise placed her hands over the top.
“Wait,” she said again. “You’re moving in with Lucas? Why?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. He told me everything.”
“Everything?”
“All about the arrangement he wanted, having to settle down to get the promotion at work and about you trying to set him up with me.”
Elise’s mouth opened and closed before she found the words. “That was before I knew about your past. I mean, what about the history you two have?”
I shrugged and yanked the box from under her hands. “Water under the bridge.”
I said it so breezily, I almost believed it myself. I might not be completely over Lucas, but I was quickly getting there. Sure, he’d looked handsome and sexy when I’d walked into the restaurant yesterday. I’d almost turned and walked back out because I didn’t think I could face him without breaking down.
But I’d pulled it off. And I was going to prove to myself I could pull this off, too. It wasn’t just a way to get ahead and get back on my feet, but a way to prove to myself that I was completely over Lucas Stone.
And he was right about the jacket and snug jeans. I’d walk around in them all damn day if that meant he felt some of the pain I’d felt when he’d left. If it tortured him just the slightest knowing he could look but not touch.
If Lucas even felt that way about me anymore.
He probably didn’t. But his eyes had said differently when he’d seen me yesterday. There was a spark. That same spark as the first time.
For a moment, a flicker of uncertainty hit me. Was I really going to be able to live in the same apartment as the man who’d broken my heart? More, was I going to be able to compromise my beliefs for a little money and a little payback?
“Are you sure?” Elise asked, as though reading my mind.
I’d think of it like an acting job. I’d be as cool as Barbara Streisand or Cary Grant or any of my other classic movie idols who didn’t take any shit from the world, or the people in it.
But really, it was my best chance of being able to afford the theater. I told Elise once that I’d do almost anything to make that place mine, and I hadn’t lied.
“I’m positive,” I said firmly.
I was going to make Lucas squirm. I was going to show him a little bit of what it felt like to have something you wanted snatched away from you. And in the meantime, I was going to build my savings account and live in one of the most sought-after penthouses downtown.
Not a bad arrangement as far as I was concerned.
“You get to move in with Jason and I get a new start,” I said confidently. “Everybody wins.”
Even Lucas, I reminded myself. But that was fine with me. I was going to make the most of this. Reinvent myself.
And Lucas was going to pay for it.
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to do this?” Elise asked, putting her hands over the top of my box again. “I mean, separate feelings from business.”
I propped my hands on my hips. “You thought I could do it before. That’s why you were bringing him to meet me, right?”
“But that was before…history.”
“None of that matters. This is a business arrangement. I think I’ll be okay.”
I remembered the words my mom said before she died, just two short months before I came to the city, vulnerable but with stars in my eyes for what might be. You can do anything you want. Don’t let the world tell you who you are, shout it from the rooftops.
Elise nodded. “If you’r
e okay with it, then I’m okay with it.”
“Then there’s nothing left to do but pack.”
She finished helping me box up the necessities and when I heard the sound of the moving truck outside, we both walked to the front of the building.
One of the movers stood on the stoop. “Mr. Pierce?”
I nodded, my eyes widening at the amount of people who had come. “Yes.”
“We’re here to help you move. If you just point us in the right direction, we’ll get it all. Your car is across the street.”
I blinked at the stretch limousine parked on the opposite side of the street.
“I don’t have much…” I started to tell him, and then my stomach swirled with nerves when Lucas stepped out of the limo.
“No worries,” the man said. “Whatever we can do to help.”
From across the street, Lucas pulled off a pair of sunglasses and met my eyes. A quick shot of desire went straight through me, followed by a roll of anxiety.
Oh, fuck. I was making a huge mistake. Lucas wasn’t supposed to have any effect on me anymore because, like I’d told Elise, this was business.
But even in his business suit I could see the sharp lines of his biceps, the strength in his thighs and his chiseled abs. My cock twitched and I cursed under my breath.
“Get yourself together, Roe,” I whispered.
Remember Kelly Theatre. That’s all I needed to do.
I straightened my shoulders and walked across the street, stopping by the limo with a quiet greeting. Lucas leaned in as if to kiss my cheek, startling me, and I stepped back quickly, automatically extending my hand because I didn’t know what else to do. I hadn’t thought about the physical aspect of all this.
“That was nice of you to come pick me up,” I blurted.
He looked at my hand incredulously. “You want me to shake your hand?”
“This is a business agreement.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “It’s also an act. One where we pretend to be together. Would you shake your boyfriend’s hand?”
