by A. K. Evans
Of course, there was also the fact that he had that voice and was everything that attracted me to a man.
I hadn’t told Scarlet about him. Part of that was because I’d been so focused on all the other shit going on in my life, but mostly it was because I wanted to keep him to myself. Talking about him would make him real. And yes, I knew he was real, but it was only in what happened between us on that flight. That’s it.
I had a feeling that if I shared him with Scarlet, I’d end up feeling more regret about not finding a way to stay connected with him than I already did. And right now, that was the last thing I needed.
Realizing I’d never see Deck again and that Scarlet had a good point about me possibly wanting to have something with this guy Kieran down the road, I put my hand in hers and grumbled, “Okay, okay. We’ll pick out something for me to wear.”
Considering the number of dresses I had hanging in my closet, I was surprised at how quickly Scarlet narrowed the selection down. Ultimately, I decided on one of my minidresses. She’d picked out several, but I selected the emerald green one. It reminded me of Deck’s eyes. The dress was sleeveless with a V neckline. The skirt of the dress was ruched, and the back was open down to just a few inches above the top of my ass. It hugged my curves, and it made me feel good when I wore it. I hoped it would do the same for me tonight.
As I walked with her to the door so she could leave and be home before Ryker got there, she asked, “Do you want us to come by and pick you up tonight?”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” I said. “I’ll just drive myself or call for a ride there.”
“Are you sure? We don’t mind stopping over to get you,” she pressed.
“You don’t trust that I’m going to show up, do you?” I countered.
She bent her arms at her elbows, lifted her palms, and shrugged her shoulders. “Can you blame me?” she retorted.
A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, and I said, “If you want to try to convince your man, who doesn’t like me very much, to come and pick me up, knock yourself out.”
“Ryker loves you,” she assured me.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s debatable,” I mumbled.
Scarlet giggled, hugged me, and said, “Okay, we’ll be back here to pick you up tonight. Go for the sultry look on the makeup. I want you to knock Kieran’s socks off.”
I didn’t want to knock Kieran’s socks off. I wanted to knock Deck’s socks off.
“Yeah, yeah. Get your ass home to your man,” I ordered.
“See you soon, Elise,” she shouted as she took off toward her car.
Once she pulled out of my driveway, I closed the door and sighed. While I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of going out to party tonight, I figured it would at least do what Scarlet said. It’d get my mind off everything I was continually thinking about with the business. And as far as things were going with that, I could do little to change it on a Friday night. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to give myself a break.
And in the end, I might meet a nice guy. He wouldn’t be Deck, but as far as I was concerned, Deck was a fantasy. Fantasies weren’t real.
I pulled my T-shirt over my head and looked at the time. I’d stalled enough. It was time to go.
Except for Ryker, my co-workers had spent the remainder of the afternoon egging me on about Elise. I got it. They wanted to see me happy with someone. And since Ryker’s woman had already declared that I was her friend’s type, Nash wasn’t even an option. I appreciated where their hearts were; I just had caught someone else in my sights.
It was no surprise that I was happy to finally leave work and come home for a couple of hours before I had to head out and meet up with them again. While I didn’t think they’d be ridiculous about anything once Elise was there, I knew there was still going to be a fair amount of odd and encouraging looks throughout the night.
I hoped that Ryker would find a way to step in and lighten the air if things got too tense. Quite frankly, even though I hadn’t yet met Elise, I felt terrible for her. I wasn’t sure she knew what she was walking into tonight. For that reason, I would do my best to try to make her as comfortable as possible, especially considering what Ryker had told me earlier today about her.
I shook my head as I looked down at my feet. How did all of us going out for Logan’s birthday turn out to be a matchmaking event for me, especially when I hadn’t even agreed to it?
Grabbing my keys, my wallet, and my phone, I walked out to my truck. Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into the lot at Lou’s. As I walked to the restaurant’s front door, I heard, “Yo, Kieran.”
Turning, I found Nash jogging toward me. I waited, and when he was beside me, he threw his arm around the back of my neck and asked, “You ready to meet your lady tonight?”
“Stop,” I said. “This poor girl is going to be horrified and probably never speak to Scarlet ever again after dealing with all of you tonight.”
“Oh, come on,” he replied. “You know we’ll be on our best behavior in front of her. At least when she’s paying attention. But you’re fair game.”
“Do I have to remind you that you’re still single?” I returned. “Everything you do to me is coming back to you when everyone tries to manage your personal life. Fuck, I don’t know what’s worse… all of you or my family.”
He burst out laughing as we walked inside. “Maybe that should tell you something.”
Turning toward him, I asked, “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
He shrugged. “That we’re all right, and you need a woman.”
I shook my head and looked to my right. Logan, Kendall, Knox, and Avery were all here. Jerking my head in their direction, I said, “Let’s go.”
“Hey, guys,” Avery greeted us.
“Hey,” I replied.
“Yo,” Nash returned.
“You guys look nice,” Kendall declared. She might have been saying it to both of us, but she was looking at me. And there was no missing the devious look in her eyes.
I shot her a disappointed look and pleaded, “Not you, too.”
Her shoulders came up to her ears as she feigned innocence and argued, “What can I say? I’m a bundle of love now that Logan and I are engaged.” Logan slid his arm around her waist and tucked her tighter to his side. “Besides, Elise is gorgeous, Kieran. Just wait until you see her.”
I ignored her, looked at Logan, and said, “Happy Birthday, man.”
He chuckled, knowing I was doing anything I could to change the subject, and replied, “Thanks.”
“Is she coming with Ryker and Scarlet?” Nash asked.
“Jesus, Nash,” I clipped. “Let it go for five minutes, please.”
Nash turned to stand in front of me. He put his hand on my shoulder and urged, “Roll with it, man. Just roll with it. You’ve got to learn to let loose a little bit.”
“I’m plenty loose,” I assured him.
I was. Not like him, of course. Nash was the most laid back guy I knew. But I wasn’t some uptight guy either. I preferred just to let things happen naturally and take them as they came.
Half a second later, Nash’s eyes shifted behind me, and his grip tightened on my shoulder. “Alright, so listen,” he started. “I realize what I said in the office about not wanting any part of a girl who might be into one of my best friends, but I’m seriously going to reconsider that if you don’t jump on this.” His eyes returned to mine. He lowered his voice and said, “You’re a fucking fool if you pass this girl up.”
With any luck, she’d decide she liked Nash more, and I could get myself out of this whole thing.
I took a deep breath before I turned around to look at where the rest of my friends had their eyes pointed.
That’s when I was grateful I’d taken in that deep breath. Because I stopped breathing. It was her.
Fuck.
It was Flynn. She was walking right toward us with Scarlet and Ryker by her side.
Or, she had been walking.
&n
bsp; The second she saw my face, she stopped.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
She looked horrified.
And me? I couldn’t stop myself from grinning at her.
Because seeing her in that dress… well, there was nothing to be mad about.
It was him.
Deck was here.
My heart was pounding so hard in my chest; I was certain everyone within a three-mile radius could hear it.
He wasn’t supposed to be here. I wasn’t supposed to see him again. And now, everything I’d hoped for and dreaded at the same time was staring me right in the face.
And staring was a term I’d use lightly to describe what he was doing. He was burning a hole right through me with the intensity of his gaze.
He was overpowering. Penetrating. Piercing.
It was all I could do to stay upright.
Not realizing that I’d stopped, for reasons of self-preservation, short of the group she and her man were leading me to, Scarlet reached out for my hand and tugged me forward. Since my brain had stopped functioning, I couldn’t react the way I wanted to and hold my ground. My body unwillingly and unwittingly propelled forward.
A moment later, my eyes still hadn’t left his. But where I was sure I looked terrified, Deck was grinning at me.
There was nothing but raw, all-consuming pleasure leaking from him. It was in his eyes, his smile, and the subtle movement of his fingers my eyes vaguely noticed at his sides.
When Ryker and Scarlet came to a halt, my best friend let go of my hand and reached her opposite one out toward him. Just as she was about to speak, his voice rumbled.
“Flynn?”
I thought I’d fall to the ground hearing him speak to me again.
“Deck?” I rasped.
“What?” Scarlet said from beside us, her confusion apparent. “No, Elise, this is Kieran Decker. Kieran, this is my best friend, Elise Flynn.”
My eyes blinked rapidly. He used his last name. We both used our last names. What were the chances we’d both given each other something personal without the other knowing it?
Was this what shock felt like? No. It couldn’t have been. I felt shocked plenty over the last couple of weeks. This was something else. Or, maybe what I’d experienced with the company hadn’t been shock, and this was. Perhaps that had been something else. What it was, I didn’t know. And right now, I couldn’t begin to consider what it was either.
“Sweetheart, I think they already know each other,” Ryker’s voice broke into my racing thoughts as he pointed out the obvious to Scarlet. Of course, even though he’d figured out that much, Ryker was still confused and asked, “How do you two know each other?”
For the first time since we’d locked eyes on one another, Deck looked away. No. Not Deck… Kieran. Kieran looked away. He focused his attention on Ryker and asked, “Remember the girl I told you I met?”
He told Ryker he met me?
Ryker must have nodded or given some other silent confirmation that he remembered. I didn’t know for sure because I still hadn’t taken my stunned eyes off Kieran. It wasn’t like I had a choice. The man demanded that kind of attention.
“That girl was Elise,” Kieran declared.
My eyes began to drift down over his body. I thought he was incredible sitting beside me on a plane. Seeing him standing in front of me now, looking at me the way he had when we first made eye contact, I had an inkling that I didn’t know just how incredible this man was. He was perfection—top to toe.
I swallowed hard, wondering what I was going to do now.
“I thought you said you met someone over the break,” Ryker countered.
“I did,” Kieran insisted. He glanced over at me, and the corners of his mouth tipped up before he clarified, “I guess I should have been a bit more specific about that. It was at the tail end of my break. Elise and I were on the same return flight from New York.”
The way he said my name. I could die now and be happy.
Part of me was wishing I would because I couldn’t even begin to process everything that was happening. Hadn’t I experienced enough fucked-up things over the last few weeks? Why did I have to walk into this tonight, too?
“Elise?” Scarlet called, her voice apprehensive.
Though it took a massive effort, I tore my gaze from Kieran and looked at my friend. “Yeah?” I croaked.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
No. No, I was definitely not okay. Even though it might have made me look like a crazy woman, I couldn’t lie about it.
So, I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. Um, I’m really sorry, but I have to go,” I began to fret.
I could feel the blood rushing in my veins, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, and I could barely take in any air because my lungs seemed to have stopped functioning.
I felt a bit foolish, a little crazy, and a lot unstable.
My eyes swept through the group of people standing in front of me. Well, all of them except for him. I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to look at him again, knowing I had to walk away.
“I’m so sorry,” I lamented. “I have to go.”
“Elise?” Scarlet called my name again.
I focused my attention on her, felt the emotions beginning to take over, and hoped she could see that I needed this. I needed to get away.
Before either of us could say anything, Kendall suggested, “Logan, why don’t you and the guys go grab our table. The girls and I will be right back.”
Half a second later, Kendall and Avery stood beside me, putting more space and distance between Kieran and me.
And in an instant, the girls whisked me away to the ladies’ room lounge with them. Once inside, they looked at me with nothing but concern and worry on their faces.
“I hope you don’t mind I sort of took charge back there,” Kendall started. “But, I could see you were starting to panic.”
“Not at all. Thank you for doing that,” I replied.
“Are you okay?” Avery asked. “What happened?”
Taking a deep breath, I confessed, “I met him a few weeks ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Scarlet wondered.
She was my best friend. Scarlet had been there for me through so much, and I’d done the same for her. I hated to think that withholding this from her was going to ruin what we had. “I’m sorry, Scarlet,” I lamented, tears filling my eyes. “I just… everything has been so awful the last couple of weeks, and he was the one good thing. I was holding on to him for myself.”
She shook her head and put her hand on my arm. “I’m not mad, Elise,” she insisted. “But if you knew you were going to be seeing him tonight, why didn’t you say something then? You don’t seem like you prepared for this.”
“I’ve never seen someone look so horrified in my entire life,” Avery put in. “Seeing Kieran standing there was a shock for you tonight.”
The whole thing was still so muddled in my mind. I felt like a fighter in a boxing ring. Only I wasn’t winning. I was the one on the receiving end of the punches, one blow after another having me stumbling around unsure of what I was seeing in front of me.
“As he said, we met on the return flight to Wyoming,” I started. “It was the same day that my life was ruined.”
“What?” Kendall asked.
Looking at her, I replied, “You mean you haven’t heard that my company is at the center of a major scandal?”
Kendall shook her head, and confusion washed over Avery’s face.
“Long story short, I woke up that morning to find that Flynn Beauty was trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons,” I began again. “I started digging into what was happening, missed my flight, and ended up having to wait for the next one. Kieran was on that flight. Anyway, I learned a few things before the flight about what was causing all the outrage but didn’t understand where it was coming from. Since I’ve gotten back home, I learned that my lead project manager altered our formulas on a couple of our products and had tox
ic levels of certain ingredients, ingredients we never put in the products at all, added.”
Avery gasped as her hand flew up to cover her mouth.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Elise,” Kendall lamented. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “Considering I just learned that last bit yesterday, I’m still reeling and dealing with the fallout. But Scarlet convinced me to come out tonight to try and get my mind off of things. I never expected to see him.”
“Okay, so I’m confused by all of this,” Avery started. “The company stuff aside, how does Kieran fit in other than you meeting him on the flight?”
“That’s it,” I answered. “We sort of locked eyes while waiting at the gate in the airport in New York, but then we ended up sitting in the same row with one another. It wasn’t a full flight, so nobody else was seated with us.”
“Talk about good luck,” Scarlet declared.
I wanted to cry at the mention of good luck, one of the things Kieran and I had discussed. Instead, I did my best to ignore what that made me feel and explained, “He saw that I was upset before we boarded the flight and asked if I wanted to talk about it. I had been feeling so much about the whole situation, terrified that the company I’d worked so hard to build was going to collapse, that I needed to talk to someone. So, I agreed on the condition that we didn’t use our real names, and we never offered up any identifying information.”
“And he agreed,” Kendall stated.
I nodded. “I realize now it was a bad idea, but in my mind, I was going to be able to process what I’d just learned with a stranger… someone I never expected to see again.
“Well, he seems happy to see you,” Scarlet pointed out. “Why did you look so horrified?”
“He was more than happy to see you,” Avery noted. “That man looked at you like all of his wildest fantasies had just come true.”
“That’s because I was stupid and foolishly amended our deal at his request,” I murmured.
