Too Many Men

by Amber Lynn

  Mr. Murphy looked behind Reid and Sarah to the man Sarah assumed was Reid’s agent. She hadn’t appreciated how the man studied her body when they were introduced, so she’d hoped he wouldn’t be someone she needed to impress.

  “They’ve got the private room in the back all set up for us.”

  Reid turned himself and Sarah around so they could follow Glenn into the restaurant with the Murphys right behind them. The smells of cooking meat rushed at them as soon as the doors opened, causing Sarah’s stomach to turn a little. Even knowing more about the endorsement deal as far as the parties involved didn’t help calm the unease she felt being around other people.

  Glenn led them to the back room he mentioned and motioned for the couples to sit across from each other at the table, while he took a seat to the side of them at the relatively small square table. Sarah had half expected a large dining hall set up for them, but the intimate setting was more to her liking. There was less of a chance she’d be called out for not using the right fork or something.

  “So, how do you two kids know each other?” Ted asked before anyone had a chance to get settled.

  Sarah was instantly reminded how their drive time to the restaurant would’ve been better spent than her freak-out over Aaron. She at least knew Reid played hockey, but they hadn’t taken the time to get their backstory straight.

  “We actually met two nights ago at a speed dating. Glenn told me I should have a date for this and a friend suggested I give speed dating a try.”

  The truth wasn’t what Sarah expected from Reid. She reached under the table with her right hand and squeezed his thigh. She wasn’t sure what she was trying to tell him from the squeeze, or what his reply of sliding her hand further up his thigh meant. She got a little caught up in how muscular the thigh under her hand was for a moment as she tried to figure out whether she should add anything.

  “Really? So, is it a budding new romance between you or just a convenience because I requested you bring a plus-one?”

  “It’s still up in the air. I figure since you two know each other, it’s best not to pretend otherwise.”

  The smile that spread across Ted’s face was one Sarah had seen before, and it wasn’t one she enjoyed seeing. There was something lecherous about it, well, about him in general, and it always made Sarah’s skin crawl.

  “We’ll have to drink to you two figuring it out then. Rest assured that whether you’re a couple or not won’t affect us making a deal. I’m sure you didn’t know it when you picked her out, but bringing Sarah along has solidified any question in my mind whether we’ll be signing a contract tonight. If you can catch her attention, I know my money will be well spent.”

  Sarah had no idea what exactly was meant by that, and she bit her tongue to keep from asking. Knowing some of the interworking of Mr. Murphy’s life, she knew he had particular views about women. Mainly, that they belonged smiling on his arm and doing his bidding rather than having a place in a conversation.

  “I didn’t ‘pick’ her out. She made her own decision about being here.”

  There was a grit to Reid’s words that spelled trouble. Sarah wasn’t sure what specifically made him so growly, but she squeezed his leg again to try to get him to calm down a little. If he wanted the deal bad enough to jump through the hoops of finding a date, he needed to calm down and get through the dinner.

  A waiter came in with a bottle of wine, which was a little surprising since no one had ordered one. While the eyes of the room went to him, Reid reached under the table again and moved Sarah’s hand up higher. The hand had started close to the knee, but after the two moves, it was almost up to his hip. A part of Sarah, more than likely the slutty part that had been letting itself known, wondered what he’d do if she squeezed his leg again.

  She could have pulled the hand back into her lap, or moved it down, but she left it there. Whether it was any help to him, the touch helped her feel a little more grounded, and he didn’t seem to mind.

  “Of course. Sarah has always been one of those free-thinking women, paving her own path in the world. How is that third book of yours coming along? Is Brody going to finally see sense and let nature take its course as far as Isabel is concerned or is he going to let his friendship with Keith keep them apart? I’ve been waiting for them to get together since you introduced them in book one.”

  The newest Mrs. Murphy perked up with the mention of the book. Her bright blue eyes had seemed to have difficulty finding somewhere to settle on, but they immediately flew to Sarah.

  “No, no. Isabel is supposed to end up with Keith. They are so cute together and they would make the cutest babies.”

  At least Sarah had an idea that her writing skills painted a pretty good picture. She hated the fact that Ted was right about where the storyline was going. Keith and Isabel were pretty much high school sweethearts, but Brody was throwing a knife in the relationship after stealing a kiss.

  Mr. Murphy looked like he was going to contradict his wife, so Sarah hurried to give what little update she could. She didn’t trust the man not to say something about the missus speaking contrary to him that would make everyone uncomfortable.

  “I’m still in the first draft of it, but I suspect it will be out by the end of the year. I’m surprised you’ve read either of the first books, Mr. Murphy.”

  They weren’t exactly romance, but usually someone found a happy ending by the end. Sarah supposed the action outweighed the mush, and she knew she had plenty of male fans, she just didn’t expect him to be one.

  “Are you kidding? Obviously, your name being on them made me wonder, but those sex scenes of yours.” He paused as he bit his bottom lip. “Those I have read so many times I could probably recite them.”

  Sarah was sorry she had said anything. Mr. Murphy wasn’t a father figure to her, but it was kind of like hearing her dad say he enjoyed those parts of her books. As far as she knew, her father hadn’t read them and she made it a goal of hers to make sure he never did.

  Absentmindedly, she squeezed Reid’s leg again, more to calm herself than him. She froze after she realized she did it, waiting to see what he’d do, but his hand remained above the table as he reached over to the wine glass in front of him that had been filled while they were talking about Sarah’s books.

  Sarah felt a touch of disappointment that Reid hadn’t continued their little game. Wanting a small distraction, she slid her hand down to touch his inner thigh instead of the top of it. The game was her hand was moved whenever she squeezed and since he didn’t move it, it was up to her to decide where it went next.

  “Clearly, I’m going to have to read these books,” Glenn said.

  The man had been forgotten as the couples concentrated on each other. Sarah looked out the corner of her eye to find him staring at her with a similar look to when they’d first been introduced. Sarah had felt a need to be wanted, but the attention being thrown at her wasn’t what she was looking for.

  “I highly recommend them,” Ted replied as he signaled for the waiter who’d poured the wine and retreated to a corner to come over to the table. “I know we haven’t had a chance to look at the menu, but how about some appetizers. I think some fondue would be a nice start, don’t you?”

  Ted’s eyes were zeroed in on Sarah, which made it feel like he was asking her directly instead of the table at large. She nodded as she reached out and grabbed her glass of wine. The urge to slam the whole thing was difficult to quell, but she managed to sip as ladylike as she could.

  “I’ll get that for you right away.”

  Evidently, no one else’s opinion was needed and the waiter was off to see to their food. If it were up to Sarah, they wouldn’t have bothered with the appetizer and skipped right to the main course so they could be done eating faster.

  “So, Sarah, what else is going on in your life? You’ve got your book you’re working on and may or may not be dating a superstar hockey player. I’m sure there’s plenty of other details we should catch up on.�
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  Ted made it sound like they were best friends who’d grown apart over the years. They weren’t. He’d barely said ten words to her before she graduated high school and after that he had made sure she was aware of internships at his company, but that was the extent of their conversations.

  “You know what?” Reid interrupted before Sarah could come up with an answer. “I think I want to think about this deal a little more before I sign any contracts, and I think I’d prefer doing that anywhere but here right now. Thank you for setting this up, Glenn, but Sarah and I are going to call it an early night and head out.”

  There was no room for discussion as Reid got up and pulled Sarah along with him. She had no clue what to say or do, which seemed to be the case for everyone at the table, so she followed behind Reid and only looked back to sort of give an apologetic look. She didn’t put her heart into the apologizing part of it because she really wanted to leave.

  Once they had cleared the door to the room and let it close behind them, Sarah attempted to drag her feet a little to make sure Reid was making the best choice for his future, but he didn’t let her hold up the fast pace.

  “I can’t believe you sat there and took that. I didn’t have his beady eyes on me and my skin was crawling.”

  A cold blast of air from outside hit Sarah’s face before she could respond. It was nice to take in the fresh air, but she hadn’t expected the temperatures to dip quite that much.

  “That’s basically the way he’s always been with women, so it wasn’t a surprise. Are you sure leaving is the right thing here? I have no problem sitting through his questions if that means you get your deal.”

  Sarah felt bad that her being there seemed to be hurting the contract. She didn’t deal with lechers often, but she would’ve sat through it to make sure Reid got his money. If nothing else, she could’ve occupied her time playing their little game of moving her hand around in his lap.

  “Screw the deal. You think I want to be associated with a guy who’s thinking about having sex with a woman sitting directly opposite his wife? I’m ninety percent sure that if we would’ve waited around through dinner, he would’ve slipped you some hotel key he keeps in his wallet or something.”

  Reid opened the car door a little more forcefully than necessary and waited for Sarah to get in before he slammed it shut. He was worked up, and it felt kind of good that it was to defend her honor. Not that she had a lot of honor to stand on after her sex rant.

  When Reid planted himself in his seat, he took a deep breath and wrapped his hands around the steering wheel. Sarah could see his knuckles turning white even in the dimly lit parking lot.

  “Maybe I should just call a cab and you should go back in there and patch things up. I know you may be leery of the man behind the money, but money is money.”

  Sarah didn’t know the specifics, but she figured it was at least a six-figure deal if Mr. Murphy was coming out to sign the papers. That wouldn’t be enough money for her to want to deal with the man, but Reid was in that business and it could make a difference to him.

  “I make six million dollars a year. I don’t need his fucking money. My agent set it up, who by the way is also fired. I’m told to bring a date and both of the other men involved in the negotiations can’t think about anything other than what you look like naked. This was not how the night was supposed to go.”

  “It’s really not a problem on my part.”

  Sarah wanted to make sure he didn’t start apologizing again, because she felt she was still on the wrong side of apologies. Reaching over, she grabbed his arm, not sure how well squeezing his thigh would go over.

  “It should be. Because I am just as bad as they are. I don’t remember the last time I felt like this and it’s all I can do not to race you to the closest bed and see where another kiss can lead.”

  The attention from the other guys at the dinner did nothing to light something inside of Sarah, but when Reid’s head turned to face her and his eyes showed her just as much as his words what he wanted, her insides heated and a tingly sensation echoed between her legs.

  “Then why are we still sitting in this parking lot?”

  Chapter Eight

  “No,” Reid said as he turned his head so he could look out the front window.

  The word wasn’t meant to answer Sarah’s question. Reid wasn’t sure it was even directed at the woman sitting next to him. He’d figured something out about himself as he sat through fifteen minutes of Sarah being treated more like an object than a person. He didn’t want to be the kind of guy who treated women like that.

  Some of his teammates, Nico included, had no problem bringing a different girl home every night and having a good time with them. Reid couldn’t do that, even if there was a part of his body that really wanted to.

  “What do you mean, no?”

  Sarah’s voice was hesitant, which it had every right to be. For all she knew, Reid could’ve decided he was going to go back in and sign the contract. Over his dead body was he going to endorse a product that Ted brought to the world. When he’d started talking about knowing the sex parts of Sarah’s books by heart, Reid only saw the color red.

  “I mean that we aren’t going to rush off and have sex. And before you get into the self-doubting that I’ve seen from you, it has nothing to do with me not wanting you. I’ve already made it clear that I do. It was less than an hour ago that you were wondering whether your vagina could turn inside out from all the sex you were having with your ex.”

  Sarah interrupted before Reid could finish his thought. “Obviously, you wouldn’t want to have sex with someone who’s worried about that.” Her tone was sardonic.

  “That’s not what I’m getting at.” Reid looked back at Sarah. “I’m not like those guys in there or your ex. I know you aren’t asking for my opinion, but that scum is using your need to feel wanted after he screwed you over to try to win you back, and he doesn’t deserve the chance. I don’t know the whole story, but I know that much.”

  If Reid and Sarah ever found themselves naked in a room together, it would only be after Reid had some assurances that Sarah wasn’t just using him to verify her feelings for the ex and he wasn’t a rebound for her. At least that was what his brain was pushing for. His dick seemed to think he was crazy for not taking her up on the offer.

  “I’m in total agreement. He doesn’t deserve me, but he says he loves me and wants to get married. What if he’s my shot at having a husband and kids? I put on a good show tonight, but I’m not good at meeting people and letting them into my life. I think you’ve seen the proof of that both times we’ve seen each other. The very first words out of my mouth were asking whether you were gay.”

  “Did he or did he not sleep with someone else while you were together?”

  It sounded like there may have been some clarification as far as what had happened, and Reid wasn’t sure how the fact that he cheated had been made right. At least Reid hoped there was some kind of explanation that led to her forgiving the idiot enough for a sex marathon.

  “He did. He said it was a last hurrah kind of thing, but they did it in our bedroom.”

  “And that’s okay with you?”

  “No, it’s not. I told you earlier during my rant that I don’t think I want to be with him. I just can’t seem to help myself when we’re alone.”

  Reid put the key in the ignition and started the car. He hadn’t been sure what to do next, but her words gave him an idea.

  “Don’t take me home yet, okay? I’m afraid he’ll be there and I need a little time away from him.”

  Sarah’s hand hadn’t left his arm and she squeezed it as she spoke. The desperation in her voice wasn’t needed. Reid was well aware that the ex would probably be lurking around her apartment, and he had no plans of dropping her off for the jerk to manipulate.

  “I’m going to take you where I go when I need to clear my head. I’m not sure if it will help, but I think you need to find a hobby and maybe it will give
you some ideas.”

  Reid pulled the car out of the parking lot before Sarah agreed to his plan. Reaching up to where her hand touched his arm, he grabbed her hand and folded his fingers between hers. He wasn’t willing to jump into bed with her, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t lay the groundwork to some sort of relationship.

  “Some would say my writing is a hobby.”

  “If they were right about you being a best-seller, I think it’s a little more than a hobby. I hate to ask, but since I know you’re famous, I’m curious what the ex does. Is he hanging around because of the money your books make?”

  Sarah scoffed and leaned her head over to rest it on Reid’s shoulder. The familiarity was something he was still getting used to, but being around her somehow seemed right, even knowing that her mind was at times a million miles away. He’d felt whatever it was coming from her when he’d watched her across the room at the club, and he still wanted to figure out why she seemed to call to him.

  “I wouldn’t call me famous just because the current Mrs. Murphy recognized me. It seriously has been the only time I’ve been recognized. As far as Aaron goes, he’s not using me for my money. He’d been paying for our apartment before I moved in and I was the one who insisted I pay my share. We never combined bank accounts, but he made sure I knew healthy checks were deposited into his account bi-weekly.”

  “I will say from minor experience that recognition is overrated. I don’t have any immediate plans of settling down, but I’ve always worried someone will find out how much money I make and try to get her nails into me.”

  Reid figured eventually he’d do the marriage and kid thing that Sarah had mentioned, but he felt like he had plenty of time to try to find the right person. That meant he also had plenty of time to try to avoid all the wrong people.

  “How old are you? I figured you were about my age, but I’ve been thinking about settling down thing for a while.”

  “That probably has to do with the fact you’ve basically been settled down more than it does your age. I’m twenty-four, so it’s not like I’m fresh out of high school, but I’ve never had a serious relationship.”