I usually felt out of place when Adam and Jeremy started talking about wives and kids. What could a perpetually single guy offer to the conversation?
A woman appeared by our table wearing a Sweet Lila’s t-shirt tied into a knot at her waist, her hair pulled into a high ponytail. She put a hand on her hip and gave us a saucy smile that let us know she was very aware of how hot she was.
“Now what can I get two fine-looking men to drink?” She gave us a wink and Adam chuckled, shaking his head.
“I didn’t know you worked here, Hannah?”
Hannah, Lena’s friend, gave a dainty shrug. “Teachers are paid peanuts and I’m saving up for a fabulous all-inclusive vacation to Belize. Brad hired me part-time now that their business has picked up. The man could use the help.” She glanced over her shoulder at the heaving bar and the harried man behind it. I noticed the way her eyes lingered for a moment before quickly looking away.
“It’s a double bonus that I get to see such handsome faces and get paid for it.” She widened her eyes in my direction. Hannah was a huge flirt—to the point that it left me feeling more than a little awkward. She was like the female equivalent of Jeremy during his manwhore days. I had been on the receiving end of her attention on many occasions, though I never could tell if she meant the outlandish stuff that came out of her mouth, or if she was saying it for shock value.
“Two beers, whatever’s the hoppiest,” I interjected, cutting Hannah off at the pass. I wasn’t really in the mood to fend off her flirty banter.
“Someone’s in a grumpy mood,” Hannah teased, flicking her ponytail. “Two hoppiest of hoppy beers coming up.” She turned on her heel and headed toward the bar.
“So, you want to tell your oldest and dearest friend why you’ve been in a crappy mood all day?” Adam asked.
I debated. I hemmed and I hawed. Part of me wanted to tell him about Tiffany and her machinations; our fucked up history and the games she was still playing. But then I thought about what his face would look like once he knew about me and I quickly swallowed the truth. “Nothing. Just have a lot on my plate. I’ll get over it.”
Adam’s phone dinged and he glanced at it. “Jeremy just got here. Says he’ll be right in. He ran into Skylar in the parking lot. She’s joining us.” He looked up at me, his brow furrowed. “I didn’t know Sky would be here tonight. Hope that’s okay.”
I felt my heart kick into overdrive. My mouth suddenly dry.
“Why wouldn’t it be okay? Skylar and I are fine.” I asked blandly. I was a good actor. The best actor. I should get a damn Oscar.
Adam gave me a strange look. “I just meant that I didn’t know if you were up to it being a group thing. Why would I think there was something wrong between you and Skylar?”
Well, shit. I was a pretty even-keeled guy. I could handle just about anything. Except being around the woman I had been dangerously close to falling for only months before. To Adam and the rest of our Southport friends, we had simply been two people spending time together. On the outside, it didn’t look like much more than a platonic acquaintance. They had no idea how much I had wanted more than that. How I berated myself daily for screwing things up with her. How I fantasized…
I was saved from having to respond by Hannah, who plonked our beers down on the table. “Hope they’re hoppy enough for you, Rob.” She gave my arm a long, exaggerated squeeze.
Adam covered his smirk with a cough. Once Hannah left he shook his head. “I swear, she’s like a cat in heat.”
I watched Lena’s friend work her magic around the room. She liked to keep people off-kilter. I had had enough topsy-turvy women in my life, I wasn’t interested in pursuing another. I wanted a partner who was both passionate and reasonable. I didn’t want a roller coaster; I wanted a tandem bicycle. I saw what Adam had with his wife Meg and Jeremy had with Lena and I knew it was possible to have something special. I was surrounded by relationships that were functional and healthy. So why was it so damn difficult for me to hold onto something I knew in my heart would have been everything I had been looking for?
Adam took a drink of his beer. “Meg and I were wondering if you’d like to come over for dinner this weekend. We were just talking the other day about how long it’s been since you’ve been to the house. I think it was Tyler’s birthday last summer.”
I felt tense. The desire to fidget in discomfort was overwhelming, but I kept still. I had learned over the years to keep emotions close to the vest. I wasn’t an emoter. It was part of the reason I was a fantastic lawyer. And a not-so-bad poker player either.
“Did my invite get lost in the mail then?” a voice asked, dripping with sarcasm.
“They learned their lesson the last time when you and Lena used the nursery to conceive your next child,” I joked, making room for Jeremy in the booth. Jeremy waved down Hannah to put in his drink order.
After he received his beer he turned his attention to us. “So, are you two making plans without me? Do I need to feel left out?” He pretended to pout which only caused Adam to roll his eyes.
“If you can promise not to spill red wine on the carpet again, Meg may consider it,” Adam countered.
I was barely paying attention to my friends’ banter. I was too busy watching the woman who had followed Jeremy inside. Skylar Murphy hadn’t joined us, instead beelining for the bar to order a drink. She was smiling. God, she was beautiful when she smiled. She pulled her long, black hair to the side, draping it over her shoulder. She laughed at something Brad said, smacking her hand down on the countertop. Her laugh was rich and carried across the room.
My groin tightened in response and I had to discreetly adjust myself.
Brad handed her an open beer—no fruity cocktail for her—and she turned to head to our table. And then catching sight of me, she stopped. She frowned. She started chewing on her bottom lip in a gesture I knew meant she was contemplating something. Probably whether to get the hell out of there. I quickly looked away so she didn’t see me ogling her.
I was practically holding my breath.
Fucking hell man, get it together.
I tapped my fingers against my leg in impatience. I should leave. I knew Skylar wouldn’t want to spend the evening with me. She had made her feelings abundantly clear the last time we had spoken privately. Maybe, like me, she’d want to avoid the awkwardness altogether, and she’d choose to sit somewhere else.
I should have known better. Skylar never hid from anything. It’s one of the hundred things I found so attractive about her.
“Hi fellas. Fancy meeting you here.” Her voice held a slight rasp as if she had been shouting for hours. But I knew that’s just the way she spoke.
I couldn’t help but look at her. It was as if my eyes were addicted to the sight of her. She was beautiful in an understated way. She wasn’t flashy, showing off her boobs. She wore minimal makeup because honestly, she didn’t need it. Her long dark hair was held back in a simple ponytail; her bright blue eyes were truly startling. Her thin, angular face had an almost regal quality. She wasn’t tall but she wasn’t short either. I remembered how perfectly she fit against me as if her body were made to be molded against mine.
Christ, I had to get a grip. It was a good thing I knew how to contain my emotions. I had a hell of a poker face. Otherwise, I’d be panting in a drooling heap at Skylar Murphy’s feet.
“What are you doing here on a school night?” Adam asked, standing up to embrace his friend before making room for her in the booth.
She slid along the bench until she was pressed up against the wall—and directly across from me. I felt her leg brush up against mine beneath the table, her eyes lifting to meet mine briefly before quickly turning her attention back to Adam. I could feel discomfort radiating off her in waves. And all because of me.
“I just finished a project and the money hit my account, so I thought I’d come out and celebrate. Except my friends were all busy, so that leaves you losers.” She took a drink of her beer, her eyes dr
ifting my way again. And then as if catching herself, she purposefully angled her body toward Adam, causing her knee to collide with mine.
Adam nudged her with his shoulder. “That’s awesome, Sky. Congrats.”
“Next round’s on me,” Jeremy announced, calling out to Hannah.
“Congratulations, Skylar,” I said, sounding slightly strangled.
Her eyes danced over me, leaving me feeling unsettled. “Thanks,” she replied shortly, then carried on as if I hadn’t spoken at all.
It fucking sucked.
Things used to be easy between us, and that was saying something because I didn’t do easy. Idle chit chat was my idea of torture.
When Adam first asked me to sit down with his friend Skylar, who he had hired to revamp our website, I hadn’t been too thrilled. Then she walked in, sat down, and opened her mouth and I realized quickly she was something completely unexpected.
**
“This website is junk. Who did you have design it? A four-year-old?” Skylar asked, clicking the mouse, making a face of disgust. She was sitting at the table in the breakroom and I was sitting across from her. I had made a list of what Jeremy, Adam, and I wanted to include on the site, but she didn’t seem particularly interested in my ideas.
“Actually, I set it up. I know it’s bad, I have a law degree, I’m kind of an idiot when it comes to digital marketing,” I grimaced.
“Did you really use clipart?” Skylar laughed, pointing at the screen to a cartoon gavel with googly eyes.
“You make it sound like I killed someone,” I joked.
“Well, you definitely murdered good taste,” she chuckled, shaking her head.
“Come on, it’s not that bad.” I scooted my chair closer so I could look at the screen. I had left my glasses on my desk, so I had to lean in closer to see anything.
Skylar started clicking through the tabs and I cringed. “Okay, yeah, it’s pretty bad.”
I looked at her, realizing that I was less than a few inches from her very attractive face. Her pupils dilated fractionally in a way I knew meant she was appreciating her view as much as I appreciated mine. I was intimately acquainted with the tell-tale signs of female arousal and Skylar was showing quite a few.
“Adam says you're a genius at this stuff, so I expect to be impressed.”
Skylar snorted a surprisingly sexy sound. “Adam’s slightly delusional as well.” She sat back in her seat, putting distance between us, which I found disappointing. “But, yeah, I’m not bad. Or at least I hope so if I want to give this whole ‘in business for myself’ thing a shot.”
“Well, if you’re shitty at your work, that won’t be great PR,” I deadpanned. Skylar gave me a startled look and then began to laugh. I found myself smiling and I wasn’t a smiling kind of guy.
“You don’t mince words, do you, Jenkins?”
“What would be the point of that? Say what you mean and mean what you say. It’s sort of a motto I live by.” It was shockingly easy to talk to Skylar. I didn’t know her, only had traded a handful of words the few times our paths had crossed in social situations. But her dry sense of humor and obvious intelligence intrigued me.
Skylar became serious. “That’s a motto I appreciate. There are too many people in the world who talk out of both sides of their mouths. I don’t have time for duplicitousness.”
I felt uncomfortable at her words, but she was now focused on the computer screen. I found myself watching her as she worked. The way she furrowed her brow when she concentrated or how she would pick at her lip when she became frustrated. I had always been good at picking up people’s tells but for the first time, I found that I was doing it for no other reason than because I liked looking at her.
“Okay, talk me through this font choice. Because under normal circumstances, I would be questioning the brain capacity of anyone using Comic Sans. So, tell me, Robbie, you seem like a smart guy, what possessed you to choose it?” She smirked in a sexy what that I almost forgot her use of a nickname I wished to never hear again.
I moved closer again and this time she didn’t lean away. If anything, she moved toward me, our arms brushing against one another.
“Well, tell me, queen of the fonts, which one would you recommend?” I teased.
**
“I heard they broke ground on that new development outside of town. Looks like it’s going to be a pretty big complex,” Skylar was saying, and I had to refocus on where the conversation had gone.
“Yeah, there’s plans for a strip mall, including a movie theater and three restaurants, and a brand new subdivision of houses. It looks like it will bring a lot of new business to the area, which is needed,” Jeremy explained.
Skylar’s eyes widened. “Wow. That’s incredible.”
“Could mean a lot of new work for you, Murphy,” Adam added. “Jer—maybe you could speak to the property owner, maybe throw her Skylar’s name—”
“That’s not a good idea,” I interrupted before I could stop myself. I wasn’t one prone to spontaneous outbursts, so my partners looked at me as if I had grown three heads.
“Well, maybe Jenkins could put in a word seeing as he knows Ms. Hardwell personally.” I wanted to choke Jeremy. I could imagine how wonderful it would feel to wrap my hands around his throat.
“You do? How?” Skylar asked, clearly forgetting her decision to ignore me completely.
“I don’t,” I lied. I usually had no trouble lacing dishonesty with the truth. But with Skylar, it felt wrong. It had always felt wrong with her. “I just don’t want you to seem pushy.”
I realized how shitty that sounded as soon as the words left my mouth.
“I’m not pushy,” Skylar snapped.
Adam frowned, looking between us, trying to get a read on this quickly devolving situation. “I don’t think he meant that—”
“It doesn’t matter what he meant, he said it.” Skylar knocked back the rest of her beer and brought the bottle down on the table with a clang. “As fun as this has been, I think I’d better get home.”
“I just ordered us more drinks,” Jeremy complained as Adam slid out of the booth so Skylar could stand to leave.
“I’m sure you won’t have any trouble drinking mine,” she said a lot kindlier than she would have to me.
“You don’t need to hurry off,” Adam said.
Skylar looked at me, her expression hard. “Actually, I think I do. Tell Meg I’ll call her tomorrow about our shopping trip.” She patted Adam’s shoulder and without another word, turned and left.
Jeremy looked at me in confusion. “What the fuck was that all about? Skylar has the personality of a feral cat under the best of circumstances, but she was worse. Is it you, Jenkins, and your magical way with the ladies?” He raised an eyebrow.
I didn’t bother answering and thankfully Adam didn’t pick up where our friend stopped. But the rest of the evening was less enjoyable after that.
Mostly because I couldn’t get the image of Skylar Murphy’s obvious disdain out of my mind.
Chapter Three
Skylar
The phone was ringing before I had even opened my eyes. Groaning, I rolled over and looked at the screen. And debated whether to answer it.
But I knew if I didn’t, it would just keep ringing. And ringing. So, wanting to get this over with, I put the phone to my ear.
“Hi, Mom.” I couldn’t sound less thrilled if I tried.
“I’ve been calling you all morning. Are you still in bed? What’s wrong with you? Don’t you have working hours you need to keep?” My mother’s shrill voice was enough to wake me up fully. I looked at my alarm clock. It was only a little after eight.
“It’s early yet, Mom. I don’t start my day until nine,” I explained to her for the dozenth time.
“And you haven’t woken up yet? I think you need to work on your time management skills. No one wants to hire someone that can’t get out of bed before eight in the morning.” My mom was working herself up. At one time I woul
d have tried to cut her off, to placate her. But those days were long gone. So instead, I listened, but just barely, to the tirade, she was unleashing on the other end of the phone.
“Your father and I worry so much about your ability to take care of yourself. If this is your work ethic, how will you be able to support yourself?” she went on.
“I’ve had no trouble supporting myself for the past ten years, Mom. I haven’t given you and Dad any reason to worry about me. I pay my bills, I have a house, a business—all in all I think I’m pretty successful. Aren’t those all hallmarks of a woman who has her shit together?” I couldn’t stop the anger from bleeding into my words. No one could push my buttons quite like Lorelai Murphy.
“Watch your mouth, Skylar. You shouldn’t curse at your mother.”
“I wasn’t cursing at you—”
“I called to tell you that a bunch of letters showed up here for you. You need to come and get them. And when are you going to put in a change of address since you decided to move out and away from me? I still don’t know why you insisted on moving to the other side of town. I never see you now.” My mom’s tone changed on a dime. Now she was sad and morose as if she were barely holding back tears. She was a master at using emotions to get what she wanted from people. Her particular brand of toxicity would be almost awe-inspiring if it wasn’t so horrible.
“I live a whopping fifteen minutes from you and Dad. It’s not like I’ve gone to Timbuktu.” Edgar nudged me with his wet nose, letting me know he needed to go out. With my phone propped between my shoulder and my ear, I got out of bed and put on my robe, heading out to the kitchen. I was going to need a strong cup of coffee after that rude awakening.
“Are you coming to get your mail or not?” There was a pause. “And maybe you could stay for dinner? Spend some time with your mom and dad?”
Even after all these years, the stuff my mother said still had the power to render me speechless. It amazed me how she could call me out, rip me a new one, then casually ask me to stay for dinner. Conversation with my mother was a never-ending see-saw and I had thought I was finally off the ride. Unfortunately, life circumstances had me getting back on.
Say You're Mine: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Southport Love Stories Book 4) Page 5
