Besides, how stupid was it to be attracted to the brother of a man who’d dumped her? She’d been attracted to Rian... did that make her a freak? Now that she’d met Jake though, she could see all Rian was missing. She sent Jake a text: I don’t work tomorrow because I was planning on getting wedding stuff done, but it seems my time has freed up. Do you want help packing up Rian’s stuff?
He replied a few seconds later: I’d love it.
The doorbell rang, and Sydney left her bedroom. Maria had arrived with sacks of fast food that smelled divine. Maria’s dark curls were pulled back in a clip, making her look elegant, as always. She grinned when she saw Sydney and set down the bags to give her a fierce hug.
“I want all the dirt!” Maria announced.
June laughed from the kitchen, where she was gathering plates.
Sydney couldn’t help but smile. “You’ll get all the dirt and more, I promise.”
“And you have to tell us more about Jake,” June said, coming into the living room.
“Jake? The brother?” Maria asked, her brows shooting up.
“First things, first,” Sydney said. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.” And she was. The Thai food she’d shared with Jake had been hours ago, and all of this emotional turmoil had suddenly made her feel ravenous.
They ate in the living room, sitting on the couch and balancing the plates on their knees. The combination of hot French fries, fresh cheeseburgers, and strawberry milkshakes was more than perfect. Sydney told them everything that had happened that day, from trying on her gorgeous wedding dress, to meeting a grumpy Jake who’d turned out to be a godsend.
“I don’t know what I would have done if Rian had dropped off the face of the earth without any explanation,” Sydney told her friends.
“Wow,” Maria said. “From everything you’ve told us, Jake is like a knight in shining armor.”
“Too bad he’s Rian’s brother,” Sydney mused, mostly to herself.
June and Maria exchanged a glance, and Sydney said, “What was that for?”
“Umm, Sydney,” Maria started. “You’re sort of glowing right now. What’s up with this Jake guy?”
If Sydney had been glowing, now she was blushing. “Nothing is up. We just spent all day together, and let’s say he’s the real deal.”
Both Maria’s and June’s mouths fell open.
“Not like that,” Sydney said. “I’m not going to be dating anyone for a really long time. But there’s something to be said for a guy who’s decent and honest.”
“Of course,” Maria said, but she was still staring at Sydney as if Sydney might be losing her mind.
Which could very well be the case. “Anyway,” Sydney continued. “You guys can meet him. I’m going over to Rian’s place in the morning to help Jake box everything up. Jake’s going to put it into a storage unit, then probably throw away the key.”
“I’m in,” Maria said immediately.
“Me too,” June said, a secretive smile on her face. “Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Sydney and her friends talked long into the night, and when Sydney finally tumbled into bed, she found another text from Jake: Everything go ok with your friends?
It was after midnight, but Sydney sent a reply: Yep, they’re great. Thanks for asking.
Jake’s answer came quickly: Good to hear. See you soon.
Sydney fell asleep with a smile.
“That’s pretty much everything,” Jake said, hoisting the final box they’d packed onto his shoulder.
Sydney put her hands on her hips, telling herself not to stare at his muscled shoulders and arms as he loaded the boxes into his truck. She and Maria and June had been cleaning the condo as Jake carried everything they’d deemed salvageable out. “That went faster than I thought.”
“Yeah, thanks for your help.” Jake looked past her to the kitchen, where Maria and June were wiping down cupboards and counters. Jake tilted his head. “Can I talk to you outside for a second?”
“Sure,” Sydney said, glancing over her at her friends. They hadn’t seemed to hear Jake’s request, which might be a good thing. They’d given her plenty of questioning looks all morning. When Maria had first seen Jake, she’d whispered, “Wow, I get it now.” June had followed up with, “You’re in trouble.”
Sydney had brushed off their comments and set to work. Jake was easygoing and easy to work with. It was clear he was no stranger to hard labor, and the packing went quickly. She’d found herself laughing more than once at something Jake said about his brother. Each laugh helped ease the pain.
Sydney followed Jake to the truck, where he set down the box he carried on top of the others.
“So, I was thinking last night...” he started, turning to face Sydney. The collar of his t-shirt was damp with sweat, and he was slightly out of breath.
Sydney’s pulse twinged as she met his gaze. “Yes?”
He stared at her for a second, blinked a couple of times, then said, “Uh, I was thinking that if you wanted, since it’s the weekend, you could come out to the ranch with me.”
It was Sydney’s turn to stare. “Why would I do that?” She cringed at her own comment, but it was what she was wondering.
Jake ran his hand through his hair, messing it up more than it already was. “Right. Good question.” He looked away, then back at her, his eyes a dark gray. Not stormy, but intent. “Because I want my parents to meet you. They’ll have questions that I haven’t thought about asking you, and I think it would help soften the... shock. Rian’s not only left you, but he’s left all of us.”
Sydney nodded. It made sense, so why were her thoughts betraying her and telling her that Jake really wanted to spend more time with her? That was ridiculous. Of course he was dreading bringing all of this news back to his parents. “It’s an hour away?”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “You could follow me out. It’s up to you if you want to stay overnight or not. There’s plenty of room, of course, and you might enjoy taking a break from work and everything going on.”
“Could my friends come too?”
“Maria and June?” Jake asked, looking surprised, and a bit pale.
Sydney laughed. “I’m kidding.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I think it would be easier to get to know you better without an entourage.”
“You want to get to know me better?” she asked, her heart thumping.
He merely gazed at her for a moment, and when she was about to break into a sweat, he said, “I do.”
She folded her arms and leaned against the side of the truck, suppressing a satisfied smile. “I’m not opposed to seeing your ranch. When are you heading out?”
He folded his own arms and leaned against the truck, only a short distant from her. “First thing in the morning. I still need to unload this truck and turn in the condo keys to the office. But I can wait until Sunday if you need more time.”
He was close enough that she could smell the soap he showered with and faint perspiration.
“I don’t need more time,” Sydney said. “My friends are leaving tomorrow anyway.”
His brows lifted slightly, and a smile played on his face. “Are you sure you want to come?”
“Trying to change my mind?”
“Definitely not,” he said, and then he took a side step closer to her and leaned down.
“Sydney, there you guys are,” Maria’s voice called out. “Your phone’s ringing. It looks like your mom.”
Sydney didn’t move for a second, and neither did Jake. His gaze had gone from her eyes to her mouth, then back up. If Maria hadn’t interrupted, Sydney wondered if Jake would have kissed her.
“Coming,” Sydney said, glancing up at Maria.
Maria lifted her hands, flashing a grin, then turned back around to go inside the condo.
When she looked back to Jake, he’d straightened again, and his expression was neutral. Maybe she’d been imagining things, hoping for the impossible, making herself a fool twice.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, his voice completely serious.
She hurried up the stairs, a thrill running through her at Jake’s words. She burst into the condo to see June and Maria, who were spying out the window. They both jumped back, their faces red.
“Save me,” Sydney whispered, shutting the door behind her. “I think I have a crazy crush on my ex-fiancé’s brother. How insane is that?”
Maria gasped, then laughed, and June’s eyes about bugged out.
“I am sooo sorry I interrupted you two,” Maria said. “My timing is horrible.”
“Maria told me he was about to kiss you,” June said.
Sydney waved a hand in front of her face, as if she could create a cool flow of air. She sank onto the couch. “I don’t know. This is all making my head spin. But, you guys, he asked me to go to his family’s ranch with him tomorrow to help talk to his parents about Rian.”
“Meet his parents?” Maria asked, her brows skyrocketing.
Sydney puffed out a breath of air. “Not like that.”
Maria and June laughed. “I like him,” June declared. “I don’t care if his brother dumped you twenty-four hours ago. Jake’s a keeper.”
Sydney hung her head. “Why did I have to meet Rian first?”
Maria and June settled next to her on the couch, and Maria draped an arm about her shoulders. “I guess it was the only way to meet Jake.”
Burying her face in her hands, Sydney groaned.
“Come on,” June said. “Let’s get out of here. We’re finished, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the Sydney-saga.”
Sydney lifted her head. “I told him we’d help him unload at the storage unit.”
June rubbed her hands together and smiled. “Sounds good to me. Maybe Maria and I can grab lunch on the way and meet you two there, give you some more quality time alone.”
Sydney slapped June’s leg. “This is serious. I’m drowning here. If you were better friends, you’d be helping me, not teasing me.”
“Isn’t it the same thing?” Maria said with a grin.
Sydney’s phone started ringing where she’d left it on the mantle. “Oh, yeah, my mom. Great timing.”
“Just tell her not to worry, you’ve already moved onto the next guy,” June said.
Maria laughed. “Talk to your mom while I drive us over to the storage lot.”
Sydney grabbed her phone and answered. Her mother’s questions came at her like an open firehose. Sydney followed Maria and June out of the condo and climbed into Maria’s car.
“I can’t return the wedding dress,” Sydney told her mom as they drove. “I’ll sell it online or something.”
“Or keep it,” June whispered from the front seat. “Jake will like it.”
Sydney glared at her friend. “I’m all right,” she assured her mother, who was asking how she’d slept and if she was eating. “Maria and June are taking care of me. In fact, we’re helping Rian’s brother clean out the condo.”
There was a significant pause, and Sydney regretted telling her mom that fact. “I know what you’re thinking, but Jake’s nothing like Rian. In fact, I’m going out to the family ranch tomorrow.” She continued to explain recent events to her mother while Marie pulled into a fast food stop and ordered several items from the menu.
Once they had their food, Sydney had convinced her mom that she wasn’t making dumb decisions.
“I like your mom,” Maria said when Sydney hung up.
“Because she still thinks she can tell me what to do even though I’m twenty-six?” Sydney asked with a scoff.
“Pretty much,” Maria said as they pulled into the storage unit lot.
“I like her too,” Sydney said. “I probably shouldn’t have told her about going to Jake’s ranch, though.”
Maria looked over at her and winked. Three rows down was Jake’s truck, and he was already at work unloading.
“I think you’re going to have a lot more fun than you think on that ranch,” Maria said.
June chimed in. “I’d be surprised if he doesn’t kiss you in the next couple of days.”
“Why would you say that?” Sydney asked, not wanting to get her hopes up while at the same time telling herself she was jumping way ahead of where she was emotionally.
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” June continued, looking back at Sydney with raised brows.
“Mmmhmm,” Maria added.
“How?” Sydney said as Maria parked the car not far from the truck and turned off the engine.
“He just seems... very aware of you,” June said.
“Agreed,” Maria said, then opened her door, cutting off all further conversation.
“Wait,” Sydney hissed, and Maria pulled her door shut again. “What should I do? I mean, I need to figure out what went wrong and where to go from here, not be caught up in some rebound crush on my ex-fiancé’s brother!”
“Don’t overthink it,” June said. “Go with your gut. That’s what I did with Lance in Maui.”
“She’s right,” Maria said. “Crap happened to you, but maybe it wasn’t all bad. Maybe it happened for a reason, and the reason is that man over there.”
“So you guys don’t think this is creepy?” Sydney pressed.
“If I didn’t understand the circumstances and didn’t see Jake for myself,” Maria said. “But June’s right. And if you move to the next step with Jake, I’m okay with it.”
“I’m okay with it, too,” June said, smiling.
“You guys are no help at all,” Sydney complained, although her heart thudded with hope and anticipation.
Maria grinned and opened her car door again. “Time to help rebound man.”
Just go with it, Sydney told herself more than once that morning as she got ready to go to the ranch with Jake. Don’t overthink it.
Twenty minutes ago, she’d hugged her friends goodbye before they set off back to their cities and jobs and boyfriends. Then she caught up on a bunch of emails that had been piling up during her two days off. Even though she’d created an auto-responder, some of them were urgent.
That morning, Jake had texted to see if he could pick her up so they could drive together and have a chance to put their plan together. He told her he’d bring her back whenever she was ready.
At first, Sydney had hesitated. What if things went sour and Jake drove her back home in a cloud of silence? This made her feel more determined to keep things platonic between them even though she’d been awake half the night thinking of everything he’d said to her and that almost-kiss out in the parking lot.
When they’d unloaded at the storage unit, Jake had been friendly to Maria and June like usual, and Sydney also noticed that he paid special attention to her. It was like he was watching her constantly. So maybe what June had said was right. Several times she’d caught his gaze on hers, and each time she felt a little warmer at the attention.
Rebound guy. Is that what he was? At least in her mind? She couldn’t imagine going to his family’s ranch and meeting his parents and trying to hook up with him. Maybe this was her heart and mind’s way of protecting her from the crushing pain of Rian’s betrayal. She was locking that away and hyper-focusing on the thing or person closest to Rian—his brother. Not that they had a close relationship, but they shared the same DNA and same childhood.
Sydney’s phone buzzed with a text.
We love you and have fun. It was from Maria, but June was included in the group text.
Before Sydney could reply, someone knocked on the door. Jake was already here. She grabbed her overnight bag and purse and headed to the door. She opened it, and her breath stalled. He wore jeans again and a button-down shirt. His hair was combed but in a rebellious sort of way.
But it was his smile that made her pulse drum.
She couldn’t ever remember feeling like this when she saw Rian. It had been more of looking at their
relationship from a logical standpoint.
“Ready?” Jake asked.
“Yeah,” she said, wondering if she sounded as breathless as she felt. All of her thoughts about Jake during the night didn’t really do justice to the man in the flesh.
“Great,” he continued, oblivious to the turmoil of her thoughts. He reached out a hand and took her bag.
“Thanks,” she said, then shut the apartment door and locked it. Apparently they were having a one-worded conversation.
“I grabbed some coffee on the way,” he said as they headed down the stairs to the parking lot. “Unless you’ve already had yours?”
She had in fact, but she said, “Sounds great. Thanks.” Could she sound more awkward?
“Are your friends already gone?” he asked.
“They left a few minutes ago,” she answered and opened the passenger door as Jake set her bag in the bed of the truck.
The smell of the interior of the truck had become familiar, and Sydney realized that she was feeling relaxed, where she had been a bundle of nerves before Jake had arrived. She took a sip of the coffee, then set it back into the drink holder.
Jake climbed in and started the truck, then looked over at her. “Thanks for doing this.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Sydney said. “I want to be helpful to your parents as much as possible.”
He gave a thoughtful nod, then backed out of the parking slot. As he pulled onto the road, he said, “They’re going to be heartbroken, but I’m glad you’ll be there to ease the pain. Rian has been hurting them long enough; at least with him leaving the country, maybe they can begin to heal.”
“What about you?” Sydney asked, wondering if the question was too personal.
Jake was quiet for a moment as he navigated through the morning traffic and headed for the highway. “I was livid when I first got his texts and when I found his condo abandoned.” He glanced at her, then moved his focus back at the road. “Spending time with you has changed everything.”
Sydney couldn’t speak for a moment. “For the better, I’m hoping?”
The Falling Series Box Set Page 21
