A Friendly Flirtation (Friends First #3)

by Christine Warner

  He didn’t want to hurt Nick, and he definitely didn’t want to hurt Allison. But did that mean they couldn’t take a chance? Allison had taken him by surprise tonight, and the full magnitude hadn’t hit him until now. Until Nick confronted him. He wanted Nick to see his sister for who she was, but instead Jared had seen her as someone he could—would like to—have in his future. She wasn’t just fucking cute, but was sexy, smart, and had a little sass. He loved the way her big eyes sparkled when she spoke. The animated way she used her hands when she talked, how her laughter bubbled over when she heard or said something funny. The excitement tinged with mischief in her eyes. She was the complete package like he’d never seen it presented before.

  He rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes. But it was more than all of those things. More than the way she laughed or smiled. More than how her fucking jeans formed to her ass. More than the way she looked at him as if every word he uttered was a brushstroke of genius.

  He enjoyed talking to her. He respected that even when she found something difficult to say, she looked him in the eye. Fuck. He might be a little nuts, but she made him feel special. And sexy. When was the last time someone made me feel sexy?

  All he wanted was to continue getting to know her—on this new level. She’d surpassed being Nick’s little sister. She’d become a vibrant woman who grabbed his attention and made him want to learn more.

  All week long he’d talked himself out of what he’d been feeling. But the moment she opened the door tonight, he’d almost swallowed his tongue. He hadn’t planned to be so transparent, but he’d been unable to control himself. She flirted, and he’d flirted right back. And enjoyed every minute of it—until Nick.

  As much as he didn’t want anything to come between him and Nick, he wasn’t sure he wanted to let go of what was happening between him and Al.

  ...

  Allison kicked off her shoes and slipped into her penguin slippers as she tossed her purse onto the kitchen counter with a thud. Dinner at Dad’s had been perfect right up until she’d heard the raised voices coming from the dining room. Dad and Gramps hadn’t seemed to notice, but then again, they’d been busy cleaning up the broken plate and cup Gramps had dropped on the floor. And Gramps hadn’t been able to stop apologizing as Dad kept reassuring him over and over again that everything would be okay.

  Although the night had been good up until that point, it’d also been filled with tension. Anxiety about her new look, sexual tension between her and Jared that had gotten out of hand, and finally strain between Nick and herself, and then Nick and Jared. And that bothered her most of all. She’d only planned on a few flirty glances, maybe a cute comment here and there, but instead…instead Nick had noticed, and words between her brother and Jared had turned hostile. Not that she’d heard much of the exchange except for a few loudly spoken words here and there—like her name—but when she’d entered the dining room, she could’ve popped the pressure-filled air with a pin. If she hadn’t arrived when she had, she feared fists might have started to fly.

  Because of her.

  She didn’t want to cause a rift between them. They’d been tight for too many years. They ran a business together, were more brothers than some related by blood, and their friendship had never faltered. Never. She should know better than to flirt with her brother’s best friend. It wasn’t like Nick’s protectiveness was something new.

  She sank onto the sofa and pulled the little triangle pillow filled with penguin faces across her lap and sat back, playing with the corner tassel as she stared at her ceiling. A dull throb settled in the back of her head.

  The love she had for her brother trumped her little dalliance with Jared. If she had to leave Jared alone, stop the flirting, and push aside the effect he had on her, she’d do it. Although she didn’t want to, she’d make the effort to return things to where they’d been a week ago. Polite. Courteous. Distant.

  But heck, she didn’t want to.

  She liked Jared, she truly did. But I love my brother more.

  If she concentrated on the next step in her quest for change, that’d help get thoughts of Jared out of her head.

  Right?

  Right.

  She needed to start dating.

  Chapter Seven

  Allison bit into the center of her turkey sandwich—avoiding the dreaded crust—and frowned as she slid the cursor down the page. The remainder of her lunch fell onto the plate between her monitor and keyboard. She plopped her chin into her palm as she chewed slowly, reading the words and ogling the pictures of all the different bars in her neighborhood.

  She wished she had a sidekick for this new venture. Someone to bounce ideas off. Colleen and Jerry were going away for a long-overdue vacation, so they were out. She’d been chatting with a few girls in the office but didn’t really feel comfortable with letting them know of her quest for a date, and no chance in hell would she even think about asking her brother. There really wasn’t anyone else she trusted. Besides Jared. But…

  “Don’t tell me you’re surfing the web on company time?” Jared’s teasing tone surprised her, and she spun in her chair, wiping crumbs from her blouse.

  With gargantuan force she managed a friendly smile. “You caught me.”

  She’d planned to sound noncommittal and distant, but even to her own ears her words came out breathy and inviting. She cleared her throat when he tilted his head, confusion marring his gorgeous eyes.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.” Her mind had been far away. Researching a spot to meet potential guys wasn’t as easy as she’d imagined. There were too many choices.

  “That’s the point. You aren’t supposed to hear me when I’m looking for on-the-job slackers.”

  She clasped her hands together, batting her lashes. “Please don’t fire me. I need this gig.”

  He pursed his lips, but she honed in on the way the edges of his mouth tugged to form a smile. “I guess I can let you off with a warning.”

  She bit her lip, soaking in his smile. “I’ll work late.”

  “You always do.” His voice deepened and sent a shiver across her skin.

  The room heated, and the playful atmosphere changed to one that snapped with tension. Or maybe she imagined the shift in the air between them.

  Her gaze skimmed over him, and she tried hard not to linger on the way his biceps flexed when he ran his hand through his hair, or how his thighs pressed against the material of his trousers. Heck, he looked as good as he had four days ago at Sunday dinner. Maybe better. His eyes seemed bluer, his shoulders broader, and his smile sexier.

  And my attraction hasn’t diminished one iota.

  She licked her lips with the cotton ball she used to call a tongue. In her attempt to avoid him the last few days, she’d resorted to eating lunch at her desk, except for yesterday when Megan had asked her to join her and two others at the coffee shop in the main lobby downstairs. She hadn’t thought about what would happen if he sought her out in her tiny office. When nobody was around. Her leg bounced beneath the desk, and she stilled it by pressing her palm on her knee.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded. Her situation sunk in as she glanced around and swallowed. Her work cohorts had left early for the seminar she’d attended last month. She and Jared were alone.

  Truly alone.

  And they weren’t supposed to be, not if she wanted to keep her head. Because, suddenly, being in a dimly lit room with Jared and his hypnotizing cologne threw her out of her comfort zone. The walls she’d been erecting since Sunday to keep him at arm’s length swayed.

  She forced a polite smile, pushing aside her playfulness from seconds ago. That’d been a mistake. A surefire way to get all giddy and silly by flirting, which would turn to cutesy words, touching, attraction… “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “I wanted to see if you’d finished the report for… Are you looking up bars?”

  His eyebrows rose in that sexy way that made her stomach dip, and
then a tiny line formed between his brows. Her fingers ached to reach out and smooth it over. She clasped her hands together in her lap.

  “Best bars in Chicago, if you want to be exact.” Her smile hurt her face.

  “Really?”

  She nodded, then spun in her chair and gave him her back. Kind of late to minimize the screen now, but she didn’t want him to read what she’d typed into the search bar: “best bars in Chicago to meet men.” Before her finger could click, he’d rested his palms on either side of her chair, effectively blocking her in. They might not be face to face, but her flesh became ultra-sensitive. His breath tickled her neck and sent waves of awareness down her back. All thoughts of suppressing her attraction crashed, and she closed her eyes briefly and took a shallow breath. Her plan of resetting their friendship back to more than a week ago burned to ashes.

  She’d thought he smelled good before. One large gulp of air later—then another for good measure—and her head swam with thoughts of him bare-chested and teasing her with his dancing pecs. She’d already played that fantasy over and over in her mind, and at this point she had every line of his chest memorized, even though she’d never actually seen it.

  “I didn’t think bars were your scene.” His words warmed the shell of her ear.

  “They’re not, but after having lunch with Megan yesterday—”

  “From accounting or reception?”

  “Accounting.” She breathed the word more than spoke it.

  “Hmm.”

  Allison forced her lips to form words. “She’s a total party girl.”

  From the corner of her eye, she watched as he shifted his attention to the pad of paper beside her keyboard. “Barhopping is the next thing on your list?”

  “Hardly. Dating is.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  She squinted at him from the side. “No time like the present. I know Nick thinks I should wait until I’m forty, but—”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  She nodded, biting her lip. “I know. It’s a sensitive subject with me.”

  They didn’t say anything for a couple of beats, and Allison figured she’d been honest to a fault up to this point, so why stop now? She tapped the notepad he’d inspected seconds ago. “Megan gave me a list of places to meet men. I looked them up, but I’m doing my own research, too.”

  “You can Google that shit?”

  She grinned, a tiny laugh escaping from between her lips. “You can Google anything.”

  “Like penguins?” His breath blew a wisp of her hair across her cheek, and she tucked it behind her ear with shaky fingers.

  “Especially penguins. And motorcycles…and so much more,” she whispered. She swiveled slightly in her chair, catching him off guard so that his mouth actually brushed her cheek.

  They each sucked in a quick breath, and he stepped back, straightening then folding his arms. Suddenly his stance reminded her of Nick. His authoritative posture told her before a word left his mouth that she’d lose any argument she might attempt. Her shoulders stiffened. Nick wouldn’t intimidate her any longer, and she wouldn’t let Jared start. She wanted changes, and that meant she had to stand up for herself.

  “I don’t think the bar is a good idea. Not for meeting men.”

  “Where do you suggest? The frozen food aisle, through a friend, a dating service?” She folded her arms in an attempt at her own intimidation. Although it didn’t seem to have much of an effect since she still sat and had to look up at him.

  She tilted her head to the side, tapping her chin with her finger. “I think Colleen can set me up with Jerry’s little brother. I mean, he’s barely a teen, but he did think I was cute, and I know I’d be safe with him. Of course I’d have to drive, and…”

  He shook his head, his eyes hardening. “As a matter of fact, the entire idea’s wrong.”

  She laughed. “Really? That seems an odd comment coming from a guy who’s dated so many women he’s gone through the alphabet at least ten times.”

  “A slight exaggeration.” His lopsided smile disarmed her. “I’m only saying you’re moving pretty fast. What’s the hurry? You’re barely a week into your makeover.”

  “Don’t even try it. Did Nick enlist your help or something?”

  “Listen, Al—”

  She waved his words away, already regretting what she’d said. “Never mind. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I’m ready to start dating, and a bar is a good enough place to start as anywhere.”

  He nodded his head slowly, and his eyes bored into her until she squirmed. He would never understand, but that didn’t stop that little niggle inside of her that always attempted to be a people pleaser. She shoved it aside.

  He rocked on his heels, his eyes scouring her face. She shifted in her seat and clicked the window closed. “This isn’t a subject I want to talk about with you. You’re not going to change my mind, and I’m not going to try to make you understand my reasoning.” She shuffled a few papers on her desk, trying to dismiss him without actually coming out and asking him to leave. “What report do you need? I can print it out.”

  “Sander’s Machinery.” But his tone let her know he wasn’t done spewing his opinion quite yet, he’d just taken a reprieve. More than likely to choose his words.

  “It’s not ready. I’ll have it for you before the end of the day.”

  “Good, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting this go. I don’t agree with what you’re doing.”

  “And now all you need to do is find the right words to get me to change my mind? Good luck,” she said under her breath.

  He might be amazing to look at, weaken her knees, and send chills across her flesh whenever he spoke, but that didn’t stop the ball of annoyance from growing in her belly. Before she thought it through, she blurted, “Are you more bothered by the idea of me dating, or my determination to eventually break in my Posturepedic?” She laughed at her own raunchy humor, biting her lip at the stormy look marring his eyes and spreading to his brow with a tight scowl. So much for being reckless. She might have some confidence, but apparently she didn’t know how to relieve stress with humor quite yet.

  “Not funny.” He cupped the crown of his head and sighed. “Since you won’t see reason, how about I tag along?”

  Surprise bit her in the stomach. “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Because some of these bars are in rough neighborhoods.” He opened the screen back up and tapped it.

  She sighed. “How can I meet a guy if you’re with me? Nobody will approach me.”

  “You can approach them. Or I’ll sit off to the side.”

  “A silent protector?” She frowned. “Should we invite Nick along, too? Maybe you both can have a few drinks, some laughs, or conduct interviews with my prospective dates? Heck, why not all of the above?”

  “Good idea.”

  Her stomach hit the floor, but before she could argue her point he cleared his throat.

  “Then maybe we’ll play a few rounds of darts or shuffleboard, and order a bottle of Dom so we can celebrate the greatness of your plan.”

  Allison groaned. “I told you I prefer wine. Plus, I’d rather go alone. I’ll avoid the bad neighborhoods. I think I can figure out what parts of town are off-limits since I’ve lived here my entire life.” She shook her head, but at the same time smiled up at him, hoping she looked more saucy than starstruck. She liked his protectiveness—to an extent—but she didn’t need a babysitter.

  He shrugged as if what they talked about really didn’t matter, but the way his shirt stretched tight over his shoulders and chest as his muscles tensed told another story. He should always be required to wear a jacket. Exposing that chest to the world—even covered by a pinstriped shirt—should be illegal.

  “I’ve already gone this far in your makeover, I might as well give you some advice when it comes to finding your—”

  “Man.” She leaned back in her chair. Kind of enjoying his discomfort.
Would he seriously go to the bar with her? All in the name of protection? She wasn’t sure she bought that excuse. But then why was he offering? And more importantly, why did she kind of want to say yes? “I don’t think so.”

  “Come on, Al. It’d make me feel better if someone—”

  “Namely you.” She rocked in her chair.

  “Namely me, was there to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m not thirteen, you know?”

  “I know you’re of age, but even you have to admit that you’re not familiar with Chicago’s nightlife. There are all kinds of creeps out there. Someone could buy you a drink and toss in a roofie.”

  “Oh, please. I’ll buy my own drink.”

  One eyebrow shot up. “What would happen if some guy came on to you and you couldn’t fight him off? At least I’d be there to make sure nothing happened.”

  He had a point. She could feel her mind softening. Surrendering. And she had wanted someone to go with her…

  “You promise you won’t invade my space, poke your nose in where it’s not wanted?”

  “So you’re telling me to sit in the corner and keep my mouth shut?”

  She grinned. “Except when you’re opening it to take a drink of your beer.”

  “I can do that.”

  The resignation in his voice broke down her final barrier. “Are you sure?” She dragged out each word as if that would give them both time to rethink where this was headed. “I don’t want to make any more trouble between you and Nick. I’ve noticed that you’re both keeping your distance, hardly talking. And at the meeting Monday morning, you couldn’t even stand to be in the room at the same—”

  “Don’t worry about Nick and me.”

  The butterflies that had been sleeping in her belly came to life and spread their wings. She did worry about him and Nick. It shredded her heart knowing she was the cause of the rift between them.

  Nick needed to butt out and quit worrying about her and Jared. The only place either of them were scoring any action was in her head.

  She snuck a peek at Jared from beneath her lashes. The idea he’d be at her side—or at a nearby table tucked in the corner—thrilled her more than it should.