The Girl He Wants

by Kristi Rose

  “I want to keep the pub going. I have some ideas to increase business.” He shifts his attention to Mum. “Ideas that might not suit you all, but I’d like to keep the general theme and menu.” He nods to emphasize his point. “I love this place.”

  “And you make the food just like Mum.” Mentioning this makes Mum sit up taller.

  “You are rather good at dredging the fish—”

  “And the stout is the secret ingredient.” He winks.

  Mum smiles brightly at him. “You are a fine young man, Jeff.”

  “Not to be nosy but you think you can get a loan for this place?” I ask.

  Jeff smiles. “I already own the lot next door. This hasn’t been my only job. I run an online business. I kept this job because it got me out of the house and off the computer. It would be a cash offer.”

  I fall back onto my bum. It’s like the universe is sending me a message.

  “Do you want to own this place forever, Mum? Or do you want to travel and do other things?”

  Mum takes his hand in hers. “There is no finer person to sell my business to than you.”

  They both break out in large smiles. It’s a real love fest in here.

  “Right,” I say. “Isn’t this grand? You two should start talking over the details so that when you go see Dad tonight you can, you know, lay the groundwork, as they say.” I squeeze her knee before rising.

  “Oh, dear. What will Thomas say?” Her smile turns downward with worry.

  “Just tell him you’ll have more time for Graceland and other holidays. I think Dad will like the sound of that. There’s lots that has to be worked out first. But let’s start the conversation.”

  “This is the finest day ever, man,” Jeff says, coming to a sudden stand. “I’m gonna go call my folks and tell them. Excuse me.” He’s gone in a flash.

  “He would be a good fit,” muses Mum.

  “He’d be an excellent fit. He’s very loyal.” I lean against the desk. “How do you feel about selling?”

  “Scared yet excited.” She looks up at me and there’s a twinkle in her eye that’s been long missing. “You know, I never said this to your Dad, but I’d like to go home and spend some time. No more than three months, mind you, because my sisters and I would murder each other, but I’d like to have longer visits. I’d like to travel across America in an RV. Doesn’t that sound lovely?”

  “Mm” is all I can say, because time in an RV for one day sounds bloody awful. The fridges are tiny. “You want me to help you talk to Dad, let me know.”

  Mum stands and folds me in her arms. “I’m a lucky woman to have you for a daughter. You and Pippa.”

  “You should tell her that. She’d love to hear it. I think she sometimes still feels like a burden.” I hug her back and breathe in the scent of fish, clotted cream, and the lavender water splash Mum uses to freshen up with.

  “I’ll call her and tell her right now.”

  After a final squeeze I leave Mum to call Pip and make my way back to my car. Now, it’s time to face what’s waiting for me at home.

  I’ve cracked one nut. Time to take on the tough one.

  Chapter 35

  A text from Josie tells me that everyone has gathered at her house for the evening. Another impromptu get-together really designed to provide everyone with a chance to relax. Paisley and Hank are preparing for their first long-term separation as his deployment date is creeping closer. Heather’s divorce is starting to wind down, and Kenley and Doug have yet to conceive. Brinn and Stacy have come across some unexpected issue that has once again slowed their plans. Who wouldn’t need some good food and maybe a refreshing drink?

  Josie texts me to stop by if I get home in time. She thinks I’ll be in Atlanta until late tonight. That was the plan, after all.

  After leaving Mum’s, I swing by my flat and drop off my bag and change out of my tailored suit and into my yoga pants and jersey T. I don’t refresh my makeup, but I do brush my teeth, because there are messages one might want to send and then there are messages one doesn’t want to send.

  Before I leave, I take a few moments to fawn over the kitties. Surprisingly, Arsehole Cat allows me to scratch her between the ears. I let them be and leave for what will probably be the biggest night of my life. I don’t need a fortune cookie to tell me that.

  Following the quick drive over, I let myself in the front door and can hear everyone out back. I text Pippa and tell her to answer my call but to listen and not say anything. Then I quickly make a FaceTime call so she can be present too.

  I come around the corner and run smack into Josie.

  “Jayne, I thought you were in Atlanta. How’d it go? Why are you home? What’s happened to you?” She scans me up and down.

  I turn her around and push her toward the others. “You’ll know soon enough. Here. Hold this.” I hand her my phone. “It’s Pippa. She needs to see this too.”

  Once outside I step up on the bench so I am over everyone.

  “Excuse me,” I say and wave my hands in the air. “Excuse me. Will everyone look at me please? I have something to say.” And just like that my courage flies away. Stacy turns his blue eyes toward me and just as quickly averts them. He starts to move toward the house and I call him out.

  “Stacy, please. I would like you to hear this.”

  He goes to stand by Cordie, his hand resting on her shoulder, and continues to not look at me.

  Fine. Right. It’s do or die.

  I take in a shaky breath, glance at Josie then look back toward him.

  “My name is Jayne.” I cross my hands over my chest. A few people laugh. “Many of you have known me for a while.”

  “More like your whole life,” Pippa says.

  “Yes, Pip. But I’m introducing you to the new me.” I can’t help it but a tear escapes.

  “You are now the business owner of two stores!” calls out Heather.

  I hold up a finger. “When you think of me, do you think of me as someone who has it together?”

  “For the most part,” Josie says in all her honesty. Bless her.

  “Right. For the most part. As you all know, today I was supposed to sign papers and buy a building. I was supposed to make a dream of more than eight years come true. But then I got a text.” I look at Paisley. “Thank you for that text, by the way; it’s changed my life. In one moment I was staring at what I had long thought was my dream but in the next moment I was thinking that nothing was right but how that made complete sense.” I wipe away a few more tears on my shoulder.

  “A few days ago I stood before someone I care deeply about and lied. I lied to hurt them and make them go away.” I stare directly at him and when his gaze flicks up to mine, I know it’s time to let it go. “By nature I’m a fearful person. I never really thought that to be true until I was asked to push past my fear. I was presented with two paths and I chose the one of least resistance. The one that let me be a coward. But that’s who I am. I like yoga pants and trans-unsaturated fats. Sorry, Pip. I like to watch the er—” I glance at Cordie and Tyler. “Late night adult channel while I eat those fats. I have a cat who just now decided to be mine and I have a dream-man wish list. Well, you know. About that.” I stare at Stacy. “I eat Indian food every Thursday and Chinese on Mondays. I wear flats because I’m afraid I’ll be too tall and for some asinine reason that will make people not like me. I’m not very good at minding children but I’m a loyal friend.”

  “You’re a great friend,” Paisley says.

  “And I am in love with you, Stacy.”

  “About time,” Heather mumbles.

  I ignore her and continue, “But because I’m too scared to take personal risk I was too scared to say it. I thought that you should know how I feel. That you should know that I don’t care if all our friends know about how I feel.” I do another shoulder wipe. “I’m terribly scared. Not of loving you. Of losing you. So I felt it best to let you go now before it got really
awful. Before I fell so terribly hard there would be no coming back from it, only I’m too late. It’s already happened. I thought you should know.”

  He cuts through the crowd, coming toward me. Not a single muscle on his face has moved and I can’t tell which way this is going. But I prepare myself for the worst. The part where he walks out. Or actually, the part where he shakes my hand, says it’s all good and all that but he’s changed his mind about me. About us. That would be the worst. Unequivocally.

  He stands before me, looking up, searching my face with his gaze. “I love trans-unsaturated fats, too. I like Indian food on Thursdays and I’m open to Chinese on Mondays. I like when you wear heels and I think you’re the most beautiful, sexy woman I have ever laid eyes on.”

  “Gross,” says Cordie from the back.

  “Honestly?” I sniff in the most unbecoming way. Loud and certainly not girly.

  “Yeah. I like watching you crack open a fortune cookie and how hopeful you get before you read it. You look at me like that, you know.”

  I shake my head.

  “Right before I do this.” He steps up to the bench, wraps his arms around the tops of my thighs, and lifts me up and off, pulling me against him. Slowly, I slide down his length until we are lined up perfectly. “See,” he whispers as he lowers his lips to mine. A breath before they touch, he says, “There it is.”

  Epilogue

  We slide into the booth at Amit’s. As per our custom, Cordie and I take the same side and I weave my legs between Stacy’s. There’s no use for menus as we get the same thing every time we come. Amit doesn’t even bother trying to convince me to try the specials.

  “So California was a success?” Over the table, we hold hands.

  I landed from my trip only a bit ago, and we went straight from the airport to dinner, filling the ride over with Cordie’s stories of her sleepover, which thankfully was a smashing success. She’s still adjusting but it’s slowly getting better.

  I squeeze his hand. “It was insane. You’ll have to go to the next meeting with me because I can’t even begin to relay everything they said. I have the proposal in the car and of course, it looks like a cracking good offer.” Who knew a year ago when I started The Daily Closet I’d have offers from tech companies to buy it? Who knew that I’d do so well in this time frame that I’m mere inches (Stacy projects two more months) from making Mum’s goal thermometer fully red?

  She’ll be excited to hear and when they come back from RVing in Parts Unknown, Canada, she’ll probably laminate the silly thing.

  “What will you do with your time if you sell?” He’s asked this a million times since the offers started coming in.

  “That’s the question, right?” I wag my brows.

  “You could ask a fortune cookie,” offers Cordie.

  I gesture around us. “Much to my displeasure, Amit doesn’t stock those here. We’d have to go to his cousin’s to get one and I’m all out.”

  “I have one.” Stacy takes one from his pocket and puts it on the table.

  “Why ever do you have a fortune cookie? Though I’m happy you do.” I take the cookie and find it surprisingly heavy. “Gads, where did you get this?”

  “From the box. Open it.” He sits back in the booth.

  I lean toward Cordie. “It doesn’t look too promising. The paper is missing. One of those, you know.” She’s shared enough with me that she now has her own fortune board going.

  I crack it open but instead of a slip of paper a ring tumbles onto the table.

  A simple, one-stone ring. A large sapphire.

  Stacy takes my hand. “I love you, Jayne. We love you and want to know if you’d like to marry me, marry us.”

  “We want to be your family,” Cordie says and leans against me.

  I look into his blue eyes. He’s my home. They’re my everything. “You already are my family.” I hold my hand out for him to slide the ring on my finger.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Of course it’s a yes!” I lean across the table and kiss him soundly. When I sit back, Cordie is bouncing in the seat.

  “Do you like it? I went with Dad to pick it out. I told him we should get one that looks like a cupcake. Don’t you think it kinda looks like a cupcake?” Cordie grabs my hand and pulls it close.

  I look down at the round stone and chuckle. “It absolutely looks like a cupcake and I can’t imagine a better ring. Thank you.” I wrap her in a hug and squeeze tight. “I love you, kid, you know that right?” She nods against my shoulder. “The only reason I’m hooking up with your dad is so I can have you.”

  Stacy comes from his side of the booth and slides in with us, squishing Cordie between us, and then he folds us in his arms.

  Our gazes meet over her head. This is what Josie was talking about on her wedding. When I look at him I see a lifetime of worn math t-shirts, takeaway food, and naughty TV. There’s also laughter, fighting, and a bliss from being a part of something greater than myself. Something I never knew existed.

  I see love.

  In case you missed it, here’s a peek at the first No Strings Attached novel,

  THE GIRL HE KNOWS

  She wants one night, he wants forever.

  Waking up naked next to a good looking man is not a bad way to start the day. The problem? This hottie is Hank, her best friend’s older brother, who she’s known her entire life. Stopping after one night is the right thing to do. Being with him clearly breaks the best friend code. From his career as a Naval officer to his Boy Scout reputation, everything about him screams monogamy and commitment…two things Paisley has had enough of.

  When Hank presents a “no strings attached” offer, it’s too good to be true. But, poor choices force her to confront old fears of love and loss, and Paisley has to decide if Hank is worth the risk. The alternative is never experiencing the real deal. Or far worse, settling for less.

  A Lyrical e-book available now.

  Learn more about Kristi at

  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/author.aspx/30582

  Chapter 1

  “Hank, honey. Time to get up.” Hank’s mom, calling through the door, wakes me from my sleep.

  Disorientated, I sit up with a jerk. The blanket falls, exposing my bare breasts. Gasping, I pull the sheet up to my chin, squint, and do a long blink. My contacts are dry, which makes them feel stiff and scratchy and my vision blurry. Each blink offers a short snapshot of my surroundings.

  I know where I am. Mortified, I drop my head and cover my eyes with the sheet. Why had I agreed to come here? What would make me throw caution to the wind and risk ruining a friendship?

  Lust. That’s what.

  “Hank, Dad says you have a tee time in one hour. Time to get up, sleepyhead,” his mom calls.

  “Sweet Jesus,” I whisper. Panic seizes me as I glance to my left. Lying next to me is my best friend’s older brother, Hank. I’ve known Gigi and Hank my entire life. This is her childhood bedroom, now a converted guest room, and the voice on the other side of the thin door is their mother, Ms. Becky. I’d rather face all of hell’s demons than have her find me here, in her guest bed, naked, with Hank.

  “Hmmphh? To slee....” Hank mumbles and his warm body rolls away, exposing his firm, well-defined backside. I close my eyes and count to ten. Now is not the time to get distracted by his assets or lost in the memory of how wonderful last night was. Now is the time to get the hell out of Dodge. I clutch the sheet to me as I shake his shoulder.

  “Wake up,” I whisper. When he doesn’t move, I lean close to his ear. “Wake. Up. Your mom is at the door.”

  He opens his eyes, or at least the one eye I see as he’s lying on his stomach.

  The doorknob rattles, and I fling myself back, pull the covers up over my head, and try to burrow underneath him.

  “I’m up, Mom,” Hank says, not even moving an inch.

  “Well hurry. Dad’s anxious to get to the course.” Her voice fades, i
ndicating she’s moving down the hallway.

  “You can come out of hiding,” he says.

  I flip the covers off my face, then clench them to my chest, “Hush. I don’t want them to know I’m here.”

  “I figured. I don’t think they’ll care if they find you here.” His voice is a low baritone and I worry it will carry.

  “Whisper,” I say. “I don’t care what you think. I don’t want them to know. I don’t want Gigi to know. I don’t want anyone to know.” Just saying it makes my stomach clench with apprehension.

  “I don’t see the big deal.”

  I sit up, rest on my elbow, and face him. “Of course you don’t. Let me tell you how it will go down if anyone finds out about last night.”

  “This should be good,” he mumbles.

  I continue, “I’ve been divorced a year now. Everyone wants to set me up because they think I need to be getting serious again. If our family gets wind of this...they’ll go nuts.” I shake my head. My mother would put an announcement in the social page of the paper, the engagement section, not five minutes after gaining this knowledge.

  “I’m not so sure they’ll react like you think.” He’s a guy so he doesn’t understand the way a mother’s mind works, or his sister’s for that matter.

  “You tell no one.” I point to emphasize my words.

  “How do you figure you’re getting out of here if not through the front door? Dad and I are headed to the golf course. My mom is staying home.”

  I give the room a quick scan. I want to leave unseen.

  “There’s my exit.” I point to the window. I roll away and sit up again, tucking part of the sheet under my arms and wrapping the rest around my backside. I search for my clothes.

  “The window? Really?”

  “Sure. Trust me, it’s easy. I’ve done this before. Lots.” I wave my hand to emphasize that it’s no big deal.