Not Just Friends (Brookfield)

by Wolfe, Lacey

  NOT JUST FRIENDS

  Copyright © 2013, Lacey Wolfe

  Publisher: Southern Girl Press

  Edited by Tara Chevrestt

  Proofed by Ella Jade

  Cover by Designs by Viari

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  www.laceywolfe.com

  Not Just Friends

  Lacey Wolfe

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you so much to my readers who’ve fallen in love with the Brookfield series as much as I have. I absolutely love this town I’ve created and the characters that come along. I hope to see this series grow and that you as my readers continue to love it as well.

  Thank you to my editor, Tara Chevrestt, for helping me polish this baby up. I love the working relationship that we have and out ability to simply ‘click’ on things.

  Ella Jade, thank you for continuing to catch my over used words. You’ve got an awesome eye. I’m so glad to have met you and love working with you.

  A big giant thank you to my street team as well. A wonderful group of readers who help me promote and let me dangle ideas in front of them to get their opinions. Sometimes I wish I could write faster!

  Back Cover Blurb

  Can the quiet bookstore owner land the playboy?

  Alyssa Duncan’s life revolves around books. If not for the fact the town’s playboy Connor Phillips has a secret reading addiction, she most likely wouldn’t be on his radar…or his friend. The two personalities just don’t mesh…or do they? She gets a chance to find out when a book-reading bet leads to dinner. Alyssa experiences a wide a range of emotions. She’s elated her beyond-friendship feelings seem returned, but his reputation precedes him. Is she just another gullible female in a string of women? As a relationship begins to develop with Connor, going past the limits of friendship, things grow muddled and complicated when an ex-boyfriend shows up in town and things aren’t what they seem.

  When the dust finally settles, will Alyssa find true love with someone or end up with just another friend?

  Chapter One

  Alyssa Duncan’s alarm clock beeped on the front desk, alerting her that it was her favorite hour in her book store. Closing time.

  It wasn’t because she disliked owning The Reading Corner. No…quite the opposite. This was her time to be alone with all the books. She got to walk around and put each one back in its place. She rubbed her hands down the line of books on the shelves, making sure they were pushed all the way back.

  Oftentimes, she would find a book she’d yet to read and would take it upstairs to her apartment. Alyssa was lucky. Her shop was one of the few stores left in Brookfield with an apartment above it. She loved living above her store.

  Tonight Alyssa was in the mood for a historical romance. She wanted to be swept away to the 1700s. Perhaps she could read about a widowed duchess and a proclaimed rake. Those were always fun. She skimmed the titles until something caught her attention. One of her regular customers had been in last week gushing about it. Alyssa tugged it from its place and read the blurb.

  It was perfect.

  She did one last check to make sure everything was in order. She went to the glass front door to see if she’d locked it, when someone across the street caught her attention. Connor Phillips sat in front of the town’s bakery, The Cookie Shop. A tall bombshell of a blonde was sitting opposite him, giggling. Alyssa could see Connor smiling. He had one of those movie star grins. A slight curl to the lips and it would instantly melt any girl’s heart.

  Connor was a friend of hers. He had a secret that she bet none of these women who flocked after him knew. He was an avid sci-fi reader and gamer. The sexy playboy was a deep-down nerd. And that was the only reason he ever had anything to do with her.

  Willing herself to look away, she pushed her feelings of jealousy deep within her. She turned off the lamp on the front desk and left for her apartment. As Alyssa entered her home, she was greeted right away by her black cat Zoe. The cat rubbed against her legs and softly meowed.

  Alyssa reached down, picking her up. “Did you miss me today?”

  She waited a moment, but as usual, the cat didn’t answer. Zoe leapt from her arms and made her way to a corner, where she bathed herself.

  Alyssa popped a frozen meal into her microwave and went to change into some sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt. She pulled her dark locks up into a messy bun. In the bathroom she removed her contacts and put on her glasses. Ahhh, now she could fully relax.

  The microwave dinged. She used a potholder to get her meal and plopped down at the kitchen table. She’d begin her book as she waited on the food to cool. Flipping the book open, she read the acknowledgements as she always did. She liked to see who helped the author along the way. As she opened the book to chapter one, her phone chirped, letting her know she’d received a text. She decided to ignore it. She never liked to be disturbed when she read. But whoever it was didn’t want to be ignored, since her phone chirped again.

  Alyssa groaned, dug it out of her purse, and read the two messages.

  Can I come up? – Connor

  Put the book down and let me in. *wink wink* - Connor

  She giggled and wondered what he stopped by for, especially since she’d just seen him on a date. The new book he wanted didn’t come out until next week. She made her way back downstairs to the bookstore, where she saw Connor standing at the door, smiling while holding two paper cups she assumed was coffee. God, he was a sight. Dark, almost black hair that he always wore with that just-out-of-bed look, with ice-blue eyes that bore into one’s soul.

  She unlocked the door and let him in. “Hey, Connor. What can I do for you?”

  He handed her a coffee. “It’s Sunday evening and you’re closed tomorrow, which means you’ll be on a reading binge tonight. Figured you could use some coffee.”

  She grinned. He knew her so well. Too bad he’d never see her the way she did him. “I picked up a historical romance.”

  “Did you try the book I recommend yet?”

  Sci-fi wasn’t for her. She had tried it, but couldn’t get into it. “Soon.”

  “I don’t believe you. Maybe we should take a bet.” He leaned against the wall.

  “A bet? Are you serious?”

  “Dead serious. I bet by the end of the week you still haven’t read it.”

  She took a sip of her drink. Ah, her favorite. Mocha with a splash of raspberry. “What are the terms of this bet?”

  “If you have, dinner’s on me. If you haven’t, dinner’s on you. And I warn you, I have expensive taste.”

  Alyssa’s heart fluttered. Dinner? A meal together? They’d never gone anywhere. In fact, she didn’t know if anyone knew they were even friends.

  Connor reached out, touching her shoulder. “Do we have a deal?”

  Oh God, she was supposed to speak. She wasn’t sure that part of her was working any longer. “Uh-huh.”

  Connor grinned at her, a dimple forming on his cheek. “What’s the matter? Cat got y
our tongue?”

  No, a cat did not have her tongue. In fact, if a cat did, she was pretty sure she’d be screaming right about now, not being mute.

  “You kinda threw me off, asking me to dinner.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Was that something you weren’t interested in?”

  Ha ha, there wasn’t a woman around who didn’t want to have dinner and more with Connor Phillips. She just never thought it would be her. “We have a deal.”

  “Good.”

  Alyssa wondered if this meant he might be interested in her. That he could possibly have eyes for her. As she stared at him with a God-knew-what kind of smile on her face, she didn’t notice at first the blonde bombshell she’d seen earlier was now standing outside waiting. Alyssa glanced back at Connor, who caught her focus and turned to glance at the woman.

  “Crap, I forgot about her.”

  Alyssa raised an eyebrow. “Date?”

  “For this evening.”

  Her heart sank. Connor wasn’t interested in her. She would never look like blondie out there. He wanted to take her out as a friend. That was it. It was time she realized it and the fact they would never be anymore than they were. And after tonight, the woman standing out in the cold would know the same thing.

  “I guess I better get out there.” He took a sip of his drink and stepped away from the wall.

  “Yeah, she seems a little mad.”

  Connor leaned closed and whispered to her, “She’ll get over it.” He brushed a light kiss on her cheek. This was the first time he’d ever been that close to her.

  The woman outside tapped on the door, obviously not liking what she had seen.

  “You better go,” Alyssa said. “Besides, I think my dinner’s cold. I’d just taken it out of the microwave before you got here.”

  “Enjoy your meal and the coffee as well.” He waved and then went back out the door, greeting the woman waiting for him.

  Alyssa wanted to watch but didn’t. It was hard enough knowing the man she secretly fantasized about was once again out with another woman.

  Chapter Two

  Connor woke up late Monday. His evening the night before had lasted longer than he’d anticipated.

  He’d dropped off his date, practically fighting her off of him. Usually, he would’ve had a little fun with her. Why not? He was young, attractive, and wasn’t bad off with money. But lately one woman had caught his attention, and he wanted to know her badly. He couldn’t get a good feel for her though.

  Was Alyssa attracted to him or not? Last night she’d been adorable with her hair up, wearing those comfy clothes. He could imagine sitting on the couch with her in the evenings, each with a book in hand, a fire in the background.

  Most of his friends would never believe that he would be happy with such an evening. Little did they know… he was tired of the lifestyle he currently lived. But it would take the right girl to make him settle down. Somehow that contradicted him not liking how he lived life now, but it was hard to give it up.

  His phone buzzed on his nightstand. Glancing at it, he saw the familiar number of a client. “Connor speaking. What can I do for you, Nate?” He climbed out of bed in search of coffee.

  “I’m not feeling comfortable with the stock I bought Friday. I watched it all weekend and I’ve got a feeling it was a bad choice on my end. I should’ve listened to you. Got time for me to come in today?”

  Connor had hoped he could avoid the office today. He’d told Nate last Friday not to buy the shares he had. Yet as the client just said, he didn’t listen. Connor had been in and out all weekend that he hadn’t been on top of his game keeping up with the market. He’d need to get into the office to see what was going on.

  “How about after lunch?”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, man. That’s what I pay you for.”

  Connor hit the end button and set his phone down on the counter. He had wanted to catch up on some gaming today. His friends kept him away from home all weekend, but the last thing he wanted them to know was he loved role-playing video games. They’d laugh at him and he’d never hear the end of it.

  His coffee was done in no time. He grabbed the mug and went into his living room, turning the T.V. on to some morning show for background noise. But his mind wasn’t on the woman talking. It was on Alyssa. She’d been so adorable the night before, he couldn’t get over it. She’d gotten flustered about the whole dinner bet and he wasn’t sure why. He’d been visiting The Reading Corner for two years now. She was one of those owners who knew all her customers and when a book they wanted came in, she would put it aside and call them.

  Usually it was only her there, but she did have a young girl who worked part-time. He assumed that was when Alyssa took a break, since she opened and closed the place every day. It was very rare to walk into the bookstore and not find her.

  Connor had always had a bit of a crush on her, but she wasn’t like other women. If he dated Alyssa, it would be serious. And while he was ready for that, he wasn’t sure Alyssa felt the same way. Aside from books, he didn’t know much more about her. Hopefully with their upcoming dinner date, that would all change.

  * * * *

  Alyssa walked into Luigi’s Pizza and glanced around for Julie Miller. Julie ran a small ePublishing press and had an author coming into town soon for a visit. While the author was in Brookfield, Julie wanted to put her up in The Reading Corner for a signing. Alyssa and Julie were meeting to discuss the details.

  Alyssa had never had a book signing in her store. She was excited to have a real, live author there—as silly as that sounded. She’d picked up a few of the author’s titles on her eReader and had really enjoyed them—especially since they were historical romance and a bit on the naughty side.

  Alyssa spotted Julie in the back of the restaurant with a book. Julie was alone today, which was rare. She almost always had her daughter Lila with her.

  “Hi, Julie,” Alyssa greeted.

  “Hey! I was getting worried you were going to stand me up.”

  “Sorry I’m late. I was up late last night.” Alyssa took a seat opposite Julie.

  A waitress appeared right away to get her drink order. Even though Luigi made the best pizza, he also made amazing lasagna and Alyssa went ahead and gave her order to the waitress.

  “Where’s the little one?” Alyssa asked.

  “Home with Mark. I needed a break. And this is, after all, a business meeting.” Julie winked.

  “My schedule is open, as you know. I think the back corner will be a good place. It’s spacious and can be seen when visitors come in, but also quiet enough so the author can chat with fans.” Alyssa paused a moment before adding, “Do you think we’ll get many fans with this being Brookfield and all?”

  “Certainly. I’m sure people will come from all over. While Tracey isn’t an overnight sensation, her sales have been rock-solid and those who’ve read her, love her.”

  “I know I adore her work. I can’t believe she hasn’t made the New York Times list yet.”

  “She will.” Julie beamed.

  “With you behind her, I have no doubt.”

  They chatted for a few more minutes when the food arrived. By the time they had half their meal eaten, they had each and every detail planned out. It was going to be a big success. Alyssa didn’t know much about social media, but the way Julie went on and on about it, Alyssa was pretty sure the word would spread fast.

  This wasn’t only going to be good for the author, but for her as well. The Reading Corner, if things went as planned, might have its busiest day ever. If tourists came into town, that would be just as good for all the small shops. Maybe Alyssa needed to find more authors to visit.

  Taking the last bite of lasagna, she couldn’t believe she’d finished it all. “That was good. I’ll never be a size five on Luigi’s food.”

  Julie laughed. “My hips will never be that slender again. And it’s crazy, I want to have another.”

  “Oh, that’s great.”

&nbs
p; “Mark is thrilled. But, before I get pregnant, I need to probably hire an assistant to learn to run things as well. It’s hard enough with Lila. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like with a newborn.”

  Alyssa smiled. It sounded like such a fun job, but she knew it wasn’t in her. She spent way too much time at her store. She didn’t have much time for anything else. Though she’d like to make the time for a man, she just hadn’t found one yet she wanted to make time for—except maybe Connor.

  Alyssa took a sip of her drink. The waitress came with their bill and Alyssa handed her cash. Once she had her change, she stuffed it into her purse. “This was a lot of fun.”

  “I hate it’s over.” Julie frowned.

  “We can hang out for a bit. The store is closed today, so I have plenty of time.”

  “Have you started the book I recommended yet?” A familiar male voice sounded behind her.

  Alyssa took a deep breath and spun around to see Connor. He grinned down at her and she felt her heart rate speed up. “Connor, hi. What are you doing here?”

  “I stopped in for one of the subs and then I’m heading into the office for a meeting. I saw you over here, so I thought I’d stop over and say hi.”

  “Hi.” Had she really just said that? How freaking cheesy!

  “Hi, I’m Connor Phillips,” he said to Julie.

  “Julie Miller. It’s nice to meet you. I think I’ve seen you around.”

  “Probably. Mark has made some custom furniture for me as well. You are that Julie Miller, right?”

  “The one and only.”

  Alyssa tried hard to get her brain and mouth to function, but she was literally tongue-tied. And then Connor reached out and squeezed her shoulder. A shiver shot through her. Man, the effect this guy on had on her.

  “I think you deserve a day of fun,” he said. “But after it, you better start that book. Otherwise, I plan to have you take me to a very expensive place.”