“Thanks,” she said. “For taking the time to explain it to me.”
If only it changed anything.
She took a moment to relish the feel of his skin on hers, then let out a deep sigh. “I’d really better go.”
When she stepped backward out of his reach, James dropped his hand to his side. He seemed disappointed, but all he said was, “Let me hail you a cab.”
Lyssa shook her head. “No, I’ll take the subway.”
“Absolutely not.”
When she stopped in surprise at his firm tone, he elaborated.
“I invited you here. I’m the reason you’re so far from home late at night. At the very least let me pay your cab ride home.”
She wanted to protest on principle, but the set of his shoulders told her he wasn’t going to budge on this one. So she let him have his way. “Okay.”
He gave her a curt nod and then stepped out onto the street, effortlessly flagging down a yellow taxicab. He opened the door and she slid inside.
Her eyes moved of their own accord back to James. She didn’t know when—if—she’d see him again, but her body ached with sadness. If James’s goal had been to get her to understand him better, then he could chalk the night up to mission accomplished. Unfortunately, they’d also never been so far apart. Because she had a family to think of, too. And nothing—no one—could get in the way of that.
James handed the cab driver several bills and then stepped back onto the curb, his eyes bright and rimmed with melancholy.
“Good night, James.”
“Night, Lyssa.”
She forced her gaze forward as the driver sped away.
The sooner she could stop thinking about James, the better. She had an expansion to plan, and mostly likely, a new investor to solicit. That was going to take every bit of her time and attention for the foreseeable future.
Timing and circumstances had destroyed whatever might have been between her and James.
Chapter Nine
“Argh… I suck.” Lyssa thumped her forehead down on the top of her computer keyboard.
“No, you don’t.” Nadia patted Lyssa on the back from her spot perched atop Lyssa’s desk. Lyssa had filled her in on the events of the prior night, and her resultant confusion, when she’d gotten into work that morning. Unfortunately, her confusion had only grown once she’d gotten home from the art gallery.
“Yes, I do.” Lyssa lifted her head to peer at her best friend. “How could I feel bad for even a second?”
Nadia swung her crossed legs back and forth. “Because you’re a good person.”
“Yeah, but I know what the stakes are if I don’t get an influx of money coming in, and soon. James and his family drama should be the last thing on my mind. I’ve got enough of my own to deal with.”
“It’s normal to feel something,” Nadia said. “I mean, you slept with the guy. Of course you’d feel for him and what he’s going through.”
While Lyssa appreciated Nadia’s attempt to make her feel better, she didn’t. “Sure, I can understand his desire to please his brother. And from what I gathered, their old investor really left them hanging. But it’s not like it’s a life or death situation.”
“Yours might not be, either,” Nadia pointed out. “You’re assuming the worst case scenario.”
Lyssa dug her nails into her desk. “You know my mom needs that chemo. Our savings have already been depleted. Same with Max’s. Without some drastic growth, I can only realistically bring in so many more clients.”
“I know.” Nadia sighed, looking dejected.
“There’s no way I’m going to land Martin Freeman. Not over James’s company.” Groaning, Lyssa plunked her head down again. “I’m back to the drawing board, and running out of time.”
“Well, you can’t give up,” Nadia urged. “There must be something you can do.”
“What?” Lyssa mumbled. “If you have any ideas, let me know.”
The swishing sound of Nadia’s swinging legs was the only response. But then she gasped. “Ooh, I know.”
Lyssa’s head shot up. “What is it?”
“James invited you to meet his family to show you why landing the investor was so important to him, right?”
“Right,” Lyssa answered cautiously.
Nadia clapped her hands together. “So turn the tables. Show him why it matters even more to you.”
Lyssa blinked at her. “You want me to parade my family in front of him? Tell him the whole sob story in the hopes he’ll pity me enough to pull back?”
“What, you’re too proud to do that?” Nadia snapped, her forehead scrunching. “I thought your family meant everything to you. That you’d do anything for them.”
“Th-they do,” Lyssa said defensively. “I would.”
“Then do this.” She slid off the desk onto her feet, smoothing the back of her skirt down. “Pride has no place here. And let’s face it, mija. You’re desperate.”
Damn, Nadia was right. Lyssa hated it, but she was right.
Her jaw set, she watched her friend stride toward the door.
Nadia paused at the threshold and turned back to Lyssa. “If you’re not willing to do it for you, then think of Gloria. Of Carlos.”
“Okay, okay. You made your point.” Lyssa shot Nadia a dirty look. “Smartass.”
“Smart as a whip, you say? You know it, chica. That’s why you keep me around.” Nadia blew her an insolent kiss before stalking off to her own office.
A reluctant chuckle tumbled from Lyssa’s lips. She stared blankly at the door for a while, absorbing Nadia’s words. She knew what she had to do.
Digging out the business card James had given her, Lyssa picked up her phone and dialed his direct line. He answered on the second ring.
“James Everly.”
She took a breath and spoke before she lost her nerve. “How do you feel about barbecue?”
“Lyssa?” He paused for a beat. “I like barbecue.”
The warmth and hopefulness in his voice made her stomach wrench. She ignored it.
“I’m having a barbecue at Prospect Park tomorrow. At noon, by the lake. You should come.”
“You mean, like a get-together?”
“Sort of,” she hedged.
To his credit, he only hesitated for a fraction of a second. “That sounds good to me.”
“Okay, well…I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” he replied, his voice smooth and deep.
“Bye.” She hung up, closing her eyes to lock in the memory of his sexy-as-sin voice. God, the man made her wish for things she shouldn’t.
Snap out of it, girl. Shaking her head to dispel the haze of longing a mere conversation with him had brought on, she yelled out, “Nadia, I invited James to a family picnic at the park tomorrow. You’re manning the barbecue grill.”
For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then Nadia’s voice called out, “Shit. You know I hate cooking.”
Grinning at her friend’s resigned tone, Lyssa forced her attention onto to the day’s work.
***
At exactly noon the next day, James found himself at Prospect Park. He couldn’t say going to Brooklyn was a regular occurrence for him. He’d been there maybe a handful of times in his life, and he’d never actually been to the park. Now that he was here, though, he was wondering why he’d waited so long.
It was a pretty fall day, with the leaves starting to turn interesting shades of yellow and orange and a breeze just strong enough to make him glad for the sweater he’d thrown on over his t-shirt.
He kept an eye out for Lyssa as he walked through the grass beside the lake area. To say that he’d been surprised when she called him yesterday would be an understatement. After they had parted ways at Sam’s art opening, he’d thought to never see her again. Something in her expression had seemed so sad…so final.
Then, out of the blue, she’d called to invite him to a picnic, of all things. There was no way in hell
he was going to turn that down, even if he wasn’t sure what her motivation was.
Could it be possible that she’d thought his words over? That she’d come to the same conclusion: that her business would organically grow without Martin’s investment? He didn’t want to hold out hope, but he couldn’t help it. Things would be so much easier between them if she had realized what he’d said was true.
Funny how so much had changed in so little time. If someone had told him last week he’d meet a woman he couldn’t stop thinking about, he would have laughed in their face. All the women he knew were cool and elegant and ultimately forgettable. But then he’d met Lyssa, and in the span of a day, she’d managed to turn him inside out.
It honestly frightened the shit out of him. Part of him wanted to run away from Lyssa and all that she represented. His range of experience when it came to true relationships was pretty horrid. His parents had ended up divorced and hating each other. But Andrew and Hailey were turning that paradigm on its head. They made him think maybe love wasn’t always twisted. That perhaps for some people, forever was in the realm of possibility.
Maybe he was capable of more than a series of casual, meaningless hookups.
Just then Lyssa came into view, headed right toward him, and all thought rushed from his head.
Damn, she looked good. She had on a pair of worn jeans and a hot pink sweater, over which she’d thrown her black cashmere jacket. Her hair was up in a messy bun atop her head, and she wore pink sneakers on her feet. Though it wasn’t a particularly sunny day, sunglasses covered her eyes.
Her expression was serious as she approached, but despite that, she somehow managed to look utterly adorable.
James stopped and waited for her to reach his side. He didn’t bother trying to temper the grin that crept to his lips. When she came to a standstill a few feet in front of him, he said, “Hi.”
“Hey. I thought you might be wandering around. It’s a big lake.”
He nodded. “That it is.”
She hesitated briefly, then motioned behind her. “We’re parked at a grill down that way.”
James fell into place beside her and they turned back in the direction from which she’d come. “We?”
Lyssa threw him a sidelong glance. “My best friend, Nadia, and some of my family.”
That unexpected bit of news made his stomach give a funny rumble. He’d figured he would be meeting some of her friends, but family? A layer of heat crept into his throat, and he fought the urge to yank at his collar.
She set a leisurely pace, so he matched it. He wasn’t in any big hurry to meet anyone else. He just wanted to spend more time with her.
“Did you grow up around here?” he asked.
“Yes. Just a few blocks from where I live now.” She snuck another glance at him. “It’s nothing fancy, but it’s close to work and the area is safe enough.”
He didn’t comment on that, mostly because he didn’t know how to. In all the years he’d lived in New York, he’d never considered the safety of his apartment building. It was in one of the best neighborhoods on the Upper East Side, complete with security and on-call concierge service.
“I enjoyed meeting your family, James.” Her voice was soft and earnest. “Your brothers were really nice.”
He grinned. “Most times they’re a huge pain in the ass.”
She gave a low laugh. “Family can be that way.”
“But their hearts are in the right places,” he added.
“Exactly.” Lyssa gave a nod, as if she understood what he was saying. “Speaking of…there’s my friend, Nadia.”
She lifted her hand to point to an attractive woman manning one of the barbecue grills in the distance. The woman wore black jeans with a black shirt, high-heeled boots, and a denim jacket. Her long, black hair hung practically to her waist. She looked completely out of place grilling up food, and based on the frown on her face, she probably felt that way, too.
“Nadia and I have been best friends since I was five. We’re practically sisters.”
“She doesn’t look very happy,” he commented.
“I roped her into grill duty.” Lyssa gave him a devilish grin. “She hates anything cooking-related with an undying passion.”
James rumbled out a laugh. “How sinister of you.”
She opened her mouth to respond, when a child’s voice yelled, “Watch out,” from a few feet away. They turned just in time to see a young boy hurtling toward her, a football tucked into his hands.
“Oomph.” She opened her arms just in time to catch the boy, staggering backward from the force of his movement. A wide smile transformed her face as she looked down at the kid with unmistakable love. She lifted a hand to ruffle his hair. “What was that? Were you trying to tackle me?”
The boy only giggled, then turned his curious gaze to James.
James’s heart seized when he took in the boy’s features. He looked to be seven or eight, and he had Lyssa’s eyes and full, heart-shaped mouth. The coloring of their skin and hair was the same, as well.
“James,” Lyssa said, her voice soft, “I’d like you to meet the center of my universe, Carlos.”
Well aware his mouth had dropped open, he could only stare at Lyssa. There was no denying the familial resemblance.
Lyssa had a son?
The thought she might have a child had never crossed James’s mind. Somehow, though he didn’t know how or why, he realized this discovery was about to change everything.
Chapter Ten
She had just shocked James. That much was clear from the expression on his face. Lyssa looked from him to Carlos, then realized what he’d assumed. “Carlos is my nephew.”
“Oh,” James said, his shoulders relaxing. That simple word held a wealth of information. It had scared him to think she might have a son. Well, if that was the case, he was about to get really frightened.
“I have custody of him.”
The stiffness in his back returned in an instant. His hands slipped into the pocket of his loose jeans, and for a moment, Lyssa feared his response. If he said anything that hurt or upset Carlos, she would have to kick his ass.
But when he finally spoke, all he said was, “How’s it going, bud?”
“Good,” Carlos replied in the shy voice he reserved for new acquaintances. The two took stock of each other for a moment, and then Carlos said, “I’m eight.”
James grinned. “That’s a great age.”
Her mother picked that moment to race up to them, huffing from chasing after Carlos. She stopped to lift a hand to her heart, panting for breath. “Mijo, I told you I can’t run as fast as you.”
“Sorry, Nana,” Carlos said unrepentantly.
James’s curious gaze moved to her mother, and Lyssa took a fortifying breath. “Mami, I invited a friend to join us for the barbecue.”
She hadn’t mentioned anything earlier because her mother would only have hounded her for information, like how she knew James and what his intentions were toward her. Better to just spring him on her. At least her manners would keep her from questioning Lyssa until after they’d parted ways.
Lyssa motioned toward James. “Mami, this is James. James, this is my mother, Gloria.”
His hand slid from his pocket to shake her mother’s. In a smooth voice he said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gloria.”
“Sí, uh…me too,” her mother replied in stilted English.
Her hawkish gaze roved to Lyssa, but Lyssa had done this enough times to know what to do: she averted her eyes. Avoidance was the number one strategy with her mother, and it generally worked when there was someone else around to take the heat off her. Gloria would never make a scene in front of someone she’d just met.
“Hey, don’t forget me.” Nadia cheerfully raised her spatula from her spot by the grill several yards away.
Gladly taking Nadia’s cue, Lyssa led James over to her.
“James, this is Nadia, the huge pain who insists she’s my best friend,” Lyssa
joked.
“You’re lucky to have me and you know it.” Nadia smirked, turning to James. “In fact, she loves me so much she begged me to work for her so we could see each other all day, every day.”
Lyssa snorted. As if.
“Nice to meet you.” James shook Nadia’s hand, winning major points when his gaze didn’t linger on her. Lyssa had no qualms about admitting that, between the two of them, her best friend was the stunner. It had caused her a moment of concern when she decided to stage this scene for James, but he hadn’t even seemed to notice Nadia’s looks. His gaze went right back to her.
Something warm and tingly melted in Lyssa’s stomach. She didn’t have a moment to ponder it, however, before Carlos marched right back to them and said to James, “Hey, do you play football?”
“Love it.” James held his hand out for the football, and Carlos eagerly relinquished it. Throwing her a saucy wink, James nodded his head toward the clearing of grass. “Come on, let’s go that way, where there’s more room.”
The sight of James leading Carlos away tugged at her heartstrings. Carlos was so starved for a father figure that it was no surprise he’d immediately latched onto poor James. But to his credit, James had handled it well. Too well. The two of them looked so natural together as they tossed the ball back and forth.
“Leave it to men to bond over pigskin,” Nadia murmured.
Nadia turned back to Lyssa, but before she could respond, her mother marched over.
“Who is that?” she asked in Spanish, her tone suspicious. “How do you know him? What’s he doing here?”
“I met him through work.” Lyssa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Gloria tended to be mistrustful of everyone and everything. Just part of her natural charm. “Like I said, he’s a friend.”
“You aren’t dating him, are you? He’s not from the neighborhood,” she continued in Spanish. “Mike was from the neighborhood. I don’t know why you ever stopped seeing him to begin with.”
“Because he was fifty pounds overweight and preferred drinking with his cop buddies to spending time with Lyssa,” Nadia piped in. “Besides, what’s so wrong with dating a guy like James?”
Good Girls Don't Page 11
