by Lori Ryan
She felt her face turn five shades redder than it already was as she tried to laugh with everyone else at Andrew’s comment. Hopefully he couldn’t tell the tables were turned and she was the one with the ridiculously hopeless crush on him this time.
“What do you want to drink?” Andrew asked her. He moved around Jack and Kelly to stand next to Jill and she had to force herself not to read anything into his move.
Andrew Weston is off limits. Andrew Weston is off limits.
Maybe if Jill repeated the mantra enough, her body would catch onto what her brain knew. Yes, she’d thought briefly about a fling with him, but he was too close to home to do that. His grandmother was good friends with her grandparents. Not to mention he was apparently good friends with the husband of the only friend she had in town.
She focused instead on the shock of finding out that Andrew wasn’t the lazy bum she thought he was. Apparently he didn’t just live off his grandmother’s wealth and sleep the day away. How was it possible that he was the CFO of Jack’s company and, according to Kelly, incredibly smart and successful? Jill had him pegged as some playboy socialite.
Andrew ran his hand down the small of Jill’s back sending a deliciously wicked thrill through her and leaned in close to her ear. “Do you want something to drink, Jill?”
She realized she hadn’t answered Andrew when he asked her the first time. His hand on her back was probably completely innocent and meant to be friendly, but the heat that radiated through her at his touch was anything but innocent – and was very distracting. She looked up at him and swallowed. Trying to get the gears in her mind to kick in and function.
“A margarita?” Jill suggested but in her head she was doing all she could to try to shut down the effect of Andrew’s touch. It’s gonna be a loooong night.
Chapter Six
Andrew couldn’t believe Kelly had been trying to set him up with Jill. Unfortunately, that connection was all the more reason for him to stay away from his sexy neighbor, romantically. Her family was not only literally and figuratively close to his, she was also friends with his friends now. Way too close to home for Andrew’s comfort. Too bad she was so damned tempting.
He walked back over to the group with Jill’s drink in his hand and listened as Kelly explained that she and Jill met recently at a gallery in town. Jill had been there overseeing the installation of her photographs when Kelly went in to shop.
“Her work is amazing. I went in to look for something to put in the living room over the fireplace and couldn’t believe her photographs. I bought one of her pieces for that spot and another smaller piece for your study, Jack,” Kelly was saying.
“I didn’t realize one of the galleries you show in is here in New Haven,” Andrew said. He handed Jill her margarita and watched her take a sip.
He found himself staring at her lips as they caressed the rim of the glass then swallowed a groan when her tongue came out to lick the salt off her full lips.
When he reluctantly tore his eyes away and brought them back up to Jill’s, she answered his question. Damn, she was going to be hard to ignore.
“One is here in New Haven and the other’s in Hartford. I’ll be meeting with a third gallery in New York next week and I’m hoping they’ll offer me a temporary installation on a trial basis,” Jill said.
“Well, you’ll need to show me your work soon,” Andrew heard himself say, and he resisted the urge to smack himself in the head.
Bad idea, Andrew. A private showing of Jill’s art sure as hell wasn’t going to cool things off.
The group talked and laughed. Jack told stories about Andrew from business school and Kelly told Jill about her first year in law school.
Andrew noticed that Jill seemed to be sucking down quite a few margaritas. He wondered if she was in a bit of a wild phase after her divorce or if she was always like this.
As he watched her, Andrew found himself wondering a lot of things about Jill. What happened with Jill and her husband? Did he cheat on her? Hurt her? Obviously, he was a fucking moron for letting her slip away. Complete fucking moron.
There were other things going through his head, too. Things that sure as hell shouldn’t be there. He wondered what Jill looked like under the green sweater she wore. The green sweater that made her hazel eyes look a bit deeper than they usually did. What would it feel like to kiss those full, rose-colored lips? How would she respond during sex? With little moans and pants or would she scream out his name?
Oh shit. I’m a dead man.
“Andrew? Andrew?” Kelly asked.
“Hmm? Oh! Sorry. What was that, Kelly?”
Nice recovery, asshole.
“We were just saying that it’s probably time for us to call it a night. You okay?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, I was just thinking about some work things. I should head home, too,” Andrew said. They stood and prepared to leave.
He noticed Jill didn’t seem all that steady on her feet when she slid off the barstool and picked up her purse.
“Why don’t I drive you home, Jill?” Andrew took hold of Jill’s arm to steady her and she smiled up at him.
“I think I had too many margaritas,” she whispered at a volume that let the whole group hear her confession.
Andrew laughed. “I think you might be right.” He turned to Jack and Kelly. “I’ll get her home, guys. I’ll be back in the office next week, Jack.”
“You sure you’re ready?” Jack asked Andrew.
“Yeah. I’ve got Nora settled in at home and the nurses seem to have things under control. I’m going to stay in the carriage house a while longer in case she needs me around, but I’m ready to get back to work. Being a bum for a couple of weeks was fun, but I’m bored.”
“What happened to Nora?” Jill frowned.
“Oh, uh. She fell on some ice and broke her hip. That’s why I’m staying there for a while. I wanted to get Nora and Lydia more help at the house and set up nurses for her so she can recover at home instead of in a rehab center,” he explained.
“Ha! I thought you were a bum who partied all day and lived off your grandmother,” Jill said.
Jack and Kelly started to laugh while Andrew looked down at Jill and scowled.
“Why would you think that?”
“You came wandering over at 10:30 in the morning and it was obvious you had just woken up, hadn’t shaved in days... You said you were ‘taking a leave of absence’ and you were sleeping in Nora’s carriage house. I thought ‘leave of absence’ meant you were living off her. What else would I think?” Jill asked.
Jack and Kelly continued to laugh at Andrew, who was anything but a lazy bum. Even Andrew cracked a smile as he steered Jill outside to his Aston Martin and settled her safely into the front seat.
As they drove home, Andrew realized just how drunk Jill was when she started to slur and babble. She talked about the snow and the trees covered in ice as they drove on the small New England highway that took them from New Haven to Westbrook.
He had a feeling she didn’t get this drunk very often. When they were close to home, she turned in her seat and studied him through sleepy eyes.
“So, you’re really not a bum? You’re like this huge financial wizard and you have a big career. Nora’s not supporting you?”
“Nope.” he grinned at Jill and wondered why this revelation seemed so significant to her. “I’m really not. I’m a grown up with my own place and everything. Does that bother you?”
She sighed and turned back to the front windshield as Andrew steered them toward home. “It just confirmed that you really, really, really can’t be my rebound guy,” she said with a drunken little wave of her hand.
This brought a huge grin from Andrew. “Oh, yeah? You wanted me to be your rebound guy?” Hell, yes!
He kept one eye on the road and glanced over at Jill.
She must have been very drunk because she didn’t hesitate to spill the beans as he pulled the car down the driveway of her grandparents’ house.
Andrew turned off the engine when he reached the house.
“Of course. You’re hot. But you’re also Nora’s grandson so that makes you a bad idea. A verrrry bad idea. When I thought you were kind of a bum, it might have been okay to have a fling, but now you’re not, so it isn’t.” Jill babbled on, making it a little hard for Andrew to follow her logic, but he mostly understood where she was coming from.
Still, he was surprised to hear her frank assessment of their relationship possibilities. Or rather, lack thereof.
He watched in bemused shock as his sexy-as-hell neighbor explained that she couldn’t sleep with him even though she wanted to because he was friends with her friend and he was the son of her grandparents’ friend. Too complicated.
Andrew laughed at Jill as she finished her speech. Since he also knew getting involved was a bad idea, he didn’t argue with her. He wanted to argue, though.
He wanted to find some reason to say she was wrong and it would be perfectly fine for them to sleep together. That’s what his body wanted, but his brain still had some control, thankfully. He leaned across the seat toward her, breathing in the incredible mixture of scents he had come to identify with Jill.
“I know what you mean, sweet Jill,” he whispered, as he undid her seatbelt. “I know just what you mean.”
With a great deal of effort, Andrew pulled back before Jill’s proximity got the better of him. He opened his car door and jogged around and opened her door. With all the control he could muster, he walked a rather dazed looking Jill up to her front door, helped her inside, and went home to the second cold shower that Jill had inspired in just a few days.
Chapter Seven
Jill lay in her bed reliving the conversation from her ride home with Andrew last night. She cringed as the memory of her words came back to her all too clearly. She never thought she’d wish for a nice little blackout.
Oh. My. Peanuts.
I actually told Andrew Weston I wanted to have rebound sex with him. What was I thinking?
She hadn’t been thinking. She had been drunk. Jill rarely drank more than a glass of wine when she went out. She certainly never had to be driven home or spilled her guts to her steamy next-door neighbor because she over indulged. She wasn’t the type.
But, for some reason, last night Jill had just wanted to acknowledge her attraction to the one man who couldn’t be her rebound guy. Now she wanted to erase the images she’d created in her head of sharing a bed with Andrew.
With a groan, Jill rolled over and shut her eyes against the sun and the memories of the most embarrassing encounter she’d ever had. What would she do when she ran into Andrew again? How would she face her neighbor after what she had blurted out the night before?
Jill’s husband had left her feeling humiliated and insecure. Now those feelings were magnified by the added mortification of having thrown herself at her handsome neighbor.
Despite her embarrassment, one other thing stuck in her mind from the night before. She remembered the way she felt when Andrew leaned over to unbuckle her seat belt. His body so close to hers. His breath brushing against her neck as he leaned into her. Jill closed her eyes and tried to will the images out of her head.
Crap.
It wasn’t working. Those images weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Andrew slept a little later than usual, but he woke with a smile on his face. Sweet, sexy Jill wanted him to be her rebound guy. His smile grew wider at the thought.
He had a feeling Jill might regret blurting out her fantasy about him and her confession sure as hell didn’t make it any easier for him to stay away from her. In a way, Andrew almost wished she hadn’t told him she was interested in him.
Although they were both in agreement being together couldn’t happen, knowing Jill wanted the same thing he did would make keeping their relationship platonic that much harder.
He showered and dressed in sweats and an old t-shirt then tossed on his gym shoes and a fleece pullover, trying to keep his mind away from thoughts of Jill. He was meeting Chad – Jack’s cousin and the head of Security at Sutton Capital – at the gym to play basketball at noon. Before leaving the house, Andrew went to the window and looked outside to see if Jill was around. He didn’t see her out in the yard but he figured she must be up. It was already eleven o’clock.
Grabbing a few bottles of water and some aspirin, he grinned as he made his way down the stairs and out to his car. He tossed his gym bag in the back seat and pulled the car down Nora’s drive, then back up the driveway next door.
He stood on Jill’s front porch with the water and aspirin in hand, ringing her bell. She probably wouldn’t want to see him first thing, when she was likely waking up with a hangover but he didn’t care. Call him a masochist for wanting to see an attractive woman he couldn’t have as more than a friend, but he wanted to see her again.
The door swung open and Andrew’s smile widened. How the hell did Jill manage to look so damn sexy in sweats and a tank top with her hair all messed up and her eyes barely open?
“Morning, sunshine,” he said with a grin. He watched Jill’s eyes widen with the realization he was on her doorstep.
“Morning,” Jill mumbled as her face took on a crimson hue.
“Just came to help you with your hangover.” With his smile firmly in place, he handed her the container of painkillers and the bottled water.
“Ugh. I don’t think I’ve done this much damage to my body since college.” She took the water and pills out of Andrew’s hands.
“Take those, drink all the water, and get some sleep,” Andrew said as he turned toward his car. He turned back, remembering Jack and Kelly were hosting a party the following night. “Are you going to Jack and Kelly’s house tomorrow night?”
“If this headache goes away by then, yes,” Jill said.
“Ride together?”
“Sure,” Jill nodded and smiled.
“Great,” Andrew smiled. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
Chapter Eight
Jennie groaned as she walked into the locker room of the gym on the fifth floor of the Sutton Capital Building. It helped that Kelly held the door for her, but even so, each step felt like torture.
“I’m never letting you talk me into that again.”
Kelly only grinned at her.
“I mean it.” Jennie sank onto the bench between lockers and eyed her best friend. “That man pushes hard. Do you always workout with him?”
This brought a laugh from Kelly. “No, we usually just do self-defense sessions together but he’s decided I need to up my cardio.”
Zach Harris was apparently a Jack-of-all-trades. He’d been hired by Kelly’s husband as her bodyguard after she was kidnapped, but he was also teaching her self-defense. And now he’d seemingly added trying to run her butt into the ground to the mix.
They’d just done enough time on a stair machine to make Jennie puke.
She laid back on the bench, bringing her feet up to balance on it like a bed. Not that it was anywhere near as comfortable as a bed, but hey, she was at least lying down now.
Kelly started pulling clean clothes from her locker, but she looked over her shoulder, talking as she did.
“Are you coming to our house tonight?”
Jennie threw an arm over her eyes, blocking out the overhead lights. “If I survive until then.”
Kelly laughed, but sobered. “Have you been to see Sam? I called to see if she was coming but she hasn’t called me back. I’m worried about her.”
Jennie sat up, frowning. “Me, too. Chad went to see her and I stopped by the other day. She’s not working at all.”
Kelly shot Jennie an alarmed look. “You know she’ll never lose her job. She’ll have a place at Sutton whenever she’s ready to come back.”
Jennie waved a hand. “I don’t mean that. I mean on the stuff she loves. She’s stopped working on her game. She’s not sleeping much. I think she’s depressed.”
Kelly sat next to Jennie. “
I wonder if she’d see a therapist. I like mine a lot and I think talking to her is really helping me.”
“You’re seeing a therapist?”
Kelly nodded. “Hell yes. Zach has this whole program he does for when he’s hired to guard someone who went through something traumatic like I did. He’s your bodyguard, but he also teaches you self-defense and gets you hooked up with a therapist and stuff.”
“Chad connected you and Jack with Zach, right?”
It was Kelly’s turn to nod. “I think they knew each other because of their time in the military or something.” Kelly scrunched her brows. “Or maybe it was through one of Chad’s connections at the police force. Either way, he set us up with him.”
Jennie focused on untying her sneakers and slipped them off. “Chad’s a good man.”
Kelly’s “mm hmm” response contained a lot more meaning than the sound would let on.
Jennie looked at her and shook her head. Her friend was always trying to imply there was more between Jennie and Chad than there was. There so wasn’t anything between them.
And there wouldn’t be. Not if she had anything to say about it.
Chapter Nine
Jill sat on the edge of her bed to pull on her boots as she got ready to go out for the evening. She had to stop thinking about Andrew as anything more than a friend, but no matter how rational she tried to be, logic didn’t stop her body’s reaction to him.
Even the thought that she would see him in a few minutes had her body flushed and heated, tingling in anticipation of seeing him again.
It had taken Jill an hour to choose what to wear. She wanted to look good for Andrew, but she didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard.
In the end, she settled on a snug-fitting sweater dress. The dress came to mid-thigh and had a cowl neckline. It was a rich, reddish-brown color and the tan cowboy boots she slipped on complimented the sweater perfectly. The boots had teal blue accents etched into them and came to just below her knee. Teal earrings added a little flair.
