Temporary to Tempted

by Jessica Lemmon

  “Working,” she said between her teeth.

  “Well, so is Andy.”

  “Oh! Her name is Andy! Isn’t that darling?” Lee clapped her hands. “Tell me about her while Drew makes some real coffee.”

  Lee wrapped her arms around Gage’s arm and dragged him out of the kitchen, peppering him with questions the whole way.

  He couldn’t be sure but he could swear he heard his sister’s tinkling laughter follow him from the room.

  Eighteen

  The door to Flynn Parker’s top-floor penthouse opened and Andy thought for a second she’d walked into a tomb. Gray walls, black floors and dark cabinetry greeted her from the kitchen, the room closest to the door. A few flickering jar candles on the surface further reinforced the “tomb” decor.

  The feeling inside was nothing like a tomb, however, and neither were the people. Andy didn’t typically hang out with a group of friends. She was a loner by nature, maybe in part due to her upbringing, and rarely spent this much time with anyone when the hours weren’t being billed. Conversely, Gage had a strong network of friends, which was no surprise given his abundant charm.

  She’d been working like a madwoman since they’d returned to Washington, but she’d made sure to allow time for Gage and his friends. She’d even sent a nice bottle of bourbon to him at the office. She was simply happy. And “simply” anything in a relationship had been an elusive beast until now.

  “Andy!” Sabrina, dressed beautifully in a bright red knee-length dress, wore a smile that was both wide and infectious. “I’m so glad you could come. I wasn’t sure if you would.”

  Honest as ever. Andy gave a demure smile, aware of Gage’s palm warming her back. They’d been home for a little over a week now and things were surprisingly...good.

  They’d been back to work, back to their own beds. Andy had seen Gage twice last week. Once for a late dinner that, thanks to a troublesome new client, had happened at 8:45 p.m., and once when she went to his apartment for what was supposed to be pizza and a movie and had ended up being pizza, half a movie and sex on the sofa.

  “Well, you did corner her, love,” Reid said, stepping into view to pour a glass of white wine, then turning to hand it to a blonde woman standing at his left elbow. “Kylie, this is Andrea Payne. Andy, Kylie Marker.”

  The blonde gave Andy a limp handshake and accepted her wine. “I like your...pants.”

  The compliment was forced, and so was Andy’s smile. She’d worn simple black slacks and a pale blue silk shirt for work and hadn’t had time to change. Kylie, on the other hand, looked like she’d been poured into her little black dress, her curvy form testing the seams. She was exactly the kind of woman Andy would expect to see Reid with, but somehow not... Reid’s shrewd sense of humor and elegant wit seemed better suited for a woman who could match him blow for blow. Then again, according to Gage, Reid wasn’t in the market for a challenge.

  Anyway.

  Andy had been near Monarch today, so she’d stopped by under the guise of “checking on the sales team” but in reality had wanted to see Gage. She’d been busy since she’d been home and was trying to fit him in when she could.

  Missing someone was a new concept. She normally had her work to keep her warm at night. When Sabrina had poked her head into his office to invite him over to Flynn’s penthouse for “Hump Day drinks,” she’d swept her hand to include Andy in the invitation. Andy had automatically refused but Sabrina had instructed Gage to bring her with him.

  Andy liked Sabrina. Liked all of them, truthfully. She hadn’t expected to pull a lover out of offering to hire Gage as her fake boyfriend much less three new friends, but somehow she had.

  “Red or white?” Gage asked her, helping himself to the line of wine bottles sitting on the countertop.

  “White, please.”

  “That’s what I have!” Kylie exclaimed with a grin. Reid arched one eyebrow like maybe he’d just now realized he’d settled for less than his equal.

  “How about champagne?” Sabrina sent a saucy wink to Flynn, who was already moving for the fridge. She bounced over to the cabinet and began pulling out flutes to line up on the countertop.

  “What’s this, then?” Reid asked.

  “An announcement of some sort, apparently.” Gage relinquished the wineglasses and stepped back, waiting while Flynn popped the cork off not one, but two bottles of Dom Pérignon.

  “We’re getting married!” Sabrina said as Flynn started pouring. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a shining diamond ring.

  Whoa.

  Andy suddenly felt out of place for an announcement this big.

  The moment Sabrina slid the ring onto her finger, Kylie was on her like white on rice.

  “It’s beautiful.” Kylie hugged Sabrina around the neck and Reid gently removed his date, who was now dabbing her eyes. “Sorry. I’m so moved when people get engaged. Or pregnant. Are you pregnant?”

  “Um. No. But thanks for asking,” Sabrina said with a wince.

  Kylie shot a loving look up at Reid, and he turned the color of his sage-green tie. Yes, he’d recognized his shortsightedness when it came to Kylie. She was hearts and wedding bells and Reid wasn’t looking for anything more than a good time.

  “Congratulations, Sabrina. You two are good together and I’m happy for you.” Andy accepted a champagne flute from Flynn. “Tell us how you asked.”

  Always a popular conversation starter in this situation.

  “She was painting,” Flynn said, his low baritone not hinting at what a softie he was on the inside. Andy had seen him around Sabrina at work. He virtually melted whenever she was near.

  “He brought me a little paper sack from my favorite art store and when I pulled out the new paintbrush—” Sabrina couldn’t finish, her throat clogging as tears came forth as easily as her smile.

  “The ring was on the paintbrush. I said some stuff. The end.” Flynn wrapped an arm around his fiancée and kissed her forehead while Sabrina swiped at her eyes.

  Seriously. How sweet were they?

  “Congrats, man,” Gage said. Reid chimed in, too, lifting his flute and toasting their friends.

  “Well, that was a surprise.” Gage corralled Andy to one side, his hand on her back. Whenever he touched her, the stresses of the day vanished.

  “A surprise? Even I could’ve guessed that was coming.”

  “I suspected. I wasn’t sure.”

  “I like your friends. You’re all sort of puzzling.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Sabrina,” Andy said, lowering her voice as they stepped farther into the apartment, “is so quirky you’d expect her to wear a peasant dress and flowers in her hair, but she favors fancy dresses. Flynn is gruff but it’s for show, although this penthouse does make me question if he has a soul...or if he stores it in a trick wall somewhere in the penthouse.”

  Gage chuckled. “Sab’s working on that. He inherited this place from his father. Emmons wasn’t the warmest of men.”

  The painting over the mantel featured a pair of chickadees sitting side by side on a Japanese maple tree. The warm golds, blues and pinks were adorable and light and completely out of place in this house.

  “I’m guessing that artistry was Sabrina’s doing?”

  “Definitely. Wait’ll she moves in here. Her apartment is the equivalent of a peasant dress. Come on. I know you’ve got more to say.” He made a give-it-to-me gesture.

  “Okay. Reid is British class and pomp, the textbook playboy, but there’s something about him that makes me wonder if he’s acting. Though I’m not sure he’s aware that he’s acting.”

  “That’s what every woman says about him. They’ve all tried to crack the Reid Code.” They both looked at Kylie. “She’s going to be disappointed when she doesn’t succeed.”

  “Terribly. I can tell already she’s not
the one. Reid needs a woman who challenges him.”

  “To duels?”

  “Challenges what he knows about himself.” She gave Gage a playful shove.

  “And what about me puzzles you, Andy?” He paired the question with his hands on her hips as he moved behind her to study the Seattle skyline out the window. In the background, his friends’ laughter and banter continued.

  “You were engaged before and made an unbreakable pact never to be married,” she told Gage’s reflection, “and yet you volunteered to come with me to a wedding and then didn’t break things off after.” She shrugged. “Puzzling.”

  “I needed your expertise.”

  “Is that why I’m here right now?” Was she a version of Kylie? A temporary placeholder before he moved on to someone else?

  “Andy.”

  “You like me more than anyone ever has, Gage.” She spun in his arms and even though there was a time she would’ve died before doing something as casual as drape her arms on a man’s shoulders within sight of a crowd, she did it anyway.

  “Good.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

  “Don’t tell me you two are next,” Reid said with a groan.

  “Aw, but they’re so cute!” Kylie chimed in.

  Andy and Gage separated and she studied the floor for a beat. He had a way of making her forget where she was—who she was. Was she becoming one half of a whole? The idea of her being with anyone intrinsically was foreign, and after talking with Ness, frankly a little frightening.

  “I know about the pact. He’s safe,” Andy said with a soft smile.

  “Pact?” Kylie asked, her brow denting with a frown.

  Ruh-roh.

  Reid’s nostrils flared. He sent Andy a withering glare and she mouthed the word sorry.

  “Kylie, let’s you and I step outside for a moment.” Reid took a long look at the balcony and seemed to reconsider. “Actually, let’s go out into the hallway. You’ll catch a chill.”

  “In July?” Kylie asked as Reid hustled her out of the penthouse.

  “I don’t think he was comfortable telling Kylie about the pact with the prospect of a balcony and a long drop to the street,” Gage said.

  “Right.” Andy’s smile faded. “It’s a strange pact for the three of you, considering your goals are so different.”

  “You didn’t see Flynn when he was married.” Gage shook his head.

  “I didn’t see you engaged to what’s-her-face, either.”

  “She was a lot like you.” This from Flynn, who strolled into his living room, his fiancée, and her million-watt smile, by his side. “Driven. Ambitious.”

  “But not like you,” Sabrina offered, “in that she was about as warm as...”

  “This penthouse?” Andy supplied.

  “Exactly.” Sabrina’s smile was approving, her eyes narrow as she studied Gage. When her gaze snapped to Andy, it said we’ll talk later.

  Andy nodded. She was looking forward to learning more of Gage’s secrets.

  * * *

  “Give it to me.” Andy refilled Sabrina’s flute in the kitchen.

  Reid had returned from the hallway without Kylie. He told everyone that she’d left because she had an early morning tomorrow. No one believed him, but no one asked him to explain. Now the guys had vanished to parts unknown in the five-thousand-square-foot penthouse to shoot pool, while Sabrina and Andy lingered around the drinks and snacks.

  “Give what to you?” Sabrina dragged a cucumber slice through the hummus and offered it. “This?”

  “The way you were looking at Gage earlier, I could swear you came to some sort of conclusion.”

  Sabrina covered her smile by eating the cucumber slice, and then took a sip of her champagne before speaking.

  “Gage and I have been friends for a long time. Almost as long as I’ve known Flynn. I’ve seen him date, and I remember Laura, although that was a long time ago. I know that he’s charming, relaxed, a great date.”

  “He is all of those things,” Andy said carefully.

  “And yet with you—” Sabrina tilted her head “—he’s serious, too. I can tell by the way he looks at you that he’s not as light in his approach.”

  Uncomfortable and almost sorry she’d asked, Andy squirmed. “I’m fairly serious myself. I can see why he’d react accordingly.”

  Sabrina donned her best Mona Lisa smile before humming to herself.

  “You’re falling for him.”

  Andy coughed on her next sip of champagne. “What?” she croaked, trying to recover from inhaling her Dom.

  Sabrina’s knowing expression didn’t change as she dragged a carrot through the hummus. “I can tell by the way you act around him. The way you look at him. Not in the same way Kylie looked at Reid, which was...needy.”

  Agreed.

  “But like you’re seeing a future without an end date.”

  “I’m in no danger of being proposed to by Gage,” Andy sputtered. She was thrown by Sabrina’s suggestion that she was “falling” for him. Thrown because she wasn’t that well-versed in relationships. She was enjoying herself, that was all. But falling for him? Hmm...

  “That dumb pact.” Sabrina rolled her eyes. “They act like it’s carved in stone. Then the right girl comes along and they learn it’s more like chalk on a blackboard.”

  That made sense for Sabrina and Flynn. They’d been friends since college—best friends. For Gage and Andy it was different. They’d known each other for what, a handful of weeks?

  “You never know,” was all Sabrina said.

  But the lingering glance to her shining engagement ring told Andy everything she needed to know about what was going on in the brunette’s mind.

  Sabrina had changed Flynn’s mind about the pact. If Andy and Gage were serious about having a future, could she change his mind, too?

  Nineteen

  “Where’s Andrea tonight?” Reid lifted his beer and pegged Gage with a meaningful look. They sat side by side at the bar they usually haunted, though it was fairly dead for a Thursday night.

  “Working.”

  Andy worked a lot. He’d had no idea how much he wouldn’t see her when they returned to Seattle. But she was never too far away, either texting or visiting in between busy nights.

  “Shouldn’t you two be celebrating your three-week anniversary tonight?” Reid smirked.

  “Very funny.” Gage frowned.

  “Refill?” Shelly, the bartender, gestured to Reid, whose glass was empty. The bar’s overhead lights glinted off the ring on her finger, practically throwing sparks.

  “That’s new, love.” Reid took her hand and turned the ring this way and that. “Are you spoken for?”

  “I’ve been spoken for, but I suppose this makes it official. Bryan proposed this weekend.” She beamed, her eyes sparkling like her new diamond ring.

  That was a giant coincidence. Flynn had asked Sabrina this week. Love was in the air, Gage thought, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He’d been flirting with Shelly the night he met Andy and he had no idea at the time that Shelly was someone else’s.

  Reid ordered two more beers and Gage tipped his draft back to drain the contents of his glass. Might as well have another.

  “Soon I’ll be the only keeper of the pact,” Reid said with a melodramatic sigh.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Gage asked as Shelly delivered their beers and cleared away their empty mugs.

  “Andy sent you an expensive bottle of liquor. To the office.”

  “It was a bottle of bourbon. Don’t sound so foreboding.”

  “It means she was thinking about you. And then she unexpectedly dropped by before coming along with you to Flynn’s.” Reid’s tone was conspiracy-theory low. “She’s getting comfortable, mate. Girlfriendy.”

  “What are you talkin
g about?” Gage laughed to dismiss the whole “girlfriendy” thing, but he had to admit she sort of was and it wasn’t bothering him as much as it should.

  “With anyone else you’d be letting her down gently. But you haven’t yet, have you?”

  “Not yet.” The words settled into the pit of Gage’s stomach. He wasn’t sure why. He’d been the one to suggest they keep seeing each other after Andy’s sister’s wedding. He’d been the one to insist on her coming to Flynn’s that night. Where another engagement was announced, he thought nervously as he caught the glint off Shelly’s ring.

  “Keeper of the pact,” Reid announced, lifting his beer again.

  Reid was being ridiculous. Gage was no closer to proposing to Andy than he was to climbing on top of this bar and stripping.

  And yet...

  Something had been welling up inside him. An uncomfortable...what was the word? Rightness.

  He felt right with Andy and he hadn’t had that feeling in a long, long time. And never this soon. Even with Laura, he’d been acting more on expectations than emotion.

  Why was that?

  “It’s in the air,” Reid said, echoing Gage’s earlier thought. He sneered. “Love. You’ve not caught it, have you?”

  “Love?” Gage laughed. “No. Definitely not.”

  If love was like an airborne virus, he could write off that weird pit-of-his-gut feeling to proximity. He’d been at a weekend wedding with Andy where every event dripped with romance. And now two of his closest friends were engaged to be married. Romance tended to be like glitter. It stuck to you, undetected unless the light hit it just right, and almost impossible to get rid of once you noticed it.

  Was Andy like glitter?

  Yes. And no.

  She wasn’t annoying or clingy. She wasn’t staying at his place or leaving her stuff there. She was good on her own and didn’t need his reassurance. But she was different than she’d been when they first met. She was independent but including him in her life.

  Like he’d asked. Because he’d caught the airborne glitter virus and was infected. He swiped at his sweaty brow.