“I wasn’t aware we were at work,” Jerry said with a pointed glance around at the pub.
“Funny you should mention getting sued, Sean,” Gabrielle said with an equally pointed glance at Jerry. “That seems to be Dr. Ayers’s fondest wish, judging by some of his lackadaisical habits when it comes to paperwork and record keeping.”
“I don’t believe in sacrificing patient care to keep the insurance companies happy,” Jerry snapped.
“I’m so glad you’ve cracked that nut of figuring out how to practice medicine without needing money from health insurance companies to pay for it. I look forward to your Ted Talk when you explain to the rest of us how to do it,” Gabrielle said brightly.
“Yes, well, as much as I’d like to stand here demonstrating how doctors and lawyers get along like Buckeyes and Wolverines on Saturday afternoons in the fall, I think this is my date,” Jerry said, lobbing a final glare at Gabrielle as he pointed to another woman standing a few feet away at the bar. “Good night.”
“The flowers are a nice touch,” Gabrielle called after him. “Hopefully they’ll keep your date from developing some sort of emergency and dashing off when you start droning on about patient care.”
“Enjoy your night,” Jerry said, nostrils flaring. “Tell your date I’m praying for him.”
He walked off, leaving Sean and Daniel in an astonished silence as Gabrielle turned back to them.
“You seem like such nice people,” she said. “Don’t let Jerry’s bad attitude rub off on you.”
“That’s the thing,” Daniel said. “Jerry’s normally such a nice—”
But Gabrielle had already checked out, pivoting on her heels and heading in the opposite direction from Jerry and taking all the room’s air with her.
“That was weird,” Sean said.
“No kidding. So where were we? Oh, yeah. Amber.”
Sean’s ears perked up. He checked his watch and realized that she’d be there any second.
“Now, listen,” Daniel said. “Just make sure you understand that Amber’s a nice person. I don’t know why she and Edward didn’t work out, but it’s not because she was a nut job or anything. So if you’re going down this road, you need to make sure there are no shenanigans. Especially after what Edward did to her. She’s been through enough. I’m sure she’s vulnerable.”
“Hang on,” Sean said as a troubling new thought hit him. “You don’t think Edward wants her back, do you? Is that what you’re talking about? Because I saw them talking when we were in the restaurant just now—”
“Were you spying on them through the window?”
Sean shifted uncomfortably with new embarrassment.
“Let’s not get into all the minor details of how I saw what I saw. Let’s just say that it seemed pretty intense. Maybe Edward is having second thoughts.”
Daniel gaped at him. “Edward is happy with Reeve. He’s not longing for yesteryear. Trust me. And will you kindly try to remain sane for a little bit longer, Romeo? You’re starting to scare me.”
Sean ignored the additional ribbing and decided that his friend talked good sense. Sean needed to pace himself a little, and he knew it. At this rate? They’d have to take him to the local ER for sedation before morning.
He nodded, took a deep breath and tried to stand down, but it wasn’t easy. Probably because he couldn’t conceive of a world where other men didn’t want Amber as much as he did.
“And what was with that whole declaration of intent thing?” Daniel asked, shooting him an incredulous look that made Sean regret having confided in him about what he’d said to Edward. “Don’t you think you and Amber need to get your shit straight before you start shouting your feelings from all the local rooftops? Because you know that’s the sort of thing I’m going to blab to everyone I know. Weren’t your ears burning? Wasn’t that a clue?”
“You’re right.” Sean absently tugged on one of his earlobes which was, in fact, still hot from his recent bout of verbal diarrhea. “But I wanted to put it out there. Maybe I’m getting old or something, but my bullshit tolerance quotient with Amber is zero. I’m not trying to play romantic games with anybody. I want her. I don’t care who knows it.”
“As long as you’re prepared for people to tease you about the incident until the day you die.” Daniel shrugged. “You should be good.”
“Yeah, well, I have no job, no car, no place of my own and precious few prospects. I’ll be flipping burgers at the nearest drive-through restaurant at this rate. Like I said, pride is not my issue these days.”
“Pathetic.”
“True,” Sean said, signaling to the server for another refill. “I’m starting to embrace it, though.”
“It’s a good look for you.”
Sean had to chuckle at himself. What else could he do?
“I’ve been working on it for years.”
“Still,” Daniel said, shaking his head thoughtfully. “This is a messy situation you’ve got here.”
Messy situation.
Truer words were never spoken.
Edward, Amber and Ella were an unbreakable team. A modern family unit. And if Sean wanted more than ten minutes of Amber’s time here and there— which he decidedly did—then he would have to make his peace with that. Work within that system.
The idea made his muscles tense.
Matter of fact, the idea of Amber sharing a kid and therefore a lingering tie with some other guy, even a good guy like Edward, did not thrill him. At all. It triggered some primitive impulses in his brainstem that made him want to do some chest thumping to make sure any would-be suitors for Amber’s time—and let’s face it; a woman like Amber always had men sniffing around, waiting for their big chance with her—knew that Sean was on the job.
The whole situation screamed messy and he didn’t do messy. Never had. He did quick and easy. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am. That was him.
And yet… For Amber?
“I’m up for it,” he told Daniel.
“My man,” Daniel said, fist bumping him across the table before shifting his attention to something just past Sean’s shoulder and standing. “Guess we’re about to find out one way or the other. Here she is.”
Sean glanced around and quickly stood, his heart already in his throat by the time he got his feet under him.
Amber made her final approach to their table, her smile hesitant and her eyes luminous in the moody lighting.
“Hey,” she told Sean. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Hey,” he said, his husky voice a dead giveaway that he’d lost a good chunk of his damn mind to this woman. He cleared away the frogs. Shot Daniel a silent but desperate plea for his intercession while he got his act together.
Daniel, being Daniel, understood. Which was why Sean kept him on the payroll as his best friend.
“Hey, Amber,” Daniel said, quickly stepping forward to give her a hug and kiss. “Didn’t really get a chance to say hi earlier. Good to see you. It’s been awhile. You look great.”
“So do you,” she said, flashing Daniel the brilliant smile that always made Sean’s knees weaken.
“Ella’s a great kid. She’s a real sweetheart,” Daniel continued.
Amber laughed. There went Sean’s knees again, liquefying with every passing second. “You haven’t seen her pop out of bed eighty-nine times every night demanding more water, but thanks. I’ll take that.”
Daniel laughed and quickly sobered, rubbing the top of his head.
“Hey, listen. Sorry about what happened with Edward. He was always kind of an ass. And I say that with much love and affection because he’s my brother. But we probably should’ve let you in on the secret a little sooner.”
Amber blushed. Couldn’t quite stifle her grin. “Thank you for that information.”
“The whole family gives him shit about you all the time,” Daniel said, now clearly warming to the topic. “If that makes you feel any better.”
“It does make me feel better, because I’m petty
like that,” Amber said. “But I don’t want you to feel sorry for me. It was all for the best, right? Since he’s such an ass?”
“Absolutely.” Daniel grabbed his coat, slung it over his arm and gave Amber a final kiss. “And on that note, I’ll get out of your hair. You two kids have fun. See you soon.”
He shot Sean a discreet you’ll be fine look, gave his shoulder a quick squeeze of support and left, weaving his way through the crowd toward the door.
By now, Sean had a good fifty percent of his brain back online. He sat, watching Amber hang her hat and coat on a nearby stand before sitting in Daniel’s vacated wing chair.
“Hey,” she said again.
“Hey.” Sean tried to keep it cool and not act too glad to see her, but that was like trying to hide his skin color. He signaled for the server. “What are you drinking?”
“Mezcal,” she told the server. “Thanks.”
“That sounds good,” Sean said. “Make it two.”
The server left, leaving them in an awkward relative silence while Nat King Cole crooned “O Holy Night” in the background. Amber got more deeply settled in her chair, crossing her legs. Then she uncrossed them. Opened her mouth. Hesitated.
“You really know how to kick a guy in the teeth,” Sean said quietly when her fidgeting showed every sign of continuing all night. “I’m just going to cut to the chase.”
Amber’s eyes widened. “Are you always this up front with your feelings?”
“I’m never this up front with my feelings. I have no idea what’s going on here. I just know I’m not going to lie about any of it. I’m also not into coverups. FYI.”
She flushed to the roots of her hair, stiffening. “I didn’t cover up—”
Some of the disbelief in Sean’s expression must have permeated her bravado, because she stopped cold.
Sean leaned forward. Rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his hands together, gathering his thoughts. Then he raised his head and stared her in the face.
“Listen. I get it. We had a night. It was intense. It caught us both off guard. I thought there was going to be more to it. Maybe you did too, but you changed your mind. Or maybe you did too, but chickened out. Maybe you just lied straight to my face to get me the hell out of your apartment. Whatever it was, it fucked with my head. I’m not into that. I’ve had enough mixed messages from women to last me a lifetime. So now’s our moment to set the record straight. If you don’t want any part of me, then fine. No harm, no foul. But you don’t get to fuck with my head.”
The server arrived with their drinks just then, in a stroke of perfect timing that broke some of the tension and allowed them both to regroup. Sean also experienced a moment of ambivalence. He hadn’t meant to come on like a ton of bricks, but, on the other hand, he didn’t regret it, either. This whole thing with Amber felt important. He wanted to get it right.
They took their drinks and tossed them back without bothering with a toast before putting the empties on their side tables. Amber grimaced. Scrunched her eyes closed and rubbed her forehead. Dropped her hands and met his waiting gaze.
“I chickened out,” she told him.
Sean heaved a huge sigh of relief, releasing a breath he hadn’t even known he’d been holding.
“I’m a single mom with an ex and more baggage than a Louis Vuitton store,” she continued, choosing her words with the care of a brain surgeon removing a tumor from someone’s frontal lobe. “I have no idea what’s going on here, other than I like you. A lot. And I am very sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
Most of the rest of his tension eased from his chest.
“There’s no if about it,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Sean.”
The fervency and her voice went a long way toward healing his wounded feelings.
He stared at her nice and hard, knowing both that this was an inflection point in his life and that there was no real choice to be made. If he had the slightest chance with Amber, he was going to take it.
“I accept your apology.”
She started to grin. Caught herself and reached for his hand instead. He took it, reveling in its softness and strength.
“Do you want to come see my new apartment?” she asked, not bothering to hide the open vulnerability in her eyes.
Sean wanted to call a flag on the play. Wanted to tell her that he wasn’t up for another round of urgent fucking followed by an equally quick dismissal. But his shameful bottom line was that any opportunity to touch Amber again was not an opportunity to waste.
“Absolutely,” he said.
Chapter Ten
“Great place,” Sean said a little while later, after they’d paid the bill and walked to her apartment, which turned out to be in the same building where Daniel and his fiancée lived. He gestured toward the sheer white drapes covering the sliding glass doors. “The river view must be insane during the day.”
“It is,” she said, walking around the living room and clicking on lights as they shed their coats. “I love it.”
“You’ve got great taste,” he said, eyeballing the neutral sectionals with their artfully placed pillows, throws, end tables and plants. Not to mention the splashes of color on the walls that announced her taste in art went far beyond his own preference for nicely framed movie posters. “I’m afraid to touch anything.”
“Don’t be,” she said, laughing as she headed for the kitchen. It was up-to-date and high end, he noted with approval, admiring the marble countertops and the kinds of expensive appliances that made chefs’ hearts sing all around the world. “I have a toddler, remember? Everything is waterproof, stain proof and flameproof. We could pour beet juice all over the carpets and it would just run off without leaving a mark.”
“Sounds like my kind of place.” He noticed the giant TV, which was propped against the stone hearth rather than hanging above the mantle, where all TVs belonged. The image made him frown. “What the hell’s going on there?”
“What, the TV?” She emerged from behind the refrigerator door with a bottle of white wine and followed his line of sight. “Don’t worry, sports fan. I’ve hired a handyman. He’s coming next week. Hopefully he also knows about daybeds. I need some help with the screws on the one in Ella’s room. Luckily she’s still in the crib, and the movers assembled that for me—”
Sean’s scowl deepened. This just got worse and worse. What did he look like? Chopped liver?
“Why would you hire somebody for that? I’ll do it.”
She set a pair of wineglasses on the counter and shot him a perplexed look as she found a corkscrew. “Why would you want to do that?”
The real answer was that he wanted to do anything to make her life easier, whether it was pick up a gallon of milk from the grocery store or donate a kidney just so she could have one on ice in case she needed it one day, but now didn’t seem like the moment for that kind of sentiment. Especially when he didn’t know where it came from or how long it planned to stick around.
“Why not be helpful?” he said instead. “I’m handy. I’ve got nothing else to do in between job interviews.”
“Yeah, but that’s an imposition. Wouldn’t you rather be, I don’t know, relaxing and watching TV?”
Sean had to laugh. Why not be grateful that she had zero idea how eager he was to latch on to any excuse to hang around with her? He supposed he should be thankful that she didn’t have a giant wasp hive hidden in some closet, because he would surely raise his hand to handle that, too.
“Why do you want to deny me this chance to play the hero? You know I can’t compete with the peacock on the job front or the car front. My only hope is to demonstrate my skills in other areas. I’ll cook you dinner, too. Maybe name a dish after you if you play your cards right.”
“You’ve already demonstrated your skills in other areas.” Her voice took on a sultry vibe as she left the kitchen and settled next to him on the sofa, handing him a glass of wine. “Trust me.”
He went still, feeling a ridicul
ous swell of masculine pride as he studied her rising color more closely.
“Yeah? Care to elaborate?”
“Absolutely not.” She tamed her responsive grin as she held out her glass. They clinked. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” he said as they drank, bookmarking the topic for later. “Monday or Tuesday? That work for you on the TV installation?”
“That sounds great. Thanks.”
He nodded, feeling a surge of triumph now that his heretofore dormant protective, possessive and provider instincts had been satisfied. He’d take a look around when he came back, making sure all her smoke and carbon monoxide detectors had fresh batteries and that she didn’t need any help childproofing anything. Not that he expected her to have missed something, but you couldn’t be too careful with a precocious toddler like Ella running around and finding hidden dangers.
“So are you a skilled decorator, or did you hire someone?”
Rueful grin. “I hired Sofia Abbaté, who turned out to be—”
“My buddy Ethan Harper’s girlfriend,” he said with his own grimace. “You can’t do anything in this town without stumbling across a Harper, can you?”
“No.” She grimly set her wine on the coffee table. “You cannot.”
He also set his wine down. Pivoted to face her, slinging his arm across the back of the sofa. “Should we talk about the elephant in the room, or are we going to pretend it’s not there?”
“Pretending has some merit.”
“Fine,” he said, shooting her a glower. “I’ll go first. Daniel’s my best friend. We met years ago in Napa, like I said. He ran a vineyard. I was a sous chef—”
“How’d you get into cooking after you left law school, by the way?”
“I floundered around for a while. Wound up cooking at a restaurant in Cincy just to bring in some money. Wound up liking it. There’s a proverb: hunger is a good cook. That was me. Anyway, I worked my way up under the exec chef, who said I had skills but needed some schooling if I was serious about a career. He pointed me in the right direction. Made some recommendations. I went to the Midwest Culinary Institute and learned some stuff.”
Somebody to Love Page 10
