“I’m not in a rush to get in a car right now, but what we were doing before, maybe we shouldn’t.”
He scanned the card from his wallet to unlock his door and placed a hand on her lower back leading her in. “Just sleep then.” He shrugged.
“That’s pathetic. We’re too old for having a sleepover.” Her own back and forth on the conflict of right and wrong made him feel both terrible for her and very amused.
“Then get naked already,” he said, untucking his shirt quickly. “Let’s do this.”
“You’re hilarious,” she said, rolling her eyes. “A sleepover it is.”
“I’m fine with that. We’ll need our rest. One of these days I’m going to show you I’m not the boring sap you think I am. When I do you’ll need all the energy you can muster.”
“Oh, you’re one of those guys. You can’t walk away when you think you’ve been challenged?”
“You should appreciate it,” he said, his face falling serious.
“I should, why?” The tiny argumentative spark was returning to her, and he was relieved to see it.
“Because you’re the biggest challenge I’ve met in a long time, and I don’t think you want me to back down.”
Chapter 4
Jessica was creeping toward the elevator in Mathew’s apartment building as her phone rang.
“What?” she barked into the receiver as she jumped through the open elevator doors like an action hero narrowly escaping a villain.
“Um, good morning to you too,” Libby said in a half laugh. “I was just checking up on you. Mrs. Silverio from your building called and said you hadn’t come home last night.”
“Mrs. Silverio calls you when I don’t come home at night?”
“Yes. Most days I just check your social media to make sure you’re still alive, but you didn’t post anything for the last twelve hours. That was a clear sign something was wrong. I started planning your funeral. Don’t worry, it’s going to be very tasteful. I’m thinking white roses and maybe a slide show of your best pictures. Nothing at all of you before your braces.”
“Are you done?” Jessica asked, the ding of the elevator making her jump as it opened up on the lobby.
“Is there an elevator involved in your walk of shame this morning? I feel like you’re in an elevator.”
“Do you need something?” Jessica was ready for this call to be over. Nothing she had to report to her best friend made much sense in her head, and she needed to call a cab to get home.
“I need to know how it went with Mathew. I know that’s who you were with.”
“Nothing happened. Well we were in a car accident but—”
“What?”
“Relax, mamma hen, we’re fine. Just a few scratches. We were closer to his house so I just crashed there last night. Nothing happened though.”
“Why? I thought you were into him. I know he’s into you.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because basically every guy we’re ever around is into you unless he’s already off the market or gay. And I’ve even seen both those types give you a second look. So if you’re telling the truth and nothing happened, then you need to tell me the real reason why.”
“Nothing happened,” Jessica repeated flatly as she breathed in the fresh air and headed away from Mathew’s house. She couldn’t walk home from here, but the last thing she wanted was to still be on his doorstep when he woke up and came looking for her.
“But why?”
“You and James just got married. I’m already going to be scraping to get time with you. The last thing I need is to get all awkward with Mathew and then never see you again.”
“That would never happen. If you suddenly woke up one morning and didn’t like him, then I wouldn’t like him either. Our entire friendship has been based on agreeing if one of us doesn’t like someone, even without any logical reason, the other will hate them too.”
“Exactly. So then you have to hate your husband’s business partner and best friend. There will be all this cool stuff you’re doing, and Mathew will always be there. It’s just easier if nothing happens between us.”
“Bullshit. You forget how well I know you. Maybe you could feed this weak excuse to someone else, but save us both some time and just tell me. I’m not buying that that’s the real problem here,” Libby challenged.
Damn her. The best part about having a long and deep friendship with an intuitive and empathetic woman was how well she knew you. It happened to be the worst part too. “It’s not the only problem,” Jessica admitted with a sigh. “But even more reason not to do anything. The long list of problems makes the decision even easier.”
“I think I know what the real issue is,” Libby sang in a teasing tone. “This is not history repeating itself. You don’t have to be scared; Mathew is not Pierre.”
“Hey,” Jessica shouted, a flood of anger rolling over her. “You know the rule.”
“Oh seriously, we still can’t utter his name? I thought maybe you were past that by now.”
“No, we can’t. As a matter of fact I don’t even want to hear words that sound like his name. Don’t say pear or pier. None of it.”
“I’ve let this weird mourning and hiding stage go on long enough. It’s not easy to sit back and watch your very beautiful, intelligent best friend sabotage every relationship opportunity that comes her way. The better a man treats you the faster you run in the other direction. I understand how badly Pi—” She stopped as Jessica cleared her throat. “He was a special kind of jerk to you. I know it hurt badly when shit went down between you. But maybe it’s time to give someone else a chance.”
“Mathew is a wealthy, attractive man with nothing in the world holding him back. That’s dangerous. Or at least in my experience it has been. A man like that wants to change your life, convince you everything is better with him. I have a good life; I don’t need to be swept off my feet.”
“There have been some good guys over the years you haven’t given a chance. I think maybe it’s time to hang up the casual dating thing and actually take a risk again.”
“You’re adorable,” Jessica said as a nervous heat rolled over her. That was not the conversation she was hoping to have this morning. “I’m happy with my life the way it is. Casual dating works for me. But it won’t work with Mathew because our lives intersect now that you and James are married. You’ll just have to trust me on this. It’s better if nothing happens.”
“Jessica, from what James tells me, Mathew is an upstanding guy. Sure he is rough when it comes to business, they both are, but he normally dates very sweet girls. I thought that was interesting.”
“Yet he’s still single. What’s he doing to all those sweet girls?”
“They don’t challenge him. They aren’t what he really needs in life. And you’re still single. It doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with either of you.”
“Like I said, I’m single by choice. I finally have my life together. I’m in control. I don’t want a guy like Mathew thinking he can just sweep me off my feet and that I need to be rescued from my life. I don’t.”
“What’s wrong with just spending time with him? Does it have to be all or nothing? Are you cutting ties with him?” Libby asked, not sounding defeated or convinced.
“No,” Jessica admitted. “We have a charity event on Friday I told him I’d go to. I really feel like I can help him mingle with people, even build some relationships. And if that ends up helping you and James, it’s worth it to me.”
“Of course you can. You’re brilliant at it. I really appreciate it too. The less James has to worry about, the better our honeymoon will be.”
“You know I’ll do anything to help. Your mother is doing really well too,” she said, grinding the clutch of this conversation as she tried to change the subject. “I’ve been by to see her almost every day. That facility really is great to her.”
“I miss her.” Libby sighed. “Not just because I’m away. I just mi
ss who she used to be when she had her memory.”
“She’s proud of you. I talk about you, and she remembers more than you might think. She’d want you to have a great time on your honeymoon.”
“And I want you to have a good life.” Libby wasn’t giving this up without a fight.
“This from the girl who spent the past five years putting her happiness last.”
“Exactly. So you should take it from me that every second you do, you’re wasting your life. My heart is so full right now.”
Warmth spread across Jessica’s chest at the thought of her friend finally finding the joy she’d been lacking for so long. “I hear you,” she acquiesced.
“Just continue spending time with him, and keep an open mind. He might surprise you.”
“Hey Lib, you’re always great at this stuff. What’s the past tense of smite?”
“Smote, why?”
“Just wondering.”
“I think when you start asking these types of questions you need to get laid.”
“I think knowing the answer to those questions means you went a hell of a lot of years never getting laid.”
“Bitch.”
“Dork.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Chapter 5
“I’m going to need you to come with me, Mrs. Thorne,” Jessica heard the man in the dark suit and aviator style glasses order.
“Are you from the IRS? I cleared that thing up months ago.” Jessica
tucked her purse tightly under her arm and considered kicking off her heels so she could bolt if needed.
“I work for West Oil. My name is Ralph. Mr. Mathew Kalling has asked me to pick you up.” He gestured with his stubby hands over to the limousine.
“I have my own car; I don’t need a ride.” She narrowed her eyes at him but was met only with a wry smile.
“You’ll want to come on this ride.” He pulled open the car door and waved her inside. “He has quite the night planned for you.”
She’d just finished a nine-hour shift on the movie set, and her back was aching. The only thing she’d heard from Mathew since their sleepover was a text message asking what her schedule was today. Now as she sank into the back of the limo she wished she’d lied.
“Sit tight and enjoy,” Ralph said as he closed the divider and turned on the music. It wasn’t always easy to explain, but this was Jessica’s worst nightmare. She felt the same way about a giant surprise as most toddlers did about green vegetables. And she was just as willing to throw a tantrum when confronted with them.
Leaning forward, she knocked on the glass and bit nervously at her lip.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I’d like to know where we’re going.”
“Oh it’s a surprise, but I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“It’s just I’m afraid Mathew has put a lot of work into something, and I’m going to ruin it.”
Ralph looked nervous as if he were suddenly out of his depth. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Most women would love whatever he has planned right now. It’s just . . .” she stuttered. “I don’t really like big giant gestures. You see, in my job I get a lot of people who cross my path and think they can win me over with stuff like this. It never works out, and I don’t want this to go bad with Mathew.”
“Um,” Ralph croaked. “I um—”
“Maybe I should get out.”
“We’re here,” Ralph said, trying to force some excitement back into his voice. “I hope you don’t mind heights.”
The spinning propeller of a helicopter could be seen in the distance, and Jessica’s heart sank. Pulling open the limo door, Mathew was dressed in casual clothes and a giant smile. “I hope you like surprises.”
She and Ralph made awkward eye contact before she plastered on a smile and nodded.
“We’ll take a helicopter ride over the city, and then I’ve got this amazing dinner planned. You’ll never accuse me of being boring again.”
“You misinterpreted what I said,” Jessica tried, but the sound of the helicopter overtook her words.
And to his credit the helicopter ride was far from boring. They sat pressed against each other as he pointed out different sights and occasionally squeezed her thigh in excitement.
“There’s dinner,” he said, pointing down to a rooftop lit with twinkling lights and abuzz with people. “We’ll land there and walk over. I found this amazing band to play for us.”
“That sounds . . .” She couldn’t find words that would convey her feelings without hurting his.
“You look sick; was it the helicopter?”
“It’s you,” she said as the engine of the helicopter died down and the blade finally stopped. Her words were too loud now that the background noise was gone.
“What?”
“No, it’s not you. That’s not what I mean. I can’t do all this. I know women love being swept off their feet with these big romantic gestures, but it makes me want to run. Like actually run the hell away right now.”
“Jessica, calm down. I wasn’t trying to seduce you or anything. Don’t freak out. This was just going to be fun.”
“I’m freaking out,” she admitted. “I’m completely freaking out.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“I want to go.”
Mathew hopped off the helicopter and stared at her as she sat there, not unbuckling.
“You seemed like you were having a good time. We were having fun. What changed?”
“Nothing changed. I guess I should have been clearer with what I meant about you being spontaneous. I get what you’re trying to do here, but—”
“I’m glad one of us gets what’s going on here because I’ll be honest with you: I’m not following what the problem is. Why are you fighting this so hard? Is this still about James and Libby?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, dropping her head down. “It’s hard to explain. Even if I did, I’m not sure you’d get it. This just isn’t what I want. It’s the opposite of—”
He cut her off abruptly. “Take her back,” he shouted to the pilot. “Just take her back.”
Slamming the heavy metal door, he ducked down and backed away until he was clear of the propeller.
As the helicopter rose higher Mathew grew smaller and smaller, and the pain in her chest radiated. What kind of asshole acted like she just did? The voice in her head answered the question. A terrified one.
When she got back into the limo, Ralph looked sheepish. “Take you home, miss?” he asked, his eyes fixed on the ground.
“No. Take me to a bar. Take me to any bar. I don’t care where.”
“Yes, miss.”
She dialed the phone before she could figure out if Libby would be asleep or awake in her time zone.
“Hello?” The gravelly whisper gave Jessica the answer.
“Is it late there? I’m sorry. But this is bad. It’s really bad.”
“What? Is it my mom?”
“I’m sorry. No. I’m so stupid. She’s fine. God, I’m insensitive. Why didn’t I realize you’d think that? There is something so wrong with me.”
“Slow down. What happened?”
“Mathew took me on a helicopter ride of the city and then wanted me to do dinner on this rooftop with twinkly lights and a band just for us.”
“Oh no,” Libby moaned sincerely.
“Thank you. Thank you for knowing me well enough to realize that is my worst nightmare.”
“But he didn’t know. It sounds like a lovely date, and if you didn’t have your weird hang-ups about how someone wanting to treat you well equals them getting ready to crush you, none of this would be an issue. He did a nice thing for you. A very thoughtful thing.”
“He shouldn’t be doing something like that if he doesn’t know me. There are a thousand things I would have enjoyed. But you know it’s not the big gestures and fairy-tale crap.”
“You are a weird chick,
Jessica.” Libby sighed sympathetically. “You need to give him a chance. Even if it’s just you guys hanging out. Stop pushing him away.”
“I just bolted in a helicopter to get away from him. I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed. No coming back from that.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m getting dropped off at the closest bar.”
“Jess, please don’t do that. You’re alone. It’s not a good idea.”
“I’m not alone; Ralph is with me.”
“Who is Ralph?”
Jessica heard James chime in and then come on the line.
“Give the phone to Ralph,” he ordered, and Jessica obliged.
“James West wants to talk to you,” she said shyly as she handed her phone to Ralph.
“Yes sir,” Ralph said over and over again as he shook his head. “Goodbye sir.”
Ralph hung up the phone and handed it back to her.
“Hey, I wasn’t done talking to Libby.”
“Mr. West said to make sure I took care of you tonight and whatever happens that you leave his tired wife alone until it’s morning there.”
“Jerk,” she hummed in annoyance. “You don’t have to take care of me. I just want to drink. And drink alone.”
“I understand. I’m very good at blending in. You won’t know I’m there.”
“Don’t you have to drive anyone else around?”
“When Mr. West tells me what to do, I do it. Now I know just the bar we should go to. It’s perfect for a broken heart.”
“I don’t have a broken heart,” she bit out quickly. “I just—” She had a million responses but none were honest. She was angry Mathew hadn’t had a chance to understand her better. She’d screwed it up and had been so stupid. She was mad at him and herself. Her heart was broken, even if she wouldn’t say it out loud.
“I just want to drink,” she finished.
“A honky-tonk.” Ralph smiled as he pulled into the dusty parking lot of a rundown building.
“Oh gross,” she groaned. “I don’t feel like dancing.”
The Barrington Billionaires Collection 1 Page 24
