Lexi and I stroll down Fifth Avenue, window shopping. I’m pushing Ellie in a stroller and Lexi is wearing Beth in a baby sling.
I love spending time with her kids, especially Ellie. Caden has been teaching me a few signs every time we’re together. I know how to tell her she’s pretty. I can ask her if she’s hungry or sad. And I can understand some of the basic signs she does.
I’m impressed by how proficient Caden is at sign language. He loves his nieces and would go to the ends of the Earth for them.
As if thinking of him has caused some cosmic shift in the universe, I look in a storefront window and see a life-sized cutout of none other than the very man who has been invading my dreams. I don’t even realize what I’m doing when I stop and stare.
“What’s the story with you and my brother?” Lexi asks, looking between me and the cutout.
I peel my eyes away from the likeness of him. “There is no story,” I say. “We’re friends, Lexi. Same as you and me.”
She giggles. “Yeah, except I’m pretty sure you don’t want to get me into bed.”
My jaw drops. “Who says I want to get him into bed?”
“The drool on your chin, maybe? Or how about the way you couldn’t take your dreamy eyes off him at Mason’s game. Or the way your face lights up every time we talk about him.”
I turn my back to the window and lean against it, closing my eyes. “God, Lexi. Am I that pathetic?”
“No, Murphy, you aren’t pathetic. It’s just that my brother is that awesome.”
I shake my head. “You won’t say anything, will you? I don’t want him to know. It would ruin things.”
“How would it ruin things?” she asks. “I think it’s wonderful.”
“We’re friends, Lexi. Good ones. We have a great time together. If he knew I was having feelings for him, he’d run in the other direction.”
She smiles at me. “I think you’re wrong. He’d run straight into your arms.”
“What? No. He’s not looking for a relationship, Lexi. Plus, he’s dating other women. Your brother does not like me. Not in that way.”
“I think you’re both living in denial,” she says. “He looks at you the same way you look at him.”
“He does not.”
She nods emphatically. “He does. And he only dates to be social.”
“But Kate, the girl I met last weekend, she seemed so nice. Definitely girlfriend material.”
“No way,” she says. “You know she won’t make it past the third date. No one does.”
I cock my head and look at her. “What do you mean no one gets past the third date?”
Beth starts fussing and Lexi fishes a pacifier out of her bag for her. “He hasn’t told you?”
“Told me what?”
“About his three-strikes rule?”
I furrow my brows. “What’s his three-strikes rule?”
She rolls her eyes. “Caden never takes a girl out more than three times. He claims it’s because he doesn’t want to get trapped by anyone, so I guess he never keeps a girl around long enough to fall for her. He’s afraid people won’t like him simply for who he is underneath his celebrity.”
I nod remembering how he told me something like that in the hospital. Then I turn around and study the pseudo-Caden in the window. “Still … it’s a stupid rule. How will he ever find out if anyone likes what’s underneath? You can’t possibly get to know someone after only three dates.” I look back at Lexi. “Never?”
She shakes her head in affirmation. “Not since he’s been with the Nighthawks.”
I give her a confused look. “Well then knowing he has this three-strikes deal, why in the world are you encouraging me to tell him I like him?”
“You’ve already answered your own question. Caden can’t possibly get to know someone in three dates. But you he already knows—and very well by the way he talks about you. There would be no reason for the rule when it comes to you, Murphy.”
I look up at the fake-Caden. “It would be too big a risk. I could lose him as a friend. I care too much for him to do that. Plus, I think you’re wrong about how he feels. In fact, I’m going on a triple date with him and one of his teammates tonight.”
I can tell Lexi tries not to laugh. She locks her lips together to form a thin line. Then she asks, “What do I have to do for an invite? I’d pay good money to see that go down.”
“I’m sure Caden won’t mind if you come. He’s always saying he wants more people along when he goes on dates.”
“I’m kidding, Murphy. I’ve got plans with Charlie and Mallory that involve kids, pizza, and a sleepover. We often do it when Chad is out of town and Kyle is working an overnight shift.”
“Sounds like more fun than my triple date.”
She laughs. “We’ll invite you the next time we get together. So, which one of his teammates did he set you up with this time?”
“He didn’t have to set me up. There’s a guy at the gym who’s been asking me out. Corey will be my date.”
Her face breaks into a slow, devious smile. “Oh, Murphy, now I really do wish I was going. I’ll bet there will be so much sexual tension between you two that you could cut it with a knife.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I tell her. I see Ellie getting impatient and asking for a snack, so I get a pouch of goldfish out of the diaper bag and hand it to her. “I’m telling you, Lexi, he doesn’t see me that way.”
“And I’m telling you I’ve known my brother a lot longer than you have. Trust me. He wants you.” She tugs on my arm to get us walking again. “Now, come on, we have to find you a killer outfit to wear. One that will send him over the edge. There’s nothing like a little jealousy to get a guy to admit his feelings.”
I roll my eyes, but I let her drag me to five shops anyway. After all, if what she said is true, if there is even a sliver of hope that he wants to be more than friends, I want to look my very best.
~ ~ ~
Lexi was wrong. Caden has spent more time staring at my date than he’s spent staring at me. And Caden was right the other day when he said he’s like my protective older brother. He keeps asking Corey questions about his job (he works in security), his apartment (third-floor walkup in Midtown), and his family (two sisters and a brother). It sounds like a job interview. He’s vetting the guy for me.
I feel kind of sorry for his date, Maggie, as she’s getting ignored. I don’t miss how Maggie keeps trying to hold hands with Caden, but he brushes her away.
From the little information I’ve learned about her, I know she works in the fashion industry and is the best friend of Sawyer’s date, Angela.
Oh, and I’ve learned she’s a slut. Or at the very least, she’s exactly the kind of woman Caden wants to avoid. She keeps dropping names of famous people she’s managed to date. I guess she thinks that will impress us. But the only person at the table who seems impressed is Angela. Probably because she’s doing the same thing. In fact, they mentioned dating the same guy and I wonder if they had some kind of twisted threesome. The two girls do seem very close.
In the past, had I met someone in the fashion industry, I might mention that I was a model. You never know who might be able to get your foot in the door. Oddly, though, I purposefully keep my lips sealed about my former profession—if you can even call it that. I only had a few modeling jobs for second-rate magazines that barely paid me enough to cover the rent.
I realize I haven’t thought about modeling lately. Not since I moved in with Trick. I’m kind of in love with my new job. It’s low stress. It more than pays the rent. And I get along well with all my bosses and co-workers. I’m even beginning to think this might lead to an actual career for me. With all the new responsibilities they have entrusted to me, I feel there is plenty of room to grow. After all, I work for one of the biggest, most exclusive gyms in the city. How did I get so lucky?
I reach up and touch my scar and then look over to catch Caden watching me. He winks at me and smiles. Then Corey puts his arm around the back of my chair and rests his hand on my bare shoulder, caressing my flesh with slow circles from his thumb.
Caden’s smile disappears as his eyes hone in on the movement of Corey’s hand. Then Caden gets up abruptly and excuses himself to the men’s room. I can’t help but smile. It was the first sign of jealousy I’ve ever seen from him. Maybe it’s the first sign of hope I see for us.
Corey mistakes my smile for being happy that he’s touching me. I don’t shrug his arm away. I don’t see any harm in letting him leave it there. But it’s not like I’m planning to go home with him. Even if I weren’t lusting after Caden, I still wouldn’t go home with Corey. And maybe it makes me a bad person to use him as a pawn to try and reveal Caden’s true feelings—if there are any. I swear, however, this was not my intention when I invited Corey to be my date. But that was then and this is now.
“Do you think Caden fell in?” Sawyer says, after Caden doesn’t come back to the table.
“Maybe he climbed out the window,” Angela jokes, nudging her friend.
Maggie laughs. “He’d be missing out if he did,” she says. “I have big plans for us later.” She makes an obscene gesture with her hands, giggling with her friend. “Big plans.”
My back stiffens.
“Are you okay?” Corey asks.
You mean other than picturing little Miss Slutty underneath the man I want?
“I’m fine. I just need to hit the ladies’ room.”
I run into Caden in the back hallway. He’s sitting down on a bench outside the bathrooms. He’s slumped over looking at the floor, his forearms on his knees. I sit next to him. I think Angela was right. He’s hiding from Maggie.
“Maggie’s a bit much, huh?” I ask.
“To say the least,” he says. “How about Corey? You two seem to be getting along.”
I shrug. “He’s nice I guess.”
He looks up at me, pinning me to the wall with his stare. “You going to see him again?”
“I’m only on a date with him because you asked me to tag along. Remember?”
“So, you aren’t going to see him again? Are you going to go home with him?”
My jaw drops. “Of course I’m not going home with him, Caden. You know me better than that.”
He lets out a deep, relieved sigh. “Good. He’s not right for you anyway.”
I bite my lip, trying to keep from smiling. Maybe Lexi was right.
“What about you?” I ask. “It sounds like Maggie has big plans for you later.” I shake my head, once again, picturing the two of them together. “And in case you’re wondering, those were her exact words.”
“Jesus, really?” He looks right and left down the hallway. “Can we climb out the window or something?”
I laugh probably more than I should.
“What? I’m serious. Don’t think I haven’t done it before,” he says. “Well, I haven’t actually climbed out a window. But I have used a back door. Sawyer will understand. Hell, he will probably thank me for it. Maybe he’ll take both of them home.”
“Oh, my gosh. I was thinking the same thing.”
“So, can we bolt?”
I shake my head. “I won’t do that to Corey. He really is a nice guy, Caden. He doesn’t deserve that. I was the one who invited him.”
“You’re right. You’re a better person than I am, Murphy Brown.”
I stand up and hold out my hand. “Come on, let’s head back. It’s getting late and we only have to stick it out for another hour.”
When he grabs my hand, something happens. I’m not sure what, but it might have something to do with music and birds flying and clouds under my feet. The touch we share is electrified. Intense. Scary.
He must feel it too, because the way he’s looking at me right now, it’s the way you get looked at before your first kiss. Before you get picked up and carried over the threshold. Before you lose your heart to someone forever.
Our hands part and the moment dies. But before we rejoin the others, he calls me back. “Murphy, that’s one hell of a dress. You look … incredible isn’t even a strong enough word.”
“Thanks,” I say, blushing. “You’re not half bad yourself.”
He winks at me again and I melt inside.
Please, God, let Lexi be right.