I laughed. “Oh, yeah, I’m the one who went crazy!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marnie demanded.
“It means that you’ve been a real jerk ever since you started dating Callum and became partner. Of course, you wouldn’t have become partner if you hadn’t slept with Callum, so I can see how they go hand in hand.”
I knew I’d gone too far before the words had finished escaping my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to stop them. They fell like meteors, huge pieces of burning debris hell-bent on destruction. And what could I do about it? Nothing. Head for the hills and watch as the world burned beneath me.
There was a silence long enough that for a minute, I figured she’d just flat out hung up on me. But that would have probably been a little better. It would have been better about two minutes ago so we could both cool down and I wouldn’t have said some seriously rude, messed-up stuff to my best friend.
But she hadn’t hung up on me. “Get your shit together, or don’t come back to work.” Her voice wasn’t steely this time, wasn’t hard as rock. Instead it was stiff and almost… neutral. I recognized that tone. It was the one she used when she was so angry she could kill someone.
And I’d brought it out in her.
I didn’t get the chance to say anything in response. There was a click on the line, and I knew for sure that she’d hung up on me this time.
I stared at my phone for a long time wondering just how badly I fucked up. My mind went to the idea of calling her back and apologizing, telling her how out of line I was, how much of a dick I’d been. My fingers hovered over the buttons, ready to dial her back, but before I’d mustered up the courage, there was a knock at the door.
It startled me bad enough that I dropped my phone. “Shit!” I scooped it up off the floor and was grateful it had landed on the rug, not the tile. The screen was safe, and it hadn’t even popped the battery out. I felt just a little better about life.
I went to the door and found Elizabeth standing on the other side of it. She smiled broadly and waved at me. “Hey there, stranger. What in the hell are you wearing?” Her greeting turned to horror as her eyes made a quick sweep of my wardrobe.
It constituted a fuzzy cat sweater and pajama pants with clouds on them.
I winced. “Sorry. It’s been a lazy kind of day.”
“Lazy or dead?”
I shrugged. “At this point? A little bit of both.”
She waved a hand through the air as though fanning away an offensive odor. I smelled myself discreetly just to make sure that wasn’t actually what she was doing, then stepped aside to let her in.
“That’s it. Enough moping or whatever this is.” She indicated my sloppy attire. “It’s time to get cleaned up.”
I frowned. “Why? I officially do not have work. Seriously, mandatory vacation coming my way.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot up high on her head. “What? Are you kidding?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Just found out.” I waved my phone to indicate the call I’d just had with Marnie. Guilt churned my stomach, but I shoved it down.
“How is that even possible?” she demanded, then a second later held out a hand, palm flat, toward me. “Never mind. I don’t know and I don’t care. Because that’s not why I’m here. I’m here for an intervention?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Vegging is not healthy. You need out of this house and real human interaction. So get dressed. We’re going shopping.”
***
Elizabeth was right. There was something about getting out of the house and going shopping that made a girl feel human again. And I was in desperate need of some human in my life. It helped that Liz took me to my favorite vintage-clothing shop.
“Seriously, how did you know?”
Liz grinned. “Simple. I searched the best vintage shops around with the highest-quality stuff and voilà. It’s like magic.”
“You’re magic,” I told her, sighing happily.
She laughed at me but looped her arm through mine as we headed inside. It was a little late to be shopping—already after six in the evening—but the little shop was open late to cater to the working women’s crowd. Namely me. I loved the shop because it had dresses that looked like a mixture of serious working women and sexy 1950s pinup model. And they were practically designed for women like me with the large hips and ample bosom.
Plus, they had really cute shoes.
“We’re going to try on about a thousand dresses, and then we’re going to look at the shoes. Because, oh my God, shoes.”
It was my turn to laugh. Liz was a shoe gal first, and everything else came after.
We split up and agreed to meet back at the dressing room after finding at least three items. It took minutes to meet up again, and we both had a hell of a lot more than three items. I had five dresses, two skirts, a pair of high-waisted hot pants, and two tops that were either going to make great nightclub getups or lingerie. I wasn’t sure which.
Liz was similarly packing, and we grinned at each other when we met at the dressing room. “Three items? What was I thinking?”
“Who knows?”
We basically had the dressing room to ourselves. There were a few other ladies in the store and two employees, but they were spread out. It was one of the reasons I loved this place. People left you alone unless you needed something. They weren’t shoving dresses in your face, they weren’t pressuring you to buy stinky perfumes that you didn’t wear. They just asked if you needed help, then drifted off into the wallpaper. It was awesome.
We picked out dressing rooms across from each another, leaving the mirrors for the very end, like a runway. There were also mirrors inside the rooms, but it wasn’t the same unless you were walking.
I tried on a plumb crazy purple dress first. It was skintight with a peplum skirt. Not quite as vintage as I liked, but it fit well and worked well with my curves. It was going to be a maybe, I was sure.
When I parted the curtain, I saw Liz do the same. She’d picked out a flowy sunflower-yellow color that worked surprisingly well with her golden locks. “What do you think? Too much yellow brick road?”
I cracked up with laughter. “Yellow brick road?”
“Yeah. You know, blonde hair, yellow dress?”
When I’d stopped laughing, I asked half-seriously, “The Elton John song or the Wizard of Oz?”
She shrugged. “I’m thinking Elton John, because this is definitely a goodbye yellow brick road.”
Grinning, I shook my head at her. “You’re crazy. And despite how much yellow it is, I’ll just tell you, it looks pretty awesome on you.”
She batted her lashes at me prettily. “Why, thank you.”
We did our obligatory walk down the catwalk and scrutinized ourselves in the mirror. Ultimately, neither dress looked bad, but they were both misses in the end. They would go to the rehanging pile.
The next dress I tried on was baby blue, and it was awesome. A button-down with a slim waist and a skirt that flared out. As I was putting it on, I called over to Liz. “How have you been doing?”
She answered with a sigh. “Good, but not great.”
“What’s the damage?”
“Ugh. Stepsister from hell.”
I winced. I’d never had the privilege of meeting Liz’s stepsister, but she sounded like a real piece of work. Total brat. “What’s going on with her now?”
I could practically feel Liz rolling her eyes. “You name it. She’s so fragile right now. She just hasn’t found her niche yet. You need to be more supportive. She’s your sister.” Her voice was high-pitched and nasally, clearly imitating someone though I couldn’t say who. “As if. Sister my ass. Dad’s second marriage was a total and complete joke. She was a store-bought trophy wife, 100 percent.”
I had oodles of sympathy for my friend, though I’d never had to deal with something like that before. I was an only child, and while I didn’t talk to my parents as much as I should, they were still together and happy as far as I could tell. They sent me postcards and pictures and were even on the internet, despite having difficulties with all the newfangled technology.
“I’m sorry, that really sucks,” I told her. “You get a sister and she ends up as the sister from hell.”
I heard her snort. Very unladylike. “Yeah, no kidding. It sucks because all I really wanted was a sister, and then I got one. Talk about more than I bargained for.”
We stepped out again and ooh’d and ahh’d over each other’s dresses. Hers was green this time and absolutely perfect on her.
“The worst part?” she continued, ranting about her wicked stepsister. “She’s in town.”
I winced. “Jesus, seriously?”
She nodded solemnly. “No bullshit.”
“Well, then we will just have to avoid her the whole time you’re here.”
Grinning at me, she nodded. “Hell yes. This is why you have always been my favorite. You make so much sense.”
I laughed. “Likewise.”
“Now let’s get these absolutely fabulous dresses and move on to the shoes.”
“Agreed.”
Chapter Ten
Trent
We ended up taking longer than ten and twenty minutes to get ready. An hour and a half later, Sarah looked like a million bucks in a shimmery liquid-looking silver dress and dangling earrings. Her face was framed by deliberate curls, and her eyes were outlined with dark mascara, while her lids were smeared with a glossy silver that matched her dress. Her heels put her taller than my shoulders, and I swear she even added some glitter across her shoulders.
She was a knockout, and I was proud to take her out for the evening. I was also feeling a little protective, because she was like my little sister and I didn’t like the idea of watching a bunch of bumbling idiots try to drunkenly hit on her.
Still, she was a big girl, and I wanted her to find her happiness—away from Callum—so I reminded myself to tolerate a little flirting.
“Hands stay above the hips!” I shouted at a man who was trying to see how far his fingers would travel down her leg.
Instantly, his hand snapped away from Sarah. He muttered something to her, then shuffled away like a kicked puppy.
Sarah rounded on me and scowled. “Really? You’re fucking killing me, Harvey!”
I waved her off. “Don’t be ridiculous. He was an ass. I was saving you from a boring night with a boring individual who wouldn’t have even remembered your name.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re a pain.”
“You love me.”
“Doesn’t mean you’re not a pain, just that I’m a very patient, good person. Saintly even.”
I laughed. She had a good sense of humor, and I loved her for it. “There was never any questioning your sainthood.”
We headed over to the bar, pushing through the throng of people, to order some drinks. The club was one of those rooftop bars where the lightshow was as impressive as the drinks and the natural outside air helped keep out the smell and the heat. It was the best of everything, and it was one of my favorite places.
Sarah ordered for us, batting her long lashes at the bartender, who laughed a little and pushed a couple of drinks at us. He was a friend of ours mostly in passing and had a soft spot for Sarah. I briefly wondered if that friendship was worth pursuing for her, but didn’t push it. I didn’t want to play matchmaker; I just didn’t want her hung up on Callum.
She handed me one of the drinks, and then the two of us turned so that our backs were to the bar and we could watch the craziness of that many bodies pushing together to dance. It was like watching one huge entity with many moving parts.
Creepy, but kind of cool, too.
Sarah shouted something at me, but I didn’t catch it.
“What?”
“What’s so special about her?” she tried again.
I blinked. It took me a minute to realize who she was talking about, but when it clicked, it clicked fast. Courtney, my sexy secretary. “Nothing!” I shouted back at her.
She made a face at me, then leaned closer so she didn’t have to shout as much. “Don’t be an ass. I’m not an idiot. You’ve never been this hung up on a woman before. Not since…” She winced and looked briefly like she wanted to redirect where she was taking this, but ended up finishing with, “Well, not since high school.”
Instantly, I remembered.
High school. The bullshit that came with it, but also the good parts. My grandmother telling me to take pride. Callum walking into my life like a million bucks. And her.
I couldn’t see myself in the mirror, but I didn’t have to to know that my expression had darkened. I could feel it in the tightness of my shoulders, the hard clench of my jaw, and the way my teeth felt like they were trying to crush rocks.
I would never forget her, and that made me almost as angry as the fact that I’d been so hung up on her in the first place.
I couldn’t change the past, but if I ever got the chance, she would be it.
In a single swallow, I downed my drink, then set it on the counter behind me. Suddenly, the swirling bright lights, the pulsing music, and the undulating crowd of bodies weren’t nearly as entertaining.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sarah’s expression. Apologetic. Sympathetic. A host of other emotions that I didn’t give a shit about right then.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but I wasn’t interested in hearing it just then. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I told her, cutting her off before she could say anything else.
I threw myself into the crowd, an effort to not just avoid any further conversation, but also an attempt to forget the woman whose face was permanently etched into my eyelids and branded on my brain.
I started dancing with the nearest woman, a pretty thing with wild curly hair and smooth dark skin. She shimmered and danced like nobody’s business, and for a second I stuck with her.
But I couldn’t stay for long.
I was still wrapped up by the woman I’d never quite let go of, and I needed something strong enough to distract me. My eyes began to scan through the crowd as I danced until they landed on a woman with ample curves but a little waist. She had ruby-red lips and hair that fell in deliberate curls around her shoulders and down her back.
In that moment, I decided: I was going to take a woman home tonight. I was going to fuck her like nobody’s business, and then I was going to feel better. More like myself. I’d forget all about the women in my life that were causing me problems. Just like that, I’d be fixed.
My eyes lingered on the sexy, curvy woman across the room. I moved toward her like a predator hunting its prey. Her eyes met mine, and that sexy little smile told me that she was game to be my meal tonight.
I reached her in moments, my hands sliding automatically to her waist. It was little beneath my large hands, and the strategically placed darts in the fabric allowed my skin to brush hers. It was hot and sweaty and spoke of passion.
Just what I needed.
Her breasts bounced as she gyrated to the music. I fell into step with her, pressing us close together until our hips collided. Her lips parted and she batted those long lashes at me. When I saw her pink tongue slip out between those parted lips, I knew she was game for whatever I wanted.
Leaning closer to her, I whispered hot breath in her ear, “Wanna get out of here?”
I felt a giggle roll through her ample chest, which was plastered against my front. The contact and her body was enough to get my arousal going. I felt myself grow in my slacks and knew this would be good. It would be fun and string-free and just what I fucking needed.
“Yes,” she murmured and nodded at me.
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and texted Sarah. Can you make it home on your own?
In a minute’s time, I received a reply. Way ahead of you. Already in a cab. I don’t feel like puking.
I grinned and shook my head. I didn’t have to worry about Sarah tonight, and that was a relief. Even being annoyed at her, I didn’t want anything bad to happen because I’d had to feed a very specific need.
I glanced at the woman again and nodded at her. “Let’s go, beautiful.”
She giggled again and let me lead her through the crowd. We made it to the elevator before my hand was up her skirt and her tongue was in my mouth. She tasted only slightly of alcohol and a little of sweat. Her skin was hot in my hands, pliant as I massaged her ample rear. She ground herself against my crotch, all but begging for me to take her then and there.
Then the bell dinged and the doors opened. I pulled my hand free from her skirt and led her out the door to the parking garage. She slipped into the passenger seat and spent the whole ride massaging my dick through my pants.
It was a fast ride.
When we got to my place, I all but dragged her up to my bedroom, my clothes coming off as quickly as possible. When the door was closed, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and tugged it up. I watched as she exposed her bare pussy to my eyes. No panties and smooth, pale skin. I watched as her dress was lifted higher and higher, revealing those large tits.
Her nipples were hard, and the underside of her breasts had that perfect curve to them.
I shucked off my slacks, my erection already aching and ready. I reached into the bedside drawer and retrieved a little foil package for the main event. But before I slipped the condom on, my little nightclub sex kitten was on her hands and knees. Her ruby-red lips were full and parted easily over the head of my cock. I sucked in a harsh breath as she slipped me into her mouth, slowly taking me as deep as she could. She didn’t choke but pulled back when I thought I might be halfway down her throat.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I muttered, laying back on my bed.
Those red fucking lips.
Those perfect fucking hips.
And those tits. Large. Curved perfectly.
I let myself go like that for a minute, indulging in her hot mouth wrapped around my length. My hands found her hair, caressing it and pushing it back from her heart-shaped face.
Her eyes opened and looked up at me, and I froze.
For just a second, it wasn’t the woman from the bar. It was Courtney. The red lips. The perfectly curled hair. The womanly curves mixed with that little waist.
Jesus. I’d taken home a copy of the woman I was having wet dreams about.
She was taking me into her mouth again, and I knew I could let her. I could let her suck me, then slide into her bare pussy without a single complaint. She’d probably tell me to take her faster and harder and I’d bottom out inside of her. All of which was incredibly appealing. But now that Courtney was in my head again, I couldn’t get her out.
I didn’t want this woman’s body wrapped around me. I wanted Courtney’s. And that made this all very, very wrong.
Which was why I lifted her mouth away from my throbbing dick. She pulled away with a pop.
“What? Did I do something wrong?”
She looked so concerned for a moment that I felt really bad.
I shook my head, even as I eased her off the bed. “No, no. You’re great. Awesome. And sexy as hell. I just—”
I broke off, because I had absolutely no idea what to tell her. Gee, I can’t sleep with you because I’m imagining you’re this other woman that I’d rather be with sounded fifteen shades of horrible.
Instead, I said, “I just can’t do this. I thought I could, but I can’t. You’re great, but I need something else tonight.”
Her face pinched together, and she looked angry. “Damnit. You couldn’t have decided that while I was still at the damn bar? Or had my fucking clothes on?”
She wiped her mouth, then went to get her dress. She pulled it on quickly, then scowled at me. “Thanks a lot, jerk.”
I winced. “I’ll call you a cab. On me.”
This mollified her slightly, but just barely. I had the feeling she needed the release tonight as much or more than I had. I felt a little bad for not providing, but I couldn’t help it. It just didn’t feel right.
I pulled on a pair of sweats as she headed out the door. I heard it slam behind her. I called the cab quickly and gave them a credit card, telling the driver to take the woman wherever she asked, on me. She could have technically driven to New York City on my dime, but I didn’t care.
When I hung up, I shuffled down the hall to Sarah’s room. I knocked on the door. Through the wood, I heard an annoyed “What?” come through. She sounded like she was probably buzzed at the least, but I opened the door anyway.
I didn’t say anything initially, prompting Sarah to sigh dramatically from her bed where she’d flopped face-first. “Jesus, what do you want, Trent?”
I hesitated half a second, then just told her the truth. “I think I might be sort of in love with Courtney.”
There was a pause, then a groan. “Christ. Well, I guess you’d probably better tell her, or you’ll never get over it.”
And with those drunken words of wisdom, I realized what I had to do and how much I wasn’t going to like it.
Chapter Eleven
Trent
It was only a couple of days since our last meeting—mine and Marnie’s—but she was upping how many of them were we having in a rather stupidly desperate attempt to light a fire under my ass and get the manuscript in her lap. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly working. And, yeah, probably some of Marnie’s bitchiness was coming from the fact that I’d bailed on half a dozen of our meetings and left the others early. She was probably getting back at me for that, but I wasn’t having it.
I didn’t have anything new to offer her as far as the manuscript, so I wasn’t going to parade myself through there like a dog-and-pony show just so she could say that she was trying to do her job.
Besides, I didn’t have a lot of reason to go to Marnie’s office right now. Courtney hadn’t called me in several days, and damnit, she wasn’t at work either. When I’d poked Marnie about it, she’d nearly chewed me into bite-sized Trent bits, so I’d smoothly chosen not to bring it up anymore.
I dialed Marnie’s number and waited as it rang. I could picture her on the other side trying to pull out her red hair and rubbing her face until her freckles came off. It was sort of amusing, though I doubted anyone else would see it that way.
A few more rings, then Marnie answered. “Harvey, whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Is that anyway to greet your moneymaker?” I asked innocently.
“Last I checked, you don’t initial off on my salary.”
I shrugged, though she couldn’t see that. “But I sort of do. I bring the company money, and the company pays you.”
She snorted, which was sort of cute because she did this squealing-type thing. “That would imply that you are in fact making my company money. Which I’d like to point out that you are not.”
“But I will.”
“Not if you don’t finish that damn manuscript.” I could hear the heat rising in her voice and imagined her face a blotchy red that matched her hair.
“Don’t worry about the manuscript. I’ll get it to you when I’m ready.” Before she could chew my ass about the fact that it wasn’t yet ready, I pushed through. “In fact, cancel today’s appointment. It’s not done yet, so there’s no point in wasting anyone’s time. I’ll get ahold of you when I’m good to go.”
“Damnit, Harvey!”
That was all Marnie got to get out, because I hung up on her. She would be pissed, but she was already pissed, so I figured that wasn’t anything new. I seemed to press every one of her buttons, and I couldn’t honestly say that it bothered me much to know that.
She called back immediately, but I ignored it. Instead, I dialed Courtney’s number.
She hadn’t talked to me since our date, and it was eating me alive. I wanted another chance, and the fact that she wouldn’t even return a damn text message anymore was depressing me. Whatever writer’s block I’d been having was only amplified by the fact that Courtney was ignoring me.
The phone rang just as the door opened. “Sarah?” I called in question. “I thought you were going to be gone most of the day?”
The phone continued to ring as footsteps came up behind me, but before it could go to voicemail, a large hand snatched my phone out of my hand.
“Hey!” I protested, turning only to find Callum standing there. And he looked pissed.
“Hey your fucking self.” He hung up the phone, though I supposed it didn’t matter. It was pretty clear she wasn’t going to pick up.
Still. “What is your problem?” I demanded, reaching for my cell. But he jerked it away from me, playing keep-away. “I was in the middle of a call.”
Callum ignored me and my attempts to grab my cell. He merely moved the phone a little farther away. “Stop being a fucking jerk to Marnie,” he told me bluntly.
My eyebrows rose in surprise. We were friends and Callum wasn’t afraid to speak his mind when necessary, but that was a little to the point even for him. “What?”
“You heard me. Stop being a dick. Marnie’s really frustrated about you right now, and it’s making her crazy. So knock it off. She doesn’t deserve that.”
I couldn’t help it—I laughed.
Callum’s eyes narrowed and he looked for a moment like he might try to crush my phone in his hands. Of course, that would probably have just ended disastrously, so I could see where he reconsidered at the last moment. Instead, he tossed it onto the couch and took a step toward me. “Seriously? What the fuck are you laughing about?”
I waved him off, composing myself. When I’d caught my breath, I explained. “Sorry, it’s just… you’re so adorable.” This didn’t really help with his temper, so I hurried on. “Getting all protective over Marnie, being her knight in shining armor. It’s cute, that’s all. So sweet.”
Even as I teased him, poking the bear as best I could, there was a tiny part of me nestled in the back of my brain that was jealous. He had something, something real, and it looked good on him. Like a suit tailor-made to fit him, Callum wore affection perfectly. I wasn’t sure if it was love yet, but it was heading that way quickly, and a part of me was really starting to hate him for it.
He’d fought against the idea of being with Marnie, and now here he was, nestled comfortably in her world like he’d always been there.
It wasn’t fair of me, but I couldn’t help it. The woman I wanted wouldn’t even return my calls, but he had his on speed dial.
“You’re an asshole, Trent,” Callum told me, but his shoulders had loosened and he didn’t sound like he wanted my blood spilled on a ceremonial dagger, so that was good.
I shrugged. “What else is new?”
Callum plopped down in the armchair adjacent to the couch while I sat on the couch. “But seriously. You don’t have to be a dick to Marnie, and I really would appreciate it if you’d cut her some slack. She’s just doing her job.”
I sighed. “Yes, I realize that.” I hesitated, then just threw the truth out there. “But fact is, the manuscript isn’t ready. She can push all she wants, but I don’t have anything to give her. So, yeah, I’m a little snarky as a result, and that’s not really fair, but still. She could cut me a little slack, too.”
Callum rubbed at his face like he was just tired of working things out. Actually, now that I took a moment to look at him, I realized that he was looking a little pale. A little drawn. Like maybe he wasn’t sleeping great.
“You feeling okay?” I asked.
He waved me off. “Yeah, just tired. Haven’t been sleeping great. What’s going on with the manuscript?”
I winced. “It’s a pain in my ass,” I offered. “It sits on my hard drive mocking me, taunting me with its blankness.”
Raising an eyebrow at me, he said, “You know you’re overly dramatic about 90 percent of the time, right?”
I shrugged. “That’s what makes me a good writer.”
“There’s probably some truth to that,” he agreed. “So you’ve got writer’s block?”
“Yeah. I hate saying it, because it’s like saying Macbeth when a thespian is rehearsing: a curse upon both your houses and all that.”
“You’re mixing up your Shakespeare.”
“Whatever,” I said, waving off his criticism. “My point is, it’s cursed, so using it as infrequently as possible is better for everyone in the long run.”
“Fine. I’ll avoid the dreaded phrase. Now will you tell me what’s causing it?”
“Other than the fact that you just cursed me in my own house?”
He rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Trent, quit the theatrics. What’s going on?”
I sat back against the cushions of the couch. “Hell, I don’t know. I hit a wall, Callum, and I don’t know what to do about it. Nothing seems right. When I put it on paper, it’s all crap.”
“You’re your own worst critic, you know that,” he pointed out.
And, yes, I knew he was true, but I also knew when what I was writing was total and utter crap. There was just no getting around that little snag. “Yeah, well, if I can’t put something on paper that I don’t hate sometime soon, there isn’t going to be a book.”
Callum fell silent for a minute. Then he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “This is just a bump in the road. Yeah, it seems like a mountain, but it’s a damn molehill. You just need a break. A breather. It’ll come back to you.”
That was the same thing that Sarah had said. And it was easy enough for them to say. Just keep writing. Keep pushing forward. But they didn’t know what it was like to make your bones writing. People didn’t appreciate late manuscripts and missed deadlines. But they also didn’t appreciate that sometimes what you liked to write and what they wanted to read weren’t the same thing. You had to cater to the masses, while still being true to yourself, otherwise you were a sellout.
Maybe that was my issue. I was trying to figure out how to cater to the masses and deal with my own internal sellout debate.
Or maybe this whole concept was just crap and I should have known better.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know. Let’s talk about something else.”
Callum hesitated, then admitted, “I’m falling for Marnie.”
The laugh escaped me before I could even consider holding it in. Callum glared at me, but I didn’t care. “Seriously? Is this supposed to be a revelation?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That it’s pretty damn obvious to everyone that you’re falling for her,” I said. Okay, no, I didn’t know that he was in love, but he was definitely in puppy love. No question on that.
“Fine, fine. I’m very obvious. Are you finished?”
I let my chuckles die down, but the grin stayed. “Yeah, I guess. You gonna ask her to be your pretty little bride?”
“Don’t be an idiot,” he told me dryly. “We’ve only been dating a few months. I just… I just feel strongly about her. It’s kind of a new thing for me.”
My grin softened into a genuine smile. “Yeah, that’s true. Good for you. I hope things keep moving the direction they have been.”
He cleared his throat. “Thanks.”
There was a pause of what could have been awkward silence. Neither of us felt particularly interested in leaving it there to develop, so I asked, “Where have you been anyway? Have you been busy falling for Marnie or what? You’ve been MIA for a while now.”
Callum froze, like I’d caught him in the act or something. It was only for a second, but it was long enough that I knew something was up when he said, “I’ve just been wrapped up in work. I’ve got this new client who—”
“Cut the crap, Callum,” I said, calling his bullshit immediately. “What’s going on?”
“Really, Trent, leave it.”
But I couldn’t. Because he’d tried this before and I had let it slide, but now I wanted to know the truth. “Callum, what’s going on?” I repeated, my tone serious.
He winced, but then his shoulders sagged and I knew I’d won. He was going to spill the beans. I just didn’t have any idea how unready I was for them until they were already out. “Amelia is in town.”
I felt as though I’d been punched in the gut. I remembered her face so well it hurt, and she was still fresh in my mind from the previous night at the club, leaving the sting of finding out she was here in town even worse.
“Amelia?”
Callum nodded.
“She’s in town?”
He nodded again.
“Right now.”
Callum sighed. “Yeah, she is. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to cause any problems. She’s in town and I couldn’t… not spend time with her, but I knew you wouldn’t be happy about it. So I thought…” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
“You thought you’d just lie to me about it?” I asked coolly.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” he shot back. “I was doing this to try to spare your feelings. You were the one that kept pushing.”
I tried to pull myself together. Callum was right. He’d lied to spare my feelings, and if I wasn’t such a fucking baby over her, it wouldn’t have been a damn problem in the first place and he wouldn’t have lied. But I couldn’t deny that it stung. Mostly it stung that she was here in the first place, but a little that Callum was spending time with her, too.
Of course, she was his sister.
“I don’t know why you deal with her,” I couldn’t help but mutter, folding my arms across my chest like a petulant child—which was what I felt like, actually.
Callum lifted his hands as if to say “what can you do?” “I promised my father, you know that. I can’t go back on my word.”
I sighed. “Yeah, well, I still think it’s shitty.”
He nodded in agreement. “Can’t argue with you there.”
“Just… keep her away from me,” I told him stiffly.
“What do you think I’ve been doing?”
And just like that, my appreciation for Callum being my friend and knowing me so well returned threefold.
Chapter Twelve
Marnie
It was late. I was stuck at the damn office since Courtney was still on her damn vacation. Which meant I had meetings scattered all over, clients that were pissed that I’d missed things that I didn’t even remember scheduling, and Dorian was on me about Trent—who had canceled a meeting outright.
“I guess I should be grateful he didn’t waste my time by showing up,” I grumbled to myself.
All I wanted was some coffee, alcohol, and ice cream. I didn’t care how they were mixed together or served or anything. I’d eat warm ice cream, hot bourbon, and cold coffee if I could just have a little of each.
Which, now that I thought about it, sounded disgusting.
I shuffled papers around my desk until I was cross-eyed. I finally just gave up, threw two dozen into my briefcase, and decided to call it a night. There was just no point in wasting more time.
Time. Shit.
I glanced at my watch, cursing my frazzled schedule and my own forgetfulness. Callum and I had plans. It was only seven, I saw, so I wasn’t late. Yet. I probably would be after I got ready for dinner, but at least I could tell him it was for the sake of beauty, not because I was scatterbrained and short handed.
But before I even made it out the door, I looked up to see Callum leaning against it. He was devilishly handsome with dark thick hair that was kept fashionably short and neat, slicked back with just a hint of gel. He looked like something out of a James Bond film, though his jacket was slung over his shoulder, his shirt was rolled up to the elbows, and his tie was undone, hanging around his neck.
All of which just made him sexier.
My libido responded immediately, telling me that “okay, Callum’s here, let’s forget about everything but sex.” Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Callum,” I finally got out. I’d been staring at him a while, and the charming grin on his face told me he knew it, too. “What are you doing here? I thought we didn’t have dinner until seven thirty.”
He glanced absently at his watch, then back at me with raised brows. “And you thought you would somehow make seven thirty when you’re only just now leaving?”
I winced, caught. “Sorry. I really thought I’d make it out of here by now,” I admitted. “Guess I lost track of time.”
He pushed off the door and stepped into my office. He deposited his coat on the back of a chair, then walked the rest of the way to me. His hands reached for me, resting on my hips, and easily pulled me flush against his body. I gave no resistance. He leaned forward and captured my mouth in a passionate kiss that I instantly melted into.
I dropped my briefcase so that I could wrap my arms around him, my hands weaving through his thick hair. His body was hard and hot against mine, reminding me just how much I liked our physical encounters.
He broke the kiss only so that he could trail hot kisses down my neck. I leaned back, exposing more skin for him to kiss and lick. I groaned, but somehow my mind still managed to kick in.
“Where’ve you been?” I murmured. “I feel like you haven’t been around much lately.”
His kissing paused and for just a second I worried that there was something wrong. Seriously wrong. Like, he wasn’t around so much because he was rethinking our very new, very fragile relationship. By the time he started kissing me again, I was about ready to pop.
“Callum?” I actually pushed him away from me so that I could look him in the eye.
They were lustful, but were they anything else? Bored? Guilty? No longer invested? I didn’t think so… but maybe I was wrong.
“I’m sorry, I know I’ve been really busy with work,” he apologized, his smile puppyish. “Forgive me?”
I laughed a little, the tension slipping away easily. “Fine.”
He grinned and captured my mouth again. I pushed aside the last little tingle of doubt and let myself fall into his warmth. Sexy. Oh, he was sexy. My hands wrapped around his shoulders while his slid to my rear. He squeezed my ass as I groaned into his mouth.
We backed up until I felt my legs at the edge of my desk. Automatically, I propped one hip up onto the countertop, then the other. Callum’s hands dropped from my hips to travel down my thighs until they found the hem of my pencil skirt. When I felt his fingertips along the hem, I nearly lost it. There was something about a man shoving up my skirt to get to my core that drove me crazy.
He pushed the fabric up as high as he could before the fact that I was sitting on my ass prevented anything more.
Giggling, I let him shove me down onto my back then so that he could lift my hips and the fabric over them. I was wearing panties—because I’d honestly forgotten our date; otherwise I’d have forgone them—but he didn’t seem to care. He let a single finger hook around the elastic and pull it aside, exposing my nether lips to his gaze. I was already wet, but we were well past the part where that might have been embarrassing. He knew how much I wanted him, and I was all about him knowing.
Fucking sexy.
His free hand slipped between my thighs. A finger slid along my entrance, collecting moisture before disappearing between my lips. I felt his finger slide inside me, and I let out a sigh.
“Fucking finally,” I told him.
He laughed, though it was low and throaty. It was too hoarse to be a jovial, light laugh. Instead it was laced with the desire that we both felt. “Impatient?” he cooed.
“How many times do I have to tell you yes?” I growled at him.
He chuckled again, and then we both stopped laughing as he added a second finger. I moaned, arching my back off my desk. “Oh, God, yes. Right there.”
“Your pussy’s so tight, Marnie. I fucking love it.”
He curled his fingers inside me, massaging my walls, and quickly I felt myself getting worked up. “C’mon. Quit fucking around. I need more.”
Instead of giving me the more I needed, he grinned wickedly at me and bent low over me, sliding his head between my thighs until his hot breath was sliding over my wetness.
I shivered.
Okay, not what I’d had in mind, but I wasn’t bitching. I didn’t do oral much, because most guys didn’t know what the hell they were doing down there, but he was a fucking god and I loved his tongue.
It slid over my lips until he found the small bundle of nerves there. As soon as the flat of his tongue slipped over it, I lost my shit. I cried out and begged him to give me more. He laved at it, before fitting his full lips around the nub and suckling.
Sharp, intense pleasure rocked my body. Bolts of lightning flooded my veins, and before I could tell him to stop or give me more, he pushed me over the edge. I toppled like a skydiver without a parachute, and I fucking loved it.
I was coming down from my own ecstasy when he positioned his hard length at my entrance. He’d managed to free it while I was delirious with pleasure, and I once again appreciated his size. He positioned the head at my entrance, and in one hard thrust, he shoved himself completely inside me.
I cried out, prompting him to cover my mouth with his to swallow the sound.
His hands slid over my body as his hips began to move. They found my shirt and undid the buttons, slipping beneath the fabric to grab at my soft orbs. He grunted at the bra I was wearing but managed to peel back the cups to expose my nipples to the cool air.
“You’ve got nice tits,” he murmured, his thrusts causing them to bounce and me to moan.
He fondled my breasts and pinched at my nipples until they were hard. All the while I moaned and begged him to keep going. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him into me deeper each time he thrusted until we were both groaning.
“Fuck, Marnie!”
I did my best to meet his thrusts. They grew more erratic until I felt him shove in all the way one last time, then shudder above me. Finally, exhausted and spent, he collapsed over me. He just barely managed to keep most of his weight off me, bracing himself on his forearms.
We waited like that for a long while, breathing heavily and trying to find our bones again.
Eventually, he rolled off me and we got cleaned up. We both remained half-undressed as we lounged in the two chairs in front of my desk. My legs were thrown over the arm, and he was slowly massaging one of my feet in his lap.
“You need a couch in here,” he commented absently.
I wiggled my toes. “What kind of message does that send to clients?”
“That this is your office and you fuck in here regularly?” he offered with a pearly toothed smile.
I kicked lightly at him, but he caught my foot easily and laughed.
“What?” he demanded.
I shook my head. “You’re an ass.”
“So? Besides, it’s true. We always end up doing it in your office.”
“Not always,” I countered. “We’ve done it in beds, too, remember?”
Our first time had been in a swanky nightclub where he had keys to a very special set of rooms, complete with a bed. It was insane and a little kinky, but neither of us had expected it to go anywhere. We were just relieving tension.
Now, we seemed to be relieving tension a lot these days.
“True,” he agreed. “But you have to admit that it’s always sexier in the office.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Maybe not always,” I argued. “But yeah sometimes it’s sexier here.”
He smoothed his thumb along the underside of my arch, and I all but purred like a cat. It was almost enough for me to forget everything else—almost. Except that he really hadn’t been around much lately, and I really was a little miffed by it. I may have forgiven him for the sake of sexy times, but that didn’t mean I’d forgotten.
“So where have you been for like, the last week and a half?”
His hands froze for a second, then resumed again. “Work. I’ve been swamped. You know how it is.”
My eyes narrowed as I detected the definite order of bullshit. “Cut the crap, Reid. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Marnie. I mean it. It’s nothing more than being a billionaire running a company. I had the company before we met, and I still have it now. That hasn’t changed. And sometimes it means that I’m busier than I’d like.” I started to pull my foot away, a little miffed that he was just brushing me aside, but he grabbed my ankle and tugged me back. “It doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t rather be with you every damn chance I get. You know that.”
I wasn’t for sure that I knew that, but I wanted to. And my shoulders did relax a little at his reassurances.
He was owner of Tarvish Press, a rival publishing company, and I knew that being just a partner came with a lot of baggage. I forced myself to relax the rest of the way and stop being a pain the ass.
“Okay.” I paused, then casually swung the conversation an entirely different way. “Have you spoken to Harvey lately?”
Callum fixed me with a chastising stare. “Now, Marnie, honey, you know better. Whatever’s getting kicked around between you and Trent is between you and Trent. My dog in this fight is personal only, meaning I have nothing to do with the professional crap. So you’ll have to work things out between yourselves all on your lonesome.”
I stuck out my lower lip like a child and petulantly crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t care that I was being a brat; I was about at my wits’ end with Harvey, and it was driving me crazy. He was making life difficult, and it meant I was willing to play dirty—like asking Callum to use his personal friendship to make Harvey comply.
“Don’t pout,” he quipped.
“You and your morals,” I joked.
He laughed. “Morals? Like sleeping with the enemy.”
“My kind of morals.”
He tugged on my leg until I got up and folded myself into his lap. He pulled me down for a kiss, which I eagerly returned. It wasn’t the hot, burning need from earlier, but the passion was there. It always was. When we broke the kiss, I asked, “Are we still on for dinner?”
He hesitated, then said, “I actually came here to tell you I can’t tonight. I’m—”
“Busy, right,” I finished for him, then untangled myself from his body. He looked like he wanted to pull me back, but he didn’t. Instead we both got dressed and promised we’d have dinner another night. He left, and I suddenly didn’t feel so great about things.
Chapter Thirteen
Courtney
After only a few days of being cooped up in my apartment, I was going stir-crazy. I was also fully disgusted with the lack of cleanliness of the place. Seriously, how did people not clean? It was gross.
So I’d put up my hair in a bandana I Love Lucy—style, threw on a pair of overalls that I rolled up, and put on that song from Mrs. Doubtfire. I then proceeded to clean every inch of my apartment.
I got rid of the junk food containers and wiped down the fridge. The trash went downstairs, and I set the throw pillows out on the porch to dry in the sun after scrubbing them clean.
I did a load of laundry, hand washed all of my dishes, cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom, then spent the rest of the time straightening. I vacuumed only after I’d dusted everything and wiped down the electronics, tables, and blinds.
My apartment practically sparkled like Mr. Clean’s bald head. I felt accomplished and much better about the fact that I was still stuck on mandatory vacation.
At least now while I lounged around like a bum, I’d be able to do it while being clean.
My phone had been off for most of my vacation time, because I was sick of getting calls from people I didn’t want to talk to about things I wasn’t going to discuss. But after my disastrous fight with Marnie, I’d had a little time to cool down and a lot of time to feel badly. So I’d turned my phone back on in the hopes that maybe she’d call. Maybe we could talk about how we were both being such big jerks, and somehow we’d go out and have a drink and be friends again.
So when my phone rang, I practically pounced on it. I was so desperate for it to be Marnie. We would talk for a minute, and then we’d both burst out with apologies, and everything would go back to normal.
But when I answered the phone, a desperate “Hello” escaping my lips, I was sorely disappointed.
It wasn’t Marnie on the other side. It was Trent Harvey.
“Don’t hang up,” he told me first thing. Which, screw him, he couldn’t tell me what to do. I was about to tell him as much right before hanging up the damn phone, but he pushed forward, probably sensing that he was on borrowed time. “Please, Courtney, we need to meet. I need to talk to—”
I hung up.
A second later, I received a text. This, too, was from Harvey.
I think I’m in love with you.
I stared at that text message for what felt like hours. In love with me? Something clutched inside my chest, and I thought it might be my heart. It had been a long time since someone thought they were in love with me. Longer still since someone actually was. And…
And it didn’t mean anything.
At least, that was what I was telling myself. I set my phone down and numbly walked into the kitchen. My brain was still swamped with the idea that he was in love with me. In love. With me.
I opened the refrigerator door and stared at the contents within without seeing anything in there. Then I closed the door and turned around to open the pantry. Nothing there either. I wasn’t looking for anything; I didn’t want anything. My body was just on autopilot as I tried to process that text.
I think I’m in love with you.
What in the hell was I supposed to do with that?
My phone went off again, and I cringed. Jesus Christ, who was it now? I almost didn’t even check the phone, sure that it was a Psych! Just kidding! from Trent. But somewhere I found the courage to look and was slightly relieved and slightly disappointed.
It wasn’t from Trent at all.
Elizabeth had texted me several times.
Jesus, the bitch is here.
In town.
And I can’t avoid her.
Like, I can’t.
She knows where I am!
I watched as they continued to pour in, and if I’d been in a different mood, I would have been amused by all of it. Seriously, she was texting like the stepsister from hell was a stalker hell-bent on her complete and utter annihilation. Which, okay, possible, but highly unlikely.
I ignored any following texts and sent her one back. You can’t avoid her?
I got one back instantly. No. We’re supposed to go out tonight. Please, come with me. I can’t do this alone.
Normally, I would have teased Liz for being such a pansy, but I was still stuck on that single text from Trent and I wasn’t in the mood for teasing. I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for, but I knew it wasn’t anything in the light-hearted spectrum.
So I replied with a Yeah, I’ll come with you. You don’t have to be stuck alone with her.
Liz sent about twenty different thank-you texts, and I finally just set the phone down. I got into the shower and stood there for the next hour, trying to figure out what the hell was going on in my life.
***
I got ready and met up with Liz at a nice little restaurant over by the docks. It didn’t look the best necessarily, but it had good food, and once you got inside, it was an awesome place to get a bite to eat. I wasn’t sure if Liz was planning on wigging her stepsister out with the outer appearance of the place or woo her with the great food.
Either way, I was on board.
Liz was waiting for me outside, glancing at her watch impatiently every five seconds. Her hair was piled up on her head save a few loose curls, and her makeup was done perfectly. She looked ready to kill.
Or compete.
I wondered if she was trying to look good just so that her sister would show her up.
“Liz,” I called.
She looked up from her watch to see me and practically sagged with relief. She waved me over. “Thank God,” she told me, then pulled me in for an embrace. “I could not do this without you.”
I laughed but hugged her back. When we parted, I asked, “So where is the She Devil anyway?”
Liz lifted her hands to the sky dramatically as though to ask the gods, “who knows?” “Maybe she’s not even coming.” Liz sounded so hopeful that she was almost gleeful at the prospect.
“Jesus, is she really that bad?”
Liz made a gesture as though to hang herself. “Yes,” she said flatly. “She really, really is just that bad.”
I couldn’t tell how much of that was bullshit or not, but I could easily assume the worst about a stepsibling. Throwing two families together wasn’t exactly the Brady Bunch, though people liked to think it was. “All right, well, let’s hope she got lost and we can just get some food ourselves.”
Liz nodded emphatically in agreement. But a second later, her face fell and her shoulders sagged. “Oh, damn. Here she is.”
I glanced toward the very nice sporty car that had just pulled up. A second later, a beautiful woman with flowing dark hair and perfect skin got out of the car. She had shapely legs and hips but was lacking a little up top. Not that it mattered. She looked like a million bucks, and I wondered if the reason the two sisters didn’t get along had something to do with the both of them being too attractive.