Another Shot At Love Read online

  “Yeah,” a woman from the end of the row breathed in admiration.

  “No more,” Roxanna said, shaking her finger, “is she going to let a barely pubescent man-child ruin what should be the best time of her life!”

  “Okay, then,” Tricia said and squeezed Britney’s shoulder. “Operation Revenge Night is a go.”

  “Yes…a go.” Britney let out a breath and the color had come back to her face. There was a bit of a glow to her cheeks. And even if her smile shook, it was still a smile. I probably didn’t need to worry about her. “I got this. You’re right, Roxanna. I’ve been letting him walk all over me our entire relationship. I’ve wasted enough time on him.”

  She jumped to her feet and hurried down the aisle then disappeared around the corner. Roxanna’s brows puckered. “She didn’t even say thank you for my awesome idea.”

  “She’s probably in shock,” I said. I went back to my desk and shoved the divorce papers back into the manila envelope. “I’m going to shred this.”

  “You don’t want to read the rest of it? There’s interesting stuff in there, like his credit score.”

  I gave her a pointed stare. “Does he have a criminal record?”

  Roxanna shook her head. “No.”

  “Then that’s all I need to know.”

  “If he’s going to be your sex toy, you should know if he can at least afford to buy you nice dinners.”

  “He’s not my sex toy. I’m not even sure I should keep seeing him.” I didn’t like the way she was looking at me. “Don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like I have two heads or something.” Or maybe she was staring at the zit on my chin. It was there when I awoke that morning—a stress zit. Roxanna tactfully said nothing about it.

  Roxanna sighed in exasperation. “Of course you’re going to keep seeing him. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “He’s the answer to your slump.”

  “Slump? What slump?” I asked. “I’m not in a slump.”

  “Yes, you are in a slump. You broke up with Brent five months ago and you haven’t…you know what…since. What you need is a good, old fashioned—”

  “Don’t even say it!” I screeched.

  Roxanna smiled sweetly, “Well, at least we’re on the same page.”

  “Matt’s not looking for a serious relationship right now.”

  “What does that have to do with sex?” Roxanna asked and my mouth dropped open. “You already know what to expect so you’re going in with eyes wide open. And you aren’t looking for serious either, remember. You just need a date to Lexie’s engagement party and if you can get some no-strings-attached sex on the side, why not?”

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “And he’s perfect. Brent will take one look at Matt and probably jump in front of a bus. Matt makes him look like mincemeat. No one likes mincemeat.” Roxanna leaned in closer to whisper, “And have you seen the size of Matt’s feet? You know what they say… Brent will notice, too. He deserves to suffer.”

  Great, now I was picturing Matt’s foot size. They were big. At least a twelve. And I’d already had my face up against his crotch, so I knew by touch the man was endowed.

  “Sex,” Roxanna interrupted my thoughts and I blushed. “It’s just a little sex. I bet the guy’s been celibate for a year now. His divorce papers said he was separated a year. He needs you, Gen. As much as you need him. No harm. Just some casual sex between two hot people. I bet he’s great in bed.”

  My heart started up the erratic beating again. Sex with Matt—I’d been imaging it since the first night we kissed.

  “I got it,” I said. “You want me to embrace my slutty side and get it on. I’ll think about it, okay?”

  Not just think about it—obsess about it. Well, mostly just obsess about the thought of it. After Roxanna’s impassioned speech and the blackmail scheme she’d suggested to Britney, I had my doubts about Roxanna’s advice.

  Roxanna finally gave me some peace and returned to her desk. I stared at my monitor. It wasn’t hard to imagine what sex with Matt would be like, not when his kisses turned my knees to mush. Probably, it would be mind-blowing. Or maybe months of celibacy had screwed up my rational thought process.

  I didn’t have casual sex. But was it a big deal in this day and age when going Dutch and seeing multiple people wasn’t even frowned upon? This wasn’t my parents’ generation. This was my generation.

  Casual sex—no big deal. But it sounded like a big deal.

  When I logged into my mail, I spotted a message from Richard and opened it cautiously, afraid of what it might contain. After a quick read, I relaxed.

  Hey Gen! I scoped out a few girls at the movie rental place. I got a part time job there so I can save up to get an apartment. Want to have lunch in the cafeteria? Maybe you can give me some pointers.

  Of course I would give him pointers. He was moving on, spreading his little wings and becoming a cute little butterfly, which meant I couldn’t send him out into the big world of dating with the very inappropriate advice he’d been getting from his IT buddies on the second floor. He needed me and since we were both on the same page now, I was more than happy to provide my services. I didn’t know a lick about men, it seemed, but I knew women and being the Good Samaritan that I was, I would help him find a girlfriend.

  I accepted his lunch invitation and began processing claims.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A few days later, I sat at Baby Cakes Boutique with my sisters. The cupcakes in the box in the middle of the table looked like something out of a dessert magazine. We knew Melanie, the owner of Baby Cakes. She’d never attended a pastry school, or taken any courses in baking; she’d learned everything from her grandmother. Melanie’s grandmother had lived in a small town outside of Lincoln and had been known throughout the county as the woman whose cakes melted like butter in your mouth. Melanie had taken up baking desserts, given herself a business name and opened up shop on a much larger scale than her grandmother had ever cared to. The young bakery owner was as passionate about cake as her grandmother had been and it showed by the love and care she put into decorating each one.

  There were five different flavors of cupcakes in the box on the table and I had my eyes on a dark chocolate with creamy chocolate icing. No sprinkles. I thought of Matt and smiled.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Lexie breathed. I looked up from the box of cupcakes to see why my twin’s jaw was on the table.

  Sucking in a breath of surprise, I sat back in my chair—and stared. And blinked twice in case I was seeing things.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed and gripped the back of Catherine’s chair beside me.

  Brent stood in the bakery doorway beside Jeremy, Lexie’s fiancé. His gaze swept the room until it landed on me. I couldn’t move, I was so surprised—shocked, really—while he stood there smiling at me as if his presence wasn’t unexpected. As if I should be just as excited to see him as he was to see me.

  “Please tell me that’s some guy with a Brent face mask on.” Lexie’s frown told me otherwise. Nope, it was him, all right. All five foot nine of him, with his spray-on tan and sparkly white teeth. His sandy blonde hair was combed back with gel so that it would stay perfect, no hair out of place. His sunglasses hung from the neck of his salmon and cream striped polo. I’d always hated that shirt.

  I don’t know why I was so surprised to see him. It was only a matter of time until we ran into each other. We lived in the same city. But since our breakup, I’d done my best to avoid him. Now here he was, traipsing around in a shirt I hated.

  “Why is he here?” Catherine locked eyes with Lexie across the table.

  “I have no idea. Jeremy didn’t say anything about bringing him.” Lexie snapped her mouth shut, her eyes narrowed into slits of annoyance.

  Catherine blinked. “Gen?”

  I shook my head. “Don’t look at me. I
sure as hell didn’t invite him.”

  “You sure? You can tell me,” Catherine insisted. “I thought maybe since you and Matt aren’t dating—”

  “Even if he was the last man on earth and I thought my only shot at saving the human race was inviting Brent to eat cupcakes, I would let humanity go extinct and be okay with it.” So maybe that was a little harsh, and definitely overdramatic, but exactly how I felt. Catherine nodded understanding. The only other conclusion dawned on me. “It had to be—”

  “Jeremy,” Catherine and Lexie said at the same time.

  I hadn’t a clue what had warped Jeremy’s brain lately, but for some reason he’d clearly adopted some mission to fix Brent’s and my nonexistent relationship. It was the only explanation I could come up with. After what Brent had done, did the guys really believe he’d be welcomed with open arms?

  I shook my head in bewilderment.

  My dad had never approved of Brent, not since the botched camping trip the first summer we started dating. Brent had spent most of the first day holding up his cell phone for better service, complaining about the heat and the bugs, and incessantly rubbing his hands with my hand sanitizer. He refused to touch the bait so I had to bait his hook for him, and then he’d refused to touch the fish he’d caught, so I had to take the bass off the hook myself.

  What had really cut the cake was when, after Dad and Tony cleaned all the fish, Brent declined to eat it after Mom grilled it. Not because he had anything against bass, per se, but because the fish had been wild caught and he was afraid of the germs in the lake. Even Jeremy had been embarrassed to claim friendship with Brent that weekend. Jeremy had spent the weekend going behind Brent’s back and apologizing. I’d hoped Brent would get used to the camping bit, but he’d refused to go since.

  Looking across the room, I wondered what the hell I’d been thinking, dating him. Brent was handsome, the whole perfect package, but he’d turned into a severe disappointment.

  “Well, this is going to be fun,” I said and turned my attention to the box of cupcakes. I’d been looking forward to this cupcake tasting event for a week now, but that was before my ex had been thrown into the mix.

  “I cannot believe he brought him here.” Lexie’s jaw tightened as she stared across the room at her fiancé and his best friend.

  “Well, I’m not okay with it, either,” I grumbled.

  “Excuse me.” Lexie’s chair scraped across the tile and I winced at the sound.

  “She’s pissed.” Catherine said as Lexie stalked across the room. “What was he thinking?”

  “I’ve stopped trying to figure Jeremy out. I think he might be an alien. Like Brent.” I set a cake plate in front of Catherine and that’s when the idea popped into my head. I gave Catherine a sweet smile and said, “If I do something, will you promise not to tell Mom?”

  Catherine peered at me, curious. “Depends.”

  “Matt and I aren’t dating.”

  Catherine raised her brows. “Yes, I know this. You made that clear. Something about his feet and Tony’s BO. ”

  “Mom wasn’t supposed to tell you about Tony’s B.O.” I stuck my finger into the chocolate icing on a cupcake.

  “You know you’re eating that one, right?” Catherine said, eying the cupcake I’d fingered up.

  I took the cupcake and set it on my cake plate. “About that whole Matt thing; I just told Mom his feet stink because she didn’t believe me that we weren’t dating. Matt’s not available to date.” I thought about his recent divorce, like one month recent, and added, “He just got out of a really bad relationship. And I’m just not ready to jump back into something serious like I had with Brent. You saw how badly that went.” I took another swipe of frosting. “And I’m sorry about saying Tony had B.O. He doesn’t stink.”

  “I know he doesn’t stink. Tony is perfect,” she said. Brent watched me from across the room even though I was working hard at pretending he didn’t exist. What the hell did he want from me? An open armed greeting? Catherine said. “I get why you’re being cautious with men right now, but you can’t play safe for the rest of your life just because you dated a jerk. Matt seems like a great guy.”

  “He is. But he’s just a friend,” I said. A friend I can’t stop thinking about. Day number four since I’d seen him last, though he had sent me a message the night before. The night I’d learned about his divorce. I picked up my cell phone. “I’m going to call in a friend favor and ask Matt to come pretend to be my boyfriend one last time. Because of Brent. I don’t want him getting any ideas about us. I thought I made it perfectly clear to him the last time he called. Apparently he needs to see proof about my fake boyfriend.”

  Catherine considered it for a moment before nodding. “I think that’s a good idea. I don’t want Brent getting any ideas that he’s got a chance with you, either. If I weren’t pregnant, I’d probably punch him.” Catherine nodded her head toward Brent. “He hasn’t stopped looking at you. Even with Lexie ripping his ass. Gross.”

  Brent was taking Lexie’s ass ripping much better than Jeremy. Jeremy was as pale as a ghost and looked as if he’d swallowed a nail. I took my phone out of my pocket and stood. “I’ll be back. I’m going to the bathroom to make that call.”

  I was almost relieved when he didn’t answer because I’d been scared how to bring up my current situation. When the line beeped for me to leave a message, I just winged it and got straight to the point. I said, “Hey Matt, I need a favor from you. ASAP. I know you said you were going in to work this afternoon for a little bit. If you’re still there could you meet me at Baby Cakes Boutiques on Kerry Street? It’s only a few blocks from your work. And if you can, hurry. I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend again. I’ll buy you pizza later. Or beer. Whatever you want. My ex just showed up. I need you.”

  It was a long message. I spoke quickly so the answering service wouldn’t cut me off. I was about to walk out of the bathroom when Lexie barged in. She went straight for the vanity, gripped the edge with her hands until her knuckles went white and went into the deep-breathing technique. Her face was flushed, like she might breathe fire at any moment.

  I went to her and rubbed her back in the small circles we’d adopted for each other. “You okay?”

  The wrinkle between Lexie’s brow, the same wrinkle that found its way between my own brows, told me things were not okay. And for once Lexie’s irritation had nothing to do with my still pink hair. At least I had a scheduled hair appointment to report. She’d be happy to hear about it later.

  “Not really,” Lexie looked at my reflection in the mirror. “I just don’t know what’s gotten into Jeremy lately. And clearly he’s not giving up with his insane idea to get you and Brent back together.”

  “When Brent called, he said Jeremy was worried we wouldn’t get along at the engagement party. I had a feeling it was more. What’s the deal?”

  “Jeremy says Brent regrets what he did and that he hates to see his best friend unhappy.”

  I quirked a brow. “Do guys even talk about that kind of stuff?”

  She shrugged. “They must?”

  “Weird…” I’d never before pictured Brent and Jeremy as the type of guys to gossip about their feelings over drinks. Then again, they drove around a golf course for hours to hit balls around with a club—it probably got pretty boring after awhile. We stepped aside for a woman and a bubbly toddler hanging on her paisley printed skirt.

  “Excuse me,” she said kindly and shooed the toddler and her cute little blond pigtails to the other side of her legs. “Emmie, don’t pull Mommy’s skirt like that. Thank you, sweetie.”

  It made me think of Lexie and me, toddler twins with identical pigtails, flanking our mom, just as small-framed as we both were now, already with her hands full with a five-year-old Catherine. We waited for mother and daughter to wash their hands and leave. Once they were gone, I said, “I thought I was being paranoid about it.”

  “You’re not being paranoid and I’m embarrassed for it. Jer
emy knows how I feel about Brent, how you feel about Brent. He didn’t just screw up, he hurt you.”

  I frowned at her vehemence. “Lex, it’s okay. I’m over it.”

  “Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean you’re taking him back. Jeremy just won’t get it through his head. It’s like…like—”

  “He was taken over by an alien who is telling him what to do?”

  Lexie gave me a strange look. “What is your obsession with aliens lately, anyway? And I thought aliens were green.”

  Poor, uneducated Lexie.

  “I was once like you, Lexie. I’ll tell you what, after this engagement party is over with and you have free time we’ll watch some alien documentaries together. But until then, if you are approached by an alien and it’s gray, make sure you run. If it’s green it’s okay to stop and say hello.”

  Lexie laughed and hugged me. “I know you’re trying to cheer me up. Thank you.”

  “Anything for you, twin,” I said and gave her a light punch in the shoulder.

  “You are such a dork. Can we get serious for a minute?” She pointed at the door. “Brent is out there. With Jeremy. Planning a freakin’ reunion.”

  “It’s okay, Lex. This reunion party isn’t happening. We’re just here to eat cupcakes.” I tucked a strand of Lexie’s hair behind her ear. “Tell me what’s really going on.”

  Lexie sighed and turned on the faucet, washing her hands with unnecessary vigor. I leaned against the bronze bathroom stall. She said, “Jeremy’s been acting so strange since we announced our engagement.” She ripped a paper towel off the dispenser and dried her hands. “It’s this damn wedding.”

  And then she paced.

  “Damn wedding?” Now I was worried. “Since when do you refer to it as a ‘damn wedding’?”

  Lexie started pacing. “Since his mom decided to get involved with everything and argue with me about it all. I told myself I was okay with moving the wedding up, but I’m not.”