Keep Me (3 page)

I spun around to see which one of my old friends had stepped in line behind me and was shocked to find that the too-deep, all grown-up voice came from a familiar face I’d seen in magazines and commercials. The face that belonged to my old friend Riley’s brother.

“
Marcus?
What the hell are you doing here?” Holy shit! What some Accutane, a gym and some really hot ink could do to a person. I’d seen his perfect face and sculpted body in print, but in person…
holy shit!
Did I say that already?

Taking my beverage from the barista, I moved out of the way and Marcus stepped out of line and ushered me over to a less crowded spot. He brought me in for a hug and a friendly peck on the cheek. “I have a meeting with the suits in a few. What about you? What brings you to the city?”

Did he really want to hear all about my shitty reasons for being here? My guess was no. “Starting a new job today.” I looked down at my watch again. “I would love to chat and catch up, but I actually have to run if I don’t want to look like a slacker on the first day.”

He eyed me with precision, taking in the height of my heels and the snug fit of my skirt. “You look great, Tessa. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead on your first day. Mind me asking where?”

I smiled, trying really hard to hide the embarrassment making its way to my too-hot cheeks. “Generation X. I’ll be looking for new talent—pretty faces like yours.”
Wait a minute
…

Yeah, he was thinking the same thing. “You’ve got to be shitting me. You work at GX? That’s where I’m headed! Gary Schulster’s my agent, we’re scheduling my upcoming bookings this morning. Let me grab my coffee and we’ll walk together?”

I nodded and then let Marcus take the lead and open the door out onto the busy city street. I’d forgotten how hard it was to maneuver the crowd of hasty commuters—everyone in a rush, on a high-speed, Red-Bull-like dose of corporate adrenaline. I was happy to have someone familiar to start this new day with, to get my mind off leaving my Luca man.

What are the odds?
I was suddenly mad at myself for not keeping in touch beyond Facebook with Riley. If I’d know her Adonis of a brother was going to be a regular in the office I’d be working at, I would have worn something a little more…

“Killer suit, Tess. The secretaries up there could take a fashion lesson from you. You’d think a place like GX would want the first face they see at reception to look something like yours, but no, Harriet looks exactly like a Harriet. Old, frumpy and irritable.” His eyebrows wriggled and did a little dance that made me laugh, choking on my sip of coffee.

“I met Harriet. You’re so right. Maybe she’s someone’s mom or something.”

“More like someone’s grandma.” He laughed, flashing a sparkling white set of teeth. I know they hadn’t always been that straight.

Shit, he caught me staring a little too long. Whatever. He was hot. He knew it. “You’re different, Marcus. I mean obviously, you’re all grown up, but…”

He interrupted me, licking his lips slowly. “Well, you, my dear, haven’t changed a bit. You look as hot as you always did, Tess. Do you really have a kid now?”

My eyes traveled back down to the ground, carefully planning out each step. My friend’s little brother was making me weak in the knees. Oh my God. “Yes. He’s almost a year. His name’s Luca.” I felt my face brighten just at the mention of my little man.

“And your husband…”

“Don’t.” I cut him off, swallowing down the bile that rose whenever anyone mentioned him. Riley was sure to know through the circuit that we were no longer together. But the
why
. “I’d rather not talk about him. He’s out of our lives. That’s all that matters.”

Marcus clenched his teeth and swallowed hard, sensing my discomfort with the conversation. “I’m sorry. It’s forgotten.” He combed his long fingers through his hair, flexing thick muscles underneath his casual white V-neck. “Anyway… about your son. Your face lit up when you spoke about him. My sister’s shown me a pic or two of him on Facebook. Cute kid. Ever think of modeling him?”

“No, I actually never did. I don’t think it’s a good idea anyway.”

“You saying my profession is less than virtuous, milady?” He cocked one eyebrow, pouting his beautifully full lips.

I laughed, shaking my head. “No, that’s not it at all. Has to do with my ex. And we’re not talking about him, remember?”

Marcus eyed me suspiciously. Damn, his suspicious stare was sexy as all hell. Thank God we were at the entrance of our building. Our surprising encounter left me a little uneasy, for so many different reasons.

“Well, I’m so glad we got to catch up, Tessa. This was a really great way to start my day.”

“You too, Marcus.” And I wasn’t being facetious—talking to him
was
nice. I would like to do it again.

“You know what? My sister would love to catch up. Can I give her your number?”

What a clever way to ask for my number. Instead of thinking of a retort, I obliged. I missed Riley and hanging out with a friend again would be good. “Sure thing, Marcus.”

He punched the numbers into his cell phone, smiling. “Add to contacts. Tessie Spano. Saved.”

I hit his arm, playfully. The kid always had a sense of humor. “Some things never change, huh?”

He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “Yes. But some things get better with time.” He winked, and turned towards the stairwell. “See you around, Tess.”

I nodded my head and walked into the elevator car. I felt like there was a juggler tossing around various organs inside my belly. Thank God Marcus took the stairs. Sharing an empty elevator with him would have been torture.

After my long first day, picking up Luca was the highlight. Well, flirting with Marcus earlier had its strong points, too. Luca seemed unscathed by the whole daycare situation and when the caregivers handed me his daily progress report I smiled when at the stars alongside his name for socialization and respecting others. What did a nine month old know about socialization and respecting others? Apparently a lot more than some adults.

After I fed him dinner, bathed him, read him a story and sang him to sleep, I plopped myself down on the sofa with my laptop. It was time to cyberstalk.

I started with Riley, recognizing old friends in pictures with her at weddings and baby showers. She kept in touch with everyone. I, on the other hand, hadn’t had that luxury. A red flag should have gone up when Zack
warned
me about my friendships with single girls.
“No woman of mine is going to be trolling the city with those sluts you call friends. They’re only out looking for a good time. I can show you a good time here.”

They
were
looking for a good time, though not the kind of good time Zack had insinuated. Just a good ol’ fashion girls’ night. I, however, had to give up girls’ nights when Zack proposed. I actually had to give up a lot of things when he proposed. Like my own self-respect, self-worth and every aspect of control over my own life.

Fuck Zack!
I wasn’t going to let him ruin my day. My new job, my freedom, and my
good time
with Marcus had brought me one step closer to the old, normal me today. I missed that girl and I missed my friends and I was about to do something about it.

My fingers flew across the keyboard as if I was playing with a Ouija board. Message—
click.
Riley Grayson—
click.
And then I started typing. I would worry about the details later.
Hey Ry, I know it’s been forever, but I ran into your brother today and it brought up a lot of old memories. I miss you. Want to hang out?
Dinner? Drinks? You pick the when and where. Speak to you soon, Tessa.
Send—
click.

It shouldn’t have taken Marcus to set the wheels in motion, but it was just the push I needed. Riley and I were once inseparable—sleepovers on the weekends, pulling up an extra seat at the dinner table during the week, and engaging in the innocent teenage trouble we were notorious for no matter what day of the week it happened to be. It was that same
notorious trouble
that made Zack leery of Riley. In turn, he drove a wedge between our friendship, and I allowed it to happen. I allowed her to vanish from my life. I couldn’t place all the blame on Zack, but now that he was out of the picture… I just really hoped Riley would be willing to forget the past and just start fresh. Would she be that forgiving?

Within minutes of sending the message, my cell phone was ringing. I looked down at the unknown number with the apprehension I’d grown to experience whenever the phone or the doorbell rang.
Fuck you, Zack! I’m picking it up!
“Hello?”

“Well, I thought you’d never ask, bitch! I’ve been begging you to come out for years! It took my little brother to get you to contact me?”

“Hi, Riley.”

“Can you go out tonight?”

The laughter that erupted out of me was soon uncontrollable. Riley was always an instant gratification kind of girl. “You forget about Luca? I don’t have a sitter and I have work tomorrow. How about this weeke—”

“Yes,” she blurted, not giving me a chance to even finish my sentence. “If we push it out any further it will never happen. Friday night, Chester’s Grill, eight o’clock.”

Anything but Chester’s Grill. That used to be Zack’s favorite. “No…”

“What do you mean, no? I’m picking you up if I have to…”

“No to Chester’s, Ry. I hate that place. How about Antonio’s?” I’d never been there with Zack. He didn’t like Italian so we didn’t eat Italian.

“Okay, perfect. Should I…” She hesitated for a second and I wondered why. “Never mind.”

“Should you what?”

“I was going to see if you wanted me to ask my brother, but… it’s a long story, forget it. We need a girls’ night to reminisce and catch up. Marcus has a track record with my friends.”

Oh, really?
Here I was thinking he was sincere when flirting with me. I should have known that Marcus Grayson, male underwear model, would have a reputation with the ladies. But my interests were still piqued. “What kind of track record, dare I ask?”

“I wouldn’t even double dog dare you. Let’s just say the friends I’ve brought him around are no longer friends anymore and it had nothing to do with me.” Her voice softened. This bothered her. Nothing about Marcus ever bothered her. The two of them were like peanut butter and jelly, like bread and butter, even when I thought he was being an obnoxious baby brother.

I dodged the topic, sensing her discomfort. “Just me and you, Ry. Like old times.”

“Like old times!” she squealed, reminding me of carefree, younger days. “I’m so excited. I can’t wait! This is going to be a lot of fun. Marcus is good for something after all, huh?”

When I hung up, I wasn’t quite sure why I seemed disappointed. I was so happy to be getting a night out, so happy to be reuniting with Riley. But there was a part of me that really wanted to see Marcus again too. Maybe he’d be at the office this week, surprise me at Starbucks in the morning. I didn’t know why, but I suddenly felt alive again and it had nothing to do with Riley.

It was taking every single ounce of self-control I had not to ask Riley about her night out with Tessa. I couldn’t stop thinking about the girl. I wanted to know if she asked about me, if my name ever came up in conversation. Why, oh why, was this the only time Riley hadn’t asked me to tag along with her? So not fucking fair.

“Another tattoo, Marcus? Is that how you’re spending your money these days?”

Leave it to my dad to focus on something so moot. I was covered in them. My job didn’t mind—in fact, it got me all kinds of interesting bookings. Motorcycle shoots, romance novel covers… the requests for inked-up bad boys were endless. I guess my dad would never understand something like that.

“Yeah, Dad. Added some new art. Nothing big, don’t worry.”

“You know your mother would have hated all that crap, right?” He stared down at his casserole, scraping his fork around the plate. His remark annoyed me to no end because it was so far
from
the truth. Mom wouldn’t have minded the tattoos. She was the free spirit—she’s where I got it from. Dad didn’t understand that about her, and neither did Riley. That was our little secret. It was the thing I missed most about her.