Not Just Friends (Brookfield) (8 page)

“Anytime.
It isn’t like I don’t like you or anything.”

“I
wish I didn’t have to go back to work. I’d rather go see your place.”

Connor
gulped. He had a feeling what she was insinuating and he would love to be doing
that as well. “You close early today, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe
after work, we can eat again.”
Real good line.

“I’d
like that.”

Score.
“Want me to pick you up?”

“That’s
silly. I’ll drive to your place. Because then you’d have to drive me back
home.”

“Or
you could stay.”

Her
smiled faded and he worried he’d crossed the line.

“We’ll
see.” Alyssa took a bite from her sandwich.

“I
understand.”

For
the rest of their lunch, they kept the conversation light. He was happy knowing
she would come over. Which meant he had to figure out what the heck to make. He
wasn’t much of a cook, so most likely he would find somewhere that delivered.
It had been a long time since he’d had a woman over just for the sake of
hanging out. Typically, he went to their place and left. It kept things less
personal. But what he was doing with Alyssa
was
personal.

He
walked her back to the shop and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you
soon.”

“Okay.
Text me your address.”

“Will
do.”

Alyssa
gave him a slight wave and disappeared into The Reading Corner. Connor headed
to his car and started the drive back to his house. When he got home, he needed
to make sure the place was clean and presentable to a woman. He wasn’t there
often enough with his job to make housework one of his top priorities.

* * * *

Alyssa
closed the shop. Tina stayed and helped the process move a little faster.
Thankfully, tomorrow was Monday and that meant a day off. She couldn’t wait to
spend the evening with Connor, but first, she had to take care of something
she’d been putting off.

Earlier
when she had spoken to Cody, he said he didn’t know about Diane and Matt, and
she believed him. Diane was secretive, and it didn’t surprise her that she and
Matt were off playing house and no one knew. Cody offered to call Diane for
her, but Alyssa said she could handle it.

Entering
her apartment, she kicked her shoes off. After her usual snuggle fest with Zoe,
Alyssa removed the cell phone from her back pocket. She couldn’t put off
calling Diane any longer, and she couldn’t bear to have it on her mind all
evening.

She
scrolled through the list of recent calls until she came to her sister’s
number. She pressed the picture and put the phone to her ear.

“Alyssa,”
her sister answered on the second ring.

“Hi,
Diane, how are you?”

“Not
well at all.”

Alyssa
rolled her eyes. Diane was always dramatic. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s
Matt.”

“Am
I really the person to be talking to about this?”

“You
dated him too. I thought you could help.”

Alyssa
sighed. “I had no idea you were seeing him. But that’s beside the point, I
guess. What has he done?”

“He’s
disappeared and I have a feeling he’s back in Brookfield. Have you seen him?”

 “Yes,
I have.”

Diane
was quiet. “What did he want?”

“He
wants me back.” For some reason being able to say this to her sister sent a
thrill of emotions through her. The guy her sister had apparently stolen from
her wanted her again.

“What
did you say to him?”

“No.
I’m with someone else.”

“You
are?” Diane asked hesitantly.

“Yes,
Diane, if you had anything to do with me, you’d know. I’ve rejected your
boyfriend. Why you want him beats me.”

“I’m
pregnant.”

What?
Had she just heard her sister right? “Pregnant?”

“Yes,
and he left when he found out. Something about this was just fun and he never
wanted to settle down with me. He also doesn’t think the kid is his. Personally,
I think he was pissed at me.”

A
new set of emotions raced through Alyssa. How could he just leave Diane and
crawl back to her? Perhaps she was wrong and she didn’t know Matt at all. “I’m
so sorry.”

“I
told him I wanted to marry him.”

“You
don’t have to, but he at least needs to be there.”

“No,
he
has
to marry me. I’m
not
having a kid out of wedlock. And I
know it’s his.”

Maybe
she should’ve thought about that before she lay down with a scumbag. “Give him
time.”

“Time,
I don’t have. I need to be married before my stomach starts getting bigger.”
She huffed. “Just send him back. Make sure he knows you’ll never take him back
then I know he’ll come back.”

“Why
do I matter so much in this?”

“Don’t
be stupid. He still has feelings for you.”

This
was way too much. “If I see him, I’ll make it clear.”

“Thanks.
Well, it was good to talk to you.”

“Yeah,
same here.”

Her
sister ended the call first. Alyssa set the phone down, suddenly not feeling up
to going anywhere. She couldn’t quite make sense of this new information. Her
sister was pregnant with her ex’s baby. And she had only just learned they were
seeing one another. Matt still wanted her and didn’t want Diane.

Making
a rash decision, she picked up her phone and sent a text to Connor.

Sorry
to cancel, but tonight isn’t good.

Alyssa
set the phone down and headed to her room to change into pajamas, prepared to
spend the rest of the evening lounging on the couch.

Chapter Ten

Connor
set the phone down and looked at the food spread he had. He’d stopped by his
favorite Thai food place and picked up a bit of everything. How could Alyssa
cancel? And why hadn’t she at least called so he could convince her otherwise?

Connor
picked his phone back up and looked at the message again. No, he wasn’t letting
her off that easy. He slid the phone into his pocket and got busy packing the
food. They were going to share this meal together just as he’d planned. Alyssa
was not eating another microwavable meal and locking herself in. He was certain
this had to do with the ex and her sister.

Thirty
minutes later he carried a brown bag full of food up the steps to Alyssa’s
place. He knocked and waited. He was getting ready to knock again when he heard
her voice telling the cat to get out of her way.

She
opened the door, dressed in sweatpants and a big T-shirt. Her hair was up in a
messy bun. She looked sexy as hell—and he never thought he’d think that about
an outfit like that.

“Connor,
what are you doing here?”

“I
had all this food. I couldn’t eat it all. Figured I’d bring some by.” He held
the bag up.

“You
got my message though?”

“I
did. It’s cold out here. Can I come in?”

She
stepped back, letting him enter. He went straight to the kitchen, set the bag
down, and began pulling out the Styrofoam containers.

“It
smells good,” she said as she came into the kitchen.

“It
is.”

She
grabbed two plates from the cupboard and set them down. “Thanks for coming
over, even though I canceled on you.”

“I
knew you didn’t mean it.” He grinned.

Once
they had their plates filled, they sat down on her couch. Alyssa was quiet as
she picked at her food. He hated seeing her upset.

“Do
you want to talk about it?”

“Not
really. I’m still trying to digest it all myself.”

“Try.”

She
looked up at him. “You really want to know?”

“Yes.”

She
shrugged. “Okay. Like I mentioned earlier, apparently Diane and Matt have been
seeing one another. On top of no one knowing about it, it turns out Diane is
pregnant and Matt walked out on her and came back here because he wants me.”

“That’s
screwed up!”

“Tell
me about it.”

He
set his fork down. “So why are you upset?”

“I
just told you why.”

“No,
you told me how your sister’s life is messed up.” He scooted closer to her.
“Last I checked, your life is looking pretty good.”

“I
don’t like knowing my sister might raise that kid on her own.”

“She
won’t. I know you and you’ll be there to help her. But whatever the problems
are between her and Matt, they aren’t yours.” Connor took her hand. “They chose
the path they’re on. Not you.”

“It
affects me.”

He
shook his head. “Only if you let it.”

She
stared back at him and he wondered if she was going to argue with him. He
expected it, actually. As an only child, he knew nothing about siblings and how
their life impacted each other’s. But if he thought of it as a friend, then it
was as he said. Her sister made this problem, not Alyssa.

“You’re
right,” she whispered. “I let their issues ruin my evening. And I had big plans
for tonight.”

“You
did?”

“Yes.
Though now I’m definitely not dressed for the part.”

“What
were your plans?”

“To
seduce you.”

He
swallowed. “Oh, really?”

Alyssa
nodded and his zipper suddenly felt strained. She didn’t need to seduce him in
any way. Just knowing she wanted him did enough for him. He’d made the choice
to not take her to bed yet, but if she offered herself, could he resist?

* * * *

“Maybe
I’ll go put on something a little more comfortable,” Alyssa said as she stood.

Connor
busted out laughing. She stared at him, wondering what was so funny. Did he
think it was a joke she wanted to seduce him?

“Why
are you laughing?”

“How
much more comfortable are you planning on getting?”

Her
cheeks warmed and she looked down at her oversized sweats. She hadn’t literally
meant to get more comfortable. It was something she’d always heard women say in
movies. Wasn’t that lingo for
I’m going to put on something sexy?

“I-I…”
she stuttered.

Connor
reached out and pulled her back to him so she was in his lap. “I know what you
meant and I want you to know that you don’t need to put on anything special for
me.”

“But
I can’t possibly seduce you in what I’m wearing.”

“Do
you feel what’s pressing into you?”

Alyssa
froze a moment and then felt the hardness between her legs. He had an erection
and she looked like complete crap. What the heck was the matter with this man?
“That’s about me?”

“Yes,
Alyssa, that’s about you. Everything about you turns me on. You don’t need to
put on some negligee—although that would turn me on too—but don’t feel like
that’s what you have to do.” He ran his hand down the length of her arm. “Just
knowing what’s underneath this T-shirt gets me going.”

“It
does?”

Connor
nodded.

“Want
to see?”

Hell
yes!
“Only if that’s what you want. I’m not here for sex.”

She
chewed her bottom lip and wondered if she should do it or not. Taking a deep
breath, she reached down and pulled her shirt up over her head and dropped it
to the floor. She wore a simple white bra, not something sexy from Bare
Necessities.

Connor
didn’t seem to mind. He traced the top of her bra cup with one finger.
“Beautiful.”

“Yeah?”

He
leaned forward and replaced his finger with his lips. He kissed her lightly and
it drove her mad.

“Do
you like that?” he asked.

She
nodded, not able to find the words to respond.

His
lips returned to her skin. Her body arched and she hoped that at any moment he
would push the cup down and take her breasts into his hot mouth. But then his
hand came around, taking her by the back of her head. He pulled her to him and
his lips devoured hers.

His
tongue thrust in and he wasn’t gentle. His hands roamed all over her body while
she gripped his shoulders, trying to steady herself. Her body was on fire.

She
pulled away from the kiss. “Take me, please.”

“Are
you sure about this?”

“Yes!
I’m having all these desires I’ve never felt before and I need you to be in
me.”

Connor
wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. He carried her through the small
apartment until they were in her room. He laid her down on the soft comforter.