Penalty Clause (3 page)

Andrew walked into the bar in downtown New Haven and immediately saw his best friend, Jack, and Jack’s new wife, Kelly. They sat at a tall bar table down at the end of the long room. When Andrew approached, Kelly hopped down off the stool and hugged him. Jack and Kelly were married last May as part of a scheme to ensure Jack remained CEO of his father’s company, Sutton Capital. They had remarried in August after they truly fell in love during a whirlwind romance that took everyone by surprise.

Andrew had been happy to discover he really liked having Kelly around. She had become a sister in the same way Jack felt like a brother. He loved them both and was more than happy they’d found each other. Still, at times lately, Andrew had pangs of jealousy for the life Jack had found with Kelly.

Andrew had fallen in love once before and had discovered just how dangerous it was to share such intimate feelings with someone. The woman he loved had betrayed Andrew’s love
. Had also taken money from Andrew’s parents to abort their baby – without even telling him she was pregnant. The abortion and all the deception left Andrew crushed and reeling from the blow.

Andrew didn’t doubt that he might fall in love again someday, but he would have a problem revealing that love if he did. There was no way he wanted to make himself that vulnerable again.
He just couldn’t imagine putting himself in that position, even if it meant he could never have what Jack and Kelly shared.

Pushing that regret aside once again, Andrew smiled at the happy couple in front of him.

“What’s the special occasion?” Andrew asked. Jack had asked Andrew to come to the bar to meet Kelly and Jack for a drink that night. Andrew hadn’t seen much of them since he’d taken the leave of absence to get Nora settled in at home. He was glad to have the excuse to get out and see them.

Jack’s and Kelly’s grins were huge as Kelly spilled the news. “We’re having a baby!”

“Aw, Kels, that’s great!” Andrew pulled Kelly in for a bear hug and kissed her cheek. He grasped Jack’s hand in a shake that turned into one of those one-armed man hugs.

“
Gonna be one lucky kid, guys,” Andrew said.

He meant it, despite the sting of loss he
occasionally felt when he thought about kids. Jack and Kelly were two of the best people he knew. He and Jack were at Yale together years ago and he knew Jack would make a great dad.

“The baby’s due in June,” Kelly’s smile was huge. “We’re not telling other people right now, though, because I’m still in my first trimester, so keep it quiet.” Jack handed Andrew a beer and the two men clinked their bottles in a silent toast.

“You got it,” Andrew grinned.

Kelly’s excitement was contagious.
 Jack caught Andrew’s eye and gave him a silent look, asking him if he was okay with their news. Jack was one of a very select group of people who knew what Blair, along with Andrew’s parents, had done. He would know how painful news of babies and children could be to Andrew. Andrew gave him a slight nod and smiled. He didn’t want Jack worrying about his feelings at a time like this.

“By the way, one of my friends is meeting us here tonight,” Kelly said. There was a hint of mischief in her tone. “She’s gorgeous and super talented. She just moved to town a little while ago and wants to meet more people. I thought she might like meeting you,” Kelly finished. Her smile had matchmaker written all over it.

Jack mouthed ‘sorry’ to Andrew behind Kelly’s back but Andrew barely registered the words because his mind flashed to an image of Jill sipping hot cocoa in her grandmother’s kitchen. For some reason, he wasn’t really in the mood to meet another woman, no matter how perfect the woman may be. Andrew briefly wondered what that was about before he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

***

Jack turned to Kelly as soon as Andrew was out of earshot. “Hon, you realize he’s pretty committed to bachelorhood, right?”

Kelly brushed off Jack’s warning. “Nonsense. That man wants to be married just as much as you did when I found you. He’s just clueless about it, too.” Jack let out a bark of laughter. It was true he hadn’t had a clue that he was looking for love and marriage when he and Kelly began their marriage. He had been completely caught off guard when he fell head over heels in love with Kelly, but he could honestly say he’d never been happier in his life. But Andrew’s story was very different from Jack’s and Jack knew it would take a hell of a lot for Andrew to ever trust a woman again.

“No, sweetheart, he really doesn’t. Andrew has three categories of women in his world. Nora and Lydia are family. He trusts them and loves them. Then there are his friends. Andrew has lots of friends and many of them are female, but
they’re just that: friends and nothing more. Ever. He lets them get to know him and he probably trusts them on some level, but he never dates them. His third category would be the women he has arrangements with. They’re women he sleeps with and nothing more. They’re not girlfriends. He doesn’t trust them. He doesn’t let them get to know him. He doesn’t build relationships with them. And he never, never mixes any of those worlds. We don’t meet the women he sleeps with. If he needs a date for a work function, he brings a friend. Never a real date. I know that’s hard for you to understand, Kelly, but he needs it that way. It’s just the way he is, honey.”

Kelly’s face fell and she frowned at Jack. “That can’t be. Why would anyone live like that? Why wouldn’t he even introduce the women he’s with to you and Chad? You’re his best friends.”

“I know it’s hard for you to understand, Kelly, but Chad and I are used to it. Andrew was hurt once and he didn’t get over what happened. Hell, none of us expected him to be able to get over it, so we don’t take it personally that he’s like this. I know you want to change him, Kels, but you can’t. You gotta let him be who he is.”

Kelly shook her head. “But why? What happened to him?”

Jack knew Kelly’s heart was in the right place and he hated to have to disappoint her. He looked over his shoulder in the direction Andrew had gone. “I’ll tell you when we get home, honey.” Jack didn’t think Andrew would mind if he told Kelly, but he wanted to give Andrew a heads up first.

“Oh, there’s Jill,” Kelly said as she looked over Jack’s shoulder to the door of the bar. “It can’t be as bad as you say. You’ll see. He’ll like Jill.”

Kelly looked so hopeful, Jack just let it go.

Kelly raised her hand to wave her friend over. Jack turned to see a good-looking blond woman headed their way. She was older than Kelly. Jack estimated the woman to be closer to Jack’s and Andrew’s ages of thirty
-three and she was, without a doubt, Andrew’s type. Even so, Jack worried that Jill and Kelly might have higher expectations for a relationship than Andrew would be able to give. Jack also knew there wasn’t going to be any way to stop Kelly once she set her mind on something, and apparently, right now, Kelly wanted to set up these two.

***

Jill smiled and shook hands with Jack when Kelly introduced Jack as her husband.

“Jack’s best friend, Andrew, will be back in a minute. Did I mention him to you earlier?” Kelly asked Jill.

Kelly was trying for nonchalant but the setup must be obvious to Jill.

“Andrew is the Chief Financial Officer of Jack’s company and he’s ridiculously smart and good looking.
Really
good looking.” Kelly ignored Jack’s ‘hey!’ at her description of Andrew.

Jill’s mind flashed to Andrew Weston in his faded jeans and old sweatshirt. A far cry from the guy Kelly was describing, but he’d been on Jill’s mind since the morning he’d come over to say hello.

“He’s a really fun guy, too. I think you’ll like him.” Kelly smiled at Jill.

“Uh,” Jill hesitated. “I don’t really think I’m looking for a relationship right now, Kelly. I was thinking I’d just take a break, you know?”
And just fantasize about my hot-as-hell neighbor. 
Jill pictured Andrew’s lazy sex-charged smile and shivered with pleasure.

But then
, there he was. Andrew Weston was right in front of her, in the flesh, standing behind Kelly with that wide, sexy smile on his face.

“Jill! What are you doing here?” Andrew asked before Jill could close her mouth
. She probably looked like an idiot, drooling over Andrew.

Kelly and Jack turned to Andrew as one. “You guys know each other?”

Jill blushed but Andrew explained, “Jill lives next door to my grandmother. She used to visit her grandparents when they lived there years ago and now she’s back. I was crazy in love with Jill when I was fifteen and used to watch her out by her grandparents’ pool,” Andrew said as he winked at Jill.

Jill felt her face turn five shades redder than it already was as she tried to laugh with everyone else at Andrew’s comment.

“What do you want to drink, Jill?” Andrew asked her. He moved around Jack and Kelly to stand next to Jill and she had to force herself not to read anything into his move.

Andrew Weston is off limits. Andrew Weston is off limits.

Maybe if Jill repeated the mantra enough, her body would catch onto what her brain knew.

Jill focused instead on the shock of finding out that Andrew wasn’t the lazy bum she thought he was. Apparently he didn’t just live off his grandmother’s
wealth and sleep the day away. How was it possible that Andrew was the CFO of Jack’s company and, according to Kelly, incredibly smart and successful? Jill had him pegged as some playboy socialite.

Andrew ran his hand down the small of Jill’s back and leaned in close to her ear. “Do you want something to drink, Jill?”

Jill realized she hadn’t answered Andrew when he asked her the first time. Andrew’s hand on her back was probably completely innocent and meant to be friendly, but the heat that radiated through her at his touch was anything but innocent – and was very distracting. Jill looked up at him and swallowed.

“A Margarita?” Jill suggested but in her head she was doing all she could to try to
shut down the effect of Andrew’s touch.
It’s gonna be a loooong night.

Andrew couldn’t believe Kelly had been trying to set him up with Jill. Unfortunately, that connection was all the more reason for him to stay away from Jill, romantically. Her family was not only literally and figuratively close to his, she was also friends with his friends now. Way too close to home for Andrew’s comfort. Too bad Jill was so damned tempting.

Andrew walked back over to the group with Jill’s drink in his hand and listened as Kelly explained that she and Jill had met recently at a gallery in town. Jill had been there overseeing the installation of her photographs when Kelly went in to shop.

“Her work is amazing. I went in there to look for something to put in the living room over the fireplace and couldn’t believe her photographs. I bought one of her pieces for that spot and another smaller piece for your study, Jack,” Kelly was saying.

“I didn’t realize one of the galleries you show in is here in New Haven,” Andrew said. He handed Jill her margarita and watched her take a sip. He found himself staring at her lips as they caressed the rim of the glass. He swallowed a groan when her tongue came out to lick the salt off her full lips. Andrew
reluctantly tore his eyes away and brought them back up to Jill’s as she answered his question.  Damn, she was going to be hard to ignore.

“One is here in New Haven and the other’s in Hartford. I’ll be meeting with another gallery in New York next week and I’m hoping they’ll at least offer me a temporary installation,” Jill said.

“Well, you’ll need to show me your work soon,” Andrew heard himself say and resisted the urge to smack himself in the head.

Bad idea, Andrew.
A private showing of Jill’s art sure as hell wasn’t going to cool things off.
 

The group talked and laughed. Jack told stories about Andrew from business school and Kelly told Jill about her first year in law school. Andrew noticed that Jill seemed to be sucking down quite a few margaritas. He wondered if she was
in a bit of a wild phase after her divorce or if she was always like this. As he watched her, Andrew found himself wondering a lot of things about Jill. What happened with Jill and her husband? Did he cheat on her? Hurt her? Obviously, he was a fucking moron for letting her slip away. Complete fucking moron.

Andrew wondered what Jill looked like under the green sweater she wore. The green sweater that made her hazel eyes look a bit greener than they usually did. What would it feel like to kiss those full, rose-colored lips? H
ow would she respond during sex? With little moans and pants or would she scream out his name?
Oh shit. I’m a dead man.

“Andrew? Andrew?” Kelly asked.

“Hmm? Oh! Sorry. What was that, Kelly?” Andrew tried to recover.

“We were just saying that it’s probably time for us to call it a night. You okay?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about some work things. I should head home, too,” Andrew said. They stood and prepared to leave.

He noticed Jill didn’t seem all that steady on her feet when she slid off the barstool and picked up her purse.

“Why don’t I drive you home, Jill?” Andrew took hold of Jill’s arm to steady her and she smiled up at him.

“I think I had too many margaritas,” Jill whispered to Andrew at a volume that let the whole group hear her confession.

Andrew laughed. “I think you might be right.” He turned to Jack and Kelly. “I’ll get her home, guys. See you tomorrow, Jack?”

“You’re coming
to the office?” Jack asked Andrew.

“Yeah. I’ve got
Nora settled in at home and the nurses seem to have things under control. I’m going to stay in the carriage house a while longer in case she needs me around, but I’m ready to get back to work. Being a bum for a couple of weeks was fun, but I’m bored.”

“What happened to Nora?” Jill frowned.

“Oh, uh. She fell on some ice and broke her hip. That’s why I’m staying there for a while. I wanted to get Nora and Lydia more help at the house and set up nurses for Nora so she can recover at home instead of in a rehab center,” Andrew explained.

“Ha! I thought you were a bum who partied all day and lived at your grandmother’s,” Jill said.

Jack and Kelly started to laugh while Andrew looked down at Jill and scowled.

“Why would you think that?” Andrew asked.

“You came wandering over at 10:30 in the morning and it was obvious you had just woken up, hadn’t shaved in days... You said you were ‘taking a leave of absence’ and you were sleeping in Nora’s carriage house. I thought ‘leave of absence’ meant you were living off your grandmother. What else would I think?” Jill asked.

Jack and Kelly continued to laugh at Andrew, who was anything but a lazy bum. Even Andrew cracked a smile as he steered Jill outside to his Aston Martin and settled her safely into the front seat.

As they drove home, Andrew realized just how drunk Jill was when she started to slur and babble. She talked about the snow and the trees covered in ice as they drove on the small New England highway that took them from New Haven to Westbrook. Andrew had a feeling Jill didn’t get this drunk very often. When they were close to home, Jill turned in her seat and studied him through sleepy eyes.

“So, you’re really not a bum? You’re like this huge financial wizard and you have a big career. Nora’s not supporting you?”

“Nope.” Andrew grinned at Jill. He wondered why this revelation seemed so significant to her. “I’m really not. I’m a grown up with my own place and everything. Does that bother you?”

Jill sighed and turned back to the front windshield as Andrew steered them toward home. “It just confirmed that you really, really, really can’t be my rebound guy,” she said with a drunken little wave of her hand.

This brought a huge grin from Andrew. “Oh, yeah? You wanted me to be your rebound guy?”
Hell, yes!

Andrew kept one eye on the road and glanced over at Jill.

She must have been very drunk because she didn’t hesitate to spill the beans as Andrew pulled the car down the driveway of Jill’s grandparents’ house. Andrew turned off the engine when he reached the front door.

“Of course. You’re hot. But you’re also Nora’s grandson so that makes you a bad idea.
A verrrry bad idea. When I thought you were kind of a bum, it might have been okay to have a fling, but now you’re not, so it isn’t.” Jill babbled on, making it a little hard for Andrew to follow her logic, but he mostly understood where she was coming from. Still, he was surprised to hear her frank assessment of their relationship possibilities. Or rather, lack thereof.

He watched in bemused shock as his sexy
-as-hell neighbor explained that she couldn’t sleep with him even though she wanted to because he was friends with her friends and he was the son of her grandparents’ friend. Too complicated.

Andrew laughed at Jill as she finished her
speech. Since Andrew also knew getting involved was a bad idea, he didn’t argue with her. He wanted to argue, though. He wanted to find some reason to say Jill was wrong and it would be perfectly fine for them to sleep together. That’s what his body wanted, but Andrew’s brain still had some control, thankfully. Andrew leaned across the seat toward her, breathing in the incredible mixture of scents that he had come to identify with Jill.

“I know what you mean, sweet Jill,” he whispered
, as he undid her seatbelt. “I know just what you mean.”

With a great deal of effort, Andrew pulled back before Jill’s proximity got the better of him. He opened his car door and jogged around to Jill’s side and opened her door.
 With all the control Andrew could muster, he walked a rather dazed looking Jill up to her front door, helped her inside, and went home to the second cold shower that Jill had inspired in just a few days.