Not Just Friends (Brookfield) (3 page)

* * * *

Alyssa
practically had to force herself to put the book down later that day. She kept
flipping the pages, having to know more. It was nothing like she usually read
and wasn’t sure she could read too many books of this genre and ever be able to
sleep again, but man, this was a good book. She had just hit the halfway mark
when her stomach demanded she pay it some attention. So did Zoe.

In
her small kitchen, she took out a bag of chips for herself. Zoe followed her
back to the couch, obviously hoping for a bite as well. The cat sat still,
staring at each chip as it went from the bag to Alyssa’s mouth. Letting out a
sigh, she handed the cat a chip. Zoe wasn’t the skinniest cat and her vet
constantly reminded her that Zoe didn’t need any human snacks, but how was the
vet to know? Her kitty only got one life. It was best that she enjoyed it. And
with that thought, she handed Zoe another chip. “That’s it.”

After
her snack, she settled back onto the couch with her book and got lost in the
magnificent plot.

* * * *

A
few days had passed since Connor had seen or heard from Alyssa. Their date was
tomorrow. He wasn’t sure he could wait until then though to see her. Once he
made it into town, he was going to pop by for a quick chat. Typically a drive
through Brookfield was fast, but for some reason, today it was stop-and-go.
Most likely a log truck was up ahead.

Whether
Alyssa read the book or not, he planned on paying. In his mind it was a real
date. He hoped Alyssa knew it was and not a “just friends” evening. He wanted
to take the next steps with her.

Brakes
flashed in front of him and he pressed his, coming to a stop. What the heck was
going on? At this rate, he wasn’t going to get to stop by The Reading Corner.
It was going to be straight to the office for boring business meetings.

Placing
his Bluetooth headset on his ear, he dialed Alyssa. She answered right away.
“The Reading Corner.”

“Hey,
how are you?” he asked, wondering if she’d recognize his voice.

“Connor,
hi. I’m good.”

He
imagined her behind the counter with her dark hair up in a tight bun. “Great.
Our date’s tomorrow. Have you read the book yet, or are you waiting until the last
minute?”

She
giggled. “I read it Monday after my afternoon with Julie.”

He
grinned. “Well, what did you think?”

“I
liked it—a lot. I was blown away by the plot and I couldn’t put it down. I
think minus food breaks, I read it straight through.”

He
laughed and was glad she’d liked it. “Will you read more?”

“I
don’t know.” She paused a moment before she spoke again. “I think I’m going to
bring you a book tomorrow to read. A historical romance.”

Oh,
yikes. He wasn’t crazy about romances and he figured a book from the eighteen
hundreds would be even worse. “Oh, yeah, great.”

“Don’t
think you’re getting out of it. Same deal, buddy. Dinner. Unless, of course,
you have a date or something already planned.”

He
loved the sound of the nerves that entered her voice. He was used to women
feeling confident around him, but Alyssa was so innocent. “No plans, so it
looks like next Friday is yours as well.”

“If
something comes up, just let me know.”

“Alyssa,
nothing is going to come up. I want to have dinner with you.” He waited for a
reply, but she seemed to have gone silent. “Traffic is starting to move again.
I’m not sure what’s going on today, but hopefully it gets moving or I’ll be
late for a meeting.”

“I
won’t keep you,” she said.

“No.
You helped pass the time and make this that much more enjoyable.”

“I’m
glad.”

“I’ll
be by to pick you up tomorrow. Seven good?” He stared ahead, trying to see what
was going on as he approached the bridge into town.

“Perfect.
I have my assistant closing up.”

“Great.
I’ll see you then. Bye.” He pressed the
end
button.

Traffic
began to move a little more. Staring ahead, he saw there’d been an accident and
of course, everyone had to rubberneck and see who and how bad it was. He
couldn’t judge them, because as he passed the scene, he did the same exact
thing. Thankfully, it appeared to be a small fender-bender. No one was hurt.

Once
he was past the mess, the flow of traffic picked back up and he was able to
make it to the office in time. Even though he didn’t get to see Alyssa, just
talking to her had put him in a better mood. He couldn’t wait for their date,
not only this Friday, but the following as well.

Chapter Four

Alyssa
stood in front of her full-length mirror, gazing at her image. Currently all
she wore was her new panty set. Turning to the side, she studied herself. She
went up on her tiptoes and turned to see herself from behind. Her calves looked
sexy and the way the panties hugged her butt made it look amazing. She giggled
and walked away. She hated to admit that Julie and Ava had been right. And when
she put the black dress over her underwear, only she would know, but it gave
her an extra bit of confidence.

She
put the sweater dress on, a pair of leggings, and then her boots. They hadn’t
had a fresh layer of snow in weeks, but there was still plenty of it around.
And when the sun went down, the temperature dropped quickly.

In
the bathroom, her make-up was done. All that was left was her hair. Right now
it sat as it always did. On her shoulders and straight. She didn’t have time to
curl it but also didn’t want it to look the way it always did. She pulled out
two bobby pins from the drawer and pulled her hair back from the side, putting
the pins in place. She could now see her hoop earrings a little better. This
would do. After all, they were just friends.

Alyssa
shut the lights off as she made her way to the living room to wait. Zoe was on
her heels, meowing the whole way.

“Mommy’s
going out tonight. I won’t be gone long, I promise.” The cat rubbed against her
legs and then stood, putting her front paws on Alyssa’s leg. “I’m not picking
you up. You’ll get hair all over me.” Alyssa reached down and scratched the cat’s
ears, which seemed to satisfy her for now.

Zoe
walked off with her tail high up and disappeared back into the bedroom. Alyssa
smiled. She loved that cat, but man, had she picked one with such a unique personality.
She’d been a stray and only seven months when she got her. But Alyssa couldn’t
imagine her life without the furball.

Knock
knock.

He
was here!

Alyssa’s
heart beat so hard, she could barely hear herself think. She picked up her
purse, checked inside to make sure she had everything, and then answered the
door. Connor stood there, looking absolutely breathtaking. He wore a
button-down white shirt and a pair of khakis. His hair had the messy just-out-of-bed
look. And she swore she saw a sparkle on his teeth as he grinned at her.

“You
look beautiful,” he said as he stepped back for her to come out.

Oh
no, not her. She didn’t compare to him one bit. She closed the door behind her
and held the railing on the fire escape. This was the one downfall to living
above her shop. She didn’t have an official front door.

At
the end of the stairs, she turned to Connor to see which way he was going to
lead her. His hand touched her lower back and she bit her lip to avoid
groaning.

“This
way.” He led her in the direction of his car.

Once
she was inside, she let out a sigh before he climbed in on his side. Connor
started the car, but before he pulled out of the parking spot, he looked at
her. “You make me nervous when you’re quiet.” He reached out and laid a hand on
her thigh. “You can be yourself with me tonight, like you are any other time.
It’s just me.”

He
squeezed lightly and then removed his hand, placing it on the steering wheel.
Oh, yeah, she could
not
be herself. She was nervous.

“Where
are we going?” she managed to say.

“If
I tell you, it won’t be a surprise.”

“Have
I ever told you I don’t like surprises?”

Connor
chuckled. “We’re going into the city to The Sun House.”

The
Sun House!
The place spun in a circle over the city as you
ate. It was said that by the end of dinner, you would have done a full circle
around. “Oh gosh, Connor, no. That’s really expensive.”

“But
so good.”

“Yeah,
but you’re not going to walk out of there without spending over a hundred.”

At
the stoplight, he looked toward Alyssa. “When’s the last time someone took you
somewhere nice?”

Never.
She’d never been anywhere but places around Brookfield.

“Let
me treat you, please.”

She
gazed into his eyes and nodded. If she was going to eat at The Sun House, she
didn’t want it to be with anyone but Connor.

Once
they arrived at the restaurant, the hostess led them to their seats. Connor had
reserved a table by a window. As Alyssa took her seat, she looked out at the city.

“I
can’t really tell we’re spinning. Is it not on tonight?” she asked, feeling naive.

“It’s
on. It moves slowly so you don’t get sick. That would be bad business, after all.”

Alyssa
glanced up at him. “Do you come here a lot?” Of course she wasn’t the first
woman he’d brought here. It was probably his go-to date.

“I’ve
been here once or twice.” He opened the menu. “For business.”

Was
he telling her the truth? And what right did she have to feel a pang of
jealousy? None whatsoever. They were just friends, as she continued to remind
herself. Connor would never see her in the same light as he did the women he
dated. She was plain compared to them.

The
server appeared for their beverage order. She looked over the drink list and
decided a soft drink was her best option. But before she could answer the
server, Connor was ordering a bottle of their best white wine. God, this man
must be loaded! Why in the world was he living in Brookfield?

“I’m
fine with a soda,” she said.

“We’re
not drinking soda tonight. We’re going to do this right.”

The
server asked if they were ready to place their order for food. Alyssa shook her
head. She couldn’t get over the prices. Forty-two dollars for a chicken plate.
Did they raise the chicken themselves? With that bottle of wine, she was sure
at this point Connor wasn’t going to walk out without paying two hundred
dollars. The tip alone would push them over the mark.

Enough
.
She had to stop worrying about it. Obviously Connor was doing well for himself
and he wanted to treat her to this place. Otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
Hopefully he didn’t expect her to take him to the same type of place next week
if she had to treat him.

After
a few more minutes, the server returned. She decided to order the chicken and
Connor ordered salmon. He also requested an appetizer.

“I’m
starving. I was with clients all day. I didn’t get time to really eat.”

“I
imagine that can happen.” She knew nothing about the stock market.

“Panic
sets in when the Dow drops.”

Alyssa
nodded. “That equals money loss, right?”

“Not
always, but yes, typically.”

The
server returned with their wine and poured some in their glasses. They each
reached out and took a sip. Could he possibly be as nervous as she was? Yeah,
right. He was a playboy after all.

“I
don’t want to talk about my work.” Connor set his glass back down. “Anything
interesting going on at your shop?”

“Just
preparing for an author to visit for a signing.”

“Oh
yeah, that’s exciting. Hope she isn’t a diva and demands only blue candies to
snack on.”

Alyssa
giggled. “I doubt it. I’ve met a few authors in my days. They’re pretty down-to-earth
people.”

“Is
that so? I guess I thought they were all rich.”

“Yeah,
right. Even if they’re New York Times bestsellers, it doesn’t mean they’re
rolling in the dough.”

“Who
is this author? Anyone I’ve heard of?”

Alyssa
winked at him. “Actually, you will after this week.”

“Is
that so?”

“You’re
reading her book.”

He
laughed. “Ah, then if I love it, I’ll have to be at her book signing. Do you
get many signings at your store?”

“This
is the first, actually. I hope it’s a hit and I can get more authors to visit.”

“I’m
sure it will be.”

The
butterflies started to swarm in her belly. It meant so much to her that he had
the confidence he did in her and her store. She wasn’t sure what to think about
it. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it as the server arrived with their
appetizer.