Maddie, Dan’s wife, snorted. “He’s wasn’t wrong.” Though, if Jenny’s Spidey-sense was accurate, Maddie had secretly asked Heather to hold the rum in her Coke. Either she and Dan were following in Ally and Mark’s baby-making footsteps or they hoped to be soon.
“No Reed tonight?” Heather asked, dropping down beside Jenny with a margarita of her own. The question probably should have been awkward since three of the four women cozied around the coffee table had intimate knowledge of what kind of underwear he wore, but it wasn’t. Not since they’d all realized Reed was exactly the kind of guy he’d told them he was up front—the kind who’d never offer a ring. He’d happily worship your body on Saturday night and then wake you up for mass on Sunday morning, but that’s as close as you were getting him to a church.
“I guess not.” Not surprisingly, Jenny hadn’t heard from him since right before the holidays, when he’d dropped off a box of chocolate covered fruit at the salon. So customers could really indulge, he’d said, and then he’d given her a pouty lip and begged her to squeeze him in for a haircut.
Carissa sighed, Heather bit her lip, and Maddie rolled her eyes. No further explanation needed. Reed was...well, Reed.
“A little birdie told me you’re looking to bring another stylist on at the shop,” Carissa asked, edging the pillow she sat on a little closer to the fireplace, crackling and glowing behind her.
“Thinking about it. It’s been tough since Mom came home a few weeks ago. She needs me more and more and hiring help at the salon is the only way to make the money I need but not man the place every day myself.” There wasn’t a ton of money to be made doing hair, waxing muffs, and painting nails in a small town and she could use all the tips she could get. But being available for Helen was more important than the bills that never seemed to go away.
“I’ve got a friend from Hastings—Elena—who’s been wanting to move over this way. I could give her your number,” Heather offered and Jenny nodded...as the door off the kitchen opened and Reed walked in.
She’d always envied Josh’s beautiful home with its open-concept layout, but right now, she could’ve used some walls.
“Sorry I’m late,” he announced, offering up a two six-packs as apology. “I ran into these two making out on the side of the road and had to stop and kick some ass. Don’t worry, Tony, I already roughed him up for you.” Reed winked and Tony’s girlfriend, Nicole, popped in after him, blonde hair bouncing along her shoulders.
“Surprise!” She grinned and Tony jolted out of his seat with a stupid grin on his face. God, that man had it bad. “Low census at the hospital, so they sent me—.” That was as much as she got out before Tony yanked her inside for a kiss and Brody Nelson’s tall, imposing frame filled the doorway behind her.
Walls? Who needed walls? So much better to see the decor.
“I was just about to come out here when this troublemaker showed up,” Nicole continued after Tony finished assaulting her mouth. “Good thing, too, because the snow’s really coming down. I doubt I would’ve made it in my car.”
The guys paused their game to greet Brody and Jenny sat there on the couch, her stomach jumping like pop rocks. He looked better than he had on first sight, sitting at that bar in Vegas. Maybe it was because he had on a t-shirt this time, leaving those, big, sexy-as-hell arms exposed. And those tattoos...Lord. She knew all the beauty that cotton covered now, spread across his chest and all the way down to both of his wrists. Better yet? She could she could still feel the heavy, protective weight of him curled up behind her while they slept.
Laying eyes on him again? There were no words. Just the strangest urge to push ahead of everyone else to see if he smelled and felt as good as she remembered.
And maybe to gauge whether or not he had a similar reaction to seeing her again, which was ridiculous, because one, she’d given up men and, two, it didn’t matter if he swept her off her feet and claimed to miss her senseless—she didn’t need his validation anymore than she needed Reed’s. For God’s sake, they’d only shared a blanket.
She told herself that exactly seventeen times before Brody’s gaze drifted toward the living room and landed smack on her. A slow smile curved his full lips and every last molecule of oxygen in her lungs vanished.
So maybe he’d left a bigger mark than just an imprint in her pillow.
“Do we know him?” Maddie leaned in, whispering. “Because I think I’d remember that I-eat-pussy-for-dinner grin.”
Carissa covered a laugh with her hand. “He’s a Marine buddy of Josh and Tony’s from Omaha. You’ve met him. He has family in Hastings, remember?”
“North Platte,” Jenny corrected, speaking carefully and trying not to sputter. “His grandparents.”
“I think you’re right.” Carissa nodded and got to her feet to give her new guests a proper welcome. Nosey, Maddie raced after her and Heather waited until both were out of earshot before she elbowed Jenny’s side.
“Do I want to know why you’re squirming, or am I going to hate your answer?”
“No hate needed. It’s not what you think.”
“Thank God, because if Nick isn’t going to take what I’m offering, I might have no choice but to move on, if you know what I mean.” Heather waggled her eyebrows and the sweet drink turned sour in Jenny’s stomach.
“Yeah,” she huffed out, trying not to sound bitter.“Totally. He’s a really nice guy.” A nice guy she wanted for herself, but the timing was all wrong, dammit.
Heather pursed her lips and leaned back, drink in hand, biding her time. Jenny did all she could not to bolt. Watching Reed move onto other women was one thing, because he was a pig and it’s how he’d always operated, but Brody...God, he was a temptation she hated having to resist. If Heather wanted him, what could she do? One night with Superman didn’t make her Lois Lane.
“Earth to Jenny.” Suddenly Reed was before her, lowering himself to the coffee table so their knees touched. Heather flipped him off and scurried off the couch faster than a rabbit with a hound on its tail. “She’s going to hate me forever, isn’t she?” Reed chuckled quietly.
“Probably. You did ditch her pretty quickly.” And a month later, he’d weaseled his way back into Jenny’s bed. Like always. Except for now.
“Yeah, well...” He lifted a shoulder and flashed his professionally whited smile. He tried to pull off cocky—a typical Reed move—but the color in his cheeks was new. Was it possible he’d actually grown a conscience? No way!
“If you think you need to come over here and do the whole cordial thing with me—again—you don’t. In fact, it actually makes things kinda weird.” Straw to lips, she sucked in another sip, all the while keeping her ear to the scene in the kitchen.
Scratching the back of his neck, Reed’s face turned even pinker. “I just...I don’t know how to do this in a way that’s respectful to you.”
Do what? What the heck was there to do? “Wait—is your new girl outside? Did you make her wait, because I’m—”
“No! No, that’s not what I’m saying.” He lowered his voice. “We just haven’t talked much since Christmas and I guess I need reassurance that you’re really okay with us being just friends.”
“Reed, it’s been two months.” Holding her chin high, she flashed the shut-up-and-die smile she’d crafted just for him and had used lots of times in the past. “You need to get the fuck over yourself already.”
He laughed. “And this is why we get along so well...” Grabbing her hand, he tugged her to her feet and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pressing a hard kiss to her temple. Like he hadn’t just reestablished their friend status. Even more contradictory, he slung his arm around her waist and led her to the kitchen where the rest of the group had gathered.