Undesired: A Best Friend’s Brother Romance Read online

  Hope got it. She understood and she didn’t ever press me for more.

  “There you are.” Janey’s normally bubbly voice came out cold enough to freeze the bottle of water in my hands.

  “Hey, Janey. How’s it going?”

  She glared at me and folded her arms over her chest. “A few weeks from now, Scott is putting on a pet adoption in the park. You’re signed up for it along with Walker and Nate.”

  I frowned but kept a friendly smile since she appeared to be in a bad mood. “That’s funny. I don’t remember signing up for that.”

  She glared. “So are you backing out of it?”

  “What? No. What the hell is going on with you, Janey?” Had all the women in town gone nuts?

  She snorted. “That’s rich, coming from you. So two weeks in the park, right?”

  “Right,” I agreed, suddenly feeling like I’d woken up in the Twilight Zone where everyone was pissed off and angry at me.

  “Great!” Her voice was overly bright which in itself was the real sign that something was wrong because Janey woke up cheerful. Went to bed cheerful. She even cried cheerfully. “I’ll email you the deets later.” And then she was gone, marching away from me as fast as her denim-clad legs would carry her.

  “What’s going on around here?” It didn’t make any sense and I was half tempted to go home, go back to bed, and wake up with everything back to normal.

  Ry’s hand landed on my shoulder with a hard smack. “So I guess it’s not just me overreacting then?”

  “Dick.” I shoved him away but he only laughed harder.

  It would’ve been funny if it was someone else, but Audrey was pissed at me and clearly Janey was too. Not to mention Hope.

  As soon as my shift ended, I planned to head home for a quick shower before picking up some food and heading towards the little cottage house with the light blue trim.

  Tonight, Hope and I would talk whether she wanted to or not.

  Hope

  God, I missed this. Sitting on a spinning stool in front of my work table with the music blaring and three straight pins hanging out of my mouth, I got busy pinning fabric for another design. It was the second one I’d finished this evening and every pin made me realize just how much I’d been a visitor in my own life. I’d been coasting with my job, relationships, and everything else. Now that I was taking charge, I felt better. More confident and more like I was doing something that made me feel good. Proud.

  Plus, working tonight made me feel a lot better about the fact that all my friends had things and people to keep them busy, while I didn’t. Audrey had date night with Walker, and Mikki had begged off on watching a movie in favor of going through boxes of new inventory, which I couldn’t blame her for. Everyone else either had kids, husbands, or both. Even Big Mama had a date.

  Tonight, it didn’t matter. I had a Cobb salad on the counter from the diner and a bottle of wine waiting for me when I was done working for the night. Then I planned to chill on the sofa and see what was new in the world of Netflix.

  Being the youngest of five kids meant I was used to being on my own. When Big Mama took us in after my parents died, I was on my own even more as everyone got used to a new town, new schools with new friends, and pitching in at the diner and at home.

  Now that I’d decided on a logo, I had to find a printer to get a few samples, while I whittled down more than two dozen designs into a ten-set line. It was a lot to do and rather than feel overwhelmed and out of my depth, I felt invigorated. Energized to keep going and going, ignoring my aching back and the ticking clock on the wall behind me.

  The only thing apparently able to interrupt my work flow was the sound of the doorbell. It was insistent and annoying as hell. I took my time fitting the cup pieces together, hoping whoever it was would go away before I finished and made my way to the front door. Then the bell rang again. “Hold your dang horses!” It was pointless to shout over the music but it was also necessary.

  I stormed out of the guest room. It had been repurposed as a work room since my siblings rarely visited and, when they did, they stayed with Big Mama. I marched down the hall, ready to let whoever it was have a big piece of my mind. I yanked open the door and sucked in a breath of surprise. “Will. What are you doing here?” And why did he have to look so good?

  He’d just taken a shower if his damp curls were anything go by, and as always, those gray eyes shone like they were melted silver. The plain T-shirt and jeans shouldn’t have been so damn sexy, but Will was well over six feet tall and built. And the stony expression on his face said he wasn’t happy. “We need to talk.” His words were firm, almost aggressive, as he stepped in, attempting to get me to cave and let him inside.

  Typical. “About what?” While he stared at me in confusion, probably wondering if he stepped into some alternate universe where the woman who’d been in love with him forever no longer gave him the time of day. If I wasn’t the girl, I might have had more sympathy for him.

  Maybe.

  “Come on, Hope. Let me in.” His determination rose to the surface, turning his eyes a dangerous gunmetal gray. But I had to be even more determined, since it was my heart on the line.

  “No. What do we have to talk about?” We never talked. Okay, we rarely talked and when we did it, was usually grunts and moans, inquiries about birth control, and words of surprise over just how good the sex was between us. We didn’t talk about our favorite songs, colors, or anything personal. Ever.

  One strong hand slid through damp black hair and he let out a frustrated breath that I could relate to. “Obviously you’re pissed at me.”

  I bit my lip to avoid saying something snarky. I didn’t want it to look like I cared too much. Well, I didn’t want to care too much and that was basically the same thing. Right? Will never paid attention to me unless I was naked already or he was the one undressing me. “Am I? That’s news to me.” In fact, I wasn’t mad at Will. I was mad at myself for allowing it all to happen when I knew exactly how it would end. “What do I have to be upset about, Will? We never made any promises, right?” He’d gone out of his way to tell me that.

  Every. Single. Time.

  It was offensive and maddening and yeah, that made me mad. But at myself, not him.

  He stood there, stock still, as if frozen in time. He clearly didn’t know what to say. “If that’s true, invite me in.”

  I laughed because he really was so dang arrogant. “Just because I’m not angry doesn’t mean I’m inviting you inside. My home or my body.” I refused to be upset with him over something I did to myself, but some of it was finding its way to him.

  “I could change your mind.”

  He probably could since my heart hadn’t even begun to let him go. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “We have fun together.”

  “Sex is fun, Will. That has nothing to do with you or me. I’m sure you’d have at least as much fun with someone else.” Fun. That’s what Will was all about, fun. He had plenty of fun with women and then he moved on with very little regard for them or their hearts.

  He frowned and it was almost a pout. “That’s not true.”

  “We both know it is. Don’t waste your time on me. I’m no longer interested. Go find someone else. Anyone else. It’s what you do.”

  He snapped his fingers as if he’d finally found the answer. “I knew it!” Will’s finger aimed right at me and I took a step back to avoid his wild movements. “I knew you were pissed about Brandy. She’s just a friend.”

  Brandy. Of course that was her name. “I’m not pissed. Like you never fail to remind me, there are no promises and no guarantees. When we’re ready to move on, we do. That’s what you said.”

  He swallowed. Hard. His eyes had lost that amused glint now that he realized I was serious. “Hope.”

  “No. It was fun but I think it’s time to move on. For both of us. Good night.” I don’t know where the strength came from. Big Mama would say it was from her side of the family, but I took a step
back and closed the door in his face again. It wasn’t a cruel gesture, just a soft but final closing of the book on a stupid chapter of my life.

  Goodbye, Will.

  Will

  “I’ll take the meatloaf sandwich plate and I want it piping hot with extra spicy ketchup,” Nate said, his tone sounding nearly as grumpy as my own.

  “Anybody else? Speak now or get it your damn self.” I sounded like such an asshole. I knew it and I hated it, but I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. And it was all Hope’s fault.

  “A special for me,” Preston called out, a knowing smirk on his face.

  “Make it two,” Ry said with a shrug. “And get yourself an attitude adjustment while you’re out before Nate headlocks you.”

  “Screw the headlock,” Nate snorted. “I’m gonna kick him in the balls so he at least has a reason to be a dick.”

  I glared at Nate who winked at me. The jerk. “Food is what you get, the rest isn’t an option.” I didn’t wait for anymore jokes or comments; I left through the ambulance bay and headed to the diner. The nice day out was a sharp contrast to the dark feelings rumbling inside of me and for some reason, even that pissed me off.

  Why did women have to go and complicate everything? Especially something as amazing and fun and uncomplicated as sex. Hope said she wasn’t mad, but the appearance of Brandy, even for a few hours, had changed everything. No, not changed. Screwed up. Big time.

  I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Hope but she seemed resolute. When I walked inside the busy diner, I resolved not to let my gaze sweep the place for her cropped, pink hair. Too bad that hair was impossible to ignore; I spotted it right away. She stood beside the table where the good-looking veterinarian smiled up at her and she smiled back. She was so damn beautiful and didn’t even realize it, which only added to her appeal.

  She dropped a hand to Scott’s shoulder with a smile and I felt my hands ball into fists and anger rise to the surface. Her laugh was loud enough to draw stares from the other diners but she didn’t seem to notice, scribbling something on her notepad before leaving Scott in peace, which was a good thing because I didn’t like the way they were looking at each other.

  Not at all.

  Shaking off thoughts of Hope and Scott, I made my way to the counter to order a pop and place my order, and maybe even get a moment or two alone with Hope. Maybe. Why the hell did it matter so much to me? There were plenty of women around who wanted a piece of me. Why did it have to be Hope? And why now?

  “Hey, Will!” Her voice was bright and chipper with no hint of the simmering anger from the last time we spoke. Her smile was genuine, lighting up her face as usual, except something was missing. That light. That joy. The pure pleasure she wore like a badge every time she saw me was gone. “What can I get ya?”

  I was so confused. Blinking away the confusion, I focused on her face. Her delicate, pretty features that I knew as well as I knew anyone else in town, except a little more intimately. Just two days ago, she told me we were done and slammed the door in my face. No, that wasn’t true, she hadn’t even bothered to slam the door. It was more of a quiet, anticlimactic ending to us before there even was an us. Now she smiled at me like nothing had happened—not the night of the Spring Fling when she clung to me and cried out her pleasure with my name on her lips, not all the nights after. Not two nights ago. Well, if she could do it, so could I. “Two lunch specials, meatloaf sandwich plate, and a crispy chicken plate.”

  She jotted down the order, not bothering to look up. “Drinks or dessert?” I shook my head, still trying to figure out what was going on in her pretty little head. “All right. It’ll be up soon.” Then she turned away and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me staring at the swinging door. Hoping for another glimpse of her.

  Pathetic.

  I’d never had a woman run so hot and cold on me in my life, and the fact that it was Hope was unbelievable. She’d nursed a crush on me when we were kids and it had been a pretty open secret, but her behavior this past week made no sense. And the sweet smiles that didn’t quite reach her eyes today were a cocktail of mixed messages. But the longer I leaned against the red and off-white counter sipping my pop, the clearer it became.

  The smiles, the amnesia of our fight: she changed her mind. I knew there was no way Hope could stay away, not with how hot, how explosive things were between us in the bedroom. It was a revelation. No, she was a revelation—insatiable, adventurous, wild and, my personal favorite, all in. She gave pleasure everything she had and opened herself up to it in an intoxicating mixture of innocence and sensual appeal.

  Just thinking about it had me hard and aching. Pulsing with pleasure behind my zipper. I needed to get a grip because even if Hope had changed her mind, and that was pretty big damn if, she wouldn’t be up for a quickie in the bathroom of her granny’s diner.

  But dammit how I wanted to grab her hand and pull her to the nearest dark room and have my way with her, make her scream my name. She had a fresh pot of coffee in her hand, and her wide smile was friendly and open as she asked each diner about their food and offered up suggestions. “Big Mama says there’s a gooseberry pie with your name on it when that streetlight in front of her house is fixed.”

  The mayor smiled and nodded. “For that pie, tell her to consider it done.” That was just how Tulip worked. There was no need for bribes or corruption when a simple pie would do the trick.

  Hope winked. “I knew you’d say that so I snuck you a slice.”

  “You sweet girl.” He smiled affectionately and patted her hand. “Bless you.”

  Her smile widened as she moved around the restaurant, finally coming to a stop with an empty pot at one end of the long counter. Her smile dimmed a little when she had a moment to herself. I slid closer.

  “Hope. How’s it going?”

  “Great. You?” Her smile and even her words were genuine but still, something was missing.

  “Good. Have you given any more thought to our last conversation?” Because I hadn’t stopped thinking about it and I still hadn’t been able to make heads or tails of it. If she wasn’t mad about Brandy, why couldn’t we keep seeing each other?

  “No. Why?” She looked up at me with those curious green eyes sparkling like wild vibrant grass in a meadow. The hot pink hair gave her an edge that had heat pooling in my gut.

  I smiled and leaned in, knowing instinctively that she was lying. “You can tell me, Hope, if you’re having second thoughts. About us.”

  She laughed. “There is no us, Will. There never was.”

  “Then what do you call what we’ve been doing every Friday night?” Dinner and sex on a regular basis—that was damn near a relationship. Wasn’t it?

  She laughed. “We were having sex. It was a booty call. A one-night stand that lasted a few weeks. Nothing rising to the level of an us.” She shook her head, a sad smile curving her lush lips. “If I had changed my mind. Will, I would tell you. Anything else?”

  Who was this cold emotionless creature and where was the woman who was always so happy to see me and spend time with me? “What’s going on with you, Hope?”

  “Nothing,” she sighed. “I’m busy. Too busy to commit time to something that doesn’t mean anything and isn’t going anywhere.”

  Doesn’t mean anything? “Why does great sex have to mean anything other than plenty of orgasms?”

  Frustrated, she tucked her leather pad into her big apron and folded her arms across her chest. “The sex was fine, Will. Better than fine.”

  “It was incredible and you know it.” The pink staining her cheeks and neck told me I’d hit the nail on the head. “So why stop something that feels so good?”

  “Because that’s my right. My choice. Is that all?” Her tone said any other questions would be met with silence. Or anger.

  “Uh, yeah. I guess.”

  “Great,” she said in cool, clipped tone. “Your order will be up soon.” With a glance at me that felt final as hell, she turned away to check on her t
ables.

  When I found her again, she was at the same booth laughing with Scott.

  Hope

  “You’re coming over for dinner tonight. No excuses.” Audrey’s tone brooked no argument but it was a terrible greeting.

  “Hey, Audrey,” I said with a smile as I dropped down on the sofa and stared out the window. “It’s good to hear from you. I’m doing good, busy. How are you?” I loved her to death but her phone manners were a step above Neanderthal.

  “Yeah, yeah. All that, but you’re still coming over for dinner. It’s been forever since I saw you.”

  It felt like forever because we’d spent a lot of time together before she’d gotten with Walker and before I started my lingerie business. “Starting a business is a lot of work, something I seem to remember you warning me about. Besides it hasn’t even been a week.”

  “Almost,” she insisted with a slight pout that made me feel bad about neglecting her. “I also know how important balance is to running a small business. You can’t work yourself to the point of exhaustion trying to forget him, Hope.” That was the problem with having a best friend: you couldn’t hide a darn thing from her.

  “I know that, Aud.” Working whenever thoughts of Will popped up hadn’t worked. Not yet. But I was hopeful it would eventually, but that couldn’t happen as long as I kept running into him all over town. It was hard to avoid him at work, like today, when he walked in looking all irresistible in his navy blue uniform and smelling like heaven and sex and masculinity. I was proud of how I’d kept a smile on my face and wore my chipper waitress demeanor that always meant bigger tips. “I’m just trying to make a real go of this business, Audrey. My work schedule has very little to do with your brother and more to do with the fact that this is my shot, probably my only shot, to get this right and make a success of it.” If I failed, then I would forever be plain ol’ Hope, too useless to do anything but sling hash at the local diner.