Blown Away (13 page)

Ava sighed,
obviously accepting that she wouldn’t make him see reason. “I’m
meeting up with some friends at Jimmy’s tonight. You should
come.”

Brent chuckled.
“Jimmy’s isn’t really my kind of place, but thanks for the
offer.”

She looked at
his attire and smiled. “I don’t know about that. You look like
you’d fit right in.”

He hadn’t been
a blue jeans and cowboy boots guy in a long time. He wore his
Armani suits as a status symbol. They let the world know he wasn’t
the same kid who grew up wearing second-hand clothes and living in
a three-room, rat-infested apartment.

“This isn’t
me,” he said, gesturing to his clothes. “I just needed to shed the
image today.”

“I like this
side of you.” She ran her hand over the stubble just starting to
appear on his jaw. “A lot.”

That made him
want to wear jeans and cowboy boots every day. “I’ll keep that in
mind.”

“Does that mean
you’ll come?”

“Who’s going to
be there?”

“My friend
Lauren and her husband Tucker.” She grinned as though she was
keeping a secret she couldn’t wait to share. “Are you a racing
fan?”

“Sure.
Why?”

“You know
Justin Hunt?”

“Yeah,
sure.”

“He’s engaged
to my friend Anna. They’ll be there. So will Anna’s brother, Nick,
and his fiancée, Megan.”

“I don’t want
to intrude.” He wanted to believe Ava was softening toward him if
she was willing to introduce him to her friends, but he’d made the
mistake of assuming their relationship was headed in the right
direction before. He wouldn’t make that assumption again… at least,
not until she gave him reason to hope.

“You wouldn’t
be intruding. We’d love to have you.” She tugged on his hand. “Come
on, I know if you don’t come, you’ll just sit at home dwelling on
your problems. Wouldn’t you rather go out and have a good time and
forget about everything for a while?”

Brent didn’t
socialize for fun. He socialized to make contacts or because it was
expected of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done
anything just for the sake of having fun. “All right, let’s do it.”
He got up and helped her to feet.

“See, that’s
better already,” Ava said, propping his sunglasses up on his
head.

“What is?”

“You’re
smiling.” She winked at him. “Has anyone ever told you that you
have a really sexy smile, Armstrong?”

He flashed a
quick grin. He wouldn’t be able to wipe the smile off his face that
night.

***

Ava questioned
her decision to bring Brent when she spotted her friends at a large
round table in the back of the bar. They leaned in and started
whispering when they saw them. No doubt they were speculating about
her date and whether he really was
the
Brent Armstrong who
routinely graced the covers of international business and finance
magazines.

“There they
are,” Ava said, grabbing Brent’s hand and leading him to the table.
She released his hand as soon as Tucker and Lauren zeroed in on the
connection. “Hey, y’all, sorry we’re late. We played hooky and had
a picnic this afternoon. The drive back into town took a little
longer than we thought it would.”

“Is that
right?” Lauren asked, raising an eyebrow. “When was the last time
you took a day off work, girl?”

Ava forced a
smile. She had no doubt she would be hustled into the ladies room
for the third degree at the first available opportunity. Ava made
the introductions and watched her friends’ shock and awe when they
realized Brent really was who they thought he was.

“How do y’all
know each other?” Tucker asked, reclaiming his seat after shaking
Brent’s hand.

Ava settled in
beside Brent. “We went to college together. Well, we didn’t
actually have any classes together. Brent was finishing up his
M.B.A. during my first year. But I had some classes with his
younger brother, Keith. That’s how Brent and I got to know each
other.”

“I seem to
recall you mentioning y’all knew each other back in the day,”
Lauren said before taking a sip of her soft drink. “But I didn’t
know you’d stayed in touch. Why didn’t you mention that?” She gave
Ava a pointed look.

Ava felt her
friends’ curiosity closing in until Brent stretched his arm across
the back of her chair. He said, “Ava wasn’t keeping me a secret. We
hadn’t kept in touch. We just reconnected at a charity event a few
weeks back.”

“So y’all are
seeing each other?” Anna smiled when Ava gave her a cutting
look.

“Let’s just say
we’re picking up where we left off back in college,” Brent said,
not seeming the least bit bothered. “As friends.”

Ava knew they
were dying to ask whether it was a
friends with benefits
arrangement, but they were all too polite to blurt it out. “Enough
about us,” Ava said, trying not to react to Brent twirling her hair
around his finger. “I want to hear about what’s been happening with
you guys.” She looked at Anna and Justin. “The big day is closing
in. Are you guys getting nervous yet?”

“Anxious is
more like it,” Justin said before kissing his fiancée’s cheek. “It
feels like I’ve been waiting forever to make this lady my
wife.”

“Aww, that’s so
sweet.” Ava tried to ignore the little stab of envy. She was happy
for her friend, but every single girl longed for a man to love her
as much as Justin clearly loved his bride-to-be. “How about you?”
Ava asked Nick. “Have you two set a date yet?”

Nick laughed.
“No, we’re having too much fun living in sin.”

His fiancée,
Megan, slapped his thigh. “Don’t let your mama hear you say
that.”

Nick smiled.
“She’s been tryin’ to nail us down on a date for weeks. We’re
gettin’ there, but with Meg’s new show, it’s been a bit of a
challenge. It’ll definitely be sometime next summer.”

“I can’t wait,”
Ava said, smiling at the brunette waitress who appeared to take
their drink order. Her smile slipped when the woman zeroed in on
Brent, pretending Ava wasn’t even there.

“Can I get you
anything?” The waitress brushed her hip against Brent’s
shoulder.

Brent turned to
Ava. “What’ll you have, sweetheart?”

Ava moved
closer into his side, trying to send the woman a clear message to
back off. She knew she didn’t have the right to feel proprietary,
but her claws came out when another woman hit on a man she’d been
intimate with right in front of her. “A glass of chardonnay,
please.”

Brent glanced
around the table, noting the other men were all drinking beer.
“I’ll have one of those.” He pointed to the Heineken Justin was
drinking.

Ava knew he
probably would have preferred something else, but she appreciated
that he was making an effort to fit in.

“You got it,”
the waitress said, winking at Brent.

Lauren rolled
her eyes, making Ava smile. She could always count on her friends
to be on her side.

“So, Justin,”
Brent said, “it’s shaping up to be a great season for you.”

“I can’t
complain.” Justin winked at Anna. “Of course, I always have a
stronger finish when my favorite girl is there to cheer me on.”

Anna laughed.
“I never thought I’d become a racing fan. When Justin and I first
met, I hated the idea of him getting into that death trap.”

“But now that
she understands the safety precautions we take, she feels better
about it,” Justin said. “Which is a good thing. I’m too damn young
to pack it in just yet.”

Ava thought
about the challenges her friends had worked through. She wondered
if she and Brent could do the same. Of course, there was the little
matter of him being her client. Not that she’d cashed his check
yet. It was still sitting in her safe, and whenever Tara went to
make a bank deposit, Ava told her to hold off on cashing it. Ava
couldn’t explain why; maybe she just wasn’t ready to make their
agreement official.

Brent turned to
Tucker, who was sitting to his left. “What do you do, Tucker?”

“I own a
construction company. We build new houses, renovations, rehabs…” He
shrugged. “You know, the usual.”

“No kidding.”
Brent shot Ava a sidelong glance. “It so happens I took Ava out to
my lakefront property today. I bought it quite a few years ago, but
I’ve been waiting to build on it. Maybe now’s the time. You think
you might be able to come out and have a look at the site? I can
give you an idea of what I have in mind.”

Ava thought
about what he’d said about waiting to find his princess. Did he
believe he’d already found her, was on the verge of finding her
thanks to Ava’s vow to help him, or he was just tired of waiting to
build on the land he clearly loved?

“I should be
able to find some time to come out and have a look tomorrow.”
Tucker reached into his pocket and withdrew a business card. “My
cell number’s on there. Text me the address, and we’ll make time to
hook up.”

“Sounds good.”
Brent slipped the card into his pocket. “I’m looking forward to it.
You know a good architect who can help me with the plans?”

“I sure do,”
Tucker said. “You know exactly what you want?”

Brent looked at
Ava. “I may need a woman’s input. You think you could help me?”

“Um… I…” Ava
looked around the table. Of course, all eyes were on her, awaiting
her response. “Sure. I don’t know anything about construction or
architecture, but I know what I like.”

“Perfect,”
Brent said, grinning. “I can’t wait to get started.”

Since Ava had agreed
to help him with the house, he had a valid reason to see her. That
meant he didn’t have to continue with the dating service farce. He
just had to bow out without making her suspicious.

They were
dancing to a Brad Paisley song when Ava asked, “Is everything okay?
You seem kind of quiet. If you’re having second thoughts about the
house, Tucker will understand.”

“No, it’s not
that.” It was difficult to think straight while he held her. She
felt so right… He’d never wanted anyone more. “I was just thinking
maybe we should hold off on setting me up with someone. Now that
I’m taking on this building project, I won’t have a lot of free
time.”

“Oh.”

Her face
remained impassive, and he was getting nervous. “Are you
disappointed?” he asked.

She frowned.
“Why would I be disappointed? I have plenty of clients, Brent. One
won’t make or break my business. I haven’t cashed your check yet.
I’ll just tear it up and we’ll forget the whole thing.”

Thank
God.
He hated deceiving her. Besides, he didn’t think he had a
prayer of convincing her he was interested in another woman. He
wasn’t that good of an actor. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.” She
settled into his arms, and they danced in comfortable silence for a
few minutes.

“Thank you for
agreeing to help me with the house. It means a lot.”

“It sounds like
fun, but I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. Like I said, I don’t
know anything about construction.” She looked thoughtful as she
said, “Maybe you should ask Lauren instead.”

“I want you.”
He knew what he’d said and what he’d meant. He had no intention of
taking it back, not even when she looked at him, wide-eyed, as
though she was waiting for him to clarify.

Obviously
trying to change the subject, she asked, “So, what do you think of
Jimmy’s?”

“I like it.” He
hadn’t frequented bars like Jimmy’s since college, but hanging out
there with Ava and her friends made him think he’d been missing
something. Stuffy charity events and five-star restaurants never
felt like a natural fit, no matter how much money he made. Maybe it
was time for him to embrace the fact that behind the designer suits
and limousines, he was still blue jeans and cowboy boots. That
didn’t make him less of a man.

“Lauren’s
daddy, J.T. McCall, owns it.”

“McCall?” Brent
asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ava giggled.
“Yup,
that
McCall. Nikki Spencer McCall is Lauren’s mama,
and Ty McCall is Nick and Anna’s daddy.”

“No way.”

Brent glanced
at their table. The group was talking and laughing over beers and
burgers. They’d grown up children of privilege, yet they didn’t
feel the need to flaunt their wealth. It made Brent wonder what
he’d been working so hard to prove. He’d wanted the world to see
him as someone other than the scruffy kid with holes in his shoes
and clothes that were too small. But maybe the only person who
still saw him that way was himself.

“Are you okay?”
Ava asked, gripping his bicep.

“I’ve gotta get
out of here. If you’re not ready, maybe one of your friends could
give you a lift?” He headed back to the table to say his good-byes
with Ava at his side. To the group, Brent said, “It was nice
meeting y’all, but I’ve got an early meeting.” He peeled a few
hundred dollar bills off the roll in his pocket and threw them on
the table.

“Your money’s
no good here, Brent,” Lauren said. “My daddy won’t let us pay for
anything.”

The waitress
came around to collect empty glasses, and Brent picked the money up
and tossed it on her tray.

“Wow, thanks,”
she said, her eyes widening.

It was only
money. The money Brent had been killing himself to make for most of
his life. Since he had it, and the goal of wiping his mother and
stepfather out seemed to have lost its meaning, he didn’t know why
the hell he’d been working so hard.

If that was a
mid-life crisis, he wasn’t ready.

“We still on
for tomorrow?” Tucker asked when Brent shook his hand.

“Yeah,
definitely.” Escaping to his own little paradise started to sound
better than ever.

“Sounds good.
I’ll see you then.”

Brent waited
while Ava said good-bye, feeling guilty that she cut her night
short because of his crisis. He didn’t know what was wrong with
him, but for the first time, he wasn’t looking forward to going
into the office tomorrow. The problem was, he didn’t have anywhere
else to go.