If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1) (5 page)

“Guys.” Dani tried to interject another
warning, but her friends weren’t listening.

“You’re thinking someone from out of town?”
Rose asked thoughtfully. Either Louise’s call had scrambled her
brains more than usual or she was actually considering doing this.
There certainly was no harm in hashing out some details.

“We’ll figure it all out as we go.” Tyler
tented her fingers as if thinking deep thoughts. “Right now we need
to start by asking around, subtly, of course. Men brag about their
conquests, and so do women, right?”

“You certainly do,” Dani teased
affectionately.

Ignoring her, Tyler pushed on. “We know a
lot of women. Some of them must know guys who treat the ladies well
and aren’t looking for long-term relationships. I’d give you one of
mine, but we don’t need to start sharing men.”

All three women shuddered at the thought.
They’d made it this far in their friendship without ever wanting
the same man. There had been no crossover dates or lovers. Now was
not the time to change that.

“I still have to think about it, Tyler.”
Rose wasn’t going to commit herself to one of her friend’s crazy
schemes right away. She was interested, but if she gave Tyler the
go ahead she was afraid of finding a guy in her bed that night.
“Crap, is that the time. I have to go. Frank and I have a song to
finish, and he should be calling in about fifteen minutes.”
Grabbing her purse, Rose exchanged quick hugs and was out the
door.

Dani waited until Rose was out of the
building before turning on Tyler.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Often, but not at the moment,” Tyler
grinned. “And I know what you’re going to say, so before you jump
down my throat let me set your mind at ease. Rose is
not
going to have a one night
stand.”

“Well, you were all for it a minute ago,”
Dani reminded her.

“I never thought it was a great idea.” Tyler
took a sip of her strong, dark roasted coffee. She knew the owners,
and they never served her decaf, not that Dani needed to know
that.

“We both saw how Rose wasn't herself. That
always happens after Crazy Louise calls. But this time she’d just
gotten back from the lousy date to end all lousy dates. She wasn’t
thinking clearly, and while she might have gotten over the no date
thing in a few days, she would still choose the same kind of guy.
She needs to rethink her dating strategy.”

“With a one night stand?” Dani demanded.
“Rose is not the type. None of us are. And don’t try to tell me you
are because I know better. You talk a good game, Tyler Jones, but
it isn’t you.”

“Would it make me a slut?” Tyler knew the
answer. They wouldn’t call their worst enemy a slut. It just wasn’t
a word they used.

“Of course not,” Dani sighed. “Women who
enjoy their sexuality the same as men are not sluts, whores or
whatever. But not all women can sleep with a man if they don’t know
him for a while. Rose can’t, I can’t and you…”

“Never put out until at least the third
date.” It was as close as Tyler was going get to admitting that she
wasn’t quite as
popular
as she
sometimes made out. “Look, we both know Rose. She’ll need at least
a week to process, reprocess and then think about it again. During
that time, we’ll work on her—remind her how much she really likes
men.
The little dears
.”

“Can’t live with them—“Dani laughed. “So
what you’re saying is, bide our time. Try to rewire her brain a
bit. And why does it feel like this whole thing has disaster
written all over it?”

“Because you don’t have my vision.”

“I don’t want your vision.” Dani sometimes
wondered why Tyler’s
vision
didn’t
give her nightmares. “But I will concede your idea has
potential.”

“It’s potentially brilliant, my dear.” She
drank the last of her coffee and jumped to her feet. “And now that
I’m sufficiently re-caffeinated I need to get back to my sketching.
The ideas for the sculpture celebrating the town’s centennial have
to be submitted by the end of the month. And I plan on mine being
so amazing that not even Queen Regina Harper will be able to reject
it.”

“Re-caffeinated?” Dani cried. Tyler gave her
a hug before she dashed out of the coffee shop. “Oh, why do I even
bother?”

ROSE FELT LIKE she had a neon sign flashing
over her head—
looking for a one night stand,
only sex gods need apply
.

The annual spring Lilac Ball had seemed like
the perfect place to find a man—the right man. But now that she was
here she just felt awkward and conspicuous. It didn’t matter that
no one could know what she was thinking. She still felt oddly
guilty. As though looking at every man she passed as a potential
sex partner was a crime.

It had only been three days since Tyler’s
one night stand suggestion, but Rose had thought of little else. Of
course, she knew what her friend was up to. Tyler didn’t
really
want Rose to have sex with
some random guy. And at first the idea had seemed too outrageous
for words. But the more she weighed the pros and cons, the more
pros popped up. It wasn’t about sex or finding a man. She had never
been a boy-crazy teen or one of those women from a bad romantic
comedy who lamented her rapidly waning youth. But Rose did need
something
different. And if she got
an orgasm or two out of it, all the better.

The Lilac Ball was a yearly event that
raised money for the local hospital. Invitations went out months in
advance. It was one of Regina Harper’s pet projects, so she made
sure everyone there had deep pockets. Not that you had to be a
multimillionaire to attend. But Regina stacked the deck with
wealthy donors—it wouldn’t do for any of her functions to be
anything but a rousing success. Tickets sold out within days, in
part because it was a good cause. But it was also one of the few
times the doors of Harper House opened to any but a select few.
Three hundred and sixty-four days a year the residents of Harper
Falls lived in the shadow of the towering mansion. But on one night
in May, for the price of a ticket you could see how the other one
percent lived.

Rose, Dani, and Tyler had attended last year
and had gotten their tickets early for this one. There was an open
bar and a constant stream of servers offering every kind of finger
food imaginable. Rose was partial to the mini quiches.

The lilac theme filled the grand ballroom.
Clear fairy lights covered the ceiling like millions of twinkling
stars. The scent of lilac filled the air but didn’t overpower.
Vases of the flowers occupied every corner. Both light purple and
dark purple overflowed in controlled abandon. Rose thought they
must have stripped every bush within a two hundred mile radius.

She had arrived earlier than Tyler and
Dani—normally they would have come together. But she wanted to look
around and decide if she was going to do this. And she wanted to do
it without any unwanted influence. They would be a bit horrified if
they knew that she was considering picking up a man tonight. But
Tyler had put the idea into her head, so she had no one to blame
but herself.

Rose had to admit there were some very
attractive men here tonight. The old adage that every man looked
good in a tuxedo was spot on. The ball was formal, and everyone was
decked out in their finest. The problem was finding out which ones
were as good at sex as they were at having their suits impeccable
fitted. She couldn’t just go up and ask. Or could she? No, probably
not a good idea. Beyond the embarrassment factor, who was going to
tell the truth? What man was going to admit to being a lousy
lover?

Then there was the real possibility of being
turned down. Rose knew she looked good. The white gown she had
bought the last time she was in New York clung to her every curve
like it had been made for her, and it had. The designer herself had
done the final fitting, and the style, while simple, suited her
perfectly. It was sexy but not obvious. The modest neckline showed
very little skin and the slightly flared skirt allowed her plenty
of movement, so there was no need for a leg-baring slit. The effect
was flattering—subtle. The back, though, was another matter
altogether. The deep plunge showed off her toned, sleek, muscles,
ending
just
at the base of her
spine. Business in the front, party in the back. The dress gave her
confidence. And she was going to need all she could get.

She had been at the ball for almost an hour
and still didn’t see any sign of Tyler or Dani, which was good.
Deciding to check on her make-up, Rose slipped from the ballroom.
Just to the right was a discrete sign indicating the way to the
rest rooms. Giving herself a critical once over in the ornate
mirror, she decided all she needed was a fresh coat of lipstick.
She had just removed the tube from her bag when two women entered
the lounge area.

Rose immediately recognized one of them from
her days at Harper Academy. To say that she and Jilly Underwood had
never been friendly was putting it mildly. Jilly’s family had
money; Rose didn’t have money
or
a
family. As far as Jilly was concerned that made Rose so far below
her notice she might as well have been invisible. Even after Rose
had transferred to Harper High, for some reason she had remained at
the top of Jilly’s enemy list—along with Tyler and Dani. Look up
mean girl in the dictionary and you’d find a picture of Jilly
Underwood. Sure it was an old joke, but that didn’t make it any
less true.

The two women went to the mirror opposite
Rose without acknowledging her. It seemed that nine years had done
nothing to change Jilly’s opinion.

“Jack Winston is here,” Jilly’s friend said
in an excited whisper. “He is the sexiest man I have ever seen.
Well, I guess Drew Harper is just as sexy. I wonder if
he’s
here.”

“I doubt it. Word is he won’t even be in the
same room with his mother, not that I blame him. That woman is
colder than an iceberg. But I could care less about Drew,” Jilly
practically purred. “I’ve had my eye on Jack since he arrived in
town, and tonight I’m going to have him.”

“I hear he is an animal in bed. Martha
Underwood claims he kept her busy for three days straight with no
breaks.”

Not even to pee? Rose wondered.

“Martha is a liar. Not that I doubt that
Jack is capable.” Rose recognized Jilly’s predatory smile. When she
wanted something, the woman was never subtle. Between her bleached
blond good looks and her father’s money, there wasn’t much she
couldn’t have. But when she
was
denied? That girl was an A number one tantrum thrower. Rose had
been witness to a few of them, and it was a sight to see—as long as
you stayed out of spittle range.

“Why tonight? I mean he’s turned you down
every time you’ve come on to him,” Jilly’s friend put on a
concerned face but Rose got the feeling the woman found Jilly’s
failures highly entertaining.

Jilly chose to ignore the jab, though her
lips had that
I just sucked a lemon
look that was, if the wrinkles around her mouth were any
indication, starting to become permanent.

“I have it from a reliable source that Jack
has spent the last week in the company of nothing but other men.
And since I’m sure he’s one-hundred percent heterosexual, tonight
he should be ripe for the picking. I’ll get him on the dance floor,
and before the song finishes he’ll be dragging me out of here. We
might not even make back to my place.”

Jack Winston. Now there was a possibility.
They’d met briefly a few months ago. Tall, buff and good looks to
spare.
And
killer blue eyes. Paul
Newman eyes. It shouldn’t surprise her that he had a reputation as
a great lover. He wasn’t just good looking; he
was—well—
yummy.
Just the man Rose
was looking for. And if she could induce a Jilly fit? That was a
win, win for Rose.

But she had to get to him first. She
casually returned her lipstick to her bag and made her way out of
the ladies' room. Good, Lord, her heart was beating like a
hummingbird’s wings. The adrenaline was good, she decided. It kept
back the nerves. Mostly. Now she had to find Jack, proposition him
and get him out of there before Jilly could get her lethal claws
into him.

Jack, blissfully unaware that he was about
to be pursued by two very determined women, was sipping a club soda
and lime. If he
had
known that he
was the object of their desire, he would have high tailed it for
the nearest exit. The only reason he was there at all was because
he’d promised Drew that he would represent the company tonight.
Drew hadn’t set foot in Harper House for over ten years, and
nothing was going to change that. But it was a charity that they
both wanted to support, so Jack had agreed to put in a brief
appearance.

When a waiter offered him a glass of
champagne, Jack politely turned him down. But inside he was
cringing at even the thought of anything alcoholic. He had never
been a heavy drinker. Two beers was usually his limit. He could
count on two fingers the number of times he’d gotten stinking
drunk. Once had been during his first year of college after his
team had handily won their homecoming game. He was eighteen and on
a testosterone high. Surrounded by teammates and lots of free beer?
You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how that
would end.

Then there was last night. After a week of
intense training with their security crew, he and Drew had let
loose for the first time in a long, long time. Because the crew was
staying at the compound, no one had to worry about driving. Like
everyone else, Jack got caught up in the celebratory atmosphere.
Tequila shots and plenty of them. Drew had nursed a hangover most
of the morning. Jack, was lucky to have been blessed with a
metabolism that let him drink everyone under the table and not
suffer for it the next day.