Love Me: The Complete Series (32 page)

Darlene laughed. “Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck …”

Is she really insinuating I’m chicken?
“Oh, stop. I’ll be there before you can find your next client.”

Sure, it was a jab to mention Darlene’s ambulance chasing but the woman actually admitted to perusing the daily paper for victims. Er, clients. Amanda strung the strap of her briefcase over her shoulder and sandwiched the phone above it between her ear and the shoulder pad of her suit. With her other hand, she unknotted her scarf, slipped two buttons of her silk shirt open, and let out a sigh. “You could have picked something a little closer to the office, you know. I had to practically jog in these damned heels. I think I have a blister.”

“You should carry loafers like I do. Hurry up. The instructor is tall, tanned, and tight-ass free, something we rarely meet … uh, oh. I think he heard me. Gotta go.”

Amanda grinned as the phone went silent. For a woman with a stellar legal career, Darlene despised attorneys—a.k.a. tight-asses—and had a strict rule about dating them. The irony of her choosing not to date someone of her own species apparently escaped her brilliant brain. But, based on the few single attorneys Amanda knew, Darlene wasn’t all wrong.

Amanda punched the elevator button and stepped into the first one that opened. Five hundred bucks was a lot of money, and she planned to win. Neither of the women was athletic, but Amanda was pretty sure she could handle herself well enough to best her friend. Betting she could beat Darlene in a couple of outdoor activities seemed an easy win.

• • •

For Jackson Holstenar, the elevator was a fundamental part of life. It was how he traveled to the gym on the top floor of the building, to his friend Carter’s office, to his father’s office, to his own office. Though his berth could hardly be called an office. His choice. His father wanted him upstairs with the bigwigs, but Jackson preferred to pay his dues like all the other new staff.

He waited for the doors to open. Carter had wanted to talk about his new project before the weekend adventure seekers group. Ever since Jackson had accidently gotten Carter fired, he felt guilty and listened patiently to Carter’s work stories. The firing had been unintentional—Jackson had mouthed off at a project manager because he and their friend Roger wanted to set them up. She hadn’t liked the comments and blew a gasket before complaining to Carter’s management team. Carter had taken the heat because Jackson’s dad just ignored the complaint. Carter’s new job seemed to fit better, so it wasn’t a complete loss.

Jackson’s phone signaled a text message from Carter.
Let’s just talk after the group meeting. I’m already there.

Ding.

The doors slipped open. He smelled oranges.
That
brought back memories. He glanced over at the tall blonde with her hair sleeked into a gold barrette. Was he hallucinating? It had been eighteen months since he’d seen Amanda Gillespie. He stuck an arm out as the doors started closing, then stepped into the elevator. No, it was her.

Could he really have missed her annoying perfume?

“Amanda?”

The woman in the peach twill suit stopped fumbling with her bag and popped her head up, her sea-blue eyes widening like portholes on a Caribbean cruise ship.

“Oh my God. Jackson! What are you doing here?”

His throat threatened to choke back his words and he swallowed. “I’m meeting a friend in a few minutes upstairs. What about you?”

Amanda slicked a hand over her hair. “Me too. Sort of. I’m a little late actually. Work. You know.”

Was that supposed to mean he knew how harried her new job was? He didn’t. Not anymore. Not since she’d quit working at his dad’s office and sneaked out without even saying goodbye.

He still felt the sting. “Work. Of course.”

Jackson focused on the lit elevator panel and the soft sounds as they moved higher. The seconds it took to rise to his floor seemed like hours. A thousand questions fogged his brain but he wouldn’t ask any of them. Nope. She’d run out without telling a soul because that was what she wanted. No explanation. No apology. And no indication of where she’d be in the future. She ran
away.
From their work relationship and their friendship. Hell—she’d fallen off the planet.

Jackson sure as hell wasn’t going to ask why. Not now. When the doors opened, he motioned for her to lead and followed her down the hall—to the same door he sought. Should he turn around and leave? Admittedly, seeing her brought mixed emotions—shitty and relieved ones. Did he really want to deal with that? He couldn’t abandon Carter. They’d been friends forever and hadn’t seen each other in a while.

“You’re going here too?” Amanda frowned. Apparently she wasn’t all that excited about seeing him either.

He nodded. “I had no idea you were into this kind of thing.” The only athletic thing he’d seen her do was jog and that was only one time when she’d been trying to catch a bus. Still, based on the muscle tone in her legs, she didn’t spend all her time on a sofa.

“I’m not. My friend Darlene bet me five hundred bucks that I couldn’t do at least two of the three challenges better than she did. Apparently I don’t have an adventurous bone in my body. But since neither of us has done anything like this, I figured my size would give me an advantage. I’m five inches taller and have not only the height advantage but longer legs.”

Inside the room, voices tumbled excitedly over the wild beat of some sort of retro music. Jackson couldn’t place the band but he felt the energy.

“Hey! There you are.” Carter rushed forward and circled an arm over Jackson’s shoulder, then scooped Amanda in as well. What the hell?

Carter kissed her on the cheek and Jackson could tell he’d had a beer before showing up, maybe two. He was relaxed. Loose. Not his normal tight-wound demeanor. “So, this is your new girlfriend, Jax? Wow. She’s gorgeous.”

Amanda pulled free and frowned. “Um, hell no, I’m not with
him.
I’m with
them.
” She pointed across the room where two women beckoned for her to join. “Good luck with that new girlfriend,
Jax
.” Amanda’s tight business skirt snapped as she clipped away.

Carter coughed. “Wow, should have known you’d never score a chick like that. What was I thinking? So, where is the new love?”

Jackson shrugged. “Gone. We stopped dating a couple weeks ago. She wanted serious and I wanted anything but. So, what d’ya think about this shindig?” The two men strode to the nearest chairs and plopped down. It felt good to sit and stretch a bit.

The instructor, who called himself a
coordinator
,
introduced the other organizers and outlined their first three outings. All three were mild for Jackson’s taste: a hike through the canyon near Fredericksburg, zip lining above the trees near the lake, and a mud run obstacle course. Easy-peasy.

Jackson was tired and figured he’d listened attentively enough so he searched the room. For Amanda.

“Introduce me.”

“What?” Jackson returned his thoughts to Carter and the group surrounding him.

“Introduce me to that girl you came in with. You obviously know her.”

“She came up the elevator with me.”

“Yeah, saw that … but you know her, right?”

“Sort of. She used to work with me. She left a year and a half ago.”

“Good, then you’ll make a great wing man. Let’s go.” Carter yanked Jackson’s sleeve and slid from his chair.

Jackson cringed. “You really don’t want to know this one, Carter. She’s … high maintenance.”

Carter punched Jackson’s arm. “She can’t be all bad if she showed up for this club. You’re the one who said I should get out there and meet someone. Besides, I had a great week. I’m on a roll. This might be good.”

Yeah, but roll somewhere else, man. Not toward her.
Jackson pushed out of his cushy comfortable chair. Perfect. He was introducing his best friend to the one girl who was off limits—for him, and everyone else. She kept everyone in the “friendship” category, which was where she’d shoved him years ago when they were classmates.

As they strode toward the women, Amanda met his gaze. Jackson held onto her eyes like they were liquid gold. How should he do this? Her friend swiveled to look over her shoulder and gasped. “Well, aren’t you a tall thing? You look like you could shimmy through that obstacle course like nobody’s business and come out slathered with mud in all the right places.”

Jackson blinked. Her friend was giving him the once-over. “And I bet you’d make mud-wrestling an art form. This is Carter Coben.” He waved a hand at his best friend who completely honed in on Amanda. “And I’m Jackson.” He offered a hand to the shorter woman.

“Darlene. And this is Amanda.” The two were as opposite as night and day and appeared significantly different in age as well. Amanda had to be significantly younger. How’d they ever become friends? “We’re attorneys over at—”

Oh, of course. Darlene the Bulldog. He’d seen her ads. “I recognize you now, though you should sue your marketing group. Those ads don’t do you justice.”

Darlene giggled and put a hand to her throat. Jackson let the smile on his face go dead as Carter wedged between them and sat next to Amanda. Carter put a hand on his leg and flexed his bicep, his signature move. Jackson rolled his eyes.

“You ladies like to do these things a lot?” Carter asked.

Carter had made one small error in his move: He’d left a comfortable amount of personal space between himself and Amanda. Jackson flopped down between them and threw his arms behind their chairs. “Don’t kid yourself, Carter. Amanda here won’t even step in a rain puddle, let alone do a mud run. And I’d bet the only thing she’s climbed or hiked lately is the Galleria Mall when there’s a shoe sale. Right, Mandy?”

Jackson noticed her pink cheeks and the flash of fire that swept through her baby-blues. She clucked and tapped a palm to his face. “Oh, Jax. It’s so nice to see you throwing your typical childish bullshit insults again. Don’t you think you’re a little old for that?”

Darlene’s mouth dropped. “You guys know each other?”

Amanda huffed. “No.”

It came in unison with Jackson’s “Yes.” He grinned.

“Figures,” Darlene said. “I’m always late to the party.”

Amanda sighed. “Jackson’s an attorney, too. We worked together very briefly.”

Jackson cocked his head sideways. “Yes,
briefly.
Why is that, Amanda? Why so briefly?”

The crowd had begun to disperse as people signed up for whatever events they chose then gathered belongings and left. Amanda stood and thumbed at the lists, ignoring his jab. “Gotta go, gentlemen. I have money to win and work to get back to. Nice meeting you, Carter.” She waved, then cast a hate glare Jackson’s way before striding off. Her friend Darlene followed after tossing him a quick wink.

Carter frowned. “That went well. You could have at least tried to be civil long enough to give me a shot.”

Jackson shrugged and pointed at the wall of paper with scribbled names. “You don’t need my help. This one’s a no-brainer. Go look at what she’s signed up for and put your name on the same list.”

Revelation crossed his features. “Think I will.”

Once Carter left, Jackson followed his own advice and added his name to the lists as well. No sense in letting Carter get kicked around without his wing man.

• • •

The following Sunday afternoon, Jackson stood by his Jeep, sipping cold coffee and watching Amanda’s tight shorts rise up her ass while she lifted gear from the back of an SUV. Great way to start the day. He leaned against the hood, crossed his legs, and took another sip. “Need some help with that?”

She lowered the box onto the ground and glared at him.
Hmmm. Nice to see you too.
She tossed her hair back and returned to digging through the trunk.

Jackson tossed the paper cup in the trash bin beside his car, then strode her way. “Guess you didn’t hear me. Do you—”

“I heard you. I just didn’t answer. If I needed help, I’d ask for it. Okay?”

Carter shoved in front, scooped the box from the dirt, and pulled a bag from her hands. “What kind of guy lets a woman carry heavy boxes while he’s empty handed? Come on, the group’s already starting toward the trailhead. Are you planning to take all of this on the hike?”

Amanda opened her mouth to protest, then stopped. She gave Carter one of those dazzling smiles and Jackson cringed. He remembered how many times she’d used that look with him. It had caught his breath on occasion but he shrugged it off as hormones—or maybe just hadn’t understood. Carter stopped for a second. Yep, that look went straight to the man parts and his friend wasn’t immune, damn him. It wasn’t jealousy seething through Jackson’s skin. Amanda was like a sister. Okay, she
had
kissed him a little too passionately one night in law school when they were both drunk.
That
had stunned him, coming from her. Still, she deserved better and he’d managed to keep the losers away before. But Carter? He wasn’t a loser. So why the hell did the fact that it was Carter bother him more? “That’s sweet of you. No, I just wanted to put the drinks in the coolers for the after-party. John, the organizer, said we could drop them off at the starting point. Do you mind carrying them that far?”

Carter winked and threw the box onto his shoulder. “Piece of cake. You look amazing, by the way.”

Amanda slammed her trunk closed and dropped a hand into the pocket of her tight cargo shorts. She shot Carter another megawatt smile. “Thanks. I wasn’t really sure what was appropriate for this kind of thing.”

Jackson felt his face flush. Seriously? She was flirting?

Steam started to rise from his already sweating forehead. Couldn’t she see what an idiot/asshole Carter was? Surely Jackson wasn’t the only person to notice his complete lack of personality. Sure, they were best friends but friends know each other’s faults best.

Amanda tucked a hand into Carter’s arm and walked alongside as he toted her things.

At the trail head, the organizer handed out maps to everyone, then told them to be back at five. “The sun goes down at six so if we don’t have a full headcount at five fifteen, we’ll send out a search party.” The man laughed, then waved his hands like Moses sending his flock into the ship, two by two. Carter dropped into step by Amanda and her friend. It was a dumb move since the path wasn’t wide enough. Then Jackson had a thought.