Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4) (34 page)

For her hair, she’d left it primarily down, her curls cascading down her back and the majority of the sides up and off her face with soft tendrils falling gracefully down to her neck.  Taking a note out of Emily’s book, she smoked up her eyes and finished her look with pale lipstick and shimmery pale blush.

She looked good.  And she knew she looked good.  She didn’t need anyone to tell her this time.  The thought made her eyes tear up.

She’d left her loft hours earlier, had gone to a department store, and then spent the
rest of the afternoon at her mom’s. 

She didn’t let on that anything was wrong to her mother, just that she wanted to stop by and say hi.  Janie skirted around Luke as a topic of conversation and told her mom that she’d had plans with some friends in her parents’ neighborhood that night, so was just getting ready there to save some time.

Her mom didn’t even blink at the lie, but was giddy and happy in a way that Janie hadn’t seen in a long while.  She chalked it up to the holidays.

As much as she hated lying, there was no way Janie was going back to her loft to bump into Luke.  She wasn’t quite ready to have it out with him yet.

Just as Janie was about to leave the bathroom, her phone rang.  It was Emily.

“Hey,” Janie said.

“Hey, you.  Just checkin’ in.  You okay?” she immediately asked.

“Of course.  Why wouldn’t I be?” Janie said, going into her old bedroom to get her sweater coat and her purse.

“Mike mentioned that Luke called him before,” she said, sounding like she was holding back a chuckle.  “He’d been worried because you weren’t returning his calls.”

Shit.  She couldn’t talk about this now.  She didn’t want to start crying.

“Well, Luke Daniels shouldn’t expect that I’m going to jump every time he calls.  It’s not like I don’t have a life,” she groused, making an annoyed sound with her tongue.  “I can’t believe he called Mike.”  Then as an afterthought, she muttered, “Ridiculous.”

There was a beat of silence while Janie fumed, then Emily asked quietly, “What happened, sweetie?”

Don’t be nice right now, Em!  I don’t wanna mess up my make up!

“I can’t talk now,” Janie said on a choked sob before she could stop it from escaping.  “I’m meeting Chaz for drinks.  You know.  Chaz the Razz, the guy from high school.”

“What happened, Janie?” she asked softly.  “Why weren’t you returning his calls?  Did something happen?  Mike said Luke really sounded worried.”

“Em,” she whined as she blinked back the first onslaught of tears and began fanning her eyes.  “He doesn’t want me.  That’s what happened.  He’s fucking around with Vanessa, and I’m not waiting for him anymore.  Idiot,” she mumbled, wondering who the bigger one was in this scenario – her or Luke.  She sniffed.  “We were supposed to go out tonight for his birthday and then I broke it off because he’s an arrogant, lying, insensitive jerkwad.”  She shook her head to stave off the crying and to get herself together.  “I really can’t talk.  I’m literally walking out the door.  I’m supposed to meet Chaz in less than half an hour.”

Emily sighed.  “Where are you going with this guy?”

“Just some wine bar in Chelsea.  You know that one by Ayanna and Jon’s place?  ‘By the Glass’.”

Emily let go of another frustrated sigh.  “Yeah, I know it.  Okay.  Text me when you get home.  I don’t like the fact that you’re going out with a guy who was a complete asshole to you in high school.”

“I’ll be fine.  I’m only going out with him this once.  Don’t worry.”

“I still want you to text.  And I wanna know what happened with Luke.  Call me tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright,” she said glumly.  “I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Okay, sweetie.  Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Janie disconnected and ran to the bathroom to make sure she hadn’t ruined her make up.  All was good.  She threw on her sweater coat, put on her scarf, yelled a goodbye to her parents and was out the door.

Janie walked into the wine bar giving herself a pep talk.

You can do this.  You can do this.  You can do this.

She looked around and didn’t see Chaz anywhere, so asked to be seated in the back.  She sat and faced the door, waiting, nervous as hell.  Not just because she was meeting Chaz but because of all of the emotional junk that she’d dealt with over the last 24 hours.  Tapping into her inner Yogi, she took a few deep breaths and steadied her nerves.  A waitress came by and Janie ordered a bottle of red.  She needed a drink to prepare.

Movement near the front door caught her eye as she noticed a young man step in, Italian in looks.  He began to look around.

It was Chaz. 

She barely had a moment to gather her thoughts before he made eye contact with her.  He gave her a cocky grin and walked over.  He looked the same, only better looking.  Dark hair, dark eyes, a little under six feet and built nicely.  He was wearing a sweater and leather jacket with some jeans and boots.  He looked good and it was obvious he knew it. 

The expression on his face wasn’t giving her much hope that his personality had improved.  She got up and smiled, ready to greet him.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes drifting down to her chest immediately then back up to her eyes with another smile. 

“Hi, Chaz,” she said, then nearly groaned at his perusal.  “You look exactly the same.  How are you?”

He leaned in to hug her which took her a little by surprise.  She hugged him back as he pressed himself into her.  He stepped back and answered, “I’m good, I’m good.  The question is, how are
you
?  You’re fuckin’ hot,” he smiled salaciously while his eyes again took a leisurely stroll down, then up, her body.  When his eyes landed on her boobs, then finally reached her eyes again, he looked as if he’d just done her a favor. 

Well, shit.  If this was how the night was going to unfold, she’d only herself to blame.  How long did one need to stay for it to be
deemed appropriate?

“Gee, thanks Chaz,” she said dryly.  “I was kind of surprised to hear from you, actually,” she said, figuring she’d get this thing moving so it could crash and burn quickly, get her out of there faster.  They both sat.  Just then their waitress came over with the wine and poured them both a glass.  Once she’d left, they both took a sip.

Finally responding to Janie’s comment, Chaz said, “I understand.”  His tone was a little contrived.  “I was definitely a dick to you in high school, I know.”

“Yes, you were,” she smiled brilliantly, as if to say
is that all you have to say about it?

He sighed.  “That’s just my personality, you know?  I just like to josh around, is all.  But look at you
now
,” he said.  “There’s nothing to make fun of now,” he smiled.

Gah.  Wrong thing to say.  Was there an apology in there?  And was there ever a right time to make fun of someone?  She cocked her head.  “And if there was?  You know, something still to make fun of?  What then?”

He waved his hand as if it was inconsequential now given the different circumstances.  “So you’re a chef?” he asked.  “That’s kind of ironic, huh?” he laughed.

She plastered a smile on her face.  “Ironic because I’m around food all day, but now I’m no longer fat?”

“Yeah!  Don’t you think that’s funny?” he quipped.

Hilarious.

“So, what are you doing with yourself these days?” Janie asked, ignoring his question. 
Just be nice, then get the hell out.

“I do some DJ’ing on the side for parties, but my full time job is in Radio as a producer.  I’m also a disc jockey on an up and coming internet radio comedy show.”

“That sounds interesting.”  She tried to sound like she cared.

“Yeah, now I get paid to make fun of people,” he guffawed.

Just keeps gettin’ better and better.  Leave, Janie.  You owe this guy nothing.

“Well, that’s something.  Your parents must be so proud,” she deadpanned.

He shrugged.  “They’re not exactly thrilled.  They always wanted me to be an executive somewhere but radio was always what I wanted to do.  So, whattaya gonna do, right?”

Exactly.  Whattaya gonna do, Janie?

He continued talking about his work.  They spent the next twenty minutes talking, his jokes getting worse and worse, and her stomach hurting more and more.  It was a mistake to have gone out with him.  At least she could check it off her list.  Chaz hadn’t changed a bit and Janie had no desire to continue the evening with him.

Just as he launched into a new topic, her eyes drifted slightly to the right as she caught movement by the door.  Some men were entering the bar.  Her stomach dropped and if she’d been in a car at that moment, she’d hear the screeching halt of brakes. 

Her cousin Jeremy, her brother Mike, and none other than Luke friggin’ Daniels walked into the bar, and were currently looking for a table.

Holy.  Friggin’.  Shit. 

“So listen.  I was wondering,” Chaz was saying, but the ringing in her ears drowned out his words, as if a bomb had just gone off near her and she was momentarily deaf.

The guys started walking to a table and Jem just happened to look over, meeting her eyes.  A look of surprise appeared, then a smile, then something else.  She saw him say her name and both Mike and Luke looked over.  Mike’s face went through the same transformation, but Luke’s?  Luke looked completely expressionless…except for the eyes.  His eyes said he was ready to commit murder.

The three of them started making their way over and Janie’s palms began to sweat.  Women followed their every move with their eyes.  Jeremy, the gorgeous dark haired god with movie star chiseled good looks dressed in his suit and overcoat; Mike, the playboy detective in jeans, combat boots, and leather jacket with the ever present twinkle in his eye; Luke, the sleek fashion icon of the City dressed in simple gray slacks and a black cashmere sweater and coat…the black only making his pale blue eyes stand out even more.

“Whattaya think?  You game?” Chaz asked quietly, an arrogance coloring his tone.  Janie finally looked back at him, not having any idea what he was talking about.  Perhaps she should’ve been listening because Chaz’s eyes had a sheen of lust coating them.  He reached out and took her hand.

“I’m sorry, Chaz.  What?”  She started to remove her hand from his just as Jem arrived at their table.

“Well,
what have we got here?  This is a surprise,” Jem said with a smile and leaned down to kiss her cheek.  Then he glanced at her hand being touched by Chaz.  His eyebrow shot up and his face got that overprotective look, but at the same time his smile grew bigger.  “Look who’s here, guys,” he said, looking back at Mike and Luke as they approached.

“Hey!” Mike said with exuberance as he looked between Chaz and Janie then shuffled around Jem to kiss Janie on the cheek as well.  He stepped back to put his arm around Luke and slapped him on the back bringing him into the circle now standing around her table.  He smiled at Luke then looked at Janie.  “What are the chances of seeing you here?”

“Yeah.  What are the chances?” Janie said knowingly, giving her brother a look.  Emily.  It had to have been Emily.

Chaz had yet to say anything and was staring up at the three giants around him.  They were an impressive and intimidating sight alone, never mind when they were all together, each of them standing at 6’3”.  Ayanna often joked there must’ve been something in the water when they’d all been conceived.

Luke leaned in and effortlessly took her hand from Chaz’s grip, raising her hand to his lips.  At the last minute he flipped her hand over and kissed her palm.  “Hi, baby.”  He kissed softly, looking pointedly into her eyes.  “The guys and I decided to hang out tonight.  Sort of a birthday celebration for just us boys,” he said with a note of danger in his voice.  “Since I didn’t have any other plans.” 

“That’s wonderful,” she said between clenched teeth and a fake smile.  “Don’t let us interrupt you.”  She removed her hand from his and looked away.  Her insides had nearly melted at the feel of his lips on her.

“I’m Detective Michael Callahan,” Mike said to Chaz.  “And you are?”

Oh, brother.  Literally.

“Oh, uh, I’m Chaz.  Chaz Cardosa,” he stammered slightly, but smiled.  “I went to CAS with Janie.  You’re her brother, right?  I think my older brother was in your class.  Anthony Cardosa?”

“Oh, yeah.  Anthony.  Sure, I remember him.  Is he still the same douchebag he was in high school?” Mike asked, a smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes.

Janie rolled her own and said in exasperation, “Alright, Mike.”

“What?” he asked.  “I was just wondering.”

“Your name’s Chaz?” Luke asked, his eyes zeroing in on the man.  “Huh.”  He glared at Janie then back at Chaz.  “Just curious, but any chance your nickname in high school was ‘Chaz the Razz’?”  If looks could kill, Chaz would’ve be worm food at that moment.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit.  How on earth did Luke
remember
that?

Both Mike and Jem looked between Chaz and Luke, getting the impression that Chaz was most definitely not to be seen as a friend, then in the span of a second seemed to grow before her eyes, all three of them turning into ‘Alpha Man’, which wasn’t too difficult since they all were anyway.