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  She had to be fucking kidding me. Drew’s mom! Warning me off her son. Her son that wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am’ed me the day before? The one who all but said it was a one time thing? She was nuts.

  “Listen, Mrs. Montgomery, there is nothing going on between your son and me. He didn’t ask what I was doing later, she asked how late I was working. He’s my boss, that’s all.”

  “You’re a horrible liar. I saw the way you looked at him. He’s your big ticket. I’m sure that’s why you got this job too. You wanted a man who would take care of you so you could stay home and sit on your fat ass. You’ve got the wrong one. Drew is taken.”

  I stifled the urge to laugh at her. Not only was Drew not taken, not even a little bit, but he was getting over her great friend, Brandi.

  “Drew’s personal life is none of my business. As I said, he’s my boss. Nothing more.”

  The only answer I received was the click of the phone hanging up. How dare she accuse me of using Drew. I rolled my eyes at the thought as I picked up my purse and dug through for my keys. If there was any using going on it was him using me to get over that bitch.

  I wondered why Mrs. Montgomery liked Brandi so much. She had to have lied about why she and Drew broke up for his mom to want them back together so badly. But what did she say? And why didn’t Mrs. Montgomery ever ask Drew?

  I thought about their relationship as I drove to my apartment. Drew told me how close he was to his mom. He seemed to worship her. If they were that close it didn’t make sense to me that she would want him back together with someone who never supported his choices or him. Not to mention she cheated on Drew.

  At home I fixed a frozen dinner since I didn’t have time to cook. I sat down at the table just as my phone rang. Without looking at who it was I answered.

  “Carrie, dear, how are you?” my mom’s worried voice asked.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Are you coming to dinner this weekend? Your sister will be here and I’d love to see you. It’s been too long.”

  “Mom, I saw you a few weeks ago.”

  “Yes, and I want to see you again. I haven’t seen you since you started your new job. I want to hear all about it.”

  I groaned inwardly. A meal with my mom and sister was equitable to an afternoon of torture. My sister would tell us how perfect her life was and my mom would tell me how I should be more like Megan.

  The worst part was I didn’t have any better offers.

  “Sure, Mom. I’ll be there.”

  I listened to my mom a few more minutes then made my excuses to go. I ate my dinner quickly then changed before going to Bite Me!

  I knew my friends would sense something was going on. I never showed up in sweatpants, but I couldn’t resist. Relaxing was priority at that point. Worst case I could just tell them I had my period. No one would think I’d lie about that.

  Kendall had my cupcakes and coffee ready when I got up to the counter. I paid and thanked her then joined the rest of them, already halfway through their cupcakes and well into a discussion.

  “I don’t know,” Mike said. “I think men and women think about casual flings differently. When we were ‘friends with benefits’ Lexi considered it a fling but I thought it was a relationship.”

  “Most men aren’t like that though,” Sam argued. “Most men think a casual hook up is a one time thing or can be repeated without consequence. Women are usually the ones to get emotionally involved.”

  “True, but not always. The decent guys get just as involved as the women do,” Claire said. “If it’s a relationship, it’s different than a fling or a hook-up.”

  “So what quantifies each one?” Joey asked. “Is there a time limit or number limit before you trip from one category to the next?”

  “There wasn’t for us,” Lexi said with Mike’s agreement. “We were together for almost a year and slept together countless times before we became a couple.”

  “Yeah, but you guys were together, you just didn’t want to admit it. One look at you with another man and he lost his mind,” Charlie chimed in.

  Everyone laughed at the memory. Lexi fought against being with Mike because she thought it would hurt her career. In the end, Lexi knew Mike would never jeopardize her career and that no one would ever compare to him.

  “I think beyond a month and you’ve moved from fling to relationship,” Sam declared. “Unless the only time you get together is late at night for sex. Then it’s just a booty call.”

  “What about day time sex?” Connor asked. “Is that a booty call too or is only night time?”

  “I think if you’re only getting together for sex and someone is leaving right afterward then it’s a fling. If you do things together, like watch a movie or go to dinner, you’re moving into relationship status. A hook-up is a one time thing. That’s what Xander thinks Drew had last night,” Mandy declared for the group.

  I choked on my coffee.

  The ice cold liquid burned my nose as it tried to come out. I managed to swallow most of it before my coughing fit ensued.

  Everyone watched me, waiting for the okay sign, as I choked on my coffee. Xander thought Drew hooked-up last night! Why did he think that? And more, did he know it was me?

  Shit, or was it? Maybe he hooked up with someone else after me. Maybe all he needed was for me to get him started so he could run like the Energizer Bunny through the streets.

  “Are you okay?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah, sorry. That just shocked the hell out of me.”

  “Why?” Mandy asked. “He’s a good looking guy. He should date more.”

  I shook my head to clear the image of Drew with another woman. “Yeah, I just wondered how Xander knew Drew hooked up with someone. I didn’t notice anything different about him today.”

  “That’s what we were talking about. When men get laid they act different, like a peacock showing off his feathers. Xander said Drew came in all smiles and chest stuck out today. He was parading around like he was a king. Xander asked him about it but Drew refused to tell him anything, which almost guarantees it’s a one time thing. If he was seeing someone new Drew would have shared it with his best friend.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” I admitted. It hurt to hear even though I knew it was the truth. Drew wasn’t anything more than my boss. Again.

  ~*~

  By Friday I was more confused than I’d ever been in my life. Drew was still strutting around and refusing to tell Xander who he’d been with, but he was even more flirty with me. If he was screwing someone all week why was he flirting with me?

  Unless he just wanted to string me along in case he needed another pick-me-up.

  Xander spent the afternoon on site. Drew was in the office but was on the phone. I uploaded the new inquiry forms to the website and sent the page to Drew for approval before going into the break room for a cup of coffee.

  “There you are,” his voice came from behind me. “I’ve been looking for you all week.”

  I turned and gave him an annoyed and confused look. “You’re my boss. You know where I am 40 hours a week.”

  “Whoa. What did I do?”

  I shook my head. He didn’t need my jealousy creating problems. He was getting over his ex and that was good. I cared about him enough to want him to be happy, although being happy without me was a little annoying.

  “Nothing. You did nothing. What did you need from me?”

  “This isn’t nothing, Carrie. Talk to me. I thought we were more than boss and employee.”

  “You don’t need to worry about my personal life. It’s fine. Why were you looking for me?”

  “I, uh… I was wondering what you’re doing tonight?” He ran his hand through his hair and looked entirely too adorable. Drew was not the kind of man I’d ever think of as being adorable. Sexy. Hot. Badass. Yes. But adorable? Only at that moment.

  “I don’t have any plans tonight. Did you need me to work late?”

  “What?” he snapped. “No. I wanted to
go out. On a date. With you.”

  “Wait, what?”

  He chuckled. “I wanted you to go out with me. I was thinking of fixing you dinner at my place, if you’re interested. If not… don’t worry about it. I was just-“

  “I do. I mean, yes. I thought you were… Never mind.”

  “You thought what?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Carrie, what’s going on? I thought we were okay. Better than okay the other day. What’s changed?”

  I took a deep breath for strength and dug deep. Telling him what I’d thought all week and what Xander said about him… oh, who cared.

  “You acted like the other day was a one time thing. Then Xander told Mandy you’d gotten lucky but wouldn’t talk about it and everyone said that meant it was just a one time hook-up. When you spent the week acting like you’d gotten some I just figured you met someone.”

  “Wait a minute,” he said, holding up his hand for me to stop. “Okay, first of all, I don’t know what I did to make you think the other day was a one time thing, but I’d hoped it wouldn’t be. As for Xander, well he’s a dick. I didn’t tell him anything because I didn’t want him to think differently of you for being with me. As for you… I haven’t been able to think about anything other than the way you screamed my name the other day. Sitting at that desk gives me a hard-on because I see you sprawled over it, open for me. I’ve basically been useless all week.”

  I grinned with pure cockiness. Yep, I knew I was awesome.

  “There’s my peacock,” Drew teased. He stepped closer and nuzzled my neck. “So we’re on for dinner? And maybe a few extracurricular activities?”

  His eyebrows danced and his eyes twinkled with mischief. I had to laugh at how silly he was.

  “Can you even cook?” I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

  His hand flew over his heart. “Oh, you wound me! I was raised by a single mom who believed men should be able to contribute at home. I was cooking dinner once a week by the time I could reach the stove. I’m a very good cook.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Okay, I’ll trust you. What can I bring?”

  He shook his head. “Just your hot self. Do you need to go home after work or do you want to follow me?”

  “Either way.”

  “Good, then you can follow me home. I want to spend as much time with you as I can get since I’ve had to watch you all week and not touch you. Do you have any clue how painful it’s been?”

  I smirked. “I have a decent idea.”

  Nine

  I followed Drew to his house with shaky hands. I trusted him, more than I should for someone I’d known for such a short time. Drew didn’t waste any time leaving work once he asked me to go with him. As I drove I thought about all the things he’d told me. Between his confession about what had happened with Brandi to his telling me how much he wanted me I was starting to think he was as into the relationship as I was.

  Wait, no. We weren’t in a relationship. We were having fun. I wasn’t going to label it, especially when we couldn’t tell anyone. It screamed high school all over again.

  I wasn’t going there though. High school was bad enough the first time.

  We pulled into the driveway of a small condo community. I’d driven past the new neighborhood a few times but never had a reason to visit. It wasn’t what I expected for someone who restored old homes for a living. I figured he’d be in an older home that he’d fixed up.

  Then again, maybe he never had time to get a fixer upper for himself.

  “The neighborhood is beautiful,” I told him as I climbed from my car.

  “Thanks. It’s a nice place to live. Quiet.”

  I followed him into a building and up the stairs to a door on the second floor. He unlocked it and let me walk in ahead of him.

  We stepped into a short hallway with a dining room to the right that opened to a stunning modern kitchen. It was huge and open with white painted cabinets, black granite countertops, and gleaming charcoal tiles. A massive stainless steel sink sat in the middle of the island, overlooking the living room. A Viking gas range was against the side wall with a wall mounted microwave nearby. An oversized, bottom freezer, stainless steel fridge completed the package.

  I wanted to move in.

  It was going to kill me to sit and watch him cook in the kitchen and not be able to do anything. I wanted to cook in his kitchen even more than I wanted to check out his bedroom. And that was saying something.

  “I’m so jealous,” I declared.

  Drew turned his full smile on me. His whole face lit up and he stepped closer to me. “You like my kitchen?”

  “I’d live here if I could. It’s stunning. I’ve dreamed of having a kitchen like this.” Even though I loved restored old homes, a sparkling new kitchen definitely held some appeal.

  “Maybe next time I’ll let you cook here. Tonight I’m going to cook for you.”

  “Seriously? You have to let me help,” I whined.

  He smiled at me and leaned in closer. “Oh, I’ll let you help. But for dinner I want you to relax.”

  I rolled my eyes and took a seat at the island. “Cooking is relaxing for me. I’ve always loved to cook. As I’m sure you can guess judging by the size of my ass.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re not happy with your body.”

  “No, I love who I am. I’m also realistic though. I know I’m husky and will never be a toothpick. I’m built like my dad and he wasn’t a small man.”

  “You know you’re hot, right?”

  I shrugged. “I’m nothing special.”

  “Yeah, you are. Carrie, don’t sell yourself short.”

  “Seriously, Drew, I like my body, but I know it’s not something that inspires men to launch 1000 ships.”

  Drew laughed. “Well, Carrie of Troy, you’ve inspired me a lot since we’ve met. I think you’re beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  He crooked his finger at me but moved closer to me instead of having me go to him. My mouth fell into a smile as he leaned in and sealed our lips together gently. “Beautiful,” he whispered again as we separated.

  “So,” he said abruptly, rubbing his hands together, “would you rather Italian inspired or Asian inspired for dinner?”

  “Hmm,” I tapped on my chin with my index finger. “I’m a big fan of Italian.”

  “Italian it is then,” he said. A door in the corner held the pantry and Drew pulled out a box of pasta, a jar of marinara sauce, and an onion. From the fridge he retrieved ground beef, bell peppers, mozzarella cheese, and cheddar cheese.

  “Please let me help,” I begged again.

  Drew shook his head. “You do so much at work, I just want to give you a chance to relax. Plus, I want to wow you with my culinary expertise,” he winked.

  I rolled my eyes through my grin and watched his muscles stretch and tense while he reached for a large stockpot and a pan. My mouth watered and for the first time since I stepped into his kitchen, it wasn’t about the house. Drew was the hottest man I’d ever seen. He looked like he was carved from stone with his sculpted chest, bulging arms, washboard abs, and lean strong legs.

  He turned and caught me staring at him. Heat filled his gaze and his eyes dropped to my lips. Unconsciously my tongue darted out and coated my lips. Drew growled and closed the distance between us, pot and pan still in his hands.

  “I’m never going to get dinner done with you sitting here looking so hot,” he whispered as his lips came down on mine. The kiss was possessive, demanding. The only thing that connected us was our lips, but it was enough. My body lit up as though my mouth was a fuse and his was the match.

  Drew’s tongue glided against mine, sending sparks of desire through me with every stroke. My hands drifted on their own toward his neck, needing to touch him. I could feel his heat radiating toward me, beckoning me. Igniting my desire and bringing an ache between my legs.

  My arms closed around air and a chill covered me. I
nearly fell off the stool I was on as Drew vanished. Once I caught myself and was able to focus again I saw him at the stove, calmly adjusting the temperature of burners and adding ground beef to the pan. How he returned to normal so quickly astonished me.

  Floundering to calm the inferno burning inside me, I focused on anything other than the man fixing me dinner. “Do you mind if I look around?” I asked, sliding off my bar stool.

  “No, feel free. I’ll give you a tour later if you’d like.”

  I nodded as I turned from the kitchen into a soft living room. A large squishy looking tan sofa dominated the space with a few chairs to the sides that were well worn. All the furniture pointed toward one of the biggest TVs I’d ever seen. It had a lighter touch than I expected from him, but maintained a masculine feel.

  I wasn’t sure about walking into his bedroom but I went down the hallway off the living room figuring I’d come to other rooms first. The first door led to an office boasting a very modern metal and glass desk. Shelves made of pipes and what looked like stair treads lined the walls. Books, lots and lots of books, filled the shelves. I walked over and scanned the titles and found everything from construction and engineering books to mysteries.

  Another large window overlooked the front parking lot. I peered into the darkness at the rows of parked cars but couldn’t see beyond them. I was starting to smell the ground beef cooking and heard Drew whistling in the kitchen.

  Back in the hallway I found a modest bathroom with gleaming black tile, a large shower / tub combo, and a double vanity that matched the kitchen cabinets. It suited the condo, but again wasn’t really my style.

  Not willing to wander through his bedroom on my own, I stopped in the kitchen to try to convince Drew to let me help with whatever was left. He pulled something out of the oven as I walked in. It smelled delicious and made my stomach growl.

  “Hey,” he said, turning to me. “Are you ready to eat?”

  “Yeah, that smells awesome.”

  “Thanks. It’s my mom’s recipe. She used to sneak veggies into my food when I was little and I got used to it. Now I add them all the time without even thinking about it.”