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- Herausgeber: K.A. LINDE
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Serie: Wright Vineyard
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
A feisty stand alone friends with benefits romance from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde. With new characters set in the bestselling world of the Wrights, this is a perfect jumping on point for new readers!
I shouldn't have hooked up with my one night stand... again.
To be fair, I was having the worst day of my life. I was sure that nothing else could go wrong.
Then in walks Jordan Wright.
We have a heated history, and I've been avoiding him. Not least of all because he's a hundred percent my type with those big brown eyes, a ripped body, and his blisteringly broody charm. I said I'd never go near him again.
But he's there for me when I need him. And well, old habits die hard.
Only problem?
I'm leaving in a matter of months, and nothing is going to change my mind.
Maybe in the meantime, I can still have my Wright...with benefits.
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Wright with Benefits
Wright Book Eight
K.A. Linde
Contents
I. A No Good, Very Bad Day
1. Annie
2. Annie
3. Jordan
4. Annie
5. Jordan
6. Annie
7. Annie
II. Friends with Benefits
8. Jordan
9. Annie
10. Annie
11. Annie
12. Annie
13. Jordan
14. Annie
15. Jordan
III. Line in the Sand
16. Annie
17. Jordan
18. Annie
19. Annie
20. Jordan
21. Annie
22. Annie
23. Jordan
IV. The Boyfriend
24. Annie
25. Jordan
26. Annie
27. Annie
28. Jordan
29. Annie
30. Annie
V. Complicated Love
31. Annie
32. Jordan
33. Annie
34. Jordan
35. Annie
36. Annie
37. Annie
38. Jordan
39. Annie
40. Annie
Epilogue
Serves Me Wright
Also By K.A. Linde
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Wright with Benefits
Copyright © 2021 by K.A. Linde
All rights reserved.
Visit my website at
www.kalinde.com
Cover Designer: Okay Creations.,
www.okaycreations.com
Photography: Michelle Lancaster,
www.michellelancaster.com
Editor: Unforeseen Editing,
www.unforeseenediting.com
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1948427463
A No Good, Very Bad Day
Annie
A brisk wind whipped around my bare legs, swirling the skirt of my black dress and flipping it upward, Marilyn Monroe–style. I shrieked, batting at the material in a desperate attempt to bring it back down to an acceptable length. The wind didn’t seem to hear my string of curses because it just bit into me harder, making me regret forgoing tights.
“Oh my God,” I snapped as I clutched the material in my hands.
The wind whistled in response. A cackle if I’d ever heard one.
I glared up at the stupid Lubbock wind. It wasn’t enough that the temperatures were in the low thirties already at five thirty on this Friday afternoon right before my last semester of medical school started; the wind had to rub it in.
“Annie, why are you standing out here?” Cézanne asked. She wore a black jumpsuit that highlighted her dark brown skin with her box braids pulled up into a high ponytail. She somehow looked professional and like an imperious, avenging angel. “It’s below freezing.”
I prayed to the Lord for patience and grinned at my closest friend in my cohort. “The wind attacked me.”
She eyed me skeptically. We’d known each other pre–med school, and she still sometimes looked at me like I’d sprung a second head.
I waved her off. “Whatever. I’m not having a good day.”
Which was an understatement. My house had flooded! Like, straight flooded. My room was a wreck. I’d lost half of my closet, including all of my shoes. Like, every pair, except the impossibly high snakeskin heels that I’d scrounged out of a pile of donations I hadn’t gotten rid of yet. My room was essentially awash until maintenance showed up. I’d be living on the couch for the foreseeable future.
If that hadn’t been bad enough, I’d been nearly run off the road on the way here. Some dipshit had driven straight through a red light, and I’d had to swerve to avoid getting T-boned.
Today was officially over.
I stepped inside the rustic building the medical school had rented for the event, and Cézanne closed the door.
“Well, if you’ve been having a bad day, I hate to ask, but where’s the wine?” Cézanne asked warily.
“What wine?”
“The…wine. You know, the case of commemorative wine for Professor Rodgers and the rest for the retirement party. The entire school is coming, and…there’s no wine.”
“What the hell? Who was in charge of that?”
Cézanne looked at me blankly.
“No,” I told her.
“It has your name next to it.”
I shook my head. “I swear I wasn’t in charge of the wine.”
She passed the list to me, and I saw where my name was scrawled unintelligibly. I groaned.
“Are you sure it was even called in? I didn’t do it.”
“I’m not sure who called it in, but I have the original order request.”
“Let me see it.”
I plucked it out of her hand and stared down at it. Phew! It was three thousand dollars’ worth of wine. The commemorative case alone was a grand. Well, no wonder Cézanne was wondering where the hell all the wine was.
Unfortunately, it didn’t say who had put the order in. But I knew for a fact that it wasn’t me.
I took a deep breath and then released it. “How can I help?”
Cézanne grinned. “Can you please call the Wine Boutique and find out what happened?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“Thank you. Thank you. I knew I could count on you to get shit done.”
I sighed. What else could possibly make this day worse? Might as well try to get the wine, so we could all get fucked up today. Professor Rodgers was only retiring once.
Cézanne checked off a slot on her to-do list that rested on an actual clipboard. I loved Cézanne to death, but sometimes, her organizational skills were so extra. There was a reason she was top of our class and in charge of all of our events.
I stepped away from Cézanne to make my phone call. The Wine Boutique’s number was on the top of the order, and I dialed it with another sigh. This was what I got for being dependable. The line rang and rang and rang. It felt like an eternity before the voicemail clicked over.
“Thank you for calling the Wine Boutique. Sorry we missed your call…”
I hung up and tried again. And again. And again.
No answer.
Their hours said that they were open until six. I had another thirty minutes. They should have answered their phone.
“Gah!” I growled, wanting to throw my useless phone across the room.
Of course no one was answering. It was just my day. I checked the address on the sheet again. I knew where this place was. It was only a five-minute drive downtown on a good day. Today was not a good day, but I had enough time to still make it.
“Cézanne!” She glanced over at me. “No one is answering. I’m going to head over there and find out what happened.”
“You’re a goddess, Annie. Truly.”
“I still say that I wasn’t in charge of this.”
“Well, find out who was then, ’kay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered as I headed back outside.
I braced myself against the cold and hustled back to my car. As soon as I shut myself back inside, I blasted the heat. The Spirit Ranch was a wedding venue on the north side of town that we’d gotten at an uber discount since it was the off-season. But Cézanne had somehow still made the space look gorgeous, even going as far as renting an outdoor tent, complete with heaters. But with the sun already going down, I couldn’t imagine standing out there. Maybe with enough alcohol in me.
I winced.
Right…alcohol. That thing we didn’t have.
With a groan, I peeled away from the building and headed toward downtown. The Wine Boutique was nestled in the heart of the city between an old city hall and a historic hotel, which had recently been renovated into high-end apartments. Downtown was finally—finally—beginning to blossom into the Lubbock local scene that everyone had always hoped for. It had a long way to go, but I could see where it was headed.
I parked out front, bracing myself for the cold, and rushed toward the front door. My hand settled on the gilded doorknob, and I yanked on the door. I groaned, feeling my shoulder give as I pulled too hard on a door that wouldn’t budge.
“Fuck,” I spat.
The hours on the front door said I had another fifteen minutes before they closed—because, of course, it had taken me longer to get here. I peered inside at the darkened interior. A few lights were still on, and a woman sat behind the counter, typing on the computer.
I banged on the front door. “Hello!”
The woman’s head popped up in confusion. Then she dashed across the room, unlocked the door, and threw it open. I nearly fell inside.
“Hey! Sorry about that. I didn’t expect any other customers,” the woman said. She wore a blue dress with sensible heels. Her brown hair was severely parted down the middle and pulled back into a bun. Her lips were painted a pretty pink, and her dark eyes were lightly lined.
“Not a problem.”
“I’m the owner, Sophia. How can I help you?”
“Annie,” I said, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it. “I’m actually here from the medical school. We’re hosting a retirement party for one of our distinguished faculty up at the Spirit Ranch today. We ordered a few cases of wine from here, but it was never delivered.”
I passed over the order form to Sophia, who looked even more surprised when she scanned it over.
“I have this order,” she said, “but it’s for next weekend.”
“No, it’s for today. We’re all back in rotations next weekend.”
“I don’t even have to look it up. I know that I have it for next weekend.”
Sophia immediately went to the computer. I followed her, standing before the desk. She quickly printed out a similar form and passed it to me.
I glanced down at it. It was nearly identical to the draft form I’d handed her, except that the date was filled in on the completed form and it was in fact for next weekend. What the hell?
“Oh God,” I groaned as I looked at the signature.
Who the hell put Bryan Clifford in charge of this?
Bryan was our resident fuckup. He’d only gotten through the last three years of medical school because his mother was on the board and kept bailing him out. I prayed for anyone who had him as a doctor after we finished all of this. Lord, save me from mediocre white men.
I had no idea how it had gone from my name on Cézanne’s list to Bryan ordering the wine and putting the wrong date on it.
“You’re right. It is for next weekend.”
“I’m really sorry,” Sophia said.
“Do you have the wine in stock?”
“Sure, I have it, but my drivers are already gone for the day. I don’t even have a van here tonight to deliver it myself.”
My heart sank. “Can’t you call someone?” I asked, teetering toward desperate. “It’s, like, a three-thousand-dollar order. You’ll lose that if we don’t figure this out.”
She shot me a pained expression. “I don’t know who I could get to come in time. I can text a few drivers, but I’m sorry. It seems like a stretch, and I have a meeting after I close.”
“I’d appreciate it. It would be really helpful. I don’t know what else we’re going to do.”
Sophia patted my hand across the desk. “Let me shoot off those texts. Hopefully we can fix this.”
“Thanks,” I said with a sigh and then pulled out my phone to text Cézanne about the disaster. I had a feeling Bryan was about to get eaten alive by her after she found out.
I waited for news from Sophia when the bell over the door jingled.
I glanced up from my phone, praying to whoever would listen that one of the drivers had come back for some reason or another. Some serendipitous reason that would save my shitty day. We could pack up the van and drive out to the ranch, and I’d look like a hero.
Instead, I turned around and found the last person in Lubbock I wanted to see. The one person who had fractured my trust and left me a little more cynical than I’d been before. A line had been drawn in the sand. No matter that we’d had a one-night stand with the best sex of my life, I wouldn’t open myself back up to be shattered by Jordan Wright again.
Annie
“Annie,” Jordan said warily. He still held the door open, letting freezing air into the lovely heat of the boutique, as if he needed an escape route. Just in case. “What are you doing here?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, immediately hitting the defensive wherever Jordan was concerned. “Believe it or not, but some people frequent the same places as you.”
“That wasn’t what I meant.” He clenched his jaw. “I just…”
“I know what you meant,” I snapped, turning back toward Sophia.
Her dark eyes were wide and bright when she saw Jordan standing there. He closed the door at her approach. Escape no longer needed.
“Hi, Sophia,” he said with an enthusiasm that I hadn’t heard from him in years. His normal response to seeing and talking to me was tightly controlled warfare.
“Jordan,” Sophia gushed. She brushed past me and swept into his arms. “So good to see you again.”
I bit my tongue to keep from gagging. Instead, I clenched my hands into fists in the pockets of my peacoat.
Ah, so when Sophia had mentioned that she had a meeting, she’d meant, date. Sophia, the owner of The Wine Boutique, was dating Jordan Wright. My not-quite ex. If you could even call our one passionate night together and subsequent months of anger and deterioration a relationship. Most days, I didn’t. Today I did.
Three years ago, Jordan and I had fallen head-over-heels in a matter of hours. It still felt indescribable even to me. That one moment he could just be the hot guy at the bar and the next, I couldn’t get enough of him. Then he’d left for Vancouver, forever in my mind as that perfect one-night stand. Until he’d moved to Lubbock and ruined everything.
“Sorry about this. There was some miscommunication with a client,” Sophia said. “I’m going to try to work this out, and then we can have our meeting.”
“Sure. No problem. What’s going on?” he asked.
Our eyes met across the space, and heat blossomed in my body. I stifled it, ignoring the way he still ignited something hot and needy in my core. It was purely sexual. I couldn’t help that he was probably the hottest guy I’d ever met in my life, and who wouldn’t want to fuck a guy this attractive?
He was six foot four of pure muscle with wind-tousled dark hair that sometimes swept into his chocolate eyes, which always looked straight through me. He peeled off his overcoat to reveal the black suit underneath that molded to his muscular physique. I could picture the six-pack and V-lines beneath. Somehow, my imagination had only intensified his body in my mind.
With that body and a quick mind that missed nothing, all signs should have pointed to us banging constantly.
Instead, here we were. A chill colder than the January wind against my bare legs settled between us.
“Some idiot at the medical school wrote down the wrong date for our party,” I told him. “Sophia doesn’t have any drivers tonight and there’s no way to get three thousand dollars worth of wine to the event now.”
“We’ll find a way to make this right,” Sophia assured me. “I can stay a little later if Jordan doesn’t mind waiting.”
“I don’t mind,” he said. “You can’t get ahold of any drivers?”
She cringed. “No. Everyone’s already left for the weekend.”
“Maybe we could get a few cases in my car,” I suggested with a shrug. “I’d probably have to make a couple trips, but at least it’d get done.”
“We could do that,” Sophia said uncertainly.
Jordan interrupted. “I…have a truck.”
All of my blood dropped into my toes. I felt woozy. Oh, this was not a good turn of events.
Sophia brightened. “That would be so helpful,but…what about our meeting?”
Definitely, definitely a date. But…maybe Jordan didn’t know?
“We can reschedule. I don’t want you to lose business. We need to keep small businesses around for the sake of our economy.”
She laughed softly. “Says the man who is a executive at Wright Construction?”
“Absolutely,” he agreed. “We started out as a small business.”
Oh God, I could not stay for the business-talk foreplay.
“Well, great,” I said, running a hand back through my now-hopelessly-tangled red hair. “That might solve our problem. You’re just our knight in shining armor, aren’t you?” I said with just enough saccharine sweetness for him to second-guess my sincerity.
Jordan’s eyes shot up to mine. Calculating and defensive. I saw all the things he wanted to say run through him like a window to his soul. But then he seemed to remember Sophia standing there—his not-quite date, just like I was his not-quite ex—and he decided to let it go.
He smiled brilliantly. Blindingly. “I’d be happy to help. I’d hate for the whole party to go without wine.”
“I’d really appreciate that,” Sophia said when I didn’t immediately thank him for being the best person this side of the Mississippi. “You can pull your truck around back. I’ll get everything together to load up.”
“Sure thing. I’ll meet you both in the back.”
Sophia smiled again, putting her hand on his sleeve. “Thanks, Jordan.”
I actually rolled my eyes this time. Unfortunately, Jordan saw it—because of course he did—and he just grinned wider before departing. This day sucked.
Sophia showed me the way through the back of the store and into their warehouse, where cases of wine were stacked nearly to the ceiling. She opened a garage door, which let in a burst of cold air, and Jordan backed into the spot with his heavy-duty F-250. Who the hell knew why he needed a truck like that, but I couldn’t deny that it was a fine-ass truck…and he looked hot as fuck, jumping down out of the cab.
I never would have guessed that the guy I’d met in too-nice dress shoes from Vancouver would three years later be driving a lifted F-250. Texas sure owned a person.
“All right, what am I loading?” he asked.
Sophia walked briskly around the warehouse, pointing out how many cases of which wine I needed for the party. Jordan lifted the first load like it weighed nothing and set it into the back of his truck. I tried to pick up a case of wine and my back groaned in protest.
“Jesus,” I muttered, dropping it back down the inch I’d managed.
“I’d leave that for Jordan. They’re each about fifty pounds,” Sophia said.
“Yeah, I guess I’ll leave that for Jordan.” Not to be outdone, I kicked off my stupid shoes and hopped into the bed of his truck.
“What are you doing?” Jordan asked as he dropped down another case. “You’re going to freeze.”
“I’ll be fine.” I shoved against the case of wine and positioned it into place. Maybe I couldn’t lift the case, but I could make this go faster by shoving them into place. Plus, it kept my blood pumping, so I didn’t think about the cold. I just wanted to get this over with and not see Jordan Wright’s handsome face again for a very long time.
By the time we finished loading, I could barely feel my feet. I grabbed the slingback straps of my heels and nodded at Sophia.
“Nice doing business with you.”
“I’m so glad that we got this figured out,” she said. “Good luck with the person who put in the wrong order.”
“Oh, have no fear. He’s going to get an earful.”
Sophia laughed and held her hand out. “I hope we can work together in the future.”
“Likewise.”
We shook, and then I found Jordan waiting next to his truck. Right. I still had to deal with him.
“I’ll just, uh…follow you?” Jordan asked.
“Just head to Spirit Ranch. I’ll meet you there.”
He looked at me blankly. Right, he wasn’t from here.
“You have no idea what Spirit Ranch is, do you?”
“Should I?”
Fair question. He probably hadn’t been to a wedding in town. Or any number of other events that were held there. That wasn’t exactly his repertoire.
“Just meet me out front. You can follow me.”
“Sounds good.” He waved at Sophia. “Sorry about all of this. I’ll text you for the reschedule.”
She and nodded as he retreated. He hopped in his truck and veered off toward the entrance.
“Thanks again,” I told Sophia.
“Enjoy the wine.”
“Will do,” I told her. I trekked through the warehouse, back through the store, and out to the parking lot.
Which was the moment when I realized that I’d left my headlights on.
Jordan
I was going to have to make this up to Sophia. We’d been talking in circles for the last couple weeks to get together to discuss the new winery Julian and I were considering opening. This was the only night she’d had available, and here I was, doing a favor for Annie instead. Not that I particularly minded. Especially with the way Sophia had looked at me back there. I was beginning to think that she’d want dinner to make up for this mishap. And I had no interest in dinner with Sophia Valero. Strictly business for me.
I gritted my teeth and pulled into the parking lot in front of the Wine Boutique. Annie stood out front with her heels in one hand and her hair in the other. She looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown. I’d never seen her like this.
Not that we’d been on the best of terms since I’d moved to Lubbock. But this felt like a tipping point. She hadn’t even been able to hold back her eye roll in there. Usually, she was still cheery, bubbly Annie.
Not tonight.
I left the truck rumbling and stepped out onto the pavement. “Everything all right?”
She looked manic, and fuck if it didn’t draw me to her more. I remembered the first time I’d seen her in the coffee bar in Daisy Dukes. All wild passion and aggression. Her bright green eyes full of mirth and her body promising seduction. I still saw that Annie when I looked at her sometimes, but she reserved that person for others. Not me. Not anymore.
“I left…my fucking…lights on.”
“Oh fuck,” I said as she darted for the front seat.
I rushed after her, hoping that she hadn’t been here long enough to do any kind of damage. She fumbled with the key a few times before getting it into the slot. Then she pushed it forward with a look of desperate hope on her face.
The engine clicked a few times. It seemed as desperate as Annie to get going, but it never turned over. Just kept trying to force the battery to do its job and failing.
She beat her hands against the steering wheel. A scream erupted out of her chest. I winced at the pure rage seething from her in the car. It was almost something that I shouldn’t witness. I’d seen Annie angry, of course, but not like this.
I backed away slowly, giving her a minute alone. I would have gone in search of jumper cables, but I knew that I didn’t have them. I’d been driving a Tesla before this. I’d finally caved in the last two weeks and bought the truck. Before moving to Lubbock, I never would have considered getting a huge truck, but I already loved it. My friends back home wouldn’t even recognize me.
Annie finally got out of her car and came around the side of my truck, looking defeated.
“I don’t have cables in the truck. It’s new,” I said right off the bat.
Her face deflated further. “Of course. Right. I don’t have any either.”
“We could ask Sophia,” I offered.
She tilted her head to the sky overhead. Anyone else this frustrated might have been close to tears but not Annie. Annie looked like she might murder the entire world for doing this to her.
“That would be great. Do you think you could ask her?”
“Sure. Do you want to wait in the truck? It’s warm at least.”
I didn’t bother mentioning that she probably should be wearing pants and shoes when it was supposed to drop into the teens tonight. She looked miserable enough.
“I guess I have no other choice,” she said and then stepped past me to get into the passenger side.
I shook my head. She must have been having some night to actually accept that offer.
When I headed back to the boutique, the front door was still unlocked. Sophia sat, slumped behind the front desk on her phone. She looked up when the bell jingled.
“Hey,” I said with my same winning smile. “You don’t have jumper cables in here somewhere, do you?”
Sophia’s hope died before my eyes. Two girls in one night. Man, I was on a roll.
“I don’t,” she said.
“Ah. Annie’s car died. I guess she left her lights on, and she needs a jump. Anywhere close that would have them?”
She shrugged unhelpfully. “I have no idea. I don’t think so.”
Yeah. She was pissed.
“All right. Sorry about all of this,” I said, gesturing around us. “We’ll definitely have to reschedule. My schedule is pretty tight, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”
Sophia looked down and then back up, as if steeling herself for what came next. “Maybe we could do this over dinner…and drinks.”
Ah. Well, fuck.
“Maybe,” I said with that same smile. “Just, uh, text me.”
Then I pushed back out into the cold, unforgiving January weather, back to the girl who didn’t seem to give two shits about me. I probably should have been interested in the cute wine owner, but instead, I couldn’t ignore Annie. Even when she wanted to jump down my throat.
I walked back to the passenger side to find Annie rubbing her long, lean legs. She was trying to get warmth back into them, but fuck, those legs.
I needed to get my shit together. I rapped on the door. She jerked up and met my gaze through the window.
“No luck?” she asked when I opened the door.
“No,” I confirmed. “She didn’t have anything.”
She dropped back against the seat and sighed. “I’m not surprised.” She ground her teeth together. “I guess I could call someone to come help.”
“What about the wine?”
“Fuck.”
She wasn’t going to like my idea, but I pushed forward anyway. “How about you just ride with me to take the wine to whatever ranch your party is at? Someone there probably has cables. Then we can come back and jump your car. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s better than waiting in the cold for someone to show up.”
She mulled it over, trying to find a way to get out of riding in my truck with me. It was a sign of her desperation that she was even thinking about it. We hadn’t been alone this long in years.
“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms and facing forward.
Fine. Huh. I hadn’t expected that to work.
Well, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I wanted Annie Donoghue in my truck. Wasn’t going to lie—I wanted a lot more than that. I always had with her. If only I wasn’t so fucking terrible at relationships. Then I might have been able to see where everything went wrong three years ago. I might have been able to pick us up out of the pieces of it all. But that sure as hell wasn’t my specialty. The only thing I’d ever been good at in relationships was ruining them.
If I had a chance to make up for it, I’d take it. And just hope I didn’t fuck it all up again.
Annie
Fine.
I’d just said fine.
Here I was, in Jordan’s truck, with two ten-minute drives in front of us. Jordan and I had been circling each other for years. It was impossible not to be around him when I was best friends with his cousin, my brother worked with him, and we existed in the same circle in this small West Texas town. Still, I’d managed to keep my distance.
It wasn’t like what he’d done was so egregious. I’d had worse done to me by other assholes. Much worse if I was honest. I just hadn’t expected it from Jordan, and that made everything so much harder.
I couldn’t keep my typical vivacious, extroverted personality in his presence. Which was why my arms were crossed and I looked determinably out the window as we pulled away.
“Where is this place again?” he asked.
“Just go north on 27, like you’re going to the airport.”
He nodded and took the exit for the interstate. The silence stretched interminably. His hand drifted to the radio as if he was going to switch it on before pulling back. I’d never been good at quiet. I liked to fill space, but I couldn’t fill this one. I was too defeated from this brutal day to even consider it.
“So, what’s this party about?” he asked, finally breaking.
“You know, I really don’t want to talk about anything.”
Jordan clenched the steering wheel. “I’m doing you a huge fucking favor, Annie. You could maybe seem a little grateful.”
I whipped my head to look at him. “Grateful? Are you fucking serious right now?”
“I’m just saying. I had an important meeting that I ditched for you, and I didn’t have to do that. Sulking and staring out the window and then jumping down my throat really doesn’t help anything.”
“Oh, excuse me, Prince Charming. Allow me to fawn all over you,” I growled. “So sorry about your date.”
“Date?” he asked with wide eyes.
I snorted. “And you didn’t even notice. Wow. Same old Jordan.”
“Sophia and I are not dating.”
“You might be the most oblivious guy on the planet. Did you not see the way she fell all over herself when you showed up? Or are you just used to that from the rest of the female population?”
He gritted his teeth. “I know she’s into me, but we’re not dating. I don’t even know why you’re getting upset about this. It’s not like you want to date me.”
“You’re fucking right about that.”
“Annie—”
“No,” I said, cutting him off. “I don’t want to have this conversation.”
We’d had this conversation before. Jordan and I’d had a one-night stand. One of the best nights of my life. He’d told me he was leaving, going back to Vancouver. He hadn’t mentioned that he was moving here. Which meant, of course, that he hadn’t wanted me to know. Fine by me. If that were where it’d ended, I’d have just shrugged it off, and we wouldn’t have this distrust between us.
But it hadn’t ended there. He’d brought his girlfriend to Jensen and Emery’s wedding a month later, and it had all gone downhill from there. I still didn’t even like to think about that wedding.
Somehow, the best night of my life had been tainted by one of the most humiliating. I’d been vulnerable with Jordan, and now, I knew better than.
“One day, we’re going to have to get past this,” Jordan said softly.
I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. The worst part was that he was right. One day, I would have to get past this. It wasn’t like we were suddenly going to be in a different circle of friends. He was a Wright. And I’d known Sutton Wright my entire life. I was on a rec soccer team with his brother, Julian. None of this was going away or getting easier.
And my day sure as hell wasn’t helping anything.
Deep down I knew that I was taking out my anger on Jordan. He was an easy target.
I deflated a little at that. Jordan was doing me a favor. Maybe I could shelve my resentment for the next half hour and get through this day with his help.
I breathed out heavily. “Sorry,” I said with a sigh. “I’ve had the worst day. Like, honestly, the worst day in existence.”
He startled at my apology. He clearly hadn’t been expecting that. “What happened?”
My body relaxed back into the seat. I hadn’t even realized all the tension I was holding in my back and shoulders until he asked. “Well, my house flooded. Like, completely flooded, and I don’t have a room right now.” I got choked up at the thought. “I lost all my shoes!”
“Holy shit, Annie!”
“I know. I’m still recovering from the loss. The landlord is going to cover everything, and he has insurance, but it’s pretty terrible. Hence the impractical snakeskin shoes.”
He laughed softly. “And I just thought those were you.”
“I was about to donate them. It’s a mess.” I shook my head. “I almost got into a car accident on the way to the party. Then all of…this.” I shrugged. “Wine dilemma, car trouble…” You. I trailed off. Keeping him as the last problem to myself. Ten minutes ago, I would have slung it into his face, but there was no point now.
“I’m so sorry. That sounds terrible. No wonder you’re so mad. I would be, too.”
“Understatement,” I agreed. “So…what was your meeting actually about? What does Wright Construction have to do with a small wine business?”
“Nothing,” he said with a laugh. “You’re never going to believe this, but I’m considering going in with Julian and Hollin on buying a local winery.”
My eyes widened. “You’re going to go in on the winery?”
“I know. It’s ridiculous.”
“I thought that was all Julian.”
Julian had always been the wide-eyed dreamer to Jordan’s stoic business practicality. But their cousin Hollin Abbey had worked at a defunct winery on the outskirts of town, and at soccer matches for months, Hollin had cajoled Julian into purchasing it. I’d never have guessed that Jordan would actually want to invest in it, too.
“And how do you know about it?”
“Soccer.”
“Ah,” Jordan said with a nod. “Yeah, well, it was Julian’s idea. Hollin’s idea really. But Julian kept badgering me to run numbers and look into distribution and check something or another. I gave up fighting him on it. If I’m going to do all the legwork, then I’m going to get a piece of the pie.”
I laughed. God, that was so Jordan. “So, what you mean is that you can’t say no to your brother?”
He glowered at me. “Yeah, I guess.”
“How do you have time for this?”
He shrugged. Which meant that he didn’t have time for this. And like the workaholic he was, he was just going to push himself to death.
“Turn left here,” I told him.
The Spirit Ranch came into view. The trees were strung with fairy lights, and the tent glowed. I could see that they were nearly finished with setup. Inside somewhere, a very anxious Cézanne was pacing, waiting for all the wine to show the fuck up. She’d probably messaged me, but I didn’t have the energy to even check my phone and deal with her stress.
“Whoa,” Jordan whispered. “It’s actually…beautiful.”
“I know, right? I love it out here. You should see it in the spring when everything’s in bloom and all the peacocks are out.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Peacocks?”
I laughed at his expression. It mirrored mine the first time I’d been here and seen the strutting peacocks all over the property. “Yeah. For some reason, there are peacocks. They’re gorgeous.”
“Lubbock is weird,” he concluded.
“You are not wrong.”
Jordan backed into a spot in the rear of the building, nearest to the kitchen. I hopped down onto the gravel in my too-high heels, already cursing the stupid flood again for putting me in this predicament.
A bunch of eager med students flooded out of the back of the building when they saw all the wine in his truck. Jordan went into a managerial role and directed everyone as they unloaded.
“I’m going to look for jumper cables,” I told him and then headed inside without waiting for a response.
I found Cézanne pacing, just like I’d thought she’d be. Her clipboard was clutched tight in her hand, and she looked ready to bang it against someone if everything didn’t settle itself out. She’d have a real career in event planning if this doctor thing didn’t work out.
“Annie! Oh, thank God!” she said, pushing her one stray box braid behind her ear. “I’m assuming this means we have wine for the party.”
“We do. No thanks to Bryan.”
“He’s been handled,” Cézanne assured me.
I was sure that he had been. Until the next time he fucked up.
“It’s being unloaded now. I had to recruit Jordan Wright to deliver, but yeah, it’s here.”
Cézanne arched her eyebrows. “Jordan Wright, huh?”
Cézanne had been there that first night I met Jordan. When I’d looked at him across a crowded bar and said if I had a type, it’d be him. I’d been right—and so damn wrong.
“Yeah. Serendipity,” I muttered. “He was there for a meeting, and we got the wine in his truck. Anyway, my car died, and I don’t have jumper cables. I assume you do.”
She crossed her arms and smirked. “And you…drove over here in Jordan’s truck?”
“Did you want your wine or what?”
“Uh-huh,” she said, grinning at me in a you can’t fool me way.
“Stop,” I groaned.
“I’m over here, dealing with your friend Bryan, and you get Jordan Wright.”
I rolled my eyes. “Again, Bryan is not my friend.”
“If you say so.” She tucked the clipboard under her arm. “Come on. Of course I have jumper cables. Who do you think I am?”
“Cézanne, the goddess of organization.”
“Precisely.”
Once we acquired the cables from Cézanne’s car, she insisted on carrying them over to Jordan. He’d just finished unloading the truck. He hopped down out of the bed, landing at our feet. He slammed the tailgate closed and smiled that charismatic smile that got him anything he ever wanted. Even me.
“Hey, Cézanne,” he said amicably. “You’re our savior tonight.”
She shot me a look. She certainly hadn’t missed the use of the word our. I hadn’t missed it either. Not just my savior…but his, too?
“Sure am.” She passed him the cables. “I like saving Wrights. Always good to have a favor owed.”
He shook his head. “I help Annie out and somehow end up owing everyone else favors.”
“Well, you owe Annie enough to never be out of her debt.”
My cheeks colored at the comment. Even in the dim light, the blush against my freckled cheeks was obvious. “Thanks, Cézanne. You’re a lifesaver. Now, go kick ass at this party.”
She squeezed my hand, recognizing the dismissal. I loved her to death. But anything that didn’t come out of her mouth was surely written all over her face. If she liked you, you knew it. If she didn’t, you sure as hell knew that too. If she thought you were an idiot, like poor Bryan, good luck ever feeling like anything else in her presence. And for Jordan Wright, well, if he hadn’t known that he owed me before, he did now.
He held up the cables, his eyes lighting as they caught mine and held. “Shall we?”
I swallowed. It was probably safer to wait until after the party and take the cables with Cézanne. To keep Jordan Wright owing me favors forever. To never let him have the chance to clear what was between us. But that car ride had released a valve. What could it hurt, driving back with him?
Three years ago, I’d said that he was my type, if I’d ever had one. And that hadn’t changed a bit. Because that damn smile still did me in.
“Let’s do it.”
Jordan
“Okay, try it now,” I called to Annie.
She sat in her car and turned the key, kicking the ignition into place. The car revved to life. A slow rumble and then a roar. I sighed with relief. With the day she’d been having, she needed this small victory. The last thing I’d wanted was for the battery to be dead. I didn’t think my luck would have lasted against her rage.
Annie’s whoop of delight was loud enough to be heard a few blocks over. She jumped out of the car, leaving the cables and conflict forgotten.
“It works!” she cried, doing a little dance. “Thank fuck!”
I laughed at her enthusiasm. At the chance to see this Annie up close and personal. It’d been so long.
“Come dance with me, Jordan,” she said, still twirling in place.
I shook my head at her.
“I know you know how to move.”
With a laugh, I ducked under the cables and stepped closer to her. I grabbed her hand mid-spin and twirled her in a circle and back to me. She giggled and took my other hand, pushing and pulling us closer together and then apart. She tipped her head back as I twirled her around again in a circle.
It didn’t matter that we were in the pitch-black in an empty parking lot with no music. Annie was just too happy that something had finally gone right to even consider stopping. And I didn’t want this to end either.
I spun her out to arm’s length and then rolled her back in, cocooning her in my embrace before dipping her. She looked up at me. All bright green eyes and teasing smile. For a moment, I thought about bridging that distance between us. All I wanted to do was capture those perfect pink lips. And for a split second, something in her eyes flashed a challenge, daring me to do it.
A beat passed, and neither of us moved. Then she let her head drop down, her hair trailing against the pavement. The moment broken. My chance gone.
I lifted her back to her feet and released her. Her smile was only slightly reduced.
“Thanks,” she muttered, brushing back her red hair. “I needed that after the fucking day I’ve had.”
“No problem. It was fun.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
“Well, you probably have to get back to your party.”
Annie sighed heavily and leaned her body back against her car. She tilted her head up to the sky, lifting her arms, as if she could reach out and touch it. Head off into the heavens and find real adventure.
“I never really wanted to go to the party.”
“Then don’t go,” I said with a shrug.
She snorted. “It’s not that easy. The professor who is retiring is a big deal. All the other professors will be there. It’s my last semester, and those relationships mean something.”
“It’s one party. It can’t mean the end of your career as a doctor.”
“No. Just whether or not this semester is abysmal.”
“One party shouldn’t decide that.”
Her eyes finally found mine again. “No, it shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean anything is as fair as it should be.”
The words hung between us. She wasn’t talking entirely about medical school or even business. She was talking about us. Nothing had ever been fair when it came to Annie. Not when she’d captured me wholly that one night or the three years of fuckery afterward.
“No, I suppose it isn’t.”
“Cézanne is probably waiting for me.”
“Yeah,” I said, barely holding back my sigh.
She pushed off from the car and went to turn it off. I removed the cables and passed them to her. She tucked them into her trunk, slamming it shut behind her with such force that I knew she was irritated again.
“Well…thanks,” she said.
And she actually stuck her hand out in front of her as if I were some stranger who would shake hands with her.
“Anytime,” I told her, taking her hand anyway. Because maybe I wasn’t a stranger, but we were strained enough for it not to matter.
Her fingers were freezing as we shook, and she barely met my gaze.
I should let her go. Watch her drive off into the night and never look back. But I didn’t let her go, and I didn’t release her hand.
“I guess I owe you.” She didn’t pull back either.
“Nah, didn’t you hear Cézanne? I might never be out of your debt.”
She grinned, a flush coming to her cheeks. “You don’t have to listen to her. She’s ridiculous.”
“But right.”
Annie finally must have seen sense because she withdrew her hand and rubbed it down her jacket. Then crossed her arms. I didn’t know what she was thinking. How could I? If I had a way to tap into that beautiful brain, maybe I wouldn’t have wrecked us already. But I did know that she was shutting herself off from me because I was getting too close. Maybe that should have made me want to walk away, to give her all the space she wanted. I just didn’t want that. I didn’t want space. Not when this was as close as we’d been in years.
“What if I have a better offer?” I blurted out.
She arched an eyebrow. “A better offer than what?”
“Than the party.”
She shot me a skeptical look. “What’s the offer?”
I tipped my head toward my truck and pulled down the tailgate.
She peered inside and then immediately started laughing. “Did you steal a case of wine?”
“Steal? No, of course not,” I said, affronted. “Sophia gave it to me when I was loading them up. She told me to try a few bottles before our next meeting.”
“Ah,” she said, her voice frosting over.
“So, do you want to?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Do I want to…what?”
“Try out a few bottles?”
“What?”
“Forget the party, Annie. Forget your obligations for one night. You’ve had a shitty day. You don’t need to spend another night schmoozing at a medical school party when everything else has gone wrong. Do you really think any good is going to come from you going there? After the day you’ve had?”
She bit her lip. “No. Not really. Bad luck is kind of clinging to me. I’ll probably trip and take the whole tent down. Or hit an outdoor heater and catch the woods on fire.”
I snorted. “Trip on the way to the drinks and crash down all of the wine we carted over there.”
She covered her face. “Oh God! Pour wine down a professor’s white dress.”
“Pour wine down your dress,” I added.
She broke into a fit of giggles at our worst-case scenario-ing. “I could see it all happening. Today has been a real shitshow.”
“So, any interest in popping open a lot of expensive wine I got for free and taste-testing the bottles?”
“I don’t know.”
I could see her resistance slipping. That she wanted to go with me, but I wouldn’t push her. Not when I’d just started to get back into her good graces.
Then she glanced up at me. “We couldn’t go to my place. It’s still flooded. I’m planning to crash on the couch until the water damage is fixed.”
