Chapter 4
Clare
Garlic and Kissing
I stared out the window of my office lost in thought. What in the world had happened to Wes? It was like he couldn’t get out of my apartment fast enough the other day. So fast, he left his coat behind.
Maybe he had second thoughts about the insane plan of his that involved me and breaking up Mandy?
Ugh. Mandy.
I’d made the mistake of searching for her on Google last night. Apparently, her family owned a very popular pizza place in Boston, and she was the general manager. She was also drop-dead gorgeous. She looked like she belonged on a runway, not in the kitchen of a pizza joint. Long brown hair and she had the body of a model. Tall and thin. I had to remind myself that comparison was the thief of joy. Although, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was comparing myself for.
Sighing, I dropped back in my chair and reached for my phone. I was going to regret this. What I should do is give the coat to Rory for Finn to give back to his brother. But then questions would be asked, like why was Wes in my apartment? I couldn’t say it was when we went shopping for the anniversary party because I’d already given Rory all the stuff. We were meeting at Harmony’s on Saturday to make all the decorations. And I couldn’t tell them that Wes had come by and attempted to bribe me into helping him break up his ex’s wedding.
I tapped my chin. I could say we left a bag in his trunk…but then I’d have to have said bag.
“Shit.”
With a quick glance at the time, I pulled up his name and fired off a text. It had been three days since he left his coat. He probably had ten coats and didn’t even need this one.
Me: I have your coat that you left at my place. I keep forgetting to text you about it. I can drop it off for you after work if you’d like.
I waited a few seconds for the dots to appear, and when they didn’t, I set the phone down. Wes didn’t seem like the type of guy who had his phone attached to his hand. Turning back to my computer, I attempted to focus. That lasted all of five seconds. I grabbed my phone again.
Me: Or I can bring it with me tomorrow when I go to Harmony’s to help with the anniversary decorations. Either way. Doesn’t matter to me. Not sure if you would be there. Or not. I can leave it.
After sending it, I quickly dropped my phone and covered my face with my hands.
“Oh my God! You idiot! What is wrong with me?”
I shook my head to shake off all thoughts of Wes Ward. I placed my hands on the keyboard and started to type, not at all thinking about him, whom I shouldn’t be thinking of. And it worked for about ten minutes. When my phone buzzed, I nearly fell out of the damn chair to reach for it.
When I saw his name, I smiled like an idiot.
Wes: Yeah, I realized I forgot it once I hit the cold air. Are you free for lunch? Maybe I could meet you and get it. It’s kind of my favorite coat.
“What?” I softly whispered as my heartbeat raced a bit faster. “Why would he want to have lunch with me?”
“Who?”
Screaming, I threw my phone and watched it sail across my desk. I turned and saw Mary standing there with a questioning look on her face.
“You scared the shit out of me, Mary!”
She smiled. “Sorry. I knocked but you were staring at your phone with this goofy smile on your face.”
I stood, smoothed down my skirt, then huffed. “I was not smiling at my phone.”
“Um, yeah, you were. Who wants to have lunch with you, and why are you surprised he wants to have lunch with you?”
Making my way to where my phone was, I attempted to squat down without falling over. The black pencil skirt was cute, but not made for bending down to pick things up off the floor.
“It’s a long…story…almost…have it…”
Mary bent down and got the phone before she grabbed onto my arm and helped me back up. She handed me the phone as she said, “I’ve got time.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you ever work?”
“I put in ten to twelve-hour days.”
With a look that said she was full of shit, I sat back down in my chair. “Mm-hmm, sure you do.”
“Okay, fine, so being the boss’s daughter has some perks. Now, tell me who this guy is.”
“It’s a long story.”
“And I said I have time, so spill it.”
I pulled up my texts again and stared at the last one from Wes.
Looking up, I said, “You better sit down.”
Mary dropped into the seat opposite my desk. “Oh, this means it’s good!”
“His name is Wes Ward, and he is Rory’s brother-in-law.”
She made a face.
“Okay, so you see problem number one.”
“I could see how that might be an issue if you dated the brother-in-law.”
“And that leads us to issue number two. He’s in love with his old girlfriend still, and she’s getting married. To someone else.”
Mary frowned. “That is an issue. But…once she gets married, then he has to move on.”
I blew out my breath. “Issue number three, he is trying to break them up so she doesn’t get married. He even moved to Boston in order to accomplish that mission.”
Her eyes went wide. “No!”
Nodding, I said, “Yes. Then let’s add issue number four. I’m so attracted to this guy and it just pisses me off. He also asked me—no, tried to bribe me—into helping him with this pursuit of breaking up his ex and her fiancé, and the crazy part is I immediately told him no, but now I want to do it just so I can spend time with him.”
Mary blinked a few times. “Let me see if I have this right. Wes, who is Rory’s brother-in-law, is still in love with his ex. He came to you for help breaking up the ex and stopping the wedding, and you agreed because you like him?”
I screwed up my face. “That about sums it up.”
“Clare, why in the world do you like a guy who loves another woman?”
“I didn’t know he was in love with his ex until recently.”
“Oh no, you’ve got it bad for him then if you’re willing to help him win back an ex. What are you supposed to do in order to help him?”
I bite down on my lower lip. “Pretend to be his girlfriend as we show up to places where she is scheduled to be. Oh, and he knows where she’s scheduled to be because she dropped her calendar and he picked it up and didn’t tell her he had it.”
Mary’s mouth dropped open. “My God, it only gets worse. Did you hit your head recently?”
“I wish, then at least I’d have a reason for my stupid behavior. What do I do, Mary?”
“Is there any chance at all that he likes you?”
I scoffed. “No way. He doesn’t think of me like that at all. I’m like the annoying little sister who gets on his nerves. The only time he talks to me is if he’s forced to, or in this instance, when he needs me to help in his evil plot to get his ex to call off the wedding.”
Mary leaned forward. “Why didn’t you just say no to helping him?”
I swallowed hard. “Well, it was more than a bribe…he actually blackmailed me the other night.”
“Did you kill someone? Because that would be the only thing I could think of that would make you do something like that, Clare!”
Groaning, I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Oh God, I’m going to go to hell.” Pointing to Mary, I added, “But in my defense, you have no idea how mean Rory can be! If she finds out I’m the one who ruined her wedding dress, and was the person responsible for her not having a video of their wedding because I caused the videographer to drop the camera and ruined the memory card, she’ll be the one killing me.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Mary tilted her head and gave me a look that made me want to squirm in my chair.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because. Just because. I actually think you’re doing this simply because you like him.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “Yes, I said I was attracted to him, but in my defense, he is hotter than hot. Like, he’s hot. Really…hot. And he makes me so angry when I see him that I can’t help but say mean things to him.”
Her brow was raised so high, I found myself wondering how she was doing that.
“Clare, it’s like when we were young. If a guy liked you and asked you to do something stupid, you did it as a way of impressing him. You helped him because you wanted to help him.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. I’m not a middle school girl with a crush on a boy.”
“Really? You already said you’re attracted to him. He treats you like an annoying little sister and that bugs you, so you annoy him more. Yeah, you’re right. Totally not a teenage girl with a crush on a boy.”
I snarled my lip at her. “Well, when you put it that way.”
“So back to the original question…why does he want to meet for lunch?”
“He left his coat in my apartment.”
Mary stood and started to pace. “He left his coat? How does someone leave their coat when it’s this cold out?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Something happened and he kind of freaked out, maybe he had second thoughts about this stupid plan of his. He couldn’t get out of my apartment fast enough. I think he felt guilty for dragging me into it all because after he brought up the blackmail, every time he looked at me after that, he acted weirder.”
She turned slowly and just watched me. “Really?”
Staring at her, I said, “Are you trying to go all psychiatrist on this guy?”
“First of all, I’m not a psychiatrist, I’m a therapist who specializes in injured athletes. And I have a theory.”
I leaned back in my chair. “This is going to be gold.”
She waved me off. “You said he rushed out of your apartment. Did anything happen between the two of you?”
A small chuckle slipped free. “As in physically? God, no. I told you, he doesn’t like being around me. We argue more than we talk.”
A slow smile appeared on her face. “Right. Okay, this is good. Meet him for lunch and give him the coat.”
“Oookay. Why are you smiling like you know something I don’t know?”
With a wink, she replied, “That’s because I do know something.”
She turned and started for my office door. Turning back before she left, she said, “Oh, and unbutton that blouse just one more button before you walk into the restaurant.”
Glancing down at my white blouse, I frowned. “Why would I…”
When I looked back up, Mary was gone.
“Is everyone around me losing their minds?”
Picking up my phone, I sent Wes a text back.
Me: Yard House, say 11:30?
I watched as the three dots moved up and down.
Wes: I’ll see you there then.
Chewing nervously on my lower lip, I set my phone down, glanced at Wes’s coat hanging up in my office, then faced my computer once again.
“It’s just lunch to give him back his coat. He’s obviously in love with someone else, just move on, Clare.”
The sound of Mary laughing just outside of my office door caused me to look up.
“I am the only sane person. I truly am.”
? ? ?
I walked into the restaurant ten minutes late. The meeting I had earlier ran over. I glanced around and saw Wes sitting at a table reading the menu with a drink in front of him. I took off my coat and folded it over his coat which I held in my arm. The Uber driver wasn’t impressed he was taking me such a short distance. But there was no way I was walking in heels and with it being so cold.
“Do you need a table?” the hostess asked with a friendly smile.
“No, thank you,” I replied as I pointed toward Wes. “I see who I’m meeting.”
“Great, enjoy your lunch.”
“I’ll try,” I said as I made my way over to the table. Wes looked up and his mouth fell open while his eyes swept over my body. A little rush of satisfaction swelled up inside of me to see him look at me that way. He normally saw me in jeans, yoga pants, or sweatpants. My business attire was new, with the exception of the dress I wore at Rory and Finn’s wedding.
He stood quickly and walked around the table.
“Here, let me take those for you,” he said, removing both coats from my arm. He draped mine over one chair, his over the other. Then he held the chair out for me.
“Wow, where did this version of you come from?” I asked as I sat down.
“Oh, come on, you’ve seen me use my manners before.”
I raised a single brow. “I’m not recalling any recent moments, sorry.”
He smirked. “You look…wow. That is some skirt and blouse.”
After taking a sip of water, I set it down on the table. I would never in a million years confess to Mary that I had, in fact, unbuttoned another button on my shirt. “I find it hard to believe you’ve never seen a woman in a skirt before. You worked on Wall Street, Wes.”
He smiled and my heart tumbled about in my chest. Damn him.
“Oh, I’ve seen plenty of skirts. You just happen to fill that one out very nicely.”
I played it cool, even though my entire body heated. “Fill it out? Are you making a comment about my weight?”
His smile faded. “That’s not what I meant at all, Clare.”
Clearing my throat, I picked up the menu. “Have you eaten here before? Everything is delicious.”
“Clare, will you please look at me.”
I dropped the menu. “Not everyone can have a tall and skinny body, Wes.”
Wes drew back in confusion. “You think that I think your body isn’t attractive?”
Forcing a smile, I said, “I seem to…fill out…the skirt nicely.”
He shook his head as he ran his hand over his face. Leaning closer across the table, he lowered his voice. “Fucking hell, Clare. You’ve got a body that men dream about; they picture it when they’re alone and jacking themselves off. Do not ever, for once, think that you’re not attractive. I promise you every goddamn guy in this restaurant drooled when you walked in.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Wes shook his head and reached for his drink. “There isn’t one thing wrong with you, besides the fact that you think there is.”
Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I cleared my throat. “Th-thank you…for that.”
His eyes met mine and the air seemed to crackle with tension, but not the bad kind. The sexual kind.
Wes cleared his throat and focused on the menu. “I’ve been here plenty of times, sounds like you have as well.”
“Yes,” I replied with a nod as I kept my eyes on him for a few seconds longer. I looked down at the menu, but honestly couldn’t read a thing. My mind was spinning. Had I imagined him being angry just then? I assumed he was just being the normal dickhead he usually was.
“Hi there, is there anything I can get for you to drink?”
My head snapped up to see the waitress.
“Oh, hey there, Clare. The usual?”
“Hi, Lilly. Yes, please.”
“I’ll get that for you and come back to take your order. Refill sir?”
“Wes politely declined.
I thanked her and then went back to staring at the menu.
“I take it you come here often then?” Wes asked with a touch of humor in his voice.
My eyes lifted to meet his. “Yeah, I don’t work far from here.”
“How close is your work?”
Deciding on getting my usual, I set the menu down. “It’s a five-minute walk.”
He smiled. “That’s nice. You’re not far from your apartment either.”
“Nope, I can literally see my office from my apartment.”
“Wow.”
I gave a single head nod. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled as I asked, “So I’m assuming you changed your mind about the wedding wrecking?”
He shrugged and I could see it on his face. He’d done something.
“What did you do?”
He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I sent her flowers at work and had them put the little XO XO thing but no name.”
“Oh. My. God.”
Wes moved around in his seat, then whisper-shouted, “Close your mouth! You look like you’re trying to catch flies.”
“Here you go! One Diet Pepsi,” Lilly said as she set my drink down. “Ready to order?”
“Yes!” Wes quickly said. “I’ll have the spicy beef garlic noodles.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What? No plans of kissing anyone in front of anyone else today?”
He shot me a dirty look. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”
“Lilly,” I said as I kept my eyes on Wes. “Did I make sense?”
“Um, you did. He’s getting the garlic noodles, so we assume he isn’t going to be kissing you after this.”
My head jerked to the left. “Me? No, not me. He’s not kissing me.”
Wes laughed. “God, no. That would be like kissing a…”
His voice trailed off as Lilly and I both turned to look at him. He motioned for me to order.
“Go, order. I don’t have long for lunch.”
Rolling my eyes, I handed Lilly the menu. “The usual.”
She grinned. “Cilantro lime chicken. Would you like any starters?”
I looked at Wes.
“No, thanks.”
“Okay,” Lilly said as she took the menu from Wes. “I’ll get this put in for you right away since you’re in a rush.”
Wes blushed and looked down at his beer.
I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms as I stared at him. “Flowers? XO XO? Seriously? Are you ten?”
He sat back and regarded me for a moment. “Are you jealous?”
“Would I love to get anonymous flowers at work, I don’t know any girl who wouldn’t love that. The problem here, though, is you’re trying to break up a happy couple.”
“Are they happy? Because if she was happy, why did she sleep with me?”
I shrugged. “I can’t answer that. Have you asked her?”
He frowned. “She said she wanted to see what it would be like being with me again.”
I scrunched up my face. “Yikes. Lackluster performance that night?”
“Excuse me?” he asked as he shot daggers my way.
With a one-shoulder shrug, I said, “I mean, she slept with you to see what it would be like for old time’s sake, and clearly she didn’t like it.”
“Fuck you, Clare.”
Laughing, I held up both hands. “I’m just making an observation.”
“Well, I didn’t ask you to. Besides, it’s none of your business.”
“Unfortunately, when you dragged me into this grand plan of yours, you made it my business.”
“Well, I don’t need your help anymore. Once she reads the card today, she’ll know who they’re from and...” His voice faded.
With a tilt of my head, I asked, “How would she know…ohhh my gosh. You used to sign things with the XO to Mandy, didn’t you?”
His cheeks turned bright red.
I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing.
“She liked it!”
“Was this in high school?”
When he didn’t say anything, I dropped my hand. “Wes, it isn’t going to work.”
He took another drink of his beer, and I could see the heartbreak on his face.
Ugh. I felt so bad for him in that moment. Just a little, though. “I’m so sorry.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “Are you really?”
I chewed on my lower lip, then sighed. “Of course, I am. Wes, have you thought that maybe Mandy just grew up? That she wants to move on? That she changed as a woman and fell out of love with you?”
His eyes met mine and he wore a cold expression. “You don’t know anything about her.”
“I know if someone I dated for that long asked me to marry them, I don’t think running my family’s pizza business would make me say no—unless my feelings for him had changed.”
Fire danced in his eyes and he looked like he was about to say something, then stopped himself.
“Wes, do you truly want her back, or is this some kind of revenge plot to hurt her because she hurt you.”
He stood and his chair nearly fell back. He pulled out his wallet, threw some money on the table and said, “Enjoy your lunch, Clare.”
Grabbing his coat, he turned and stormed out of the restaurant.