Chapter 15
fifteen
Zander
Indi invited me to dinner. Jameson didn't know about the invite until I followed him home and pulled up behind him.
He's standing next to his truck and holding out his arms in question as I walk up the driveway.
Jameson bought one of the nicest houses in Rockhurst from the parents of his friend, Zach.
It has an amazing view of the ocean, and it's pretty fucking sweet.
I'm happy with the smaller cabin at the ranch because I take care of the horses, and the place has some good childhood memories.
Those are scarce after growing up with my dad.
Not memories in general but the good ones.
There are plenty of really fucking bad ones too, but I try not to let them creep into my thoughts much.
"Indi invited me for dinner. She said, and I quote, 'I made a gargantuan tray of chicken enchiladas, and we'll never be able to eat them, so we need help from you, the king of all eaters.
' All right, that's close to the quote. She might have called me the monster of all eaters, but I like king better. "
Rio is at the door as we walk inside. She's giving me a smile that seems to hold some kind of secret, like she knows something that she's dying to tell me.
Instead, she gives her dad a quick hug and reaches out to hug me but stops and scrunches up her face.
"No offense, Uncle Z, but you're kind of gross and sweaty. Thought you might dress up."
I look at Jameson. "I wasn't told it was a formal enchilada dinner."
Indi hears our voices in the entryway and pokes her head around. She gives me the same face scrunch.
Again, I look at Jameson. "Certainly no need to take offense," I say.
Indi steps into the entryway with a frown. "I was hoping you'd—I don't know—shower?"
"Yeah, you know I think I'll do just that, but thanks for the invite." I turn to leave, but Indi lunges forward and grabs my hand.
"No, never mind. You can shower here, and maybe Jameson has a shirt he can lend you."
"Uh, I'm not sacrificing my shirt to the Hulk. He'll stretch it all to hell. What the heck is going on here?" Jameson asks.
Indi and Rio exchange smiles. "Indi's invited a friend from work.
She's very cute. I saw her photo and gave her my seal of approval, and she makes good money and she surfs and sometimes rides a motorcycle.
Oh, and she has two border collies named Petey and Smith.
" Rio turns to Indi. "Did I forget anything? "
Indi smiles and smooths her hand over Rio's hair. "Nope, you didn't miss one detail. Except her name, which is Deidre. Now, before you blow your Zander stack, just meet her. Nothing needs to come from it, but she saw me scrolling through some pictures, and she saw you and was intrigued."
"Yeah, I'm pretty fucking intriguing. Indi, I wish you'd mentioned the blind date part of the night."
"Then you might have cleaned up?" Rio asks hopefully and also adds in another face scrunch for good measure.
"No, I would have turned down the enchiladas. Seriously, Indi, not sure I'm in the mood to try and impress someone. It's been a long workday—"
"And you're in love with Nev," Rio blurts casually.
We all look at my niece. She shrugs her thin shoulders. "It's true. I'm just wondering why no one else has brought it up." With that, she half skips out of the entry and turns down the hallway to her bedroom.
Rio's statement hangs in the air, awkwardly, for a second, then Indi breaks past it to return to her more relevant topic.
"Just take a quick shower, and Jameson will lend you a shirt.
" She scowls at Jameson to stop his protest. "Deidre will be here in twenty minutes.
I've got dinner set up on the patio. There's a beautiful sunset tonight.
It's very casual, and there's a good chance she won't have any interest in you. "
"And on that confidence boosting note," I say.
Jameson laughs. "Yeah, cuz you've always had a problem with that, especially around women."
"Fine. I'll shower, but don't get your hopes up, Indi."
I stood in the shower until Rio pounded on the door because she needed to take a pee and fix her makeup before her friend's mom picked her up for the movies. Jameson balled up a black T-shirt and heaved it at me with the warning not to stretch it out.
I carry a beer out to the patio. Indi's guest hasn't arrived yet, and I'm hoping she's decided to cancel.
I'm sitting watching the sunset—it was pretty fucking awesome—when Jameson joins me on the patio.
He sets his bottle down on the table. Indi has gone to some trouble bringing out placemats, candles and a vase of flowers.
"So, what's eating you?" Jameson asks. "You've been grumpy since lunch."
"Just fucking tired from a long workweek. And frankly, I'm sick of working for that dick. Can't stand the sight of him."
"Did he say something? Something about our work?" Jameson takes a sip of beer. "Or is this just because he's dating Nev? You know—that little bomb Rio dropped—it's not news to any of us."
"Don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
Jameson sits forward with a wry laugh. "You teased me nonstop about my crush on Indi."
"Seems I was right about that." I take a long drink of beer and I'm thinking about a second bottle.
"Yeah, but that's not the point I'm making. You knew me better than I knew myself because sometimes it's easier to read a person from the outside."
"Sounds like a bunch of psychological bullshit you just dug out of your ass."
"Right. Fuck off then."
"Nev is too good for him. Just like she's too good for me."
"Guess you need to let Nev be the judge of that. The two of you have been doing this weird dance around your feelings since you were kids. You've got Nev on a pedestal, but you and I both know that one thing Nevada hates is being put on a pedestal."
"Jameson, Zander, this is my coworker, Deidre."
We both stand to meet her. Deidre is a tall blonde with brown eyes and a hot body. She's wearing a skin-tight, short green dress and high heels. "Hi, nice to meet both of you. Heard a lot about you, Jameson, and you too, Zander."
"Don't know if that's good or bad," Jameson says jokingly. Even he's wowed by the tall blonde.
"I've got some margaritas in the blender. Babe, can you help me carry them out?" Indi says. She's putting her matchmaker scheme into high gear.
"Oh wow, this view," Deidre says. She walks to the edge of the patio to get the full scope of the view. I have to admit she's got my blood stirring. I join her at the patio railing.
"So, you work with Indi?" It's a lame conversation starter but then I've been ambushed with the date, and in my defense, I'm not really in a date mood.
"I'm her supervisor," she says in a haughty enough tone that it's a turnoff.
She turns to me with a smile and a set of teeth that look painted white. "I hear you and Jameson own an excavating company. That's hard work, isn't it?"
"It's not too bad once you learn the ropes."
She glances back at the house. "Seems like you do pretty well. This is a beautiful house."
"We do all right." I'm not sure if she's already digging into my finances, but I'm getting that "it's all about money" vibe.
Deidre looks me up and down brazenly, and I'm feeling a little like cattle and also realizing how shitty it must feel for women when I do it to them. "You certainly are as hot as Indi described. And big," she adds, then her gaze drops to my crotch.
Indi and Jameson return with the drinks. "Zander, Deidre has a Harley Davidson."
Deidre looks at me. "Do you ride?"
"I had a bike for a while, but I gave it up. Needed something more practical."
"Aw, shame. We could have taken a ride up to my beach house in Halverston."
"So, they don't allow cars in Halverston?" I ask. Indi gives me a quick scowl. It's her fault for blindsiding me with date night.
"No, of course they do. The trip is just more fun on bikes." Deidre overlooks my sarcasm. It seems she wasn't blindsided, so she's willing to put in more effort, but honestly, I'm already out. She's hot but the personality is lacking.
The dinner goes about as awkwardly and painfully as the before dinner drinks.
Deidre likes to talk about herself, which is fine, but the bragging about her career and success and even her fucking plastic surgeon's amazing talent made an otherwise tasty dinner unappetizing.
Indi looked more uncomfortable with each passing minute, and I felt bad.
I could have tried harder to pay attention and seem interested, but I didn't want to encourage the possibility of a second date.
Even though I had no doubt Deidre would be great in bed, she wasn't worth the effort.
Jameson comes out to the patio where I stayed while Indi walked out her friend. He's got his keys. "Got to go pick up Rio and her friends from the movies. Guess that didn't go so well."
"Gee, what gave it away?"
Jameson chuckles. "She was hot, I'll give you that."
"Then it all went downhill after the great pair of fake—apparently—tits."
Jameson glances back over his shoulder. Indi is still outside saying goodbye to Deidre. "Look, don't be too hard on Indi. She's just worried about you. We all are. You're not yourself lately. She thinks you're lonely."
"I would never say an unkind word to Indi, so you can turn off the protector shield."
The front door opens and closes, letting us know that Indi is back in the house.
Jameson leaves the patio, kisses her and walks out the front door.
Indi's hands are in the back pockets of her jeans, and her head droops shyly as she steps out onto the patio.
In high school people called her the school jewel.
She was beautiful and smart and popular.
Everyone loved her, especially my brother.
But Jameson was a Wilde, and Wildes didn't end up with school jewels.
At least that was what he told himself all those years.
Instead, he stood in the background, pining for her, as she dated his best friend Zach.
It took a long sequence of events, both good and bad, to finally bring them together. I'd never seen my brother so happy.
"I'm so sorry about that, Zander. I swear she's not like that at work.
She's professional and smart and clever, but boy, I thought she wouldn't stop bragging about her quick climb up the corporate ladder.
As if those manmade boobs didn't have something to do with it.
She was sure using them to her advantage tonight.
When she dropped her napkin and Jameson dove for it, I thought she'd shove them right into his face. " Indi pauses. "Forgive me?"
"How can I ever be mad at the school jewel?"
She smiles. The smile helped win her the title, too.
It's one that leaves a lasting impression.
Indi pulls out a chair and sits across from me.
"You have my solemn promise that I will not do it again.
" She laughs softly. "I got the sense that she was insulted by your lack of interest. I don't think many people turn her down in life.
When she caught me alone for a second, after she walked in, she told me you were so fucking hot she couldn't wait to get you in bed.
But just now she told me you were a little too raw and primitive for her taste.
She wanted to make sure that I knew it didn't work because she wasn't interested. What an ego."
I laugh. "I've been called many things but can't remember the last time someone called me raw and primitive. Like a caveman, I guess."
"A caveman who she couldn't wait to bed," Indi adds. "Oh boy, I messed up. I really thought she'd be your type."
I raise a brow at her. "My type? The big boobs, tight dress and plump lips?" I roll my eyes up. "Yeah, I guess I can see why you thought that."
"Well, I missed the mark on everything."
I look at Indi. "You don't need to worry about me. Am I lonely? Maybe a little since Jameson found his happy ending, but honestly, I don't think there's a match for me out there. I'll just bounce through life having great sex and never committing. Not a terrible life sentence."
Indi sits forward, and her expression softens. "You know—Kiki says that Nev and Dane are not a good match. She says Nev is not in love."
I pretend like her words aren't having a profound effect and put on my best whatever expression. "I'm working for the guy, and he's not good enough for her. Not even close." Before she can say anything else. "Just like I'm not good enough for her."
"Shouldn't you let Nev decide that?"
I shake my head. "Okay, Miss Matchmaker, time to retire. Find someone else to focus on. Ronan needs someone to rein him in. He's drinking too much, and he can't seem to hold down a job."
"Nope, like you said, time to retire. The rest of you boys are on your own."
"Well, the enchiladas were amazing."
She laughs. "Fuck, at least I didn't humiliate myself there."