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She’d replied with a simple: looking forward to it.
Funny how those four words still dripped with sarcasm despite his not hearing her actually say them.
“Dates?” Sheridan frowned, wrinkled her nose. Damn, she was cute. Not nearly as gorgeous as Willow in his eyes, but he could see why Jared was so crazy about her. “Willow doesn’t really go on dates.”
“What do you mean? All single women as beautiful as Will go on dates. There must be twenty dozen jerkoffs standing in line who would kill to go out with her,” Nick muttered, shaking his head.
If he had his choice, he’d already be at his little condo, passed out in bed. After a long afternoon of practice filled with drill exercises that had quite frankly kicked his ass, he was beat.
But here he sat at some place close to the stadium, Jared having asked Nick to join him and Sheridan for dinner. He’d been outside the restaurant on his cell with his agent when Jared had come out to join him, also yakking away on his phone to God knows who.
Seeing his opportunity, Nick went for it, ending the call and hurrying back into the restaurant to drill Sheridan for information.
“You like her, don’t you, Nick? It’s okay, you can tell me. Jared isn’t around.” Sheridan flashed a knowing smile, one that made him want to confess all of his feelings for the woman who twisted him in knots.
“I do. I like her. I ain’t gonna lie.” His accent got thicker when he was nervous, and he cleared his throat, trying to get a grip. “She hates me, though. I did her wrong years ago, and I hate that.”
The knowing smile grew. “I think she likes you more than you know.”
“You know something I don’t?” He peered at her, wishing he could see inside Sheridan’s brain.
Women. They were sneaky creatures most of the time, and he rarely could figure them out.
Sheridan shrugged. “As if I’d tell you all of Willow’s deep, dark secrets. I could never do that.”
“I’m not asking for deep, dark secrets.” Though he was intrigued. “I’m asking what your friend likes to do on a date.”
“I don’t know. The usual date-type stuff? But like I said, she’s not one who goes on lots of dates. She…hangs out with guys. They go to dinner, she goes to his house, he goes to hers…”
“Whew, for a minute there I thought you were saying Willow goes out with multiple guys.” He slumped in his chair with relief. He remembered she’d been a hot little number in bed—who could forget?—but hanging out with guys made him think she might like being with multiple guys.
And he just couldn’t wrap his head around that idea. The mere thought of sharing Willow with anyone else literally made his skin crawl.
Well, look at that. He just turned into a caveman.
Sheridan laughed. “You have an overactive imagination now, don’t you?”
“More like I’m a jump-to-conclusions sort of idiot, if you know what I mean.” Nick scraped his hand over his stubble-covered cheek. “I want to do something different. Not get all dressed up and take her out to some fancy dinner where I drop a couple hundred on food and drink and watch her scowl at me while she pushes food around her plate. No thank you.”
That had happened during their dinner meeting, and he didn’t wan
t a repeat. Talk about a bust. He wanted to dazzle her. Talk to her. Make her fall head over heels for him again.
“Take her somewhere simple. She was raised surrounded by money, you know, so most grand gestures do nothing for her.” Sheridan frowned. “When we were kids, I was always jealous of that. Her big fancy house, her rich lawyer daddy, her mom who traveled all over the world. I thought it was so glamorous, especially since I was on an inter-district transfer using my grandma’s address so I could go to the Carmel schools versus the crappy Seaside ones. Everything Willow had, I didn’t.”
“Then what?” Nick wanted to hear what she had to say. He appreciated this glimpse into Willow’s past. He hadn’t been nearly as interested in the particulars that made her who she was when he was twenty-one.
“Then I realized that Willow envied me and what I had. She was lonely. Tired of the trappings that so much wealth can afford a person. I know it sounds crazy, but she really was a poor little rich girl. Still is. That’s why she’s working so hard to prove herself with her business.”
“Uh huh.” Sheridan was chock full of insight. Just what he needed. “So I should keep this first date simple.”
“Yeah, you definitely should.” She rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her fist. “She told me all about your deal, you know.”
“She did?” His cheeks grew hot. Why he was surprised and embarrassed he didn’t know. These girls shared pretty much all their secrets between them.
“I think it’s kind of cute. In a lewd and slightly perverted way.” Sheridan grinned. “I get the sense you’re trying very hard to get back into her pants.”
“Extremely hard.” He laughed. Well, that could be taken in a variety of ways. “I messed up the first time around. I want another shot.”
