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Backing out of his embrace, Sara smiled, still a little stunned and said, “You’re not kidding. I’m gonna get going now. Do you want a ride to your car?”
Shaking his head, he pointed to the luxury condos and said, “I walked. I live right there.”
Touching her cheek one last time he leaned down and brushed a kiss on her lips.
Deacon asked, “Talk to you soon?” Sara stepped back with a nod, got into her car and drove away.
“Jesus,” she muttered to herself. “So much for keeping it professional.”
Chapter 8
Well, so much for keeping shit between them professional. That had literally lasted less than two weeks. They had both known it was going to happen eventually. He thought she might have been overstating things just a bit when she said she’d rather dislike him than be attracted, but…thinking about the last few hours, he wasn’t so sure now. Things were only bound to get more compl
icated between them.
She was the last person he expected to see at the ramen bar. Seeing her, face freshly scrubbed and hair pulled up into a clip, was a shock. He was used to seeing her in either chef’s clothes or a business suit. That little purple tank top and oversized black sweater over those jeans…had done things to him. She was casually beautiful without even trying. God help him, he had been fantasizing about that mouth since she’d shown up in his office.
He was in way over his head.
Having reached his apartment, he called Chris back. After a brief conversation, they agreed to meet at Greeley’s. He was looking forward to a few beers and not having to think about Sara for a bit.
Walking downstairs, he walked the six blocks over to Greeley’s and found Chris at the bar, drink in his hand. Catching his sad expression, he grabbed the seat next to him and said, “Hey…what’s up?”
Snorting, Chris said, “Remember that blonde? Turns out she has a boyfriend. I got an interesting phone call from him about a half hour after she left my place last night.”
Taking another swig, he continued. “How do you not mention that? I mean, I wasn’t expecting her to be all committed to me at this point, but cheating on someone is pretty shitty.”
“You’re not kidding. It’s pretty messed up,” Deacon agreed.
“Oh shit. I didn’t even think about it. I’m sorry. Claire. Fucking bitch,” Chris said, curling his lip up slightly in disgust.
“No. Dude. It’s been almost a year. That’s ancient history, but yeah. Cheating is shitty. So what did the guy say? Was he pissed at you?”
“Nah, that’s the thing. He was up front. He told me who he was, and told me to stay away from her. I told him that wouldn’t be an issue and that I wouldn’t have messed with her if she’d mentioned having a boyfriend.”
Deacon sighed. “People can be pretty shitty. I hate to mention this, but you did meet her at a bar. You may be closer to the bottom of the barrel if you’re picking up chicks at Greeley’s.”
Chris laughed and said, “Deak. Your sister is right over there. You sure you don’t wanna amend that statement?”
Following Chris’s finger, he saw Chloe in a back booth, martini in hand, talking to another woman about her age.
Smirking, Deacon said, “Maybe. I’m gonna go say hi. Be back in a second.”
Chris took a last swig and said, “I’ll come along. It’s been ages since I’ve seen your sister.”
Deacon tensed, frowning at Chris.
Chris raised his hands and said, “Easy, buddy. Just saying hello. She’s your little sister.”
Relaxing, Deacon grabbed his beer and they made their way back to Chloe’s booth. As they made their way through the crowd, Chloe spotted them and stood up.
“Hey guys!” she said, hugging Deacon and then Chris.
“Hey. Whatcha up to?” Deacon asked.
“Hey, Chloe. How’s it going?” Chris asked, glancing down at the other occupant of the table.
“Oh. Sorry. Hey. This is Kelli. My brother Deacon and his friend Chris.”
