Again (Time for Love Book 3) (14 page)

“It’s Greg, isn’t it?”

She grinned, enjoying this game.

“It
is
Greg!” Ash said triumphantly.

“Who’s Greg?” Tracy asked.

“Greg Carmichael. Rebecca and Sarah’s future brother-in-law,” Ash answered.

“Oh, that’s good, darling. He’s a nice man, I take it?”

She sighed. “Yes, Greg is a nice man, Mum. But it’s not him. I don’t know why Ash is so stuck on thinking it’s Greg.”

“Who then?” Ash persisted.

“Patience, my dear brother. You’ll know soon enough. I want to keep him to myself for a while.”

“Okay, fine,” Ash said resignedly. “As long as it’s not that idiot ex of yours who’s broken your heart twice. Because if it is and he hurts you again, you won’t get any sympathy from me. You should know better by now.”

“Oh dear. It’s not him, is it, Amanda?” Tracy asked with concern.

“No, it’s not, Mum,” she said patiently.

“And as long as it’s not that guy who works in that burger joint that gives you sleazy looks all the time,” Ash said.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked incredulously. “That guy’s creepy. Plus I’ve got better taste than that, thank you very much.”

“And as long as it’s not Connor.”

Amanda’s heart jumped. “I still don’t understand why you’re so against Connor, Ash. Geez, you even helped the man move into his place last weekend. And you call yourself his friend?” She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice, but she was insulted for her boyfriend.

Ash stared at her. “Connor’s a great guy, Amanda. As a friend. But as a boyfriend, he’ll suck. And I’m sure Connor doesn’t mind me having that opinion. He’s got a reputation and he knows it.”

“What reputation?” she prodded, striving to keep her tone neutral.

Ash shook his head. “I promised not to tell.”

Amanda pursed her lips. Her mind wouldn’t rest if Ash didn’t tell him what he knew about Connor. “This is all very intriguing, Ash. I’m beyond curious. Don’t you trust me to keep a secret?”

“Amanda, I promised Connor I won’t tell anyone. If you want to know, ask him.”

“So you’d never tell? Ever? Even if the man I’m going out with
is
Connor?”

Ash glared at her. “Didn’t you hear what I just said, Amanda? Connor will suck as a boyfriend. Don’t even think about it.”

“Gosh, you’re so hard to pry information from,” she complained.

Ash grinned. “I believe you’re the same, sis.”

“So if, say, Brenna entertains ideas about dating Connor, you still won’t tell?”

Ash paled and Amanda felt immediately regretful. It was nasty of her to do that to her brother.

“It’s a hypothetical, Ash.”

“I’m going to have a serious conversation with Connor and tell him not to lay a hand on any of you girls.”

Amanda sighed in frustration. She wouldn’t get the answer from Ash.

She hated that this whole conversation had resurrected most of her self-doubts. She simply must ask Connor. And she hoped he’d tell her the truth.

*****

“H
ow was your day?” Amanda asked Connor over the phone.

“Extremely busy,” Connor answered. “I still have a couple of things to pore over regarding some marketing and I’m already getting cross-eyed from tiredness.”

“Oh, honey,” she cried. “Why don’t you go to sleep and just start early tomorrow?”

“I can’t, babe. These have to be finalised by tomorrow morning or they’ll get pushed back because the marketing company already have other work scheduled. But don’t worry. It’s only for another couple of weeks that I’m this insanely busy.”

“I wish I could do something to help,” she murmured.

“You already are,” Connor said. “Just talking to you makes me relax.”

“That’s good,” she said, thrilled at the sweetness of his words.

“But I’m afraid I can’t relax for too long, sweetheart. I have to go.”

“Okay.”

“How was dinner with Ash and your mum, by the way?”

“It was good. But as usual, Mum had to ask about the status of our love lives.”

“Did you tell them about us?”

Amanda decided to seize the opportunity. “I wanted to, but Ash was still adamant you’re not boyfriend material, Connor. He said you’re a great guy and friend, but you’ll suck as a boyfriend. I tried to get him to tell me why but he said he’d promised you he won’t tell.”

There was silence at the other end of the line.

“Connor, what does Ash know that I don’t?” she asked softly, not wanting to accuse, just wanting an open conversation.

“Like I said before, babe, Ash must think I’m a big playboy. Having friends like Lucas helps build that reputation.”

Amanda exhaled her relief. She and Connor had already discussed this before. And Ash was just an overprotective big brother. “Okay. I do want to tell him about us. But I don’t want to ruin your friendship, so I think we should both explain things to him together.”

“Yes. We’ll see him together as soon as my workload lightens,” Connor said.

*****

A
manda checked her wardrobe, still trying to decide on what to wear tonight. She’d already selected the lingerie that she’d bring for her overnight stay at Connor’s—a sexy piece that she’d bought a few months ago but had never worn.

She missed him so. Even her morning walks had started to feel lonely without him.

Her phone rang, and she was surprised by who was calling.

“Hi, Lori.”

“Hi, Amanda! How are you?”

“I’m well, thanks. You?”

“Good! I haven’t caught you at a bad time, have I?”

“No. I’m getting ready to go out but I have a few minutes to talk,” she answered.

“Great. I just want to ask you something. I’m pretty sure your answer will be no, but I just want to double check.”

“Okay.”

“Do you remember Lucas? The guy who wanted to have sex with you in Melbourne?”

“Yeah, I remember him,” she answered dryly. Lori didn’t have to remind her who Lucas was. She hadn’t forgotten the creep.

“He’ll be in Sydney next week and he was asking for your phone number.”

“Why on earth would he want my phone number?” Amanda asked incredulously. “Wasn’t I clear back then that I wasn’t interested in him at all?”

“Well, I found out that Lucas can be single-minded when he wants something. And apparently, what he wants most of all is Connor’s title.”

“What title?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Lori asked, sounding surprised. “Geez, woman. You’ve slept with
the
Mr. Fuck King and you don’t even know it?”

“What?” she asked in confusion.

“
Mr. Fuck King
,” Lori repeated, articulating each word carefully. “That’s the title Connor was given by his teammates because women always preferred him out of anyone else in their group. Apparently he gives the best fuck. So you didn’t know about that?”

“No,” she said weakly, still unable to comprehend the cringe-worthy label Lori had uttered.

Lori sighed. “Okay, now you know. So back to the reason why I called you, Lucas is really keen to win that title off Connor. So he wants me to ask you to consider having sex with him so you could compare their performances in bed.”

“Oh my God. That’s ridiculous, Lori,” Amanda said, anger rapidly boiling within. “I have absolutely no desire to play that game.”

“That’s what I told him. But he begged me to ask you anyway. Well, I tried.”

Amanda’s heart palpitated and she couldn’t breathe. Was this what Ash knew about Connor? Did he take part in Lucas’ games? Her mind couldn’t grasp it. “I have to go, Lori,” she said, feeling sick to her stomach.

“Okay,” Lori said. “So you’re definitely out, Amanda? Last chance. I heard from Agnes that Lucas is
really, really
good. That’s saying something, because Agnes has been with the best of them. It would be really amazing if
you
could compare the two guys. Geez, if I was in your place, I’d jump at the chance. Agnes would, too.”

Amanda squeezed her eyes shut, appalled. “Count me out, Lori,” she said, then abruptly hung up.

*****

A
manda got out of the lift and headed for Connor’s door. He was already standing there, waiting for her, his face split into a wide grin. She glared at him, and his smile disappeared, replaced by concern.

“Baby? What’s wrong?”

She walked past him and into his living room. When she heard the door close, she swung around to face him. “Mr. Fuck King?” she asked, not bothering to hide her anger.

Connor’s mouth dropped in surprise. “Sweetheart,” he said, reaching for her.

“Don’t touch me, Connor,” she hissed. “You and your friends seduce women all over the world to fight over a disgusting title?”

“No, Amanda! Who the hell told you it was like that?”

She ignored his entreaty, too hurt to let his words in. “How do I even know you’re clean and healthy, Connor?”

Connor rubbed his face hard. “It’s not like that at all, Amanda. Please let me explain.”

She sent him dagger looks. “If my memory serves me right, I’ve given you two chances to explain, Connor.
Two
chances. I asked you what Ash knew about you that he wouldn’t tell me—why my brother thinks you’re not boyfriend material. Twice you told me
Lori
must have lumped you with your playboy friends, as if she’d made a mistake of doing that. But
you’re
the one with the title,
Mr. Fuck King
.”

“You have no idea how much I loathe that title, Amanda! And for the record, I’m
totally
clean and healthy.”

Amanda shook her head, the painful compression in her chest making it difficult for her to think straight. All that swirled in her mind was that Connor had hidden things from her, even when she’d point blank asked him about them. He’d even made her believe he was different from his friends. If she hadn’t found out about his title from someone else, would he ever have told her?

“Well, you’ll be glad to know that there are very willing women who would love to help you keep your title,” she said sarcastically, heading for the exit.

“Amanda,” Connor said hoarsely, clutching her arm.

“Let me go, Connor,” she said coldly.

“No, please, baby,” he pleaded.

She pried herself loose from his grip and walked out his door.

C
onnor stared at his closed door. Amanda had left. She’d left him.

He took extra deep long breaths that hurt his lungs, but it didn’t help alleviate the pain and fear that had grabbed his heart.

He had to get Amanda back. He had to make her listen. Except that he had absolutely no idea how to do that.

“Well, standing here is not gonna help, you idiot,” he muttered. He grabbed his keys and hurried out of his apartment.

He saw her waiting at the lights and ran the rest of the way.

“Amanda,” he called out just as she was about to cross the road.

“I don’t want to talk, Connor,” she said, not even looking at him.

“Okay. You don’t need to talk. But could I ask you to please listen for just two minutes? Two minutes.
Please
.”

Amanda glanced at him, then she shook her head. “I’m too angry right now to listen to your explanations, Connor.”

“Right now?” he asked, finding a little bit of hope to cling to. “I’ll wait. Maybe we can talk tomorrow?”

“I don’t know,” she said coldly. “And please don’t follow me.” Amanda stepped on the road as the pedestrian light turned green.

“I’ll call you,” he said. He watched as she walked away from him. “Goodnight, baby!” he called out again, making a couple of pedestrians turn their heads. Unfortunately, Amanda didn’t acknowledge him. Not that he’d expected her to. He just needed to say something to indicate to her he hadn’t accepted they were over. Because surely they weren’t. They couldn’t be. He simply couldn’t bear the thought.

*****

C
onnor heard a knock on the door and breathed a sigh of relief. The Carmichael brothers had arrived. It had been ages since the four of them had had a get-together just by themselves. Since Jeff’s and Zach’s fiancées were at a girls' night in with Amanda, Brenna and Gemma, he thought this was a perfect time to have dinner with the boys and ask for their help.

He let them in, man-hugging each one. “Glad you’re all here, bros. I ordered some Chinese for dinner. It should arrive soon. Hope that’s okay with you.”

“You look tired, dude. Haven’t you been sleeping?” Greg asked.

“Only a few hours here and there,” he answered, wearily running his hand on his face. “I’ve had a very busy couple of weeks.”

“How’s the refurbishment of your shop going?” Zach asked.

“It’s on schedule, which is a relief. It should be finished by next week, and I can launch the business straight after.”

“Good to hear.”

“I think it’s a great idea to have this boys’ night,” Jeff said. “We haven’t done this with you for ages. But there’s a specific reason why you called us, right?”

Connor plopped in his sofa. “I’m going crazy,” he said.

“Why?” Greg asked.

“It’s been a week and my girlfriend hasn’t returned my calls,” he lamented.

All three stared at him in surprise.

“I didn’t even know you had a girlfriend, dude,” Greg said. “Who’s she?”

“Amanda.”

“Amanda?” Zach asked in surprise. “Really?”

Connor exhaled a ragged sigh and told them everything—from that weekend in Melbourne, to Amanda walking out on him.

“You still hold that Mr. Fuck King title?” Greg exclaimed after he’d finished. “Damn. That’s some winning stretch.”

“I haven’t wanted it for years! I don’t even do anything to keep it. Those guys have way more one-night stands than I do—it’s just that I get the women who always inevitably turn them down.  And it’s the
not
being turned down that counted. So I’m stuck with a stupid title created by juveniles who haven’t grown up.”

“Sorry, bro,” Zach said. “I can imagine what you’re going through. But I’ve learnt communication is the key. You have to tell Amanda
everything
.”

“I realise that now. That’s why I need your help. Could you please talk to your fiancées and ask them to convince Amanda to forgive me? Or at least talk to me?”