Crushed (Crystal Brook Billionaires) (27 page)

“The hair stylist is coming at eleven-thirty.”

“Then we’re sleeping in till eleven twenty-nine. Hand me another glass.”

Glasses full, we clinked them together.

“You can stay drunk,” I commanded her. “Just don’t get alcohol poisoning. That takes more than a morning to recover from.”

She nodded seriously. “Do you think Kieran and Becca had a good time?”

I laughed. The fact that Gwen’s bachelorette party had consisted exclusively of her sister and female employees was hilarious. The girl was a recluse to the nth degree. She’d move into an actual hermit shell if only she could fit in there. The fact that her closest friends were her employees and immediate family members didn’t seem to bother her one bit.

“Definitely.” I sipped my champagne. “That was a lot of butt. Even for a strip club. But at least it was top dollar.”

“Yeah.” She bit her lip. “They’ll probably never look at me the same way again.”

I laughed. “You set one dollar on the stage, and then you ran away like the stripper was going to bite you. I think your reputation stands.”

“Good… so Jason is selling the company,” she added out of nowhere.

“I know. I just wasn’t sure when he was going to tell you about it. Are you trying to surprise me?”

“I know you know.”

“Oh. Well good.”

Her eyes squinted. Either she was trying to read my reaction, or she’d had so much to drink her eyesight was going. “Are you going to stay in New York?”

I dropped my head back and looked out the window. We were passing through a wooded area, and there wasn’t much of anything to see.

“I don’t know,” I announced. “It’s felt kind of good to be away from New York.”

“And there’s so much here for you,” Gwen quietly said. “Your family… your amazing sister…”

“But what would I do?”

“Come work with me.”

I stared at her. “Huh?”

She nodded vigorously. “I need a manager. What do you think?”

I looked down at the bubbles spiraling up the sides of my champagne flute. “I don’t know…”

“It’s a big thing.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it is.”

“Did Jason talk to you about…?”

I cringed, knowing I shouldn’t mention it but also feeling too tired — and too tipsy — to keep information to myself.

“He’s quitting,” she said quietly. “He’s not just selling the company. He says he’s done for good.” She shook her head in disbelief.

“What? You don’t like that?”

“No, it’s not that. Certainly, he works too much.”

“Certainly,” I said, mimicking her formality. “And so do you.”

“That’s why I need a manager. So I can spend more time at home.”

“Doing floral arrangements to put in your way-too-big foyer?”

She made an exasperated noise. “I’m serious!”

“I know, I know. I’m just fucking around. Sorry. I think this is all great. As far as working at Freddy’s, I’ll have to think about that.”

“I know. It’s a big proposition.”

“That’s a big word to use when you’re wasted.” I grinned.

She stuck her tongue out at me. “Just tell me, are you leaning towards saying yes?”

Oddly enough, I was. The whole thing didn’t sound so bad.

“If I say yes…”

“Yay!”

“Which I didn’t yet…”

“Boo. But you’re going to.”

I grinned and took another sip of my drink. Never since starting my career in real estate had I thought about leaving it. Then again, there wasn’t much of a reason not to — other than the pay. The money has increased significantly. As far as fulfilling… that wasn’t exactly a word I would have used to describe my job. Getting up each morning and going into that office meant meeting the requirements of exactly that: a job.

For a while, it had given me a thrill. Once that passed, it had remained good. And then there had been a point where I really was just in it for the money.

And then… then I didn’t know. With each day that inched by, money mattered less and less. A bigger apartment and more vacations couldn’t buy the things I was looking for. Hell, I wasn’t entirely sure just what I was looking for. But I didn’t think it could be bought at Macy’s or shipped to me via Amazon.

The year had been the most tumultuous one of my life.

But whenever I was back in Crystal Brook, I automatically felt at least a little bit better.

“All right,” I said before I could stop myself. “I’ll do it.”

Her eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“You mean that?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I really think I do. Though I don’t even know what I’m getting into. I don’t know shit about running a coffee shop or a bookstore.”

“I’ll teach you. We’ll get to work together! Oh my God, it’ll be so much fun!” The words rushed out on top of each other. “I’m going to lay down again to celebrate.”

I laughed. “Watch your champagne.”

“I’ll drink while laying down.”

She tried to do just that, but the limo hit a pothole and champagne splashed all over her face.

I laughed out loud. “You’re ridiculous.”

She sputtered as she wiped at her face. “Did you read the book?”

The smile dropped from my lips. “Not all of it. I’m taking my time.”

“Savoring it.”

“Something like that,” I murmured.

At the river, I only read the one page I’d randomly opened. After that, I started at the beginning, taking the book one poem at a time. Each page was painful, uplifting, and mind blowing. It was like getting to know Peter all over again, but in a more intimate way… and yet not. Because though they were his words, surely they were screened fragments of his thoughts, ideas he’d carefully edited before exposing the world to them.

The limo began slowing down. I peeked out the window. We’d entered Crystal Brook but weren’t close at all to Gwen’s house.

“What’s going on?” Gwen asked.

“I don’t know,” I murmured.

The partition separating us from the driver rolled down. “It sounds like there’s trouble with one of the wheels,” the driver announced. “I’m pulling over to check it out.”

“We’re stranded!” Gwen shrieked. “My wedding is tomorrow!”

“We’re in town. Have another drink.”

The limo pulled over to the side of the road, and the driver climbed out.

Suddenly feeling claustrophobic, I opened the closest door and started to follow him. “I’ll be right back,” I told Gwen.

The air was even chillier than it had been when we’d made our last stop and dropped Becca off at her apartment. The slinky dress I’d worn was certainly sexy, but it was also thin. I wrapped my arms around myself and followed the driver to the back of the limo.

He turned on a flashlight and began inspecting the car. The first wheel the beam fell on was noticeably flat. Bending down, he ran his hand over the top of it.

“Must have hit a nail or something,” he announced. “Sorry about this.”

“It happens.”

He straightened up. “I’ll get the spare.”

“I can help.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve changed plenty of tires. You and your sister go and enjoy yourselves.”

“Okay.” I turned and looked around the area for the first time. We were only a few minutes ride from Mom and Dad’s. The limo had pulled over at a corner. Only yards away, the street sign glowed underneath a lamp post. Glendale. Owen’s street.

My heart lurched. I turned away so I wouldn’t have to look at such a painful reminder.

Gwen hung out of the open door. “Flat tire?”

“You heard?”

“I called Owen. He’s coming to get us.”

I stared at her. “What? Why?”

Her lower lip stuck out. “Because I don’t want to be stuck out here. And we’re on his street. Look up.”

“Yeah, I did,” I snapped. “You really are drunk, aren’t you? You could have called Mom or Dad. Or Jason.”

She gasped. “I can’t see Jason tonight! He’s in Raleigh. At a strip club or whatever…” She paused. “Do you think he’s at a strip club?”

I sighed. “Probably. It’s his bachelor party. Why did you call Owen?” I waved my hand. “Never mind. You probably still don’t have a real answer. What time is it anyway?”

“Uh, I don’t know.”

“You probably woke him up. The tire is getting changed right now.”

“Oh,” she giggled. “Sorry.”

She didn’t sound sorry at all. The only thing she sounded was intoxicated. She drew her head back into the limo.

I leaned down and peered at her. “Call him back and tell him it’s fine. We don’t need a ride.”

Gwen picked up the open champagne bottle and took a swig right from it. “I can’t find my phone.”

Suspicion filled me. “Hang on… why do you have his number anyway?”

“We’re cool. We’re chill. I hung out with him way before you did, you know. Remember? You left me with him at the pub.”

“Yeah. All right. You need to stop drinking now.”

“Done.” She set the bottle down on the floor. It tipped to the side, its contents spilling out. I dove into the limo and righted it.

“Seriously, Gwen. Lay down and don’t do anything. I’ll call Owen back and tell him—”

“Tell me what?” a voice interrupted.

Slowly, I climbed back out of the car. There he stood, his hair a gorgeous unruly mess and his eyes just as open and honest as they always were. His eyes were slightly puffy underneath, and he was dressed in flannel pajama pants and a windbreaker. He’d definitely been sleeping when Gwen called.

I searched for the necessary breath.

“That we don’t need a ride… but thank you.” I closed the door, shutting Gwen inside. “The bride-to-be is a little, uh, messed up right now. Apparently, she was nervous about getting mugged.”

Owen chuckled. “On Glendale?”

“Okay, she’s more than a little messed up.”

“All done!” the driver announced, shutting the limo’s trunk. He came over and nodded to Owen before addressing me. “You ready to go?”

Before I could speak, Owen interrupted. “Let me take you home,” he said, his voice so urgent it caused my pulse to speed up.

“You don’t have to.”

The door behind me opened. “Owen!”

I pursed my lips as Gwen clambered out. “You saved us!”

Owen chuckled.

“A knight in shining armor,” she continued.

“The tire is fixed,” I told my sister. “So we can go now.”

“No,” she stressed, placing one hand on the side of the car for support. “Let this nice man take his limo back to the limo garage. Owen will take us home.”

“It’s imposing.”

“It’s not,” Owen interrupted.

I sighed. “All right.” I turned to the driver. “Thank you for everything. We’ll just grab our things and go with our friend.”

“Yay!” Gwen shouted.

“You stay here,” I told her. “I’ll get your purse.”

“Don’t forget my penis straw.”

I groaned and reached into the limo for our clutches. “Do you really need that?”

“For memory’s sake, yes. I need to suck something through it.”

Oh dear God. I hope she means a piña colada.

I snatched the penis straw up from where she’d dropped it on the floor earlier. I thought about making a joke about how sticky it was — from strip club beer — but the time wasn’t right for joking for a variety of reasons.

“All right,” I announced, righting myself in the grass. “I’m ready.”

Gwen swayed on her feet, despite the fact that she was still braced against the limo.

“Thank you again,” I told the driver.

He nodded and looked at Gwen. “Congratulations.”

Gwen mumbled something unintelligible. For the first time, I noticed she held the bottle of champagne in her hand. When had she even snatched it up?

“Come on,” I told her, taking the bottle in one hand and looping my other arm through hers. “Let’s walk to Owen’s.”

We went slowly, the three of us creeping down the sidewalk. The alcohol combined with the heels made Gwen slow as a snail. She teetered along, humming to herself.

I caught Owen looking at me from around her. He smiled at me, more than a trace of humor playing on his lips.

“Thank you,” I told him. “I know this is kind of crazy.”

“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t doing anything other than sleeping anyway.” He smiled wider.

I guffawed. “Yeah, heard that’s overrated.”

“So I take it the bachelorette party was a success.”

“I saw a butt,” Gwen slurred.

“We went to a strip club,” I explained.

“There are butts there,” Gwen continued.

“I think he gets the idea, Gwen.”

Owen nodded. “I’ve heard about this thing called a strip club, yes.”

I grew serious. “You don’t have to drive us home. I can call my dad—”

“Let me,” Owen interrupted.

I looked down at the sidewalk, counting the steps my heels took. “Thank you.”

Gwen spoke again. “Did you get my straw?”

“Yeah.” I opened her clutch and handed it to her. “Here you go.”

“It’s all sticky.”

“It had a big night. It got lucky.” There you go. I hadn’t been able to resist the joke after all. Not even my embarrassment at having Owen dragged into the situation had been enough to stop it.

Owen laughed out loud.

“I don’t get it,” Gwen mumbled.

We crept up on Owen’s house, his car parked halfway up the drive. He fished in his windbreaker pocket for his keys and then unlocked the doors. I helped Gwen into the back seat. She pulled her seat belt on but then immediately closed her eyes.

I shut the door behind her and turned to Owen, thinking I would get the chance to properly apologize for Gwen calling him. He was already climbing into the driver’s side, though, so I hurried and took my own seat.

After buckling up, I turned to check on Gwen. She’d slumped to the side, her face pressed against the glass

Owen laughed softly. “I think she’s asleep.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “She’s got a lot to sleep off.” I pursed my lips. “I’m sorry she called you. I didn’t know she was doing that. I was out looking at the tire with the driver.”

“You really don’t need to apologize. It’s my pleasure to see…” His gaze briefly ran over the length of my torso before averting itself.

“See what?”

He cleared his throat.

“Tell me,” I commanded.

“To see you in that dress,” was his gravelly response.