Only One (Ward Sisters Book 2) (19 page)

Chris scoffed to say,
As if I need help getting a date
.
“Reggie is adorable, despite her funky style, but no one would ever accuse her of being model material. I highly doubt Liam likes her more than you. My bet is, if you were blowing him instead of blowing him off, he wouldn't have bothered to say more than hello to her the other night.”

“I don't want him to want me just for sex.”

“Honey, I don't think he wants that, either.”

“Oh? And how do you know that?”

“Because every time I see him and he's been around you, he's happy. And when I see him otherwise, he's cranky. Period.”

“That doesn't mean anything.”

“Sure, tell yourself that. Why don't you just ask him to make a commitment to you?”

“Because he's not ready for it. If I push and he's not ready, I could lose him. I'd rather have him a little than not at all.”

“Suit yourself. You can't worry about what he does when he's gone if you're letting him see other people. Ask for a commitment or let him do what he wants. Pick one and live with it. But I'll still introduce you to Reggie. You'll like her.”

“That's what I'm afraid of. It'd be easier if I could hate her.”

**********

A week later, Jenna went to lunch with Chris and Reggie. Her best friend had been right, Reggie was great – funny, energetic, as sassy as Jenna herself, and brutally honest. Finally, after they'd covered the small talk, Reggie got down to brass tacks.

“So, Jenna, you're curious about me and Liam?”

Jenna's eyebrows shot up. She looked at Christopher, who said, “Don't look at me, hon. I didn't say anything to her about it.”

“What makes you think that?” Jenna asked.

Reggie laughed. “Because if I were you, I'd be curious, too.”

“What do you mean,
if I were you
? You
are
me.”

“No. I'm not. It has nothing to do with looks or personalities. Aside from our intellectual capabilities, I think we're actually a lot alike. I bet you don't have many female friends, right?”

Jenna blushed. “No. Not really.”
Just Catie
.

Chris laughed. “The pretty, stupid ones hate her because she's prettier than them, and the smart girls hate her because she's smart
and
gorgeous. Catie is the exception to all rules, am I right?”

“Oh, stop, Chris.”

“It's true and you know it. Why else would a girl like you have a gay, black best friend, hon?”

“Because you rock.”

“Oh, honey, I love you, too. But seriously, she's right. I've tried to tell you before, but you won't listen.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He's saying that you mean something to Liam and I don't.”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“Jenna, I've been doing this on/off thing with Liam for a while now. I pursued him, not the other way around. He never made much effort, but when you came along, he made even less.”

“Are you saying he's lazy in the bedroom with you?”

“No! Not at all. I can't speak for what he has with you there, but I'd never say he's lazy in bed. I mean that he never tried very hard to be anything other than a booty call with me. Which was fine. That's what I proposed to him in the first place, and I was okay with it. He said if I met someone I liked better or whatever, he wouldn't be offended. If I was single, then we got together when we were in the same place. I never expected more than that because it's what we discussed, but once he met you, he didn't even bother to call me anymore.”

“He said you had a boyfriend.”

“I did, here and there. But there were several times when he first met you that I was single and he didn't pursue me, even though I made it clear I was available.”

“What are you saying? That he turned you down?”

“I'm saying he knew I was single and he didn't call me and that when
I
called
him,
he didn't make any effort to get together with me, even though I let him know I was interested.”

“He called you when he was here recently, didn't he?”

“No, he didn't. I saw him at the premiere, asked if he wanted to come over to my place the next day and he said
sure
. I told him if he didn't want to do this anymore, say so, and he said he was interested. The next day, he was seriously distracted. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me he'd been seeing Rob's assistant for a while, then smiled like the Cheshire Cat.”

Jenna couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. “He told you about me?” Reggie nodded. “What did he say?”

Reggie smiled. “He said you were brilliant and beautiful. That I'd like you because you were sassy, like me. He went from sullen to happily animated as soon as he started talking about you. You're not me. Trust me. Don't get me wrong, I know he likes me more than the other two. But he's in love with
you
.”

“If he's so in love with me, then why is he still sleeping with other women?”

“Because he
can
? You gave him permission and he's terrified of commitment. From the beginning with me, he made it clear that he didn't do commitment. He never calls or contacts me if we're not in the same place. I thought it was because that's what we'd agreed, but after a while, I realized he didn't want more.”

“And what makes you so sure I'm different? He doesn't call or contact me when he's not here, either.”

“Did he call you before he came here the other day?”

“He called the week before.”

“He's never called me that far ahead. Did you tell him you were busy?” Jenna sighed and nodded. “And yet, he still didn't call me. If I hadn't asked him to my place, he wouldn't have initiated it. He was ready to leave for the premiere without saying anything. Even if he doesn't know it, he's in love with you. I'd bet he wants to commit to you and he's afraid.”

“Afraid of commitment?”

“Afraid you don't feel the same way as him.”

“Why would he think that? I've been in love with him from the beginning.”

“I don't know. I'm not him. But I'd bet that's part of his issue. Guys can be emotional wimps. Look, if you don't want me to sleep with him anymore, I won't. I like you. You're a cool chick and you're a real person. That's hard to find in this town. I'd like for us to be friends and if me sleeping with Liam makes that impossible, then I'll stop.”

“I don't have a say in that. Our agreement was that we could see other people.”

“I won't pursue him, but I'll keep things the way they always have been between me and him. I'll be honest, I like sleeping with him. If you're okay with it and he still asks, I'd say yes. I take it you're hesitant to push him to be exclusive?”

She shook her head. “I don't want to lose him. What's the saying? If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they're yours. If not, they never were. If he's meant to be mine, he will.”

“In the meantime, have you dated anyone else since you met him?”

Jenna blushed. Chris answered for her. He'd quietly listened, which was unusual for him.

“She hasn't dated anyone but Liam since she moved back to California. I told her that she should go out, try to meet someone else, but she won't. I can't help much. I don't know many straight men who aren't dicks or Hollywood users. My Jenna deserves better than that.”

Jenna leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, hon.”

Reggie smiled. “I know people. We should at least take you to places where single men congregate. I doubt Chris takes you anywhere but gay bars.”

“Oh,
please.
I don't hang out at gay bars. I don't hang out at
bars
anymore
.
But you're right. I'm not the best resource. Look, hon, we're not saying you should replace him, but you should give yourself the option of meeting other people. Don't let life pass you by while you wait for him. He might never come around.”

Jenna nodded. That was what she feared most, waiting for Liam and then missing out on marriage and a family. And that's what he was saying to her when he left L.A. eighteen months ago. He didn't want her to wait for him.

Just in case.

Chapter 13

Minneapolis, Minnesota, one year ago...

Jenna spent most of the year after she met Reggie hanging out with her new friend and occasionally dating. Liam wasn't around much – he was gone with Rob often because their boss was on set when he wasn't at a premiere or required at an awards show.

True to her word, Reggie let Liam contact her, and he only called if Jenna wasn't available. If Jenna agreed to see him, then he didn't pursue Reggie at L.A. premieres. Even outside L.A., he pursued Reggie only once or twice. To see what Liam would do, Chris and Reggie arranged for her to be unavailable for one of Rob's Berlin premieres. Chris said Liam was grumpy, but there was no indication that he'd tried to find a random girl instead.

Jenna made arrangements to be at MSU a couple of times when she knew Liam would be around. She went to Homecoming again the fall right after she met Reggie. This time, she spent longer in Minneapolis, and things between her and Liam were better than ever. They hung out with the Deacons, went to a club with Rick and Kelly, took a day trip leaf peeping, stayed in a cabin overnight, went to local museums and showed each other all their favorite spots around Minneapolis/St. Paul. Then they did much of the same in the spring, when Jenna attended a conference at school. She was around for a week and Liam took several days off so they could be together.

Regardless of how great things between them seemed, no matter how often they got together or how much Liam showed her he loved her – even though he never said it – he still didn't make any effort when they weren't in the same place. Occasionally, he still slept with Reggie, though not often. She didn't ask about the other two, convinced that they didn't matter anymore.

Jenna and Reggie had told Liam straight away that they were now friends. While he'd pretended like he didn't care, they agreed that it made him uncomfortable. It bothered Jenna that Reggie still slept with Liam, but she had little control over that.

She made plans again for Homecoming. This time, though he wouldn't automatically be there, she knew Liam could switch schedules with Alan if he chose. She wanted to see if he'd try to be with her outside his regular schedule if she facilitated it.

But he didn't.

He left keys to the condo for her with the doorman, left his car for her to drive, but he didn't return to Minneapolis, despite the fact that Rob and Rick would have made it happen and they were in North Carolina. Without difficulty, he could have flown to and from Minneapolis for a few days.

Liam's lack of effort gave Jenna serious pause.

When she arrived at the condo, she let herself inside, sat on the sofa and cried. Her life always felt empty without him, but the silent condo was a perfect representation of it all. She'd laid on his bed, hoping that the pillows would smell like Liam, when she'd noticed a laptop sitting on the desk.

She booted it and grimaced when she saw that he still had Vista for an OS. Curious, she nosed around and found nothing interesting on it. Apparently, he didn't surf a lot of porn or even keep many pictures. In fact, there were two pictures in his place, which sat on the mantel below the giant flatscreen TV: one of him and Catie when they were little and one of his niece, Lila Beth.

Suddenly, she had a mission, something to occupy her time while she was at the condo without him. Jenna grinned when she thought of Liam the next time he opened this computer. She had no idea when that would be, but he was in for a big surprise.

**********

Lost Angeles, California, ten months ago...

Sitting at her apartment, three months after her Homecoming trip, Jenna received a call she wouldn't have expected, given how epically that experiment had failed.

“Hey, you,” Liam said, sounding a little sad.

“Hey yourself. Are you in town?” Rob, and thus, Liam, should already be on the way home to Minnesota for Christmas.

“Only for a few hours. Rob had a meeting before we head home for a few weeks. I wish it was longer. If it was even for the night, I'd come see you.”

“Would you?” Jenna could hardly believe it, but this was the first time he'd ever called when he wasn't actually in town for real. He might as well be on a layover.

“If it wasn't a nightmare to get around this stupid city, I'd make time to come see you while we're here, but you know what it's like. I'd barely get to your place and have to turn around and leave again. You going to be around the week of the Globes?”

“I should be here. Why?”

“If I have to take vacation, I'm coming. I need to see you.”

“Do you? And why is that?” She was trying not to be giddy about it. He was making plans to see her, whether or not he was working nearby, even if it wasn't convenient. This was what she'd wanted him to do three months ago.

“I miss you, baby. It's been too long since I kissed you.”

“I miss you, too. You just miss my kisses?”

“I miss everything about you,” he whispered.

“I miss everything about you, too. I'll be here the week of the Globes. You promise you're going to be here?”

“I'll be there. I promise. I can't wait to see you.”

“I'll be here with bells on...”

“And nothing else?” he teased.

“If you insist...”

**********

It was the week before Christmas and Jenna was going out of her mind. She'd woken that morning to a flurry of internet traffic and it sent her into a panic. There was a video online, a shaky, cell phone camera – obviously, not anyone who bothered to have an iPhone – and it showed Rob making out with some girl at a club in Minneapolis. She had gone there once with Liam, Rick and Kelly. It was an exclusive, private club. Everyone online wanted to know who the girl was.

In order to repair his reputation, Deac Roberts hadn't been seen with a woman socially since Lola had dumped him. In the three and a half years since, Jenna had dealt with rumors and speculation, but Rob hadn't actually dated or even really talked to that many women, let alone been kissing anyone in public.

She dialed Rob as soon as she saw the first signs of insanity. He needed to know what was happening straight away, because tomorrow he had interviews and later today, he had a business meeting with some guy from
Art Wurks
magazine related to the big Fluxus event they were throwing at the Walker Art Museum over New Year's.

It took him a second to pick up. “Jen, what's up?” He didn't sound like he'd been sleeping, despite the fact that he should have.

“Rob, there's a video online of you with some girl at
The Glass Door
. It says it's from last night. Do you know anything about that? Do I need to scrub it?”

“Yeah, you're about an hour late.”

“That's really from last night? You were with some girl?”

“Yes.”

“Where is she now?”

“She's here.”

“In your hotel room?”

“Yes.” She should've known. He hadn't called her gorgeous.

“It's what, 7 a.m.? Did you sleep with her?”

“No, not last night.”

“Did you sleep with her this morning?”

“Jenna, you know I'm not going to tell you that.”

“Oh, sorry. She's there. How did you already know about the video? Did Barry call you?” That would be awful, if Barry found out before Jenna. He was the assistant to Rob's publicist and sister, Amy. Jenna worked hard to be the first one to find anything and get rid of it when necessary. Not to mention that it was one of her primary job functions.

“No, her sister called an hour ago.”

“An hour ago! It's barely 7 a.m. there! What the hell are they doing up that early surfing the internet?”

“Well, she's from the East Coast, they were all awake at that hour.”

“Damn, Rob, I'm sorry. I'd have told you sooner if I knew. I called as soon as I found out.”

“I know.”

“Are you mad?” It was her first failure as his guard dog.

“No, I don't blame you, it's not your fault. You did your job; if it was just me, then you'd have been right on top of things. You had no way of knowing.”

“I would have known if I had that notification app set up.”

“I told you I don't want you doing that, Jen.”

“If I did, I'd catch stuff like this before anyone else and I'd get rid of it.”

“No, it's not that crucial. Stop. You need to have a real life and get sleep, too.”

“Fine. Is this going to affect your lunch meeting?”

“No, don't worry about that.”

“Are you sure? That's more important than interviews with entertainment rags.”

“Yeah, I think I've got that one covered. Call Barry and let him know so we can handle it for the interviews tomorrow.”

“I'll call you again later and update you.”

“Okay. Yeah, let me know.”

“Talk to you then.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Crap. If he'd just let her create that app for her phone to alert her when his name appeared fresh online, she could have a leg up and get the news instantly. Then she could scrub junk like this before it got very far. She sighed. He was the boss.

A couple hours later,
Sexy Back
played and Jenna answered straight away. “What's up, boss man? Some new development I should know about?”

“Hey, gorgeous. Sorry I couldn't talk this morning.”

“That's okay. Was she naked next to you?”

Rob laughed. “Yeah, a bit of coitus interruptus.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. Not literally?”

“No. Don't worry about it. Look, she's new to the paparazzi stuff. Can you set up an algorithm to search her name, too?”

“Gotta tell me her name first, boss.”

“Oh, sorry. It's Emily. Emily Ward. She's from Maine.”

“Okay. It'll be done when I get off the phone. So, was Liam out with you last night?”

“Are you asking if he was scouring the club for hookups?” Jenna could hear the amusement in Rob's voice.

“No. I was just wondering if he was working last night.”

“Ah. Wondering if he was with Ally?”

“Maybe.”

“I don't know, but I doubt it. He was beat from jet lag and said he was going straight home to do laundry. She won't see him after 10 p.m. He won't be available in the evening for a while.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He's guarding Em and she's swamped with museum stuff.”

“What are you talking about? You gave her a guard? And she's with the museum? Is that how you met her?”

Rob explained how he'd met Emily at a toy store the night before when he literally ran into her. Later, he saw her again at the Debussy hotel, where Emily was a guest.

Rather than stay at his house, Rob was camping at the hotel for a week while he conducted business in the city. Intrigued by her disinterest in his celebrity, he'd asked Emily to dinner and on the way to a club, they'd been chased by a photographer.

They ended up at
The Glass Door,
Rob's place of last resort when the paparazzi became intense in Minneapolis. Once things started heating up – after the moments captured on that crappy video – Rob knew they needed to go somewhere more private before they made headlines. That was how they wound up at his penthouse suite.

“And she works for the museum?”

“No, she works for
Art Wurks
.”

“She's your date for lunch. That's why you said you had that covered. Does she know?”

Rob laughed. “No. I didn't tell her. Becky and Rick are in on it, and I'm surprising her. I'm taking her to the house after lunch.”

“Oh? Planning to show her your bedroom?” Jenna teased.

“Funny. You asked for a tour. I seem to recall that you were the one with the ulterior motive. Did
you
ever tell Liam? He's never mentioned it and I've never told him.”

“No! Are you kidding? What would be the point? We both know it was never going to happen again after I met Liam. You should skip telling Emily, since you're so smitten with her.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You gave her a guard, not
any
guard, but your best friend. Don't tell me that was Rick being cautious or wanting to give her someone who could be discreet. You
asked
Rick to put Liam on her so she'll be comfortable with Liam long-term.”

“Yeah. She's...she's the one, Jenna.”

“The one? You mean,
The One
? Forever?”

“Yeah. She's like you, only not a genius, and with so much sexual chemistry and emotional connection, I could drown in it.”

Jenna's heart lurched a little. She tried to ignore it. “It's about time you found yours. How long have we talked about that?”

“Don't tell me you forgot. That pains me,” Rob said in mock sadness.