Reckless Abandon (19 page)

“Listen, you keep coming here on Fridays after you leave Concord—stay the full weekend when you don’t sing at Finnegan’s—and I’ll stay at your place Sundays and Mondays. Sound good?”

The apartment brightens with the return of our smiles.

“You’ve given this some thought,” I tease.

“You’ve been my only thought for quite some time, Ms. Harris.” He seals his declaration with a kiss.

“I need to go for a run. Do you have a good route around here?” I pick up my backpack, which only holds my running gear.

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

“All right, Turner,” I tease, “but you’ll probably have to slow down a bit.”

“Ha. With you? You’re probably right ...”

I playfully punch his shoulder before we dress and head out for a run.

* * *

“That was a great route, Adrian!” I feel exhilarated and refreshed for the first time in days.

“Yeah,” he pants, “told you I’d have to keep up with you.” He playfully smacks my butt as the elevator doors close.

“Good to see some things never change,” I quip before kissing his cheek.

When I’m with Adrian, in the moment, thoughts of Bo are light years away. It’s when I’m alone or too deep inside my head, that thoughts of what
could
have been seep in. Just stay in the moment, and no one will get hurt.

When we reach Adrian’s door, I hear someone banging around in the kitchen and stop short.

“Is that housekeeping?” I ask.

“Nah, that’s probably just Pace.” Adrian unlocks his door with annoyance.

“Your brother’s here? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Adrian’s older brother Pace was one of my favorite people at Princeton. He graduated the year Adrian and I got together, and I only saw him a few times after that. Adrian swings his door open, and I let out a childish squeal.

“Pace!”

Startled, he drops the spatula in his hand and whips around.

“November? What the hell?” He jogs toward me and pulls me into a hug, spinning me around twice for good measure before setting me down.

While it’s clear Pace and Adrian are brothers, Pace is nearly six-foot-six, towering six inches over his younger brother. Built like a brick wall, and athletic to boot, he could have played nearly any sport at any college of his choosing. His family’s tradition of Princeton, however, overruled any athletic aspirations he may have had.

“All right, you two,” Adrian teases.

“Where the fuck have you been hiding her, Adrian?” Pace squeezes my shoulders, forcing all the air from my lungs.

“It’s good to see you, too, Pace.” I wriggle out of his hold and pour a glass of water. “I think the real question is what are
you
doing here?”

“I live here, smartass. Well, not here in this apartment,” he continues when he sees my confused look, “but in this building. I’m one floor up.”

“Of course you are.” I roll my eyes at the brotherly competition that hasn’t died down. “Guess medical school served you well?”

Adrian covers his mouth in laughter, and Pace punches him in the shoulder.

“What?” I ask.

“Pace dropped out of medical school two years in,” Adrian says.

My eyes bulge out of my head. “You’re kidding! Did your parents have joint coronaries?”

The brothers laugh and shake their heads. Pace tells me that his parents were understanding of his decision, being that he did try medical school for two years and promised to pay them back for their investment.

“Being a doctor just didn’t turn out to be what I wanted to do long-term.” Pace shrugs.

“What did you want to do long-term?” I ask.

“Make a shitload of money. I work for the company that owns this place.” Pace grins. If there’s one thing you can say about the foul-mouthed Turner brother, it’s that he’s one hundred percent honest. “Seriously though, November. Where’d you resurface from? It’s been so long.”

It’s clear from the look on both of their faces that I haven’t exactly been a topic of recent conversation.

“So, you live one floor apart and I’ve never come up?” I eye Adrian, who looks out to the harbor.

“Oh, you’ve come up all right.” Pace crosses his arms in front of his chest, tucking his fingers under his armpits.

“Shut it, Pace,” Adrian commands.

Silence befalls the previously light atmosphere. That’s my cue.

“Well, I’m going to take a shower.” I clear my throat and disappear into the bathroom.

When I’m dried and dressed, I find Pace alone in the living room, eating the omelet he was preparing when we walked in.

“Where’s Adrian?” I ask as I slide onto the stool next to Pace. I’ve always been comfortable around him. The big brother role exudes from his core; it’s nice to see that hasn’t changed in the last few years.

Pace sips his orange juice and watches me from the corner of his eye. “He went around the corner to grab you guys some bagels.”

“What gives, Pace? Tell me...before he comes back.” I know he’s holding something back, and it’s irritating.

“Well, obviously when you two broke up in college,” Pace launches in with little thought, “he was a mess for a while. After graduation, law school took up most of his time.”

“And bimbos.” I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, those too. Anyway, when he took the contract job with DROP, and saw that your organization was on the table, he became a nervous wreck. He thought abou
t suggesting every organization
but
yours. I told him not to be such a fool, so he went for it. God,” Pace pauses and shakes his head, “you should have seen the sorry sight that walked into this apartment the day after you guys all went out—when he figured out something was going on with that Bo dude.”

My neck suddenly feels hot, and I look down.

“No, it’s OK, girl. Don’t worry. I told him he should have just gone right for you, but, you know how he is all “respectful” and whatnot.” Paces eye roll elicits a huge laugh from me.

“I take it you’re still single?” Monogamy, and relationships in general, were never Pace’s strong suit.

“You got it, baby.” He winks and brings his dishes to the sink. “I guess, given the fact that you’re here...things didn’t really ...”

“No, things with Bo didn’t pan out—so to speak.” I save Pace from his social fumble.

I spend the next several minutes telling Pace about everything that happened in Concord. Adrian walks in during the middle of it, but resigns himself to listening with his back turned, toasting our bagels. He slides my plate in front of me as my voice cracks around the details of the hotel room. I clear my throat several times in an attempt to sound composed, but the truth is, I’ll never get used to telling the story. Someday I’ll just have to stop. Adrian sweeps my hair away from the side of my neck, replacing it with his lips. Pace’s eyes leave mine for a moment as he studies his brother; when they return to me they’re different, softer. He believes in us—he always has.

“So, that’s it. That’s what the fuck I’m doing here.” I shoot Pace a wry smile.

“Thanks for clearing that up, November.” He chuckles and flashes a sexy, lopsided grin. It’s really a shame he won’t settle down. Well, I suppose it’s no shame for the hordes of women vying for his attention constantly. He stands to leave.

“Hey, before you go—remember Monica? She and her boyfriend Josh got engaged a few weeks ago. I’m throwing an engagement party for them at Finnegan’s in Barnstable—Fourth of July weekend. You should come.”

“I thought she didn’t like him,” Adrian spits out.

“No, it’s you she doesn’t care for. She loves Pace,” I tease. “You’re coming with me anyway, so it’s a non-issue. She’s over it.” I shrug.

Pace leaves, and Adrian and I finish our breakfast. I leave out the part about Pace telling me the emotional turmoil I inadvertently put Adrian through. Adrian heads to work, and I deal with my conference calls. Rae and Monica each call me once, but I ignore them both.

Chapter Twenty-One

“That was a great set, guys. Awesome work tonight.” I chug water backstage at Finnegan’s, grateful that I’ve made it all the way to Saturday night without having to talk to anyone about Ainsley and Bo. Judging by Rae’s appearance in the crowd tonight, however, I know my grace period is over.

After a few minutes of anxiously winding my mic cord, I look up to find myself alone with Regan. Josh hasn’t said much to me since the concert. I guess that’s to be expected; Monica seems to be his barometer for interactions with me lately.

“Nice work yourself, Ember.” Regan stares at me for an uncomfortable amount of time.

“Regan, I’m fine...really.”

“That was intense, Ember. After you left ...”

“Nope
,” I stop him. “I have
zero
interest in the rest of that sentence. I don’t care what happened or didn’t happen. I saw what I saw with Ainsley, he knows about Adrian, it’s all settled.” I nervously tie my hair into a disastrous bun.

Regan’s shoulders sink with his long sigh.

“I see Rae’s here. I should go talk to her,” I cut in before he can tell me whatever was going to follow that sigh.

“Yeah, enough ignoring us—I gave you two days, I can’t do any more.” Monica busts through the door, Rae in tow.

Regan kisses Rae on the lips before excusing himself to the bar, leaving me alone with the firing squad.

“I’m sorry for ignoring you guys yesterday,” I start.

“No, you’re not. But you’re lucky I only called once. This one forced me to leave you alone.” Monica gestures to Rae.

“I don’t want to talk about what happened at your house, OK, Rae? Bo and I both said things...look, I just don’t want to talk about it. We’ve proven over the last several weeks that we can’t be friends.”

“Ember, stop,” Rae ceases my rant, “I just wanted to tell you that I get it. It’s all-or-nothing with you two, and nothing seems to be winning right now.” Her face isn’t as sad as the words she just let out. My brow crinkles for a second.

“OK, well, thank you. I don’t want things to change between us, though ...” I walk toward her.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Rae smiles and gives me a hug.

“Anyway, let’s talk engagement party. It’s going to be here, the Friday of Fourth of July weekend. Rae, you’ve gotta come. Also, Mon, I told Pace to come.”

“Pace Turner? How is that gorgeous asshole?” Monica laughs.

“He’s good. Dropped out of medical school and is making, quote, a ‘shitload’ of money, working for the company that owns The W. He lives there too; one floor above Adrian, of course.”

“Of course,” Monica snorts.

With all of my fires currently contained, I’m able to enjoy the rest of the night with my girlfriends, thankful Rae’s still on that list.

* * *

The next two weeks fly by with ease. Well, relative ease. I’ve been busy splitting my time between organizing Monica and Josh’s engagement party and spending time with Adrian. Our arrangement has been seamless thus far. He spends Sunday and Monday nights with me, we enjoy a decadent goodbye on Tuesday morning, and we see each other again Friday evenings.

My time at DROP has been uncomfortable at best. While Rae, Monica, and I have worked well together, few words pass between Bo and me. And, when they do, it’s typically in the form of email. I’ll update him on grants I’m pursuing, and he’ll send me info on ones he’d like me to investigate. That’s. It. Except for the part that nearly every other day Ainsley Worthington and her clacky heels grace the halls of DROP when she brings Bo lunch. It’s not lost on me that he rarely goes out to lunch with her; but that detail only makes me grin as far as naive Ainsley’s concerned.

I, however, play a different game. It’s no game at all, really—Adrian just never comes around here. There’s no need for him to. If he did, it would be a clear sign that I’m trying to rub Bo’s face in something that I’m not. I’m happy with Adrian. Just a few years older than we were when we first dated, things are much smoother. Each of us are more confident in who we are as people; physically and emotionally.

Today is the dedication for DROP’s community center. I’m thrilled with how it’s turned out. Rae took me on a final tour yesterday, and the place is beautiful. As we stand inside the office—me, Monica, Rae, Bo, Carrie, David, and other DROP employees—it dawns on me that this is the last day for a long time that I’ll spend in Concord. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t paid attention. I let out an audible sigh, and everyone except Bo turns briefly in my direction. He knows. Monica discreetly squeezes my fingertips. She knows, too.

“Thank you all for coming today,” Bo speaks into the microphone, while the rest of us stand to either side of him. “The tireless hours put in by the people standing here with me have brought this center to life. A special thank you goes out to Carrie, November, and Monica from The Hope Foundation, who have uprooted their lives the last several weeks in order to get the center off the ground.” His voice is proud but stern. It’s all pomp, with loads of circumstance lingering in the background.