“I’m just a little concerned. You haven’t had the best luck with your last two choices.”
Her face heated. “I know, I know. But this time I got names of his friends and checked him out.”
Charlie gave a rough laugh. “And what do you think those friends will say? He’s an asshole? Come on, Jill. What do you really know about him?”
Her stubborn streak surged up from deep inside her. “I know what I need to. And I met with him twice as much as the others. We’re good to go here.” She grabbed her purse. “Besides, he owns the bar where his band plays. He’s a solid citizen.”
“Who is interested in a Christmas wedding with you?”
“Damn straight he is. We already talked about it. And Christmas is only nine months away.” She nibbled on her lower lip. “I don’t want to be panicking at the last minute.”
Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. “I continue to be astounded at these men—”
“Drummers,” she interrupted. “That makes them special.”
“—these men who fall into these things with you. Just like that.” He snapped his fingers.
“They know what they’re getting into,” she pointed out.
“Yes, but do you? The last two were near disasters.”
“I’m past that,” she sniffed. “Are you coming with me or not?”
“I promised, didn’t I? Besides, who knows what the next disaster will be?”
Charlie was very quiet as he drove them to the Black Velvet Band, the pub Aiden owned. His silence gave Jill an uneasy feeling, and she wondered if she should just tell him to drop her off and leave her to do this herself. But then she remembered the last two episodes and waiting around for a cab if she needed one wasn’t too appealing.
He was quiet as they sat through the sets at the pub, too. The place was jammed and decorated with more green than Jill thought she’d ever seen. Aiden was effusive in his greetings, settling them at a table he’d held for them and bringing them pints on a tray himself.
“I need to work the bar between sets, my love,” he told her. Then he leaned his brawny body down and whispered in her ear, “But I’m going to make time to show you my office before we close so we can talk about the rest of the night.”
She shivered with anticipation, his green eyes sending her hot messages.
The music captured her for the rest of the evening, both the ballads and the lively tunes. Aiden’s red hair flew wildly as he worked his drums, even playing a solo on a couple of numbers, unusual in an Irish band. Jill could feel the beat thrumming through her body, and her pulse responded with an answering beat. She could almost feel the tremors in her pussy and her breasts and crossed her legs to squeeze her thighs together to contain the vibrations in her inner walls.
Charlie said very little during the breaks, not even asking again if she was sure or if she wanted to think about it one more time. He looked both thoughtful and worried, and Jill wished she could remind him this was her decision and she was prepared for any consequences. She hoped.
After the next to last set, Aiden turned the bar over to his assistant and came to fetch Jill.
“Let’s go chat in my office,
a chara
. I want a few minutes alone with you, okay? The end of the evening is too far away.”
“Of course.” She gave him her hand, and he helped her rise from the chair. “I’ll be right back,” she told Charlie, who just nodded silently.
Jill was slightly nervous as Aiden led her down the narrow hallway and into a room that was jammed with a desk, filing cabinets, and other office detritus. Aiden closed and locked the door and swept her into his arms. His mouth was hot on hers, his lips rich and full, his tongue a living thing as it probed her mouth, licking her inner surfaces.
Every one of her nerves responded as he pressed her to the door with his big body, his hands buried in her hair. By the time he lifted his head, she could barely catch her breath.
“
A ghra
,” he murmured, trailing kisses along the column of her neck and beneath her jaw. “You taste and smell so delicious.”
One large hand skimmed along her ribs and slid upward to cup a breast. The heat of his fingers seared her flesh even through the silk of her blouse and the thin satin of her bra. She pushed herself against him, urging him to hold tighter, squeeze harder. At her mound, she could feel the thick heated rod of his cock, huge and swollen beneath the jeans he wore.
For a brief moment, she wondered what she was doing in a back office with this man instead of waiting for the close of the bar when they’d have the rest of the night in a proper place. Then she banished the thought, concentrating instead on how he excited her. How much he wanted her. Enough to sneak in these few moments together before they left the pub. As his lips skated over her skin and his hands caressed her, images of how they would be in bed, naked and unrestrained, danced through her head and aroused her even more.
He cupped her buttocks, gripping them for a brief instant before lifting her and placing her on the desk. There was barely enough room for her to sit, but Aiden pushed papers aside before yanking up her short skirt and spreading her thighs. He stared at her crotch, covered only with a bit of green silk.
“I fantasized about this,” he told her in a gravelly voice. “Ever since the last time we met. It was all I could think about.”
Better and better.
With a quick flick of his wrist, he yanked the thong down her legs and tossed it to the side. Opening the lips of her cunt with his large fingers, he gave her a long, hungry stare before he leaned forward and licked the length of her slit.
Jill moaned at the touch, looking down on his thick red curls through eyes hazy with lust. His tongue was doing wicked things to her, lapping and teasing, thrusting inside her waiting channel, then tracing around the rim of her opening. Holding her in place with his warm hands, he feasted on her cream, nipping with his teeth, then soothing with his tongue.
Heat flashed through her, her blood pumping as her nerves woke up and danced everywhere in her body. When Aiden closed his teeth lightly over the aching bud of her clit, she had to bite down on her fist to keep from screaming. Over and over, he teased and lapped and soothed, thrusting his tongue inside, then gradually drawing it out.
Low in her belly, the climax began to unwind, twisting its way upward through her body. Her breathing hitched, and she thrust herself toward Aiden’s mouth. Sliding his hands beneath the cheeks of her ass, he pulled her closer yet, then moved one hand to push three fingers inside her. He bit down on her clit, and she exploded, wrapping her legs around his neck to pull him in tighter, riding his fingers as he fucked her with a strong, steady motion.
The spasms went on and on, shaking her entire body, the walls of her pussy clamping down until the last tremor had died and she could finally catch her breath again.
Oh, my god!
If he was this good with a little quickie, she was sure they’d set the bed on fire.
Aiden withdrew his fingers, gave her cunt one last stroke with his tongue and smoothed down her skirt. Drawing her head down to his, he kissed her slowly, giving her the taste of herself that lingered on his lips. He smoothed down her hair then lifted her from the desk, retrieved her thong and handed it to her.
“Wow!” She gave him a shy grin.
“Indeed,” he grinned.
A sudden pounding on the door shocked her back to reality.
“Aiden?” a woman’s voice called out. “Aiden, I know you’re in there. Open the fucking door.”
Jill widened her eyes. “Who is that? What does she want?”
He looked at his hands. “Well, you see,
a chroi
, it’s like this. There’s a sort of complication—”
“Holy shit.” Her brain cells scrambled to fall into place. “Are you married?”
He still didn’t look at her. “Not exactly.”
“What does not exactly mean?” she demanded. “You are, or you’re not.”
The pounding on the door began again.
“Not yet, but—”
“Then what was this all about? The phone calls. The coffee dates. The big plans.”
Now he looked up, his face contorted in distress. “It’s just, when I heard your voice and then saw you, I had to—I mean, I wanted—”
“Never mind.” She hopped off the desk and yanked open the door. “He’s all yours,” she told the angry woman standing there. “I wish you well of him.”
Charlie saw her coming, stood up, and threw some bills on the table. He didn’t say anything, just took her arm and led her to the door.
“No questions,” she told him.
He nodded and opened the car door.
Shit!
Chapter Two
Spring
April
They were sitting in a coffee shop, fresh cups of java and mouthwatering brownies on the table. Jill pored over her iPad as Charlie pretended to text but watched her from the corner of one eye. She was into the fourth month of her plan and no further along toward her goal than she’d been on New Year’s Day when she’d hatched it. None of the recommendations had worked out so far, but she still had several to go. Along with some alternates, just in case.
“Maybe you should forget about holidays and focus on something else,” Charlie said, a slight sarcastic edge to his tone.
Jill looked up at him, expecting to see irritation or even censure on his face. But his expression was carefully blank. Unreadable. He lifted his coffee, taking a swallow and watching her over the rim of the cup. He’d said very little about her three disasters. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it hung there in the air, invisible.
“As a matter of fact,” she told him, setting down the iPad, “there aren’t any exciting holidays in April anyway. Just a lot of rain.”
“So you’re, what? Looking for a weatherman?”
“Meteorologist,” she corrected between gritted teeth. “That’s what they’re called. And as a matter of fact, yes. Mitzi’s boyfriend knows the really cute one on Channel 6, so she’s setting me up with him.”
Charlie choked on his coffee, setting the cup down and blotting up the spillover.
“You know I was kidding, right?” he asked, still wiping at his T-shirt.
Jill glared at him. “Well, I’m not. He’s perfect for April. And he plays in a band called—get this—Rainy Day Blues.”
“Jesus, Jill.” He shook his head. “Are you sure this is all worth it? Maybe you should try a different tack. Or maybe just cancel the whole thing and let nature take its course.”
“I tried that more than once, remember? Can you spell disaster? Besides, everything is paid for, and I don’t want to lose the money.”
He curved his fingers around her wrist, a gentle touch that sent unexpected sparks flying through her.
This is stupid. I’m reacting to any man because the last three were such washouts.
But his touch was also reassuring and settling. And when she looked up at him again, he was smiling.
“You know I’m here for you, no matter what. Right?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “And you’ll never know how much it means to me.” She tilted her head. “Maybe when we get this taken care of we can put together a project to find the right woman for you.”
That might even be fun. Who wouldn’t like a guy six feet tall, lean and muscular, with shaggy blond hair, eyes as dark as espresso, even a tiny dimple at one corner of his mouth. Charlie was a real hottie. Too bad he was her best friend.
He put up his hands in a signal for stop. “No thanks, kitten. I can only live through one of these. I can handle my own love life.”
She frowned. “And do you have one? You spend so much time with me, when do you have time for yourself?” She realized she had no idea what kind of woman Charlie dated. What he did with his spare time when he wasn’t hanging around her. What appealed to him. For a very brief moment, she chastised herself for being so selfish in their relationship. Then she squelched the feeling. She had important things to do. When she got herself settled, she could focus on Charlie.
The dimple flashed as he grinned. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m doing just fine.”
She might have accepted his words at face value except she heard a faint undertone of…something.
Charlie’s a big boy. He can handle himself. You have to focus on your own situation.
“Would you like to come to the tasting with me next month? The caterer has put together a list of yummy foods to choose from.”
“Shouldn’t you be doing that with your fiancé? I mean, when you decide on one.”
“Of course, of course.” She took another sip of her coffee. Why was she so jittery today? “I just want to be prepared. To narrow the choices.”
“Uh huh. Jill, if the right guy comes along, he won’t care if you get married at Christmas or on Halloween. Or what you eat at the wedding.”
“Well, I care,” she snapped. “And I’m done discussing it.”
“So tell me about this guy and his band. And when are we going to see him?”
“I told you. It’s a blues band. They only play on weekends because of his job at Channel 6.” She tapped her iPad and turned it to face him. “Here’s his picture. Isn’t he cute?”
Charlie laughed. “Jill, guys don’t call other guys cute.” He studied the picture. “He’s not bad. How is he as a drummer, since that seems to be the main requirement?”
“He’s great. Mitzi gave me some CDs to listen to. We’ve talked on the phone, and we’re meeting Saturday for breakfast.”
“A meal, huh?” He chuckled. “The first three guys only got coffee.”
“He suggested it,” she sniffed. “Shows he has manners and knows how to treat a woman.”
“We’ll see.” He pushed away from the table. “Ready to leave? You said you wanted to watch the game tonight.”
“I do.” Baseball had always been one of her passions. It was one of the things that connected the two of them. “It’s your turn to buy the pizza.”
“Okay. Let’s hope April’s guy is a winner and doesn’t rain all over your parade.”
A week later, Jill thought about Charlie’s words because it wasn’t rain pouring over her but a deluge, helped along by bolts of lightning and loud thunder. Inside and out. She sat in the restaurant, huddled in the back booth where she and Sid Roland had eaten breakfast at the start of a wonderful morning, and stared at the table until Charlie slid into the booth across from her. He’d come running the moment she called.