Penalty Clause (4 page)

Jill lay in her bed reliving the conversation from her ride home with Andrew last night. She cringed as the memory of her words came back to her.

Oh. My. Peanuts.

I actually told Andrew Weston I wanted to have rebound sex with him. What was I thinking?

She hadn’t been thinking. She had been drunk. Jill rarely drank more than a glass of wine when she went out. She certainly never had to be driven home or spilled her guts to her steamy next-door neighbor because she over indulged. Jill wasn’t the type.

But, for some reason, last night Jill had just wanted to acknowledge her attraction to the one man who couldn’t be her rebound guy.
Now she wanted to erase the images she’d created in her head of her sharing a bed with Andrew.

With a groan, Jill rolled over
and shut her eyes against the sun and the memories of the most embarrassing encounter she’d ever had. What would she do when she ran into Andrew again? How would she face her neighbor after what she had blurted out the night before?

Jill’s husband had left her feeling humiliated and insecure. Now those feelings were magnified by the added mortification she felt after having thrown herself at her handsome neighbor. Despite her embarrassment, one other thing stuck out in her mind from the night before. She remembered the way she felt when Andrew leaned over to unbuckle her seat belt.
His body so close to hers. His breath brushing against her neck as he leaned into her. Jill closed her eyes and tried to will the images out of her head.

Crap.

It wasn’t working. Those images weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

***

Andrew slept a little later than usual, but he woke with a smile on his face. Sweet, sexy Jill wanted him to be her rebound guy. His smile grew wider at the thought. He had a feeling Jill might regret blurting out her fantasy about him and it sure as hell didn’t make it any easier for him to stay away from her now that he knew she was attracted to him. In a way, Andrew almost wished she hadn’t told him she was interested in him. Although they were both in agreement that being together couldn’t happen, knowing Jill wanted the same thing he did would make keeping their relationship platonic that much harder.  

Andrew showered and dressed in sweats and an old t-shirt. He put on his gym shoes and a fleece pullover, trying to keep his mind away from thoughts of Jill. He was meeting Chad
– Jack’s cousin and the head of Security at Sutton Capital – at the gym to play basketball at noon. Before leaving the house, Andrew went to the window and looked outside to see if Jill was around. Andrew didn’t see her out in the yard but he figured she must be up. It was already eleven o’clock.

Grabbing a few bottles of water and some aspirin, Andrew grinned as he made his way down the stairs and out to his car. He tossed his gym bag in the back seat and pulled the car down Nora’s drive, then back up the driveway next door.

He stood on Jill’s front porch with the water and aspirin in hand, ringing her bell. Andrew knew she probably wouldn’t want to see him first thing, when she was likely waking up with a hangover but he didn’t care. Call him a masochist for wanting to see an attractive woman he couldn’t have as more than a friend, but he wanted to see her again.

The door swung open and Andrew’s smile widened. How the hell did Jill manage to look so damn sexy in sweats and a tank top with her hair all messed up and her eyes barely open?

“Morning, sunshine,” Andrew said with a grin. He watched Jill’s eyes widen with the realization he was on her doorstep.

“Morning,” Jill mumbled as her face took on a crimson hue.

“Just came to help you with your hangover,” Andrew said. With his smile firmly in place, he handed her the container of painkillers and the bottled water.

“
Ugh
. I don’t think I’ve done this much damage to my body since college,” Jill said as she took the water and pills out of Andrew’s hands.

“Take those, drink all the water, and get some sleep,” Andrew said as he turned toward his car. He turned back
with a question. “Are you going to Jack and Kelly’s house tomorrow night?”

“If this headache goes away by then, yes,” Jill said.

“Ride together?” Andrew asked.

“Sure,” Jill nodded and smiled.

“Great,” Andrew smiled. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Jill sat on the edge of her bed to pull on her boots as she got ready to go out for the evening.
She knew she had to stop thinking about Andrew as anything more than a friend, but no matter how rational she tried to be, logic didn’t stop her body’s reaction to him. Even the thought that Jill would see Andrew in a few minutes had her flushed and heated, tingling in anticipation of seeing him again.

It had taken Jill an hour to choose what to wear. She wanted to look good for Andrew, but she didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard. In the end, Jill settled on a snug-fitting sweater dress. The dress came to
mid-thigh and had a cowl neckline. It was a rich reddish brown color and the tan cowboy boots she slipped on accented the sweater perfectly. The boots had teal blue accents etched into them and came to just below her knee. Teal earrings added a little flair.

When the doorbell rang,
Jill met Rev at the front door where he was busy letting out excited barks every few seconds to try to hurry Jill along. Holding Rev back with one hand, Jill opened the door to let Andrew inside. She smiled at him and felt his eyes running up and down her body in a heated appraisal. The way he looked had her feeling as if his hands were searing a pattern across her body rather than just his eyes.

“You look amazing,” Andrew said.

“Thanks,” Jill smiled.
Definitely good for my confidence
. “I just need to get Rev’s leash. Kelly wants him to play with her new puppy so we should probably drive my SUV instead of your car,” Jill said.

Jill had a feeling not many dogs had put their paws on the leather seats of Andrew’s car.

Andrew raised his eyebrows. “Yup, SUV it is,” he said with a grin.

They led Rev out the front door. The dog bounded toward the SUV with excitement
and Andrew and Jill loaded him into Jill’s Explorer.

Andrew looked longingly at his car as they got into Jill’s SUV. “I’m going to have to put Adelaide away tomorrow and get out the Tahoe. It’s time for my winter car.”

Jill laughed. “I don’t know what’s funnier. The fact that you have a winter car and a summer car, or the fact that you call your car Adelaide,” she said.

“What else would I call her? That’s her name!” Andrew said
, like the teenage boy she used to know.

Jill rolled her eyes and laughed at him
.

Andrew drove since he knew the way to Jack and Kelly’s house and he and Jill slipped into a comfortable quiet on the way to the gathering. Rev sat straight up in one of the back seats and watched out the window as if he could somehow help with the navigation if he kept an eye on things.

***

When she and Andrew arrived thirty minutes later, Jill spotted Kelly and another woman playing with Kelly’s new puppy. Andrew headed off to see Jack and Chad. Jill headed toward the women.

“Jill, you’re here!” Kelly greeted Jill enthusiastically and then bent to pet Rev.

“Rev, this is my puppy Zoe. Zoe, this is Rev,” Kelly said as she crouched down next to a fluffy black puppy. Rev lay down and rolled onto his side to allow
the puppy to climb on him. Zoe promptly began chewing Rev’s ears as the two rolled together on the floor.

Jill smiled down at the dogs. “He’s always so great with puppies. I don’t know how he knows to lay down with them, but he always does.”

Kelly grinned at Jill and then introduced Jill to the woman with the strawberry blond hair standing with them. “Jill, this is Jennie. Jennie – Jill. Jennie’s dog, Zeke, has been on puppy duty all week so he was glad to have a break when I told Jennie you’d bring Rev tonight.”

The women shook hands and exchanged greetings and open smiles. “Do you also work at Sutton Capital, Jennie?” Jill asked.

Jennie and Kelly laughed, causing Jill to look at them quizzically, wondering what the inside joke was.

“Yes,” Jennie explained. “I was Jack’s temp secretary when I overheard him explaining to Andrew that his mom’s will
required him to be married by the time he was thirty-five. If he didn’t marry within a week, he would lose a good portion of the shares of the company. I told Kelly what I had heard and she offered to marry him in exchange for her law school tuition.”

Jill’s jaw hit the floor as she gaped at Jennie and Kelly. “What? You married Jack for law school tuition?”

Kelly was completely unabashed as she responded with a huge smile on her face. “Yup! Sure did. We were supposed to be married for one year so he could satisfy the terms of his mother’s will, but then we fell madly, completely in love with each other and the rest is history.” Kelly sighed happily.

“I almost got fired for spying on Jack and telling Kelly his secret, but it was worth it.” Jennie smiled broadly and launched into the story, telling Jill how Kelly walked into Jack’s office and introduced herself to Jack’s aunt and cousin as if she were Jack’s
fiancée. In reality, Jack and Kelly had never met before. Jill listened in awe as Jennie told her about the note Kelly passed to Jack that proposed the deal.

“Jack only accepted because he thought Andrew had sent Kelly to Jack to solve his problem. When Jack figured out Kelly hadn’t been sent by Andrew, he pretty much freaked,” Jennie said.

The girls laughed over the story that had ended in one of the most romantic marriages Jill had ever seen.

Kelly looked past Jennie’s shoulder to where Chad stood talking to Christian Lang, a man who worked in tech services at Sutton.

“Chad can’t keep his eyes off of you, Jen,” Kelly said.

Jill casually turned to stand next to Kelly, leaning against a table so that it wasn’t obvious she was trying to change her angle to look at Chad. “Which one is he?”

Jennie laughed. “He’s the guy that looks like he could break any other man in this room in half with a flick of his wrist.”

Jill scanned the room and quickly located the dark-haired god that stood about two inches taller than most of the men in the room. He looked a lot like Jack but his hair was darker and he was sheer muscle. Much larger than any other man there
– that said something since there were a lot of really built men in the room, including Andrew.

Jill turned wide eyes to Kelly and Jennie. “Holy crap! He’s like a truck.”

Jennie grinned. “I know. I call him Tank if I want to get a rise out of him. Or the Hulk. He hates that one.”

Kelly and Jill laughed. “Jennie likes to taunt the big, dangerous man. She’s got a bit of a screw loose,” Kelly explained.

The girls laughed and enjoyed another minute of ogling Chad before Kelly changed the subject.

“So, what’s the story with you and Andrew? And, don’t try to tell me you just car pooled here because you’re neighbors. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you all night,” Kelly said.

Jill had been aware of Andrew’s constant attention. She felt it every time he looked her way with tingling up her spine or heat racing to parts of her body she didn’t want reacting to Andrew.

“Sorry to disappoint. Nothing is happening. Not that I can convince my body of that, though,” Jill said.

Kelly laughed and Jennie started fanning herself with one hand. “Oh, I bet he could show you more than a little fun in the bedroom.” Jennie laughed.

“No chance of anything happening?” Kelly asked.

“No, and I don’t want it to. Our families know each other and we have mutual friends,” Jill added with a pointed look at Kelly and Jennie. “Neither of us is looking for anything serious so we don’t want to have a casual relationship and then have to be a part of each other’s lives after it ends. It would just be too weird.”

“That sucks,” Kelly said, “but I get what you mean. It’s just too bad. Andrew’s such a great guy and
sooooo sexy. I thought you would be perfect for each other.”

Jennie laughed and nodded. Before Jill could answer, Andrew joined them, taking the spot right next to Jill. Jill felt her body come alive in response to him.

“Talking about me?” Andrew asked.

Kelly and Jennie laughed and Jill felt her cheeks flush red. Andrew leaned against the table next to Jill, and as he did his thigh brushed hers
– just the slightest whisper of contact, but it sent edgy energy tripping through Jill’s body. She was instantly aroused.

“What is Andrew doing now, ladies?” Jack asked as
he approached.

“Hey!” Andrew managed an indignant tone. “I just came to tell Jill I love the picture Kelly picked for over the fireplace in here.”

The group turned toward the large print above the fireplace. It showed an ice-covered tree branch sparkling in the sun. Jill had taken the shot with the sun alighting on small droplets of water that fell to the ground as they melted from the branch. The scene was so simple, but the effect was mesmerizing.

Jill beamed at the compliment. “Thank you, Andrew.”

Jennie nodded. “It does look perfect in this room, Kelly. Just like you said it would. I do think you’ll need to put something more summery in here for the spring and summer, though. You can pull this one back out each fall.”

Jill grinned at Jennie’s assessment. “That’s the idea
.”

“God, that’s brilliant,” Andrew said, turning to Jill. “You’re an artist and a business mogul. I never would have thought of seasonal art.”

“It’s beautiful,” said a man who had joined the group shortly after Jack, but who hadn’t been introduced. Jill felt his curiosity on her and smiled at him.

“Oh
, sorry. Gabe, this is Jill Walsh.” Jack made introductions. “She’s the photographer I was telling you about.” He turned to Jill.

“
Jill, this is Gabriel Sawyer. He’s an old friend of Chad’s and mine. He owns a large chain of hotels and they’re in the middle of redecorating about a third of them. Since you’re getting more into the commercial side of things with some of your prints, I thought you might like to show him some of your work.”

“I’d love to,” said Jill. “I’d imagine you don’t want anything seasonal
, though.”

“You’re right, probably not seasonal, but I definitely want to see more of your work.” Gabe smiled at Jill and Jill felt Andrew’s body tense beside her.

She wondered if Andrew was jealous of Gabe and was surprised to find she liked the idea he might be, when really his jealousy should offend her. When her ex seemed jealous, it had made Jill feel like a prized toy he didn’t want anyone else to play with. With Andrew, it felt different, although she couldn’t quite say how.