Killian (On the Line #1) - Brenda Rothert Page 0,18
up those groceries, please,” Sid said. “And if you can grab my dry cleaning, too, you’ll be done for the day after that.”
“No problem,” Nicole said, smiling as I sat down in the other chair in front of Sid’s desk.
“Hi,” I said to Sid, admiring the way she looked in my shirt. It was baggy on her, but it was mine and she was wearing it, which did something unexpected for me. Seeing her dark red hair against the gray fabric made me instantly hot for her.
“Hi.” The corners of her lips tugged up a little in a smile.
“How’s it going?” Nicole asked, breaking the invisible current of electricity between Sid and me.
“Nicole,” Sid said sharply. Her assistant gave her an innocent stare. “Thanks. I think that covers everything.”
Nicole jumped up and left the room without another word, and Sid rolled her eyes as the door closed.
“Thanks again for the shirt,” she said. “How was practice and training this morning?”
“The usual. How’s work?”
“The usual.”
“So the charity thing this weekend,” I said, clearing my throat. It’d been a long damn time since I’d asked a woman out. “You wanna go together?”
She just looked at me for a second before answering. “That would probably send the wrong message.”
“To who, me?” I arched a brow at her.
She smiled. “No, to everyone else. And I have a friend coming into town who will go with me Saturday.”
Was it Lance, the guy I’d seen in photos with her online?
“Okay,” I said, shrugging. “So I guess I’ll see you around.”
“You’ll still be there, right?”
“Yep.”
“See you there, then.”
Sidney
I caught a glimpse of my gown in a mirror on the wall of the hotel lobby. It was the perfect shade of Flyers blue. Lucky I’d already had it in my New York closet and it had been shipped here on time.
“This place is shabby,” Lance said, looking around as we walked into the hotel’s ballroom.
“This is Indy, not New York,” I reminded him. “And I like it.”
“It’s old.”
“In a good way. I’ll take a restored building like this over a new build any day. They don’t make gorgeous stone structures like this anymore.”
He pulled me close. “I’ve missed my real estate expert. You sure we can’t skip this and go back to your place, gorgeous?”
“Of course not.” I pulled away and smoothed out my dress. “Things between us are strictly platonic now. You know that.”
“Can’t we be friends with benefits?”
“No, we can’t.”
“I’ve missed you, Sidney.” Lance gave me a scolding look. “Haven’t you missed me?”
“I’ve been super busy. All I do is work and sleep.” In other words, no.
“What’s happening to us?”
“We broke up eight months ago, Lance.”
“I really thought the break would bring us closer together.”
“I don’t want a relationship right now, not with you or anyone.”
He glanced around, looking nervous. “Let’s not have this conversation right now, sweetheart. I came a long way and I just want us to have a good time.”
I suppressed a sigh. Lance had never listened to me when we were together, and nothing had changed since we broke up.
“I’ll get the drinks,” he said, walking away.
We fell into the familiar routine, a routine that was borne from knowing one another for so long. From the time we first became a couple, he never asked what I wanted to drink. He liked the familiarity of knowing that I’d always have a white wine. But, unfortunately, tonight I didn’t.
However, drinking a glass of wine I didn’t want was preferable to an argument. I wished I hadn’t agreed to let Lance come with me tonight. What I really wanted was to be here alone.
A hand on my back made me stiffen with awareness. Wrong as it was, I wanted it to be Killian.
“Hey,” Keri said, squeezing me in a hug.
I smiled, not letting my disappointment show. “Keri, look at you. You look spectacular.”
She wore a form fitting sequined gown in the same Flyers blue I was wearing. Her hair was swept to one side, with elegant waves flowing over one shoulder.
“Thanks, you look great, too. That color is perfect with your red hair.” She gave me a nod of approval and then glanced discreetly around, “What’s Lance doing here?”
I rolled my eyes. “Long story. He just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Impressive, since you usually deliver a pretty convincing no.”
I couldn’t tell her I’d caved because I knew having Lance with me tonight was a guarantee there was no way I could leave with Killian. He’d been on my mind constantly, and I was