Susan Mallery - Sweet Trouble

Because they hadn’t grown up together. They were still practically strangers who just happened to be sisters.

“I’ll get through it,” Jesse said, knowing one way or the other she would. “I’m strong. I think I was always strong, I just didn’t know it then.”

“You know now,” Claire said. “Isn’t that what matters?”

JESSE SAT IN HER CAR and pulled out her cell phone. She pushed the button to dial a familiar number, then smiled when she heard the slow, low, “Hello?”

“Hi, Bill.”

“Hey, Jess. How you doing?”

“Okay. Good. Sort of.”

He chuckled. “Still trying to decide.”

“Oh, yeah. Nothing is like I thought.”

“Better or worse?”

“Both.”

“That happens.”

She gave him a brief rundown of her time in Seattle. “I’m going to be staying six months and working at the bakery. I wanted to let you know so you could replace me.”

“I’ll never be able to replace you but I’ll hire someone to take your place.”

She laughed. “You’re a charmer.”

“That’s what my mama said.”

“She was right. And how sad it is that all your charm goes to waste.”

“You appreciate it.”

“You know what I mean,” she said, the argument familiar. “Come on, Bill. It’s been six years since Ellie died. You need to think about dating, finding someone. You should be happy.”

“I tell you the same thing.”

“The circumstances are different.” The person she couldn’t forget was still alive.

“Not that different, little girl. Now get off me.”

“For now.”

“I’m going to come visit you. I miss you and Gabe more than I want to admit.”

“We’d love to see you.” She gave him Paula’s address and phone number.

“I’ll be by in the next few weeks.”

“Good.”

“Now go find yourself someone,” he instructed.

“I’m hanging up on you, Bill,” she said.

He laughed and said goodbye.

She pressed the end button on her phone and thought about what he’d said. That she should find someone.

Maybe that was possible in the future, but not now. Not until she’d resolved everything with Matt. She had to get some kind of closure, make sure she wasn’t still in love with him. Only then could she put the past behind her and look into the future.

Five Years Ago…

JESSE STOOD IN FRONT of the house for a second, before approaching and knocking softly on the door. She should have told Matt she would meet him somewhere else, but he’d said his house and she’d agreed before she’d thought the plan through.

Seconds later the door flew open and a very angry Paula Fenner stood in front of her.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice sharp. “Don’t you know what time it is?”

Jesse opened her mouth, then closed it, not sure what to say.

“He’s out with someone else,” Paula continued. “Another girl. He’s not out with you. Don’t you have any pride?”

Jesse couldn’t figure out why Matt’s mother hated her. They hardly had any contact. Jesse wasn’t even dating Matt. She was helping him. Not that Paula saw any of that. For some reason the other woman believed Jesse was a threat and attacked every time they were in the same room.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Jesse said and stepped back. “Good night.”

Paula glared at her, not moving from the entryway until Jesse climbed into her car, then the front door slammed shut.

Jesse sighed. Paula and Nicole should get together and start a “we hate Jesse” club. They’d have to fight over who got to be president. They could hang pictures of her and throw darts at them.

The silly image made her smile, then reality intruded and her smile faded.

She wished that Paula wasn’t so determined to have nothing to do with her, because Jesse sure had a lot to say to her. Paula was holding on too tight and that clinging was pushing her son away. Jesse could see it every time Matt talked about his mother. Paula was making him crazy and if she wasn’t careful, she was going to lose her son completely.

“Not my problem,” Jesse murmured as a car pulled up to hers.

Matt climbed out and approached the driver’s side. “Thanks for meeting me,” he said. “Want to come in?”

She eyed the door, then shook her head. “Your mom is still up and she wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me.”

Matt grimaced. “She’s getting worse. Come on. I know an all-night diner. Want me to drive?”

“I’ll follow you.” It would be easier if she had her own car and could just walk away at the end of the meeting.

As she started the engine, Jesse tried not to think about what Matt had spent the past few hours doing. And whom he’d been doing it with. After all, him dating was what she wanted. Her goal had been to bring out all his hidden potential and her lessons were paying off. He’d been on three dates this week alone.

He was exactly the kind of guy women wanted-funny, smart, caring, good-looking and wealthy. Not that any of his dates knew about his money. He’d wanted to keep that information quiet and Jesse had agreed. But even without the millions sitting in an investment company somewhere, he was still a catch.

The changes had been simple. A new wardrobe, an interest in current events, a working knowledge of how to ask a girl out and basic date etiquette had transformed him. There was only one teeny, tiny problem…

She’d fallen for him.

Jesse sighed. She wasn’t about to admit it to anyone and barely believed it herself, but there it was. She liked Matt. She’d liked him geeky and she liked him even more now. He made her feel safe and that was a very unfamiliar state of being for her.

Still, her job was to help him become what he was always capable of being, not get involved with him. Like now-he’d asked for her to see him so they could go over the date together. Sort of a post-game review. They’d done it before. He’d told her how things had gone and she’d suggested improvements he could make. It was no big deal, except she’d found it harder and harder to listen to the great time he had with other women.

They met back up in the parking lot of the diner and walked inside. When they were seated at a quiet booth in the back, Jesse said, “So, tell me everything. How did it go?”

“Good.” Matt rearranged the flatware on the Formica table. “Kasey is bright and pretty. She was a little too into her dogs, but that’s not a big deal.”

“What’s too into?” she asked, trying not to smile. “Does she dress them in matching outfits?”

“No, but they sleep with her.”

“I’m sure she locks them out of the room when a good-looking guy shows up to do the wild thing.”

Matt grinned. “I’m not so sure. Fluffy and Bobo seem to be her closest friends.”

Jesse snorted. “Bobo? Okay, yeah, the dogs could be a problem. How did it go otherwise?”

“Fine. She’s into music, which I like. She wasn’t turned off by the computer thing.”

“A-plus,” Jesse said, trying not to notice his dark eyes and the way his smile made her insides all quivery. “Any sparkage?”

Matt laughed. “No one says sparkage anymore, Jess.”

“I do.”

The waitress showed up and handed them menus. Matt ignored them and smiled at the older woman.

“Tell me about the pie,” he said. “It seems like a good night for pie.”

The waitress listed what was available. “The marionberry is the freshest,” she said. “Or the double-chocolate. Those are my favorites.”

“I’ll take the marionberry,” he told her. “Jess, you want a chocolate rush?”

“Sure.”

“Great. And two decafs, please.”

Jesse was pleased by the exchange. A month ago, Matt wouldn’t have spoken more than his order. He hadn’t understood the simple pleasure of connecting with someone for a few seconds. Now he seemed to move more easily in the world. She wanted to take credit, but she’d done nothing more than point out the obvious.

“You didn’t answer the sparkage question,” Jesse said, hoping they’d made out for hours. Maybe hearing about him falling for someone else would help her realize that he wasn’t for her.

“I kissed her, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“And?”

He shrugged. “It was okay.”

She held in a whimper as she tried not to think about what kissing Matt would be like. He had a great mouth and an attention to detail that was intriguing. Except it was never going to happen between them. Not only was he obviously not interested, but she liked him and liking him made a relationship impossible.

Every time she got involved, things went wrong. Somehow she managed to screw up everything. After a series of disasters, she’d given up on anything serious and settled for casual flings, although lately even they were losing their appeal. She liked Matt too much to risk destroying their friendship. Besides, now he had everything going for him so he would never be interested in her.

“There wasn’t chemistry,” he said. “I’m a guy and she was pretty, so sure, the kissing was nice, but there are degrees, you know? There’s nice and then there’s I-have-to-take-you-now. She was nice.”

Jesse felt a rush of heat. When was the last time he’d had an I-have-to-take-you-now experience? She desperately wanted to ask and didn’t want to know in equal measures.

“Maybe the next one will be better.”

“Maybe.” He looked up. “You remembered to turn off your cell. There haven’t been any calls from Ted or Butch or Spike.”

“I’ve never dated anyone named Butch.”

“What about Spike?”

She laughed. “Once.”

“I knew it.”

She touched her purse. “No calls. I’m between guys.”

In the past couple of weeks she’d ignored her ringing phone. She knew the reason. He was sitting across from her. She even knew what was different. She and Matt were friends. She’d never bothered with being friends before. Had never thought about more than the night. Now she found herself wondering…Talk about terrifying.

The waitress brought their coffee and pie, then left. Matt picked up his fork.

“I think I want something else,” he said, hesitantly.

“What do you mean? Different pie?”

“The dating. It’s okay, but every time it’s the same conversation. Getting to know each other, trying to remember if I’ve told that story or not. I want a second date.”

“You want a relationship,” Jesse said, telling her heart it could get pouty later. “That makes sense. So ask someone out a second time. If it’s good, ask her out again. That’s how dating turns into a relationship.”

“I haven’t met anyone who interests me that way. No one I feel comfortable just hanging out with.”

They were hanging out. She took a bite of pie to keep from saying that. Memo to self-Matt wasn’t interested. He saw her as his teacher, nothing more. She should be happy. And she was…almost.

“Is that stupid?” he asked. “You don’t do relationships.”

“Which isn’t something to be proud of. You know what you want. That’s a good thing.” If only he could want her.

Time for a subject change. “Have you been looking at condos?” she asked.

“Just those first ones.”

“You’ve got to get your own place. It’s time. You’re never going to get laid if you don’t get your own place.”

He grinned. “Who says I haven’t gotten laid?”

There was a confidence in the question, sexy maleness in his voice. A sharp jab cut through Jesse. Jealousy burned hot and bright.

“You’re not going to get laid a lot,” she said, going for normal and hoping she didn’t fall short. “You need your own place.”

He looked at her. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“I was kidding. I haven’t slept with any of them.”

Thank God. “It would be okay if you had. You’re single, they’re single. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

He studied her, as if searching for something. Humiliation heated her cheeks, forcing her to duck her head so her hair hung down, shielding her. She didn’t want him to guess that she had feelings for him. He might pity her and that would be worse than anything.

“I’m a guy,” he said. “I don’t like shopping. Picking a condo is shopping on a grand scale. Come with me. That will make it easier.”

Easier for him, maybe. Not that she would say no. She wanted to spend time with him, to pretend that hey, sure, it could work out.

“Just tell me when.”

“YOU CAN SPEND MORE than this,” Jesse murmured as they walked through the empty tri-level town house in Redmond. “Get something on the water. A place with a view.”

“It’s too big,” Matt told her, ignoring her comment about price. “Three bedrooms. What do I need three bedrooms for?”

“One for you, one for an office, one for guests.”

“I don’t have guests.”

Good point. Because any women spending the night would be in his bed. “Then use the third bedroom as a media room.”