That Thing You Do (Crystal Lake 2)

Son of a bitch, the guy was good. “What makes you think there’s a woman?”

“Because only a woman would make a guy so crazy, he’d rather sit home and read contracts on a Friday night in New York City.”

Nate steepled his fingers and sighed. There was no point in denying or diverting. Tucker Simon was relentless.

“Her name is Molly.”

“And?”

“And she’s a girl I’ve known my whole life.”

“Uh-huh.” Tucker nodded. “Keep going.”

“She’s a veterinarian.”

“So she’s smart.”

“Whip smart.” He paused, happy to think about her. “She’s an amazing athlete, tells the lamest jokes on the planet, but she does it in such a way you can’t help but laugh. She cares about her family something fierce, loves animals, obviously. She’s got a twin, another lifelong friend, Zach, the guy that got married. She eats the bottom of an ice cream cone first, her hair smells like vanilla, she’s tall enough that I don’t have to bend over all the time just to have a conversation, but small enough that I…”

Shit. He’d gone and become that guy. The one who blabs like a kid who just got laid for the first time.

“You what?” Tucker grinned.

“I like to cuddle her.”

“You cuddle.” The disbelief on Tucker’s face pissed off Nate, and he sat a little straighter.

“Doesn’t everyone?” He knew he sounded defensive, but Nate couldn’t help himself.

“I just didn’t picture you as a cuddler. I always thought of you as more of a ‘don’t let the door hit you on the ass when you leave’ kind of guy.”

“That’s harsh,” Nate retorted with a frown.

“I guess so, but you get my drift. You’re not a douchebag, from what I know, but you’ve never been a man to stand still, so to speak. So what makes this girl so special?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because we were friends first?”

“Abby and I were, and yeah, that helps, but it’s more than that. Don’t you think?”

“I don’t know what to think.” Nate was just about done with this conversation.

Tucker checked his watch and got to his feet. “I can tell you what I think.”

“Even if I don’t want you to?”

He flashed a smile. “I think you’re in love with this girl.”

“I can’t be in love with her.” Shit. Fuck. Really? The big L? He’d never been in love before. Lust, yes, but love?

“Why not?”

Nate got to his feet and ran his hand across the stubble on his chin. He walked to his window, though if you asked him what he saw, he wouldn’t be able to tell you. “I can’t… She lives in Crystal Lake and I live here. Even if she felt the same way, she’d never move to the city.”

Vegas. He thought of that night, of the things she said but didn’t remember.

Holy hell. Did she really feel the same?

Tucker joined him at the window. “Look, I’m going to say something I’ll probably regret later, but here’s the thing. When someone like your Molly comes into your life, you don’t let her leave. Life’s too short and unpredictable to play the game that way. You play to win. You play for keeps. Now, this business can be run from just about anywhere. And as long as you’re willing to fly to New York every few weeks for meetings, I don’t see why you can’t move your main office to, say, Crystal Lake.” He chuckled. “That’s the part I might regret later, not the playing-to-win-your Molly part.”