Side Squeeze (Jasper Falls 6)

“Did you picture yourself married?”

“Yes.”

“With kids?”

He sighed. “I guess.”

“You know, you’re getting up there.”

“Jesus, Erin.” He grabbed the dust mop and swept his way to the other side of the store, away from her and her endless questions.

She followed. “What’s the deal with you and Mariella?”

His spine stiffened. It had been eight days since he heard from or saw Mariella. He was doing his best to respect her wishes, but he thought about her constantly. Erin had actually proved a pretty good distraction in that department, until now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit. I saw you at the hospital with her. You don’t hold a woman like that without feeling something for her.”

“Her father just had a heart attack.”

“Exactly.”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Mariella.” That much was true.

“Did you two have a fling?”

He shrugged and kept his head down, pushing the broom down the aisle. What they had went much deeper than a fling. “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“Giovanni said she was in love with you.”

He pivoted and faced her. “What?” He was well aware of Mariella’s feelings but surprised she’d shared those feelings with others. That meant she’d been talking about him. He needed a timeframe. “When did she say this to him?”

She grinned at his response. “He said you two had a relationship in high school, and you broke her heart. Is that true?”

He scowled, his jaw locking at the accusation that he’d broken her heart and was disappointed these assumptions stemmed from decade old news. “We never put a label on it, and we both knew what it was at the time.” And what it wasn’t.

“Did you love her?”

He quit sweeping and walked the dust mop to the back. “We’re not discussing this.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s irrelevant. And none of your business.”

“Oh. Okay.” She lingered in the doorway of the storeroom as he straightened up the cleaning tools. “I just thought you might want to know we’re going on a double date with her and some guy this weekend.”

He shoved the mop and bucket into the wall and barked, “I’m going to get a coffee.”

“I just made a fresh pot!” she yelled, but he was already out the back door.

The scorching day matched his temper and the last thing he needed was a hot cup of coffee, so he went for a walk up Main Street to calm down. He wasn’t thinking about where he walked or the fact that he was heading back to his hotel. He wasn’t really thinking at all. But when he reached the lobby, he strode right past the elevators and into Mariella’s office.

“You’re going on a double date with my sister?”

Mariella and three other women startled at his outburst. Then Mariella scowled. “Will you excuse me?”

She rose from her chair, looking especially decadent in a tailored pencil skirt that hugged her ass and a sleeveless blouse that might as well have been lingerie for how delicate the fabric appeared.

She grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him into the hall. “Have you lost your mind?” she hissed. “I’m in a meeting with clients.”

He mirrored her scowl. “Why are you going on a double date with my sister?”

“Because my brother set it up. It has nothing to do with your family.”

“My family’s married to your family so it sort of does.”

“You’re acting like a child, and I’m in the middle of a meeting.”

“Who is he? Some lumberjack? Or—”

“It’s Mauricio.”

His mind flashed to the man he saw her on a date with at the restaurant, the man she worked with every day. Somehow that was worse.

When she said Giovanni set it up, Harrison assumed it was a blind date. This guy was a repeat offender.

“Are you dating him?”

How serious were they at this point? Had he put his hands on her? Did they have sex? He couldn’t catch his breath.

“I can’t do this here, Harrison. If you want to talk, call me after work.”

“Maybe I’ll join you this weekend and bring a date of my own.” He was being a child, but he didn’t care. She could have at least waited until he left town.

Her chin jutted upward and her expression blanked. “You do whatever you want. I have to get back to work.”

Finding himself staring at the solid oak door to her office, he cursed and left the hotel. His temper only heated on the way back to the store.

Erin seemed to recognize he was in no mood to talk, so her inquisition took a rest. At five o’clock she said goodbye but invited him to join them for dinner again.

Harrison sorted through the various papers covering the desk in the back and grumbled a reply, neither accepting or declining her invitation.

Being that they were operating as a store, they would have to keep things organized for tax season next year, and he wanted to make sure they kept impeccable records so there was no confusion when that time came. It was a flimsy excuse to skip dinner and work late, and they both knew it was bullshit.