Start Me Up (Man of the Month 4)

"You're all the way down the road with this guy. Can't you just have fun with him? Why do you have to commit? Just date. Until Alan puts a ring on your finger, you need to explore what else is out there."

"I'll think about it," she said. "But it's probably a moot point. Despite his playlist, after yesterday, I doubt I'm ever going to see him again."

* * *

Manny Ortega owed Nolan big-time.

First, instead of spending Saturday evening at The Fix with his buddies, he was in the ballroom at the Four Seasons hotel on the shores of Lady Bird Lake, the portion of the Colorado River that ran through downtown Austin. Second, he was wearing a damn tuxedo, and it was killing him to not tug at the collar. And third, Lauren and her politi-dweeb husband were on the premises.

Seriously, someone should just kill him now.

The only reason he was at the wedding of Brian Ross and Celia James was because Brian's father owned at least a dozen restaurants in the Austin area, not to mention three South Austin office complexes. His company was one of the most prolific advertisers on KIKX, and Manny considered Jonathon Ross to be just one step short of God. Which made his son Brian some sort of demi-god. Which apparently meant that Nolan--as a local celebrity--had to make an appearance and kiss his ass.

Not that Nolan really minded--he understood the way the business worked, and without sponsors, he was without work. And he was a big fan of the steady paycheck and the wonders that it could buy, food and shelter being tops of the list.

He just wished that the happy couple were people he'd met even once before. And he definitely wished that Lauren and Senator Studmuffin would accidentally fall in the river.

He'd skipped the actual nuptials, figuring that neither bride nor groom nor their assorted relatives would notice his absence. And he'd offered his congratulations to the happy couple not long after the reception began, telling Brian how much he admired his father and complimenting the bride on her beautiful gown. She looked vaguely familiar, but since he was certain he'd never slept with her, he didn't waste too much time trying to place her.

Now, he was making the circuit--seeing and being seen until it was safe to cut and run.

When he saw the senator, he ducked around a partition that separated the main area from a makeshift cloakroom, and found himself face-to-face with Lauren.

Yup. An all around stellar evening.

"Nolan," she said, in a voice that dripped distaste. Honestly, how they'd shared a house for six months was one of the questions of the universe. "I didn't expect to see you here. Isn't there a monster truck rally tonight? Or a geek conference?"

"That was our problem, Lauren. You never even looked at me."

"The hell I didn't. The problem was that I did look, and I didn't respect what I saw. No ambition. I mean, minimum wage at some podunk radio station. We could have moved to LA."

"Not interested," he said. Once upon a time, he might have liked to be a big city DJ, but after he realized how much reading and paperwork the job actually entailed, the bloom on that dream faded. More than that, though, he loved Austin. He loved the people he worked with and the audience he'd built. He'd worked his ass off, and if Lauren couldn't see that--well, honestly, he didn't really give a fuck if she couldn't see that.

Except he did. Or, at least, he had.

Now, he realized, it wasn't Lauren's respect he wanted. It was another woman's. A woman who looked just as sexy in grandma-pumps and a shirt buttoned up to her collar as she did in fuck-me heels and a skin-tight dress. A woman he wished was by his side right then so he didn't have to suffer through this damn wedding by himself. No, he corrected, he wished that she wanted to be by his side. Too bad that wish wouldn't be coming true. After all, she'd made it pretty damn clear that despite the chemistry between them, she was putting the kibosh on any more explosions.

And, hell, he should be fine with that. Wasn't Lauren the reason he didn't date, unless you counted fucking, which he didn't. Dating was a relationship--a train in forward motion. A process of learning the subtle ins and outs of a woman and seeing if you fit together.

He wanted to walk that path with Shelby, and the fact that he couldn't seem to rip that desire out of his head preyed on him, especially since she was so very clearly uninterested.

"You kno

w what?" Lauren said, her sharp voice jarring him from more pleasant thoughts, "I stand corrected. You do have ambition. But the things you aspire to simply don't interest me. Call me crazy, but it's never been my dream to come up with the perfect fart joke. Or to make fun of my own sex life. Then again," she added with a tight smile, "I guess yours probably is something to laugh about. At least, that's the way I remember it."

"Dammit, Lauren--"

"Down, boy," she said. "We're just talking. That's all you were doing on your radio show the other day, right? Teeth marks? Chilly vibes?" She leaned forward. "And you're right, Nolan, sweetie. Because I'm married to a senator now. I can bite your head off if I want. And all you'll be able to do about it is fire off a lame joke about your limp dick."

She patted him on the cheek, her painted lips pulled into a tight smile, then turned her back and walked away, wiggling her very toned ass in her very high heels.

"Bitch." He didn't mean to speak aloud, but he couldn't hold it in, and a woman coming around the partition with a ticket to claim her checked purse frowned at him with distaste.

"Sorry," he muttered, feeling lower than a gutter. He went the opposite direction, sidling around the partition and ending up in some sort of darkened staging area that the hotel staff seemed to be using for dirty dishes. He drew a breath, gathering himself before he went out to say his final goodbyes, then realized he wasn't alone.

"I'm sorry," Shelby said. She reached for him, appeared to think better of it, and dropped her hand. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"No problem," he said, the words coming out harsher than he'd intended. "Why wouldn't you be here to put a fucking cherry on my fucking perfect day?" He drew a breath, then shook his head, irritated with himself. "Sorry to have invaded your hideaway. I'll get going."