Billionaire Mountain Man

“She wasn’t interested,” he said finally. “We went out and got fried seafood. That was good. And you know what? We spent most of the goddamn evening talking about you. It was rather strange, actually.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “Both that you didn’t get laid and you had to spend the majority of the time talking about me. That must’ve been excruciating.” And while I did feel a tiny bit bad about that part, a larger part of me was thinking that there was no way in hell I was going to lose this bet now, especially if she’d been wanting to talk about me all night.

“It’s cool,” he said lightly. “I told her you have herpes.” He grinned.

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“No, I’m serious.”

I waited for him to burst out laughing and say that he was just playing, but he didn’t, and I realized that he was in fact telling the truth. “You fucking asshole,” I said.

His grin widened, and he rubbed his palms together. “You know, I’m hoping the Pats make it to the playoffs this year. I think that’s what I’d really like to go see.”

Chapter Nine

Allie

The last of the kids had just been picked up for the day, and I was in the back office, getting my purse. “Hey,” Amy said. “A couple of my girlfriends and I are going to go out after work tonight—do you want to come with us? I’ve been telling them about you, and they’d really like to meet you!”

I smiled, feeling touched. “Thanks,” I said. “I’d love to, it’s just that tonight I have plans.” I paused, not sure if I should elaborate on just what those plans were. But I could tell there was a part of Amy that thought I was just making an excuse not to hang out with her, and I didn’t want her to think that at all.

“Cole actually asked me to hang out,” I said. I had run into him that morning on my way to work and instead of just saying hello, as I’d expected, he asked if I had any plans later.

Her eyes widened. “Oh my God, shut up. Really? That’s crazy! Wow! What are you guys going to do?”

“I don’t know, nothing too fancy or anything. Declan will be there too; we’ll probably just go get something to eat.”

Amy grinned. “You’ll have to let me know how it goes,” she said.

Cole’s car wasn’t in the driveway when I got home. I went inside and changed, then went and worked in the garden some more. Progress was slow, and the area I had weeded before I’d hung out with Ben that night appeared to have been overtaken by new weeds. There was something calming about being outside, working in the garden, and I resolved that I would keep with it. Even if it ended up being August by the time it was finally ready, I’d still plant something.

I went inside to change after I got a blister on my palm. I wore a similar outfit to the one I’d worn with Ben—denim cut-offs this time, though, and a black T-shirt.

I heard a knock at the door and then Cole’s voice calling into the house. “Anybody home?”

I came out of the bedroom, pulling my hair back into a ponytail. “Hey,” I said. “Come on in.”

He stepped inside, letting the screen door close behind him. “Hey,” he said with a smile.

“Where’s Declan?”

“He’s spending the weekend at my parents’ house.”

“Oh,” I said.

“You sound surprised.”

“No, I just thought that he was going to be here, too.”

“I figured maybe it’d be better if we didn’t have a chaperone this time around. You hungry?”

“Yeah, I could go for something. Maybe not fried food, though.”

“I know a good place.”

The place ended up being a little place called the Blackbird Tavern. It was rustic and comfortable. I got a chef’s salad, and we shared an order of mozzarella sticks. Our conversation ranged from bikes, to how I was liking Chapin so far, to Declan. First, what a good kid he was and how much I was enjoying getting to see him at school. When there was a pause, though, I felt comfortable enough to ask Cole about Declan’s mother.

“So,” I said, “you don’t have to get into the details if you don’t want to, but is Declan’s mother in the picture at all?”