Page 57 of One Night Stand After Another
His phone blared with an incoming FaceTime call. Jack. He almost didn’t answer, but what else did he have to do? Might as well get Jack’s gloating over with.
He tapped the screen and took a slug of his frou-frou margarita. “Hey.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you drinking?”
“My sorrows away. Don’t knock it ’til you try it. It may look weak, but I think he put a whole bottle of Patron in here.” He raised the glass with both hands and took another drink.
“Roman said you ditched your dinner reservations. What happened? Did the location suck?”
“No, it was perfect. I leased it.”
“Congratulations—that’s great.”
“Yep.” But now he didn’t know what to do with it. “I’m coming home tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Jack’s voice held a question. “Why? Don’t you have a shit ton of things to do in California if you want to open a new place? I can think of eight right off the bat.”
“I’m not sure I want to do it.” Being in California would remind him of Clara.
Jack’s expression was purewhat the fuck. “Are you going to start making sense at some point in this conversation?”
“Probably not. Why did you call me?”
“Because you’re a networking fiend, and you blew off Roman Gallagher. Again.” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s Clara?”
“In California.” The booze was kicking in fast, pouring into his hollow heart.
“And where the hell are you?”
“Chicago. We flew from here. I had to get my truck. My truck full of yarn.”
Jack put his chin in his hand and stared. After a second, he called, “Lila? Got a second?”
Lila leaned over Jack’s shoulder. “Hey, Zane.” She grinned. “That looks awesome. What makes it so pink?”
“Prickly pear,” he answered. “Apparently it has amnesiac properties.”
“Before you lose your memory, tell us what the hell happened with Clara,” Jack said.
Zane drained his glass. “She wanted a ride to California, and I wanted…more. So I leased the space and suggested we open up a beachfront café for crafters. She told me to piss off.”
Since Zane had nothing to lose, he spilled his guts, mostly censoring the naked parts and focusing on his attempt to wow Clara into spending more time with him by finding cool yarn things. And how that had turned into him wanting her to use her artistic skills. And to let him be part of her life.
When he finally stopped whining, Jack chuckled. “Please tell me you ordered dinner. You only say shit like that when you’re really wasted.”
Zane shrugged. “The chef is sending something out.”
“So, you wanted Clara to turn her entire life around based on less than a week with you and your sex magic?” Lila giggled. “And open a café? Because Lord knows restaurants never fail. With crafting as a sales hook?” She made it sound like dog shit. “Oh, Zane, why the rush?”
He couldn’t answer.
“What’s the harm if she takes a job doing taxes? It doesn’t mean she can’t do all of those other things, too. But she’ll have a safety net. I know you rich boys don’t think of these things, but if Clara grew up without money, like I did, there is no way in hell she’d ever say yes to a risky idea like opening a restaurant instead of having a real job. I only talked to her for fifteen minutes, but she didn’t strike me as having much tolerance for emotional risk. Do I need to remind you it took her ten years before she could face Jack again?”
“You made it all or nothing, dumbass,” Jack chimed in. “She said no, so you’re coming back to New York? Is that really what you want?”
He held up a hand. “Stop—I got it. I fucked up. Shocking, I know.” He hadn’t learned a damn thing from the too-long massage that had given Clara a migraine.
Jack shook his head. “Dude, your short game is excellent, but your long game needs work. Even my dad kicks your ass playing eighteen holes of golf. Believe it or not, most guys wouldn’t ask a woman they haven’t seen for ten years to start a business with them and expect her to say yes after what—six days? I’m sure all that cross-country yarn-gathering gave her a lot to think about, but you should have offered to take her out to dinner after her interview or something. If you need a new project, fine, open a restaurant on the beach. Have a good time. Give her free food. If you want to spend more time with Clara and get to know her better, stay in California and ask her out on a damn date that doesn’t scare the crap out of her.”
