Page 6 of Ask Me Something

Chapter Two

After Brian returned to the table, he and Catherine resumed small talk for the next fifteen minutes and ordered another round of drinks. I was drawn in a time or two, but for the most part I merely listened as Catherine described her last trip to Paris. I wondered why he wasn’t in a hurry to get to his booty call but instead acted like he had no other place to be.

“So, Sasha, you’re flying home tomorrow morning?” Brian asked, turning the conversation to me.

“Uh, yes. Tomorrow morning.” I didn’t mean to be short, but I’d yet to recover from the thought of him with another woman.

Catherine apparently decided to allow us some time alone to figure it out by excusing herself to go to the ladies’ room.

“Everything all right?” Brian inquired, turning fully toward me on his stool and brushing his leg up against mine in the process.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?” I pretended to be nonchalant with my question. My mind might be spinning with that text message, but my pride wouldn’t let him know it.

He studied me, and our eyes stayed locked longer than was appropriate for two people who weren’t interested in being more than friends. “Because you’ve been awfully quiet since that text came in.”

Oh, boy. I was much more comfortable with not actually acknowledging this elephant in the room than with addressing it head on. I wasn’t naive enough to believe he led a celibate lifestyle, but knowing it and having it confirmed were obviously two separate things. “It’s none of my business,” I offered lamely, swallowing past the lump in my throat.

That statement lay there for the longest time until he spoke again. “Do you want to ask me something?” The tone in his voice was low and intimate.

I turned toward him, my eyes widening when he scooted closer and put his legs on either side of mine. “Aren’t I keeping you from your other plans?”

“No, unless you want me to go?” he tested quietly, keeping his eyes trained on me.

Wasn’t that the million-dollar question. The heat from his legs sent a delicious awareness over my entire body. “I didn’t say that I did.” I blew out a breath, realizing that, per usual, we were getting nowhere. I’d tried countless times over the years to visualize a scenario in which we could explore the more-than-friends concept, but I’d never been able to make the mental leap without getting cold feet.

Catherine approached, and I could see the indecision on her face since Brian and I were closely facing in toward one another. She was silently asking whether she should take a seat or make another excuse.

He looked from me to her, tossed out a smile, and turned back on his stool. But before he did so, he whispered, “This conversation isn’t over, Sasha.”

A shiver of anticipation coursed through me with his words. “Uh, do we want to do another drink?” I posed the question, trying to lighten the mood and met Catherine’s eyes, silently imploring, please stay. I desperately needed the delay to get a handle on my emotions before any further conversation with Brian could take place.

“I’m in.” He smiled, motioning for Catherine to take her seat.

“Okay, maybe one more, but then I must get home to pack,” Catherine replied, sitting back down. “Does anyone feel like an appetizer?”

I nodded, having skipped dinner in favor of speed dating. I needed something to soak up the wine. Brian begged off, and I was suddenly curious. “What brought you up to New York? We talked yesterday, and I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I was up in New Haven with Josh. Mark and I were helping him to finalize some wedding plans,” he explained.

The wedding in question was that of my friend, Haylee Holloway, to the owner of Gamble Advertising, Josh Singer. She’d been his assistant temporarily last year, which is how I’d met her, and they’d fallen in love. Brian, Mark and Josh had been friends for many years. With Josh currently living between New York and New Haven where Haylee was attending law school, it didn’t surprise me to hear that Brian had been up visiting.

“What made you decide to travel down here tonight, then?” Oh yeah, I was well aware of the awkward spot I was putting him in. Even though I was pleased he wasn’t in a hurry to leave to get to this woman’s place, one of the things that confused me was why he’d called me to go out in the first place if she was expecting him.

He smirked before answering, indicating that he was on to my question. Then he turned on the charm. “We hadn’t seen one another in weeks and I thought I’d ask if you were free.” He glanced over toward Catherine. “We used to do dinner or happy hours at least twice a week when we worked together down in Charlotte.”

Was it my imagination, or had his leg moved closer to mine, touching slightly? I needed a change of subject. “Are you throwing a bachelor party for Josh?”

“No. There isn’t a lot of time for one, not to mention the groom-to-be isn’t a bachelor party kind of guy,” he affirmed.

“I’m kind of surprised his younger brother, Colby, isn’t insisting on one. According to the stories, that kind of party seems to be his specialty,” Catherine laughed.

He grinned in response. “You’re not wrong, but thankfully he’s respectful of Haylee. Not to mention, he’d have to get his big brother to Vegas or out on the town and that’s not going to happen.”

The appetizer arrived and Brian went on to recall some stories about Colby’s wild ways. We were all in the midst of laughing when a pretty blonde walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned, registering shock. “Uh Jamie, what are you—?”

She cut him off. “Oh, you said you were out with friends, and I had thought maybe it was Mark or Josh. And since this place is around the corner from my condo, I thought I’d stop by. Now I see you aren’t with the boys, and I’m sorry if this is awkward.” She glanced over at Catherine and me, smiling.

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