Page 8 of Just Between Us

Those four words took the wind out of my sails. Obviously, my daughter had not been on my mind while I was thinking about how much I wanted to kiss her best friend. The fact Lucy was her closest pal also hadn’t been high on my list of considerations either. Christ, what kind of shit parent was I?

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

Lucy didn’t let me finish that comment. Instead, she yanked me against her, catching my mouth with hers. This time, when we breathlessly parted our kiss, Lucy had a sexy smirk on her puffed-up lips.

“What?” I asked softly, already thinking about where I wanted this to go.

“I was going to say I’m glad you kissed me.”

Raising my eyebrows, a smirk grew across my features. “Oh – yeah, I am too.”

Lucy shifted on the balls of her feet. She puffed out a breath and put her hand back on the front door. “As much as I don’t want to leave, I think I should, before I end up taking this way too far.”

My breathing hitched at the thought of what might be involved in taking things with Lucy a lot further than just kissing her in the hallway. Temptation was going to be very hard to resist. I took the same step back I had just moments before to allow her to make whatever move she needed to.

She stared at me, her eyes wide and searching. “Rich, I don’t want to leave. But Annie is my best friend in the whole world, and I need to think about this with more than my pussy before it goes any further. But Idowant to take it further.”

I had to respect her resolve. She was being a better friend than I was a father in that moment. The thought of having a conversation with Annie about the possibility of me having a relationship again crossed my mind.

“You’re right, and I should probably have a chat with her about me seeing someone again too. But I think your pussy and my cock are probably having very similar ideas right now.”

“Fuck.” She closed her eyes and her tongue traced over her lips.

Christ, she was going to get me in trouble.

She lunged forward, giving me a quick peck on the cheek, and mumbled some goodbye. Before I could object, she disappeared out the front door without giving either of us the chance to change the other’s mind.

CHAPTER NINE

LUCY

It wasn’tthat I felt the need to run from Rich as fast as I could. I was more that if I didn’t think carefully about the consequences of my actions, then I wasn’t only going to lose the man I was fast becoming more than just attracted to. There was the chance of fucking everything up and losing my best friend too. Annie had been in my life since I was a toddler. Not having her around every day would be incomprehensible. What if something happened? What if Rich broke my heart? What if I broke his? I needed to make sure I had all the answers to the worst-case scenarios.

But then another thought came to mind. What if I didn’t act on it? How would that affect my ability to be around Annie and Rich if all I was doing was pining for a man I was never going to be with? That wasn’t going to do my friendship any good either.

The next day,Annie called me bright and early.

“Hey, babe,” she half sang cheerfully down the phone.

“Someone’s in a good mood this morning.” I smiled, hoping she’d hear it in reply.

“Someonegot a little something last night, so she has reason to be.”

I grinned. I was glad one of us was getting what they needed. “Oh, is that so?” I teased. “Come on, spill the details. Did you meet a fine young man when you were out last night?”

The pause before she answered didn’t go unnoticed, and I prayed I wasn’t about to hear the words I knew were coming next.

“Actually, it was Declan.”

I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes. Yep, there it was, the name I didn’t want to hear. “Oh, Annie.” I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my voice when I spoke to her.

“Oh, fuck off, Lucy. It’s only a bit of fun. I’m not about to marry him and have his babies. It’s just sex and drinking. Haven’t you ever had an itch you needed to scratch?”

The answer was a resounding yes. The difference being that I knew what might happen if I did, so I held off. For now. “Of course I bloody have. But Declan?” My voice trailed off.

“I know, I know! But he was there, I was pissed, and it seemed like a good idea. I doubt I’ll be going back for more, but I wanted to call you and say sorry for leaving you in the lurch last night. Can I make it up to you?”

I couldn’t stay mad at Annie for anything, and she knew it. “You’d better.” I smirked. “Just promise me something?”

---