Entice (29 page)

***

Several hours later, after all the fireworks had gone off, they walked back through the park to catch a cab home.

Lena and Mason were at the front of the group, holding hands and laughing together, and Josh found himself beside Jenny, wondering about the woman a couple of paces in front of them.

He was listening to what Jenny was telling him and answering in response correctly, but his eyes and mind were on the naked back of the woman walking ahead of him.

She had been so subdued tonight, not the usual man-eater he was accustomed to
or
the sweet Georgia for that matter. She was just quiet.

Almost sad.

He knew she had to still be dealing with her parents’ revelations, and he figured that him showing up with Jenny tonight probably hadn’t helped either. It pained him to see her that way because she was usually full of life. Tonight, though, she just looked so tired.

When they all reached the road, Mason hailed a cab, and Jenny was the first one in because she lived across town. She leaned up and kissed Josh gently on the lips as he wished her a good night. She really was a good girl, but he was pretty certain she knew that they weren’t a forever match.

As the cab pulled away, Mason chose that moment to clear his throat.

“I’ll let you get Shelly a cab. We’re going to call it a night.”

Josh saw Shelly roll her eyes and shake her head as their friends went to cross the street.

From the other side, Lena yelled, “I’ll call you tomorrow with the time for the dress fittings, okay?”

He saw Shelly nod as Lena then turned, taking Mason’s hand as they walked into the lobby.

Josh had to envy them. They had found each other and loved one another so much that it made him smile just to look at them.

Turning, he saw that Shelly had taken a seat on a bench that edged the park.

Josh put his hands in his pockets and moved over to stand in front of her.

“Jenny seems nice,” she told him, finally looking up at him.

He nodded. “She is nice.”

He watched Shelly look down at her lap and pick at her skirt. “What’s going on, Shel?”

This was not the woman he had met a few months back. He moved and took a seat beside her. “Talk to me. Is it your parents?”

She turned her head, and her blonde hair spilled over her shoulder. He reached out and pushed it behind her ear. She sucked in a breath and bit her lip.

“Why do you think I’m such an idiot?” she asked.

Josh felt the side of his mouth quirk up. “Idiot? You? Now, that’s not something I would ever accuse you of being.” He paused, raising an eyebrow. “Stubborn maybe, but not an idiot. Why would you even think that?”

She looked away, and Josh felt his heart tighten in his chest.

He didn’t want to feel like this for her, not for a woman who didn’t want him. But as she sat there, looking like a young girl lost, he couldn’t help but reach out, stroking the back of his finger down her cheek to her chin.

He tipped her face up toward him, and as her blue eyes blurred with tears, he let his emotions show as well.

***

Shelly watched as his eyes roamed all over her face as though he was memorizing every little feature. She couldn’t help the tear that had slipped from her eye, falling down her cheek.

“Talk to me,” he told her.

Shelly wanted to. She wanted to tell him everything she was thinking. How much it had hurt to watch him with Jenny. How much she had wished it was her. How every time he had touched his date tonight, Shelly had pretended he was touching her instead.

But, as he looked at her so intently, she knew she couldn’t do that to him.

He had moved on. He was dating a wonderful woman, who really was the sweetest woman Shelly had probably ever met.

So, instead of telling him everything in her heart, she whispered, “Mason was right, huh? Blondes really are your type.”

Josh dropped his hand and took a deep breath before standing. Shelly stood beside him as he raised a hand for a cab.

When one pulled up, he stepped forward, opening the door for her. Shelly took a step and was about to get in the cab when he gripped her arm gently.

She turned as he softly said, “
She
is the imitation of what I want. Unfortunately, the original is not available.”

With that, he let go, taking a step back onto the sidewalk.

Shelly looked him over, feeling another tear slide down her cheek, and then she slid into the cab’s back seat.

As it pulled away from the curb, she turned around inside the cab and watched as Josh faded away into the night.

Chapter Twenty

June

Two weeks later, Shelly was standing in front of a full-length mirror, looking at the dress Lena had picked out for her.

She had to admit that the dress was gorgeous. It was pastel blue, strapless, and flowed gently over her curves, ending just an inch or so above the knee. The dress complemented both Rachel and her perfectly. With eyes on the mirror, Shelly looked at the two women who were standing behind her.

“So? What do you think?” she asked, raising a brow.

“Are you serious? It looks fantastic,” Lena exclaimed, stepping forward to run a hand down the material covering her hip. “It is seriously unfair how you sometimes resemble a Barbie.”

Rachel laughed behind them. “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

Lena looked over at Rachel, who stood next to her in a long purple, blue, and pink tie- dyed shirt and cutoff denim shorts that were frayed around the thigh.
The girl sure does have an eclectic choice of clothes,
Shelly thought.

“It
was
a compliment. Didn’t every little girl want to be Barbie when they were younger?” Lena responded.

“Not if she wanted to get laid. Ken always had his tighty whiteys on.” Rachel pointed out with a wicked smirk.

Shelly chuckled, and Lena burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay. Forget the Barbie reference. We all definitely like sex,” Lena said.

“Although it’s been a while for some of us,” Shelly mumbled.

All of a sudden, she had two pairs of eyes on her as she stood in the center of the pedestal.

“How long?” Lena asked quietly.

Shelly moved her eyes to Rachel, who seemed intent on her answer as well.

Oh, what the hell?

“Since Josh.” Both of her friends’ eyes widened, and Shelly shrugged. “Don’t read anything into it. I just haven’t wanted to date after that whole thing.”

Rachel stepped up close behind her, still keeping their gazes locked. For a minute, Shelly thought Super Domme was making an appearance, but then Rachel’s eyes softened.

“What happened with you two? He won’t tell me shit, and that’s not like him.”

Shelly looked to Lena, who was the only person who knew the whole story. Then, her eyes moved back to Rachel. “He wanted more. I didn’t. So, we ended it.”

It was silent for a moment. Shelly took the opportunity to step down from the small round platform, turning around to move into the dressing room.

“Are you high? Why wouldn’t you want something more with Josh? He’s one of the most amazing men I know,” Rachel asked.

Shelly felt her temperature rise as she faced that very logical question. Instead of answering Rachel, she went on the defensive.
Always a great move among friends.
Not
.

“Why don’t you date him then, if he’s so wonderful? Or maybe you’re afraid he won’t follow orders?”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed as Lena moved to stand between the two of them.

“Alright, kitty cats, sheathe your claws,” Lena said.

Rachel was the first to speak. “I just don’t understand. He’s attractive, successful, and kind, and you’re going to just let him move away.” She stopped, shaking her head. “For a doctor, I thought you’d be smarter than that.”

Shelly blinked at Rachel as she continued pointing out all of her faults, but Shelly had blocked out all the sound. All she kept hearing was,
You’re just going to let him move away.
Those words repeated over and over in her head.

Finally, she snapped to. “He’s moving away?”

Both Lena and Rachel nodded.

“He told us last night at dinner,” Lena confirmed.

Shelly walked back into the dressing room like a zombie.

He is moving. He’s leaving.

She would never have to see him again. She would never have to worry that he was going to be at Lena’s and Mason’s or down at Exquisite.

She should have been thrilled, but as she stood in the dressing room, she felt as though her heart had made that final crack, and it was now completely broken.

***

Josh was sitting on his couch with a beer, watching the Cubs.

His afternoon couldn’t have gotten much better than that. He had finally taken the plunge the other day and gone down to the bank to apply for a loan. When Cole had called to tell him he had been approved, he had felt elated.

Finally
.

Finally, something was going the way he had planned. He had worked things out with his crew, currently working on Mason’s renovation, and arranged it so he only had to be present once a month.

 
Ahh, the beauty of owning your own business.
If you want to work on other projects, you are free to. You have no one to answer to, except your employees and the person that hired you. As long as you can deliver your services and pay your staff, then the sky is the limit.

However, Josh didn’t want to go to the sky.
No,
he had somewhere more specific in mind.

Just as he took another sip of his beer, there was a sharp knock at his door. Looking out the window, he tried to see who was there, but whoever it was must have been standing close to the door.

Sitting up, he placed his beer on the coffee table and went to answer it. When he pulled it open, he was surprised to see Shelly standing there, but in the back of his mind, he had known, or suspected, that she would eventually show up.

She stood there on his porch, wearing a bright yellow T-shirt, a pair of cutoff jeans, and white flip-flops. She had her hair pulled to the side in a messy-looking braid. She looked cute, refreshed, and so utterly appealing that he almost felt like nixing his whole plan.

But, no, in the long run, he felt that what he was doing was for the best, and it would eventually work out for him.
Right?

“Shelly? This is a surprise,” he told her.

***

Shelly looked Josh over as he stood there holding the door open. It was true. She didn’t know him as well as she wanted to. It was also true that it was her fault.

As she stood there taking him in, she thought it was highly unfair that she was just now realizing the enormity of her own stupid mistake.

“Is it true?” Shelly asked with no greeting whatsoever.

He stepped aside, and Shelly walked in past him.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment before continuing into his front hall. When he shut the door, she turned and saw him standing there, watching her.

“Is what true?” he questioned slowly.

Shelly knew he had to know what she was referring to, but he wanted confirmation. So, she gave it to him.

Dropping her bulky leather bag on the floor, she asked, “Are you really leaving Chicago?”

She watched as he nodded, but he stayed where he was, not making any move toward her.

“Yes, it’s true. I’ll be leaving in a couple of days.”

Shelly sucked in a deep breath, not realizing until that moment how much that admission was going to affect her. She felt like he had just punched her in the gut. Taking a step to him, she was a little shocked when he took a step back.

“What are you doing here, Georgia?” he asked her.

His face was serious and devoid of all emotions.

Swallowing deeply, Shelly turned away from him and looked around the living room.

“Where’s Mutley?”

He laughed and asked, “Really? You want to know where my dog is?”

Shelly turned back to face him, shaking her head. “No,” she whispered.

“Then what?” Josh inquired again.

Trying to find the courage, but not locating it anywhere, Shelly opted for evasive maneuvers.

“Well, I wanted to say goodbye,” Shelly rolled her eyes at herself, and then shook her head. “I’m doing a terrible job of lying, aren’t I?”

Finally, he moved.

He stepped forward until they were standing with only inches separating them.

Shelly looked up into his warm chocolate eyes and whispered, “I’ve been working on my brave face.”

***

Josh reached up with both hands and cupped her face. “It’s still pathetic.” He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “What do you need to be brave about?”

He watched as she bit her lip, blinking those beautiful eyes at him.

“I wasn’t like this before you.”

Josh tilted his head and asked, “Like what?”

“Vulnerable. You’ve made me a walking bag of emotions!” she accused.

Leaning down, Josh laid his lips against hers in a gentle kiss.

Lifting his head, he told her softly, “But we were just a fling.”

She tried to shake her head, but with him holding her face, she could move it only slightly.

“You were never just a fling,” she whispered.

“Then, what was I, Shelly Monroe?”

She licked her lips and locked eyes with him. “You were a game changer.”

***

Shelly couldn’t believe what she had just said that to him.

What on earth am I doing?

Laying her heart on the ground is what she was doing. Laying it down and saying,
Here you go, please tread carefully
. She stared up at him, eyes locked with his. She saw sadness flicker into them before quickly disappearing.