Friends & Lovers Trilogy (27 page)

“
No Roni, of course not,”
Kent replied as he ran his hand through his already disheveled
hair. “You deserve the best.”

“
So do you, and so does
she.” Roni put her arms around his waist and looked up at him. Into
his eyes. “You guys deserve each other. Don’t be a horse’s ass,
Kent.”

She hugged him to try and soften her harsh
words, then pulled back to look at him again.

“
What was your good
news?”

He kissed her on the top of her head, then
smiled wryly down at her.

“
Now you want to hear my
news? You tear me a new one and now you want to hear it?” He
laughed softly as he said it, but the smile didn’t quite reach his
eyes.

“
Yup,” Roni grinned back up
at him.

“
Chuck offered to let me
buy the paper from him. He wants to retire.”

“
That’s wonderful, Kent,”
Roni broke free and did a little happy dance around the room. “You
said yes, right?”

“
I did,” Kent admitted. “I
think I can be happy here, and you’re here, so as long as you think
this is somewhere that you would like to stay, then I think it
would be good for us to have a solid home.”

“
I like it here,” Roni said
with a smile. “I’m so happy for you!”

She ran back to him and gave him a hug. He
put his cheek on the top of her head and asked, “Is she okay,
Roni?”

Roni was about to answer when the doorbell
rang once, then the door opened and Rich walked in.

“
Ugh,” Roni groaned when
she saw him.

“
Nice to see you too,
sunshine,” Rich said with a grin and a wink as he walked in.
“What’s up, man?”

Kent walked over and gave Rich a slap on the
back, then paused when Colin walked in behind him.

“
I hope you don’t mind, I
asked Colin to come with me.” Rich explained. “He called to say he
was in town, and there’s something I want to talk to the both of
you about.”

“
No problem,” Kent said,
then walked over and held his hand out to Colin. “How’s it going,
Colin? How’s Austin?”

Colin shook Kent’s hand and said with a
smile, “It’s great, man. Nice house.”

“
Thanks.”

“
Hey Colin,” Roni greeted
her friend’s tall good-looking boyfriend. “So, if you’re here, does
that mean Bree is too?”

“
Hi, Roni,” Colin responded
with a flash of his dimples. “Good to see you again. Yeah, Bree was
actually headed over to your apartment to see you and Nic. I think
Kara’s meeting her over there too.”

“
Awesome,” Roni said as she
turned to her brother. “You’re off the hook for now, but you’d
better come to your senses soon. I’ll see you later. Bye, Colin.
Rich,” She said dryly when Rich winked at her.

“
Your sister really likes
me,” Rich grinned at her retreating back, then laughed out loud as
she flipped him off before closing the door behind her.

“
How long are you both here
for?” Kent asked as he walked into the kitchen. “You want a
beer?”

They nodded, then followed Kent out onto his
back deck and sat down to catch up.

“’
Til Sunday after
Halloween,” Colin answered first.

“
Yeah, me too,” Rich
replied. “But I’ll graduate in December and be back for good. I’m
so ready to be done with school.”

“
What are your plans when
you get back?” Kent asked the slightly younger man.

Rich set his beer down and looked at the two
of them, his hazel eyes flashing with excitement.

“
That’s what I wanted to
talk to the two of you about, actually. This may sound like it’s
coming out of left field, but I have been doing my research for a
little over a year now.” Rich ran his hand through his shaggy brown
hair, then took a deep swig of his beer before finishing. “There’s
an old warehouse over on Fifth Street, and… Well, I bought
it.”

“
You did?” Colin asked. “I
know the place you’re talking about. What are you going to do with
it?”

“
I’m going to make it into
a Rec center. For kids,” Rich began to talk more quickly. “You know
how we spent all of our time shooting hoops and playing catch
growing up?” This he directed at Colin.

“
Yeah.”

“
Well, I want to build a
place where kids can come hang out, and be active, in a safe and
controlled environment. I plan to have a baseball diamond out back,
courts inside, and different areas for classes.”

“
What kind of classes?”
Kent asked eagerly, getting caught up in Rich’s
excitement.

“
Karate, music, dance… I
don’t know everything. I haven’t worked it all out yet, but it’s
going to be great.”

“
That sounds amazing, man,”
Colin said. “I would have loved a place like that growing
up.”

Kent nodded in agreement, “Me too. And I’ve
noticed that there isn’t a Y or any sort of Boys and Girls club
here, so that would be great.”

Kent went in to get another round of beers.
He could see the enthusiasm his friend had for this idea and agreed
one hundred percent that the kids in this town needed and would
utilize a Rec Center like that.

He believed in the idea so much, that when
he got back outside with the guys he said, “I want in. Not as an
owner or anything, that’s your deal, Rich, but I want to help. Be a
silent partner or something, and maybe offer a journalism course or
something.”

Colin looked up at him with a grin as he
handed him a beer. “Dude, I was just saying the same thing. I would
love to be involved, and although I’m not here full time right now,
I’d love to help out when I am.”

“
You guys are awesome,”
Rich said as he cleared his throat. “I’m just glad you didn’t laugh
at me.”

“
Hell no. Why would we
laugh, it’s a great idea. And, I know an amazing dancer that could
help you with classes, but she may be a hard sell.” Kent said with
a chuckle.

Chapter Nineteen

The girls surrounded Nicole on the living
room floor. They had blankets, throw pillows, and a pitcher of
margaritas.

“
Okay,” Briana began, as
she lifted her margarita to her lips and brushed her freshly cut
bangs from her forehead. Her long chestnut hair was pulled back in
a ponytail and the bangs framed her pretty face. “Tell us exactly
what happened at the party.”

The other girls nodded their encouragement
to Nicole, who sat cross-legged in her yoga pants and an oversized
sweatshirt.

“
Well, it was okay in the
beginning. My dad wasn’t bad, but as soon as Kent met my mother,
things started to go downhill. It’s funny; I forgot what a snob she
can be. I guess I’ve been away from her for a while. Anyway, I
could tell right away that they didn’t like each other,” She paused
to take a deep drink.

“
Why do you say that?” Kara
asked as she turned over to lie on her stomach, “Kent’s a pretty
likeable guy. I’d think he’d be a parent’s wet dream!”

Nicole giggled at that, the tequila slowly
starting to take effect.

“
Not my mom, her idea of a
suitable guy is someone exactly like Jake. From an upstanding
Dallas family, with deep roots in the church, and someone who
thinks social status is important.”

“
Well…that’s definitely not
Kent,” Roni said with a snort.

“
No,” Nicole agreed with a
small smile. “Kent is so much better than that.”

“
What happened to make him
leave?” Briana asked softly, laying her hand on Nicole’s
arm.

“
My mom was rude to him
from the get go, and once her friends arrived, she ignored him all
together. He overheard her gossiping about someone from the parish
who’d been arrested for domestic violence, and he just walked out.
When I followed him outside, he told me some stuff about his
childhood,” Nicole looked over at Roni, her compassion apparent in
her eyes, then looked down at her glass as her eyes began to fill.
“He said that we were too different, that we’d never work out, and
he thought it was better to walk away now than drag it
out.”

Roni’s arms came around her as the tears
began to spill down her cheeks.

“
My brother can be such an
idiot.”

“
It sounds like he’s just
scared,” Kara said quietly.

“
What do you mean?” Nicole
asked with a sniffle.

“
We all know that Kent’s
the best. He’s built himself into the sexy metro-sexual that he is
today. He’s a total sweetheart, and you can’t deny that he’s a
wonderful brother to Roni. But…”

“
But what?” Nicole asked as
she sat up straighter and wiped her cheeks with the back of her
hand.

“
He’s never been in a
serious relationship,” Roni answered. “Bree was the closest he ever
got, and you see how that turned out.” She looked over at Briana
and said sadly, “Sorry.”

“
It’s okay,” Briana
replied.

“
We didn’t have a good
example of marriage, or love, growing up. Kent doesn’t want to end
up in a terrible situation like that, which would never happen,
because Kent is the complete opposite of our father. But, because
of them, he’s never allowed himself to really trust a woman with
his heart. He’s afraid of being hurt and of not being the man that
he wants to be.”

Kara got up to grab the pitcher and poured
them each another round. “Kent doesn’t realize what a catch he
is.”

“
He said that I deserved
better than him,” Nicole admitted.

Briana shook her head sadly. “You’re going
to have to tell him that he’s the one you want.”

“
I tried, and he just
walked away and left me there. What if I put myself out there and
he still says no?”

“
Do you love him?” Kara
asked softly.

“
Yes,” Nicole smiled
through the tears and nodded emphatically. “So much. I never
thought I’d feel this way about anyone. He’s the most amazing
person I have ever met, and I feel stronger when I’m with
him.”

“
Then you’re going to have
to take that chance,” Briana said. “You might get your heart
broken, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know.”

“
I know he loves you,” Roni
encouraged. “He’s buying the paper. He’s putting down roots here,
and I know you’re a big reason for that.”

“
He’s buying the paper?”
Nicole asked with wide eyes. “He’s going to stay?”

Roni grinned at her, “Yes. I know he’s
stubborn and can be a total block head, but you’re just going to
have to make him see that you love him and you’re not letting him
get away that easily. Fight for him, Nic. I promise he’s worth
it.”

Roni’s eyes began to fill and Nicole leaned
over to give her a big hug.

“
I know he is. I love you,”
Nicole told the other girl as she pulled back. She looked around
her living room at Roni, Briana, and Kara and her heart felt fuller
than ever. “I love you all so much. You are the family that I
always wanted.”

“
Awww,” Briana said her
emotion evident on her face. “I love you too.”

“
I’ll drink to that,” Kara
exclaimed loudly. She lifted her glass and realized it was empty.
“Time to make another pitcher. Let’s fill up and figure out how
we’re going to help Nicole land her man.”

They all laughed and stood up. They made
their way to the kitchen to blend margaritas.

“
I think we’ll have to get
you in a sexy costume for the Halloween party,” Briana said with a
wicked grin.

“
Yes!” Roni agreed. Her
face lit up as an idea began to form. “How about a sexy angel? Kent
wants to put you on a pedestal and thinks that you’re too good for
him. Let’s play with that.”

“
An angel?” Nicole asked
skeptically.

“
Perfect,” Kara said with a
smile as she put the ingredients in the blender. “He’s not going to
know what hit him!”

Chapter Twenty

The bar and grill was decorated with wall to
wall Halloween decorations. There was a DJ in the corner spinning
spooky hits, and there was a mass of monsters, sexily clad women,
and people wearing simply a mask with regular clothes. Then there
was Nicole.

She stood out in the room like a vision in
white. Her hair was fluffed out and spilled over her back and wings
in waves. Her ample bosom was showcased in the low cut slip dress.
It fell well above her knees and her legs were covered in white
fishnet stockings. She was wearing heels that looked like ice pics,
and her face was made up dramatically with smoky eyes and ruby red
lips.

She killed him.

When he’d walked through the door he’d seen
her instantly, and had felt a simultaneous surge in his heart and
in his pants. He’d never had a woman affect him the way that Nicole
did.

He must have stopped and stared when he’d
seen her, because Rich ran right into his back, causing him to
stumble forward.

“
Dude,” Rich chuckled as he
put his hand on Kent’s arm to steady him. “You alright?”

Rich looked up and followed the direction of
Kent’s gaze.

“
Wow, she looks fuckin’
hot!”

Rich just chuckled again when Kent shot him
a dirty look. He adjusted his hood to drape the way he wanted it,
and checked his shorts to make sure they were in place.