Something Wonderful (12 page)

Darcy continued, “We could have dinner if you’d like, then go to my place afterward.”

“I wasn’t aware Crystal had any friends. In fact I didn’t think she was even capable of being a friend.” I ignored her comment and answered her other statement. I was trying to save her the embarrassment of rejection.

“You’re so funny,” she giggled, while wrapping her arms around me. When she pressed her breasts to my chest, it was time to peel her off me. Not wanting to offend her, I thought she would get the message when I wasn’t responding back, but she didn’t.

Lifting both of her hands off me, I placed them down to her side gently. “It was good to see you, Darcy.” That was all I said. I didn’t even give her time to respond as I scooted around her and bolted out the door.

I
HAD MADE UP
my mind not to visit my parents for Christmas, since I had been there not too long ago, but seeing Jenna’s parents in the living room really made me miss mine. Our conversations never centered on our parents, but I knew she was close to hers, yet this was the first time I would be meeting them in person.

It was easy to see who Jenna got her looks from; she looked just like her mom. Jenna’s mother was beautiful. Even at her age, she could easily pass for her sister. She had dark brown hair to her shoulders, smooth skin, and only a thin line of a wrinkle on her forehead.

Jenna’s Dad was good-looking as well. His salt and pepper hair suited his age. He didn’t say much, but I could tell he was all eyes and ears into our conversation.

Max was a sweetheart. He had dinner catered with prime rib, shrimp, and lobster, plus side dishes—mashed potatoes, salad, and green beans. Jenna didn’t want him to go out of his way, but since Max told her he’d already ordered, she had no choice. I was happy he had. I was not in the mood to cook. Besides, I was too insecure about my cooking. Of course, Jenna would help, but our dinner wouldn’t have turned out nearly this nice.

Sitting comfortably in the living room, we chatted about our jobs. I never asked Jenna about the details of her work, but it sounded not only challenging, but interesting as well. As I listened intently to Jenna’s dad, the sound of the doorbell startled me. Who could that be? All the guests had arrived. It was supposed to be Jenna’s parents, Max, Jenna and me.

“Come in,” Max said. “Good, you got my text to bring dessert.”

“Hello, Matthew. Welcome.”

When I heard Jenna’s greeting, my pulse shot up. Jenna didn’t tell me Matthew was coming. But then again, she didn’t know I had a crush on him. I only hoped he would behave tonight and keep his distance from me.

When Jenna’s parents stood up to greet Matthew, I did the same. Instead of reaching out his hand to shake as he did with Jenna’s parents, he pulled me into a quick hug, and then let go. With a mischievous grin, the kind of grin that screamed trouble, he greeted me. “Hello, Becca. It’s nice to see you again.”

Surprised from the hug, I gave him a quick smile and turned my back to him without a word. I flashed my eyes to Jenna to see if she caught that he called me by that silly name again, and the playfulness behind his demeanor, but she was too busy taking out the desserts Matthew had brought—cheesecake and tiramisu.

Since dinner was all set, presented on our finest dishes, we each took a plate, and helped ourselves to some food. While Max poured the wine, Jenna passed out the napkins. It was our place, but Max was helping, so I got to relax. I liked this arrangement.

Jenna’s parents sat on the sofa and Max carried two dining chairs over to the coffee table. The only area open was the smaller sofa on the other side. Hoping Jenna would sit next to me, I gestured with my head, but stopped when Matthew headed toward me with a sway that made me drool.

Breaking my gaze, I sat down and set my eyes on the food on my plate. My eyes shifted when the cushion sank, and his arm brushed against mine. There was plenty of room for the both of us. Knowing he sat close to me on purpose, I refused to look at him. Obviously, he was trying to get my attention.

“Jenna tells me you’ve done some traveling and now you’re back to work,” Jenna’s mom asked Matthew. Thank goodness for her. She kept the conversation going.

“Yes. Have you traveled much?” he asked, putting his plate on his lap to give her his absolute attention, but his damn feet were touching mine.

“We plan to go next year.”

“I can email you the places I’ve been to.”

“I would love that,” Jenna’s mom said. “Thank you.”

“No problem. It will be my pleasure,” he smiled.

“Jenna tells me that you’re single,” she mentioned, placing her glass down on the table after taking a sip.

“Mom.” Jenna scolded. Looking embarrassed, she gave her mom the look that pleaded for her to stop asking questions.

“Leave the poor boy alone. He doesn’t want to have to answer countless questions,” Jenna’s dad commented.

“That’s okay, Mr. Mefferd. Mrs. Mefferd, I don’t mind, but if you really want to know, I’m interested in someone, but I’m not sure if she realizes it. You know how dating goes.” Grinning after he answered, he shoved a piece of prime rib in his mouth.

Jenna and Max shifted their eyes in unison to Matthew, then to me. Were they just as surprised as I was? For that matter, why were they looking at me as if I had the answer?

“If things don’t go well, and if you’re interested, just let me know. I have a few friends I would love to set you up with. Such a handsome man as yourself would be a great catch.”

“Mom!” Jenna looked like she wanted to hide. No, she looked like she wanted to die.

Mr. Mefferd coughed. “The shrimp tastes delicious,” he said, purposely changing the subject, while nudging his wife.

“Yes, it does, dear,” Mrs. Mefferd agreed, snickering lightly. “Thank you again for dinner, Max.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Max replied with a warm smile.

“You’ll have to let us take you out on our last night. We insist,” Mr. Mefferd said.

Max didn’t say a word; instead, he beamed a smile toward Jenna. Looking at the two of them, I could see how much love they had for each other. Jenna did the right thing by giving a guy like Max a chance. He was not the stereotypical, good-looking, rich man that wanted to take advantage of his status. He was genuinely a great guy who wanted to find the right woman. Jenna was perfect for him. They were lucky to have found each other.

“You didn’t get any beans. You should try some,” Matthew suggested, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“No, thanks,” I said politely, looking at them on his plate.

“Here.”

How could I refuse when his fork was heading toward my mouth? Matthew caught me off guard when his eyes set on mine. I was desperately trying not to look at him in the eye with every bit of willpower in me. FAIL! Heat emanated not only from his proximity, but also from his charming, sexy smile. After I took a bite, I thanked him and looked away.

Friends…we are just friends…act casual. I said these words repeatedly in my head, but it became extremely difficult when he crossed his legs and placed his arm along the sofa behind me, making it look like we were a couple - smooth move. I was very much aware of his presence, his smell, and the heated electricity that tingled every part of me. My body stiffened even more when his fingers lightly touched my shoulders.

Max and Jenna mirrored each other’s amusing expression when they finally diverted their attention from the conversation with Jenna’s parents and turned to look at us. Needing to stop them from getting any strange ideas, I stood up, grabbed their empty plates, and asked them if they wanted dessert.

As I headed to the kitchen, I heard footsteps behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Matthew holding the rest of the plates I hadn’t picked up. A part of me wanted to smile because he was following me, but the other part of me was nervous.

“Let me help you with the dishes, Becca,” he said sweetly, taking the plates from my hands after he placed the stack he had in the sink.

“You’re the guest. I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting you wash the dishes.” I turned on the water, squirted soap onto the sponge and started to scrub.

“I’ve cooked here before and besides, we’re friends, so I’m not really a guest,” he said, rinsing the plate I just scrubbed.

“Seriously, it’s not much and I can do it myself.” Grabbing more scrubbed dishes to rinse, I nudged Matthew with my hip to make him move over. Suddenly, he pulled the spout from the faucet with one hand, and wrapped his other arm around my waist, pulling my body against his. After he peered at me with a playfully dangerous look, he leaned in to whisper, his lips brushing against my ear. “If you don’t let me help you, I’m going to make you extremely wet. You’ll be so soaked, it will drive you crazy. Believe me, either you’ll be begging me for more or begging me to stop; it’s your choice.” Then he let go.

OMG! Blistering heat sizzled throughout my body. Was he really talking dirty to me or was I really off on the interpretation? Swallowing a big lump of air, I surrendered and moved aside; I had no choice. He had just completely captivated me, making me weak in the knees and absolutely speechless.

“See? We can be two friends washing dishes together. Not so bad, is it?” He bumped his hip into mine as he rinsed the fork in his hand.

Friends, I repeated the word in my mind as a reminder. Trying to hold in my smile, I gave him a playfully evil eye. “Watch it, I have a soapy sponge here,” I threatened.

Matthew twitched his brows and bit his bottom lip, looking at me with a lustful gaze. “I know something we could do with that sponge, but you’d have to be naked.”

Shit! He did it to me again. I was burning up now, but not from anger. Yup, I was going to have to keep my mouth shut and hope to make it the rest of the night without wanting to get naked for him.

Thank goodness, Max and Jenna stepped into the kitchen.

“Where’s our dessert?” Max asked, sporting a huge smile, while gazing at the both of us. His eyes were full of suspicion.

Then I remembered why I’d come into the kitchen in the first place. “Sorry, I thought I would do the dishes first.”

“Why don’t you get the dessert while Becca and I finish the dishes,” Matthew suggested.

Max raised his brows. “Hmmm. I’m not going to ask. Just don’t get her too wet.”

Matthew’s lips curled into a smirk and winked at me. “I believe I already have.”

Not only could I not look at either of them, but my face was redder than it had ever been before, and I wanted to pull out the spout and drench myself in cold water.

A
FTER COFFEE AND DESSERT
, Max and Matthew said good night and left together with Jenna’s parents. Jenna and I sat on the sofa and kicked our feet up. Leaning back, I flicked at the bracelet Jenna got me for Christmas, listening as the charms made a clinking sound. “I love how they sound,” I snorted.

“Me, too,” Jenna said, mimicking my motion. “So…” She dropped her hand and intently focused on me, “anything new?”

“Not much,” I replied, continuing what I was doing.

“I’m not talking about your daily routine.”

I was pretty sure I knew what she meant, but I wanted to give her a hard time and besides there was nothing going on. Still, I didn’t want to give her any reason to think otherwise.

“You know what I mean. Don’t try to steer away from the subject. You know what I’m talking about.” Jenna narrowed her eyes at me, as if that could get me to answer faster. Truthfully?

“I have no idea.”

“Matthew. Sound familiar?”

I don’t know why but just hearing his name got my full attention, even knowing she would spit his name out. Placing my hand on Jenna’s, I stated matter-of-factly, “we’re just friends.” I didn’t want this to be awkward for her, plus I didn’t want her to tell Max all the details of what had happened between Matthew and I, so I left it at that. This also reinforced why it was best if Matthew and I just remained friends. Though I was sure that was the way he thought of me anyway.

“Did you get him anything for Christmas?” Jenna asked softly, sounding unsure if she should have asked that question.

“Of course not. I hardly know him. I only gave your parents a little gift because you are my best friend and it was the first time meeting them.”