The Back-Up Plan (3 page)

She glanced at her watch, then toward the door. Jason had texted earlier about some forms she’d forgotten to sign before she left. Like a fool, she’d told him where she was, so he could stop by with them, even though the last thing she wanted during her night out was to see Jason. The eternal man-child took great pleasure in teasing her, claiming she took life too seriously. As a result, he’d made it his life’s mission to twist everything into a big joke. He’d have a field day when he realized she was tipsy and partying with a bunch of twenty-something guys.

Georgie headed for the dance floor with Laura’s dance instructor, Kevin, and the two of them were quickly joined by several of the other young men they’d met throughout the evening. Kristen envied her friend’s ability to let her hair down and lose herself in the moment. Georgie never seemed stressed out or anxious about anything. Instead, she walked through life with boundless enthusiasm and joy. Kristen kept hoping some of Georgie’s sunny disposition would rub off on her.

Swaying to the music, Georgie was surrounded by four hot guys all bumping and grinding to the fast beat. It was hot. Erotic.

Kristen dismissed the thought. Damn Josie and all her sex talk. It had seeped into Kristen’s subconscious, waking her up the past few nights feeling hot and bothered.

Laura stepped next to her. “Any promising prospects?”

Kristen shot her an
are you kidding me
look? It was Sesame Street out on the dance floor as they were surrounded by too many twenty-somethings.

“I have to admit, I can totally see you as a cougar.”

Kristen groaned. “Ugh. Hush your mouth. I do
not
have the patience to teach some hot young stud what to do. I fully intend to find myself a ready-made man, one with the skills required to make me come at the drop of a hat.”

“Then look no further,” a deep voice said behind them.

Kristen sighed as she turned. It figured Jason would show up at that exact moment. “Hell will freeze over before I have sex with you.”

Jason grinned. “No problem. I just bought a thermal hiking jacket from Patagonia. Bring on the cold, baby.”

Kristen tried to ignore the unexpected tingle Jason’s sexy tease provoked. Jesus. Time to get the vibrator out and nip this in the bud. If Jason was starting to look good, she was in worse shape than she realized. Then she noticed the man standing next to Jason. “I thought I told you to have Nick wait in the car. Georgie will go ballistic when she sees him here.”

Nick winked. “That’s why I came in. Where is my ex-fiancée?”

Laura pointed toward the dance floor.

Nick’s eyes narrowed when he spotted Georgie surrounded by her admirers, all jockeying for the best position for their dirty dancing moves. “Those guys are kids. Are they even old enough to be in here?”

Kristen held out her hand. “Give me the damn paper to sign, Jason, and then you two need to vamoose.”

Jason handed her a folder, a smug smile on his face.

Kristen took the pen Jason offered and signed the paper. “Don’t know why you wouldn’t just forge my damn signature like I told you to. God knows you sign my name better than I do.”

“And miss all this fun?” Jason took the paper and stashed it away. “Blue Moon is hopping tonight.”

Kristen wasn’t about to let them ruin what had been an awesome night. She turned toward Laura for support, but her friend quickly excused herself, heading for the restroom. Typical. Laura wasn’t fond of confrontation.

Jason raised his hand and waved the waitress over. “Another round of whatever these ladies have been having.”

The waitress nodded. “Lemon shooters. Coming right up.”

Jason’s eyes widened in surprise. “Shots? Seriously? You’ve strayed from wine?”

Kristen shrugged, secretly liking that she’d managed to shock her unshakable partner. He claimed she was as predictable as the tide. It was nice to prove to him that wasn’t always true. “What’s wrong, J? Afraid I’ll drink you under the table? You guys are about four rounds behind, by the way.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my partner?”

Kristen laughed. “Maybe aliens have taken over my body.”

Jason ogled her. “Maybe so. Not sure I’ve ever seen you look so hot. Did you intentionally miss those top three buttons? Because I can see your ta-tas.”

Kristen glanced down and started to close her blouse, but Jason caught her hands.

“Leave it. It’s sexy. If you’re on the prowl, those beauties will definitely do the trick.”

“Perv,” she murmured, but she left her blouse open, strangely flattered by what—in her sober mind—would have felt like a sexist comment and pissed her off.

Jason studied her face more closely and Kristen struggled not to blush. “Something’s wrong. You’re not yelling at me for being a male chauvinist pig.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “You’re drunk.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not.” Tipsy maybe and definitely knocking on the door to three-sheets, but she was not completely drunk. Yet.

“What the hell?” Georgie had spotted the new arrivals and broken free of the pack of college guys who looked lost on the dance floor without her. “What are you two doing here? It’s GNO.”

Jason frowned. “GNO?”

Kristen and Nick responded in unison. “Girls’ Night Out.”

Nick stepped closer to Georgie. “Looks more like the Babysitter Club out there.”

Georgie laughed, Nick’s obvious jealousy bouncing off her like she was made of rubber. “I was just warming them up for Kristen, seeing if any of them had future husband written on them. By the way,” Georgie said, looking at Kristen, “they all want kids. Sorry.”

Kristen laughed. “You asked them that?”

“Of course. That was pretty high on your list. Thought it was a good way to weed out the ineligible candidates right away.”

In Kristen’s foggy mind, Georgie’s logic made perfect sense. Man, maybe she should consider switching to water for the rest of the night. “That’s okay. I think we need to add a new item to the list anyway. The man must have been born within the same decade as me. Which means pretty much every guy in this bar is already out of the running.”

“What the hell are you two talking about? Husband?” Jason asked.

Kristen was saved from answering when the waitress returned with the shots.

Nick placed his hand over Georgie’s as she started to lift the glass. “Um, George,” Nick started, using his nickname for her. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?”

Kristen thought perhaps Nick was right. Georgie was too petite for the amount of alcohol she was consuming. A commitmentphobe from the word go, Georgie’s New Year’s resolution involved looking up her old fiancés—she’d had three—to see if she’d been wrong to call off the weddings. Kristen wasn’t sure that constituted a second chance as much as a rerun of the first failed attempts. She didn’t think any good would come from looking back, but Georgie was determined.

Kristen grinned as Georgie stared down the giant glaring at her as she lifted her glass. Sometimes Kristen wondered if the size difference was the reason for Nick and Georgie’s split. Her five-foot-two frame always looked funny next to Nick’s burliness. The guy had to be pushing six-three or six-four. It must have been awkward for them to kiss…and do other things.

“Nope. Not yet.” Georgie shook off his hold and held her glass up to Kristen. “Here’s to second chances and sexy college guys.”

Kristen grinned as she drank, perfectly aware that Georgie’s toast was her attempt at tweaking her ex for interrupting their night out. Apparently it worked. Nick growled, but then he lifted the vodka and drank as well.

Kristen glanced over at Jason. “You’re not drinking?” she asked as she gestured at the full shot glass in front of him.

He shook his head. “No.” He pushed his drink to Nick, who drank it as well. “Looks like you ladies are going to need a ride home. We’ll take you.”

Kristen continued to nibble at the lemon she’d chased her drink with. “We can’t all fit in your Audi TT. It’s a two-seater.”

Jason gestured for Nick to hand him his car keys. “Keys.”

Nick dug them out of his pocket and gave them to Jason before turning his attention back to Georgie.

“We came in Nick’s FJ Cruiser. There’s plenty of room for everybody.”

Kristen started to giggle, which prompted Jason to give her a confused look. “What’s so funny?”

She explained through her laughter. “You. Being the grown-up. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this side of you before. It’s like we’ve stepped into some parallel universe where everything is reversed.”

Jason chuckled. “Yeah. Well, I have to admit I thought I preferred it the other way, but I’m learning a lot about you tonight. I had no idea you had a personality.”

She took a swing at his arm, trying to punch him, but he dodged the blow easily, capturing her hand. “Asshole.”

Jason was undeterred. He reached up and pushed a strand of hair away from her face. “You’re a cute drunk.”

Damn. His compliment caught her off-guard. It did that weird thing to her stomach. And her pussy again. Made her tingle. Want. Yearn.

“Um, Jason.” Nick captured their attention, distracting Kristen from her unnerving thoughts. Thank God. She’d give up alcohol forever if she discovered it made her want to sleep with Jason. Ew.

They looked over as Georgie swayed in Nick’s arms.

“GNO appears to be over,” Jason said.

Kristen nodded. “I’ll go grab Laura. Do you mind asking for our bill?”

Jason lifted his hand, waving the waitress over once more. “I’ll take care of it.”

Ten minutes later, they were all in Nick’s car, headed for home. Nick ended up carrying Georgie to the car, who continued to giggle and chatter in the backseat with him and Laura. Kristen had claimed the passenger seat, sitting quietly as the effects of the alcohol started to wear off, making her sleepy.

When they arrived at the townhouse complex, Nick lifted Georgie out of the car. “I’ll take her inside and get her to bed,” he said as he carried Georgie to her house.

Laura walked with Jason and Kristen until she reached her own front door. Then she said good night.

Jason took Kristen’s house key from her and unlocked the door. They walked in together. Kristen closed it behind them, shutting out the brisk night air. The winter had been damn cold this year. “You didn’t have to come with me, J. I’m not so drunk I can’t get myself into my own bed.”

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You sure about that? I don’t mind getting you out of those clothes and into your pajamas.”

Kristen still had enough vodka in her to fire back. “I sleep naked.”

“Fuck,” Jason muttered. Then he mumbled something else she couldn’t hear as he walked to her living room and sank down on the couch. He’d only been in her townhouse about a dozen times over the past few years, yet Kristen couldn’t help but notice how at home he seemed in the place. “It’s freezing out there and God only knows how long Nick’s going to be. I don’t feel like sitting in that car alone waiting.”

Kristen claimed the opposite end of the couch from him, wishing she were heading for bed instead. While the night had been fun, her energy and enthusiasm for her second-chance goal was draining fast. Maybe there was a reason she was still single. She absolutely hated playing the dating game, putting herself out there. It was hard work.

“You want to watch TV?” she offered, reaching for the remote.

Jason shook his head. “No. I’d rather talk.”

She frowned, surprised by his request. “About what?”

“What were you girls doing at Blue Moon tonight?”

“Drinking.”

Jason laughed. “Yeah. That much was obvious given the way you staggered out of there. It just doesn’t seem like the kind of place you and Laura would go for a good time. Loud music, college kids, the smell of sweaty bodies and stale beer. While that’s my idea of heaven, I never pictured you enjoying that kind of environment.”

She rolled her eyes, perfectly aware that he probably would have closed the bar down tonight if Georgie hadn’t over-imbibed. She rubbed her forehead, afraid her hangover was going to kick in before she even made it to bed. “Laura made a New Year’s resolution to loosen up and have some fun. She’s on a quest to discover the woman she used to be…before marriage screwed her up.”

Jason looked impressed. “Good for her. And your resolution is to find a husband? One who’s not twenty and who doesn’t want kids?”

Kristen was suddenly sorry she and Georgie had spoken so freely in front of the guys. “Sort of.” Then she realized it was pointless to deny it. “Yeah. It is. I want to settle down, get married. I turn forty this year.”

“I know. So do I.”

She and Jason were almost exactly the same age—his birthday coming in May. “It’s always surprising to me when you say that considering you have the mental maturity of a seventeen-year-old.”

Jason chuckled, used to her teasing. “You really want to get married, Kris?”

Why was everyone so stunned by this? People got married every day. Why was it so shocking that she would want the same thing?

“Yes,
really
. I’ve spent the last decade of my life married to work. Busting my ass to make our business a success.”