The Weekend Girlfriend (7 page)

***

“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” Kyle remarked as he closed the door to the bedroom. “Mother was well, she was herself.”

“Kyle,” I began with a deep breath. “Who is Danielle?”

“Danielle?” he asked, shrugging out of his shirt. “She’s a family friend. We went to school together.”

“Were you ever involved?” I squeaked out, my mouth going dry at the sight of his bare chest.

Kyle sighed and crossed the room, gathering me into his arms. “Don’t worry about her,” he said softly, his hand going into my hair. “She’s not even on that level with me anymore.”

“I’m not worried,” I said shakily, pulling out of his embrace. “We are pretending to be together, right?”

Kyle’s lower jaw ticked as his expression became hard and he thrust his hand through his hair, causing me to swallow in return. “Right,” he finally ground out, throwing on his shirt as he opened the door. “I’m going out.”

I jumped as he slammed the door shut, the paintings on the wall rattling in return, wondering what had just happened. I had only spoken the truth yet he acted like it was something else, something that I was feeling as well. Could it be possible? Did I even dare hope?

Hours passed without his return as I took a hot shower and climbed into bed, staring at the clock as it ticked slowly by. Finally, as I was starting to drift off to sleep, Kyle stumbled in the door, easing it shut. I froze as I heard his shoes hit the floor, then his pants before he climbed into bed, reaching over to touch my bare arm with his fingers. I could smell the alcohol on his breath but didn’t move as those long fingers drifted over my shoulder then to touch the tresses on my pillow. I closed my eyes tightly against the soft touch, wanting desperately to turn over and take him into my arms.

“God, I wish you knew,” he said softly, startling me out of my thoughts. He then sighed heavily, pressing a soft kiss on my shoulder before rolling over. I lay there frozen as his snores filled the air, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

The next morning came all too soon. I awoke to an empty bed, the sound of the shower running in the bathroom alerting me that I was indeed not in a dream, but tortuous reality. Throwing back the covers, I padded to the bathroom, shedding my clothes in the process. Kyle was standing away from the curtain, his arm braced against the wall, his face lifted upward to the water as I climbed in, my hands brushing the muscles of his back softly before I wrapped my arms around his lean waist.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, pressing a kiss to his back. “I know this is difficult for you and I shouldn’t be adding to it.”

He shuddered and turned in my arms, kissing me hard on the lips. “I’m sorry I roped you into this.”

“You didn’t force me,” I replied with a small smile, touching his chest with my hands. “Just like anything else, you aren’t forcing me.”

He then gave a small groan as I took his flat nipple into my mouth, swirling my tongue around it. “Jesus,” he whispered, his hands in my hair.

“Relax,” I said, pulling back, desire swirling in my veins. Holy hotness, he was perfect and I wanted to have him trembling under my touch for once. “Let me take care of you.” Kneeling before him, I touched him, already hard and ready for me. “It’s beautiful,” I said honestly, taking him fully into my palm, feeling its length before touching the tip of it with my lips in a soft kiss.

“Jess,” he said in a strangled voice, his hands clenching in my hair. “You don’t… damn.”

“Shh,” I whispered, the water dripping all around me as I took him fully into my mouth. I worked it slow, ramping up my speed until he was groaning and attempting to pull away from my mouth. Grabbing his ass, I pulled him back and before long he stiffened, his harsh cry echoing in the shower as I finished him off. I leaned back and wiped my lips, pulling myself back against the length of him, seeing the drained look on his handsome face.

“Good God, Jess,” he said softly, his sexy grin sliding back into place. “That is an awesome way to start a morning.”

“Good morning,” I replied with a smile as he took my face in his hands, his eyes tender as he searched mine.

“A damn good morning,” he echoed, rubbing his nose with mine.

I sighed as I enjoyed the tender touch, kissing his thumb as it drifted over my swollen lips. I was sunk, big time. Nicole had hit the nail on the head. I loved this man.

We stayed in the shower until the water grew cold, running us out and forcing us to start another trying day. Kyle’s grip was tight on my hand as we descended the stairs, pausing as we saw the crowd gathered at the bottom.

“Golf and shopping,” Nicole announced, seeing us on the stairs. “You can guess which one you are going to do.”

“Great,” Kyle muttered under his breath as he pulled me to him. “Don’t let them get you flustered,” he whispered in my ear, his fingers briefly touching my cheek.

“Don’t forget to hide their bodies if you decide to take them out,” I added with a smile, earning a chuckle from him. My heart fluttered as he kissed me gently in front of everyone, lingering for a moment.

“Here,” he said, pulling out his wallet to hand me his credit card.

“Oh no,” I protested, handing it back to him. “I’ve got my own money.”

“I know,” he said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, his grin sinful. “Buy something racy. It will be money well spent.” He then kissed me again, tucking the card into my front pocket before joining the men, who were on their way out.

“Wow. That was so not the brother I am used to seeing,” Nicole remarked as I all but floated down to her side. “Whatever you are doing to him, Jessica, keep it up.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll try,” I responded, my cheeks flushing. “Where are we going?”

***

“Geez,” I whistled, dropping the price tag as if it had burned me. “Did you see how much that underwear is?”

“Get them,” Nicole laughed. “It’s not like my brother can’t afford them.”

“Dear lord,” I muttered, moving well away from the rack. We were in a ritzy mall in the neighboring town, the car ride definitely strained with little to say. I was lost in my own thoughts of Kyle and what was transpiring between us, the soft feelings that were starting to compound at least on my end. Julia and Danielle were sticking together, apparently having more in common than with the two of us anyway. “Are you excited about your wedding?”

“I am,” Nicole smiled, two bright spots appearing on her cheeks. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Barnten. Reese and I have been together ten years now and it’s past time that we make it official.” She then turned to me, her eyes glittering like blue sapphires. “I don’t care about getting married in the backyard. I don’t care that my dress weighs thirty pounds or that I wanted chicken wings instead of the grilled chicken my mom insisted on. What matters is that I am marrying my best friend, the man that I love more than life itself.”

“I envy you then,” I said, a lump in my throat. “And I am glad that you are not your mother or Danielle. Kyle had me super worried.”

“I am far from my mother,” she laughed. “As for Danielle, she believes that she is to be Kyle’s wife. I don’t want to scare you off in any way, but her parents and my parents have planned their union since birth. Danielle and Kyle have been forced together more times than you realize and each time he has shied away.” She then sighed, concern etched on her face. “I think that is why he left as soon as he could, moved away to be rid of my parents’ overbearing demeanor. He doesn’t want to marry her any more than he wants to move back home.”

I smiled through gritted teeth, knowing that there had to be more than what Kyle had expressed the night before when I had brought up Danielle. Great, a tall model redhead was my competition now at least. Once we got home, it would be any woman in a twenty-mile radius. My chances of being able to hold onto him were dimming by the moment.

“Come on,” Nicole interrupted, linking arms with me. “Let’s go find the evil twins. I’m sure they are plotting another wedding at this moment.”

***

We found the two in one of the restaurants that flanked the mall, sipping on their wine and tapping their manicured nails against the table as we slid into the booth.

“Well, well, don’t you both look as if you have made friends,” Danielle remarked, her green eyes assessing me.

“I hope Nicole didn’t tell too many secrets about the family,” Julia remarked, looking at her daughter. “Tell me, Jessica. What do you think about my son?”

“Kyle is wonderful,” I replied, meeting her eye. “He’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.” And that wasn’t a lie; he was truly the best thing in a long time. “And he’s very successful in his practice. I am sure you are so proud of what he has accomplished.”

“Yes, well, he’s cutthroat just like his father,” Julia sniffed. “Danielle, did you get a chance to visit him?”

“We had lunch,” Danielle said, a cat-like smile on her face. “You know, catch up on old times. Why not once did he mention you, Jessica? I find it very interesting with all of this display of affection now.”

“You know how private Kyle can be,” I fired back, giving her a sweet smile. I could play bitch as well; Gretchen had taught me how to be nice nasty. “It must be nice to catch up with old friends.” Danielle’s façade broke, allowing me to see the plotting woman underneath for a moment, knowing full well I would have to watch my back the rest of the weekend.

“Yes, well, Danielle knows Kyle better than anyone,” Julia replied, patting the younger woman’s hand. “But we are glad to have you to share this excitement this weekend, Jessica.”

“Yes we are,” Nicole chimed in, her smile the only real one at the table. Gah, no wonder Kyle hadn’t visited this woman in a while. It was going to be hard enough to stomach her fakeness this weekend and I was glad my turn with her would be done. I almost could feel sorry for the girl that Kyle would ultimately call his wife as she would have this dragon of a mother-in-law to deal with. My chest ached at the thought, but I shrugged it off, knowing that it was going to come sooner or later. We had really good sex and I could almost say we had become good friends, but that’s where it stopped. Though I had true feelings for him on my end, I wasn’t expecting to have them returned to me. I would give him everything I could in the meantime and at least at the end of this adventure, he would have felt love. It was apparent it wasn’t coming from the woman across the table.

How sad, I thought as Nicole handed me a menu. No wonder Kyle had thrown out all kinds of warnings before we got here. I wasn’t finding anything warm or exciting about his parents at all.

“He’s not destined for the likes of you.”

Taking a deep breath, I turned around and faced Julia, who was giving me her best I hate you stare. Now I knew where Kyle had gotten his glares from. “Excuse me?”

“You are not going to be my daughter-in-law.”

“Ma’am, Kyle and I haven’t even talked about marriage yet but I am sure if that happens, you will be the first one to know,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. I had walked out onto the back deck while Kyle napped in the room, his golf trip seemingly as successful as my shopping trip had been. Neither one of us really wanted to talk about it. The look on his face when he had gotten back told me what I needed to know. My heart ached at what he had endured living with the woman before me, how it had affected his current lifestyle.

“Do not get smart with me,” Julia fired back. “You, you are nothing but a diversion for him. He will marry someone of his stature.”

“I wish you knew your son,” I said softly, determined not to stoop to her level. “He’s a great guy, a great lawyer. He’s well respected and awesome to be around. I am sorry you don’t see the reason to be happy for him.”

Julia gave me one hard look and I inwardly cringed, waiting for her blast once more. Instead, a glimmer of tears caught my eye as she hastily blinked them away, rubbing her arms with her hands. “You love him, don’t you?”

“I…” I started, confused at this turn of events. “Yes, I love him very much.” And I did. I loved him more with every passing day and the thought terrified me.

“I can hear it in your voice, see it in your eyes when you talk about him. I’ve failed him, we’ve failed him and I am surprised he’s still speaking to us.” She then moved toward the railing, where I had been standing. “We had such high hopes for him. He’s his father’s son, strong willed and hard headed. We tried to keep him close, but only succeeded in pushing him farther away. It’s always been our dream to see him marry Danielle, live right down the street and follow in his father’s footsteps. Now, now I can’t even get him to answer my phone calls.”

As I listened to her, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for what she was going through as well. This was a new turn of events from the woman who had been so harsh earlier. “Listen, I’m sure Kyle doesn’t hate you,” I lied, looking at her. “Perhaps if you just spent some time with him then you could talk.”

“It’s too late for us,” she replied with a long sigh. “But it does make me happy that you will be there to take care of him in my absence.”

I gave her a faint smile, now hating the fact that we were lying to her. She only wanted the best for her son, just struggled on how to show it to him. If neither one of them ever budged on their stance, however, they would never get any kind of reconciliation going. “Your son needs to understand why he gets nothing but bitterness from you,” I finally said, pushing away from the railing and moving back toward the door. “And I’m not going to be the one to do that, you need to be. If you value any future with your son, with his wife, or any future grandkids, I would work out the differences now.” As soon as I said it, I realized I hadn’t inserted me in there, but his wife, which wouldn’t be me.

Julia gave me a long, hard look and I held my breath for the onslaught of questions that were sure to follow. “If my son is as smart as I think he is, he won’t let you go, Jessica,” she finally said, though a tiny part of me knew that she knew that this wasn’t a conventional relationship. Parents were not born yesterday. “I hope that you will fight for him in the instance.”

“All I can guarantee is that right now, he is loved,” I said softly, meeting her stare. There was no need to lie to her anymore nor was I scared of what she thought. “Even if he never knows it.”

“I understand,” she answered, giving me a grim smile, understanding the words that I veiled in that one statement. “And if you need anything…”

“I will be fine,” I interrupted, holding up my hand. I didn’t want her sympathy for what was going to happen with this relationship, but I didn’t get the impression that she was upset that we had deceived her.

“I am sure you will,” she finally said. “Good night, Jessica.”

“Good night,” I answered and escaped into the house before I started bawling in her presence. What a mess, what a hot, holy mess.