Page 29 of The Rules

It had been thirty minutes of this: beep, brake lights, tap, tap, tap.

“Dude.”

Josh’s hand stilled. “Sorry.”

“What’s your deal? You look like you’re waiting for a stay of execution.”

“Just want to get home.”

And Dylan wanted to get back across town to Dani’s place. Tomorrow night was her first soulmate date or whatever it was called, and she’d invited him over. He’d woken up that morning hard as a rock, using all of his self-control not to handle the situation himself in the shower. Add in the commute from hell, and he was a little antsy too.

But now he’d finished his last meeting of the day, and all that stood between him and Dani’s bed was a ride across town to drop Josh at his Jeep. A vision of the night in his hotel room played in Dylan’s head, and he shifted uncomfortably in the seat. The replays were almost as hot as the original.

He thought about the first night he’d met Dani—summer night, sweltering even on the coast. Josh had found himself surrounded by a group of women at a bar. It happened all the time, not that Josh ever appreciated it, but this time, when Dylan tracked him down, instead of wearing his usual bored expression, Josh was staring at this little Latina woman who barely came up to his shoulder like he was having a religious experience.

Dylan had noticed Dani right away. Her red lipstick and little black dress stood out in a bar full of bathing suit cover-ups, the same way his dress shirt and slacks probably had. He’d have shot his shot right then, but it was clear his buddy was already half in love with Cat. He’d figured it was better not to interfere. Then, once Josh and Cat’s relationship turned down the forever direction, it became obvious that Cat’s best friend was not going anywhere, and that she was completely off-limits.

But the thing he’d discounted was how much he and Dani shared a disdain for limits. It also seemed that for all of her “let’s forget it happened” talk, she’d come running right back. Continuing to sleep together was Dani’s idea. Whatever happened from here, he was blameless, and that was his favorite place to be.

Second favorite. Between Dani’s legs was his new favorite.

“Let’s talk about the Jansen bid,” Josh said, frowning down at his phone. He ran his thumb over his brow, smoothing the line that had been there all day.

Dylan’s latest Dani thought-bubble popped. “What about it?”

“What’s the status?”

“Um. Got a meeting Wednesday, I think. I don’t have my calendar memorized, but it’s moving.”

“You need me there?”

“Not yet. Gotta hook him first.”

Josh leaned back on the headrest and closed his eyes. “Building like that’s a lead on a lot of other big-money buildings.”

They both knew Josh didn’t have to tell Dylan that. Fredrick Jansen and his wife Juliette were philanthropic developers—a rare breed. What made them different from the typical profit-mongers was that they had a sort of grandiose idea about their buildings and their place in the community. Among other things, that included using green materials to revitalize some of the eco-monstrosities downtown, and hand-picking a select team of professionals with a similar “vision” for the city. Money flowed out of these two like a river, and they were looking to part ways with their current design team.

Competition was stiff, though. The Jansens had carved out a niche of renowned socially responsible projects that every firm in town wanted their names associated with—including Josh.

Josh got off on all that preservation work, and he was the one designing the plans. Dylan didn’t care what Josh drew as long as the commission was high. This building wasn’t huge money, but the potential to be Jansen’s go-to firm for other projects meant consistent revenue and name-recognition. Josh knew as well as he did, that was the key to longevity for a small business.

“I’m gonna bag ‘em for you, bro.” Dylan popped a piece of gum in his mouth and tossed the wrapper at Josh. “Think of it as my wedding present since I didn’t get you one.”

Josh didn’t laugh. “We need to focus our attention on these long-term deals. Recurring business. It’s the only way to keep our bottom-line secure.”

Dylan rolled to yet another stop light and eyed his friend. Apparently this was more than just project chit-chat. “For a guy who just spent a week in Hawaii surfing and getting laid, you’re awfully stressed. Something I don’t know?”

“Course not. Just…” Josh tossed his phone on the dash and pushed his fingers into his hair again. “Thinking about the future is all.”

Whatever it was worrying Josh, Dylan wasn’t taking it on today. He needed to drop Josh at his Jeep and try out the new slideshow of Dani he’d made in his head while he drove to her place. He gave Josh a salute, choosing to ignore the worry lines creasing his friend’s forehead. “Count on me, man,” he said, and left it at that.

Eleven

“So how does this work?”Dylan asked.

Dani handed him a glass of wine and took the seat beside him on her couch. “If you’re asking that, maybe I picked the wrong person for this.”

“I think you know that’s not true.”

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