Page 3 of Not That Complicated

“Not even if I threaten to take my business elsewhere?”

“I will never yield to blackmail. And you wouldn’t try it anyway. You love me.”

“Damn it.” She sighed. “I do love you.” To prove it, she left the unwelcome topic of Adam alone.

At least until we’d packed away the fish and chips that The Lion was famous for, and we’d tricked each other into ordering dessert. Everyone knows calories don’t count if you both get it.

I scraped up the last smudge of my hot chocolate brownie, determined not to miss a crumb, and managed not to moan with disappointment when I set the spoon on the empty plate.

“Okay but seriously, Ray,” Paulina said. “You have to ask him out. Do it now, go on. Run after him. I’ll wait. I’m still eating.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the hot young thing who practically hasBest Worst Decision Everflashing over his beautiful head in three-foot neon lights. He walked past the table when you were busy showing your brownie a good time, and he nearly tripped over his sexy boots.”

I blinked at her. “Adam?”

“Oh, that suits him. He looks like an Adam. Go on, quick. He’s almost out the door. Run and you can catch him.”

“Ugh. I don’t want to catch him. He’s awful.”

“Awfully sexy. Yes. I can see that. If he hadn’t been eye-fucking you for the last hour from across the room—and trust me, I’ve been watching him watch you—I’d have asked him for his number myself. I’m not his type. You’re his type. Ray, if you were any more his type, he might have gone ahead and mounted you at the bar. He was standing close enough.”

“Hewasstanding close, wasn’t he?”

She flapped her hands at me. “Go!”

“No. Not even if he was the last man on earth. Not even if it was a case of Adam, or the rest of my life spent alone. Not even if—”

“Too late. He’s gone.” Paulina gave me a crafty look. “What is your problem with him? If you tell me, I’ll let you finish my apple crumble.”

“You can’t buy me any more than you can blackmail me.” Not with apple crumble, anyway. It had fruit in it. It was practically healthy. “I’m not for sale. Besides. It’s not a happy story, and I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Okay,” she said. Paulina was a gossip and she liked to tease, but the moment she hit a boundary she stopped. It was one of the things I loved about her.

And it was a technique that never failed to work on me. “Remember the whole thing a year ago with Fraser?”

She pulled a face. “Yeah,” she said flatly. Paulina was not a fan of Fraser. Her eyes widened as she put it together. “Nooo. That little cherub?”

“Cherub?Adam?”

If she’d seen what Adam was doing to Fraser, she’d revise that statement one hundred and eighty degrees from angelic cherub to demonic sex beast.

Okay, it was just a blowjob. But the way Adam was holding Fraser, with one hand threaded in Fraser’s hair and the other gripping Fraser’s jaw, the focus on his hard face as he watched, the growling demand in his voice…

“Ugh,” Paulina said. “Fuck him. No, don’t. Fuck absolutely anyone else. Pick someone.”

“Because it’s that easy,” I said. “I pick someone.”

“How hard can it be? You’re a cutie pie. You’re a catch. Besides, you know what they say. Best way to get over a man is to get under another one.”

“Thanks for the compliments. And the cliché.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I don’t need to get under anyone. I am over Fraser. I’ve been over Fraser for a long time. That’s not what’s been holding me back. There are slim pickings, hereabouts. I’m not exactly plugged into the social scene. Also, I’m old. I’ve missed the boat.”

She rolled her eyes. “What are you, twenty-eight?”

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