An After-Hours Affair

“Don’t worry. He just broke up with his girlfriend. But he’s not looking for a replacement. Trust me when I tell you you’re not going to break Jeffrey’s heart.”

“That did sound kind of conceited, didn’t it?”

“It sounded very sweet. You’re a caring person, Jenny Watson.”

“And so are you.”

“You’ll tell Emily that?”

“I already have.”

“I like having you in my corner, sis.”

“And I like having you in mine.” She hesitated. “Bro.” Then she giggled. “I’ve never called anyone that in my life.”

“Then, I stand adopted. Did you pick out a dress yet?”

She shook her head. “I was thinking about going to look for something tonight.” She made a show of inhaling the spicy aroma of the cook’s baking lasagna. “After dinner.”

Cole reached into the pocket of his slacks. “Here, take my credit card.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jenny might not be able to afford custom furniture, but she could definitely afford her own clothes.

He flipped open his leather wallet. “I want you to get something special.”

“I’m not taking your credit card, Cole.”

He seemed to be ignoring her. “In fact, why don’t you call Emily. Go to Maximillians. Tell her I’m buying for you both.”

Jenny felt her jaw drop open. “The Maximillians?”

Had he lost his mind? The purses alone at that store cost three thousand dollars.

But he held out the slim platinum credit card. “If you don’t let me buy a dress for you, Emily will never let me buy one for her.”

“You can’t spend that kind of- You can’t spend any kind of money on our dresses.”

“But I can. That’s one of the perks of making a whole lot of money. You get to spend it on anything you want.”

“I’m saying no, Cole.” She took a backward step. There was no way he was talking her into doing this.

He stepped forward. “I need you to do this.”

“You don’t-”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Emily might, just might, be slightly attracted to me.”

Slightly attracted? Jenny was pretty sure it was a lot more than slightly attracted. She also realized Emily was fighting it for all she was worth.

“I want to see what she’ll do. If she has the chance to pick out a dress, a no-holds-barred, money-is-no-object dress, just for a date with me, I really need to know what it is she’ll choose. Do me this favor, sis.”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe it.” She socked Cole playfully on the shoulder. “I cannot believe you just made the one and only argument that could get me to use your credit card to buy a three thousand dollar dress.”

“Don’t restrict yourself to three thousand.” Cole grinned. “And don’t restrict yourself to a dress. You’re going to need shoes and accessories. And so will Emily.”

Jenny continued to shake her head. This was surreal.

He took her hand and placed the credit card firmly in her palm. “I mean it. You have to go wild. If you do it, Emily will do it, and then I’ll know whether or not I’ve got a shot.”

“She might just spend your money out of spite,” Jenny felt compelled to warn him. While she was pretty sure Emily harbored a secret attraction to Cole, she was also sure Emily had a very strong will. She didn’t want to fall for Cole, and she was annoyed at him for chasing her.

“I won’t get my answer because she spends my money. I’ll get my answer from what she spends it on.”

The edges of the credit card were hard against Jenny’s palm. “Are you sure about this?”

“I am positive about this. Call her. Right now.”

Jenny tucked the credit card away and reached for her phone. “What are you hoping she’ll buy?”

Cole gave a shrug. “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Jenny pressed her speed dial. Then she listened to Emily’s gasp of disbelief, followed by her growing conviction that Jenny should absolutely indulge herself at Cole’s expense and, finally, her mounting excitement as she bought fully into the plan.

Mitch had watched Jenny drive off from Cole’s house half an hour ago, so he knew Cole would be alone. He knew he had no one but himself to blame, but he missed the days of being able to wander over to Cole’s house on a whim, or having Cole wander over to his house to share the interesting bits of information from their lives. It never had to be earth-shattering, not the kind of thing where you pick up the phone to call your family or whoop it up with the gang, just the everyday, normal things that you wanted to share with another human being.

But he felt like he couldn’t invade Jenny’s space every evening. So, instead, now Cole was with Jenny, while Mitch was alone. He felt as if he’d screwed up two relationships in his life.

As he started up the driveway, Cole came out the front door, car keys in his hand, striding toward his Mustang.

“Hey, Cole,” Mitch called out, in case Cole hadn’t spotted him.

It appeared he hadn’t, because he turned guiltily. “Oh, hey, Mitch.”

“Got a hot date?” Mitch joked, striding closer.

“No. I’m…” He pocketed the keys. “It’s nothing.” He hesitated a moment longer. “You up for a beer?”

“I don’t want to hold you up.”

“No. Not at all. No big deal.”

“Where were you going?” Mitch couldn’t help but ask. It wasn’t like Cole to act all twitchy like this.

“Errands. Come on.” Cole turned back for the house. “I’ve got a couple of lagers on ice.”

Feeling vaguely like an interloper, Mitch followed along. “I got some news a few days ago.” For some reason he felt like he ought to get straight to the point.

“Good news?” asked Cole as they made their way through the house.

“Pretty good.”

Cole reached for the refrigerator door.

“I’ve been short-listed for the Youth Outreach Award at the Longhorn Banquet.”

Cole’s reach faltered. “On Saturday?”

“Yeah.” What other Longhorn Banquet was there in Texas?

There was something wrong with Cole. “And you just found out?”

“Last week, actually. But with everything that’s been going on, I didn’t want to…you know, intrude over here.”

Cole swung open the door, his voice hearty. “That’s great. Congratulations, buddy.” He snagged two bottles and pressed one into Mitch’s hand.

“What’s wrong?” Mitch had known Cole way too long to fall for this act.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Now Mitch was getting mad. It was one thing to be ostracized by Jenny. He deserved that. But he was still Cole’s friend. “What the hell?”

“Fine.” Cole twisted off the cap. “I had four tickets. So I invited Emily. And Jeffrey is taking Jenny.”

Mitch felt as though someone had punched him in the solar plexus. “You’re double-dating?”

Cole nodded, then took a swig of the beer.

“With Jenny and Jeffrey?”

“Yes.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Me?”

“No. Jeffrey. I’m assuming you’re just trying to get into Emily’s pants.”

Cole frowned. “That’s not exactly what I had-”