Something About You Read online

  “Maybe,” she said, hoping that Christine would shrug it off, but she should have known better.

  Christine’s head swung around the bar for a few seconds till she smiled way too big to be innocent.

  “Okay. Then how about him,” Christine said, pointing to someone across the bar, and all three of them shouted out.

  “Christine!” That from Winer.

  “What the heck?” This from her.

  “Oh Lord!” That from Alice.

  Christine got out of her chair and started to make her way across the bar, where the bartender was avidly watching them.

  “You better go stop her,” Alice said.

  “Oh God!” she muttered, jumping up and jogging across the bar, hoping that she could get her to see reason before Christine did something to embarrass her.

  Because otherwise, she was going to kill her.

  Jill saw Rick and Dominic track her across the room, Rick with a smile on his face, one that said he knew exactly what Christine was up to. She sent him a scowl that he wasn’t stopping his wife from wreaking havoc, but as she got closer, she heard Christine and the bartender talking. She knew she was too late.

  “So what do you think?” Christine asked the smiling bartender.

  “Christine!” she hissed.

  “I take it you’re Jill.” The bartender turned his smile to her, and she stopped.

  He had a really nice smile.

  Crap!

  How was she supposed to handle this?

  “Your friend here said you were looking for a date. I’m Connor.” Her head spun to Christine, giving her big eyes, but Christine just smiled at her. A smile said that she was more than pleased with herself.

  She looked over at the corner booth and gestured to Rick, who rolled his eyes and started to get up.

  “Tattle tale,” Christine muttered under her breath.

  “You just tried to get me a date with some random person.” Jill quickly looked at Connor, who was still smiling at them. “Sorry.”

  “No problem, babe. You go out with me, and I’ll consider it forgotten.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table, getting up closer to her face, and she froze.

  What the heck was happening?

  “I’ll just let you two talk,” Christine whispered not so quietly, before she disappeared.

  “Um, listen…” she started, but then for some reason, a flash of this morning went through her head.

  She had been about to tell him that she couldn’t date him.

  But what was it that she was holding back for?

  Danny was never going to be hers, and she was silently sitting back, waiting for a man that was way out of her league. One that would never think of her in the way she wanted him to.

  “Listen, if you really don’t want to, there’s no issue. I get it. And I don’t want to put you on the spot. But you have to know, babe,” he paused, his voice dropping slightly as he continued, “that from the moment you stepped foot in this bar, you’ve had my eyes. And I would love nothing more than to see if we have something.”

  Wow.

  His eyes changed as he focused on her, his gaze somewhat serious, before his head turned away, then back to her.

  “Can you wait one second? I need to serve this guy.” She nodded to him dumbly and watched as he tapped the counter and jogged to the other side, away from her.

  She had to give him credit, since he seemed really nice.

  She knew that she wasn’t the right woman for Danny, but she also knew that there had to be someone out there for her. There had to be, and rationally, she knew that not everyone would be turned off by her baggage. There had to be good men out there.

  Good, available men.

  Maybe she should take the chance.

  She took the few minutes to watch him as he mixed a drink. He had that wholesome boy next door look. His brown shaggy hair that was a little too long was hanging over his forehead, and he pushed it back while he chatted with the guy he was serving.

  He caught her looking and gave her a grin. And for the first time since she had met Danny, she felt a thrill run through her.

  What was she waiting for?

  He sauntered back over to her, his fingers moving over the edges of his sleeves, rolling them up and showing some of his tattoos.

  Just wow.

  She had to stop herself from shivering. She didn’t know what it was about tattoos, but she loved them. He propped his elbows up in front of her, his eyes twinkling.

  “So what do you say, babe? You gonna let me take you out?”

  “I feel like I should let you know that I have a lot of baggage. It would scare most men off,” she whispered, feeling like she needed to give him a warning.

  His hand came up, his finger playing with a piece of her hair that had escaped, his eyes never leaving hers.

  “Babe, why don’t you let me decide that, huh?” He had a drawl to his words, and she tried to reel her mind in when she found herself comparing it to Danny.

  She had to stop this.

  She couldn’t spend her whole life pining over a man that was unattainable.

  This man may not be her forever.

  But like Winter always said...

  She would never know unless she tried.

  “Okay.”

  Jill

  “What do you even know about this guy?” Winter asked as she sat doing her makeup.

  Winter was being the reasonable one. The one that was saying that going out with a guy that you didn’t know was a bad idea.

  Alice was worried about what Dominic would think.

  And Christine, well, she looked more than pleased with herself. As was expected.

  Jill was just trying to keep it together. All week, she had been a mess. Trying to avoid Danny and knowing that this date was coming. She had almost called it off several times.

  “It doesn’t matter if she knows him or not, Dominic is not going to like this,” Alice fretted for not the first time.

  “Well, if it gets to date number two, then I will tell him.” Alice still didn’t look convinced. After what had happened with Mark and Dominic, Jill could understand it. Nobody wanted to cause any tension right now, but she wasn’t going to live her life constantly asking for someone’s permission.

  “I don’t know about this. Danny isn’t going to like it,” Winter said again, a frown on her face, and she had to stop herself from cringing at his name.

  Why couldn’t they see what she saw?

  “I have to start thinking about myself. I have been here in this same place for four years. He doesn’t see me that way. It’s over. I need to move on. For me and for Jamie,” she said her words with conviction, her tone coming out harsher than she had intended.

  “But Jamie loves Danny,” Alice said with a small, sad smile.

  “And that’s fine. He loves all of you. It’s not like I’m moving away. I’m going on a date.”

  “You guys, it’s going to be fine!” Christine said overdramatically as she finished putting the last curl in Jill’s hair.

  Leaning forward and looking into the mirror, she had to admit that it looked good. All curled in waves that looked like they were meant to be, instead of the crazy mess that her curls normally were.

  If it hadn’t taken the better part of the last two hours to get it done, she might think about doing it again.

  “Listen. I know that you guys may not agree with this. But I need to do it. It’s probably not a forever thing, it’s just a date. But it’s a start,” she stated with a calm and steady voice.

  No one needed to know that she felt sick to her stomach.

  Winter and Alice looked unconvinced, but they nodded and got up, heading out of the room with her as they made their way downstairs where Danny, Rick, and Mark were all sitting and talking in the sitting room.

  Crap!

  Why was he here?

  A quick look over at Christine was all it took for Jill to instantly realize that this was what she
had been up to. Giving Christine a glare, one that Christine just shrugged off and smiled back at her in response, she made her way the rest of the way down the stairs.

  Trying not to let it show that him being there was about to break her.

  Shove it down.

  “Sorry that took so long!” Christine said cheerfully, and all the men’s eyes turned to them.

  Danny’s mouth parted in shock as his body stiffened. His hands clenching where they were wrapped around the back of a chair.

  “You look nice, Jill,” Rick said politely, still slightly frowning. He wasn’t happy about her going either.

  “Thank you,” she said politely, hoping that she could get out of here sooner rather than later. Just being around Danny was almost more than she could take.

  “Where’s Jamie?” Danny asked, his voice sounding deeper, his eyes tight.

  “He’s with a sitter,” she responded, not meeting his eyes, fidgeting with some imaginary item in her purse.

  “Where are you girls going?” Jill glanced out of the corner of her eye, watching as Danny stood, crossing his arms across his chest, his body still.

  Too still.

  “They aren’t going anywhere. Jill has a date,” Rick butted in before she could say something.

  “What the fuck!” Danny exploded, and she jerked.

  Even Christine went still.

  “You are not going on a date!”

  “Umm… Danny, what…” She tried to get herself to talk, to say something, anything, but in all her time knowing the Mancini family, Danny had never shouted around her like that.

  Ever.

  “No. Not just no, but fuck no!” he snarled and her back went up straight.

  “Excuse me?” she whispered.

  Who the heck did he think she was? A dog?

  “No,” he said again and stomped toward her, coming right up till she was almost leaning back to get away from him.

  “Who the fuck is he?” She was too stunned to say anything, so she could only stand there and stare at him.

  Who was this man?

  Because this was not Danny?

  “It’s the bartender. The one from the bar we were at last week,” Christine said slowly.

  “Connor? Oh, hell no!” Danny snarled again as Rick stepped forward, looking like he was going to say something, but Danny held his hand out, stopping Rick in his tracks.

  “Stay the fuck out of it,” he muttered to Rick, his dark glittering eyes never leaving hers. “He’s a manwhore, Jill, really? That’s what you want?” Danny sneered, and it snapped her out of her daze.

  “What, like you? I don’t care how many women he’s slept with. Maybe for one night I’m not looking for long term. At least he was ballsy enough to ask me out!” Danny’s eyes narrowed, his body tightening even more, and she braced for his outburst. She had never spoken to him like this before.

  “Danny!” Rick snapped, and Danny’s head swung to him.

  “Chill, man.”

  “Are you really okay with this?” Danny shouted at Rick, and Rick paused, his eyes roving over Danny’s twisted face.

  Then, slowly, he smiled. “You know, I wasn’t. But now, I am.”

  “Fuck this,” Danny muttered, running his hand through his hair, but he took a step back. Not a lot, but enough that she felt as if she could breathe again.

  “I’m sorry that you don’t like me dating men that you haven’t vouched for, but I am tired of sitting around and feeling like my life is passing me by. Just because I have Jamie doesn’t mean I can’t have a life too. And I shouldn’t have to ask your permission to date,” she said, her eyes never leaving his angry gaze, feeling proud when her voice came out even.

  “No, you don’t have to ask for permission to date. That’s not what this is, Jill,” Rick said, eyeing Danny, and she heard Mark chuckle from his position on the couch.

  Christine was eyeing them all, looking remorseful. This probably hadn’t turned out the way she had hoped. Maybe now she would understand.

  “Shut up, Rick,” Danny gritted out.

  “You need to get your head on, man. Either step up or step aside.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Danny snarled, turning toward Rick. It was obvious that Danny was looking for a fight.

  “It means that we all know and are just waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass,” Rick said bluntly, and Danny scowled at him.

  This was obviously not getting them anywhere.

  “Mark, you said you would drive me,” she said to Mark, who had a slight amused smile on his face, and he nodded while getting up.

  “I got you,” Mark muttered and leaned down, kissing Winter on the head before leading her out of the house.

  She held her head high, didn’t let the arguing behind her stop her as she walked out. She couldn’t say that she was looking forward to her date now, though.

  It was tainted.

  And if she ever did go on another date again, she was not getting ready at Christine’s house.

  ***

  So, Connor might have looked good with his tattoos and easy smile, but he was no prince charming. She didn’t think that she had said more than just a few words the whole night.

  And honestly, she couldn’t wait till she got home.

  “Here we are,” Connor said as he pulled up to the bakery and apartment.

  “Thank you,” she said as she gathered her things. “I had a good time tonight.” She only said because she was hoping that this could be the end of it, since she didn’t know what else to say and not be rude.

  “Sure, let me walk you up.” He smiled at her.

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I have to get inside to Jamie.” She quickly tried to backtrack.

  “It’s fine, babe,” he drawled with a smile and got out.

  She almost rolled her eyes. At first, the word babe hadn’t been that bad, but as the night had progressed, she had hated that word more and more. And there was something about that smile that was starting to not sit right with her.

  She didn’t know what it was.

  As they walked around the edge of the building, she was trying to come up with a way so that she didn’t have to kiss him or go out with him again.

  Then she noticed a car sitting back, away from the steps to the bakery.

  A car that she knew well.

  She could just make out a person in the front seat. It wasn’t a clear view, but she would know that form anywhere.

  It was Danny.

  And she would bet her last dollar that he was watching her and Connor.

  “I can go from here,” she said, stopping at the bottom of the steps.

  She had half the urge to kiss Connor just to get back at Danny but knew that would only lead to problems. Besides, she didn’t want Connor to get the wrong idea.

  “You have an issue?” Connor asked, his head gesturing to the car next to them.

  “No. It’s not like that. They are just protective of me.”

  “He going to beat me up if I steal a kiss?” Conner smiled at her as his hand wrapped around her waist. She had been staring at Danny’s car and the move threw her.

  “Umm…” she stuttered as Connor started to lean forward.

  “It will be worth it,” Connor muttered right before he swooped in and kissed her lips.

  Kissing had never been that great for her before. No fireworks or sweetheart moments, and this kiss was no different.

  She stiffened as his lips hit hers, and she didn’t pull away quickly enough, but before she could gather her wits, the honking of the horn made her jump back.

  “Shit,” Connor muttered, eyeing the car with a look that she couldn’t place. He shook his head and took a step back. “Can I take you out again?”

  She looked to Danny’s car and saw that his window was rolled down, making it apparent that he was definitely listening in on their conversation, and a burst of anger went through her.

  What was his issue?

  Th
is was taking protective too far.

  “Of course.” She found herself saying.

  Before she thought better of it, she quickly leaned forward and kissed Connor’s cheek, then turned and ran up the stairs without looking back.

  She really shouldn’t have done that.

  She let her feelings of Danny cloud her judgment, and now Connor was going to be expecting another date.

  The first date had been barely tolerable. The second one was going to be torture.

  She couldn’t do anything about it now, so she needed to push it aside and focus on what was important.

  Jamie.

  It was only a few minutes after the babysitter had left, as she was standing at the sink doing the dishes, when the knock came.

  She knew who it was and knew that it was a bad idea, but she did it anyway.

  Seemed like she was full of bad ideas today.

  “Danny,” she said evenly, opening the door.

  His arms were braced against the door frame, the stark white of his tee shirt making the darkness of his tattoos more prominent, his shadowed eyes boring into her.

  “Let me in,” he muttered.

  She knew that she shouldn’t.

  But right then, she was a scary mixture of angry and weak.

  So, she caved and opened the door.

  Very stupid decision.

  Danny

  If she didn’t let him in, he didn’t know if he would be able to take it.

  He was such a fucking idiot, and it had almost cost him the most important thing.

  Her.

  She was trying to hide it, but he would bet his last dollar that she was pissed at him. He didn’t blame her. He had pulled a dick move. All that on top of the fact that he hadn’t exactly gone about this whole thing right.

  But in his defense, he hadn’t known that she was the one for him until after he had pulled his stunts and pushed her away.

  He had needed time to figure out what he wanted.

  And she had needed the time to grow up a little.

  After over four years, though, it was time he got his head out of his ass.

  God, had it really been that long?

  He was such a fucking idiot.

  But he had finally got his shit together.

  He had been working up the courage to ask her out, not an easy thing when he had been in the friendzone for as long as he had, and then she had gone and said yes to that Connor fucker.