Opposites Attract (The Locklaine Boys Book 2) (14 page)

He took a step toward me, grabbing hold of my arm as his face softened. “Del, I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want his apology. And I
certainly
didn’t want his pity. I yanked my arm back and waved him off. “It’s fine. It’s… whatever. I think that we should just forget about it and move on.”

“Forget about it?” he asked with a frown. “I thought I just made it pretty fucking clear that I haven’t been able to forget for three goddamned months.”

His voice was rough, angry, but I pushed on like I hadn’t realized. I needed to nip this… whatever
this
was… in the bud, get us back to where we were before. “We’re neighbors, Richard. It would be a huge mistake for us to do… each other…”
Oh sweet Hell, did I really just say that
? “I mean… I think it would be best if we just went on with how things have been. Maybe we…maybe we can even be friends?”

He blinked. Then blinked again. “You want to be friends.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement spoken in disbelief.

I wrung my hands in front of me. “I-I think that would be best.” And because I was
me
, I laughed awkwardly, followed by a snort. “I mean, if you want to… be friends… that is.”

He just continued to stare. To the point where I couldn’t handle the discomfort that filled the room like an acrid smoke. “Uh… okay, so. I’m going to… I have to…” Still nothing.
So this is how I’ll die. From awkward silence and discomfort. Good to know.
“I have to get a shower. So… bye.”

With a frantic wave, I bolted from the living room and locked myself in the bathroom. Where I stared at the shower drain, silently begging for it to open up and suck me in.

“
SO
…”

I cut my eyes over to Devon, still standing in the doorway with a
what-the-living-fuck-did-I-just-witness
look on her face. “That was… an ill-timed entrance on my part.”

“I’d respond to that,” I grumbled, “but I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck happened just now.”

“Sorry that I interrupted the dry hump sesh, seriously. I just wanted to get home and crash. I didn’t think I was going to walk in on… well…
that
. I spent the day from Hell at Coney Island with a boyfriend who ate his weight in fried dough before proceeding to spend
three hours
in the bathroom praying for sweet death. I need to Netflix and chill like nobody’s business. And just in case you haven’t realized yet, I tend to spout out way too much unwanted information when I’m uncomfortable, so I’m really going to need you to say more than just a few words and maybe stop looking all murder-y and stuff.”

I hissed out a long, frustrated breath as I closed my eyes and dropped my head, reaching a hand back to massage my neck. “Shit. Sorry. I’m just… that did
not
go well.”

“I don’t know.” I looked up just in time to see Devon shrug. “Before the interruption, it seemed to be going pretty well.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, even as I tried to fight a smirk. “Just how long were you watching, you little perv?”

She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, the picture of calm. “Long enough. It was hot, can you blame me?” I could still smell Delilah’s perfume on my skin, it smelled faintly like honeysuckle. I could still taste her mouth. Just thinking about what had happened minutes before had my dick stirring behind my fly again. So no, I couldn’t blame her. Not really.

“Besides,” Devon continued, “I was totally a good friend and made myself known before things escalated a little too far. We’ve known each other forever and all, but there’s an unspoken rule somewhere that besties should never see each other get off. It’s just creepy.” She shivered for added affect.

“How thoughtful of you,” I said, losing the fight with my smirk. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”

“Meh, it’s what I do,” she said casually. “Did you really mean all those things you said?” she asked, throwing me off with her abrupt subject change.

“What?”

“All those things about how much you’ve thought about her and how she was the best… all that stuff.”

“Christ, woman.” I released a shocked laugh. “You were standing there for the whole fucking thing?”

“Pretty much,” she answered, unrepentant. “So did you mean it?”

I thought about how to answer that. Would I have made myself look like an even bigger fool if I were brutally honest? But on the other hand, Devon was Delilah’s best friend. If there was anyone I needed on my side more to help me win Del over, it was the nosey, blunt woman standing before me.

Finally deciding honesty was the best way to go, I sucked in a deep breath and answered. “I meant every word. For the past three months, all I’ve been able to think about was the woman in the red dress.” I ran a hand through my hair in aggravation. “Hell, I haven’t even had sex since that night.”

Devon snorted. “Sure as shit didn’t sound that way when you brought Screaming Sally back to your place,” she said with a scowl.

“That was…” How to explain that without making myself sound like an even bigger dick? “That was a sad attempt at getting her out of my head that I knew wasn’t going to work the minute I got that woman back to my place. A man’s fist can be a substitute for only so long before he starts to lose his shit. I’ve been such an asshole for the past three months, my assistant at work up and quit because she couldn’t put up with my piss-poor attitude.”

She still looked doubtful, but I could see a brightness in her pale blue eyes that indicated she
wanted
to believe me. I could work with that.

“But as soon as I started to get to know Delilah, the
real
one, my neighbor with a dog that looks like a rat and questionable taste in music, I started thinking about the woman from the club a little less.” I laughed. “Imagine my surprise when I found out both the women I was obsessing over turned out to be one and the same.”

“So everything you told her… it wasn’t just the Delilah you met in the club, but also this Delilah.” It wasn’t a question. It was a spot-on observation.

I pointed down to Shady’s prone body on the living room floor. “I dog-sat that little bastard all day today just because she asked me to. What do you think?”

The remaining doubt vanished from her face as she gave me a big, bright smile. It was in that moment that I realized just how hot Devon was. She wasn’t quite on Delilah’s level as far as I was concerned, but the girl was cute. I was man enough to admit that.

“Speaking of,” she said, stepping away from the door frame and moving to pick up that pathetic excuse of a dog. “Getting it on with Del in the middle of the living room for him to witness was kind of a low blow. Poor little guy is walking around with an empty sac as it is. Did you really need to flaunt your manhood in front of him?”

With a smile, I reached over and rubbed Shady’s furry little head. After a day together, I felt we’d worked toward some sort of amicable relationship. “Sorry, buddy,” I told the dog as he panted, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. “Didn’t mean to rub it in.”

“He accepts your apology,” Devon replied on his behalf. “And to show there are no hard feelings between us… seeing as it took you long enough to recognize my Del as the one-night stand who rocked your world, I graciously agree to be your new administrative assistant.”

Wait. What?

“Wait. What?”

“Yeah. I mean, I already work for a lawyer, but he’s a total bastard so I won’t feel bad about quitting at all. I’ll just shoot him an email tomorrow letting him know I won’t be there Monday. He’ll probably have an aneurysm, but that’s not really my problem.”

I held my hands up and shook my head. “Wait, wait, wait. Devon, that’s not how this works. You have to apply and go through the whole interview process with HR—”

“Tell me, Richie boy. Are you a partner at your fancy-shmancy firm?”

I almost didn’t want to answer, but offered up a leery, “Yes,” anyway.

“Then that’s exactly how it works. You’re one of the big guys, the ball would eventually fall in your court anyway, I’m just cutting out the middle man and useless time sucks of interview.”

This woman
. Between her and Delilah, my head was liable to explode. “And what makes you think you’d be a good fit?”

She scoffed, looking at me like she couldn’t believe my audacity. “Uh, because I’m awesome.”

“
You
may think so—”

“I may
know
so,” she interrupted. “And careful, you don’t want to piss me off now. I
am
best friends with the woman you’re desperate to bone. I’m not really someone you want on your bad side.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her. “So you’re going to blackmail me for a job?”

Devon’s brown hair waved around her shoulders as she shook her head. “Not at all. I’m merely pointing out the benefits of having me as an ally. At the end of the day, it’s still your call. But word to the wise, I’m usually always right. Just ask Del,” she winked.

“Christ,” I muttered under my breath as I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”

“Best decision you’d ever make, if I do say so myself.”

“Of course you do,” I chuckled. Although her suggestion — well, demand really — was more than just a little insane, I couldn’t help but think of just how well I might benefit from it. That was,
if
she turned out not to be a psychopath that I’d be forced to fire. That was a
big
“if”. Whether or not her sanity was still fully intact had still yet to be seen. But a few minutes ago had been the closest I’d come to getting off with an actual woman in months, and it just so happened that it was with the very same one who’d been plaguing me from the start.

“Okay, here’s the deal. You come to work for me… on a trial basis,” I stressed. “If it works out, then I’ll be the first to apologize for having my doubts. But in the meantime, you have to do something for me.”

She held up one finger. “First, I’ll look forward to that apology. Make sure to have chocolate while you’re doing it.” A second finger went up. “And two, yes, I’ll talk you up to Del and allot an hour on your calendar each day so we can devise a strategy.”

“Devise a strategy for what? I just need you to soften her up to me a little bit.”

Her bottom lip poked out and she gave me a look that just screamed,
oh you poor, sweet, simple man
. “Oh, you poor dumbass.”
Close enough
. “You really think getting back into her pants will be as simple as spouting out a few pretty words?”

“Seemed to be working before you interrupted,” I grumbled.

She patted my arm in a consolatory manner. “Hate to break it to you, bud, but that was a one-off. Now that she’s had a chance to think about what just happened, I can promise, she’s locked herself in the bathroom right now, trying to talk herself into joining a nunnery. And seeing as she’s half Jewish, that’s just not gonna happen.”

I could feel a headache coming on. Right behind my right eye. Causing it to twitch uncontrollably. Or maybe that was just Devon. “You lost me at nunnery and Jewish. What the hell are you talking about, woman?”

“What I’m saying is,” she spoke slowly, like I was a hearing-impaired toddler, “she’s working to convince herself hooking up with you again would be the worst of the worst ideas in the entire world. Trust me, I know our girl. Without a plan of action, you’d have better luck getting into Fort Knox than you would those panties. Once Del gets inside her own head, she’s her own worst enemy. That’s where I come in.”

I didn’t know whether to be in awe of the woman or scared out of my mind that she’d one day be running the world. At the moment, I was a little of both.

“You’re kind of an evil genius, aren’t you?”

She put Shady back on the floor, the cone obstructing his view and making him walk into a wall when he started to wander, obviously feeling a little better. “I can either be your best friend or worst enemy.” She clapped her hands and rubbed them together, far too gleeful to make that declaration.

“You’re fucking frightening, that’s what you are.”

“So, we have a deal?” She held her hand out in front of me, and I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was about to make a bargain with the Devil.