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“I’ll get in touch with him and send him the proposal. We’ll take it from there.”
“Sounds great,” he said. Enthusiasm sung in his bloodstream. A man like Bill O’Donnell wouldn’t have accepted to have drinks with him if he weren’t interested, and he certainly wouldn’t pass the info to his financial guy if the idea didn’t warrant merit.
“Yeah.” Bill ordered another drink, and began talking about his love of sailing. Damian told him about his own sailboat he rarely used. His gaze strayed to his tumbler, half empty. He motioned to touch his cell phone, and fished it out of his pocket quickly for a glance to make sure everything was normal at home.
Well, why wouldn’t it be? Brit was pretty great—his kids loved her, and they understood her. The discerning way she looked at him when he made that stupid joke haunted him. His gut clenched. There had to be a way to make it up to her.
During the past few months, once a week Brit came to visit his kids to provide them a sense of normalcy. Violet’s other close friends, Nikki and Lara, had also offered their help. But Nikki got married, and had her hands full with a big work project. And Lara didn’t have children herself, so Damian felt bad asking her to fulfill that role with his kids.
So, Brit stepped up.
Until tonight, it hadn’t occurred to him she needed money. Sure, she wasn’t wealthy, but she always had some interesting makeup on her pretty face, and she worked at the beauty counter in a luxury department store at the mall. He assumed she did okay.
The memory of a small rip in her sweatpants popped in his mind. It caught his eye when she walked in front of him, and sadly, not only because of the worn-out fabric. The sway of her curvy hips sent a thrill of excitement through him. What a crazy idea. He’d never looked at her that way. Not because she wasn’t attractive, but she was one of Violet’s best friends. Though he didn’t plan on getting back with his former wife, an entanglement with Brit would only cause problems for everyone. Besides, relationships were the last thing on his mind. After his failed marriage, he needed months, if not years alone.
Then, why didn’t rationalization work this time?
Why did the image of her lush ass increase his internal temperature?
“Damian,” Bill called him, raising his voice. “Are you with me?”
Damian cleared his throat, yanking himself back to the present. Don’t screw this up. “Yes, of course. Sorry. I haven’t had scotch in a while and it just hit me.”
“That’s right. I heard your wife left you with the kids.” He took another sip of his drink, then shot him an apologetic smile over the rim of the glass. “Bet that’s hard.”
Damian clenched his tumbler. Hard didn’t begin to cover it. How did he go to bed and wake up each morning not knowing when to tell his children their mom would return exactly? “Yeah. Which is why a project like this will give me a great boost.”
Bill chuckled. “You’re an interesting man, Damian. Focused. I like that.”
A blonde woman in her late twenties slid next to them, squeezing Bill’s shoulder. “Hey, honey.”
Bill’s eyes glinted with pride. He kissed her cheek. “Hi, love. Damian, meet my wife, Candi. She was having dinner with friends at the restaurant next door and decided to say hi.”
Damian stretched out his hand. Was this wife number three or four? “Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure,” she said, her gaze resting on his. A small smiled curled at her lips, far too big for her age. He recognized a filler job when he saw one, and damn, that lady certainly didn’t need it.
“He’s been pitching an interesting idea.”
Candi tossed her long hair to the side. “Oooh, I remember you mentioned him. You’re a surgeon, right?”
“Reconstructive surgery, yes.”
She nudged his elbow. “Interesting. Married?” She leaned in.
“Separated,” he said, hoping his ex would sign the divorce papers he’d sent through his lawyer. He saw a spark of interest in her eyes, then decided to add, “Two kids.”
“Why do you care, Candi?” Bill asked, scratching his chin.
She played with the straw in her cocktail drink. “Oh, honey, you know I have a lot of single friends and I love playing matchmaker.”
Damian held up his hand. “It’s okay. I’m good.” A couple of doctors from his practice had suggested he should date to distract himself from the chaos his life had become, but he’d been able to be blunter with them than now with the investor’s wife.
“Anytime,” she purred.
He looked away. She certainly sent some flirty vibes his way, and he hoped she acted like this regularly. Some people enjoyed attention, and whenever he told his profession in a social setting, he either intimidated women or encouraged them to hit on him. He didn’t want to cause any friction between Candi and Bill, especially before he got him to agree to his proposal.
“Well, I should leave you two to it and will follow up with you soon,” he said, staring at Bill.
“Wait,” she said in a sultry voice. “We’re having a party next week. You should come.”
“Thank you,” he said, unsure about what to say. Was she just fucking with him at this point? Did she expect him to flirt back in front of husband? “I’ll wait to hear from you, Bill. Appreciate your time.”
He strode out of the bar and glanced at his watch. He’d told Brit he wouldn’t be home for another hour or so, to be on the safe side, but turned out he’d be there sooner. Brit. Maybe he could bring her dinner. What food did she enjoy? A jolt of anticipation traveled through him, kicking his heartbeat up a notch. The image of the sexy sway of her hips unfurled in his mind again, and he shook his head. He’d grab a bite to eat on his own then head home. He had two kids to have care of, a busy lifestyle and a cause he was passionate about to get off the ground. A relationship was the last thing in his plans… no matter how tempting she was.
