“I know, dear. And I won’t forget.” She stood and patted his shoulder on her way to the coffee machine for a refill. When Kaira barreled back into the kitchen clutching a brush and hair ties, Janice wished them fun and waved goodbye.
“Right,” Jordy said, focusing on the task at hand. Judging by the number of ties and clips, Kaira had serious hair plans. “What are we doing?”
“PLEASE TELLme this hellhole has a bottle opener,” Gem said, holding up a bottle of pinot noir as she kicked off her shoes.
“Hey, my flat resembles that remark,” Rowan said dryly. His place had a few perks, like location and not-horrifying rent, but reliable landlord was not among them. He’d been waiting for his dishwasher to get fixed for about six months now. “Also, what kind of heathen do you take me for? Of course I have a bottle opener—for corksandcaps.” He led the way into the kitchen and pulled the opener from the wine cupboard, passed it to her, and then grabbed two glasses.
“Of course. How could I have doubted you.” She opened the bottle.
“You should be ashamed of yourself. So what’s brought you to my humble abode with vino tonight?”
“Your accidental date with Jordy Shaw, of course.” She followed him to the living room, and they settled on the couch.
“It wasn’t a date,” Rowan said and tried not to choke on his own bitterness about that.
Gem studied his face, then held up the bottle. “I’m guessing we’re not letting this breathe first.”
Rowan held the glasses out to her.
Once they both had full glasses and were curled up in opposite corners, Gem motioned for him to continue. “So what happened?”
“You mean aside from the fact that he’s a total DILF with an edible ass and an adorable daughter and I want to climb him like a tree but he’s not interested in me?”
Gem arched an eyebrow. “There’s a lot of unpack there, but sure.”
“You were wrong—he doesn’t date men. Or women. Or anyone.” Rowan pulled deeply from his glass. “As we were leaving the gala, I asked him out. I mean, I thought I asked him out. We went for hot drinks and dessert. He insisted on paying—which in hindsight probably has more to do with our income disparity—but I thought, ‘This is going great.’”
“That does sound promising,” Gem conceded.
“Then he tells me that he doesn’t actually date anyone because who has the time between sporting and parenting.”
Gem winced. “The man usually has more tact.”
That called for more wine. “Oh, he does. He didn’t look the least bit apologetic. He wasn’t trying to give me a hint. So not only did I strike out, but I did so with a man who’s so uninterested that he didn’t evennoticeI made a pass.”
“Wow. It sounds like the lack of regular sex has damaged his brain.”
Rowan snickered into his cup. He’d defend Jordy, but, well, Rowan wasn’t exactly known for his subtlety. “That must be it.” Rowan would get over it. The lack of opportunity to sleep with Jordy wouldn’t kill him, even if the lack of blood flow to his brain did knock off a few IQ points.
Gem refilled his glass. Rowan had hardly noticed himself emptying it. “My condolences. Just promise me this won’t send you running into the arms of the next unwashed underachiever to cross your path.”
Rowan pouted. “But how else will I recover my sense of self?”
“Yoga? Therapy?” Gem sipped her wine. “Pole-dancing lessons?”
“Oooh.” That did sound like fun. Rowan would have to ask if Taylor wanted to come with, because Gem certainly wouldn’t. And who knew—the instructor might be cute. “A pole-dancing teacher wouldn’t count as an underachiever, surely?”
“I see you’re not too broken up about the rejection.”
“I’m crying on the inside,” Rowan said with dignity.
“Well, at least you put on a good act for your friend Louis. His happiness on your behalf made him very generous.”
“I’d send you my bill, but I think it’s been paid, even if sadly no orgasms were involved.”
“Hmm.” She glanced around and arched one elegant eyebrow. “Perhaps youshouldbill me. Then you can vacate this roach motel.”
“I do not have roaches,” Rowan said indignantly. Abnormally large spiders, questionable water pressure, and windows that had to be jimmied open with a crowbar, certainly, but no roaches. The garden out back was really cute, though. “And I don’t need your money.” The trust his grandparents had set up for him had dwindled to a few months’ emergency fund, but the library jobdidpay his rent, as long as he didn’t expect lavish accommodations, and even let Rowan save a bit so he could buy something nicer one day.
