Life's Too Short (The Friend Zone #3)(65)

She could have any man she wanted. Any man at all.

Women like Vanessa were muses for artists and musicians. They became famous paintings and love ballads. They danced in the rain and ran away with princes who would give up their thrones to have them. They were the sirens that sailors wrote about with voices that could lure a man to his death.

She was a beautiful migratory bird with her wings clipped. And the second she could, she’d fly again. Out of St. Paul, away from me…

And probably back to him.





CHAPTER 20





THE LUCRATIVE INVESTMENT THAT THE EXPERTS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT!




VANESSA

A crowd of fans had gathered outside of Vermilion. Someone must have leaked our location.

By myself, I was a draw. By himself, Drake was a massive draw. Together, we were a galaxy-level, defying-the-laws-of-physics, magnetic force. People were probably feeling the pull and getting into buses to drive in from out of state and they didn’t even know why.

Laird was getting his camera ready and Malcolm was putting new batteries in my mic.

Drake was drinking some banana flip thing with a sprig of pine in it across from me. “You’re doing a great job with Grace,” he said, taking out the garnish and setting it on a plate. “But you should really use cloth diapers. Reduce your carbon footprint.”

“I don’t have a washing machine, remember?” I said. “I use Adrian’s and I seriously doubt he wants me washing dirty diapers in it.”

Malcolm snorted. “That guy would let you eat crackers in his bed.”

I laughed dryly. “Oh yeah? I kissed him last night and he pushed me off him. So riddle me that.”

“He pushed you off him?” Malcolm asked, clipping the tiny mic to the front of my dress.

“Yeah. Like you know how you act when you look down and you see a spider on you? And you’re like, ‘Oh my God! A spider!’ and you hop off the sofa and do a little freak-out dance and then run from the room? It was like that.”

“Come on, it was not,” Drake said with his amused smile.

“Okay, it wasn’t quite that dramatic. But the sentiment was the same.” I scoffed. “Why does everyone keep telling me this guy is into me? Like, literally everyone I know in the last twenty-four hours had sworn that he can’t keep his eyes off me. Honestly, if it wasn’t for that, and liquor, and the super sweet ‘you are the breeze’ thing he said to me on my sofa last night, I might not have made a total ass of myself. I blame all of you for this.”

Drake smiled. “You’re blaming us? I hadn’t even met him until today. We weren’t even there.”

I put a hand on my chest. “Well, it’s not my fault. I wasn’t there either. It was Drunk Vanessa, who is a totally different person and shouldn’t be held accountable for her actions.”

Drake laughed.

I sighed. “Do I catch him checking me out sometimes? Sure. And does he like to spend time with me? Totally. But thinking my ass looks nice in my jeans and enjoying my company are very different from wanting to date me and my fifty percent chance of dying by thirty. It’s official,” I mumbled. “I’m probably never having sex again. My last sexual encounter will probably be with TSA.”

Malcolm laughed.

“He seems good with the baby,” Drake offered.

“He’s great with the baby. You know, just not interested in me.”

Malcolm turned on my mic. “Why don’t you just go over there and ask him why he didn’t want to kiss you?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I need to start putting boundaries between us. I just threw myself at a guy who didn’t want to make out. I totally humiliated myself. I think it’s time to exit this situation while I still have some dignity left.”

Like I even had a choice in the matter. Adrian was probably ready to go back to the noncommittal head nods in the hallways. He texted me saying he wanted to talk, but what was there to say? It would always be awkward between us now. He probably came to watch Grace today because he said he would and then he’d start making excuses and find someone else to hang out with. Someone datable who didn’t pounce him on the sofa after one too many martinis.

Drake reached across the table and put a hand on my wrist. “Enough about him.”

I raised my eyes to his. A woman outside the window behind him pressed a naked boob to the glass. It was negative five outside. I applauded her commitment. “Whatever you do, don’t turn around,” I said.

“Why would I turn around when I have you to look at?” He grinned at me.

And now we were in character. Malcolm and Laird were already filming.

I arched an eyebrow. “You know, there’s a reason we broke up, Drake. It was a good one.”

He leaned across the table and pressed the top of my hand to his lips. “Yes. It was.”

I gave him a long lingering look. “I miss you,” I whispered.

He stared at me for a moment. Then he sat back in his chair and took something from his jacket pocket. When he pulled out the gorgeous engagement ring and held it between us, I gasped. It was a band with inlaid pearl.

“I found the pearl myself,” he said. “I spent half my life looking for it, just like I did for the one who’s going to wear it.”