Not Just Friends (Brookfield) by Lacey Wolfe Page A

small table in the corner.
    “Do
you eat here much?” Connor asked.
    “I
do. Wait until you try the chips. They’re really good.”
    Connor
took her suggestion and bit into one. “You’re right.”
    She
grinned and then felt the urge to visit the lady’s room. “Watch my food please.
I’ll be right back.”
    * * * *
    Connor
watched as Alyssa went to the restroom. He took another bite of a chip. They
really were good. He’d have to figure out how to make these. Or make this place
a weekly stop. He’d never tried it and now knew what he’d been missing.
    It
was taking every ounce of his control not to lure her back to his place. In the
past, he’d never cared about how much time it took to get a woman into bed.
That was the sole goal. Get the girl naked and flat on her back. That was one
of the goals with Alyssa as well, but on the backburner. She was special and he
wanted much more with her than sex.
    Something
was off with her today. She was always quiet and he liked that about her. But
he could see the wheels turning in her head and he wondered if it had anything
to do with that ex of hers who was hanging around. Men didn’t come back for no
reason. And Connor hated that he had competition. Though the man had cheated on
Alyssa, so how much competition could he really be?
    She
returned and took her seat. “Sorry about that.”
    “It’s
no problem at all. Though I can’t say the same for your food.”
    Her
eyes lit up.
    “It
tried to get up and leave.”
    Alyssa
giggled. “I’m sorry it was so hard on you.”
    He
took a bite of his sandwich and waved his hand. “Anything for you.”
    “My
knight in shining armor.”
    “We’re
real, not just in books.” He watched as she laughed a little more and returned
to her food. He liked seeing her happy and even better, he liked knowing he had
put that smile there.
    After
a few more moments of silence, she broke it. “I talked to Cody as you asked.
He’s going to talk to Matt.”
    “Oh
good.”
    “My
sister called as well.”
    “That’s
great,” he said, but noticed she didn’t look happy about it. “I take it that it
isn’t great.”
    “We’ll
never be close and I expect that. We’re nothing alike and have a good age gap
between us.”
    “I
sense a but.”
    Alyssa
smiled. “In her voicemail, she said she was seeing Matt and couldn’t find him
and for me to call her if I see him. I know I need to call her, but it’s
shocking to know they’ve been seeing one another. Matt made it sound like he
hadn’t seen her since the kiss. And no one has told me they were together. I
wonder if Cody knew and never said anything. And if so, I’m really upset about
it.”
    “You
have every right to be. That’s a big secret to keep from you.”
    “Cody
and I are close. I can’t see him keeping it from me.”
    “Maybe
he didn’t know either. Does Diane talk to him?” He took a bite of another chip.
    “Not
often.”
    “Don’t
be mad at him until you talk to him and know everything.”
    She
nodded. “You’re right.”
    “Words
a man doesn’t hear often.”
    Alyssa
took a sip of her drink and grinned as she shook her head. “Thank you for
listening and making me smile.”
    “Anytime.
It isn’t like I don’t like you or anything.”
    “I
wish I didn’t have to go back to work. I’d rather go see your place.”
    Connor
gulped. He had a feeling what she was insinuating and he would love to be doing
that as well. “You close early today, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Maybe
after work, we can eat again.” Real good line.
    “I’d
like that.”
    Score. “Want me to pick you up?”
    “That’s
silly. I’ll drive to your place. Because then you’d have to drive me back
home.”
    “Or
you could stay.”
    Her
smiled faded and he worried he’d crossed the line.
    “We’ll
see.” Alyssa took a bite from her sandwich.
    “I
understand.”
    For
the rest of their lunch, they kept the conversation light. He was happy knowing
she would come over. Which