Not Quite Over You. Susan Mallery

       CHAPTER TWO

      “EITHER TALK TO him or I’m calling the police,” Wynn said as she checked a printed wedding invitation against the approved proof.

      “He’s not breaking the law.” Silver did her best to look out the window without being seen by anyone outside the building—namely a tall, possibly good-looking guy sitting in an Airstream.

      “Drew’s not the one I’m going to have arrested,” her friend murmured without looking up. She held her long, dark curly hair out of her way as she turned her head to study the invitation from every angle.

      “You wouldn’t!”

      Wynn looked up from the proof. “I wouldn’t,” she agreed, “but you are starting to get on my nerves. Come on, Silver. This isn’t like you. Grow a pair and deal with Drew or take a baseball bat to his head, but don’t dither. It’s freaking me out.”

      “I don’t know what to do,” Silver admitted.

      “You know exactly what to do. The problem is much more that you don’t want to do it.” Wynn nodded at her assistant. “They’re perfect. Print them. The bride wants two hundred. Let’s do a run of two-fifty, just in case.”

      “You got it, boss.”

      Wynn returned her attention to Silver. “You need trailers—he has trailers. Yes, he’s going to want something in exchange. So go find out what it is.” She shrugged. “I doubt it’s sex. No sex is worth two of those.” She pointed toward the trailers. “Not even sex with you.”

      “Maybe I’m amazing.”

      “No one is that amazing.”

      Silver had to agree with her. The trailers were so wonderful. She was desperate to go explore them, to touch every surface and imagine the possibilities, only she couldn’t give in. Whatever Drew had planned, it was going to be bad for her.

      “He’s trying to lure me,” Silver said, looking out the window again.

      “And it’s working. Now get on out there and find out what he wants. I think Hunter left some sports equipment in the back room. You can go see if there’s a baseball bat for you to borrow if that makes you feel better.”

      “I don’t need a baseball bat.”

      Maybe a little courage and some backbone, she thought as she straightened her shoulders. Dammit, why did this always happen? In every other situation in life she was strong and powerful, but when it came to Drew she was little more than a whimpering mess.

      “Okay, I’m going out there to confront him.”

      “Good luck.”

      Silver nodded. She could do this, she told herself. She’d handled much-tougher situations when it came to Drew. For ninety-one magical days the summer she’d turned eighteen, she’d loved him with every fiber of her being. She’d given herself to him, heart and soul, and then she’d pretended she was totally fine when he went off to college. She’d even had the smarts to break up with him so that he could go live his life without her. She’d told him that they were never meant to be and that he should simply move on.

      She’d done the right thing and she could always be proud of herself for that. But it had been so incredibly hard. She’d loved him more than she’d thought it was possible to love anyone. She’d loved him knowing that loving a man turned a woman into a fool. She’d been a willing fool and she’d gotten her heart ripped out and chopped with a meat cleaver.

      “All in the past,” she whispered to herself as she crossed the sidewalk. “All in the past.”

      The door to the largest trailer was open, as if in invitation. She felt herself starting to hunch again, then forced herself to stand tall. Lured or not, she would walk in proud and strong. Whatever was going on, she could handle it. She’d been through a whole lot worse with Drew.

      She stepped into the trailer. Drew sat at the long sofa, an e-reader in his hands. He glanced up and smiled.

      “Hi. How’s it going?”

      She ignored his questions and asked one of her own. “What are you doing here?”

      “Waiting for you. I have lunch, if you’re hungry.”

      He motioned to the built-in table and benches, as if expecting her to sit down. What was with him having lunch ready for the two of them? This wasn’t a social visit. Ack, she should have taken Wynn up on her offer of a baseball bat.

      Silver sank onto the padded bench. She put her hands on the table, then shoved them onto her lap only to put them back on the table. Everything about this felt weird and awkward and just plain uncomfortable. She wanted to run and scream, only before she could do either, she couldn’t help noticing the perfect lines of the trailer. The size was just right and with a little refurbishing, there could be so much storage. She would have room for a long bar and beer on tap and—

      “Turkey okay?” he asked, holding out two sandwiches. “Or ham?”

      “Turkey.”

      He passed it over, then grabbed them each a can of diet soda along with a pile of napkins before sitting across from her. He nodded at the interior of the trailer.

      “Needs a lot of work, but I see the potential.”

      “You see it?” She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea what this could be. To you it’s just some old trailer, but to me, it’s the next phase of my business. I’ve put thought into what I’m doing, Drew. I didn’t just write a check.”

      “Contempt for the very money you wanted to borrow for yourself.” His tone was mild, his expression more amused than offended. He took a bite of his sandwich. “Without the check you’re so willing to deride, there would be no trailers. At least not now.”

      He had a point, which really annoyed her.

      “Fine,” she grumbled as she unwrapped her sandwich. “Why are you here?”

      “I’m living the dream. Why are you here?”

      She wondered if it would be wrong to kick him right in the shin. So much violence, she thought with a sigh. Her visceral reaction to Drew was because she knew he had all the power and she had none. Not a situation she enjoyed, ever.

      Instead of answering, she started eating her sandwich. He continued with his and they had lunch in complete silence. He finished first. He opened a bag of chips, offered it to her, then spoke.

      “So here’s the thing,” he began. “My grandfather is thinking of retiring.”

      “Okay.” Hardly news. Grandpa Frank wasn’t a young man. He was charming and vibrant but well past the age of retirement.

      “There are complications,” he continued. “Namely who is going to be chairman of the board when that happens.”

      “Why is there a question? You’re the heir apparent, aren’t you?” Drew had been the firstborn of the firstborn. With great power and all that. He had been destined to run the bank since before he’d started kindergarten. Back when they’d been dating, he’d talked about his future with excitement and anticipation. Drew had actually liked the idea of being in banking. Crazy, but that was Drew.

      “Libby wants to throw her hat in the ring.”

      “I wish you’d told me that before I ate my sandwich,” she said, pushing away the second half. “Why is she even in contention?”

      “Technically anyone can throw his or her hat in the ring. I’m the obvious choice, but that doesn’t mean the bank is my only interest.”

      “I thought that was all you’d been trained to do. Isn’t that the point of your entire