Hard and Fast (Fast Track #2)(55)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Suzanne glanced over at the bar. Where the hell was their waitress? She needed another drink. “I need the money. My alimony runs out at the end of this year. I should have done this a long time ago, but I was enjoying my time off. But now I’m going to be shit out of luck if I don’t get off my ass and generate an income.” Waving her hand at the waitress, she added, “Another reason I can’t go to Texas. I can’t afford the airfare or the hotel.”

Boo hoo her. God, she hated sounding so damn pathetic, but it was the truth. She had been ignoring reality and now it was biting her in the butt.

“Suzanne, I had no idea. I just assumed you had a settlement or that your position on the board was paying.” Imogen looked stunned. “That wasn’t very long for alimony.”

“Half the length of the marriage. Two years. We were married for four.” And for f**k’s sake, was she actually going to cry? She better well be getting her period and this was just PMS, because she had no time to get weepy. It wasn’t like she and Ryder had just broken up. It was old news, and she needed to get a serious grip. “He gave me a lump sum of money, which I used to buy my condo. But I still have bills, and without the alimony, I need some kind of income.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re a fabulous wedding planner, despite your irritations with the clients. You have amazing taste and you’re incredibly organized. I imagine some of your previous clients would be willing to give you referrals to get you started again. Who is the potential client? Is it a big wedding or something small?”

Suzanne appreciated that Imogen was just being matter-of-fact about the situation and not commenting on the demise of her marriage. “Here’s the kicker.” This was actually ridiculous enough to make her smile. “The bride to be is Nikki Borden.”

Imogen’s jaw dropped. “What? Are you serious? She and Ty just broke up!”

“I know. The girl wastes no time whatsoever. And she wants a Christmas wedding, and is willing to pay out the nose to make it happen.”

“Who is the groom? Is it the guy she was making out with on the hood of my car?”

“Yep. Jonas Strickland. Nice enough guy, but he clearly doesn’t have the sense God gave a goat if he’s saddling himself with Nikki after a week of dating. I mean, who falls in love in a week?”

“Yeah, exactly,” Imogen muttered, frowning down at the table. “That’s insane. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” Suzanne said firmly, alarmed at the look on her friend’s face. She wasn’t fancying herself in love with Ty, was she? Would no one ever learn?

Suzanne shook off the feeling that she was embarking on a career as the most cynical wedding planner ever, and said, “I’ll give Nikki credit. She moves fast. She has her engagement ring already and she’s talking about a two-hundred-guest affair. I have a feeling that she’s going to leave all the details to me because of the tight time frame, and because, well, she’s a dingbat, so that works for me. More money, less irritating interference.”

Imogen made a sound in the back of her throat that was something between a laugh and a sob. Then she covered her face with her hands.

Suzanne sat up straighter and leaned toward her friend. What the hell was that all about? “Imogen, what’s wrong? Are you okay, sweetie?”

Imogen shifted her hands to her cheeks. “How is it possible that I could feel this, whatever I’m feeling, for a guy who spent the last four months with Nikki? We are absolutely nothing alike. So which one of us is his real type, and which one of us was he/is he just biding his time with?”

Oh, Lord. Suzanne took the last remaining sip of her drink, sucking the straw aggressively to get every last drop. “Honey, I don’t think there’s doubt in anyone’s mind that he was just fooling around with Nikki. She was convenient, plain and simple. And you can bet your Yankee ass he never took Nikki into the woods.” Though Suzanne might have paid money to witness that.

“You really think so?”

“Yes, I do. Ty likes you, for real. The man quoted Shakespeare to you!” Which Suzanne still found hard to believe. “I’m telling you, if you’re interested in making up stupid shit to worry about, by all means, start comparing yourself to Nikki. But if want to be rational, accept the fact that the man is into you in the right way and just enjoy it.” She rethought her wording. “And that wasn’t meant to be a sexual innuendo.”

Imogen gave another monstrous sigh. “I think I’m going to go home. Maybe I just need a good night’s sleep. Are you ready to go?”

Suzanne had, in fact, made eye contact with the waitress already and ordered another drink, and she didn’t intend to waste it. “You go ahead. I’m going to stay here and make a couple phone calls, then head out in about ten minutes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep.” Suzanne got up when Imogen did and gave her a hug. “Maybe you need to give some thought to what you really want from Ty, hon. It sounds to me like you’re falling for him.”

Imogen’s dark blue eyes were wide and troubled. “I am.”

What the hell did she say to that? There was no sense in telling Imogen to put the brakes on; that never worked. So she might as well enjoy the drive before they crashed. “Then have fun! Enjoy it, and think about what that means and where you want this to go.”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

They hugged, then Suzanne sat back down with her newly delivered fresh margarita and pulled her cell phone out. With a sigh big enough to rival the ones Imogen had been letting loose all night, Suzanne went into her contacts list and pressed R. Ryder’s number came up and she pressed a button to call him, hoping he wouldn’t answer.

He did.

“Well, hello, darlin’, how are you this evening?”

Suzanne closed her eyes for a second. God, definitely PMS, because she was damn near on the verge of tears again at the sound of his voice. It was f**king ridiculous.

“Hey,” she said with a forced cheerfulness. “I’m good, how about yourself?”

“My day didn’t suck too bad,” he said, and there was a pause where she could tell he was drinking something. She’d bet her condo it was an ice-cold Bud in a bottle. “But there’s always tomorrow.”

“No joke.” Fiddling with the cocktail napkin in front of her, Suzanne got to the point. “Listen, I know I asked you to host that dinner party with me to give us an opportunity to see Imogen and Ty together, but I think we need to cancel.”