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him.”
    Andrea groaned. Why did Claire keep fixating on Andrea’s huge mistake? She remembered the cookout. Brian had gotten a couple of dates out of it. With Claire’s wild friends. At the time, she hadn’t thought anything of it. Now the idea of him with any of them made her blood boil. She clenched her hands into fists on the table.
    â€œAre you really that upset about sleeping with him?” Claire asked.
    â€œOf course I am. I’ve probably lost my best friend.”
    â€œMaybe he wants more from you than friendship.”
    Even if he did, she didn’t. Couldn’t. A romantic relationship between them would never work. They were in different places in their lives. “I doubt it. I’m not Brian’s type.”
    â€œAnd what would that be?”
    She wrinkled her nose. “A woman who wants to be a stay-at-home mom. He’s old fashioned like that. The type who likes being the provider. He wants a house and a marriage and a big family. Probably a bunch of dogs and cats, too. I don’t want any of that. At least not for a while.”
    â€œHow do you know he hasn’t changed his mind?”
    â€œPlease. I’ve known him for a long time. He doesn’t change. Period. Actually, he resists it big time.”
    â€œKind of like you?”
    â€œNo. Worse.” And that was why she was so shocked he hadn’t tried to pretend their night in bed had never happened. Usually when something bothered him and was out of his control, he acted like it didn’t exist. “He thrives on stability in every aspect of his life.”
    â€œThere’s nothing wrong with stability.”
    â€œNo, but he’s almost compulsive about it.” It was one of the few traits about him that bugged her. Claire didn’t realize it, but Andrea wasn’t the only one in need of lightening up. Brian was so stuck in his routine that he even wanted to eat at the same restaurants every week. She had to be sneaky about getting him to try new places.
    â€œI think you’re trying to change the subject. Would it really be so bad to actually end up in a relationship with that impossibly sexy man?”
    â€œOh, okay. I see what this is about.” Andrea shook her head. Why hadn’t she known this was coming? For the past five years, Claire had been dropping little hints, trying to get Andrea to bring Brian around more often. It all made sense now. Andrea forced a smile, but inside she seethed. “Do you want him?”
    Claire shrugged. Her expression turned serious for a few seconds before her playful smile was back full force. “Yeah, actually I do. But I can’t have him. He’s taken.”
    Not even close. “No. Trust me, he’s not.”
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    On Monday morning, an hour before he had to leave for work, Brian slammed his fist into the punching bag hard enough to make pain radiate down his arm. His knuckles hurt like a sonofabitch, but he pushed past the throbbing. He’d been at it for the last hour, beating the shit out of the bag hanging from his basement ceiling. Any more and he’d be bleeding. If he wasn’t already. He’d thought a good workout would get Andrea off his mind, but he wasn’t that lucky. She was stuck there, not going anywhere, and until he talked to her at work later that day he had a feeling there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.
    What the fuck had he been thinking?
    For two days, he’d been berating himself over the situation with Andrea. The woman was his best friend, and he’d taken advantage. True, it had been her idea for him to stay, but he’d bought the wine. Suggested the dinner and practically dragged her to the restaurant with him. And then, when he’d known his control was hanging by a thread, he’d stayed at her apartment instead of being a gentleman and walking away. The whole thing was his fault. She deserved a better friend than him and he