Any Way You Fight It Read online

  Any Way You Fight It

  An Upper Crust Novel

  by Monique McDonell

  Any Way You Fight It

  Copyright Monique McDonell

  Published by Redfish Publishing

  All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author. Please contact the author at [email protected] This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  For more information on the author and her works, please see

  http://moniquemcdonellauthor.com/

  Dedication

  In memory of my grandmothers Marjorie and Maureen neither of whom was Italian or a matchmaker but both of whom were wonderful women.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  More Books

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  I slid into the corner booth at O'Shaunnessy's. I let my five-inch heels hit the floor. Bang. Bang. I waved at Larry behind the bar. He knew it's a martini kind of day for me by my demeanor. Larry knows me very well. I sat longways on the bench seat and made sure my very short, tight paneled dress wasn't riding too high on my thighs. No need to give the boys at the bar a free show, not that they'd notice anyway, every eye was glued to the game on TV.

  It's been quite a day. I had five open houses, which was a record for me. Running my own real estate business is hard work. I should probably have an assistant, but as my friend Piper liked to say, I'm "a greedy little control freak." She has that right. I think I've already sold two of the houses I showed today. One to a really sweet young family who will be mortgaged to the hilt and house-poor for the rest of their natural-born lives, bless them. The other was to a slimy developer who was buying up a block bit by bit ready to knock it all down and build obscenely expensive condominiums. I always told anyone on that block to up the price. He could afford it, and I deserved the extra commission because that guy was a total sleazebag.

  My martini arrived and I took a fortifying sip.

  "I don't think you're supposed to drink it all in one gulp, Cherie," my cousin Aaron informed me as he plonked himself down in the booth across from me. "Tough day?"

  "Not tough so much as manic." I told him about the open houses.

  "That developer, Cain, give you any trouble today?"

  "Nothing I can't handle," I said. I was extra careful never to be alone in a house with that guy as he could only paw me with his pervy little hands so much in front of others.

  "Be careful," he said, his protective side showing.

  "I always am."

  My cousin Aaron recently married my best friend, Piper. I set them up. I was, I'd have you know, gifted in the art of matchmaking. Piper ran a chain of pie trucks, Pied Piper's Pies, that had just been franchised into a national business, and my cousin was a cute and wealthy lawyer. Since I matched them up, I also matched Piper's assistant, Lucy, up with another of our friends, Chase. They're the fifth couple I'd matched in as many years.

  That's such good news for them, but now all my closest friends were in relationships and that left only me single. I guess it's a bit like doctors not treating themselves. I couldn't quite seem to find someone, anyone, I liked. I got plenty of offers. I was, after all, a successful business woman who dresses daily in killer heels and tight dresses. I was also, if I did say so myself, fantastic at both flirting and dancing. The problem was if I met another slick guy in a suit who thought he's all that and a bag of chips, well, I thought I'd puke.

  My family, of course, wanted me to marry a nice Italian boy. That was never ever going to happen. I loved my mad, crazy family, but I did not want to marry into someone else's. Two families like mine—I couldn't even imagine what that would be like. Two sets of mothers and Nonas meddling, two groups of relatives asking you when you were going to have babies, two opinions on how I should be home with the kids and not building my empire. I did not think so.

  I knew what I didn't want, but I didn't know what I did want. Well, I had an inkling. There was someone once who I thought might have been right for me, but I was eighteen and young and I guess naive. Still, the truth was I haven't met anyone who had lit my fire like that since. I guess I didn't need a guy like that; what I needed was a guy who made me feel like that.

  Easier said than done.

  "So, Aaron, are you here to pick up Piper? She's working late," I said, glancing at my watch.

  "Yeah, some bigwig from the head office is in to talk marketing and branding with her. They're meeting me here, and we're going out to dinner."

  "She's not exactly trying to impress him bringing him here," I said, laughing. O'Shaunnessy's is our favorite hangout, but with its cracked vinyl booths, beaten up bar, and rows of televisions, it isn't exactly swanky.

  "He wants to see the company's origins and wants to keep its grassroots feel, so she's obliging him."

  "Typical advertising speak," I said, polishing off the scant remains of my martini.

  Aaron shrugged and sipped his beer. I waved my arm to flag down another martini as Piper entered the bar. She thought I was waving at her and waved back.

  "They're here," I said to Aaron. His face lit up like the loved-up newlywed he was. Whenever Piper was in the vicinity, he gushed. It's disgustingly cute. On days like this, I had to remind myself that I did this. I put them together, and now I must suffer silently through the sight of their joy.

  "Hey," Piper said in her adorable Australian accent. I think part of the reason I befriended Piper was that cute voice. There was a man behind her, but I couldn't see him yet. "Guys, this is Luke from the head office. Luke this is my husband, Aaron, and my friend, Cherie."

  Luke stepped into view, and I tried not to be sick. Luke was the very man I was in love with at eighteen. The only man who ever made my heart go pit-a-pat, just before he broke it of course. I saw a blink of recognition before he very professionally extended his hand to Aaron who was on his feet ready to shake. "Nice to meet you, Aaron."

  "Hi," was all I said.

  Where was that second martini? And why did Luke look even better than he did when he walked out of my life twelve years earlier?

  "Nice to see you," he said.

  T
he seating configuration being what it was, he was forced to slide in next to me when Piper said, "I told Luke we'd have a drink here first, Aaron."

  I was sitting next to Luke. Ohmygod! I tried to inch as far into the corner of the booth as I could. I decided to move my briefcase from the wall to the side between us. A shield, if you will, from the sight and smell of Luke. Luke wore a pair of jeans, some leather loafers, and a sky blue polo shirt. I could tell by looking that all the items were insanely expensive. His dark blond hair was longer than I remembered it but the blue eyes remained as magnificent as I recalled.

  Well, at least sitting next to Luke for all of thirty seconds confirmed my libido wasn't dead. Unfortunately, it only seemed to fire up when he's in town. That was really very bad news indeed.

  Aaron asked them about their day, and despite the huge, epic nature of this moment for me, normal conversation proceeded around me. It was bizarre. I was the only one who knew how off-kilter the universe was.

  "Hey, Cherie." I pulled myself back to the moment and focused on Piper. "Do you want to join us for dinner?"

  "Thanks, but not tonight. Huge day today. Huge day tomorrow." That last part wasn't exactly true but a girl had to do what a girl had to do.

  "What do you do?" Luke asked me.

  Piper, who was my biggest cheerleader, saved me from speaking again. "Ohmygosh, Cherie is like the best real estate agent ever. She rented me my space, which is how we met. She's the go-to girl for all real estate in this area."

  "Wow," Luke said, his face looking surprised. How dare he be surprised. "Good for you."

  "Yeah, well, I'm lucky I do something I love." I could see he wanted to say something, but he didn't. "Anyway, I might make tracks. I'm exhausted."

  "You didn't drink your martini," Aaron said.

  "You know, I'm so tired that the last one just hit me hard, better safe than sorry. Excuse me, Luke." Another lie. I'd be mainlining Pinot Gris the minute I got home. He stood so I could get out of my corner. He didn't move that far away and offered his hand to me. I handed him the briefcase. There would be no touching. I was already losing my mind. I couldn't touch Luke; that would have been too much.

  "Okay," Piper said, but I could see she's disappointed. I could usually be relied upon to come to any dinner, tell fun stories, and joke with any guy; it's almost inevitable with me. Well, not this time.

  Luke handed me the briefcase and our fingers touched. Zing-bam-boom, I felt a buzz from my cheeks to my lady parts down below. Could this get any worse?

  "Well, maybe I'll see you again," Luke said, but there's a question in there. Did he really think I wanted to see him again? He dumped me. He left me without saying good-bye. He, yeah dammit, he broke my heart. I would be actively avoiding this guy. I just gave him the raised eyebrows that said, "Really?"

  "Bye, guys, enjoy your night," I said, trying to breeze out of there. I was aware that Luke watched me leave. I felt his eyes on my back. Hopefully I looked amazing in this dress. I wanted that man to see what he missed. He could look if he wanted, but he definitely could not touch this ever again.

  #

  The whole drive home was a blur. I couldn't even believe I just saw Luke again. I just couldn't.

  I took the stairs to the apartment I lived in above my grandmother's, my Nona's, garage. I know sexy successful realtors don't usually live with their grandmothers, but I didn't technically live with her. I lived adjacent. Also, I'm Italian and someone needs to keep an eye on Nona. The truth was Nona didn't need watching, and, when my grandfather died, all her children wanted her to move in with them and she didn't want to go. I came up with the idea that I'd move into this apartment. I was just out of college and I thought it made sense then. Everyone thought I'd be married in a year or two and then Nona would move.

  I'd been there nine years. I was not married and Nona hadn't moved. On the upside, I channeled all my savings into real estate investments. I didn't pay rent, and I barely cooked because Nona was always plying me with food. I couldn't quite get the woman on the low-carb bandwagon and she wouldn't know Paleo if it hit her on the head, but I could work around that. I poured myself a very large glass of wine and threw myself down on my adorable pink leather sofa.

  "How did you get here, Cherie?" I asked myself out loud, my voice echoing around the apartment. How indeed?

  It was 2002 and Luke Oberlin was the cutest boy I had ever seen in my life. He was tall, blond, and definitely not Italian. He came to stay with his grandparents for the summer. They lived across the road from my parents who were on polite terms, but nothing more, with the senior Oberlins. Of course, I noticed him. A Nordic god moves in across the street and you notice.

  It was the summer before I went off to college and I was spending it on a rotating cycle of babysitting, going to the beach, and working at the local donut chain. The uniform was Pepto-Bismol pink and very unflattering but the hours were great and donuts, enough said.

  One day, Luke came in for a coffee and a donut. My heart stopped.

  "How do I recognize you?" he asked as I packed his chocolate-sprinkled donut in a bag.

  "We're neighbors." I was so proud I had managed to speak.

  "Oh yeah, you look different . . ."

  "In this?" I gestured to my uniform.

  He gave me a grin. "Do you get a break at all? I've only spoken to my grandparents in three days; I could use some slightly younger company."

  It wasn't a declaration of love, but it was an invitation. "Ah, sure, I finish in half an hour."

  "Cool."

  Luke found a seat, ate his donut, and drank his coffee while reading a book. An actual book. My love may have begun in that exact moment. He was a reader.

  When I was done, I headed to the break room out back. I shook out my ponytail and added hair spray and generally tried to look a little less rank. It probably didn't work. I smelled like donuts and hot nylon, so I added my favorite perfume, Giorgio.

  Luke was waiting for me out front. "I didn't think I should offer to buy you a donut."

  "Good call. There's a place down the street that we could go for a soda."

  So it was that I found myself staring at Luke while drinking a Coke. He was entering his junior year at college in New York. He was staying with his grandparents because his parents were working in Africa and he had nowhere else to go. He was a business major.

  "So, where are you at school?"

  "About to start at BC," I said. "I'm kind of nervous."

  "It's not far from home," he suggested by way of consolation.

  "That's the part I'm nervous about. My family is somewhat overbearing and overprotective, and I'm worried they'll visit me daily."

  He laughed. "So, how would they feel about us having a soda?"

  "Let's see. You're not Italian, you're not from the greater Boston area, you're probably not Catholic, and you're already in college so, they would be concerned."

  "And you're doing it anyway, you rebel!"

  "It's a soda not a wedding." I laughed.

  "So, I probably shouldn't walk you home then."

  "Probably not," I said, standing to leave. "I better go; they'll be sending out a search party soon."

  "Do you get breaks at work?" he asked.

  "I work eight to two most days. I usually have a half hour around eleven."

  "Well, I might pop by again, if you don't think the family will come after me."

  "That will be fine. Thanks for the soda."

  "Hey, I forgot to ask your name."

  "Cherie," I called over my shoulder, trying to be nonchalant when my heart was pounding and my palms were sweating and I could barely think straight.

  And so began a beautiful summer romance.

  I dragged myself back to the present. The truth was the only two people who knew about Luke and I were Luke and I, oh yeah and my friend Natalia who covered for me back then. Natalia is now married to a marine and lives in California, so I think my secret is safe with her.

  If I didn't br
ing it up and Luke didn't bring it up, well, then it would be like it never happened. I could manage that. I was really busy, so I could use that excuse to avoid meeting Piper at O'Shaunnessy's. I had been meaning to join the gym and get healthy anyway, so fewer pies and martinis and more exercise would help get me on my way. Luke couldn't be staying forever.

  I could hide out for a while. I just needed to contact Lucy or Piper and surreptitiously ask how long he's in town. Yep, that sounded like a plan.

  It's not a perfect plan, but it's better than anything else I had. I downed my wine and headed off to bed before the buzz wore off and my mind started wandering back to Luke and all his hotness.

  Chapter 2

  Lucy called me the next day. I was unlocking the door to my office. I was juggling keys, a folder, a latte, and an open house sign, but I still managed to take the call.

  "What's up, buttercup?" I said.

  "Not much . . ." I could visualize her on the other end in kitchen whites and a hairnet trying to come up with a witty reply. "You sound perky today. Piper said you were exhausted last night."

  "I was. Still am, actually." That wasn't a lie. I barely slept, tossing and turning all night with sexy and angry thoughts about Luke. "Your call perked me right up. Oh yeah, and I'm about to down my third coffee."

  "Oh, I hope you're okay."

  "I'll be fine. What's happening there?"

  "Well, you met the hottie corporate sent to help us with branding."

  "Don't you have a fiancé already?" I tried not to let jealousy seep in. Keep it light, Cherie.

  "A girl can look. Anyway, you don't have a fiancé . . ."

  "Yeah, well, I don't want a fiancé, and even if I did, I wouldn't want that guy."

  "He seems pretty cool."

  "Not my type." I needed to shut this down. “Anyway, he's probably married. How long is your new eye candy in town anyway?"

  “He’s not, married I mean. A week or two, but he'll be back and forth." Great. "Maybe you two could . . ."