Erin Reagan raises her head to the soft tapping on her door as it swings open.
"Hey sis," Jamie greets her with a grin.
"Sergeant Reagan, she welcomes him with shock in her voice as she raises her head to meet his eyes. Her brother hasn't stopped by her office since he became a Sergeant a few months ago.
"This is a nice surprise," she tells him.
"Been busy," he says with sincerity, shrugging his shoulders.
"I imagine. Between being a Sergeant and a single father to a one-and-a-half-year-old, how do you find time for anything else," she asks.
"I don't," he replies with a smile, and she smiles back.
"So, what brings you down here now," Erin asks her brother.
"Mom called begging to keep Gracie tonight, so she is staying with them," he says. Erin laughs at that, knowing that their mother was probably hoping Jamie would find a date since it was Friday night.
"Is she trying to set you up again," she asks Jamie, laughing. He laughs with her, shaking his head gently.
For the last nine months, Jamie's mom had tried setting him up on several dates. She hated that her baby boy was alone, even though he had Gracie, she could tell there was a void in his life, and she wanted happiness for him.
She wanted nothing more than for him to find a nice young lady to settle down with, one who would love him and his daughter. Gracie really needed a mother, she would say to him.
Each time she tried, she failed. Jamie tried to explain to her, and his brother, and his dad, that he didn't have time for a girlfriend. He was perfectly happy with his life the way it was.
Really Jamie didn't feel like any woman around his age would have any interest in dating a single dad with a baby and on the handful of dates that he had agreed to go on to satisfy his family, not a single one of them measured up to what his daughter would deserve anyway.
Erin was the only one who understood Jamie, and truth be told, she was overprotective of her little brother and niece anyway, and she didn't think there was a woman on this planet who would be good enough for them, not after what he went through with Sydney.
"So, what are you going to do tonight?" Erin asks.
"Well, I thought I'd see if my big sister would let me treat her to a round of drinks. There is a new pub down the street, we could check it out. What do you say," he asks her, raising his eyebrows convincingly?
"Sorry, little bro, I can't tonight," she looks at him apologetically and feels bad that she has to decline his invitation.
"I'm having drinks with a friend, a co-worker really. Actually, I'm her boss, but she is a sweet girl, and she has only been here for a few months, she doesn't know many people yet, or I'd reschedule with her. Can I take a rain check," she asks. He is pouting a little, but she knows it is all in good fun.
"Sure. Guess I'll just ask Danny, I'm sure he'll love being the second choice," he smiles mischievously, and Erin laughs at him.
"Come on, you know I was only your first choice because I'm the only one who won't give you grief about being out on a Friday night with your sister, instead of on a date, when your daughter is spending the night with her grandparents, admit it," she tells him jokingly.
"Whatever," he says, as he shakes his head at her, laughing.
"Alright, well, I'm going to get out of here, I have to call Danny," he says as he playfully tries to make her feel guilty.
Jamie rounds the corner outside of Erin's office when he turns his head to look over his shoulder as someone hollers his name. Just as he does, he is met with a thud that knocks him back a step, and he hears the sound of paper falling to the ground and the light grunt of a woman.
He looks in front of him to see a small blonde bending down to pick up the file of papers that have just scattered around them. She is apologizing to him as she attempts to put the mess back in order, but she never looks up.
"I'm so sorry," Eddie says to him frantically. "I should have been paying attention, I…I didn't mean to..." she seems frazzled and Jamie interrupts her.
"It's no problem, are you ok? Here, let me help," he tells her as he leans down to pick up a few stacks of paper and hands them to her.
"Thank you," she says. Jamie senses fear in her voice and wonders why she is so upset over a little bump in the hallway.
"Are you sure you are ok," he asks her again as he stands, offering his hand out to her.
She meets his eyes for just a second and then decides to accept his hand, pulling herself up with the file that is now somewhat put back together.
"Thank you," she tells him softly and walks off.
Eddie takes a deep breath as she continues down the hall, wondering to herself when, or if, this will ever end. Will she ever be able to get back to normal? It has been three months since she left her life in Los Angeles behind, and more than six months since Jake Singer was sent to prison, but she can't seem to let little things like this not startle her.
She is living in fear that every man she encounters is just like her ex-boyfriend, and she really believed that moving to New York would change that. This move is supposed to give her the chance to start over, and maybe learn to trust again, but so far, she is having no luck.
She is calming down now. She has to as she approaches her boss's office. Erin's door is open slightly, so Eddie knocks softly and pushes it the rest of the way.
"Hey Erin," she says as she enters.
"Eddie, hey. We're still on for drinks tonight at 7:00 right?" Erin asks.
"You bet. I just wanted to drop this file off, then I'm heading home to change. I'll meet you there," Eddie says.
"Great, see you then," Erin smiles at her, and Eddie nods as she turns to leave.
Jamie is heading back to his car, a little bummed that his sister isn't available tonight, and he is wondering if he really wants to call his brother. Danny would go, of course, but did Jamie want to deal with his brother's attempts to play matchmaker all night long? He isn't sure, but he knows he doesn't want to sit at home alone tonight.
Staring at his brother's number on his screen, he contemplates his decision for a few more seconds. Just before he crosses the street, he presses call. Danny doesn't answer so Jamie sends him a quick text.
"Drinks tonight?"
He tosses his phone into the passenger seat as he slides down into his car and waits patiently for his brother's response.
Eddie is at her apartment getting ready for her girls' night with Erin. She is excited, but still a little nervous. She has changed out of her three-piece pinstripe suit she wore to work that day, and into dark denim jeans that hugged every curve of her body perfectly.
She chose a flowy pastel pink spaghetti strap top that landed just at the waistline of her jeans. It wasn't too revealing, she didn't dress like that, and she certainly wasn't grasping for anyone's attention tonight. Her shirt did compliment her Los Angeles tan though, and she was feeling pretty good right now.
This was the first time since she moved to New York that she was leaving her apartment for something other than work, food, or the gym.
Her phone was still on her counter when she heard it chime, alerting her to an incoming text message. She grabbed her purse and slid it over her shoulder, then reached for the phone, swiping across the screen to read the message as she began to walk out the door. It was from Erin letting her know she was heading to Connolly's now, and she would grab a booth for them if she got there first.
Eddie sent her a quick message back telling her she was on her way before tossing the phone into the side pocket of her purse and locking her door behind her.
Danny had responded to Jamie earlier, letting him know he would meet for drinks tonight, but they had to go somewhere in midtown because he wouldn't get off work until 7:30. He said he would meet him right after, and Jamie was fine with that. He didn't care where they went.
Jamie timed his arrival perfectly and met Danny outside the front of the pub at 8 o'clock. They walked inside, heading straight for the bar, and Jamie hoped they could just sit there enjoying a few drinks and that his brother would leave the dating and relationship talk for another time.
They hadn't been there long when they both heard distinctly familiar laughter coming from a booth across the room. Both thinking the same thing, they turned their heads in unison to see their sister sitting across the room with an attractive blonde neither of them recognized.
"Hey, what are the odds of that," Danny says to Jamie as they spot their sister. Jamie had no idea Erin was having drinks with her friend at this bar and was wondering what the odds were that in all the pubs in Manhattan, they would end up at the same one in Midtown, and at the same time.
"She said she was having drinks with a friend tonight," Jamie says, and then realizes what he has just admitted, hoping his brother doesn't pick up on it. Danny didn't miss that though and gives Jamie a glaring smile.
"You asked her first, didn't you?" Danny questions. He isn't mad, but he is taking the opportunity to give his brother a little grief, and Jamie responds with a guilty grin.
"Maybe," he says, as he takes a swig of the IPA that has just been set down in front of him.
"I'm hurt," Danny mocks, as he lands his hand across his heart in dramatic fashion.
Jamie knows he is joking and shakes his head, offering a little drama of his own as he rolls his eyes at his brother, and Danny wonders who the blonde is that is keeping their sister company tonight. He pats Jamie on the shoulder a little roughly, a gesture Jamie knows means they are about to head over there.
Sitting across from Erin in the booth, Eddie is thoroughly enjoying herself, and she has no problem putting away the plate of nachos in front of her. She loves food and is really starting to like New York for the massive selection.
"This tastes nothing like the nachos back home," Eddie says, as she gracefully shoves another chip into her mouth.
Erin is smiling at her, wondering how this woman can eat like that and maintain her figure. Eddie is a beautiful woman. Standing only 5'4," she is petite, but muscular, and curvy, and her long blonde hair is holding beautiful curls tonight. Quite a difference from the French twist she usually sports on the job.
Erin doesn't realize that her brothers are approaching as she takes a generous sip of the cosmopolitan in front of her.
Now standing next to Erin, Danny pats his sister on the shoulder, waiting for an invitation to join them. Jamie is shaking his head, wondering how his brother ended up with so little manners.
Eddie recognizes Jamie immediately and panic begins to creep in. She remembers him from the office earlier in the day, not one of her finer moments, and wonders the odds of him standing in front of her now.
She is shifting her eyes between the three of them when she realizes the man she encountered earlier doesn't seem to recognize her at all, and she manages to fight off the encroaching anxiety.
Jamie does remember her now, but he is such a gentleman that he will never tell her. He meets her eyes and smiles, and for the first time since the nightmare Eddie went through less than a year ago, she feels a little flutter in her stomach.
Erin introduces her brothers as Danny motions for her to scoot over, sliding in the booth beside her, leaving Jamie with only one option. Erin is looking across the table at Eddie, offering a silent apology for her brothers' intrusion, hoping this isn't too awkward, and Jamie moves towards the side of the booth that Eddie occupies.
"Do you mind," Jamie asks politely, his eyes offering the same apologetic look Erin just gave her.
"Of course not," she says as she scoots over to make room for him. She still isn't sure if he remembers her yet, and she is hoping he doesn't.
Danny has no resolve for interrupting their girls' night as he addresses the table. "Erin, you never told us you had such a beautiful friend," Danny says cheekily.
Erin mouths, "I'm sorry" across the table to Eddie.
"Danny," Jamie says as he shakes his head at his brother, telling him with his eyes to stop before he offends the poor woman sitting next to him.
Eddie is smiling uncomfortably now, Jamie can tell, and he feels bad for her at his brothers' antics. Danny takes the hint and abruptly changes the subject. He is out-numbered by siblings tonight, so he won't go any further.
Eddie was determined not to let her discomfort ruin the evening. There was something about Erin's brother that gave her little butterflies, and she felt like a teenager again. She was nervous but didn't let it show. If he did remember her, she didn't want to give him any other reason to think she was crazy.
Jamie had ordered another round of drinks for the group and all four of them were feeling a lot more relaxed when Danny suggested a round of darts. No one objected and they left the booth as Jamie motioned to the bartender where they were headed.
Danny was quick to call dibs on Erin as his partner, he knew that was his best chance to win. Erin was the most competitive of the siblings and usually the best at everything. That was Danny's excuse anyway, but Jamie and Erin both knew exactly what he was doing.
With Erin as his partner, that only meant Jamie was Eddie's. What no one knew though, was that there would be a new dart champion by the end of the night.
"Bullseye!" Eddie shouts as she and Jamie meet for a high five. Jamie is impressed and genuinely enjoying Eddie's company, even happier that he has now finally won against either of his siblings, thanks to the little package of dynamite that is his partner tonight.
Danny takes the loss well, thinking that his little brother is hitting it off with this woman, and it is his doing.
"Double or nothing," Danny shouts. He wants to play another game, he can tell Jamie is enjoying the company of this woman, and he wants to keep the night going a little longer. All three laugh at Danny. They hadn't bet anything the first game, but Danny is so serious.
"Actually, I better call it a night," Eddie is the first to say, and Jamie immediately follows in agreement with her.
Erin and Danny look at each other, suspicion apparent in their faces, wondering if that is the pair's way of sneaking out together. It isn't, though. Jamie settles their tab and makes sure both girls are safely in a cab heading back to their apartments before he and Danny leave.
"So, what did you think of her?" Danny asks as they walk back to the subway.
"Who," Jamie says, smiling.
"Don't play stupid, genius. She's gorgeous, she's got a good job, her own apartment, and a damn good dart game," Danny says, looking at Jamie. "Should I go on," he asks, and Jamie shakes his head as his brother.
"Yeah, she was pretty great," he says with a smile.
"So, ask her out. You know where to find her."
"I don't know Danny, what about Gracie," Jamie says with hesitation in his voice.
The truth was, Jamie felt that if he took time for himself, dating, finding a girlfriend, he would have even less time for his daughter, and he really did want to spend every second that he could with her. His job already took so much time away, he felt selfish thinking about himself like that. Gracie deserves more.
"Just think about it, huh?" is all Danny says as they go their separate ways.
Eddie walked into her apartment around midnight, hanging her purse on the hook by the door. She kicked her shoes off and fell to the couch. She was exhausted, but she couldn't get her mind off of Jamie. She was also scared. She hadn't let herself get close to anyone since Jake, and she wasn't sure she was ready yet.
Jamie seemed like a great guy, but so did Jake when they first met. She still didn't know how to let herself trust another man, but maybe Jamie would be a good place to start. She fell asleep on her couch that night, thinking maybe there was hope for her in New York after all.