by Coll, Lea
James shook her hand.
“Thank you so much for your time.”
I nodded at James as I followed her onto the street.
“Whew. That was scary.” She stopped just outside the station’s doors letting out a breath of relief.
“You were so confident in there.” I would never have guessed she was scared except that she allowed me to accompany her.
“Oh yeah, I didn’t think he’d take me seriously. My hands are shaking.” She lifted her hand in the air and sure enough, it shook slightly.
“He did. You were respectful and professional.” I couldn’t be prouder of her. “He listened to you.”
“I only had to threaten him once.” She laughed as if she couldn’t believe she’d done that.
I hooked my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, feeling her hands wrap around my waist as she sunk into my body. I breathed in the smell of lavender shampoo as her head tucked under my chin. I resisted the urge to kiss her forehead. Had anything ever felt so good? So right? It was like she belonged in my arms.
I rubbed her back once gently before letting her go so we could walk back to the bar.
We walked quietly for a few minutes before she asked, “How are things at the bar? Do you still need help?”
“Isaac’s scheduling interviews now.” I thought about how maybe I should mention wanting to take on more responsibility at the bar. I could offer to help with hiring.
“I want—” was I going to say I wanted her? No, she wasn’t ready for that. I want more? No, that wasn’t right. I wanted everything and the feeling rushed over me making me lightheaded. “I need your help tonight, if you’d like to work.”
Her smile widened. “I’d like that.”
“You have nothing else going on a Friday night?”
She grimaced. “Our office is probably going to happy hour, but I can miss it. One of the attorneys at our office is really full of himself and it’s not that fun.”
She never mentioned hanging out with anyone or people at work. I wanted to ask her a ton of questions but I wasn’t sure I had any right to know. I hadn’t told her about Zach yet. She’d been good in not pushing me, but I knew I needed to tell her. If today showed me anything it was that I could rely on her, she followed through on her promises, and I could trust her.
“One of the attorneys, Hadley, has been really nice. She’s going to help me with the block party.”
“I didn’t know you were planning one.”
“I thought it would bring more people into the neighborhood. We could have a live band, food trucks, and maybe the shop owners could set up tables outside. I haven’t talked to the business owners yet but I’m sure they’ll be on board.”
I was speechless for a few seconds. I knew community outreach was part of her job, but planning a party to bring in customers to our street was not. “I think that’s a great idea.”
She went up on tiptoes, placed her hands on my shoulders, and placed a light kiss on my lips. “I’ll see you tonight.”
I couldn’t respond because I couldn’t form any words after that kiss. I still felt the warmth of her hands on my shoulders and the touch of her lips to mine as I watched her flag down a cab and climb inside. The kiss was sweet, but I hoped it was the start of something more—less innocent. Unfortunately, in my life, hope was as dangerous as trust.
Chapter 14
Taylor
That night, as I filled drink orders and served them, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d made a move on Gabe. I’d kissed him. I’d seen the turmoil in his eyes—he wanted to trust someone, he wanted to trust me. I could only hope he would. And I’d seen the look on his face after that kiss. His eyes darkened with lust as if I’d woken him up with that brief touch. Things between us were different. I hoped he’d finally let me in.
The evening went by quickly because each time I took a drink order to the bar, Gabe greeted me with a smile. He’d teased me about my shorthand notes for the drinks when I was in a rush and asked if he needed to come out on the floor to stop a table of college-aged kids from flirting with me. It felt good that he’d noticed—that he could be jealous. He’d found ways to touch me. He’d steadied me when I almost fell walking back to the storage room when he was coming out of his office. He found excuses to be out on the floor with me, whispering things in my ear about how my ass looked in my jeans. At one point, he touched my back as he maneuvered behind me and I turned so that we touched from chest to knees. His hands went to my waist and he pulled me in tighter to him.
“Shouldn’t you be at the bar?” I asked, tilting my head in a way that I hoped looked flirty.
“I can’t stay away from you.”
My whole body flushed at his honest words. I wanted his hands on me. His lips on me. I wanted to feel his bare skin on mine. But now wasn’t the time.
Then he winked like he knew the effect his words had on me and sauntered to the bar.
Had I ever seen him flirt or wink before? Not since the day he’d showed me around the French Quarter. My heart squeezed as he smiled at a group of women at the bar and one reached out to touch his bicep.
His eyes flashed to mine and I looked away. Was he serious about me? Or did he flirt with everyone in the bar? I hadn’t noticed it before. He usually had the bad boy chip-on-his-shoulder routine, which did nothing to deter women.
At midnight, the bar was still hopping but I asked Isaac if I could leave. I was exhausted between working my desk job, talking to the police, and being on my feet all night. “Sure, darling. You’re doing us a favor coming in at all. Gabe told me you wanted to arrange a block party?”
“Yeah, we could have a live band and food trucks. I could advertise it and hopefully bring in more people.”
“That sounds like a great idea.” Isaac’s eyes warmed before his attention was drawn to a spot over my head.
Gabe stood at my elbow. “You ready to go home?”
I smiled at him. “Yeah.”
“I am too,” Gabe said.
Isaac raised a brow. “You leaving early?”
“It’s not my late night.” Gabe glanced around the room. “And it’s slowing down.”
“You always work late if I schedule you or not, so you deserve it.”
Gabe looked down at me. “I have somewhere to be.”
“You do?” Did he mean with me? With a sinking feeling, I realized he could have been talking about meeting someone else.
“See you tomorrow, then,” Isaac said.
Gabe nodded at Isaac and lightly touched my elbow, guiding me through the crowd to the door.
“I’d like to spend some time with you. Can we go to your place?” he asked.
Was it a good idea? Sure, he’d accompanied me to the police station today and we’d kissed, but did I want more? I knew I wanted to get to know him better—to see where it could go. “Sure.” His hands slid down my arm to my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine.
“Thanks for coming in tonight.” His voice was low and husky.
“You asked me to.”
“Still. Thank you.” His eyes were open and vulnerable. “I wanted you here.”
“Yeah?” I liked that. I let that feeling settle in deep—someone wanted me.
Chapter 15
Gabe
We rode home in silence, content to hold hands. Was I ready to tell her everything about me? Was I ready for her to be disappointed that I wasn’t what she wanted, or for her to be disgusted by my past?
When the Uber pulled to the curb, I opened the door and got out. I looked up at the white shotgun house with tall black shutters. “This is where you live?”
Taylor searched my face. “Is it not what you expected?”
“Honestly? I don’t know what I expected.” Did she own the home? If so, she was definitely out of my league.
Taylor unlocked the door and led him to her second-floor apartment. “It’s not much but it reminds me of home.”
“It does?” I w
as surprised her place was a small apartment. I glanced at the kitchen, living room, and the hall presumably leading to a bedroom and bath.
“Yeah, I grew up in Annapolis. The houses were built in the 1800s so they’re tiny. My parents talked about moving to a bigger house with a large yard but we could walk to restaurants, the waterfront, and school.”
“Did you want to sit here?” Taylor gestured at the love seat in the living room. “Or I have a little balcony off my bedroom.”
“The balcony.” I needed fresh air for the conversation we needed to have.
“Did you want a beer?” Taylor asked as she walked in the kitchen.
“Sure.” There was still time to back out. I could keep things surface level with her. As I watched her pull the drinks from the fridge, I knew she deserved more than a quick fuck.
I followed her down the hall through her bedroom with its bed, dresser, and a small chair. “Sorry, I didn’t make my bed this morning.”
Her words drew my eyes to the bed covers which were pulled back and all I could imagine was her sleeping between the sheets and whether she wore silky lingerie or nothing at all. Fuck.
“Gabe?” Taylor held the French doors open for me to precede her outside where a table sat between two chairs.
I sat in the chair on the end and Taylor set the drinks on the table, lifting her hair off her neck. “It’s a hot one tonight. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the never-ending heat here.”
All I noticed was the way her breasts lifted with her hands holding her hair up. I shifted my attention to my beer, lifting it to my mouth. “No, I guess not.”
“What are we doing here, Gabe?” Her body was tense.
I hated that all my back and forth made her doubt my intentions. I wanted to be different. I wanted to be someone she could count on. “I’d like to get to know you better. Isn’t that what people do when they’re dating?”
“Are we dating?” Her tone was skeptical and I didn’t blame her. I’d been pushing her away since we met.
“I showed you the French Quarter, I took you to Harrison Street and my favorite restaurant for lunch, and I took you to the police station. That counts as dating,” I said in a teasing tone because I hadn’t considered those dates at the time.
Taylor laughed. “I’ll give you the first two, but I don’t think the police station counts.”
“It doesn’t?”
I couldn’t stop watching her as she laid her head back on the chair.
I remembered when she’d kissed my cheek after our tour of the French Quarter, that hot-as-fuck kiss in the bar office, and that simple kiss outside the station. Maybe we hadn’t said we were dating formally, but we’d gotten closer over the last few weeks.
“I don’t think we can consider the walk from the police station to the bar romantic.” She smiled.
“Well, I’ve never been accused of being romantic.”
“I can see that.” Something sparked in her eyes like she thought I was something else—hot, sexy? God, I hoped so.
I tipped my bottle toward her. “You’re going to ruin my street cred. I can’t be romantic.”
“I don’t think you have the street cred you think you do. You’re a big softie under that chip.”
I leaned forward so my elbows rested on my legs wondering if this was the segue I needed to talk about my past. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“How you’re really a big softie?” Taylor teased, unaware my tone had gotten serious.
“No, what I haven’t told you. What I’ve kept from you because I know you won’t like it. After I tell you this, you probably won’t want to see me again.”
Her attention snapped to me and I tried to enjoy the moment because it might be the last one I got with her. I took another long sip of beer before I began. “When I was a kid, my mom didn’t work. We lived off government assistance.” It was something I was embarrassed about.
“Despite the food stamps, we never had a lot of food. She didn’t care if I had food to eat, where I was, or what I did. In high school, I ran with the wrong crowd and got into trouble.” My muscles were so tight my back started to ache. Taking a steadying breath, I continued, “I have a criminal record. I was arrested for theft when I was eighteen.”
She was silent for so long I didn’t think she would answer. Finally, she said, “Okay.”
“Just okay?” That couldn’t be it. She had to be thinking something.
She chewed her lip for a few seconds like she was thinking about what to say. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I wondered when we first met if you’d been in trouble before. You’ve said your upbringing was different than mine. But I haven’t seen anything since that caused me any concern. Isaac clearly trusts you with the bar, money, supplies, and training the other employees.”
A muscle ticked in my jaw. “I have a theft conviction. It will be there forever. It affects everything in my life. How people perceive me, my ability to get a job, to obtain a loan, to open a business. I’ve never gotten close enough to someone to tell them. Honestly, I don’t think the other women I’ve been with would have cared.” People in law enforcement usually looked down on criminals. Was it too much to hope she was different?
“You’re right. Any theft over one thousand dollars in Louisiana is considered a felony which is an issue when applying for a loan or applying for a job but I’m glad you told me. The fact that you opened up to me is more important than one conviction when you were eighteen. The purpose of jail is to punish but also rehabilitate and I think you’ve learned from that experience.”
She seemed sincere but I had to be sure. “You don’t think less of me that I have a conviction? You’re a prosecutor. Don’t you think I’m a liar?”
“In court, a theft conviction can be used to say that you’re not truthful, but I haven’t seen anything that makes me think you’re a liar. I thought you were hiding something—” She was quiet, and I kept my eyes on the beer bottle in my hands. “I thought you were hiding a kid or a girlfriend or something.”
My head snapped up at that. “A kid?”
“Yeah, I thought you were hiding baby mama drama from me,” Taylor said it lightly, but I could see the idea bothered her. “And it’s not the idea that you had a kid that bothered me, it was that you were hiding something from me.”
“That’s not it.” But not far from the truth.
Her forehead wrinkled. “What else are you hiding from me? Do you have a kid?”
If I wanted her to trust me, I had to tell her. The only thing I could hope was that she’d be supportive. “I don’t have a kid. I’m helping my neighbor. He’s fifteen and his mom’s always working and never home, so he fends for himself. There’s rarely food in his fridge or cupboards and he only gets free breakfast and lunch when he’s in school.” He lowered his head. “I just don’t want him to end up like me.”
She huffed. “You have a pretty low opinion of yourself. Why would it be so bad to be like you? You’re a hard worker, you work extra hours for Isaac without being asked, and you take care of this boy. You made one mistake when you were young. Big deal. You didn’t have the opportunities or direction I had. I think it’s amazing you’re doing as well as you are based on your upbringing.”
Why was she so quick to dismiss the very things that I thought would keep us apart? “It’s not that simple.”
“Actually, it is. Do you want me to get that conviction erased from your record?”
I sucked in a breath as hope filled my chest. Was that even a possibility? “What are you talking about? How is that even possible?”
“You had one conviction when you were young and nothing since. If that’s true, then I can petition the court to expunge your record.”
“I served time for it.” How was this a possibility and I didn’t know? I thought once something was on your record it was permanent.
“Department of Corrections or prison?”
I could see Taylor going into attorney mode as
she asked questions. “D.O.C. I was sentenced to a year.”
“I can outline what you’re doing now, the good you’re doing for the community, the child you’re helping, or how you’d like to apply for a job without the conviction on your record. It’s not guaranteed, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
I placed my beer bottle carefully on the table between us as panic filled me. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. This isn’t fixable. I can’t tell the court about the child I help. I don’t want anyone to know his mother neglects him. I don’t want Family Services involved. I don’t want them to take him. I might never see him again. They might put him in a worse situation.” I stood, wanting to leave.
Taylor stood, laying her hands on my chest, her blue eyes on mine. “You don’t know what would happen and I wouldn’t do anything you don’t want me to do. I promise. I’d never do anything to hurt you. You can trust me.”
I’d told her the things I was most ashamed and scared of. I told her about Zach the person I most wanted to protect. If I wanted something more with her, I’d need to trust her. “Okay.”
Chapter 16
Taylor
I wanted to step closer to him. I could feel the muscles of his chest, his stomach. I wanted to push up his shirt and feel his bare skin. I knew words were difficult for him, but I hoped touch would be easier. I placed my hand on the back of his neck, tugging him down to me. I moaned when his lips met mine—from a combination of the hard ridges under my exploring fingers and the realization that he was all mine, even if it was for just this moment. As he took the kiss deeper, his hands on my hips, he held me there then pulled me closer so I could feel his hard cock. “Please, Gabe.” I wanted more. I wanted him over me. I wanted his shirt off, but I wasn’t sure he’d take this any further.
He took one look at my face and lifted me into his arms, my legs wrapping around him. “Bedroom?”