She closed her eyes like she was about to go to sleep, then shot up quickly, scaring the crap out of me.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Jen turned to me, looked me up and down, then smiled.
“I don’t like that smile.”
“It’s time to kick it up a notch, Paige. And I know exactly how to do it.”
Lucas
COFFEE. GOOD GRIEF, nothing ever smelled better.
Rolling over, I stretched and let the memories of yesterday crash over me, remembering where I was.
“Paige,” I grumbled as I sat up. I needed to come up with a plan to get her to move out of the house. I was going with the ghost theory. If Jen hadn’t spent the night, I would have put my plan into action right away. As I stumbled to the bathroom, I thought about Jen. Why the hell was she even here last night?
While brushing my teeth, I had a thought. Had Paige needed someone around so she didn’t have to be alone with me?
I had to admit, the idea made me smile, and made my dick jump in my pants. Paige was afraid to be alone with me. I needed to capitalize on this, literally. I’d seen the way Paige was wearing frumpy pajamas, covering herself from head to toe last night. She acted like me being here meant nothing to her, but she was more uncomfortable than she wanted to admit. And the way she looked at my junk. Average, my ass. I knew exactly what I needed to do to get under her skin.
I laughed. “Oh hell, this is going to be easy.”
After getting changed into jeans and a pull-over shirt, I headed into the kitchen and came to an abrupt stop. I’d just come up with new rules for this game, and in a flash, Paige had changed them all.
She was leaning over as she looked into the oven, dressed in nothing but short silk pajama shorts and a matching top. Her perfectly round ass was playing peek-a-boo with me, and I fought to keep my other brain from jumping into overdrive. Then she turned around and the whole fucking room felt like it tilted.
My eyes swept over her body. The spaghetti strap top was so thin I could see her nipples pressing against the fabric. When I managed to pull my eyes off her tits, I had to grab the chair to keep my knees from giving out.
When my gaze moved further up, I was positive I would pass out from all the blood leaving my brain and making the journey to my already hardening cock. Paige stood before me, her hair in pigtails. It was the cutest and hottest damn thing I’d ever seen. She didn’t have an ounce of makeup on, unlike Bianca who would get up every morning to load up on makeup. Not Paige. This, this right here was the girl I remembered. The girl who used to drive me insane with her innocent beauty. Nothing had changed. She was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid my eyes on.
She grinned. “Lucas, I thought you were gone.”
I willed my mouth to speak, but it suddenly felt dry.
“What…?”
Her head tilted. “Cat got your tongue?”
I swallowed a few times, licked my dry lips and managed to speak. “What the fuck are you wearing?”
She glanced down at herself, then back up at me. “Pajamas.”
I shook my head. “Those are not pajamas, Paige. This is not…this…” I moved my hand up and down as I motioned at her body. “This is not okay.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
I laughed. “Why not? You’re practically naked. I mean, I saw your ass. I can see your…”
With a smirk, she asked, “My what?”
Glaring, I shouted, “Your nipples! Paige, I see your nipples. This whole innocent, sexy girl thing is a hard no.”
Paige set a tray full of blueberry muffins on a cooling rack.
Then she took off the oven mitts, which strangely enough, made her look even sexier, and dropped them into a drawer.
She reached into another drawer, took out a knife, and proceeded to use it to take out a muffin and set it on a small plate.
“I thought you were gone. These are my normal pajamas. If I’d known you were still here, I’d have changed or worn my robe.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “The ones you had on last night. Those were normal.”
She let out a careless laugh. “My yoga pants? I’m not wearing my yoga pants to bed, Lucas. Sorry.”
I pointed to her again, waving my hands in the air indicating her body. “Well, you can’t wear that.”
She smiled. “So you really think I’m sexy? I’ve got about seven, maybe a bit more, extra pounds on me.” She looked down and frowned. “I guess I need to start running again to lose them.”
“No!” I shouted, then closed my eyes. Holy fuck. I was losing my mind. I opened them and took a deep breath as I tried to focus on her face. Even that was hard to do. Why did her look scream, I want you to bend me over the counter right now and fuck me hard, Lucas?
“You look fine, Paige. You don’t need to lose anything.”
Chewing on her lip, she looked away, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. Then she spoke and I couldn’t believe what she said. It stunned me into an even deeper stupor.
“Well, fine is a lot different than sexy. Maybe it was just a slip of your tongue. I’m sure your super model ex-girlfriend had a much better body than mine, and I doubt she ever ate blueberry muffins.” She shook her head as if she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Then she shrugged. “Help yourself, by the way, or I’ll end up eating them all.”
My gut ached as she walked by me. I wanted to reach out and stop her. Tell her that wasn’t what I meant, and that her body was ten times sexier than Bianca’s. But I didn’t. I let her walk by, eyes filled with something that looked a little like sadness and a lot like unshed tears.
Holy hell. I’d managed to hurt her once again.
“Fuck,” I mumbled as I rubbed my hand over my chin stubble.
After I stood there for far too long trying to decide if I should go up to her room and tell her I didn’t mean fine as in just okay, or if I needed to let her think I wasn’t attracted to her… Damnit, I was! When I saw her and Milo yesterday, jealousy ripped through my body like an old, familiar friend. It was the same feeling I had when she said she wanted to go to a different school and I told her that guys would be all over her if I wasn’t around. When her eyes met mine a few moments ago, I had a hard time catching my breath. I did everything in my damn power to act like seeing her wasn’t playing havoc on my body and my heart.
I walked over and poured a cup of coffee and stared at the blueberry muffins.
Reaching across the table, I used the knife Paige had used to take one out. The moment I bit into it, an explosion of flavor assaulted my senses.
“Oh Jesus, this is amazing. Damn.”
Bianca never allowed food like this in the house. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a muffin, or anything sweet, for that matter. I needed to find out the brand and buy some for the future.
Just then, I heard Paige walk down the steps and out the front door. I quickly made my way through the house and caught her as she was getting into her car.
“Paige, where are you going?”
She looked back at me. “Home Depot, if you must know.”
“Can I come? I need to grab some stuff.”
The look on her face said I was the last person she wanted to be in a car with. I wanted to think that was a good thing, that my plan was working, but all it did was make the middle of my chest ache.
“Please?” I said with a half-smile, half-pout.
“Yeah, that doesn’t work on me, Lucas. You of all people should know that.”
Her voice was cold and distant, and I deserved every ounce of her condescension.
“Okay, I’ll see if Dad can swing by and pick me up to get what I need.”
She let out a frustrated sigh, then shook her head. “Fine. I’m leaving now though.”
“Great! Let me run and get my wallet and the house key. Don’t leave.”
After rushing around and nearly tripping and breaking my ankle, I finally climbed into her SUV, winded.
�
��What are you getting at Home Depot?” I asked when she pulled out onto the highway.
“Blinds.”
“For your room?”
“Yes.”
I looked out the window. Clearly she wasn’t in the mood for small talk. We drove in silence the entire way to Dripping Springs. It was a long twenty-five minutes. Once Paige parked her car, she walked into the store as fast as she could. The only problem was, I could walk just as fast, even faster. She was trying to lose me and that tickled me for some reason.
“Do you want to split up, or should we stick together?”
She looked up, shock registering, and for a moment I was transported back to the day I had asked her almost that exact question. She must have been thinking the same thing.
“Do you want to stay with me in Texas? Or are we splitting up?”
“It will probably be faster if you grab what you need while I order the blinds.”
Disappointment rushed through me, but I quickly pushed it away. “Okay.”
I watched her walk away and couldn’t ignore the way I had wanted to touch her cheek softly and tell her how beautiful she was.
Jesus, Foster. Get your head in the game.
Before I turned to head off to the tools, I saw Paige look over her shoulder before facing forward again. I ignored the way that made my heart jump a bit.
After picking up a few tools, I made my way back to the specialty blinds area. Paige was sitting in a chair, smiling at something the associate had said. I hated that she didn’t smile like that when I talked to her. Of course, maybe if I wasn’t such a dick she would. If I hadn’t broken her heart by acting like a complete asshole when we were younger, she might not look at me like it hurt to breathe around me.
“How’s it going over here?” I asked, winking at Paige and then giving the guy a nod. His smile faded but he reached for my hand. I knew the type of impression I was giving him, and so did Paige. He instantly thought we were together. Paige didn’t look the least bit happy.
“It’s going good. We’ve just about got your blinds ordered for your room.”
“It’s not our room. It’s my room,” Paige said with a sweet smile directed at the guy.
“Well, it’s our house,” I added.
The guy’s eyes bounced from me to Paige then back to his computer.
“Okay, looks like we are all set. Did you want us to install them?”
“No, I can do it,” I said quickly.
Paige shot me a dirty look. “I can manage to hang them myself, thank you.”
“Ah, a resourceful woman,” the employee douche said.
She giggled, and I jerked my head back in surprise. Was she falling for this guy’s lame attempt at flirting? And why the hell was he flirting with her when I was standing here? As far as he knew, we could very well be together. As a couple. Having sex. Lots of sex with me grabbing onto her hips and….
I shook my head to clear my wayward thoughts. She needed to take those pigtails down. The sooner the better.
He pulled out a card and wrote a number. “Here is my card. I went ahead and put my cell phone on there, just in case.”
“Thank you, Doug. I appreciate all of your help,” Paige said with a sticky sweetness to her voice that made my stomach feel like I had just eaten an entire jar of my mother’s peach jam.
I didn’t like the way he was looking at her.
“Ready to go, Paige?” I asked, breaking the weird little connection they had going on.
Paige gave Doug another flirty smile. “I’ll be back to order more soon.”
He waved. “Looking forward to it. Make sure you ask for me, so I can give you the concierge treatment, Paige.”
When he looked at me, my expression clearly said back the fuck off. His smile vanished in an instant.
Asshole.
As we walked to the counter, I chuckled. “Seriously, Paige? The Home Depot guy?”
“What was wrong with him?”
I looked back toward the area we had come from. “For starters, he’s for sure married.”
She laughed. “And what drew you to that conclusion, Detective Lucas?”
“He had a tan line from a ring on his left hand.”
“He’s divorced. Recently.”
Well, shit.
“Oh.”
“What else is wrong with him? He works at Home Depot and not some big fancy company in Austin? Is that what I’m supposed to look for? A guy with money? Security?”
“Well, a guy who makes good money isn’t a bad thing. And neither is security.”
“Well, I’d much rather have happiness than money.”
“What about security?”
She looked up at me. “You can have that without money.”
“Aw, so you believe that happiness can buy you everything.”
Her eyes filled with sadness again, and when she spoke, her voice shook slightly. “No, I’m not that naïve.”
We checked out in silence. The only words spoken were to the cashier to say thank you and have a nice day.
After I put my purchases in the back of her 4-Runner, I slid into the passenger seat. This time I wasn’t going to sit for nearly thirty minutes and not talk.
“Do you want to go across the street and get a frozen yogurt?”
“What, are we friends now, Lucas? Because that’s what friends do, and you’ve made it quite clear that that isn’t the case,” she reminded me, her voice cold again.
“I’d like to think so. Haven’t we always been friends?”
“Didn’t seem that way when you stood me up for dinner.”
“Is that what this is about? You’re pissed at me for something that happened a few years ago?”
She looked at me with a stunned expression. “Are you for real right now? Pot meet kettle.”
“So is that a no on the yogurt?” I asked in agitation.
With a roll of her eyes, she put her signal on to head into the plaza across the street that had a frozen yogurt place.
When we walked in, I said, “My treat.”
“No, thanks. I don’t want any.”
I looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “You’re seriously turning down frozen yogurt? I thought it was your favorite.”
“Not anymore.”
“Oh.” I rubbed the back of my neck and motioned for her to head back out the door. “We can go ahead and leave then.”
She looked confused. “I thought you wanted yogurt?”
“Nah, I just thought maybe you’d like some. I remembered you used to love it anytime we came across it.”
She studied my face before she shook her head. Her expression lost some tightness, and she lifted the corners of her mouth a little. “I don’t eat it anymore but thank you.”
Before we got back to her car, I took her by the wrist and made her stop.
“You look more than fine, Paige.”
Her face screwed up in confusion. “What?”
“Earlier, in the kitchen. You asked if I thought you looked sexy and I said you looked fine. I didn’t mean it that way. You are a beautiful woman with an even more beautiful body, and any guy would consider himself damn lucky to be yours. Honestly, you looked fucking hot this morning. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she worked her mouth open and closed a few times before finally speaking.
“Thank you. And you look…fine, too.” She winked, and I loved that her cheeks turned pink. I also loved that she seemed to warm a little. It had been my comment to her in the kitchen that made her upset. I hated myself for making her feel that way. Paige hadn’t ever been the type of girl who worried about her looks or her body. But something told me that this Paige, the older Paige, the one whose heart I had broken, was more sensitive. I needed to keep that in the back of my mind. Especially since she had compared herself to Bianca. Which was laughable. Bianca couldn’t hold a candle to Paige.
I laughed. “And just to set the record straight some more, h
e’s not average.”
“If you say so,” she said, unlocking the car doors.
“I can show you, if you want.”
“No, thanks. I’ve seen my fair share,” she replied with a smile.
And there it was. The smile she had given the douche at Home Depot. I fist pumped internally. I had a feeling chasing Paige out of this house was going to end up being more fun than I thought. Seeing that smile reminded me that a small part of me didn’t want her to leave. Yeah, I was losing my mind for sure.
Paige
THE LOUD NOISE caused me to bolt up in my bed. I sat perfectly still as I tried with all my might to hear where it was coming from.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
My eyes went to the window.
I squeezed them shut and whispered, “It’s a tree branch, that’s all.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Snapping my eyes open, I flew out of bed. Picking up the small baseball bat my brother had given me for self-defense, I walked over to the window and pulled the makeshift curtain back.
I was ready to scream, but laughed instead. “Well, who are you?” I asked, opening the window and letting a black and white cat in. She rubbed against my legs, looked up at me and meowed. Then she jumped on my bed and made herself comfortable, turning in three circles.
“Okay. Welcome home Oreo.”
The cat opened her eyes and meowed. “Is that your name? Oreo?”
I decided if this cat was going to invade my home, I had the right to name it.
“We’ll take you to the vet in the morning and see if anyone has lost you, sweet girl.”
Clink. Clink. Clink.
I froze.
That was not the window. This sound was coming from downstairs.
With my trusted bat still in hand, I slowly made my way down the steps. Oreo ran ahead of me. Clearly, she knew the layout of this house, and I wondered if she might have belonged to William.
Another noise came from the kitchen. Where in the hell was Lucas? Why wasn’t he investigating? Then I remembered his stupid comment about the house being haunted. I smiled. Was he really going this far? I chuckled to myself, but still kept the bat firmly in my hands.
Slowly I made my way into the kitchen. There was a shadow in the corner and I froze. It looked like a woman. A younger woman. Oreo walked right over to the shadow and it disappeared. Goosebumps instantly raced over my body, and I began to shake.
Divided Interests Page 6