“Uh, it’s supposed to snow on Christmas Day?” I wrapped my hand around the mug and tugged it gently away from Cora, but she didn’t budge.
She rolled her eyes. “Nope.”
“I’d really like a black dinner set from Santa because I think it’ll match my kitchen perfectly.”
Seriously, I had absolutely no clue what she was getting at.
Her brow rose, and she finally relented and let me take the mug. “You went on a date with Boston Jacobs last week, and you seemed to have forgotten to mention it.”
Oh boy, here we go.
“Boston Jacobs?” Mom asked, eyes wide and disbelief tainting her words.
I shook my head vigorously and tried to extinguish this before it blew up. “It wasn’t a date. There was a group of us at dinner. Ben, Sasha, Austin, Lisa, Boston, and me. Just a group of people having dinner. Nothing scandalous. Nothing romantic. Nothing date-like.”
“Ben was on a date with Sasha. Austin was on a date with Lisa. You were on a date with Boston.”
“Austin is dating?” Mom gasped, her mouth hanging open, and her eyes narrowed on me as if I had all the answers. “Since when? Who is this Lisa woman?”
“I don’t know, Mom. His dating life—actually, his whole life—is none of my business.”
Mom and Dad loved Austin from the moment we started dating. Even after we broke up, they still loved him like he was their son. I couldn’t be mad at them about it, though. He was easy to love, and he loved them hard. They knew he broke my heart, but they also knew him. But that didn’t mean Dad didn’t give him the cold shoulder for a couple of months afterward, and Mom refused to mention him around me. Over time, they started treating him like a son again, and I couldn’t be angry about that. We all knew Austin didn’t have any kind of relationship with his own parents, and even though I chose to stay as far away from him as possible, I wouldn’t keep my parents from him. He needed them, and they needed him. But I knew if I asked them to never speak to him again, they wouldn’t, and they’d take my side. But I couldn’t and wouldn’t ask that of them. Plus Dad and Austin worked together, so that added a whole other level of connection between Austin Hart and the Lavenders.
“I still have hope that you two find your way back to one another.”
“Mom—”
But she silenced me by putting her hand up. “What I mean is that he brings out the best in you, and you bring out the best in him. All your daddy and I ever wanted was the best for our girls.”
I swallowed the lump of emotion that had lodged itself in my throat and looked down at the pink glitter ornament in my hands. Silence blanketed my living room as the three of us went back to decorating the tree. The silence lasted only briefly before the conversation went back to our plans for the holidays, what food each of us would be bringing, and whether Cora and I were allowed to wear our most stretchy sweatpants to compensate for the food babies each of us would be carrying.
In case you wanted to know, Mom said no.
As we were tidying up and admiring what I declared to be the greatest Christmas tree of all time, my phone dinged and vibrated across the glass coffee table with an incoming text. I reached out and flipped it over and glanced down at the screen. Oh shit! I swallowed my shocked gasp before Mom and Cora noticed and started asking questions, and re-read the text.
Boston: Free for a coffee today?
I placed my phone, screen down, back on the coffee table, and left his message unanswered. I continued to clean up while laughing with Cora and singing carols with Mom and sharing our favorite Christmas memories. An hour later, they both got in Cora’s car and left me alone at my house with Boston’s text message sitting on my phone, still unanswered.
The dinner wasn’t a date for me, but was it to him? The last thing I wanted to do was lead him on and make him think something would happen between us. I was too busy to date. I had a million and one things still to do. Yep, that was what I told myself. I was using Luscious Lavender as my excuse.
My phone vibrated for a second time, causing me to shriek.
Boston: Just friends.
It was as if he’d read my mind. Just friends. I scanned my living room, taking in my brightly lit Christmas tree, ornament covered mantle, and the pile of gifts sitting in the corner waiting to be wrapped. A coffee hit would be good before I started the mammoth task of wrapping, plus a muffin or some form of chocolate goodness would definitely provide some fuel to get me through the afternoon. Besides, who doesn’t want a new friend?
My fingers flew across the screen before I talked myself out of it.
Marnie: Missy’s Diner in an hour?
His response came through within a couple of minutes.
Boston: See you there
An hour and ten minutes later, I was hit with the delicious scent of fresh coffee and cake as I walked into Missy’s. As I unwrapped my scarf, I did a quick scan of the tables and booths and spotted Boston sitting in the back corner, eyes down and looking at a menu.
“Are you here to meet Boston?”
I jumped at Missy’s hushed voice coming from behind me and spun around to face her. The knowing look plastered all over her face, and the raised brow told me she already knew the answer. Obviously, word had got back to her about dinner the other night.
“Why weren’t you at that dinner? You’re single; why doesn’t Sasha set you up with people?” I huffed, shaking my head. “I had to sit through one of the most awkward nights of my life with Austin sitting across from me on his own date.”
Her low chuckle did not comfort me. “She did in the past. I just didn’t turn up. She soon got over having to explain why they were stood up.”
I gasped, nodding. “That’s genius.”
She winked and pursed her lips as if to say Yeah, I am a genius.
“Sasha means well. Since she’s hooked up with Ben, she is all about love and wants everyone she knows to find love,” she continued as she wiped down a table near the counter. “She’s been setting up Austin for months. He can’t say no to her. Either that or she threatens Ben with a sex ban if he doesn’t get Austin to show up.”
I tried my hardest to hide the flinch that hit me at the thought of Austin dating, but she didn’t miss it.
“As far as I’m aware, he hasn’t been in a relationship since he’s been coming in here. As a matter of fact, he’s never dated either.”
I nodded quickly, probably too quickly. I was afraid that if I spoke I’d blurt out good or I’m glad, and that was Pandora’s box I did not want to open because I knew it would never be closed.
“It looks like Sasha’s plan worked if you’re meeting Boston, though?”
“We are just meeting for coffee. Purely platonic.”
“Mmmhmm.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes for added effect and then left her and headed toward Boston who’d just noticed I’d arrived. He stood when I got to the table and leaned in, giving me a one-armed hug.
“Hey, thanks for coming.” His smile was genuine and turned his hard features soft.
I slid into a seat across from him. “Thanks for inviting me.”
Missy came over and took our orders and wiggled her brows at me in the process. After she left with our coffee and cake order, conversation flowed easily between us. He was a great guy, and he definitely wasn’t hard on the eyes, but I felt no connection to him other than potential friendship. Maybe the men of Monroe were no longer for me. Oh boy, here I go with the excuses again.
“Just so you know, Austin warned me off you the other night,” Boston mentioned casually as he sat back in his chair, smirking.
“What?” My breathing stuttered, and my eyes shot wide in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. He made sure I knew his intentions toward you and that he wouldn’t stop until he got you back.”
“Oh, my god.” I shook my head and felt the heat of embarrassment climb up my neck and land on my cheeks. What the hell was Austin thinking? Making those kinds of decl
arations and to Boston of all people. I wasn’t sure why it shocked me, though. Obviously, this was what he meant when he said game on.
“So, not only is he a cockblock to me but he’s also a pussyblock to you.” His warm, rich laughter floated across the table. Clearly, he got great amusement out of this while I was drowning in a pit of embarrassment and fury.
My cheeks flamed an even deeper crimson. “He has no right to do that.”
“He’s a stubborn fuck. I hope you’re ready for him.”
I physically had to stop the shiver from running down my spine at the thought of what being ready for Austin could mean. Yes, he was stubborn. And he’d proved countless times over the years that when he wanted something, he wouldn’t stop until it was his. But I wasn’t a possession. I wasn’t a goal. I wasn’t something he could snap his fingers and get. Yeah, he might have cockblocked Boston, but he’d also cockblocked himself. Not that I was thinking of or had thought about his cock.
There we go. Yet another lie.
Look, the facts were simple. I’d had a lot of sex with Austin. He was a man who knew what he was doing. As cliché as it sounds, he was the best I’d ever had, and his cock was perfect in every way. There, I said it.
But a perfect cock didn’t make up for breaking my heart.
Dammit. Why was he so annoyingly frustrating?
Once our coffees and cake arrived, Boston and I continued our easy conversation. It felt good to get out of my house and do something other than work in my shop. I was supposed to open in a week, and I was nervous as fuck. I was confident in my abilities, I knew I was damn good at my job, but even though Andrea said I wouldn’t have any more trouble with Austin’s parents, I didn’t trust that they’d stay away.
“Just a word of warning, Austin’s about to walk in,” Boston announced, amusement dripping off every word.
I looked straight to the glass door, and sure enough, there he was, about to push open the door and enter. Dressed in head-to-toe black, his badge clipped to his belt, and wearing aviators, he was in full work mode. His attention was locked on Missy who he smiled at as he headed toward the counter. I didn’t stop watching him. Conflicting emotions pulsated through me. In one breath, I wanted to storm over there and demand he stop interfering, but then in the next, I wanted to stare at him and get lost in memories of what we once were. Even if they were beautifully haunting.
My heart hammered in my chest when Missy pointed in my direction. Time almost came to a standstill when he shifted his head to the side and looked over his shoulder toward Boston and me.
Oh, shit.
Lifting my coffee to my lips, I stared at him over the top of the mug. His eyes locked with mine briefly before jumping to Boston. His jaw clenched, his face grew hard, and his eyes narrowed before he turned back toward Missy.
He grabbed the takeaway cup Missy held out to him and then left. He didn’t hesitate, and he didn’t look in my direction again. He didn’t do a single thing other than to get out of the diner as fast as he could.
When he walked out of view, my eyes swung back to Missy, and the expression on her face mirrored the one I was feeling.
Eek.
Sixteen
Austin
“You got plans tomorrow?” Ben asked next to me as we headed back to the PD after a random callout.
I didn’t take my eyes off the road. “Nope. Just got to get my shit together for our trip to see Fletch, but that’s about it. Why? And don’t fucking say that Sasha is planning another date because I am done with that. I don’t give a shit if it means she refuses to fuck you.”
Ben burst out laughing. “There are no plans for any future dates. But Marnie did ask to borrow my truck to go and pick up a flower order. I’d offer to take her—”
My eyes sliced to him. “I’ll do it. What time?”
“Thought you might say that. She wants to hit the road by eight.”
I put it on my mental to-do list and focused back on the road.
“Have you called Fletch to tell him we’re coming?”
“Yeah, and he’s already warned me about trying to get him to come home for Christmas. His warning makes no difference to me. We’re still going to work on him. I’m willing to bring out the big guns if I have to, and those big guns are his grandma.”
Ben and I had an early flight to Michigan on Monday to check in with Fletch. Ben and Fletch were cousins, and the three of us grew up together before he moved away for college and made a home for himself in Salt Lake City. It was the same city that witnessed the beginning of his darkest days, and where Jacqueline, his fiancé and a colleague of Ben and mine, was brutally gang-raped while working on an undercover case. It was also the case that ended up landing in Monroe and involving Sasha and Drew. Jacqueline was one of the best women I knew and seeing her go from being a vivacious, confident woman to the shell of a person she became haunted me to this day. After she recovered, she went into protective custody with a new name, new identity, and a new location. Fletch was left to pick up the pieces and move on with his life. It fucked with his head, and now he drifted from one town to another. He was the strongest man I knew, but even the strongest had the potential to break, and we didn’t want that to happen when we weren’t around to pick up the pieces.
My phone rang through the dash, and I answered from the controls on the steering room.
“Detective Hart speaking.”
“Um, hi, Austin. It’s your father.”
I swung around and looked toward Ben, who looked just as shocked as me. My father never called me, and I never called him. I didn’t even know how he got my number.
My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Hi, what can I do for you?”
“I’m sorry for calling, but I didn’t want to just turn up at your work or your house. I was hoping we could meet.”
What the hell was happening?
“I’m at work today, tomorrow, I’ve got plans, and Monday, I’m out of town for a couple of days. I’ll be free later in the week.”
I kept my response direct and to the point. In the past month, I’d seen more of my parents than I had in the past year, and it was more than enough for me. Thankfully, my mother seemed to have gotten the point to stop contacting Marnie. Either that or Marnie just hadn’t told me if she had.
“Okay, Austin. I’ll speak to you later in the week.”
“Talk soon.”
“Before you go, just one thing. Has your mother made contact again with Marnie?”
That got my attention, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention.
“No. Why?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“I’m just making sure she kept her word. I’ll talk to you later in the week.”
He ended the call, and I immediately glanced over at Ben.
“Well, that was a weird as fuck conversation,” he mumbled in typical Ben fashion. “What could he possibly have to discuss with you?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
Just before eight the next morning, I pulled up out front of Marnie’s house and switched off the engine. As soon as I did, the front door opened, and she appeared wearing black skinny jeans, black heeled boots, and a light pink knitted sweater that hung off her shoulder. Through the front window of my truck, I watched her hesitate when she saw me sitting in the driver’s seat. With slow steps, she walked toward my truck after locking up the house.
“Where’s Ben?” she asked, after opening the passenger side door and looking in at me with her brow raised.
“He’s busy, so you’ve got me. Hop in and let’s go. We’re swinging by Missy’s to get coffee first, though.”
She hesitated for a second before climbing in and buckling her seat belt. “Don’t get any funny ideas. I’m doing this because I need the flowers to open my shop, and I’ve only had two cups of coffee this morning, and Missy makes great coffee.”
I smirked, turning the key and starting my truck. “Wouldn’t think anything else.”
&n
bsp; “Just so you know, I’m still pissed at you.”
I put my hand on the back of her headrest and looked over my shoulder and through the back window as I reversed out of her driveway. “You’re going to need to be a bit clearer about what I’ve done now to piss you off.”
“You warned Boston off from pursuing me.”
“Yep,” I responded instantly. “Damn right, I did.”
“You had no right to do that.”
I smiled as I pulled away from her house and headed toward Main Street. It had been a couple of days since I’d walked in and seen Marnie and Boston at Missy’s. Missy had told me as soon as I walked in, and she’d mentioned that Marnie had said she was meeting him for a friendly coffee. When I’d met her eyes across the diner, I made my stance clear. Boston wasn’t a threat, I wasn’t backing down, and I didn’t give a fuck who she met for coffee.
So I turned around and left, and I hadn’t seen or spoken to her until now.
Five minutes later, and with not another word spoken, we walked into Missy’s and headed to the counter. After ordering our coffees, we hovered by the counter.
“Gigi and Crazy John are here,” Marnie revealed as she looked over my shoulder.
I spun around, and as I did, Gigi stood and waved over at us.
“We better go and say hi. Otherwise, we won’t hear the end of it.”
Marnie followed me around the tables to where they sat.
“Well, well, well, look who it is,” Gigi hooted. “Come sit down.”
“Hey, you two,” Crazy John greeted as he dug into his bacon and eggs. “Gigs and I are grabbing some breakfast before we go to and see another superhero movie. What are you two doing up so early?”
“The last time I had breakfast this early with a man, other than Johnny, of course, was because I’d spent the night doing the naked horizontal dance. I’m wondering if that’s what you two have been doing?”
Marnie coughed, and I just shook my head.
“The way Marnie is blushing, I think I’m right.”
“We’re on our way to pick up flowers for my shop. Ben was supposed to take me, but Austin turned up. And I haven’t done any naked horizontal dancing with Austin in a long time. A really long time. To be honest, I’ve forgotten what it’s like.”
My Only Reason (Men of Monroe Book 2) Page 14