Love like Yours Series (Box Set #1-4)

by Nicole S. Goodin

  “Fuck you, Harrison.”

  Shit.

  “Colt, I just want to—”

  It was too late. He’d hung up.

  “Fuck,” I muttered. That had gone worse than I’d thought it would. I slammed the phone down on the couch.

  I wasn’t advised to drive for at least another few days, but fuck it, I’d tried to give him the heads up and he wasn’t going to listen to me over the phone.

  We were having a face to face, and we were having it now.

  ***

  I found him in the back storage room of the bar. He had to look twice when he caught sight of me; it was pretty obvious he hadn’t been expecting me to turn up here.

  We stood in silence for a moment, staring at one another, both of us waiting for the other to make the first move.

  I approached him, and he mimicked my actions until we were only an arm’s length apart.

  “I want her,” I told him, my voice full of authority. “She’s mine now.”

  If this wasn’t a display of dominance, I’d eat my fucking hat. All that was left was to strip off my shirt and beat my chest at him.

  He took a step closer, getting right up in my face, and I had to admit, I was impressed. I didn’t think he had it in him to challenge me like this.

  “That woman doesn’t belong to anyone. You’d do well to remember that.” He chuckled darkly, thinking he’d one-upped me.

  “That’s where you’re wrong little brother.” I smirked down at him. “And maybe one day you’ll meet the one that belongs to you.”

  His staunch act faltered. “You’re really gonna do this? You’re just gonna cut my lunch?”

  “Fuck,” I muttered. I preferred it when he was at least acting tough.

  I stepped away from him and sat down on a crate.

  “Colt...” I shook my head. “I don’t have a choice, man. I can’t even explain it to you, because you’ve never experienced it. Just trust me when I say that one day you’ll understand.”

  “I love her,” he insisted.

  I shook my head at him. “You think you love her.” He tried to interrupt me, but I cut him off. “I saw you the other day when we went for lunch, checking out the ass on that blondie, I saw the look you gave her.”

  He shrugged and sat down on a box opposite me. “So?”

  “So?” I blanched. “Are you kidding me? You think a woman like Quinn deserves to have her man looking like that at other chicks?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t look if we were together.”

  “See.” I pointed at him. “That’s the god damn problem right there.”

  He frowned, not understanding.

  “If she were as important to you as you say she is, it wouldn’t matter if you were together or not, you’d be too consumed to even see anyone else.”

  He hung his head down.

  “I know you don’t owe me any favors,” I told him quietly. “But I’m going to ask for one anyway. I don’t want this to come between us, but like I said, I don’t have a choice anymore. I’m going after her... can you try and be okay with that?”

  He huffed out a breath and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I say, does it?”

  He stared at me as the silence stretched between us.

  He nodded in acceptance of my non-answer.

  “I don’t want to lose you, Colt,” I said sincerely.

  He didn’t say anything for a few beats. “You think she’s the one for you then?” There was pain in his voice that cut me deep.

  I needed to be completely honest with him. This was a shit of a situation and he deserved the truth from me.

  “I think she could be.”

  He shook his head in defeat.

  “All I know right now is that I want her. And I don’t just mean that I want to sleep with her. I just want to be around her. I want to figure out what she likes and doesn’t like... how she acts. I just want her. I’ve never felt like this about a woman before, Colt, and as much as it’s killing you, it’s scaring the shit out of me.”

  He stared directly at me as I spoke.

  “And for what it’s worth, I’m so fucking sorry that I’ve finally found a woman I want to know, at your expense. I wish more than anything that it wasn’t the case.”

  “Fine,” he replied quietly before I could say anything more.

  “What?”

  “I’m not saying I’m happy about it, I’m not even saying that I’m done being pissed off. But I’m not going to stand in the middle. You’re both adults and you’ll do what you want regardless of what I say.”

  My youngest brother had never impressed me more than he did right in that moment.

  “I just want one thing from you,” he asked with wide eyes.

  “Yeah, man, anything, what is it?” I was willing to agree to whatever he wanted right now.

  “At least for now, just keep it out of my face.”

  ***

  I’d never felt so guilty and so relieved at the same time.

  I wanted to call her right away and tell her it was done... that I could kiss her now.

  I could picture the two of us in my kitchen. I knew the way I would hoist her up under her ass and rest her against the counter top, I could imagine the way her lips would feel, how she’d taste... I was driving myself crazy thinking about it.

  The problem was, that image was vastly hindered by the cast on my arm and the fact that my ribs still screamed in protest when I moved the wrong way.

  If I was going to kiss Quinn Pierce, I was going to do it right.

  This cast was coming off one week from today, and I hoped like hell that my ribs would be improved by then too.

  One week.

  I could wait one week.

  ***

  I was surprised how good it felt to be back. Sitting here, shooting the shit with my best mate was something I’d definitely missed. The giant pile of cases loaded up on my desk... not so much.

  “What’s going on with you and Quinn?” Reeve asked me out of the blue.

  “How do you mean?” I answered slyly.

  Truth be told, I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was I wanted there to be something... anything...

  “Cut the shit, Harry. I saw her in here that day... heard you on the phone. So, what’s the deal?” He had a shit-eating grin on his face – bastard knew he had me.

  “She’s... I’m... we’re... I dunno what we are.” I struggled to find the right words, a first for me.

  “She’s a fucking keeper that’s what she is,” he told me, matter of factly. “And you’re an idiot if you haven’t asked her out yet.”

  “I’m gonna swing by her office at lunch.”

  He glanced at his calendar. “It’s Tuesday. Quinn always goes downstairs and buys lunch on a Tuesday.”

  “How the hell do you know that?”

  “Girl’s like a sister to me, man,” he reminded me. “I see a lot of her and El.”

  My brain ticked over. This could be good news for me... very good news.

  I grinned at him.

  “What other useful information you got for me, you sly old dog?”

  He grinned.

  “Well... what you should do...” he said with enthusiasm, leaning over his desk towards me.

  I couldn’t help but lean in slightly in anticipation.

  “Is... get your sorry ass out of my office and do some fucking work,” he deadpanned.

  I laughed loudly, falling back against the chair.

  “Asshole,” I muttered as I jumped out of the seat and went to do that exact thing.

  I could still hear him laughing as I booted up my computer two doors down.

  “If you can’t stop thinking about it, it’s probably worth going after.”

  - Author unknown

  16. Quinn

  It had been six days since I’d wanted to jump him in his kitchen.

  Six long days.

  I hadn’t heard a word from him. It’d taken me three days t
o realize he didn’t have my number any more than I had his, which explained why he hadn’t called. Day four, I’d realized he didn’t know where I lived, so that explained why he hadn’t turned up on my doorstep... but I was pretty confident he knew where I worked, so that offered no explanation as to why it was approaching a week with no contact from him.

  I didn’t know if he’d talked to Colt yet, and my mind was going mad with the possibilities.

  They might not have talked at all... or they might have talked and decided that they wouldn’t let a girl come between them... Harrison might have forgotten about the whole thing and be going about his life as per usual... Colt might have locked him in the walk-in fridge at the bar and never spoke of him again...

  The possibilities were endless, and growing slightly more morbid by the day.

  I’m losing my mind.

  I picked up my phone and text Ellerslie.

  “He STILL hasn’t called me.”

  “Maybe you gave him the crazy vibe that you’ve been giving me the past few days...”

  “I am NOT crazy”

  “Really??? Are you still taking notes on him?”

  “I’m not even holding a penis”

  “Umm... good to know?”

  “OMG penis”

  “Penis”

  “SHIT!”

  “P E N”

  “Pen! I’m not even holding a PEN”

  “Oh god!! I’m dying.”

  “Jesus. I think my autocorrect must be on her period. She’s been such a raging bitch this week”

  “You’re killing me Q. My face hurts from laughing”

  It was too funny. I exploded into laughter as El appeared in my doorway, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

  “Oh god.” She cackled. “West thinks I’ve lost the plot.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to stop giggling.

  I slid my phone across the desk away from me like it had a contagious virus. “I swear it’s been happening all week. It’s like it’s trying to make a fool out of me.”

  She sat down in the chair opposite me and picked up the stress ball I kept on my desk.

  “Why don’t you just call him?” she asked when we finally got ourselves together.

  “I would normally,” I admitted.

  She tilted her head to the side and molded the ball into shapes, waiting for me to explain.

  “I don’t know what it is... there’s just something about him that makes me want it to be him that’s doing the chasing.”

  She smiled knowingly. “That’s ‘cause he’s different!” She jiggled and clapped like a little girl.

  He makes me feel different.

  “He’s certainly something,” I replied without much enthusiasm.

  ***

  I stepped out of the elevator and headed for the café to grab my lunch. I glanced up and saw the figure leaning against the wall, but it wasn’t until I took a double take that I stopped dead in my tracks.

  “Hello, Quinn.” He smiled so big I could have sworn it touched his eyes.

  I couldn’t help the huge goofy grin that spread across my lips.

  “Harrison.” I’d intended it to come out with humor, but instead I sounded all breathy and flustered, not at all like myself. “What are you doing here?”

  I gave him a quick head to toe – I couldn’t help it.

  No cast... he looks good.

  He glanced upwards. “There’s this woman that works up there.” He pushed off the wall and stood tall in front of me. “And she’s waited a long time for me to ask her out.”

  I laughed at his teasing. “Today’s the day is it?”

  “It’s as good a day as any.”

  “You think she’ll say yes?”

  His eyes shone. “I hope so.”

  “So where are you taking me?”

  ***

  “Favorite movie?” I asked as I bit into a slice of pizza.

  Harrison had taken me a couple of blocks over to a little pizza and pasta joint I was yet to try.

  He shook his head. “You’ll judge me.”

  I smiled, suddenly desperate to know what it was.

  “C’mon now...be brave,” I teased.

  “All time favorite...” He paused dramatically. “Gladiator.”

  I rolled my eyes and laughed. “You’re such a guy.”

  He puffed out his chest. “I sure as hell hope so.”

  “Recent favorite?”

  “Fast and Furious,” he answered quickly.

  I laughed again. “Total guy.”

  “What’s your mom like?”

  His question took me by surprise yet again. Not once had he returned the same question to me that I’d asked him. My stomach was in knots and I found my mouth opening on its own accord and asking him stupid, generic questions. Not Harrison though – he was trying to dig deeper.

  I smiled. “She’s the best. She still lives back home on the farm.”

  “Ah huh. So that was a country twang I detected.”

  “Indeed it was. It’s not so strong anymore... my brother Lawson has virtually dropped it all together.”

  “And what’s he like?”

  “Uh-uh.” I shook my head. “My turn.”

  He waved his hand for me to go ahead and took another bite of pizza.

  “I assume you talked to Colt?”

  He nodded.

  “How’d that go?”

  He swallowed his mouthful slowly and then took a swig of his drink before answering. “It was worse than I expected, but then better.”

  “That’s really helpful.”

  He chuckled. “He wasn’t happy, but he’s stepping down and giving us space. He just asked that we do the same for him.”

  God this is awkward.

  “Of course,” I breathed. “I don’t want to make life hard for him.” I could feel myself blushing. “I’d hate for you guys to be fighting because of me.”

  Subject change... please dear God, subject change.

  Harrison cleared his throat and sat his drink down. “My turn. What’s Lawson like?” he asked, wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

  I was momentarily distracted by his lips.

  “Ah...” I snapped myself out of it. “Lawson?”

  He nodded with a knowing smirk.

  “He’s the best brother a girl could ask for. He’s pushy, but he’s a big teddy bear, I’d just have to ask and he’d do anything for me. And he’s married to my best friend. So, he’s in the good books forever for that one.”

  “He sounds like a good guy.”

  “He really is.”

  “Do Lawson and...”

  “Ellerslie,” I chimed in.

  “Ahh of course. Reeve’s little sister.”

  “That’s the one.” I smiled.

  “They’ve got a kid, right?”

  “Now that’s a long story.”

  He glanced as his watch. “I’ve got nothing but time, babe.”

  My stomach fluttered every single time he called me babe. He’d done it four times so far – I was counting.

  “Express version?” I prompted.

  He winked.

  “So, my parents split up when we were little, my mom raised Lawson and I on her own, with the help of her parents. Our dad had nothing at all to do with us after he left.”

  “I’m sorry.” He reached for my hand and stroked it gently. I didn’t need his sympathy, but no woman in their right mind would turn down affection from him.

  “It’s fine.” I smiled reassuringly. “Anyway, last year he and his new wife were killed in a car accident.”

  His jaw dropped at my matter-of-fact statement.

  “Yeah...” I grimaced. “So anyway... they had a little baby girl, Stella.”

  “Oh no... was—”

  “She wasn’t in the car,” I interrupted, reassuring him.

  His look of utter relief warmed my heart.

  “Long story short, they had named Law and El as her guardians, and th
ey adopted her, so now they’re a happy little family of three.”

  “Um. Okay. Wow. That is not at all how I was expecting that story to go.”

  I laughed. “I’d be a little surprised if you had called that one.”

  He shook his head in disbelief. “So, she’s your sister.”

  “Technically... yeah. But I’m her aunty Q now... and Reeve’s her uncle.” I smiled thinking about Stella.

  “You really love her,” he stated.

  “She’s an angel.”

  “I’d like to meet her one day.”

  There go those damn stomach flutters again.

  “Then maybe you’d better ask me on a second date.”

  “She’s the kind of woman who will drive you crazy by doing absolutely nothing except being herself.”

  - Daniel Saint

  17. Harrison

  I looked away from her and tried to focus on the screen in front of me again.

  She squirmed and twisted her long bare legs over to the other side, so they were pointed in my direction.

  Again, I found myself watching her instead of the movie.

  Focus.

  The main characters were having yet another bust up.

  Focus.

  I caught sight of her from the corner of my eye; she was twirling a long strand of dark hair around and around her finger and I could smell her raspberry shampoo again.

  I groaned. “You’re driving me crazy.”

  She looked at me in confusion. “Me?” she asked, as though the idea was ludicrous.

  “Yes, you.”

  “Wha—”

  “You’re making it impossible for me to watch this movie.”

  “I’m just sitting here,” she cried.

  “Like hell you are.” I leaned back and threw my arm up over the back of the couch. “You’re wiggling, and shimmying, and playing with your hair... giggling and pouting, and you smell amazing.”

  God, she smells amazing.

  She arched a brow at me, a smile playing on her lips. “I thought we were watching a movie?”

  “We are.”

  “Really?” She nudged my knee with hers. “It sounds like I’m watching a movie, and you’re watching me.”

  I chuckled. “Like I said... driving me crazy.”