“Schmooze, huh?” Adam crossed his muscled arms again. “I saw you the other day at the diner. You didn’t know I was there, but I was having lunch with the guys from the garage. You were across the room, talking to that dude who handles IT for the library. Looked like you were doing just fine with him.”
“First off, Larry Smithers is sixty if he’s a day, and he’s married. Secondly, I was talking shop. Library talk is easy. I’m great in my professional life. But in my personal life, I’m a total failure. I need your help. No joke.”
He bent to pick up Waldo, and her pet purred so loud the sound echoed. What she wouldn’t give to change places with her cat right about then.
“I’m sorry, Mel,” Adam said at last. “I don’t get it. You always seemed so happy before I left.”
Before I left. There was the crux of it. No one had ever held a candle to him in her heart. Maybe if she slept with him, she’d get him out of her system and finally be able to move on with her life. Not that she’d tell him that. She’d already told him too much already, way more than she’d intended.
“Truth is, in the last eight years I’ve lost count of the number of dinners I’ve had with nice men who couldn’t get away from me fast enough after they discovered what a buttoned-up nerd I am. My clothes and my interests are about forty years out of style. I’m hopelessly addicted to books. There’s nothing wrong with those things, but now I want more. And in order to get more I need to make some changes. I’m hoping if I see a different me on the outside, I’ll see a different me on the inside, too. I don’t want to play it safe. Not anymore. Does that make sense?”
“But—” Adam started before she held up her hand to cut him off.
“No. You asked, now listen. I want to go on dates and have fun and drink at the bar. I want to be the kind of woman men won’t forget three seconds after they meet me. When I walk into a room, I want people to sit up and take notice. I want men to fall over themselves to talk to me. Basically, I want to be the female version of you, Adam.” She blinked hard against the sting in her eyes again. “I want to fit into your world.”
“Aw, Mel. You do fit.” He put Waldo down and reached for her hand, but she pulled away. If he touched her now, her resistance might cave, and all this would be over. She couldn’t lose this shot. No way. Be strong. “Everyone in town loves you. And clothes aren’t everything.”
She snorted. “No, but first impressions are.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, exhaling slowly.
Annoyance sparked anew inside her. “Go ahead. Say it. I’ve spent years watching the kind of women you date. Both you and James. I’ve never once seen you take someone like me out to a club. Someone quiet and mousy and straitlaced. Someone invisible.”
Adam frowned. “Hey, I—”
“No. All you gorgeous, popular people stick together, and I want that.” She exhaled fast and spun away. “All I’m asking for is a chance. One shot. We can even put a deadline on it, if it makes you feel better. My birthday. August fourteenth.”
He tilted his head. “That’s like only a couple weeks away.” Adam looked unsure. “And I don’t know, Mel. Those clubs in Indy are kind of crazy. Wouldn’t it be better to stick to someplace around here? They just built that new steakhouse out by the highway—”
“No. Indy. And one more thing. I want you to take me on a date first.”
Chapter Three
“Wait. You want me to ‘practice’ date you?” The earth as he knew it dropped out from beneath Adam’s feet, but he managed to catch hold of the counter to stay upright. “In Indy?”
“Here, too, if you think it would help.” Mel reached over and grabbed a large jar of M&M’s, fishing out a handful before handing it to him. The gesture stirred all those old memories again. They’d once sat for an hour or more sorting them into piles of colors before arguing over who was going to get the green ones.
He shook off the memories of Mel’s sweet laugh as she stood there twirling a piece of her silky hair around her finger. Like standing this close to her wasn’t distraction enough, with that cherry scent of hers tempting him to relax, to go ahead and agree with whatever craziness she spouted.
Mel was obviously going through something, and despite the fact that he still couldn’t really understand—something about clothes and makeup and men walking out on her after dinner—he definitely had no business thinking about how good she smelled.
Man, the guys back at Victory Vets would be laughing themselves silly right now if they could see him. And James? Well, his friend would kick Adam’s butt into next year if he had a clue about the totally inappropriate feelings Mel’s request had stirred inside him. Not that he’d act on any of them. Nope. Melody Bryant was strictly in the friend zone, now and forever.
Besides, relationships were off the table for him, with Mel or otherwise. Guys like him didn’t fall in love. Or if they did, it never worked out. He was too rough around the edges, carried too much baggage from his past, wasn’t the right type of guy for long-term. No sense telling Mel, though. He’d never go there with her anyway.
So why then did her request still buzz inside him like a swarm of hungry bees?
She shook the canister at him again, jarring Adam out of his thoughts. “Help yourself.”
It took him a minute to realize she was talking about the M&M’s and not anything more. He took a handful of candies and shoved them in his mouth, glad to have something to do that didn’t involve talking. He didn’t trust his voice at the moment.
“I see my makeover as a two-parter,” Mel continued. “First we tackle my appearance, then we move to my social skills.” She popped another green M&M’s in her mouth, smiling. He couldn’t stop staring at her lips. “To give me confidence. In dating and in love.”
“Whoa.” Adam nearly choked on his chocolate. “I’m sorry. How did we go from practice dating to finding love?”
Mel gave him a long-suffering stare. “I want a man in my life. Not because I need one, but because I want a partner. My ultimate goal here is to find someone to share my life with.” She narrowed her gaze, and his face suddenly felt hotter than the surface of the sun. He longed to run back outside, into the cool night, but his feet were rooted to the spot.
The air around them thickened, and the area between his shoulder blades knotted and burned. Things were about to change, he could feel it, whether he was ready or not. Of course, that was just the way life worked, wasn’t it? He hadn’t been ready the day his mom had said she loved him, then walked out of his life forever. He hadn’t been ready the day he’d gotten the call from the nurse on base saying his dad had died. And he sure as hell didn’t feel ready now.
Mel still stood there talking, and Adam did his best to concentrate on what she was saying over the jackhammer rhythm of his own pulse beating loudly in his ears.
“Don’t worry, Adam. I’m not asking you to be that guy. You look like you’re going to pass out on me.” She took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap, then shoved it into his numb fingers. “All I want you to teach me is how to date, how to attract a man and keep him past dinner.”
He downed the contents of the glass, then plunked it into the sink, empty.
Move. He needed to move, to pace, to work out everything he was hearing and feeling.
In the military, he’d loved the long, grueling morning workouts. They kept him strong and focused and clear. How he longed for a twenty-mile hike right about now to dispel all these jumbled contradictions. “I don’t know, Mel. What will James say if he finds out? And what about your family? Hell, what about the town, for that matter? Until recently, Point Beacon didn’t think very highly of me. I’m the resident bad boy, remember? People will definitely talk. Trust me, you don’t want this kind of heat.”
Mel flopped down onto a stool behind the granite island at the center of the kitchen, her shoulders slumped. The sight of her so unhappy made Adam wince. He wanted to make it all better. Which was bad. Very,
very bad. Most days he barely had his own life under control, what with the garage still in its fledgling year and him trying to establish some new kind of normal in his personal life. He had no business considering trying to help Mel improve hers.
“I didn’t think that far ahead,” Mel said, her voice a bit unsteady.
In the end, it was the catch in her breath that did him in. Her tears had worked on him the night on the porch when she’d kissed him, too, the memory seared into his soul for eternity. Back then, he’d found the strength to walk away. Tonight, he prayed he could do it again.
Because it was the right thing to do. Because it was the best thing for Mel.
Because it was the best thing for him, too.
Isn’t it?
He sat on the stool beside hers. “You never answered my question earlier. Why me, Mel? I mean, I’m flattered and all, but this makes no sense.”
Her sad little snort dug sharp claws into his scarred heart. “I’m comfortable around you. You’ve seen me at my worst, and you’ve never, ever judged me. You have this reckless persona, but when you think no one’s looking you’re gentle and patient and kind. Most importantly, I trust you. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I do. You’d never hurt me. I believe that. That’s why I chose you.”
Wow. He sat there, speechless. He didn’t deserve her trust, no matter how much he craved it.
“The fact that you’re scorching hot doesn’t hurt, either.” Mel gave a surprised laugh. “Oops. Did I say that out loud? Sorry.”
Adam chuckled uncomfortably. Was she still into him? He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. His overactive libido liked the idea. His rational brain warned it was a terrible mistake. Turmoil churned inside him as they shared more M&M’s and Mel got him more water, plus a glass for herself.
It was nice, easy, even with the huge gorilla of a problem in the room.
Finally, Adam sighed, unable to put it off any longer. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Mel. Believe me, no one understands wanting to change who you are more than me.” He pushed a tiny pile of red candy into a frowny face on the countertop with his finger. “But your family will flip if I take you out, even on practice dates. Your dad will be in my face about it, and your mom will be on the phone to James before you could blink an eye. Then James would be on the phone to me and that would just be—”
“Uncomfortable?”
“A disaster. Look, I’d like to help, but I can’t risk everything. Your brother isn’t just my best friend, he’s my business partner. Not to mention you guys are the only family I have left. If things went south and James found out, or your parents…” He shuddered at the thought. “No. Can’t do it. Sorry.”
Mel was arranging her candy, too—into a blue smiley face. That was Mel, always looking on the bright side, always optimistic. Always positive. Loyal, too. She’d never wavered from his side during high school, no matter how many stupid mistakes he’d made, no matter how bad his reputation had gotten, no matter how many times he’d tried to push her and everyone else who’d cared for him away because love only ever brought pain and heartache.
All of it made turning down her request that much harder.
“We wouldn’t have to go public with things right away,” Mel said, eventually. “And I don’t see my parents every day anymore. Sometimes it’s a week before I check in. I’ve even been known to skip Sunday dinners since James is gone.”
“No!” he said with mock horror. Back in the day, the Bryant family Sunday dinners had been sacred. No one missed unless you were dead. Or deployed to Afghanistan.
Perhaps his Mel had changed after all.
My Mel?
His chest squeezed. She wasn’t his Mel. Never would be. But it was a nice dream.
“C’mon. It’ll be fun. You can play Professor Higgins to my Eliza Doolittle.”
He gave her a funny look. He’d never heard of either of those people.
“You know. My Fair Lady?” Mel held out her hands. “‘The Rain in Spain’?”
When he still didn’t get it, she shrugged and shook her head, resting her hand on his knee.
Awareness blazed through Adam’s blood like lit gasoline, and he covered her hand with his. He hated the idea of going behind her family’s back. They’d been there for him when he’d had no place else to go. They’d become like his second mother and father. They’d supported him through all his major milestones—birthdays, graduations, even basic training. Everything.
Then Adam’s thumb stroked Mel’s soft skin, and for the first time it was like he saw her, truly saw her—with her old-lady sweater set and her below-the-calf skirt, hiding what he suspected was a great pair of legs. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to help her find her freedom, rediscover her joy, restore her faith in herself, and make her see the beauty he saw in her.
But he also didn’t miss the glint of adoration in her eyes when she looked at him. Mel had him pegged wrong. She thought his life was so different from reality. He wasn’t brave or confident or popular. And though he owed her more than he could ever repay, the dating part could never happen, let alone the falling in love.
He suppressed a shudder.
It would be the worst violation of trust between him and James, even if it was just for “practice.” Even though he’d learned way more about Mel in the last hour than he’d ever known in the years prior. Even though he respected her more than any other woman alive. Even though he liked her so much it hurt…he couldn’t.
Because she was James’s little sister.
And because, if he was honest, he wanted the same thing she did: love. Someone to share his future with, someone special in his life. Remote as that possibility was at the moment, given the closest thing he’d ever found in those clubs in Indy were nothing but meaningless one-night stands. Truth was, Adam had no idea how to make true love happen. Not for Mel and certainly not for himself.
There were lines best friends didn’t cross, and Mel was a big red warning stripe, complete with neon and flashing lights.
So there Adam sat, holding Mel’s hand on his knee, studying her from beneath his lashes while she stared at her shoes. Man, she was cute, in a sisterly sort of way, of course. And he hated hearing her put herself down. The way she’d described it, she was the hunchback of the Midwest or something. And yeah, she wasn’t the typical “type” around here, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t perfect in her own way. Uncomfortable stabs of protectiveness radiated through his rib cage, and he pushed off his stool, releasing her before he couldn’t anymore.
“I’m sorry.” The words rushed out, his tone reeking with all the chaos he felt inside.
Mel frowned, the sadness in her gaze nearly driving him to his knees. “I guess I’ll stay alone and die with a dozen cats.”
“Please,” he pleaded. “Be serious.”
“I am serious. You’d think being a virgin in this day and age would be like a magical unicorn, bringing all the boys to my yard. But nope. You’re right. I haven’t met the right guy yet. But in order to meet him, I need the tools. And don’t give me that crap about saving it for someone special. I dare you to sit there and tell me that every time you’ve had sex with a woman, it was special.”
Adam’s skin felt too tight for his body, and perspiration dotted his forehead. He’d never been embarrassed discussing sex before, but with Mel this was all new territory. Then there was the fact that she was still innocent. A virgin. His palms itched. He wasn’t responsible for that, too, was he? Nah. Couldn’t be. Except all he could think about was that long-ago night, the shadows soft and the crickets chirping low, as she’d whispered those words in his ear.
I love you, Adam Foster, and I want to give myself to you. Completely…
He swallowed hard against the constriction in his throat. “I’ve made mistakes. You don’t have to.”
“Experts say men don’t want inexperienced women.”
“And who exactly are these experts? Cosmo?”
“It’s true, though.” She glared. �
��Who wants to go to bed with a fumbling idiot? I want to know what I’m doing. I want to drive my partner crazy with lust. I want all the closeness and touching and searing looks in public. I want it all.”
Adam’s breath seized. He wanted that, too, so much he ached.
Which made this whole situation even more off-limits.
His own parents’ marriage had been a total mess and had put him off long-term relationships and love. But now that he was older, he found himself more and more lonely. Or he was getting mushy in his old age. He was only twenty-seven, but some days he felt like a hundred.
Especially since one of the guys at the garage, Miguel, was getting married soon. Now that he thought about it, a couple of the other guys from his platoon had gotten hitched, too. So the whole happily-ever-after thing was possible, if only the idea didn’t scare the living bejesus out of him.
“Adam?”
Her voice drew him from his thoughts again. He stood on not-quite-steady legs, feeling hot and bothered and totally discombobulated. He wanted to help her, he did. But honestly, he couldn’t even help himself right now. “I’m beyond flattered you asked me, really. But I’m not the man for this job, Mel.”
Chapter Four
Disappointment struck Mel hard the moment the front door closed behind Adam. The feeling only worsened as the sound of his bike engine faded away into the night. Waldo purred loudly, and she picked him up, then settled back on the sofa in the living room again, phone in hand. She’d never really considered him saying no. Now she needed moral support to bolster her flagging spirits.
Lilly answered on the first ring, and Mel poured out her story of the past hour, in between a few tears and pauses to nuzzle Waldo’s furry head.
How to Seduce a Bad Boy Page 3