“Oh, hon. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Lilly asked when she was done. “Want me to go to the garage tomorrow and kick his butt for you?”
“No.” Mel swiped her hand across her damp cheeks. “I guess I just expected…more.”
“Well, that was your first mistake.” Lilly sighed. “Never count on a guy for ‘more.’ I’ve learned that the hard way.”
Mel winced at the edge in her best friend’s voice. The sharpness in her tone could’ve rivaled any scalpel.
Waldo jumped down, and Mel sat up, doing her best to shake off the emotional numbness that had set in after unloading all her angst over Adam’s rejection. “I’m not sure what to do now. He was basically my whole idea.”
“Mistake two, hon. Never bet on only one stallion.” Lilly sighed. “What you need now is a plan B. You’ve already done the hardest part—deciding to make a change. Don’t let this bump in the road stop you.”
Only problem was, Mel’s feelings for Adam seemed more like a Mount Everest-size issue than a tiny molehill. Besides, she was so tired of the dating treadmill. And the thought of more failed first dates, more online searches, more mixing and mingling…
Ugh. It all sounded tedious, daunting, and depressing.
“Mel? You still there?” Lilly asked. “C’mon, girl. Don’t give up.”
“I don’t know.” Mel flopped back against the cushions and stared over at the kitchen island, where the jar of M&M’s still sat. Adam had never once made fun of her little obsession for orderliness. He’d just gone along with it, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Like she was normal.
Fresh tears prickled behind her eyes and Mel angrily blinked them away. This was ridiculous. She’d been rejected plenty of times in the last few months. One more shouldn’t matter. Lilly was right. She wasn’t a quitter. She needed to get back out there and get the job done.
Resolved, Mel pushed to her feet and walked over to shove the candy jar back into its spot on the counter, the phone tucked between her jaw and shoulder. “Fine. I’ll go ahead with the makeover on my own. Then I’ll worry about dating.”
“I’ll help, too. When’s your next day off?”
“This Friday. Why?”
“Let me see if I can get you an appointment with my stylist at the salon I use in Indy. I’ll try to take the day off, too, to go with you. Marguerite’s great. We’ll get your hair and makeup done, the works. Then we can do lunch and shopping before we come home.” Lilly’s smile was evident through her voice. “I bet once the men of Point Beacon get a load of the new Melody Bryant, your perpetual virginity problem will take care of itself.”
Mel snorted as she slid Adam’s dirty glass into the dishwasher. A glance at the clock above the stove showed it was close to ten now. She had to be up early for work in the morning. Tuesday was senior day, and they bused patrons in from all the surrounding towns for lectures and crafts and all sorts of literary fun. “Let’s hope so. Okay, I need to go. Thanks for listening, and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”
She leaned her hips back against the edge of the counter after she ended the call, staring at her reflection in the mirror down the hall. Her conservative outfit seemed too snug and out of place now. Not that she wanted to run around in lingerie, but things needed to change. She needed to change. No more dressing for comfort in outdated clothes.
No more hiding.
The upscale salon Lilly went to was located in a trendy suburban mall on Indy’s northwest side called Copperfield Downs. Mel had been there once and had marveled at all the designer boutiques. No more shopping the clearance rack at the local secondhand store because the thought of going into a fashionable store in the big city was too intimidating.
For the first time since Adam had kindly kicked her to the curb, Mel’s anticipation grew.
After locking up her house and turning off the lights for the night, she practically skipped to bed with Waldo in tow.
Change was definitely in the air.
…
Adam took a slow ride around town once he left Mel’s house, hoping to calm his racing mind. Point Beacon wasn’t big, just under six thousand residents, so the grand tour didn’t take long. In the end, he wound up back at Victory Vets because it was his go-to place for peace. When the world outside got too nuts, when memories of his time in Afghanistan haunted his dreams, when the gnawing loneliness of being alone in the world threatened to take him under, this was where he came. There was something about tinkering with greasy old engine parts that soothed his savage beast.
Now, though, even as he was hard at work tearing apart a Hemi V8 to locate the source of leaking fluid, he couldn’t seem to get Mel and the things she’d told him earlier out of his head. She’d been so open, so vulnerable.
So available.
Nope. No, no, no.
He’d made the right choice, walking away. She’d needed help, but she was far better off without him. He’d only cause her trouble, because that’s what he did. Lord knew his dad had beat that into him enough as a kid. He wasn’t good enough, wasn’t smart enough, wasn’t successful enough for a woman like Mel.
Chicken.
And yeah, she scared him. Not because he couldn’t see himself with her but because he could. He’d told her the truth, though, about James having a cow if they were together. He couldn’t do that to the guy who’d befriended him at age eight when no else would. The guy who’d given him a real family, a real future.
The sound of a key in the door lock had Adam peering over the hood of the pickup to see his second-in-command, Miguel, strolling into the garage.
“What’s up, dude?” Miguel frowned. “I saw the lights on and thought somebody was breaking in. It’s after midnight. What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Adam wiped his greasy hands on a towel and grinned. Miguel had served with him in Kabul. They’d survived some of the worst firefights of the war side by side. Experiences like that forged bonds stronger than steel. His old friend looked tired, though, evidenced by the dark circles under Miguel’s eyes. Then again, he and his fiancée were expecting a baby on top of planning a wedding, so he doubted poor Miguel was getting much sleep these days.
“Everything okay at home?” Adam asked.
“Everything’s great.” Miguel flashed a tired smile. “Camille’s craving ice cream and bacon, so I was sent on an errand. What about you? Lady troubles again?”
Adam shrugged, then went back to working on the truck engine. He didn’t really want to get into what happened with him and Mel tonight, especially with Miguel. The guy was far too perceptive for his own good. Same as James. That’s what had made them both such great soldiers and what made them such pains in the ass as friends sometimes. With Miguel, as with James, you got all honesty, all the time.
“Uh-huh.” Miguel leaned in beneath the other side of the truck’s open hood. “I see.”
“What?” Adam growled, not looking up.
“Go ahead and tell me about her.”
“There is no ‘her.’” Adam raised his head so quick he nearly conked himself on the hood. “I’m not interested in dating anybody right now. You know that.”
“Hmm.” Miguel fiddled with the fuel lines. “Don’t have to date a woman to have problems. Look at Jag and Hollywood.”
Michael “Jag” Collins was a recent addition to their staff at the garage. He was an excellent mechanic, despite losing an arm in Syria. He’d been with the navy’s legal corps, thus the nickname. And Hollywood was actually Sara Deacons. She’d been in the coast guard out in California and had been the best marine mechanic on the West Coast. Her nickname came from her talent with explosives, grand enough to rival any Michael Bay movie.
Adam had always thought maybe there was an attraction between Hollywood and fast-talking, hard-living Jag, but it was only a hunch. Anyway, Sara had gotten herself caught up in some nonsense on base one night and asked for an early discharge. She didn’t talk about it, and the guys at Victory Vets
didn’t ask. It was an unwritten rule. Still, she and Jag were always betting each other to do dumb stuff, always trying to show each other up. It was a bit too competitive for his tastes, but whatever floated their boats, he supposed.
Miguel was still staring at him, one brow raised, waiting for a response. The guy could wait all night for all Adam cared.
He got back to work under the hood, as much to avoid answering his friend as to straighten out his own thoughts. Mel wasn’t so much a problem as she was a temptation. A temptation Adam would be wise to steer clear of. His head knew that. Now if someone would just tell the rest of him, he’d be all set.
She was untouchable. She was off-limits.
She was so darned cute.
The screwdriver slipped, cutting Adam’s thumb on a sharp edge of metal.
“Son of a—” Adam yanked his hand out of the truck and walked over the nearby sink to wash his hands. Mel was turning into a distraction he didn’t need.
One night, one conversation, one reunion was all it took to get her stuck in his craw again, not that she’d ever really gone far. She’d been a part of his life since he’d met James.
She felt like family, same as the rest of the Bryant clan.
But she’s not family. Not really.
The whole time Adam was bandaging his cut, he could feel the weight of Miguel’s gaze, watching him, silently mocking him, most likely. God, was he that obvious?
“You might as well tell me who she is,” Miguel said, strolling across the garage toward him. “I’ll find out anyway, eventually.”
“Huh?” Adam said, trying to play dumb.
It didn’t work. Miguel held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, man. If you want to pretend you’re okay, fine by me. The first time I met Camille, she knocked me for such a loop, I didn’t know whether I was coming or going for weeks. Got all those warm fuzzies and crap. It was awful.”
Adam shook his head, cracking up. He was acting like an idiot and he knew it, but man. Little Melody Bryant, all grown up and asking him to practice date her and teach her all about men and sex and love? How the hell was he supposed to cope with that?
“Sorry, dude.” Adam winced as he closed the first aid kit and returned to the truck. “You’re right. I got a thing going on.”
“Say that again.”
“A thing?”
“No. The me being right part. I never hear that anymore, so I want to savor it.” Miguel snorted. “And what kind of ‘thing’?” He waggled his brows. “You hook up with another garage groupie? The blonde? Jag said he was gonna try to tap that, too.”
“Jag’s an idiot.” Adam sighed. “And no. This is someone I knew before I got deployed.”
“Ah, an old flame.”
“No. More like an old friend.” Mel was his friend, a good one. At least she had been before she’d offered herself up to him that night on her parents’ porch and things between them had gotten weird. Taking that into consideration, what she’d done tonight had taken real bravery, approaching him again, especially since he’d been avoiding her since he’d been back. But she wasn’t having it. Mel stopped him dead on the street and asked for what she wanted.
Directness. He’d always liked that in a woman. Liked it in Mel, too.
Way more than he should.
Adam exhaled and got back to tinkering with the engine. He shouldn’t go there. He hadn’t gone there. Twice. They should give him a medal for his frigging fortitude. But each time he thought of Mel—her big brown eyes so full of hope and hurt, her silky brown hair rippling down her back in soft waves. Hell, even her prim library clothes that hugged her curves in all the right places. All of it combined to make Adam question the wisdom of his choices.
Then there was the fact that he knew better than to think Mel would give up on this crazy scheme of hers just because he’d said no. She was far too smart and determined. Most likely she’d move on to the next man on her list. He didn’t believe he was her only option, even if that’s what she’d told him. That had to be a lie. But then another problem arose—the next man on her list might not be as chivalrous as Adam.
The thought of some dude pawing and pushing Mel to do things she wasn’t ready for made his blood burn. If anyone was going to teach her how to attract a guy, it should be him.
Except, it shouldn’t.
Right?
Adam growled and pried off a stubborn oil cap. Damn if he wasn’t right back where he’d started again. Work wasn’t helping at all tonight. Frustrated, he straightened and tossed his screwdriver aside. He was tired and stressed and in no mood or frame of mind to even consider this mess right now. Time to go home and go to bed.
Miguel waited for him by the exit while Adam shut off the lights. They walked out into the warm early July night together. “So, what are you gonna do about this woman?”
“No idea, man,” Adam said as he swung his leg over his bike and started the engine. “Now get that bacon and get home to your fiancée, dude. And don’t forget the ice cream.”
Chapter Five
“I thought we were waiting until Friday to start the makeover,” Mel said as Lilly slid the pink plaid headband out of Mel’s hair. “That’s still two days away.”
“Oh, I already made you an appointment to see my stylist,” Lilly said. “Consider this a little experiment first. Now lean forward and shake your head.”
Mel did so, then rose to see her reflection in the mirror. Great. Now she wasn’t just dowdy, she looked like Cousin Itt. She blew the hair from her face, giving Lilly a dubious glance. “This isn’t going to work.”
All her doubt demons crawled out of their hiding spots. Even here, in the privacy of her own bathroom, she already felt naked without her trusty headband. Ungainly. Uncertain. And if she felt all those things here, what in the world would happen when she set foot in a bar?
“Yes, it is.” Lilly turned her around and forced Mel to sit on the edge of the tub. “We’re not doing anything drastic tonight, just trying out a new hairstyle and some makeup. That dress of mine looks supercute on you, too.” As Lilly talked, she smoothed a comb through Mel’s hair, slicking it all back into a sleek ponytail at the nape of her neck. She clipped in a chunky barrette to hold it in place, then spritzed Mel with some flowery-smelling hairspray. “There. Nice and sophisticated. And your widow’s peak is a unique touch, I think.”
“Right. Maybe if my name’s Morticia Addams.” Mel stood and stared at her reflection in the mirror above the vanity, tugging at the skirt of the bright crimson minidress that felt way too short for her comfort.
“Whatever.” Lilly rolled her eyes. “It’s already way better than your usual style. Now let me put some makeup on you, and you’ll be all set.”
“I don’t know, Lils.” Mel scrunched her nose. “I’m too tired to go out. Maybe I should just go to bed.”
“You can sleep later.” Her best friend positioned Mel under the vanity lights, then opened the elaborate makeup case she’d brought along. There were all sorts of pots and little jars containing every glittery color of the rainbow, from what Mel could see. “It would be a shame to get you glammed up just to wash it all off afterward. Besides, I already told Dom we’d meet him and his friends at the Black Dog.”
“What?” Mel tried to move away, but Lilly blocked her. Dominic D’Angelo owned the local tire store and had been dating Lilly for nearly a month. That had to be some kind of record where her friend was concerned. “Now I’ll be the third wheel, too? No thanks. Besides, I have to work tomorrow.”
“It’s Wednesday. Everyone has to work tomorrow.” Lilly set about smearing cream on Mel’s face. Next came powder and blush and eye shadow and liner and a shade of lipstick that looked like a cross between Rudolph’s nose and a stop sign. “C’mon. It’ll just be for an hour. One hour. We walk in, say hello, have a drink, then come home. Simple.”
Simple for Lilly, maybe. She was funny and easy to talk to. Men liked Lilly.
“Adam Foster might be there,” Lilly sai
d as she twirled on a final coat of mascara to Mel’s lashes. “Dom’s good friends with the guys at Victory Vets and hangs out with them a lot.”
“Then I’m definitely not going.” Mel darted left this time when Lilly went right and gained her freedom. On her way out the door, though, Mel locked eyes with a stranger in the mirror and stopped short. It was her, but a version of herself she’d never seen before. This Mel looked sassy and bright and, well…sophisticated.
“What do you think?” Lils peered over Mel’s shoulder. “Pretty good, eh?”
It didn’t suck. Mel smacked her lips together, tasting the cherry gloss Lilly had slicked on top of the lipstick to give it a little shimmer. Having her hair pulled back from her face revealed her bone structure—high cheekbones and a pointed chin. The widow’s peak still bothered her, but overall even Mel had to admit she was impressed. Lilly did the makeup for some of her photography clients, too, sometimes, and Mel could see now why her best friend held the title of “Point Beacon’s Most Flattering Portraitist.”
“Thank you,” she said, unable to look away from her own reflection.
“You’re welcome.” Lils applied some of the same gloss to her own lips—minus the red—before leading Mel out of the bathroom. “Now get your shoes and bag or we’ll be late.”
“I don’t know—”
“I do.” Lilly pointed at the pair of red flats she’d lent Mel to match the slinky rayon halter-style minidress, then grabbed both their purses. “We are so doing this. Ready?”
One hour and the possibility of showing Adam what he was missing? It was too good to pass up. She could do this. She would do this.
Shoulders squared, Mel held the front door open. “Ready.”
“Good.” Lilly grinned. “Don’t overthink this. You look fabulous.”
Fifteen minutes later, they walked into the Black Dog Pub, a typical small-town bar with lots of local patrons and memorabilia on the walls. The smells of fried food and beer filled the air, along with cheers and jeers from a rowdy group of customers in the corner rooting for their favorite baseball team on the flat-screen TV mounted from the ceiling.
How to Seduce a Bad Boy Page 4