“Word to the wise,” he whispered as he bent over. “If you want to stay in business, I would pay attention to what you’re doing instead of checking out the hot receptionist. I don’t think people are going to keep coming here if you write family with an ie.”
* * *
“Hey, man.” I walked into Eric’s house and sat down at his table, my knee bouncing out of control.
He gave me a funny look and waited for me to talk. When I didn’t immediately start, he rolled his eyes and leaned forward. “What did you do?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have that nervous energy going, like you fucked up and you know it, but you don’t know how to fix it.”
I stopped moving my leg immediately and sat back like I was totally relaxed. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
“So, I don’t need to check the town Facebook page?”
I sighed. “No, I didn’t put anything on there.”
“And you didn’t accidentally let something slip that shouldn’t have slipped?”
“No,” I stressed. “I told you, I didn’t do anything.”
He looked at me funny and then narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t tell anyone about the whole unexpected anal thing, did you? Because I told you, that was an accident. You weren’t supposed to say anything.”
I held up my hands and laughed. “I swear, your unexpected ass fucking is not something I shared.”
“It wasn’t a fucking. It was a finger and she didn’t mean to do it,” he swore.
“I believe you,” I said.
“Fuck, you said something, didn’t you?”
“Look, I said I didn’t say anything.”
He stood, shoving his chair back and started pacing the room, running his hand through his hair. “Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have told you. I knew you couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut.”
“Eric—“
“No, I fucking told you that as a secret. No one was ever supposed to know about that. Goddamnit, this is going to be just like with Will. The whole fucking town is going to think I’m gay.”
“Okay, I may have had a part in that—“
His head whipped to mine and he scowled at me. “You may have played a part in that?”
“Okay, it was a little more than a part, but still, I didn’t have anything to do with your recent coming out.”
Kat walked in with a smile on her face. “So, he told you about that.”
I grinned and got up to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, quiche-girl.”
She patted my cheek and winked. “I told him he would like it if he just let me try it.”
Eric’s face turned beat red and he shook his head. “That is not what happened! Tell him the truth!”
“Now, Eric, it was part of the challenge. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“This was not the challenge! I’m not gay! I don’t take it up the ass.”
“Oh, sweetie, no one said that you did. It was all fun. No one thinks you’re gay because of one little slip.”
I snorted in laughter and he glared at me again. “You can’t believe her. It wasn’t like that. We were trying a new position and things got tangled up.”
I looked at him curiously, playing along with Kat. “Is that how you get a girl pregnant? Because I sort of thought it was you that had to stick your dick somewhere.”
“I wasn’t—“ He saw the laughter on my face and deflated. “You’re fucking with me.”
“Of course I’m fucking with you.”
“You asshole,” he grumbled.
“Hey, she’s the one that started it,” I pointed at Kat.
Her mouth gaped and she shot daggers at me. “You traitor!”
“Oh, so this is how it goes now. Everyone makes fun of the wet blanket.”
“Baby, you know I wasn’t making fun of you,” Kat tried to soothe him. “I was just making fun of the fact that you were so worked up over what other people thought.”
“You’re just saying that,” Eric grumbled.
“Hey, if you didn’t want anyone to laugh, you shouldn’t have told Joe.”
“I resent that. I didn’t tell any of my brothers,” I said, ticking off on my fingers. “I didn’t notify anyone on Facebook. I didn’t even tell Sofia.”
“Do you want a medal?” Eric said scathingly. “Should I be proud of you for not fucking up for once?”
“Hey, you should be nice to me. I could be very generous with my secrets or I could be very stingy.”
“Relax, Eric. Nobody will ever find out about you and your unintentional anal play.”
“They’d better not or I’m coming to murder one of you. And frankly, between the two of you, I could live without Joe.”
“Hey, that’s not very nice. I’m blood. What is she?”
“She’s my wife,” Eric said fiercely.
“I think you’re forgetting that you have two failed marriage attempts. It’s not looking too good for you right now. Basically what you have is a live-in girlfriend.”
“A woman-friend,” Kat beamed. “What was that one phrase that Andrew told me?”
“Intended. No, it was live-in lover.”
“I like Intended better.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Eric shouted. “She’s mine and I don’t want either of our names to end up on Facebook.”
“It’s a little late for that,” I muttered. “I mean, your pictures already have their own group because of old lady Cranston.”
“Was there some point to you being here?” Eric seethed.
“Ah, right.” I cleared my throat. “So, here’s the thing…see, the thing is…what I mean is…”
“There’s a girl,” Kat started for me.
“You already know that.”
“Yes, and what is it that we need to know?”
“Well, you know I don’t make a lot of money…”
Kat pulled out a chair and sat down. “Ah, I see where this is going.”
“You do?”
“You’re worried that you won’t be able to keep her happy.”
“Actually, I had this plan in mind.”
“You’re not running drugs,” Eric interrupted. “I forbid it.”
“Seriously? I’m not into that shit.”
“Well, you drive a bike, you wear that leather thing…”
“Yes, and all of that makes me a deviant,” I nodded thoughtfully. “I totally see where you get that.”
“I’m just saying, the bike is dangerous.”
“We get it,” I shot a look at Eric. “You think riding a bike is dangerous. I’ll be sure to tell Kat to return yours.”
His gaze shot to Kat’s and she glared at me. “That was a secret!”
“You got me a bike?” Eric asked her.
“Well, if you had just told him, I wouldn’t have to.”
“It was going to be a birthday present!”
“You got me a bike?” Eric asked again.
I frowned at her, feeling slightly bad for letting it slip. “Oh, well, I didn’t really know that part.”
“And do you think that normal people go out and get bikes just for any old time of the season?” she snapped.
“Well, they do on those commercials on TV!”
“Wait, when did you get me a bike?” Eric asked. “And where is it?”
“What commercials?” Kat snapped.
“The Christmas commercials. You know, the big bow and all that shit?”
“Those are fake people. Normal people don’t buy each other cars for Christmas.”
“Would you two knock it off and tell me where the fuck the bike is?” Eric shouted.
Kat and I were both heaving from yelling at each other, but Kat finally turned to him. “You can’t have it yet. It’s not your birthday.”
“But he just outed the present. Therefore, you should just give it to me.”
“Why? It’s dangerous,” I said, wiggling my fingers at him.
“Joe, why don’t you t
ell us why you’re here,” Kat said, taking a deep breath.
“Fine,” I huffed, sitting back down in my chair. “As I was saying…” I glared at Eric before turning my eyes back on Kat. “I really like her, but I’m well aware that I can’t give her some of the nicer things that she’s used to. So, I was thinking…” I shifted in my chair uncomfortably. “I was thinking I could take her on a picnic.”
Kat’s face melted, but when Eric started laughing at me, she slapped him upside the head.
“Ow, what the hell was that for?”
“Because your brother is being romantic and you’re laughing at him.”
“Oh, like a picnic is going to make a woman like that happy? He’s delusional.”
And just like that, my dignity took a hit. A very hard hit. If I couldn’t make her happy with the simple things, how the hell would I compete with her old life?
“You’re such an ass. She’ll love it.”
Eric pulled out his chair and sat down with a sigh. “Look, I get it. You really like this girl, but she’s not from our world. She’s high-maintenance and you’ll never be able to give her everything she wants.”
“That’s not true. When she was here, she was eager to learn how to cook. She was laughing with us and having a good time. She didn’t want to just be stuck in her old life. Maybe you couldn’t see it, but the rest of us could,” Kat said, coming to my defense.
“So, you think it might work?” I asked hopefully.
“I think she’ll love it.”
“There’s just one problem. I’ve never been on a picnic before. I don’t have the slightest clue how one picnics.”
“Well, I can help you with that.”
Eric huffed. “Sure, just draw out his misery.”
“Hey,” I snapped. “You know what, I supported you when you brought Kat home. I didn’t tell you it was pointless. I talked you up to her. Why is it so hard for you to just be happy for me?”
“Because she’s the wrong girl,” he shouted. “I know you think you have this great thing with her, but how long is it going to be before she runs back to comfort and luxury?” His words struck a cord inside me, making me deflate. He sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a dick. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
I knew he really was worried on my behalf. Eric believed in relationships more than anyone I knew. And if Sofia was any other girl, he would be rooting me on, but he could see the writing on the wall, even if I was choosing to ignore it.
“Hey,” Kat said, grabbing my hand. “Don’t listen to him. Can you imagine what would have happened if Eric and I had never taken a chance? Or what about Will with Charlie? It didn’t seem like she would ever come around, but he didn’t give up. So, if you think that Sofia is worth it, if you think there could really be something there, don’t give up.”
I looked at Eric and saw the doubt in his eyes, but I just couldn’t give up. Things were going so well, and I had faith in her. I had to believe that she was brought into my life for a reason. And if I walked away or gave up before I really saw what could happen between us, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
“I’m gonna need a picnic basket.”
Sofia
“Come on,” Joe said, holding out his hand to me.
I looked up from my cozy position on the couch and smiled. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
My smile turned into a full out grin and I quickly slipped on my flip flops. They were quickly becoming my most favorite footwear and I was sad for the day that winter came and I would have to give them up. I could probably find some cute boots at the local thrift store. Of course, I would also have to find some winter clothes too.
Chewing on my lip, I mentally calculated my paycheck that I had received from Joe and tried to figure out how far I could make that stretch. Plus, I had to think about food now, and I had never been grocery shopping before. That was something on my list of things to do, but I would have to take one of the girls with me. I hadn’t even deposited my first paycheck yet. I didn’t have a bank account to deposit it into.
“Hey, what are you thinking about so deeply over there?”
“You’re going to think I’m insane.”
“Well…”
I smacked him and walked down the stairs with him. “I was just thinking about how much I love flip-flops and how much I’ll miss them when winter comes. And then I started thinking about buying winter clothes at the thrift store, but how I need to figure out how much I can spend because I need to think about groceries. And I don’t know how to go grocery shopping, so I’ll have to ask one of the girls to go with me. And then I realized that I don’t even have a bank account.”
I blew out a harsh breath as he came to stand beside me and stare at me. “All that ran through your head in the five seconds we were standing in the doorway?”
“It’s a lot to think about.”
“And here I was, thinking you were trying to figure out how you could get me naked again.”
“Is that all guys ever think about?”
He grinned at me and led me over to a truck. “Pretty much. I know women like to think that we have all these deep thoughts, but if I look like I’m concentrating really hard, it’s either that I’m trying not to fart in front of you or I’m trying to figure out if I raced all my brothers, who would come in first place.”
Joe was so funny. I knew that he wasn’t serious, and I loved that he was perfectly fine with making himself look like an idiot just to make me laugh. After getting my laughter under control, I climbed into the truck.
“I didn’t know you had a truck,” I said when he got in.
“Well, I don’t drive it unless it’s winter.”
“It’s not winter.”
He tapped his nose and pointed at me. “You’re smart.”
“Thank you,” I grinned.
“I couldn’t take the bike for where we’re going.”
“And where is that?”
“Nope, not telling you. It’s a secret.”
I watched out the window as we pulled away from the parking spot and drove out of town. The only place he had taken me so far was to his brother’s, but we weren’t headed in the same direction.
“So, say I was considering my options for the next few months…”
He glanced over at me, wondering what I was thinking.
“I don’t know if you actually need my help or not at the shop, and I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“Do you like working there?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not my dream job, but I’m not really qualified for a whole lot. But I like to be near you, and I like talking to all the people that come in.”
“And what is your dream job?”
I blushed and looked out the window. “You’re going to think I’m silly.”
“I really doubt that.”
“Well, one of the charities I supported was for children that have serious medical problems. The parents can’t always spend their time at the hospital with the kids because they have to keep working. But the kids get lonely and they need something to lift their spirits. So, I was working on that, but then I realized that most of the funds were going to the people running the charity. And all the parties and events that they held would have paid for so much more had the money just been put to use. But instead, it’s to make all these rich people feel good about themselves.”
“Okay,” he said slowly.
“And…well, everyone around here seems to do things they like to do, something that has purpose, and I thought maybe that could be my purpose. So, I guess if I could, I would want to do something for those kids, but in some way that was actually helpful.”
He nodded thoughtfully and reached across the seat, taking my hand. “Why would I laugh at that?”
We drove the rest of the way in silence. It felt like we were driving for a good hour before we pulled into a state park. There were other cars there and people
milling around, but it wasn’t super busy.
“Why are we here?”
He smiled and jerked his head. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
We got out and he went around to the back of the truck and pulled out a large basket. A smile broke out over my face and I bit my lip to hide just how excited I was. “Is that a picnic basket?”
“It is. Have you ever been on a picnic?”
I shook my head.
“Neither have I.”
We walked for a while along the river and Joe was a gentleman, helping me when the ground got too rocky or slippery. It was peaceful out here, and the further we walked, the more secluded it became. He finally stopped in a grassy area and looked around.
“I think this is a good spot.”
Setting down the basket, he dug out a picnic blanket and laid it out for us. I slipped off my flip-flops and sat down on the blanket. The feel of the cool grass beneath my feet was so different than when I first came here and tromped through the cow pasture with him. This time, I liked the feel of the grass. I laid down on my back and stared up at the clear blue sky. The warm air kissed my skin and the gentle breeze was just enough to cool me down. It was perfect.
Joe laid down beside me, intertwining our hands. I felt like one of those heroines that you read about, when they find the perfect man that says and does all the right things. Only, I was that heroine, and Joe really was perfect.
“This is amazing,” I whispered.
“Yeah?”
I grinned and nodded. Rolling my head to face him, my smile slipped. “I never thought I would be this happy. Thank you for giving me this.”
His hand brushed across my cheek and he leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. There was something between us, something building deeper than anything I had ever experienced. My chest ached, knowing that if this ever ended, it would tear me apart. I loved Joe, and that was clear to me more and more every day. I never wanted to leave him. Maybe times would be hard, but if he kept giving me these small things, helping me to experience the joy of life, I knew deep down that was all I really needed.
“Should I get out some food?”
He nodded and leaned back on his elbows as I opened up the lid. He was staring at me with this sexy smirk on his face that made me blush. I dug inside and my fingers slid across something silky. Pulling out a container, my jaw dropped when I saw what looked like a negligee. I pulled it out and held it up in front of me.
Priceless Ink: A Small Town Romance Page 21