Found by Love (Falling for Him Book 8)

by Jessica Gray

  He shook hands with Charlie and didn’t even spare Lee a glance as he retrieved his backpack and cooler and left the deck.

  Chapter 9

  Lee followed Rocco’s departure with her eyes and then looked back at her uncle, who watched her reaction to being ignored carefully.

  “So, you and Rocco are getting along okay?” he asked.

  “I don’t know if I’d go that far. This morning we got along fine. I’m not sure what I said that made him so mad.” Lee looked to her uncle, expecting him to help her find the answer.

  “Honey, some men don’t like to have their work criticized.”

  “But I wasn’t criticizing it, I was complimenting him on it. There’s a big difference.”

  “To you. He may not have seen the difference.” Charlie put his arm around her shoulders and directed her back into the cabin. “My suggestion, change into something decent and go talk to him. Make him see you were only complimenting him and not trying to blow smoke. He doesn’t know you enough to realize when you’re being honest and not just saying nice things because the situation calls for it.”

  “Maybe you’re right. So far, our communication has been pretty crazy.” Lee hugged her uncle back, “Thanks. I think I will go change and find him. He likes to go down to the lake to eat his lunch.”

  Charlie shrugged. “There you go. I’ll stop by in a few days and see how things are going. Call if you need anything?”

  “I will. See ya.” Lee disappeared into the bedroom as her uncle let himself out.

  Fifteen minutes later she arrived at the lake and found Rocco sitting in the same place as yesterday. She walked over and sat down several feet away from him, not exactly sure what to do next.

  When he didn’t even glance at her, she cleared her throat and made the first move, saying, “I’m sorry if I upset you by telling my uncle how good I thought your drawings were. But I really do think so.”

  He glanced at her and then continued eating. She watched him for a moment, and then decided two could play that game. Why in hell did she care anyway? She began to eat her own lunch and both of them remained silent.

  After finishing his lunch, Rocco leaned back on his elbows and looked out over the lake. She purposefully kept her eyes diverted from his hot body and turned her attention to the lake as well.

  Eventually, he began to talk, “Kathryn was my girlfriend’s name. She was in the same year I was and wanted to be an artist. She was always going to see some new exhibit or watch a demonstration of some new art technique. I hated going to those events. After a while, she said it was fine that I didn’t go, as she didn’t want me to be bored all night. It was a relief.”

  After a quick glance at Lee, that sent shivers of longing down her spine, he continued, “When she first suggested taking a year off I thought she was crazy. I had managed to pay off college as I went by working several jobs each summer. My grandmother had left me a small trust fund, but I had decided to save it so maybe I could start my own architectural firm one day.

  “I figured I could intern for a couple of big companies, save up even more money, and then strike out on my own; make a name for myself.” He paused and Lee could almost feel the pain associated with his thoughts of the past. His entire body tensed and a nervous tic appeared in his right eye.

  He had to swallow several times before he continued, “Several months after graduation, she went to an art exhibit, and I stayed at our apartment. She’d been talking about traveling, maybe even to Europe, and I spent the evening looking at airline tickets and travel plans. I was planning to surprise her when she got home.

  “When she hadn’t returned by 2 a.m., I got worried and headed down to the art gallery to see if I could find her. She’d come home late before but always had called to let me know. Sometimes she’d call and say it had gotten late and she was going to crash at one of her friends’ places.” He snorted out a dry laugh. “Soon enough I found out ‘her friends’ places’ were referring to the bed of whichever guy she happened to be with that night.”

  Rocco paused with such a pained look on his face that Lee wanted to say something comforting. Anything. But with a lack of appropriate words she decided to remain quiet and let him work through his issues on his own.

  When she didn’t say anything, he gave her a grateful glance, before he continued his sordid tale. “When I arrived at the gallery the doors were still open. I was relieved, thinking she was still there with her friends and had just lost track of time. As I wandered through the gallery, I could hear noises coming from the back and started calling for her. When I rounded the last corner, I found her scurrying around trying to find the rest of her clothes. She had her bra on and her shoes, but the other pieces of clothing were scattered around the room.

  “The owner of the art gallery was zipping up his pants and didn’t seem all that concerned that I had just caught him shagging my girlfriend. I turned around and walked out. I didn’t sleep that night and she never came back to the apartment. But if I had thought this was the worst, I was in for a surprise.”

  Rocco continued with a shaky voice, “The next morning, I received a call from the bank fraud department letting me know that a number of ATM transactions had been drawn on my account. They wanted me to come down to the bank to look at video footage. Kathryn on each one of them.”

  Lee looked at him with big, round eyes. In her work as divorce lawyer she’d seen about anything when it came to dirty laundry, but rarely was the cheating partner so cold-blooded. “Did you file charges against her?”

  He stared at her as if she’d gone mad. “Charges? Why would I file charges against her?”

  “But she stole from you. Was her name on those bank accounts? Was it her money?” Lee got angry on his behalf, and her lawyer brain was already calculating the chances of winning a lawsuit.

  He jumped up and paced in front of her. “It’s not about the money. She betrayed me. Many times. I was a freaking idiot.”

  Lee was surprised and maybe a bit frightened at the amount of anger he still held for his former girlfriend. The man in front of her had transformed from smoking hot into smoking furious within moments. Still, she wanted to get justice for him. “I know she betrayed you, but the statute of limitations hasn’t run out; you could still sue her to at least recover the money she took. She owes you at least that much.”

  Rocco shook his head at her, his eyes glaring with unrestrained fury – and pain – as he grabbed his backpack and cooler, and backed away, “You just don’t get it! You’re like all of the other sharks out there, so ready to fight. I just wanted to forget. I still want to forget. I don’t want to get even. I don’t want revenge. I just want to forget how stupid I was.”

  She was now even angrier than he was. What kind of man was he? He couldn’t simply sweep the happenings under the rug and hide his head in the sand for the rest of his life. At least he should try to find justice. Out of her mind, she shouted after him, “You’re a coward. You can’t pretend she didn’t dupe you because she did. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it.”

  If he had heard her words, he didn’t react to them, and soon his back disappeared between the trees. Lee was angry at herself for losing her temper – once again. Wasn’t this what got her into boiling water the first time? Wasn’t she here to relax and find some inner peace? So why in the world did she explode over the – admittedly outrageous – life story of a hunky handyman?

  She grabbed her stuff and stormed off toward the cabin, still unable to grasp the fact that he was willing to let Kathryn get away with robbing him not only of his self-esteem but also of his future. A real man would make that bitch pay.

  ***

  Rocco returned to the cabin, furious with Lee, but also with himself. He worked feverishly on the decks to drive the anger out of his body, and after several hours his mood was back to normal – almost. Try as he might, he couldn’t get Lee and her words out of his mind.

  Maybe there was – just a little b
it – truth in her words? No, no, and no. She was wrong. He had all the right in the world to be hurt. But a part of him gave her credit for calling him a coward. Because that’s what he was, a miserable coward, unable to cope with with his feelings of grief and injured pride.

  With his mind all over the place and sweating from the vigorous activity, he decided to call it a day. He regretted shouting at Lee, but she had to understand – how he dealt with his life wasn’t any concern of hers. Or anyone else. Many had tried and he’d driven them all away.

  After packing up his tools, he jumped in his truck and headed to TJ’s bar as usual, with the intention of drowning his sorry feelings in a beer or two.

  As he parked his truck and jumped out, he happened to glance across the street. Lee was standing in all her beauty in front of the hardware store – talking to Dennis. Dennis had inherited the hardware store from his dad, and seemed like a nice enough guy, but when Rocco saw him talking to Lee white-hot jealousy rushed through his veins. It made no sense, and he had no right to feel the way he did.

  But he didn’t listen to the rational voice in his head and stomped over to where the two were standing. He gave Dennis a sour nod and for lack of a better idea said, “Lee, sorry I’m late. You ready to head over to TJ’s now?”

  That line was ridiculous at best, but Rocco was determined to get this gorgeous woman away from any possible competition. Not that Dennis posed a real threat, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her even talking to another guy.

  Lee gave a dirty look at Rocco’s not so subtle attempt to insinuate they had a standing date. Please, say yes. She didn’t disappoint him; she said, “I thought we could grab a bite to eat first. The food over at the diner’s supposed to be good. Let’s head there instead.”

  Rocco hadn’t expected a response full of such sangfroid, and secretly had to give her marks; she gave as good as she got. He couldn’t well let her call his bluff, and so he jumped at the chance to spend some more time with her.

  “I was over at the diner for lunch today and I believe they have steak and shrimp on the menu this evening,” Dennis offered, not having caught on to the undercurrents between Lee and Rocco.

  Rocco deemed it best to divert Dennis’ attention from Lee to something more business-like and asked, “Did you get any more of the deck boards in yet? I’m gonna be ready for it day after next.”

  “It should be here on tomorrow’s truck. Did you want to have it delivered to Charlie’s cabin?”

  Rocco scrunched his nose for a moment and then nodded. “If you think the big truck can make it up there, that’d be great. I’d have to make several trips with my truck to haul up that much lumber.”

  “I’m sure the guys can make it up there. I’ll have them put you on the schedule for first thing in the morning. They’ll probably be there before 8 o’clock, so make sure you’re ready for them.”

  “Will do.” He turned to Marilee, and grabbed her elbow to lead her in the direction of the diner. “Are you ready to eat?”

  “Sure, Rocco. Bye, Dennis, it was a pure pleasure talking to you.” She emphasized the word pleasure a tad too much for Rocco’s liking.

  “See ya later, Marilee. Rocco. You two have a nice evening.”

  Dennis returned inside his shop and Rocco scowled at Lee. “What’d you say that for?”

  Lee, though, was unimpressed by his threatening stare and the corner of her mouth quirked up as she answered, “So, jealous much?”

  “I wasn’t jealous, not by a long shot. I just assumed that you’d want to spend time with a real man, not a boy.” I am jealous. And very much so. Damn. This can’t be happening to me.

  “A boy? Dennis isn’t that young. I reckon him at nineteen or twenty.” Lee laughed as she finished her sentence.

  “He thinks he’s a lot older than he is.” Rocco saw the teasing smile on Lee’s face and couldn’t contain his own grin. Okay, he would admit to himself his jealousy had been inappropriate, but that was all he was willing to admit to.

  Chapter 10

  Lee was pleasantly surprised to see that instead of the standard diner booths, there were actual tables complete with centerpieces and tablecloths in the diner. The hostess must have picked up her comment to Rocco about this, because she informed them they closed down at 3 o’clock each afternoon to convert the diner into a more restaurant-like atmosphere.

  Lee looked around and told the hostess to be sure and convey her compliments to the owner. When the hostess informed them she was the owner, Lee gave her several more compliments. By the time the hostess left them with their menus, she was beaming from ear to ear.

  Rocco had watched in fascination as Lee worked her magic on the owner. “Amazing. I can just imagine you in the courtroom, working your magic and spinning your story to the jury.”

  With a shy smile Lee picked up her menu and said, “Thanks. I used to be very good at my job. You know, before…”

  He gave her a small nod and Rocco picked up his menu as well. Lee was thankful he hadn’t delved into “the incident” as she liked to call it.

  A few minutes later, the waitress came, took their orders, and then brought their drinks. When she’d left again, Lee smiled at Rocco across the table and said, “This is much better than the dark bar, isn’t it?”

  Rocco replied, “Well, I guess it depends on your perspective. This sure isn’t TJ’s.” He glanced around the well-lit and friendly room, and Lee noticed a hint of nervousness in him. Whatever was running through his mind was certainly putting him on edge. He probably thought she would look at dinner as a date of some sort. Which it wasn’t. Or was it? Lee was confused herself about the emotions this gorgeous man evoked in her.

  He had a body to drool over, but his attitude was obnoxious at best. At least it had been when they met, but since then she’d seen glimpses of a friendly and caring man. A man who’d been hurt deep down and apparently wasn’t willing to have feelings ever again. Well, that was fine with her, because she hadn’t come here to look for a guy.

  She decided to let him off the hook and cleared her throat. “Rocco, it was nice of you to join me for dinner. You didn’t have to, you know. You could have waited until Dennis wasn’t looking and then headed for TJ’s. It wouldn’t have hurt my feelings.”

  Lee cocked her head and watched as he processed her statement.

  ***

  Rocco was completely taken aback. After cunningly tricking him into taking her to dinner, now she was willing to let him go away? She sure didn’t react like any of the women he’d been going out since Kathryn. And he felt way out of his league. He would readily admit, to anyone who asked, that he liked women, a lot. He’d picked up his share at bars and spent a night with them; but that was usually where it ended. It had been a long time since he’d felt the need to ask for a repeat with any of his conquests.

  Looking at Lee across the table, he realized how different she was from his usual conquests. And he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone out to dinner with a woman. Especially one like her, whose sole reason to be with him wasn’t to crumple the sheets with him later on.

  He still couldn’t fathom why on earth she’d even consider having dinner with him. She’d probably expect him to have some manners and entertain her with his wonderful gift of conversation. Oh my god, was she bound to be disappointed when this meal was over.

  Her very presence made him nervous – her beautiful face, her sweet smell, and the witty retorts she gave. Rocco watched her in awe and realized that he actually enjoyed her presence and wanted to talk to her, get to know her. But then, he was probably making more of this than he should. He was seated in the diner with the most gorgeous babe he’d spent any time with in a long while, and he was so worried about whether or not she thought this was a date, he was forgetting to enjoy himself.

  Mentally kicking himself, he grinned at her and decided to go with the flow. It didn’t have to mean anything tomorrow and he might as well enjoy himself. After all, he had enjoyed their con
versations in the past, even if she did tend to make his hackles rise with her opinions.

  “Well, I needed to eat. And what better than to eat with such a beautiful company?”

  Her slight flushing made her even cuter and he wondered how it would feel to kiss her heated cheeks…and then her luscious lips… His train of thought was interrupted by her voice. “I’m sorry I made you mad with the comments about your former girlfriend. I was only trying to help.”

  Rocco wasn’t sure he wanted to revisit their earlier conversation. He’d been fuming when he stormed off earlier at the lake. After arriving at Charlie’s cabin, he’d worked his butt off, but the thoughts of the past had still invaded his mind, and he’d soon realized his anger wasn’t directed at Lee, but at himself. Gosh, it was embarrassing that she knew how easily he had rolled over and given up. She was right; he was a coward.

  “You were right. I should have pursued some sort of action against Kathryn; I just didn’t have it in me at the time,” he said and looked away.

  Lee took a moment to compose her response. “I don’t want to start a fight again, but I still have trouble understanding your reluctance to stand up for yourself and let her get away with everything.”

  Before he could respond, she held her hand up to stop him and continued, “Let me finish. Please. I truly understand being hurt and not wanting to fight her over the money and things she took from your apartment. I really do. What I can’t understand is why you hid from the world and didn’t go after your dream job. You are so talented…”

  Rocco had heard enough. As much as she might be on to something, he had to stop her right now. For lack of a better idea, he reached across the table, grabbed her hand, and squeezed it as he started talking. “I can see where it wouldn’t make sense to someone else. But you have to understand, after Kathryn bailed, I was so hurt and disillusioned, I wasn’t sure that anything I believed to be true actually was true. How could I have missed the fact she was sleeping with so many guys? I was too trusting and believed her when she said she was with her friends. “