Sophia watches me with soft, thoughtful eyes as she runs her fingers across the pearl necklace at her throat. “Well, maybe you should talk to him. Tell him how you feel.”
“I can’t do that,” I say forcefully. “I started this thing under false pretences. I told him that I didn’t need more than sex from him.”
Nova shakes her head back and forth and her big hair swishes left to right. “Y’see, this is why I stick mostly to my battery-operated buddies. And the occasional vegan Sagittarian. Keeps me out of trouble. Because men…” She shakes her head again.
Sophia crosses her arms across her delicate chest and stares at me. “You changed your mind. You’re perfectly entitled to change your mind. Just be honest with him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nova says cautiously. “This guy is your neighbor. You have to handle the situation carefully or else you will never be able to sit on your damn porch again.”
Sophia faces her. “But what if he feels the way she does?”
“Then, let him be the one to say so,” Nova advises with a cocked brow.
“Well, you never struck me as a misogynist!”
“It’s not about misogyny. It’s self-preservation.”
A group of soccer moms barrel through the front door with their mud-covered, cleat-wearing kids and storm the counter. My friends move to a table in the corner to give them room. While I serve the group, the girls’ conflicting words replay in my head.
Should I take a risk and have a frank conversation with Leo? Or should I just suck it up and find a way to get over this silly crush?
Shit—I have no clue what I’m going to do.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Leo
The click-clack of high heels catches my attention. I glance up and see Sophia approaching down the long hallway toward the upstairs guest bathroom. She gives me a little smile and I nod my head in greeting.
“I brought you a cupcake.” She stretches a little frosted treat to me. “I hope red velvet is fine for you.”
I set down my trowel and wipe my hands on a rag before taking it. “Red velvet is great. Thanks.”
Sophia’s actually really nice. I formed a not-so-favorable opinion of her the first time I saw her in her fancy clothes and her salon-styled hair. But she’s kind and down-to-earth. I feel bad that I misjudged her.
When I take the cake and bite into it, I expect her to turn and leave but she lingers in the doorway. Her eyes scan the bathroom floor where I’m laying down the tiles. “This looks so good,” she says wistfully. “I’m so excited for it to be done.”
I half-smile. “Almost there.” In two bites, I’ve already devoured the delicious cake. Reese is amazing at what she does. Actually, Reese is amazing, period.
Last night shit got real. I wanted to lie there and hold her, fall asleep with her in my arms. But I saw the look on her face as we lay next to each other recovering from the aftershocks of the earthshattering sex. She’s starting to feel things. Things that mirror the feelings digging their way into my heart. Things that go beyond the physical.
I thought I could use her body to get numb, to forget the bullshit in my life. But I don't feel numb at all. I feel everything. Every emotion is magnified when she smiles at me, when she kisses me, when she lies next to me. I like all of Reese's pieces. They're sugary. Addictive. I can't help myself.
I want her. Badly. I miss her whenever she's not next to me. I spend my days thinking about her. I want to do things for her, make her life easier. And god knows I want to do things to her. She's so good. She's an angel. I want to be someone she can rely on. Someone she can trust. Even though she deserves better than I could ever give her.
But I'm not in the right headspace to venture into a relationship with her. It wouldn't be fair to her. There are so many reasons why I shouldn’t be dragging her any deeper into my world. I’m a mess.
Reese is sweet and innocent. She doesn't know the sting of betrayal or the chill of uncertainty or the bite of regret. At night, when she's sound asleep under her floral-patterned duvet in her tone matching bed, betrayal, uncertainty and grief keep me company.
I snap out of my musings and realize that Sophia is still standing there, dawdling, stalling as if there’s something she’s hesitating to say. She remains silent so I pick up my trowel and resume slathering the tile adhesive all over the floor.
“I had my doubts about putting terra cotta tiles in the bathroom,” she says slowly, “Because the paint doesn’t match and the crown molding has a different style completely…I went back and forth in my mind for a while but ultimately, I took a risk…even though I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Sometimes in life, you can’t be one hundred percent sure…” She gives me a hard, meaningful look. Something tells me she isn’t talking about floor tiles anymore. “Sometimes, you have to take a risk. Even when you aren’t ready. When you aren’t sure.”
“Uh…yeah.” I turn my attention back to the work in front of me.
Eventually, she sighs in frustration and spins on her heel but then she pauses again. She just can’t control herself. “You do realize that that was a metaphor, right?”
I laugh deep in my throat. “Yes, Sophia. I get the deeper meaning.” She’s telling me to take a risk on Reese even though I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
She looks pleased with herself and smiles wide. “There’s more cupcakes in the kitchen if you want.” Her heels click loudly as she disappears back down the hall.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Leo
“Daddy, that one is a donkey!”
Brenton tugs excitedly on the leg of my pant, pulling me toward the stable where a small hoofed animal stands behind a short wooden fence. I toss a handful of colored popcorn into my mouth and follow after him. “Sure is,” I tell him.
The Copper Heights Community Park has been transformed into a petting zoo for the weekend. And true to her word, Reese showed up to take Brent to see the animals. I decided to tag along because I wanted to be around this woman and hear her laughter floating on the air and watch her drop mustard from her hotdog into her cleavage (again). I couldn’t just stay home. I wanted nothing more than to spend the day hanging out with my son and our beautiful neighbor.
Glancing over my shoulder, I flash a grin at her. She looks just as fascinated by the animals as the kids do, observing them with big, brown eyes full of wonder.
The girl is addictive.
I’ve never wanted any woman the way I want Reese Hartley. She’s generous, considerate and giving. She takes care of me and Brent. She treats us like her own. And I want to make her mine. So that she never goes away. I want to keep her and I don't care if it's wrong or right.
Leaving my emotions out of the mix is becoming an increasingly difficult proposition. Each time I fuck her, I want to hold her. I want to fall asleep with her in my arms and curve my body against hers all night. But that wasn’t part of the plan.
Just sex. No hand-holding. No sleepovers. No sweet nothings in the dark.
I’m starting to wish I’d never made those rules because I want to break every one of them.
A zoo attendant smiles at my son and offers him a handful of crackers. “Can I feed the donkey, daddy?”
I gently nudge him forward. “Go ahead.”
He bounces excitedly through the crowd and holds a few crackers in his palm for the animal. He giggles and looks back at me as the donkey’s big, wet snout swipes his hand for the treat. Reese pulls her phone out of her cross-body bag and starts snapping shots. “Get into the frame!” she tells me, pushing me toward the stable.
“Come, daddy!” Brenton hands me the remaining crackers. “Feed him,” my son coaxes me.
I stretch my hand out and the donkey’s nose grazes my palm. Damn, that tickles! Now, I’m laughing as the animal’s muzzle moves across my hand. My hysteria is drawing some attention but I don’t care.
An older woman grabs the phone from Reese and gives her a push forward. “G
et in there! Get in the picture!”
I tug the pretty girl into my arms and hitch Brenton up on my hip as the woman takes a series of snaps with the phone.
Reese tries to hide her face in my shirt but Brenton and I tickle her silly. That results in a string of dreadful candids that she demands that I erase immediately. Of course, I take her phone and delete the photos one by one. But not before I text them all to myself first.
Call me a bastard but I might need those photos to blackmail her in the future. Or just to peek at when I’m up to my elbows in concrete mix at work. Because sometimes her smile, the sound of her laugh is like an injection of happiness straight into my blood stream. I need her in regular doses.
When a bunch of costumed performers show up out of nowhere to put on a little show for the kids, Brenton sinks into the crowd without a second look in my direction. My mind immediately ventures into illicit territory and I bring my lips to Reese’s ear. “There’s a thick patch of trees on the edge of the park…”
Her head snaps up at me and she watches me with furrowed brows.
Hmm…maybe she needs a little convincing. “Nobody would notice if we ventured off for a bit of alone time,” I assure her. “How easy would it be for me to lure you over there into the bushes for a minute?”
She laughs through her nose. “Sex in the woods? Are you serious?”
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” I waggle my brows.
She digs a hand into my bag of popcorn. “Yeah well, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets a mosquito bite on the ass.”
I throw my head back and roar. “Point taken!”
I beg my hard-on to calm down and we enjoy an afternoon of good, clean, G-rated fun together.
As the sun is going down, we throw a blanket on the grass and sit around together eating sandwiches and chips. I look over at Brenton all snuggled up in Reese's arms, comfortable, happy, laughing. There’s a little voice of doubt in my head. What the hell am I doing? Why am I letting her close? What if she leaves? What if things go sour between us? What then? What about Brenton and his little heart?
Brent won’t be able to handle another devastation, another loss of the female figure in his life.
As the frantic thoughts spool in my mind, she glances over at me. She smiles and the corners of her mouth lift all the way up to her crescent shaped eyes. She looks so happy. A complete contradiction to the story I’m authoring in my head. I never saw Mara smile like that, with deep contentment and satisfaction on her face. Maybe I’m wrong about her. Maybe she’ll stay.
I’m quiet for the rest of the afternoon as caution battles hope in my head.
Brenton and Reese chat and laugh, reliving the day as we drive back home. It calms me, hearing their voices, seeing the way they smile at each other. This woman is special. She wants to stick around. She won’t hurt us.
By the time I’m guiding the Escort up my driveway, there’s only one thing on my mind. I want her in my bed tonight.
Brenton bursts out of the backseat and scampers up the stairs. I call after him as he barrels through the door. “Make sure to brush your teeth and change into your pajamas.”
Reese and I sit alone in the quiet car for a minute. I reach across the console and push her hair over her shoulder. Twisting her body to face me, she smiles. “Today was fun.”
I nod. “It was.”
“You’re such a good dad,” she tells me. “I love seeing you with Brent.”
Those words rock me. Knowing that she supports me in that way, that she believes in me, means so much to me. Especially since I doubt myself as a parent everyday.
Leaning over, she brings her lips to my cheek. “Good night, Leo…”
But I can’t let her leave. Not tonight. As she pulls on the door lever, I hook my fingers around her elbow. “Wait…”
She pauses and turns her eyes to me.
“Don’t go.” I hold my breath.
Her eyes fall to where my thumb is drawing slow circles on the inside of her arm.
I swallow thickly. “I like how I feel when I’m around you. I feel like I can breathe.” Wrapping my fingers around the back of her neck, I pull her closer and put a kiss on her mouth. I lean my forehead against hers. “Come inside with me.”
She smiles and brushes her lips over mine. “Okay.”
She follows me into the house and sneaks into my room while I make sure that Brent is all tucked into bed. When I push open the door, she’s waiting naked on the mattress, on top of the sheets, the way I like it.
I twist the lock behind me and crawl across the bed. I devour her like a cannibal. Like I want to eat her pussy until there's nothing left, until she's a blubbering mass. Barely coherent. Decimated by pleasure. When she comes, she’s gripping the wooden bars of the bed head. Her jaw hangs loose and heavy gasps pour out.
She’s eager to return the gesture. She drops to her knees and takes my cock into her mouth. Cupping and squeezing my balls, she slides her tongue along the length of my shaft. She sucks me deep into her throat, straining and gagging until I’m shooting my come into the warmth of her throat.
I’m quivering. "You don't even know what you're doing to me..."
She climbs onto the bed next to me. ”Tell me," she begs as she wraps her fingers around my rod, stroking me softly. She's making me forget to be hurt and broken and anxious. She's putting my pieces back, holding me together like glue. Every time she touches me I forget to be angry at the world because I'm in absolute awe of her brand of magic.
But I can't tell her that because I’m not even sure what this thing between us is.
“Stay with me tonight, Reese. Don’t go.”
She lies completely still with her eyes focused on the ceiling. I’m not sure she’s breathing anymore. She knows as well as I do that this wasn’t part of the plan.
I lean closer and brush my lips on her ear. “Stay over…”
She licks her lips nervously as she grabs her blouse from the side table and pulls it on. “I have to be at work in a few hours. If I oversleep...” She slides off of the mattress.
“Reese…” I can see how nervous she is. She wants this but she’s scared. She doesn’t want to get hurt. I don’t blame her. I was pretty clear about my boundaries at the start of this arrangement. But those lines are blurry now.
“The whole town is depending on me for their breakfast, mister. If they all show up here with pitchforks, can you handle that?”
She’s grasping at excuses. I see the fear in her eyes despite her smile.
I lean over the side of the bed and pull on the edge of her shirt. “I’ll set an alarm. Come back to bed.”
Her expression is full of restraint. “You said no sleepovers.”
“I know what I said…” My last conversation with Sophia replays in my head. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I think I’m gonna have to take a risk here. “But, I like you. A lot.” When her gaze falls down to her bare feet, I hook a finger under her chin and force her to look at me. “You’re fantastic. You’re beautiful and smart and funny. And hanging out with you has been such a positive thing for Brenton. I like what we have going on. And although I can’t make you any promises, I want you close. I need you close.”
“But you said…” Her voice trails off.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse you. It’s just that, I’m so confused myself. And I feel guilty because I just got divorced and I should be focusing all my attention on Brent…But I can’t help myself when it comes to you.” I reach for her hand and interlace her fingers with mine. “I can’t stop wanting you.”
Her eyes soften. “I can’t stop wanting you, either,” she confesses. “You’re all I think about.”
“So just stay…”
Her shoulders heave as she gives in. Grinning, I catch her by the wrist. With one little yank, she falls back into the bed.
I kiss her hard, until my head is light and I’m struggling for breath. My heart is thumping. Every beat is a kick against my r
ibcage. The rock is cracking. Beat by beat, the stone around my heart is chipping away.
I'm falling for my best friend's little sister.
Chapter Thirty
Reese
Leo is sleeping soundly next to me. His chest rises and falls with rhythmic breaths. I’m staring at the ceiling.
I’m afraid.
I like him so much. And I want to be here in this bed with him. It’s just scary, not knowing what all of this means. We set out terms at the outset of this arrangement. We’ve been breaking them. He’s fallen asleep next to me, with his arms around my body three times this week.
He says he doesn’t know what any of this means—and I respect that—but the way I feel about him. And Brent. I don’t know what I’d do if he suddenly decided that he doesn’t want this anymore.
He makes a little, pained sound in his sleep and my eyes drift over to him. He’s wincing, his face all twisted up at whatever scene is playing out behind his closed eyes. He groans again, louder this time. He flips left and then right and then left again. “No…” The word comes out warped by sleep.
He’s having a nightmare.
I hesitate to wake him, but his agony only seems to be increasing, so I reach over and shake his shoulder.
He rouses with a start and his eyes shoot open in the dark room.
“Hey, hey,” I say soothingly. “It’s just me.”
He blinks in my direction and the anxiety slips from his face. “Shit…” he mutters as he sits up. “That was…whoa…”
The Blue Collar Bachelors Box Set: The Complete Blue Collar Bachelors Series Page 15