I’m so confused. “But you always give me that fake-ass smile. I was sure you hated me.”
“Honey, I’ve had so much plastic surgery that I don’t even think my brain recognizes my facial muscles anymore.”
Dropping my head, I snicker against my chest.
She leans on the edge of her desk. “Look, you’re a strong woman, a smart woman. You have a bright future within this organization, if you want it. So, I’m willing to just put this episode of insecure, emotional diarrhea behind us. As they say, keep calm and carry on. You probably have the good sense to be deeply embarrassed. I think that’s retribution enough. What do you say?” She folds her arms across her chest and waits for my response.
I’m so tempted to say ‘yes’. I kind of like my new job and I don’t want to go back to the way I was living before. Unfulfilled and miserable about my career prospects, living every day in a state of near-physical pain because no one would take a chance on me and my dream. But I’d never be able to live with myself if I didn’t put my heart on the line and take a risk for Charlie.
“Can I ask you a question?” I speak in a slow, hesitant voice.
She tilts her chin, motioning impatiently for me to go ahead. “What’s on your mind, Nova? Quick, quick, quick. Spit it out. You’ve got to have confidence to make it in New York City. Even the cockroaches here have got it. Those fuckers are bigger, badder and bolder than any other cockroaches you’ll ever meet. “
I smile. “You asked me to move to New York for this job. Was that just to get me away from Charlie?”
She gives me an exasperated eyeroll. “No, child. I’m not trying to separate you from your Romeo. If you can collar that wild animal, more power to you. Besides, you don’t have to work from here in New York. This is the 21st century. We have a little invention called the internet, it allows you to get your work done from any corner of the universe. In fact, half of our team is in India. I’ve never seen their faces outside of a computer screen.”
“Are you saying that I can go back to Copper Heights and keep my job?”
“You can go to Timbuktu, for all I care. At this point, I actually want you out of my sight.” She shoos me away with her hand. “Go. Go make arrangements with Jessie. Tell her you’ll be working remotely now.” She falls back into her plush seat.
The relief I feel is overwhelming, all-encompassing. “Thank you, Lori. So much.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she mutters under her breath as I turn to leave. “Damn twenty-something hipster types. You Millennials really need to give yourselves a break with all the narcissistic, self-righteous grandstanding bullshit.” With dainty fingers, she stretches the skin on her cheeks up to her ears. “No wonder you’re all aging so poorly.”
I just chuckle as I hurry out of the room with a flicker in my heart and a bounce in my step.
Chapter Forty-Four
Charlie
I wave feebly at my new temp assistant as her minivan careens out of the parking lot and onto the main road. The lady has, like, six kids and when the clock strikes 5:00, the only thing on her mind is getting back home to make dinner for her rambunctious family. I’m pretty confident that the chances of her offering me a blowjob are extremely low.
She and I are off to a good start.
I push a sigh. The end of another long, unexciting workday. Time to face another long, excruciating night alone.
Yay!
Shoving the key into the lock on the back door, I twist it and then jiggle the handle to make sure that the place is secure for the night. I slump against the door and take a moment to stare up at the sky. The orange glow of the setting sun melts into the coppery hills in the distance. The heavy clouds in the violet sky tell me that it’s about to start raining. It’s only fitting that the weather matches my mood.
I’ve been all torn up since I got home from New York. Nova isn’t coming back. And now, I’m struggling to find some kind of direction for myself. The success of my business isn’t enough to fill that void. Other women hold no appeal in my eyes. I don’t want to go to bars with my friends.
I just want my Nova back.
My friend. The girl who understood me. The girl who would show up at my house at all hours with baggy sweats and stolen food. The girl whose laugh I can’t get out of my head. The girl whose curves are memorized by my brain.
The girl I love.
I drop down to the concrete stoop and bury my face in my hands. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough to convince her. I should have been more persuasive. I should have showed her my heart. Because right now, I can barely breathe thinking of how much I want her and how much I miss her. I drag my nails over my scalp and close my eyes against the pain. I really fucked up. So bad. There’s no denying it.
The first rain droplet hits the back of my neck. The cold wetness splatters on impact. The next raindrop follows soon after. I move lethargically, pulling the hood of my sweatshirt over my head. Still, it takes me a few seconds to get my shit together and get up off of the stoop.
I trudge across the wide lot to my truck and with a click of my remote starter, I open the door and climb inside. As I settle in my seat, I notice a sheet of paper jammed under my windshield wiper. If I could ignore it, I would but it’s raining and once I start this vehicle, I’ll have wet shreds of paper all over the glass.
Fucking Jehovah’s Witnesses are taking this shit too far!
Grumbling to myself, climb out into the rain and round the truck. Leaning over the wet hood, I snatch up the paper, I’m about to crumple it up and toss it in the gutter when the shape of the soaked-through ink stains catch my eye. Returning to the dry safety of the truck, I carefully unfold the paper.
I gasp out loud.
My head snaps from left to right as I search for the person who left this here. Is this some kind of sick, twisted joke?
The rain is really coming down now, pounding the windows from all sides. But in the distance, at the far end of the parking lot, I see a shitty, little white car.
A figure is approaching, splashing through puddles, hunched over with an umbrella held up as a shield. A gust of wind flips the umbrella inside out and a head of crazy golden curls comes into view.
No fucking way…
The paper lands on the floor as I burst out of the truck so fast I nearly fall flat on my face. She sees me and the mangled umbrella slips from her fingers. We both freeze. Through the rain and the cold and the whirring emotions, we stare at each other for one long heartbeat.
And then both explode into motion, speeding toward each other. We’re a clichéd movie trope in action. But we don’t care.
“Nova!”
Her smile tears across her face as we crash into each other. She leaps into my arms, wrapping her legs around my hips and our mouths collide. I’ve never tasted a kiss so sweet, so passionate, so full of everything that’s been missing in my life.
“Charlie…” She moans my name between kisses as my hands travel up and down her back.
“You came back…” Relief floods my body as I say the words. She came back…
I don’t want to take my lips off of her as I blunder toward my truck with her in my arms. I yank the passenger’s side door open and climb inside without ever letting go of her. I’m never letting go of her again.
Now, she’s on top of me, clothes soaked through, hair dripping. She’s kissing me. Rolling her hips against me. Drawing her fingernails down my chest.
I’m clawing at her dress. I break the straps and rip the wet fabric clear off of her body. A shiver moves across her skin as my kisses travel over her collarbone. She groans for me as she reaches behind her and unclasps her bra. I tear it away from her body just so I can feel those round, heavy breasts in my hands.
“Oh, Charlie,” she cries and the way she says it sends blood shooting to my groin. She groans even deeper when my mouth moves to her hard nipple and I drag my teeth along the sensitive flesh.
She reaches for my fly. Undoes the button. Pushes the denim down my th
ighs. Her fingers wrap around my throbbing erection and I’m panting against her skin. “God, I’m so happy you came back, Nova. I was going crazy without you.”
“I missed you so much.” Her words fall somewhere between a sob and a moan. And I just want to fill her up. I want to be inside of her so there’s no separation between us.
I reach into the glove box behind her and grab a condom. When I roll it on, she rises up off of my lap just enough to swallow my cock into the tight heat of her pussy.
Growling as my head falls back against the seat behind me, my hands clench on her hips to control the reckless grind of her body against mine. “Jesus. Yes, Charile. So good.” Pounding both hands into the ceiling, she makes sounds that resonate with me on a primal level.
“You like that, baby?” I fuck her from below, slamming my cock into her depth, drowning in the ripples and waves moving through her core.
“So much. I love it so much…” She draws in a sharp breath. “I love you so much.”
My movements halt. I lift my head up to look into those emerald eyes, glimmering even in the darkening cabin. “I love you, too, Nova. No one else. There will never be anyone else.”
She quivers in my arms. The wet trail meandering down her cheek has nothing to do with the rain. I rub my thumb along her skin to stop the tear in its tracks. And she kisses me, melting into me.
One hard thrust after the next, I pound my name into her bones. One clenching spasm after another, she carves her name into my heart.
Hiding her face in my neck, she shrieks and her body goes stiff. Her legs clamp tightly against my hips as she climaxes. Her nails sink into the leather seating. Her pussy undulates, suctioning my cock.
I detonate like a bomb, my love exploding inside of her. My cock pulses and her walls shake around me. She clings to me as minutes float by, as our breathing smooths out.
After a long time, she pulls up for air. Her skin dewy, her smile serene. “Hi…”
I roar with laughter. “Yeah, hi…” I brush her wet hair from her face. Leaning forward, I grab her drawing from the floor.
She takes it from my hand—a sketch of a giant animated tarantula mounting a badass butterfly from behind. Bee my love bug, it reads. She smiles.
“You’re corny.” I playfully bite her chin.
She snickers. “C’mon—I thought it was clever. Admit that it was clever.”
“It was clever,” I tell her and kiss her chin. “You mean it, though?” I ask leaning my forehead to hers.
“I do.” Then, she whispers, breathless, almost afraid. “I mean it so much it scares me.”
I brush my fingertips over her lips. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. But I’ll never do it again. I love you too much to risk losing you.”
“And I’m sorry I walked away. I should have tried to figure things out with you. We could have found a way but I just ran off. I’m sorry.” Her regret shows in her eyes.
“I’m just glad you’re back, Nova. Tell me you’re staying.”
She smiles. “I’m staying.”
I squeeze her so tight. My arms swallow her up as I kiss her again and again. The life we’ll have together flashes before my eyes. For the first time in a long time, I see a white picket fence in my mind’s eye. “I want to give you everything, Butterfly. I want you to have my last name. I want you to have my babies. Is that okay with you?”
Brushing the tip of her nose against mine. “I want that. I’m yours. In every way,” she promises softly. “I just don’t want to share you, Charlie.”
“You’ll never have to. You are the only choice for me, Nova. Tell me you choose me, too.”
She nods solemnly and wipes rainwater from my brow. “I choose you, baby. I’m yours.”
This feeling is better than winning the lottery. “I’m yours for-fucking-ever.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Nova
I’ve got my earbuds buried deep in my ears and I tap my foot in time with the soulful rhythm as I swivel left to right on the stool. It’s surreal, hearing the sound of my own voice pouring in through the tiny speakers. I’m still getting used to it.
The past three months or so have been incredible. My dreams are coming true. One by one, everything that I’ve ever wanted is falling into place. My drawing, my music, my finances.
And most importantly, my love life.
My stomach coils up like a twist-tie at the sight of Charlie at the stove. His big, broad back is hunched over the griddle as he flips the grilled cheese sandwiches. His skin still wears a glistening sheen from our last round of pressed-up-against-the-refrigerator lovemaking. I clench my thighs just thinking about it and the memory skitters up my spine like a ghost.
I love the guy.
I want to spend every second of every day with him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. And it’s as if he’s reading my thoughts. He throws me a quick glance over his shoulder, a huge grin painted on his lips. I prop my chin up on both wrists and grin dreamily in return. My little heart pitter-patters like a lovesick teen as he turns back to the stove. I can’t help but contemplate what he would be like as a husband, as a father.
Would you listen to yourself, Nova?
This is crazy. If anyone had told me that Charlie and me would end up together, I’d have suggested they seek out the services of a good head doctor. But now here we are. In fucking love.
His voice is muffled when he speaks. “Dinner is served, madam,” he says cheekily as he pivots around and sets a plate stacked high with sandwiches in front of me.
Without hesitation, I dive right in, grabbing one of the grilled cheeses. My eyes flutter and I groan—love at first bite.
He comes and stands next to where I’m sitting. He plants both hands on the counter and leans forward, his gaze focused intently on me. The thick muscles in his shoulders bunch up when he does that. So fucking sexy. He pops one headphone out of my ear. “Butterfly, I could listen to you make those sexy sounds all night. The sweetest kind of music.” He bends forward and grabs a bite of the sandwich in my hand. His soft, warm skin brushes against mine when he does that.
“Mmm…See—I told you we didn’t need to go to a restaurant tonight. You made some perfectly delish sandwiches. And when we’re done eating, you can carry me upstairs and I’ll make some special music for your ears only. All night long.”
Charlie had made reservations for an intimate dinner at Gallo’s tonight. No real reason. Just because. But the minute I walked in the front door, he started giving me those sex-eyes and next thing you know, we were tearing each other’s clothes off.
We missed our reservation.
I didn’t shed tears over it, though. After working at Gallo’s for so long, just the thought of smelling their chicken parmesan makes me want to hurl. Yeah, me and Gallo’s need some space.
Charlie snatches up my earbud and tries to pluck it into his ear but I manage to yank it away from him just in time. He literally pouts. The expression is damn cute on my big, burly man. “When are you gonna let me hear this music? You’ve been withholding and I don’t know how much more of it I’m willing to take.”
I giggle. “You’ll hear it in time. I just need to make sure it’s perfect.”
He tilts his head and pins me with a stare, issuing a dark warning with his eyes. “Butterfly…”
“Patience.” I playfully nudge him with my shoulder. But my laughter quickly peters off. My voice drops to a whisper as a confession tumbles from my lips. “When you hear it, I want you to be proud of me.”
His brows crinkle up in the middle and he gives me a stern look. His pointer finger hooks under my chin, lifting my face up. “Babe, I’m proud of you. Every minute of every day. You’re absolutely incredible and talented and beautiful. I’m the luckiest bastard, having you in my life.”
I melt into his touch. He always manages to say just the right thing. “Damn, Hartley. You know how to make a girl swoon.”
“You make it easy to tell the truth.” He seals his lips
over mine and kisses me softly, breadcrumbs and all.
My temperature spikes and the tender spot at my apex grows slick yet again but the loud growling of my stomach cuts in, reminding me that I need sustenance if Charlie and I are going to keep up this sex routine.
My hands fall to his wide shoulders and I ease away. He chuckles against my mouth before breaking the contact completely. I die just a little bit on the inside.
“I’m proud of you too, y’know.” I grin into his face when his brow arches high. I nod, laughing at his reaction. “The cupcake shop is amazing. You did such a great job. Your sisters love it.”
This morning was the grand reopening of the Broken Cupcake. Reese and Vivian held a little gathering to celebrate and of course, Charlie and I were practically the first ones at the door. We even wore matching black velour tracksuits.
#CoupleGoals
Anyway, the bakery is a dream and I’m so proud that my man had a hand in it. It’s true that he works on big, multimillion dollar projects but it’s the small things—like putting the broken pieces of his sisters’ dreams back together—that’s what matters most.
“I don’t know if Vivian will ever forgive us for showing up in matching outfits but that’s a whole different story.” I laugh and he joins along.
He waves off my comment dismissively. “Ugh, Viv is just jealous. And uptight. Don’t mind her.”
I snuggle against him. “It must be hard for her. I mean—both you and Reese are in serious relationships. She’s the oldest and she’s still single.”
He shrugs a big shoulder. “What can I say? If she wants someone in her life, she’s going to have to let her hair down, stop being so rigid, be a little more open-minded.”
“I guess you’re right.” I chew on the corner of my lip thoughtfully. It’s no secret how badly Vivian wants her prince charming and her happy ending. But her standards are impossibly high. That’s no secret, either. A funny thought crosses my mind. “I saw her arguing with this super rough-looking, tattooed guy in front of the cupcake shop this morning and I kept thinking to myself that it would be so ironic if she ended up with a guy like that.”
The Blue Collar Bachelors Box Set: The Complete Blue Collar Bachelors Series Page 41