by Peyton Banks
“Go have a seat. I’ll fix you up something up nice, darlin’,” she drawled in a poor Southern accent.
Within minutes she had two tall coffees doctored to their liking and two warmed strawberry shortcake muffins. Placing them on a tray, she carried them over to where Stan was seated. She took the chair next to him and sat the tray down in the middle of the table.
“God, I’ve missed you.” Stan rested his forearm on the back of her chair. He leaned over and nuzzled her neck. He snuck in and pressed a hot, openmouthed kiss on her skin.
Her body trembled with need. If only they weren’t in her place of business…
“Don’t tease me,” she murmured.
“Not teasing. Just giving you a heads-up for what is going to come later.” He chuckled. He pulled back and reached for his coffee.
“Is that so, cowboy?”
“Hmm…don’t fret, Nasia. I’m a man of my word.” He winked at her.
“Oh, cowboy, take me away,” she dramatically gasped. She held the back of her hand to her forehead, fluttering her eyelashes seductively.
His grin widened at her silliness. “I plan to.”
“What time are you getting off?” She skillfully changed the subject. Otherwise, she might drag him off to her office and make him late for work. She was quickly learning ranch hands worked long hours daily, and she respected it.
Someone had to do it.
Stan loved his job and the family he worked for.
Who was she to stand in the way? She, too, worked long hours at the café. It was her baby and her responsibility, and all of her hard work was paying off.
Soon, she’d be able to hire more employees and maybe even an assistant manager to help run things, so she didn’t have to come before the crack of dawn every day.
“Well, I plan to get off at four, go home and shower, and then surprise my girlfriend with a night out with some friends.” Stan took a sip of his coffee.
“Is that so?” Nasia exclaimed dramatically. She grabbed her muffin, tearing it in half, then took a bite of it.
Stan reached forward and stole the other half and popped it in his mouth.
“Hey! Eat your own.”
“Yours tastes better.” He grinned, reaching for his.
Nasia really didn’t care. Stan was going to be leaving to go work on a ranch, he could have both if he wanted. He would need the calories. The man could pack away some food. If Nasia ate half of what he did, her hips would be four times wider than they already were.
“So, what do you have in mind?” she asked, already thinking of what she could wear.
“Wade, Joy, Yani, and Rashad are getting together to go bowling. Rashad invited us to come along.”
“I haven’t been bowling in years. I’m game.” Nasia sipped her coffee. She really enjoyed their time together in the morning. It never lasted long, but she cherished every minute. They were getting to know each other, and she loved spending time with him.
“Good.” He popped the rest of his muffin in his mouth. He glanced down at his watch and released a curse. “I have to go, babe.”
“Okay.” She tried not to pout, but she knew he couldn’t spend all morning together. That didn’t mean she didn’t miss him while he was gone. They stood from the table. “Don’t worry about the trash, I’ll come back and get it. What time should I be ready?”
“About six.” Stan snagged his coffee and took her hand in his, entwining their fingers together.
She ignored Sara’s silly grin and wink as they passed the counter. They walked out the restaurant and headed over to Stan’s pickup truck. He opened the door and set his coffee down inside the cup holder on the console.
Nasia waited for him to turn around. He shut the door, rested back against the vehicle, and pulled her to him.
“I will make sure I am ready by six,” she announced.
Nasia wrapped her arms around him and leaned into his hardened body.
“See that you are.” His hands skated down to the swell of her ass and held her in place against him.
Nasia bit back a moan at the sensation of his bulge pressing into her stomach. He tilted her chin up, pressing a kiss to her lips. She opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to sweep inside. His tongue stroked hers, eliciting a moan from her.
Her pulse pounded as the kiss deepened. She fisted his shirt, holding her steady to keep her knees from giving out.
A horn blared off in the distance. They jerked apart and stared at each other.
“Think of me while you’re at work?” She smoothed out his shirt and stepped back.
“Always.”
Stan walked through his house, fresh from his shower. A towel was wrapped around his waist as he made his way to the kitchen. He was suddenly parched. He used another towel to dry his hair.
Work had flown by, and he was anxious to get over to Nasia’s. He loved spending time with her. He had gotten to know everything about her and her family. She was extremely close with her sister and parents.
Nasia was understanding of the long hours he worked. She never made him feel guilty. Hell, the woman was a workaholic, too. She had to be to ensure her business survived, and he understood. She always made sure he was taken care of by feeding him the minute he stepped foot into her home. He had a big appetite, and the woman sure knew her way around the kitchen and the bedroom.
Things were never boring between the two of them.
A grin lingered on his lips. He had half a mind to skip going out for bowling and just locking himself in his bedroom with Nasia and throwing away the key.
He’d loved diving between those smooth brown thighs of his woman.
Entering the kitchen, he headed straight to the fridge, tossing the small towel on his shoulder. He pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge. He removed the top and took a long sip.
The doorbell sounded.
“Who the hell is that?” he muttered.
It had better not be Nasia. She had teased him that she would just meet him at his place. It wouldn’t make sense since her place was on the way to the bowling alley.
He finished off the water and tossed the bottle away. Towel secured, he went to the front door.
“Shit.”
The front door had three large windowpanes that allowed him to see who was standing on the other side.
Victoria.
What the hell is she doing here?
He would have ignored the doorbell, but she turned around and spotted him in the foyer. He marched over and opened the door.
“What do you want?” he asked.
Victoria froze in place and stared at him. Her gaze roamed his chest and jumped back up to meet his eyes. Her hand toyed with the collar of her button-down shirt.
“May I come in?” she asked.
“For what?” He kept his hand on the handle, not wanting to budge.
“We need to talk.” Her eyes widened in the facial expression that used to fool him every time when she wanted something.
“There’s nothing we have to say. Everything between us was worked out down at the magistrate’s office with the divorce settlement.”
“Stan, please. I promise this won’t take long.”
He brushed a hand along his face and blew out a deep breath. He didn’t have time for this shit.
“Fine. Five minutes.” He opened the door wider to allow her room to step into his home.
Victoria moved forward and stepped into the foyer. Stan shut the door and walked into the living room with her behind him.
“So what is it you want to talk about?” He folded his arms in front of his chest and glared at her.
“Your place looks nice. Simple, but nice,” she said, turning in a circle.
When they had moved into their home when they’d first relocated to Shady Springs, Victoria had picked everything out for the house. At the time he hadn’t cared since he was just starting work at the Blazing Eagle Ranch. It appeared to make her happy, so he’d let her pick out everything
. The only things he required was a big enough bed to sleep in, a couch, a huge television to watch football, and a fridge.
He was simple man.
“I’m sure you didn’t come over here to give me decorating suggestions.”
“No, I didn’t.” She rotated around and didn’t say anything for a moment. She appeared nervous, and it piqued his curiosity. “Are you doing well?”
A snort escaped him. “I’m doing fan-fucking-tabulous.”
“You look really good, Stan,” she whispered. Her hand trembled as she reached up to tuck her thick blonde hair behind her ear. “Have you been working out? You seem bigger…more muscular.”
Her gaze appeared stuck on his chest. Maybe he should go put some clothes on. Years ago, he would have loved to have her gaze at him the way hers was.
Now, it only made him want to cover himself up.
“What do you want, Victoria?” he snapped.
She needed to get to the point or leave.
He would prefer the latter.
He didn’t want to be late picking Nasia up.
“Do you ever think of us?” she asked.
What the fuck?
“Excuse me?” He couldn’t be hearing her right. Did he think of them? He sure did—when they were married and before he found out she was spreading her legs for Connor.
“Do you ever think about us?” she repeated.
“No.” He shook his head. It had taken a while, but eventually he had stopped harping on about what had gone wrong with their relationship, and he had become numb.
But then he met a gorgeous café owner who turned his entire world around on its axis in just a short amount of time.
He was completely infatuated with Nasia.
“I see.” She fidgeted with her hands and shuffled her feet slightly. “Stan, I made a big mistake. I came over there to tell you that I’m sorry for being so selfish and for hurting you. I don’t know what came over me and I’m here asking for you to give me another chance.”
Stan froze in place, unable to believe the words she’d said.
“You and Connor—”
“Aren’t together anymore. We broke up about two months after our divorce was finalized.” She stood to her full height with a glint of determination in her eyes.
Well, ain’t that some shit.
He had met Connor their freshman year in college. They had been assigned as roommates and had hit it off well. Connor was a manwhore. Always had been and always would be. Hell, he had been Stan’s best man at their wedding.
He just hadn’t realized Connor would stoop so low as to sleep with Victoria.
Stan hadn’t wanted to hear the explanations from either of them.
Victoria’s excuse was she wasn’t getting attention from him, but whenever Connor came to visit, she felt like a new woman.
Connor’s excuse?
Victoria came on to him.
She had risked her marriage for a relationship that was set up to fail from the start. Connor wasn’t a settling type of guy. Even at their age, he changed his women as much as Stan changed socks.
Stan didn’t trust any of the words coming out of her mouth at the moment. She had broken the bond between them the minute she’d slid into bed with his best friend.
“I’m sorry to hear, but I’ve moved on.”
“With the woman from the bar.” She sighed. Her face scrunched up, her head shaking side to side. “She just doesn’t seem like your type.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” He narrowed his gaze on her.
“She doesn’t look like the type of woman you would date.” Victoria shrugged. “She’s very outspoken, has an attitude, and she just don’t look like—”
“Watch it, Victoria,” he snarled. He was two seconds from tossing her out of his home. The matter of skin color had never been discussed between him or Nasia. It just didn’t matter. He liked her for who she was and the same for her.
He never knew Victoria to be racist, but he wouldn’t be surprised. She had grown up in a secluded high-middle-class family, and the amount of minorities in Shady Springs was low.
Not that it was an excuse.
At one point, he had thought he knew Victoria and she wouldn’t have been the cheating type.
“I’m not saying it as a bad thing. I’m not racist, I have black friends.” She shrugged again.
“You know that is something racist people say, right?” He cocked an eyebrow high. This was un-fucking-believable. “And your one black ‘friend’ you have was your coworker, Tamika, who you don’t even hang out with outside of work, so if anything, she would be considered a work acquaintance.”
Her cheeks flushed red.
“I don’t want to argue with you, all I was saying is that you’ve never been with a black woman, and I just don’t understand why now.” She rested her hands on her waist.
Couldn’t she hear what she sounded like?
“Well, first of all, she’s not a selfish bitch who I can’t trust,” he began.
Victoria flinched but remained quiet.
“She’s understanding about my work, she’s supportive, and she makes me laugh.” There was much more about Nasia, but it was none of Victoria’s business.
“But it’s not serous, is it? I mean, we were together for so long, don’t you want to try to give us another chance?” she pleaded. “We were good together.”
She moved toward him, but he backed away with his hands held up in the air. His skin crawled with just the thought of her hands touching his bare skin.
“You need to go,” he said. He smoothed a hand through his hair and ensured the towel was secured around his waist.
This conversation was over.
Stan stalked to the front door and opened it. Victoria followed behind him, stopping inches from him in the doorway.
“Can you just think about it?” she asked.
“Goodbye, Victoria.” He landed his level gaze on her and waited for her to clear the door so he could close it.
She studied his eyes, jerking her head in a nod, then marched out of the house. Stan shut the door and flipped the lock. He strode back into his bedroom and sat on the edge of his bed.
What the hell was that? He leaned his head into his hands and blew out a deep breath.
Had she asked for his forgiveness after he had caught her with Connor, he might have reconsidered it.
Why after all of this time?
Now, after he’d had time to process everything and met Nasia, there was no way he would ever consider taking her back.
She was in the past and was going to stay there.
His future was looking really bright at the moment, and it included a curvy brown-skinned beauty with a perfect smile that made his heart race.
8
“No, no, no!” Nasia shouted. She stood braced, watching her bowling ball curve toward the gutter. “Go right!”
She danced along as if she could magically straighten out her ball as it sailed down the lane. It managed to stay on the slippery wooden floor and knock down three pins.
“That’s all right,” Yani shouted.
Nasia spun around and laughed. They were having a great time and were on their second game. They had paired off, girls versus the guys.
The guys had won the first one, and they were not ashamed to keep throwing it in the girls’ faces.
Nasia’s gaze landed on Stan who sat quiet. He smiled and joked around, but she knew something was bothering him. From the moment she’d opened the door when he’d arrived to pick her up, she noticed he seemed a little distanced, lost in his thoughts.
She had asked him what was wrong, but he’d shaken his head and smiled, but it hadn’t reached his eyes.
“Let me show you how to do it,” Rashad teased, picking up his ball.
She stuck her tongue out at him and made her way to her seat. They had ordered food and drinks, enjoying each other’s company.
Nasia hadn’t known Joy before tonight, but she was a
real sweetheart, funny, very competitive when it came to bowling. Her family owned the sheep farm that bordered the Brooks’ cattle ranch.
Rashad walked up to the line, allowing the woman in the next lane to take her turn.
Nasia, Yani, and Joy leaned forward, waiting for the right moment.
“Babe, this is how you’re supposed to bowl.” Rashad looked over his shoulder at Yani.
“Whatever. Throw the damn ball already,” Yani replied.
He began walking forward, and that was their cue.
“Gutter! Gutter! Gutter!” they chanted simultaneously amongst a fit of giggles.
He tossed his ball and sent it flying down the lane.
Seven pins went down.
“Damn, I just knew that would work.” Yani snorted.
“You girls think you’re funny. I’m going to clean up this spare.” Rashad wagged a finger at them.
Nasia sat back and grabbed her Coke. She turned her attention to Stan who was staring at her. She winked at him, eliciting a smile from him.
Her heart skipped a beat at the sexy grin.
“Anyone want anything from the bar?” Wade asked, standing and stretching.
“I’ll take another Sprite.” Joy held up her empty glass. She rubbed her pregnant belly and grinned.
“I’ll go with you.” Stan pushed up from his seat. He turned to Nasia. “Want anything?”
She hadn’t had an alcoholic drink all night. One wouldn’t hurt.
“Yeah, cranberry and vodka, please,” Nasia replied.
“I’ll have the same as her,” Yani said.
The guys left, heading over to the bar.
“So how long have you and Stan been an item?” Joy settled back on the cushioned bench. Her hand unconsciously landed on her belly as she watched Nasia.
“About a month.” Nasia smiled. It had been a great month and seemed longer.
“He’s a great guy. When I first met him, he was really quiet. You two look good together.” Joy nodded.
“Don’t they?” Yani chuckled. “The second Nasia started asking about him, I knew I had to help my girl out.”
Nasia rolled her eyes. Of course, Yani would take the credit for getting her and Stan together.