A Cautious Heart (The Heart's Temptation Series Book 1)

by Genevieve Matthews

  He reaches over to the dash and turns the heat up. I instantly feel the warm air on my face and body.

  “Are you warm enough now?” His voice is deep and gravelly. I’m still fighting hard to keep my guard up. Just in this last half an hour together he has made me feel taken care of and safe. Some of the things that would make it nice to be in a relationship with someone.

  “Yes, that’s nice. Thank you.” Now that I have left the bar I feel myself calming down. If I were by myself or with Abbey I would be completely calm, but Heath has a way of working me up in completely different ways. Until tonight I got the impression that Heath was just into his good looks and all of the other stereotypes that go along with it. After the way he has treated me, though, I’m starting to question my preconceived notions about him.

  Tonight, I have no idea what his motives are. From what I know about men, there is always some kind of motive that influences their actions. I didn’t think I’d have to worry about that with Heath, seeing as how tonight is the first night where we have spoken more than a few words to each other. When we are together with other people from the bar, he always keeps to himself. He never interacts with me when we are with other people. I know there is something to this man, I just don’t know what.

  “So what happened to your face?” He asks and pulls me from my thoughts.

  I am taken aback for a moment. Everyone else has carefully avoided mentioning the stitches on my forehead and the resulting scar. “You know, you’re the first person to ask me that since I got here. I had almost forgotten that it was there.”

  “I’m sure everyone else is wondering, they just haven’t asked.”

  “You’re probably right about that.” Even though it is a simple question, it is a personal question. And I’m not sure what I want to say. I decide to be vague. “I bumped my head on a cupboard.”

  He doesn’t say anything and this time the silence feels more uncomfortable than before. Considering this is really our first conversation, however, I’m not going to divulge all of the details of my past to him.

  “Tell me about yourself. What do you enjoy doing?” That feels like a more suitable line of questioning for tonight.

  He tilts his head to the side like he is pondering the question. Or like me, deciding what he wants to share. “I guess I like working with my hands.”

  “Well that makes sense, considering all the work you’re doing renovating Jack’s place.”

  He smiles. A genuine smile. It melts my heart. I finally have a glimpse of what else this man could be. Apparently he does have a soft side.

  “Yeah, Jack taught me a lot of what I know.”

  “He seems like such a good guy. Giving me a job right when I got to town. He’s the kind of guy that makes people feel comfortable and welcome. It’s a nice quality to have.”

  “You know, Jack gave me a job at his bar when I was new to town too. It has been a few years now, but I think it’s his calling to help people get back on their feet.”

  His comment intrigues me and I want to ask him more about how he met Jack and what his situation was like that he needed help. I open my mouth to ask him.

  “We’re here,” he says and the question dies on my lips.

  I look out the window and realize he has pulled up in front of The Cozy Cottage. The second half of that ride went so quickly.

  The rest of my questions will have to wait for another time. “Thanks for the ride.” I turn to smile at him, curious to see what version of Heath I am going to see.

  “No problem,” he says. His gaze is intense and I feel like he is really looking at me for the first time since we’ve met. I just hope it isn’t a look of pity.

  “See you at work?”

  “Sounds good,” he says.

  Jumping down from the truck, I shut the door and without turning back, walk into The Cozy Cottage.

  I sit in my truck and watch Bree walk all the way to the front door of The Cozy Cottage. I watch her walk through the front door and close it behind her. I can’t seem to straighten my head out right now. Just knowing she’s inside, probably pulling off her clothes to get ready for bed makes me want to follow her inside, bust through her door and take her wherever I find her. She brings out the animalistic urges in me.

  Unfortunately she also brings out the fighter in me. If I were ever introduced to the person that hurt her, I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions. I’d lay that son of a bitch out.

  Zeke and Quinn had invited me to go with them to The Journey. Any other night I would have said ‘hell no.’ But just knowing that Bree was going to be there…I needed to be there, too. Once I saw her in the bar all I could do was watch her. I felt like a creepy stalker but I couldn’t help myself. I could tell she was uncomfortable. She drank too quickly and didn’t engage in conversation with anyone that she didn’t already know. Mostly I wanted to protect her. If she were mine I’d ease her discomfort. Let her know she was fine, encourage her to let go and have a good time. I wouldn’t let anyone touch her.

  I lost track of her when she went onto the dance floor. I hung around by the bar just waiting to see her again. When I saw her fleeing toward the door I knew something was wrong. Everything inside of me told me to stay away, leave her alone. But I couldn’t do it. I needed to know that she was okay. I was just going to keep my distance but then she started walking away. I couldn’t let her wander off by herself. Something could have happened. I’m like a moth to a flame when it comes to her.

  The constant battle of wills going on in my head has me in a bad mood by the time I get to work the next night. I am desperate to see her and dreading it, all at the same time. She doesn’t know how beautiful she is. She doesn’t see how the guys in the bar look at her every night. They constantly glance over at her while she takes orders and makes drinks. Her hair is pulled off her face, not completely back, but enough not to get in her way. Some nights she will braid the pieces of her hair that frames her face.

  The black shirts we wear at Jack’s accentuate her auburn hair, and her to die for hourglass shape. Her breasts are large, pressing against the fitted cotton shirt that also hugs her small waist. My hands ache to be all over her deliciously tempting body.

  It’s closing time and Bree is still behind the bar finishing up washing the glasses before she cashes out the register. Quinn walks over and scoops her up in a big hug from behind.

  “Hey, nice work tonight!” He puts her down and she turns and smiles at him, still drying the glass in her hand with a towel.

  “Thank you. Though a bar does serve a different clientele from a coffee shop, the overall concept is the same: take a drink order and make a drink. I’m getting the hang of it.”

  I walk over and lean across the bar from them, making my presence known.

  “What’s up man?” Quinn’s always in such a good mood. That doesn’t bother me; it’s the flirting that gets under my skin. He’s free to flirt with any other piece of ass in this place, I just want him to leave Bree alone.

  “Nothing.” Bree looks up at me and then quickly looks back down to the next glass she is washing. I can tell she feels uncomfortable but I’m not sure if it is because of me or Quinn. I know she’s shy, that much I’ve picked up on. “You want some help washing those glasses?” I ask.

  She looks surprised that I would ask. “Sure.”

  I hope that Quinn will leave, but he doesn’t. As I walk around the bar to stand on the other side of Bree, Quinn jumps in with some more questions. “We missed you last night. You left so early. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I just had a headache.” Her eyes flash to mine before finding her hands again.

  “Well I’m sure we’ll go out again, soon. You’ll have to come,” he says.

  “Sure. That would be fun.”

  She looks at him and they share a smile. I could easily shatter the glass I am holding at this moment.

  “Hey Quinn,” I say. “Jack was wondering if you could inventory the liquor bottles?”
/>
  “Tonight?”

  “Yeah. At least get a start on it. There’s always tomorrow if you don’t finish it.”

  “Well that sucks.”

  “Sorry man. Just dive right in and it’ll be over before you know it.”

  Grumbling, Quinn walks away. I make a mental note to text Jack and let him know that he told me inventory needed to be done tonight.

  “So are you feeling better after last night?”

  “Yes,” she says. “Thanks again for taking me home. It’s so embarrassing.”

  “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “Was it a panic attack?”

  Her movements slow as she hesitates to answer my question.

  “I think so,” she says. “I don’t know why I felt one coming on last night. I’m not good with crowds. But, I guess I’m also a mess.”

  “We’re all a mess,” I say.

  She looks up at me and gives me a shy smile. “You don’t seem like a mess to me,” she says.

  “Well how well do we ever really know someone?” I don’t know where that came from. It was out of my mouth without a thought.

  She really thinks about that before responding. “I don’t know, I think we can know people really well.” Her eyes are searching my face, begging for information. “Maybe not at first. But eventually everyone shows their true colors.”

  “Okay. How about an example?” I really want her to tell me how she felt about me when we first met. I’m curious to know how she saw me at first glance.

  She is quiet for a minute while she finishes up the last of the glasses. She’s lost in thought and for a minute I have an overwhelming urge to lean over and kiss the furrow on her forehead between her eyes. “When I met Brian, my ex, one of the first things we ever did together was go for a walk.” She turns toward me but starts to fidget with a towel. Almost like she can’t quite look me in the eyes when she admits something about her past to me. “Well, I should say, we tried to go for a walk. We only lived a few blocks away in the city and he texted me and asked if I’d like to meet him on the corner so we could go for a walk. We agreed to meet on the corner by this little electronics store. So I walked over to meet him and I end up standing there for at least a half hour and still, no Brian. I don’t know why I didn’t bring my phone along but it was sitting up in my apartment. So, I walked home and grabbed my phone only to find all of these messages from Brian asking me where the hell I was. Somehow we misunderstood each other and went to different corners. Really stupid right?”

  “Yeah.” I’m completely hypnotized by the glimpse into her past that she’s giving me. I feel bonded to her, like I know something about her that no one else does.

  “I thought it was stupid. Just a miscommunication, not like either one of us did it on purpose. But he got so mad about it. He yelled at me for not taking my phone with me and told me that that type of thing really annoyed him and he didn’t know if things would work out between us because of it. I had a feeling that night that I should just walk away. For some reason, I didn’t. I mean, who reacts like that to something so stupid? Instead I apologized and tried to fix things. Even now when I think back to everything that happened, I just wonder how things could have been different if I had just walked away that night.”

  All of the sudden she seems so vulnerable. My hand reaches out and settles on her arm. Her skin is warm, soft and smooth. I want to be the one to let her know that everything is going to be okay. Now that she is here, things will work out and she’ll be back on her feet before she knows it. But I don’t have that right. And I don’t really know what she’s running from. What would she do when she found out that I had almost gone to jail because of my temper? There’s no way she’d want a repeat of her last relationship. She would leave me and knowing myself, I wouldn’t survive.

  I pull my hand away. “We all have regrets.” And then, seeing the truth in my own words, I give her a sad smile. “Some of us more than others.”

  She just looks at me and nods her head in agreement. We both seem to remember ourselves at the same time and all of the sudden it seems too quiet. Maybe she is embarrassed that she has shared so much, while I feel the need to confess my past sins and get it all out in the open. But the moment passes.

  “I’m going to grab my jacket and head home. Are you done with everything for the night?” She makes a face like she just remembered something. “Should we help Quinn with the inventory?” She whispers it, as if saying it quietly will mean we won’t have to.

  “No, we’ll just finish it tomorrow. I’ll get my stuff and walk you to your car. It’s late.”

  Five minutes later I am walking her outside. She unlocks the doors with a click of a button from her keychain and I open the driver side door for her. She turns to look at me before she gets in the car and I’m lost in the depth of emotion in her eyes. She smiles and the moment my eyes move to her lips I want to pull her in my arms and taste the heat of her mouth on mine.

  The moment passes and I’m still just standing behind her with my hand on the driver side door. “Drive safely,” I say.

  “I will. You too.”

  And before I have a chance to pull the door open again and act on my impulses, she backs up and drives out of the parking lot.

  My next shift at the bar is a few nights later. To be truthful, I enjoyed the short time I had with Heath the other night. But I remind myself of my priorities. Complicating things with a man just isn’t one of them. I need to find somewhere to live, figure out if expanding our coffee shop is feasible here, and, above all else, figure my own shit out.

  Heath is distracting to me because I find him attractive and whenever I’m around him I have the good butterfly feeling in my stomach. It’s exciting. Especially because feeling comfortable around men I am attracted to has never come easy to me.

  Abbey is already in the staff room when I walk in to put my coat and purse away. This is the first time we have seen each other since I left The Journey early. “Hey Bree! How are you? I have so much to tell you about the other night! I ended up meeting this guy named Zack and we had such a good time, he spent the night and we had amazing, mind-blowing sex!” She doesn’t take a breath until the end when she’s literally singing the phrase “mind-blowing sex.”

  “Wow! You will have to fill me in. I’m not usually a details girl, but I’m going to need details if mind-blowing sex is involved,” I say.

  “Well,” she says as she pulls her lip gloss out of her purse to apply it before her shift. “First of all, he’s packing some heat downtown if you know what I mean.” She emphasizes her meaning with a wink. “And sweet apple pie does he know how to use it. That man was in me so deep I was singing to the angels in heaven above.”

  “Oh my God! Okay, Abbey, we’re at work. Maybe the details need to wait until we go out for drinks again.” I can’t help but laugh. She doesn’t have any of the inhibitions that I do.

  “Ha! I love seeing you get all uncomfortable when the topic of sex is brought up.” She drops the lip gloss back into her purse and closes the drawer. “So, did anything happen with you and Heath?” She stands in front of me with her hands on her hips and her foot propped out to the side.

  “No, he gave me a ride home. End of story.”

  Abbey shakes her finger at me as she says, “You don’t see yourself as other people see you. You’re a sexy little thing, Bree. You’ve got this gorgeous, flowing auburn hair,” she combs her fingers through my hair and lets it fall on my back. “You’ve got curves in all the right places and I don’t need to tell you that you’re an overflowing handful in the boob department.” To my horror she cups my breasts to emphasize her point.

  As if on cue, Heath walks through the door to put his jacket away. He freezes mid-step and just stares.

  “Oh hey Heath,” Abbey says without removing her hands, “we were just talking about you.”

  My face flames a bright red as I sweep her hands off of m
y boobs. Words are lost on me so I just brush past Heath and rush to the bar, head down the entire time.

  Thankfully the bar is really busy. I see Heath over by the door and Abbey is working with me behind the bar, but there isn’t time to discuss our conversation from earlier. I’m keeping my eyes focused on fixing drinks and serving customers and not letting them stray to the front door where they might make contact with Heath. I figure at this point I might die of embarrassment if he catches me looking at him tonight.

  I am so focused on avoiding contact with Heath that I’m not really paying attention to much else that is going on in the bar. Abbey and I are trying to turn out the drinks as quickly as we can. Jack has even come behind the bar to help us out tonight.

  There is a girl standing in the middle of a crowd wearing a tiara that says, ‘bride to be.’ When I take the time to notice the other girls around her, they are wearing buttons that identify them as members of the bridal party. That explains the over abundance of drinks being poured tonight.

  The music is loud and the girls are drunk. Miss “bride to be” is getting very flirty with some of the guys on the dance floor. There is some serious bumping and grinding, and an abundance of ass grabbing. I just happen to look to my left in time to see one of the girls from the bridal party with one arm around Heath’s neck and the other hand trailing down his chest. I can’t help feeling a pang of possessiveness. Definitely a new feeling for me.

  About fifteen minutes later, a large group of guys enter the bar. The man at the front of the group scans the bar until his gaze settles on the dance floor. His body goes rigid as he balls his hands into fists and storms across the floor. Before the poor guy on the dance floor has any knowledge of what is about to happen, he’s ripped out of the arms of Miss “bride to be” with a loud, “get your hands off of my girl!”

  “Hunter stop!” She screams.

  Hunter doesn’t stop, however, and things escalate quickly.