Choosing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 2)

by Kris Jayne

  “I waited tables in college,” Taryn commented. “And right after, when I was only working part-time hours at an agency. It was fun.”

  Jeff exhaled. They could talk and get to know each other. The only time they were ever all together was in therapy, and that was always awkward. It might be good to get used to being social.

  “Yeah, waitressing is more different day to day, you know. You have different customers, and you’re moving around. I get a little tired of sitting in the same spot doing the same thing,” Shannon said.

  “I can imagine,” Jeff said.

  “You still working with Paul?” Shannon asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Doing computer programming like before?”

  “Well, writing software and applications. We have an architecture that uses real-time communications over the Internet for various mobile applications. It’s more for mobile than computers,” Jeff rambled.

  Shannon blinked at him, distracted for a moment by a chiming sound coming from her purse. It chimed again three or four times. She pulled out her phone, tapped in a message and put it back.

  “Didn’t you have an idea for something like that when we were together?”

  Jeff glared. “Not really. There wasn’t much practicality to it at the time. There weren’t mobile devices everywhere like now. We had a kernel of an idea, but it’s not the same.”

  “Sounds like you’re finally working on the things you’ve always wanted.”

  “I am.”

  Taryn looked back and forth between from Jeff to Shannon and sighed. “Well, speaking of work, I need to get back to the office for a meeting.”

  “Do we have anything else to talk about?” Jeff asked her.

  “Not really, I need your final guest list with addresses. As long as you haven’t added anybody to it, our headcount is on target, so I’ll get it to the calligrapher. The invitations need to go out ASAP. I’ll schedule something with the photographer and let you know.” She and Jeff kissed quickly, and he slid out of the booth so she could leave.

  “Don’t forget your phone.” Jeff picked the device off the table and handing it Taryn, who slid it into her purse.

  “Thanks. Where would we be without these things, right?” Taryn asked rhetorically, eyeing Shannon. She left through diner’s glass doors without getting an answer.

  Trying to remember where she parked, Taryn glanced around the parking lot. She noticed the dented, brown Dodge Ram truck she’d seen parked in front of Jeff’s house the day of Olivia’s birthday party and in the therapist’s parking lot on multiple occasions.

  It was Shannon’s truck. But sitting in the driver’s seat was a scruffy looking man smoking a cigarette. Something on his phone engrossed him, and he didn’t notice Taryn.

  She took the opportunity to get a good look at him. He had longish, shaggy black hair and three or four day’s growth of patchy beard. He banged his fist on the steering wheel and expelled what looked like, “motherfucker.” His anger jolted Taryn. She turned away and hustled to her car.

  Shannon had told Jeff, Taryn, the therapist, and anyone who would listen that she was single, not seeing anyone, and focusing on herself and now Olivia. Men, she said, were nothing but a distraction that often caused her more trouble than they were worth. From the looks of that guy, Shannon certainly had her love life pegged.

  Who else could this guy be but some boyfriend, some dealer, or worse? Maybe it was her other ex-husband. From the way Shannon had described him, Taryn got the feeling the guy was violent.

  Pulling out of the parking space, she circled back around the lot instead of heading directly for the exit. From a position around the corner of the diner and a few rows back, she pulled over. She still had a good view of the truck. Taryn zoomed in and snapped a picture of the man and typed in the license plate number before turning the car around.

  A few minutes later, she pulled into the parking garage at work.

  Should she tell Jeff what she saw? Taryn thought about how angry Jeff got every time she suggested anything negative about Shannon. At this point, what was there to say, really? Just some guy in a truck.

  She would try to find out who the guy was first. She’d talk to Alexa’s dad. What was Shannon’s ex’s first name? All Taryn knew was Nelson, the last name that Shannon had used. She could send her Uncle Carlisle the picture, and maybe he could confirm the match.

  Taryn flipped through her address book to her uncle and texted him the picture. There was no point in bringing up anything to Jeff until she had as much information as possible.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The grocery store had been even more of a madhouse than Taryn expected—even for a holiday. Lots of people must have had the same idea to stay in and cook.

  Lugging her groceries in from the car, she once again ran through the shopping list in her head. Lamb chops, broccolini, potatoes, red wine, herbs, and mini chocolate tortes. Dinner wouldn’t be anything too elaborate, but Jeff liked meat and potatoes, so that’s what she’d make. Her instructions to him had been to show up precisely at seven thirty. She’d planned everything down to the minute.

  She arrived home at five thirty and prepared the lamb chops with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary, setting them in the fridge to marinate. Everything else, she’d purchased already prepared.

  Part of her felt guilty she wasn’t making it all herself, but then she figured her sweating in the kitchen wasn’t the most important part of the evening. Buying some of the dinner gave her time to pull her shoulder-length hair out of the low ponytail she wore to run errands and curl it in soft waves. She freshened up her makeup and put on her new dress—cherry red jersey cut on the bias to drape over her figure in all the ways she knew Jeff would love.

  Underneath, she wore a brand new red lace demi-bra and Brazilian panties in matching red lace. As underwear, they were wholly unsuited for practical use, but she hoped she wouldn’t be wearing them too long.

  Taryn surveilled herself in the full-length mirror hanging on the back of her bathroom door. Her slim figure looked curvy, and the bra did its job of lifting her breasts to heaven. All that was missing were her shoes, but she couldn’t cook in five-inch stilettos.

  She threw a robe over her dress and padded into the kitchen. She heated up the vegetables, opened the wine, and began searing the lamb. The chops should take precisely ten minutes and then they could rest while she put the final touches on her look. She wanted everything hot and ready for Jeff—including herself. That is what mattered.

  Taryn strapped on the impossible, leopard print platform heels, and the bell rang at the front door. She strutted to the door, which was pretty much the only way to walk in those shoes.

  Jeff wore a crisply tailored dress shirt in the palest shade of pink and dark rinse jeans. His camel hair coat draped over one arm, and in the opposite hand, he held a dozen of the largest, deepest ruby red roses she’d ever seen.

  “Lose your key?” she asked, standing with her hand on her hip. Taryn peered up at him through the long, black fringes of her lashes. Or at least, the lashes that were hers for the evening.

  “No.” Jeff wrapped one arm around her waist and moved closer to kiss her. Taryn heard the soft thump of his coat hitting the floor. “I don’t know what magic you’re cooking up in here, so I figured I’d give you a heads up. Everything looks ready.”

  His mouth descended on her as she tilted her head up to meet him. The tangy citrus of his scent lured her in, and he slipped his hands down her back and cupped her ass. Taryn pressed her hips forward, heat radiating from her core. She ran her hands over his back, luxuriating in the feel of his lean body under the silky feel of his shirt. Dinner. Taryn pushed on his firm chest and felt his heart pounding to the same elevated beat as her own.

  “We should at least close the door before we’re practically screwing in the hall,” Taryn said, catching her breath. “Plus, I slaved away in this kitchen to create the perfect meal. Time to eat.”

  Jeff smil
ed. “I thought you were getting everything from the store.”

  Taryn smacked him on the butt as he squeezed into her small apartment kitchen. “Hey, I made the lamb chops. It’s either time in the kitchen or time getting pretty.”

  “You don’t need time to get pretty, but I appreciate your efforts nonetheless.”

  His compliment had Taryn floating to the table with the lamb chops and potatoes. Jeff followed with the serving dish of broccolini and the bottle of Shiraz. They sat down at Taryn’s six-seat dining room table and dug into the food Taryn had procured. Jeff sat at the head of the table with Taryn next to him.

  “No candles?” Jeff asked, laughing.

  Shortly after they started dating, Taryn tried to stoke their romantic fire with a special evening by candlelight. She put candles of all sizes on her bedside tables and the bench in front of the picture window in her bedroom. One stray leg kick and Jeff knocked one over, setting a curtain ablaze. Luckily, it was a small smolder that Jeff could stamp out before it became serious. Taryn had forever sworn off candles.

  “I’m trying to stay alive until tomorrow, thank you. Although it would be a nice way to live out my firefighter fantasy.”

  “Firefighter fantasy? I wish I’d known. I could have gotten a fireman costume instead of this Valentine’s Day shirt.”

  “Valentine’s?”

  “It has tiny hearts all over it. The guy at the store said you’d think it was sweet.” Jeff rolled his eyes and blushed. Taryn burst with laughter.

  “I think the guy at the store thought you were looking pretty sweet.”

  “Hey, you know romance isn’t my best department. This is what trying looks like. We’re getting married, so you’re going to have to learn to love my failed attempts at seduction.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re pretty good at seduction.” Taryn shifted in her seat so she could run her toe along Jeff’s leg under the table.

  His eyes darkened. “I thought we were eating.”

  “We are eating.” With her left toe, she slipped off her right shoe and returned her foot to Jeff’s calf. He shook his head and took another bite of his lamb chop. Taryn watched him turn red as he chewed slowly and swallowed.

  They were only half way through their dinner, but Taryn decided it was time for dessert. She wasn’t thinking about chocolate cake. She picked up her wine glass and twirled it in her fingers before tipping it back. The ruby liquid poured into her mouth. Her eyes locked with Jeff, and she ran her tongue along the rim of the wine glass.

  “Mmm. That’s good wine.”

  Jeff dropped his fork. He reached under the table and grabbed her foot. He caressed her instep and trailed his fingers softly up the arch. Taryn’s sharp intake of breath in response to the tickling sensation only encouraged him. She took another swig of wine and put down her glass.

  “We’re not eating anymore,” she said and withdrew her leg from Jeff’s lap. “I’m going to pop into my bathroom. You wait for me in the bedroom.”

  They both jumped up and strode briskly down the hall to her bedroom. Taryn entered and went to her master bath, which also held her closet. She slipped her dress over her head and bent over, flipping her hair upside down and back. She shook out the blond strands with her fingers and looked herself over once more in the mirror. Pleased, she stepped back into her bedroom. She’d expected to see Jeff waiting for her on the bed. He was on the bed, but looking at his phone.

  “Hey,” Taryn ordered. “Eyes over here.”

  Jeff looked at her and licked his lips, putting the phone on the nightstand.

  “Come here.”

  Taryn threw herself on the bed, crawling over to him and straddling his lap. He placed his large hands on either side of her hips and squeezed. Taryn grabbed his face and sucked his tongue into her mouth. Her nipples peaked against the lace of her bra.

  Jeff took her by the shoulders and lifted her back, burying his face between her breasts. Starting at the rhinestoned juncture of her bra cups, he licked the pillowed cleft, not stopping until his reached the hollow at the base of her neck and gave her a tender, wet kiss. Taryn moaned for a moment, then silenced herself by kissing Jeff’s eager mouth again.

  A rattling buzz fractured the stillness surrounding them. Once. Twice. Then, it paused. A few moments later, two rapid buzzes shook the bedside table again.

  “Who is texting you?” Taryn huffed, now officially disrupted from her sexual adventure. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

  Jeff ducked his head and sighed.

  “Who?” she asked again, but she already knew. She just wanted him to say it.

  “Shannon. Her truck broke down. I told her I couldn’t come get her. I reminded her that it was Valentine’s Day. I told her to call a tow truck.”

  “So why is she texting you again?”

  “I don’t know.” He glanced at the offending phone.

  Taryn climbed off of him and flopped back onto the pillow next to him. “Just check it.”

  Jeff picked up the phone and looked at the text message. “She only has thirty dollars. The tow truck guys will take cash when they arrive or a credit card over the phone to charge before they get her. She doesn’t have a credit card.”

  Taryn couldn’t believe her ears. She was supposed to be having sex by now, not talking about Shannon’s pathetic financial situation.

  “You’re going to pay for her wrecker?”

  “What other choice do I have? She doesn’t have the money. Look, I’ll just call the company and give them my card number. It’ll take two minutes.”

  “It might as well take all night because this,” Taryn snapped, gesturing toward her body stretched out on the bed in four hundred dollar’s worth of lingerie, “is done for the night.”

  Taryn jumped off the bed and headed for the bathroom to change into her more comfortable loungewear. She reached the doorway and turned around. She stood there, hands on her hips, shoulders back, and her chest lifted and heaving with frustration.

  “I just want you to get one last look. Have you seen this?” Taryn yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. “You could be having this.”

  She whirled into the bathroom and slammed the door.

  Chapter Nineteen

  With Valentine’s evening blowing up in their faces, Taryn and Jeff tried to make the best of it the next morning with a quiet breakfast at a down-home brunch spot near Taryn’s apartment. Jeff apologized again and again. Taryn did her best to get over it.

  By the time they parted in the parking lot, she had warmed up enough to give him a heartfelt kiss goodbye. She had to go home and pack for her business trip. Jeff had to go home and get some work done before his parent’s dropped off Olivia that evening.

  He spent the rest of Sunday hunched over his computer fixing some problems with his application. By one, he was able to send Paul a link to test his output of his labor. Paul got the link and messaged him back.

  > Testing it now.

  He crossed his fingers that he’d resolved the problems. His vision blurred, but that’s how he worked. He’d fall off into a sea of code for hours at a time, only surfacing to grab something to eat. Sometimes, the work swallowed him up for days with little sleep. He loved it and hated it.

  Selling part of the business would take the pressure off. The all-nighters and the constant quest for new clients would abate. Jeff remembered how many times he did work for those clients who would stiff him or drag out the work forever. He’d fired more than one client for wasting his time. He dreamed of the day that the scraping and begging would come to an end.

  His phone rang.

  “Hey, Paul.”

  “Hello. Hello. I sent you a screen shot with one issue, but other than that, everything looks fixed. What are you up to the rest of the afternoon?”

  “I’m probably going to take a nap. I’m exhausted. I was up late. Crossing into my thirties has done this to me. I have a day to myself, and all I want to do is sleep.”

  “Fine, but
you better block out some time to celebrate when the deal is done, buddy,” Paul demanded.

  “Absolutely. Now let me pass out on my couch.”

  Once he hung up the phone, Jeff did exactly that until his afternoon slumber was interrupted by another call.

  In a half-awake daze, he rolled over and looked at the caller ID, thinking maybe it was Taryn. Instead, it was Shannon.

  “Hello?”

  “Jeff?” Shannon’s shaky whisper alarmed him.

  “Shannon? What’s wrong? Something else with your truck?”

  “No. It needed a new battery. Got one today. Do you think I could come by?”

  Jeff had no time to think of how she paid for a new car battery. He did not think it would be okay if she came by. Taryn wasn’t there. Olivia wasn’t there. He didn’t need to be hanging out with her alone.

  “Umm. Why don’t we meet somewhere? Have you had dinner? We could grab something to eat. I just need to be back here by seven or so.”

  “How about the café where we had lunch?” Shannon asked.

  Jeff sighed. He couldn’t do another meal with Shannon at his and Taryn’s favorite lunch spot.

  “Let’s try something else. There’s a Chinese place a couple blocks from here. It’s on Preston. I can’t remember the name of it.” Jeff looked it up online and gave Shannon the address.

  “Meet you there in twenty minutes.” Fright tinged Shannon’s low voice.

  “Yeah. See you then.”

  So much for his nap.

  When Jeff got to Mr. Chen’s, Shannon was already sitting at a table draped in red paper, reading the Chinese horoscope on the placemat.

  “This week is Chinese New Year. It’s the year of the sheep.”

  “Is it? I can never remember which I am.”

  “We’re the year of the rat. Doesn’t sound so good, does it?”

  Shannon avoided eye contact, still perusing the goats, snakes, and rats. Jeff could tell she’d been crying.