by Abby Brooks
“I feel better than I did yesterday.” She angles her head so I can see her temple. “The cut hurts and I’m going to have one hell of a bruise, but I’ll live.” She shrugs and then opens her menu. “Any recommendations?”
“It’s all delicious. I promise. There’s a fair share of eclectic choices, if you’re feeling adventurous. If not, they have the best hamburger in the state of Colorado.” I lean over and point to it on her menu. My hand brushes hers and I want to trail my fingers up her wrist, tracing lines along her creamy skin. I sit back, carefully folding my hands in my lap before I embarrass myself by giving in to the urge.
Sarah studies the menu while I study her. “Wow,” she murmurs. “Eclectic is the right word for it. Bone marrow? That’s a thing?” She looks at me and wrinkles her nose.
“People say it’s delicious, but I haven’t tried it.” I lean closer. “Can’t say as I ever will.”
The waitress arrives and takes our orders—a hamburger and an iced tea for me and a Vietnamese steak salad and a glass of wine for Sarah. I study the delicate planes of her face while she orders, the swoop of her eyelashes, the curve of her cheek. The flash of pale blue eyes, almost startling in their clarity.
“So, this trip of yours,” I ask. “Is it something you’ve wanted to do for a while?”
Sarah fidgets with her napkin. “It was definitely a spur of the moment thing.” Her smile hints at a thousand things left unsaid. “My brother was getting married in South Carolina—we’re from Ohio,” she clarifies and I nod. “I packed up and hit the road, fully intending to go to the wedding, only I turned west instead of south.” She shrugs, dropping her gaze. “Not my nicest move, but it might have been my best move.”
The hurt radiating off her stuns me and I read between the lines of what she said and what she didn’t. “Are things strained between you and your brother?” I study her reaction carefully, looking for any hints as to who this woman really is.
“Not with that brother. Not really. It’s complicated.” She sits back and the look in her eyes tells me to move on.
That silent warning does nothing but make me want to know more, but I’ll drop it. For now. “How many brothers do you have?”
“Just two. David, Colton, and then me—the baby of the family.” Sarah rests her elbow on the table and cups her face with her hand. “What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”
“There are six of us Wilde boys in total.” I wait for the inevitable shocked response. No one learns about my family without it sideswiping the conversation.
Sarah does not disappoint. Her stunning eyes go wide. Her jaw drops. Surprise brightens her face. “Six of you? Wow…”
“Yep. Chet, Gabe, me, Hank, Jack, and Leo.” I hold up a finger for each brother. “And before you say anything about the names, they’re all short for something even worse. For some reason unknown to any of us, my mom thought having an unusual name would give us character.” I grin, thinking of how many times my oldest brother, Chet, had to come to my rescue over my stupid name. “I grew up on a ranch about two hours from here. There’s a running joke that my parents wanted to cut back on ranch hands. Hence, six boys.”
Sarah’s surprise deepens. “Shut. Up.” She places her hands on the table and leans forward. “You grew up on a ranch?”
“Is that gonna be a problem?” I ask through a chuckle.
“It’s just a coincidence, that’s all.” Sarah pauses while the waitress arrives with our drinks, thanking the woman as she places them on the table. “I grew up on a farm. Cows. Goats. Chickens. Orchards. You name it, we grew it.” She eyes my suit and the fancy restaurant, then tilts her head as if she’s come to a conclusion. “Seems like you enjoyed that lifestyle about as much as I did.”
I shrug. “I’m better with my head than my hands, so instead of trying to be a square peg in a round hole, I focused myself on energy efficient design and sustainable architecture.”
Sarah raises her brow. “You’re an architect?”
“Nope. I’m an electrical engineer, but I work for a firm that wants to lead the way in the field of sustainable architecture. You know, go green and all that.”
For as flippant as I’m being, environmental concerns are a big deal to me. Growing up on a ranch taught me the value of knowing what goes into our food and highlighted the struggles real people face trying to make a living off agriculture. To say I’m passionate about discovering more efficient ways to harness energy is an understatement.
“Wow.” Sarah sips at her wine. “Sounds like you’re using your powers for good. I commend you.” She raises her glass in mock salute before setting it back on the table.
Our food arrives and my mouth starts watering at the sight of the massive burger and pile of fries on my plate. Sarah’s salad looks delicious and she moans as she chews her first bite. The sound sends my mind down delightfully wicked trails. I want to be the cause of that sound. I want to draw it out of her again and again and again.
“What about you?” I ask, after popping a fry into my mouth. “What kind of work do you do? Must be impressive if it can fund a random trip across country?”
As far as I can figure, she’s either rocking a killer job with great benefits and loads of vacation time, or the kind of job she could just walk away from. I can’t think of any other way a person could simply decide to take off on a whim without worrying about the ramifications on her future.
Sarah grimaces. “As of two weeks ago, I am no longer employed. I used to work as a dispatcher at the firehouse, but I called to quit when I made it to Missouri and realized I wouldn’t be back anytime soon.” She smiles, her eyes speaking volumes, though I’m not sure I understand the language. “I know it makes me sound flighty as hell, but I promise, I have my reasons. I need this.”
I hold up my hands. “No judgement.” It’s true, I’m not judging her. Not yet. Though my curiosity is growing as to what caused her to take off so suddenly. If she’s a flake, that’s fine. She won’t be here long enough to be more than a distraction. “Honestly, a trip across country sounds amazing. There’s so much of the world I’d love to see, but I’ve barely left Colorado.”
“The way things are going, it looks like I might not get to leave Colorado, either.” She laughs, a sweet sound. “I have some savings, which is how this trip even made some kind of sense in the first place. But with car repairs and hotel bills on the horizon, I’m gonna need to find a way to make some money. I was thinking I’d get a job as a waitress or something. You know, just a throwaway job, so I won’t feel bad when I have to quit in a few weeks. Hell. I wonder if this place is hiring.” She sits back, looking pleased with the idea. “The food is crazy good and the tips are probably outstanding.”
A thought wanders to the surface and I try to ignore it. With Violet leaving McDougan & Kent, there’s an entry level position open as of today. But, given all the drama around Bree and now Vi, I can’t afford to have another incident with a woman at work. Given the very definite attraction between Sarah and me, I’d be crazy to help her get my ex-girlfriend’s job.
The smart play would be to nod, smile, and suggest she ask about an application at Guard and Grace before we leave.
But, if Sarah were to get Violet’s old job, I’d have a reason to see her every day. A reason to find out what it is about this woman that has my complete attention. Besides, Sarah won’t be staying in Denver long enough to create a scandal at work. And when we come right down to it, even if there is a scandal, a temporary receptionist isn’t worth losing a permanent engineer.
I wipe my hands on my napkin and toss it on the table. “So, I don’t know if you have any interest or experience, but there’s a receptionist position at McDougan & Kent that just became available as of this morning. The pay’s probably more reliable than a waitressing job, since you can’t really budget for tips, and you wouldn’t be on your feet all day.”
Sarah finishes her wine and leans her elbows on the table. “Wouldn’t hurt to try, you know? I li
ke the idea of working for a sustainable architecture firm. But you know what?”
“What’s that?”
Sarah’s eyes glint with humor and her lips quirk into a smile. “I like the idea of working with you even more.”
There’s a promise in her words, something my soul understands but my mind can’t quite untangle.
Whatever it is.
Whatever it means.
We’re in for a wild ride.
Sarah
I sit at the desk in my hotel room, scrolling through possible cheaper living arrangements on my phone and wishing I had thought to pack my laptop. As much as I like staying downtown, there’s no way I can afford this hotel as a long-term option. There’s one of those extended stay deals for seventy-nine dollars a night a few miles away, and a couple for fifty-nine dollars a night just outside the city. All of them rock a solid two-star rating and the user pictures I’ve been perusing look sketchy as fuck.
I jot a few notes on the hotel stationary and then swipe my prescription bottle off the corner of the desk. I’ve been going through these babies at a rate I promised myself I’d never hit again. This stupid-ass trip was supposed to help cure my anxiety, not add to it. I sigh as I spin the bottle in my hand, the pills clattering against the plastic, before I plunk it back down on the desk.
I have plenty of pills as long as I manage to slow down, but if I don’t slow down, I might have to figure out a refill…
Which means figuring out which pharmacy is closest to wherever I’ll be staying for the unforeseeable future…
That is…if they’ll let me fill a prescription from out of state…
I really need to stop taking so many of these things…
They just make coping so much easier…
Money.
Pills.
Jobs.
Families.
Cars.
Hotels.
Too many thoughts. Too many worries. They get me out of my chair and pacing while I try to work it all out. Only, I can’t work it out because it’s all been such a tangled mess for so long, there’s no telling where one problem ends and another begins.
After a few restless minutes, I plop on the bed and drop my head in my hands, a familiar weight settling on my shoulders. I was a fool to think I could outrun my problems. It doesn’t matter where I go, I’m always there, baggage in hand. As much as I’d like to think my issues belong to my family, they don’t. They live buried deep in my heart.
They’ll chase me as far as I’ll run, my history destroying my future, the pain I carry with me coloring every experience I have. Sighing, I wrench the top off my prescription bottle, swallow a pill, and wait for the world to blur around the edges, for my emotions to quiet from a loud roar to a dull nothing.
This trip was a last-ditch effort to find something in my life that feels good because damn it, I’m tired of feeling bad. Yes, I’m running and no, that’s not healthy, but there’s only so much one person can take.
It seems I’ve hit my limit.
Outside the large window in my room, the sun sets on the city. I watch the sky catch fire and my thoughts turn to Frank, my knight in shining armor, the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome with just enough geek to help him stand out from every other good-looking man in a suit. Imagine my surprise when I opened my eyes after the accident and found someone that beautiful crouching beside me, fear and worry dancing across his face.
He didn’t even know me, but he was worried about me.
I can’t remember the last time someone looked at me like that, with genuine concern about my well-being softening the space between their eyes. It touched my aching heart and I’ve yet to figure out if I liked the way it felt. It’s like when an arm falls asleep, the tingling of the waking nerves is almost too much to handle.
Thoughts of Frank have been a constant companion since our lunch yesterday. From the sound of it, he’s not just a pretty face, he’s also thoughtful, hardworking, successful, and fun. Lord knows I need some fun right now. I push away my notes and close out the pictures of the skeezy two-star hotels, pull up his contact info, and initiate a call.
“Hey, you,” I say, after he answers.
“Hey yourself.” The smile in his voice makes me smile too. I lean against the window, staring out over the city, the cool glass feeling nice against my hot skin. “What’re you up to?” he asks.
I run a hand along the back of my neck, kneading at the tension in my shoulders. “Nothing good, that’s for sure. What about you?” My breath fogs up the glass and I draw a finger through the condensation before wiping it away.
“Fending off my mother’s wrath.”
So Frank Wilde is a momma’s boy? How cute is that? “You’re mother’s wrath, huh? Sounds serious.”
Frank laughs. “You have no idea. She cooks a full meal every Wednesday, hoping all of us boys will make it home for dinner, though we never manage to show up at the same time. I have a meeting in the morning, so I’m the one disappointing her this week and am now the recipient of her incredibly passive aggressive dismay.”
I think back to our conversation at lunch yesterday. “Didn’t you say home is two hours away?” Surely, his mother doesn’t expect him to drive that far, just for dinner.
“Exactly.” Frank sighs. “So, four hours in total once I get my happy ass back to Denver. I do my best to make it when I can because I know how important it is to her, but it’s just not going to happen tonight. I can’t afford to be late tomorrow.”
The fact that it happens at all makes him a saint in my book. “Well, you know what is going to happen tonight?” I ask.
“What’s that?”
I push off the window and pace the small distance to the bed. “You’re going to take me dancing.”
“Tonight?”
“Yep. I’ve been cooped up here long enough. I think it’s time I got out, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather spend the night with.” That, and I can’t get the way Frank looks at me out of my head. He looks at me like he cares and as much as it hurts, I need more.
“That’s because I’m the only person you know in Colorado.”
“True. But I’m not opposed to going dancing alone. So, the fact that I even thought to call you is pretty huge.”
“Oh. Well. In that case, I’m honored.”
I picture him leaning back in a chair, his feet kicked up on a desk and find myself smiling at the image. “As you should be. I don’t bestow my attention on just anyone. I find it to be a waste of time, getting my hopes up, only to be let down.” And oh, how I’ve been let down.
Frank chuckles, his deep voice rumbling in my ear. “Way to put the pressure on a man who already told you he has an early meeting in the morning.”
“You like how I did that? Kind of pro-level stuff, huh?”
“I guess. If you consider manipulation something to be impressed about in the first place.”
I put my hand to my heart in Colton’s favorite gesture. “Ouch,” I say before I realize what I’m doing and drop my hand. “Maybe I just want to see you so badly I’m willing to stoop to any level to get what I want.”
“Or, maybe you’re not the kind of person who sits still very well and is willing to make someone feel special in order to make them give you attention.”
“Isn’t that basically what I just said?”
“Wow, Sarah.” Frank’s voice deepens. “Talk about a mindfuck.”
I laugh. “And think, that’s just what I can do with my mouth.” The long pause on the other end of the line unsettles me. Maybe I misjudged him? “So that’s a yes?”
Frank sighs. “How about a compromise? I can’t promise you dancing, but I’ll meet you for a drink at Derby’s.”
I squint at my reflection in the glass. “Deal.”
We make plans to meet in an hour and I hang up before tossing my phone on the bed. Thankfully, the Sarah who thought she was packing for her brother’s wedding thought to bring a range of outfits. I rifle through my bags
until I find a short black dress, casual enough for the bar, but sexy enough to make any man take notice. I pair it with high-heeled ankle boots and a long chain that ends in a charm shaped like a delicate silver leaf. I muss my hair and darken my eyeliner and voila!
Not bad, if I do say so myself.
Frank Wilde will never know what hit him.
Sarah
Frank’s seated at the bar when I step into Derby’s. My eyes land on him and I pause, jaw dropped. This is the first time I’ve seen him out of a suit. He’s sexy as hell all dressed up, but holy shit. In his casual clothes? He’s so far out of my league it’s ridiculous. His hair is tousled and begs me to run my hands through it. His T-shirt hugs his broad shoulders and the most sculpted pair of biceps I’ve ever seen stretch the sleeves. He’s not giant, but he’s cut, hard and lean, like a runner or a gymnast. He slides his glasses up his nose, the dark frames offsetting his dark hair and eyes.
And here I thought he was going to be the one who didn’t know what hit him.
I regain my composure and sidle up to the bar. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Frank shifts in his stool, a grin lighting his face. “Hey there.” His gaze turns molten as he takes in my dress. I love knowing he’s as affected by me as I am by him.
I cock a hip and suck in my bottom lip. “Damn, Wilde. Who knew you had that hiding under those stuffy suits.” Despite myself, I run a finger along the edge of his sleeve, my nail dragging across his skin. I imagine him leaning in, the scent of his cologne wrapping around me as his lips whisper across my own and then drop my hand to my side before my reaction gets me in trouble.
Frank shifts and the muscles in his arm bunch and jump with the movement. “I have more energy than I know what to do with. My gym time is a requirement or I start driving the people at work crazy.”
He’s driving me a little crazy right now, looking like he does, his gaze smoldering into mine the way it is. I’ve never felt so helpless in front of a man before, so at his mercy, as if a mere whim on his part could set my life on a totally different path and I’d be more than happy to follow him wherever he led me.