The moment my door is opened, his mouth pressed to the top of my head, the contact rough against my smooth skin.
“Sunday?” he murmured.
I drew a blank, and then remembered the visit he asked for with the girls this Sunday. His parents were having a family barbecue and I promised them that Lily could come.
They’d missed her so much.
Nodding, I stepped back from him and smiled shyly.
“Sunday,” I whispered.
The door pressed to my back as I leaned against it, my heart still stupidly racing from Lucas’ touch. The moment he touched me, all anger or spiteful words I could have said to him disintegrated. All I knew was how much I had missed him. I had longed for him. I thought after all this time, he would have no effect on me whatsoever. God, was I wrong.
“So? Are you just going to stand there or join us?”
My sister’s voice dripped with curiosity as she spoke and I was sure I blushed scarlet. What was I, fourteen? It wasn’t as if I had never been touched by a man. But Lucas Jones wasn’t just a man.
He was rough around the edges with the smoothest touch.
He was out of this world beautiful with eyes that seemed to follow me even when I hid from them.
He was everything I had ever wanted and I was so scared to let him in again, I trembled with it.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought, I guess! How are you?”
I dropped onto the seat next to her on the love seat and embraced her fiercely.
Laughing lightly, she eyed me and I knew she wasn’t about to let what she just saw go so easily.
She would push me because she knew me better than I even knew myself, sometimes. I would be an idiot to think she would turn a blind eye to the fact that I still harbored feelings for my ex-husband.
She was my sister, after all.
“I’m good. Lily and I made dinner.”
Narrowing my eyes, I looked over her shoulder to see my baby girl almost entirely covered in flour with a big spoon in her hand, dripping with what looked to be brownie batter.
“Oh, baby let me get you cleaned up!”
I rushed over to her and knelt down beside her to pull her now filthy shirt over her head.
“I’m all messy, Mama. I’m sorry.”
Smiling at her, I shook my head, untying her converse sneakers in the process.
“Silly girl. I’m not mad. I’m so glad you had fun today.”
Grinning big and wide, Lily threw her arms around me and hugged me, flour and all. I could have been mad about that, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that this was one of my favorite sun dresses.
“I think it’s bath time, Pumpkin. Go on and pick out your PJ’s and I’ll be up in just a bit.”
Nodding, she took off, leaving me covered in white powder and streaks of brownie batter.
Turning toward Meghan and Aria, I laughed.
“Let me tuck her in. Go get changed and have a glass of that chardonnay I bought last night. You deserve it.”
Putting my hand up to Meghan, I shook my head.
“No, it’s okay, she’s . . .”
Giving me a look I know means business, she brushes past me.
“She’s exhausted, Kaelyn. Let me.”
Nodding, I sat down next to my sister and pressed the back of my head against the cushion.
“What happened?”
She whispered, fully aware I was avoiding this topic until the last possible moment.
A sigh left my lips and I blinked my eyes open, turning my head to rest against her shoulder. I was so damn tired, but I needed to tell her everything. It’d always been that way with us. We weren’t only sisters but best friends. I could remember many sleepless nights when she first met her now husband, Gavin Thomas, and all the sexy details she revealed during our late night and sometimes, early morning talks.
My sister had been the one to make me finally see my true feelings for Lucas when we first began dating. I had been reeling from my brother’s death as a teenager, not knowing how to risk my heart to that sort of pain again, but my sister sat me down and helped me see it.
I loved Lucas Jones.
Even from the beginning, the very first time he smiled at me I was gone for him.
He was my weakness.
He was everything.
And then, one day, he was gone.
“Asher Jones came by the café as I was leaving and offered to give me a tour of the record studio his father had bought. I guess it was something they’d wanted to do for a long time and an abandoned building in Frankfurt Square was up for grabs.”
Her eyes widened, a ghost of a smile on her mouth.
“I always knew he would keep true to that dream Candace had. She wanted all of her sons to be close, now they will be.”
Scoffing, I closed my eyes again.
“They’ve always been close.”
“No, not really.”
Looking at her again, I asked her to elaborate. I always knew the Jones family to be as close as possible. As thick as thieves. They had even formed a band at one point in high school. Asher, Ben, and Lucas were always joined at the hip, even if they wound up bickering the majority of the time. Even after Lucas left, his brothers had always remained close, checking up on me every once in a while.
“They haven’t been close like that in years, Kel. Lucas stopped coming around for the family not long after the divorce.”
Her hushed words, though delivered with a softness of understanding, caused a punch to my gut all the same. I never wanted that, but when I realized Lucas wasn’t coming back, I made the choice that was best for us. I had to, for my girls.
“But they’re here now.”
“Yeah.”
I kicked my shoes off and curled into the comfort of the love seat, a question weighing on me.
“Why now?”
Shrugging, my sister looked away as she pulled a long sip from the glass of wine settled in her hand.
“They’re a close knit bunch. It makes sense.”
“Lucas was there. At the studio. He saw that I was walking and wasn’t having it. He insisted on walking me home.”
Leaning back, her eyebrows rose while her eyes clouded with curiosity and wonder.
“I think he wants you back.”
I grabbed the bottle of wine from her side of the couch and pulled straight from the neck, needing the sweet taste to cloud the possibility from my already frazzled brain.
“Impossible, Ari. He was just making nice.”
Grinning as if I’m fooling myself, she shook her head at me.
“Whatever you say, big sister.”
I felt a presence behind me the moment I turned on Third Street in the square, my feet carrying me toward The Joyous Cup for my opening shift. I turned my head toward the sound of scuffling feet, but couldn’t see anything, the dawn’s darkness still gloomy in the crisp air. It was nearing summer, yet the southern air here got rather cool at night and in the early morning hours, though I might as well call it night since the sun was far from rising just yet. My hands clenched nervously at my sides, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach and my pulse quickened.
There was someone following me.
I heard the faint roar of a motorcycle on the street behind me and inwardly, I chastised myself. Why was I so jumpy today?
Nearing the café, I smiled at the post-it note Meghan must have left me last night when she locked the doors. She was off job hunting today. I knew she needed more cash as she wasn’t used to working part time at the firm she had an assistant position at. I always told her she should reach for more, for better, but she’d insisted that getting another job was all she needed. I wasn’t about to fight her on it.
A dopey smile spread over my face, erasing the slight frown that had marred it on the walk over. I knew for a fact the fridge wasn’t leaking. She always left me a note whenever she was up to no good, like now, obviousl
y. Turning the key to unlock the door, I opened it with my foot and pulled it shut, pressing the code in at the alarm key pad. Once it was disarmed, I flicked on the lights and moved toward the back door to unlock it for when my barista came in. We’d hired a few new girls in the last few weeks and it was a good thing since I’d noticed that our business was picking up as summer approached. A soft knock on the door came and pushing it open just a bit, I grinned when Leah, my newest hire and a sweet girl, appeared behind it. She had worked at a bakery before this and I knew she would fit right in.
“Hey, you’re early! How are you?”
Smiling shyly, she nodded and followed me down the steps and toward the office in the basement.
“I’m good! Excited to get started.”
Nodding, I smiled at her, seeing the energy rolling off her in waves.
“Me too, Leah. Let’s do this.”
Raising my eyebrows, I waited for her to pull on her apron before I followed her up the stairs and we began the day. It was a Saturday morning and if the day went as projected, it would be a busy one.
My mind wandered as my hands busied themselves with the task of brewing coffee. We brewed a fresh batch the moment we came in, just in case the opening of the doors spurred an early rush. It didn’t happen often, as we opened at six thirty in the morning and there weren’t many businesses in the square that were open this early. I felt eyes on me and I turned my head to see Leah looking at me with curiosity as she stocked the milk fridges underneath the espresso bar.
“Is something wrong, Leah?”
Shaking her head, she continued on her task and I grabbed a damp cleaning rag to wipe down the bottom of the coffee bar where I had made a bit of a mess in the brewing process.
“You’ve got this faraway look in your eyes. You can tell me if I’m intruding, but are you thinking about a man? Boyfriend, maybe?”
I wanted to laugh at the light tones in her voice as she spoke. If only it was only a casual boy I’d had my thoughts set on. But it couldn’t be further from the reality I found myself in.
It seemed that ever since I walked into Elsa and Garrett’s home and found Lucas standing there looking all man and sex and everything I could ever want—I’d been pulled into his vortex yet again.
I wanted to fight it, but I knew he wasn’t going anywhere. He’d said it more times than I could count, and somehow I thought that just maybe, he didn’t mean those words totally for our children’s benefit. He would be there for Avery and Lily. Anyone could see the love and true devotion he had for our girls just by the way he looked at them, as if they were the sun and the moon. To him, I knew they were.
I couldn’t help thinking he wanted more, though. I’d known him most of my life and he wasn’t one to give up on a fight. Even one that I had made clear was over a long time ago.
“Ex. It was a long time ago, I just can’t stop thinking about him.”
She moved to the fridge closest to the stocked cabinet I was wiping down and looked at me with the kindest eyes.
“Maybe there’s a reason for that. It sounds cheesy, but I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. Even if that reason isn’t clear, sometimes you just have to trust that fate will work its magic and you will be okay.”
I had a funny feeling that this girl was a keeper. Whether she flourished at the café or went on to try something completely different, I had a feeling that we would be friends.
“Thank you. I think I needed a reminder of that.”
We hugged fiercely, something I rarely did with the girls I worked with, but realized I was wrong for that. Each girl I worked with had a special place here and I was thankful for every one of them. “You’re gonna get me all wrinkled, girl! Let’s open up, yeah?” She grinned at me, her high cheeks reddening in her excitement for the day ahead.
Laughing, I nodded, handing her the cloth to briefly wipe things down as I ventured out into the lobby and unlatched the locks at the front door. The moment it opened, a pair of olive eyes met mine, darkened by what looked to be concern and worry.
I lost my breath as I got lost in his eyes, the keys I’d had in the lock not two seconds ago now loosely gripped in my hand as my eyes took him in. He was dressed in a pair of black wrangler jeans with a rip in one knee, white Nike’s on his feet, and a navy blue tee shirt underneath the black leathers he always wore when he went riding.
Why the hell was the man haunting my thoughts here right now?
I was at work.
It was six thirty in the morning and my hair was probably a mess.
Oh, God. There was mocha streaked over my cheek from when I stocked the syrup cabinets just a few minutes ago. I could see my stilled expression in the window of the door now at his back.
Blushing deeply, I looked into those eyes and frowned.
The nerve of this man . . .
“I need a moment, Kaelyn.”
“I’m at work, Lucas. There’s customers . . .”
A hard laugh left him and he dipped his head closer to me as he spoke. When his winter mint breath fell over my face, my entire body heated at the contact.
When his hand came up to cover mine on my cheek, I felt my blush deepen even more.
“You have something. Right here.”
I watched as his tongue licked slowly over his thumb and he smoothed the rough pad over the skin just underneath my eye. Tingles ricocheted against the walls of my core, my attraction to Lucas getting the better of me.
“Just one minute,” he whispered, his voice velvet smooth.
Damn it, why couldn’t he have gained a few pounds or at least lost his hair?
He is still just as undeniably beautiful as he always was.
Except he kept his head covered. Always.
I had yet to see him with his hair down or even his head uncovered and I wasn’t sure why, but that detail weighed on me. I wanted to know the why. To everything.
I just wanted some answers.
The ones I’d yet to pry from this man.
Maybe he’d tell me if I gave him this.
So, I conceded.
Taking his hand, I cast a look toward Leah who was tending to the only customer in the store, a tall, blonde haired woman that I knew as a regular.
“I’m sorry, Leah. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
Looking up from the drink she was preparing, her eyes widened when she saw the man beside me. Lucas Jones. From the outside, he may look like a bad boy, a rebel, a loner, even. But to me, he was so many things. He confused me, to say the least.
His presence loomed behind me, the air thick with the pull that hovered between us as I led him downstairs and shut the office door behind me, pressing against it as I blinked up into his stoic face. Gone were the emotion filled eyes I had a glimpse of a few minutes ago.
“Why the fuck did you walk to work at this time of day, by yourself?”
The anger was radiating off of him, his fists clenching at his sides in what I thought was a mixture of concern and frustration. Honestly, I didn’t care. I was a grown woman. I was perfectly fine these last six years he hadn’t bothered to check up on us and I was fine now.
Pushing at his chest that boxed me in to the door, his hands grasped mine gently to stop my efforts.
“Kaelyn.”
A harsh breath left me as I continued to try to get him away from me, anger seeping from my pores and an increase of frustration heightening within me the more I fought against his strength.
“Let me go.”
My angry gaze landed on his and I saw something break within him at my muttered words. Instantly, his hands loosened, but I didn’t move like I had wanted to. I just looked at him. I saw the broken hope in him. I didn’t know why he let me go all those years ago. With everything within me, I wanted to. I wanted to know. I wanted to understand. I wanted to have that piece of our puzzle so that maybe, in some way, I could move on from him.
The moment was broken when he
dropped his gaze from mine and his face was buried into my neck, firm hands grabbing at my hips as if I’d slip away from him. His body shuddered just barely, and as my hands slid around the tautly strung muscles of his shoulders, I felt the hot breath fall from his lips.
I shivered from the contact, holding onto him even tighter as he gathered himself.
A part of the wall that I’d built around my heart chipped away as we stood there, his body molded to mine in the most intimate way, the scent of him surrounding me completely. His rough voice was engraved in my skin, the fierce hold he had on me never faltering.
“Never going to let you go again, Sweetheart.”
Lifting his head, he slid one hand to my jaw, keeping me still as his gaze penetrated mine and one arm secured around the small of my back, causing my defenses to falter at the closeness of him.
“L-Lucas I-”
I wanted to say so many things. How much I have missed him. I hated that I loved and hated him with every fiber of my being. I hated him for leaving us six years ago. I hated him for taking the one person that had owned my heart away from me. Him. It was always him I thought of when I lay in bed late at night with my eyes tightly closed, my soul begging for an answer to his disappearance. The answer I still needed now.
Why?
Lucas lifted my chin with his finger and looked at me with hungry, sad, hopeful eyes.
He wanted me.
It was as clear as day in his gaze and it terrified me.
Unconsciously, my body pressed closer to his, my arms still tightly clenched over his shoulders, my breaths coming faster as my heart thudded viciously from the contact of our bodies.
I needed him.
It was inevitable. Like gravity. A pull so strong I was terrified that if I didn’t push him away right this moment, he would burrow into my heart again and I’d fall.
This time, almost a decade after the first time I had fallen for him, I didn’t know if there was enough steady ground beneath me to save me when I landed.
The coarse pad of his thumb pressed to my bottom lip as it trembled just as his mouth dipped to my jaw and his lips brushed against my fevered cheek. Sparks crackled underneath my skin and my blood heated in anticipation for what was to come. My eyes fluttered closed and my mouth fell open as his hands captured my face. He was going to kiss me. I knew this and yet, the pull between was too strong. Too potent. Too real.
Breaking Lucas (Trinity series Book 2) Page 14