Keep It Simple (MMG Series Book 4)

by Hilliard, R. B.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have started this. I didn’t mean to,” I stammered.

  The incredulous look on her face seared a hole through my gut. Yanking her hand out from under mine, she growled in frustration. Then she ran her fingers through her long, dark hair and sighed. “Bloody fucking hell, Cas, why did you kiss me then?”

  “I shouldn’t have. Look, your brother is my friend and my client. This thing between us has nowhere to go,” I tried to explain.

  Hurt shone in her eyes and her bottom lip trembled. “Then you should have thought about it before you went there, not after.” Before I could reply, she turned on her heel and stormed across the parking lot towards her car.

  “You good to drive?” I shouted.

  She raised her hand and waved her middle finger in the air. “Talk to the finger, Boyo!” she shouted back at me, and I tried not to laugh.

  The woman was an absolute force of nature and I needed to keep my fucking hands off her. The problem was…I didn’t want to.

  Bobby didn’t push when I joined him at the bar. After one drink morphed into four, I said goodnight and began to walk home. I would jog over tomorrow morning to pick up my car. On the way home I thought about Sarah and all the reasons I should stay away. I didn’t want to stay away. This was not good. Not good at all.

  Chapter Seven

  Sarah

  ‡

  “This can’t happen. We both know it, Sarah,” I mocked under my breath. Then why the hell did you kiss me, shitarse? I was trying not to stomp, but I was so damn mad.

  “You good to drive?” Cas’s sexy-as-sin voice shouted behind me.

  I wanted to tell him to kiss off, but I was too angry to get it out, so I shot him the bird and kept on walking. The sound of his laughter chased me across the parking lot and I bit my tongue to keep from shrieking obscenities at him. I was angry…and frustrated…So, very, bloody frustrated. Apparently Max wasn’t the only person in the world who knew how to push my buttons.

  I opened my car door and slid behind the wheel. As I threw my head against the back of the seat I screamed in frustration. When I was done with my shrieking fit, I gave myself a pep talk. “Don’t let him get to you. You have fought too long and hard to reign in your self-control. Do not let one arse-of-a-cow man tear it all away.”

  Cas was all I had thought about since the pool party. Discovering he worked for Garrett, not to mention my brother, was shocking news. His less than receptive attitude towards me in the pool house hurt more than I wanted to admit. However, after a few days of nursing my hurt feelings, I gained a different perspective on the whole thing. No matter how much I may wish it, Cas can’t be with me. End of story. Right then and there, I made up my mind. The next time I saw Cas, I would simply apologize for my part of what happened and move on. I was good with this plan until I saw his sexy ass standing outside Dragonfly. The man had a hold over me I could not shake. The minute he touched me, my good intentions flew right out the window. Why did he have to kiss me? More so, why did I let him? The moment his lips hit mine I was gone for him all over again. I can’t believe I tried to stick my hand down his pants. Ugh, just shoot me now.

  Taking a deep breath, I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. By the time I arrived at the house I had a new improved plan. The next time I run into Cas, I am going to ignore him. If he asks to talk to me, I am busy. If he tries to kiss me, I will Kung Fu his ass. There are a million other fish in the sea. Cas has made it abundantly clear he can’t be with me. I need to let him go.

  Early the next morning, I drove to Amanda’s for bagels and coffee before she left for Canada. She’d asked several times if I wanted to join her for the summer. As much fun as spending the summer with her would be, I needed to spend time with my brother, Ellie and baby Mac. It was time to get past my hurt feelings and get to know my family.

  * * *

  Three days later

  As soon as I walked into Dillon’s apartment, I was waylaid by Isabella’s best friend, Sally and a freakishly large black dog.

  “I need a wingman and Izzy refuses because of duddy Dillon. This leaves you.” Sally announced. Sally Wilder was a tiny little thing with short brown hair and pretty hazel eyes. Her pierced eyebrow, nose and tongue were eye catching. Her smart mouth was hilarious. Add all of these to her various tattoos and do-not-mess-with-me attitude and I could see how she could be considered a little frightening. Sally moved from Charleston with Isabella, but now that Ibby and Dillon were officially back together, I sensed she was feeling displaced. I could definitely relate. I had felt this way my whole life.

  After introductions to Isabella’s dog, Brutus, I grabbed a gurgling Amelia from Sally and asked where Isabella was.

  A few days after I met Isabella, she called and asked if I would be interested in helping her with Amelia. I was eventually going to have to make a decision on whether or not I was going back to school, but I had some time before that happened. I told Isabella I could help her for the rest of the summer.

  “She and Dillon are finalizing things on the new place,” Sally answered. “Izz asked me to show you the ropes with Amelia. Let’s start with me giving you a tour of Dillon’s illustrious one bedroom apartment.” I followed her through the kitchen and down a hallway. Brutus all but knocked me over in his attempt to get to past me.

  “Dare I ask what you need a wingman for?” I asked as I entered what I assumed was Dillon and Isabella’s bedroom.

  “Well, there’s this guy I have been stalking. He’s so not my type, but I can’t stop thinking about him. I need you to be my wingman while I try and get into his pants. This is the master bedroom and the nursery.” Sally pointed to the Pack-N-Play in the corner of the room. “Milly sleeps here. You can change her on pretty much any flat surface you can find, except the dining room table and kitchen floor. Izzy caught D changing her on the kitchen floor the other day and flipped her shit.”

  “I bet,” I said, trying not to sound repulsed.

  “So, are you in?” Sally asked.

  Cas’s face popped into my head. I gave him a mental shove and said, “Sure, just tell me when and where.”

  “How about tomorrow night? I will pick you up around eight at Max’s. The bar is called Whisky’s.”

  I’d heard Max mention Whisky’s before, but couldn’t recall what he’d said about it. “And the guy you are stalking?” I asked.

  “Zane. He’s the owner of the place. Normally I don’t go for broody, dominant men, but something about this guy really revs my engine.” I chuckled to myself. You have no idea, sweetheart. I could write a book about broody, dominant men. Maybe one day I would tell Sally about Cas. Amelia’s squeal of delight made me smile. “Great. Now, let me show you what else Izzy hates,” Sally said, and we proceeded with the tour.

  The next day I spent with Ellie and my nephew. I couldn’t get over how much Mac resembled my brother. His dark hair, skin and big blue eyes were one hundred percent Max.

  Ellie told me bits and pieces about what she and Max had been going through while we had lunch. Max was not joking when he said he had been having trouble getting over the kidnapping. Max basically shut her out after Mac was born. Their argument in Joss and Kurt’s driveway the day I arrived occurred at the breaking point. Ellie assured me things were good now, but I made a mental note to ask Max about it later. She also wanted to talk about my last minute decision to relocate to Charlotte. I could tell by her tone of voice, she was skeptical. I explained how Max had been putting me off for months and how I finally made the decision to just do it. Max be damned. Minus the whole Cas thing, it was mostly the truth. I guess she bought it because she moved on to the next subject without any reservations.

  Sally and I had not discussed what to wear on our excursion to Whisky’s that night. I decided on a sleeveless black stretchy top and my black and pink plaid skirt. I paired this with a pair of black peep-toe heels. With my hair styled in soft waves and just the right amount of makeup on, I hoped I wasn’t
overdoing it. When I went out with my friends in Scotland, we wore a lot of makeup and showed a lot of skin. Here in the States, my friends said it was all about “less is more.” I was having trouble deciphering what this actually meant.

  Sally arrived in a kick ass vintage BMW. Thank goodness Max and Ellie were out for the evening or Max would have given me the third degree.

  “Love the car!” I told Sally, as I settled down into the comfy leather passenger seat.

  “Love your outfit,” she replied.

  Sally had on a stretchy black dress that only someone with zero body fat could pull off. Her short brown hair had freshly dyed red streaks in it and she had on a pair of bright red, square heel Mary Janes to match.

  “Oh my god, are those Mary Janes?” I asked.

  In an Elastic Girl move, Sally pulled her leg up and shot it out over the gearshift, barely missing my face. “Aren’t they great?” she yelled. Before I could get a good look, she had her foot back on the pedal and off we zoomed. A few minutes into the ride she apologized for not having air conditioning or a radio. It was hot, so we both rolled down our windows just enough to let some air in.

  “Tell me about Zane. How did you meet?” I yelled over the noise of the wind whipping through the car.

  “Zane is an ex-Army buddy of Dillon’s. He got out a year or so before Dillon and bought Whisky’s. He talked Dillon into moving to Charlotte to work for him once he was released. When Kurt opened Dragonfly, he recruited Dillon to bartend for him and offered him a managerial position, something Zane wasn’t willing to do. I learned this through Isabella, by the way,” she confessed. “Anyway, D was training me at Dragonfly last week and Zane came by for a drink. Dillon introduced us.” I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t.

  “And? Did you talk to him?”

  “Not really. I mostly just stared at him,” she admitted. “Now I am stalking him.” And I am her designated wingman. Great. “How about you?” she asked.

  It would be nice to have someone to talk to about Cas, especially with Lyndsey being in Scotland and Amanda gone for the summer. I didn’t have to use his name. The nickname Killer, floated through my mind and I smiled.

  “Bitch! I see that smile on your face. Talk,” Sally commanded.

  “Okay, but I’m not naming names,” I told her.

  “Do I know him?” she asked.

  “Ummm, I don’t think so,” I lied.

  She gave a hurry-up-with-it wave of her hand. “Okay, carry on.”

  I proceeded to tell her about how I met and hooked up with Mr. Mysterious when I was in for Max and Ellie’s wedding. I explained how he wasn’t there the final night and how I unexpectedly ran into him after returning from Scotland. I then told her about the other night and him kissing me before telling me he couldn’t be with me. I left out a lot, but felt she got the gist of it. The whole time I was talking, Sally was nodding her head up and down in agreement. When I finished she let out a big sigh.

  “So, Cas has commitment issues,” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. I opened my mouth and gaped at her in complete shock. She glanced over at me, then back to the road and laughed. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m good at figuring shit out. That’s why I want to work for Garrett.”

  Wait, what? “You want to work for Garrett? Really?”

  She shot me a dirty look. “What? You don’t think I’d be good in the security business?” Obviously this was a touchy subject.

  “No! I think you’d be great. I’m just surprised you want to, that’s all.” When she didn’t respond, I shut my mouth and stared out the window. Then I had a thought. “He knows Max,” I blurted.

  “He works for Max,” she corrected. “No offense, but your brother is a formidable guy, babe. I wouldn’t want to go up against him if I was Cas, either.” I knew this, but hearing it from someone else drilled it home.

  “Damn,” I whispered.

  We pulled into a parking lot and parked behind a two story brick building. Directly in front of us was a staircase leading up to a rooftop bar. Next to the staircase were black double doors with the word “Dungeon” printed above them.

  “You going to be okay?” Sally asked.

  “Yeah,” I said in a sigh. “Please don’t tell anyone it’s Cas. It’s over between us, anyway.”

  Sally held out her hand. “Welcome to Whisky’s,” she announced with a smile.

  I opened my car door and was accosted by music. Upstairs someone was singing a watered down version of George Ezra’s Budapest. They were not doing it justice, at all. Shinedown’s Cut the Chord blasted underneath from the dungeon. It was a strange, but alluring combination of music.

  As if reading my mind, Sally said, “Upstairs is a rooftop bar for the less adventurous folk. Downstairs in the Dungeon is where it’s happening.” As if on cue, the Dungeon doors opened. We waited for a group of goth-looking women to pass by before stepping inside. Flashing lights accosted my eyes and I blinked to clear my vision.

  “Welcome to Whisky’s, ladies. Can I please see your ID?” a voice next to us asked. I jumped and began teetering sideways. A pair of large hands steadied me. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, honey” he said. Slowly, my eyes cleared and I could see the giant perched on a barstool right inside the doorway. I smiled nervously at him and dug in my purse for my wallet. Thank goodness Sally engaged him in conversation. Otherwise, he may have picked up on my shaking hands. Sally gave me a get-your-shit-together look while the giant perused her ID. When he turned to me, I handed mine over and gave him what I hoped was a convincing smile. His eyes took in my face. They then proceeded to travel down my body to my feet and back up to my face. With a wink, he handed me back my ID and said, “My name is Mike. Let me know if you two ladies need anything tonight.”

  He didn’t even look at it!

  Before I could say something, Sally latched onto my hand and pulled me deeper into the room. I managed to wave goodbye at Mike over my shoulder.

  I could see why they called it the Dungeon. Other than the bar, which had dim lights above it, the place was dark and moist feeling. Brightly colored polka dots danced across the floor and walls to the beat of the music. I could make out a section of high top tables and booths to the right of the bar. The rest of the place was a giant open area where people were dancing, among other things.

  Jason Derulo’s Want to Want Me blasted through the room. The DJ added a techno beat to it and it sounded amazing. With a tight hold on my hand, Sally dragged me over to two empty stools at the bar.

  “Sit,” she commanded. Right as I sat down, she whispered, “Here he comes.”

  “Hey, ladies, welcome to Whisky’s. What can I get for you?” At first glance, I could see why Sally was into this guy. He was tall with light brown hair and striking blue eyes. His arms were chorded with muscle and several tattoos peeked out from under his button down shirt. He had something working behind those pretty eyes of his. It reminded me of Cas. Do not think of Cas right now, I mentally scolded.

  “Four Tequila shots,” Sally replied.

  “Four? Are you mad?” I loudly whispered.

  “Relax,” she said under her breath.

  Dad was hateful when he drank liquor. I vowed a long time ago never to drink liquor if I could keep from it. When I drank, I stuck with beer. Since my return to Charlotte, I had broken my no liquor rule twice. Both times I was trying to forget about Cas and both times I felt like death the next day.

  “Can I have a Guinness, please?” I asked the bartender. Sally huffed loudly next to me, but I ignored her.

  The bartender studied her for a second before looking over at me, and then back to her. “Do I know you from somewhere?” I was a sucker for a man with a deep voice and had to admit, this guy had it going on.

  “I don’t think so,” Sally casually responded.

  He poured four shots and handed them to us with slices of lime and salt. “You live here in Charlotte?” he asked.

  “I just moved here from Charleston,” Sal
ly replied. His eyes shifted to me and held.

  Sally kicked me under the bar. “Oh, sorry, I moved here a few weeks ago from Scotland,” I told him.

  He nodded his head before returning his attention to Sally. “Dragonfly,” he quickly stated.

  “Come again?” Sally sweetly asked. I had to hand it to her, she was a master at playing coy.

  “You bartend at Dragonfly with Dillon, right? I met you last week when I stopped in for a beer. Name’s Zane,” he announced.

  Evidently Zane did not believe in complete sentences. I was okay with this, but only because it was Zane. Anyone else speaking in partial sentences would bug the hell out of me.

  “I thought you looked familiar. I’m Sally and this is Sarah.”

  A guy in a suit stepped up to Zane and started whispering something in his ear. After a few seconds, Zane nodded his head in understanding. His eyes drifted to Sally and stayed on her while the suit continued talking.

  “Got it,” Zane impatiently said. “Ladies, this is Hunter. He will take care of you tonight. Anything you want, just ask. Drinks are on me. Hunter, meet Sally and Sarah. Sally works with Dillon over at Dragonfly.” With a nod of his head, Zane walked out from behind the bar and escaped through two large doors to our immediate left.

  “Bye,” Sally quietly said.

  “So, you two know Dillon?” Hunter asked.

  Like Zane, Hunter was a large man. His tan skin, blonde buzzed head, and big blue eyes stood out against the white of his button down shirt. His canary yellow tie was covered with tiny multi colored surf boards. It fit him. Maybe because he looked like he stepped right off a beach in California. While I was busy checking him out, Sally explained.

  “Dillon knocked up my best friend, Isabella. She had the baby and then finally told him about it. He moved her here to Charlotte and now they are seeing each other.”

  Hunter’s eyes widened in surprise. “No shit?”

  “Uh…is Zane coming back out tonight? ’Cause if he’s not, we’re done here,” Sally told him.