His Kind of Wonderful (Sugar Bay #2)

by Kinsley Gibb

  She felt especially vulnerable. Their relationship—if one could call it that—wouldn’t last. Their limited time together made her feel needy as if every moment would be their last.

  It was a terrible feeling. What would it be like when things went back to normal? She was kidding herself to think her heart had remained detached in her pursuit of knowledge. She wasn’t the type to have intimate relations without an emotional connection.

  She was in love with him and that was the scariest part of it all. It was hard to hide. She loved everything about him—his charm, his tenderness, his work ethic, the fondness in which he spoke of his aunt, the way he loved George and the lengths he was willing to go through in order to protect him. Hell, she even loved the fierce way he protected his friendship with Derek.

  She’d hoped he would be able to see her as more than his best friend’s little sister. But she could see, he treasured his friendship with Derek more and he wasn’t prepared to jeopardize it for what he perceived as Dani’s little experiment.

  She thumped her forehead on the table.

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  She’d done exactly what he’d warned her not to do—fall in love with him and want more. Now she’d be like the others who mooned after him when he was done.

  She’d let the fact he’d asked her to be his pretend girlfriend to screw with her mind. The truth was, if another girl had been on his mind at that moment, someone else would be in the position she was in. She was simply convenient and she needed to remember. There was nothing special about her.

  He loved her family, but he didn’t love her. He was fond of her and was protective but that was Derek’s big brother attitude wearing off on him.

  Joe didn’t have a family anymore. They were his family and she didn’t want to be responsible for destroying the bond because he didn’t love her the way she loved him. Once it was over, she would need to recover quickly and somehow find a way to return back to normal.

  She would be a grown up the way she’d always wanted her siblings to treat her.

  She didn’t want Joe to be alone.

  For now she’d enjoy their pseudo relationship while it lasted. But when it was over, she’d let it go because that’s what you did when you loved someone. You let them go. You didn’t force them to bend to your will no matter how much you wanted to do so. That wasn’t love. It was power and manipulation and she didn’t want a love that had to be forced.

  And that was that.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Oh my God. This is amazing.”

  “Contain yourself will you? All that moaning has people staring.”

  “Hmm? Really?” She glanced around but didn’t notice anyone looking. Dani shrugged and took another bite. The orgasmic Key Lime Pie was a favorite at the Tilted Kilt and she was going to enjoy it.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shift in his seat. She hid a grin behind her spoon.

  “You sure you want me to stop because people are watching or because I’m turning you on?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him and surreptitiously stroked his thigh under the table.

  He snatched her roving hand and shot her a mock glare. “Have you listened to yourself lately while we’re having sex?”

  “Can’t say that I have. I’m usually on the cusp of losing my mind.”

  He smirked. “You’re welcome.”

  “Thank you.” She grinned. “And you’re welcome as well. Don’t think I haven’t heard you whistling in the kitchen, in the garage or basically everywhere so it’s not as if you’re not having a good time yourself.”

  “The best.”

  She sucked in a quick breath at his admission accompanied by the intimate smile he gave her. She swallowed her bite of key lime and chased it down with water. After Joe confronted her on about her writing, he hadn’t brought it up again. They continued to sneak around for ‘research’ opportunities, dodging Derek and his increasingly suspicious eyes. During the day they worked and played. She’d gotten better at stand up paddling and they ran almost daily on the beach together. Every night, they made the most of their dwindling time. As if they were both aware the end was near and they were filled with a desperate need to make as many memories as possible. The auction and the fans associated with it, seemed to disappear so she knew it was only a matter of time before she moved back in with Dylan and the girls. There wasn’t a reason to stay, except for, maybe, Lisa. Her behavior was still erratic.

  “Well, well. If it isn’t the lovebirds.” Lisa stopped at their table with George beside her. The poor guy looked at them with apologetic eyes.

  “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s leave them alone and go have lunch.”

  “In a minute, George,” Lisa snapped and Dani could see the tension rise in Joe. She grabbed his knee under the table and patted it. He shot a grateful look her way and made an effort to relax.

  “Honestly, I don’t understand what you see in her.” Lisa glared in Dani’s direction. “I’ll have you know—I would have been the best you ever had.”

  “Now—“

  “Hush, George. Let me speak.”

  The fact that George put up with being spoken to in that manner was incredible and made Dani feel uneasy.

  “Don’t bother, Lisa.” Disgust dripped from Joe’s calmly uttered words and Dani sat back in her chair for this long awaited set down. “It won’t be necessary. To be clear, I am not interested in anything you have to offer. I never have and never will be. I don’t know what happened to you. You used to be shallow and annoying but basically harmless.” He ignored her affronted gasp and continued. “But now, you’re shallow and a real bitch.” He looked at George. “I’m sorry you have to hear all this, George. I want you to know I have never encouraged her in any way.”

  “I know that.” George looked disheartened.

  To Lisa he said, “I’ve tried being nice. Tried ignoring you. Tried staying away until you got the hint. But short of beating you over the head, I’m not sure what else to do.”

  “I’ll do the honors if you let me,” Dani muttered under her breath. When Joe squeezed her knee, she knew she hadn’t been as quiet as she’d thought.

  “Out of respect for George, I’ve said nothing, but frankly, Lisa, your behavior baffles me. I’m not sure what George sees in you.”

  Tears clouded Lisa’s blue eyes and her lower lip began to wobble. Dani could tell the woman hadn’t put on waterproof mascara and it was going get pretty ugly very soon.

  Dani sat up, not wanting that to happen. Although she wanted Lisa to get the point, she hated being around crying people. She had a tendency to take empathy to an extreme and was afraid she’d cry as well but Lisa saved her by rushing out of the restaurant.

  The silence after her exit was awkward. The other patrons who had presumably heard the exchange wore similar ‘oh, shit’ expressions while trying to appear as if they were minding their own business. George sank into the chair next to Dani and across Joe.

  “I’m very sorry, George.”

  “No, Joe, I knew her behavior made you uncomfortable but I didn’t say anything. I’d hoped if I made her happier, she’d get over her obsession with you.”

  Dani remained silent wishing she were anywhere but here.

  “I should leave.”

  “No. Stay.” Joe’s hand clamped her knee in place. His grip was firm and bordered on desperate, so she sat back in her chair.

  “Yes, Dani. Stay. Because of your association with Joe, you’ve had the unenviable task of being Lisa’s target and I don’t want my wife’s behavior to affect your relationship.” George took a breath and continued speaking to her as if meeting her eyes was easier than meeting Joe’s. She nodded, encouraging him. “Seeing Joe so happy lately has been the one highlight of this fiasco. For a long time I’ve worried he’s been rudderless—never committing and having no desire to do so. But I can see he’s been waiting for you all along. The other girls were a distraction. They
didn’t have what you have, Dani. I knew when he first mentioned your name that you were the one. There was a spark in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.”

  A sad grin lit his eyes and Dani’s heart ached. If only that were true but she knew it wasn’t. Joe was simply a good actor.

  “I’ve known Joe for a long time now—since he was a kid. He was always a mischievous pain in the ass, an irrepressible imp really, but man he made me laugh. I was never worried about him messing with Lisa.” He looked straight in Joe’s eyes. “I never doubted you.”

  Joe nodded, his grip on Dani’s knee tightened under the table and she was afraid he’d leave a bruise if he continued. She pried his grip off and threaded their fingers together, patting the back of his hand in comfort.

  “Lisa is ten years younger than me but she’s not smart like you, Dani. She’s okay in that department—don’t get me wrong,” he rushed to clarify.

  “For her entire life, her exterior packaging had been the focus—how she looked, what she wore, whether or not she was the most beautiful. That was her thought process. When I first met her, she was like a beautiful doll and I wanted to take care of her.” He sighed, sounding tired. “For a while she was happy. We had Collin and her focus was on him. She’s a good mother but now that he’s no longer little and needs her less, she’s lonely. Me being busy doesn’t make things easy.”

  Dani nodded, trying to understand.

  “She didn’t get from lonely to wanting Joe in one easy step.” George clarified. “No. She’d decided she wanted another baby. For a year we tried and even went to the doctor. I thought the problem was with me, but it turns out, Lisa had to have a hysterectomy.”

  Dani ached for the woman despite her crazy behavior.

  “She hasn’t said it so much but I think she feels less than a woman because that’s when she started craving male attention—specifically Joe’s.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, George.”

  George nodded. “Thanks for listening. I hope you can forgive her now that you know.” He slapped his hands on the table and pushed his chair back. “I’d better go find her.”

  They watched as he walked of the restaurant with slumped shoulders.

  “Poor guy.”

  “Yeah. It explains so much. I always wondered why he let her behavior slide. He doesn’t deserve it, that’s for sure. But he’ll stay with her because of Collin.”

  “Probably,” she agreed and pulled her hand from his. Already, she missed the connection but they no longer needed to continue their ruse. “I guess this changes things.”

  “How so?”

  “You no longer have to worry about Lisa.”

  “I guess not.”

  Her heart sank.

  He folded his arms over his chest and gave her a measured look. “But you don’t have to move out just yet.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” A clean break was better than her falling more in love with him while he tried to let her down gently. If she was going to have any chance of saving her heart, she needed distance.

  He nodded as if the thought of them not being together anymore didn’t bother him. “So that’s it, then.”

  “I guess so.” She injected a nonchalant quality to her voice. He wasn’t trying to change her mind and she’d die before she showed him how much she hurt.

  It was odd how a few minutes could change things drastically. They’d started the lunch as lovers and confidants and now they were back to the way they were. A large chasm separated them despite their proximity. She glanced down at the once orgasmic key lime pie and pushed it away. She knew it wouldn’t taste the same.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What the hell happened? One minute they’re good, the next…nothing.” Her husband said from under a towel. She winced at how hard he was rubbing. “It’s Dani isn’t it? She’s always been so stubborn if not flat out unreasonable.” Derek threw the towel in the hamper and stormed to their closet.

  The sight of her hot husband wearing nothing but a short towel never failed to please her. Anabelle sat up in bed and watched with interest until he slid on a pair of pajama pants.

  “All I know is Dani is back with Dylan and the girls in the farmhouse and—according to Charlie—Joe no longer eats sweets.”

  Derek whistled. “That’s not good. That guy never says no to sugar.”

  “Well he does now. Charlie says, he comes in to get stuff for the guys, but doesn’t order anything for himself.”

  “Damn.”

  “Mrs. MacKinnon is worried. He hasn’t been his usual charming self—not since Dani moved out.”

  Derek shook his head and sat on the edge of their bed.

  “You’re taking this pretty hard.”

  “Damn right. Those two stubborn mules are messing with my track record.”

  “What track record?”

  “Have I ever told you about my matchmaking skills?”

  “No, but do tell.”

  “You know Dylan’s biological mother is Chinese, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “When she was younger, we researched her heritage. My dad wanted her to know about her mother’s culture. Since Dylan’s mom left when Dylan was a toddler, she didn’t have any memories of her mother much less her mother’s heritage. With Dad, Dani and me being Caucasian Americans and physically looking the same, we wanted Dylan to appreciate her culture instead of getting caught on looking different.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Yeah, well, she loved the Chinese astrology aspect and the fact that her grandmother was a matchmaker. She tried reading signs but she pretty much sucked at it. It pissed her off that I was better at it. I absorbed that aspect of her heritage and got good at reading peoples signs, blending eastern and western astrology—keep in mind, this was before apps.”

  “You’re such a bullshitter.”

  “Ahhh. You have insulted the mighty one.”

  “I have. I’m calling you out on this.”

  “We shall see. Dylan and Joe are perfect for each other. They just haven’t realized it yet.”

  “Derek. I love you, but you have all the subtlety of a jackhammer.”

  “No. You’re wrong. I know my sister’s stubborn nature and I know Joe’s weakness for her. It was a matter of putting my concerns out there along with throwing out some mental roadblocks. Just you wait, my little nonbeliever.”

  “Hmmm. We shall see, although I want it to happen just as much as you do. I think they’ll be perfect together.”

  “So we’re not betting on it.” He looked disappointed.

  “Is there a reason we should?”

  “I was sort of looking forward to getting some special treatment out of it.” He leered at her and crawled over to box her within the circle of his arms.

  She slid her hands up his bulging biceps to his shoulders, loving the strength of his body surrounding her. “How about this? We’ll put together a numbered list of whatever you want to do and coordinate them to coordinating straws. Whatever we pull out, we can do. Day by day.”

  His eyes lit up. “Excellent plan, sweetheart. Excellent plan.” He lowered his head to hers for a long, deep kiss until thoughts of Dani and Joe and their stubbornness disappeared from their minds.

  ***

  Derek slid into the stool next to Joe at the Salty Pug, a popular seafood bar. “Hey, loser.”

  “Punk Ass.” Joe acknowledged.

  “You don’t look so good. You doing okay?”

  “I’m surprised Anabelle held you off for so long. You’re such a sweet talker.”

  Derek grinned, unrepentant, and ordered a drink.

  Joe knew his friend meant well. He probably looked like crap because he felt like crap and not because a certain brunette had walked out of his life. Although she hadn’t completely disappeared, it wasn’t the same. He felt like a man who’d been introduced to gourmet cooking after a lifetime of fast food and
then being told it had all been a mistake and although he was allowed to look, he would never be able to taste it again.

  Joe sighed. His heart hurt—but not because he was heartbroken. It was probably from the oysters. He pushed his plate away.

  This was the first time he’d seen Derek in weeks—ever since he’d begun avoiding the guy. His guilt was so strong but it was long passed time for him for a confrontation.

  “Have you seen Dani lately?” Derek pulled Joe’s half eaten plate in front of him and dug in. Joe thought about warning him but remembered the guy’s stomach was made of steel.

  “Here and there. She had texted that she’d be getting the last of her stuff out of the cottage today.”

  “Hmmm. I think she has another meeting with Professor Perv tonight.”

  Joe shrugged.

  “I thought you were taking care of matters.”

  “I don’t think you have anything to worry about in regards to the Professor.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure she doesn’t like the guy in a romantic sense.”

  “Then why do they see each other outside of school?”

  “I can’t say. That’s something you need to discuss with Dani.”

  “Why can’t you tell me?” Derek glared.

  “I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

  “Hmph. That’s a load of bull. What’s she have to hide from her own family?”

  Joe nursed his drink without saying a word and let Derek ponder in silence.

  “And the Professor is part of her secret?”

  “I can swear there is nothing going on between the two of them. So you can rest easy about that.”

  Derek nodded. He didn’t look completely satisfied but he seemed to understand Joe’s position of sworn secrecy and for that Joe was glad. It wasn’t his place to unveil Dani’s secret even if he didn’t think she had much to worry about.

  “What if Dani doesn’t finish her doctoral dissertation?”