by Taryn Quinn
“When did you get into town?”
My system jolted when she appeared beside me. I’d spaced out again. It was a running theme in my damn life. I forced myself to take a slow sip of beer before replying. “How long since I sang and now?”
“Don’t be a wiseass.”
I put my glass down and held up my hands. “I’m not. I literally parked my truck outside and came in here.”
“Why?”
“To see you.”
She propped her hands on her hips. “Why now? Why today?”
I crossed my arms and leaned back in the booth. “Didn’t realize Wednesday was a special day.”
Her gaze dropped to my arms before bouncing back up to my face. “And that’s all?”
“I needed to see you.”
She frowned and her face softened for a moment. The momentarily unguarded girl standing in front of me was the same one I’d kissed that night. And I had to fight the urge not to drag her down to me again. “Needed? Is something wrong?”
I’m lost without you. Yeah, not saying that one out loud. Even I had a few pieces of pride left. “I messed up, Fee. It’s been too long. I just want to talk.”
“I’m working.”
Not to be deterred, I pushed again. “Pretty sure you get a dinner break. It’s the law and all that.”
She mirrored my folded arms. “Doesn’t mean I want to have dinner with you.”
Ouch. “I missed you. Have for a long damn time, Fee.”
She huffed out a breath. “The dinner rush is usually down to a dull roar around eight.”
“Perfect.” I tried not to look at my phone to see how long that would be. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be quick. Time was relative these days.
She set down her tray then jammed her hands into her apron. That didn’t help my current situation. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d missed her. In so many damn ways. It didn’t matter how long it had been since we’d spent time together.
Then there was the one night I’d caught a glimpse of her without her knowing.
That had been the last time I’d seen her.
On a snowy night in February, she’d worn a tight red sweater and jet-black skirt with her typical black tights. Waitress gear with a Valentine’s bit of flair.
She hadn’t known I was there.
I’d had it in my head to come in here and sweep her off her feet and tell her right then and there I couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was soon after the single had dropped.
But then a guy had swung her up into his arms and dropped a kiss on her candy-cane-red lips. She’d laughed up at him and sifted her long fingers through his perfect Ken-doll sandy-colored hair. Much like Kevin she’d kissed tonight, for fuck’s sake.
My fists bunched under my arms. I didn’t know him, but I recognized the look in the guy’s eyes. He was right there and present for her.
Everything I couldn’t be. I’d waited too long.
Too late.
The story of my life. Always too late when it came to Felicity Hudson.
I frowned down at her. “Unless you have someone who’s taking you to dinner?”
She averted her gaze. “No.”
“No boyfriend?”
She retrieved her tray. “Not this week.”
I snagged her arm, the soft skin warm and infinitely touchable. “This week?”
She stilled at my touch and quickly moved out of my space. “You don’t have the right to ask anyway, Myles.” And with that, she melted back into the sea of people crowding the bar.
No, I guess I didn’t. I raked my fingers through my hair. It was too fucking long, but whenever I remembered to make the time to get it cut, it was usually well past the hours of operation for a salon. What had once been a stubby tail was now a full-fledged man-bun half the time.
A man-bun that my bandmates had made fun of me for more than once.
Once upon a time.
I let my dark hair fall forward as I slouched down in my seat and twisted my beer in the small puddle of condensation that had formed. The bar roared out a series of groans and cheers. Game night, and Baltimore was nothing if not loyal to their sports teams.
I glanced up at one of the screens. I only knew the difference between jerseys because of Felicity’s love of Syracuse University, much to the chagrin of all the familiar faces in the bar.
With her gone, I checked my phone. I had a few hours to kill. My booth was smack in the center of her section. And boy, did she did ignore me as she bustled around to tables adjacent to mine.
I leaned back in the unforgiving wood bench-style seat and crossed my feet at the ankles. I was nothing if not patient these days. I didn’t have any plans. At least not until my phone meeting with my realtor the next day.
For now, I was more than willing to watch Felicity in her natural habitat. I soaked up her wide smile and easy laugh as she talked to regulars. Enjoyed checking out the long, toned legs that gave me way too many ideas about how perfectly we’d fit together. Considering the last time a woman even made my dick sit up and take notice, it was a sudden and painful reminder of my very long drought.
When another hour passed, I deliberately put my glass on the edge of the table. Obvious signal for a refill. She walked by me no less than four times without so much as a glance in my direction. That was Felicity—stubborn and more than capable of ignoring me no matter what I did to her.
We would just see about that.
As the dinner rush wore on and the cocktails flowed, I finally had to flag down another waitress to get a beer. The pretty blond tripped over her own feet when she got a good look at me.
“Shit,” I said under my breath.
The girl grinned and winked. “Our little secret.”
Relieved, I smiled back. “Whatever IPA you have on draft would be great.”
“You got it.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder as she headed to the bar. When I looked away from her, I caught Felicity’s glance in my direction. And the nostril flare that she would be pissed to know I’d caught.
Not so cool about me sitting all alone if someone was actually paying attention to me.
All hope wasn’t lost.
The blond was back, leaning over a little too much for setting a beer on the table in front of me. Was her shirt lower since the last time she’d been by? There was also just enough foam to show it was a nice new pull, but not enough to say she was a novice.
“Let me know if you need anything else. It’s Felicity’s last night. Only reason she’d leave you hanging over here. Everyone wants to talk to her.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I can’t believe it myself. She’s been a staple of Pat’s for as long as I can remember.”
My gaze shot to Felicity. Her smile was back and she was laughing at whatever the idiot jock was saying to her. Her hand rested on his shoulder as she leaned down for a kiss to his cheek.
I didn’t realize my fingers had clenched around my beer until the foam started vibrating. “New job?”
The girl opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly frowned. “Something like that.”
I followed her gaze and bit back a laugh at the stink-eye Fee was throwing at her. All righty then. I lifted the glass to my mouth. “Thanks for the info…”
“Bree.”
“Bree.” I took a sip and my smile widened. If I had to sit here, at least the beer was good. “Don’t go too far, Bree. I’m going to need another of these.”
“You got it.”
The night wore on. I caved and ordered a basket of onion rings. It was a safe bet kissing Felicity wouldn’t be on the menu for a bit. At least based on the daggers I was getting each time she thought I wasn’t looking.
I didn’t want her to forget I was there.
No chance of that, since people kept peeking into the corner to check me out. I’d been flying under the radar since singing earlier. I’d retrieved a long-sleeved button down shirt from my truck which hid my distinctive tattoos
. Between that and tucking my hair back into a ponytail, I’d killed most of the rockstar look. My stage persona was fairly ingrained at this point. Sleeveless shirts and black jeans with the wild black curls I couldn’t quite control were all my trademark.
Felicity and I would have beautiful babies with curly hair.
Where had that come from? Maybe I needed to slow down with the beer. I pushed away the third glass and pulled the rings closer.
The fact that I didn’t mind the idea was a little worse.
They’d be damn pretty babies.
My gaze slid to the clock above the jukebox. Ten minutes and Felicity wouldn’t be able to ignore me any longer.
3
Felicity
My Apple watch buzzed on my wrist. Dammit. How was it eight already?
I glanced around, and the pub was still full of people. Overflow from the more-exciting-than-usual open mic session that grew from Myles’s guest appearance threw the whole day out of whack. The bar was packed thanks to the last bit of Happy Hour and ejecting people from tables was difficult.
Especially since my section had a damn rockstar in it.
Freaking Myles.
“Ready?”
His voice drilled into me.
Not the only thing you want drilling either.
Shut up.
I so didn’t have time for the stupid libido that had been magically ignited by Myles being in the same room as me. It didn’t take much. My girl parts had been engaged when it came to Myles for years now. I just was usually able to ignore them.
Until he freaking kissed me. Then it was unleash the Kraken! And the Kraken was my vagina, if you weren’t following my byplay.
And I wasn’t ready. I was supposed to explore the world outside of my hometown and gear up for him. This. Was. Not. In. The. Plans.
I turned to face him, my chin lifting just a notch. I had to; he was the perfect height for me. One of the few men in this blasted city who was. Being five feet eight was a blessing in only two things. Reaching the high shelf at the market, and not needing to wear heels.
Actually, more like not allowed to wear heels when the average guy seemed to be just under six feet.
Except Myles.
He’d always been perfect for me in all ways.
Damn him.
He tucked a lock of hair that had fallen out of my braid around my ear. “I think you’ve kept me waiting long enough.”
“As opposed to the two years you’ve been gone?”
“Just one.”
I frowned. “Pretty sure the calendar has been replaced twice on my wall since I’ve seen you, Ebony.”
His lips quirked up. “To be fair, I did come back last Valentine’s, Ivory.” He caught my hand, playing with my fingers like he always used to. “I was too stupid to stay. Especially when you had some overblown Ken doll with his hands on you.”
I frowned. “Ken doll? What are you…” Oh. When I’d attempted to push Myles out of my head with the cute lawyer. I’d only lasted two months with him. And for the first time in my life, I’d had a valentine. Too bad I’d broken up with him a week later.
I couldn’t string the guy along any longer.
Not when Myles was the only one I could picture next to me. Even though he’d left me standing in the door with rain and tears on my stupid face. Two years should have been a lifetime ago at this point, but right now—with him right in front of me—not so much.
I twisted my fingers out of his hold. “You burned that bridge spectacularly. Perhaps you remember?”
Now that he was in my sphere again, my anger boiled up. Anger I hadn’t really allowed myself to feel. It had been drowned out in hurt, then I’d stuffed it down to get through each day without him. And also to find some purpose in my life.
After college, it had been hard to find accounting work. If I wanted to work in the city, I could be a cubicle worker. I’d even tried it for a few months, but the mind-numbing work had driven me crazy. My life felt even more inert because everything I’d done in school to create a career ended up feeling like a box that was too small.
“I made a mistake. I’m here to make it right.”
“And what? You standing here is supposed to make that all okay?”
His lack of reply only incensed me more.
“So you just assumed I was pining after you?”
His blue eyes blazed. “Obviously not. What happened to surfer boy?”
“Ken, and now surfer Ken?”
His jaw clenched. “If the plastic fits.”
I shrugged and stepped back. “You’re one to talk. I’ve seen some of the women you were photographed with. Obviously, you got along just fine without me.” I needed to get his scent out of my brain. It made me stupid. And I couldn’t be stupid right now. I needed a clear head and to figure out what the hell he was doing back in Baltimore.
“You paid attention?” His teeth flashed from the dark hair hiding half his face. I would have to get used to that.
Ugh.
No. I didn’t have to get used to anything. Especially if he was going to be all cocky. I’d planned on finding him and seeing where things went, but by no means did I have only that plan in mind.
We were different people. Two years was a damn long time.
“How could I not? People loved to show me all the rags. Sex tape in the wings?”
“Nah. I don’t like to be filmed. Not my kink. Unless it’s yours, Fee.”
Could you die from embarrassment and be turned on at the same time?
Suddenly cognizant of the room full of people around us, I brushed by him. So many people staring. And thank goodness it was my last night.
They’d be talking about me for weeks.
Just great.
He backtracked to his table before following me out onto the sidewalk. I needed air. And I only had thirty minutes to get a few details out of him.
Piece of cake.
Not.
I crossed the street and headed to the small cafe I escaped to on workdays. After working at the same place forever, I didn’t want to eat there every night. There was only so much Irish food one could eat before going insane.
The girl behind the counter nodded to me and immediately started pulling a caramel latte for me.
“What’s good here?” he asked from behind me.
“Pretty much everything.” I stilled at his woodsmoke scent. How he still managed to keep that after all this time, I didn’t know. Wouldn’t he have upgraded to some pricey scent?
Instead, he still smelled like a bonfire along the river.
Good times. Ones that got me through a whole lot of crap during my early twenties. Laughter and friends, beer and toasted marshmallows. It shouldn’t have been a good combo, but it had been everything.
Summers on the water were some of my best memories. When things were simple and work hadn’t consumed me.
He reached around me to point to a cake pop. “Even those?”
“Especially those.” I looked over my shoulder and he was much too close. I swallowed and sidestepped him. “Little bite of heaven right there, Vaughn.”
“Then I guess I need two. And a black coffee.”
Behind the counter, Beth smiled. “Coming right up. Want anything to eat, Felicity?”
“I’ll just have a scoop of tuna salad on your house salad.”
“Got it.” She started ringing it up and Myles nudged me out of the way to pay.
I took my coffee, too tired to argue. I’d been running nonstop. Between my last day and packing to get on the road in a few days, I hadn’t had more than a handful of hours’ sleep lately.
He sat across from me at the window with two ridiculously pink cake pops on his plate. He frowned and twirled the lollipop stick coming out of the bottom. “Is there a way to eat this manfully?”
I grinned behind my mug. “Nope.”
He lifted it and peered around the frosting and glittery sprinkles. “Only for you.”
I rolled my ey
es. “I didn’t tell you to get it. Just that they were delicious.”
He held it out to me. “Want a bite?”
More than he could ever know. I could do the friend thing. Surely I could. It was what I had planned after all. Mend fences and put us back where we started. Friends. Best friends who were there for each other. “Nope. I have a salad.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that? You’re not dieting like the rest of the damn universe, are you?” He kicked out his long legs in that sexy lion way he always had about him. Silver chains peeked from behind the buttons undone on his long-sleeved shirt over his usual black T-shirt. A dagger made out of a cross tangled with a tarnished heart that looked like it had been hammered by hand. And in the middle of it all was the charm I’d given him years ago.
An eighth note with a ruby chip nestled in the center.
It looked cheap and silly with the rest of his rockstar persona, but it didn't stop the lump trying to choke me.
“No. But I’ve had Chinese, pizza, and burgers every day this week. If I don’t have something green, I’m going to scream.”
Beth brought over my salad and set it in front of me with the house vinaigrette dressing. I dug in, spearing tomato, cuke, and lettuce with a dollop of tuna. There was nothing better than a salad I didn’t have to make for myself.
I glanced up to find Myles giving the cake pop a stare down.
“Just eat it,” I said around the tuna.
He put it down on the plate again. “No.”
I rolled my eyes and reached over to take the treat and popped it into my mouth. I groaned around the red velvet cake made with the perfect level of sweet and salt.
His eyebrow rose before his bright blue eyes went lazy and half-lidded. “So that’s what you might sound like.”
I dropped the stick on his plate and sat back in my chair with a frown. “You won’t find out.”
Myles lifted the remaining stick. “Oh, I’ll be finding out.” He opened his mouth, then closed his teeth around the stick, dragging the cake off before chewing. His eyebrows went up in actual surprise.
He chewed slowly, as if savoring, and I suddenly wished I hadn’t worn tights. Especially when he let out a low, humming groan. Things were getting way too hot under my damn skirt. It would be a bit unsavory to lift my skirt and fan myself.