She changed to an image search and saw that this wasn’t a one-time thing. There were a bunch of candid photos of the real estate magnate with Stranger’s stern face in the background looking on. He really did know this family. So did that mean he was serious about this ridiculous plan? And he just happened to see her picture online and thought, there’s the one I want to help me with this scam.
Well, it didn’t matter now. She wasn’t about to let herself get talked into some sort of illegal shenanigans with a guy when she didn’t even know his name.
Jean gave up on sleep and sat up in bed. She needed to distract herself, and there was only one place in town for that. She slid on her black leggings and brown boots that stopped just below her knees and topped off the look with a flowy blue tank. After throwing on a bit of makeup, emphasis on the eyeliner, and her worn black leather jacket, she got into her car and drove the ten miles to Ron’s Bar. The bad thing about being in a small town was that there wasn’t much to do. The good news was that it was easy to find people, because everyone tended to congregate in the same places.
The music was blaring as she stepped into the old bar. The floors were a weathered wood that had seen their share of dancing, fights, and spilled drinks. Really, everything in the place was a different shade of wood, from the bar itself to the tables and even the mixed and matched chairs. Small town charm at its finest.
Chrissy Wood saw her and waved her over to her table where she sat with her husband and Danielle Gabor. Danielle was one of the few single women Jean actually knew. That would change soon enough, because Danielle was getting married in the fall. Jean was torn between being happy for her friend and annoyed that the wedding was suddenly the only thing she ever talked about.
“We didn’t think you were going to come out!” said Chrissy over the music as Jean sat down. The music wasn’t all that loud, so, judging from Chrissy’s volume, she’d already had a few drinks.
“I’m supposed to be sleeping,” she said. “I’m going to pay for this tomorrow.”
Danielle set an arm around Jean’s shoulders. “I’m so happy you’re here! You need to look at these flower pictures. I need your advice about what should be in centerpieces and my bouquet. I love them all and making these decisions isn’t working.”
“Isn’t the beer helping?”
“Not yet, but I think I need to drink more.” Danielle winked as she spread out the brochures that were already on the table so Jean could get a look.
After a few minutes of learning more about floral arrangements than she ever wanted to, the girls at the table went strangely silent as they looked to the door.
Jean glanced over her shoulder and her mouth dropped open as Stranger strode confidently up to the bar and ordered a drink. “Shit,” muttered Jean under her breath. Every woman in the room was eyeing Stranger, some subtly and some outright leering. At least she wasn’t the only one so fascinated by him, but he was starting to become a damn nuisance.
He’d better have come here because he wanted a stiff drink alone and not because he was still following her. Jean turned around to face the table and took a deep gulp of her beer. “So...you were thinking hydrangeas, right?”
Danielle blinked a few times. “Umm...what?”
“You said the blue and purple in the flowers would bring out the wedding colors. I really like that bouquet that’s entirely hydrangeas, but maybe you can add a touch of them in the centerpieces to tie everything together?”
“Jean, shut up about the damn wedding,” said Chrissy. “Did you not see that tall drink of water that just walked in?”
She smiled. “Tall drink of water? You’re such a redneck.”
Chrissy narrowed her eyes. “Oh my God, you know him.”
“I don’t know him,” assured Jean. “He just came into the diner for breakfast this morning.”
“What?” Danielle playfully swatted Jean on the shoulder. “You let me drone on for half an hour about flowers without mentioning him?”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” said Jean. That was a lie. He was the biggest deal to come into her life for a long time, but nothing they’d talked about was really something she could share with her friends.
Wait...why couldn’t she tell Chrissy and Danielle? The only reason to stay quiet about his scams was if she was considering taking him up on his offer, right? And she wasn’t. Not even a little.
“Well, why don’t you go over there and talk to him?” asked Chrissy.
Because then she’d have to listen to him try to recruit her into his crazy scams some more, and she wasn’t about to spend the time that was supposed to be relaxing that way. “I didn’t come here to meet guys. I just want to hang out with you tonight.”
“Please.” Danielle looked over her shoulder to where Stranger sat at the bar. “You can hang out with us any time. You go over there and introduce yourself.” This time Chrissy and Danielle each moved around the table to give Jean a little push.
“Come on, guys. He’s probably married or weird or something...”
But they weren’t listening. “Tell him you recognize him and wanted to make sure he’s fitting in okay,” whispered Chrissy.
“Be friendly,” whispered Danielle as she grabbed the top of Jean’s jacket so that when they gave her a little push, Jean slid out of it.
She shot them a death glare but kept on walking toward the bar before either of them did anything even more embarrassing.
Stranger was smiling into whatever he was drinking as she approached, and she had a feeling he knew exactly what was happening. “Don’t you dare laugh,” she warned as she took a seat next to him.
“Haven’t you heard? I’m a hot commodity in these parts.”
Jean snorted. “You keep telling yourself that. The girls around here don’t know you like I do.”
“But you don’t really know me, do you?”
“I know you’re a scam artist. Isn’t that enough?”
“I’m not trying to scam you.”
“Then you’re trying to scam the Farrell family. Guilty by either count.”
“It’s not like they’ll miss the money.”
Jean shook her head and started to turn away, but Stranger reached out and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “Sit back down. Please. Let me buy you a drink at least.”
All the noises and sights around her drifted away, and all she could think about was him touching her. Those strong hands that could do so much harm if they wanted. If she tried to leave, would he let her? Why would she want to? He was the most interesting person to walk into her life in ages. They were surrounded by other bar patrons and friends, so she was safe enough. Why not enjoy this little wave of craziness before he left and her life went back to its depressing normalcy?
Jean slowly sat down, never taking her eyes off where his hand was wrapped around her wrist. “Fine. I have a few minutes, I guess.”
He chuckled. “Based off the fact that your friend stole your jacket, I’d say you have more than a few minutes.”
“I’d recommend you take what you can get, Stranger.”
“Fair enough. What are you drinking?”
Jean told him one of the local beers on tap and he called the bartender over to order her a glass. Well, at least she was getting a free drink out of this. “So...admit it. You followed me here, didn’t you?”
“Does everything have to be about you?”
“Well, you walked right to the bar and sat down alone. So it’s not like you’re here for a good time.”
“Maybe I was just waiting for a pretty lady to come sit with me.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks and she tried to ignore it. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have had to wait much longer.” Especially judging from the looks the other women in the bar had been giving her. “I think that me sitting with you is saving you from some angry husband chasing you out of town.”
“As long as you don’t have some angry man waiting at home for you who’s going to teach me a lesson.” He r
aised his glass to his lips and took a small drink. His glass wasn’t even half gone and he certainly wasn’t in any rush.
No. This guy didn’t come here to drink.
“Face it. It wasn’t just my picture online that made you come all the way out here. If I had a husband and kids and huge family, I would never be a good option for this scam.”
He smiled into his glass. “Trust me. You’re my only option for this scam.”
She didn’t believe him for a second. The only reason he offered his “deal” to her was because she was alone and vulnerable. She’d show him exactly how vulnerable she really was. “Well, you’ll have to find another option. I’ll drink with you tonight, but after this, you’re not going to be welcome in this town.”
“Is that a threat?”
“That’s me telling you how it is.”
He laughed again and leaned forward until his warm breath caressed her neck and sent goose bumps down her spine. “Do you really think you could force me out of here if I didn’t want to go?”
Jean managed to keep her steady gaze as she turned to meet his eyes. “I think you’re underestimating what I’m capable of.”
He smiled at her and she realized just how close they were. Danielle and Chrissy, who were undoubtedly watching every second of this, probably thought they were about to kiss.
But that was out of the question. This beautiful stranger would be moving on, at least he better be, and if she did something stupid like kiss him, that would only complicate things.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to hope we never have to battle it out then,” he said.
“One can only hope.” The doors to the bar opened, sending the light from the still setting sun into the darkness of the bar. Jean paled when she saw Mark walk in with Annabelle. She twisted around so her back was to the door and took a deep drink of her beer. “Shit,” she muttered as she looked down.
Stranger looked over his shoulder and back at her. “Problem?”
“No problem. Just stupidity. And the pain of living in a small town and knowing everyone.”
“So you know everyone in here then?”
Jean nodded as she took another long drink, letting the alcohol calm her nerves. “Every single person.”
“So why don’t you tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Who everyone is.”
She smiled even as she shook her head. “You don’t care who these people are.”
“Well, it’s that or you can tell me what happened between you and the guy who just walked in.”
“Fine.” She turned and pointed to the back of the room where a younger guy sat surrounded by five women and three other soft-spoken men. “That’s Eric Nasser. He’s the owner of the casino two towns over. He likes to come out here in the evenings to make himself feel like he’s the king. He’s basically the richest guy in the county and knows it, so whenever he’s here, he gets lots of girls and the men kiss his ass like it’s made of gold. Unless you owe him money. You can always tell who owes him money because the second he comes in, they all scatter out the back.” She’d seen her mother do exactly that on multiple occasions. She subtly pointed to the table she’d been at before. “That’s Chrissy and Danielle, two of my friends from high school. Chrissy’s husband is throwing darts with some of his buddies from the plant over there.” She pointed toward the dart board. “The plant is the biggest employer in the county. Pretty much all the guys in this town either move away or start working at the plant. Billy,” she pointed to the bartender, “is one of the few exceptions because he inherited this bar when he was twenty-two.”
“You skipped your buddy.” Stranger pointed to the back.
“Well, I’m allowed to have a few secrets. I don’t even know your name, Stranger.”
He held his hand out to her. “Fair enough. I’m Colin Carter. Nice to meet you, Jean.”
She stared hesitantly at his hand, remembering the last time he touched her. But it would be rude if she left him hanging. She reached up to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, Colin Carter.”
“So spill,” he said, still holding her hand. “Who’s the douchebag?”
She snorted at his description of Mark, but it kind of fit. Where most of the guys here were in jeans and flannel, Mark wore his usual suit. Annabelle was in a knee-length skirt with perfectly reasonable pumps. The perfect politician’s wife. “Mark is the mayor of the town, but he won’t be for long. He’s climbing up the political ladder and has his eyes on the senate for the next race.”
“And what part of that makes you so uncomfortable?”
Jean took another long drink of beer, frowning when she reached the bottom of the glass. “It pisses me off to see him because I was supposed to be Annabelle. And I’m not sure if I’m more pissed off that I wanted that or because he decided I wasn’t good enough.” She frowned as she realized how much she shared. A sure sign she’d drunk too much.
“So, what? He broke up with you because you didn’t always dress like you were on your way to Sunday service?”
“He broke up with me because I wasn’t part of the ‘image he needed to maintain.’ Apparently having a mother with a gambling problem and a no-show father with a drug addiction wasn’t part of the respectable life he was trying to build.”
“So the fact that you never did any of that shit didn’t occur to him?”
“I guess the risk just wasn’t worth the reward. Jackass.” She reached for her beer before remembering that it was empty. Damn it. Instead, she grabbed Stranger’s—er, Colin’s—drink and took a gulp, wincing as the straight whiskey burned down her throat. No wonder he was drinking slow.
“Go ahead,” he said after the fact.
She groaned and rubbed her forehead. “I’ll pay you for it.”
“Don’t worry. It’s on me.”
“Thanks. I guess I’m still a little bitter about the breakup.”
“You miss him then?”
She snorted at the idea. “No. I’m mad I didn’t realize how much of an ass he was. I was so proud of being with someone handsome and smart and college educated. I forgot where I came from, you know? If I’d remembered my roots, I never would’ve gotten burned.”
“He doesn’t deserve someone as good as you anyway.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“But I know guys like that. You could be the scum of the earth and you’d still be too good for the likes of him.”
Jean smiled at the thought. “That was almost romantic, Colin.”
“Well, I’m a pretty damn romantic person, Jean. But I’m not flirting with you. Promise.”
She blinked a few times. What the hell was that supposed to mean? She knew flirting. She was an expert on flirting. He was textbook flirting with her. “Are you too good for me too?”
“Trust me, hun. I can make you rich, but besides that I’m no good for you in any way.”
“Are you warning me away from you? What, did you think I was about to jump your bones or something?”
“Nothing like that. I just want to get this out in the open that there’s nothing sexual about this offer.”
Jean leaned back. “Well, I’m so happy you cleared that up. You were so irresistible there that I was about to rip off my top and take you right on this bar.”
“Who knows what might happen after a few more drinks?”
“Okay...I think if any of us has had a few too many, it’s you.” She stood up. “Now I’m going to go back home and you can finish your drinking alone, and judging from how much people here like new meat, I doubt you’ll be leaving alone. So good night, Mr. Colin Carter. It was weird meeting you.”
She turned to walk away, and even though he didn’t say anything, she could feel his eyes burning into her back.
Danielle and Chrissy both smiled widely as Jean walked back to the table. “So...who is he?” asked Chrissy.
“And what are you doing here? You looked like you were hitting it off
!”
“We weren’t hitting it off, and if I have one more drink I won’t be able to drive home. Considering I need to get into work early tomorrow, I can’t afford to leave my car here for the night. So I’m being the annoying responsible one tonight.”
Their faces fell, but Jean grabbed her purse and jacket before they could protest any more. “Thanks for the effort, girls. Sorry I had to wimp out on you.”
“Okay. Well, the next tall, handsome stranger who walks in here is totally going to be yours!”
She giggled. “You’re both taken. All the handsome strangers are mine now.” She winked. She was going to go back home and try to sleep again. Except she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be any easier now than when she tried to nap earlier. Well, she had to be up for work in eight hours, so it was now or never.
Maybe if she tossed and turned enough, she could get Colin Carter out of her mind finally.
Colin watched Jean walk out of the bar and debated following her out. She’d drunk an entire beer and part of his Jameson in the short time she’d talked with him. She’d seemed fine, though. He’d bet that she could drink a lot more than that before she started being affected, even if her size said otherwise.
Probably the biggest difference between her and her brothers was her height. At five five, she was shorter than any of her family. Probably from her mother’s side of the family, considering all the Farrell men were well over six feet tall.
But tonight was good. She’d talked without turning her shotgun on him, and they’d built up a rapport. Maybe that meant the next time he showed up at her doorstep, she wouldn’t be as freaked out.
He still had a long way to go before she agreed to anything though. Because she didn’t know that she was the rightful heiress to her part of the Farrell fortune, she thought going with him would be against her morals.
Fucking morals. Why couldn’t she be a corrupted soul like him? Hell, if she’d been even half as corrupt as this upstanding mayor who’d used her and dumped her, they’d already be halfway to New York. But he didn’t want to spend months in this town, hoping she eventually changed her mind. It was time to apply some pressure.
Ruthless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 1) Page 3