by A. M. Myers
“Okay, I’ll play along but I still reserve the right to veto any question I don’t feel like answering.”
I nod, hating the nerves lacing her voice. She should know by now that I would never intentionally do anything to upset her. “Sounds fair.”
The waitress stops at the table with our drinks and she sets them down before turning her attention to me. “Are you ready to order?”
“Yes, we are,” Carly snaps and I bite down on my fist to stop myself from laughing. Yeah, it’s decided. I definitely love that she’s a little jealous. The waitress turns to look at Carly.
“What can I get for you, ma’am?”
“I’ll take the baked ziti.”
It doesn’t slip my notice that she forgoes the “please” this time and I wish we were closer, so I could run my hand up her thigh to distract her from her anger. The waitress turns back to me and smiles.
“And for you?”
“The burger, please.”
She writes it down and looks like she’s going to say something else before she glances at Carly and decides better of it. As she scurries off, I chuckle.
“You’re jealous,” I accuse and she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So, what if I am? You’re here with me and she’s practically jumping into your lap every time she stops by the table. It’s fucking trashy.”
I can’t help but laugh as I reach across the table and grab her hand. “I kinda like you jealous but you’ve got nothing to worry about, baby. I couldn’t even tell you what she looks like ‘cause I’m too busy watching you.”
“Those lines don’t work on me,” she shoots back at me, but her gaze softens and I laugh again.
“Whatever you say, Princess.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t you have questions to ask me?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well, get to it then.” She looks so damn beautiful all pissed off and I remember the first time I showed up at her apartment to ask her out. She was so stubborn and I love the fire in her eyes whenever she argues with me. God, I love her attitude. It’s one of the biggest things that attracted me to her because there’s no way in hell I could be with someone who didn’t put me in my place every once in a while.
“What’s your first question?” she asks, softer this time. Thinking over all the questions I’ve wanted to ask her since the moment we met, I decide to start with something easy.
“When was the last time you went on a real date like this?”
Her shoulders tense again and she drops her gaze to the floor. Okay, maybe that’s not such a safe question. “Twelve years ago.”
I blink. Jesus… she was only… “When you were sixteen?”
“Yes. And I don’t want to answer any more questions about that.” She refuses to meet my gaze and her fist is clenched on the table, her knuckles turning white. Fuck, what the hell happened to my gorgeous girl?
“Okay, I won’t ask you anything else about that.”
The relief on her face kills me. Everyday it’s a struggle to not push her to tell me about her past, to not pry the information out of her. I know something happened to her, something so bad that it broke a part of her and I would do anything to fix it if I could.
“Thank you. What’s another question?”
I think over my list again, choosing a safer topic. Or, at least, what I hope is a safer topic. “What’s the deal with your apartment?”
“Huh?”
“When I came over the first time, you looked disgusted with it but it’s seriously the nicest place I’ve ever been in so what’s the deal?”
She sighs, twisting her wine glass in a circle. “That apartment is a product of my mother. She conned it out of husband number four along with a place for my sister and promptly left him with her chunk of his money. I wasn’t even allowed to decorate it and I hate pretty much everything in there.”
“Where do you want to live?”
She smiles, the kind of smile that makes my heart stop for a second, as her eyes glaze over. “I want a cottage right on the water. I want something I can make my own, kind of like I’m doing for Mercedes.”
“Mercedes?” I ask, arching a brow. The name sounds familiar and I can’t remember if I’m supposed to know who that is.
“My boss at the blog. She’s given me free reign to design this apartment she just bought as a rental and I’m going to write about the experience.”
Her face lights up when she talks about her work and I want to keep that look on her face as long as I can. “You sound like you really love it.”
“Yeah, I do. It kind of snuck up on me but I’m excited about where I’m heading in my career. I’ll be responsible for the entire design page and its contents.”
“Do you like it more than writing?”
She shakes her head. “No. Writing is my first love. I found it at a time in my life when I desperately needed it and I love the way words can move people, save people.”
“How so?”
“About a year ago, this woman came into the newspaper office where I used to work and told me this story about these corrupt cops. She said her life was in danger and no one at the precinct would help her. I felt moved to help her and I wrote an article about the whole thing even though it got me in trouble with my boss.”
My eyes widen and I sit forward. The story she’s telling sounds a whole lot like Emma’s. “Was her name Emma Harrington?”
“Yeah,” she exclaims, smiling. “How did you know?”
“The club helped her through that whole thing and Nix is Blaze’s son.”
She shakes her head. “Wow, small world. Why didn’t they ever tell me about the club helping them?”
“Dunno,” I say with a shrug.
“Well, how are they doing? I always wondered but I didn’t want to pry into their lives.”
“They’re great. Got married and had twins.”
She laughs, looking genuinely pleased to hear everything worked out for Emma and Nix. “That’s good.”
“I love the way your face lights up when you talk about your work,” I say, reaching across the table to grab her hand. A blush creeps up her cheeks and I grin.
“You know, before you came along, it had been a long time since anyone made me blush.”
Why the hell does that make me want to beat on my chest like a cave man? “Good.”
The waitress approaches our table with our food and sets it down in front of us before turning her gaze to me again. Jesus, can’t this girl take a hint?
“Is there anything else I can get you?”
Carly scoffs behind her.
“We’re good,” I reply, making sure I emphasize the “we’re” part. Her smile is a little forced as she nods and leaves. I take a sip of my beer and watch Carly as she glowers at the waitress’s back. Finally, she blinks and turns back to me.
“All right, any other questions?”
“Are you up for some more?” I ask and she’s quiet for a moment before nodding.
“Yeah, it’s not as hard as I thought it would be.”
I laugh just as the waitress stops off with a bowl of dinner rolls. She places it in front of us and turns to me, completely ignoring Carly again.
“I’m so sorry. I totally forgot to bring these to y’all earlier. Can I get you anything else?”
“No, he’s good,” Carly snaps and I drop my head down to hide my smile. I fucking love that she’s getting territorial and at this point, this chick is just asking for it. The waitress leaves and I start laughing. “Not a word.”
“Okay, why did you think it would be hard to answer my questions?” I ask when my laughter fades, curious why it’s so hard for her to talk about her past. I’ve never met anyone as closed off as her before and sometimes I wonder how I’m ever going to break down those walls.
“Because I’ve never done this before, Chance. I haven’t let anyone see me for twelve very long years and then you just bulldozed into my life.”
; “I’m not going to apologize for that,” I tell her, completely serious and she nods.
“I wasn’t going to ask you to.”
“Let’s see, what’s my next question?” I muse and she scoffs, giving me some more of that fire I love.
“Why don’t I get to ask you anything?”
“Baby, you’ve always been able to ask me anything. You just haven’t wanted to.”
She bites her lip. “You may be right about that.”
“Can I get back to my questions now?”
“No, I actually have a question for you.”
I nod. “Okay, shoot.”
“Will you tell me how you met Trixie and ended up married to her?”
Shit…
I take a deep breath and nod again. “Uh…yeah. Well, I met her at a strip club where she was working. I had been starting to wonder if I was ever going to find you and I was tired of being alone, so I thought I could force things along. We ran off to Vegas and got married on a whim. We were terrible for each other and things went downhill pretty fast. I wanted to have kids, but she wouldn’t stop stripping and when I found out that she’d been sleeping with anyone that would give her a second look, I left.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers and I shake my head.
“I’m not. It wasn’t a fun time in my life but it taught me what it was that I really wanted and I finally found you so all things considered, I think it worked out pretty well.”
A deep blush stains her cheeks as she stares down at her plate.
“Can I get back to my questions now?” I ask with a laugh.
She gestures for me to continue as she stabs her pasta with her fork. “By all means.”
“Will you tell me about your dad?” I ask softly. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot since she first talked to me about it and I’m dying to know what she was like as a kid. I expected her to be upset by my question but a soft smile spreads across her face.
“He was… everything you could want in a dad. I’ve never met a more understanding, compassionate, friendly man in my life and he was so strong, too. He worked two, sometimes three, jobs just to give us the life he felt we deserved but he was never absent from our lives. It was always a priority of his to carve time out of his schedule for his family.”
She’s smiling but I can hear the pain in her voice and I reach across the table, grabbing her hand. “He sounds really great.”
“He was,” she agrees, her voice cracking.
“What happened between him and your mother?”
The tears shining in her eyes quickly vanish and she scoffs. “What happened is my mother became obsessed with all the things she didn’t have instead of focusing on the beautiful family and home my father had built for her.”
“She cheated on him?”
She nods. “Yeah. They started fighting a lot and even as a kid, I could see that it was tearing my dad apart. One day, I came home from school and she was shoving all our clothes into suitcases. He came home to find her loading up the car and he started crying, begging her not to take his family away. She was so cold…” Her voice trails off and my chest constricts for her as anger simmers in my veins. I didn’t like her mother when I met her but seeing the pain in Carly’s eyes, I know I won’t hold back if I ever see her again.
“Mom shoved Ivy and I into the back of the car and as we pulled away from the house, I stared out of the back window, watching my dad fall to his knees in the front yard. That was the last time I ever saw him.”
“How did he die?” She already told me he died on her sixth birthday, but she never said how. Although, I think I probably already know. A tear slips down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away.
“He shot himself.”
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.”
She nods, dropping her chin to her chest and I grab her hand and give it a tug. Peeking up at me, I offer her a smile and point to the center of the booth.
“Come here, Princess,” I whisper, scooting along the booth until my back is to the window and I pat my leg.
“Here? Everyone will look at us.”
I shrug. I couldn’t give a damn. She’s upset and I’m not going to let our location stop me from comforting her. Besides, we’re in the back corner so it’s not like we’ll draw that much attention to ourselves. She glances around again before scooting over to me. When she reaches me, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her legs into my lap. A few people glance over before quickly turning back to their dinners but it’s not near the scene she assumed it would be.
I slip my hand into her hair and massage the base of her neck as I press my lips to her forehead. She lets out a breath and once again, I wish we were alone. Why the hell did I think this would be a good idea?
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice booms over the speakers scattered across the restaurant. A hush falls over the crowd and Carly turns to me with questions in her eyes. “As many of you may have heard, this restaurant is well known for being…haunted and now, as part of your dinner service, we’re going to lower the lights and see if anyone wants to reach out from beyond the grave and speak to us.”
Her eyes light up and a smile slowly stretches over her face as they dim the lights in the dining room. Excited whispers echo around us and she beams at me.
“You brought me on a real-life ghost hunt?” she asks and I nod, pulling an excited giggle out of her that makes the blue balls I’ll be suffering from for the next few hours worthwhile.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Carly
I lean down and slip my heels on before straightening and staring at my reflection in the mirror. There’s something different about the woman looking back at me – she’s happier… free in a way I never have been before and I can’t help but smile as I think about the reason why.
“Shit, Princess,” Chance growls as soon as he walks out of the bathroom, a towel slung low on his hips and water dripping down his abs that I suddenly want to lick off. Maybe I could call in sick today and just spend the whole day in bed with him. “You look fucking sexy in that skirt. Makes me want to rip it off you.”
Running my hands over the navy-blue pencil skirt I chose for today, I playfully glare at him in the mirror. “I’m already running late and it’s all your fault.”
“I’ll take the blame for the time in the shower,” he says, stepping up behind me as he wraps his arms around my waist and presses his lips to my neck. “But I woke up with my cock in that pretty little mouth of yours so that one was all you.”
His breath washes over me, producing goose bumps in its wake and as his teeth sink into my skin, it doesn’t matter that I’ve already had him twice this morning because I want more. Closing my eyes, I imagine him bending me over right in front of the mirror and hiking my skirt up over my hips before burying himself inside me and I moan. My head falls back on his shoulder and I rub my legs together, trying to relieve the ache because I know I don’t have time for round three this morning.
“You’re insatiable, baby,” he whispers and the husky tone of his voice turns me on even more. He’s not wrong. Since our date Saturday night, we haven’t left the bedroom except to go to work yesterday and even then, I came home early because I needed to see him. Why is it that everything about this man turns me inside out?
“It’s all your fault.”
He meets my gaze in the mirror and smirks. “I’ll take it.”
Spinning me in his arms, he claims my lips in a kiss that is sure to leave me achy all day long and I mold my body to his as I sigh, my lips parting in invitation. I swallow his groan as he walks us backward and presses me against a wall. Running my fingers through his wet hair, I’m rewarded with another deep groan and I’m just about to say “fuck it” when he pulls away, breathing hard.
Something is definitely different between the two of us in the past week and I don’t know if our relationship is actually different or if it just seems that way because I’m not constantly fighting my feelings anymore.
Maybe letting go of my fear allowed me to see what was right in front of me all along. Either way, I’m not obsessing over it. Being with Chance feels too good to spend my day worrying about things that could go wrong. There are still things that I need to tell him about my past and I will, when the moment is right but until that time comes, I’m not going to stress about it. For the first time in twelve years, my mind is clear of the agony that’s haunted me for so long.
“You’ve got lipstick on your face,” I say with a giggle as I start wiping it away and he waits patiently for me to clean him off before leaning in and kissing my cheek. When I glance at the clock on the bedside table, I groan.
“Shit. I really have to get going.”
He nods. “Just let me get dressed and I’ll walk out with you.”
“Am I going to see you tonight?” I ask, holding him captive as he tries to pull away. His grin makes my heart skip a beat.
“Of course, you are, baby. You think I’d miss a chance to see you? Besides, I’m pretty sure I go through withdrawals when I’m away from you for too long.”
I roll my eyes and push him away. “Don’t try and sweet talk me.”
“There’s the attitude. I was beginning to wonder if you were going soft on me,” he says with a laugh and I glare.
“Go put your clothes on.”
He laughs, his gaze locked on my face as he walks backward into the bathroom with humor lighting up his eyes. When he disappears behind the door, I go back to the mirror and shake my head, unable to wipe the ridiculous grin off my face. God, that man is doing strange things to me.
I fix my smudged lipstick before applying another layer and running a brush through my hair. When I’m satisfied with my appearance, I leave the bedroom and walk into the kitchen where I gather up my bags and slip my laptop into its case. Chance strolls in, looking sexier than any man has a right to in jeans and a t-shirt and kisses my cheek as he passes me on his way to the Keurig.
“Want some coffee, babe?” he asks and I glance down at my phone before shaking my head.