by Demi Alex
"Great. You look fantastic.” He shook his head and made a tight circle around her. “He's a lucky man."
"Th—Thanks. I think."
"Awe, come on Lacy. It's just me, Patrick. I mean it. Any man taking you out is a lucky one."
She stared at him, wanting to scream ‘then why don't you bother taking me out', but simply smiled.
Grinning, he raised his right hand between them. “Care to share a glass before your date gets here?"
Oh, she wanted to share more than wine with him. But where would that leave her? No where. He'd just go back to New York, and she'd be left with her B.O.B.—alone and frustrated.
The Bull picked that very moment to drive up in his flashy red convertible, and Chrissie waved at him.
* * * *
Patrick muttered a few choice words about the timing under his breath, but forced a smile to remain on his face.
So, Lacy has a date with Bill the Bull. Well that only meant she isn't attached to anyone in specific. Bill isn't the type of man to commit to a woman, and she cannot possibly take him seriously.
Patrick held out his hand to Bill. “How's it going?"
"Good.” Bill shook it and grinned. “Nice to see you. Glad you made it back to Littleville. I think we're going to have a great summer here."
"Me, too,” Patrick said, throwing Chrissie a smile. “It's been a long time coming and an overdue visit. I'm looking forward to it."
Bill nodded and then walked over to Lacy, giving her a quick peck on the cheek and running his hand up and down Chrissie's arm.
"Sorry if I'm late, baby. I had to stop off at Beckman's and pick up a few things on the way over. The old man wouldn't let me out of there before telling me about his grandson's winning touchdown pass for the championship game."
Noticing Bill's hold on Lacy, something unusual stirred inside Patrick. Could it be possessiveness over a woman who wasn't his? He shrugged it off, attempting not to consider the possibility and looked at Lacy's shapely figure.
"Young Beckman is the best player this town's had since you graduated,” Chrissie said. “College scouts have already approached him, and he still has a year to go."
"Plus, the boy has a good head on his shoulders. He made nationals for debate last spring. I sat in on one of his arguments and was really impressed.” Patrick rubbed his chin and smiled.
"That was a good tournament for him. I think he placed in the top five,” Bill added.
"You two were together in the spring?” Lacy asked with surprise.
"Yeah, it was one of the educational support events the team decided to participate in. So many players have retired without a different profession to follow after they're done with the game. It is a damn shitty feeling to find yourself out of a job and past the age where you can learn how to do a new one.” Bill said, meeting Patrick's gaze and raising his brow. “We try to encourage the kids coming into the sport to finish their education."
She stared at Bill all doe-eyed and full of admiration.
Hello! I'm here. I've been working with inner city kids to complete their education for years.
"And of course, you were there for the love of debate.” She spared Patrick a moment and tossed him a glance.
"Of course,” he said, turning toward the door. “Well, I'll let you get on with your dinner. See you Monday, Bill."
Fuck. He was bothered.
"Will do, boss. Guess we'll meet at your house now that you're in town."
"Perfect.” Patrick hesitated just a moment longer than he would have liked. “We'll catch up soon, Lacy.” Placing the wine and glasses on the foyer table, he walked down the stairs and across the yard.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he cursed under his breath. Real smooth MacKlick. That a way to show her your ‘lucky to have me’ attitude.
Patrick pulled open the Jag's door and folded his body in the driver's seat. The two figures on the front porch grew small in his rear view mirror.
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Chapter Three
Watching Patrick drive off, disappointment spread across Chrissie's chest. She'd have liked to spend some time with him. She missed him.
A broad palm dropped to her ass cheek and fingers outlined her thong. Bill stepped in front of her, pulled her lower body against his, and fit his large erection into her belly.
"You get more beautiful each time I see you,” he said, tracing a finger down her décolletage and lowering his lips to her neck. “And more delicious."
She squirmed out of his hold. “I'm famished. What time is our reservation?"
Bill dropped his hands to his side and took a step back. Looking into her eyes with surprise, he answered, “We can get going right now, or they can hold the table as long as we'd like."
She went back into the house and pulled a shawl off the hook beside the door.
"Guess that means you're ready to go?” Bill asked.
"Yup. It would be rude to keep the table empty because we're late."
She walked off the porch and toward his car. Locking her front door, he followed. Bill opened the passenger door for her and gave her a kiss before shutting it.
She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against the headrest.
Chrissie didn't say a word during the drive, and thankfully Bill received a call on his cell which kept him occupied while she brooded in her own thoughts—which just happened to be on the man who had left without her.
Patrick was much more than she could ever want. He was smart, loyal, and now he had gone and turned so good looking! Feelings stirred deep within her, and she ached from missing him.
Darn, Hansen, don't let sentimentality get a hold of you. He'll be back in the big city in a few weeks, and you'll be left alone in this town waiting for him to visit his mom to catch a glimpse of his fine ass. No. Patrick will break your heart when he leaves. He's too city slicker now. You'd be trading one dead-end-relationship for another.
Glancing at the Bull sitting behind the wheel, her eyes focused on his bulging bicep and she had to blink to adjust her sight.
She needed to stop putting herself in physically tempting situations with Bill, and she needed to stop fantasizing about Patrick. Neither one of them was marriage material. She had to consider the truth and face her situation head on: her biological clock was ticking. She needed to find a decent man to rely on. A man she could communicate with and start a family with. This love crap and ‘fireworks when he kissed you’ was overrated and pure bull.
Bull!
Ah, shit.
Bill was looking at her with a silly grin on his face. The sooner she got down and dirty with the Bull, the sooner she'd have her hormones and feelings for Patrick under control.
Yeah, that's it. You're horny. Just get it on tonight and you'll be back to normal in the morning.
* * * *
Chrissie unfolded the napkin over her lap. She'd never been in Lorenzo's before, and she studied every inch of the quaint and elegant restaurant with the intensity of a child being let loose in her favorite toy store.
Long, silky tablecloths topped the round tables, decorated with fresh red roses in tall, thin, crystal vases. The chairs were also dressed in a soft material that trailed to the floor. Candles served as the primary light source, and the faint sconces on the perimeter of the room helped for backlight.
"Bill, this place is gorgeous."
He raised his shoulders and stretched his arm across the table. Chrissie looked—really looked—at him for the first time that evening. What the hell was going on?
Bill was all decked out in a black Hugo Boss suit, his typically shoulder-length blonde hair was trimmed and combed carefully back, and there was no hint of a shadow anywhere on his clean shaven face. She breathed his familiar scent and smiled, recognizing one of her favorite men's colognes. He even wore a jacket and tie. The casual and laid-back Bill of the past five years was nowhere to be seen, and before her sat a serious and thoughtful man she wasn't sure she recog
nized.
"So, what do I owe this visit to?” she asked slowly. “Do you have business in town next week, or are they naming a high school field after you or something?"
"Or something, sweetheart.” He reached across the table and secured her hand in his. “It's been really difficult not seeing you for the past three months—"
"Aw, come on, Bill. You could find any number of women to keep you company. There has never been a shortage before."
He shook his head. “I'm a changed man, Chrissie. When you gave me that ultimatum last time we were together, it was a huge shocker. I never knew you wanted a house with a white picket fence and a yard full of children. And to be honest with you, I'd never pictured myself in that type of situation."
"So then, why are you here?"
"Because you're my Chrissie, and I want tonight to be special.” Bill stroked the back of her palm with his thumb.
His Chrissie! Oh, shit! What was happening?
She pulled her hand into her lap and intertwined her fingers. Where was this going?
Bill rubbed his broad jaw and glanced around the crowded restaurant. “Chrissie, I've missed you. I need you back in my life.” He maneuvered his chair to sit beside her and placed his muscled arm over her shoulders. “Baby, I'll do anything to have you again. No matter where I was or what I did, I always wanted to come home to you."
He came home, but he never stayed. Never before had he asked for, or promised, anything but a physical relationship.
Large fingers closed over her thigh. “Baby, you know we're a good thing."
Shivers ran up and down her spine in the same rhythm of his hand rubbing up the inside of her thigh.
"Chrissie, we've been together for years and I've been thinking it may be time—"
"Hold on.” She moved his hand off her lap. “We were together. We're not anymore. Especially after not hearing from you for three months, I don't consider us an us at all.” Staring into his dark blue eyes, she could see the hurt building in them.
"Honey, you're home to me.” He grazed her cheek with his knuckles. “No matter what, no matter how, I always end up coming home to you. Chrissie, we're good together. There is no bullshit, no show, just you and me. I've never had to pretend to be anyone I'm not when I'm with you. I've always been completely comfortable around you."
"Me too.” Up until now. Don't ruin things. “But I'm not sure we should be discussing such heavy things tonight. I can't handle it."
"What's wrong, baby? Headache?"
No! It's just that all my hormones are out of whack, and I haven't been laid in a long, long time. I need to workout all this pent up lust and channel my energies constructively. Then, I won't be thinking about Paddy the way I have, and I'll be in my comfort zone of our typical sex marathons.
Well, that was what she wanted to say, but instead, she nodded and said, “It's a doozy. It came up out of nowhere this afternoon, and it's been getting stronger by the minute."
His understanding gaze stoked her guilt. “Don't worry. I didn't come out tonight with any expectation other than to enjoy the company of my best lady."
"No expectation? Nothing in the way of some physical fun?"
"That is your choice.” He raised his glass and drank the wine. “But if you don't feel well, you need to rest. There will be plenty of time in the future for us."
Wait a minute. She hadn't said yes. Had she?
She shifted to the left and away from him. She needed her space. Unlike in the past, his touch wasn't making her warm and tingly. She actually wasn't even enjoying his attentions.
Her soup could have been a bowl of cereal for all she knew, because she just scooped and sipped as Bill spoke about his plans to move back and work with a program in the city an hour from Littleville. He was talking to her, but her mind was going a hundred miles an hour. She couldn't focus.
Bill wanted to make a difference in the life of a kid choosing a football career as a ticket out of the projects. The players from well off families, like Mr. B's grandson, weren't his concern. Bill was worried about the kid who had to support his mother and siblings from the game.
"I want to let them know how important it is to make the right choice. Not to father babies just to prove they are men, but to treat women with respect and to have children only when they can be dads."
She nodded. “That makes sense."
"It is an epidemic with these kids.” Bill leaned his hands on the table and met her gaze. “They think it is cool or hip to have babies all over the place. They brag about how many they can make. So, I think this position is a great opportunity to work with them before it is too late. Plus, this gives me a bit of leverage and influence with them.” He raised his hand and showed her his Super Bowl ring.
"I think you're right.” Chrissie pushed her bowl forward and dabbed her lips with the napkin. “But how will you be able to stick around and be consistent if you're at camp or playing?"
Frown lines spread over his forehead. “You haven't been following the news?"
News? No. Not anything on the sport's page. She'd been avoiding it with a very specific effort. She hadn't wanted to see pictures of Bill with other women and be reminded that he'd dumped her.
She shook her head.
"I retired.” He let out a long sigh and grinned in a satisfied manner. “This is my third ring, baby. I have the money I want to retire, and with good investments, I can work only when I want to. I've been talking with the network about a sportscaster's position. I think I'd enjoy that."
"Probably,” she said. You'd be in the spotlight. It always has been, and is, about you. “Yeah, you'd like that."
The main dish arrived and the waiter refilled their wine glasses before he left them alone.
She twirled the pasta on her spoon and pushed the shrimp from one end of the plate to the other, as her mind wandered to what Paddy was doing. Bill finished his meal and ordered dessert before she had the chance to object. She really wanted to get home. Maybe she'd take a walk to the pond, and if luck was on her side, she'd run into Patrick.
"Baby, you're a hundred miles away?” Bill pressed his fork through the tall layers of chocolate, eyeing her closely. “You haven't touched your tiramisu."
"I'm sorry.” She raised a tiny bite to her lips and smiled as she swallowed.
Bill had offered her exactly what she'd asked for: a nice comfortable home, children in the yard, a talented husband in her bed, and for all appearances sake, a good marriage.
Then why wasn't she jumping at the chance?
"We have a training event for new recruits in the morning.” she said, fabricating the lie to buy some time to think. “I've been working on the exercises for three weeks and need to get home to review them one last time."
Taken aback, Bill's eyes grew large. “No problem, baby. Just think about our conversation while you work.” He raised his hand and asked for the check. “I've missed you."
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Chapter Four
True to his word, Bill escorted Chrissie home and kissed her goodnight on the forehead before driving off.
Entering the house, Chrissie kicked off her heels and threw her bag onto the table, sighing when she glimpsed the wine Patrick had dropped off.
Fuck!
Her life never went as she planned. She was sick and tired of going with the flow and just taking what came her way. To top it all off, she was too damn restless, and her mind was stuck on a man she had no right to think of.
His Jag wasn't parked in his driveway, so obviously he wasn't sitting at home brooding over her. But here she was, thinking about Paddy's broad shoulders, those freaking thread-bare, tight-fitting jeans, and that gorgeous mouth of his. She shouldn't be, but once again she was rushing to the back window and checking to see if he'd returned.
Nothing. No lights were on at his house.
She turned on the faucet and got a glass of water to carry up to bed. Walking back to the foyer, she locked the door and climbed
the stairs to her room. It was going to be a long, fuck-free night.
Lying in bed, she stared at the ceiling fan for two hours. She wasn't going to get any rest, and she'd be useless in the morning. Granted, she'd lied about the training, but she did have a manual to turn in next week and had planned on doing the final edits on it the next day.
The measly fictional account of what-ifs she put in those training manuals was her way of making a profit off her writing. Even though she couldn't write her novels for a living, she was able to make some money concocting these training scenarios for the police department. Not only did she use her personal experience in compiling the manual, but she put much field and interview research into it. Her professional advancement depended on things like this, and she couldn't afford to look unprepared or like an amateur. She had a reputation to uphold.
Maybe her personal life sucked, but at work she made a tremendous difference. Littleville was a tiny and sleepy town, but she worked with the sheriff's department. The county's jurisdiction was large and encompassed one of the biggest and poorest cities in the country. Even the old steel mills which were abandoned decades ago had seen facelifts and the city experienced a large resurgence in population. Hence, a rise in crime.
She flipped on to her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head, picturing the scenario she'd suggest for new trainees. But rather than seeing the bad guys splattered with the paintball guns in the decrepit building they'd enter, her mind kept featuring Paddy slinging the freaking ax.
A car's engine purred to a halt under her window, and she jumped out of bed to look outside. He was there. Dressed in a pair of dark slacks and a white button down shirt, Paddy strutted up the stairs of his porch.
A tingle burned in her stomach. She wanted to know were he'd been and with whom. But it wasn't her business and she shouldn't care. After all, she'd been out with Bill and he'd proposed to her. Bill had offered her everything she'd ever wanted, and all she could do was sit here and watch a dark house.
A distant glow from the hallway shined from Paddy's bedroom. Lowering herself to the window seat, she leaned a little closer and waited.