Besotted: An Enemies-to-Lovers Small-town Romance (Carmel Cove Book 3)

by Dr. Rebecca Sharp

  “Miles.” Benny gave me the same nod he had every time I was in over the past few weeks, and I returned it, acknowledging that even though we were friends, he wouldn’t hesitate to throw me out if I got too drunk, now that I didn’t have Mick or Eli to pull me back.

  “What’s she doing here?” I demanded of him, not her.

  Benny grinned over his shoulder, and I had the urge to punch him. I didn’t care how good of a guy he was. And I didn’t give a shit how big and bad his brothers were. He didn’t get to smile at Eve like that. Not in front of me.

  “Eve’s going to be helping me out behind the bar on the weekends now.” His smile grew as he stepped to the side so she could stand right in front of me. Then he leveled me with a harsher warning stare. “It’s her first night, so take it easy on her.”

  His head tipped to the side for a split second before he patted Eve on the shoulder and disappeared to the other end of the bar where he’d be summoned, leaving the one woman I’d done every-fucking-thing I could to forget about standing right in front of me—impossible to ignore.

  She licked her lips, and I followed her eyes as they ran over me. She was remembering she was this close to me last night, with much less between us.

  “Wasn’t enough you had to invade my beach, now you’re going after my bar, too?” I growled through clenched teeth.

  She laughed and shook her head. “It’s not your beach and unless I was just hired by an imposter, it’s not your bar either. But at least you remembered to put clothes on this time…”

  She folded her arms over her chest and, though her shirt showed nothing, it revealed everything. I grunted, unable to stop my eyes from lingering on the soft swells of her tits and, because there was nothing I wanted to see more, I found the faint outlines of her hard-tipped nipples against the black.

  I’d murder anyone else who looked at her this closely. But for myself, the image burning into my mind was potent, pleasurable poison. And it would kill me slowly.

  “What are you doin’, Eve?” I demanded, needing to know why everything was changing now—just when I’d developed a better plan.

  No permanent woman. No permanent home.

  Zero permanence.

  Aside from the business that kept me in the area, over the past several months I’d worked to remove every other tether to anything and anyone that could be lost, finding solace in a bar that could make me forget and women that didn’t want to be remembered.

  Until Eve.

  Who was now every-fuckin’-where I looked.

  “Working,” she replied with a tight smile.

  “No shit,” I scoffed. “Why here? Why now?” I let out a loud groan as I ran a hand over my mouth and stubble. “First, your damn yoga class treks all over my new ho—hangout. Now, you’re workin’ at my second home.” My eyes jerked to hers as I planted my hands on the edge of the bar. “Is this because you like me? Because you can’t get over me that you’re following me around?”

  Like I was the sun, her cheeks burned under my words.

  My voice lowered angrily, one drink and a desire that wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone pushing me over the edge into a canyon of cruelty.

  “Is this because you still like me, Evie? Because you think if you traipse around in front of me in your tight-ass pants always lookin’ like you’re beggin’ for a kiss that I’ll change my mind about you? That I’ll want you too bad to forget what I’ve been through? That there’s somethin’ magical between us to change me?” I sneered, hating the words almost as much as I hated how they tugged on the almost invisible thread that they might be true. “Because there isn’t.”

  She stood frozen and guilt washed over me for it.

  I let out a long sigh. “Eve—” I broke off when I felt Jill slide against my back on purpose as she worked back into her seat. Only then did Eve take notice.

  “What can I get you?” she asked with a pleasant smile that lit every feature except her eyes; they were dark and stormy, rolling with the current of her disdain.

  I watched her reel her emotions back in, their hurt—their truth. They were so refreshing I wanted to reach out and grip onto them, apologize, and never let go.

  But that wasn’t realistic. Just like her fairy tales.

  And that left only one option.

  I felt Eve’s eyes follow me as I turned to Jill and smiled. “Another Manhattan, doll?”

  To my benefit, and probably her own, if Jill had caught that there was more to the patron-bartender interaction going on, she didn’t let it show.

  “Yes, please.” She beamed at me and wrapped her arms around herself in excitement, squeezing her already crammed breasts together.

  Looking at Eve, her whole demeanor had changed.

  My stomach twisted even further, like mangled roots of a tree, where any attempt to unknot it would only make it worse. Fuck. It was so damn hard not to be affected when this girl’s emotions were written all over her skin like the Rosetta Stone.

  Shock. Hurt. Anger. Desire.

  I kept my face passive and added, “Make that two.”

  And still Eve’s smile didn’t falter because even though she felt all those things, she didn’t let them deter her from doing her job. She walked that perfect line between being full of emotions without becoming emotional.

  “Of course.” She nodded and turned away to make the drinks.

  I watched the way her hands moved. I watched the way her hips swayed. I watched the way her head tipped and mirrored the angle of the bottle as she poured liquor into the two cups. And I watched the way she pushed her glasses up higher on her nose, just like she’d done yesterday, before delivering the drinks to us with a kind smile even as she couldn’t stop her eyes from looking to me for some sort of explanation.

  My jaw tightened as I handed her my card and focused on Jill.

  I didn’t believe for a second that she’d taken this job because of me… because I might be here. I’d only said it because I wanted to know why she’d taken this job. I wanted to know why, after how many years of working at Roasters, she now needed a second job.

  And I wanted to know without her realizing.

  The truth was I was in a war with myself, both craving her and needing to stay away from her. And unfortunately, she ended up caught in the middle—an utterly captivating casualty.

  Eve

  I’m not looking.

  I’m not looking.

  I’m. Not. Looking.

  I swallowed a groan and slid the vodka on the rocks across the bar to Gavin Ross, Carmel’s most prominent attorney, with a smile on my face. Guess it was a bad day in court.

  As I turned to take another order, I looked.

  Crap.

  I wanted to call it anger, but mostly what I felt was hurt. Hurt seeing him with her when I swore his eyes confessed to wanting me. Hurt watching him buy her a drink and flirt with her. Hurt listening to him lash out at me but hearing the raw pain in his voice.

  But I shouldn’t be hurt. Or angry.

  Because Miles wasn’t mine.

  He wasn’t mine to taste. Or touch. Or take.

  But just like the apple, I wanted him anyway.

  Miles

  What the hell was I thinking?

  I grunted as my truck pulled off the highway that led to Mick and Jules’ apartment in Monterey. Madison Construction had a job up here this week and, with my new living quarters, it was pretty damn easy to disassemble the tent, zip it back up on top of the Jeep, and go.

  We’d been contracted through Eli to put a new deck on the back of one of the mansions and, even though we didn’t start until tomorrow, I figured distance was the best thing to put in the space between Eve and me before I closed it in a way I’d later regret.

  There’d been several ‘what the hell’ moments in the past twelve hours. Like a fuckin’ chain reaction, Eve had lit the fuse at the cove, but seeing her behind the bar was when everything went up in flames.

  After all that, no matter how annoyed I
was by her presence, no matter how damned enticing Jill’s tits had looked nor how willing she’d been, I’d still walked with her out of the Pub only to call her a taxi and send her home in it. Alone.

  What. The. Fuckin’. Hell.

  Hot and willing, and I’d still had to let her down easy because the only thing that burned in my blood was Eve, and I couldn’t fuck another woman because of it.

  So, instead of a lay, I spent the evening tossing and turning in my tent, uncomfortable on my very comfortable mattress, the memory of her soft curves making every inch of me hard.

  First, the cove. Next, the Pub. Then, this morning…

  I’d stopped in at the bakery to grab breakfast and coffee for the road, avoiding Roasters just to be safe when I was met by a frantic Josie chasing a very exuberant dog, who jumped up to greet me the second I walked in with his tongue flailing happily and tail wagging. It was only when he got down and pranced around me that I had to laugh at how the whole back half of his body swayed along with his tail, like a crazy caterpillar whose ass had a mind of its own.

  With a profuse apology, Josie tried to wrangle him but he only seemed to settle when I bent down and gave him some attention while she explained who the dog was and how he ended up with her. The nine-month-old Australian shepherd puppy, though he had to weigh at least ninety pounds, had been adopted by a friend of hers. But when they got him home, the family realized their daughter was incredibly allergic, so Josie offered to take the pup until they found a new home.

  “Looking for a dog?” she’d asked in flustered jest, telling me that he had too much energy for her and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do if they didn’t find a new home for him soon.

  I’d stared into the happy, hopeful eyes of the friendly canine, seeing for him a life of impermanence he didn’t deserve. I knew what it was like to be wanted and then discarded at will and, all of a sudden, I couldn’t stand that thought for him.

  “I’ll take him.” The words came from my mouth before I could stop them.

  What. The. Hell.

  And, apparently, adopting the pup, Kona, came with free bakery breakfast. Josie loaded me up with muffins and scones and two egg sandwiches, all of the edible thank-yous Kona tried to climb into the front seat to eat. Thankfully, the pet store was only two blocks over and within ten minutes, my truck was loaded with food, toys, and most importantly, treats for the damn clown.

  Two dog-bacon strips later and my muffins were left in peace.

  I looked in my side-view mirror to see him hanging his head out the window, tongue blowing in the wind, as his tail slapped excitedly on the seat.

  I owned a fucking dog.

  What. The. Hell.

  At least the dog wouldn’t betray me. It was my only consolation for the level of permanence I’d just accepted responsibility for.

  Maybe a dog would be a good thing. He was energetic enough to come out climbing with me. And now that it was summer, he could probably come to most jobsites, too. Maybe having this crazy mutt following me around would distract me from the woman who seemed to be doing the same.

  Picking up my cell, I called Mick as I pulled up out front of their building.

  “You here?” he answered immediately.

  “Yeah, I’m out front,” I replied.

  I’d texted my brother that I was coming up a day early for the job to check out some climbing spots in the area. To my surprise, he asked if he could join.

  “Be right down.”

  “I have a—” I broke off when he ended the call. Guess he was going to find out about my new addition in person.

  “Hey, how was the—Woah!” Mick yanked open the passenger door and jerked back startled when Kona lunged up into the front seat to greet him. “Who’s this big guy?”

  He ruffled Kona’s ears as the large puppy licked all over his arms and legs.

  We’d always had dogs growing up, though my parents preferred golden retrievers to anything else.

  “Long story. Just get in.”

  While we drove a few miles outside Monterey, I filled my brother in on how Josie’s good deed went a little sideways and that I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

  “I thought you couldn’t have dogs in your apartment?”

  Shit.

  “It’s fine,” was all I could manage, hoping he’d move on. I wasn’t ready to tell him about the tent that sat packed on top of the Jeep.

  Grabbing my backpack of gear, I put Mick in charge of Kona’s leash as we walked the short path that led to the rock wall inside one of the local parks.

  “So, how does Carmel feel without me?” my brother teased as I began to put on my climbing shoes. “Lonely?”

  “Crowded,” I replied at the same time.

  “Oh yeah?” He crossed his massive arms over his chest. Even though we looked a helluva lot like identical twins, we weren’t. And Mick’s size and shorter hair made it impossible to confuse the two of us. “How so?”

  I stayed silent, stepping into my harness, and finally replied with, “Lots of tourists. Female tourists…” I hoped he’d get the hint.

  He chuckled and shook his head, watching as I began to position myself against the rock face. Gripping two ledges as my first foot found support. My back muscles kicked into high gear as I hoisted myself up.

  “Benny said you were givin’ Eve a hard time…”

  I swore as my foot that had been testing my next step slipped out from under me.

  “Benny has looser lips than his patrons,” I grunted, finding a better purchase point and pushed up a little higher, enjoying the burn in my body.

  “What happened, Miles?” my brother called up to me. “Eve’s a sweet girl. Pretty. Too nice for you, but that’s not sayin’ much.” My mouth thinned as I heard him chuckle. “You two looked like you were hittin’ it off at the wedding…”

  His thought faded into silence, and I let it hang in the air as I focused on my task—avoiding the danger of falling.

  Off the wall or for Eve?

  My foot slipped again, and I bit out a curse.

  Taking a deep breath, I looked down to see that Mick had unhooked Kona’s leash and began playing fetch with random sticks. At least those two would keep each other occupied.

  Another ten minutes and I’d made it to the top of the rock.

  It was a good warm-up for the few spots I’d glimpsed farther down the path. Carefully, I made my way back down to the ground, my heart pumping and my breathing shallow from exertion. Wiping my brow, I was about to call for Mick when Kona came tearing around the corner with a stick in his mouth, bounding around my feet in excitement.

  “Alright, boy.” I gripped his head and rubbed behind his ears nice and hard as he dropped the piece of wood at my feet. “That’s a good boy,” I praised as he panted and waited for me to toss it. “You havin’ fun out here?” I nodded to him like he could nod back. “Alright, alright… I’ll throw it for you.”

  Grabbing the slobbered stick, I whipped it into the air, hearing Mick’s curse as it went flying only a few inches from his head.

  “Holy hell, Miles. You almost took my head off.”

  I snorted. “I’d need a lot more than a twig to take off your thick skull.”

  He gave an affronted look before lunging at me. There were a few minutes of friendly scuffle before we both ended on our knees, panting and laughing, as Kona, unwilling to be left out, broke up our fake fight with his insistence on attention.

  “Seriously, Miles…” My brother continued on a topic I wished like hell he would have let go. “What’s wrong with Eve?” His brow furrowed. “I mean, you got in your fair share of fights way back when, but you were never the one-night-stand man until we came here. Hell, you and Amanda—”

  “Mick,” I cut him off harshly, my jaw clenching even as we both continued to pet Kona. “I’m done with relationships. It’s who I am now… and it’s what’s wrong with Eve.”

  With a grunt, my brother sat back on the gro
und, the heels of his size fifteen sneakers digging into the ground as he rested his arms over his bent knees. “What happened?”

  One more ‘what the hell’ moment to add to the record.

  For a long time, Amanda was the hardest thing for me to talk about—which is why we’d never talked about her. Now, I’d talk about her until the cows came home if it meant I could avoid having to talk about Eve.

  “What do you think happened?” I sneered at him even though he didn’t deserve it. “All those guys… all those years… she was cheatin’ on me the whole time.”

  I groaned because at that moment, Kona decided to lick my face. Like he thought I needed it. Maybe he was right.

  “Shit,” I heard him murmur underneath his breath. “What a fuckin’ bitch. I’m so fuckin’ sorry, Miles.”

  My eyes jerked up from the furry pup in front of my face. It was no secret my brother was the more responsible, more gentlemanly of the two of us. And I was more than happy to let him wear those titles with pride; he deserved ‘em. But if there was one thing about Mick Madison, it was that his kindness extended as far as the eyes could see until someone hurt somebody he loved. Then the friendly giant turned into the raging hulk.

  I’d seen it several memorable times. Mostly with our younger sister, and then recently—several times—with Jules.

  And even as his fucking twin, that Mick was scary as shit.

  “Christ.” He just sat there shaking his head for several long seconds, and I knew without him having to say it that he wasn’t surprised. “You two were together for like fifteen years—longer if you wanna count your kid-dates before you turned sixteen.”

  Amanda Newton. She’d sat next to me from the start of elementary school because her last name followed ours, and from that moment, we’d been inseparable. First kiss. First date. First girlfriend. First sex. First every-fuckin’-thing, and with each and every first, I thought she was my last.

  Turned out, I was just her last resort.

  “And all those years, mostly the later ones, she was cheatin’ on me,” I growled. “And I played right into it.”