The Stubborn Love Series: Books 1-5 Contemporary Romance Series

by Wendy Owens

  “If you want to marry Henry, you probably should go home,” she answers cryptically.

  “That isn’t any kind of answer at all,” I snap.

  “I can’t tell you what to do, and if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s not going to happen.”

  “So you think if I stay I’ll end up with Christian?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No—you’re not saying anything,” I huff. I watch as she stands and walks to the window. She peers out, something haunting her. “You clearly have something to say. Why don’t you just say it?”

  She turns; the look in her eyes is filled with pain. She doesn’t want to have this conversation.

  “What’s wrong with you?” I demand.

  “You don’t want me tell you, trust me,” she groans.

  “Please, just tell me why you’re being so weird.”

  “Paige, Christian loves you.”

  “I know, he keeps telling me that. What’s your point?”

  “He’s back. He’s him again. Olivia has her uncle, and Colin finally has his brother back. I just don’t want things not to work out and—” She stops herself, starting to fidget, refusing to make eye contact.

  “You don’t want me to mess him up again,” I snap, her apprehension suddenly obvious.

  “I didn’t say that,” she quickly defends.

  “You didn’t have to, I can see it all over your face.”

  “No, that’s not it. It’s just—”

  “Say it!” I demand.

  She shifts her gaze up to mine, bites her lips, and with a deep breath she tells me, “If you have no intention of leaving Henry, then you should probably stop this now. Maybe you should go home.”

  “Hey, what’s going on up here?” I hear Colin’s voice, right before he enters the room.

  “Oh,” Emmie quickly says, scurrying across the room to wrap her arms around her husband. “Nothing, we were just talking about what Paige has planned for the day.”

  Colin’s eyes shift between us. He can see that something is going on between us, but he can’t seem to figure it out. “Okay—well I just wanted to let Paige know she has a visitor in the gallery.”

  “I do?” I ask, pressing my lips together curiously.

  “It’s Christian,” he explains.

  “Oh,” I say, nodding. “Can you let him know I’ll be right down?”

  “Sure,” Colin says, turning to exit. He hesitates, turns back and looks at us. “Are you sure everything’s okay in here?”

  Emmie and I both nod.

  “Things are fine, go tell Christian she’ll be right down,” Emmie instructs, practically shoving him out of the room. She wastes no time once he’s gone. She turns and walks straight over to me.

  “Hey, come here.” She reaches out, and I stand and face her.

  “What?” I groan, still annoyed only moments ago she told me to go back to New York.

  “Listen, I love you like a sister. Christian is my brother now, and I’d love nothing more than the two of you to get back together. If there’s a chance, I say go for it. All I’m saying is, if you’ve made up your mind, and you’ll be marrying Henry no matter what, stop this now.”

  “Maybe I should tell Henry about the three dates.”

  “If you tell him, there’s a good chance he’ll call off the wedding. Are you prepared for that outcome?” Emmie asks.

  I shake my head.

  “Then I say you wait. Just promise me, if you keep going down this path, you’ll be as gentle as you can with Christian. We can’t lose him again.”

  “I promise,” I agree. It is hard to be upset with Emmie for being protective of Colin’s brother. Her loyalty is amazing. I know this.

  “You better go see what he wants,” she adds, then hugs me tightly.

  I RACE DOWN the stairs still distracted by the conversation I’d just had with Emmie. So distracted, in fact, I don’t notice I am wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt still. When I duck through the curtain into the gallery, I don’t see Christian right away. Moving into the room a few steps, he comes into view, standing at one of the side windows peering out.

  Emmie’s words keep going through my mind. Maybe she is right, I still have every intention of marrying Henry. Perhaps it is time I put an end to this charade.

  As I watch him silently, he lifts a hand, running his fingers through his raven hair. The strands fall perfectly into place, framing his face. I take a deep breath, letting him know I’m there. I’m in awe of the way he looks as the sun shines in on the bridge of his nose. He turns and smiles at me, but I’m not looking at his smile.

  My eyes wander to his body, his strong forearm flexes as he holds something on the other side of his body, out of my sight. I’d always thought his lips were the picture of perfection, and now I am even more convinced as I peer at them, now slightly parted. The top lip always lifts higher on the right side, but the crookedness is part of his charm.

  “I like it,” he says, without a formal greeting. I glare, puzzled, but then see his gaze focused on my outfit.

  I shrug. “Casual Saturdays, what’s up?” I want to delay the talk I know needs to be had.

  Moving around to one side, Christian pulls an antique wooden body form from behind him. “You took off so fast last night I didn’t have a chance to give you the surprise I’d gotten for you.”

  “What?” I gasp in disbelief, scurrying across the cool concrete floors in my bare feet, to run my hands along the form. “Where did you get this? It’s amazing.”

  “I spotted it at the flea market I went to in Austin last week. As soon as I saw it, I thought of you.”

  “Oh my God, look at this thing, it’s gorgeous.”

  “Yeah,” he continues, and with a couple flips and turns of a mechanism hidden in the rear of the mannequin he proceeds to show me the magic that hides within it. “You can adjust hip and waist size with these parts right here.”

  “Get out!” I exclaim, slapping his arm with the back of my hand.

  “I take it you like it then?” he asks, his face eager with anticipation.

  I smile. It is a so thoughtful, but how am I going to tell him that our first date was now our last date as well. “I love it, thank you.”

  I reach a hand to shake his. He looks at the extended limb and chuckles, but shakes it nonetheless. It feels as awkward as I thought it would.

  “I had a really good time last night,” he adds.

  “I did too,” I answer honestly. “Dinner was incredible. Thanks for that.”

  “What is that?” I hear Emmie’s voice behind me.

  “Can you believe this thing?” I say, turning around and showing off my new treasure. “Christian found it at the flea market in Austin. Oh! How much do I owe you?”

  “It’s on me,” he insists.

  “No, please, let me pay you for it,” I say firmly.

  “Paige, please, I wanted you to have it.” The sincerity is heavy in his tone.

  “You have to at least let me buy you dinner or something,” I offer, suddenly realizing that I pretty much just asked him out on a date.

  “Actually, I planned on going bowling later tonight, so how about you buy the first game,” he suggests.

  “It’s a deal,” I agree gladly, the arrangement much less threatening than dinner alone with him.

  “Bowling!” Emmie exclaims, “I want to go. Colin, hey, Colin—come here.”

  I giggle at the sheer panic on Christian’s face as his sister-in-law invites herself along on his private time with me.

  “What is it, hon?” Colin asks, entering the room, Olivia bouncing on his hip.

  “Do you think the Carters will babysit tonight?” Emmie inquires.

  “I don’t know. That’s awfully short notice,” Christian interjects.

  “I don’t know—probably, why?” Colin replies, ignoring his brother’s opinion.

  “We’re going bowling with Paige and Christian!” she exclaims, patting her beloved
on the ass.

  “Sounds fun, I’ll call them,” Colin says, before tossing Olivia up into the air repeatedly.

  “Great,” Christian moans. “I guess I’ll see all of you tonight.”

  Just before the front door closes behind him, I call after, saying, “It’s a date then.”

  I can see he wants to say something else, but it is too late. The door closes, and I manage to make our second date a harmless double with my best friend. Maybe I will be able to get through these three dates without anyone getting hurt.

  Chapter Nineteen

  CHRISTIAN HAD ASKED for Emmie and Colin to meet us at the bowling alley, but the more time I spend alone with him, the more danger I’m in for something inappropriate transpiring between us. Without a word to him, I tell Emmie we should all ride together; she’s thrilled by the idea. However, Christian looks a little clueless when everyone piles into his truck without explanation.

  Driving down the old highway that leads to the local bowling alley, Colin kicks into story mode. One of the great things about being friends with brothers, is that even if one of them likes to hide his embarrassing stories from you, the other one is always eager to share.

  Colin reveals that soon after moving to Bastrop, Christian had to purchase a new vehicle because he bent the frame of his little Honda when he ran off the road and ended up in a ditch to avoid a deer. Christian's warning when I first arrived, about driving and the deer population in Bastrop, suddenly makes a lot more sense.

  When the four of us lived in New York, couples nights were a regular thing for us. We would watch cheesy horror flicks with massive bowls of buttered popcorn, or head down to Kings to watch that night’s entertainment. The evening feels so familiar and there is a comfort about it I am happy to embrace.

  The small bowling alley is quaint, and it’s quickly obvious all of the patrons know one another.

  “You’re in the lane next to us,” Christian informs Colin.

  “So, how about we put a friendly little wager on this,” Colin suggests, pushing into his brother’s space.

  “Paige isn’t a bowler, so that doesn’t seem fair,” Christian argues. “How about we get a handicap for her?”

  “Hey!” I protest, feeling incredibly insulted.

  “Fair enough, ten pins?” Colin agrees.

  “Wait a second,” I huff.

  “Deal,” Christian exclaims, offering a hand to shake on the agreement.

  Emmie shakes her head, laughing. “Ignore them. Once they start this crap, it’s too late.”

  “If Em and I win, you have to change ten dirty diapers, and I mean number two, buddy,” Colin tosses out the wager eagerly.

  “Fine, and if we win?” Christian inquires.

  “What do you want?” Colin asks cautiously.

  “You owe me ten hours of free labor.”

  “That doesn’t seem equal,” I interject.

  “Have you smelled Olivia’s diapers?” Colin questions before enthusiastically agreeing. “Deal!”

  The game goes pretty much how everyone expected. Christian and I trail at least five to ten pins at all times, even with the handicap. Though Christian and Colin try their best to relay the useful hints that will help my game, including adjusting my stance approach, release, and even my breathing, nothing seems to help.

  However, toward the seventh frame, things begin to shift, and I find my stride. Considering I’ve been bowling twice in my entire life, and both times were in high school, I don’t know how I could suddenly find a stride, but I wasn’t about to complain.

  “All right babe,” Christian says. At first the term unnerves me, then I decide to shake it off. “You can do this. I know you can. Look, Emmie only knocked six pins down on that last one. She’ll never pick up those four pins in her next roll. You can get a strike here, I know you can.”

  “Thanks, Christian,” Emmie snaps.

  “This is war, no pity missy,” Christian taunts back.

  Over the speaker system in the bowling alley, the song switches. I turn a bright shade of red as I hear John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith In Me” echoing across the lanes.

  “You hear that?” Christian shouts, wildly waiving his arms and jumping around. “The bowling Gods are speaking to you right now! They have faith in you. You can do this!”

  I start laughing so hard I have to take a moment to catch my breath.

  “Stop,” I squeal between puffs of air. “I’m going to pee my pants.”

  “Oh no, peeing on the alley is grounds for immediate disqualification. We win!” Colin exclaims.

  Christian kneels down, looking me in the eyes. “Are you going to let him talk to you like that? Are you going to let these jokers win? Or are you going to show them just what a city girl can do?”

  “Yeah, that’s right!” I shout. “I can do this.”

  Blocking out all of the noise surrounding me, including the shouts coming from Colin as he attempts to get in my head, I prepare myself. The only thing standing between victory and me are those ten pins, staring at me, taunting me from the end of the lane. Those bitches are going down.

  I close my eyes and try to recall all of the instruction Christian has given me. Middle finger, ring finger, and thumb in holes—check; four to five even steps as I approach, stay low, good knee bend, make sure of a stable follow through, and release. Release, damn it! The ball makes a loud popping noise as the suction around my thumb suddenly releases, the ball now at eye level.

  I flinch, drawing my arms and head into my chest, preparing for the loud thud as the ball connects with alleyway. I can’t look up, I don’t want to see the descent, which in my mind, I have made peace with the fact this most certainly must end in a gutter-ball.

  As I turn and see Christian’s expression, he fist pumps crazily in the air, and I realize things are not as I assume. Spinning around, I watch, everything seems to be moving in slow motion. I hold my breath as my ball crashes into the pins, sending them flying in all directions. I gasp in disbelief as one pin rockets into the lane next to us, knocking down the four standing pins from Emmie’s last roll.

  I scream, turning to look at all of my friends’ faces. They aren’t shouting as I expect; instead, they are all staring, their bottom jaws hanging low.

  “So does that mean I get fourteen?” I ask before delivering a wide and satisfied grin.

  The utter shock quickly fades into riotous laughter and yelling. “We’re not worthy,” Colin repeats, acting as though he is bowing down to me.

  “I say they automatically win, for that move,” Emmie suggests.

  “Hey woman, ten poop-filled diapers are on the line here,” Colin reminds her.

  “True,” she replies quickly, hopping to her feet and rubbing Colin’s shoulders, giving him a pep talk. “Are you going to let them take this away from us, babe? I know you can do this, you’re Colin Bennett. You’re the best at everything you do.”

  “Yeah! That’s right,” Colin says before beginning to woof as if he were a dog.

  “That was amazing,” Christian praises me.

  “I know, and now I need to head to the little girl’s room,” I reply, racing up the stairs without a moment’s hesitation.

  When I return, everyone is patiently waiting and watching. Emmie has already taken her turn, as well, and things are looking grim for her and Colin with only three pins knocked down.

  “What happened?” I ask, walking into the pit area, looking at Emmie.

  “Why don’t you ask Christian?” Emmie huffs, crossing her arms playfully.

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you’re so easily distracted.”

  “He kept chanting ‘choke’ when it was my turn.”

  “Christian!” I scorn.

  He looks at me, lowering his eyebrows. “Ten, we’re talking about ten stank-ass diapers.”

  I laugh, walking past my friends and rolling the ball, this turn much less epic and with a total of four pins. The game continues in such a way for the next couple frames. Ulti
mately, my strike is enough to clench the win, but by only a few pins.

  “Sorry honey,” Emmie says, running her fingers through Colin’s shaggy hair.

  “We were so close,” he grumbles. “I should have never agreed to the handicap.”

  It’s such a fun evening, and I’m sad to see it come to an end, but much to my delight, the rest of the crew feels the same way, and we head home for pie. It is a beautiful night, with incredible friends, and my heart feels full, at least until Christian gets me alone.

  “Can I talk to you for a second?” he asks, stepping off to the side.

  “Sure,” I reply hesitantly.

  “Yeah, umm—I wanted to tell you I had a lot of fun tonight,” he begins.

  “I did too,” I reply, but I can tell something is bothering him. “Are you okay?”

  He looks at the floor, before his eyes begin shifting nervously around the room. “Not exactly,” he says at last.

  “What’s wrong?” I question, now deeply concerned.

  “I’m leaving.” His reply confuses me. I stand there in silence, trying to process what he means. “I got a job in Dallas.”

  “What do you mean you got a job?” I attempt to clarify.

  “You know, an order. It’s a referral from that last big rush I did. They need me to help with a hand-carved stairwell banister for a home there, so I’ll need to do it on site.”

  “Oh, okay. Why are you telling me this?”

  He seems slightly annoyed and insulted by my question. “I’ll be gone for a couple weeks.”

  “I go home in a couple weeks,” I remind him.

  “I know, but we have one more date,” he adds.

  “What?”

  “You promised me three dates,” he repeats.

  “I have to go home; I need to be there for my show. I’m sorry, I can’t help that you took on a job out of town,” I explain, slightly relieved we won’t have to go through any further charades.

  “I’ll work through the night to get it done faster, and I’ll be home in ten days. Promise me you won’t leave before I get back,” he begs.

  “I can’t,” I say, knowing full well I can give him those two weeks.

  “Please, I wouldn’t take the job except this guy is important for another one of my projects.”