Small-Town Sweetheart (The Spring Grove Series Book 2)

by Toni Aleo

  “I’m surprised you remember that,” I say softly, and he hides his grin behind his glass.

  “I remember a lot. Especially all those memories you’re in.”

  I smile. “I didn’t go away easy.”

  He laughs, a deep, throaty laugh. “No, but I never minded.”

  My cheeks fill with color as I look away. I watch the dance floor, where Theo is holding Gen, along with other couples swaying around them. It’s a slow night, which is unusual for a Friday, but then, the fair is in Hamby County. As the jukebox blares “Drunk Me” by Mitchell Tenpenny, a little grin pulls at my lips. I glance down the bar and notice everyone is doing okay. When I look back to Reed, he’s watching me. “Dance with me?” I ask.

  His brows pull together. “Here?”

  I nod. “Yeah.”

  “How about I take you back to my place and we dance there?” he suggests as he leans forward to me. His pinkie comes out, brushing along my knuckles. The touch is sweet, beautiful, but I shake my head.

  “If you want to dance with me, you’ll dance with me. It doesn’t matter where we are.”

  He nods slowly. “True, but I don’t want everyone watching us and knowing.”

  The way he says that bothers me. He looks around, like he’s already worried people are talking, and that doesn’t work for me. I hold my finger up, my gaze blazing into his. “I don’t care what we are doing. If you don’t want to label it and just hang out, fine, but you won’t hide me. I’m worth more than that.”

  “I never implied you weren’t. I just don’t want everyone in our business.”

  “Do you know where we live?” I ask, and I see the argument in his eyes. This isn’t his home. I reach for my rag, shaking my head. “My mawmaw and your mom know. Everyone is already in our business. But then, what business do we have? I gotta get back to work.”

  And I walk away.

  Reed McElroy may be one gorgeous man and a great lay, but I won’t play games.

  Been there, done that.

  Not again.

  Chapter Twenty

  Reed

  What in the hell just happened?

  I sure as hell don’t know, but if she thinks I’m leaving this bar before I find out, she’s got another thing coming. I look down the bar top, and I’m about to yell her name when Holden falls onto a stool on one side of me and Theo on the other.

  I look between the two of them, and I know they have something to say. Probably something about Delaney and me, but I don’t have time for that. “Not right now.”

  “We have a question,” Theo asks. Obviously, these two butt nuggets don’t listen. “Are you sleeping with Delaney?”

  “Yeah, Mawmaw told me you dropped her off in her drawers.”

  I look to Holden, and I wish like hell I had made Delaney put those pants on. Then I glance at Theo. These two are my best friends, my brothers, in a sense, but all I care about is talking to Delaney.

  “Not right now,” I say once more, and then I look down the bar. “Hey, Del.”

  She ignores me. Completely. I call her name once more. Everyone at the bar looks over at me but her.

  “I think she’s ignoring you.”

  “Thank you, Holden.”

  “What did you do?” Theo shakes his head. “Never mind. It’s you and Del. I’m sure you pissed her off.”

  I give him a rueful look. “Maybe she pissed me off?”

  “She’s ignoring you.”

  “Don’t you two have something else to do?” I call Delaney’s name again, but she’s still ignoring me.

  “Yeah, we need to know what’s going on,” Theo says, directing his gaze to where she is deliberately ignoring me.

  “Are you two dating?”

  They won’t leave me be; I know they won’t. “No, we’re hanging out.”

  “Oh.” Holden looks back to Theo. “She knows that, right?”

  “Yeah, of course. We just talked about it. But then she wanted to dance, and I didn’t want to dance in front of all these people. I asked her back to my place, and she got pissed because she won’t be hidden. I wasn’t trying to do that. I just don’t want people in my business.”

  “We live in Spring Grove. Everyone is in everyone’s business,” Holden adds, and I groan loudly.

  “Well, maybe I want to be private with her.”

  “Good luck,” Theo says, and then he smacks me hard on the back. A little too hard. “And watch what you do.”

  Then he walks away, the warning loud and clear. Well, that was surprising. Holden is smaller than both of us, but his eyes meet mine and are commanding. “I love her, and if you want to have fun—as long as she’s okay with it—I’m okay with it. You two are adults. But the moment the fun changes, don’t think I won’t choose her over you.” What in the hell is happening? I look at him, confused as fuck as he slowly lifts a shoulder. “Her favorite song right now is ‘Parallel Line.’”

  He follows off behind Theo, and I’m left completely bewildered. I fully expected them to give me shit for fooling around with Delaney, but I never anticipated a warning. I don’t know what they think is happening, but it’s not serious. We’re just fooling around. I’m leaving, and she’s not. Not that I want, or would ask her, to.

  Though, Delaney would look mighty fine in Lexington. What the hell is wrong with me?

  I look down the bar for her. She’s leaning on it, talking to someone, and I almost want to go down there.

  “Parallel Line” is her favorite song.

  I get off the stool and head toward the jukebox. I find the song quickly. After putting in my money and hitting 6-D, I hear Keith Urban’s voice fill the bar. I turn, and I find her watching me. Her eyes are a bit wide but not enough for anyone else to notice. But I do. I head for the bar, and she watches my every step. My gaze is on her too, enjoying the little tip of her lips as she mouths the words to the popular song. I stand by the side entrance to the bar as she leans onto the back counter of the bar where the liquor is. I jerk my head to the floor, and she raises a brow. Oh, she’s such a pain.

  “Hey, Del.”

  “Yes?” she calls back to me, crossing her arms over her chest. “Did you need a refill, Reed?”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “I need to dance with you.”

  “Need?”

  “Need.”

  Her lashes fall a bit as a slow grin pulls her lips the rest of the way up. “Hmm.” I raise a brow, but then she’s moving to me. “It is my favorite song.”

  “Is it?” I ask as I hold my hand out for hers. She takes my hand, and I walk backward as we head to the floor, my eyes on hers. “Why’d you get mad at me?”

  “I’m not mad.”

  I scoff. “You ignored me.”

  “I didn’t hear you calling my name,” she says as I bring her in, fighting back a grin. I never said I called her name, but I don’t want to go back and forth with her. She brings her hands to my chest, pressing her cheek to mine, and I hold her so close not even a piece of paper could get between us.

  “I upset you.”

  “I don’t want to be used.” Her breath is warm against my jaw and my ear.

  “In no way did I plan on doing that.”

  “Most do. I may have a few insecurities about it.”

  “You may?”

  “No one ever wanted to date me in high school unless I kept it under wraps. Since I was pathetic and needed love, I did it. But I won’t any longer. I am worth more than that.”

  “Hell yeah, you are,” I say against her cheek. I feel her lips curve against my cheek. “But fuck those guys. They didn’t deserve even a second of your time.”

  “Well, when you’re a cow, you have to settle.”

  “You weren’t a cow.”

  “Maybe a donkey.”

  I roll my eyes.

  “For sure, a pig.”

  I shake my head. “Stop being so hard on yourself.”

  “It’s so easy.”

  “I know, but stop.” She presses
her lips together, and I kiss the side of her mouth. “And don’t ever settle, Del.” We don’t say anything as we sway to the raspy music, and I close my eyes. “I saw the video of you taking out that car with your Louisville.”

  “He used me. Was cheating on me the whole time.”

  “Want me to beat him up?”

  “Nope, I took care of it.”

  I glide my nose along her temple, and when I open my eyes, I see everyone is watching us. Not subtly either. They’re turned in their seats, whispering to each other. My brothers, best friends, and Gen are all watching, confusion and a bit of excitement in their eyes, but I can’t be bothered by them. Not with this beautiful girl in my arms. So I close my eyes. I gather her shirt in one hand while my other moves along her soft skin. “I don’t want to stop what we’re doing.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “But you know I’m leaving, right?”

  “Yeah, in what, six weeks?”

  “On the dot.” She nuzzles her nose against my jaw. “I want to spend those weeks with you, but I understand if you have other plans.”

  Her fingers dance along my Adam’s apple as she pulls back, looking up at me. “I don’t see anyone else asking me to spend the next six weeks with them, so you may be in luck.”

  “There should be.”

  She tilts her head in question. “Should be?”

  “There should be a line across this town for you, Delaney.”

  Her eyes soften as she takes in a deep breath. “Maybe. But if there was a line, I’d want you at the front.”

  I lean my head to hers. “Here I am.”

  She presses her nose to mine, the reflection of the beer signs flashing in her stunning eyes. “So am I.”

  I’m sitting on the porch when Delaney pulls into my drive. Her red Toyota is beat-up and dirty. I’m pretty sure it’s the same car she had when we were younger. Even through the dark and silence around me, I can feel her gaze. She gets out of the car and takes off the little lace vest thing she is wearing before throwing it back in the car. She lets down her hair, shaking it out before tossing the hair tie in along with her vest.

  When she shuts the door, I grin. “Don’t want to throw that shirt and shorts in there too?”

  I can see the white of her teeth as she comes up the walkway. “I can’t make it too easy for you.”

  I would never expect her to. I stand from the bench as Wilbur hollers from inside. “What’s wrong with Wilbur?” she asks as she climbs the steps.

  “He’s in his kennel. He has a tendency of stealing your attention.”

  She comes toward me, a sexy saunter that makes me want to take ahold of her hips and never let go. “What’s wrong with that?”

  I reach out, taking said hips in my hands. “I want you all to myself.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah, really, and you know it,” I say right before I drop my mouth to hers, taking those sweet, thick lips with mine. She tastes like strawberries, and it gives me a jolt to finally figure that out. It’s been tormenting me ever since I kissed her at the side of the church. I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her close as I suck her bottom lip into mine. Her hands slowly move up my chest, snaking around my neck as our kiss deepens. I know what she is here for, and I want it too, but I’m pretty damn good where I’m at.

  She breaks the lip-lock to kiss down my jaw, my neck. She moves her tongue from the base of my throat all the way up to my chin before nibbling on it. My cock is begging for release, but when she moves her hands back down my chest toward the top button of my jeans, I stop her. “Question.”

  “How fast can I get naked? Three-point-two seconds.”

  My face breaks into a grin. “While I need to see this and time it because I don’t believe you—”

  “It’s true!”

  “I want to know something else,” I say, kissing the dip between her eyes. When I pull back, she looks up at me, a sweet grin sitting on her lips. “Is it true you had a thing for me growing up?”

  “I got off thinking about you. You have a great ass. That’s all.”

  I give her a stern look. “Be honest with me.”

  She narrows her eyes, but I can see the answer all over her face. Delaney was never a good liar. She never was able to look you in the eye when she lied. She usually stared at the nose of the person she was telling the fib to. Just like she is now. “I am.”

  “You did.”

  “So?” she says simply, shrugging her shoulder.

  I want to laugh, but I’m a bit flabbergasted by her admission. “Really? I wasn’t a good kid. Kind of a dick.”

  “Yeah.” She shrugs again as she looks away. “But that wasn’t all there was to you. There was more. You just didn’t know it then.”

  My chest goes tight as I stare down at her. Curls frame her face, her lashes kissing her cheeks as she chews on her lip. I can feel her body burning against mine. It’s so weird to be as undeniably attracted to her as I am right now. Never in a billion years had I thought of Delaney Abbot as someone I wanted to kiss or take to bed. This is the girl who used to fling frogs at me. The girl who, when I teased her, would jump on me from behind and stuff my face in the mud and just laugh. I watched her hit four home runs in one game, and in more than a few, she struck out plenty of girls and guys. She was rough, tough, and a major pain in my ass. But right now, none of that matters. Now she’s a girl I very much want to kiss.

  So I do.

  I take hold of her cute chin again, and I look into her eyes. Her lips curve, and I’m soon to follow as I get lost in the dark depths. “So, it’s true, then. You’ve always had a soft spot for me?”

  Her eyes twinkle. “Or a wet spot.”

  She doesn’t even get it fully out before we’re both laughing. Our bodies shake together, our grins unstoppable as she leans her head into mine. “Shut up, Reed, and kiss me.”

  “I see nothing has changed in the bossy department,” I tease, and her eyes light up as her fingers clutch my shirt. The fabric is tight along my back, but I feel nothing as her lips almost press to mine.

  “You love i—”

  I don’t let her finish the full sentence before I capture those glossed lips with mine. I watch as her eyes fall shut, and everything inside me catches on fire. She kisses with so much need, almost like she feels she’ll never taste me again. I guess, in some sense, she won’t. These next six weeks are the only chance she’ll get with me. My only chance with her.

  I’m not exactly sure how that makes me feel.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Delaney

  “So, you mean to tell me, every guy you’ve been with has cheated on you?”

  My head is against Reed’s stomach. It’s hard, and Lord, he smells fantastic, but that’s not even the best thing. He’s completely naked. After a nice long roll in the sheets, we lie down, the moon shining on our bodies as he feeds me strawberries that one of the patients brought him that morning. “Yes, all but John Aaron. I actually broke up with him.”

  “That’s the guy who said the porn star had a better pussy than yours?”

  I cringe. “How in the hell… Wait, why am I even asking that? Of course you’d know. Everyone knows.” I roll my eyes as his body vibrates with laughter. “But yes, that’s him.”

  “What a dick.”

  “Yup.”

  “So no one has stuck for you?”

  I shake my head as he lowers a strawberry to my mouth. When I go to eat it, he pulls it away, and I can sense him grinning at me. I reach up, taking the strawberry before popping it in my mouth.

  “Boo. I wanted to feed you.”

  “Then feed me!” I throw back, turning on my side to look at him. He looks gorgeous in the moonlight. His body is thick with muscle, and his chest is covered with coarse, dark hair. His eyes shine as he looks down at me, a content grin on his lips. He holds another berry to my lips, and I take it, a pleased tilt to his lips rewarding me. “But nope, no one. It’s just Mawmaw and me.” I reach in
to the basket and pull out a berry for him. “You?”

  “Nope. I haven’t found anyone, but if you ask anyone who knows me, they’ll say I don’t put myself out there.”

  “You don’t,” I say simply. “You never have.” I start laughing then. “I think that’s what threw me off when you kissed me the first time. It was so unlike you.”

  “I wanted you,” he says with a shrug.

  “You make it seem so simple.”

  “It is.” His eyes darken as he cups my face. His thumb moves along my bottom lip as his eyes burn into mine. “Lips like these need lots of kisses.” He then leans down, kissing me. Even if it’s awkward with the way we are lying, it’s utterly perfect. He lies back on the pillow as his hand smooths my hair over his chest. “Don’t get fussy with me, but what made you lose the weight?”

  You.

  My main motivation was that, when he came back, I’d be so hot he’d beg me to be his. I’d tell him no, but he’d come after me, pleading for a chance. I’d give in, we’d have loads of sex, and we’d make tons of babies. It was a great dream, something that held off my need for bad food for many years. But I can’t say that right now. I’d seem pathetic to the hundredth degree.

  “I don’t know. One day, I woke up and decided I wanted better for myself.”

  His finger moves along my forehead. “When I saw you that day at my dad’s funeral, it was like being knocked back twenty years.”

  I smile, knowing exactly what he means.

  “I asked who you were. I didn’t recognize you. But then you smiled. Just like that, I remembered every time you smiled like that, and it blew me away. Almost knocked me on my ass.”

  A soft chuckle leaves his lips, but I’m a bit stunned by what he’s saying. “Why?”