My feet took me to the coffee shop for an iced americano and a brilliant display of colors caught my eye just as I was leaving.
Two doors down, potted plants with bright red flowers decorated the windowsill of Dahlia's Blooms. A chalkboard sign just outside the front door read, "Now offering free local delivery!"
Before I could think twice about it I pushed open the door to the flower shop, ringing a small bell as I walked inside.
A pregnant Dahlia Forsyth looked up from pruning some potted houseplant near the window.
"Officer Liam, what a pleasant surprise!" she greeted. With her warm smile, tasteful maternity clothes, and generally glowing appearance, you'd never guess the hard life Dahlia grew up in.
She lived her whole life in the local trailer park with her mother as the town drunk and her stepfather thrown in jail for multiple statutory rape charges.
When her mother died suddenly on the night of her flower shop's grand opening, I took her to the morgue to identify her mother's body.
Death didn't seem to shake her like it did to me. Maybe that's why I walked into her shop, to see if she knew how I could shake Katie's death from hanging over me constantly.
"How've you been, Dahlia?"
"Alright. As well as I can for waddling around like a balloon with legs."
"You look lovely," I told her earnestly. "Asher is a lucky man."
"Yeah right." She rolled her eyes but smiled good-naturedly as she brought her hand to her rounded belly.
"Anything I can help you find today, Officer?"
"Please call me Liam," I urged her. “I’m looking for flowers, I guess.”
“Well, you've come to the right place. What’s the occasion, if there is one?”
"I'm looking to make an apology of sorts."
"I see." Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "How badly did you screw up?" she teased.
"Well, I'm not sure." I rubbed my jaw. "We've kind of only just met and I may have said something she misinterpreted. I'd like to see if she'll give me another chance."
"Mm-hm," Dahlia nodded thoughtfully. "Do you happen to know her favorite flowers? Favorite colors, maybe?"
I shook my head. "No idea." I tried to think back to what Hazel wore both of the times I'd seen her. I was usually pretty observant in such things but her brilliant green eyes and soft lips always seemed to blur out the rest of the world.
"Green would look fantastic anywhere near her," I mused. "She has the most amazing green eyes."
"Ha, is she related to my Ash?" Dahlia joked.
"She might be," I said with a hint of a smile.
Dahlia's jaw dropped. "No way! Is it Hazel?! I knew she met someone!"
"Well, I don't know how happy she is with me right now," I said sheepishly.
Dahlia sprung into action as much as a pregnant woman could, running around her shop to pick flowers from various arrangements.
"I've got your back, Liam. I know exactly what she likes."
"You're an angel." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"Of course!" she beamed. "After what her awful ex-fiance did, she deserves a stand-up guy like you."
She couldn't possibly know about the incident from last night but I still felt my stomach drop. Even if not illegal, he still did something shitty to Hazel and that was enough to make me just as pissed as I was at the gym this morning.
"I'll get everything arranged," Dahlia said as twine and ribbon flew around her head as she worked her magic. "If you want to write a message with the bouquet, here's a card."
I accept the card and pencil from her and took a minute to think before writing my message down.
Some things should stay in the past. How about another try at those new beginnings? I would love to clear things up. Call me. -Liam.
I ended the note with my phone number and passed the card over to Dahlia, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Would you like to take advantage of our free delivery?"
"Yes," I smiled. "To your house, I suppose.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
HAZEL
Revenge is sweet.
I knew exactly what Liam was getting at when he urged me to get drug tested. Maybe it wasn't the wisest decision but I had to deal with Johnny my own way.
He probably wouldn't get in legal trouble but he'd sure as hell think twice about screwing over the next girl.
After making it home and sleeping for another few hours, I began my hangover recovery by drafting an email to Johnny's entire office. Making sure to read and edit it several times until I was satisfied, only then did I attach my evidence.
The email detailed his affair with his coworker Shelly, who I found out through my digging, was married to another employee at the same company.
My attached documents included screenshots of their iMessage conversations, which I easily found thanks to our shared iCloud backups, and stills from the security cameras in our apartment building from when she came over.
My finger trembled slightly as I hovered it over the send button. The email would come from an anonymous Gmail account but everyone would figure out it was me. Johnny would be beyond pissed but thankfully I changed my phone number the day I left.
I found and saved copies of this evidence the same day I found out. Sending it to his office had been at the back of my mind but I decided against it in favor of choosing the high road.
But after he came here and tried to pull what he did, even being as cocky as to mention he'd still be working with her, all bets were off.
Somehow I didn't think he would dare show his face in Cloverville again. With a deep breath, I hit send and logged out of that account.
I leaned back in my chair, feeling satisfied but also slightly remorseful. But not over Johnny. Over Liam.
He essentially saved my life twice in a row and I acted like an ungrateful bitch.
Damn, why did I have to sleep with him that first night? That just gives this whole situation an extra dose of awkward.
Instinctively, my thighs pressed against each other and squeezed my hot, already pulsing vulva between them. No matter how much I tried to regret it, my body proved me wrong. I still craved him and the way he set my desires on fire, unleashing the dirty sex kitten within me that could never be captured again.
But knowing myself, I wasn't one who could separate sex and emotion. Just from the way he treated me last night and this morning, not to mention how respectful yet unbearably hot he was during our night of passion, I was already developing a crush.
I refused his offer of a ride home because I wanted to hold onto what shred of dignity I had left. I never set out to be a damsel in distress so having him come to my rescue not only once but twice was beyond embarrassing.
He's also still attached to an ex, I thought to myself. He's emotionally unavailable and will just hurt you if you fall for him.
Something nagged me about that, though. I knew I didn’t have the full story. And if he was so attentive and great in bed while also there for me at the exact moments I needed him, how bad could he be?
Doesn’t matter, I thought as I closed out of all documents of Johnny’s cheating and re-opened my resume and LinkedIn profile. Your bitchy attitude has surely turned him off at this point.
Easily losing track of time in my job hunt, I tweaked my resume into dozens of different versions and fired it off to as many companies on LinkedIn.
When the doorbell rang, my watch said it was after 3 pm.
I ignored it at first, figuring whoever was at the door was looking for Dahlia or Ash, neither of which were home.
The doorbell rang two more times before I finally gave up on trying to concentrate and stomped my way to the front door. That noise gave zero relief to my hangover.
"Yes?" I said with a bit of attitude as I pulled open the door.
"Miss Hazel Forsyth?"
A young bike messenger was at the door holding a massive bouquet of flowers, including my favorite: sunflowers.
"Uh, that's
me."
"This is a delivery for you. I just need you to sign to confirm you received it."
Nervously, I pushed open the screen door to accept the clipboard from him.
"Who's this from?" I asked as I signed my name on the delivery confirmation.
"Don't know, ma'am. The delivery was ordered by Dahlia's Blooms."
"Thanks."
I accepted the massive bouquet from him, already in a glass vase and easily twice as big as my head.
My brain spun and nerves tingled throughout my body as I set them down on the kitchen table. It was definitely Dahlia's hand that expertly arranged these. But she didn't say anything to me.
A small card clipped to the edge of the vase had my name on it, promising the answers I was looking for.
My pulse quickened when I read the message from Liam, although I was not completely surprised.
"To new beginnings."
I remembered how he said it at the bar and the way he looked at me when he said it. At the time I was so consumed by my own situation with Johnny I didn't even think about how those words applied to him.
I didn't even know what that situation was, but this gesture seemed to prove that he was willing to get past it to see me again.
And as much as last night embarrassed me and I didn't want to admit it, I really, really, wanted to see him again. If he didn't hold my drunken loss of control against me, I didn't have anything to lose, right?
I typed the digits of his number into my phone but paused before hitting the call button.
Did I really want to do this? Should I really expose myself to potential hurt and heartache just because the guy was handsome as fuck and good--no, fantastic-- in bed?
The realization dawned on me that those were already two qualities that Johnny never had, and I trusted that asshole for three years.
My finger hit the button and my heart pounded against my ribs as I brought the phone to my ear and listened to the ringing.
He picked after the second ring.
"This is Barnes," Liam's voice said sharply into the phone.
"Hello, Officer Barnes," I said. "I'm calling to report a suspicious package delivered to my front door."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LIAM
Shit. I was nervous.
Nothing made me nervous. Except for the fact that this was the first date I’d be willingly going on in several years. And no one even set me up for it.
When I picked up the phone to find Hazel on the other line, I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. I hardly expected her to call me at all, let alone the same day I sent the flowers.
Thank you, Dahlia.
Even if this date, our first actual real date, didn’t end in my bedroom, I’d be perfectly okay with that. I was most looking forward to learning about the girl I couldn’t stop thinking about since I first laid eyes on her. I tried to make that clear when we talked on the phone.
“I’d like to take you out on a proper date,” I said, pacing back and forth on my back patio. The word date felt strange in my mouth. “And not a repeat of when we first met, necessarily.”
“Necessarily,” she repeated. I swore I could hear a smile in her voice and my cock twitched excitedly.
I decided on a silky, dark blue button-up shirt that matched my eyes and did a quick check of my face, hair, and smell before heading out the door.
My heart fluttered nervously as I started up my car and pulled out of the garage. I felt like a damn teenager. I didn't even remember feeling this nervous when I first met Katie.
A few minutes later I pulled up to the Forsyth house. Early evening darkness settled over the world and the light from inside the house glowed warmly.
I knocked three times and waited. After a few seconds, a man rivaling my size with dark hair and green eyes opened the door.
"Evening, Asher," I greeted, extending my hand.
His eyes flashed for a moment but he accepted my handshake and returned it firmly.
"Evening, officer. Hazel's still getting ready. I think my wife's helping her."
I nodded. He didn't invite me in so I remained where I stood. As a man, I could understand being protective of your private space, especially if your sister and pregnant wife lived there.
"Ash, what the hell!" A voice called from inside the house. "Let him in, for fuck's sake. Don't be rude."
"It's alright, Dahlia," another voice called. "I'm all set to go."
Asher turned to the side, allowing full view of his sister in a sexy but tasteful green dress to fill my vision.
Hazel made my breath stop. Her long dark, hair cascaded in shiny waves over her shoulders, spilling over the top of the V-neck dress that opened just at the top of her breasts. The dress, matching her green eyes, hugged all her curves until it reached her hips where it flared out and ended at her knee.
Her calf muscle flexed delicately as she pulled on a pair of ankle boots before standing to greet me.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," I barely choked out, feeling absolutely speechless.
"I want her home by midnight," Asher joked, yanking me out of my stupor.
"Oh god fuck off, Ash," Hazel muttered as she passed through the doorway. "You remember you're my little brother, right?"
"Still bigger than you," he shot back before kissing her cheek. "Have a good time, guys."
Hazel nestled into my side as the door closed and we descended the front porch. My hand flew instinctively to her lower back.
"I apologize for him," she said as we got into my car. "He's already getting into father mode."
"Not a problem," I replied as I eased the car back on the road. "I respect your brother a lot. It's a good trait of a man to be protective."
She smiled, looking a bit coy. "At least he doesn't have major trust issues with cops anymore."
"Lots of those old school guys are retiring out," I replied. Thankfully the ones who tried to get Ash falsely convicted were already long gone. "The younger generation coming in doesn't want to make the same mistakes their parents made."
And hopefully, I won't have to keep my skeletons in the closet for much longer, I thought.
I pulled up to Vino Veritas, the downtown wine bar. A popular lounge singer was scheduled to perform tonight so the place would be packed.
Being a law enforcement officer had its perks, though. My dad was good friends with the owners, who scored us a great table reservation.
When the valet drove away with my car, I got my first true, unobstructed view of Hazel that evening.
"You look beautiful," I breathed.
She smiled a gorgeous, red-lipped smile and cast her eyes downward shyly, her thick dark lashes sweeping over her cheekbones.
Fuck me, I needed to bring her home with me if she kept looking and smiling like that.
"You look really nice too," she said quietly, slipping her hand into mine. Her soft, delicate fingers felt as fragile as bird wings in my giant, calloused paws.
Eager to not let go, I gently led her through the throng of people gathered outside the wine bar and gave my name to the hostess. She smiled at us both and led us back through the building to a cozy booth facing the center stage.
"Wow, this is a great view!" Hazel exclaimed as we slid into our seats.
"Yes, it is," I agreed, although I wasn't talking about the show.
My eyes roamed shamelessly over her thighs and hips sitting so close to me, slowly trailing up to take in her waist, the swells of her perfect breasts, then her shoulders, neck, and lips.
Already I was rock hard and knew I wouldn't last through the entire performance before needing to relieve some mounting pressure.
"Let's get a bottle and some appetizers," I suggested, looking through the menu in an attempt to distract myself. "Do you prefer red or white?"
"Red, usually," she replied. "I only drink whites if the mood strikes."
"My kinda girl. Red it is," I said with a grin. "What kind of mood do you have to be in for white w
ine?"
"When I feel like pretending to be an old lady with white hair and I gotta have my chardonnay with ice cubes in it."
The laughter and mental picture hit me so suddenly, my guffaws echoed across the mostly empty room. We were both still giggling by the time a waiter came around to us and I struggled to maintain composure while putting in our order.
It had been ages since I laughed liked that and I loved seeing that playfulness come out in Hazel. That joke set the mood for the rest of the evening.
As the main room filled in with people and the music started up, we kept chatting and laughing over our wine and bruschetta, lost in our own little world.
I felt my own walls crumbling and sensed hers did as well as we bantered and flirted with ease. The only thing I didn't mention was Katie. Truthfully, I never even thought about her while I was with Hazel. I was determined to leave her in the past and fully enjoy the present.
Before I knew it, our bottle of wine was gone and the first intermission began, not that either of us was paying attention.
I couldn't tell who initiated the kiss. I swore we both did, leaning naturally into each other during a lull in our conversation to connect physically for the first time that night.
She tasted wonderful. The wine coating our tongues added a berry flavor to the already sweet, warm sensations of her lips and mouth.
I closed my eyes and just savored her, at some point pulling her into my lap and exploring the sweet sensations of her mouth and her skin.
My hands hid under her skirt and gripped her bare thighs as she moved to straddle me. I hesitated, waiting to see from her how far she wanted to go.
Her answer came in the form of pressing her hot, soaking pussy against the stiff tent in my pants.
We moaned in unison, riding the same wave of lust and dying to catch the next one.
"Wanna get out of here?" I asked, my voice husky with need.
"Yes, please," she whispered against my ear before biting me there. "Just let me freshen up in the ladies room."
"Hurry on up." I grabbed a lush handful of her ass before she climbed off my lap, straightening her clothes out as she walked hurriedly toward the restrooms.
Love and War: A Bad Boy Romance (Small Town Bad Boys Book 2) Page 6