Hard Love (An Evans Mill Romance Book 2)

by Scarlett Brooks

  This photo shoot couldn’t have been more different than what I had just left behind. Milly was home nursing her baby and here I was taking pictures of a gorgeous man. I was helping my community. I was advancing my career. What in the hell did Milly know about my ticking biological clock?

  “Annabelle?”

  “Hmm?” I was frozen with the camera in my hands.

  “Thought I lost you for a second. This is the safest part of the yard.”

  “Safest?” I finally snapped out of my baby fog, irritated Milly’s words had stayed with me this long.

  “There is a lot of equipment in the area. Everything has been powered down for the night, but with that camera glued to your face, I don’t want you to trip on something and fall.”

  There was something sexy about the way he was suddenly protective of me.

  “I’ll be all right,” I assured him.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Luke shook his head. “This is my property and I’m not going to let you get hurt. We’ll shoot whatever you want out here.” He waved towards the towering stacks of lumber.

  I surveyed the scene through my lens. The colors and textures were extraordinary.

  “I might like this even better than the hardwoods inside.”

  “Really?” He sounded surprised.

  I spun on my heels to find a good location to place Luke.

  “Can you pick up one of those timbers?” I asked.

  He chuckled as he hauled it to the thickest part of his shoulder. I might have held my breath watching his muscles ripple under the strain of the wood.

  “I guess you can,” I whispered, remembering I was supposed to watch him through the camera, not with my tongue hanging out.

  Luke began to lift timber after timber, stacking the long planks in a new pile. He moved with ease and strength. I focused on the flex of his bicep or the way his jaw clenched every time he hauled a new piece with this hands.

  “How come I’ve never seen you in Evans Mill before?” he asked.

  I moved a few feet closer to him, careful not to get in the way of his task.

  “I’ve only been here a year,” I explained.

  “Only a year?” He raised his eyebrows, looking over his shoulder at me. His eyes locked on mine.

  Click.

  Damn he was sexy. That picture made my belly flip.

  “Yes. I saw the property listing downtown and I thought it was a good chance to get out of Denver.”

  “Wait. You bought the old shoe store?”

  I nodded. “It hasn’t been a shoe store in twenty years. I got a pretty good deal I think.”

  He placed the last piece of wood on top of the stack. “Want me to start on a new pile?”

  I saw how the sweat glistened on his skin. The last rays of sunset sank behind the trees in the distance. There was no more usable light for this shot.

  “No. I think I have what I need.”

  Luke dusted off his hands. “Let’s head back inside. I can show you my office?”

  “Sounds good.”

  This time I walked next to him.

  He held the door open for me at the top of the steps. “I can’t believe I haven’t seen you anywhere. Not Scrubby’s. Mia’s.”

  “There’s a good explanation for that.” I walked inside. The smell of fresh juniper hit my nose.

  “And what’s that?”

  “My weekends are booked.”

  “Oh.” There was a look of disappointment in his eyes. “You moved with a boyfriend. Why else would someone come here from Denver and not the other way around?”

  I shook my head. “No. No. Nothing like that. Weddings.” I held up the camera. “It comes with the territory. I primarily shoot weddings and engagement photos. I’ve branched off to newborn and family shoots.”

  He chuckled. “That would make sense then why we haven’t run into each other before now. I’m not exactly the wedding or baby guy.” He winked.

  I didn’t know why it made my skin heat or my core sizzle, but it did.

  We stood outside his office.

  “I do have a shirt inside. And I think a few beers in the office fridge. Can you stay for a while?”

  I placed the cap on the lens. I considered the offer. I felt the sexual tension sizzling between us. I saw the way Luke looked at me, and I hadn’t taken my eyes off him since I walked through the shop’s doors. But staying for a drink?

  I pinched my lips together.

  “Come on.” He pushed open the door. “Consider it a welcome to Evans Mill.”

  I laughed. “Actually, that would be nice. It’s not book club, which is about the only socializing I’ve done since I moved here.”

  “Book club?”

  Luke strolled to the chair behind his desk and picked up a gray T-shirt. I was sad to see him thread it over his delicious body. He opened the latch on a fridge beneath the desk and retrieved two beers. He twisted the lids off both and handed one to me.

  “Thanks.” I took a sip. It was cold and the bubbles tingled on my throat. “Yes. It’s a group of some girls in town. Actually, it’s how I got involved with the library calendar.”

  I watched him take a gulp of his beer. I stared at his throat in disbelief. Was every muscle he owned perfect?

  “They guilted you into it?”

  “No. It wasn’t like that.” I sat on the edge of his desk.

  “How was it?”

  I stared at Luke and for the first time in a long time I wondered if this man was as sincere as he seemed. Did he really want to know about book club? He wanted to know about my charity work? What was next…he was sensitive and amazing in bed? No way. I didn’t believe it. Men like that didn’t exist.

  Four

  Luke

  I might have been mad at Josh a couple hours ago for bailing on me tonight, but all that had been forgotten. Annabelle was fucking gorgeous and sexy. She sat on the edge of my desk. I watched her curves meld with the wood. Her lips balanced against the glass on the beer bottle. Every time she laughed the soft waves of hair fell away from her eyes. She was stunning.

  “You really want to know how I ended up on the library charity project?” she asked.

  “I ended up on it too,” I admitted. “I’ll tell you my story, if you tell me yours,” I taunted.

  She smiled. “Deal.” She clasped the bottle in her palm. Her slender fingers wrapped around the label. “But you go first. Who convinced you to strip down?”

  I laughed. “The stripping part was Tammy’s idea. She said it was the only way the calendars would sell.” I tapped the glass on the table. “And my best friend is the one who volunteered me for it.”

  “So you aren’t a willing participant?” She eyed me. The green glittered in her gaze.

  “I didn’t say that. It’s not something I’ve ever done before.”

  “You’re a natural.”

  I huffed. “I don’t think so. I like to work with my hands.”

  “And you don’t think art is something you can create with your hands?”

  Shit. I wasn’t trying to start an argument with her.

  “I didn’t say that either.” I paused. “Tell me how you got roped into this.” I wanted to change the subject quickly.

  Annabelle swallowed. We had both almost finished the beers. “Maybe it’s a little embarrassing.” She blushed.

  “Oh no. You’re not getting out of this. We had a deal.”

  “Okay. Okay.” She chugged what was left in the bottle. “One of the girls in book club wanted to set me up.”

  “You mean on a date?” There was something I didn’t like about the story already.

  “Yes. On a date. But I told her I didn’t need her help. Julie thought it would help if I had a visual aide. So she brought last year’s calendar to book club to highlight some of the town’s…” She blushed and her eyes hit the floor. “Some of the eligible men, anyway.”

  “What? You didn’t want to date Mr. August?” I had no idea who Mr. August was last year, but I did
n’t want him anywhere near Annabelle.

  “No. It actually didn’t go the way Julie planned. I saw the calendar and I couldn’t believe how horrible the photography was. That’s when all the girls explained to me that people submitted their own pictures or had them taken and then the volunteers at the library put them together.” Annabelle exhaled. “I knew then I had to step in. I volunteered to take this year’s photos. It was the least I could do.”

  “You didn’t already have enough on your plate with babies and weddings?” I teased.

  “Very funny.” She placed the empty bottle next to my leg. “Honestly, it gives me a chance to meet new clients. And for a small-town photographer, that’s kind of my business model. It’s been fun. I’m sure I’ll volunteer again next year. That is, if they like my pictures.”

  “Are you kidding? If you see art in a lumber yard, your pictures are going to blow them away.”

  “You mean that? You haven’t seen any of my work.”

  “You won’t let me.” I winked.

  A stray piece of hair fell in front of her eyes. I shifted it to the side, grazing her cheek before tucking it behind her ear. Annabelle bit her lip. “I-I should probably get going.”

  Neither one of us moved.

  “I can’t convince you to stay for another beer?”

  My chest tightened. I wanted to pull her toward me and kiss her hard and breathless. But Annabelle hopped off the desk and lunged for her camera. There was a wild look in her eyes.

  “I know this sounds crazy, but I just had an idea. Would you mind taking off your shirt for me?”

  I stared at her.

  “For the shoot,” she explained. “I think I could get an incredible shot of you here in your office. You don’t have to take it off, if you don’t want to, but—”

  I had already peeled the cotton over my head and thrown it across the room. I reached beneath the desk and presented two more beers.

  “But stay for another round.” I waggled my eyebrows.

  Annabelle accepted the bottle and the challenge. “If you insist.”

  “I do.”

  “Tell me something about you, Luke Lincoln.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  She shrugged. “How about we start with something simple. Are you from Evans Mill?”

  “Yes. Next question.”

  She roamed the corners of my office, lifting the lens to her face every few seconds. I wondered what she was taking in of my life through that view. Did she see my high school football picture on the wall? Did she see my full name on the business license on the bookcase? What did she think when she saw only a picture of my mom and me framed next to the state trophy?

  “Why are you in the lumber and hardware business?” Her back was toward me.

  “I inherited it. Next.”

  She spun. “Inherited?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yes. It was my dad’s. But he’s gone. So it’s mine now.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Her eyes softened. “I lost my mom three years ago.”

  The silence hung between us.

  “Next question,” I prodded her. I didn’t want to get hung up on the loss.

  “Do you mind if we cut the other lights?” she asked. “I want to try the next shot with just your desk lamp. It has a nice glow.”

  “Sure.” I cut the switch on the overhead lights. It was dark outside. The sun had been down for a long time.

  “That’s much better.” She smiled, looking at me through the viewfinder.

  “Was that your last question?”

  “Far from it. I have plenty more.”

  “Like what?”

  She lowered the camera. “Since you’re in the bachelor calendar I know there isn’t a Mrs. Lincoln.” She bit her lip. “But what about a girlfriend?”

  “No.”

  “Right. You don’t do the wedding date thing.”

  “Hey, I never said I wouldn’t be a wedding date.” I strolled toward her.

  “Mmmhmm. Just no weddings.” I saw the way she took me in. “Let’s get these last shots. Okay?” She placed her half-full beer bottle on the bookcase.

  “Sounds good to me.” I stretched my arms overhead as if I was getting ready to lift weights. I wasn’t prepared for Annabelle to start firing her camera. The clicks bounced off the walls.

  “I wasn’t ready,” I scolded.

  She giggled. “You looked ready to me.”

  “That’s not going in the calendar.”

  “We’ll see.”

  I started toward her. “Not if I erase that picture first.”

  “No!” She shrieked, laughing and dodging when I lunged for her. “I’m going to blow it up and put it on a billboard that reads ‘Welcome to Evans Mill’.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  I sidestepped a chair just as Annabelle tried to hurry me past me.

  “Gotcha.” I grabbed her in my arms, but her foot caught the lamp cord, yanking it from the outlet.

  Suddenly, we were in utter darkness.

  Five

  Annabelle

  The view at the end of my lens was dark.

  “Shit,” I whispered.

  “Shot not working out for you?” Luke teased. It was the first time I noticed just how deep and sexy his voice was.

  The rest of him I had already memorized and photographed. The man was a work of art. The camera gave me an excuse to stare and study. I didn’t have to apologize for focusing on his hipbones or the multiple ridges of muscle that made my mouth water.

  He wasn’t real. He couldn’t be. A man like this in Evans Mill? Yet, I took as many pictures as he would tolerate. The problem was he looked edible in every light. In every pose. In every scene. I didn’t have to do much to direct him.

  “I can’t see anything,” I complained. “Where is the light switch?”

  “I think you broke the lamp.”

  I scowled. “I did not. You were chasing me.”

  “Hold on. Don’t move.”

  I heard Luke’s footsteps and then his chiseled body collided with mine.

  “Shit,” I whined as he knocked me to the floor.

  “Damn it,” he growled.

  The camera was jostled out of my hand and his hard body was on mine. I could feel his breath on my cheek.

  “Luke?” I eked.

  “Yes,” he answered, not bothering to adjust his position. “Are you okay?”

  I couldn’t breathe, but it was from the adrenaline rushing through me. The weight of his body excited me more.

  “I’m fine,” I answered.

  “Good. I didn’t know if I had to rush you to urgent care.”

  “I don’t think there is one of those near here.”

  “There isn’t,” he agreed. “But I could make some calls.”

  I giggled, not knowing where the sudden levity came from. “Do you think we should get up and finish the shoot? With light of course.”

  “Carefully,” he warned. “Or we’ll both get hurt.”

  “What do you suggest?” I wished I could see his eyes. They were sapphire blue, with just enough smolder to make me blush. I had already blushed too many times tonight.

  I didn’t know how much longer I trusted myself on the floor underneath him. I knew if I reached forward I would touch smooth golden skin. My fingertips would land on hardened muscle. And if I tipped my chin just enough, my lips would graze his mouth. The taste of sweet beer on his breath would be enough to take me from a slight buzz to complete intoxication. This was a dangerous position to be in.

  “Which way did your camera roll?” he asked.

  “I have no idea. I think that way.” I pointed, but my hand caught the side of his ribcage. Holy shit. It was as if he was a block of lumber.

  “You realize I can’t see where you’re pointing in the dark,” he teased.

  “I-I—” I wanted to apologize for grazing his skin, but I realized he hadn’t moved an inch. Possibly, he was breathing as quickly as I was.


  “It seems like an expensive piece of equipment. I don’t want to be the one responsible for breaking it.”

  He was responsible for other things right now. Like the heat simmering in my belly. The dirty thoughts floating in my head. The need to be kissed taking control of my rationale. The longer we hid in the dark, the sexier his voice became. The hotter my body flamed.

  “Luke, I—”

  We were both fighting instincts we couldn’t deny. His breath blew across my cheek before his mouth covered mine. He inhaled my lips in the most decadent kiss, as if he was drinking me in after drowning.

  My hands caught the back of his head, twirling my fingers in his hair. I’d never been so unprofessional or spontaneous, but I couldn’t stop kissing him. I didn’t want to stop. Did I have to?

  His tongue flicked against mine and I let out a tiny moan. It was small at first, but grew louder as the kiss deepened and my resolve evaporated. I didn’t care about my camera or the fact that we were on the floor in Luke’s office. All that mattered was he was an amazing kisser, and he was already half naked.

  Something happened between us. There weren’t words or even part of a conversation. We moved with the hunger of two people who had been starved. My fingers traced the smooth ridges of his back. Luke worked my shirt over my head and threw it across the room.

  Within seconds my bra was flung in the other direction. I arched into him as his mouth covered one nipple and then the other. Luke sucked my tit between his teeth and I gave in to his greedy mouth.

  “Oh shit,” I whispered when his fingers slid below the waistline of my jeans. It would only be another second before he would know just how wet I was.

  Did he have to know I was out of practice? That I hadn’t had sex once since I moved to this town? It seemed irrelevant as he worked my panties out of his way and began to massage my clit.

  I groaned in his ear, but Luke only seized harder on my nipple until I bucked into him. His finger pushed inside me and I hissed louder.

  “Too much?” he asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Good.” I could almost see his sexy grin in the dark, like a wolf eyeing his prey. Was that coming next?