“You seem to be asking me that question a lot lately, Mikki.”
I didn’t bother to say it was because he was always someplace he shouldn’t be, namely wherever I was. “Well?”
He lifted my black bag, holding it out with two fingers instead of dropping it on the floor. Like a real man would. “Bo asked me to bring this up to you, said you’d be eternally grateful.” That damn smirk said he knew how unsettled I was right now.
“You can leave it there. Thanks.” Of course, Nate kept the bag dangling from his fingers because he wasn’t just a player, he was also a game player.
“You don’t want it? Because if that’s the case, I can take it back downstairs.” The heat in his gaze was unmistakable which only served as a reminder that I was naked besides this towel, and that I wasn’t impervious to him. Yet.
I didn’t want this tension between us, hell I didn’t want anything from him anymore. “Maybe you should do that, Nate.” I turned back around and shut myself in the bathroom because I was done letting Nate toy with me or my emotions. I’d had enough of that lately, from all the men in my life. Past and present. I took my time, applying conditioner to my hair and moisturizer to my skin, wasting ten full minutes before I went back out.
And found Nate was still there, only now he’d made himself comfortable in my temporary room. “Seriously?”
He shrugged and nodded to the bag resting right beside the work boots he didn’t seem to go without. “Are we gonna keep doing this?”
“Doing what?” I wasn’t faking innocence, either, because it wasn’t necessary.
“This back and forth thing we’ve been doing.”
I snorted a bitter laugh at his words. “There is no thing, Nate. You think it’s fun to play games and I happen to disagree.” It was a fundamental difference between us and I’d learned my lesson the hard way about trying to change the unchangeable..
“Some call it have fun,” he said with a playful smile. “Joking, even.”
“And some don’t,” I shot back because we weren’t even friends, barely even acquaintances which meant we didn’t play like that. Ever. “Do you mind?” I nodded at the bag and the room, hoping he’d get the hint and get the hell out.
Nate let the mask drop, at least for a moment when he raked a hand through thick red hair and blew out what seemed to be a frustrated breath. “What did I do that was so wrong, Mikki? Tell me.”
I let out a heavy sigh and shook my head, hating that he had me at such a disadvantage. “Who said you did anything wrong?” No one but his guilty conscience.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out, Mikki.”
I guess he wanted to do this now. Right now, with Bo and Jase downstairs and me in nothing but a really comfy towel. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Nate. Except now. Just stop pretending we’re friends or even acquaintances, stop trying to make yourself feel better for running off in the middle of the night, and stop trying to do it at my expense. We had sex, once, and that was it. We are not friends or anything resembling it, just two people who live in the same town. End of story!” That rush of words felt…good.
He unfolded his big body and stood, giving me a long dark look filled with too many emotions to name, before he turned and walked away. Again.
Big damn surprise.
Nate
That damn woman! Why in the hell did I stay there in her room, anyway? Because I’m an idiot, a glutton for punish, or maybe like she said, I was just playing games. That wasn’t my plan but after her tirade, it was easy to see why she thought so. “Dammit!”
“Wanna talk about it?” Bo appeared at my side, somehow without me hearing her approach or stopping her before she could speak.
“Nope.” There was nothing to talk about.
“That’s okay,” she said, flashing me a rare grin. “Jase already told me about how you slept with Mikki and then ran away like your backside was on fire. I’m just trying to figure out why you’re out here pouting like a child while she’s inside helping Jase with food.”
At her words I looked over my shoulder towards the house where, sure enough, Mikki and Jase were in the kitchen, all smiles and laughing. He’d just come in with a tray of grilled meat while she stood, laughing as she chopped veggies, looking for all the world like she hadn’t just verbally gutted me. “Don’t know, I guess.”
She barked out a laugh. “I don’t believe that for a second, Nate.” There was a hint of something I couldn’t quite figure out in her voice and her eyes, so I shrugged it off.
I arched a brow in her direction and crossed my arms. “Are you here to bust my balls because she’s your friend or what? If so, I gotta tell you that I’m not really in the mood.
Bo turned and rested her elbows on the railing so she had an unobstructed view of the cabin. “If I need to bust your balls, I will. But you’re Jase’s brother and I’ve known you all my life, so you’re pretty much family.” She flashed a friendly smile and bumped my shoulder. “So, talk.”
What the hell could it hurt? “She said we’re not even friends, Bo. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
Bo let out a very unladylike snort and turned all-seeing blue eyes up at me. “Are you?”
I opened my mouth to respond even though I had no idea what I would say, which was lucky because Bo wasn’t finished.
“Did you hang out before getting naked together? After? Do you even have her phone number or know how she spends her free time? How about where she’s from or how she-,”
“Enough, Bo. I got it, okay?” My hands gripped the railing in anger and frustration. “We’re not friends and I don’t know her. At all, apparently.” I should have known that the women would take each other’s sides.
“If it bothers you that much, you could always do something about it. Other than pout, that is.” I didn’t miss that gleam in her eyes, then again I don’t think she was trying to hide it.
“I don’t think that’s something she’d be up for.” I couldn’t really blame her with the way she laid it all out. “Or me.”
Bo sighed. “If you want to be her friend, then try being her friend. If you don’t just leave her the hell alone.” Her tone wasn’t angry or threatening but the look she sent me said it could become so, easily. “I never pegged you for one to play around with people’s emotions. I mean, I know you have an aversion to commitment but this isn’t that, is it?”
“Shouldn’t the food be just about ready?”
Bo knew what I was doing and I was grateful she didn’t call me out on it. “Yep. Let’s go check.”
My shoulders started to relax after the talk with Bo. She had a good point and I had to decide why I cared so much about what Mikki thought before I decided if I wanted to do anything about it. “Smells damn good in here,” I said as we entered through the kitchen, interrupting whatever had Mikki’s face red from laughter.
“It should since I am an excellent chef.” Jase flashed a cocky grin as he went to Bo and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her like they were the only two people in the world.
“Let’s hope the food lives up to the hype,” Bo said with a loving smile that made me embarrassed to witness the interaction.
“Ditto that,” I said and patted my flat stomach with an exaggerated smack. “Because I’m starved.”
Jase frowned. “You literally ate the whole time you pretended to help. How can you possibly be starved?”
I flashed a grin. “I’m a growing boy.”
“You’re something,” he mumbled under his breath. “Let’s eat, then. Wouldn’t want Nate to starve.”
The meal was delicious but tense as hell, or maybe all the tension was just in my head because no matter what I said or how hard I tried, Mikki mostly ignored me. Other than those polite fucking smiles she loved to send my way. It wasn’t blatant either, which meant I couldn’t call her out on it without looking like an even bigger jerk.
Luckily, I was able to learn a few things about her, thanks to my kid brother
. “What brought you to Tulip, Mikki?”
She flashed a grin at Jase and put down her fork. “It seemed like a great place so it was part of my top three contenders, and then I found out about Tulip herself and I was sold. She was damned impressive and I figured maybe some of her badassery would rub off on me.”
“Amen,” Bo said and raised her glass of pop with a wide grin.
“Preston’s mother would love to hear that, especially coming from you.” Jase grinned and shook his head. “You should tell her that.”
I snorted at that because Sabrina Worthington didn’t love anything except money and the status she held as a member of the founding family of Tulip. “If she ever comes down to grace you with her presence.”
Mikki blinked at me and then turned her attention back to Bo and Jase, politely of course. “She came around when the shop opened, to welcome me to town.” The table fell silent and her cheeks turned pink. “What?”
Jase was the first to speak after regaining his composure. “Sabrina Worthington came to see you, a lowly shop owner—no offense. Why?”
She shrugged. “She’s aware of the family business.” Her words were clipped like maybe she was uncomfortable talking about it, which only made me more curious.
“Which is?” The question sounded gruff and angry out of my mouth and Mikki scowled in return.
“La Famiglia Russo,” she said softly, her gaze firmly on Bo, who was probably the only person in town this news didn’t surprise.
“Holy crap,” Jase laughed and jumped up from his seat, long strides carrying him to the big pantry and back. “This La Famiglia Russo?” He held up a jar of pasta sauce and a box of rotini, eyes wide with shock. “We even have some of that sun dried tomato paste, which is delicious by the way.”
“My nonna would be happy to hear that, it was the first idea of hers that my great-grandpa actually added to the business.” Her smile was wistful, like maybe they were no longer around. Or maybe she was feeling homesick.
“Holy shit, you are La Famiglia Russo.” Jase was clearly suitably impressed. “Is it rude or racist if I ask you if you can cook?”
That question pulled a pretty, feminine laugh from her lush mouth. “I’m not offended so let’s go with no, but I am also a horrible cook. I keep it simple. Always.”
Jase’s eyes went wide and Bo sent an elbow flying into his ribcage. He glared down at her. “What?”
“Don’t even think about asking, or I promise, you’ll regret it.”
Mikki laughed and rested her chin in her hand. “Well now you have to ask.” Her eyes gleamed with gold threads as she waited for an answer.
“I want to learn how to make pasta, especially ravioli.” His cheeks were pink and my brother worked hard to avoid his girlfriend’s gaze.
Mikki laughed again. “My nonna is a sucker for a handsome face so I’m sure she’ll have no problem with a video tutorial. Just promise to make it clear to her that you’re spoke for and I’ll set it up.”
“Really?” His eyes went wide like it was Christmas morning and he got the big unbreakable fire truck he’d begged for an entire year. “That would be so cool.”
“No problem. Rocky, my sister, invited her down to her dorm room to teach a pasta making class, roping half the football team to show up just for eye candy.”
So she also had a sister. Another fact I stored away, in case I needed it for some reason in the future. “Your grandma sounds like a hoot,” Bo told her. “I hope I get to meet her.”
She sighed. “I imagine I won’t be able to keep her away much longer.”
“Why?” I hadn’t meant to voice the question out loud but I had a feeling she was going out of her way to keep her secrets because I was here.
She turned to me and battled long thick lashes, slowly, before she answered. “She and my daddy had a difference of agreement about how I should be punished for ending my engagement.”
Punished. “You’re a grown damn woman.”
Her lips curled into a tiny smile. “I’m aware, Nate. But the marriage would have been a good business deal and his wandering dick put that deal in jeopardy, but somehow that makes me the bad guy in all this.” She shrugged like it didn’t matter but those lines around her eyes revealed just how much she had to be hurting. “Now you know it all.” And her tone said she didn’t like that at all. “Oh, and just in case you were wonderin’, his dick wandered over to my best friend. Ex best friend,” she clarified with more than a little southern bell spunk.
The room fell silent once again and I cursed my own selfish need to know more because it had embarrassed Mikki. “Sorry,” I growled. “He’s a dumb fuck so at least you dodged a bullet.”
For a long time she simply stared at me, a blank expression on her face, and I figured she was about to give me a verbal lashing. Again. But finally a smile spread across her face and sent a rush of warmth through me. “Thanks, Nate. I fully agree with that assessment.”
That smile hit me right in the solar plexus and I knew right then and there, I wanted to know more about this fascinating sexy woman. I just had to figure out how to get her on board with the plan.
Mikki
“You don’t have to come in and help me with inventory, Hope. None of my other designers do.” I appreciated the help but even more than that, I appreciated the company. Starting Pretty Feathers had given me a purpose and a freedom I hadn’t realized I needed while I was so busy trying to be the perfect society fiancée and daughter back in Mississippi.
“Are you kidding? I get to see everything before anyone else in town and all the designs, colors and fabrics are excellent inspiration. Plus if I didn’t show up here to harass you I’d probably never see you.” Hope winked and opened a box filled with flirty summer skirts with a very girly squeal. “And shopping with my design earnings is like getting clothes for free.”
“I don’t get your logic but okay,” I told her with a shrug.
“No one gets my logic and I’m okay with that.” She held up a yellow an white striped skirt with a grin. “This is perfect for a romantic dinner that ends with seduction, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” I told her absently, willing to indulge her in conversations reserved for the newly in love, but only giving half an ear.
“I mean it’s not traditionally romantic but Will isn’t a traditional kind of guy. Did I tell you that he brought flowers to the diner? A full on bouquet of wild flowers!”
“That’s great,” I told her sincerely but even I could hear the boredom in my voice.
Hope looked stricken and that’s exactly what I wanted to avoid. “I’m sorry, Mikki. Listen to me going on and on and you’ve just ended your engagement in the worst possible way.”
I didn’t agree with that. “The worst way would have been finding out after the wedding.”
“Right. Crap. Of course.” Her cheeks flushed furiously and I found myself reassuring her.
“Listen to me, Hope. It is entirely possible to be happy for you even if my own romantic life isn’t what I thought it would be today. Okay?” She nodded and a relieved grin crossed my face. “I’m not mourning either of those relationships anyway. Toxicity is bad for you, don’t you know.”
She let out a feminine laugh and rolled her eyes. “It’s sweet of you to say but I still feel like I’m bragging.”
“Well honey, you finally landed the man of your dreams, you’d be crazy not to brag about it.” The next, if there was a next time, I let myself fall for a man, and a good man? I’d brag loud enough for the whole dang state to hear it.
“Maybe so, but it still feels wrong.”
“That’s just ‘cause you’re a good person, Hope. But think of it this way, your newly invigorated love life is helping me make plenty of money thanks to all the sassy, sexy designs we’re selling together.” Hope wasn’t buying it and I was pretty much over this topic of conversation so I went for another distraction. “Speaking of sassy, sexy designs, what do you have for me?”
Her smil
ed brightened and instantly, she was distracted with a topic more enjoyable for us both. Fashion. Hope hung up the garment bag she’d tried to sneak in earlier on a nearby rack and unzipped it, revealing at least half a dozen nightgowns. “It’s a little different but I’ve been working like crazy on it and I think, I hope you’ll like it.”
“Then let’s see, shall we?” I rounded the counter slowly, taking in all the colors shouting at me as I drew closer. There was silk and lace as far as the eye could see in a variety of sexy and vibrant colors. “These are amazing, Hope.” It was a rainbow of sexy and sassy for all types of women. “These will sell with everyone. Young and old, conservative and adventurous. Especially online.”
“Really? You don’t think it’s too much and too different, too soon?”
“Not at all. I’m more of a ‘strike while the iron is hot’ kind of girl myself, and right now you are on a roll.” Hope had quickly learned the ropes and found her voice, slowly growing her business. Her big green eyes were wide. And wary. “What?”
“I don’t know, this is all just so unbelievable I guess. This is going better than I ever imagined, even in my silly girlish dreams.” She shook her head, a pretty blush staining her cheeks. “I owe you so much.”
“Seems to me this isn’t the only dream of yours that’s going better than you imagined as a girl.” My eyebrows arched in a quirk and she laughed.
“Okay, so you have a point,” she conceded with a wide grin.
“And you don’t owe me anything. We make a good team.” AT my words, she flung her little pixie body at me and I gladly wrapped her in my arms. It was nice to enjoy this type of female friendship, especially after realizing how one of the most important relationships in my life had meant less than nothing to the other person.
“We make a really good team but without your encouragement I’d still be slinging hash at Big Mama’s.” Her phone vibrating on the counter stole her attention and Hope groaned. “Speaking of, I promised Big Mama we’d go over the inventory to see how much it’d cost to update a few menu items. Gotta go!” With another hug, Hope took off, smoke kicking up off her feet.
Mastering Her Curves: A Curvy Girl Romance Page 4