by Harms, C. A.
Chapter Ten
Knoxville
“It’s hard to believe that my Sara and I have been together for forty years.” My father looks adoringly to his left where my mother stands. “I still remember the day I saw her stumble down the stairs and right into my arms. I swore that day, when she gave me that bashful smile, that I’d never let her fall again.” A collection of awws and sighs scatter throughout the room. “She’s been my best friend ever since, and the only thing I would change about our lives together is to be able to go back and relive it all over again. Because forty years went by in such a hurry and a lifetime with this woman will never be enough.”
The sappy side of my father is one we boys had seen often. He has never hidden his affection for my mother. We all adore her, and she was constantly surrounding us with attention. Yet to a ten-year-old boy who was forced to see his parents make-out various times when they’d tried to hide in not-so-secluded places, it was just too much.
I see a flash of blonde move through the crowd and look up just in time to see Tinley walking through the swinging doors into the kitchen area.
Coffee. She’d agreed to coffee, though we had not set a date or a time. I guess she assumed she’d found an easy way out when being trapped in the Montgomery interrogation. She had no idea yet just how persistent I can be.
“You sure are watching that door intensely.” I don’t look away because I already know Beckett is smirking at me from the side. “I thought Shanelle and Kins were bull-headed women.” He whistles low and follows it up with a deep chuckle. He is really enjoying my antsy behavior. “You sure you’re willing to put in the time?”
“What’s that mean?” I finally look away from the door I’d stared at so long my vision was beginning to blur.
“It means that you’ve met your match.” Beck crosses his arms over his chest. “If you want the woman, you’re gonna have to work for her. This one doesn’t appear to be like the women from your past.”
“Are you saying that the ladies I’ve dated are—”
“Easy,” he interjects with a challenging look, “and I would hardly call them ladies.”
I could argue, but it would be a waste of my time and his. He isn’t far off, but I liked things simple. I’d chosen to keep things light and casual. The truth is I’d never met someone who caught my full attention before, to the point where I wanted to know everything I could about them. One glance and a snarky comment from Tinley, and I was completely engrossed in solving every puzzle she’d toss my way.
“Maybe I’m ready for what you and Ashton have.” My confession was surprising to both me and to Beckett. Maybe I should have kept it private, because I was giving him ammo to toss back at me, but he only offers a nod of his head instead.
“Feels amazing, brother.” He reaches out and wraps his arm around the back of Shanelle’s chair, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s hard to explain, but just know all the shit, the hassle, and drama it takes to get there, it’s worth it.”
Shanelle is engrossed in a conversation with Kinsley and my mother, completely oblivious to the one Beckett and I were sharing. Talk is of cribs and strollers, clothes and more.
“Congratulations,” I finally say to Beckett after pulling myself back to our conversation. “I could say that I never thought you’d be the first one to make our parents grandparents, but I’d be lying. I just thought it would be with a varsity cheerleader or the nerdy girl that you’d convinced was a good idea to let you drive her home after school on a rainy day.”
“Smartass,” he mumbles but his smile did nothing to hide his humor.
Beckett had always been overly friendly. As in I refrained from dating too many girls in our high school because the idea that my brother had most likely already slept with them was too much to handle. He’d nailed half the junior class our sophomore year before moving on to the seniors. The guy was, well, a whore.
“So, when is the next Montgomery wedding?” I know it is coming, and I assume faster now with the announcement of my little niece or nephew baking in the oven.
“She wants to get through the first trimester.” Beckett glances over his shoulder toward his woman. “We’re thinking of something simple, just family and a few close friends. Maybe on a beach somewhere. She’s been talking to Kinsley and Lord help me, Lexington.”
He rolls his eyes in annoyance and it is my turn to laugh at his expense. He is in trouble, he knows it, and there is no reason for me to bring it to his attention. Whenever Lex is involved, things always managed to get a little messy for Beckett. I can already imagine him getting joined rooms or even a two-bedroom suite so he’d be as close to Beck as he possibly can. Or hell, at least close enough to place a glass against the wall or door to hear every little sound made within the honeymoon quarters.
Lex plays it off as some game, a way to annoy the brother who had yet to become immune to his antics, but it was impossible to miss his interest in Beck. Lexington Russell has one hell of a man crush on my brother. It is harmless, but the funniest fucking thing I have even been witness to.
“How hard you willing to push her?” I notice Beckett motioning with his hand toward the space behind me and I look back just in time to see Tinley exit the kitchen area, carrying a tray of drinks. She glides over to the opposite side of the room and I know it is because she is doing all she can to avoid me. “She doesn’t seem as though she’s willing to lower the fences yet.”
“When have you ever known me to give up without a fight?”
“Some fights are worth the struggles.” I allow his words to roll around in my mind, still watching the forced smile Tinley offers as she serves a table of my father’s colleagues. My shoulders tense when I see a couple of them look her over as she leans in to place a drink before each one. “Easy,” Beckett chuckles, “you march over there and go all ‘she my woman back off,’ I’m sure that will have the opposite effect you’re hoping for.”
Just then she stands, and her eyes meet mine from across the room. Part of me wants to do just as Beck said. I want to gather her up, carry her out, and lock her in a room with no escape until I am able to convince her to let go of the damn fortress she lives within.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a good fight.”
I hear Beckett’s deep knowing chuckle. “The wounds you’re about to endure are gonna hurt like a fucking bitch, brother.”
I was ready for the ache.
* * *
“About that coffee,” I say the words and instantly see the way her body sags in defeat.
“You just don’t stop, do you?” Tinley doesn’t even turn around to face me. “You don’t look like the kind of guy that’s hurting for the attention of a woman, so why are you so adamant about getting me to agree to go out on a date with you?” Slowly she turns and I feel myself falter just a bit from the beauty that hits me. This woman is gorgeous, with eyes that I swear make me fucking weak in the knees every time I see them. It doesn’t matter if she is glaring or fighting a grin, the effects are still the same. “I can assure you, I am not pleasant company.”
Arching my brow, I wait for her to continue. Attempting to talk me out of this was something I guess she needed to do, but it wouldn’t work.
“I’m moody and cranky at least eighty-two percent of the day.”
“How about the remaining eighteen?”
“I’m asleep.”
I chuckle and she can’t hide the grin fast enough. Moments like this when she lets her guard down even for just a second makes me want to pursue this attraction I feel for her. It confirms that behind her tough exterior, there is a side of her that she rarely let others see. It only makes me want to be the one lucky enough to get a glimpse at the other side of the mysterious woman.
“Maybe you’re not surrounding yourself with the right kind of company.” I half expect her to give me some type of sass, but instead she simply looks at the floor beneath her feet.
�
�One cup of coffee?” I nodded when she peeked through her long lashes at me. “After that this silly game will be over and I can go back to be my moody distant self?”
“Or, you could have such an amazing time that you decide we should do it again, or better yet, have dinner next time.” With her lips pursed and her eyebrows arched, she crosses her arms and stares at me. “Dazzled by my charm, struck by my good looks, and floored by the fact that I am a true gentleman.”
Tinley opens her mouth slightly as if she has something to say, then closes it tightly once more. I wait, she watches me, and the party continues around us.
Beckett was right, this shit is gonna hurt. It is gonna kick my feet out from beneath me, knock me flat on my ass, then stomp me when I am down. But nothing about any of that makes me want to back away. I’m a Montgomery, and no one tells us there is something we can’t have. When they tried, it only backfired.
Chapter Eleven
Tinley
I spend entirely too long picking out an outfit. It shouldn’t be this hard, it’s only coffee. But every time I put on something, I imagine Knoxville’s reaction and I change again. One is too eager, another too skimpy, and I can’t forget the wrap dress with sandals that screamed “go ahead, pull the string.” Too much cleavage and way too much leg. For the love of god, I have nothing in my wardrobe that shouts “back off and let me go back to my quiet life of solitude.”
Then the vicious cycle of “Do I really want him to back off?” starts all over again. Truth is the attention from Knox has given me a little spark of myself back, the flirtatious girl who enjoys the attention of a handsome man.
And just as it always does, that acknowledgement leads to fear. A fear I’ll repeat my past and allow myself to get so consumed that I ignore everything around me. A fear of that empty feeling inside, the reminder of the girl who had been left alone, stripped of her dignity, in the back seat of her car in the middle of a darkened parking lot.
I’m not an idiot, I know Knoxville isn’t anything like the man who tore the old Tinley to shreds. Knox is kind, yet strong, sexy and confident. The way he is with his mother and wives of his brothers, it’s evidence enough that he knows how to treat a lady. The problem is I don’t know how to be the girl he’d need me to be. That part of me is lost.
After close to an hour of various changes of clothing, I settle on a pair of capri pants, frayed and patched. I top it with a fitted t-shirt that is not too revealing and my favorite wedge sandals. I go for the small silver hoop earrings and light makeup.
During the cab ride over to the café, I toy with the idea of just not showing up. The problem is this man is relentless, and I wouldn’t put it past him to book another party with the company I work for just so he can corner me again. I am not sure I will ever be able to shake Knoxville. I find myself thinking of him when I shouldn’t, dreaming of him when I close my eyes, and imagining what it would feel like to have those big, strong hands touching me. I thought about how his arms would feel around me, my head pressed securely to his chest, him just holding me close.
I’m jolted from my thoughts by the cabbie’s voice. “That’ll be eight-twelve, miss.”
Reaching into my bag I pull out a ten-dollar bill and pass it over the seat, offering it to him with my best forced smile. My heightened nervous energy makes the trembling in my hands impossible to hide.
After climbing out of the cab, I look at the small café, again questioning myself. It is coffee, fifteen minutes, twenty tops. I turn and lean against the brick wall of the building and mentally prepare myself for all that is Knoxville. The truth is I wanted to walk inside the café with grace and poise. I want to be unaffected by the man I know waits for me inside, but he is the first man in a very long time who has managed to make me forget the fears that follow me daily. Knoxville is strong, yet gentle. He is a family man, that’s obvious, but I know better than anyone that things can change in the blink of an eye. I know that the man on the outside could be nothing like the man he is inside.
After a deep breath followed by a quick nod, I force a smile. Most of the time I’m able to hide behind my sarcasm and bitchy attitude, but Knox seems to have figured me out. I guess this time I will have to go for a less than stellar approach. Maybe I can hide behind my coffee cup, hoping for the time to pass. I’ll avoid eye contact, because Knoxville has the kind of eyes I can get lost in, and look at anything but that inviting smile.
I stand outside Mario’s Café and take in one slow, calming breath after another. I watch a few people pass me on the street; they offer a nod or a smile and I wish more than anything I could be one of them, to be able to wake up each day and look forward to what might come. Instead I wake up feeling like I want to climb out of my skin and fight the urge to hide inside the tiny place I call home.
“You know that you actually have to come inside for us to have that cup of coffee together.”
My shoulders tense and I fist my hands tighter at my sides when Knox whispers the words near my ear. I take another slow breath in, hoping he doesn’t notice the way my body trembles from a mixture of nerves and a reaction to his closeness.
“I was—”
“Trying to figure out a way out of this?” He finishes my sentence and I hang my head in shame. “Or you looked inside, saw me sitting at the table looking handsome and sinful, and you had to give yourself some type of pep talk. Remind yourself that we are in public and people may find it offensive if you walk inside and ogle me in clear view of others.”
I smile; it was impossible not to. I know he isn’t that conceited; he knows he is attractive, but he didn’t play heavy on it. This is his way of trying to break the ice, offer a way for me to feel a little less tense.
“There’s that smile.” He chuckles and steps away as he reaches for the door to the café. “Let’s go inside, order, and sit in the far back corner. Ya know, just in case you can’t hold back your need to tell me how mouthwatering I am. I’m all for it, you can tell me that over and over, but other men may find it intimidating.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah, see, I’m not a stupid man. When a beautiful woman wants to scan over me from head to toe, smiling and her eyes getting dilated by the dirty thoughts she’s got floating around in her mind, who am I to stop her?”
“Wow,” I mumble, though I could feel my cheeks ache with the attempt to hide my smile.
Knoxville nodded. “Some guys have it,” he shrugged nonchalantly, “and some don’t.”
Chapter Twelve
Knoxville
“So, you have it?”
“You tell me.” I’m not sure I should be pushing her, but I figure I have one shot to make or break this. I have a feeling either way I’m not gonna walk away from today with a guaranteed second date. This woman is most definitely going to make me work for it, jump through fucking hoops and scale fucking mountains.
Stepping up to the counter, I waited for her to order and watch her from the side. I’ve never felt this ache in my chest from simply observing a woman. It’s a deep heaviness that feels like it is difficult to breath evenly.
“I’ll just have a vanilla latte with light cream.” I blinked a few times, trying to clear my thoughts when someone cleared their throat and gained my full attention. The young guy behind the counter gave me a knowing smirk and I shrugged. Dude understood…she was gorgeous.
“And for you, sir?”
“Regular coffee, two cream.” Maybe a shot of whiskey to tame this beast inside me.
I offer my card to the young man and ignore the offer of the five-dollar bill from Tinley. I also ignore the scowl she gives me as I usher her toward the end of the bar. I notice the way she watches me from the side as I gather two napkins and lean against the counter with my hip. I give her a few seconds, allowing her the chance to get whatever it is she needs out of this moment, before I slowly turn to look at her.
I say nothing, just watch her much like she was just watching me.
“What?” Tinley
wrinkled up her forehead in confusion. Jesus, even then she was breathtaking.
“I figured since you were checking me out, I should get equal opportunity to do so in return.”
“I was not checking you out.” I hold back my laughter when she rolls her eyes like she’s twelve.
“Here’s your order, sir.” I look back over my shoulder just as the barista places both cups on the counter behind me. “Enjoy your day.” The girl couldn’t have been more than eighteen, sharing with me doe eyes and a sweet smile. I hear Tinley scoff, and I offer the young girl a wink as I thank her and picked up both cups.
Turning back to face Tinley, I hold out her cup and when she tries to take it, I don’t let go. “Admit it.”
“Admit what, that you are a flirt?”
“Is someone a little jealous?”
“Are you sixteen or thirty?”
Chuckling, I take a step closer and see her inhale deeply. “I’m neither,” I say, leaning little closer. “Admit that you were checking me out and that you were a little jealous.”
“Why don’t you give me the coffee before I decide that I’ve been here long enough and leave without it?” Spunky little shit she is, no doubt.
I release the coffee, she smiles as if she had defeated me, and I watch her walk away shaking her ass like she is in control. Pick your battles. It was advice my father gave all three of us boys. Let the woman win. A happy woman leads to a happy man. No reason to get them all fired up just so you can prove you’re in control.
Tinley picked a small table near the front of the cafe, along the floor to ceiling windows, with a clear view of the people walking up and down the street in front of us. I preferred the table in the far back corner, the secluded one with few distractions, but again I let her feel like she is winning this battle of wills.