The Reluctant Boyfriend (The Bad Boyfriend series Book 4)

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The Reluctant Boyfriend (The Bad Boyfriend series Book 4) Page 32

by Erika Kelly


  “I love it. I mean…wow. I don’t know how you manage to choose just the right things for me.” Her eyes lit up with mischief. “Don’t be angry, but I want Craig to see me like this. He loves the cigar bar in Owl Hoot. I want to go there with my date tonight and run into him. Let him see me.” She lowered her arms. “I wish I hadn’t let myself go. I wish…” She found Skylar’s gaze in the mirror and let out a long breath. “I know. He’d still have cheated.”

  Skylar smiled, glad her client got it. Letting go was a long process. “I can guarantee that seeing you’ve lost twenty pounds and cut your hair won’t be nearly as effective as seeing you happy and living a great life. I don’t know if he’ll ever change, but it’ll definitely make him question his choices.”

  The woman gripped the hand Skylar rested on her shoulder. “I know you’re right, but I still want him to see me like this.” She grinned. “Okay. I’m going to get all of this. Including the shoes. I love those espadrille wedges.”

  “Great.”

  “You want to unzip me?”

  “Might as well keep the dress on.” She glanced at her watch. “You’re meeting your date in twenty minutes.”

  “Gah.” Her hand went to her newly styled hair. “Can you come with me? I’ll pay you to sit at the bar, so every time I start to freak out I can look at you and get my confidence back.”

  “You don’t need me, because you’re going to talk to him the same way you do your friends when you go out to lunch. He’s not a man you’re trying to impress. You’re not out to win him. You just want to meet some new people and get back into the swing of dating.”

  Helen let out a breath. “You know just how to relax me.” She reached for the clothing, when Skylar stopped her.

  “Leave it. I’ll have everything delivered to your house. You just go. Enjoy your night out.”

  The woman grabbed her purse off a chair and stepped out into the salon. “Thank you, Sky. You’re an absolute life-saver.”

  Skylar followed her to the door, holding it open. “Let me know how it goes.”

  “You know I will.”

  Once the woman got into her car, Skylar shifted into Mama Bear mode. Luckily for Jinx, she’d calmed down some. Because he might’ve used her son to get to her, but he’d still done a great job with him.

  As she headed towards them, her anger deflated even more. Jinx sat cross-legged on the floor, talking quietly to her son. Rocco didn’t have a huge attention span, but whatever Jinx was saying had him engrossed.

  “Okay, I’m all done with my work,” she said. “Let’s thank Jinx for stopping by.”

  Jinx handed her son the block he was holding and got up off the floor. “I thought you needed me for a few hours?”

  “I’ve taken up enough of your time. Now that my client’s gone, I can manage.”

  “I cleared my afternoon, so I don’t mind staying.”

  God, he was so big and…he had all this dark, intensity about him. She set her hand on her hip, so he couldn’t see it was shaking. It was all such a crazy mix of emotions. He was handsome and very muscular, and he had a way of looking at her that made her feel like he’d protect and cherish her.

  “I’m sure you don’t.” But he was too quiet, too fierce, and she didn’t trust him.

  “What’s that mean?”

  “We talked about this.” She said it quietly, so Rocco wouldn’t hear. “The first time you asked me out, I told you I wasn’t dating. Nothing’s changed. I’m a single mother, and I work as many jobs as I can—not just to pay today’s bills but future ones. I try to spend as much time with him while he’s awake as I can, and it’s incredibly hard to juggle it all.”

  “You don’t have to do it alone.”

  “I don’t do it alone. I have a great family, and they help me a lot, but I’m saying that I want to be with him as much as I can. Which puts dating on the bottom of my to-do list. So, I’d really appreciate it if you’d respect my wishes and never use my son to get to me again.”

  The respect and…interest she was used to seeing in his eyes flamed out. Abruptly, he turned and went back to her son, dropping to a crouch. “Hey, little man, I’ve got to go. You be good to your mama, okay?” He held out a fist, and her quiet, serious little boy slapped it. Rocco stood there staring, as Jinx strode right past her and walked out the door.

  She didn’t like hurting his feelings. The quiet, mysterious ones tended to be the most sensitive. Besides, even if he had used her son, he hadn’t done it in a bad way. He’d made Rocco smile. She’d been too hard on him.

  Still, she’d needed to get it out there once and for all. She wasn’t dating him, no matter how sweet he was to her boy.

  With Rocco busy stacking blocks, she pulled out her phone and called her brother.

  “Hey, Sky.” Griff sounded exhausted.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Jinx didn’t tell you?” her brother asked.

  Uh, no. She hadn’t let him say anything before kicking him out. “Tell me what? What’s going on?”

  “Huge pile-up on the Gunnison. One of my guys got caught up in it.”

  “Is he hurt?”

  “He got thrown off his bike, but no, he’s not hurt. That’s why I asked Jinx to watch Rocco for me. He get there all right?”

  A hot mix of shame and dread washed through her. “You sent Jinx?”

  “Yeah. He pretty much raised his younger brother, so I knew he’d be good with Rocco. Plus, he’s been around him before, so it wasn’t like a stranger showing up. Everything’s okay, right?”

  “Well, considering I just told him not to use Rocco to get to me, no, not really.” I’m such a bitch.

  “Use—what? Where’d you get that idea?”

  “He’s always trying to be around me. And when he showed up instead of you, I thought he’d convinced you to let him come over.”

  “Jesus, Sky, you think I’d let some guy who only wants to get in your pants watch my nephew? I love that kid.”

  “I know. I feel terrible.”

  “Look, I know your ex did a number on you, but not all guys are assholes. Jinx is a good guy. You don’t have to date him but don’t put him in the same trash bag as your ex.”

  She had done that, and she felt terrible. “I know. I’m going to call Mom and see if she can watch Rocco for a little bit. I need to go apologize.”

  “Good idea.”

  After spraying a second coat of the color blender, Jinx set the tank aside. He’d scuff it up tomorrow so the pearl mix stuck nicely to it.

  “Jinx?” someone called.

  He’d know that voice anywhere. He glanced over to find Skylar striding toward him.

  Fuck me. With her platinum pixie-style hair, her long limbs and the sexy swing of her hips, she made him speechless.

  But then he remembered that she’d accused him of using her son. “Yeah?”

  As soon as she reached him, she lifted both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m sorry.”

  She’d talked to Griff. “Okay.” He pulled the long, skinny back fender off the hanging rack and set it on the table. Running a hand over the smooth surface, he checked to make sure he didn’t need to spot prime it. Nope. Looked ready for the gold flames.

  “Jinx.”

  “What?”

  “Can you look at me, please?”

  He straightened and faced her. She was pretty, obviously. But that wasn’t what got him all worked up. She was a dynamo, she was smart, and she was the best damn Mom he’d ever seen.

  “Thank you for watching my son while I was with my client. I jumped to a really ugly conclusion, and I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you. You’ve never given me a single reason to doubt you or not trust you, so what I said back there? That comes from me. I’m…messed up.”

  He got that. He didn’t know the whole story, but everyone in town knew her ex had gone off to Los Angeles to become a rock star, leaving her and his son behind. That would fuck anyone up, but especially a twenty-year
-old woman who’d just found out she was pregnant. “We’re cool.”

  “Are we? Because I feel terrible. You’re really good with Rocco. He’s been grumpy all day, and you actually made him smile.”

  He knew his silence made people uncomfortable, but he wasn’t one for small talk. She’d said her piece, so they were done. But she stood there, expecting more from him. “Why’s he grumpy?”

  “Every year, he goes to San Diego for the Fourth of July with his father’s family.”

  “Isn’t he kind of young to know that?”

  “His grandmother gets really into it, starts buying him shorts and swimsuits and cute little hats. She’s been stopping by to try things on him. He knows.”

  “Are you going with them?”

  “Oh, God, no.”

  He could tell from her expression what she thought about being separated from her boy. “So, you’re free this week?”

  “Yes.”

  He set the rag down. “I got a favor to ask you.”

  She eyed him warily.

  “What you did with that woman just now?” He’d liked Skylar from the moment he’d met her. She’d blown him away with her personality. But seeing what he’d done for her client? Damn. “My mom could use some of that.”

  “A make-over?”

  “Yeah. She…hasn’t been the same since my dad died. I keep buying her things—a condo, a new car, but nothing works. I think what she’d really like is to feel good about herself again.”

  Her features softened. “Send her in. I’d be happy to work with her.”

  “She lives in Vegas.”

  “Oh, well…are you thinking of flying her out here?”

  “I’m not sure she’d go for it. She works long hours in the ER. I’d like to bring you to her.”

  “You want me to go to Vegas?”

  “You said you’re free this week.”

  “I am, but I need to be here for Rocco.”

  “Isn’t Rocco going to be in San Diego?”

  “Well, yes, but…”

  “If he needed anything, I’d fly you out to him.”

  “I don’t know.”

  He never talked about this shit, but if he wanted her to work with his mom, he needed to be honest with her. “My dad was career Army. He died during his eleventh deployment. It was tough on my mom, for sure, but to be honest, she was used to him not being around. My brother, though…that about killed her.”

  “Your brother died?”

  “On the way to my dad’s funeral. He and his buddies rode their bikes out from Houston. Some twenty-three year old truck driver high on heroin mowed them all down.” He swallowed. “We had two funerals, back to back. My mom’s never been the same. She needs more than new clothes and a haircut—though she could use both. The things you said to that lady? She needs that. Will you do it? Please?”

  “Yeah, Jinx. I’ll do it. Rocco’s grandparents are coming to get him at five in the morning, so I can be ready any time after that. Although, last minute tickets might cost a lot.”

  “Oh, we’re not flying.” He grinned. “Road trip.”

  About the Author

  Award-winning author Erika Kelly has been spinning romantic tales all her life—she just didn’t know it. Raised on the classics, she didn’t discover romantic fiction until later in life. From that moment on, she’s been devouring the genre and has found her true voice as an author. Over three decades she’s written poems, screenplays, plays, short stories, and all kinds of women’s fiction novels. Married to the love of her life and raising four children, she lives in the northeast, drinks a lot of tea, and is always waiting for her cats to get off her keyboard.

  https://www.erikakellybooks.com/

 

 

 


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