Wrong Text, Right Reply: A Sweet Accidental Romance (An Accidental But Perfect Romance Book 1)

by Bonnie Sweets

  She glances behind her and then back to me. “No. It’s just me.”

  “Okay, so Abby asked if I had them with me just because I was trying to get close to you. She basically said the only reason anyone would want to hang out with them was because of you. I said that wasn’t true. So, I thought it was important that I not come in and talk to you so that Abby would trust me with what I’d said.” I splay my hands out, noticing when Savvy glances at the curving snake I have inked around my wrist.

  I refuse to be ashamed of my artwork. There’s nothing wrong with being dumb and young at some point. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve pulled back on tattoos, but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of the ones I’ve earned.

  I follow her gaze. “You don’t like tattoos, do you.” It’s not a question. A lot of people don’t like them or what the connotation is around them. It’s one reason I had to go with owning my own business and not following in my dad’s footsteps at the engineering firm.

  That and I find engineering boring as vanilla pudding.

  Savvy shrugs, but doesn’t look away. “Actually, I don’t hate them. They’re very…” She licks her lips and reaches out, tracing the head of the snake with the tip of her fingernail. We’re inches away from each other, merely separated by the stainless-steel trailer pieces. “I think they’re kind of scary, but dangerous, too?” She asks it, like she’s not sure. “I like the artistry of them. Yours seem… personal.”

  We both raise our eyes from studying where her finger works on my marked skin and our gazes connect.

  She swallows and stands back, breaking the spell holding us both in check. “Ahem, anyway, yeah. I… Appreciate you watching out for Abby’s feelings. Her father… never does that. It’s all about him.”

  “Well, she’s a doll. I’ll have to steal them again.” I smile at her, wishing I knew how to get her to touch me again. Where she’d touched me before, my skin feels branded. I’m not complaining. She can brand me any day and twice on Sunday.

  Savvy laughs, the sound delightful as it’s combined with a smile that shows her straight white teeth. “Next time, you’ll need to give me your phone number. I have no way to get ahold of you.”

  “Right. Well, why don’t you give me yours and I’ll text you from my phone.” Crud. I forgot I only have the one line. I need to get another one so I can message her. Things were starting to get too complicated. I didn’t need them to be harder than they were, so why was I making things so much worse?

  Rather than focus on the fact that I don’t even have a usable number yet to give her, I narrow my eyes at Savvy as she writes her number down on a piece of paper. “So, are you dating anyone right now?”

  Savvy shakes her head and passes her number over to me, careful not to let our fingers touch. Ah, so she was as affected by our contact as I was. Nice.

  “No. I don’t like guys.” She laughs and rolls her eyes.

  “Oh… I’m sorry. For some reason I thought you were straight. Okay.” I’m not sure how to respond. She didn’t give off those vibes, but you never knew.

  Her eyes grow wide and she shakes her head while waving her hands frantically in front of her. “No. I’m not… I mean, I like guys. Definitely. I know a hot one when I see one.” She casts a fast glance down my form and then back to my face. “Yeah, I’m not blind. I just… Don’t like them. They’re all snakes. Like my ex. Nope, men are not in my future.”

  Rather than point out the fact that she just called me a snake, I fold my arms and consider her. “Ah, so you’re planning on being alone the rest of your life. Interesting.”

  Savvy pauses before answering me, her eyes even more focused than before. “You know what? I never thought of it like that. I have a new group of friends. So, I guess I’m not completely alone?” She’s still talking in questions, like she’s not entirely sure she’s saying what she means.

  “Awesome, a whole group. That’s terrific.” I’m running out of things to say. I just want to ask her out, but she’s blocking every lead in I’ve got.

  “Well, yeah, but there’s one in particular I really seem to have bonded with. She seems to not know what she wants. I don’t know if she likes guys or girls or if her text was just a typo. I don’t know. If she is into girls, I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about me, you know? I don’t know how to be like, I’m not interested. When I do want to be friends.” She sighs and leans a hip against the counter.

  “Yeah, I get it. Well, tell her you’re dating me. That would straighten out any confusion, right? Plus, I don’t want you to lie, so you could go out with me. I’m not a snake.” I lift an eyebrow in challenge and leave my legs shoulder-width apart.

  Was there any way she’d take me up on my offer?

  Chapter 15

  Savvy

  I almost fall I’m so startled by his question. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Date me. Let’s go out.” He’s got to be crazy. We can’t date.

  I shake my head fervently. “No. I can’t date you.”

  Something shadows his eyes. “Why not? Is it because of the way I look?”

  I study him like he’s been hiding something from me all this time. “The way you look? Which is what? Hot?” Heat floods my cheeks and I press my fingertips to my neck. The shadows on his features lighten with my comment.

  Great.

  “You think I’m hot? Nice.” His voice is huskier and I swear he knows the combination of his sinfully delicious voice and the way his eyelids half-close is a sign of trouble.

  “So, if you think I’m hot, why can’t you date me?” The challenge is in his voice.

  I respond to the challenge before I really think through my words. “Because I hate you? I don’t know. I just… I don’t hate you-you, like you personally. Just men, in general. It’s a… thing.” I finish lamely, ready to throw myself off a bridge at this point.

  Can I put my foot any further into my mouth?

  He seems to ignore the inflammatory things I’ve said. “Are you ready to date? Or are you still hung up on the ex? It’s okay, if you’re still in love with him.”

  “I’m definitely not in love or hung up on that man.” I bite my lip. “I’m not sure? I haven’t really thought about it.” But that’s a huge lie. Of course, I’ve thought about dating again.

  Of course, I’ve thought about dating Knox in particular.

  I hate myself for being so weak toward a man who looks like he belongs on the cover of a motorcycle magazine with muscles, a strong jaw, some ink on arms that don’t know what an ounce of fat looks like and dark eyes that could summon me from my spinsterhood.

  I can never tell him that.

  Never.

  “Let me ask you now. What do you want?” I toss the challenge down like he might say he wants a keto snack or maybe something like a one-night stand or something equally dangerous.

  He leans forward, resting his arms on the counter of my trailer. He’s so tall and even from above him in the trailer I feel small and feminine. I kind of like the feeling. I’ll need to write that down in Paul later.

  “What do I want? Marriage and a family. I always come on too strong with women and they break up with me. Do you think I’m doing something wrong?” There’s no guile in his expression like he honestly does want all of the things I want.

  “Weird.” The word is breathy and airy coming out of my mouth as I’m caught up in the hypnotic power of his gaze. “I don’t know any woman who would walk away from commitment to someone… like you.” I wasn’t lying.

  “Really? Then how about a date? You don’t know anyone who would turn me down, that has to include you. Let’s not even call it a date. Let’s just go hang out, bring your kids. We’ll keep it low key.” He shrugs those amazing shoulders and my mouth suddenly dries up.

  I can’t. I’m not most women. Yes, he’s delicious. Yes, if I hadn’t been burned by my ex-husband so bad, I’d jump at the chance to be this gorgeous man’s commitment.

  But I can’t.

 
There’s no way. I smile tightly at him and turn toward my planner. “I can’t… Um, sorry. I just… No. I can’t. You need to go.”

  “Wait, ignore that I asked you for a date. Just ignore that.” There’s something desperate in his voice and I pause, turning back to him as he continues, “I need your help.” He glances over his shoulder then back to me. “Look, I need to come up with something to get back at David for stealing my phone. I’m not vindictive enough to come up with anything. Maybe we can come up with something together?” He’s looking hopefully at me, but I can’t.

  Combine that with the date pressure and I need him to go.

  I press my fingers to my mouth and back into the shadows of my trailer. “I need you to go, Knox. Sorry, but I need you to leave.”

  He nods. “Got it. Sorry.” He turns and leaves and I slide down the wall of my trailer until my butt lands on the bench. Where is Paul? Where is he?

  I scan the inside of the trailer, searching for my planner. I need to write something down. I need to track whatever I’m about to shove in my mouth.

  Without really thinking about it, I grab a keto donut and pretty much inhale it. As I’m chewing and swallowing, I can’t help but think yeah, this is actually pretty good as I lick my fingers clean.

  I can’t find my planner and I just hurt someone’s feelings. Someone I am starting to care about. That’s a lie. I’ve cared about him for a while. I just wasn’t aware of it until recently.

  Which is what is scaring me.

  I pull my phone toward me and text KT.

  Me: I can’t find my planner and I just told a guy I’m actually really interested in that I’m not interested. I had a freak out after he asked me out. Can you believe a hot guy would want commitment?

  I tap my fingers on my leg as I wait for her reply. It’s faster than even I hoped.

  KT: A guy that wants commitment? Isn’t that like the Golden Goose? He sounds nice. That’s a good thing, right?

  I think about what she said. Men who want commitment are rare. I could agree with that.

  There’s suddenly a knock on the service counter of my trailer. I lift my head, frantic at the thought that my planner is out there somewhere with all of my information wrapped up in its pages.

  “Hey, I know you told me to go, but I just found this out here on the ground. Is it yours?” Knox is standing there, looking uncertain and nervous like maybe I’ll bite his head off.

  And in his hands is Paul. I gasp and rush to the counter, reaching for the planner and gushing my gratitude. “Thank you so much. I wasn’t able to find it. I… Thank you.”

  But he’s already gone and I suddenly realize that he seems to show up when I need him to a lot.

  And I start to question myself. Why would I walk away from a man who looks like him, who wants commitment and is a present-day knight in shining armor?

  Chapter 16

  Knox

  Seeing her planner on the ground had been a happy coincidence. As soon as I got the text that she lost her planner I felt like I’d been given a sign or a gift or something.

  Grabbing the planner from the grass-tufted ground, I’d turned to the side of her trailer, looking all around for if anyone was watching me.

  I had to thumb out a fast response while juggling the heavy book.

  Before I could finish my message, I glanced at the cover and realized I had a split second to look inside to get to know her a little bit better. But I couldn’t take too long. I just couldn’t.

  Flipping open the cover, the first thing I noticed were the beautifully hand written love messages.

  There was no other way to define them.

  You can do anything.

  You’re not alone.

  Don’t worry, everything is going your way.

  Your eyes sparkle.

  Nobody understands awesome.

  Chase your dreams, because you’re someone else’s and you deserve to be chased.

  I flip through a few pages and realize she has to write her own love notes. She doesn’t have anyone to do it for her.

  That’s all I need. I turn and knock on the counter and tell her I found the planner and ask if it’s hers. I don’t hang around to be yelled at though.

  I’m deep in thought as I head back to the trailer. I know I don’t have a chance in actually getting Savvy’s affections. I can see that now. Her ex did too bad a number on her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t at least make her feel more wanted and more like she’s someone’s dream… Mine.

  I’m back at the trailer and with no revenge plan to get back at David and I’m a little irritated that I pushed Savvy like I did. I could see I had done it. I could see it happening as I tried to backpedal out of it.

  “What’d you do?” David washes his hands in the sink to the side as I duck through the door to get into the trailer.

  Shaking my head, I make sure my phone is still in my hand. I can’t trust my brother not to make my things disappear. What would I do if he found out I was talking to this group of women and they had no idea who I was?

  “I found something I wanted to make sure got back to its rightful owner.” That wasn’t a lie. Okay, it kind of was.

  In a food trailer lot the ebbs and flows are just like a normal restaurant or fast food place. People seem to be hungry at certain times. As north Idaho heads heavier into summer, those eating windows seem to get longer and longer but with very significant periods with no one around.

  Mid-afternoon was one of those moments. I refuse to let David leave during the slowest points because I’m never sure he’ll be back and I need his help during the heavier times. We settle into our seats after doing some last cleanup and stocking.

  My phone buzzes and I glance at David to see if he noticed. The last thing I need is him trying to peer over my shoulder being nosy.

  David is staring at something on his own phone.

  I drop my gaze and swipe up on the screen.

  Savvy: I got freaked out. I’m a loser.

  Me: What freaked you out? I doubt you’re a loser.

  Honestly, I’m excited to talk to her, but at the same time, she doesn’t think of KT as Knox. She thinks of KT as another woman. It isn’t right that my insides are all tense and aware talking to her as KT. She can’t be interested in that person. And I suddenly resent the person I pretend to be.

  Savvy: BBQ Buns came over and asked me out. Well, not just me. He said he wanted to take all of us out. I lost it.

  Me: And your planner. Did you find it?

  Savvy: Actually… He found it and brought it to me.

  Me: Okay, so what happened, because this isn’t making a lot of sense.

  Savvy: I freaked out and he knew it. What do I do?

  Me: Did he ask you to marry him?

  Savvy: … No.

  Me: Did he offer to take you to a strip club for amateur night?

  At this point, I’m definitely letting my irritation get the better of me, because I don’t understand why she lost it on me – as Knox. As KT, I can’t understand it either.