by Nash, Willa
There were also a handful of sales from the past twelve months that were about a thousand dollars less than I’d expected them to be, given the typical price of a painting of each size. Hux had probably run a sale or something. Maybe those were less popular pieces that he’d sold at a discount?
My stomach growled around three, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten for hours. I emerged from the office to find Katie in the showroom, dusting the light fixtures that extended from the walls to illuminate individual paintings.
“I’m going to get some lunch. Would you like anything?” I asked.
“I ate at noon.” Like normal people. The unspoken words rang loud and clear. Katie didn’t spare me a glance as I pushed through the front door.
The minute I stepped outside, the clean April air filled my lungs and raised my spirits. Hux’s office was dark, the walls a deep teal and the furniture rich brown. The couch was camel leather. His desk was a wood the color of dark chocolate. Strolling into the sunshine was like emerging from a cave.
A couple passed going the opposite direction, each carrying paper cups from the coffee shop. I greeted them with a smile, then aimed my feet toward the White Oak.
The door’s bell greeted me like an old friend when I stepped inside, as did Marcy. After a short gab to catch up, she nodded to my usual chair.
And another familiar face.
“You’re a judge.” I settled into the seat beside Nelson’s and stowed my purse. “That’s got to be an interesting job.”
Nelson chuckled, a grin stretching behind his bushy beard. “Some cases are more interesting than others.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“I ordered the special for lunch. With chili cheese fries.”
“Nelson,” I scolded.
“This is your fault. You haven’t been here for a while and I’m afraid the old habits came back.”
“Yes, this is my fault.” I laughed and when Marcy came over, I ordered the special. With a salad.
“How’s it going with Savannah?” Nelson asked as we waited for our tuna melts.
“She’s a teenage girl.”
He chuckled. “I had one of those once. My hair turned white during those years.”
“You have a daughter?” Seriously, I really should have asked this man more questions during those lunches.
“And a son.” He nodded. “Both are grown up and gone. My daughter lives in Phoenix. My son is in Atlanta.”
“Are you married?” He didn’t wear a ring, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
“Divorced.” Nelson’s statement was devoid of emotion and matter-of-fact.
Before long, I’d have that marital status too. Except I couldn’t think of the word divorce and not feel a sting. Hopefully it would fade in the years to come.
The chatter ceased when Marcy delivered our lunches. Nelson and I settled into a comfortable silence, eating until our plates were clear and our checks paid.
“See you next week?” I asked, standing from my chair.
Nelson nodded. “You’re the only other person in Calamity who eats lunch at three o’clock.”
“I like to avoid the crowd.”
He grinned. “Me too.”
I turned to leave, but the curiosity was too much. “You knew. About me and Hux.” About our fake marriage. “Why didn’t you say anything that day?”
“I figured if you would lecture me, a stranger, about eating healthy, you might be the mother that girl needs.”
“Thank you.” My heart swelled. Nelson had reminded me of my purpose here. He’d bolstered my determination to stick this out for Savannah.
“Don’t make me regret it,” he said.
“I won’t.” I waved goodbye and walked out the door, returning to the cave of Hux’s office. After another two hours of finding mismatched numbers, my eyes began to cross and I decided to call it a day.
“Good night, Katie.”
She ignored me as I walked out the back door.
“Oh, what a bitch,” I muttered to myself as I climbed into Hux’s truck.
Knowing that I was about to trade one attitude for another, I scowled the whole drive home. A deep, crease-between-my-eyebrows Reese Huxley frown. Then as I pulled into the driveway, I summoned that sunny face I’d been wearing all week—all month—and went inside.
“Hux?” I called as I walked through the house. No answer. “Savannah?”
She didn’t answer either, though that didn’t mean she hadn’t heard me.
I dropped my purse on the island in the kitchen and walked outside to Hux’s studio, finding him on his stool with a paintbrush in one hand and green stains on the other. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He swiveled on his stool. “How was the gallery?”
“Fine.” I sighed, walking to his side. “I have a list of questions for you about some price discrepancies. And before you tell me to ask Katie, know that I’m going to ask you anyway.”
“Okay.” The corner of his mouth turned up. A little smile, one I’d been earning more and more often. It was endearing, like all things Hux. Too endearing. But at least it wasn’t his blinding smile. If he flashed that at me every day, then I really would be screwed.
I never should have told him to work on that scowl.
“You should also know that if I ever find a receipt wadded up into a ball and tossed on your desk, I’ll withhold sex for a week.”
He chuckled, shifting on his seat to dig in his pocket. His hand emerged with a receipt, balled per his usual. “Haven’t washed these jeans in a while. Found this in the pocket earlier.”
I took the paper and uncrumpled it. “You’re awful.”
“Probably not gonna change. Just like you’re probably not gonna withhold sex.”
“Stubborn and arrogant is not your best look.”
Yet he wasn’t wrong.
Sex with Hux was the best part of our relationship and there was no way I’d cut it out. It was simply too good to resist. So I refolded the receipt neatly and tucked it in my own pocket for safe keeping. Then I took in the canvas on the easel and the forest he’d been painting. “This is new.”
It was a forest and only a forest. There was no horizon. No mountains or sky. Only trees and their trunks, disappearing into a mossy floor.
The base layers were dark and ominous, the forest haunted by misery. It lacked the bright colors of his other pieces, and though he would often add the lighter shades last, even those wouldn’t chase away the despair.
“Is something wrong?” I put my hand on his shoulder.
He blinked, staring at the trees like he hadn’t really taken a step back to look at the piece as a whole. “No. I don’t know.”
“Is it Chase?” I cringed at the asshole’s name.
“He shouldn’t have touched you, Ev. He shouldn’t have watched us. I shouldn’t have let him stay.”
God, his voice. It broke my heart that he was hurting. “I’m okay.”
Hux stared at the painting for a long moment, then he surged to his feet, tossing the brush in a cup of water. He swiped his hands on his jeans, leaving new streaks of dark green on the denim. When they were marginally clean, those strong, talented hands framed my face.
But he didn’t kiss me. He simply studied, like he was memorizing my face. His thumb traced the line of my jaw. His finger circled my temple.
“The only man who touches you is me,” he said, his voice husky and as dark as the painting. “The only man who watches you is me.”
I melted at the intensity of his gaze. The way those words would have made me feel if this were a different situation . . . But there was no denying my heart. It swelled, wishing it was more than physical affection and Hux’s alpha male kicking in.
I wished he’d say those words because he wanted me. For years and years to come.
His powerful body inched closer. The hardness of his chest, the heat, seeped into mine.
My breaths shortened as he pushed his hands into my hair, tug
ging hard enough for the slightest bite. That sting sent a pool of desire to my core.
“Where’s Savannah?” I whispered.
“Went to dinner and a movie with a couple friends.”
“Oh. Good for her.” And good for me.
We’d had to change our sexual escapades since she’d been here this week. No sex on the couch or in the kitchen. No screaming his name in the shower. But bedroom sex with Hux was never a letdown and keeping quiet had become a new challenge.
“Take me inside,” I said.
He shook his head, his mouth lowering. “No. I’ll take you right here.”
I surrendered to his kiss. I dropped my guard. I let myself pretend.
For tonight, I was his.
For tonight, he was mine.
Chapter Sixteen
Hux
“Pick one.”
Savannah’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“You’re sixteen. Time for a car, baby girl.” And I was fucking sick of her on that bike.
Her hands came to her cheeks as a smile spread across her beautiful face. Then she squealed and took off, racing through the lot.
The cars at the dealership sparkled beneath the morning May sunshine. Savannah darted between the glossy red, navy, black and silver vehicles. Her legs couldn’t move fast enough, and her fingertips skimmed trunks and hoods as she rushed from one row to the next.
She’d protested when I’d offered her a car earlier this year. But I’d had a feeling that once we were here, where she could see and touch the cars, she’d be more willing to give up that damn dirt bike and accept the gift. Turns out, I’d been right.
“Think she’s excited?” Everly giggled.
My heart swelled as I watched my daughter.
This was my first. Savannah’s first car. This moment didn’t belong to April or Julian. It was mine.
I put an arm around Ev’s shoulders, pulling her into my side to drop a kiss to her hair, dragging in a long breath of lemon and lavender. “Thank you.”
“You can stop thanking me.”
“No, I can’t.” I’d never be able to express how grateful I was for her help in getting Savannah.
And for the energy she’d brought into my life.
Life with Everly had taken me by surprise. She had taken me by surprise. Ev had the grit to gut out the hard moments. She had a smile that made the good ones shine like the sun. Along the way, it had stopped being about sex. Or only sex. She’d become a constant. A companion. Maybe even a friend.
I loved listening to her sing in the shower. She didn’t know I listened, but I’d hang in the bedroom while she belted out a song. Ev had some pipes, that was for sure. But if she didn’t want to sing professionally, I wouldn’t push. I’d simply keep that voice of hers for myself.
Then there were the times when I’d find her in my clothes. She’d steal a flannel shirt of mine instead of pulling on her own sweater when the evenings were cool. She’d stolen a pair of my wool socks to wear at night around the house.
When this ended in a couple years, it was going to be brutal watching her walk away. Or maybe I’d be the one to walk when it was time to ditch Calamity.
Savannah was busy snapping photos of cars, probably to text to her friends and ask their opinions. So we stood by, smiling at the joy on my daughter’s face.
It had been a month since Savannah’s first two-week stay at our place. That first visit had been rough. Savannah hadn’t made it easy on Everly. She’d been standoffish and short, but I’d expected some attitude. My daughter wasn’t going to let anyone into her life without testing their resolve first.
I might not have been there to raise her, but Savannah was a chip off her old man’s block.
This past week marked her second stay with me. It had been better, mostly because Savannah had been busy with homework as the school year neared its close. She’d spent most evenings at the island with books and papers scattered over the surface.
But today was Saturday, and rather than see Everly run away to the gallery and avoid us all day, I’d decided to take them car shopping.
Both of them.
“Okay, your turn.” I nudged Everly away from my side.
“My turn for what?”
“A car. Pick one.”
“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “I can’t, um . . . that’s okay.”
I knew she couldn’t afford one. Everly was still paying Kerrigan rent for the studio above Calamity’s upcoming fitness studio and she wouldn’t let me pay her for working at the gallery.
But she was getting a car today.
“Either you pick, or I pick.”
“You can’t buy me a car, Hux.”
I stepped up to a black Jeep, peeking in the window. “How about this one?”
“Hux.” Ev planted her hands on her hips.
“I like the black.” It matched my truck.
“No.”
“Sick of you stealing my truck, baby.” I walked to a black Tahoe, this one larger than the Jeep. It would be good to have her in something a little bigger. Same with Savannah.
“I can’t afford a car, Hux.” She sighed. “Not until I get a real job.”
“You have a real job.”
Everly had been working her ass off at the gallery. She’d spent hours going over my books, shoring up mistakes and making lists of questions. It had allowed me to spend more time in the studio, doing what I loved. There were only a couple days a week where I even went to the gallery these days.
Katie might not be her best friend, but it was good for them both to be there so neither worked alone.
Tourist season was getting into full swing and we’d just opened seven days a week. I’d have to spend more time in the gallery covering the showroom, but Everly could help keep us from getting buried. Despite Katie’s protests, she’d see this was a good thing.
I trusted Katie implicitly and knew that when she saw things were changing for the better, she’d be fine. Besides, if there was anyone who could make you love them, it was Everly.
Not that I loved her.
This thing with Ev was so different. Complicated. Maybe there were feelings there, but love? No. Couldn’t be. That was a line I wasn’t going to cross. Affection, yeah. I could give her affection. I could give her friendship. But that’s where it had to end.
Or I’d never recover leaving her behind.
“Consider this payment for your work at the gallery,” I said.
Everly shook her head. “I’m not worth that much.”
I scowled, striding over to where she hovered behind the black SUV, and put my hands on her shoulders. “You’re worth this and more. Let me buy you a car. Please.”
“That was sweet,” she said. “You’re not supposed to be sweet.”
“Not sorry.”
She dropped her forehead, letting it collide with my chest. “A car is too much.”
“No matter what you say, we’re driving off the lot with one today.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. Argue all you want, either you pick the one you want, or I’ll pick it for you.”
She poked me in the ribs, making me laugh. “Why are you so stubborn?”
“Takes one to know one.” Not giving a shit whether it was a boundary we should or shouldn’t cross, I wrapped her in my arms, knowing exactly how she felt against my body. Then I dropped a kiss to her lips, soaking in her softness. “Would you please pick one? Please?”
“Fine,” she muttered. “You win.”
“Good.” I kissed her again.
“Ew.” Savannah’s groan split us apart. “Can you cut down on the PDA? It’s bad enough at home.”
Everly and I didn’t kiss at home. Not like this. Did we? Yeah, we touched a lot. But it wasn’t like this. That was foreplay. Wasn’t it?
Just this morning, she’d settled into my side while we’d been drinking coffee. Savannah hadn’t woken up yet and Ev had stood on her tiptoes to nibble on my ear. I�
��d thought about carrying her upstairs, but then Savannah had walked in on us and the erotic shower I’d had in mind had been postponed.
Foreplay. Not PDA. Foreplay.
A distinction I wasn’t going to explain to my child.
“Did you pick a car?” I asked, shifting Everly under my arm again.
“Maybe I could get that red one.” She pointed to the deep red sporty Mazda at the end of a row. “Then I can leave it in your garage.”
“That’s fine.” As long as it had all-wheel drive for the winters. “But why would you leave it in the garage?”
“Because I have my bike.”
“Uh, the bike goes.” Why would she want to drive it around? She wouldn’t need it if she had a decent car.
Savannah clenched her teeth. “Then I don’t want a car.”
“That bike isn’t safe.”
“But I like it.”
“Why?”
Savannah crossed her arms over her chest and dropped her gaze to the asphalt, shutting me out.
Everly looked up and motioned with her chin that she was going to leave, but I held her in place. She shouldn’t have to disappear during these conversations. She was Savannah’s stepmother, even if it was new and short-lived. And I wanted Savannah to see a good woman. To have a decent female role model in her life because April was not that person.
Everly could be.
“Talk to me,” I pleaded with Savannah. “Tell me about the bike. Help me understand.”
“It’s mine.” Her arms dropped to her sides, her hands balling into fists. “Julian hates that bike. So does Mom. But they can’t take it away from me. I hide it whenever they try until whatever made them mad blows over. You can get me a car, but I’ll never take it to their house. Never.”
“Because they’ll take it away.”
Savannah turned her face, giving us her profile. “They take everything away. I’m not letting them take my bike.”
Everly stiffened, shaking her head. She didn’t have to say anything because we were both thinking the same. Assholes.
“I don’t want you on that bike. I’m worried someone will hit you. That you’ll get hurt. A car is safer.”
