Sinful Ever After (Romance Collection)

by Vivian Wood

  “Shut up.” I cross my arms. “I know that might be unChristian to say, but just be quiet about. that.”

  Luna grins. “I won’t tell Luca that you totally want to bang him, if you’re worried about that.”

  “I wasn’t saying—”

  She cuts me off. “I won’t tell him that you want to kiss him and bang him and have all of his weird babies.”

  I cover my face with my hands. “This? This is why I never tell you anything.”

  She laughs, taking the final sip of her latte. “Worth it.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “You should go for it. If you can’t even screw the man you are accidentally married to, who can you screw?”

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah right. That would be… I mean, it would complicate everything, even more than it already is.”

  “How do you make ‘oops, we got married in Vegas’ more complicated?”

  I pause, thinking. “I’m not sure, but I know that sex only complicates things.”

  A wrinkle appears between Luna’s brows. “You know what I think?”

  I sigh, pushing my latte mug away. “No, what do you think, Luna?”

  She shifts in her seat, waving her hands a little. “It sounds like you are too scared to find out what liking a guy is like. Not just liking, but having a physical relationship with him.”

  I wave my hand. “No, that’s not it.”

  “Yes it is. When we were in high school, you were boy crazy. You always had a boyfriend, even though you were Catholic and they’re pretty disapproving as a whole.”

  I shrug. “So? Maybe I got more religious.”

  “No, what you got is scared. You lost your parents over winter break. By the spring semester, you had sworn off guys. But it’s not because you suddenly became a more strident Catholic.”

  “Oh no?” I wrinkle my nose. “By all means, keep telling me about myself.”

  “I’m serious, Cate. I’ve actually put a fair amount of thought into this. You were so hurt by losing your parents that you decided, consciously or not, to exclude any people from your life that you don’t already know. Which leaves you with basically me and Harper and your grandmother.”

  “Oh, I don’t know—” I huff.

  Luna grabs my hand, leaning across the table. “But you didn’t plan for Luca, did you? He was already there, you just didn’t pay attention to him. And then one night Luca turned his head and saw you — I mean, really saw you. And you weren’t ready for it at all.”

  She sits back, looking pleased. “Thus, getting drunk and getting hitched in Vegas. I’ll hold now for applause…”

  I stare at Luna, a little taken aback. Is any part of what she just said to me true? If so, am I willing to admit that out loud?

  “I don’t know what to think,” I answer honestly. “Really, I don’t.”

  “That’s not an answer,” Luna says, rolling her eyes.

  “That’s because I’m just speechless.” I bat my eyes, taking a sip of my coffee.

  “Think about it. You can thank me later for having such amazing insights into your personality.” She grins and poses cheerily.

  “Yeah, well. I will literally do anything you want if it means we can change the conversation. Literally anything!!”

  Luna sighs. “Well, if you don’t want to talk about how hot my brother is, how about his friends? Bradford is gorgeous, as always. Unfortunately he’s gay as fork.” Her eyes twinkle. “But how about Owen?”

  “Owen?” I echo. “Boring, works across the hall from Luca, doesn’t drink before seven p.m. Owen?”

  “The one and only.” She slides me a sly grin. “I think he’s hot, in an insufferable old man sort of way.”

  Luna’s admission makes me cackle. “What?” I say, laughing. “You can’t be serious!”

  “Dead serious.” She beams at me. “I have spent no less than two weeks trying to figure out why I think so, because he’s pretty grumpy. Even to me, and I’m the nicest person any of you know.”

  I push away the remainder of my latte, checking the time on my phone. “Speaking of work… if I don’t get going, your brother will kill me for being late.”

  “You should totally cite your reasons for tardiness as wifely business.” She giggles.

  “If only that could resuscitate my lifeless corpse,” I joke. I push myself up from the table. “I do have to go, though.”

  “Okay. Think about what I said, though. Don’t let yourself be too scared to experience something new. Especially love.”

  She stands, hugging me.

  “I’ll think about what you said,” I sigh. “Not saying you’re right though.”

  As I turn and head out of the shop, Luna calls out to me. “I’m totally right! You’ll see!”

  I grab my coat, forcing the sleeves onto my arms, and try to clear my head. All the while though, I am wondering.

  Could Luna be right?

  And if so, what do I do about it?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Luca

  I’m at work when Cate arrives. Part of me didn’t actually think that she would show; I guess there is some little part of me that is waiting for her to let me down.

  When she shows up I’m filling in for Bradford behind the bar, prepping everything I will need for my shift. I see her come in, her eyes scanning the bar critically.

  “Where’s Bradford?” she asks, her arms full of her coat and purse.

  I exhale loudly, not sure what footing I’m on with Cate at the moment. “He wasn’t feeling well. I’m filling in at the last minute.”

  “Oh.” Her brows pull down but she doesn’t exactly make a fuss. “All right. I’m going to go put my stuff down and clock in. Then I’ll be ready for whatever you want me to do.”

  I cock an eyebrow at her phrasing. She gives me a long look, then shakes her head and disappears into the locker room.

  Well, at least she isn’t pissed at me for the other day. If Madisyn had been in her position, I would’ve been groveling in apology before we could even speak again. I guess it’s an important thing to remember, the fact that Cate and Madisyn are worlds apart in temperament.

  Cate comes back into the bar area, tying one of the stiff black leather aprons that I keep for staff around her waist. She puts her hair into a messy ponytail, which looks very punk rock to me.

  She looks up from her grooming to see me grinning at her and narrows her eyes. “What?”

  “Nothing. I’ve just never seen you wear your hair up before.” I shrug, amused. “It looks nice like that.”

  She blushes, seeming not to know how she’s supposed to respond to that. “Uh… thanks?”

  I lift a crate of citrus fruit onto the bar, eyeing her. “How would you like to try bar backing a little tonight?”

  She comes a little closer, pushing onto her tiptoes to peer inside the crate. “What does that mean?”

  “Bar backing? It’s the step between waitressing, which you’re already doing, and bartending. I know that when it gets busy we’ll need you and April to wait on tables. But before and after the rush, I could start teaching you the trade.” I screw up my face. “Plus I have to do a mountain of prep work today anyway, to get us ready for the weekend. But when you master this, you are ready to move on to bartending…” I wave my hands over the oranges, my tone turning silly. “You too could be the master of this citrus crate.”

  She rolls her eyes but she smiles too. “Sure. Yeah, I would actually love that.”

  I grin at that. “We’ll see how you feel after your first shift.”

  She shakes her head, smirking. “Put me to work, Mister Boss. I’m ready.”

  I nod to the crate of oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit. “Let’s start here. We need five quarts each of lemon and lime juice. And one each of orange and grapefruit.”

  Cate scrunches up her face. “I’m guessing that you have some way to extract the juice?”

  I jerk my thumb behind me, to the juicer in the corner. “Right there. You start by cutting a bunch of l
emons in half. Then you put them in the press and push down the top.” I smirk. “I hope you brought all your upper body muscles, because this is a really physical part of bartending.”

  She lifts her eyebrows. “Show me how you do it. I’ll just copy whatever you do.”

  I pull out two cutting boards and grab two kitchen knives. Then we set to work, cutting up citrus and juicing it into empty quart containers.

  Then we make a lot of lemon and lime slices for garnishes, stocking the three wells of the bar with them. I add fresh thyme and whole oranges to the wells, then show Cate how to fill everything with ice from the back.

  “That’s pretty much it,” I say, grabbing a stack of cocktail napkins. “Bradford probably has a more thorough routine but that’s the gist. Now, as a bar back, you’ll want to make sure that my ice wells are full all night. Clean and polish glasses anytime you have a free second. And maybe ask me whether there is anything we need from the storage room a couple of times.”

  “Juice the citrus,” she recounts. “Do garnishes. Make sure there are ice and glasses behind the bar. I think I can handle that.”

  I lean against the bar, grabbing a polishing rag for glasses. “Now just add a thousand customers into the mix and you’ve got yourself a proper shift.”

  She purses her lips and narrows her eyes, but I can see the humor that she’s trying to hide. “I guess so.”

  Customers start coming in after that, packing the bar and the tables. I put my head down and work, running the service well and attending to customers at the bar. A lo-fi garage rock band starts playing at some point, only increasing the noise level and the number of patrons waiting for drinks.

  I lose myself in the work, pouring and mixing and shaking drinks. Cate checks in with me a couple of times and keeps pulling clean glasses out of the dishwasher. I run out of ice once but even as I am gritting my teeth, she comes in with a full ice bucket.

  Alice shows up to wait tables for a few hours; she’s experienced and can almost run this whole bar by herself. She even jumps back behind the bar and makes drinks a few times. Once she’s here, I feel a little less pressured.

  Owen pops his head out of the back during the rush. “You need help?”

  “Can you just pour wine and open beers?” I ask, using the peeler and an orange to pull a long rind for an old-fashioned.

  “Sure thing.” He eases behind me, heading to the other end of the bar. “I know it’s a Thursday, but it’s pretty slammed in here.”

  I shake a gin martini, nodding. “Yeah. Luckily I have Alice and Cate.” I purse my lips. “And now you. Together we can do it.”

  Owen raises his voice to be heard over the band. “We should have scheduled you a bar back!”

  Not three seconds later, Cate comes in with a fresh bucket of ice. “Hey Owen.” Her head bobs. “Do you guys need anything?”

  “Just to take these drinks out to table twenty,” I say, nodding as I pour the gin martini into a glass. “Wait…” I pull a little sliver of lemon peel, twisting it up and dropping it in. “There you go.”

  Cate doesn’t even blink. “Thanks.” She picks up the tray and starts carrying it off.

  I look at Owen, who is considering me with an indulgent smile. “What?”

  He smirks. “You like her.”

  I clear my throat, giving my head a little shake. “No. I mean, I don’t hate her, but I don’t…” I stop. “You know what, man? Just shut up.”

  Owen grins but doesn’t say anything else. He stays just until the rush ends, right as the band is done playing. After that everything wraps itself up pretty quickly.

  Owen vanishes, Alice leaves, and I can finally fucking breathe a sigh of relief. The whole venue empties out pretty fast, leaving just a few people to finish up their drinks.

  I look at the time. It’s already midnight somehow. I forgot how much faster life moves when it’s insanely busy.

  “So…” Cate says, setting down a tray on the bar and stretching. “That was bananas.”

  “Yeah, it was. You were a big help though.” I hesitate, trying to figure out where I am going with this. Am I just complimenting her now? “Er, you know. The whole staff helped. It was… good.”

  Cate peers at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Okay… Well, what now? I would guess that we have to like… sweep and restock the fridges and stuff.”

  “You got it. I’ll restock if you sweep. And keep an eye out for any customers that need to close out.”

  “Got it,” she says, moving to find a broom in the back hallway.

  Twenty minutes later, the bar is restocked, clean, and most importantly, empty.

  “Finally!” Cate says, pulling her apron over her head. She finds a seat at the bar, kicking her shoes off. “My feet are killing me.”

  I glance up at her, counting the last till. “We made a lot of money, though.” I finish sorting the tip money, then pull out two glasses. I pour two fingers of whiskey in each. “Here. Shift drink.”

  Cate shrugs and takes the tumbler. As I come around the bar to sit beside her, she glances at me. “You’re awfully cool and collected after all of that.”

  I smile, raising my glass. She clinks hers against mine and I take a sip, the amber liquid burns exactly the way it should on its way down. I make a satisfied sound, smacking my lips.

  “Mmm. Tonight was busy, yes. But this is far from my first insane night at work. Besides…” I turn, pulling a little pile of money across the bar and pushing it over to her. “I did already say that we killed it, right?”

  Cate’s eyes go wide. “This is mine?”

  “Every cent.” I take another sip of whiskey. “The bartenders usually tip out the bar backs, in addition to whatever they make hourly. And in this case, whatever you made in tips as a waitress.”

  “Whoa.” Cate puts the cash away in her order pad, then takes a big gulp of whiskey. “Thanks for taking a chance on me.”

  My eyes sparkle a little. “Well, you are my wife. I guess if I’m going to roll the dice with anyone—“

  Cate leans forward, stopping me by putting a hand on my chest and pressing her mouth to mine. I’m a little surprised at first. But she tastes sweet and spicy, the whiskey on her lips like warmed honey.

  I ease forward, sliding my arm around her waist. She opens her mouth under my explorations, her free hand coming up to bury itself in my hair.

  God, how does she taste so damn good? How does her tongue against mine feel so fucking erotic?

  Growling a little bit, needing more from her, I pull her closer. And she seems more than ready to give in to my demands, her breath hitching when I cup her tits through the thin dress she’s wearing. She blows out the breath she is holding in a low moan, letting me know that I have her full attention.

  Well, that and the fact that I can feel her nipples harden under my fingers. My whole body tightens, my cock hardening.

  I’m going to fuck Cate, right here at the bar. That knowledge slides through me, a hot knife twisting in my gut.

  I pull away, just to suggest we move to a more private place. My office, right the fuck in the middle of my desk, for instance.

  Then I hear the creak of the front door.

  “Hello?”

  I freeze. “Chloe?”

  Chloe peeks her little blonde pixie head out of the back. She’s as gorgeous as she ever was and she’s beaming at the sight of me. “Hey! I was hoping you would be here!”

  I feel Cate withdraw a little, clearing her throat and patting her hair. She’s still breathless; hell, I am too.

  But then Chloe runs over to hug me, wearing a ridiculous combination of a sparkly barely-there skirt and an oversized gray sweater. “Hey! How are things?”

  She hugs me for a second too long, then turns to Cate. “I’m sorry, I’m Chloe. I worked here for the first two years it was open.”

  Cate clears her throat again. “Hey. I’m Cate.”

  No explanation. No territorial behavior. If Madisyn were in her shoes, she woul
d’ve oozed all over me physically and made a big deal out of the fact that we were married.

  Technically married, but married nonetheless.

  And Madisyn would also somehow know that Chloe and I were almost an item… that is, until she got a great job offer in Portland.

  Chloe grins at both of us. “Amazing. Well, I’m in town for the next few days and I just wanted to stop by—”

  “Chloe!” Owen barks, appearing from the back.

  Her eyes light up. “Owen! Ah!”

  She runs over and hugs him. Something sour stirs in my belly, though I’m careful to smother it.

  “It’s so great to see you!” Owen says. “I want to hear about the new bar you opened up down in Stumptown.”

  I look at my watch. It’s after one. “Hey, why don’t we take this somewhere else? The cleaning crew should be here any minute…”

  “How about your place?” Owen says. “It’s the closest place that doesn’t have a last call.”

  I see Cate make a face, but I shrug. “Okay, sure. If Chloe will come, that is…”

  “I’d follow you two anywhere,” Chloe says with a wink.

  And just like that, Chloe, Owen, Cate and I are headed to my house.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cate

  We get to Luca’s house a few minutes ahead of Owen and the bubbly, beautiful Chloe. The ride home has been mostly a silent one, with Luca glancing at me every few minutes and then sighing.

  My stomach twists every single time he does. I saw the way that Luca and Chloe looked at each other. If by some miracle they never slept together, I wouldn’t bet on things staying that way.

  And yeah, maybe Chloe also made eyes at Owen… but my guts aren’t tied up in knots over how she acted. I’m only worried about him.

  See? This is why I’ve been alone since my parents died. I just don’t have the sheer amount of time that feeling angsty takes up in my life.

  As we get out of his Porsche, he tries to explain.

  “You know, Chloe is just a friend.” He pulls out his keys and unlocks the front door.