Out of My League: a Hope Valley novel
Page 8
Rocky yipped at the sound of his name, but he stayed firmly seated at my side like a good boy.
Roxanne looked over the edge of the desk at Rocky and commanded, “You wait your turn. The grown-ups are talkin’.”
Rocky cocked his head to the side and let out a little puppy whimper as she turned her attention back to me. “Linc would skin me alive if I didn’t let him know you were here. Just gimme one sec.” She pulled her desk phone from the receiver and hit a couple buttons with the tip of her nail, then put it to her ear.
Moving to one of the long, expensive-looking black leather couches in the lobby, I sat and grabbed one of the old magazines from the glass coffee table. Rocky moved with me and flopped down on the floor at my feet with a dramatic humph.
I was two pages into the three-month-old Better Homes and Gardens when Rocky’s head shot up and a large shadow cast over me. I tipped my head back to see who it was standing beside me, and all the air immediately whooshed from my lungs.
“Someone already helpin’ you?”
Oh my god.
“Uh….”
Oh my god! The guy was… I had no words to describe the man hovering over me. The men in Hope Valley were unbelievable!
The Adonis before me smiled, all brilliant white teeth against caramel skin. His eyes were the palest green I’d ever seen on a person, like the color of jade. I wasn’t sure what his nationality was, but whatever the combination, it made one impeccable man.
“You okay there, sweetheart?
It took way too long for my brain to reengage, and when it finally did, my behavior didn’t get any better. “Oh! Sorry.” Shooting to my feet, the bottom of my head nearly collided with his chin. Fortunately, for a guy his size, he had scary-quick reflexes and took a step back before I could maim him. However, I wasn’t so light on my feet, wobbling precariously after standing too fast and making myself dizzy. “Oh god! Sorry! I’m so sorry.”
The man chuckled, reaching out to take my forearms in his massive hands to steady me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever met a man so tall. He was even taller than Lincoln by at least a few inches. If I had to guess, he stood at six and a half feet, and every inch of that was packed with muscle. “That’s okay. You all right?”
“Y-yeah. I just… stood up too fast. Head rush.” I winced in embarrassment. “Sorry for almost beaming you in the chin.”
“Not a problem at all. I actually enjoy getting beamed in the chin by beautiful women. You got a name?”
“Oh, right! Yeah. I’m Eden. Eden Brenner.” My hand darted out. I hadn’t even realized he was still holding onto my arms until he let go to press his palm into mine and give it a shake.
“Well, Eden Brenner, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Bryce.”
I stared up at him with a goofy grin on my face. “Nice to meet you too, Bryce.”
The sound of someone clearing their throat jolted me out of my stupor. “Careful, boy. This one’s Linc’s.” Roxanne smirked.
One of Bryce’s ebony eyebrows hooked up, and something flashed in those jade eyes that I couldn’t quite read. It took a second, but Roxanne’s words finally penetrated my brain, and I spoke quickly to correct her assumption.
“No. No, it’s nothing like that. I was just dog-sitting Rocky for him this weekend.”
Rocky barked again and shook his whole back end while butting his head against Bryce’s hand.
He squatted down to be level with the dog and gave him a full-body rub before looking back up at me. “Dog-sitting, huh? Linc’s pretty particular about who he lets around Rocky here. You must’ve made a good impression.”
I shrugged and bit down on my bottom lip. “I don’t think so. I’m just me.”
He stood tall and those eyes trailed up and down my body. I shivered, the look feeling like a touch on my skin. “Wouldn’t be so sure about that, beautiful. Speakin’ from experience, I’d say you make a damn good impression.”
Oh my.
“Don’t you have shit you should be doin’, or am I payin’ you now to stand around?”
I jolted at the sound of Lincoln’s voice, spinning around so quick that my vision blurred and Bryce’s hands came up to brace on my forearms again.
Rocky jumped all over Lincoln like he hadn’t seen him in years, and he aimlessly petted his dog’s head while staring at Bryce’s fingers wrapped around my arms.
“I was just keepin’ the lovely Eden here company. Woman like her shouldn’t be made to wait.”
Something in my gut told me to move, so I took a step to the side, my attention bouncing between the two sexy, brooding men like a ping-pong ball. A muscle in Lincoln’s jaw ticked, and one corner of Bryce’s mouth hooked up in a smirk.
Neither of them said anything, and the discomfort began to make me itchy. When I turned to look at back at Roxanne, she was covering her mouth with one hand and had her head ducked like she was trying to hide the fact that she was fighting back a laugh.
“Uh….” I cleared my throat to get the men’s attention.
Lincoln’s eyes came to me, and that emerald green inside them instantly warmed as he smiled. “Hey, baby.” He moved in close and surprised the hell out of me by placing a kiss on my cheek, dangerously close to the corner of my mouth. Fire shot all the way from where his lips had just touched to my core. “Rocky behave for you?”
“Um, yeah. He was great.”
“Excellent. Sorry that took so long. I had a last-minute call. You ready for lunch?”
“Oh, I… we don’t… that is, if you need to work—”
Bending down, he hooked Rocky’s leash around his hand and grabbed mine with the other. “I missed breakfast this morning, so I’m fuckin’ starving.” Leading me to the door with Rocky jumping along beside us, Lincoln continued to speak. “Evergreen Diner down the road makes a fantastic meatloaf sandwich, but if that’s not your thing, they’ve got other stuff, and it’s all just as good.”
I guess I was having lunch with Lincoln whether I objected or not.
Looking back over my shoulder, I gave Roxanne and Bryce a wave with my free hand. “Enjoy the rest of your day,” I called out. “It was nice to meet you both.”
Roxanne waved excitedly. “Lovely meeting you, darlin’. Don’t be a stranger.”
“Good to meet you too, beautiful. I’m sure we’ll run into each other soon. Small town and all that.” Bryce winked.
A second later, we were out the door. A moment after that, I was living one of my many fantasies where Lincoln Sheppard was concerned, being lifted into the passenger seat of that big, black, gleaming truck of his.
Shit just got very, very real.
Chapter Eleven
Eden
I was coming out of my skin. Every single one of my nerve endings was crackling with awareness of the man sitting only a few inches away. In all my life, I never thought it would be possible to be so turned on by the way a man drove. But there I was, my body tight and itchy, a dull throb building between my legs as I watched him from the corner of my eye.
The veins and muscles in his left forearm bulged and flexed as he steered one-handed while the other rested on the center console between us, his wrist hanging carelessly over the edge. I wasn’t sure there was a man in the whole world with sexier forearms than Lincoln Sheppard.
He pulled into the parking lot of the diner a few minutes later and killed the rumbly engine, hopping out and rounding the hood before I even had the chance to get my door all the way open.
Just like he’d done at his office, as soon as my feet hit the ground, he took my hand in his and led me toward the diner.
I hesitated for a moment, looking down at Rocky. “You sure he’s allowed inside? We can get it to go if that’s a problem.”
Lincoln looked over his shoulder at me and gave me a wink. A wink! Those gemstone eyes glinted in the afternoon sunlight, and I was pretty sure I swooned on the spot.
“Nah, he’ll be fine. Owners are pretty great. They don’t mind him bein’ in there as long as he behaves.”
The second we stepped through the door, the cacophony of voices lowered to a murmur as most everyone turned to see who’d just walked in. I felt my cheeks go up in flames as he dragged me through the diner to a booth in the back. I wanted to lower my gaze to the floor and hide behind the fall of my hair, but I persevered, offering up smiles to the people we passed.
He didn’t release my hand until I slid into my side of the booth, and when he did, I had to fight back the frown at losing his touch.
With all the people around, Rocky ducked beneath the table and lay between our feet, but that was the extent of his anxiety. It was obvious Lincoln had been working to acclimate the dog to being around people and building the trust between man and beast after years of neglect and abuse, and I was glad to see it was slowly working.
“Well what have we got here?”
I looked up to the older woman who’d just stopped at the end of our table. The name tag on her shirt and the apron around her waist informed me her name was Sally and that she clearly worked here.
“Sally, you met Eden yet?”
At Lincoln’s question, the woman shook her head and looked to me with a big grin before offering me her hand to shake. “Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure. I’m Sally Hanson. Pleased to meet you.”
“You too.”
Lincoln’s green eyes came back to me as he said, “Sally here owns this place with her husband, Ralph. He’s the genius behind the meatloaf sandwich I was tellin’ you about.”
All of a sudden, there was a clatter from the back, and a big bearded man’s head popped up in the passthrough. “That Linc?” he hollered out into the dining area.
“Yeah, Ralph! Just walked in a minute ago!” Sally returned just as loudly.
“He want the meatloaf sandwich?”
“Hold your horses, Ralph! Wait for the ticket!”
“Woman, no need for a ticket! Twice a week Linc comes in here, and twice a week he gets the meatloaf sandwich!”
“Well today he’s got a date with him, so like I said, hold your dang horses!”
“A date?” Ralph paused for a second, then asked on a shout, “She pretty?”
“Cute as a button!” Sally answered, and my lips turned up in a shy grin as I ducked my head.
“Sweet Christ,” Lincoln muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes skyward. I couldn’t help the short giggle that escaped me. Sally and Ralph were just too cute, and this whole exchange was hilarious.
“Well hot damn!” Ralph hooted. “Tell her I’ll make her up my country fried steak! Best in three counties! Make my own gravy from scratch too!”
“Will you let the poor girl order for herself? She might not want country fried steak!”
“Everyone wants my country fried steak!”
“Actually,” I butted in, drawing Sally’s attention to me, “that sounds fantastic.”
“You got it, darlin’,” She grinned at me again before tipping her head back and yelling at her husband, “One country friend steak and one meatloaf sandwich!” Then she looked back at me. “Mashed potatoes comes with it. You want corn or green beans as a side?”
“Tell her to get the green beans!” Ralph shouted. “Just got ’em in fresh this mornin’!”
At that, my head fell back on a deep belly laugh. When I finally got ahold of myself and opened my eyes, Sally was staring at Lincoln with a strange expression on her face, and Lincoln was staring at me, those emerald greens of his having gone dark.
Turning away from the look and the intensity radiating from it, I raised my voice to answer Ralph for myself. “Your choice, Ralph! I trust you!”
He let loose another whoop, that one even louder. “Got yourself a good one there, Linc. You keep hold of that!”
Sally took off a second later, and the rest of the patrons went back to their meals and conversations.
Shifting my focus back to Lincoln, I lowered my voice and asked, “Is the country fried steak really good? I didn’t have the heart to order something else.”
His lips quirked in the tiniest smirk. “You’re safe, Edie. Nothing on the menu that isn’t delicious.”
“Good to know.”
Sally returned, plunking two glasses of water, each with a lemon wedge on the rim, in front of us before bending to put a water bowl on the floor for Rocky. And just like that, she was gone again.
My nerves at being alone with Lincoln returned with a vengeance, and I struggled to find something to say as I pulled the wrapper off my straw and began twisting it around my finger.
“So… did you get everything taken care of with that job you were doing?”
Lifting his glass, he brought it to his lips and took a gulp. I was so entranced by the way his throat bobbed with each swallow that I nearly missed his reply. “Yeah, took longer than I thought. The house was old, and the wiring wasn’t up to code, so tapping into that wasn’t an option. Had to get an electrician out there to update it before I could get started.”
My curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself leaning forward and asking, “How did you get into this line of work? I don’t think I’ve ever known a private investigator before.”
Lincoln’s perfectly straight white teeth made an appearance as he grinned and braced his forearms on the table, causing his biceps to strain beneath the fabric of the flannel he was wearing over a plain white tee. “Well, when I left the Marines, I thought I might go into law enforcement, but the more I thought about it, I realized it wasn’t a good fit. Too many restrictions, so I decided to go into business for myself. Work started pickin’ up, and I eventually had more on my plate than I could handle alone, so I spread the word with some buddies of mine from the service.”
“So everyone who works for you has a military background?”
“A lot of guys out there dealt with the same shit I did when I got back home, not knowin’ what to do with their lives, having trouble reacclimating to civilian life. So I gave them another option.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “That’s really honorable, Lincoln.”
He shrugged like it was nothing, when, in all honesty, it was something he should have been incredibly proud of. “Not anything they wouldn’t have done for me.”
“What is it that you guys do? I mean, besides install alarm systems? I’m imagining something outrageous, like you’re all secret spies or something, running around doing jobs for the government off the radar that regular law enforcement can’t be tied to. Then again, I might just watch too many action movies.”
Settling into his seat, he slung his arm along the back of the booth and let out a deep, rich laugh that sent shock waves through my body. I was pretty sure I could have sat there all day and done nothing but watch him move and laugh. Even the rise and fall of his chest was fascinating to me.
“It’s not nearly that exciting, darlin’. Mainly we deal with cheating spouses, or spouses convinced their partner’s cheating because it’s easier for them to lay blame on someone else than admit their own guilt. Couple of the guys handle trackin’ down skips. You’d be surprised how much some of those bonds pull in.”
I really wouldn’t. Growing up in my family, that was something I’d learned early on. And as we got older, my brother used to brag about the size of the bounty on him. The higher the bounty, the more he bragged. Then again, Shep wasn’t just a criminal, he was also stupid as hell.
The longer I sat with Lincoln in that cozy diner full of rich, delicious smells, the more at ease I began to grow until I’d loosened up enough that I actually found myself teasing, “That’s really disappointing. I was hoping for stories of how you single-handedly saved an office full of people enjoying their Christmas party from a group of G
erman terrorists, or how you managed to thwart a bad guy’s nefarious plans to highjack an airport and crash all the planes.”
That earned me another laugh, and I was quickly becoming addicted to the sound. “Hate to break it to you, but not all of us can be John McClane.”
“Such a shame,” I said with a shake of my head, causing his grin to turn even brighter.
“If it helps ease your disappointment, I have a crew that works security for my brother Maddox and his band.”
My eyebrows scrunched together in intrigue. “Wait… Maddox Sheppard? The singer of Usual Suspects? That’s your brother?”
“One and the same. That raise my cool factor in your opinion?”
Usual Suspects was a popular rock band known all over the world. They were big in the States for a while, and then they toured with Civil Corruption a couple years back and blew up. I mainly listened to classic rock and country, but it was impossible not to hear their music on the radio, and the songs I’d heard were pretty good.
“I guess since you’re not landing planes with nothing more than a couple road flares, a famous brother will have to do.”
His chuckle created a spark that centered between my thighs and made me hot and achy. “Glad to hear it. So what about you? What do you do?”
I took a sip of water to ease my parched throat before answering. “Definitely nothing as interesting as what you do. I work from home editing romance novels. Historical, mainly.”
His brows shot up, and his eyes glinted with mischief. “I don’t know. I’ve heard about some of those books. I bet that could be pretty interesting.”
“Here you go,” Sally chirped before my embarrassment could swallow me whole. Setting our plates in front of us, she beamed and clapped her hands together. “Enjoy your meal. Holler if you need anything. I’ll just be right over there.”
We both tucked into our meals, and just like Lincoln had promised, it was absolutely fantastic. We chatted as we ate. He told me a bit more about his family and his job and asked me about my own childhood and family. I managed to skate over those questions with the kind of ease that came from years and years of practiced avoidance, turning the conversation to lighter topics.