Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2)

by Adrienne Frances

  “You’re in trouble,” Grace said from her stool, where she had been silently perched for an irritating length of time. “This is really bad, Lucy. He wants you. And you want him!”

  Lucy let her shoulders fall as she released the breath she’d been holding. “He just came in for a muffin,” she said. “He didn’t ask me out or anything.”

  “I think he wants to skip that part, girly.” Grace shook her head and crossed her arms. “What a fucking mess.”

  “I’ll handle it.”

  “Jumping into his arms in the kitchen and staring at him like you could literally rip his clothes off in front of customers is not handling it.”

  “Grace, stop!” Lucy groaned and rolled her eyes.

  “No!” Grace yelled, and leaned forward. “I swear to God, you are your own worst enemy. Use your head, Lucy!”

  Lucy all but growled as she threw the towel down and looked up at the ceiling. “You’re seriously driving me insane. Don’t you think I know all this? Don’t you think it’s gone through my head since the first time I saw him?”

  Grace stood up and threw her purse over her shoulder. “I need to go home and sleep.”

  “Good,” Lucy snapped.

  “You need to concentrate on moving your life forward from that mess. You don’t have to be a nurse, but you don’t need to be that woman’s replacement, either.”

  Lucy glared at Grace. “What a shitty thing to say.”

  “I might regret that when I wake up from my nap, but right now it’s the only way I can see this. You will never get that out of your head—never.”

  “Do me a favor, okay?” She didn’t wait for Grace to respond. “Butt out.”

  Grace stared at her for a few seconds, seeming to mull over the last five minutes. “I’ll see you at home.” She turned to leave, but spun back around and tossed something on the counter. “He left his wallet.”

  Lucy picked it up without saying a word. She watched Grace leave and looked down at Charlie’s wallet in her hands. Great.

  Later, after Lucy’s shift, she pulled off of Mountain View Road and stared at the construction site in front of her. She looked up at the tall beams and wondered how Charlie had contributed to the creation. Each morning that she ran by this place, something new had been done to the building—or soon-to-be building. It started as an expanse of land that housed an old building; then the building was destroyed, leaving nothing but empty ground. Then beams turned into scaffolding and, within days, she saw stairs inside, and then cinder blocks. It always interested her to see a building start from nothing, but now she was even more absorbed in the wonder that was Charlie Mathews and his connection to the building.

  She parked her white Dodge Dart in the dusty lot on the other side of a fenced-off area. She took a deep breath and scanned the groups of workers on site, until her eyes finally landed on Charlie, who was leaning over a table and pointing to something as he spoke to the men around him.

  Grudgingly, she got out of her car and approached the fence. She was embarrassed to be here, but she didn’t have his phone number and she couldn’t let him go without his wallet. Who knew when she would see him again? What if he needed groceries to feed his son? What kind of person would she be if she allowed him to cancel all of his credit cards when he didn’t have to?

  “You lookin’ for someone?” a man in a hard hat yelled, interrupting her nagging thoughts.

  Lucy nodded and prayed her face wasn’t as red as she imagined. “Charlie,” she said, pointing.

  A slow, knowing grin crept over the man’s face as he took in the sight of her. “Hey, Boss!” he yelled without breaking eye contact. “You got a visitor!”

  Lucy felt a lump expand in her throat. “Oh, please don’t do that.”

  “Boss!” he yelled again, despite her pleading. “She’s cute, too!”

  Oh dear God.

  She watched as Charlie stiffened. He slowly raised his head and looked in her direction. Most of the workers around him had also stopped and were now looking her way with grins of their own.

  She locked eyes with Charlie and felt a spasm in her heart as a small smile graced his wonderful lips. Showing him his wallet, she raised her hand. “Your wallet!” she yelled over the sounds of the machines.

  Charlie watched her for a moment and then straightened his body. He shook his head and said something she couldn’t quite make out; however, with the way the group around him erupted into laughter, she was positive he was telling them to shut up.

  As he came to greet her, she looked down at her feet and attempted to slow the nervousness that shot wildly throughout her body. It was only then that the posters of shirtless construction workers with ripped muscles and tight jeans made sense to her; Charlie Mathews belonged on one. He wasn’t even shirtless at the moment, but her imagination easily took care of that.

  “I didn’t even know I was missing that,” he said from a few feet away. When he was finally in front of her he reached up, every muscle flexing, and clutched the fence. “You didn’t have to do this.”

  “I told you that it’s on my way,” she said, meeting his eyes.

  “Wait there,” he said. “I’ll come around.”

  She walked over to her car and rested against the hood. She crossed her arms and watched as he made another inaudible comment to the workers, who seemed to be very curious about her presence. It occurred to her that she was relieved she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  “So embarrassing,” she mumbled, and loosened her grip on his wallet. Wouldn’t it be just lovely to hand him back his wallet with her fingerprints embedded in the black leather? That was all she needed to add to her humiliation.

  He made his way over, pulled off his hard hat, and raked his hand through his sweaty hair. She never knew a hard hat could make a man even sexier.

  “Your shirt dried,” he teased with an adorable smile.

  Lucy looked down and patted her hands on her shirt. “Oh, yeah, but now it’s all loose and fits weird.” What the hell are you talking about, Lucy? “I see yours is dry, too.”

  “Yeah. The sun was pretty helpful with that.”

  He looked down and lifted the ends of his gray T-shirt, revealing the V of his stomach that disappeared into his low-hanging jeans. Completely unaware of what he was doing to her, he used the ends of his shirt to wipe away the moisture from his tan face.

  She couldn’t help but notice that Charlie Mathews was, indeed, a healthy man who more than likely spent some time in a gym. She zeroed in on his tight stomach, the lines that made up his abs, and a spot she wanted to drag her fingernails over and then lick.

  “Uh-huh,” she said in a trance.

  Lost in a lustful thought, Lucy was awakened by a quiet chuckle. She shook her head and looked up to meet his amused expression. At some point in her fantasy, he had dropped the end of his shirt and she hadn’t even noticed. Those abs and that V were etched in her mind.

  “I’m sorry.” She shook her head to unclog her brain. “What?”

  “I asked if I missed any more kitchen fires?” he repeated with a little smirk. He was well aware that she had just been checking him out.

  Fantastic.

  “I’m sorry. No, but I can’t promise we won’t have any tomorrow.” She blushed at the memory. “Anyway, I just didn’t want you to be without this,” she said and held out his wallet.

  “Thank you.” His eyes seemed to penetrate hers while he reached out to take the wallet. “I really appreciate it.”

  She turned to open her car door, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. He wanted to say something, she could tell, but he had either stopped himself or couldn’t find the words. Sadly, she could relate more than he knew.

  “Well, I’ll see you around,” she said when he didn’t speak, and then slipped into her car.

  “Lucy?” Charlie stepped closer and grabbed the car door. “Take care.”

  She nodded and smiled. “You, too,” she said
, even though she had no idea what that meant.

  Charlie closed her door and stood there while she slowly backed her car out of the lot. He gave her a final wave and turned back around, where most of his crew had stopped working in order to watch with teasing expressions on their faces. As he put his hands up and yelled something to them, Lucy had to contain her amusement when they all jumped and quickly got back to work.

  She could understand their curiosity, of course. Even she had to admit that there was something in the air between them.

  Only she knew what the rest of them did not: that something needed to drift away, whether she wanted it to or not.

  Chapter Five

  Lucy walked into her apartment and eyed Grace as she stepped out of her bedroom. They hadn’t spoken in five days, which was a first for them. She couldn’t seem to bring herself to make the first move and it appeared that Grace felt the same way. Now their already tiny apartment had transitioned to the size of a cardboard box; they simply bumped into each other at every turn.

  Grace slumped on the couch and yawned. She picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages. Lucy watched her intently and wondered if the magazine was that good or if Grace was just trying hard to avoid looking at her. Since Grace had looked at that same magazine for the last two days, she voted for the latter of the two.

  It was agony. Not only had she not spoken to Grace, but Charlie hadn’t returned to the café, either. His dry “take care” seemed more of a deliberate “goodbye forever” now that she had experienced his absence.

  And, oh, how she had felt his absence.

  Grace looked up at Lucy and stared. She bit her upper lip and took a deep breath. “Tonight is that bachelorette party we promised Lydia we’d go to, remember?”

  Lucy sighed and leaned against the wall. “Shit. I totally forgot. Lydia even reminded me yesterday.”

  “Are you still going?”

  Lucy frowned. “Of course I am. Aren’t you?”

  Grace shrugged and put her feet up on the coffee table. “If you want me to, I will.”

  Lucy walked over to the couch and sat opposite Grace. She leaned into the plush cushion and blew out a loud breath. She stared at Grace, waiting for her to speak.

  “I’m sorry for what I said,” Grace finally whispered. “I feel like shit. And I know you aren’t trying to replace anyone. I’m just worried about the fallout from this. I don’t think you’re thinking it through.”

  “All I’ve been thinking about is the fallout, Grace.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “It’s just not that easy.”

  “I’ll stay out of it. I promise. It’s just that … what I watched you go through … I don’t think I can watch that again.” Grace pulled her lips inward, subduing the rest of her words.

  “I can’t believe you ignored me for that long. You’re so stubborn,” Lucy said after a minute, and nudged Grace’s leg with her foot.

  “And you’re surprised by this because?” Grace asked with a pointed look.

  Lucy brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Honestly, with as much as you talk, I was a little shocked. I really didn’t know how much longer you could hold out.”

  Grace squinted and tilted her head. “Umm, excuse me, but I don’t remember you trying to talk to me, either.”

  Lucy laughed. “Don’t look at me like that. It was a battle of wills. At least we didn’t pull each other’s hair.”

  “I don’t want to do that again. That seriously sucked.” Grace turned and stretched her legs out on the couch. She nudged Lucy with her feet. “So, anything new?”

  “Negative,” Lucy said with a yawn.

  “Has he been in?” Grace asked carefully.

  Lucy frowned. She shook her head, and stared at the floor.

  Grace must have sensed Lucy’s turmoil, because she changed the subject. “What are you wearing tonight?”

  Lucy snapped out of her thoughts about Charlie. “I have no idea. I wanted to get a new outfit, but now I don’t have time.”

  Grace stood and pulled Lucy up with her. “Let’s play dress up. I have something you can wear.”

  Lucy went with her, despite the voices in her head screaming at her to avoid any of Grace’s dress up clothes. They were tight, revealing, and had easy written all over them. “As long as I don’t need pliers to zip it up,” she said, knowing her words fell on deaf ears.

  In Grace’s room, Lucy flopped down on the bed. She watched as Grace rummaged through her closet and pulled out a pair of leather pants.

  “No,” Lucy said, glowering.

  “They’re two-hundred-dollar pants, Lucy, and I’m saying yes.” Grace flung the pants onto the bed. She turned back to the closet and put her finger to her mouth. “You need a sexy little top—low-cut and glittery.”

  Lucy held up the pants. “These are fours. I don’t wear a four.”

  “You do tonight,” Grace said. She turned and smirked. “Besides, I always thought those sixes you wear are too big on you.”

  “Big by what standards? The fact that I can breathe in them?”

  “Exactly,” Grace said, and shifted her gaze back to the closet. She parted a section of clothes to dig farther and yanked a hanger down. “This,” she said, holding the shirt up for Lucy.

  Lucy shifted back, frightened of the garment. “Hell. No.”

  Grace waved her opinion away and tossed the shirt on top of the pants. “It’s a bachelorette party, Lucy. If there’s ever a night to dress like a hoe, this would be the night.”

  “Are there going to be strippers?” Lucy asked, and tried to imagine herself lying under a sweaty man in a thong. She then grinned when the man in her vision became Channing Tatum.

  “I hope so,” Grace said, and turned to look back at her closet. “I need to find my own outfit now.”

  As Grace rummaged through her clothes, Lucy held up the tiny top. It was silver, sparkly, and backless. No bra tonight. She had to admit: as revealing as it was, she was excited to dress up for a change.

  “So, what are we going to get the bride to-be?” Lucy asked. “What do you get someone you don’t know?”

  Grace held up a dress. It was so short it looked like a shirt. Lucy had been with her when she bought it and her mouth had fallen open when Grace came out of the dressing room with it on. Grace flung it on the bed and got down on her hands and knees to grab a pair of high—really high—stilettos.

  She sat back on her feet, and grinned at Lucy. “That’s easy,” she said. “Edible underwear, nipple clamps, and a huge dil—”

  “Got it. You are a disturbing person.” Lucy shook her head and strolled into the bathroom to shower.

  It was going to be a good night.

  * * *

  Charlie held the bottle of beer to his lips as he thought about Lucy. Lucy … She was beautiful, sweet, and funny, all wrapped up in one sexy package. He had stayed away from her, from the café, for five days. It had been hard, but not as difficult as the idea of pulling her into something he was so unsure of.

  That wasn’t fair to do to anyone, and especially not someone like Lucy.

  He took a drink and placed the bottle back on the bar.

  “You look deep in thought, man,” Michael Olerson said from the other side of the bar. “I should’ve known something was on your mind; you never come in anymore.”

  Charlie shrugged. It was true; he hadn’t been into Olerson’s bar, Ollie’s, for a long time. How could he? Fatherhood didn’t allow for nights out. Single fatherhood, especially, didn’t allow for much of anything. He’d jumped at the chance when his mom had offered to take Jackson tonight. Normally, whenever that happened he just went home and tried to catch up on lost sleep.

  Tonight, however, he needed release.

  “Olerson, how’s business?” Brandon asked from beside Charlie. He looked around and smiled. “I see you still have that college crowd.”

  Michael laughed and shook the cocktail he was ma
king. He poured the mixture into three awaiting shot glasses on the bar. “Which is exactly why I opened a bar in the middle of Tempe. There was a fair amount of thinking involved in that plan.”

  Jonah and Hugh walked in and collapsed onto their stools as if they’d had a long day. They each threw a thankful nod in Michael’s direction as he placed beers down in front of them.

  “Workin’ for your big brother, I hear,” Michael said to Jonah, who rolled his eyes.

  Hugh perked up and rubbed the top of Jonah’s head. “He’s a tool-belt-wearing badass, now.”

  “He can’t even bench his own weight,” Brandon chimed in before tipping his head back and taking a drink.

  “He’ll be fine,” Charlie said, and shot Jonah a sympathetic look.

  “Damn, I miss Dylan,” Jonah said with a laugh. “When she’s around, you assholes leave me alone.”

  “Isn’t she coming in soon?” Michael asked, his voice a bit too high. “I wanted to go over the food for the benefit with her.”

  Jonah lowered his chin and stared at Michael. “She and Ben will be in town in three days.”

  Michael put his hands up defensively. “I got it, man. You don’t have to say Ben’s name all hard like that. I know.”

  Brandon blew out an exasperated breath. “Seriously, Olerson, let it go.”

  Michael’s gaze moved to the doorway where a group stumbled into the bar. “I’m almost there,” he said with a grin, and lifted his chin in the direction of the commotion.

  Charlie turned at the sound of loud giggles and snuck a look at whoever was making that noise. It was three girls who had definitely come from a good night … and he wanted nothing to do with them. He looked away, but his eyes darted back to the frenzy when he recognized two of their faces.

  Lucy and Grace.

  Lucy … Oh. Shit.

  After straightening themselves out, the group made their way to the bar. Their heels clicked against the floor and mixed with their laughter. As incognito as they struggled to appear, they had already drawn just about every male eye in the room. Charlie understood the impulse, but wholeheartedly despised them for looking, anyway.