Ain't She Sweet

by Marie Force

  “Hard wiring can’t be.”

  His hand moved over her body in a tender caress that told her how much he cared. This wasn’t only about sex for him, and she had to keep that in mind over the next few weeks. Trying to take the conversation in safer directions, she said, “Tell me about your business.”

  “What about it?”

  “How did you start it?”

  Pausing, as if he wasn’t yet ready to abandon the other conversation, he finally said, “It actually started when I was in high school. I took an elective class that covered investing and the stock market. That Christmas, I asked for a subscription to Money magazine, and I’ve been addicted ever since. When I was in high school and college, I had a landscaping business cutting lawns, shoveling snow and doing odd jobs for people. I invested every dime I ever made, and over time my portfolio grew and multiplied.”

  “What about the crash a few years ago?”

  “I saw it coming and made adjustments ahead of time. I was untouched.”

  “So you’re crazy good at it?”

  “I guess you could say that.” He glanced at her. “I can see your wheels turning. What do you want to ask?”

  “Just how much money have you made in the stock market?”

  He hesitated but only for a second. “About two hundred.”

  “Thousand?”

  Laughing, he said, “Million.”

  Charley felt like she’d been electrocuted. “You’ve made two hundred million dollars in the stock market?”

  “Thereabouts.”

  “Oh my God, Tyler! That’s insane.”

  “I’ve given a lot of it away to charitable causes.”

  “How does no one know this about you?”

  “Because I don’t tell anyone. My family knows, and now you know, too. But that’s about it.”

  “Surely you’ve gotten attention from the industry.”

  “Some, but I keep it low key. I don’t want to be defined by money. If people know, then suddenly that’s all they see when they look at me—dollar signs.”

  “Aren’t you in hot demand by other people who want to capitalize on your expertise?”

  “My expertise isn’t available to the public. I’m not a licensed broker, so I technically can’t advise other people. Managing my own portfolio is a full-time job. I don’t have the time to take on outside clients, and I don’t want to anyway. The way it is now, I work when I need to, and I don’t work if I don’t have to. I don’t answer to anyone, set my own schedule and follow my own rules. It’s a pretty good deal.”

  “I’d say so. My mind is officially boggled.”

  “Is this going to change the way you look at me?”

  “Are you afraid I’ll see dollar signs when I look at you?”

  “You wouldn’t be the first. I’ve never told another woman the full extent of what I’ve made in the market, but when people hear what I do for a living, they jump to their own conclusions. It changes things . . . They treat me differently when they realize there’s money, even if they don’t know how much.”

  “I’m not going to look at you differently, but I am completely amazed by what you’ve accomplished.”

  “Thanks. It’s been fun—and challenging. But mostly fun.”

  “I want to hear everything—how you got started, when you knew you were good at it, when you started making real money. Everything.”

  So he told her, starting with his initial investments in high school, through his one year of cooking school before he transferred to Dartmouth to pursue his true calling as a finance and economics double major, to turning down offers from all the top banks on Wall Street after he graduated, to running his own business for the last ten years.

  Charley hung on every detail, realizing as he spoke that he was freaking brilliant, a prodigy of sorts. “I’m suitably astounded.”

  “I’m happy to brag about my financial prowess if it impresses you,” he said with an adorable grin. “Anything I can do to further my cause.”

  As she returned his smile, Charley was unnerved by the admiration she felt toward him. Most of the guys she’d dated in the past had barely warranted anything resembling admiration.

  “I can’t believe your mom works as hard as she does in our bakery when her son is fabulously wealthy.”

  “My mom loves that job. She says it keeps her busy and active and engaged in the community. She doesn’t do it for the money. I took care of my parents and siblings a long time ago. None of them have to work, but they all do anyway. We were raised with a healthy work ethic. I’ve been working since I was fourteen and started cutting grass and shoveling snow for the neighbors.”

  “And you’re still working even though you don’t have to.”

  “I’m too young to retire. I’d go out of my mind with boredom, and besides, my portfolio requires daily maintenance to remain profitable.”

  “So what do you do now that you couldn’t do before you had the money?”

  “Not much. My life is pretty similar to what it was before. Other than the house and a significant investment in the technology needed to run my business, I haven’t really spent a lot on myself. I like to scuba dive, so I try to get to the Caribbean a few times a year. But like I said before, I give away far more than I’ll ever spend on myself. If I have a family someday, my kids won’t know we have money until they’re adults. I refuse to raise overly privileged children.”

  Though Charley’s heart fell at the word children, she admired his approach to parenthood.

  “Why did your eyes just go dim when I talked about my future children?”

  “Why do you have to watch me so closely?”

  “Because there’s nothing I’d rather look at than your gorgeous face.”

  She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, making him laugh.

  “Sorry, still gorgeous. Stop dodging and tell me why you don’t want kids.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve just never had that burning desire to procreate that some women have. Probably because I grew up in a madhouse full of kids, and I’m permanently scarred.”

  “Nah, I don’t think that’s it at all. I’ve seen you with your siblings, and you love them. I think it’s something else altogether, something you refuse to talk about with me or anyone, something that eats at you and has for a long time.”

  “Stop it,” Charley said, far more harshly than she’d intended. She turned away from him, bracing for the pain as she swung her legs to the side of the bed, looking to escape while she still could.

  “Charley. Wait. Let me get your crutches.”

  He got up and came around the bed with the crutches.

  Charley took them from him, trying not to look at him in all his naked glory.

  But of course, he didn’t let her get away with that. His fingers on her chin forced her to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Why do you feel the need to lie to me?”

  She wrenched her chin out of his grasp and hobbled to the bathroom, feeling naked in more ways than just physically. Reaching the bathroom, she slammed the door behind her and immediately felt stupid for overreacting. So he struck a little too close to home. Nothing like confirming he was getting too close for comfort by acting like an ass over it.

  Charley was in way over her head in this situation, and getting in deeper all the time now that she’d had sex with him. She never should’ve agreed to this temporary boyfriend arrangement of his. There was a good reason why she didn’t have boyfriends, and it was because she didn’t want all the drama that went along with commitment. She didn’t want someone else knowing her better than she knew herself.

  After taking care of business, she hobbled to the sink to splash cold water on her face and to brush her teeth. She ran a trembling hand through her hair, attempting
to restore some order.

  Tyler had left a T-shirt on the counter so Charley wiggled her way into it, only to be assailed by his familiar sexy scent. She sighed deeply, the confusion making her crazy. On the one hand, she enjoyed spending time with him, and she’d certainly enjoyed the multiple orgasms. Enjoyment wasn’t the issue. When she’d set her life rules for herself, she hadn’t banked on a guy like Tyler coming along who would upend her orderly existence and want more than she was willing to give.

  He’d asked for a fair chance, and she’d agreed to give it to him. But at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day, she was done. She could only hope he would accept her decision and abide by her wishes.

  Charley emerged from the bathroom to find Tyler wearing basketball shorts and sitting on the end of the bed.

  He stood when the door opened. “Charley, I’m sorry if what I said upset you. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  “I know,” she said without looking at him. She crossed the room to the side of his bed that had become hers and lowered herself to the edge.

  He took the crutches from her and propped them against the bedside table where she could reach them during the night.

  She got into bed, realizing that it was finally getting easier to move around, which was great news.

  Tyler got in bed and turned on his side to face her. “Can we talk about why what I said upset you so much?”

  “I’d rather not.”

  “I get that, but if you help me understand, I could make sure I don’t upset you that way again.”

  Charley sighed with frustration and a tinge of aggravation. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “I want you to tell me what makes you hurt.”

  “Has it ever occurred to you that you can’t fix what’s wrong with me?”

  “I’ll never be able to fix it if you don’t tell me what it is.”

  “There are some things money can’t buy, Tyler.”

  “Wow,” he said slowly, drawing out the single word. “Low blow.” For the first time, he sounded truly angry. “I’m not looking to buy you, Charley. I want to understand you, that’s all.” He turned off the bedside light, casting the room into darkness except for the night light he still left on for her.

  Charley blinked back tears. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have, but I forgive you. If you want to tell me what’s got you convinced that you’re not wired right, I’d be happy to listen.”

  She’d never told anyone what had changed her forever, and lying in the darkness with him by her side, her body still replete from his intense lovemaking, she wanted to tell him. She wasn’t prepared to tell him everything, but she could give him the gist, and maybe that would help him to understand.

  “There was a guy. Once.” Her words were halting and stilted. She wondered if he could hear the hesitation in her tone. “He made promises he didn’t keep. It made me see that certain risks are too big to take.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.

  —Storm Jameson

  Lying in the darkness, Tyler finally saw the light. She’d resolved years ago to never get involved with a man again, and by falling for her, in all her prickly, perfect glory, he’d upended her carefully drawn plans. Telling himself to tread lightly, he reached for her hand and was relieved when she didn’t immediately pull back.

  “I can see how that might’ve influenced your thinking about certain things. How long ago did this happen?”

  “College.”

  “That’s a long time, Charley, and I’m sure the guy was young—more a boy than a man. Am I right?”

  “I guess.”

  “Did you love him?”

  “Yeah.”

  There was no hesitation in her reply, which told Tyler the man in question had done a number on her if the damage he’d left behind had lasted this long. “Will you tell me what happened?”

  “It’s not something I like to talk about.”

  “I know, honey, but if you keep it bottled up inside and don’t let it out, how will you ever put it behind you where it belongs?”

  After a long pause, she said, “Suffice to say I got fed a bunch of bullshit that I completely believed, and when I found out he was a liar, it about killed me. I never want to feel like that again.”

  “And so you haven’t let yourself go beyond the surface with any guy since then?”

  “No.”

  “Could I ask you something else?”

  “If you must.”

  “When your brother Will married Cameron, do you think he intended for it to be a short-term thing before he moved on to someone else?”

  “No, of course not. Will is crazy about her.”

  “How about Nolan when he married Hannah? You think he’s going to bail when things get tough?”

  “Nolan adores Hannah. He’s not going anywhere.”

  “How about Gavin? Hunter? Colton? In it for the long haul, or are they looking to score and move on?”

  “Long haul,” she said in a small voice.

  “Not all men are assholes, Charley. You happened to cross paths with one who is, but that doesn’t mean all men are going to do to you what he did. Look at how long your dad has been with your mom. My parents are the same. My mom made me wish I were deaf the other day by talking about getting busy with my dad. They’ve been together more than forty years, and they’ve still got it going on. Your grandparents were married more than fifty years when your grandmother died.”

  She released a deep shuddering breath. “I didn’t see it coming. That was the part that I couldn’t understand. I grew up with seven brothers. It takes a lot to pull one over on me, and I had no idea he was stringing me along.”

  “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Charley, but by holding on to what he did for all this time, you’ve missed out on so much.”

  “Have you been in love before?”

  Surprised by the question, he said, “Twice.”

  “What happened?”

  “One of them didn’t feel the same way about me, which basically sucked. The other moved to California after we got out of college. I didn’t want to go with her, and we tried to make it work for a while, but it burned out. Neither of us was very good at long-distance relationships.”

  “Why didn’t you go with her?”

  “My whole life is here—my family and friends. I didn’t want to move that far away from everything and everyone else who mattered to me.”

  “If you’d really and truly loved her, you would’ve gone with her.”

  “I realized that myself about a year after she left when I started asking myself what the hell I was doing trying to make it work with three thousand miles between us.”

  “So maybe it’s possible you’ve never been really in love?”

  “Well, there’s this third one who’s sort of vexing but really, really sexy and cute, especially when she’s telling me all the reasons she doesn’t believe in love. I could really fall for her.”

  “You shouldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be wise. You’ve already had a one-sided relationship. You don’t need another.”

  “I’m hoping she might fall for me, too. She’s given me some time to prove to her that she can trust me to be everything she wants and needs. But she’s been hurt really badly in the past, so it’s going to take some finesse on my part to show her she’s got nothing to fear where I’m concerned.”

  “You probably shouldn’t be in bed with me when you’re finessing another girl.”

  Laughing, he turned to curl up to her, pressing his body against hers. “As long as I have Charley Abbott in my bed, I don’t need anyone else.”

  “You say that now.”

 
“I’ll say that forever.”

  “Forever is a really long time.”

  “I know, and if I had my choice of who I’d want in my bed forever, it’d be you.”

  “You can’t possibly know that.”

  “I do know that. I’ve known it for a long time, actually.”

  “How does anyone know something like that?”

  “How does Will know he wants to be with Cameron forever? Or Colton with Lucy or Hunter with Megan? How did Nolan know that he couldn’t live without Hannah? People know, Charley. They just know.”

  “Tell me the truth . . .”

  “Always.”

  “Did you push me off that mountain so you’d get the chance to tell me this stuff?”

  Laughing again, he said, “While I’m not sorry to have the chance to tell you this stuff, I never would’ve pushed you off that mountain. I died a thousand deaths until I knew you were going to be okay. I’ll never forget the terror of that run back to the car, not knowing . . .” His throat closed around a tight knot of emotion.

  Her hand found his face in the dark. “I’m sorry I put you through that.”

  “I’m not sorry you ended up in my bed.”

  He loved the sound of her laughter.

  Reaching for the hand she’d placed on his face, he pressed a kiss to her palm. “It’s good between us, Charley. Maybe you can’t see that yet, but I hope you will. I really hope you will.”

  “I want to try,” she said in a small voice that told him a lot about what a big deal it was for her to admit that. Charley Abbott’s voice was never small.

  “That’s a really good place to start.”

  —

  Charley woke in the morning expecting awkwardness with Tyler after the intimacy they’d shared on multiple levels during the night. But it wasn’t awkward. He was as sweet as always, making her breakfast and coffee before her session with Debbie the killer physical therapist. Before he left her to go to work, he kissed her forehead and then her lips.

  “If you’re a really good girl and work hard in your therapy session, I’ll buy you lunch in town before your doctor’s appointment.”