“So what’s crawled up your ass and died?” Tucker asks.
After another pull from my beer bottle, I set it on the bar top and sigh. “I slept with Arianna.”
Tucker's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "When did that happen?"
"A few days ago," I answer.
“Okay? Why do you make it sound like a bad thing? She’s single, you’re single,” Tucker says in confusion. Tucker found out about Arianna's cheating ex from her brother Keith, who was furious when he found out.
“We danced in the fucking snow!” I exclaim as if that explains everything.
Tucker frowns, his gaze turning concerned. “Are you okay? Feeling alright there, buddy?”
“I ate chocolate icing off her nipples, for shit’s sake!”
Tucker’s blue eyes widen slightly. “Dude, keep your voice down, we’re in public,” he hisses.
I groan and drop my forehead to the bar top.
“I don’t understand the problem here, Duke. It sounds like you had a really nice time with her,” Tucker says.
My head shoots up and I glare at him. “That IS the problem! I like her! Way more than I should! I can’t stop thinking about her!” I cry in annoyance.
I can see that Tucker is fighting not to smile. Dick.
“It’s okay to like someone, you know,” he says and pats me on the shoulder.
“No, it’s not. Because you know what I see happening with her?” I ask him.
He rolls his lips in and shakes his head. “No, what?”
“L.O.V.E.,” I tell him in an exaggerated whisper.
Tucker can’t fight it anymore, he bursts out laughing.
“It’s not funny!” I hiss, giving his shoulder a shove. “I can’t do it again, man. I just can’t,” I murmur dejectedly.
Tucker’s laughter fades and a sympathetic look replaces the humor.
“You know, the harder you fight it, the faster you’re going to fall,” Tucker says softly.
I drop my face into my hands and make a pained noise. “She’s like the perfect woman. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“Maybe you’ve finally found the right one then,” Tucker offers.
I shake my head. “I don’t have another heartbreak in me, Tuck. I know I look all tough and shit, but I’m just a big pile of goo inside.”
Tucker chuckles. “I know you are. I also know you aren’t the type to play it safe, either. You take chances, sometimes stupid ones…”
“Hey!”
“…But a lot of the time, you come out on top because you took a chance. You can’t live in fear of falling in love again, Duke, because you could miss out on something really special.”
“I’m still hurting from Aimee and that was over a year ago.” I sigh.
“So maybe you need Arianna to help you heal, to show you that love still exists.”
“I don’t know, man. What if she’s not feeling the same?”
“What if she is?”
I shake my head. “I can’t. I can’t do it again,” I insist.
“Don’t let fear keep you from finding your forever person,” he says seriously. “I bet you and Arianna go really great together. And I don’t think she would ever hurt you the way your exes did because she’s not heartless like that. She’s been hurt, too, in the same way that you have. I don’t think she would ever do that to you. You deserve to be happy, Duke. And if Arianna makes you happy, then you need to take a chance with her.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out. “Maybe.”
Tucker gives the back of my neck a squeeze. “She’s a good girl. She would be good for you. And I would know,” he says, giving me a wink.
"Shut up, fucker. I don't want to hear about how you slept with her, too."
Tucker laughs.
“Hey, did you know Keith is gay?” I ask, needing to change the subject.
Tucker smirks. “Yeah.”
I give him a dirty look. “You could have given me a heads-up, asshole. Dude tried to put the moves on me.”
Tucker barks out a laugh. “How was I supposed to know that he’d find you attractive?”
“He thought that since I hung out with you, I was gay, or at least bi,” I mutter with a roll of my eyes.
Tucker almost spits out his beer at that and ends up choking. I snicker as I clap him on the back.
“Oh god, that’s so funny!” Tucker coughs.
“He kissed me…on the lips.” I shudder.
Tucker is laughing so hard that he has tears rolling down his cheeks.
“I obviously don’t see what you see,” I scoff.
Tucker’s laughter dies down. “Yeah, well, maybe Keith isn’t the right guy for you,” he teases.
“No guy is the right guy for me.” I laugh.
We continue to drink and tease each other. It feels good to get out with Tucker, just the two of us. Tucker has been kind of busy lately, and so have I, since I started working again, so we really haven’t had the time to just hang out.
“So, how are things with you and Dennis?” I ask, hoping to get something out of him.
They’ve both been very close-mouthed about their whole situation lately.
Tucker immediately shuts me down. “We’re not here to talk about Dennis and me,” he says with finality, letting me know that the subject is not up for discussion.
I frown but let it go. There is nothing I can do anyway; they just have to work shit out for themselves.
I barely sleep that night. Tucker’s words and my own fears keep me awake. I’m actually thinking about stopping by Arianna’s shop in the morning so I can talk to her; see where she’s at in terms of her feelings for me. At least that way, I will know where I stand, and if there is even something to pursue. I groan into the darkness of my bedroom. When did I become such a bitch?
~ Arianna ~
I’ve been up since 4:00 am. That’s my usual time because I need to get into the shop to start baking fresh cupcakes. Jules is there to help me. She starts decorating the cooled cupcakes. We work in comfortable silence for most of the morning. We have a rhythm down and it works.
I can’t say that my mind is fully into my work, though. It hasn’t been for the past four days now. I can’t stop thinking about Duke. I know, it’s stupid. It will never work out between us because I still would like to eventually get married and he doesn’t. He was very adamant about that.
The sex was just that, it was sex. Nothing more. At least to him, anyway. I thought it was out of this world and I had felt things that I didn’t expect to feel; especially so soon after ending things with Kyle. I really like Duke. A lot. I like everything about him, from his sense of humor to his sweet vulnerable side. He tries to act tough, and I’m sure he is when he needs to be, but for the most part, the toughness doesn’t really show. At least not with me, anyway.
I put the last batch of cupcakes in the oven then start for my office.
“Jules, make sure you take those out as soon as they’re done, okay? I have to go write up some bills,” I say.
“Got it,” Jules says without looking up from the cupcake that she’s decorating.
I close myself in my office, which now produces vivid scenes in my head of Duke screwing me stupid on my desk. My whole body flushes as I remember what he did with the icing. I shiver at the memory of how good that felt. Damn him! It isn't supposed to be like this. I’m not supposed to like him so much. He was just supposed to help me find out if Kyle was cheating on me or not. He wasn’t supposed to get under my skin or worm his way into my heart.
I don’t even know what to do about it. He hasn’t called me since our “non-date” night. So, I’m assuming that he’s done, doesn’t want any more contact with me. I guess the only thing I can do is move on and forget about him, which hurts my heart.
I sit down at my desk and start writing out the checks for all of my bills for the shop. I’m only doing it for about fifteen minutes before I catch a whiff of something burning. I frown but don’t think too m
uch of it because Jules hasn’t called for me or anything. I go back to writing out the check in front of me.
A few minutes later, I can swear that I still smell something burning, and it’s possible that my eyes are playing tricks on me, but I’m fairly certain that my office is smokey. I set the check aside and go to the door. As I open it, I’m hit with a wall of smoke. I blink as it burns my eyes. What the hell is going on? I round the corner to see that my wall oven is on fire. It’s fully engulfed in flames and is working its way up the wall. Why the hell aren't the smoke alarms going off?
A scream of horror comes from the doorway the leads to the shop. I turn to see Jules standing there, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.
“I just went to the bathroom!” she cries.
“Get out of here! Call 911!” I yell at her and wave her away.
“What?! You need to get out of here, too!” she argues frantically.
“I have to try to put it out! I’ll lose my entire shop if I let it go!”
I worked too damn hard for this shop. It’s my livelihood and I love this place. I have to try to save it, as stupid as that may be.
“Go!” I scream at Jules, forcing her into action.
As soon as the door closes, I grab a bucket from under the sink and fill it with water.
~ Duke ~
I’m just about to reach for the handle of The Cupcake Place’s door when it flies open and Jules tumbles out. I catch her before she lands on her face.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask in concern.
I take note of the acrid smell of smoke clinging to her.
“Where’s Arianna?” I ask, dread churning my stomach.
“She’s in there trying to put the fire out!” Jules coughs.
“Call 911,” I tell her before setting her aside and racing into the shop.
The place is already filling with smoke. It’s official, Arianna has lost her damn mind. I throw open the door to the kitchen and am horrified by the sight in front of me. Arianna is trying to toss a bucket of water onto a raging fire that is taking over one entire wall. I completely lose my shit. I storm over to her and roughly grab her by her biceps. The bucket of water sloshes between us spilling out over the edges, which drenches the front of our pants and shoes.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” I bark. “You need to get out of here!”
“No! I can save it! I have to save it!” she cries hysterically before wrenching away from me and tossing the water at the flames licking up the wall.
A cough racks her body, forcing her to double over. That’s it, I won’t stand by and watch this ridiculousness. I yank the bucket out of her hands and toss it away. I then reach for her but she screams and yells at me as she fights to get out of my grasp. We’re running out of time. My eyes are burning something fierce and so are my lungs. Hers have to be on fire, since she’s been in here longer than I have. Done playing games, I grab her and toss her over my shoulder. I make my way out of the shop with her pounding on my back and kicking her legs the entire time.
The fire department, police, and an ambulance roll up just as I walk out the front door with Arianna. I walk a few feet away from the front door and set her on her feet. She immediately tries to go back toward the shop’s door. I grip her by her biceps again and give her a shake.
“Arianna!” I snap in her face to get her attention.
Her devastated gaze locks onto mine. Tears are streaming down her face. My heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine how she feels right now.
“You can’t go back in there,” I tell her firmly.
“But…” she starts.
I cut her off. “But nothing. You cannot save the shop. You will die if you go back in there. The firefighters are taking care of it and will get it under control,” I say, softening my tone a little.
A sob bursts out of her and she drops her forehead to my chest. I wrap my arms around her and let her mourn the loss of her shop. Whatever is left when the firefighters are done with it will be damaged by fire and water. It may be repairable. Only time will tell.
Arianna’s sobs turn into a coughing fit so rough that she actually ends up throwing up onto the sidewalk. I hold her hair back with one hand and wave the EMTs over with the other.
“She needs to go to the hospital and get treated for smoke inhalation,” I tell the EMTs when they reach us.
Once Arianna is done throwing up, they strap her to a gurney, put an oxygen mask over her face, and wheel her to the ambulance. I follow, needing to know that she’s being taken care of. They lift her into the back of the ambulance and I see her say something to the EMT that follows her in. He gives her a nod then hops out and comes to me.
“She wants you to go with her to the hospital,” he says to me.
“Absolutely,” I reply without hesitation and climb into the back of the ambulance.
I sit on the bench up by her head. She’s still silently crying, the tears running in a continuous stream down her rosy cheeks. I lean toward her and smooth her hair back from her forehead before giving said forehead a kiss.
“What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how badly that could have gone?” I scold half-heartedly.
More than anything, I’m just glad that she’s okay. My heart is still pounding, though. And my stomach is churning.
“I thought I could save it,” she whispers brokenly behind the oxygen mask.
“Why water? Didn’t you have a fire extinguisher?” I ask.
She closes her eyes, forcing more tears to fall. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“No, you most certainly were not,” I scoff.
“What…what were you doing there?” she asks, her voice gravelly, most likely from coughing and throwing up.
“I came to talk to you,” I tell her.
She frowns. “About what?”
“Us. But now’s not the time to talk about that,” I murmur.
Lucky for me, one of the EMTs picks that moment to climb into the back and shut the doors. Now is not the time to have a conversation about my feelings for her. He goes about doing what he’s gotta do for Arianna and our conversation is forgotten, for now.
~ Chapter Eight ~
~ Arianna ~
I got word from Jules that a firefighter found remnants of some kind of fabric in the oven and that’s what most likely started the fire. I have no one to blame but myself. It was my fault. My mind was elsewhere and when I put the last batch in the oven, I must have just let go of the oven mitt when I let go of the cupcake tray. She said that the kitchen and my office have been destroyed, and the shop side has pretty heavy smoke damage.
I’m sitting in a hospital bed with Duke lounging in a chair next to me. The doctor already checked me out. He said that I’m okay, and since the smoke inhalation was minimal, he doesn’t think that I did any permanent damage to my lungs. He’s sending me home with an inhaler and antibiotics just in case. Duke called my brother and told him what happened. Keith is on his way over even though I’m just waiting to be discharged now. Neither of us have a car, so we need the ride back to my shop anyway. I’m really glad that Duke is here with me. The guy has really come to mean a lot to me. Whether I want to admit it or not, I’m really starting to fall for him. Dammit.
I glance over at Duke who looks lost in thought. His right ankle is resting on his left knee and he’s got his fingers pressed to his mouth as he leans against the arm of the chair with his left elbow. His eyes are staring at nothing in particular and he’s been exceptionally quiet the whole time we’ve been here.
“Duke?”
Duke’s eyes slowly lift to meet mine. “Yeah?” he asks from behind his fingers.
“Are you okay?” I ask softly.
He gives a soft humorless laugh. “Not even close.”
His hazel eyes are swirling with so many emotions that I can’t even pinpoint just one. His square jaw is locked tight and his normally full lips are a thin straight line.
“Want to talk about it?”
He shakes his head. “Not right now, no,” he says, his tone clipped.
“Are you mad at me?” I frown, not understanding what his attitude is about.
“No, I’m not mad.”
“Then what?”
He sighs heavily and closes his eyes for a minute before turning his gaze toward me. “You scared the shit out of me, Arianna. I’ve never felt the kind of terror I felt when I saw you in that kitchen, not even when I was overseas and being shot at.”
“Oh,” I squeak.
“I’m probably going to have nightmares about it,” he mutters and rakes his hand down his face.
“Why? It’s not like I mean anything to you, we only slept together once,” I blurt before I can think better of it.
The look he gives me lets me know that I’ve got it all wrong.
“I know I didn’t call you after that night, but if you truly think that I don’t care about you, then you are outta your goddamn mind. Do you really think I would dance around in the snow with some chick that doesn’t mean anything to me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Believe me, I wouldn’t. And I didn’t call you because I’m freaking terrified of how strong my feelings for you are. I’m so afraid to get hurt again,” he says, his tortured gaze meeting mine. “So afraid that I still don’t know if I can bring myself to start something with you, even though I hate the thought of not seeing you or spending time with you.”
My heart aches for him. I wish there was something that I could do or say to let him know that I would never hurt him. But I think that’s something that he’s going to have to figure out for himself. I’m sure I can say it a million times and he still won’t believe me. Before I can say anything else, Keith walks in.
“Shit, Arianna, are you okay?” he asks in concern as he comes to my side and gives me a hug.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I mutter.
War Wounded (The War Trilogy #2.5) Page 7
