by Marie Harte
The whole package had to attract him, at this age at least. Years ago he’d been a dog. He’d readily admit that. But now he wanted a woman with looks, brains, attitude, and strength.
Cyn seemed to possess all that. Talking to her had been easy and engaging. She didn’t let him steamroll the conversation. The superficial part of him acknowledged he’d never seen a more beautiful woman. Her face could have launched a dozen or more magazine covers. And what guy didn’t want more than a handful in the breast department?
Well, fuck, he was hard again.
He calmed himself, remembering her confusion, her anger, and her poorly concealed hurt. Man, he’d stepped in it big-time. Now he had to make things better. Somehow.
Except he had no idea how to go about apologizing. Any way he thought about it, he’d end up reminding her that he’d called her a big girl. And while he’d meant it as a compliment—he was a big guy, after all—she’d apparently been insulted.
“Women.”
He paid the bill and left in a huff. By the time he’d gotten back to work and involved in a Wrangler’s suspension problems, he hadn’t gotten any further with a solution to his dilemma.
“So what happened on your date?” Lou asked.
Sam and his big mouth. “It was okay.” It was a disaster.
“You don’t look happy.” Lou didn’t move from his position by the Jeep.
Foley stepped out from under the lift. “I’m thrilled to be at work. Life is just grand.”
“Oh man. She shot you down?” Lou didn’t laugh at him, so Foley decided to take a chance.
He glanced around and saw Johnny buried in a Chevy, so he leaned closer and whispered, “She left me sitting with my thumb up my ass. We were getting along great, then somehow she thought I called her fat or some shit, and she took off.”
“What exactly did you say to her before she got upset?”
Foley ran down their conversation.
Lou groaned. “Foley, you never comment on what a woman eats or doesn’t eat. Are you loco or just stupid?”
“We were being honest with each other.” Foley was confused. “I never called her fat. You’ve seen her. She’s fucking built, man.”
“Woman hears ‘big,’ she’s hearing ‘fat.’ I’ll bet she’s dealt with a lot of bullshit over her size for a long time. She’s tall for a woman, then you add her curves. Between guys wanting a piece of her and other women being jealous of her, adds up to issues, my friend.” Lou sighed then smiled. “Issues I’d be happy to help her get over. She really is one sexy woman.”
“Yeah, yeah, Lou. Keep it in your pants.”
Lou chuckled. “Dealing with dickheads has probably made her sensitive. Then you said something that added to that. You’re screwed.”
Just what he didn’t need to hear.
“But look at the bright side.”
“Yeah?”
Lou gave him a big old smile. “I didn’t call her anything. And I have a sudden thirst for coffee.”
Foley would have slugged him if Sam hadn’t entered the garage.
“How’d the date go?”
“Big mouth.” He slugged Sam instead.
Chapter 4
“Yes, Mom. I’ll be there Saturday night, like I told you.” Cyn sat in her running car, her hands in front of the heaters, and swore to herself as her mother continued to talk. The parking lot had emptied an hour ago, but Cyn had stayed behind at the coffee shop to do more paperwork.
Nina would have stuck around to badger her about the lunch she refused to talk about, but fortunately one of her boys needed a ride Matt had been unable to provide.
“So are you bringing anyone?” Ella Nichols nagged. She’d been asking that same question every time they talked. “Our Christmas party is growing. I can’t wait!”
“I’m coming by myself. Should be more fun that way. You know, not having to entertain a guy and instead focusing on friends and family.”
“Oh, honey. You and Jon have been broken up for eight long months. Time to start fresh, don’t you think? You don’t want to be alone forever.”
Maybe I do. After two years of time and effort, I thought I’d found a prince. Instead, he turned out to be a warty little frog. “It’s not about Jon. It’s about me. I like being by myself, and I’m too busy for a man right now anyway.”
“Too busy for a relationship? Please.” Her mother lived and breathed the word marriage. Cyn had grown up being taught that a woman’s future should be all about finding the right man—which meant always looking one’s best, no matter what it took.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be basking in the love you and Dad and Mattie and Nina share. Like a Hallmark special, don’t you think?”
“Cynthia, please don’t be sarcastic. I hate when you do that.”
Maybe she’d overdone that saccharine sweetness a bit. “Fine. Sorry. Look, I said I’ll be there. I just want to enjoy the holidays, okay? And I really am busy. Taking on Nichols has added to my workload, what with keeping everything afloat. Moving back here put a strain on my other businesses, Mom.” A gentle reminder. A lie, but a good one.
Cyn had been a silent partner in a number of businesses for years. And she’d never had to live in one location to manage them. That meant travel, but at the time, she’d liked not being tied down to any one place or person. And that need to be mobile gave her the perfect excuse to stay away from home.
“I know, sweetie.” Her mother softened her voice. “I’m so glad you’re finally back for good. We’ll see you Saturday night, then.”
“Right. And remember, I’m coming to see family and friends. No playing matchmaker. We talked about this.” Family gatherings were not an excuse to meddle in Cyn’s nonexistent love life.
“Fine, fine. I have to go. Your father’s calling me.”
Though Cyn hadn’t heard him, Ella disconnected before Cyn could say good-bye.
Annoyed, because she had a feeling her mother would do what she wanted regardless of Cyn’s wishes, Cyn put her car in gear and drove to the game store where she’d ordered her oldest nephew Vinnie’s Christmas present. She ended up finding something for Alex too and left with a lighter heart.
She loved watching her nephews at Christmas. Though being held to her mother’s standard and being found lacking had always hurt, her brother had never made her feel less than wonderful. Matt loved his little sister. He’d always looked out for her. As had her father, who thought his little girl could do no wrong. Hell, even Nina’s addition to the Nichols clan had produced laughter and smiles, not tears. Nina was a best friend and sister-in-law all wrapped up in a pretty package.
Only Ella Nichols continued to be a malignant shadow on family togetherness. Cyn was never good enough for her mother. Why she thought that might change because she’d finally come home, she didn’t know. Cyn was smarter than that.
As she drove home from Queen Anne, she wondered what she’d hoped to achieve by living in the city, too close to ignore a summons from her mom. The family deferred to Ella, and since Ella only wanted what was best for her children and husband, had never done any wrong as far as they could see, they all thought Cyn overreacted to the constant barrage of subtle teardowns and insults.
If only Cyn tried harder. If only Cyn could hold up to the true beauty within. Work harder. Exercise more. Eat less. Be less around men so they could seem more—more needy, more annoying, more arrogant. Cyn had watched her mother concede to her father throughout their marriage, because a good woman put her husband and family first. Her mother hadn’t gone to college. Instead, she’d raised her children, put all her hopes and dreams into supporting them—at a cost to herself.
“Not my fault she made that decision.” Cyn frowned and turned off the radio, which was too full of cheer for her dour mood.
Ella had given birth to a baby girl who hated dance and the
color pink, and refused to kowtow to a man for anything. Cyn didn’t hate men. Far from it. She just wanted to find someone she didn’t have to stand behind. She wanted to stand abreast of a partner, to be equal. To find a man who wouldn’t mind her financial success, her smarts, or her bigger than socially acceptable body.
“Someone who couldn’t care less that I’m a big girl.” She scowled, thinking about Foley. He hadn’t come into the shop or called in two days, since their disaster of a lunch. She appreciated that he’d finally gotten the message that she wasn’t interested, even as some perverse part of her wished he’d tried to convince her to give him another chance. After so long being single, part of her had actually been tempted to go out with him again.
Yes, eight months was a long time to go without a date. Enough time to heal from Jon’s betrayal, but not enough time to forget. She didn’t want to go back to her empty house yet, so she drove past the coffee shop, reminding herself that it, and not a man, shaped her passions and dreams.
She turned south, thinking to head toward the park to take in some quiet time and watch the snowflakes melt into the water. On her way, she skidded on some black ice and shrieked. Thank God the roads were mostly clear. The snow had started to really come down, and after righting the car, she did her best to calm her racing heart.
A few minutes later, her car just…died.
“Crap.” She managed to use momentum to park at the side of the dark, mostly empty road.
To her dismay, the bright headlights of a large vehicle sidled up behind her. She reached for her phone on the dash shelf and found it gone. Must have slipped to the floor when she’d skidded on the ice. She locked her doors and prayed whoever had found her was a decent person, and not the serial killer her imagination conjured.
Whoever it was, even in the dark, she could tell he was big. Suddenly the clouds overhead moved and the moon lit the snowy ground over which he walked, revealing familiar boots. Her gaze darted up to see the man was wearing a jacket she’d seen before.
Her breathing had elevated to panting, despite realizing the identity of her Good Samaritan. Great, now her windows had fogged.
When he arrived at her window, he knocked. “Cyn?”
“Foley? What are you doing out here?” She didn’t believe in coincidence.
“Not stalking you, since I have a bad feeling that’s what you’re thinking.”
She flushed. “I wasn’t thinking that. Exactly.”
“Yeah, right.” He shook his head, still talking to her through the car window. “You planning to roll down the window, or are you afraid I’ll drag you through it and have my wicked way with you? You know, since I’m so into big girls.”
He just had to bring that up. By now, her face felt so hot it threatened to burn up her car. “I can’t roll down the window. My battery died.”
“What?” he said louder.
She unlocked her car door and opened it, immediately regretting the cold wind that swept her. “My battery died. The car’s been giving me issues, but then the issues disappeared, so I thought I was okay.”
“Dumb.” Foley looked big, handsome, and tired. “Get out so I can get in.”
She did, and he gently nudged her aside, then entered the car. When he turned the key, nothing happened.
“I told you. My battery died.”
“Yeah, but why? How old is it?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. I’ve had the car for two years.” She shivered when some snow drifted down the back of her neck.
Foley must have noticed, because he frowned. “Come on. Lock up, and I’ll give you a ride home. We can fix this tomorrow.”
“We?”
He looked up at her, brows raised. “Unless you’d rather change out the battery right now? Got a spare in your car? Some tools?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Then there’s the fact that there might be more wrong than just the battery. Next time I might not be in the neighborhood to save your pretty ass.”
She glared. “Speaking of which, what are you doing here?”
“I can tell you here, now, in the cold and the dark. Where muggers are probably waiting to take advantage… Or we can go back to your place, where you can make me some nice hot chocolate, and I can explain.”
“Maybe I don’t have any hot chocolate.”
He just looked at her.
“Fine. I do.” Her weakness, chocolate in any form. Well, that and sexy assholes, apparently, as evidenced by her body’s reaction to seeing Foley again.
After grabbing her purse and keys, she locked her car and followed him to his SUV. He opened the door but didn’t help her step up and in, for which she was grateful. She really didn’t need to be any closer to him than she had to be. For some reason, he smelled good. Even after what must have been a full day’s work, the man didn’t stink.
And his car… “This is neat.”
“Glad you think so.” He entered and started them toward North Beacon Hill. “Address?”
She gave it to him. “I meant your car is tidy. Neat. For some reason, when I see you, I think hot mess.”
He clenched his jaw. “You’re welcome for the rescue.”
“I could have called my brother.” But she wouldn’t have. The roads were getting worse, and she’d rather he stayed with Nina and the boys. Her father, maybe?
“Are you going to be this bitchy all the time?”
She blinked at him, then smiled against her will. “Probably.”
He shook his head and muttered something under his breath she couldn’t understand.
“What’s that?”
“Never mind.”
They pulled in front of her cute cottage in no time, their drive unbroken by talk or music. She knew she should thank him. What was it about the guy that brought out the worst in her? She’d never tolerate the attitude she’d been giving him from anyone else. Around him, even she didn’t much like herself.
“Foley, I’m sorry. Thank you for the rescue.”
He seemed mollified. “You’re welcome.”
“But I was about to call my dad to come and—” His narrowed eyes had her swallowing the rest of what she’d planned to say. “Thank you.”
“How about that hot chocolate?”
She nodded, and they left his car and entered her house. She hung up her jacket and his and removed her shoes. “You too. No shoes if you want cocoa.”
He removed his boots while she set the kettle on the stove. He joined her in the kitchen, the small island separating them, and glanced around. “Nice place.”
The cottage had room. Three bedrooms, two baths, and a nice-sized open kitchen/living room floor plan. Cyn kept it clean and clutter-free. A buttery-gold painted the walls, adorned with artwork from places she’d visited. Fresh flowers sat on the dining room table that shared space with her open living area. Her television she kept in a spare bedroom, making the fireplace the focal point.
She smiled, proud of her home. “I like it.”
“Who’d you get the flowers from?”
Foley sounded jealous, and she loved it. Man, I really am a bitch. “A lovely florist named Joey.”
He frowned. “Yeah?”
“Joey prefers roses, but she also likes a nice Christmas bouquet. She happens to be my go-to when I’m buying flowers.”
He relaxed. “Oh.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. A sign of nerves, she realized, intrigued.
“Now tell me how you just happened to be in the neighborhood when my car died.”
“Yeah, well, this is tricky.”
“How so?”
“You already think badly of me. I don’t want to add to it.”
“Might as well.”
“Thanks.” He huffed. “Okay, I’ve been trying to find the right way to apologize for Tuesday.”
Watching him squirm pleased the vindictive “big girl” in her, but him bringing up their disaster of a date also reminded her why it had been a disaster. Now she felt uncomfortable as well.
“Never mind. It’s over with. We’re friends.”
“Bullshit. I gave it a few days, then figured, you’re stubborn. Thorny. Might as well let you rip into me so I can get my two cents in.”
“I’m sorry. Thorny?”
He gave a surprising grin. “My mom’s description of a woman with issues. Thorny. It applies to you, honey.”
“Honey? Forgotten my name so soon?”
Instead of taking issue with her tone, he laughed. “Oh yeah, thorny. For the record, Cynthia, I am not into ‘big girls.’ I like women of all shapes and sizes. And yeah, I like them pretty, I’ll admit.” He walked around the island and closed the space between them, forcing her to back into the counter so he wouldn’t be on top of her.
“Um, space?”
“No.” He cupped her cheeks, startling her. “I love redheads. I love a woman with curves, and more, a woman with a brain who’s not afraid to use it.”
She swallowed, loudly.
His grin grew. “I also love a woman who’s a little bit mean.”
“A little bit?”
“Or a lot,” he added, his gaze settling on her mouth. “I know you said you don’t want a relationship. You don’t want sex.”
“Um, yes. I said that.” But I didn’t mean it, her reproductive organs shouted.
“How about a kiss, then, to apologize for hurting your feelings?”
She felt small, having made so many assumptions about Foley when she’d once again been reacting wrongly due to her own screwed-up issues. “It’s okay. I’m the one who’s—”
He leaned closer, his lips almost brushing hers. She looked directly into bright gray eyes so clear they looked like diamonds. “Just a little kiss,” he whispered.
She nodded without thinking and closed her eyes when he pressed firm lips against her mouth.
