by Jenika Snow
His smile was soft, not like the blinding one he had graced her with earlier. “No, it doesn’t freak me out, but you’d have to be blind not to see the attraction Abe has for you.” His words stopped her heart.
“What are you talking about?” Her voice was unsteady, and she wondered if Hunter heard it.
The way he watched her was a little unnerving. It was like he could see everything about her. “When you’re not looking, he stares at you, Sophia. It’s the look a man has for a woman he longs for.” She was shaking her head before he even finished.
“No, you have it wrong.”
“Do I?” There was a challenge in his voice.
Her spine straightened. “Does a man sleep around when he longs for another woman?”
Hunter’s whole posture was relaxed, like their conversation wasn’t affecting him the way it affected her. She supposed it didn’t, though.
“Sometimes a man doesn’t know the prize he has, even when it is right in front of him.”
Sophia didn’t respond to that, didn’t know how to. “It doesn’t matter in the end, Hunter. I need to start my life. I can’t wait for something that may or may not happen. Abe has a lot of problems that he needs to work out, and all I’ve been doing is going through the motions and essentially being his enabler.” Hunter cocked his eyebrow at that, but she chose to ignore it and continued. “I sit back and watch him drink himself into a stupor. I carry him home and have to put him to bed. I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked into his house and seen naked women strewn all over the damn place. I’ve never said anything, never told him how much he’s hurting himself. Maybe if I did, things would be different, but I think it might be too late for that now.” Why she even told him any of this was beyond her, but it felt good to finally tell someone. She took a deep breath.
“Look at me, Sophia.” She lifted her head. Hunter was leaning forward, his hands outstretched and reaching for hers. She placed her hands in his and waited for him to speak. “I think you’ve been a really good friend to him. I have no doubts that he’s noticed that as well, but he is too blinded by his own grief and selfishness to see it. You’re beautiful and smart, funny and caring. You’ve looked out for him for years. I’ve seen it. Hell, everyone has seen it. I care about you, Soph, a lot, but I don’t want to start something if you aren’t sure about how you feel regarding Abe.” He gave her hands a gentle squeeze.
The dark depths of his eyes pierced the shell she’d erected around herself, and she felt a little bit of herself slip away. She wanted to try this with Hunter, wanted to see where it led. Too many of her years had been wasted on longing for something that might never happen. She would still be there for Abe, still help him out, and hoped he did the same for her. Sophia just wouldn’t let her life be consumed by Abe Rochester any longer.
Returning the pressure on his hands, she said, “I’d like to move forward. I’d like to give us a try, Hunter.” He graced her with one of his blinding smiles and she felt her heart melt just a little bit.
“That’s good, Soph. That is so good.”
Chapter Eight
“Mother fucking shit!” Abe threw the wrench he had been using across the garage and rubbed his bruised thumb.
“Hey, man, you know there is a law against abusing tools, don’t ya?” Red’s laughter was evident in his voice, but Abe wasn’t in the mood for this shit. He scowled at the older man and picked up the screwdriver. He had been working on the engine for the last four fucking hours, and he hadn’t gotten anything accomplished.
He had come straight to the shop to work through what he was feeling after Kid’s call. All he could think about was where she was right now and who the fuck she was on a date with. He’d checked his phone about fifty fucking times, hoping that maybe she’d called or texted, but always he saw a blank screen. There had been plenty of times that he had thought of calling her, ruining her fucking date so all she could think about was him, but he wasn’t that big of a bastard. When he really reflected back on his time with her, really thought about all the fucked-up things he had done, he knew he was the biggest bastard of all.
“You wanna talk, man?” Red got down on his haunches beside Abe, but his focus was on the motor Abe was working on. Abe was no one’s fool. He knew that Red was trying to help him out, trying to be the person he was able to unload his shit on, all the while looking unconcerned. He was a good man, a real good friend, but Abe just didn’t think he could handle dishing out all his feelings.
“Nah.”
Red nodded once and stood.
“Well, I’m here if you want to talk about your girl.”
Abe looked up at him, unsurprised Red had known what bothered him.
“You know, I used to have a friend, a girl that took care of me and didn’t ask any questions. She was gorgeous and kindhearted, but I didn’t see what was right in front of me until it was too late.” Red looked out the bay doors, as if he was lost in thought, and despite his better judgment, Abe found himself asking the question that plagued his mind.
“What happened to her?” He knew Seth Red wasn’t married, and as far as he knew, he didn’t have a girlfriend either. For a long while Red didn’t move, didn’t say a damn thing, but then he turned to Abe with an almost lost look on his face.
“Not sure. Last I heard she married some guy and moved to Montana. She is no doubt a mama by now and has that little house and white picket fence she was always talkin’ ’bout.”
Abe didn’t ask any other questions, because the hard look in Red’s eyes told him it probably wasn’t safe, but Red surprised him yet again by continuing.
“What I do know is that if I could change it all, I would, in a fuckin’ heartbeat. I would take her in my arms, tell her that I loved her from the moment I first set eyes on her, and kiss her senseless. I would do everything in my power to be with her, to make her stay beside me. I wouldn’t let anyone take her away, that’s for damn sure. I’ll tell you one more thing, boy, and then I’ll let you get back to takin’ your aggression out on my tools.” He grinned and Abe heard the teasing note in his voice. “When you got something good, you don’t let it slip between your fingers because once it does, that’s it.” He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point. He gave one more nod and headed back into his office.
Abe sat there for a good long while, contemplating what Red said. It sounded good, but was Red the kind of prick Abe was? Is that why he’d lost the girl he loved? He turned his attention back to the motor and tried to get his mind off Kid, which was impossible.
****
It was seven in the morning, way too damn early for Abe to be conscious, but he was trying to make a point. Since speaking with Sophia and hearing Red’s story yesterday, all he had been able to think about was how to show Kid that he wasn’t a douche bag anymore. He didn’t want to go through life wondering “what if.” He wanted her in his life, wanted to be by her side and not let her down. He had spent far too many years trying to cover up his past with random women and bottomless bottles of liquor. It was definitely time for a change.
He knocked on her front door even though he had a key. Kid was the type of woman that deserved respect. It took her only a few minutes to answer, and when she did, the surprise on her face was evident. It made him feel like shit. She shouldn’t be surprised to see him on her doorstep.
“Abe? Hey.” She wore a tiny white tank top that showed her nipples right through the thin material and a pair of boy shorts. She actually wore that shit to answer the door, so any douche could see her? Well, fuck him.
Her dark hair was mussed from sleep and fell around her face. She was sexy as fuck, especially with the little reading glasses she wore. His damn dick started to harden. Gritting his teeth, he forced a smile and held up the box of doughnuts and the drink tray with two cups of coffee in it.
“Hey, Kid. I know you said you couldn’t come over today for breakfast, so I thought I’d bring it to you.” She stared at him for a moment and then glanced
at her watch.
“It’s like seven in the morning. I didn’t even know you could get up this early.”
He chuckled but didn’t tell her that he had hardly slept last night. All he could think about was how her date had gone and if she planned on going on another one. “Can I come in?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” A pretty pink hue touched her cheeks and he bent down and kissed her temple as he passed through the door.
“I…”
He set the stuff on her table and looked over at her. “Can you maybe put some clothes on?” He didn’t stop his eyes from traveling up and down her body. For a moment she just stared at him, like she had no clue what he was talking about, but then realization set in and her face got red.
“Gawd…” She disappeared immediately, and when she was back in the kitchen he sent up a silent thanks that she had opted for a pair of sweats and a tee.
Abe cleared his throat and forced a smile.
For several moments she stood there, tugging at the hem of her shirt. Over the years he had grown to realize she did that when her nerves were rattled.
“Everything good?”
“I’m actually meeting…someone for a late breakfast. That’s why I couldn’t come over this morning.”
His hands curled inward but he pushed his jealousy away. It wouldn’t score him any points to act like a caveman. “I didn’t mean to intrude or anything. I can go if you want me to.” Please don’t tell me to go. Please don’t tell me to go.
“No. I mean you’re already here and went to the trouble of bringing me doughnuts.” She smiled and walked toward him. The sweets scent of pears and berries surrounded her. He inhaled deeply, knowing that scent anywhere.
“You’re wearing pear berry.” She was close to him, so close that her bare arm brushed against his hand. Her cheeks turned slightly pink from his comment, and Abe wanted to believe he rattled her in a good way.
“Yeah.” Her voice was low, and when she turned to look up at him, his heart jumped into his throat. “It’s my favorite, and you got it for me.”
His heart worked double time from her words. He had gotten her the perfume for her birthday last year. The scent had reminded him of her, and when she wore it…fuck, it did things to him.
Inappropriate thoughts slammed into him, images of her spread out on the table as he pulled her sweats down her thighs and feasted on her. There was no doubt she tasted just as sweet as she smelled. He held out a chocolate glazed doughnut to her, needing to be doing something with his hands so he didn’t grab her and pull her toward him. She sighed in bliss and he imagined her making that sound during sex. His fucking cock grew harder, the damn thing.
“You always know a girl’s sweet spot.” Her cheeks turned pink again and she glanced away. “Sorry. That came out wrong.” He could tell she was nervous and a part of him was happy, but also confused. Her nervousness might possibly mean she felt something for him.
They sat at the table and each polished off two doughnuts and their coffee. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. In fact, that was why he had come here, to tell her. He looked down at the table and traced the grain of the wood with his eyes.
“Are you okay, Abe?”
Looking up at her, he opened his mouth to tell her everything that was in his heart, but her phone started ringing. She gave him a sympathetic look and held up her finger for him to hold on.
“Hey, Hunter.”
Abe’s jaw cracked at the sound of her happy greeting. The fact that she was grinning and sounded so damn euphoric to hear from her boss confirmed that Hunter was the guy she had gone out with yesterday.
Had he already lost her without ever getting the chance to tell her how he felt?
Abe didn’t miss how she glanced over at him more than once. He lifted his hand in a wave and pointed to the front door. No way did he want to hang around and listen to her conversation. The look she gave him had his steps faltering, but no, he needed to get the hell out of there. He shut the door behind him and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his worn jeans. Head low and thoughts all over the place, he walked quickly to his bike. He mounted it and because he was a glutton for pain, he cast his eyes to her kitchen window. There she was, standing right on the other side of that glass, watching him. A strange look crossed her face, but he didn’t let himself think too much about it. She lifted her hand in a small wave, and he nodded in acknowledgement before he cranked the engine and rode away.
****
Sophia watched Abe ride off. Seeing him on her doorstop at the ass crack of dawn almost sent her into cardiac arrest. She couldn’t remember a time when he had made the effort like he had that morning. It might have only been doughnuts and coffee, but the point was he was making a change. It was getting hard to keep up the wall she had erected around her heart. Seeing the change in him did things to her, but also had her wondering why he was suddenly making a complete change with his life.
When he had mentioned how good she smelled, her whole body threatened to melt into a warm, gooey puddle right on the floor. She always wore pear berry, not just because Abe bought it for her, but because it reminded her of him and the things he did to make her happy, whether he realized it or not.
When Hunter had called she had been genuinely happy to hear from him. Their date had been great. He was easy to talk to and she felt comfortable around him. The thing was, he didn’t make her chest hurt in the good way like Abe did. It was hard to let her heart go in another direction, especially concerning another man, but it was something she had to make herself do. Letting herself think like this was bad. Sophia needed to let it go, needed to let Abe go. He was going to ruin every guy for her because all she could do was compare them to him.
Breathing out, she turned away from the window and went into her room to get dressed. She was meeting with Hunter in a few hours and planned on having a good time. At least, she hoped she could do it, because now all she could think about was Abe, but then again, how was that different from her norm?
****
One week later
Abe nursed his beer and watched Sophia laugh and smile with Hunter-fucking-Bronson. Seven whole damn days had gone by with only a few texts and phone calls between him and Kid. Ever since he brought her breakfast and then left after she got the call from Hunter, they really hadn’t seen each other. It was hard as hell on him. He felt like he was missing a piece of his life. It didn’t matter how many times he made the effort to see her. She was either not home or on her way out to see that fuckwad.
Yeah, he was sour over all of it.
There hadn’t even been a good time for him to talk to her and tell her what he had wanted to say a week ago. He refused to pour his heart out to her at Tiny’s. When he told her he loved her, it would be just the two of them.
Tipping back his bottle, he felt his dick start to harden. Sophia wore a jean skirt, one that wasn’t obscenely short but that showed her long, tanned thighs. God, what he wouldn’t give to feel those thighs wrapped around his waist. An image sliced through his mind, another one of his mystery girl. Her legs had been wrapped around his hips as he pushed inside of her and pulled out. He imagined Sophia’s face on his mystery girl’s body and had to shift in his seat to ease his raging erection.
The sound of Kid laughing had his cock jerking in his jeans. She’d always had a beautiful laugh, soft and sweet and the kind of sound that made a man fall to his knees and do whatever she asked. As if she sensed his brutal stare, she turned around and looked at him. Their gazes held for several long moments, and then something Hunter said had her smiling and turning back to him. Sophia placed her hand on his arm and leaned into him. Damn, all he could think about was whether she was letting Hunter fuck her, which had all kinds of rage coursing through him. They were awfully friendly for only dating a week, but then again she had known him for years. Abe gripped the beer bottle so hard he wouldn’t have been surprised if it shattered in his hand.
Hunter reached up and put a
piece of her hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear. He disappeared back into his office, and Abe straightened when he saw Kid walking toward him. She held a glass of beer and she smiled at him. When she stopped at the edge of the table and set the beer in front of him, he caught a whiff of the perfume she wore, the perfume he bought for her. A surge of possessiveness slammed into him and he had to force himself to stay in his seat and not make a claim to her in Tiny’s like some kind of maniac.
“Hi.” Her tone was light and friendly. “Thought you could use another beer.”
“Thanks, Kid.” He was glad as hell they were talking, but he didn’t know what to say. One week seemed like so much longer than seven days. She looked down at her shoes and took a deep breath. His fingers itched to drag her to him, but he held back. He wanted to take her somewhere nice where it was just them and he could open his heart to her.
“Listen, about last week.” She lifted her gaze and he was struck speechless at how beautiful she was, at how green her eyes were, like cut emeralds. “I want to apologize for putting you on the backburner. I haven’t come by for breakfast and I feel really bad.” She looked over her shoulder. “It’s just I’ve been hanging out with Hunter.” The way she said it, almost like she was in fucking dreamland, had him gritting his teeth in frustration. “I also wanted to apologize to you about the morning you came by with breakfast. I felt really shitty answering that call while we were visiting.”
Well, shit. She was saying sorry and now he was the one that felt like crap.
“No worries, Soph.” She gave him a small smile.
“Enjoy your beer. I’ll see ya later.” Her voice was low and distant, and when she turned away, he found himself calling out to her.
“Kid?” Looking over her shoulder, she waited for him to continue. What was he supposed to say, though? He had called her because he didn’t want her to go, but now that she’d stopped and was looking at him, he was speechless.
When he didn’t say anything, she lifted her hand in a wave and turned back around to slip behind the bar. Abe let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and turned to look at the beer in front of him. He picked up his draft and drank the smooth, golden liquid. He cut his eyes back to Sophia, saw Hunter back behind the bar again, smiling and resting his hand on her lower back, and he snapped. He slammed his mug down on the table. Glass shattered and drew the attention of all the patrons nearby. He threw some bills on the table, stalked toward the front door, and pushed it open without a backward glance.
