The Trouble With Love

by Beth Ciotta

  “Dev’s managing your finances?”

  “Not forever,” she snapped, ever prideful. “Just for now. It was that or lose the Red Clover.”

  Jayce had witnessed Rocky’s financial struggles firsthand. He’d itched to help, not that she’d let him, so he was relieved she’d reached out to family. Dev had always had a gift for numbers. While other kids had devoured the Sunday comics, he’d studied the financial pages. No surprise that he’d excelled in math and majored in business. The man was a genius with finances. He’d even advised Jayce on a few investments. Part of the reason Jayce could afford to abandon his lucrative investigative business in favor of a new endeavor. “Not judging, Rocky. Deducing. If Dev’s handling your finances, he’ll learn about your canceled credit cards.”

  “Oh, right. Damn.”

  “You have to tell him about the mugging. The sooner, the better.”

  “After the meeting. But just about the purse snatching, not the accident. You know Dev. Biggest worrywart in the world. He’d get Nash to fly him here ASAP so he could look after me and I don’t want that. He needs to be home for Gram and Chloe. Tomorrow’s their big day.”

  “Grand opening of their café.” Dev had told him all about it. Jayce set aside the scissors, smoothed her newly layered bangs to the side, admired her thick lashes, milky complexion, lush mouth … “Surprised you’re missing that.”

  “Unfortunately, the club elected me as Tasha’s watchdog.” Rocky blushed when he brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheek. Shivered when he lightly blew wisps of hair from her face.

  Time froze as Jayce focused intently on the woman he’d set his sights on. A woman he’d known all his life yet barely knew. This was the longest conversation they’d had in more than a decade, and before that, before that night, exchanges had been no more than playful banter between a restless young man and his best friend’s cocky little sister. Jayce had spent years waiting for Rocky to grow up and address their history, to banish the secret that had distanced Jayce from the town and people he loved. He was tired of waiting.

  Sitting stock-still, gaze lowered, Rocky licked her lips. “Are you done yet?”

  His shaft twitched at the nervous catch in her voice. He hadn’t even begun. As always a raw sexual heat burned between them. She was as turned on as he was, not that he’d act on it. Not now. Let it simmer. “Good to go.”

  She cleared her throat, eased away. “How do I look?” she asked, forcing her gaze to his. “If you say, Not bad, I’ll sock you.”

  Good enough to eat would at the very least earn him a glare, so instead he went with, “Almost perfect.” He raked his fingers through her silky curls—yeah, boy, heaven—then twisted and secured an updo with one of those hair gadgets that reminded him of a potato-chip bag clip. “There.”

  Even though Rocky scrambled toward the mirror, the heat lingered. The air sizzled. Visibly shaken, she focused on her reflection, blinked. “Wow. I never considered bangs. They not only cover the bump, but they’re … flattering. And this style … nice. How—”

  “Man of many talents,” he said, coming up behind her. They locked gazes in the mirror, and Jayce felt something beyond the heat. A shift. An added element. Swimming in Rocky’s vivid blue eyes, alongside resentment, lust, and hurt, he spied curiosity.

  “It occurs to me that I really only know the Jayce Bello of my youth,” she said, breaking eye contact. “I’m still angry with that man. I’d like to get past that, move on. Maybe we could do something about that while I’m in town.”

  “Meaning you’re ready to talk about the infamous morning after?”

  “No,” she said while nabbing a baker’s box from the mini-fridge. “Meaning I’d like to know more about the big bad private dick who just cut and styled my hair like a seasoned pro.”

  Primed for the challenge, Jayce glanced at his watch, then formulated a plan as he helped Rocky into her coat and out the door. “It’s a start.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sugar Creek, Vermont

  Women.

  Luke Monroe had never been book smart. He wasn’t good with numbers like his older brother, Dev. Didn’t have a flair for aviation or gambling like his cousin Nash. Or a gift for woodcrafting and art like his cousin Sam. Luke hadn’t inherited his dad’s razor-sharp managerial skills. However, when it came to women, Luke was an expert.

  So when Lizzie Ames strode into the Sugar Shack with that look in her eye, he knew what was coming. He just hoped she didn’t cause a scene. Not that there were a helluva lot of customers haunting the local gourmet pub just now. Postlunch, predinner, two hours until Happy Hour.

  Luke continued wiping down the bar, smiling when Lizzie perched her cute butt on one of the burgundy-cushioned bar stools. “What’s up, honey?”

  “We need to talk.”

  The standard opening line for an ultimatum. “My office?”

  “No, here. In public. Where you can’t seduce me into forgetting my gripe.”

  Luke smiled at that. He could seduce Lizzie anywhere. “What did I do?” he asked while pouring her a glass of Chablis.

  “You slept with Bridget.”

  “Honey, I’ve been seeing Bridget on and off for two months. Along with Connie. I don’t do exclusive. You know that. And you knew about Bridget and Connie.” He’d always been straight up with his women. Always.

  “Yes, but you slept with Bridget. All night. As in woke up with her the next morning.”

  Ah. Damn. “How—”

  “She was bragging about it at the gym. Running her mouth while running on the treadmill. Guess she thought I couldn’t hear her with my earsbuds in, but I turned the sound down on my iPod and heard just fine. You should see how sexy Luke looks in the morning,” she mimicked in a high-pitched voice. “Scruffy stubble. Messy hair.”

  “I can explain.”

  “You told me you don’t do sleepovers.”

  “I don’t.”

  “That it’s your way of keeping things casual.”

  “It is.”

  Lizzie bolstered her shoulders, nabbed her wineglass. “So it’s true. You’re serious about Bridget.”

  “No—”

  She tossed her drink in his face. “We’re through, Luke Monroe.” Sliding her cute butt off the stool, she flipped him the bird, then left.

  “Damn.” Luke toweled wine from his face and shirt, rinsed his hands, and dragged damp fingers through his now sticky hair. He’d assumed trouble loomed but didn’t anticipate the clichéd drink baptismal. He glanced to the end of the bar where the Brody brothers (Sugar Shack regulars and two of Luke’s sports buddies) nursed beers while watching ESPN on one of two plasma screens hanging over the bar. Only Adam and Kane weren’t watching sports. Or at least not the televised kind. Luke shrugged. “At least you two were the only ones to witness that unfortunate display.”

  Adam raised a brow.

  Kane pointed.

  Luke turned. Oh, hell. “What are you doing here, Connie?”

  “Nell asked me to trade shifts.”

  He knew that look. “Been standing there long?”

  “Long enough.”

  Damn.

  She unclipped her name badge and tossed it on the bar.

  His best waitress. Shit. “I can explain.”

  Connie waved him off and walked out.

  “Oh, for Christ’s…”

  Kane laughed.

  Adam, who’d been on the glum side lately, crooked a grin.

  Luke gave them the finger, which only hiked their amusement.

  Just then Chloe, his big brother’s sweet-faced, sexy-as-hell girlfriend, strode in. “What’s so funny?” she asked, taking Lizzie’s former seat.

  Luke shot a lethal glance at his smirking buds. “Two of my girlfriends just broke off with me in the space of a minute.”

  “Fail to see the humor.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “Except given your wet hair and the splotches on your T-shirt…” She glanced at Lizzie’s e
mpty wineglass. “I suppose at least one of the showdowns might have been comical.”

  “Hilarious.” Luckily, he had a supply of clean shirts in his office.

  “So now you’re down to what? One steady girl?” Chloe asked with a teasing gleam in her eye. “How awful.”

  “Annoying, considering I now have to break off with Bridget, which means I’ll be down to no steady girls.”

  “Why…” Chloe raised a hand. “Never mind. I’m sure there’s a method to your philandering madness.”

  “There is.”

  “Of course there is.”

  Chloe Madison. A fairly new addition to Sugar Creek. A woman he’d never been able to charm. Not even a little. Nope. Dev had hooked her at Hello. Luke poured the petite dark-haired beauty a coffee. “What can I do for you, Chloe?”

  She glanced toward the Brodys, Adam in particular, then leaned in to Luke and lowered her voice. “Rocky’s in New York.”

  “I know.”

  “Devlin asked Jayce to look after her.”

  “Not surprised.”

  Another side-glance at Adam. “Jayce is moving back to Sugar Creek.”

  Luke lowered his voice as well. Unbeknownst to everyone in town aside from Luke, Chloe, and her friend Monica, Adam and Rocky had had a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Jayce had recently rocked that clandestine boat, and now he was moving home? “That’s news.” Considering Jayce operated a highly successful business in New York and considering his and Rocky’s ancient secret, Luke was shocked. “You sure about that?”

  Chloe nodded. “Jayce called Devlin this morning. Asked him to keep it quiet for now, only Devlin told me, thinking I’d keep it quiet, which I will, except for you.” She sipped java and eyed him over the rim. “What are we going to do, Luke? Don’t look at me like that. I know you know.”

  Three weeks ago during a monumental funk, Rocky had confessed two things to Luke. One: She’d been hooking up with Adam for weeks. Yeah, man, that had been a real blower, but not nearly as shocking as Two: Thirteen years prior, Rocky had lost her virginity to Jayce Bello—Dev’s best friend since grade school, a member of the Monroe family in all but blood. Luke had been stunned and pissed—not only by the decade-old secret but also by the fact that Jayce, a guy he’d always admired, had taken advantage of his seventeen-year-old (just) sister and broken her heart. Luke hated that Rocky had warned him off coldcocking the bastard and even more that she’d sworn Luke to secrecy. Secrets were dangerous, hence his full-disclosure policy on the dating field. “I’m surprised you’re keeping a volatile secret like this from Dev.”

  “Rocky made me promise.”

  “Me, too.”

  “This stinks.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t like keeping secrets from Devlin.”

  “I hear you.”

  “But I don’t want to betray Rocky.”

  “Me either.”

  “I just … I thought you should know.” Chloe tugged at her messy ponytail, looking flustered and concerned and obnoxiously pretty. “Any ideas on how to proceed?”

  “Not one.”

  “Great.”

  “I’ll think on it.”

  “It’s going to make Rocky miserable. Jayce living here. The rift between them … Well, you know.”

  “What I know is that Dev’s going to freak when he finds out about that one-night stand. And he will find out. It’s inevitable at this point.”

  “Maybe you’re underestimating your brother’s capacity to understand and forgive youthful … folly.”

  “It’s not the deed so much,” Luke said, keeping his voice low. “I mean, yeah, Rocky was jailbait at the time and Jayce should have known better, but the real whammy at this point is the long-ass lie. Dev’s spent the last thirteen years wondering why his sister and friend were at odds. We all wondered. But it ate at Dev. Talk about a frickin’ snowball effect.”

  “Which means our efforts to protect Devlin and Jayce’s friendship, not to mention honoring Rocky’s privacy, will backfire.”

  “Dev’s going to feel betrayed on multiple levels.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah.” Luke drummed his fingers on the bar.

  Chloe sipped more coffee and surreptitiously eyed Adam and Kane to make sure they weren’t eavesdropping. Fortunately, the freelance sports instructor and independent logger had focused back on the television. Luke had thumbed up the volume via the remote as enticement.

  “Okay. Here’s the deal. We need to get Rocky to come clean with Dev,” Luke said. “Or for her to get Jayce to come clean with Dev. Fess up and face the music. Get it over and get on with life.”

  “The sooner the better.”

  “The longer they wait—”

  “The worse it will be. For all of us,” Chloe added with a frown.

  “What a mess,” Luke said.

  “Compounded by the fact that Rocky’s still in love with Jayce.”

  “She told you that?”

  “Freudian slip.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not a healthy kind of love. It’s the obsessive kind.”

  “And you know this because?”

  “I know women.”

  Chloe’s lip twitched as she eyed his stained shirt. “Ah.”

  Luke ignored her sarcasm. Granted, he’d believed Bridget when she’d promised to forget he’d spent the night. He’d misjudged her sincerity. His mistake. Now he’d have to break off with her because obviously she didn’t believe him and actually did think things were serious. Which they weren’t. Not on his end anyway. Luke shook off his own troubles and focused back on his sister’s. He wished to hell she hadn’t blown off Adam. Adam was a hard worker, devoted to the community, good-humored, and straight-ahead. What you saw was what you got. Jayce was … complicated. “Why is Jayce moving back to Sugar Creek anyway?”

  “Devlin didn’t say.” Chloe’s Android chimed with an incoming message. “Sorry.” She read and smiled. “It’s Daisy. She’s waiting for me at Moose-a-lotta. Needs me to pick up some lightbulbs.”

  Luke raised a brow. “You taught Gram to text?”

  “Except she keeps spelling everything out. Some of her messages are eons long. At this rate I’m going to need an extended texting plan.” Shaking her head, Chloe slipped the phone back in her pocket. “So that’s your solution to our predicament?” she said, focusing back on Luke. “Getting Rocky to come clean with Devlin ASAP? Doesn’t seem like much of a plan.”

  Luke shrugged. “It’s a start.”

  “Speaking of…” Keeping her voice low, she leaned in again and smiled. “Did Sam call you about tomorrow night?”

  “Reservations for two. Finally got off his ass and asked Rachel out. Amazing.”

  “Mmm. Well, he was sort of pushed into it and she sort of reluctantly agreed. Not the most promising of beginnings. Plus they both seem, I don’t know, awkward and nervous about it. Do you think you could—”

  “Give Sam some pointers?”

  Chloe smirked. “I was going to say ‘make sure they have a special dining experience,’ but a refresher course on dating etiquette might not be a bad idea. From what I understand, Sam’s been out of the game a long time.”

  “Yeah.” Losing his wife, the love of his life, to cancer had crushed Sam. Luke envied his cousin for a lot of reasons, but he didn’t envy that heartache.

  Chloe slid off the stool. “Thanks for the coffee, Luke, and the advice, such as it was. See you in the morning at Moose-a-lotta?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.” Luke watched her cute butt go, reminding himself that cute butt belonged to his big brother. Hands off. Thoughts clean. Right. He glanced down the bar at Adam and Kane, who toasted him with empty mugs.

  “If Connie was here,” Kane said with a teasing grin, “I’d ask her for a refill. But she’s not.”

  “Didn’t you lose a waitress last week?” Adam asked.

  “Marla,” Luke said. “Moved to Pixley.” Next town over. And lately Nell, his newest waitress, had bec
ome unreliable.

  “Between the weekend crowd and the tourists that’ll be coming in for the Spookytown Spectacular,” Kane said, “you’re gonna be shorthanded.”

  Adam pushed off his stool. “Toss me the sign.”

  Luke reached under the bar. He hadn’t used this in a while. In fact, lately Dev, who handled the accounting for the Shack, had been nagging Luke about having too many employees on the payroll. Luke had a hard time turning away pretty ladies in need of a job. Unfortunately, they also frequently came and went. Luke passed Adam the laminated sign. “Put it—”

  “I know where it goes. Front window. Bottom left corner.”

  “If you want my advice,” Kane started.

  “I don’t,” Luke said. He handed the cocky logger the phone book. “Do me a favor. Look up the number for the Pixley Tribune. I’ve got the Sugar Creek Gazette in my speed dial.” Android pressed between shoulder and ear, Luke nabbed two Buds from the fridge and set them in front of the brothers.

  “Yeah, hi,” Luke said when the local newspaper’s receptionist answered. “This is Luke Monroe over at the Sugar Shack. I need— Uh, that’s right,” he said, rolling his eyes when his two regulars chuckled. “Another ‘Help Wanted’ ad.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Manhattan, New York

  Maybe it was the shock of the mugging and subsequent accident. Maybe it was the bump on her noggin or the fact that she was completely out of her element. Rocky preferred to blame any single one or combination of these things for the slight daze that had dogged her all through the meeting, rather than the way Jayce had kissed her at the hospital. Or the way he’d looked at her in her new dress and heels. Or the way he’d fussed with her hair. (Talk about a shocker of a turn-on.) She didn’t want to admit that the man she’d been so intent to forget still had the power to mesmerize her. Instead she blamed everything from A to Z for her distracted mind-set, including the way Tasha had flirted with their future editor as well as the attending publicist.