“She’ll have to settle for two out of three.” A grin crooked the corner of his sensuous mouth and her stomach hollowed out.
“So what about you?” she asked, eager to distract herself from her body’s traitorous reaction. “Shouldn’t you be on your way back to whereever it is that you came from?”
“Cody and I have some unfinished business, which means I’m in town until he gets back from his honeymoon.” He toed the chair next to him. “Sit down.”
She entertained the idea all of five seconds before the reality of what was happening hit her and her chest tightened. “Listen, you don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Be nice to me.”
“You want me to be mean to you then?”
“Yes. No.” She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t want you to feel obligated to be nice to me just because of what happened between us. I had a really great time in that closet, but I have no intention of making more out of it than what it was.”
“And what was it?”
“A little harmless fun. The last thing I’m looking for is a serious relationship.” When he gave a pointed stare at the pink button that read I Love Happily-Ever-Afters pinned on her collar, she added, “It’s my job. Personally, I plan on staying single for a really, really long time.”
“Sugar, I’m offering you a drink and a little conversation, not a marriage proposal.”
The deep timber of his voice echoed in her head and coasted along her nerve endings, bringing them to full, tingling awareness. She had the sudden image of the two of them sprawled in bed together on a bright, sunny morning, arms and legs intertwined, his lips moving against her ear as he whispered sweet nothings.
“You feel obligated after what we did,” she rushed on, determined not to let herself get caught up in the fantasy. That’s all it was. Her own crazy imagination blowing things out of proportion, trying to turn a physical connection into something more. Something real. “You shouldn’t. I don’t have any misconceptions about what happened. I don’t need you to be nice to me or try to get to know me. I know I look like that kind of girl, but I’m not.”
Not anymore, she reminded herself. Even if she did have the urge to slide into the seat next to him and ask him how he’d gotten that scar on the back of his hand. Her gaze lingered on the tiny strip of white that ran from his thumb to his wrist. Her finger itched to trace the path and feel the rough skin beneath her own.
She stiffened and pulled her hand from his grasp. “I really need to go. It was nice seeing you again.”
And then like any devout Love Buster committed to non-committal sex, she gathered her courage, turned and walked away.
6
“NICE DOING BUSINESS with you boys,” Aunt Tootie told the two red-faced men holding pool sticks. Years ago, Tootie had been one of the most beautiful women in town. At eighty-one, the looks had long since faded, but not her personality. She was still as big and bold and outlandish as ever.
She tucked a twenty dollar bill between the overflowing cleavage visible above her low-cut pink knit blouse. Grabbing Holly’s hand, she yanked her front and center. “Say, have you boys met my niece?”
“We went to kindergarten together,” Holly told her great aunt. “And middle school. And high school.”
“Really?” Melvin Meyers exchanged glances with his twin brother Cecil. “Were you in one of our English classes? ’Cause we sat front row so we never really got to see who else was in there. Mrs. Jenkins watched us like a hawk.”
“It was Mr. Wolinski’s biology class. I was lab partners with you and your brother. For three years in a row.”
“Oh, yeah.” Recognition seemed to dawn. “You were the one who brought the bridal magazines to class every day.”
“That was back then,” Aunt Tootie said. “But she’s totally given up that nonsense, haven’t you, dear?” Before Holly could respond, she rushed on, “She’s my running partner now. We’re happy to be single and ready to mingle, ain’t that right, sugar?”
Before Holly could utter an enthusiastic yes!, Melvin asked, “Didn’t you plan my older brother Jim Bob’s wedding last year?”
She had half a mind to deny it, but as the only wedding planner in town, she didn’t exactly blend into the woodwork. “I might have made a few arrangements—”
“She’s a beauty, ain’t she?” Tootie cut in, effectively killing the walk down memory lane. “It’s all the good genes that run in our family, ya know.” She winked. “All the women are lookers.”
“I’m married, Miss Tootie,” Melvin offered.
“Me, too,” Cecil added.
“That don’t make no never mind. You can still admire a woman’s attributes, cain’t you?”
The twins exchanged glances. “If we say she’s a looker, will you stay a little longer so we can win back our Justins?”
“If I stay here another hour, the both of you will likely end up naked and broke.” She picked up the two pairs of cowboy boots sitting on the ledge of the pool table. “While I’ve got nothing against getting naked, I won’t be the cause of either of you starving to death. Think of your families, boys.” She hooked an arm through Holly’s free one. Excitement twinkled in her eyes as she turned to her niece. “Now then, why don’t you tell me who that cowboy is that you were just talking to?”
“What cowboy?” Holly followed Tootie toward a nearby table where her purse sat, careful not to glance in Travis’s direction. She could feel his gaze brushing up and down her skin. Awareness skittered along her spine and her nipples throbbed.
“The one sitting over at that table.” Tootie waved a hand and Holly stiffened. “Watching us.”
“I doubt he’s looking at us.”
“Why, I’ll be first in line for a colonoscopy if he ain’t.” Tootie pulled out a tube of pink lipstick and touched up her already bright lips. “I’m telling you, honey, his eyes are practically eating us alive.” She glanced into her compact mirror and rubbed her lips together. “Then again, I cain’t really blame him. When there’s this much eye candy, even the strongest man turns to mush.” She smoothed her hot-pink blouse over her black and white zebra striped pants. “It’s that there Darwin’s theory, ya know. Strong, virile, handsome men cain’t help themselves. They’re just pre-wired to gravitate toward the most attractive females on account of good looks scream fertility.”
Holly had half a mind to remind Tootie that at eighty-one, the only thing she screamed was Where’s the Metamucil? But her aunt looked so excited that she heard herself say, “You were the Cherry Junction Dance Hall Queen six years in a row. A man can’t help but look when you walk by. Speaking of walking, I really think we should go.” Holly helped Tootie gather up her things. “It’s Saturday tomorrow. My busiest day of the week.”
Awareness rippled over Holly as she navigated toward the door. A few seconds later, she stepped outside into the sultry night air and sent up a silent thank you.
“I’ve always been the charitable sort, honey. Maybe I should waltz back in and give that boy a little thrill.” Tootie stalled just a few feet shy of the exit and glanced over her shoulder. “I bet that would sure-as-shootin’ make his day—”
“No,” Holly cut in. “I mean, you wouldn’t want to get his hopes up, now would you? It’s not like you’re actually going to hook up with him or anything like that.” When Tootie frowned, Holly added, “Not that you couldn’t hook up with him if you wanted to. You’re a mature, vivacious, intelligent woman. You could have any man that you want.”
“You forgot sexy.”
“That, too. But while you’ve obviously still got it,” Holly went on, “you really shouldn’t be using it, what with the dangers associated with high blood pressure.”
“High blood pressure?” Tootie stiffened. “Why, I’ll have you know that my pressure’s just fine, thank-you-very-much. That was a bad reading. I told the nurse she ought to get a new one of them doohickeys. Hers was obviously broken.”
“Not you
r high blood pressure,” Holly rushed to smooth Tootie’s ruffled feathers. “His. That cowboy could be a walking cauldron of boiling cholesterol for all we know. You wouldn’t want to be the fire that sends him rushing over the edge of the pot, now would you?”
“He did look a little red in the cheeks,” Tootie finally agreed, letting Holly steer her back around. “Men are more inclined to have high blood pressure than women. I saw that on Discovery Health when I was flipping channels, looking for the latest Jersey Shore episode. At the same time,” she added, digging her silver glitter heels into the gravel parking lot and stalling again, “he might be perfectly healthy and eager for some company.” She patted Holly’s arm and cut her a glance. “I know he had his sights set on me, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about men over the years, it’s this—they ain’t picky. Especially when it’s close to last call and they haven’t a prospect in hell.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking.”
Her pale blue eyes twinkled. “You should mosey back in there right now and be his rebound woman.”
“Don’t most rebound women generally end up miserable and alone?”
“That’s ’cause they’re wanting a happily-ever-after. But if the only thing you’re interested in is a little rub-a-dub-dub, you’re sure to be one hundred percent satisfied. Why, when I was your age, I used to waltz right up to whichever man caught my fancy and drag him into the nearest broom closet. That’s exactly what you ought to do.”
“And have him run the other way?” The comment came from one of the waitresses who pushed through the door behind them. “A man that hot isn’t the least bit interested in a woman like Holly.” Amy Harold was only twenty-three, but she’d been around the block so many times that she looked a good ten years older. Add a pack-a-day habit and she could be the poster child for Just Say No.
Tootie’s gaze narrowed. “Are you sayin’ my niece is a loser when it comes to men?”
“I’m saying she’s the marrying kind when it comes to men. And there isn’t a man out there who doesn’t know it.”
“I am not.”
“Girl, everything about you screams take me to the altar from those cover-everything-up-clothes, to your minivan.” Amy’s gaze shifted to the white Honda parked a few feet away, Here Comes the Bridal Consultant in blazing pink letters on the side.
“It’s my profession.”
“It’s the total package, which is why I chased you out here. See, my cousin Jeanine is thinking about getting hitched next month. I’m the maid of honor so I told her I’d take care of stuff for her, but I don’t have a clue. I know I’m supposed to do the bachelorette party, which I’ve totally got covered, but I’ve never planned a shower and I don’t know shit about flowers or cakes or…” Amy went on about being nuptually challenged while Holly’s brain launched into major denial.
Maybe once upon a time she’d been the marrying kind, but those days were long gone. She was a wild woman now. The sort of woman who had sex with strangers in storage closets on the spur of the moment.
Not that anyone knew that little tidbit of information, which presented her problem in a nutshell. Every available man in town saw her as wife material and they always would.
Unless she could prove them wrong.
“So can you help me?” Amy asked.
“Stop by the shop on Monday. Wait here,” she told her aunt. “I think I forgot something.”
“Atta girl,” Tootie called after her as she headed back inside the bar. “See?” she said to Amy. “I told you she was a chip off the old block.”
Which is exactly what Holly intended to show everyone in Skull Creek. She was a Simms through and through. Sexy. Fun-loving. Uncomplicated. And ready for action.
If Travis Braddock agreed to cooperate, that is.
Drawing a deep breath, she gathered her courage and started toward his table.
“LET ME MAKE sure I’m hearing this right.” Travis leveled a stare at Holly who sat across from him, an anxious look on her beautiful face. His brain was still reeling, along with his other senses. She was too close. Too beautiful. Too damned sexy. “You want to date me?”
“I don’t want to date date you. I just want the single men of this town to see me hanging out with you. Here. The local honky tonk. The Dairy Freeze. The rodeo arena. Cherry Blossom Junction, the local honky tonk, is even gearing up for their annual indoor rodeo next Saturday night. It would be the perfect place for us to hang out and have a few drinks.”
“That sounds like a date.”
“Not if you factor in that I don’t want a relationship and I have absolutely no intention of falling for you.”
Been there.
Done that.
No, thank you.
He read the thoughts loud and clear and his chest tightened.
Not that he wanted a relationship with Holly. Hell, no. It was the principle of the thing. All women wanted him and Holly Simms should have been no exception.
She was, and damned if it didn’t bug the living hell out of him.
“See, here’s the thing,” she continued. “You’re not the type of guy a serious, marriage-minded girl would go for.”
“Is that so?”
She nodded. “You’re the type of guy who goes out with lots of different women and likes to have a good time, like what happened between us earlier tonight. On top of that, you’re only in town for a little while, which means you won’t be sticking around. That makes you all the more perfect for this.”
When he didn’t say anything, she added, “No marriage-minded woman would go after a guy like you. You’re temporary. And a temporary man only hooks up with a temporary woman, which I most definitely am. Unfortunately, I also coordinate happily-ever-afters and so I might as well have Marry Me tattooed on my forehead.” Determination charged her gaze. “I want to kill that image once and for all and let everyone in this town know that Holly Simms is single and ready for action.”
“As in sex?”
“Non-committal sex. Being seen with a guy like you will send a loud and clear message that I don’t want to open a joint checking account. I just want to have a good time.”
“And what do I get in return?”
“What do you want?”
To finish what they’d started.
The thought conjured a vivid image of Holly’s soft throat tilted toward him, her fragrant skin drawing him closer, her lush curves pressed flush against him, her sweet blood flowing into his mouth.
Christ, he wanted it so bad that it was all he could do not to bolt out of the seat, back her up against the nearest wall, and taste her right here and now in front of the entire crowd packed into the tiny bar. He’d never been much for an audience, but it seemed like a damned fine idea right about now.
“Well?” She arched an eyebrow at him. “A big screen TV? An Amazon gift card? Cash?”
“Sex,” he murmured.
As much as he wanted to bite Holly, that wasn’t an option. She didn’t fall under his spell the way other women did and so he had to consider the possibility that she might remember every detail of the time they spent together. He couldn’t bite her and risk all hell breaking loose should she discover his true identity.
But he could drink in enough of her sexual energy over the next five days to curb his appetite enough so that he wouldn’t crave her blood. Rather, he’d be full and sated and primed for a confrontation when Cody returned and revealed Rose’s whereabouts. Then he could go after his sister-in-law at full speed and deal out the punishment that she so desperately deserved.
“I don’t think that would be such a good idea,” Holly said after a long moment. “But I’d be more than happy to pay you for your time. Maybe an hourly rate.”
“I don’t need your money.” But he did need sustenance, so it seemed like the perfect way to the pass the time. To him, that is.
Holly, on the other hand, didn’t look the least bit happy about the situation and damn
ed if that didn’t make him all the more determined to get her to agree to his terms.
“You could always find someone else to help you out.”
But that was the thing. She couldn’t.
He saw the truth in her gaze and watched the push-pull of emotion. A full-fledged throw-down between excitement and uh-oh that had him wondering which one would actually win.
As much as she wanted him, she’d sworn off seconds, and as he’d already discovered, Holly wasn’t a woman easily swayed once she’d made up her mind.
After what seemed like forever, she finally nodded. “Okay then. Let’s do it.”
7
TRAVIS STOOD IN the shadows and watched Holly unlock the door of the two-story Colonial house that sat in the heart of Skull Creek, directly across from the small city park. A white picket fence outlined a picture-perfect yard lined with flowers and shrubs. A swing hung from the porch rafters and a large Welcome Mat sat in front of the door.
The place had family written all over it, despite Holly’s claim that she intended to stay single for a really, really long time.
Lights flicked on inside and spilled through the windows. He watched as she set her stuff on the dining room table and headed back outside.
The front door opened. A steady click-clack echoed as she crossed the hardwood porch and headed down the steps. She punched a button on her key fob. The trunk made a soft popppp and opened wide.
She slid her keys into her pocket and leaned into the opening to gather up a cardboard box overflowing with wedding leftovers. Her skirt stretched tight over her sweet ass and hunger hit him hard and fast and sharp.
His mouth watered and his fangs tingled and he wondered how in the hell he was going to hold off until tomorrow night.
The Braddock Boys: Travis Page 5
