Shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind, Bryce took in the darkness around them. Definitely a bad sign. The power hadn’t been restored.
The passenger door opened and closed. In front of his place, Lucy stood like her spine was a straight rod. He got out and slammed shut the truck’s door. He wouldn’t mess with her about spending another night with him. After her walk, she needed a fire to warm her.
As he slipped the key in and shoved the door open, he avoided contact with her. For some reason, his anger over her leaving without telling him lingered. Inside his inner jacket pocket, her diary weighed him down. He’d have to give her back her book of secrets.
Earlier, he had decided to do just that. Why hesitate and draw out the inevitable? There’d be no sponsorship. By hanging on to the restaurant, he’d continue to disappoint his father. However, having Lucy with him made those two failures easier to swallow.
While she washed up in the bathroom to candlelight, he started the fire. When the flames roared high and hot, he ran up the stairs two at a time, grabbed more blankets from the spare bedroom, and rushed back down.
He tossed the blankets on the couch. No way would he sleep on the hard floor. He pushed the couch as close to the fireplace as possible.
She came out of the bathroom bundled to the T. He cocked an eyebrow at her.
She glared. “I’m not sleeping with you, Bryce.”
He gave her body a once-over then did it again just for shits and grins. “I won’t bite. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get through your layers.” Her clothing and the mystery behind who Lucy Badeaux was.
He got under the covers and patted the spot next to him on the couch. “Get in. All I want to do is sleep.” He closed his eyes. There’d be no holding his breath for her.
To his surprise, she settled her body against his. The couch was meant for sitting not lying side by side. Somehow, he and Lucy made it work. Facing her, he slung an arm across her hip to keep her from falling off. She nestled her hands on his chest.
“Nothing happened between Carmen and me.”
Why did he feel compelled to tell her when earlier he’d felt it was none of her business? She squirmed. The movement brought her closer. This was why. Lucy here with him seemed right.
“I don’t care if you two made out.”
“Why do I get the hunch you’re lying?”
“You and I aren’t an item,” she said with too much conviction for his taste. “And I doubt a guy like you would want to be with me.”
“You’re wrong.” He ran his fingers down her arm.
She trembled.
“I could be yours right now. Just say the words.”
“I—we can’t.”
He inched back. “Don’t tell me you’re a virgin.”
She fisted her hands against his chest. “It’s been a while, but no, I’m not.” Her voice hitched on the last word. She didn’t say anymore.
He had to know. “Tell me what a while is. Days, weeks, months?”
“You’ll think I’m weird.”
He already thought that of her, a weirdness he liked. What more could she add that would make him think differently? “Would it make you feel better if I promise not to judge?”
She nodded.
“Okay, give it to me straight, darling. I can handle the truth.” He switched into his fake southern accent. It worked. She smiled.
“Two years.”
A kick to the balls. That’s how much her truth hurt. He had thought five months was long, but two years?
“But—but, you had a damn boyfriend.”
“Just because I had one didn’t mean we had sex.”
He exhaled. Prude. Weird. A saint. Those were the words he associated with her confession. Another part of him thought, damn sexy.
He trailed his hand low and settled his palm flat on her thigh. “How long were you with your ex before he cheated on you?”
“Three months.” She sighed. “I thought you just wanted to sleep?”
“What, and miss out on the interesting conversation we’re having?” He squeezed her thigh. “Are you the no-sex-until-after-marriage type?”
“No.”
Ah, he’d forgotten. To get more than a “yes” or “no” from her, he had to ask open-ended questions.
“If you’re not that type, then why hold back?”
“I—I didn’t feel any . . . any passion with Jason.”
“Passion?”
Her brows slammed together. “You know what I mean.”
“Clue me in, Lucy.”
Though the fire flared behind her, and her face was almost a shadow, Bryce swore her cheeks turned a bright red. He whispered in her ear. “Tell me what gets you hot and bothered.”
She sucked in a breath, and he took advantage. He clamped his mouth over hers. She tasted sweet. Innocent. Hungry for the passion she thought was missing from her life. She kissed him back. He went to stick his hand under her shirt or inside her pants, but couldn’t.
He wrenched his mouth away. “Dammit, too many layers.”
Her laughter muffled against his cheek. Smiling, he stroked her back. “Was that passion?”
“No,” she said in her soft voice. “That was heaven.”
What she revealed was unexpected. No other woman ever said his kiss was like heaven. His chest tightened.
She relaxed against him. “What’ll happen when the power comes back on?”
Her question unsettled him. Yes, what would they do? There was no going back. He’d had a taste of her, and she’d revealed too much for them to be just neighbors anymore.
He gave her thigh a pat. “You run the show. Whatever you want, I’ll give you.”
“My journal.”
“Fine, but I want something in return.”
No one would be pissed at him for trying, least of all Lucy. He was certain she’d already pegged him to be an inconsiderate jerk. He was willing to give up his piece of leverage, his slice of luck, and his intimate source of Lucy’s life for . . .
A meeting with your stepfather. “More of your time.” What the fuck? “Let me be the one who shows you what passion is.”
Bryce might not have her journal after tonight. However, there were other ways to keep Lucy close.
Chapter Seven
Lucy scrambled off the couch and stood in a fighting stance—feet firmly on the floor, legs spread apart, and hands on her hips.
Get Bryce to understand her, and he’d realize she had nothing to offer him in exchange for her journal. That was her plan and not . . . not what he’d ask of her. To get back her journal, she just needed to spend more time with him? She narrowed her eyes.
“I’m not dumb, Bryce Morgan. There’s more to this than time. What is it that you really want?” Sure, she was a bit cynical. But after Jason, any woman would be.
He stood, and grasping her waist, he tugged her to him. “Time is all I want, Lucy, darling,” he said next to her ear.
Inching back from her, he tucked stray strands of her hair behind her ears. The moment was so surreal Lucy cried bullshit.
“You want a friends with benefits set-up. You want to break my heart.”
He kissed the top of her head. “So full of tact.”
She steeled her heart. What he did was too intimate.
“It doesn’t have to be that, Lucy. We can look at our time together as an experiment.”
Experiment? Like she was a lab rat trained to find her next meal through positive reinforcement? What would Bryce’s cues be? Kisses? Touching? Sex?
She’d done enough of the first two with Jason, but not enough to want to get to sex. That’s why he had said she was lifeless in bed. Yet, could she use Bryce to get past her fear of doing it? After what Eric had done, all she had thought about was the pain of penetration. Eric. If Eric thought Lucy was dating his boss, would he leave her alone? The idea was insanely crazy.
“I agree, as long as we go slow. And you’ll have to tell Eric I’m your girlfriend.”
He sat her on the couch. His eyes searched her face. “Tell me what the deal is between you two.” He grasped her shoulders and squeezed.
She shook her head. She wasn’t ready to revisit what had happened that night. But she could warn him about something else. She covered his hand with hers. “The last business he was with filed for bankruptcy a few weeks after he moved here. I—”
“He’s shown me the spreadsheet, Lucy. My restaurant’s in the black.”
A sigh of relief escaped her.
“But after Carmen—”
She stood firm. “You’re gonna have to man-up and explain away that lapse in judgment, Bryce.”
“Fine, Miss Badeaux.” After giving her an exaggerated bow, he walked over to his jacket draped on a kitchen chair. He grabbed something from the inner pocket, headed back, and handed her journal to her.
“Thank you.”
If having Bryce as her boyfriend would deter Eric from contacting her, then Lucy would go along with their “experiment.” She got up off the couch and stuck her journal inside her backpack before she went to lie side-by-side next to Bryce on the couch.
Deep down, she understood the situation was more complicated than playing pretend. Eventually, she’d have to tell someone about the rape. Lucy might not have been the only one Eric had taken advantage of while passed out drunk.
She snuggled closer to Bryce’s body heat and mulled over the other complication. Experimenting with heavy petting might have led to her clamping her thighs together right before penetration with Jason. However, with Bryce, she had a feeling she could go all the way past foreplay, straight to a mind-blowing home run.
Then reality would sink in. She’d want more while he’d stick with the friends with benefits mindset. Anchored to him, she realized Bryce hadn’t tried to talk her into starting their “experiment” right then and there. Instead, he behaved like a gentleman and held her close to him, sharing his body heat without expecting or asking for something from her in return.
What if their “experiment” became a near perfect friendship? Or, the perfect set-up for love? Lucy could only hope.
* * *
In the morning, they woke to blinking lights. Lucy untangled herself out of Bryce’s arms and got off the couch. After grabbing her toothbrush and hairbrush from the bathroom, she said a quick, “thank you, see you later,” and left Bryce’s place.
Inside her townhome, she checked her messages. One was from Ellie. Yes, they’d love to have Lucy come over today. While Bryce had been with the redhead, Lucy had made plans of her own.
She called Ellie. “I’m heading to your place right now.”
“Do you want Jack to pick you up?”
“I’ll walk.” She needed a good walk to clear her mind. Snow layered the streets. However, the sun was out. Eventually, the temperature would rise high enough for the snow to melt.
“Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Sure.” Lucy hung up.
Once she showered and dressed, she grabbed her backpack and left for Ellie’s house. That day and the next, she spent with Ellie and her family.
While Caleb sat and played, she sketched his profile, the smile on his face, the way he looked when he giggled at something funny on the television.
“I’m headed to the store,” Ellie said. Jack was at work. “You need anything?”
“Nothing. Thanks.”
Earlier, Bryce had called and said he’d pick her up and take her into town, their first outing together as a “couple.” There was one rule for their “experiment.” No texting unless of course it was a sexy selfie of Lucy. Or, a naughty message. When Caleb napped, Lucy pulled out her cell phone and called Bryce.
“Hi, darling.”
“Hey, what do you mean by a naughty message?” Smiling, she bit down on her bottom lip and twirled a strand of hair in her fingers.
“You want me to send one?”
She laughed. “Sure.” Her cell phone tweeted. Lucy glanced at the screen. “Bryce, you sent me the name of a song.”
“Which one?” His voice got all husky. “I want to hear you say it.”
“Bryce . . .” God, she loved this song.
“Lucy, sweetheart, I’m not letting you go until you tell.”
She didn’t want Bryce to ever let her go.
“Wicked Game. Chris Isaak.”
“Naughty, babe. I want to kiss you hard, go down on you slow, and make you come over and over to this song.”
She groaned. Bryce set her world on fire, and suddenly she didn’t want anyone or anything to douse the flames of her growing desire to live, truly live.
Not Eric following her to Bellingham. Not Jason and Bella’s engagement. For once in her life, she wanted to be vulnerable. She’d play Bryce’s game, dream of him, and get him to fall in love with her.
“Can we experiment some more tonight?”
“Do you have to ask?” he countered.
“Can we save the song for . . . for a different night?”
“You wanted slow, I’ll give you a crawl.”
Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, and her throat tightened. How had she been so wrong about Bryce? The two men she had thought she’d been right about had ripped her heart in two. Yet here Bryce was, stitching her heart whole again with his words.
“Lucy, are you crying? Did I say something—?”
“I—” She set her arm over her eyes. “You’re a good guy, Bryce Morgan.”
He chuckled. “You make me the better man, Lucy Badeaux.”
He was a good guy, through and through. Last night, they’d made out. He could’ve taken full advantage.
Instead, when she had told him she couldn’t get to the point of stripping—stripping for goodness sake—Bryce had stopped. He might’ve been frustrated, annoyed, or pissed and outright accuse Lucy of being a tease. Yet, he hadn’t. He’d kissed her goodnight with a tenderness that had her trembling, followed by a promising, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
This morning, he came over and offered to drop her off at Ellie’s. How could she refuse when he stood there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand? After they’d said goodnight, he’d gone to the store to get her flowers. Sweet. Kind. Considerate. Attentive. Was this how the right kind of relationship started?
“I’m sending my song for you.”
She text messaged him, giving Bryce a few seconds for the message to go through before she said, “Do tell, Mr. Morgan.”
“Crazy. Aerosmith.”
Lucy could almost see the smile on his face.
“Do I drive you crazy, Miss Badeaux?”
“Do you have to ask?” she volleyed.
He laughed. The sound was low and throaty. The place between her legs throbbed.
“See you in a couple of hours?” he asked.
“Of course.”
Chapter Eight
While Lucy waited for Bryce to get her, her cell phone rang. She rummaged in her bag, pulled the phone out, and glanced at the screen. The number for the hospital she’d worked at back home?
“Hello.”
“Lucy?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Charlotte.” Charlotte worked in the intensive care unit. “Your grandmother’s really sick, hon. She’s on the ventilator, septic from pneumonia and a urinary tract infection.”
Lucy didn’t need to hear any more. “I’ll catch the next flight home.” She bit back tears and hung up.
Bryce would be here soon. She wouldn’t waste time. First, she booked a flight to Palm Springs. The plane would be leaving Bellingham airport in two hours. Next, she called Charlie and told her boss she had a family emergency. Charlie said they’d cover her shifts. Lucy thanked her before she hung up.
The doorbell rang. “It’s my ride, Ellie.”
She opened the door for Bryce. Caleb rushed over. She cradled his face in her palms. “Lucy see my little man soon, okay?”
He nodded. They went through their show of affection. Eskim
o kisses then butterfly kisses. “Lucy sad.” Her heart broke at Caleb’s scrunched up face.
“Ready?” Bryce asked from behind her.
Lucy gave Caleb another hug then tickled him. He laughed. She wanted to cry. He was right. She was sad. Her grandmother was dying. They said goodbye to Caleb and Ellie and got in Bryce’s truck.
With one hand on the steering wheel, he held her hand with the other. “What’s wrong?”
“How’d you—”
“The kid’s face said it all.”
“My grandmother’s sick.” She stared out the window. There were piles of slush alongside the road. “The next flight out is in two hours.”
“Then we better make sure you make it.” He squeezed her hand then brought her palm to his mouth for a kiss. Letting go, he set his hands on the steering wheel and drove faster. It was cliché, but like the snow, her heart melted.
* * *
After Lucy packed, they left for Bellingham’s small airport. As they approached the airport, Bryce turned into the drop-off area. She hopped out of his big truck and grabbed her small carry-on.
“Thanks.”
He got out of the truck and walked over to her. “How long will you be gone?”
Shrugging, she extended her hand for a casual send off. With a crooked grin on his face, Bryce shook his head and opened his arms to her. People milling around them stopped and stared. To hell with appearances!
She dropped her carry-on, and jumping into his arms, she grasped Bryce’s head and covered his mouth with hers. He clasped his arms tight around her waist. She deepened the kiss. People whooped and clapped.
Lucy broke off the kiss. Smiling against his mouth, she said, “Four days. I’ll miss you for four days.”
“Aw, babe, the words you say to me.” Clamping his mouth over hers, he kissed her with the same desperation she felt at being apart for those days.
Play Bryce’s games? Check yes. Dream of him? Definitely. Have Bryce fall for her? Near perfect.
* * *
The flight departed and arrived on time. Lucy hailed a cab to take her to a hotel. No way would she stay with her mother and her stepfamily.
Near Perfect Page 6
