Ready, Willing and Abel (Passion in Paradise: The Men of the McKinnon Sisters Book 3)

by Sarah O'Rourke

  “Former drug czar, Mags. Diego’s doing his best to put his past behind. Jake and I are tryin’ to help him with that,” Abel reminded Maggie with a sigh as he shot his assistant a stern look.

  “Actually, it would be alleged drug czar,” Vivian pointed out at she gathered her things. “No charges have ever been filed against Mr. Fuentes in any capacity. Therefore, alleged would be the appropriate term. Let’s not give ourselves any more problems than we already have,” the woman muttered unhappily as she slung her purse over one arm and made to follow Mags from the room.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Maggie replied, waving a dismissive hand between Vivian and Abel. “I keep forgetting that part. Personally though, I still can’t believe that Jake’s putting his grudge against him aside, but I suppose a vendetta isn’t really the way he wants to start his life out with Harmony.” Glancing at a confused Vivian, Mags laughed. “She’s another of the McKinnon sisters. I’ll take you by the café to meet them tonight if you’re free. You’ll love them, Vivian,” she continued, ignoring Angie’s scornful glare at the mention of her arch-nemeses. It was no secret that there was a ton of bad blood between the McKinnon women and Angela Hastings.

  Refocusing her attention on Abel, Maggie narrowed her green eyes at her boss. “Listen, Abel, do me and everybody in this town a favor, sugar, and set this little she-cat straight about who exactly you’re packin’ heat for these days, will you? Vivian and I, here, have both decided that watchin’ her shoot you come hither smiles and fuck-me eyes in court is gettin’ real old. And honestly, dear,” she said with a scathing up and down look at Angela, “You’re comin’ off as just plumb desperate. A woman of your years should have just a little pride.”

  “Excuse me!” Angela hissed, color flooding her cheeks as she whirled to face Maggie.

  “Oh, don’t play deaf, Angie! You heard me just fine,” Margaret returned evenly, unmoved by the anger radiating from Angie’s body. “Sweetie, you’re comin’ off like a cat in heat that been denied by her favorite Tom. It’s all becoming very unseemly. You can’t expect for the rest of us to continue watching as you keep twitchin’ your tail in Abel’s face on the off hope he’ll be seduced by your scent. He sees your tail, darlin’. He’s just found a prettier pussy he prefers to pet these days,” she chided with a false Southern sweetness that pulled a grin from Abel’s lips. Especially when he saw Angie’s face turn blood red.

  “How dare you, you little bit-….” Angie began to hiss.

  “Enough, Angela,” Abel barked when Angela would have launched herself toward a smirking Margaret. He knew Maggie could take her, but he really didn’t want his office to become an arena for the biggest cat fight to ever hit Paradise County in the last fifty years. When it happened, he wanted time to sell tickets, dammit. He’d make a fortune.

  Turning affronted eyes toward Abel, Angela’s lower lip jutted forward. “Abel, you can’t let her get away with saying those awful, rude things to me!”

  “I just did,” he retorted dryly. “Maggie, hold my calls for the next few minutes. I need to inform Angela of a few changes I’m making in my life and don’t want to be interrupted while I explain that she really has no place in it anymore. Vivian, again, I apologize for this ruckus. Hopefully, after today, I’ll have it under control.”

  “You’re throwing us out just when it’s gettin’ good?” Maggie complained, propping one hand on her curvy hip. “That’s just plain selfish, Abel. I know for a fact that your daddy raised you better ‘n that.”

  “Margaret,” Abel warned, turning his piercing stare on the other woman.

  “Fine,” the redheaded vixen snapped huffily, obviously put out that Abel wasn’t going to allow her the joy of watching him put Angie out of his life once and for all. “I’ll just go eavesdrop outside the door like I normally do. Course, I won’t have to strain too hard once she finds out who’s got your fires burnin’ bright these days,” Maggie cackled as she wandered out of the office. Vivian followed quickly, shooting him a sympathetic smile before closing Abel’s door firmly behind her.

  Chapter Six

  Abel listened to the metallic click of the closing door with only half an ear. Instead, his entire focus was on watching Angie’s entire demeanor change as Vivian and Margaret slipped out of his office and he wondered if, perhaps, he shouldn’t have kept at least one witness with him. With a churning stomach, he watched his former flame make the transformation from innocent ingénue to experienced seductress within the blink of an eye, and the change made him physically nauseous.

  Hell, he’d never liked an overly forward woman. One would have thought that of all people, Angie would have known that he liked to be the one to do the chasing in his relationships, but, then again, she never had much cared what he’d wanted – even when they had been together as a couple. In truth, she’d never cared much for him or his desires, period. No, both then and now, Angie believed that the world revolved around her. She was the sun, and everything in the universe orbited around her beauty- or so she thought.

  And that was why – despite Angie’s dedicated and earnest efforts – he would never allow himself to become trapped in her intricate web of lies again.

  “Well,” Angie sighed happily, darting a look at the now closed door, “We’re alone at last. For a minute there, I thought that secretary of yours was gonna refuse to leave. Really, Abel, darlin’, you need to hire somebody with a few more manners. That woman is gonna run off half your clients, honey,” she warned as she sidled around his desk. “A successful attorney like the one you’ve become can afford to hire quality help.”

  “You do realize that given half a chance Maggie would cut your still-beating heart out of your chest and eat it raw, Angela. I’d be more careful with my words if I were you. I can guarantee you that Maggie is hearing every single thing that comes out of your mouth and making a mental note to pay you back for it later,” Abel returned evenly, shrugging off the hand Angie dropped against his arm. “Sit the hell down before you embarrass yourself more than you already have this morning,” he growled, nodding at the chair in front of his desk.

  “Abel,” Angie whined, her fingers curling into his suit jacket. “I know you don’t mean that, sweetheart. Just let me….”

  “Enough!” Abel snarled as he yanked his arm from her grip, her clinginess infuriating him. “Sit down, Angela!” he ordered forcefully, shoving one hand through his hair.

  Huffing out an irritated breath, Angela turned back toward her seat. “I don’t know why you’re puttin’ up such a fuss, Abel. You seemed to enjoy my attention well enough at supper last night. Why can’t you just admit that we’re good together, honey? So very good. In fact, I felt just how good against my bottom last night, Abel. And darlin’, when I felt how hard you were, I remembered how much I loved us together. I know you remember how wonderful it was, too.”

  Inhaling deeply through his nose, Abel mentally counted to ten and reminded himself that losing his temper would only make Angela more determined. Staring at the woman that he’d once found so beautiful, he shook his head. “You need to listen to me, Angela, and actually hear what I’m saying. There is no ‘us’. Whatever angle you’re trying to work with me is going to fail. I have a lot of memories of our time together, woman. But most of them revolve around my humiliation when I learned what a faithless slut you were during our entire six years together. Do you actually think I could ever forget that? That I could ever get past it?”

  “B-but…but…” Angie began to sputter, holding out a beseeching hand toward Abel, “I can make that up to you, honey. I’m a changed person. I’ve grown, Abel. If you’ll just give me a chance to….”

  “There are no second chances here, Ang. Quit being so hardheaded and actually listen to me,” Abel thundered, his deep voice echoing off the walls. “Dammit, Angela, you made a fool of me all over town and a mockery of our relationship!”

  “I was young and stupid,” Angela whimpered, her eyes filling with tears.

  “You were
n’t that young, and you’ve never been stupid, Angie,” Abel retorted mockingly. “Although, apparently you think I’m dumber than a box of rocks if you believe I’ll fall for this act you’ve got going.”

  Swallowing hard, Angela stared at Abel as tears shimmered in her eyes. “Then you tell me what the last weeks have been about, Abel! You know you’ve let me get closer to you than you would any normal colleague,” she pointed out, slowly rising from her chair again as she slowly made her way around Abel’s desk. “Are you honestly going to tell me that I imagined how hard your cock was when it was pressed against my ass?” she asked in a low, sultry voice as she finally reached Abel’s side and stared up at him through heavy lidded eyes. “Are you going to stand there and say that you aren’t attracted to me… that you don’t want me?” she whispered, pressing her body against his as she lifted her hands to clutch his shoulders.

  Smiling coldly, Abel lowered his gaze until he stared into Angela’s soft hazel eyes. Once, those eyes had captivated him, holding him in her thrall for countless hours. Now, he only felt empty when he gazed down into those familiar orbs. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you, Angela. When I look at you, I feel nothing. Well, nothing besides disgust and anger. Anger that I was once stupid enough to fall into your trap and disgusted with myself that I ever stuck my dick into you.”

  “You don’t mean that, Abel,” Angela denied, her manicured nails sinking into the expensive fabric of his suit jacket. “You can’t. Last night…”

  “Last night, I had a hard-on. That’s true,” he agreed with a hollow laugh. “But that erection you felt wasn’t for you, you desperate bitch. It was for a woman that’s so far out of your league, it’s laughable.”

  Angie tilted her head, confused. “What are you talking about, Abel? There weren’t any women even in the restaurant last night besides Maggie and Honor McKinnon! I know you don’t want either of them. Maggie’s like a sister to you and Honor’s just a pathetic little girl that you’d never...”

  “Be very fucking careful right now, Angela,” Abel bit out, gripping Angela’s arms and pushing her away. “First, that so-called pathetic little girl has more class in her little finger than you do in your entire body. Second, Honor is family to me. Do you really think it’s wise to insult my family at this juncture?” he asked in a lethally quiet voice.

  “You’re right, Abel. I shouldn’t have insulted….” Angie attempted to soothe.

  “You’re right about one thing, though; as sweet and beautiful as she is, I’d never see Honor that way. She belongs to another of the many men you’ve fucked in your life. “

  Rolling her eyes, Angie sighed. “Ezekiel and I were over before we were ever together, Abel. You don’t need to be jealous of him. It was only the one time and it didn’t mean anything to me.”

  “Oh, I’m not jealous,” Abel laughed. “I’m happy as hell he escaped you. It means he could fall in love with a decent and pure woman like Honor.”

  “Yes, Saint Honor,” Angie muttered snidely. “No one must ever question her goodness.”

  “Envious, Angie? You should be. You aren’t fit to so much as sit in the same room with any of the McKinnon sisters. But, we’re getting off topic again. You see, while I’m not interested in Honor, I do, however, see, her sister, Patience, in just the way you fear I do. And, as you know, Patience was working behind the bar every single time I allowed you to make a fool out of yourself. You see, Angela, I was using you. I wanted Patience to be jealous. Unfortunately, she wasn’t. She was revolted that I could allow myself to get anywhere near you. Now, that I know my plan backfired, I no longer have any need to allow you to continue to act like a horny teenage girl.”

  “I don’t understand,” Angela stated weakly, staring unblinking at Abel. “Patience isn’t even in your league, Abel. She’s a skanky little bartender! She’s a fucking nobody! Not to mention that she’s the witch that swung a wrecking ball at our relationship!”

  “Yeah? Well, she has the ability to get my dick harder than a steel pike with just a glare in my direction. But you already know that, don’t you? You felt what she does to me last night, didn’t you, darlin’? I want her, Angela. Her. Not you. And as you know, what I want….I eventually always get. And to be crystal clear, I want Patience with an unholy passion that I never once – not in all the years we were together- felt for you. I thank God every day she was brave enough to tell me the truth about you and your slut ways. It means she’s got integrity. A quality you’d never be able to understand. More importantly, though, is the fact that she’s it for me. The One.”

  “No! I was The One, Abel! I know I was. You know I was. The whole fucking town knew I was!” Angie denied shrilly.

  Abel laughed, deep and from his belly as he shook his head incredulously at the woman who had once warmed his bed. “You were a very, very pale imitation of The One, Angela. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know it right down to my dick now. It’s not you for me. Not ever again. It’s her. First and always, it’ll be Patience. She just doesn’t know it yet. But she will. I’m committed to proving it to her.”

  “Abel, sweetheart, listen to yourself,” Angela begged, lifting her hands to cup Abel’s cheeks. “Patience is a child! And for God’s sake, she a bartender. The girl is barely even educated. And the scandal that McKinnon family has been a part of – you don’t need that in your life. It’s not good for your career! She can’t be what you need, but I can.”

  “Do I need to remind you that Faith McKinnon is my sister-in-law, Angie? That makes the McKinnons and the Turners a goddamn family! And watch your fucking mouth when you talk about Patience. She’s a far cry from a child, and believe me when I say that you aren’t even a tenth of the woman she is. In bed or out,” he spat, his jaw clenching as her hands tightened around his cheeks. Circling her wrists with his hands, he tried to pull her hands from his face, but she resisted.

  “You need a woman that can be your equal, Abel,” Angie continued as if he hadn’t even spoken. “Someone that fits into your world. Nobody could ever do that as well as I could, baby. We were the golden couple once upon a time, honey. We can be again,” she promised, pressing her mouth to his and thrusting her tongue between his lips as the door opened behind them.

  Chapter Seven

  Slamming the door to her bright yellow 1999 Mustang convertible, Patience McKinnon turned to face Abel’s office. Housed in an older Victorian mansion on Main Street just a few streets over from the café, she knew she could have walked the short distance to see him, but driving had always helped her de-stress in the past, and she knew, if there was any day that she needed to remain as stressor-free as possible, it was TODAY.

  Glancing over her shoulder at her parked car, she sighed. She knew without being told that it wouldn’t be too terribly long before her beloved little convertible wouldn’t do the trick for her. It’d be awfully difficult getting a baby in and out of the backseat. No, instead she and the baby would probably be stuck riding around in some god awful grocery-getter like a Mazda or even worse, a minivan, she thought with a silent shudder. Either way, her sports car days were coming to an abrupt and untimely end.

  Just one more item on the list of seemingly endless reasons to hate Abel Turner and all his determined little swimmers.

  Because Patience loved her car.

  A Lot.

  In fact, she loved a lot of things about her life that would no longer be acceptable with a baby on board.

  No dyeing her hair. No drinking. No cussing. No fast riding convertibles.

  In short, no fun. None at all.

  Not anymore.

  Because with baby, came a marked lack of personal freedom.

  Why the hell did people voluntarily do this procreation thing?

  She had to shake her head at the direction her thoughts had taken as her shoulder length hair swept against her neck. Part of her knew that this wasn’t exactly going to be a picnic for Abel either. He was no more prepared for the addition of a child to their lives
than she was. Then again, he wasn’t the one that would be carrying a small watermelon inside him, ruining his bikini worthy body.

  Pausing at the side of her best friend, Maggie’s, Land Rover, she checked out her reflection in the side mirror and performed a quick inventory. Kickass black stilettoes that offered her a couple more valuable inches of height? Check. Form fitting black skinny pants that lifted her ass and made it look like a dream? Check. Supersoft white V-neck ‘The Clash’ T-shirt? Check. Wicked black leather choker surrounding her neck? Check.

  She’d been going for a casual cool look and was pretty sure she’d achieved the desired effect. Grimacing slightly as she noted the fading indigo streaks of hair framing her face, she sighed. There wasn’t really anything she could do about them since hair dye was off her current menu so she tucked those strands edging her face behind her ear. Continuing to look in the mirror, she bit her lip as she studied her face. She’d tried to keep the make-up subtle and light this morning, but her pale complexion and shadowed eyes had demanded she offer more than just a dab of powder and touch of lip gloss. Instead, she’d added concealer, blush, eyeliner and mascara to her beauty plan. And she had to admit…. the results were pleasing.

  She looked good.

  Certainly good enough to rock Abel Turner’s world, she thought as she straightened her spine, pushed out her boobs and spun on her heels to begin the march toward the front steps. Climbing quickly, she was opening the door when she heard Maggie’s irate voice yell, “What in the Sam Hill do you mean Paradise’s one and only no tell motel has no vacancies? What y’all doin’ over there? Havin’ a whore convention? I have a client that needs a room until somethin’ opens up at the Holiday Inn!”

  Patience lifted her eyebrows and exchanged a small smile with the woman seated in front of Maggie’s desk as she dropped her purse over the coat rack just inside the doorway. The woman looked vaguely familiar and she tried to place her face as Maggie ripped off her headset and threw it down on the desk.