"He wasn't all that bad. Just gawky," Kelly chimed in with a wink.
"Be still my heart," Joel sarcastically muttered, and Carrie giggled.
"So, did you guys drive in from Los Angeles? Or are you from around here, Carrie?" Kelly asked as they reached their table.
"LA. We left this morning. It was a great drive, and this town is beautiful."
"All she has seen is Main Street," Joel stated, and Kelly laughed.
"Well, I’m sure you will love it even more once you see the rest. Hope Falls is... well, unlike anywhere else. And I'm not just saying that because I live here." Kelly smiled, her eyes almost sparkling.
"I believe you." Carrie shyly returned the smile as they approached the table and bit her lip when Joel let go of her hand to pull out her chair for her. He stood patiently as she took off her sweater. When had she ever been around a real gentleman before?
"Here are your menus. Look 'em over. I will be right back to get your orders, but in the meantime, would you two like anything to drink?"
"Water, please," Carrie said.
"Iced tea," Joel added.
"You got it." Kelly winked as she walked away. Carrie’s eyes went to the very masculine man sitting in front of her.
"So, you two guys go way back, huh"? she asked, curious about the beautiful, curvy woman from his past. "The one that got away?" she asked smiling and enjoyed the deep sound of his laughter as he shook his head.
"I crushed hard. Crashed and burned even harder." He grinned teasingly.
"Your poor heart," she muttered with a smile just as his hands covered hers, his body heat speeding up her heartbeat.
“My heart is better now,” he muttered sexily in a low enough tone that she was the only who heard him. Carrie knew he meant it too when she looked at him through her lashes. Honesty flared behind his dark gaze. He was talking about her and him, and she liked that.
Any other time, with any other man, it would have terrified her. She'd known that when it came to Joel Vega she was playing out of her league. The man was like uncharted waters, but now, sitting across from him, staring into the milk chocolate pools of his eyes, it didn't scare her.
It thrilled her.
Chapter Six
Joel
She made him feel like that dorky, lanky kid he used to be and he seemed to say too much around her. He wasn't sure if he had laid too much out there for her and had messed up his chances, but he wanted it to be clear to her how he felt. He might not have had a crystal ball to tell the future, but he knew he wanted her by his side for a very long time to come. That alone should have freaked him out, but it didn’t. If anything, knowing how he felt, sitting across from her, it soothed him.
They held one another’s stare, and with a slow exhale, she broke their gaze first to look down at the menu. "So, what do you recommend?" she asked him.
He didn't know if her not commenting was a good or bad thing, so he simply grinned at her wolfishly. "Everything."
"Everything?" she asked, and he was tempted to kiss her again. She was so damn cute.
"It's all delicious. Anything you order, you'll love," he answered, praying he was somehow keeping it together and not making a total idiot of himself.
"Hmm... Okay... let's see..." She let go of his hand and picked up the menu.
They sat in silence as she read the menu, while he only pretended to read his as he stole glances at her. He couldn't help himself. Where they sat, the light hit perfectly, making her hair seem lighter, a halo almost presenting itself over her head. She looked like a sexy angel. She looked up and just like the first time, they locked eyes. She left him speechless.
"You guys ready to order?" Kelly asked as she settled their drinks down. They looked at her.
"Cheeseburger and fries," they both answered at the same time and laughed.
"Okay, you guys got it," Kelly answered, giving them a knowing smile as she walked away.
"So, I have to know, how many dates have you brought here?" she asked. He could see she was hiding something behind her smile. Worry? Did she think she could ever be one of many?
"None."
"Ever?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"Never."
"Girlfriends?"
"None," he answered truthfully and watched as her eyes narrowed, cute little lines furrowing on her forehead as if in disbelief. If she only knew exactly how dorky he had been in high school, she wouldn't be surprised.
"Ever?" she asked again, and with a smirk, he shook his head again.
"Nope."
"Oh." His eyes moved down the line of her slender neck and watched her pulse picking up. "It's a great place for a date."
"I always thought so."
"Then why haven’t you brought anyone here?" she asked, and he smiled.
"I hadn't met anyone I would want to share this place with."
"Why me?" By the look on her face and the pink tint that made his hands ache to touch her, she hadn't meant to ask it out loud, but he wasn't going to let her shy away. He reached for her hand and held it, enjoying the way it felt in his and how every part of him yearned to protect and claim her.
"I'm not going to beat around the bush, Carrie. I like you. You know that."
"But we hardly know each other."
"We know each other," he told her and saw a flicker in her eye. She wasn't going to argue with him because she knew he was right.
"I'm not whatever player you have might have thought I was when we first met."
She blew out a breath and sighed, "I know."
"I don't usually do the whole dating thing."
"How is that even possible?" she asked, curiosity clear on her face. "I mean, you look like...well, like you." Her eyes grew wide, and he smiled, feeling his own blush beneath his beard, yet all he could do was shrug.
"I work a lot. I mean, I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm some kind of choir boy, because I’m not," he shared. "But you see, something happened to me a couple of months ago. I didn't know until later just how much it would change me."
"What?" she asked leaning forward, and his free hand cupped her face, his thumb stroking the apple of her cheek.
"I went to this school to install this program and make sure that the new software worked okay. I've done it a million times and honestly, I wasn't even supposed to do it this time, but the guy who was called in sick. Sorry, getting sidetracked. Like I was saying, I bumped into this teacher." Her eyes flared slightly.
"Really?" She tilted her face into his hands. He liked that.
"Yeah. Something about her" —he shook his head, smiling"—made me keep coming back."
"Really?" she asked so softly with so much in her voice that he kept a hold of her eyes on him.
"I couldn't help myself."
"You should have asked her out.”
"I did. But she didn't want anything to do with me."
"I don't think that's true."
"No?"
"Nope. I think she was just..." Her voice faded away as if she was looking for the right words, but he wanted more.
"Just what?" he pressed, and her eyes shone with the vulnerability she was obviously feeling, leaving him to want to protect her even more.
"Cautious." She swallowed hard and licked her lips. He bit down on his teeth so he wouldn't groan. What was it about her that made him morph into a horny teenage kid?
"Joel, I think you should know—"
"Here is your food!" Kelly announced, making Carrie jump away from his touch. He swallowed hard and moved his hands down as he looked at the food.
"Thanks, Kelly." Joel smiled at her and watched Kelly wink at him.
"If you need anything, just wave at me. I'll be back to check on you guys later," she said before she walked away.
Carrie picked up a fry, and he knew he had to tell her something else so he could get his point across about how serious he was. “Carrie?"
"Yeah?" She met his eyes.
"There hasn't been anyone sin
ce we met," he told her and watched her swallow and nod.
"Me either," she admitted. He smiled, a weight slipping off his shoulders that he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold," he suggested as he picked up his burger, ready to lighten the heaviness of the conversation.
Between burgers and their perfectly cooked French fries, they could get away with a lighter conversation. The tiny moans of appreciation that came from Carrie as she ate made him hard and slightly on edge. Though if he thought about it, all she had to do was breathe around him and she made his body come alive.
"Mmm," she moaned as she settled her napkin on the table, patting her stomach, and he couldn’t look away from her. God, there wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t drawn to her. "That was delicious."
"I told you." He winked, willing his body to get some damn control.
"Hey, you guys doing okay?" Kelly asked as she reached their table, and he watched Carrie smile in a carefree way he wasn't used to with her but liked a hell of a lot.
"That was the best burger I have ever had," Carrie praised, looking at Kelly.
"I'm glad, honey!" Kelly grinned at them. "Did you leave room for dessert?" Joel looked at Carrie smile with a shake of her head.
"I'm stuffed. I can't take another bite."
"I think we're good, Kelly. Thanks," he told her.
"Okay, here is the check. Go to the front whenever you are ready. No rush."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, and it was great meeting you, Carrie!"
“Great meeting you too!" His girl smiled, and he felt like puffing his chest out at how great she fit in here, his home away from home. His girl?
"And Joel, you going to go see your mom?" Kelly asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat.
"I don't know yet. Guess it depends on time."
"Okay, well, if you do, tell her I said hello." He nodded and watched Kelly start to walk away then turn back to them. "Looks like there might be snow today, so be careful driving, okay?" They both glanced out toward Main Street and looked at one another, slightly confused since it was sunny even if there were a couple of dark clouds hanging overhead.
"Let me get my wallet—"
"I don’t think so," his voice rumbled.
"But—"
"No buts. My treat. Come on, we're wasting daylight," he told her as he stood and she did too. He grabbed her sweater, and she turned to slip her arms through the sleeves as he took a step in to be closer to her. His lips at her ear, he breathed in her scent and felt her shiver.
"Ready?" he asked, his voice almost hoarse. It was a loaded question, and when she looked at him, he had expected a cautious gaze. Instead, he was happy when all he saw was excitement shining out of her beautiful eyes.
"Completely." She grinned.
After he took care of the check, they stepped out and he noted the chill in the air. The temperature had dropped since they had walked into Sue Ann's.
"You okay?" he asked her, and she nodded.
"Do you really think it will snow?" she asked looking up at the sky while he did the same.
"I don't know?" He hadn't looked up the weather before heading up, not that he was worried. "I had thought about taking you to Putt-N-Stuff but—"
"Putt-N-Stuff?" Her lips twitched as she looked at him like she didn't know if he was being serious or not.
"Yeah, it’s the local miniature golf park. But if it’s too cold, we could—"
"No, it’s not," she interrupted as they reached his truck. "Please?"
"You want to go?" he asked, slightly surprised but happy that she was that excited about something so simple. She was easygoing; he thought she would be, it was part of what had attracted him to her. She wasn't high maintenance and seemed pretty laid back, but it was always good to get confirmation. Many of the women in LA he had met presented themselves as easygoing but turned out to be anything but.
"Yeah!" She beamed again in that carefree way of hers he liked so much. He knew he would do anything to get her to smile like that at him and often.
"Okay, if you're sure you're not too cold."
"I'm fine." She nodded, jumping on the heels of her feet in excitement that was contagious.
“Okay then—”
“Though, I do have a question to ask you. Maybe I should have asked you before.” He stared at her as they stood in front of the passenger side door of his truck.
“What is it?”
“It took a while for us to get here.”
“Yeah.” It had definitely been a road trip, and he wondered if she hadn’t enjoyed it as much as he had thought.
“You had me bring an overnight bag…“ Damn, he was a moron. He had been so excited about having alone time with her and planning a surprise he hadn’t shared the logistics with her.
“I told you I have a cabin.”
“Yeah. Are we staying…?“
“I wasn’t being presumptuous, Carrie. It’s a two-bedroom. A nice guestroom I had my mom fix up just in case I ever had guests. Nothing you don’t want will happen.”
“Oh.” She pressed her luscious lips together. He had to fight to look away from her mouth and stop thinking about the dirty things she could do with it.
“You have my word. I will behave,” he assured her and kept talking when she didn’t speak. “There is also a B&B here in town. I can get you your own room if you don’t feel comfortable sharing—“
“I’m okay with staying at your place.” Her voice was soft, and he sighed silently with relief. “So, you took Tess’ whole ‘just return her by Monday’ thing seriously, huh?” she teased. Her eyes sparkled like jewels and he found that he had an overwhelming need to touch her. He liked her like this.
At school, she always seemed so defensive and had a forcefield of protective walls around her, but here, she was approachable. Stepping in closer, he brushed a soft tendril of hair that kept escaping out of her face and heard the small hitch of air she took in while he watched desire and passion light up behind her eyes. “I’m going to use this time to show you who I am and what I want.”
“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”
“Nope. I know what I want,” he told her, willing her to ask what that was, so he could tell her. He watched as she opened and closed her mouth then decided on giving him a nod instead of asking him to clarify what he wanted. He was going give her that one.
“So, we ready for some mini golfing?"
“Definitely.” She smiled.
The drive was short, but he enjoyed the way her face lit up as he pointed out the buildings off Main Street and out toward the Putt-N-Stuff.
“Did you see that bookstore?” she asked as he pulled up and parked.
"Read Between the Lines?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed with excitement he could feel. He couldn’t help chuckling.
"We can go over afterwards if you want."
"Lucy would love that place! She’s a total bookworm. Remind me to take a picture in front of it if we go."
"Lucy is?"
"Lucy Mack. One of my best friends," she explained as he pulled the key out of the ignition and watched her. “There are four of us,” she told him, and his eyebrow rose.
"Four of you?" he asked tilting his head curiously.
"Yeah. You met Tess yesterday," she reminded him. He needed to remember to send Tess a damn fruit basket for helping him out. "She's usually not that bossy, but…" She shrugged and looked away, a small smile playing over her face. "She's been worried about me."
He was about to ask her why when she kept sharing. He liked that she was giving him little bits of herself. "Tess worries about everyone, though. Her mom's sick and she is taking care of her and her little sister. I mean, we all help, but it’s not the same, you know? Anyhow, you would think that her plate is full enough with everything going on, but she has this huge heart."
"She sounds like a great woman."
"She i
s. They all are. Liz is the serious one. She owns the bakery with Tess. She’s going to get married any minute to this guy, Parker Stone,” she kept divulging. That name sounded very familiar to him, but he couldn’t place it as he listened to her talk about how solid Liz and the Parker guy were and how Liz was a talented artist who sold her art at the Pasadena Street Fair.
“So, you like him?” he asked, knowing how protective women were of their friends when it came to the men they brought into their lives.
“I do now.”
“There is a story there,” Joel guessed.
“You have no idea.” She smiled sadly. “It’s not that he did anything. It was a, umm… a situation and the way he reacted…” She shook her head. “But he was there when she needed him, so that’s all that matters at the end of the day, right?” She looked at him, and the way she’d said that made him wonder if someone hadn’t been there for her when it mattered. He wanted to be the one to be there. Be her rock to hold on when life’s winds picked up.
“And Lucy?” he asked trying to get her to keep talking, and when she smiled, he knew he’d done a good job.
“She’s the hopeless romantic of the group,” she informed him with a smile. “She’s the sweetest of us, but you wouldn’t know she was sweet when she is shoving romance novels down our throat.”
“And you guys are okay with it?”
“She says everyone needs to be reminded that life can have happily ever afters.” He watched her as her voice softened, and he nodded thinking that Carrie Blue could be his happily ever after. “She’s a complete bibliophile.”
“So, you like to read romance, huh?” He raised an eyebrow, trying to lighten the mood slightly, and she laughed.
“She makes us read them…”
“Mhhmm… it’s okay if you do.” He shrugged. “My mom loves reading romance novels.”
“She does?” she asked, a spark of interest in her bright blues. He nodded.
“Yeah, her favorite is damn… what’s her name… Sophie Samuels,” he told her, glad he paid attention to when his mom had told him about that author’s newest release.
“Oh, my gosh, I love her,” Carrie blurted, and he chuckled. “Whatever, I mean your mom has good taste in books.” She playfully rolled her eyes at him, making him grin.
Hope Falls: Carried Away (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4
