Sitting up a bit straighter, I spewed out some bullshit. “I think Charles felt like it would be best if I was alone. It would keep you and Laney out of the spotlight and free from potential harassment.”
“That’s true. Good call on his part.”
Sighing internally, I looked down at my sandwich. That was a dick move to use Mallory’s daughter as an excuse. Laney was about to turn four, and I knew how much Mallory enjoyed her privacy. I adored Laney, and I was pretty sure she was at the top of the small list of reasons I stayed in the relationship with Mallory. The other reasons just made me seem like a cocksucker.
Mallory was good in bed.
Mallory had a body that made men salivate.
Mallory liked her space and wasn’t needy.
And the best reason of all, I knew it drove Harley crazy to see me with Mallory.
Yep. I’m a cocksucker alright.
The bell on the door of Lilly’s Café rang and I knew it was Harley without looking up. I could feel her eyes on me, making the hair on my arms and neck stand up. Lifting my eyes, we stared at each other for a quick second before Harley’s gaze drifted to Mallory and then away from both of us.
Walking to the counter, Harley slid onto one of the stools and smiled at Lucy. They talked for a few seconds before Lucy left. I caught myself before I watched her too long. Mallory knew our history, and I knew any acknowledgement of Harley in her presence wouldn’t be a good thing.
“So, have you been very busy?”
Mallory’s voice pulled my gaze off Harley.
“No, not really. Things have been quiet at the office. Just preparing for the mayoral announcement.”
She lifted her brows. “Does that mean you have to go straight back to work?”
A lump formed in my throat. “What did you have in mind?”
Her tongue rolled over her lips, and if Harley hadn’t been sitting a few feet away, I’m pretty sure my dick would have been hard as a rock. Mallory was my kind of girl. She liked her sex like I did—a little naughty and a lot of dirty talking. She had a way of making me forget everything that was happening around me.
“A little restroom sex, maybe?”
I looked toward the hall that led to the restrooms. Was she serious? Fucking in my office was one thing, but doing it in a restroom at the café I ate at nearly every damn day? No. That wasn’t going to happen.
“You want to fuck in the restrooms here?” I asked with a chuckle. Not thinking she was serious.
She leaned over the table, a whisper meant only for me—but I silently wondered if it was loud enough for Harley to overhear. “If you could feel me you’d know how wet I am just thinking about it.”
My eyes darted over to Harley again. She was talking to old man Potter. I could almost bet they were discussing his cows. The man was obsessed with the damn things. Here I was, being propositioned for bathroom sex by my girlfriend, and all I could think about was Harley and old man Potter discussing the dairy business. What the hell was wrong with me?
When I looked back at Mallory, she was still giving me that sexy-as-sin smile. There was something in her eyes, though, and for a split second, I wondered if this was a game. Her own personal vendetta against Harley that directly involved me and my dick.
There was no way I was doing this. One, it was too risky, and two, Harley was here. I couldn’t get my dick to stand at attention, even with Mallory talking about how wet she was.
“As fun as that sounds, there’s no way. Too risky.”
She rolled her eyes and dropped back in the chair. “Party pooper.”
Lifting a brow, I leaned in closer. “You do realize we live in a small town, and I’m fixin’ to announce I’m running for mayor. How do you think it would look if I had you bent over a sink at Lilly’s Café and someone walked in while my cock was pounding into you?”
Mallory squirmed in her chair.
“Tripp,” she whispered. “You’re teasing me.”
Yep. There was one thing for sure about Mallory: she liked to be fucked. With her it was simple. We fucked fast and furious, then one of us left. I don’t think I’d ever cuddled with the woman once. She always had some excuse as to why she had to leave. Laney, the store, something. It was fine by me. The less emotionally attached I got, the better. Especially since I didn’t really see a future with her.
At some point, I was going to have to break things off with her.
I opened my wallet and threw some money on the table before standing and reaching for her hand.
“Thanks, Tripp and Mallory!” Lucy called out.
Lifting my hand, I called out, “Later, Lucy.” I didn’t dare look that way. If I saw Harley, I wouldn’t be able to do what I was about to do to Mallory. Still, I felt the weight of her stare heavy on my back. Guilt ripped through my body before I remembered that day in her driveway.
She’d met someone.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” I said while we walked down the street toward Cord’s Place, closed today so that Cord could paint the bar. He wanted to give everything an extra day to dry. Since I had keys to the place, I was going to give Mallory the bathroom fuck she wanted.
Walking up to the front of the bar, she asked, “Why are we here?”
I pulled out the key and unlocked the door.
“It’s closed today.”
A smile spread over her face.
“Are you sure no one will come in?”
Laughing, I shut the door and locked it. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the ladies’ restroom.
“Oh, someone’s going to come. And when you do, I want to hear you screaming my name from that pretty little mouth of yours.”
The second we were in the bathroom, I unzipped my pants and pulled out my cock. Mallory dropped to her knees and took me in her mouth but I pulled her up. I wasn’t in the mood for that. I never liked women going down on me. The only one I’d ever let was the woman sitting back at the café. The one whose emerald eyes I couldn’t get out of my fucking head.
Shit! I needed a second to clear my thoughts. I wasn’t about to screw Mallory while I was thinking of another woman.
“Tripp, why are you making me wait?”
Looking into her eyes, I lifted her skirt and slipped my hand into her panties. She was soaking.
One quick rip and the panties were gone. I reached into my wallet and took out a condom, rolling it on as I stared at her for a few moments. Once my head was clear, I lifted her and lowered her onto my cock and pressed her against the door.
“You ready?” I asked.
“Yes,” she hissed. “Fuck me hard.”
I gave her exactly what she asked for.
The knock on my office door had me looking at my watch. Shit. It was seven.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Cord walked in. “What in the hell are you still doing here this late?”
I shrugged. “I guess if I was being honest with myself, hiding.”
He sat down in one of the chairs facing my desk. “From?”
“Hell, I don’t know. Everyone.”
He nodded. “You want to talk about it?”
I dropped my pen onto the desk and scrubbed my hands down my face while leaning back in my chair.
“Fuck, Cord. I’m twisted up inside. I’m really trying to give this thing with Mallory a go.”
“What’s keeping you from doing that? Her kid?”
“No, hell no. I love little Laney. She’s precious, and I honestly hardly ever see her. Mallory is pretty strict about that. I’ll go over to pick them up for dinner or a movie, but I rarely hang out at their house. Mallory says she doesn’t want to confuse Laney.”
Cord lifted his brows. “Really? I would think Mallory would want you to get to know each other better.”
“Yeah, who knows. Maybe it’s for the best anyway.”
“So, what has you holding back?”
I stared at him. He already knew the answer. The five-fo
ot-two, gorgeous brunette with the sun-kissed skin, and crystal-clear eyes that sparkled like emeralds was the reason I was so fucked up.
“I think you already know.”
He smiled. “Harley?”
I pointed to him. “Right, as usual.”
Pulling in a deep breath, Cord said, “She is looking damn hot. I heard Todd Schneider has been asking her out.”
My brows pulled together. “Steed’s old high school buddy?”
He nodded.
“How do you know this?”
“Corina told me.”
My jaw dropped. “She told you, but not me?”
Tossing his head back, he let out a roar of laughter. “Dude, why in the hell would she tell you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because she’s my best friend, and she knows I dated Harley.”
“She also knows, like everyone else in town, that you’re now dating Mallory.”
“Still, she should have told me.”
“Why? Would it have made a difference to what is happening between you and Mallory?”
“To know that Harley is dating? No.”
I was getting better at telling myself that lie. Each night I laid in bed and thought about that fucking letter she wrote me. I had torn it up without even reading it. I had regretted it the moment I put it in the shredder.
“She said she had Milo in for a check-up, and Todd was in there with his new puppy. She overheard him asking Harley to dinner.”
I swallowed hard. “And Harley said no?”
He gave me a look that said I was pathetic. “Harley said no.”
Letting out the breath I hadn’t even known I was holding, I leaned back in my chair.
Cord stared at me. “Tripp, are you over her? Are you really able to say you can move on with another woman?”
“If you had asked me that before Harley came back I would have said probably. Maybe.”
“That shouldn’t make a difference, Tripp. What does her being back in town have to do with it?”
I let out a gruff laugh. “For starters, when I see her a flood of memories come rushing back. If Mallory is with me I can’t focus because I’m afraid she’ll catch me stealing glances at Harley, or she’ll ask me if I still have feelings for her.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. No. Yes.”
With a lift of his brow, Cord gave me an incredulous look. “Which one is it?”
Closing my eyes, I sighed. “Listen, there will always be a part of my heart that belonged to her. That will always belong to her. But she made it clear when she told me she’d met someone else that she didn’t feel that way about me. So I know there isn’t a chance in hell with her.”
Cord leaned forward and rested his elbows on my desk. His chin went to his hands, and he shook his head. “Have you ever sat down and talked to her since that day?”
“No.”
“All those years she came to the house when she was visiting her parents, looking to talk to you, or asking us to please have you call her. I mean, Tripp, there were times I was ready to see her fall to her knees and beg us to tell her where you were. You never once thought that maybe you should call her back? That y’all needed to talk?”
“Why? She made her choice, and she picked some jerk she met at school who would live happily ever after with her in a goddamn loft apartment in downtown Dallas after they saw the world.”
Cord stood. “You’re an idiot.”
I laughed. “Me? You’re the fucking idiot. You haven’t even pieced it together yet that Maebh is the owner of the new restaurant…and that it’s not a bar. Remember the city council meeting?”
His eyes widened. “You told me it was a pub!”
Standing, I folded my arms over my chest. “Maybe if you hadn’t been staring at her tits while she was talking you would have heard that she’s opening up an Irish restaurant with a bar. Not the kind of bar you run, you stupid shit.”
“You motherfucker. How long have you known it wasn’t a bar?”
“A few months,” I replied with a smug smile.
“And you let me believe it was a bar. I saw her at the corner store and ignored her! I thought she was the enemy!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s your fault. You’re afraid of a little competition.”
Cord started for the door. He turned and pointed to me. “I’m not telling you anything else Corina tells me! Ever!”
“Ha! I’m her best friend, asshole. All I have to do is give her a call and get the information myself.”
He shot me an evil grin. “Good luck with that.”
As he shut the door I closed my eyes and let out a long groan.
“Fuck. My. Life.”
The trees swayed back and forth as I stared out the window at the beautiful sunset.
“Harley, sweetie, are you okay?”
My mother’s voice pulled my eyes from the reds and pinks that danced across the sky. With a half-hearted smile, I nodded. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not fine. You haven’t been fine in years. I thought moving back to Oak Springs and taking over Doc’s practice would have made you happy.”
“I am happy, Momma.”
Her eyes looked at me with pity. I couldn’t stand it.
“Then why do you seem so sad? Is it because of Tripp and Mallory?”
Just hearing their names in the same sentence made me feel ill. My stomach knotted each time I saw them, nearly knocking me to my knees.
I was so stupid to let him go. So. Damn. Stupid.
“I don’t know what I expected when I came back. All those years of knowing he hadn’t settled down with anyone and then I move home hoping for something—anything—and now he’s dating someone.”
“Are you ever going to tell me why you lied to the boy and told him you met someone?”
My chest ached as the memory of that day rushed back. I’d never spoken about it to anyone, not even to my parents. The day I broke the heart of the only man I had ever loved.
“Come on,” she said softly. “I have a couple horses saddled up. Let’s go for a ride. The horses always have a way of taking away the pain and heartache for a bit.”
I followed my mother through the house and down to the barn. The moment I climbed onto Starlight, I felt the tension start to leave my body. Horses used to be my life. I rode competitively when I was younger with my good friend, Lori. Her family owned some of the most expensive show horses in the county.
We rode in silence for a bit before we came to a ridge that looked out over the hill country. It was my favorite spot on the ranch. The place I went to when I needed to get my thoughts in order.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing wrong, Momma.”
She groaned. “You have that stubborn Latino blood flowing in you, Harley, with a head as hard as the land we are gonna ride through.”
I chuckled. She was right. I took more after my father in my personality and my looks. My mother had beautiful blonde hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes. My father was Latino. Brown hair and beautiful cognac-colored eyes. My hair was brown, and I had green eyes. Emerald-green eyes. My mother used to tell me they were Rose’s eyes. My great-grandmother.
The ranch I had grown up on was my mother’s parents’ and they, in turn, gave it to her and my father. Daddy was the son of two Mexican immigrants who worked on another ranch here in town not far from this one. My mother always said she would never forget the moment she saw my father for the first time. It was in elementary school. She said he was the most handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on. It was love at first sight.
Just like with me and Tripp.
“You’re right on that. I am my father’s daughter.” Releasing a sigh, I looked out toward the horizon, wondering how in the hell I ended up so lost. Confused. Lonely as hell.
“Talk to me, Harley. Please.”
Years of holding in my secret came rushing to the surface, and I instantly started crying. Sliding
off my horse, I paced while she stood there, giving me the time I needed to find the words.
I’d always known my parents knew I had lied to Tripp. The last thing I would ever do to him was cheat on him.
“I didn’t know what else to do, Momma. He was going to give up everything, and I wasn’t about to let that happen. I even heard him telling his daddy he didn’t want to leave. He was only going to do it for me!”
She reached for my arms and held me still. “Take a deep breath. Slow down.”
I tried to do as she said, but I was ready for the first time in almost ten years to tell someone other than Tripp the truth. I wanted him to be the first, but since he wouldn’t even talk to me, I had no choice. I had to tell my mother everything.
“You a bit calmer?” she asked.
Nodding, I took in one last shaky breath and started at the beginning.
“That day it happened, I knew Tripp had been asked to join Dave Hassell’s team at the law firm. I’d overheard him telling Tripp’s daddy he was going to offer Tripp a summer position and that he would work around any days Tripp would be needed at the ranch. I had planned on asking Tripp if he wanted to move to Dallas with me after vet school. I just didn’t want to come back here, Momma. At least, not right away. I love Oak Springs, but I wanted to see things. Travel around the world like Aunt Tanya. Live in a big city for just a bit.”
My mother rolled her eyes. “Oh, Harley.”
I wiped the snot that was now running from my nose with the back of my hand. My mother snarled.
“I wanted to explore what else was out there besides Oak Springs and College Station, Texas. But I knew Tripp had other dreams. I guess a part of me thought that maybe he might want to do those things, too, once I finally voiced them. At least, I was hoping like hell he would.”
Her eyes glassed over with tears.
“But he didn’t?” she asked.
Closing my eyes, I dropped my head as the memory of the day hit me full force.
“He started talking about our future. Him opening up a law practice and me going to work for Doc at the vet clinic. I wanted so badly to want that, Momma, but I didn’t. At least, I didn’t want it right then. When he mentioned starting a family after school, I had to tell him what I wanted.”
Blind Love Page 2
