Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set

by Grover Swank, Denise

  “I saw it and thought of you.”

  Hearing that she’d been thinking of me nearly did me in. It was just a fucking keychain, but when she explained its purpose, it took everything I had to keep my seat. All I’d wanted to do was throw her over my arm and carry her somewhere where I could finally taste that sweet mouth of hers.

  I felt something on my chest and looked down to see a set of blood red nails dragging across my shirt. I’d been so wrapped up in feeling like a dick that I’d completely forgotten Hailey. She’d spotted me the moment I walked in and made her way over. I hadn’t come to the bar looking for a hookup, but it was obvious she had. I’d been polite because the two of us had fun together a couple of times, but that had been the extent of it. I’d had a certain skittish blonde with a sweet smile on my mind for the past week, and no other woman had been able to hold my interest.

  She leaned close, a seductive smile on her glossy pink lips. “Forget about the waitress, baby. How about we get outta here, huh? We can head back to my place and have a little fun of our own.”

  Grabbing her wrist, I removed her hand from my body and sat up straight. “Sorry, darlin’, that’s not gonna happen. But I’ll see you around, yeah?”

  Her mouth turned down in a frown, but I knew the look was only from disappointment and not because there was something deeper on her end. I was up front with all the women I took to bed. They knew the deal and were just as happy with the arrangement as I was. We were all about fun, nothing serious. I never once lied or led a woman to believe there was a chance for more between us. And every woman I fucked was looking for nothing more than the no-strings fun I had to offer.

  I could tell she was hoping to change my mind, but she didn’t push her luck. Another thing I made clear was that if I was done, I was done. I never went back.

  And Hailey and I had been done for months.

  She took the hint and bailed, no doubt going on the prowl for another man, and I sucked back more beer, all the while tracking my little hummingbird’s every movement.

  I usually caught her watching me several times throughout her shifts, but after how I’d acted, she didn’t look back in my direction once. I watched as she smiled and chatted with other customers, resting her hand on their shoulder, or throwing her head back on a laugh, and the whole time my gut twisted into knots. I wanted those smiles, goddamn it.

  “Thinkin’ our boy here knows just how bad he fucked up.”

  I twisted my head and gave Danno a glare. “Christ, you guys are worse than Ma’s book club ladies. You all grow vaginas when I wasn’t around?”

  Scoot grinned at me over the mouth of his beer bottle. “Boy, talk shit all you want, but you just turned down available pussy so you could sit here and make googly eyes at another chick. For you, that means you’re either sprung, dead, or your dick quit workin’. Now, I see you breathin’ with my own two eyes, so what is it? Sweet Farah got you all tied up, or you need one of Danno’s little blue pills?”

  Danno flipped Scooter off while the rest of the guys busted out laughing. Sometimes I really fucking hated the assholes I considered family.

  Turning back to face the crowd, I scanned the area for Farah and found her leaning against the bar, listening to something Darla was saying. She nodded her head and reached over the counter. Darla dropped a set of keys in her open palm, then Farah moved down the hall that led to the back of the building.

  “Where you goin’?” Clay asked when I pushed my chair back and stood a second later.

  I pocketed the keychain while cutting my eyes his way. “How about you nosey assholes get yourself another round and stay outta my business.”

  I didn’t listen to their heckling as I cleared the steps that took me to the main area and started toward the hallway. I had more important things on my mind than my buddies being pricks. Mainly, getting to my skittish hummingbird before it was too late.

  * * *

  Farah

  I was standing on my tiptoes, stretching my arm as high as I could to reach the bottle of vodka on the top shelf when the door to the stockroom slammed shut. Sucking in a startled gasp, I nearly knocked the bottle over when I whipped around.

  Cannon was in my space before I knew what was going on, reaching up to grab the bottle before it could crash to the ground. “What’s your game, Farah?” he clipped, slamming the vodka down on the shelf beside my head.

  My heart was thundering in my chest as I looked up into those angry hazel eyes. “Y-you’re not allowed in here.”

  “Answer the goddamn question. What kind of game are you playin’?”

  My back went stiff as I narrowed my eyelids in a glare. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not playing any games.”

  He let out a humorless chuckle. “Bullshit.”

  “It’s not bullshit!” I snapped. “Now get out. You can’t be in here.”

  He stepped closer to me, and the already-small room was made even tinier by his big presence. Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he pulled out the Harley keychain and held it between us. “I’m not leavin’ ’til you tell me what the hell you’re playin’ at.”

  “I’m not playing at anything,” I cried, throwing my arms out at my sides.

  “I was just trying to be nice!”

  He took a step toward me, forcing me to back up and bump into one of the shelving units that lined the walls. “So you give me a keychain ’cause you’re tryin’ to be nice? After fuckin’ standing me up?”

  My heart started pounding against my ribs so hard it hurt. I wanted to run. I wanted to chicken out and bail. Unfortunately, he was blocking the door, so I went with my second option. Attitude. “Fine! If you don’t want the keychain, give it back.”

  “Cut the shit,” He clipped so fiercely I jumped.

  “You know what? I don’t have time for this. I’ve got better things to do than stand here while you act like a complete asshole, so how about you head back to your latest conquest and leave me the hell alone.”

  I wasn’t sure if the fire that flashed in his eyes just then was good or bad, but as he stepped closer, lifting his hands to rest them on the shelves at my head and effectively pinning me in place, I got the distinct feeling that I was the pray and Cannon was very much the hunter. I was very much aware that this man could easily overpower me without even trying, but I wasn’t scared. Something in my gut told me that he’d never hurt me, but that didn’t mean the panic wasn’t still lingering beneath the surface.

  “You jealous, baby?” he asked, one corner of his mouth hooking up in a seductive smirk that would have worked on me had his question not reminded me of Shane’s warning.

  My back went straight, my shoulders squared, and I lifted my chin indignantly. “Hardly,” I spat in return. “If anything, I feel sorry for her. Being one of many must really suck. I just hope, for her sake, she doesn’t develop actual feelings before you toss her out like trash.”

  Cannon instantly took a step back, like he couldn’t stand being so close to me. My stomach sank as his features grew hard as stone.

  “You don’t have the first goddamn clue what you’re talkin’ about,” he clipped, his voice craggy with anger.

  I regretted the words the instant they passed my lips, and I would have given anything to take them back. I was judging a man I barely knew on something that was none of my business. That made me no better than the people I’d moved here to escape.

  “Cannon, I—”

  “Hate to break it to you, darlin’, but the only thing any of those women ever wanted from me was my dick, and seein’ as we were all unattached, I was happy to oblige. You want me to apologize for bein’ a single man and takin’ what was offered to me, that’s not gonna happen.” His top lip curled in a look of disgust as he took me in one more time. “Christ, fuckin’ sucks to find out I was so goddamn wrong about you, but I guess it’s better to know now. At least I can stop beating myself up, tryin’ to figure out a way to win you over.”

  He took a step back
and started to turn, and I was hit with an overwhelming feeling of panic. Only this time, it was a very different kind of panic. This wasn’t the freezing dread I experienced after each nightmare. This was something else. This was a palpable fear that I was about to let something that had the potential to be really great walk out of my life, and the thought of that happening made me sick to my stomach.

  I acted on instinct, my gut taking over. My lips parted and went on a tangent. “I’m sorry,” I blurted out quickly, sincerity dripping heavily from those two words. “I’m so sorry, Cannon. I made a snap judgement, and I knew as soon as I said it that I was wrong. That’s not me. I’m not a bitch, but that was a bitchy thing to say. I just . . .” I paused, raking a shaky hand through my hair as I struggled to find the right words to show him just how bad I really felt. “I don’t know how to act or feel around you. You were so nice . . . and helpful. You were being so sweet, and I freaked out. Me standing you up was a shitty thing to do. I’ve felt terrible about it for days. And yes, I know the keychain was stupid, but I just . . . I needed to do something. I wasn’t trying to play games with you, Cannon. I’m trying to find my footing around you, but I don’t know how.”

  The tension that had been pouring off of him in waves suddenly stopped. The atmosphere in the room shifted again, only this time, it wasn’t full of anger. It was . . . something else.

  The granite softened out of his features and his voice was much softer when he spoke again. “Tell me why you’re freaked out.”

  “I—what?”

  He cut the foot of space between us in half. He was all I could see and smell, and the effect was intoxicating. “You said you freaked because I was being nice. Tell me why, Hummingbird.”

  “Because you scare me,” I admitted on a whisper, the words coming out before I could give them a second thought.

  That seemed to surprise him. “What?”

  My brain was screaming at me to shut the hell up, but I couldn’t. Keeping everything to myself was just too exhausting. “You scare me. You have since the first time I laid eyes on you.” I let out a pathetic chuckle while shaking my head. “You’re just so . . . you.”

  He arched a single brow and hit me with a panty-melting smirk. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “No. It’s a good thing. A really good thing. But it’s overwhelming for me. And, yes, I’ll admit, I got a little jealous when I saw you with those other women, but I was wrong to judge you. Then, the other day at the pet store, you were being so nice, and I just . . . I didn’t know how to handle it.”

  The humor washed from his expression. “You don’t know how to handle someone being nice to you?”

  I knew my eyes were filled with sadness as I shrugged and answered, “I didn’t have a whole lot of kindness in my life, at least not until I moved here. I’m trying to get used to it, but it’s hard for me.”

  His fingers caressed my face, sliding from my temple to my jaw until his palm came to rest on the side of my neck. “Jesus, baby. You’re killin’ me right now.” I felt that touch in my bones, in my veins, in every single part of me. His touch made my blood sing and my belly flip. It felt so damn good that I leaned deeper into it. As soon as I did, he lifted his other hand and held both sides of my neck.

  “I’m sorry I stood you up,” I said in a barely-there whisper. “And I’m even more sorry I acted like such a bitch tonight.”

  His fingers pressed deeper into my skin. “I know, Hummingbird.”

  “And I’m sorry for giving you a lame keychain.”

  His chuckle reverberated through the small space. “It’s not lame. I love that you saw somethin’ and thought of me.”

  I felt myself perk up a bit. “So you like it?”

  “Yeah. I love it.”

  A smile lifted my cheeks and stretched so big it made my face hurt. “Good.”

  “Just one thing. My bike’s a Triumph, baby.”

  My head tilting and my forehead pinched in a frown of confusion. “I don’t know what that means. What’s a Triumph?”

  At that, his chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh that made my skin tingle. “Fuck me, you’re cute. Triumph’s the make, baby. You come for a ride with me, I’ll show you the difference.”

  My lips parted in surprise. “You . . . you’d still take me for a ride? Even after—”

  “Yeah, Farah,” he cut in gently. “More I think about it, the more I like the idea of bein’ the first man to put you on the back of his bike.”

  He leaned in closer, and once again, I was sure he was going to kiss me. While there was a big part of me that wanted it, a really big part, I knew I wasn’t ready. Not yet.

  But before that could happen, the door to the stockroom opened and Shane’s head popped in. “Hey, Darla sent me to—” Her mouth clamped shut and her eyes bugged out when she was the clinch Cannon and I were in. Shane was the first to act. After several seconds of silence, her face lit up with a huge, knowing grin. “You know what? It can wait. I’ll just . . .” Her words trailed off as she grabbed the knob and pulled the door closed.

  “Oh my God,” I groaned over Cannon’s laughter, squeezing my eyes closed and letting my head fall back. “That was so embarrassing.”

  “Farah, this is a bar in the middle of biker town. I’m willin’ to bet good money, she’s walked in on way worse than this.”

  He had a point. Shane had warned me to always announce myself before going into the bathroom. But her interruption was a wake-up call. As much as I didn’t want to leave the privacy of this little room, this was my place of work and I had a job to do.

  “I really should get back out there,” I said softly. “Darla sent me in here for a bottle of vodka a while ago.”

  He took a beat to scan my face as if he were gaging my level of freak out, and once he saw I was good, he took a step back, grabbing the vodka bottle he’d put on the shelf behind me and handing it over.

  “All right, Hummingbird. Get back to work. I’ll see you out there. And think on that ride.”

  He pulled the door closed behind him, and I took a second to calm my nerves and, most especially, my hormones. Then I left the stockroom, hoping Darla wasn’t too pissed I’d taken so long.

  Chapter 12

  Farah

  I rounded the bar at a fast pace, offering Darla a contrite look as I handed her the bottle. “I’m so sorry—” I started, but she waved me off with a chuckle.

  “It’s all good. Shane told me you were . . . wrapped up. No harm.”

  And the embarrassment just wouldn’t end.

  “Still. It won’t happen again.”

  She let out an indelicate snort and a mumbled, “Uh huh. Right.”

  With a roll of my eyes, I pulled the keys from my apron and passed them back to her, then I grabbed my tray and did a quick round of my section.

  Shane was already standing there when I hit the bar. Ignoring her giddy expression, I spouted out my order to Buck. “Two Jack and cokes, three drafts, and one George Dickel, neat.”

  Buck went about filling my order, and I kept my focus on him while Shane’s eyes drilled holes in the side of my head.

  “So,” she dragged out once it became obvious I wasn’t going to initiate conversation. “Cannon Banks, huh?”

  “It’s not like that,” I replied, finally giving her the attention she wanted.

  She blew out a raspberry with her lips. “Oh please. Two hot, consenting adults shut in the stockroom with barely enough space between them for sunlight to get through? It’s totally like that. Good for you, girl. He’s all kinds of hot.”

  My lips parted in surprise, and I felt that all-too-familiar heat hit my neck and spread up my face like wildfire. “Wasn’t it you who warned me off my first night working here?”

  She waved my comment off like it was nothing. “Yeah, but that was before. Now I’m just excited for you.”

  “Before what?”

  Her face lit up as she leaned in close, lowering her voice like she was about to share a secret.
“Before I caught him staring at you like you were a big, juicy steak, and he was starving.” At my shocked expression, she gave it to me straight. “Babe, every time he’s in here, he watches you like you’re the only person in the room.”

  My chest felt too tight. The blood coursing through my body heated. I suddenly felt like I’d been thrust right back into high school and had just found out that the most popular boy was planning to ask me out. My voice was a barely-there whisper as I closed more of the space between us and asked, “He does?”

  Her lips pulled into a grin as she answered gently, “Yeah honey. He does.” Her gaze drifted over my shoulder for a beat before returning to me. “Hell, he’s doing it right now. I’m surprised your clothes haven’t gone up in flames with how hard he’s staring at you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look at a woman the way he looks at you.”

  For some reason, her saying that made me feel like I was floating on air. I slowly turned, pretending to do a scan of my section so I could look in his direction without being obvious. Sure enough, he was watching my every move, and the second our eyes locked, those sinful lips curled up in a smile that took my breath away. Never in my life had I been the focus of a man like Cannon Banks, and the sensation was absolutely exhilarating.

  “Looks like your man needs a refill,” Shane muttered, pulling my attention back to her. “Better get up there.”

  “H-he’s not my man,” I stuttered, feeling like my face was two seconds away from catching fire.

  “Just a matter of time, honey. Just a matter of time.”

  She took off, moving in the opposite direction of the pool tables, and with no other choice but to cover that section for the time being, I grabbed my tray and headed over. I looked around and, for the first time, noticed that the woman from earlier was nowhere in sight. As ridiculous as it was, I freaking loved that. As I climbed the two steps, all eyes came to me, but I could only feel one set.

  “There she is!” Scooter exclaimed the instant I stopped at their table. “Hey, darlin’. You got perfect timin’. We need you to confirm a rumor that’s been goin’ ’round.”