Flawlessly Broken (Broken #2)

by Anna Paige

  The man was no dummy. He nodded gravely, breathing out so hard some of the foam from his drink ran down the side of the cup. He sipped it slowly, unaware. “You could say that. Turns out we won’t be starting that build next week. Or any week if the state and federal judicial system has anything to say about it.”

  I finally sucked in that breath I was craving. Judicial system? What the hell? Was CBD in trouble?

  He waved a hand at my shocked expression. “Let me specify, it’s not us they are after. It’s the property owner, maybe you’ve heard of him? Ethan Pruitt, business mogul with political aspirations.” I nodded quickly, familiar with the name, as was most of D.C. Pruitt was known as a clean business man, never one to tread on the little guy. Spencer’s jaw flexed tightly. “He was just indicted on a string of charges, including tax fraud and embezzlement. They’ve frozen his assets.”

  I knew there was a reason I’d never liked the guy. There was something around his eyes, a dark, sneaky quality that made me think he was a crook. Guess I was right. “Which I take to mean he won’t be building that house or any other anytime soon.”

  He shook his head, an aggravated look on his face. “I’m thinking that’s a safe bet. I’d like to throttle that little weasel.”

  “So, what does this mean for you guys? Do you have another project you can start?”

  “Unfortunately, no. Preparing to break ground always requires weeks of paperwork and inspections.” Spencer frustrated wasn’t something I was used to seeing. He always either reacted to a situation or didn’t, but he never hesitated, never seemed like he was anything less than in total control.

  “What are you going to do?” I had a sinking feeling that I refused to acknowledge.

  He picked up a toothpick and skewered a chunk of cheddar with a touch more force than necessary. “Brant thinks we need to ride it out, call the next client down the line and set things in motion to start their build early. In the meantime, he wants to give the office staff some paid vacation and maybe try to find something to tide the contractors over until we can get back to work. There are a lot of great construction firms who would jump at the chance to work with our regular crews for a few weeks.”

  “And what about you?”

  He looked up at me helplessly. “I’m betting I go insane from boredom. I mean, I have a few things I can work on but...” His hands scrubbed over his face. “Honestly, these last two weeks would have driven me nuts if it hadn’t been for you. I would have been kicking around the house, fixing shit that didn’t need repairs just to have something to do, and putting way too many miles on my car just to keep from going stir crazy.”

  I snatched a grape from his fingers just before it made it to his mouth, chomping on it playfully. “You put quite a few miles on it anyway, traipsing back and forth to be with me.”

  “Men, don’t traipse, sweetheart. We ramble, we cruise, and once in a while we may even gallivant, but we never traipse.” He smirked at me over the rim of his cup. “And every mile accumulated while on my way to you is worth it. Every single one.”

  We sat in silence for a moment, Spencer trying to decide on a course of action and me trying to steel myself for the inevitable. He would have to go back to Richmond to handle all of this, maybe as soon as today, and I wasn’t ready to let him go. I’d thought I had the rest of the weekend with him, at least.

  Regardless of what I’d wanted, I wasn’t about to add to his stress by acting disappointed. It wasn’t fair to him. We’d known before we started this that distance was a problem, so I would smile my brightest smile and send him off without guilt. It was the right thing to do. And it hurt like hell to even think about it.

  I never would have thought I’d feel so attached to someone. Not just because it was so soon, barely a couple of weeks, but because I’d been determined to never feel this way again.

  He watched me watching him, a soft smile playing on his lips. “What were you thinking just now? You’re expression kept changing like one of those holographic cards where the picture slowly morphed from one thing to another and back again. It was kind of cute, to be honest.”

  I shook my head absently, returning his smile. “I honestly don’t know how to answer that question. So much is going on right now, I guess it was a combination of things. Rapid-fire thoughts is a good way to describe it.”

  “Hmm... I must have had the same expression because I feel the same damn way right now. What do you say we go back to the apartment and see what we can do to shut down the worry factory for a while?” He waggled his brows and downed the last of his coffee.

  I tossed the bar towel into the empty sink and headed around the bar. “Best idea I’ve heard all day.”

  He followed behind me all the way to the door, grabbing my ass and making me squeal. For the time being, at least, we weren’t going to talk about him leaving.

  And I was perfectly fine with that.

  WE LAY IN bed sometime later, lazily snuggled together and listening to the radio we’d left playing in the living room. It was a slow, sweet song, one that made you want to drift off to sleep. I was tempted to do just that, lulled by the sound of Spencer’s breathing and his heartbeat thrumming in my ear as I lay on his chest.

  Spencer was wide awake, though. He reached up and brushed my hair down with his fingers, having gotten it caught in his beard once again. “Sweetheart, you awake?”

  “Hmm?” I didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to move.

  I could hear the smile in his voice. “Barely. Got it. Well, much as I’d love to lie here with you all night, I think we need to discuss what I’ve decided about the situation back home.”

  I sat up on one elbow, wincing at my sore muscles and at the same time wishing for more. “Okay. What have you come up with?”

  “I think I need to head back either late tonight or early in the morning to spend some time at the office ironing things out. I can’t leave it all up to Brant, but at the same time, the idea of leaving you here with your piece of shit ex makes my skin crawl. I don’t trust that guy, not for a second. So, I’m not sure where that leaves me.”

  I thought about that for a minute while I peppered his chest with soft kisses, unable to make myself stop. After a while, he touched my cheek and I looked up to meet his eye.

  “Sweetheart, tell me what you want me to do. If you’re worried about Derek, I’ll stay. I’ll find some way to push back any decisions at CBD until next week.” I started to shake my head but he gripped my chin. “I need you to be honest with me, here. I know you hate asking for help, but now isn’t the time to act unaffected if you’re afraid. Understand?”

  Looking into his eyes right then, I knew.

  His saying he loved me earlier had been unintentional but there was no doubt in my mind that it was true. I’d spent the better part of the day wondering how I felt about that. I knew I was falling for him, so it should have been a good thing to find out he felt the same way.

  But it wasn’t.

  Loving him was a stupid risk that I swore I’d never take again but I’d convinced myself that it was okay because it was one sided, which meant it would never go anywhere. No harm done to anyone except me. I could have lived with that.

  When this was just us having fun, our differences hadn’t been a big deal but once he threw the L word into the situation, it was a whole new ballgame.

  One I knew we’d both lose.

  Because the one thing he wanted most was the one thing I would never be able to give him and I couldn’t deprive him of the future he deserved. He deserved a family, children of his own just like he’d always wanted.

  But I wouldn’t be the one to give him that.

  I refused to replace my daughter, and having another child would be doing just that. I couldn’t disrespect her memory that way. Not even for him.

  He was right when he said that not everything we desire is meant for us and as much as I wanted him to stay, I knew it was time to start letting go. For both our sakes. So I smiled at h
im reassuringly and lied for all I was worth.

  The next morning, he went home, and I began trying to figure out a way to end things before he had a chance to make it back.

  I missed him before he even made it out the door.

  Spencer

  I NEARLY TURNED the car around about a dozen times. When I’d said goodbye to Talia early this morning, there had been something in her eyes…something I couldn’t put my finger on, but gave me a bad feeling. I’d hated to leave her but I had little choice and she’d been adamant that she would be okay.

  Before I even realized it, I was at the office. The drive back was a blur of worry and frustration. And longing. I wanted to go back and watch over her. I had a bad feeling about what would happen when Derek found out I was gone. If that little prick so much as put a toe over the line I drew for him, I would string him up by his balls—assuming he had any, of course.

  If only Clay could see me now. He thinks I am the docile, mild-mannered one. And I suppose I usually am, but fuck with what’s mine and the last thing I will be is docile. Clay never saw that side of me with Ivey. Despite feeling something for her in the beginning, I never felt this pull, the need to protect and devour, that I felt with Talia. Every time I saw her sitting there with Derek, I wanted to growl.

  Mine.

  I had no idea where it came from but that was what I heard in my mind every time I looked at her.

  I also had no idea how it would work between us, the distance alone was problem enough but I knew it wouldn’t be the only issue. Would she even want to try? Goddamn, I hoped so.

  I made my way into the empty office and headed straight to my computer. Time to focus on work so I could be free to focus on something that was fast becoming more important.

  Talia.

  MY CELL RANG in my pocket as Brant strolled in and took a seat on the other side of my desk, not as jovial as he’d been the last time he’d sat there.

  I pulled out my phone and absently swiped at the screen to answer. Clay.

  “Hey, I was just going to set up a conference call. Why are you calling my cell?” I frowned at my computer screen, trying to focus.

  “Shit, you’re already back in Richmond?” Clay sounded like his day was going about as well as mine.

  “Of course I’m at the office, we discussed this yesterday afternoon, did we not?” I turned to Brant, who shrugged. The cell was slowing my progress so I turned it to speaker and laid it on the desk. “Say hi to Brant.”

  Clay blew out a frustrated breath. “Yo,” he said by way of greeting, not interested in pleasantries. “I thought you said you’d be back Monday. Didn’t you get the email about a meeting with the investors Saturday in D.C.?”

  What?

  “Uh, no. No email and no time to worry about the wedding gift when we have no work for our crews and office staff. Priorities, fucker.” I was so not in the mood. As much as I wanted to be in D.C., I’d put the company first... and he was going to do the same, dammit.

  Brant sat stoically with one brow raised and absolutely no input. Oh, now the fucker wants to clam up... the last two weeks it’s been yack, yack, yack and now…silence.

  After an exasperated sigh, Clay tried another tack. “Okay, look, we have several jobs lined up on the other side of this, right? And we were considering the timetable for Ali’s present to be out of reach, right? Well, if you ask me, this couldn’t have worked out better. We have the time we need to make this thing for Ali a reality sooner rather than later.”

  “And what about in the interim? You gonna pay the crews and office staff to stay home for the next few weeks?” I prodded.

  “No, smartass. The crews can be reassigned for a few weeks, as we discussed, and the office can run as usual. There are always calls coming in and scheduling to be done for upcoming jobs. Let them do their thing. They can read, knit, watch TV, whatever they usually do when we’re out of town, as long as the clients can get in contact. Hell, they can all take a long, paid vacation and leave the phones to the answering service, if they want. Totally up to them. Then either you or Brant can take meetings as needed on specific days of the week, leaving the rest open for Ali’s surprise.”

  Brant blinked at me, clearly not sure what to say to that. I knew the feeling. Clay must have really been focused on getting everything in order for Ali before the wedding. He’d just acted like he was running the show for the first time in ages.

  Love makes you do all sorts of crazy things, I guess.

  “Okay, I can work with Brant on finding openings for the crews today, hopefully that won’t be a big deal. There have been offers before that we turned down because of time constraints.”

  Brant snorted. “Well, shit’s wide open now.”

  Clay chuckled softly. “Brant, since Spencer has been running back and forth so much, what do you think about taking the meeting in D.C. on Saturday?”

  “No!” Shit. I said that louder than I meant to.

  Brant sat back in his seat, watching me with a furrowed brow.

  “Why the hell not, Spence?” Clay asked, the hiss in the line echoing around the room. “Don’t you think he can handle it?”

  “It’s not that. I’ve just built a rapport with these investors and I already have a handle on the situation.”

  “But you didn’t even know about the meeting until five minutes ago. What’s the deal?” Clay wasn’t stupid, I had to tell him something. Not the truth, of course, but something.

  I ran a hand over my beard, thinking I needed to trim it again. “Okay, I’ve been seeing someone who lives near there and I wanted to go back to spend time with her. The meeting was as good an excuse as any.”

  “You what?” Clay’s voice rose an octave and Brant’s mouth was curled into a knowing smile.

  “I knew it,” Brant declared smugly from his chair.

  Clay was disbelieving as he asked, “Where did you meet her? How long has this been going on? Why the fuck didn’t you tell us? Is she hot?”

  Brant nodded happily. “Yeah, what he said.”

  These assholes were having way too much fun.

  I held up a hand, not that Clay could see but it shushed Brant anyway. “We started seeing each other after striking up a conversation after a meeting I was attending on your behalf, Clay.” It was the truth, just worded so his mind would instantly go to the string of meetings I’d been taking for the Ali project rather than his sending me to check on Talia—technically a meeting he’d arranged. “Aside from that, there’s nothing more to tell. It’s no big deal and I don’t recall anything in our partnership agreement that says I’m obligated to divulge the details of my social life.”

  Brant harrumphed and took a handful of candy from the dish on my desk, clearly unhappy with the lack of information.

  Clay, on the other hand, was downright giddy. “That’s awesome, bro. ‘Bout time you got back out there and gave the ladies hell. With me off the market and Brant too damn quiet to talk them out of their drawers, someone has to pick up the slack.” Brant looked indignant as Clay laughed loudly, making my ears ring. “But seriously, how hot is she? She has to be a fucking stunner to get your uptight ass out of retirement.”

  I thought about Talia, the look on her face the first time I’d taken her, the quick pinch of her features indicating a flash of pain that had morphed into a look of desire the likes of which I’d never seen. “She’s absolutely magnificent.”

  And mine, no matter what it took.

  Mine.

  IT TOOK ALL of Friday and part of Saturday—a notoriously bad day to try to reach contractors even if you are the best firm in the business—to get the crews enough work lined up to last until the next job would begin. Brant offered to hold down the fort in Richmond as much as he could, so I could focus on helping Clay.

  I sat at the foot of my king size bed and slid my shoes on, my open duffel on the bed beside me. I wouldn’t just expect to stay with Talia for the next few weeks. That would be overstepping. I had no problem booking a ro
om at the Hilton or whichever hotel was closest. Truth was, I would be fairly busy myself and might need the solitude to get my work done without the constant temptation to bend her over and fuck the living shit out of her.

  Temptation, my ass. It was a need; a base, instinctual, primal need.

  Yep, a hotel room would be a good idea.

  Maybe I could convince her to join me there for a night or two and we could try out every square inch of the place. Hmm...

  Shit, I hadn’t even finished packing my stuff to head back and I was already consumed with the need to be with her. I was going to get a speeding ticket for sure. I knew exactly how fast the Chevelle was capable of going and had twice caught myself mentally doing the math, math that would land me a reckless driving ticket at best, and a night in jail at worst.

  Fuck, man, get yourself together.

  I’d texted her earlier to check how her meeting with Derek went. She’d replied that he’d been on his best behavior and the cameraman swore he got some of the best shots of the entire series. She recounted in detail all the shots taken and the endless string of compliments from the cameraman on the restaurant’s décor. She’d seemed excited about the article for the first time since the whole thing started.

  I was more relieved than anything.

  Her ex would have no more reason to bother her now. It was over, done.

  With any luck the smarmy fucker was already back on the road to his next destination, and out of Talia’s life for good, leaving her in my capable and talented hands.

  But I doubted that would sink in until I saw her again, could look her over myself and see that she was okay, both physically and emotionally. I still remembered what I’d walked in on that first night. He was toxic to her and I needed to hold her in my arms and make sure that she’d come through it all unscathed.

  While I’d been planning a surprise for Ali, I’d enlisted Ali to help me with a surprise for Talia. It had been tricky to get her to help without letting on that the two of us were together. I assumed she wasn’t privy to our relationship and she gave no indication that she knew. All I told her was that her friend had mentioned something the night I’d stayed over and it had given me an idea for a great surprise to lift her spirits. Ali had needed no further prompting or explanation, thank fuck.