by Piper King
Screw Driver
A Blue Collar Alpha Romance
Piper King
Contents
Connect with Piper King
Also by Piper King
1. Harper
2. Noah
3. Harper
4. Noah
5. Harper
6. Noah
7. Harper
8. Noah
9. Harper
10. Noah
11. Harper
12. Noah
13. Harper
14. Noah
15. Harper
16. Noah
17. Harper
18. Noah
19. Harper
20. Noah
21. Harper
22. Noah
Epilogue
What To Read Next
Excerpt of Jack Hammer
Cover by Mayhem Cover Creations
Copyright © 2017 by Piper King
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Also by Piper King
Bad Boy Truckers
Mother Trucker
Full Load
Blue Collar Alphas
Jack Hammer
Power Driller (Coming Soon!)
1
Harper
Noah Hall holds out his arm to walk me down the aisle, but all I want to do is smack his smirking face with my bouquet. I can feel the rest of the wedding party holding their collective breaths as they wait behind us. I’m sure they’ve made bets on how quickly things will escalate. I can hear the whispered questions swirling in the air. Will they make it through the day without shoving wedding cake into each other’s faces? Will they get through the vows without lobbing insults across the aisle?
But getting a rise out of me is exactly what Noah craves. Besides, today isn’t about how badly I want to throw ten glasses of champagne into my arch-enemy’s face while he stands there with his smoldering eyes in his tailored black suit, one that fits him like a glove.
A glove that most definitely shows off the muscles he’s been working so hard on in the gym.
Somehow, his perfect physique annoys me even more.
But today isn’t about the most infuriating man alive. It’s about Zoe. It’s about Jack.
And I’m not going to cause a scene at their wedding.
I slip my hand into the crook of Noah’s firm, bulky arm, and his smile grows wider. Like he’s won. He probably made some stupid bet with his brothers—hell, he probably made it with half the damn town knowing him—about how long it will take me to slap him. Just like the bet he made back in high school, the one that started our lifelong feud.
As we make our way down the aisle, memories flood my brain. I was the new girl in Redwater when I met him, after I moved in with my grandmother when she came down with Alzheimers. I didn’t think I would like it here in this town. It’s small. It’s secluded. Everyone already knows everyone else, and I just assumed I’d be the weird outsider no one could bother to befriend.
But then I walked through the front doors of the school, and my eyes landed on the hottest guy I’d ever seen in my sixteen years of life. Noah Hall, the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome. A little rough around the edges, sure, but that only added to his allure. There was just a hint of danger, a hint of bad boy, and he reeled me in with that lazy, sexy smile of his.
He whispered into my ear as I passed him in the hall and said some dumbass line I should have known was a joke.
I thought I’d hit the jackpot. I mean, what girl wouldn’t? I was pretty convinced (at the time!) that he was the hottest guy in all of Redwater, Connecticut. Hell, maybe in all of the state. (Maybe even in the country. The world?) I’d never had a boyfriend. I’d never even been kissed. And of all the girls in the school, he wanted me.
Except he didn’t.
Not really.
To him, it was a massive joke.
I was a joke.
As soon I said the word yes to a night out at Bluff Point (which, I didn’t know at the time, is where all the teenage hanky panky happens), he smirked and high-fived his brother Jack who suddenly appeared behind us. And then Jack handed over twenty bucks and that was that.
Every since then, Noah Hall has been my mortal enemy.
Nothing he can say or do will ever change that.
And to tell you the truth, I think he hates me just as much as I hate him. Why? I’ll never know. He was the one who screwed me over, not the other way around.
We make it down the aisle without any shins getting kicked and stand on opposite sides of the altar. Noah’s eyes never leave my face, and I feel a heat sweep across my cheeks. What the hell is his fucking problem? Do I have lipstick stuck on my teeth or something?
He winks.
I curl my hands into fists and seriously think about forgoing all decorum. Zoe would understand. She knows all about Noah and his stupid bets, though she’s strangely softened to him these past few months. Some nonsense about him bringing her together with Jack. Which, while that’s technically true, can never defend his dumbass actions.
But then the bridal music swells in the small church, and I loosen the tension in my hands. I can make it through this. For Zoe.
But then Noah Hall approaches me at the reception with that stupid smirk still plastered on his face, and the tension floods right back into my body.
“Care to dance?” He holds out a hand, and I swat it away.
“You can’t be serious, Noah.” I cross my arms over the thin material of the bridesmaid gown. More to cover up my headlights than anything else. I’m cold. There’s no other possible reason they’d be perking up right now.
“‘Course I’m serious, Harper.” He gestures at the crowded dance floor where everyone bops around to cheesy wedding tunes. Even Luke, the stoic, quiet Hall brother, is shifting on his feet while sipping whiskey from a flask. I mean, I wouldn’t call what he’s doing dancing, but he’s moving at least. “Everyone’s out on the dance floor. Except for you.”
“If I was going to dance, it certainly wouldn’t be with you.” I lean back into the chair and watch the crowd. It does look like fun, I have to give him that. Though I’d never say anything out loud to make him think I agreed with him, even about something as simple as a dance. “Besides, my feet hurt.”
He loosens his tie and nods with a wink. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to getting out of these clothes.”
I narrow my eyes. “You better not be hitting on me, Noah Hall. Because I swear to god, I’ll throw my drink in your face.”
“Hey, hey.” With a laugh, he holds up his hands. “Way to jump to the dirty conclusion. Your mind in the gutter, Miss Harrison? Can’t say I blame you. I look damn good in a suit.”
“You wish. You look like you’re wearing your daddy’s clothes,” I say without thinking.
But then Noah flinches, and I want to kick myself in the head. I bite my tongue and glance away, taking a breath to calm my racing heart. Out of all the asshole things I
could say, why did it have to be that? I’d like nothing more than to dump a pile of manure on him, sure, but I don’t want to twist the knife in his gut. Not about his parents.
“I’m so sorry,” I say quickly. “I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He barks out a laugh, but I know it’s not real. His eyes are hollow and dark, and his hands are tense by his sides. Out of the three brothers, Noah took their parents’ deaths the worst. And I’d just thrown it in his face. As much as I hate Noah Hall, I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, and there are some lines I just won’t cross.
“Oh, I like this song,” I say, a little too brightly. Anything to turn the conversation around.
His scowl dims. “Then, take off those heels and come dance.”
And even though I hate him, I say yes. Because I just said the worst possible thing in the world to him, and I have to make it up somehow. Besides, it’s just a dance. Surely I can put aside my anger for one measly song at my best friend’s wedding. Zoe would do the same for me.
We make our way onto the floor, and I try to relax my hips. I shift from one foot to the other as everyone shimmies around me while singing along to the words. It’s hard to stay tense in this atmosphere. Everyone is smiling. Everyone is moving. Everyone is laughing and singing and having the time of their lives.
Noah slowly circles me with an eyebrow raised, the lights strobing onto his bearded face. He’s dancing, kind of. He pounds his fist in the air to the beat of the music and steps from side to side, moving (but not too much), like he still thinks he’s way too cool for school. But somehow, he pulls this weird bad boy dance off, and I can’t help but shake my head and laugh.
Wait.
Did I just laugh at Noah Hall? Maybe I’ve had wayyyyy too much to drink tonight.
But it’s only one dance.
Surely that can’t hurt a thing.
2
Noah
I have a secret. It starts with the letter H and ends in the letter R. The secret also just happens to be a short little thing with curvy hips, perky breasts, and endlessly long blond hair.
Do you have it yet?
My secret is Harper fucking Harrison.
It’s been a long-ass time since I’ve seen her dance. Hell, the last time must have been at prom when she showed up with the wet noodle, Ryan Spears, after I’d asked her—repeatedly—to go with me. Of course, she thought I was joking and went with Ryan only to annoy me, but it still wrecked me to see her there with some other guy.
Though I couldn’t exactly blame her.
Not after I’d already asked her out as a bet once before.
But here’s the thing…and this is the real secret I’ve been harboring all these years.
I was never joking. When I asked Harper out, I meant it.
When I saw the new girl walk through the front doors of the school on her first day, I wanted her with every fiber of my being. But she was way out of my league, and I knew it. My brothers knew it. The entire school knew it. So, I pretended it was a joke to save face, never for a second believing she’d go for me.
So, when she actually did say yes…well, what the fuck was I supposed to do? My brothers and my friends were all surrounding us and waiting for me to laugh it off. When all I wanted to do was fist-pump the air and throw my arm around her waist to pull her close and smell her sweet apple hair.
Instead, I was an idiot teenager with too much goddamn pride.
And now we’ve been battling for so long, neither one of us knows how to do anything else.
Besides, Harper Harrison has developed fantastic skills when it comes to pissing me off. She goes straight for the jugular every time, and I can’t help but respond in kind. The thing I want most is to kiss those pouty little lips of hers, but I always end up lobbing insults that I don’t even mean.
Because Harper Harrison is fucking perfect.
I take her small hand in mine and twirl her underneath my arm. She spins, laughs, and glances up at me with wide eyes. I can’t remember the last time she smiled at me, and the surprise on her face tells me that she can’t either.
It feels fucking fantastic.
Across the room, my older brother, Luke, cocks his head and frowns. He crooks his finger, calling me to his side. I don’t want to leave Harper on the dance floor, not when she looks relaxed and happy to be around me, something I never thought I could accomplish in all the years on this earth. But Luke mouths “now” and I’ve never been particularly good at ignoring my big brother.
“I’ll be right back,” I whisper into her ear.
The lights pulse and the bass pounds, and I follow my brother to the back of the room where very few people are clustered. He’s always been big on privacy. With a shake of his head, he gives me a tight smile. I know what he’s going to say before the words come out of his mouth.
“Whatever you’re doing, don’t do it,” he says in his firm, steady voice that commands the kind of respect and attention that most men can only dream of. That’s why I listen to him. Well, most of the time anyway.
I hold up my hands. “I was just dancing with her, Luke. No harm in that.”
“What for?” He gestures around us at the rest of the wedding party. “There are a lot of pretty women here you can dance with. Ones you haven’t been harassing for years.”
“Harassing?” I snort and roll my eyes. “That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“If you won’t listen to me, at least consider the bride and groom. Zoe will kill you if you screw with her friend. And Jack will probably help her. It’s their day. For once, try to think about someone else instead of playing your games.”
I bristle at his words. Sure, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past, but I’m sick and tired of everyone assuming I’m the villain of Redwater, Connecticut. No one ever wonders if I might have different motives than the ones they suspect. No one ever thinks that Noah Hall would have feelings that go deeper than the surface. Nope, to everyone else, I’m a hollow joke who only exists to ruin everyone else’s lives.
And if that’s how they want to view me, then I have no fucking desire to change their minds. If they can’t see me for who I really am, then what’s the point in trying?
“You know what? Fine. Assume the worst. You always have and always will. But I’m a grown man, Luke. If I want to go over there and play some kind of game with Harper, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Harper appears from behind me, her tiny fists shaking by her sides.
Shit. Exactly how much did she hear? I want nothing more than to spin her around the dance floor for the rest of the night, but if she only heard the last part of my conversation with Luke, she’ll think I’m trying to mess with her head again.
Great going, Noah. Really fucking great.
“You know, I actually thought you were being nice for once,” she says with a bitter laugh. “How stupid can I be, right? You’re still the same, Noah, and I guess you always will be. Don’t ever speak to me again.”
Harper turns and flounces off, her back stiff and straight. My entire body shakes with the need to call out, to stop her, to explain that I didn’t mean what she thought I meant. But she’d never believe me, not after the way I treated her all those years ago. And all the years since. She’s always thought the worst of me, and now I know she always will.
My heart hurts, as lame as it sounds. It feels like she stuck her sharp heel through my aorta.
“Thanks a lot, Luke,” I grumble as I put a fist against my burning eye. There must be onions nearby.
“Why the hell are you thanking me?” He sighs and leans against the wall. “You only do this shit to yourself.”
“I know it’s really hard for you to believe anything but the worst about me, but I was dancing with the girl because I wanted to. She looked lonely and sad watching everyone else, and I thought it would cheer her up.”
“I�
��m sorry, what? You? Cheer Harper Harrison up?”
“This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. I don’t hate her.” I curl my hands into fists. “This whole dance thing? It wasn’t a joke. I was trying to patch things up.”
Luke blinks at me. “Don’t get me wrong, Noah. I’m glad you want to make things right, but I have to admit I’m curious where this is coming from. You’ve done nothing but mess with her since the day she arrived in Redwater.”
“You want to know where it’s coming from?” Words pop onto my lips, words I’ve never uttered to anyone else. Hell, I barely let myself even think them most of the time. But they’re here now, and I can’t stop them from spilling everywhere and making a mess of my heart. “I fucking love her, okay?”
3
Harper
“You’ll be fine,” Zoe tells me with a smile. “I promise.”
“Are you sure? Like really, really sure you don’t want to postpone your wonderful Caribbean honeymoon for just one more teensy little week?” I clasp her hands in mine and pull her toward the front desk of my newly-redesigned bed and breakfast. Together with Zoe’s careful and measured touch, we’ve spent the last several months giving the place a much-needed facelift while still preserving the feel of my grandmother’s charm, who handed the business down to me. Her love for flowers has remained, but we’ve trimmed back the overwhelming feel of them. Now, the place feels quaint and rustic, a perfect country getaway for city dwellers.
Now we’re ready to open back up for business, and the big Grand Opening is scheduled for Friday, only four short days away. Every room is booked, and a local band is going to play in the lobby while I serve champagne and canapés. It’s a lot fancier than what I’m used to, but I’ve been brimming with excitement for months.
