Hard Love

by Joanne Schwehm

  “What happened with your parents? I remember you speaking about them when we were younger, but now, you don’t mention them. Plus, you’re at the helm of your grandfather’s company rather than your father.”

  His jaw ticked; he raked his free hand through his soft hair. Maybe that wasn’t a great topic to bring up. Way to go, Margo. “Never mind, you don’t need to tell me. It’s really none of my business.”

  “They divorced years ago. My father wasn’t the best husband, but in his defense, my mom wasn’t a great prize either. They both made mistakes. Since my mom’s father owned the company, my father was no longer welcome there. Wanting it to remain in the family, my grandfather willed it to me. As you can imagine, that caused a lot of issues with my mother because she felt entitled. She attempted to contest the will, but my grandfather put a caveat in it that if she did, everything that was left to her would be revoked and given to me. Not willing to risk the few million left to her, she backed off.”

  Tears welled in my eyes. “When was the last time you saw your parents?”

  “What year is this?” He chuckled, but it was filled with pain.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Your parents were great to me, and that’s all I needed. Even though their brat of a daughter constantly gawked at me when I was there.”

  I gasped, smacking his rock-hard stomach. “I did not gawk. I may have stared a bit, but I’m not a gawker.”

  “It’s the same thing. But it’s only fair because I could spend my entire day gawking at you.”

  Chapter 18

  I could get used to this.

  The Florida sun filtered into my bedroom. I was alone. The bathroom door was open, so I knew she wasn’t in there. Once I gave my body a good stretch, I rolled out of bed, shrugged on a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt, and set out to find Margo.

  Humming came from the kitchen. There wasn’t any music playing, just Margo’s voice. I wasn’t able to make out the tune, but she was happy—that much I could tell.

  She stood in front of my stove in a robe I purchased for her. Her hair was pulled up in an array of curls that sat messily on her head. Not being able to resist, and not wanting to startle her, I cleared my throat before wrapping my arms around her.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” I placed a gentle kiss on her temple. “I’m glad you’re making yourself at home.”

  “This kitchen is amazing. I made coffee, opened the fridge to see if you had milk, and realized it was fully stocked.”

  I let her go to pour myself a cup of coffee and refreshed hers. “As soon as you agreed to go away with me, I called my housekeeper.”

  Margo nodded. “Well, I made us omelets; I hope you like eggs.”

  “I do, thank you.” I watched her slide the semi-circle creations out of the pan and onto a plate that already had breakfast sausage and potatoes on it. “How long have you been up?”

  “About an hour. I couldn’t resist the gorgeous sunrise—it was beautiful. I was going to wake you, but you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to. Plus, I doubt you ever take the time to sleep in.”

  She was right; rarely did I get up past five thirty a.m. “Next time, wake me so I can share it with you.” We carried our plates and coffee to the dining table. I placed a fork laden with eggs in my mouth and moaned. “This is fantastic. I’m glad we didn’t go into town for brunch like I had planned.”

  Margo glanced at her short robe. “I’m glad we’re staying in, too, because I’m naked under here.” My body reacted to that statement, suddenly wanting her spread out on this table rather than the meal she had made. “You didn’t let me bring anything.”

  “My plan worked.” I winked, she shook her head, and I laughed. “There’s a closet and dresser full of clothes waiting for you in my room.”

  Her eyes went wide. “What?”

  “You heard me. I called this company, Exquisitely Yours. Maybe you’ve heard of it?” I popped a breakfast potato in my mouth. “Wow, this is really good.” Margo’s eyes stayed fixed on me. “Anyway, this nice woman, Rochelle, helped me out. So, everything is your size and style.” I ate another bite and swallowed.

  Margo’s eyes misted over. Shit. Did I do something wrong? Was that too intrusive? All I wanted was to make her happy, not cry. Seeing a woman cry was the worst. Before I could ask what was wrong, she blinked back her unshed tears. “Thank you. No one has ever done that for me before.”

  A sigh of relief escaped me. “Well, I’m not just no one.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Little by little, I’d prove to Margo what she meant to me. This trip would help in that quest.

  We finished breakfast and decided to spend the day relaxing poolside. Fine, maybe I should had shown her the town, but let’s just say I may have had ulterior motives. Yes, seeing Margo in a bikini was one of them.

  We headed to the bedroom to change. Margo, being the fashionista she was, slid open the closet and stared in awe. The selection of dresses, casual to formal, all hung neatly and organized. She felt each of them between her delicate fingers, caressing some longer than others. “These fabrics are amazing.”

  “I’m glad you like them.”

  She nodded. “I can’t believe you did all of this, but why are there so many? There must be ten dresses here, plus ten more outfits in the drawers. I’m only here for the weekend.”

  My heart thumped. “But this won’t be the only weekend. When I’m here, I want you here with me. Waking up, knowing that you’re with me in this house, is better than any sunrise, even if I missed this morning’s.”

  “I’m not sure I can always take the time off. Since my company’s name was mentioned in the paper, thanks to some hot guy, we’ve been extremely busy. Being away might not be the best for me right now. How often do you come here?”

  “I don’t really have a schedule; whenever I want to get away, this is the place for me.”

  Her lips twisted into a small frown. “That’s wonderful, but I don’t have that luxury; it’s really important for me to have a successful business. I’m sure you can understand.”

  Of course I knew what she meant. That didn’t negate the fact that she needed to take some time off, but I didn’t want to push. “I do, so how about this—anytime you want to get away and come here, we do just that, deal?”

  “Yes, deal.” Margo pulled open one of the small drawers in the built-in dresser and laughed when she saw the scraps of material that constituted a bikini. Yes, I had Rochelle pick up the skimpiest thong bikini she could find. Even she said she blushed when she ordered it, but I didn’t give a shit. The strip of black that covered Margo’s pussy, along with the two triangles that covered her tits, was what wet dreams were made of.

  “You’re getting red.” Margo lowered her sunglasses to look at her once-pale skin. She reached over for the bottle of sunscreen, but I stopped her with a wave of my hand. “Here, let me.”

  “You know, if this bathing suit, or lack thereof, covered a bit more, I wouldn’t be so red.” She rolled over onto her stomach. The soft cushion cradled her body—yes, I was now envious of a pillow.

  I squirted the lotion in my palm and rubbed my hands together before placing them on her back. They glided up, down and around her shoulders, and under the black string. Deciding it was a nuisance, I untied the one around her neck and then her back. “There, that’s better.”

  “Your hands feel so good,” Margo moaned, and if she didn’t look so relaxed, I would have been on her in two point two seconds. I was going to put the high privacy fence that surrounded my property to good use. Soon, I would have her on the chaise, in my pool, hot tub, and any other place she wanted.

  My hands moved to her ass. God, I loved her ass. It was the perfect size for my hands, that had a mind of their own. They massaged, caressed, and squeezed until they were satisfied. It took a while before I moved my way to her thighs. Getting more sunscreen, I rubbed her legs from top to bottom, being sure not to neglect each of h
er toes.

  Before I stopped my impromptu and selfish massage, I took the liberty to skim my fingers up her leg, until they were between them. Her breathing was steady, deep, and peaceful. Not wanting to take advantage of a sleepy woman, I leaned down and placed a soft kiss where my hand had been.

  I thought about everything that had happened since I met Margo. Being here was one of them. Taking time off was a rarity for me, even on the weekends. Not checking emails, texts, or voicemails wasn’t my norm. I wasn’t active on social media, so I didn’t have that to worry about.

  After about an hour, Margo’s head lifted from the chair. “Wow, how long have I been asleep? I’m a horrible house guest.”

  “No, you’re the perfect house guest. You cook, sleep, and look gorgeous doing both. Rather than go out for dinner, want to stay in and watch movies?”

  “Sure, that sounds great, but I need a shower first.”

  Margo sat up, and without much thought, I scooped her up and darted toward the pool. My pace slowed to a casual stroll, to admire her perfect tits but not slow enough for her to escape.

  She kicked her legs and squealed. “Noah, put me down!” If she wasn’t laughing, I would have—maybe.

  Before she could say anything else, I jumped feet first, with her in my arms, into the deep end of my pool. When we resurfaced, her legs were wrapped around my waist, her arms around my neck. I maneuvered us to the shallow end so I had good footing.

  Her pebbled nipples were pressed against my chest. “Are you cold? I have the water temperature regulated at eighty-five degrees.”

  She shook her head. “No. It feels good on my skin.” We waded through the water holding each other. Margo laid her head on my shoulder. “I don’t know why I’m so tired.”

  “It’s the sun; it will do that to you. I’ll make dinner since you made breakfast, we’ll pop some popcorn, and watch a movie.”

  “You can cook?”

  “No, I can grill and make a mean salad.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind staying here? I feel bad since you bought me all of those clothes . . .”

  I arched my back and grinned. “Let’s see, do I want you to get dressed to go out or stay naked at home?” My eyes looked to the cloudless sky. “Hmm, that’s a tough decision. I think I’ll go with naked and home.”

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “You’re correct.”

  “I’ve had more sex since we got together than I did in my entire past relationship.” Her admission must have registered because she worried her bottom lip. “That came out wrong.”

  “Did it? Look, I have no issue with the fact that we’ve had more than you did with your ex. Actually, that’s fine with me, because we’re not close to being done yet.”

  She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I still need that shower. Would you mind?” Her eyes cut to where we were connected. When I released her, she swam to the side, climbed the four steps to exit the pool, and wrapped herself in a towel.

  Something was off. “Margo? Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, like I said, I’m just tired. I’ll be inside.”

  A liar she was not. Her eyes never met mine; her smile was gone, as was the lighthearted air between us. Way to go, Winston.

  Chapter 19

  You’re the man I always wished for.

  He said, “Yet.”

  I let the spray from the shower wash over my back as I repeated the same phrase over and over in my head.

  Don’t harp on it.

  Don’t harp on it.

  Don’t harp on it.

  Who says the word, “Yet,” unless they expect something to change?

  Is it raining out? Not yet.

  Did you land that account? Not yet.

  Should we eat dinner? I’m not hungry, yet.

  Are we done? Not yet.

  “Yet” was a shitty word. It just meant a conclusion was expected. Three little letters ruined the lightheartedness of our day. Noah hadn’t even realized what he said. Maybe he didn’t mean it that way, but maybe he expected us to end. After hearing about his parents, combined with what Adam told me, it made sense.

  Then again, I was the one who had a caution light blinking on my forehead. I needed to stop thinking so much and enjoy what we had. We just spent a wonderful day together in a beautiful place, and I screwed it up.

  I let out a frustrated breath before grabbing the bottle of shampoo. The shower door opened, and Noah got in behind me, taking the container from my hand. “May I?”

  The pressure and delight from the small circles his fingers made on my temples was as if he pushed the valve on a tire. And just like the tire, I let out a long breath. He continued caressing my head as he washed my hair. Aside from my hair stylist, no one since my mother had washed my hair for me.

  “Mmmm . . . you’re spoiling me.”

  Noah moved until we were chest to chest. “Tip your head back.” I did as he said. Warm suds ran down my backside. His hands smoothed my hair as best they could. He grabbed the conditioner and worked that into my curly locks. “You have a lot of hair.”

  I righted my head to find him smiling. Guilt, like the water coming out of the shower, flowed over me. “I’m sorry for my behavior earlier.”

  He shook his head as he continued to rinse me. “I’m not exactly sure what happened before, but if we’re okay, then we can chalk it up to heat exhaustion.”

  “Yes, we’re okay.” I placed my palms on his chest; his strong heartbeat under my hands felt like my own. Giving him a kiss between his pecs caused it to pick up its pace. “It’s my turn.”

  All I wanted to do was reciprocate and wash his hair, but he was much taller than I was. “Um . . .” I stood in front of him with a palm full of shampoo and nowhere to put it.

  Noah chuckled and knelt down, causing his face to be right in line with my stomach. His hair was so soft and much easier to wash than mine. In order to prolong it, I began to mimic what he had done to me, giving him the best scalp massage.

  The muscles in my thighs flexed under his hands, which were now gripping them. Using his thumbs, he spread me open just enough for me to feel his tongue along my slit. My nails dug into his head, spurring him on.

  “Noah.”

  “Shh, I got you. I’ve wanted to do this since you slipped into that bikini this morning. Do you realize how sexy you are?”

  Not that he was in any position to see me, but I shook my head. He continued his pursuit of capturing my orgasm, which grew stronger with each passing moment. My grip on him loosened, warm water flowed down my body, and I braced myself for the impending impact. However, my thighs were held tighter as I trembled through one of the strongest releases I had ever felt.

  When he stood, his eyes, which were now a darker shade of blue, stared into my hazy ones. “Like I said, I’m not done with you, by a long shot.”

  I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. He had no idea that statement was exactly what I needed to hear.

  The Florida sunrise was the perfect way to start my day. It was almost better than kicking it off with a cup of coffee—no, it was better.

  “You look gorgeous.” Noah’s compliment gave me goose bumps.

  “Thank you. Rochelle has good taste.” The flower-patterned sundress was not only comfortable, it felt like my body was covered in handwoven silk.

  “She does, but it’s you that makes it beautiful.”

  For someone who claimed he didn’t have a lot of girlfriends, he sure knew the right things to say. How could anyone resist his charms? The thing was, it didn’t feel phony or forced; it was real. We were real. Tears pricked the back of my eyes.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” Noah placed his right hand on the side of my neck, his thumb strummed my jawbone.

  “Nothing, that’s the problem.”

  He furrowed his eyebrows. Yeah, I knew that didn’t make sense. “I don’t understand.”

  “Since the day you saved me in the rain, you’ve been nothing
but the type of man I had always wished for. I’m scared. For the first time in my life, I feel as though everything is coming together. My business is thriving, my friends are happy, and you’re in my life because you want to be.” Noah remained silent. “What I’m trying to say, and clearly am failing at it, is please don’t let this end.”

  Noah pulled me toward him. No words were spoken. He probably didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep. It really was a ridiculous statement. After a few tender moments, he released me. “Let’s go see the town. There are things I want to show you, and we don’t have much time.”

  Hand in hand we took a walking path into town. He pointed out some quaint stores, some we went in and others we admired through the window. God, I would move here in a heartbeat. Yes, I loved Europe, but this had a charming appeal to it as well.

  We happened upon an auction. “Let’s go in.”

  I had never been to an auction before.

  The gentleman at the door signed us in, handed us each a paddle and a program. My luck, I’d sneeze and end up bidding an absurd amount of money on something I hadn’t wanted. I gave my paddle back—it would be safer that way.

  Well-dressed men and women were seated auditorium-style, facing the stage. Noah and I were a bit more casual. I had on a sundress and he wore a pair of khaki chinos and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled to the middle of his forearms. His tanned skin from yesterday’s sun peeked out beneath the cotton.

  Photographers and reporters were all in the back row. My hackles rose at the sight of them.

  “Is it okay that we’re here?”

  Noah smiled with a gleam in his eye. “It’s more than okay.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed him, but who was I to argue? “What type of auction is this?”

  “It’s an estate sale. All proceeds are going to charity. Normally, this would be held in New York, but the organizer decided to have it here.”

  “Oh, why? And why is the press here?”