“Try this, honey,” I encourage her. “It’ll help.”
She looks down and releases a shaky breath before picking up the cookie and taking a nibble.
“Maybe I should have tea instead of a cappuccino,” she whispers.
“Sure thing.”
I brew her a fresh cup of tea and take it over to the date table. I call it the date table because like the couple yesterday, this is where most of the first dates happen. It’s the nerves and the view that draw people to this spot.
You can see all the way down to the river from where my store is perched. In the morning, I like to watch the fog burn off, wispy clouds giving way to calm waters. I sit at this table almost every day staring down at the beauty that surrounds my life and I appreciate it. Sometimes as the fog rolls away, I feel like my mother’s on the other side of the table watching it right along with me. She would have loved it here. I choose to enjoy it for the both of us instead of focusing on the fact that she’ll never see it.
The other reason people choose this table is so they can see their date coming. The large picture window is just in front of the sidewalk that people use after climbing a large river rock stairway to get to our elevated side of downtown.
“Here you go,” I say gently, sliding her cup and saucer in front of her.
She has her face in her hands with her elbows resting on the table, half her cookie eaten.
“I can’t do this,” she mumbles into her palms. “Thank you for the cookie and the tea, but I’ve gotta go.”
She pops her head up at me and I can see the beginnings of tears forming behind bluish green eyes. Her hands are tremoring as she pushes up from the table. She’s tall, maybe closing in on six feet. Her body is stick straight, not a curve to be seen. She looks like a model. Her face is unique—big eyes, sloping nose, wide high cheekbones—making her even more beautiful and her long wavy light brown hair frames it perfectly.
“He’ll come and he’ll be pissed. Just tell him somethin’ came up,” she says, fastening her belt around her winter white pea coat. It’s difficult to accomplish because as she speaks her hands shake more violently. She looks terrified and I’m afraid this isn’t first date jitters.
“Who’s meeting you?” I ask, placing my hand on hers.
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
“Caleb,” she whispers.
“I’ll tell Caleb you had to go, if you promise me that you’re safe.”
Her eyes go wide at my request, but before she can respond the bells above the door ring and a man strides through.
“Jenna,” his tone carries a warning that instantly gets my hackles up.
Jordan’s outside taking a smoke break because we had a lull. I hope he gets back soon. I sense trouble.
Jenna latches onto my hand and bugs her big, heavy-lashed eyes at me.
I swing my gaze over her shoulder to find a massive man staring at the back of Jenna. He looks…scary. I don’t know how else to describe him. His hair is disheveled in an inky mess. His eyes are a deep espresso color, currently forming daggers. His jaw is covered in a few days growth of black stubble. Dark jeans and a worn leather jacket finish him off, but the foreboding look directed at the stunning woman in front of me is indescribable.
“Caleb is it?” I ask pleasantly, not showing my nerves.
“Yeah,” his gravelly voice responds, but he doesn’t stop his glowering.
“Jenna can’t stay today. She was just on her way out. Maybe you can meet another time.”
“Bullshit,” he scoffs and she tenses. “Sit your ass down, Jenna.”
Then he’s moving. He grabs Jenna by her shoulders and spins her away from my grasp. I have the urge to smash between them, but he cups her cheeks gently in a way I wasn’t anticipating so I don’t.
“It’s taken me six months to get you here. You’re not runnin’ out on me,” he commands.
“I can’t do it, Caleb,” she grumbles.
“Don’t give me that shit. You’re here. You came this far. I’ll take us the rest of the way,” he insists.
The intensity pouring off him makes me feel like I’m intruding. I still can’t pull myself away.
“I’ll stay,” Jenna says barely above a whisper.
Caleb pulls her face to his and presses a tender kiss to her forehead before releasing her. Jenna spins on shaky legs to face me. I yank her to me and drag her over to the corner where I put my body between her and Caleb.
“You tell me right now if you’re safe,” I demand. “I’ll call the sheriff. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. If you’re in danger, I need you to tell me, Jenna.”
“I’m not in danger. I’m just scared,” she says quietly, her eyes darting beyond me, surely looking at Caleb.
“Scared of him?”
“Scared of us.”
I absorb that information for a moment. If I’m being honest, I felt the same way yesterday with Garrett. I wasn’t scared of him. But the charged energy that surrounded us was equally terrifying and exhilarating. So I tell her, “I understand that, honey.”
Her big eyes come back to me and I offer her a kind smile.
“Em?” Jordan’s voice calls out concerned from behind me.
I hold up a finger over my shoulder never leaving Jenna’s thoughtful gaze. She reaches her arms around my shoulders and pulls me in for a tight hug. I squeeze her waist even tighter, before setting her back. I grab her hand again and tug her to the counter, not looking at Caleb, who hasn’t moved since I dragged her from him the first time.
I pull out my notepad and jot down my number before pressing it to her palm.
“You call me tonight so I know you’re okay,” I instruct.
She shakes her head and starts to argue, “I—”
“Tonight,” I say firmly with an equally firm squeeze of her hand.
She nods and a smile kisses her full lips. Jenna is a stunning woman and that smile could light up an entire city. With her face glowing, she nods in agreement before moving away. When Jenna reaches Caleb, he stops her progression with his hand to her midsection. He kisses her hair and then lets her continue on her way.
Then he moves toward me, scowl in place. Here we go.
“What can I get you?” Jordan asks with some gruffness to his voice.
“That’s nice what you did for Jenna,” Caleb says to me, ignoring Jordan.
“Anyone would’ve done the same,” I retort dismissively.
“No, they wouldn’t.” His scowl has melted away, but he still looks scary as hell. “You won’t believe me, but I’ll tell you anyway. I’m not gonna hurt her. You check on her every night for the rest of her life if you want. She’ll never tell you I hurt her.”
The power behind his words causes a grin to break out across my face. He really cares about Jenna. This is more than a first date.
“And just sayin’, if Jenna wasn’t it for me, that little show you just put on, I’d be comin’ for you. That smile, this shop, your protective instincts…honey, you’re gonna make some man the happiest motherfucker on Earth right alongside me when Jenna gets this thing between us figured out.”
Holy. Cow.
“Black coffee for me, Jordan,” Caleb says with easy friendliness, confusing me.
“You got it, Caleb.”
“You two know each other?” I ask with a furrowed brow at Jordan.
“Yeah, Em.”
Neither of them make an effort to explain that further so I drop it. I’ll grill Jordan later after this very strange situation is over.
I put a hand over Jordan’s when he starts to ring Caleb up.
“It’s on the house.”
“Pay my own way,” Caleb says with a shake of his head. I raise my eyebrows, indicating I’ll fight him on this. I didn’t charge Jenna either. She was too upset and I wanted to ease that for her, not ask her for two fifty.
“She’s a pain in the ass about shit like this,” Jordan grumbles.
“See that. I’ll owe y
ou one then, honey.”
“I’m calling that in right now.” Now his brows are up. “You make sure Jenna never shakes like that because of you. You make sure she’s the happiest person she can be when she’s with you. And you make sure you remember that she deserves that happiness, even if you can’t give it to her.”
He leans across my gleaming counter, grabs the back of my head and presses his lips to my forehead in a rough kiss. I gasp at the action, but don’t have time to pull away before he releases me. Though he doesn’t back out of my personal space.
“You get yourself the same thing. You get a man; you send him my way. I’ll make sure he deserves you because he’ll have to be a badass motherfucker to pull off that feat.”
“A BAMF,” I whisper and Jordan breaks into low chuckles. “How do you know I don’t already have one?”
“Honey, a man had you, he’d be watchin’ you right now and every other minute of the day. You don’t have him yet. But you will. Gotta get to my woman now. She’ll call you tonight.”
I nod because what else do you do when a stranger tells you all about your future when he just met you? He bumps fists with Jordan and then saunters away from the counter. I lock eyes with Jenna and she no longer looks scared. She looks happy sipping her tea with a gleam in her eyes. She offers me a glance of appreciation before her attention is drawn to Caleb’s commanding presence sitting across from her.
I’m not sure if those are mugs of love they’re sipping from, but they are full of emotion and the promise of something exciting.
What the fuck is Caleb Devlin doing in Emily’s shop? I’ve been staring over there more today than any other day I’ve worked. Making me feel more like a stalker than I usually do. When I saw the president of the local motorcycle club stroll in the coffee shop, I quit staring and started watching.
I watched Emily stand up to him. She clearly doesn’t know who he is or the kind of danger associated with him. He’s one of the only people in the county that knows me…the real me from before anyway. The girl he’s sitting with seems appropriately anxious around the man, but she wants him regardless. It’s written on her face.
I watched Caleb kiss Emily and almost came out of my skin. I had no reason to, but it happened all the same. He must have said something good because when he pulled away from her, she looked happy. I wasn’t a fan of that either. Another idiotic reaction, but one I had.
I watched Caleb leave the shop, kiss his date with more passion than is appropriate in public and then stroll toward my store.
“Sharp!” he bellows.
I amble my cranky ass over to the door and throw it open. I nod my head for him to come in. He bumps my fist as he passes me and I shut the door.
“Devlin,” I grunt.
“You don’t seem surprised to see me. You been watchin’ me?” he asks with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Always.”
“See my woman?”
“Yeah.”
“Seen her before today?”
“No.”
I settle my hip against the workbench that gives me the best vantage point of Devlin and the coffee shop.
“She just started at Bluffside College this semester.”
I don’t respond because I don’t give a shit.
“Thinkin’ maybe you could keep an eye on her for me,” he says with an uneasiness to his voice.
“Yeah?” I ask indicating no way in hell.
“Got a ride comin’ up. Long one. Need eyes on my woman. I’d put a prospect on it, but I don’t think she’d take kindly to that. Jenna’s not a fan of havin’ a shadow.”
I don’t owe him any favors so I’m not inclined to help him do anything. I’m still the man I’ve always been and I’m not good like Emily. I need something out of this trade and he can’t offer me that.
“Give you a marker,” he concedes without being pressed. Not a good sign.
“Trouble?”
“Jenna or the MC?”
“Both.”
“Bein’ locked up didn’t get you talkin, did it?”
I stare at him blankly in response.
“Right. Jenna’s not trouble. The club’s got a bit of heat right now.”
I take my time thinking while Devlin takes a look around the shop, allowing me a chance to check in on Emily. She’s got her hands on her round hips while she talks sternly to Jordan, who’s about to start laughing at her. Those two fight like brother and sister.
“I don’t need much, Sharp. She made friends with that hot piece who owns the coffee shop. Jenna said she thinks she’ll start studying there. So she’ll be right across the street for you to keep an eye on. I just need dailies, man. Not twenty-four seven,” he says, leaning against a dining room table I just finished.
I still don’t respond. I haven’t decided yet. No point talking until there’s something to say.
“You meet that chick yet?”
“Who?”
“Emily. The coffee shop chick.”
“Briefly.”
“You should make that shit less brief. Woman’s fuckin’ hot as hell, the right kinda pain in the ass and so sweet she made my motherfuckin’ teeth hurt. Jenna’s it for me. But if she wasn’t, I’d be drinkin’ coffee for every meal and eaten the coffee chick’s pussy for dessert.”
I can feel every muscle in my body tense as he speaks, but he doesn’t see it. I look calm and uncaring like always. I’m the same violent man I was before, but I have exacting control over my reactions now.
“A marker, Sharp. I’m not in the habit of handin’ that shit out. You’ve got it. Five days you gotta watch my woman. Nothin’ more. I’ll call and check in when I can. There’s trouble, you reach out. Simple.”
“All right.”
I agree because having the president of Mayhem Motorcycle Club owing me a marker is like a sure fire winning lottery ticket in your pocket. It can gain you almost anything your heart desires. I’m out of the life, but you never know when the help Devlin can offer me might come in handy.
“You wouldn’t happen to make that shit easy on me and call in your marker now like the coffee chick did would you?”
“No,” I growl not liking that he gave Emily a marker or that she called it in already.
He’d tell me if she’d asked for help with Adam so I know that’s not it.
“Two in a day,” I grunt.
“That was almost a fuckin’ sentence, Sharp,” he goads me through a deep chuckle. “It wasn’t really a marker for the coffee chick. She schooled my ass in a way that made my dead heart feel all fluffy and shit. So I gave her a specific marker to bring me her man when she gets one and I’ll see if he’s worthy of her. Jordan’s got her back so she doesn’t really need the marker, but I gave it anyway.”
“Monroe?” I ask, thinking how the fuck do those two know each other.
“His old man was the VP for my pop. You remember Edge right?” I nod. I worked with the guy so of course I remember him. “Jordan and I grew up together. Well, kinda. Jordan stayed with his mom most of the time. But when he spent time with his old man, he was with the club. When the gavel came my way, Jordan went all in with the coffee chick. The life wasn’t for him. He’s laid-back, funny as fuck, but not down like the rest of the MC. His old man was capped with mine and that was it for Jordan. The MC understood. We were kids back then. Jordan was twenty. I was twenty-three. Not the age to take over an MC, but I did it. Jordan split.”
I nod again. Not much to say to that weird as fuck story. I knew Devlin before I went away. Not well, but I knew him. I never met Jordan back in the day.
“Still workin’ on engines?”
“Little.”
“Just got a sweet 1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS6.”
“Bullshit,” I scoff. It’s not as rare as my ride, but it’s close.
“Swear it, man. Got it off an old broad in Kansas City that didn’t know she was sellin’ me gold.”
I see the door of the coffee shop open and glance out the win
dow to see Emily and Jordan saying goodbye.
“Always watchin’,” Devlin says under his breath.
“Always.”
“Listen, I gotta run. You’ve got my number. I’ll be in touch in a few days. You want the work, I’ll drop my Chevelle off when I get back,” he says stretching his palm toward mine.
I shake it, sealing our deal.
“Appreciate it, Sharp,” he says seriously.
I give him a chin lift and he barks out a laugh.
“Swear I’m gonna hear you string together a few sentences one day, man.”
“Good ride,” I respond, retrieving my hand and looking out the window again, getting pissed as I do.
“Always, brother.”
I move to walk him out and go track down Emily to chew her ass. She’s walking home. I know she’s walking home because she’s not going toward the parking lot. She’s meandering toward the road that leads to her house.
Yes, I know where she lives.
Yes, it’s creepy.
Yes, I feel like a fucking stalker.
And no, I don’t give a flying fuck right now.
Devlin slaps my back before sauntering out of my store as I rip the keys from the drawer beneath the counter. Clyde took off to grab some parts for his truck a while ago. I’ll lock up and deal with Emily.
“Hi, Garrett,” purrs from the front door and I snap my head up to see Sarah strolling into the store. Fuck.
“Hey,” I grunt.
“You’re not lockin’ up are you?”
“Somethin’ I gotta see to.”
“I’ll be quick then,” she says through a lazy smile as she leans across my counter, flashing about half her tits in my face.
Sarah’s hot. Nine years ago, I’d have her ass spread eagle in my shop by this point. I see her for what she is now though. Trouble.
“I’ll have Clyde help you,” I say dismissively and turn to find that old bastard. I heard his busted truck just pull up out back.
Long manicured fingers wrap around my bicep when I clear the counter. I look down at her hand and steady my breathing. I’d never hit a woman, but I will peel her away from me.
“You’re always runnin’ away from me,” she whispers near my ear.
This I find annoying. Women shouldn’t throw themselves at the men they want. If he’s any man at all, he’ll come for his woman. And if he doesn’t, he sure as shit doesn’t deserve her. Or in my case, doesn’t want your skanky ass.
Mugs of Love Page 4
