Tallulah Heartbeat (Tallulah Cove Book 1)

by Casey Hagen

  Fuck!

  He jumped off the bed and scrambled for the wall light, stubbing his toe on the dresser along the way. “Son of a bitch!”

  That was going to leave a mark.

  Six days of stress and not sleeping finally bit him in the ass.

  He rushed through getting dressed, brushed his teeth, and dampened his hair to rid himself of the bedhead he’d gotten from his nap. By the time he did all that and got to the restaurant, it was seven thirty p.m.

  She’d think he hadn’t shown up. A sick feeling lodged in his gut as he walked in and scanned the bar area for her.

  No Abby.

  He took a seat, the seat he’d taken the first night, and waited for the bartender.

  “Hey, what can I get for you? The Double Cone again?”

  Ben shook his head in his impatience. “You remember the woman I was here with last week and the week before?”

  “Oh yeah,” he said, bobbing his head and grinning.

  Ben had to stifle the urge to punch him in the mouth. “Get that look off your face, goddamn it. Have you seen her in here tonight?”

  The guy backed up a step and gave Ben a wary glance. “Sure.”

  “How long did she stay? Was she upset?”

  He pursed his lips. “No, not upset. And she’s still here.”

  Ben glanced around. “What? Where?”

  “She’s in the booth over there.” The bartender gestured with the white bar towel clutched in his hand.

  Ben followed the direction of his hand, and there she was.

  In a booth, all right.

  With a guy sitting across from her.

  Anger burned through him at the sight. She smiled and laughed, chatting away, her hands going a mile a minute. So much for thinking he had hurt her by not being here. She didn’t even care.

  He should just go.

  Images flashed through his mind: Their first meeting, with her silly winking pants. Her unusual way of eating an unlikely trio of dinner foods. The way she flirted, as if she had never really flirted with a man before.

  Then the second time, in that pretty dress, showing off that creamy skin faintly dusted with freckles. The way she talked about her dreams, as if so far out of reach, although she remained confident they weren’t impossible.

  And then there was the beach. Jesus, the beach.

  Fuck that. He wasn’t going anywhere until they had a talk.

  When she was done with pretty boy, she had an appointment with him. “Yeah, get me a Double Cone.”

  “Sure thing. Do me a favor, man…don’t start anything. We like to keep things peaceful around here.”

  Ben unclenched his fist. “You won’t get any trouble from me.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to hold you to that.” With one last narrow-eyed look, the bartender walked away and filled a pint for him.

  He turned back to Abby and her dinner companion. The guy was too good-looking for his taste. Too clean-cut. Definitely too young.

  Well, not too young for Abby.

  How had he gotten to this point? He was pushing fifty, pissing and moaning over a woman almost twenty years his junior because she dared to have dinner with a guy her own age.

  It didn’t matter how many logical reasons he came up with to explain Abby having dinner with this other guy. He still hated it.

  And how the hell did a woman let you do what he did to her just a week ago, and then go on a date with another guy at their place?

  One thing was for sure: he would sit here until she was through, and then he sure as hell would find out.

  Abby didn’t know why she had been nervous about this meeting. Dylan Culler couldn’t have been a nicer guy. Good vibes radiated from him. His positive attitude was infectious, and she would love working with him. If any human being had the same childlike enthusiasm as Dr. Worth’s theme rooms, it was this guy.

  “We’ve been so busy unpacking and trying to get the girls settled that we haven’t had a chance to check out the area. Can you fill me in on the good spots for kids?”

  “Of course. With Blake, I’m practically an expert. He loves the beach. The beach will be your best friend here. They burn off energy, get vitamin D, and go home and pass out.”

  “I’ll make sure to tell my wife. She’s with them nonstop. It’s the deal we made, but still, if there’s something we can do to break things up a bit for her and for the kids, I’m all for it. Now that we’re here, we have no family to take them off our hands, well, her hands, and give her a break.”

  Abby reached out and laid her hand over his. “You may not have family, but you have friends. The girls are welcome to join us anytime. You just say the word when you need a break for your sanity.”

  She caught a quick movement out of the corner of her eye and turned. Ben sat at the bar, his angry gaze on her, his hands white with the force he used to squeeze his glass.

  She glanced down to where her hand lay over Dylan’s and quickly snatched it back.

  Shit.

  It’s not what he thought, but oh, how it must have looked.

  And why did she care in the first place? She’d asked him if they would see each other again, and he said, “Definitely.”

  After that: nothing. He didn’t return to the Little Laguna, nor did he look for her at the one freaking dental office in town.

  Suddenly, she didn’t give a shit how her dinner with Dylan looked. If Ben wanted her so bad, she had been here, waiting.

  Only, he never showed.

  She turned her gaze back to Dylan and offered him a smile. “Now, the next two places, they keep us in business. The Frostbite. It’s a bit further out, but it’s an ice cream place with this kind of retro, soda jerk vibe. Very cool. Teenagers love it, so make sure you love teenagers before you go. There’s also Pastry Masters for all things breakfast, sugary, and awesome.”

  He laughed and took a sip of his wine. “To local business that give us job security.”

  “To job security,” she said with a smile, raising her own glass in return.

  She pretended she didn’t see Ben at the bar.

  She pretended that it didn’t hurt that he hadn’t found her sooner.

  And for a few more minutes, she squelched her mad at him for glaring at her from the bar like a boob.

  Ten minutes later she stood and hugged Dylan. “Thank you for dinner. Make sure you give your wife my number, and we’ll get the kids together soon.”

  “I’ll do that. Can I walk you out?”

  “Actually, I see someone I need to speak to, so I’m not leaving just yet, but you go ahead.”

  “Okay, then. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow morning. Good night.” He kissed her cheek and headed for the door.

  So, join Ben at the bar or wait for him to come to her? She didn’t so much as glance at her purse tucked into the corner of the booth before a familiar arm wrapped around her waist.

  She closed her eyes and took a breath. Something unfamiliar passed through them. Like they’d turned some corner that she didn’t know was even there.

  They’d become something.

  They had a fight ahead of them.

  And no future because of the son she hadn’t told him about.

  “I thought I would come here and see this beautiful woman I’ve spent every waking hour thinking about, here, waiting for me, hoping for me.”

  She laid her hand over his, her fingers dipping between his splayed ones. “She had other commitments she had to fulfill. While she did, she waited and hoped.”

  “Who was he?” he whispered in her ear.

  His warm breath feathered over her. Heat spread over her skin as it tightened with awareness. “He was the new dentist where I work.”

  Ben stiffened behind her. “You went on a date with your new boss?”

  A shot of temper fueled her, and she pinched the back of his hand.

  “Ouch!”

  She craned her neck around and glared at him out of one eye. “That’s what you get for being an id
iot.”

  “If it wasn’t a date, what was it?”

  “It was a welcome dinner. He’s taking everyone out individually to get to know them. When he, his wife, and twin daughters are settled, he plans to have a party to introduce us to his family.”

  “I am an idiot,” he sighed behind her.

  “Yes, but maybe only a little one.” She turned to him. Despite her movement, he still held her close. Thigh to thigh, hip to hip, and chest to chest.

  “I owe you an apology.”

  She nodded and grinned at him. “Mmm, yes, you do.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She gave him an unimpressed look. “That’s it?”

  “What else is there?”

  She arched away from him a bit. “Oh, I don’t know. How about, ‘I loved our time on the beach, I really did. I meant to try to meet up with you, but I’m an ass and didn’t make it a priority like I should have…’ That might be the way to start it.”

  He smiled at her in a secret way that told her he’d loved their time on the beach, too. “I am an ass. It’s not that I didn’t make it a priority, it’s just… something really did come up.”

  “I’m all ears. Let’s see how you explain away this one.”

  He sighed and let her go. “Sit and I’ll tell you,” he said, gesturing for her to take a seat in the booth she had shared with Dylan. She scooted in and waited for him to join her.

  He fiddled with the edge of the stack of unused napkins on the table. “When I got home last week after our time on the beach, I was contacted by a private investigator hired by my son.”

  “Whoa.” The word whooshed out of her. This was major, and he was telling her. She’d evaluate just what that meant later, but in the meantime…

  “Shit. Yeah, well, I may have been a bit harsh just a minute ago—”

  He took her hand and kissed it. “I deserved it. I should have gotten back here.”

  “Not that it’s any of my business, but does he want to meet you?”

  “Of course it’s your business.”

  She shrugged. Being in awkward territory sucked. It seemed like maybe it would be her business, but when she tried to come up with examples why, she had nothing. “Well, it’s not as though we’re actually committed to each other or anything.”

  His eyebrows formed angry slashes over his eyes. “So, now you’re trying to piss me off? I don’t just service women on the beach on a whim.”

  “Stop that,” she said, smoothing her fingers over his eyebrows. “I’m not trying to say you do. It’s just, we don’t even have each other’s phone numbers.”

  “A situation we’re going to rectify…tonight.” He looked around the dining room. The music had just gone up a notch, making it harder to hear. “Look, you wanna get out of here?”

  “Yes, I think I do.”

  He tugged her hand. “Come on.”

  She stopped just outside the doors of the restaurant. “I’m not getting on your bike.”

  He glanced back at her and headed for the front corner of the parking lot. “I brought my truck.”

  “I’m surprised. It’s a beautiful night.”

  He stopped before a huge red Ford. “Yeah, well, normally I would have brought it, but I stubbed my damn toe. I meant to take a power nap and fell asleep until almost seven. In my rush to get here, I bashed it. Makes riding the bike a hell of a lot harder.”

  She slid a hand up his t-shirt, dragging her nails along the way, much how she’d envisioned doing it the first time she saw him. “You rushed to get here.”

  He pressed his forehead to hers, his lips hovering just above hers. “I did. I was in a bit of a hurry to see this lady. I didn’t see her at the bar, so I guess you’ll have to do.”

  “You’re going to pay for that.”

  “I can’t wait to see how.” His lips grazed hers, brushing back and forth, setting her blood racing. Her accelerated breathing echoed in her ears. When he slanted his mouth over hers and gave her everything, she forgot to breathe altogether.

  He teased and took, his lips soft, yet demanding. He had this way of kissing her, firm, but soft, not too insistent, teasing with his tongue, and leaving her wanting more.

  He also had her forgetting her senses and what they were talking about. She pulled back, breathing heavily. “Don’t think I’ve completely forgotten what we were talking about.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said as he brushed his thumb over her bottom lip.

  “Tell me more about your son.”

  He gave her a hand up into the truck and made his way around to the driver’s side. “He needs my help. His daughter has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. He asked if I would get tested,” he said. He turned the key, and the big truck roared to life.

  “And now I feel like an ass for giving you a hard time,” she said softly.

  He put the truck in gear and started to back out of the spot. “What? You’re not going to ask if I went through with it?”

  “A man who torments himself for thirty years over his son doesn’t deny a request that might save his granddaughter.”

  He started down the road, his left wrist draped over the wheel in that casual way men had about them. “No, he doesn’t. Thank you for that.”

  She pulled out her cell and shot off a quick text to her sister to let her know she would be late…or really early. “For which part?”

  “The part where you reminded me that I’m a grandfather. As if I didn’t already feel like I might be robbing the cradle.”

  She smirked. “Hey, you’re not my grandfather.”

  His hand crawled over her knee and up her thigh. “Don’t I know it.”

  He pulled onto a narrow drive lined with willow trees. About fifty feet in, the property opened to a cream-colored, one-story ranch. A green truck with Sequoia Homes painted on the side sat parked in front of the two-car garage.

  “So, are you the Ben from Sequoia Homes?”

  “The only one I know of.” He pushed open his door, circled around, and helped her out.

  “This is too weird. You’re building my parents’ house. Davis and Jenna Wright.”

  He put his key in the lock. “Yeah, the lady with the big hair and lipstick, right?”

  Abby laughed and shook her head. “That’s her.”

  “Nice people.”

  Call her a coward, but she just needed a minute. Just a minute before he opened that door and everything changed. She liked him way too much for her own piece of mind. He didn’t want kids; she wouldn’t trade the one she had for anything. They had nowhere to go. Nowhere. And here she was about to take it over a line, and she could never cross back.

  Not if, but when this didn’t work out, she’d have to coexist in this town with him.

  She dropped her forehead to his chest. “I can’t believe I came home with you. I didn’t bring my car. I didn’t even pay attention to where we are,” she mumbled against his hard chest.

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, come on, you’re safe with me. I’ve even met your parents.”

  She craned her neck and propped her chin on his chest. “I don’t think I’ve been safe in your capable hands since the day I met you.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE WEATHER TURNED, KICKING UP a chilly breeze rolling in off the Pacific Ocean. Abby loosened her grip on Ben so he could unlock the front door. Anxious to see his space, she took a tentative step inside when he pushed open the double front doors.

  Lamps illuminated the entryway and living room. Travertine tile covered the wide foyer floor. Scanning the room, she saw straight through to an open kitchen, dining, and living room, clear out through open, triple sliding-glass doors.

  The salty breeze flowed clear through the house, giving the feeling of being inside and outside, all at the same time.

  She glanced up to him. “You must be confident about your neighbors, leaving the sliders open.”

  He scratched his chin; a mischievous smile spread over his handso
me face. “Oh, believe me, no one is going to steal anything from my house. I’m surrounded by little old ladies who have nothing better to do with their time than to watch what’s happening over here. It is getting chilly though, so I’d better close up.”

  Abby laughed, pushed up on her tiptoes, and gave him a sound kiss on the mouth. “Ahh, probably a good idea to bring me here under cover of darkness then.” The breeze ripped through even harder than before, whipping her hair off her shoulders. “Are you right on the water?”

  He snagged her shirt and held her close to him as she took everything in. Plantation shutters… God, she loved those. Sleek leather sofas facing an at-least-sixty-inch flat screen. Typical guy.

  “Yeah, on the water, not that I enjoy it much. When I go to the beach, I do so elsewhere to avoid the neighbors.” He shook his head and laughed.

  His hand brushed over her bare shoulder and down her arm, short-circuiting what was left of her good sense.

  “You weren’t kidding when you said you didn’t pay attention to where we were going,” he said.

  She shot a look over her shoulder. “Nope, all I saw in that truck was you.”

  “I’m starting to feel cheap, like maybe all you want is to get in my pants to see if this grandpa’s got any moves in him or if he’s on the road to a hip replacement.”

  Abby laughed and twirled toward him, backing up against the back of his sofa. “You’re funny, but I get the feeling that a part of you, somewhere deep down inside, is not so comfortable with where we’re headed, or with being a grandfather.”

  He shrugged; his gaze landed somewhere over her shoulder. “The grandfather status is new. Still working on acceptance. Not that it means a whole heck of a lot if I’m not involved with either my son or granddaughter. Right now, it’s just a technicality. It’ll likely never be more than that. As for the other, it’s occurred to me that I might have a few more years on me than you’ve seen before.”

  “Ben…” she began.

  “Can I be a woman about this and request lights out?” he asked.

  She snorted out a laugh that died on her lips the minute he nuzzled his mouth along her ear, her entire focus zoned in on the heat that thundered through her.

  Here he was, revealing all his insecurities, while she kept her biggest insecurity locked up in a vault with steel bars, laser motion lights, you name it. She should tell him. She needed to tell him about her son.