She made a gag face, causing me to smile.
She nodded. “What do you do with Katerina when that happens?”
“My sister lives here now. Most of the time I just take Katy to her. I used to take her to a friend’s house,” I explained.
Why I was being so open with her, I didn’t know.
I wasn’t the chatty Kathy type.
But there was something about her that just made it easy to talk in front of her.
“I wish I had that. My sister’s an hour away now. Although that’s why I moved here. So my hours would be better,” she said, opening up to me.
“How’s your mom doing?” I asked.
She looked like I’d grown a second head.
“How’d you know there was something wrong with my mom?” She asked suspiciously.
I grinned.
“You told me the other day when I dropped off Katy’s prescription, remember?” I said with a raised brow.
She winced. “I’m sorry. My memory’s shot. I can’t even remember what I had for dinner last night.”
I laughed. I was the same way.
Downy set a cup of coffee, and two ham and cheese breakfast sandwiches down by my elbow before pulling up a chair and sitting down.
He looked back and forth between the two of us, a small frown turning down the corner of his mouth.
“What?” I asked.
He gestured to the counter with his head. “Lady at the counter. She says she’d like to speak with you before you leave. And she charged me full price, yet yours was free. What the fuck?”
I grimaced. “Former girlfriend.”
Recognition flared in his eyes as he took a look at the counter again.
Lydia’s eyes were filled with longing as she stared at the table we were occupying.
I turned before I could make eye contact.
The thought of talking to her did not sound appealing. In fact, anything would sound more appealing than that.
Like pulling out all the hairs surrounding my nipples.
“That’s the bitch that broke up with you because you had a kid?” Downy exclaimed rather loudly.
I nodded. “The one and only.”
“What a bitch,” Reese said under her breath.
I nodded. “Yep.”
Downy’s eyes finally moved to Reese and he held out his hand.
She took it and shook it twice before she let it go.
“Hi,” she said timidly.
He grinned. “Downy.”
She smiled wider at him and said, “Reese.”
He recovered quickly, then turned back to me as he continued the conversation without missing a beat.
“I thought she lived in Wyoming,” Downy asked, bringing his sandwich up to his mouth and taking a large bite.
I nodded. “Me too.”
We ate in silence. Downy choking down three cinnamon rolls. Reese finishing off her beignets. And me eating my sandwiches.
“Alright, gentleman,” Reese said as she stood and brushed off her shirt, freeing her shirt of the white powdered sugar covering her abdomen. “It was a wonderful breakfast. We should do this again sometime. Although not here, ‘cause I find that it’s not as appealing as I thought it was. Have a good day.”
I downed the rest of my coffee in one gulp and followed her outside, leaving my half eaten sandwich on the plate.
She didn’t notice I was following her until she opened her car door and saw me directly behind her. Which caused her to screech.
“You’re exceptionally unobservant,” I said, scowling slightly.
She tilted her head. “I’ve never had a reason to be that observant. The worst I have in my background is a baby daddy who refuses to pay child support. Why would I need to worry about anything like paying attention to what’s behind me in broad daylight?”
She had me there. But it never hurt to be cautious.
“True. But most people don’t know that danger’s out there. All it takes is a pretty female swaying her hips to entice some men. That’s not why I came out here, though. I wanted to know who did the paint job on your car,” I explained.
“Well,” she blinked. “My dad, I guess. I got this car for my sixteenth birthday.”
I shook my head, wondering what the hell was going through the father’s mind to give his daughter a ride like this one. If that’d been me, I’d have killed myself racing the fucker.
“Can you have him call me? I’m looking for someone to paint mine, but I don’t want to take it to just anyone. I’d appreciate his insight,” I continued.
She blinked and shrugged. “Sure.”
Then she dropped into the car.
Once she closed the door, I sat there waiting for her to realize that I was holding my card out for her, but she never did.
Instead, she started the car up with a growl and my skin started to tingle.
Holy shit but it was hot seeing a woman get into a car like that.
And when she rolled the window down and roared out of the parking lot, pulling in front of a large diesel truck, I didn’t even contemplate my next decision.
It was a done deal.
She was going to be mine.
I’d just have to convince her of that.
“Your ex is crying,” Downy said as he walked up to my side, both of us watching Reese as she zoomed in and out of traffic.
“She’s breaking about eighteen laws right now,” I said to Downy, tucking the card back into my pocket.
“Yeah, but she’s fucking hot doing it. I’d let her off with a warning,” Downy grinned before walking to his cruiser and pulling out of the parking lot.
“Me too,” I murmured to no one.
My eyes caught the movement at the front entrance, but I refused to acknowledge her.
I didn’t have anything to say to her. And really didn’t want to listen to anything she had to say.
Nothing she could do could ever repair the damage she’d caused, so what was the point?
Besides.
I had a new desire now.
And she was currently on the top of my to-do list.Chapter 5Sisters are like fat thighs. They stick together.
-T-shirt
Reese
“Reese’s Pieces. Will you do me a favor?” My sister asked over the phone.
I sighed.
“Sure. What do you want?” I asked, idly flipping through my magazine as I waited for my nails to dry.
It was two days later, and I was relaxing after a long week.