I study her for a moment, but there’s no way in hell I’m about to back up just yet. I try to look through the wall behind her eyes, and all I see is a deep pain. Someone has torn her heart to shreds and considering she has two babies still so young, I’d dare say it was the kids’ father, and it’s probably still fresh.
Something pulls inside me, a desperation to take her pain away and heal her heart, but I can’t do that if she refuses to let me in. I lean in just a little bit more and whisper, “Who hurt you, Angel?”
Her eyes cut away from mine as she moves further back on the counter, putting a little more distance between us. “I think you should go. It’s getting late.”
I nod. She might be right, and I don’t want to push her and ruin my chances. I step back but continue studying her. “You don’t need to be scared of me.”
She shakes her head. “You’re exactly the kind of guy I need to be scared of.”
She’ll never know just how much those few words tear at my heart. “Thanks for dinner, Angel,” I tell her before walking around the counter and giving her a little more space. “Don’t forget to lock up behind me.”
She nods ever so slightly, and I make my way through the house, back towards the door. “By the way,” I tell her, reaching for the door handle. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Her mouth opens to say something when the chainsaw on the couch stops and grunts before a yawn rips out of it. I glance over, momentarily distracted, and watch Zoey rub a hand over her face and reluctantly sit up. She blinks a few times, and when she sees me standing in the doorway, she sucks in a shocked breath. “Who the hell are you?” she grumbles, rubbing a hand over her face. I fight a laugh when her eyes widen in embarrassment as she notices the drool covering the side of her chin.
“I’m Bull,” I tell her. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to put a face to the name.”
“Likewise,” she says as her eyes flick over to Amelia in suspicion before coming back to mine. “You leaving?”
“Apparently so,” I tell her before turning back to Amelia. “I’ll see you Saturday night.”
She instantly starts shaking her head, the rejection on the tip of her tongue. “I told you—”
“You can pick her up at seven,” Zoey cuts in with a grin the size of Texas on her face. “She doesn’t like seafood or anything that will make her feel bloated.”
“Zoey,” Amelia hisses.
“You got it,” I say, sending a wink Amelia’s way and pulling the door closed behind me before she gets a chance to back out.
I grab my welder and look over the railing once more, proud as fuck and feeling like the mother fucking man. That was a good night. I’m fucking exhausted after such a long shift, but I would have stood at that counter for hours if I could.
She makes my heart beat in a way I’ve never experienced before, and all I know is that Saturday night can’t come fast enough.
I throw the welder in the back of my truck and climb in before starting up the engine. I get halfway home when my phone lights up with a text, reminding me that I never checked the earlier one. I unlock it to find two texts from Jessa.
Jessa – You busy?
Jessa – Are you coming ‘round? If you don’t get here soon, I’ll have to do it myself.
I look at the time and realize it’s well after midnight. I was with Amelia for two hours, yet it feels as though I’m leaving way too soon. Just those two hours with her was enough to get my blood pumping in all the right ways. I’m on edge, and there’s nothing I’d like more than to go for a quick fuck, but it won’t be with Jessa. It won’t be with anyone. That urge to sink into a random pussy just isn’t there anymore.
Now, Amelia, that’s something worth waiting for.
I delete the texts and get my ass home. I know I won’t be getting any sleep until I’ve had one hell of a cold shower, or I rub one out like a fucking teenage boy thinking about that body of hers. Yeah, I’m going to have to go with option two, only I know it won’t even compare to what it would be like having the real thing.CHAPTER 8AMELIAZoey and I walk out to my car with the girls in tow. She takes Ryan, and I take Coby, each of us putting up the fight to get them buckled into their car seats when all they want to do is play.