She chuckled. “You’ve got a handsome face now.” Rounding the counter, she pressed her palm to his cheek, tracing the scar. “It’s an old scar.”
“It was an old life, not one I’m doing again anytime soon.”
Cora licked her dry lips as his hand rested on her hip. The clothing she wore was light, and she felt his touch like a brand through her skin.
“What about you? Are you trying to run away from a past?” he asked.
“No. I’m happy with my past.”
“Tell me about it.”
Taking a sip of her drink, she closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his fingers touching her skin. She liked having her body stroked, caressed. What woman didn’t?
“I went away to college to study business and the law.”
“You’re a graduate?”
“No. Not even close. One day I was running to class, scared out of my mind about missing the lecture, and I was about to cross the road when I watched a car run over a woman.” Cora hadn’t thought about that incident in so long. “I had stopped at the traffic lights because I saw them go green for the cars to go. It was so surreal as it happened. This car came around the corner, going at the normal speed, and this woman, this businesswoman, was so busy, so preoccupied on the phone that she didn’t even look up to see what was happening. She stepped out into the middle of the road, talking with a client, and in the next moment, she was underneath the car.” Cora stopped for a second, biting her lip. “It went all a bit crazy. I ran over the road, kneeling down, and I tried to talk to her. The guy in the car climbed out. We couldn’t move the car. She was under it, and we waited for the emergency services to arrive. I held her hand the entire time. I couldn’t do anything but hold her hand. She was crying, and there was blood.” Tears filled Cora’s eyes as she recalled the horrid scene. “She kept saying that she only needed one more client to make partnership. That call she was on would have finalized her partnership deal at a law firm. She died at the scene.”
“What happened then?” James asked.
She turned her gaze back toward him. “I promised myself that it didn’t matter who it was, or what I had to do, I’d never risk my life in order to gain something. There was a hell of a lot more to life than studying, rushing to class, losing sleep, losing life itself. I didn’t become some drug-taking whore, or anything. I just decided that I was going to college, studying law and business to make my father proud.” She smiled. “He was proud of me just for graduating high school. I’m pleased I never went back to college. I’ve never regretted what I did. I stayed away from Greater Falls, but my dad came and visited me often, a hell of a lot more than if I’d been in college. We grew close and stayed close, and he thought it was good that I was living my life the way I wanted to live it.” Cora let out a sigh. “Wow, I never thought I’d tell anyone else that story.”
“Who else knows?” he asked.
“Stacey, she knows what happened. The way I see it, the college life isn’t for everyone. It didn’t suit me. I wish it did, but it didn’t. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. I do believe you’ve got to do stuff in life that makes you happy, not everyone else. It’s where we all start to make mistakes. We live life by trying to make others happy.”
“I agree.”
“So, we’ve given each other a little information about ourselves.”
“I’m going to be heading over to Lucy’s with some of the guys this weekend. If you’d want to come, you’re more than welcome to.”
“You’re inviting me to another woman’s house?”
“We’re mowing the lawn and doing some work.”
“Lucy Weston? The woman who works at the bank in town?”
“That’s her, why?”
“Ah, I know her. She’s nice, and she made a peanut butter chocolate pie a couple of months back. I need the recipe, and what better way to get it?” She gave him a smile.
James ran his finger under the edge of her shirt. The moment he touched skin, she wanted to moan. Instead, she took another long drink of her cup.
“Nothing fazes you?”
“A lot of things faze me. I just choose to ignore it,” she said.
He pushed back on the stool, making room for her to stand. He began to tug down her shorts. Putting her glass on the counter, she wriggled along with his movements, until she stood before him naked.
She wasn’t wearing any underwear underneath her shorts. Opening her thighs, she moaned as he skimmed his fingers up the inside her leg. Biting her lip, she couldn’t hold her head up as he touched her.
“You’re wet, Cora.”
“It’s what you do to me.”
He lifted her up onto the counter. She hissed at the cool counter against her ass but didn’t move away.