Текст книги "Easy Charm"

Автор книги: Kristen Proby

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

“My fair share.” He narrows his eyes on me. “You’re acting very strangely tonight.”

“I’m just getting to know you better.”

“Okay.” He tosses his head back and forth. “I guess there have probably been about a dozen women.”

A dozen.

“I guess that’s not bad for a professional athlete. I mean, what’s the average? Fifty?”

“I have no idea,” he replies with a laugh. “Probably more than a dozen, yes.”

“So you’re not a man-whore.”

“No.”

“What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?”

“Wow, your brain is on fire tonight.” His fingers drift down my cheek to my neck. “Cherry Garcia.”

“Favorite sexual position?”

“Any position that includes you in it,” he replies immediately.

“Good answer.” I grin up at him, and try to think of more questions. “What’s your shoe size?”

“Sixteen.”

“Holy shit! That’s a big foot.”

“I have to special order shoes.”

“Do you like to read?”

“I’m a Clive Cussler fan,” he replies and shakes his head. “I think we’re playing twenty questions.”

“I think it’s fun.”

“When is it my turn?”

“Go ahead.” I shift my hips so I’m lying on one side, but I’m still looking up into his handsome face. “Ask away.”

Just don’t ask me if I’m pregnant.

“Are you comfortable?”

“That’s an easy one. Yes.”

He chuckles. “What’s your favorite flower?”

“Magnolias.”

I close my eyes and enjoy the feel of his fingers in my hair.

“What’s your favorite dessert?”

“Hmm, that’s a hard one. I guess it’s a tie between Mama’s pecan pie and key lime pie.”

“Favorite alcoholic drink?”

“Margaritas.”

“Are you getting sleepy?”

I grin as he brushes a fingertip down the bridge of my nose. “Yes.”

“Do you want to go to bed?”

“Not yet.”

“Okay. Tell me about the best concert you ever saw.”

“That’s an easy one too. I saw Nash a few years ago, and those guys put on one hell of a show. Also, Leo Nash is my boyfriend.”

“I think he got married.”

“Yes, we’re fighting because he got married without asking me if it was okay, but he’s hopelessly in love with me. I’m pretty sure that the whole time he was singing at the concert, he was singing just for me.”

“I’m sure he was. What’s the appeal of Leo Nash?”

“Have you seen him?” I open my eyes and lift my head, looking at Rhys like he’s grown a new nose.

“Of course.”

“Well, there’s the tattoo thing, and the playing guitar thing, and the man can sing like crazy.”

“Declan can sing like crazy.”

“Declan is my brother,” I remind him. “Declan will never be sexually attractive to me.”

“Point taken.”

“Speaking of celebrity crushes, who’s yours?” I ask.

“I don’t know.”

“Lies! Of course you do. We all have our hall pass list.”

“The list of people we get to sleep with without any repercussions?”

“That’s right.”

“So, you mean there’s more on your list than just Leo Nash?” He’s frowning, but I can tell that he’s fighting a smile.

“Maybe. Who’s on yours?”

“I don’t think I have any,” he says after giving it a moment of thought. “There are some beautiful women out there, but I don’t think I want to have sex with any of them.”

“If you don’t want to tell me, just say so.”

He suddenly stands and lifts me into his arms, walking toward my bedroom.

“I’ll show you who I want to have sex with, Gabrielle.”

“Oh, okay then.”

Chapter Seventeen

~Rhys~

She hasn’t been herself for days and it’s making me crazy. She won’t tell me what’s wrong, and when I ask, she just says she’s tired. Or she doesn’t feel well.

But it seems that she’s backing away from me, and no matter what I do, it doesn’t change. Even during her silly twenty questions game on the couch the other night, I could feel the coldness from her.

But when I took her to bed, she let go, and it was normal, she was normal.

I need to sit her down, right now, and have a heart to heart. I need to know if she’s done with me, because I’m sure as fuck not done with her.

I’ll never be done with her.

My phone rings and I answer without looking at the display.

“Hey, Rhys, this is Eli.”

“Is Kate okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine. I’m calling because I’m just hanging out here with Beau, Declan and Ben, and we’d like for you to join us.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“Is this an emergency?”

“No, this is a guys’ night in, and you’re one of the guys. We’re at Ben’s house. I’ll text you the address.”

And with that, he hangs up, not even giving me a chance to turn him down.

So much for that talk with Gabby.

Gabby’s in the kitchen with Sam and Derek, just finishing up dinner.

“Did you get Eli’s call?” she asks with a smile.

“Yeah, we just hung up. They want me to go into the city for a while, but if you’re not feeling well, I’ll definitely stay.”

“I’m fine.” She waves me off and sets a bowl of mac ‘n cheese with hot dogs in front of Sam. “Eli called me to get your number, and told me that you have to go. If y’all sacrifice a virgin or something, I don’t want to know about it.”

I chuckle and pull her into my arms, kiss her head, and just enjoy having her against me for a moment. She’s been pulling away from me lately, which also has me on edge.

I need to touch her.

“Are you going to kiss and do gross stuff?” Sam asks while shoveling pasta into his mouth.

“Not right now,” I reply and back away from Gabby. She won’t look me in the eye, and I’m done playing this game. I tip her chin up so she has to meet my gaze. “We’re going to talk later. Something is up with you, and I want to know what it is. I won’t be late.”

Before she can answer, I leave through the back door and head into the city. One way or the other, I’m going to know the score with Gabby before I fall asleep tonight.

***

Ben’s house is in a nice neighborhood in New Orleans. All of the homes are large, surrounded by massive green oaks and tall wrought iron fences.

And Ben’s home is simply impressive. I have no idea what the man does for a living, but whatever it is, he does well at it. I pull into the driveway behind a black Mercedes and cut the engine. I’m not stupid. I’m well aware that this is most likely an ambush.

I’m just hopeful that I can take at least one of them before the others kill me.

I can probably take Declan.

“Hey, man, come on in,” Beau says when he answers the door and leads me through the house and down to the basement, where the others are shooting pool and watching a baseball game on a big screen TV.

Mariners are playing the Angels.

Eli is leaning over the pool table to take a shot. Declan is staring down at this phone while perched on a bar stool and Ben is pulling beers out of a fridge behind the wet bar. They all wave and say hello, looking nonchalant and innocent.

Not one of these fuckers is innocent. I like them all, but they’re not innocent.

“Welcome to impromptu guys’ night,” Ben says as he passes me a beer and claps me on the shoulder. “Sorry for the short notice.”

“It’s totally fine,” I reply calmly. Ben is as tall as the Boudreaux brothers, but a little leaner, less broad in the shoulders. He’s also a solid brick of muscle, and from the stories I’ve heard, he’s no one to fuck with. And he may not be a brother by blood, but he’s been friends with all of them since they were small kids. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Here’s a picture of her!” Declan says and holds his phone up for all of us to see. “Blonde, leggy, pouty lips.”

“Who is this again?” Eli asks as he examines the photo.

“She owns one of the clubs in the Quarter,” Dec replies and sips his beer.

“And she doesn’t fall for your charms?” Beau says with a wide grin. “Good for her.”

“Yeah, it’s a love-hate relationship.” He shrugs as if it’s of no consequence, but I can see that it’s not. He likes her.

And it sounds like she doesn’t like him much.

“Damn it, I’m off my game tonight,” Eli mutters as he walks away from the table and Beau steps up.

“You’re out of practice,” Beau says mildly.

My eyes are on the game on the TV. Mariners are up, three to one, at the bottom of the sixth.

“I can see if the Cubs are playing,” Beau offers. I simply smile and shake my head.

“No, it’s cool. Are you a Mariners fan?”

“Nah, this was the first game I found,” Ben replies. “Would you like a tour of the house?”

“Are you going to kill me and bury me in the basement?” I ask. Declan snickers and Beau and Eli exchange glances, but Ben’s face remains perfectly calm and sober.

“Not right away,” he replies and then a smile slowly slides over his face.

“Not that that’s terribly reassuring, but sure, I’d love a tour. Your place is beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Ben turns to the brothers, nods, and leads me out of the room.

He’s a man of few words.

“The house was built in 1875,” he begins. “By one of my great-grandfathers.”

“So you inherited it.”

“I did.”

He leads me upstairs and shows me around the first floor, then leads me through the rest of the house. Finally, he gestures for me to follow him outside and to a guest house out back.

He really is going to kill me.

“So, you’re not going to bury me in the basement. You’re going to bury me in the back yard.”

He simply smiles back at me. A cold smile that would make most men’s blood run with ice.

I simply raise a brow and follow him into the building, then whistle at the sight of the exercise equipment and fighting ring. “This is impressive.”

“This is where I find my balance,” he replies quietly. “Look, the other guys might want to kill you, and if you fuck up, I will too, but I just wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Fair enough.” I cross my arms over my chest and wait for the other man to speak. Ben frowns and looks down, then looks back up at me with pure possessiveness.

“I’m sure you’ve already received a few fuck with my sister and I’ll kill you talks.”

I nod, but I don’t smile. It’s not funny.

“So I want to give you mine. Gabby is as much my little sister as she is the others. I’ve known her since the day she came home from the hospital. She’s amazing.”

“No lie.”

The door opens behind me and the other guys walk in.

“We didn’t want you to kill him without us seeing it,” Declan says to Ben calmly. “He’s a big guy. It could be a good show.”

“I want to help,” Eli says.

“You do realize that without me, you and Kate wouldn’t be,” I remind him. “Don’t make me regret encouraging her to forgive you for being an idiot.”

Beau lays on a bench and begins doing bench press.

“As I was saying,” Ben says, glaring at the other guys. “Gabby is important to all of us. She’s sweet, and she has an innocence about her that makes her vulnerable.”

“She’s the strongest person I know,” I reply. She’s not weak.

“She’s been through a lot,” Ben continues. “I wanted to kill the fucker who knocked her up and left her high and dry, but no one would let me.”

“I would have let you,” Beau says. “If I could have helped.”

“I’d like to kill him myself,” I add.

“Let me put it this way,” Ben says as he steps closer to me. I stand my ground, looking him unblinkingly in the eyes. I’ll be damned if he’s going to intimidate me and scare me away. “If you fuck with her and break her heart, I’ll kill you and no one will ever find the body. I may go to jail, but it won’t be because they found your body.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I reply and shake my head. “Hurting her is the farthest thing from my mind. I love her, for fuck sake.”

I push my hands through my hair and pace. “Why does everyone always assume that I’ll break her heart?”

“Because you’re not permanent,” Declan replies. “You’re here for a while, but then you’re leaving again, and Gabby’s home is here.”

“I am gone a lot for my job,” I agree. “But that doesn’t mean that Gabby and Sam can’t join me in the summer sometimes, or that I can’t make New Orleans my home base.”

“You’d do that?” Beau asks, not looking convinced. “You’d uproot your life for her?”

“I’d do anything for her,” I reply honestly. “She is all that matters.”

“There’s Sam too,” Eli says. “They are a package deal.”

“Absolutely. Jesus, do you all think I’m such an asshole that I don’t know that Sam is, and will always be, a part of it?”

“We don’t think you’re an asshole,” Declan says. “We’ve seen the way you look at Gabby, the way you treat both of them, and if we thought it was with anything less than love and kindness, we’d have killed you already.”

“But kids complicate relationships,” Ben says. “People put up with someone’s kid for a while, and then get tired of them.”

Now I’m just getting pissed.

“Those people are assholes,” I reply coldly. “Sam is a great boy. He’s smart and loving, and I love having him around. He’s not an add-on or something for me to tolerate.”

“Gabby’s young, and she’s been through a lot,” Eli begins, but I whirl, cutting him off.

“You’re pissing me off with this whole Gabby’s innocent and weak shit you keep flinging at me. She’s not fucking weak. She’s the strongest person I know, and if you had any respect or love for her at all, you’d see that too. If she didn’t want me around, or if I did something to piss her off, trust me, she’d be the first to kick my ass.

“She’s the most amazing mother I’ve seen, and I was raised by one of the best there is. She loves that boy more than anything. She’d die before she ever let him come into harm’s way. But you know what? She’d do the same for any of you, or anyone else she loves. She’s fiercely loyal, and she loves so big for someone so small.

“Just because she’s a little thing doesn’t mean that she’s weak.”

I stop pacing and ranting to find all four men standing with their arms crossed and smiles on their faces.

“You’re right,” Beau says. “So what are you going to do?”

What am I going to do?

“I’m going to make sure she knows how magnificent she is, and I’m going to beg her to have mercy on me and be with me forever.”

“There better be a ring in there somewhere,” Beau says.

“She can have anything she wants,” I reply. “You guys do know that I do quite well at baseball.”

“If we didn’t think you could take care of her, you wouldn’t be here,” Ben says quietly. “But the money is only one piece of it. No woman we love will ever be hurt by a man again, not if we can stop it.”

“I get it.” I rub my hands over my face, and then meet Eli’s eyes with mine. “You know I get it. Kate was hurt more than any human being should be, and I couldn’t stop it. It’s the most helpless, fucked-up feeling there is. No one deserves that. You have to know that I’d kill anyone that ever tried to hurt her that way again.”

“I do know,” Eli says with a nod.

“And I’d die before I ever let Gabby be hurt. I don’t want to hurt her, I want to love her. I want to make sure she and Sam are safe and happy, always.”

.Beau, Declan, and Ben are much more relaxed. Almost…jovial.

“Did I miss something?”

“Nope, we’re just happy with your response,” Beau says. “Shall we go back in so I can continue to kick Eli’s ass at pool?”

“Fuck that. I have a woman waiting at home,” Eli says with a grin. “I’m out of here.”

Gabby is waiting at home, too, and she hasn’t been feeling well. Not to mention, she and I need to have a talk.

“I’m out too,” I reply.

“I’ll play,” Declan says. “Come on, Beau. We can take Ben.”

“You can’t take me at anything,” Ben replies with a laugh. “But you can sure as fuck try.”

“I was fucking winning,” Beau says with a scowl.

“Come on, take it like a man,” Ben says.

***

It wasn’t terribly late when I got back last night, but Gabby was already asleep, and now I feel her trying to quietly slip out of the bed without waking me.

She’s fucking avoiding me.

And it’s pissing me off.

I let her slide out of the bed, and when she’s a few feet from the bathroom, I say, “We need to talk, Gabby.”

She stops in her tracks and her shoulders sag as she turns around and stares at me with sleepy eyes. “About what?”

“About why you’re avoiding me.”

“I’m not,” she says and pushes her hand through her hair as I climb out of the bed. “I was trying to let you sleep. Sam and I are heading into the city for the day.”

She doesn’t say it out loud, but without you is obviously at the end of that sentence.

“Did I do something to piss you off?”

She frowns and looks down at her feet, then up at me. “No.”

“Then what’s wrong, baby?”

She shakes her head, but before she can deny that anything is going on, I grip her shoulders in my hands and kiss her forehead. “Something is wrong, and I need to know what it is.”

She steps back out of my grasp. “I’ve told you a hundred times, nothing is wrong.”

“You’re lying.”

She shakes her head stubbornly. “Stop this. I told you. Nothing. Is. Wrong. Now drop it. I don’t need this from you, Rhys. If you don’t like my answer, that’s your problem.”

She stomps into the bathroom and slams the door, and I decide to give her space for now before I say something I’ll regret.

Like stop fucking lying to me and just tell me what the fuck has crawled up your ass.

That won’t help anything.

So I return to my own room upstairs, and take a shower, answer some emails, and waste a bit of time, and when I’m sure that Gabby and Sam are gone, I head downstairs.

Eva, the new employee, is in the kitchen getting breakfast ready for the guests. Eva is in her fifties, recently widowed, and wealthy. But she’s also lonely, and this job was right up her alley.

She smiles as I walk in the kitchen.

“Can I get you anything, Mister Rhys?”

“No thank you, Miss Eva,” I reply with a smile. She raises the spatula and points it at me, a smile on her pretty face.

“You’re too skinny. You need to eat.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I wave and leave out of the back, heading for the road. I need to work off some of this frustration. I plug my earphones in my ears and jog, then work my way into a run.

Something is very wrong with Gabby. When I pulled her into my arms last night, I could tell that she’d been crying. Why won’t she just talk to me? I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong.

I run for thirty minutes, then turn around and head back toward the inn.

I have no idea where she and Sam went this morning. Not that she needs to check in with me, but she usually lets me know if she’s not going to be around. It’s just a matter of consideration for each other.

And, goddamn it, I miss her.

I run around the inn to the barn and spend another hour working on stretches and weight training. The music is still pulsing in my ears when it suddenly stops and my phone starts ringing.

“Hello.”

“Where the hell are you?” I frown and stare down at Melanie’s name on my phone.

“What are you talking about? I’m in New Orleans.”

“You’re supposed to be in Chicago, today, to film the Children’s Hospital commercial.” She sounds very shrill, and very pissed. “I can’t believe you forgot, Rhys!”

Fuck.

“I’m sorry. I can be there today. Charter me a plane and I’ll be on my way to the airport in less than thirty minutes.”

“Make it fifteen,” she growls and ends the call.

“Damn it,” I mutter and run for the house. I don’t have time for a shower, but take a quick one anyway, throw some clothes on, and then simply scoop up my things and throw them all in my duffel.

I have no idea what I’ll need, so I just take it all. I didn’t have much to begin with anyway.

Gabby’s phone rings and rings, and finally sends me to voice mail. Where the fuck is she? I don’t want to leave without explaining to her what’s happening.

I run past Eva and out to my car, then peel out of the driveway, headed to the airport.

I try to call Gabby again, but it’s no use. So I send her a text.

I’m needed in Chicago. I had to leave.

I’ll call her when I get there and explain it all to her. I already miss her. I’ve been missing her for days. I wish I’d had a chance to kiss her and hold her in my arms before I left.

I wish she’d fucking talk to me.

Chapter Eighteen

~Gabby~

“Mom, I’m hungry.” Sam’s shuffling his feet as he follows me out of the mall toward our car. We’ve been shopping for school clothes and new linens for the inn all morning, and I admit, I’m hungry too, which is a relief because food hasn’t set well on my stomach for days.

“I know, buddy. Let’s go get some lunch.”

“But it’s not even eleven. It’s too early for lunch.”

“Okay, let’s go get a second breakfast,” I reply with a laugh and pull my phone out of my pocket to check it. I’ve missed three calls from Rhys, and one text from an hour and a half ago.

I’m needed in Chicago. I had to leave.

I read it three times, hoping the words will change, but each time they’re the same.

He’s gone.

He’s gone.

And why am I surprised? I knew this day was coming. He’s never been permanent, but I thought that he would have at least said goodbye in person.

I try to call him back, but it goes directly to voice mail. Seriously? How could he have caught a flight in less than two hours?

I guess he was in a hurry to leave.

“Mom, it’s getting hot in here,” Sam whines from the back seat. I meet his eyes in the rearview mirror and want more than anything to fall apart.

How am I going to explain this to him? He loves Rhys just as much as I do.

“Sorry, buddy,” I reply and turn the car on, blast the air conditioning, and chew my lip while I try to figure out what to do.

What do I do?

I can’t fall apart in front of Sam. And I’m not ready to tell him that Rhys is gone. I just don’t know how I’m going to do that.

I need my mama.

The ten-minute drive to her house seems endless.

“Why are we going to Nannan’s?” Sam asks.

“Just because,” I reply and pull in her driveway. Sam follows me up to the front door of the massive house, and when Mama answers, she smiles and hugs us both.

“This is a nice surprise. Come on in.”

“I need a favor,” I reply immediately, and Mama’s shrewd eyes narrow as she pats Sam on the head.

“Sam, why don’t you go pour yourself some sweet tea?”

“Yes, ma’am. Do you have any food? I’m starving!”

“You can help yourself to a cookie, and I’ll make you something in a minute.”

“Thanks, Nannan,” he says with a grin and heads out to the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” she asks immediately when Sam is out of earshot.

I shake my head, still not ready to fall apart. “I have a lot on my mind. Would you mind keeping him overnight? I know it’s short notice, and I’m sorry.”

“He can stay as long as you need him to, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“I think I might be heartbroken,” I whisper and find myself immediately caught up in her arms, held close.

“He’s a fool,” she says simply, then pulls away and pats my cheek. “And you’re worth more than that.”

“You don’t even know what happened.”

“I don’t need to; I’m your mama. Go ahead and go. I’ll keep Sam.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

Once in my car, I immediately drive into the Quarter and park in front of Charly’s shop. She’s the only one who knows everything. I need her.

I push inside and find Charly arranging a hat on a mannequin. There are no customers in the store. She glances up and smiles, and then sobers when she sees my face.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

And now the tears come, hard and fast, swooping over me like waves on the shoreline, and I’m lost under them. I can’t breathe, I can’t think, I can only cry and cry. Charly wraps me in her arms and rocks me back and forth, murmuring in my ear, but I can’t hear the words.

All I know is that another man that I cared for is gone. But even worse, the only man I ever loved just walked out of my life.

Without saying goodbye. Without even a backward glance.

“He’s gone,” I whisper when the worst of the sobs have subsided.

“What?” She grips my shoulders and pushes me back so she can see my face. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I got this text this morning.” I show her the message and begin crying again.

“He sent a text?” she asks.

I simply nod and take a deep breath.

“So, you told him you’re pregnant and he cut out of here? What the fuck is wrong with men?”

I glance down, embarrassed, and Charly shakes her head adamantly.

“No. No, Gabby. Don’t tell me you didn’t tell him!”

“I didn’t tell him.”

“Why the hell not? You’ve had days to tell him!”

“Because I was just starting to get my own head wrapped around it,” I reply and pace away from her, touching the pretty shoes she has displayed throughout the store. “And then he went to hang out with the boys last night. I was surprised he came home without any bruises.”

“What did the boys do?” she asks, surprised.

“I don’t know. Eli said they wanted to include him in a guys’ night with Beau, Dec and Ben.”

“Ben?” Her eyes go wide and she swallows hard. “And Rhys returned alive?”

“I know. I was a little surprised.”

“Why didn’t you tell him when he got back?”

“I pretended to be asleep.” I wince. If I’d known that it would be the last night I’d have with him, I wouldn’t have done that. I would have embraced him and let him make love to me. I would have talked to him all night, and I would have savored every smell, every sound, every moment. “I know, Char. I know I should have told him, but it didn’t exactly work out well for me the last time I had to tell a guy that I was pregnant.”

“Rhys isn’t that piece of shit Colby, Gabs.”

“No,” I agree and sigh. “I understand that not all men are Colby. But he still left. He didn’t even say goodbye to Sam. How am I supposed to tell Sam that he’s gone, and we weren’t important enough to say goodbye in person?”

“Where is Sam?”

“With Mama.”

She nods and leans on her counter, demolishing a paperclip as she thinks.

“And Eva is taking care of the inn?”

I nod. “I brought Sam into the city for school clothes and some new things for the inn. Eva’s taking over all day.”

“Wow, you took a whole day off that isn’t a Sunday.”

“I needed to get away and think.”

“You’ve been doing a lot of thinking, Gabby. It was time to talk.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s gone.”

“You have his phone number.”

“Stop, Charly. I don’t know what I’m going to do.” I shake my head and feel the tears want to start again. “I need to not think about this for a while. I need to clear my head.”

“Okay.” Charly grins and points to a stack of shoe boxes. “You can display those. And wait on customers when they come in.”

That dries up the rest of the tears. “You want me to work for you?”

“Yep.”

“So much for a day off.”

“It’ll take your mind off of he who shall not be named, and I can keep my eye on you. Win-win.”

“What are you going to pay me?”

“Lunch.” She grins as a customer walks in and begins browsing through the shoes. “There’s your first customer.”

“I really wanted to spend the day wallowing in self-pity.”

“Too bad,” Charly says. “I don’t have time for that. We will work, and then we’ll wallow.”

“Why are you wallowing?”

“Because you are,” she replies, as though I’m just being stubborn. “Women wallow together, sugar. Now, go greet your customer.”

And with that, she walks through a curtain to the stock room.

I turn and smile at the blonde wandering among the shoes. “Good morning. Can I help you find anything?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” she replies and glances up to smile back at me. She’s beautiful with long, loosely curled hair and big blue eyes. She’s in a tank top, showing off some of the most amazing tattoos I’ve ever seen on her right arm, and she’s got a great rack.

“What are you in the mood for?”

“I’m in the mood to kick a man’s ass,” she replies and then laughs. “And shoes always make me feel better.”

“I know that feeling,” I reply with a nod. “Men are jackasses.”

“Amen.”

“I’m Gabby.”

“Callie,” she replies and picks up a pair of sexy red stilettos. “These are hot.”

“Super hot,” I agree. “And designed to make a man’s tongue fall out of his mouth.”

“Hmm, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.” She turns them over in her hands. “I’ll try an eight, please.”

“Sure thing.” I fetch the shoes and return to Callie, dying to ask her lots of questions. “Are you from here?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she says and slips her feet into the shoes, then struts around the shop expertly. “Oh, these are amazing.”

“They make your legs look six feet long,” I reply with envy. “And that peep toe shows off your pedicure.”

“I’ll take them.”

“Perfect.” Callie joins me at the register. “So, who are you trying to kill with these shoes?”

She laughs and hands me her debit card. “A man that makes me crazy. I either want to deck him or climb him. There doesn’t seem to be an in-between.”

“Well, these shoes are badass.”

“And I can wear them to work,” she says with a nod.

“What do you do?”

“I own a club just a few blocks over. I’ve walked past this store dozens of times and I’m addicted to shoes, so I had to come in.”

“Isn’t it in our DNA to be addicted to shoes?” I chuckle and bag her purchase add tissue paper, and walk around to pass her bag to her. “Thanks for coming in.”

Callie smiles and waves as she leaves the shop, and I mentally thank Charly. I need this distraction.

I didn’t think about Rhys at all for about ten minutes. The mental picture of his amazing arms and abs never once entered my brain. Or the way he would smile that smile that he reserved just for me. Or the way his eyes would drift closed every time he first pushed inside me, then whisper fucking hell, Gabrielle because it felt so damn good.

Nope, didn’t think about any of that.

Baby steps. That’s the key.

“I talked to Mama,” Charly announces as she joins me. “She’s going to keep Sam until Sunday’s dinner.”

“She doesn’t have to do that,” I insist, but Charly shakes her head firmly.

“They’ll have fun. And this way you can figure some stuff out and hang out with me for a few days.”

“You’re going to hang out with me?”

“Again, not letting you wallow alone, sugar.” She winks and sets a hat on my head. “That’s a good color for you.”

“I love you, you know.”

“I love you more.”

***

“I’d forgotten how nice it is out here,” Charly says as she swings opposite from me. She’s in a pretty sundress, lazily swaying back and forth. I’m in my usual spot, paging through the reservations coming up this week on my iPad, thanks to the cops for returning it to me. Cindy was fined and spent a night in jail for grand larceny.

And I’m just petty enough to find the thought of Cindy sitting in a jail cell very satisfying.

“I love how the trees make the house so cool,” Charly says with a sigh.

“Me too.”

“Have you heard from Rhys?”

“No.” I don’t look up. The sting of not hearing from him at all is still sharp. It’s like he left and immediately forgot about me. And I miss him, damn it. I got so used to having him here, laughing with him, being in his arms, feeling him next to me while we slept.

And now he’s just gone. And it hurts so fucking bad.

“Maybe you will,” she says optimistically.