Beautifully Decadent (Beautifully Damaged Book 3) (21 page)

“And I’ll keep my feet on the ground.”

Halfway to work, I realized I had forgotten the bowls I had ordered specifically for the spun sugar domes for tonight’s pistachio meringues. I debated about turning around, since I could probably find something similar at the restaurant, but I wasn’t that far from home and they really were the perfect size.

More than once I replayed the encounter with Rafe from last night. I should have been mortified—he was right I did have a penchant for putting myself in ridiculous situations—but I wasn’t. It was a really good memory, particularly recalling the electricity that zapped the air when our bodies brushed. That wasn’t even the part I liked the most when I was around him—the chemistry that singed the air. I just liked him. Being around him was easy; talking was comfortable. I wanted to ask him about Melody, but how exactly did I bring up that subject?

Turning onto Rafe’s street, I had made good time. I was lucky my start time was two because had I been caught up in the morning traffic, it wouldn’t have been worth coming back. And that would have been a shame because the bowl proportion to the meringue was perfect. Reaching Rafe’s house, I just drove right past it because Melody stood at the gates. Speaking of the devil. My heart dropped seeing her. I had convinced myself they weren’t together any more, particularly since Rafe’s behavior toward me had changed, grown more intense, but for her to be here, maybe I was wrong on that account. Either way, I had absolutely no interest in talking with her. Turning around, I parked across the street and waited for her to leave. Rafe wasn’t home; he had left before me in search of the perfect exotic wood for a new project. His words.

Five minutes past and she still stood there. The drive was easy enough to see, Rafe’s truck wasn’t there. Why the hell was she lingering? If I thought that was odd, her next move was bizarre. She grabbed the gates and started pulling on them. Clearly frustrated that she couldn’t get them open. Rafe had changed the codes. Had he not told her? As his girlfriend you’d think she’d be the first person he’d give the codes to. Maybe he was single. I couldn’t help the excitement that fluttered in my stomach at that thought or the knot that quickly followed. If he were single, why wouldn’t he have shared that with me unless I was reading more into the dynamic between us?

Pushing aside that unpleasant thought, I grew impatient. If Melody loitered much longer, I’d have to forget about the bowls because there was no way I was engaging that woman in conversation. A minute or so passed before she turned and headed down the street. It was only then that I noticed her convertible parked two houses down. If she’d been visiting Rafe, why wouldn’t she have pulled her car up to the gates and waited for him to open them?

She drove right by my car. I was tempted to duck, but it was highly unlikely she’d recognize my car or me. As she passed, I saw that she was on the phone. She looked pissed. And even having no idea what I’d just witnessed, I derived a sick kind of pleasure seeing her not getting whatever it was she wanted.

A glance at my watch and I forgot all about Melody. I had to get those bowls and get to work.

Pulling into my driveway, it was late, so I was surprised to see Avery outside. She had a blanket on the ground, one wrapped around her shoulders and she was looking up at the stars. Loki was next to her, a blanket over him, and based on how still he was I knew he was sleeping, likely snoring. Every time I thought about Avery up in that tree, I wanted to laugh out loud almost as much as I wanted to holler some sense into her. Dad was right about the gray hair, she wasn’t mine and I felt the stress of keeping her safe…from herself. More startling, the fact that she wasn’t mine made me feel almost homicidal. And she had said I wouldn’t even know she was here.

Climbing from my truck, I walked over to join her. Seeing me, she called a greeting.

“What are you still doing outside? It’s freezing.”

“The sky is so clear, look at those stars. Mom called, told me to check out the sky. She does that sometimes, reminds me to look up. I tend to forget.”

Where was her mom? Why hadn’t she helped Avery move in or come for a visit? Telling her to look up was all well and good, but her daughter just made a major move and none of her family had been there except her sister. And the woman was a freaking brain surgeon and still she carved out time to show her support. Avery clearly had no trouble reading my thoughts.

“You’re wondering where she is.”

“Yeah, but let’s move this inside. You’re making me cold. I’ll make you hot chocolate.”

A slight smile before she asked, “With marshmallows?”

She asked that much in the way I’d heard Faith and Emily ask it. “Yeah, with marshmallows.”

She tilted her head, “You have marshmallows?”

“My friends’ kids love them.”

“So it’s not because you’re harboring a secret marshmallow fetish?”

Fucking adorable. “No.”

She stood, which had Loki stirring from his slumber. We both reached for the blanket draped on him, our fingers brushing, and damn it all but just that light brush had my balls tightening. Her scent, she smelled like cocoa. Her big green eyes held no secrets; what she was thinking was right there for me to see. She felt it too. I wanted her pressed against me, wanted to bury my face in her neck and just breathe her in. Instead, I put a collar on my raging lust and helped her collect her things before leading her inside.

Once we settled in the kitchen Avery filled me in on her absent family. “Mom is driving cross country in an RV with Harold, my stepdad. She was really upset when she learned about the interview and subsequent move, but they’ve been planning their trip for almost a year.”

Filling the kettle with water, I set it on the stove. Couldn’t help but feel relief that her mom had a reason for her absence especially after the small glimpse Avery had given me about her dad. And the fact that I cared was just another reason why I knew the battle I was fighting to keep my distance wasn’t one I’d be winning—not when everything in me wanted to close the distance between us and kiss her. When I realized my focus was on her lips, I jerked my gaze back to her face. She studied me in much the way I did her. And since my blood was now rapidly moving south, I grabbed at any subject for a distraction. “Is your mom an outdoorsmen?”

Avery laughed, the sound so carefree and natural I couldn’t help but grin in response even as my cock grew hard. “Mom, no. She’s a room service kind of woman. Not necessarily pricey but when she’s on vacation she doesn’t want to have to cook or clean. It’s been a dream of Harold’s for a long time though and since Mom loves him, she didn’t even hesitate. I love that she found Harold, they’re so perfect for each other.”

“Sounds like it. And your dad, where’s he?”

Her easy smiled dimmed, her eyes losing some of their sparkle. And even knowing she didn’t have a great relationship with her dad—the man was clearly a moron—seeing just how hard Avery took her father’s neglect caused a surge of protectiveness in me. I wanted to hunt her dad down and beat some sense into him.

“Like I’ve mentioned, my dad is a selfish man. We’ve never been close despite my efforts to change that. You have a closer relationship with your father and he’s been away for so long. He and Mom were like oil and water. I don’t understand why he remarried; he really doesn’t seem to need anyone. But he did, to a woman who is only six years older than me. She’s vile, but she doesn’t demand conversation or companionship, as long as she gets her hair and nails done and has a credit card she’s happy.”

So not just a disinterested father, but a bitch of stepmom too. Before I could offer a response, she asked, “What was it like for you with your dad being away? I mean if that’s okay to ask.”

“At first, it was hard. I was nine and had lost my dad and my home. When I entered my teenage years I was the typical, angry at the world, kid. But my dad and I, even having so many years that separated us, somehow we’re managing to find our way back.”

“He loves you. You can see that very clearly.”

I hadn’t expected her to say that, was even more surprised at how much I wanted that observation to be true. When the kettle whistled, I poured the hot water in the mug and stirred the hot chocolate. “How many marshmallows?”

“I’ll tell you when.”

And she did when there were at least twenty little marshmallows in her mug. “You weren’t kidding about liking marshmallows.”

She flashed me a smile. “What can I say? I like sweet things.”

She wasn’t the only one.

Fall was in the air, it was my day off and I had pumpkin treats baking. While I waited, I decided to plant up a few pots I had picked up at the local garden center. The mums, asters and millets looked so festive. I even had cornstalks, hay and pumpkins arranged at the front door of the carriage house. Loki sat at my feet, as I arranged and rearranged the pumpkins and plants to get the exact look I was going for.

Rafe had been gone most of the day, returning about an hour ago. He called a greeting to Loki and me before he changed into sweats and a tee and headed into the barn. Seeing him that day in the barn, working the bag without a shirt. If only you could print mental images I’d have that one papering the bedroom walls. I should have told him last night about Melody’s visit. It had been on the tip of my tongue, but I hadn’t wanted to bring her into the moment because talk about a buzz-kill. I’d have to tell him, he needed to know she’d been here and I needed to know if they were still together, if all the flirty banter between Rafe and me was just that and not a prelude to something so much better.

“He’s very sexy, your daddy. You might not see it being male and all but truly, he’s enough to turn a straight man gay. I could look at him all day.”

Loki’s head lifted, his black eyes regarded me.

“I realize I’m objectifying your daddy, but when a man looks like him, he has to expect it.”

Loki shifted; I reached over and rubbed his head. “You have no idea what I’m saying.”

“Probably not.”

And that didn’t come from Loki. The head drop was instinctual; Rafe was behind me. It was like the man had a super power of always being present when I was at my silliest. Studying the flowerpot, I wondered if I could get my head in there too.