Chasing the Runaway Bride (17 page)

He laughed. “I know. If it’s any consolation, it’s not you. You’re the kind of girl any man would want to settle down with. I’m just not the settling kind.”

She laughed. “No, duh.”

“I’m serious.” He took her by the shoulders and forced her gaze to his again. “In spite of everything that happened with Lonnie, it was actually my parents’ relationship that turned me off marriage. I’ve got some memories that pretty much guarantee I’ll never think committing to one person is a good idea.”

“So why’d you almost marry Lonnie?”

He sighed. “The relationship with Lonnie went from too-good-to-be-true to crappy in about six weeks, but by then she’d told me she was pregnant. And I wouldn’t desert a child. I was kind of young and stupid, so I didn’t ask questions. I just decided I was going to do a better job at parenting than my dad had done, and part of that meant getting myself into the same house as my child, so I could raise him.” He took a deep breath. “When I found out Hunter wasn’t mine, I was livid on Hunter’s behalf, but I also felt like I’d dodged a bullet. I joined the Marines and got a little crazy. Women love a guy with tattoos and an attitude.”

“Yeah, I totally get that.” She looked away, tracing the line of the dragon on his forearm. “Why settle down with one woman when you can have ten?”

“It’s more than that.” He nudged her until she looked him in the eye. “I learned pretty damned young what people can do to each other when they’re trapped in a bad relationship. Then Lonnie lying, trying to use me, cemented the fact that trust makes a person vulnerable. The closest I’ll come to committing is to my ranch. And I can only commit to that because it’s big and unforgiving. A challenge. It doesn’t tell me what to do. It pushes me to think. Plus, I have space. And as foreman I had power. Once I own it, nobody will ever again tell me what to do. Where to go. How to do things. I will finally have the freedom I’ve always wanted.”

…

Piper studied his eyes and saw the truth of what he was saying. Knowing what she did about his father beating him and his brothers, she even believed she understood why he felt as he did.

Because she understood it, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to discount it or diminish it. She also wouldn’t be foolish enough to think she was the woman who could change him. Or that something about being with her would heal his need for control, for freedom.

So she laughed. “Which is exactly why I refuse to let you break my heart.”

He grazed his hand down her ass. “Then go get a glass of water or juice or whatever you use to reboot your stamina, because if I only get one night, I’m making it count.”

Chapter Fourteen

Cade left her around midnight and returned to his grandfather’s house. Knowing his phone alarm was set, he fell asleep and woke the next morning feeling like a new man.

There was nothing like easing sexual frustration to bring back a guy’s energy and enthusiasm. He was so energetic and enthused that he was too antsy to stay in the office and look for his grandfather’s proof. So he stocked shelves and put out produce. Getting more and more nervous as the day went on. Especially when he realized Piper was supposed to come in at seven and he was supposed to come in at two. They’d gotten so wrapped up in each other the night before they forgot their own damned schedule.

So where was she? Was she hurt? Mad? Uncomfortable?

Women took things differently than men. It was supposed to be nothing but lust.

A few hours later, he grabbed the last orange from the crate at his feet, intending to stack it on a pyramid he’d created—to keep himself from going crazy with speculation about Piper—just as Piper tripped the trigger that opened the double glass door entrance and walked inside.

Today, she wore hip hugging jeans and a long, slim top that cruised her torso and showed off her boobs. Remembering some—if not all—of the things he’d done with that little body the night before, he mindlessly dropped the orange to the top of the pyramid and it rolled down, starting a small avalanche that tumbled a third of the oranges to the floor.

“Goddamn it.”

Close enough to have heard, Mrs. Orville Gentry gasped.

He winced as he chased after three wayward oranges rolling off in three different directions. “Sorry about that.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Uh-hum.”

For the love of God, he’d been to war. He ran a ranch. He managed to get forty rowdy cowboys to listen when he gave an order. He should be allowed to say damn.

A pair of shiny black boots suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Scaring the old ladies with cursing now?”

His gaze rose from the tips of the black high heel boots, up the line of Piper’s blue-jean-covered legs, to the belt at her hips, to that slim top that caressed all the skin he wanted to be licking right now.

“I should be allowed to say…”

She stooped and put her hand over his mouth. “Don’t!”

His tongue darted out to lick her palm. She yanked her hand away, her pretty green eyes growing huge and round. But she quickly composed herself, huffed out a noise of disgust, and headed for the office.

His eyes narrowed as she strode away from him. She hadn’t thought him disgusting when she was lying under him screaming his name. He didn’t like the way she could so easily pretend there was nothing between them, and she didn’t like him.

He knew she did.

He followed her to the office, walked inside, closed the door, and locked it.

She didn’t even look up from the computer. “That was gross.”

“If we were naked and I was running that tongue along your belly, you wouldn’t say that.”

“Nope, I probably wouldn’t.”

Her answer surprised him so much he groaned. “You’re killing me.”

For that, she did look up. “Sorry.”

“I think we’re making a mistake by not being lovers.”

…

She laughed and shook her head as she tried to get her attention back on the computer screen, but it was hard. He was sexy. He was gorgeous. He was fun in bed. He had totally revolutionized the way she looked at sex, and she had to turn him away. It didn’t seem fair.

“I told you. This isn’t about you. It’s about me.”

“That’s my line!”

“You
are
in a mood today, aren’t you?”

He walked behind the tall-back desk chair. Lifting her hair, he bent far enough that he could run his tongue along her neck.

“Working in a grocery store is dull. I’m bored.”

A thrill raced through her. “Oh, so I’m just going to be something to keep you from being bored?”

“No.”

“Too bad. That had a nice ring to it.”

He spun the chair around. “You have got to stop teasing me.”

“I’m not the one who came in and licked your neck.”

“I only do these things to get you to realize sex for fun can be, well…fun.”

“And I’d be on board with that if I knew I wouldn’t grow to like you too much.”

“I can be embarrassingly horrible and totally prevent that.”

“And if I also knew I could be strong enough, composed enough, not to say or do something stupid.”

“It’s hard to say or do something stupid during sex. Everything is relative. What sounds idiotic in public is perfectly acceptable in bed.”

“I’m talking about here at the store. No one really respects me yet. I can’t risk it.”

“And here I thought it was my lucky day.”

“Sorry. Your lucky day has passed.”

She was really sorry. Because that meant her lucky day had passed too. On the one hand, knowing he was leaving, knowing his being in Harmony Hills was temporary, she
should be
smart enough not to fall for him. She liked the sex. She liked being honest, asking for what she wanted, giving him what he wanted. The power of it was amazing. Yet she knew she was only at the tip of the iceberg. There was so much more he knew. So much more he could teach her.

But she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t fall for him. And then where would she be? A puddle of despair when he returned to Montana? A woman who would lose the store she’d worked so hard for because she was devastated?

After he left for the day, Piper did a quick walk through the sales floor. Bunny had switched shifts with Maria, their usual night clerk, and she stood at the counter filing her nails.

Piper almost paused and told her to go dust shelves, but at the last second changed her mind. The store was quiet but could fill up at any second. Though Bunny should be able to watch her checkout lane from one of the many round mirrors strategically placed for that purpose, Piper didn’t want to cause trouble.

Everything had been moving along smoothly, including that there was no gossip, no sniping, no mention of Hyatt/O’Riley sensibilities.

As the daughter of a guy who’d lost his business in a poker game, best friend of Lonnie Simmons whose sins had virtually burned up the gossip mill the past few days, and a runaway bride… Well, Piper sort of liked when things were quiet.

Which just proved how much of a wimp she was…or how smart she was, not to get herself into a bad position with Cade.

Choosing smart over wimp, she returned to the office. At the desk, she opened the accounts payable software and the bank software, intending to issue payments, but the filing cabinets caught her eye.

She hadn’t ever looked for Richard Hyatt’s proof that he hadn’t cheated her dad. If Cade spent the day stacking oranges, she doubted he had, either.

She tapped her fingers on the desk, wondering if Richard really had proof, or if that was just part of the way he’d gotten Cade to stay in Harmony Hills and actually run the store. That and the money she’d pay him for his share, which would give him a down payment for his ranch.

In Montana.

She sighed, telling herself to stop thinking about him leaving next July because, in a way, it was irrelevant. The truth was, he didn’t want a relationship. Even if he planned to stay forever, he did not want anything permanent. And if she didn’t stop her feelings for him now, her heart would definitely get broken. Now that her curiosity had been satisfied, it was best just to stay away from him.

Really. It was.

…

Right after Piper arrived at work the following afternoon, Barbara Beth Rush ambled into the store with Ellie Donovan. As Piper glanced up at them, Cade walked over. After hugging Ellie, his new sister-in-law, he hugged Barbara Beth.

Even from a few feet away, she heard him say, “So how the hell are you?”

Barbara Beth laughed. The sound was light and airy and beautiful. Actually, Barbara Beth was beautiful. With her blond hair and big blue eyes and…well, perfect bosom, she was spectacular. But she was also rough around the edges. Especially when it came to clothes. It was as if she couldn’t stop dressing as the head cheerleader in high school. Short skirts. Tight tops that showed a little too much cleavage.

Still, some men liked that.

Displaying a list, Ellie said, “While you two catch up, I’ll get our order.”

Cade smiled. Barbara Beth nodded eagerly. Ellie walked up the first aisle toward the coffee.

The buxom blonde faced Cade. “So how are you holding up now that that whole Lonnie thing is out in the open?”

He shrugged. “I’m okay.” Then he winced. “Sure as hell took her long enough to let me off the hook.”

She stepped in closer. “You know what you need? A night in Petie’s Pub.”

From her spot behind a shelf of macaroni and assorted pasta products in brightly colored boxes, Piper felt something she’d never felt in her life. The desire to punch someone. It was ridiculous. It was wrong.

But it also sparked the reminder of something she hadn’t considered in her decision to stay away from Cade. He wasn’t the kind of guy to be celibate. And there were plenty of available women who’d play with him.

If she seriously intended not to have sex with him, then she had to be prepared to watch him sleep with someone else.

“Hey, Piper…Marcy Franklin’s debit card won’t work.”

The sound of Bunny’s voice startled Piper, and she guiltily jumped away from the macaroni.

Astute, always on the lookout for new gossip, especially when the store was so quiet, Bunny peered over the macaroni to Cade and Barbara Beth, who were laughing.

She smiled. “If you’re too busy watching Cade flirt with Barbara Beth, I can call the bank for you.”

Righteous indignation spewed through Piper, and she rounded on Bunny. Luckily, she caught herself before she said something she’d regret. “I’m happy to call the bank.”

Bunny glanced at Cade and Barbara Beth again and smiled knowingly. Piper hadn’t fooled her with her calm reply.

And here was another unexpected consequence. Would worrying about Cade—about her decision not to sleep with him anymore—actually make it more obvious that she and Cade were…interested in each other?

Or would unfulfilled lust make her look like some kind of crazed stalker? Cade had said fighting Mother Nature never worked. What if he was right? What if jealousy made her say and do things that would put her on everybody’s crazy list again?

Chapter Fifteen

When the store closed, Piper raced home, took the shortest shower in recorded history, and slipped into jeans and a T-shirt before walking through a spritz of her favorite perfume, grabbing her jacket and racing to her car.

She parked two blocks from Cade’s grandfather’s house and fought second thoughts as she sidestepped streetlights, trying to get to Cade’s unnoticed, and succeeding. It was after nine, in the fall, on a weeknight. Kids were inside. Parents were probably overseeing homework. No one cared that she slipped through the night, hoping to meet her lover.

A shiver ran through her, partly from the cold, partly from officially designating Cade her lover, but she ignored it as she walked up the steps of the aging house and knocked on the old-fashioned front door. It was a new day in her life. She wasn’t going to miss out on something good because she was afraid of consequences down the road. She was not going to fight Mother Nature.

“Coming!”

His yell reverberated to her. She sucked in a breath. Told herself to calm down. Though she’d never done anything like this before, it was what she wanted.