Cup of Sugar (21 page)

Zeus gave a muffled
woof
from the other end of the couch. Ten seconds later, the headlights from Nia’s car lit up Conn’s kitchen window. Even in his sleep, the dog had good ears. A damn discerning radar too. Zeus had taken a liking to Nia the moment she tolerated his wet jowls pressed against her face, and that affection had grown in the weeks since. The pooch’s tail wagged more for Nia than it did for Conn. Conn might’ve called him a traitor if he didn't thoroughly agree.

He patted the dog on the haunches and left him snoozing on the couch. Conn understood that too. It was bloody late. Too late for man and beast to be awake and wandering out into the cold. But that’s what he did.

“Hey, how’d it go tonight?” he asked as he walked up the driveway.

Nia turned at the sound of his voice. “Very well.” She pulled her purse onto her shoulder and closed her car door. “Aside from this one guy who booked a table but never ordered a damn thing. We lost money on him.”

He knew he had to be grinning like a monkey, but he didn’t give a shit how goofy he looked. Nia was talking to him again. Normally, happily.

“What a jerk.”

She smiled. “He charmed his way out of it. As usual. Plus, he was hot.”

“Oh yeah?”

Her enthusiastic nodding jiggled her purse strap free. He stopped it from sliding down her arm and returned it to her shoulder. Since his hand was in the neighborhood, he caught a loose wisp of hair. He twirled the silky strand around his finger. Stepped closer, cupped her chin in his hand and tilted it for a better angle. “The guy promises to make it up to you. Any way you want.”

She didn’t answer, but her lips parted and her eyes shone. Most importantly, she didn’t move away. All the encouragement he needed at this point.

“Come inside with me,” he said.

“It’s late and you have to work early in the morning.”

“Then you’d better tuck me in.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her closer. “You can tell me a bedtime story. Something that’ll give me good dreams.”

“Conn…”

He knew that breathy tone well. Part protest, part invitation. He’d go with the second part.

“Come inside.” He brushed his lips over hers in a light kiss. “Even if it’s just for a few minutes.”

She moaned softly under the next kiss. Opened for him. Wrapped her arms around his neck and splayed her fingers over the back of his head.

He’d take that as a yes. He walked backward, leading her down the driveway without giving up one second’s worth of contact. At the bottom of the porch stairs he scooped her off the ground, into his arms.

Her cute little startled gasp broke their kiss. She didn’t fidget. Didn’t try to get free. Just pressed her forehead against his and held on tight while he climbed the stairs.

Inside the house she let him help her out of her coat. He hung it over the banister along with her scarf and purse then knelt in front of her.

She sucked in a breath when he cupped her legs near the bottom of her skirt. “What are you doing?”

“Taking your shoes off.” He lifted her foot and removed the first one. “Much as I’d like to watch you walk around in these heels, I figure they must kill after a long, hectic day.”

“Oh.” She watched him repeat the actions with her other foot. “Yes, they do.”

He stayed on his knees, gently massaging her calves. “Feel good?”

“God, yes.” She sighed, relaxing more with each circle he rubbed over her muscles. “You have great hands.”

“Glad you think so.”

She swayed a little, then leaned closer, using his shoulders for support.

The light touch sent a charge through him, rousing his less-gentlemanly instincts. Or it could have been the fact that his face was now only inches from her body. All he knew for sure was that he wanted closer. A whole lot closer.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling down at him.

“Anytime.”

“Not just for the massage. For coming to the restaurant and—” Her smile wavered a little. “For not being furious with me when you had every right and reason to be.”

Cue taken. He rose, took her hand and led her to the living room. “Zeus, off.”

The dog grumbled while vacating the couch.

“You didn’t have to shoo him off on my account.”

“I know.” One of the many things Conn liked about Nia—her genuine affection for his dog. He guided her onto the couch and took the spot at the other end. “I’m not angry about the text thing, but I’m not sure why it happened. Have I given you a reason not to trust me?”

“Never directly.”

Not the glowing endorsement he’d hoped for, or deserved, since he’d never cheated on a woman in his life. “I’m listening.”

“The day we went skating, Tracy said some things.”

“Yeah, she did. We didn’t split on good terms because she didn’t want to break up, even though it was inevitable. But even she would tell you I’m not a two-timer. If I’m not happy, I get out of the relationship.” He leaned forward and took her hand. “I don’t fuck around. Never have. Not in any way.”

“I believe you.”

“Good.” He brought her knuckles to his lips. “I have something for you. Close your eyes while I go get it.”

“You got me a present?”

“Not ‘got’ exactly. Now close them—and no peeking.” He left her on the couch and headed for the basement. This table was smaller than the one he’d made for a client, but it still weighed enough to make him grunt while carrying it up the stairs. “Still have them closed?” he called as he stepped out the basement door.

“Yes, but you really shouldn’t have—” She startled at the heavy
thunk
in front of her, her eyelids popping open.

“Hey, I didn’t tell you to look yet.” He’d planned to spin the table around so the carving he’d done on one side would be the first thing she saw.

“Oh, Conn…” She sat forward, her eyes wide as she took it in. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s yours.”

When he’d shown her the client’s table, she’d moved all around it, examining the rings and grain lines, the knots and bumpy live edge of the exterior, the iron legs. This time—nothing.

Her gaze rose from the table to his face. “I know I shouldn’t, but I have to ask…what is this?”

“Well, I’d call it a small coffee table, but you can use it for whatever you want.”

She shook her head. “Not the table. Us.”

“Us. I thought we covered that when we kissed and I carried you inside.” He joined her on the couch, sitting closer this time. “I told you I’m a one-woman guy, and since our first night together, I’ve made it pretty clear you’re the woman in my life right now.”

“For how long?”

He laughed, then realized she hadn’t asked as a joke. “I don’t have an answer for that.”

“And that’s why I can’t accept your beautiful gift.” She stood, dabbing the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, clearly fighting back tears. “I have to stop kissing you, Conn. And everything else too.”

He sprang to his feet, blocking her before she could get past. “Shit, Nia. What the hell did you expect me to say?” He cupped her face in his palms. “I spent the better part of a year trying to get your attention. You’re beautiful and sexy and sweet and fun. I like being with you. I think about you all the time. I want to see where this leads, don’t you?”

“You know I do. I just can’t. If you didn’t live next door, things would be different.”

“I thought we were past that.” He released her, pushed his hands through his hair. Exhaled, long and low, trying to collect himself rather than say something he’d regret. “You dated a neighbor and he broke your heart, now you don’t trust any guy who lives nearby? That’s kind of crazy.” Shit. Call that a massive fail.

“I warned you.”

“What?”

“The first time I got into your truck. I told you I’m the poster child for crazy chicks.”

“I thought you were being cute.”

“Sorry to disappoint you with the truth.”

“You kissed me in the driveway, let me carry you into my house knowing as well as I did that you’d be spending the night in my bed. But I give you something I made for you and bam—” He clapped his hands together. “That’s it, we’re done because I won’t commit to six months, a year or forever. Help me understand, Nia, because you lost me a couple mood swings ago.”

Nothing. Face blank, she skirted around him.

This time, he let her. He followed her to the front hall, watched her slide her feet into the heels, pull on her coat. What the fuck was his problem—why was he just standing there, watching her leave?

He moved in, caught her hands before she’d finished buttoning. “I didn’t mean to be a dick. And I don’t think you’re crazy. It’s just too soon to make any kind of promise.”

“Not for me. See, while I was busy deciding not to fall hard for you, I did.” She shook her head when he opened his mouth to speak. “Considering the amount of times I’ve tried to force love to happen and failed miserably, I think I know the real deal when it hits me.”

After that confession, only one thing he could say. “Then why walk away?”

“Because nobody’s perfect, Conn. When the glow fades and you’re ready to move on because you’re no longer happy, I won’t be humiliated, I’ll be
devastated
. And I’ll be stuck living twenty-five feet away from you, watching you live the next cheerful chapter in your life.”

Heat rolled up from his gut. He dropped her hands before he did something really stupid like squeeze so hard he hurt her delicate fingers. “This is fucked-up.” He backed off a few steps, giving her breathing room. Taking some for himself. “So you fell in love with me, yet you think I’m a shallow, selfish asshole.”

“That’s not it at all.” She crossed to him, pressed her palms and cheek against his chest. “I think you’re warm and thoughtful and a dozen other wonderful things.”

“But you won’t give me a chance. Give us a chance.”

“I can’t.”

Holding her wouldn’t change anything. He did it anyway.

Chapter Fifteen

She’d done the right thing. Nia swallowed two ibuprofen tablets and chased them with a large glass of water. Then another. Last night’s lack of sleep and extreme loss of saline had given her a monster headache. She hadn’t braved a mirror yet, but she knew what she’d see there, and it wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

She schlepped into the living room and flopped onto the couch. If Zeus were here, he’d have his big, squishy face mashed up against hers right now. Of course, if Zeus were here, Conn would also be here, and he’d be ordering Zeus away so he could take the dog’s place in the face-to-face, lips-on-lips department. Shit. Stupid train of thought. No more thinking about Zeus.

Oh, who was she kidding? Didn’t matter what she thought about. Everything led back to Conn.

She bolted upright at her cell’s soft ring. She scrambled to get the thing out of her robe’s pocket and stabbed the answer button before her heart leapt clear out of her chest. “Hello?”

“Dude. You haven’t called.”

“Hey, Sara.” Nia’s heart did a sad slide back into its proper place. “Sorry, been busy at work with Valentine’s Day.”

Say you’ll be my Valentine.

Shit. She shook off the memory of his handsome face smiling at her as he handed her the lavender rose. “So what happened? Why are you at Mom and Dad’s?”

“Lost my job. Couldn’t pay my rent. Oh, and I might have gotten arrested.”

“Holy crap, that one’s new. Arrested for what?”

“Public mischief.”

Nia burst into laughter. “Sorry.”

“Nah, don’t be. It’s totally funny. Well, aside from the fingerprinting and mug shot. And the two-thousand-dollar fine I have no money to pay. Hence my stint at the Chambers’ reformatory for wayward daughters.”

“Oh my god, Sara, that’s horrible.”

“Yeah. Remember when we were kids, how Mom and Dad would make a list of chores, and we didn’t get our allowance until we’d checked off every item?” Sara snorted. “Well, you should see the size of this fucking chore list!”

Nia burst into laughter again. Sara joined in and they laughed together until Nia’s stomach hurt. “Seriously. What’re you going to do?”

“Not sure yet, but I’ll figure something out. I always do. Glad I could give you a laugh.”

If only Sara knew how much she needed one this morning. Actually, it was good that she didn’t. Nia didn’t need more advice she couldn’t use. She pushed the thought away and summoned the lightest tone she could muster. “Speaking of laughs, when you get parole from doing dishes and scrubbing the bathtub, you should hop on a bus and come down here. We’ll go out to a comedy club.”

“Uh-huh. I’m going to take you up on that, but your ‘everything’s hunky-dory’ act just hit the fail zone.”

The trouble with people knowing you well—they knew you too well. Nia needed to steer this conversation away from her sister’s rather keen bullshit detector. “And I can’t believe the ever-cool Sara Robinson just used the term hunky-dory. Did you learn that in jail?”

“Look at that—you
do
have a sense of humor underneath that uptight, prissy exterior.”

“Gosh, I love it when you call so we can bond.”

Sara laughed. “Crazy isn’t it, how stuff has worked out?”

Movement outside her living room window drew Nia’s attention. Conn, climbing into his truck. Starting it up and driving away without casting a single glance at her house. Oh yeah, stuff had really worked out.

Nia cleared her throat. “It is.” She followed with a fake laugh, but that’s exactly how it sounded—fake.

“I actually
like
the spunky Nia who flings the comebacks, but this is the Nia I’m used to. Serious, mopey Nia. Spill it or I’m telling Mom and Dad you seem depressed. You’ll be lucky if they give you a minute of peace after that.”

For a second, Nia laughed again. Talk about role reversal. She’d issued similar threats to her sister more times than she could count. “Should I copy your classic answer and tell you to go ahead?”

“You could, but then you wouldn’t get to talk about it. And we both know you love to analyze shit to death.”

One of these days, Sara was going to need to engage in a heart-to-heart. Nia would be there to lend a supportive ear. Then she’d never let Sara hear the end of it.