Undeniable Love - Journey of Love Book 2 (4 page)

“Liberty, sweetheart, I’m not going to ask you to change for me. You are who you are, and I am who I am. We gave it a try and it just didn’t work.”

Liberty sniffled once more before clearing her throat. “Fine. I hope you’re happy with the tramps you pick up to fuck in your little playroom. You’re going to see how good you had it with me. I love you, Tristan. I’d have done anything for you.”

I needed to be direct with her. I owed her at least that. “Liberty, I have to be honest with you. I um . . . I have feelings for someone else. It’s someone I dated before, but I pushed her away because I was confused about my feelings for her, and I just can’t keep pretending everything is okay with us. I can’t do that to you or me.”

I waited for her to say something.

“Fuck you, Tristan. Asshole.”

Then the line went dead. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I looked at it. “That didn’t go as I planned.”

Walking into Clayton’s, I looked around. The smell of bacon filled the air and caused me to lick my lips and moan internally. I was starving. A young girl, maybe three years younger than me, looked my body up and down as she smiled. “Hey there. Breakfast?”

Nodding my head, she motioned for me to follow her to a table. She handed me a menu and asked, “You alone?”

Now I really looked at her. Yep, she was at least three years younger, maybe more. Her eyes danced with the possibilities. Two years ago, I would be asking her what time she got off and taking her back to my place, if we made it that far. Winking, I gave her the smile I knew melted their panties. “Yes, ma’am, I am indeed alone this morning.”

Tilting her head she said, “That’s a shame, guy like you shouldn’t be left alone.”

“Hey there.”

I looked up and the waitress turned her head. I smiled bigger when I saw the girl from this morning standing at my table.

Chuckling, I said, “Hey, paint girl.”

Throwing her head back she laughed. It was a nice laugh. She glanced over to the waitress. “Hey, Lisa.”

Frowning, the waitress said, “Hey, Sierra.”

“Um . . . would you like to join me, Sierra?” I asked as I peeked over to the very pissed off waitress named Lisa.

Pulling out the chair opposite me, Sierra sat down.
She looked at me and smiled, “I’d love too, Tom.”

Lisa cleared her throat and asked, “Coffee?”

Letting out a chuckle, I nodded my head and looked at the waitress. “No cream or sugar, just black.”

Raising an eyebrow, Sierra smiled. “Ahh . . . a man after my own heart. It’s rare to find someone who likes their coffee straight up. I’ll take the same, Lisa.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Sierra? Like as in the mountains? That’s a beautiful name. Did your parents conceive you in the mountains or something?” Raising my eyebrow, I smiled as I said, “I believe the name also means dark.”

Sierra smiled bigger. I liked her smile. It was real. Nothing fake about it at all. Her eyes sparkled as she searched my face, landing her baby blues back to my green eyes.

“You’re seriously going to judge me when you were caught peeping at your ex getting screwed by what I’m guessing was the new guy?”

Ouch.
Straight shooter. Pinching my eyebrows together, I asked, “How did you know they were screwing?”

She gave me a polite chuckle. “Please. I was painting that side of the house when she began calling out his name. It didn’t take long to figure out why you had that look on your face when you were stepping off the ladder.”

Bile moved up into the base of my throat. The idea of Ryn falling apart with that fucker buried inside her pissed me off. Swallowing hard, I looked down at the menu.

“Recent breakup?” Sierra asked as she smiled at Lisa and took her coffee. Placing mine in front of me, Lisa winked at me.

Glancing back at Sierra, I barely said, “What?”

“You and Ryn? Have y’all recently broken up?”

Setting my menu down, I placed my arms on the table and looked at Sierra. Indignantly, I asked, “How in the hell do
you
know her name?”

Something moved over Sierra’s eyes. She placed her arms on the table and stared me down. “It’s
my
house.
I
rent it out; therefore,
I
know who is there at all times. Just because I’m
covered in paint doesn’t mean a damn thing. My daddy paints houses for a living and I’m helping him paint
my
beach house that I rent out when
I’m
not here in South Padre.”

I dropped back in my chair and was about to apologize when Lisa walked up and was ready to take our order. “What will it be, Sierra?”

Sierra sat back, never taking her eyes off of me. “Two eggs, over easy, side of sourdough bread, bacon, and a small stack of pancakes with blueberries on top.”

A small smile played across my lips. Lisa turned to me. “What would you like, Tom?”

Flashing a smile that would knock any guy out of his shoes, Sierra let out a giggle when Lisa called me Tom.

“I think I’ll have exactly the same as Sierra.”

Handing her my menu, she took it and turned on her heels, stomping away. Clearly annoyed that Sierra and I were in a flirting stare.

“We broke up ten months ago.”

Choking on her coffee, she quickly set it down. “Ten months? Ten. Months? You’re still pining over her after ten months? Shit . . . is she that good in bed?”

Hmm . . . a girl who speaks my language. “You immediately think it’s because of the sex?”

Raising her eyebrow, Sierra lifted the side of her mouth and made a face. “Please, I’m thirty years old, Tom. I’ve been around the block a time or two.”

Now it was my turn to lift my eyebrows and give her a look. “No fucking way you’re thirty. You look about twenty-two. Twenty-five max.”

Wiggling her eyebrows up and down she took another sip of her coffee and then whispered, “Flattery will get you everywhere. Especially if you tell me you’re a kinky lover. I may have to take you right here on the table—after I eat my pancakes of course.”

I threw my head back and laughed. I liked this girl. She was feisty and not afraid to speak her mind. That seemed to be rare in women these days. “What are you doing tonight?”

She took in a deep breath and blew it out. “Let’s see. I think my date is picking me up at seven tonight, and we’re heading to grab a bite to eat. Then we’re heading over to Max’s Roadhouse for some serious dirty dancing that will bring us to the brink of wanting to take each other right there on the dance floor, but we won’t.”

“You won’t?” I asked.

Shaking her head, she smiled faintly. “Nope. We won’t because he is pining over his girlfriend he broke up with ten months ago and I’m trying to move past learning my husband of six years cheated on me. With my best friend. In my house. In my bed, while my damn dog watched.”

“Fuck.”

Nodding her head, she whispered, “Yeah—fuck.”

Lisa brought our breakfast and Sierra and I spent the next hour talking. Sierra was a labor and delivery nurse in Austin. That made me smile for some reason. She just bought her own house, a small two-bedroom house in Hyde Park that she swears she had to sell her soul to the devil to be able to buy. I found myself smiling more during our conversation over breakfast than I had in the last ten months. Sierra was easy to talk to, had a wonderful sense of humor, and I could easily see us being friends. I’d never been just friends with a girl before, so this was new territory I was willing to explore.

“So, you’re a mechanical engineer, huh? You like taking shit apart and fixing it?”

Smiling, I nodded my head. “Yes, ma’am, I do.”

Leaning back, she placed her hands over her stomach. “I’m stuffed.” Tilting her head she smiled at me again. I was quickly learning to like this girl. She was fun and had a positive attitude. What a fucker of a husband not to see what an incredible woman he had. “I have a proposition for you.”

Looking surprised, I said, “I’m listening.”

“Ryn told me she wasn’t dating anyone. The guy she’s with is clearly into her more than she is him.”

“You’re observant.”

Smiling, Sierra tossed her head to the side and half-heartedly lifted her shoulder. “My job maybe? Or the fact that Daddy used to be involved in the Italian mafia and I learned a lot . . . too much really, when I was younger.”

Shit. Sierra just keeps getting more and more interesting.

Gesturing with my head, I said, “Go on.”

She popped up in her seat, nodding her head. “Oh right. So, my guess is, this guy . . . shit, what was his name?”

“Dodge,” I growled between my teeth.

Laughing, Sierra said, “Right. Dodge. I’m guessing he is just a friend who serves as a fuck buddy in a sense. I can see the idea of him drives you crazy.
Very
crazy. If Ryn still needs a fuck buddy after ten months, that tells me she is still hung up on you. Now, you said you’re both here a good two weeks or so. I think what you need is to somehow show Ryn what she’s missing. Show Ryn she doesn’t need Homerun after all.”

“Dodge. His name is Dodge.”

Grinning like a fool, Sierra chuckled. “Trust me. By the sound of that orgasm, his name is
Homerun.
Now, I need a few things taken care of at my place. Namely, my lawnmower needs to be fixed and a new garage door opener needs to be installed like ASAP. I’ll be your Dodge. Your pretend fuck buddy for the next—” She looked down at her cell phone. “For the next week. Our goal . . . make Ryn see what she really wants, and that’s not Dodge.”

Lifting, my mouth into a smile, I asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to put sex on the table with this agreement?”

Laughing she shook her head. “I’m nobody’s fuck buddy, Tristan.”

I was stunned into silence.
Who is this girl?
I looked up at the ceiling. Sierra leaned forward and looked up as well. “What are you looking at?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure, but I think heaven just sent me an angel.”

Peeking over at her, she laughed and held out her hand. “Do we have a deal?”

Glancing over Sierra’s shoulder, I saw Ryn walking in with Dodge. His arm was thrown over her shoulder. My stomach instantly felt sick at the sight of the two of them together. As my mind traveled back to this morning, the anger began to bubble up. I made the decision right there that I liked Sierra’s plan. Quickly grabbing Sierra’s hand, I pulled her halfway across the table. Placing my hand behind her neck, I pressed her lips to mine. It took a bit of prodding, but she finally opened her mouth to me. The sweet taste of blueberries lingered on her tongue and I moaned. When I pulled away, I took a quick peek toward the door. Ryn stood stunned as she watched me kiss Sierra. Kissing her quickly on the lips again, I whispered, “Deal.”

Leaning back, I relaxed in my chair as Sierra sat back. “Holy shit. I like how you seal your deals.”

Looking into her eyes, I gave her a smile that I could tell affected her. “You should see me in bed, sweetheart. I really know how to seal that deal.”

Her mouth parted open slightly. “I don’t doubt that one bit. I bet you’re a good lover.”

“I’m better than good.” I stood and took out my wallet. Throwing a few twenties onto the table, I took Sierra’s hand and brought it up to my lips. “It’s show time, sweetheart.”

Sierra’s eyes widened. “What? Ryn’s here? Is that why?”

Nodding my head, I pulled her to me. “Where did you go to college?”

“Um . . . University of Texas.”

Nodding, I pulled her closer to me. “By the way, my name is Tristan. Let me take the lead.”

She giggled nervously. “Pesh, you’re gonna have to because I wasn’t prepared to slip into role. Besides, that kiss and your name left me slightly turned on.”

Looking at her, I chuckled. “Really?”

She looked straight ahead, nodded, and whispered, “It’s show time.”

“OH . . . MY . . . GOSH,” I WHISPERED.

“What’s wrong, Ryn?” Dodge asked.

I stood staring at Tristan, kissing—Sierra. The girl I was renting the beach house from. Holy shitballs.

I couldn’t utter a word. All I could do was stare at them. Shit. They were walking this way. I felt myself lean in closer to Dodge.

“Tristan,” I whispered.

Dodge looked up and held me tighter.

“Hey, Ryn. Long time no see,” Sierra said in that bubbly-ass way she had about her. Okay, that was mean. I really liked Sierra when I first met her in Austin at the Starbucks down from my house. When I found out she had a place down here, I asked if I could rent it out. She had just separated from her asshole husband and said the extra income would help out a lot. Sierra told me she would be down here painting the house with her father while I was here.

I was expecting to see her the next few days. What I wasn’t expecting to see were her lips pressed to Tristan’s . . . or them walking out arm in arm—together.

Anger filled my veins, or was it jealousy? I really liked Sierra. Even pictured us hanging out together in Austin. She was a runner. She loved going to movies. She had an amazing personality. She was dumped by the man she loved. Ugh. So. Many. Things. In. Common. Tristan messed up my possible friendship with one damn kiss.

So. Angry.

Inhaling deeply through my nose, I got ready to put on a fake smile and try to keep my hands to my sides and not claw her eyes out for kissing my man. Glancing at Tristan, I shot him a dirty look.