Until the Tequila (The Killers #3.5)(17)

I push off the wall, go to her, and park it on the edge of the bed. Tagging her hand, I pull her to stand between my legs. “You dropped everything to stay with Addy a few months ago when she was sick. You took Bev to a doctor’s appointment. Hell, you even babysat Clara’s kids and we all know what a sacrifice that is.”

We’re face-to-face and she reaches up to toy with my hair while nibbling at her lip. “That has nothing to do with my Harry Potter bobble head collection and my lack of adultness.”

“Hey, look at me,” I call for her. When her eyes hit mine, they’re guarded. I thought we got past all this last night. “Do you know why I want you?”

Her chest rises against mine where I’m holding her tight. “For the life of me, no. We couldn’t be more different.”

“Because of the way you give to everyone around you. You don’t see it but they do and that’s why they’re drawn to you. That’s why I can’t get enough of you. I’m going to bust my ass to give you just a little bit of what you do for everyone else and start by looking into that attorney. If I find out he’s on the up-and-up and has nothing to do with your father, you need to find out what he wants.”

She ignores all the stuff about the attorney. “You can’t get enough of me?”

“You’ve done a bang-up job ignoring me. Finally had to make a move ‘cause I was tired of you always giving me the cold shoulder.”

Her eyes well again and it hits me in a spot I’ve never experienced before. A place I didn’t even know I had.

“This is happening?” she whispers.

It’s not just a question, but a doubt—a disbelief.

I lean in to put my lips on hers. “Last night was not for nothing. If I have to tell you every day, I will. Yes.”

She literally climbs my body and the next thing I know, her small frame is wrapped around me. I couldn’t pry her off if I wanted to, which I don’t. At this point, I think I’d be content if we could stay here forever.

But we can’t live in the guest house.

I mean, we could but then my mother would be all up in our business. She’s going to be obsessed with Mary as it is. As much as my dad was always on my ass to work for the family business, my mother only wants me to settle down. She’s bored and enjoys a distraction. It’s harmless now, but it comes from her addictive personality. I need to prepare Mary for that.

But not today.

One step at a time. I don’t need my mother scaring Mary away with talk of weddings and grandbabies. I need to do everything I can to hook Mary deep before my mother has a chance to frighten her off, especially when she finds out Mary’s never had a mom—not a real one anyway. Hell, I didn’t either until I was seven but mine has made up for it since then.

“I have to go to work,” Mary mumbles into my neck where her face is pressed. “But I don’t want to. I want to stay here with you and your horses and pretend my dad isn’t on his way to Virginia for who knows what and that I don’t have strange lawyers trying to get hold of me.”

I give her a squeeze. “I’m going to call my dad’s attorney. He’s a family friend so he should at least look into it for me. If that guy’s legit, you can call him back. Then we’ll figure out what your father wants and kick him the hell out of town. If he lives up to his reputation and stresses you out like this, he’s not sticking around if I can help it. When was the last time you saw him?”

She leans back and sighs. “I ran into him in Nashville right after I graduated from high school. At a gas station of all places. He barely recognized me at first but I didn’t escape that easily. He kept trying to contact me after that—I was eighteen, not a ward of the state any longer, and he’d just gotten out of prison. I was already thinking about leaving Tennessee and that was the last straw. I moved here and you know the rest.”

I look at the clock on the bedside table. “I need to get you home so we can get to work. I’ll try to get off early but you’ll be around people all day. You’ll be fine. I’ll let you know what I find out from my dad’s attorney and we’ll go from there. Check one thing off the list.”

She leans into me and puts her lips on my jaw and I regret the fact I can’t lie back and let her lips do other things to me so I can return the favor. She finally relents. “Fine.”

I tuck my hand up her shirt and splay my fingers across her tattoo I’ve become fixated on. “It’s going to be more than fine. I promise.”

When she gives me her eyes again, they’re resigned and she lifts her slim shoulder. “There’s no need to make me promises, Evan. My expectations in life are low. I’ll deal with whatever happens, I just don’t want you getting caught up in the drama that is my life.”

I stand up with her in my arms and flip her to her back on the bed. Leaning over her, I crush my lips to hers, taking her mouth in a surprising yet bruising kiss. She hangs onto my neck and I let her up for air. “It’s time to up your expectations, baby. And I swear to you, I’ll meet every last one of them.”





11





Ego





Mary





“Mary, do you have time for a walk-in?”

I pull the curling wand from the last section of my client’s hair and reach for my volume boosting spray. I shake my head and speak without looking away from my art. “Sorry. This is it for the day. Can they make an appointment?”