life. The life I’d created for myself.
It would be easy to blame Drake, or Gen, or Jan Henson who was the head of the studio for those things. But the truth was, I’d allowed it because all I’d ever truly wanted was a family.
My greatest wish, from the time I was a little girl, was to be surrounded with people that loved me and who wouldn’t leave me. I was terrified that if I said anything, if I vocalized my displeasure then the person would leave, just like my father had.
Can you say abandonment issues?
I’d been so scared that I’d ignored and accepted behavior that I shouldn’t have. And this is where it had gotten me, walking back to Gam’s from a bar on a Tuesday night in a tiny town in Texas.
I’d never felt so alone, so isolated in my entire life.
Headlights shone on the road and I turned to see a truck pulling up beside me. Not just any truck. Beau’s truck.
He rolled down the passenger side window. “Don’t suppose I could interest you in a ride?”
His lopsided grin had butterflies flitting in my stomach. The smart thing to do would be to stay away from Beau for my remaining time in Wishing Well. No good could come from us spending more time together. Well, unless you counted mind-blowing orgasms. But that was really a double-edged sword. On the one hand, from a single smile he made me feel things I thought were only in romance novels or romcoms. But on the other when I saw him hug his ex he had made me feel like Emma Thompson’s character in Love Actually when her husband played by Alan Rickman gives his secretary a gold heart necklace for Christmas. That was the sort of pain I just didn’t think I could gamble on, and Beau and I were a long shot at best.
“It’s okay. Gam’s house is only a block away.”
“I wasn’t plannin’ on takin’ you to your grandma’s house.” The grin that had been lopsided now turned into a wolfish sort and my butterflies flew south causing my sex to flutter.
Stay strong, I told myself.
But before I could find out if I’d heed my own advice, Beau hopped out of his truck. When he rounded the front, the headlights shone brightly on him causing my breath to be taken away. He was truly a spectacular specimen. His chiseled upper body was on full display thanks to the thin material of his T-shirt. The cotton molded to the dips, lines, and bulges of his muscles.
My breath caught in the back of my throat when he stopped in front of me. He bent forward slightly, and I closed my eyes, sure his lips would be touching mine any second. When they didn’t, I opened my eyes and saw that he’d been reaching for the door handle. I felt my cheeks flush and my eyes shot to the ground as I took a step back and brushed strands of my hair behind my ear.
Moments ago, I’d told myself that I needed to stay away from Beau Briggs, and now there I was, about to kiss him and get in his truck which was not heading to my grandma’s house. I had no self-control when it came to this man and that was dangerous. All of the things I was thinking were the excuses my mom had used every time she’d started a new whirlwind relationship.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
The deep timbre of his voice vibrated through my entire body sending a tingle racing down my spine. I looked down at the ground, hoping that he wouldn’t see the effect that he was having on me.
He took a step forward so that he was standing just an inch away from me. I stared down at his work boots in contrast to my strappy sandals and my heart melted a little at the sight. I knew that my feelings were getting way too wrapped up in him when our shoes could make me swoon.
I looked up at him planning to say that I was fine and would walk the rest of the way, but I heard myself saying, “No, I’m not okay. I’m thinking things I shouldn’t think. I’m feeling things I shouldn’t feel. I want things I shouldn’t want.”
His expression didn’t change as he pulled open the passenger side door and held out his hand. “This isn’t a side of the road conversation.”
He was right about that. This wasn’t a side of