Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
NASH
I was a goddamn idiot. There were no two ways about it. Partnering with Rory was the best chance I had at taking over King Construction, and I’d managed to fuck it up in a single day.
It’d been almost two weeks since that day in her kitchen. When I’d said fuck it and kissed her against my better judgment. Christ, I could still recall—in great detail—the word cock falling from her lips, her mouth popping open in surprise when she’d whipped around to look at me. How she’d fallen straight into my arms and I’d finally had all those mouthwatering curves pressed right up against me, filling my hungry hands.
But I hadn’t been the only hungry one.
She’d melted into me like butter on a hot day, her little whimpers and the curling of her fingers against my chest sending me from stiff to hard as steel in the blink of an eye. If I hadn’t heard Edna clomping her way up the rickety porch steps and forced myself to back away, I couldn’t say I wouldn’t have fucked Rory right there against the cock wallpaper.
Thankfully, I’d had enough sense to step back. Because if she went full-on Ninja Avoider because of a kiss, what would she do if we’d slept together?
I’d called and sent her countless texts, inquiring when we could get together next, if she had time to meet at Mrs. Gene’s house, if I should pick up the wood she needed for the porch. I’d even sent her an estimate on the cabinets like I’d promised, but her responses had all been a more polite version of fuck off .
So, I’d done what I did best when it came to Rory. I’d goaded her.
But the truth was, she was being a coward. Our kiss had been unexpected, yes. Mind-blowing, too. I knew Rory never did well with the former. And if what she said in the kitchen was true, she probably wouldn’t know what to do with the latter either.
I needed to figure out how to get this partnership back on track. If she wanted me to forget that kiss had ever happened, I would. I’d hate every goddamn second of it, because having Rory’s lips on mine had been as close to heaven as I’d ever been, but there was more at stake here than my dick’s satisfaction.
Being able to pair her design services along with everything else King Construction offered was going to be a game changer for the company—and for me. If this took off like I imagined it would, I might be able to buy out my old man before Bozeman. Which meant it didn’t matter how much my cock hated me for it, I couldn’t allow myself to entertain anything other than a working relationship with Rory if that was what she needed.
It also meant I had to figure out how to get the woman in question to even answer my calls and texts.
I slid onto a barstool at The Willow Tree, needing a cold beer like I needed air. And if Will happened to be there and could give me a little insight into her mind-boggling older sister, all the better.
“Hey, man,” Drew said, slapping a coaster down on the bar top in front of me. “Usual?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
After placing the mug in front of me, Drew rested his forearms on the bar top and leaned forward. “So, what’s new? Heard you and Miss Rory are workin’ together again.”
I snorted into my beer before taking a deep pull. “Supposed to be. But she’s apparently forgotten her part of the deal.”
Drew laughed. “Rory hasn’t forgotten a single thing in her whole damn life. Pretty sure she can tell you the exact date anything or anyone has ever wronged her.”
“Exactly.” I shook my head. “Dunno what the deal is, but she’s bailed on me for two weeks. And Mrs. Gene is climbin’ all over my back, wonderin’ when I’m gonna deliver what I promised.”
Drew’s brows shot up. “Rory know that?”
“I haven’t exactly spelled it out in so many words, but she knew we had a client waitin’.”
Drew hummed. “Wonder if something else is holdin’ her up.”
My head snapped up, my eyes scrutinizing Drew’s expression. “Like what? With her ex, you mean? She’s not gettin’ back together with that asshole, is she?”
“Shit, no.” Drew glanced around, then leaned closer, lowering his voice so his words didn’t carry. “In fact, Will’s been huffin’ around in here for an hour, cussin’ out Sean left and right. Apparently, he moved Sarah Beth in to his house without givin’ Rory a heads-up.”
“Fuck.” The move was exactly something Rory’s dickbag of an ex would do, and I wanted nothing more than to show him the meaning of respect. Who did something like that to the mother of his children?
“Yep.” Drew straightened and rapped his knuckles on the bar top. “So, don’t write her off just yet. She might be workin’ through some shit.”
“Working through some shit” didn’t belong in the same stratosphere as Rory. No matter what got thrown at her, she dealt with it. In fact, the only time in my memory I’d seen Rory crack had been that night last year right here in this bar. When we’d spent hours talking over a bottle of Grey Goose. That’d been the night my long-standing crush on her had dive-bombed straight into code-red territory. She’d been real that night. Genuine. More so than I’d ever seen her, and I’d been a goner.
“Are her sisters with her?” I asked.
“No, her sisters aren’t with her,” Will said from behind me, her voice tinged with annoyance. “Because she’s as stubborn as a mule and is pretendin’ everything’s just fine.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Sounds like Rory.”
“She’s all right, sweetness,” Finn said, tugging Will into his side and pressing a kiss to her temple. “She’s a big girl and can take care of herself.”
Will grumbled but didn’t push away from her fiancé. “That might be, but I’m still gonna swing by. Check on her to make sure she’s not just blowin’ smoke.”
“Don’t be too late,” Finn said. “We’ve got plans.”
“Since when? And I’m not even sure I’ll be back until late. I’m not gonna leave her if she’s upset.”
Finn leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Something that was probably better off being said in the privacy of their bedroom if her reddening face was anything to go by.
She flattened her hand on Finn’s chest, pressed up on her toes, and kissed him. “I’ll do my best.”
Finn slapped her ass and leaned his elbows back on the bar, watching her every step as she strode to the front door.
“Anything we can do to help, just holler,” Drew said.
“Think you can get Sean to stop being the biggest asshat in the world?” Will asked over her shoulder.
Drew and Finn both laughed, while I contemplated doing just that. I could make a detour on my way home tonight to pay Sean a visit. It probably wouldn’t take much intimidation—the guy was scrawny on his best day. I could park across the street, stand outside my truck, and just stare at the house. Sean would probably wet his pants merely from the unspoken threat.
“Don’t even think about it,” Drew said, cutting off my thoughts. “She wasn’t serious.”
“Yep, bad idea, man.” Finn shook his head.
“I wasn’t gonna do anything.” I took another pull from my beer. “Much.”
Drew laughed and pointed a finger at me. “I mean it. If you want this business thing to work out, stickin’ your nose where it don’t belong ain’t gonna win you any favors with Rory. She handles her shit, and she wouldn’t take well to you doin’ it for her.”
“Listen to my brother. He knows things.” Finn clapped me on the shoulder and strolled toward the office.
I couldn’t deny the truth of their words. Rory was as rock-solid as they came. I had no doubt she’d answer Will’s knock with a smile and some bullshit line about how she was just fine. Happy as could be. Because Rory wouldn’t let her guard down for anyone. She wouldn’t be vulnerable in front of others—it wasn’t in her DNA.
Except…well, she’d been vulnerable in front of me, hadn’t she? True, it’d only been once, and it’d been with the assistance of a whole shit-ton of vodka, but it’d happened.
The question was, could I make it happen again?
I pulled a ten out of my wallet and laid it on the bar top, lifting a hand to Drew as I made my way out of the bar.
There was only one way to find out.