Chapter 14
She’s not a witch, but she has me bewitched.
Flynn
I watch as Sophia storms into the brewery. The woman is normally gorgeous but she’s a complete knock-out when she’s mad. Absolutely glorious with her cheeks blazing, storm clouds in her hazel eyes, and her strut when she storms away? It makes me want to smack her ass before kissing to make it feel all better.
Excitement heats my blood as my cock lengthens and hardens. Well, shit. It’s going to be another long day of fighting a hard-on.
These thoughts have got to stop. Sophia will never be mine. She can’t be. I need to get over her and stop this obsession.
My phone rings and I rush to answer it. Anything to get my mind off things I cannot have.
“What’s up, Gary?”
“Can you swing by the hardware store on your way to the site?”
“Why? Never mind. Send me a list.”
“On its way.”
Main Street is quiet when I park in front of Milton Hardware . The name will probably change since Sophia’s dad sold the store, but I will always remember the place as Milton Hardware .
I grab a cart and start filling it with the things on the list my foreman sent me. I’m nearly finished when I notice Sophia’s dad strolling down the aisle toward me.
“Hey, Jack,” I greet him with a one-armed hug. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be taking it easy since you sold this place.”
He grins as he rocks back on his heels. “I am. I had some quality time with Lily before I came to work this morning.”
I shake my head. Sophia’s parents never tried to hide their love life from anyone, including me when I went to live with them after my dad took off. Sophia and Weston think it’s embarrassing. While it’s a bit uncomfortable to hear about the sexual exploits of a man I consider my role model, I actually envy him.
How wonderful it must be to have a woman you love and cherish after several decades. My dad didn’t cherish Mom. He practically ignored her when she was alive. He was always hanging out at the bars and hitting on tourists while Mom stayed home and raised me.
Asshole.
He wasn’t any better after Mom got sick. He left me to care for her while he drowned his sorrows in booze and women.
Fucking asshole.
I wasn’t sad to watch him walk away after Mom died. Especially since Jack is a way better role model than my dad ever was.
“I figured you wouldn’t be working in the store at all since you sold it.”
“I agreed to work part-time through the busy summer months.” He nods to my cart. “You need help finding anything?”
I chuckle. Between summers spent working here during high school and years as a customer since I began my construction business, I know this store as well as him by now. “I’m good. Nearly finished.”
“You still working out at Hideaway Haven Resort?”
Hideaway Haven Resort is the only resort on the island. While the rest of the island leans into the history of Smuggler’s Hideaway as a hideout for rumrunners during Prohibition, the resort is an all-inclusive high-end resort. Most of the guests don’t venture into Smuggler’s Rest during their stay.
“Yep. We have a few more luxury bungalows to build and then we’re finished.”
I add the last items on my list to the cart before wheeling it toward the check-out in the front.
“You got any projects lined up after you finish?” Jack asks as he begins to ring up my purchases.
“I’ve got a list of projects a mile long.”
He slaps my back. “Proud of you, son.”
The word ‘son’ coming out of his mouth means more than I can ever express to him. It’s another reason why I need to keep my hands off Sophia. He won’t be very proud of me if he realizes I’ve defiled her with all the dirty things I want to do to her.
“I’ll help you load up.”
I don’t need any help, but I allow him to follow me out of the store to my truck. I lower the gate and we place the items in the truck bed. I slam the gate closed when we finish and turn around to find Jack studying me.
“Something wrong?”
He clears his throat. “I wanted to thank you for helping my little girl.”
Unfortunately, I don’t think his definition of help includes shoving my tongue down her throat or fisting my cock in the shower as I fantasize about Sophia. I force those thoughts away before Jack can read my mind.
“Of course.”
“You and Sophia used to fight all the time.”
“Still do.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You do? Did you fight today?”
Damnit. I should have kept my mouth shut.
“Yeah. She got pissed at me when I wouldn’t let her walk back into town to pick up her car.”
He chuckles. “I heard she and her friends did a bit of drinking at Rumrunner last night.”
I lean against my truck and cross my arms over my chest. Jack obviously has something on his chest. I might be here for a while.
“They did, but I made sure they behaved.”
“By carrying Sophia out of the bar over your shoulder?”
I grunt. “I didn’t carry her out of the bar. I escorted her out and made sure she got home safe.”
Where I stuck my tongue down her throat and barely managed to stop myself from stripping her bare to taste every single inch of her.
“You always were a good kid.”
I lift an eyebrow. “You didn’t think I was a good kid when I got caught skinny dipping with the cheerleading squad.”
“Better skinny dipping than drag racing on the beach.”
I cringe. “I know better than to use a shortcut through the dunes now.” You can’t win a race if you’re stuck in the sand.
“Shortcuts in life never save time or money.”
I know since he taught me that. My own dad didn’t bother to teach me much before he vanished after my mom died. I haven’t heard from the asshole since. Good riddance.
A car honks and I glance over my shoulder. “Hey, Flynn!” a woman shouts at me.
I don’t bother to respond. I don’t know who she is. And I’m not interested in women who throw themselves at me. I’m too busy obsessing over a woman who’s mad at me.
“Women have been throwing themselves at you since junior year in high school.”
I shrug.
“It drove Lily crazy when they kept phoning the house.”
“I didn’t give them my number.”
He snorts. “As if you need to give anyone your number on the island.”
“True.”
There’s not a whole lot of privacy or secrets when you live in a small community on an island. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love this town and this island. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Unless Sophia asked me to. Then, I’d probably do whatever she wanted.
Great. Now fantasies about Sophia are happening in front of her dad. I need to get control of my thoughts before I blurt out how much I want to fuck her to her dad.
“I’ll let you get back to work. I know how busy you are.”
“I always have time for you.”
“Thanks, son.”
I nearly flinch. I’m not much of a son when I want to screw his daughter every which way to Sunday.
I climb into my truck and slam the door shut but he knocks on the window. I roll it down.
“By the way.”
I swallow my chuckle. Typical Jack sneak attack. He gets you all warm and settled in before he goes for the attack.
“How is Sophia really doing?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“My girl never did do well with people ordering her around. Getting fired will hurt her pride something awful.”
“We haven’t discussed it, but I’ll keep an eye on her.”
He studies me. “Sophia is still living with you?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
“She phoned this morning to ask if she could move home.”
Move home? Sophia wants to live with her parents? She would hate moving in with them. It’d be a worse hit to her pride than getting fired.
“Do you need my help with her stuff?”
He scowls. “She’s not moving back home.”
“I’m confused.”
“Take good care of my girl,” he says instead of clearing up my confusion. “She has a soft heart.”
“I would never hurt Sophia.” Not on purpose at least.
He smiles. “Good. I trust you.” He raps his knuckles on the car. “I’ll see you at drunk poker tonight.”
I was planning on skipping drunk poker since Sophia will be there, but I can’t now. Jack will come find me and drag me by my collar back to his house. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Until tonight,” I say and hit the button to roll up the window before he has a chance to speak again.
He trusts me? He shouldn’t, considering how I feel about his daughter. The daughter he trusts me to take care of. To make sure her soft heart is never hurt.
I need to resist Sophia. I can’t let the man who showed me how to be a man down.