Chapter 9 #2
Fuck. She was thinking the same thing he was.
Connor had never been turned on while a pile of goat dung fried in the sun at his toes, but apparently, everyone was right: There was always a first time.
“So cute,” Ada said, and Connor was almost certain she was talking about the goat and not Rachel.
Although the term was true of both. Because how could the woman who had so unceremoniously manipulated his date, had taken what she needed from a man she didn’t like in a dark alley, how could she blush so prettily when she thought about sex? How?
“Yeah, unfortunately, Scotland- Beard knows,” Hailey replied, laughing. “You can pet him though; he loves being scratched behind the ears. He just gets lonely sometimes, spending so much time alone in our office.”
“Oh no.” Ada frowned, knelt on the floor next to the baby goat, and stroked it gently. “He needs a home, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, badly,” Hailey said with a heavy sigh. Her regret was so palpable, even Connor almost felt sorry for her...and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cian sit bolt upright in his chair.
“Hailey,” he said in warning, “back off. We already have a three-legged tortoise at home because of you.”
“And Shelly is doing great,” Ada assured her immediately. “We built him a covered enclosure in the garden.”
“Mm hm, we sure did,” Cian murmured.
Hailey and his daughter ignored him. “Yes, you’re very responsible, Ada. I could see that right away. I’d almost say you’re ready for the next step.”
“Oh.” Ada’s eyes lit up. Sometimes she forgot she was a teenager and only showed her enthusiasm in small doses. “Is the next step a goat?”
“I’d almost say a chicken and a goat,” Hailey announced brightly.
“No!” Cian barked.
Connor grinned. It took a lot to unsettle Cian. He was so relaxed and friendly that most people thought it was impossible to do. But apparently, Hailey had special skills.
She looked up innocently. “You speak loudly, Cian. You’ll have to tone it down if you adopt Eggsy and Scotland-Beard.”
Cian pressed his lips together. “Hailey...”
“Do you want to go for a walk with us, Ada?” she said, skillfully ignoring him. “To get to know Scotland-Beard better?”
“Oh, yes.” She immediately jumped up. “Is that okay, Dad? Dinner isn’t for another half hour anyway, and Tara has to figure out where to hide the olives in Connor’s food.”
“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Cian muttered, his gloomy expression still fixed on Hailey’s face. “But we won’t be taking the goat home.”
“Of course not.” Hailey waved her hand. “You’ll have to take Eggsy first; she needs a longer adjustment period.”
Rachel giggled softly and Connor found himself fighting a smile.
“Sounds good,” Ada said firmly.
“No, it doesn’t!” Cian exclaimed in disbelief. “Hailey...”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back in half an hour,” Hailey continued, unfazed. “Oh, by the way, Ada, I took in a blind goldfish yesterday. Do you want to see?”
“Cool. Yeah. How do you know it’s blind?”
“It bumps against the glass.”
“Oh, Dad keeps running into our patio doors too, but he’s not blind. He’s just a bit stupid and short-sighted when it comes to emotional matters.”
“Thank you, sweetie pie,” Cian replied dryly.
Ada grinned, and Hailey laughed. “Well, then the goldfish has a strategic advantage because it’s not stupid!
Many people think they are, but the goldfish's ability to learn is comparable to a dog's. I don’t know if your dad can say the same.” She winked at Cian and then left the patio with Ada in tow.
Groaning, Cian buried his face in his hands. “That woman...”
Rachel laughed. “Should I make sure your daughter doesn’t come home with a goldfish, a goat, and a chicken?”
“Yes, please!”
“No problem. I’ll do my best. But Hailey is enthusiastic about programming and about rehoming animals, so... I can’t promise anything.”
“I’m betting on a goldfish and a goat,” Gareth mumbled.
“Only a goldfish,” Connor countered. “Ada’s smart. With just a goldfish, she has a bargaining chip.”
“Both of you shut up,” Cian said grimly. “And speaking of bets: How were your dates on Friday? Did you find your dream partners yet?”
“Oh,” Rachel replied lightly, “it was...”
“Disastrous.”
“Pretty good.”
Connor snorted. “Liar,” he muttered.
Rachel didn’t look at him, but a faint blush crept up her neck. “It could have gone better,” she admitted.
“A date running away from the table after fifteen minutes means things could have gone much better,” Connor countered with a snort. “The only thing I liked about that evening was the alley next to the restaurant. There were some interesting discoveries to be made there.”
Rachel’s face suddenly went from flushed to red.
Confused, Cian glanced between them. “Your date ran away after fifteen minutes? What was the problem?”
“I don’t know how, but somehow she stumbled across the I Hate Connor Stone website by accident.”
“Wait.” Cian’s eyebrows shot up. “The silly site your high school sweetheart made, the girl you stood up at prom because you had to babysit? Don’t get me wrong, there are hundreds of reasons why women should run away from you, but not because your mom worked the night shift, your dad was doing his.
..stuff, your sister was pregnant and a wreck, and your two other siblings needed someone to babysit them!
Maybe you should have explained it to her, but shit, you were seventeen, and I can understand why you were too embarrassed to admit that your family was so messed up that taking care of them was more important to you than spending the evening with her.
” He looked at Rachel, who was staring at him with her mouth slightly open.
“She thought he was seeing someone else. She hated him for it, and that hate resulted in a website, and now she can’t delete it. ”
Connor gritted his teeth. His friend had a big mouth. Rachel didn’t need to know all that. He felt her eyes on him, but this time, he was the one ignoring her.
“Didn’t your date understand?” Cian persisted.
“I didn’t get a chance to explain,” he said calmly.
“Ahh.” Cian nodded. “Well, then the woman wasn’t for you anyway,” he said, waving his hand dismissively.
Exactly.
Looking uneasy, Rachel cleared her throat.
“I... I should go. Before I can’t find them,” she muttered, raising her hand.
“It was nice meeting you, Cian, Gareth, and...” She hesitated, but finally forced herself to look at Connor as well.
Their gazes locked. Three blinks longer than necessary.
Her eyes were huge and filled with compassion, guilt, and heat.
Something inside Connor clenched. Certainly not his heart, which never reacted this enthusiastically.
But...there was something else. It was a tug he didn’t recognize that filled his chest with warmth and unease.
You might be able to make a woman come, Conner, but can you also make her happy?
Fuck. Her damn voice wouldn’t vacate his mind.
It turned out, he wasn’t sure about the answer to that.
He’d never been certain if he could make anyone happy, even if he were brave enough to try.
The bet was bullshit anyway. Obviously, he could easily enter into a serious, long-term relationship, anytime he wanted.
But a happy one, one that didn’t make him feel trapped and forced to give up too much?
One that didn't make him remind himself every day that he wasn’t his father?
A relationship where he wouldn't have to explain to a woman that he wasn’t her soul mate and end it the moment she thought so?
This time, his stomach lurched too. But before he could worry about the state of his health, Rachel said, “See you later, Connor,” and disappeared.
Shit. He nervously ran his hand through his hair. He shouldn’t have opened Pandora’s box. Annoyed with himself and his reaction, he took a sip of water as Rachel rushed through the back patio door.
“Hmm,” Gareth said, putting his phone away and leaning back in his chair. “So when did you two start sleeping together?”
Connor choked and spat water onto the table.
Cian laughed. “Connor and Rachel? As if. She would never...” His gaze slid to Connor.
He remained silent.
“Oh, come on!” he snapped. “Are you serious, Connor?”
Oh, shit. Gareth noticed everything. It made him a ridiculously good businessman and lawyer, but also a truly annoying friend!
“It’s nothing,” Connor replied tersely.
Gareth smiled contentedly. “Maybe you’re right. I must work too much and don’t see enough of you, if Connor really thinks he can lie to me and I won’t notice.”
Yes. Human lie detector was definitely a cooler nickname than killer whale.
“We didn’t actually sleep together,” Connor replied impatiently. It was a matter of definition. The church wouldn’t be pleased with his actions, but no one in a porno would classify it as sex.
“Not really?” Cian looked at him, irritated.
“Do you want the details because it’s been so long for you and you can’t define sex anymore, or what?” he asked calmly, raising an eyebrow.
Cian snorted. “I want to know what got into you. I know she’s pretty, but...you don’t get involved with women who evoke even the slightest emotion in you. And anger is one of them. So why do you want her?”
Connor’s jaw clenched. It wasn’t because Rachel was pretty, although she was.
Or that she was a challenge, although that was true too.
He wanted her because… because everything she said, everything she did, how she reacted, how she moved…
because everything about her fascinated him and turned him on in a twisted way.
It all made him want to get closer. He didn’t understand it. And not understanding drove him crazy!