Chapter 9
Stone
“Picked the best seat in the place, huh?”
I’m not surprised when I see the kitten peeking out of her pocket. Everyone around here has a soft spot for defenseless animals.
“Did you order?” I ask, sitting down and trying hard not to stare at her. She’s so damn pretty. And she doesn’t even seem aware of it.
She’s a precious jewel in a sea of lesser gems. At least to me. The waitress pops up and smiles at me. “Hey, Stone. What can I get you?”
She leans over and I sigh, not really surprised when she essentially flashes her boobs at me. It’s happened before.
“Did you order, Posy?”
She shakes her head and her cheeks flush, her stormy eyes downcast.
“What would you like?”
Shrugging, she keeps her eyes down and frustration gnaws at me. She’s letting this woman treat her like she doesn’t exist and I don’t like it.
“We’ll have two cheeseburgers with everything on them and two vanilla shakes?” She nods her head and I sigh again. The waitress leans over again and taps her fingernail on my arm, smiling.
“Can I get you anything else, Stone?”
Shaking my head, I wait until she leaves and then I lean over and grab Posy’s hands, holding them tight when her head whips around and she mewls and tugs so hard that I almost lose her.
“You need to realize something, Sugar. I’m not interested in that woman. She’s too obvious. I like a woman who at least tries to pretend that she’s not an easy mark.”
She shrugs and flushes. “She’s pretty.”
“She’s nothing on you, Sugar.” She huffs and I smirk at her, tugging her hands up until I can kiss one palm and then the other. “I’m yours, Sugar. Stop looking like she stole your dog…or cat.”
Her eyes flick down to the kitten where it’s nestled against her body and she smiles. I don’t think this little girl is going anywhere.”
“Neither am I.”
“At least until this is all over and we break up.”
My heart clenches and my fist bunches up on the table. “We don’t need to talk about that. We’re just having fun here. Messing with my mom a little bit because she’s messed with both of our lives.”
She nods and then they bring our food and we settle down, chatting like two people who know next to nothing about each other but want to learn.
She’s an orphan. She went through the system. The thought of that little girl lost in some strange system that doesn’t care about her personally, just provides the bare bones until she’s an adult. It’s enough to make me want to hug the hell out of her.
“Didn’t you ever have someone that was interested in adopting you?”
She hunches forward and sighs, her body almost bending in on itself. “Yeah. For awhile when I was fourteen I was staying with this woman. Eleanor.” She pauses, smiling. But there’s pain behind it and I want to tell her to stop.
She takes a deep breath. “We had gotten all the papers signed and everything and I was going to go home with her in a week. I was so excited. She even gave me some new clothes. They were the fanciest I ever had.”
Sorrow clings to her like a death shroud.
“She got ill. They took her to the hospital.” Another deep sigh.
“She had cancer. It was stage four breast cancer. All of a sudden everything had to be changed just in case she didn’t make it.
And she wasn’t capable of taking care of anyone else while she had chemo and such.
The state backed out. Argued with the judge that it wasn’t a safe environment for me. ”
It’s like a punch to the gut. She almost had a mother. Almost had a home. And then it just disappeared with one diagnosis and the blink of an eye.
Life sucks.
And yet, she smiles. “I got to keep the clothes. And I saw her a few years later. She finally went into remission. I was so happy for her.”
“Why didn’t you go back with her then?”
“I was sixteen by then. They said I was a problem child because I had trouble sleeping and was constantly sneaking out of bed to wander the building. They didn’t like that.”
“Idiots,” I huff. “You’re not a problem. I don’t know what’s wrong with people.”
She grins at me and cheekily crunches a fry. “I have been working on a list.”
I lean back, laughing. “I’ll just bet you have.”
“How about we get out of here? We need to get that little girl home.”
She nods and slips out of the booth. Then after dropping my money on the table, I slip my fingers around hers. She jumps and looks at me, confused.
I don’t know what’s going on either. But I want to touch her. I’m desperate to touch her.
Her skin is so warm and soft in mine. Tingles run up and down my arm and I can smell that sweet candy scent that clings to her.
She doesn’t move away from me either. So maybe she feels the same things I’m feeling.
But I don’t want to think about anything else but her right now. I want to live in this moment.
I don’t understand what’s going on but I do know that I like spending time with this woman. She’s funny and sweet and clumsy.
She’s special.
We walk out the door and down the sidewalk to my truck and I help her inside. “You walked right?”
She nods and gently touches the kitten’s head when it lets loose a huge yawn full of sharp little teeth. I can’t help smiling.
Shoving the door closed, I run around to my truck door and head for her place. “Are you working tonight?”
“Yeah. I just need to go in and make an appearance.”
“I’ll see you there then.”
She turns to me, her gray eyes shining. “You don’t usually come in so often.”
“Gotta show everyone that I’m happy to be around my woman.”
She laughs, tossing her bright red curls. “You’ll get tired of me. Luckily this isn’t real or you would so get tired of me.”
That rubs me the wrong damn way and I pull up to her place and slam the truck into park. Running my hand along the back of the seat, I grasp the back of her neck. She gasps and stills.
Leaning closer to her, I growl, “Don’t talk about yourself like that. I don’t like it.”
“I was just kidding.”
I shake my head. “It’s not funny to run yourself down like that.” I can hear other voices even though she’s saying it and it pisses me off. She’s so confident that it throws me when she says things like that.
“I’m sorry. I guess I just don’t think bout it anymore.”
“Yeah, well, when I’m around I’m gonna remind you. You’re worth more than things like that. Hell, you’re special. Never let anybody tell you that you’re not.”
She laughs softly and I move closer to her, drawn in by those smoky eyes and that rough laugh. I’m so close I can see the flecks of blue and green in her gray eyes. So close I can hear her soft intake of breath. “What am I supposed to say to that?”
My lips are so close to hers that her breath whispers across my mouth. “You tell them to fuck right off. You don’t need to explain yourself or who you are to anybody else.”
Then my lips touch hers and it’s like fireworks in July. Color, light, sound and fury. And so much fucking happiness.
Groaning, I drag her across the seat until I can feel her plush curves against me. Can taste her, touch her, love her.
Jerking back, I lick my lips and watch her eyes open, hazy and shimmering with desire.
“I’ll see you tonight, Sugar.”
She backs away and slips out of the door, slow and cautious. Like she’s trying to avoid a tiger that’s about to maul her if she moves too quickly.
Her head bows and she nestles the kitten closer, whispering to it. I can’t hear what she’s saying but I don’t care.
All I care about it the sweet woman stumbling over her own feet to the door and the soft smile I can’t hide.
How the hell does that woman dance? She trips over air.
It’s just one more thing that completely confuses me about Posy Barker.
One more thing to fascinate me.
Shaking my head, I put the truck in gear and pull away, heading back home.
Back to real life.