Chapter 8
EIGHT
ELLIOT
Ican’t get Holly out of my head.
She’s gorgeous, of course, with all those blonde curls that tumble over her shoulders. I can just imagine the way they would feel in my fist as I yank them back to expose her long neck, perfect for me to bite down on and leave my mark…
Geez, I really need to get laid. I’ve met the woman once and pissed her off almost immediately, I should not be imagining any sort of sexual encounter with her.
I can’t help myself. I’ve always liked a woman with a fiery temper – they keep me on my toes and are wild in bed.
Besides, her body is fucking perfect. I could tell that beneath her tight T-shirt and ass-hugging jeans that she has curves in all the right places.
While I might be a gym nut, I like some meat on my women.
There is nothing sexier than the soft curves of a woman that I can run my hands over and devour.
Fuck, I’m getting turned on just thinking about her now, my cock straining against the denim of my jeans. The guys will never let me live it down if I walk in with a boner. Shifting the boxes in my arms to free up my hand, I subtly readjust myself as I reach the door to the property.
It’s a building site at the moment, the old fittings being ripped out and walls knocked down to make the space larger.
Some might look at the space and see a mess of bricks and plaster dust, but all I see is potential.
A quiet excitement builds inside me and I walk across the room and place the box of supplies down with the others.
Banging comes from further in the building and I follow them into the room that will become our back office.
Bear is topless, wearing just a pair of jeans and a facemask as he swings a mallet.
He’s a few years older than me and our backgrounds are completely different, but he’s always been like a big brother to me, so when he suggested we go into business together it was a no-brainer.
Spotting me, he lowers the mallet and removes the face mask, nodding in greeting as he grabs a bottle of water. I take in the changes he’s made to the room while I’ve been attending to other business, letting him catch his breath. Arms crossed over my chest, I lean against the doorframe.
“I met our neighbour today.”
This makes him look up, a brow raising. I might have kept my voice completely even, but Bear has aways been able to read me. What has he picked up on today?
“Yeah?” he asks cautiously. “What are they like?”
“She,” I correct, Holly’s perfect figure appearing in my mind unbidden. “She’s…” I cut myself off with a laugh. How do I describe the firecracker I spoke with this morning? “She’s a character, that’s for sure.”
Bear snorts and shakes his head, pushing back several long strands of his hair that’s fallen into his face. “Are you causing problems with the neighbours already?”
He knows me too well, and although he says it jokingly, I can hear the note of warning in his voice.
This is a fresh start, for all of us, and none of us want anything to fuck it up, and that includes me.
My past is a checkered history of poor choices and bad situations.
New images fill my mind, quickly wiping away any desire that’s still floating in my system.
My chest tightens and my muscles tense, ready to fight or flee, the memories of my past following me well into my adulthood.
Brushing off the uncomfortable feeling that those memories bring with them, I force a chuckle and hold up my hands to protest my innocence. “I promise I did nothing. I just introduced myself. Things were going great until I told her that we were moving in next door.”
“Ah. She didn’t want a gym next to her bakery.”
Why does he sound so calm about this? Our neighbour actively hates us and we haven’t even opened yet, and he doesn’t sound bothered by it in the least. “Don’t tell me you agree with her?” I scoff in disbelief.
“No, we have every right to be here and we have a solid business plan, but I can see how us moving in might upset her. This is a small town, change is scary for them and she’s got to fear how having a health-food bar and gym right next to her might affect her business.
” Bear has always been the reasonable one in our little group, able to see a problem from all angles and produce a solution that works for all involved.
He makes a good point about the small-town mentality and how reluctant they can be to change.
I make a noise of dissatisfaction in the back of my throat, glancing into the main part of the building and into the outside world. “So, what do we do?”
He chuckles and moves past me into the large open space that will soon be our gym. “We try to be good neighbours and assure her that we’re not trying to take her customers.”
It’s true, we aren’t trying to take anyone’s business.
When we produced our business model and looked at the changing demographic of the town, we knew it would be the perfect place to build.
There are no other gyms in a large radius, and many of the shops here are boutique, so the health-food bar attached to our gym should draw in that crowd.
With so many new houses being built and people from the city moving in, it’s the perfect time to set up something new.
Pursing my lips, I turn my attention to the bakery, the large windows giving me the perfect view. “How are we going to do that?”
Bear seems thoughtful for a moment. “I’ll go and talk to her. Other than that, we try not to cause trouble and help her out when possible.” Before I can question him more on what he means by that last little statement, he changes the subject. “Have you seen Clay?”
I chuckle again, but this time there’s no humour to it. “No, he’s still holed up in the club trying to find his mystery girl.”
Clayton is another person I consider family, and the three of us work together and support each other in whatever way needed.
When the opportunity came up to buy this place, Bear convinced myself and Clay to invest alongside him, yet out of all of us, Clay is the only one who has yet to come and see the site.
He’s had a difficult past, and his life is dedicated to his nightclub.
Now he’s obsessed with a girl he met one night.
Honestly, I’m concerned. He’s locked himself away and the last time he got like this, things did not end well.
Bear sighs and nods, accepting my statement reluctantly, clearly thinking along the same line as I am. “I’ll call him.”
Good, if anyone can reach Clay, it’s Bear. We need to get Clay out of that office and get his mind off that girl. After all, he’ll probably never see her again.