She gives me a smile and glances back at the table, which I now notice is empty. “They have a three-hour drive back home. I just moved here today and they helped, it’s why I asked them to stay for a few drinks to celebrate. I didn’t have anything in the house yet so we went here instead.”
“Good thing you did.” I’m still leaning close with my forearms on the bar and notice Dinand is rounding the bar to help a customer.
She bites her bottom lip and a hint of regret flashes in her eyes. I have no clue why until she suddenly blurts, “I’m not looking for a one-night stand, a date, or a relationship.”
The woman with her spare change orders is glancing at us through narrowed eyes and an idea comes to mind.
“You actually did me a favor and I wouldn’t mind for the whole fake pregnancy, girlfriend thing to continue. If you’re up for it,” I challenge with a raised eyebrow.
Her well-groomed eyebrows furrow in return and a wary look slides over her face. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’m not up for a one-night stand either, and there’s this one chick who has been hanging around the bar for days and not getting the hint. I’ve politely declined her advances multiple times but she keeps trying. Maybe you could fake being my girlfriend a bit so she’ll finally back off and find someone else to focus on.”
Her hand slides to my neck and her fingers start to stroke my skin while she lets her gaze casually slide over the crowd.
“No need to ask who it is. Yikes. If looks could kill,” she murmurs. “She seems more like a crazy ex than a chick wanting to ask a stranger out for a date.”
“I don’t have crazy exes. The women I’ve been with knew the deal when I offer a good time.”
A soft chuckle reaches my ear over the loud music before she says, “Classy.”
“So, how about I give you a welcome to the neighborhood kiss?” Yeah, I’m brilliant. Screw my statement about not looking for a one-night stand. Besides, I wasn’t lying; I already found her because all I see is the gorgeous woman in front of me and for sure as shit I want more than one damn night. “Come on, it’s a good reason and it will probably fix my issue with the chick showing up every time I’m working.”
Plus, I’m dying to taste this beauty in front of me and I know I’m a damn good kisser so I might be able to persuade her into offering more than a mind-blowing kiss.
She crooks a finger at me. “Come here.”
I lean closer and the woman catches me by surprise when she brushes her mouth against mine. I wasn’t expecting her to simply give in to my crazy suggestion. Her damn tongue sneaks out and licks my bottom lip, softly sucking it inside her mouth and nibbling on it.
My brain feels like it’s short circuiting. My hand sneaks to the back of her neck, and I let my fingers slide through her hair. Just as I imagined–silky soft–and tighten my hand into a fist to guide her head and ravish her mouth.
Damn. What a fucking kiss. It’s rare to plunge into a deep sea of emotions without the will to swim; I just want to drown in the bliss she creates inside me. She completely takes me away from the world and I gladly let her. It’s only when I feel a slap on my back when I’m able to pull away from those lips of utter sin.
The woman’s eyes are dazed and there’s open lust swirling in her light hazel, scattered with golden flecks, eyes. Fuck. Talk about captivating. The soft dusk of freckles on the bridge of her nose, the tiny scar in her left eyebrow, are all details automatically branding my brain.
“Come on, Redding, a little help here,” Dinand grunts.
I let my thumb slide over her bottom lip. “If this was your idea of a fake kiss to ward off other chicks for me, I’m afraid to kiss you for real because you might suck my soul right out from under me.”
“Not a fake one. My Grams always used to say ‘if you’re doing something, make sure to do it right’,” she murmurs, eyes now set on my mouth but she shakes her head to clear it and glances around. “I guess we were successful.”
Her grandmother’s statement sounds vaguely familiar. I look over my shoulder and don’t see the spare change chick lurking around the bar.
“I guess we were.” I make sure no one can hear me except her when I say, “I’m Redding Vos. A bit overdue but you gotta know your fake man’s name.”
She chuckles. “Fenna Lauderton, pleasure to meet you.”
“Lauderton,” I repeat. “Family of Betsy Lauderton?”
“My grandmother.” Grief takes over her features. “She passed away two weeks ago.”
Fuck. No wonder the quote from her grandmother sounded vaguely familiar. The old woman was our neighbor.
“I’m sorry to hear that. She was a kind woman. Her property is right behind ours. I’ve met her more than a few times but hadn’t seen her in over three weeks give or take.”
“She had a bad fall,” Fenna croaks. “She…I inherited the house. We were close when I was growing up but she demanded I take an internship out of state.”
“Hey.” I reach out to cup the side of her face, letting my thumb swipe away the tear sliding over her cheek. “Sounds like she wanted you to follow your dreams. Don’t dwell on what ifs and just remember her wishes for you to live your life. Regrets hold no place when death intervenes. You just keep going, okay? Betsy was the kind of woman who would go on no matter what. Hell, from what I know about her? The old woman still worked on her ranch each and every day while she was way over eighty-years-old. She didn’t want our cowboy biker boys anywhere near her ranch to help out either, her words, not mine. And believe me when I say we tried to help more than a few times but all we got was the choice of drinking a cup of tea with her or having a broom up our ass because she would chase us off her property if we wanted to intervene with her workload.”
Fenna barks out a laugh and it’s ear stroking, something I feel deep in my groin.
“Definitely something she would say and do.”
“Yeah,” I tell her. “Which is why I had tea more than once at her house.”
A soft chuckle flows from her and I drop my hand and rap the bar with my knuckles. “Sit tight, I’ll close up the bar and take you home.”
She shakes her head, this time in denial. “I can manage.”
“I bet you can, but it’s my way of saying thanks for the lovely talk and your help. Besides.” I lower my voice to only tell her, “Any fake boyfriend would make sure his girl gets home safe. And my house is close to yours so it’s no bother.”
She agrees and I take the next ten minutes to round up the bar with Dinand and Ewald’s help. There are only a handful of customers left who are about to leave when I let my gaze swing toward the hallway where the bathrooms are.
Fenna has disappeared into that direction for a bathroom break but she hasn’t returned yet. I sure hope she didn’t sneak out the emergency exit. The woman intrigues me but I don’t want her to feel obligated to stick with me or hightail out of the bar to avoid me taking her home.
Concern overrules when I walk into the hallway. The first thing I notice is the emergency exit door is standing ajar and so is the one from the bathroom. Throwing a glance into the bathroom, I curse and bellow Dinand’s name before rushing inside.