How to Handle a Heartbreaker (21 page)

Vanessa snuck a surprised glance at her. “No shit?”

“No shit. My mom is upset I’m not going to marry the missionary man and have his dreary little babies.”

“Like there was ever a chance of that happening.”

“I know. Then I told them I write steamy romance—and don’t say it, because right now I can’t handle dealing with more snide remarks.”

“Ouch. That bad, eh?”

“Yeah. Meg and I got into it, that sanctimonious little witch. Wasn’t happy when I called her husband a bore and her kid a monster.”

“He the one that dumps crap in your purse when you visit?”

“Yep.”

“What about Teresa? I like her, even if she is a mess. Husband number three working out?”

Teresa had visited a year ago, and she’d made a big impression crying and going on about her fear of committing to Jack.

“I like Jack a lot. He stood by me. So did Dad. And get this, Teresa’s a fan. She’s read all my books.”

Vanessa held up a hand and they high-fived.

“My mother though, I think she and I are now on opposite playing fields. I’m the new black sheep.”

“Welcome to my world.” Vanessa snorted. “You think your Thanksgiving was rough, there’s more you missed. On a good note, Brody seemed to me to be mooning over your absence.”

“How nice.” She smiled. Best piece of news she’d had in three days. “So where is he?”

“Out with the guys…and Maddie and Aunt Michelle. It’s going great, by the way. Aunt Michelle’s in love with the McCauleys. ”

“Dinner with Michelle should be fun for everyone. Maddie’s mom is so sweet.”

Which had Abby’s thoughts returning to her own mother. “You know, it was really liberating to finally come clean to all of my family. Even when Meg called my work porn, it felt good to be honest.”

“Porn? What a little bitch.” Vanessa scowled.

“You call it porn.”

“In fun. I also call it smut, whore-otica, raunchy rhetoric, and a bunch of other words your new boyfriend can’t spell. Doesn’t mean I don’t respect the hell out of what you do.” Vanessa shrugged. “I support you. Don’t tell the others, but I read your Marine trilogy. I especially liked the one about the military police guy.” She cleared her throat. “Remember when I was dating Officer Schmidt a few months ago? You could say you inspired me. Sadly, he had no idea how to properly use his cuffs.”

Abby stared at Vanessa, her mouth open, and then started laughing hysterically. “
You
read my books? Cuffs with a cop? Really?”

Vanessa grinned. “I wanted to try them. Turns out they hurt when they’re too tight.”

“Oh man. No lingering scars for you, I hope,” Abby said when she could catch her breath.

“Who said I was the one wearing them?” Vanessa wiggled her brows suggestively, and Abby broke into gales of laughter once more.

Brody felt like Mutt. Eager, excited, and about to come out of his skin. When familiar headlights pulled in front of his house, even though the hour had reached ten, he broke out into a wide grin.

He glanced at the dog. “She’s back.”

Mutt wagged his tail and looked out the front window, his nose glued to the glass. Brody watched her stride up the front walkway to the porch. He dropped the curtain he’d been holding back, which engulfed the dog and made him look like a pointy-eared ghost. While Mutt fought the drapes, Brody took a deep breath, let it out, and fought for calm. He wiped his sweating palms on his jeans and casually moved a step over to the door when she rang the bell.

He opened it and looked at her, thinking she’d grown even prettier than any woman had a right to be.

She smiled, her dark eyes full of happiness. “Hey, stranger.” Mutt stepped out and rolled on the ground. She bent down to give the dog a long belly rub.

“Hey, back at you.” He wanted to eat her up, slam her up against the wall, and fuck her until neither of them could move. Instead, he took a step back, waited for her and the dog to enter, and closed the door behind her, locking it with a soft
snick
. “So how was your holiday?” He shoved his hands in his pants so he wouldn’t grab her. Appearing like a lovesick loser wouldn’t earn him any points. After the last fiasco of moving too fast, he was determined to let her set the pace.

“My holiday was great. My parents were so happy to see me. I got to visit with my nephews and nieces. Saw my sisters.” Her lips quivered, and her big eyes grew shiny.

“Abby?”

A sob escaped. “Oh, it was horrible.” She threw herself into his arms, and he caught her, concerned.

“Damn. What happened?” She cried harder, and he cupped her head to his chest, hurting inside for her. “Shh. It’s okay.” He guided her to the couch, where he sat and took her in his lap. She sounded so pitiful, so unlike his strong, sarcastic Abby. After a few moments, she sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“God, I feel so silly. I’m sorry for getting all weepy on you. I’m just tired. It was a long trip.”

“Tell me what happened.”

She did in detail. But it was her mother whom Abby continued to talk about.

“I mean, I was gearing up to tell them all about you, but my mom told me about Kevin, and then I—”

The ex. “What about him?”

She wiped her nose on her shirt. His kind of gal. “Oh, him? He got engaged.”

He stilled. “Is that why you’re so upset?”

She snorted. “Are you kidding? That loser is welcome to date whoever he wants. Marry, divorce, remarry. Whatever. I’m just happy to be free of him.”

“Oh. Okay.” Good. She was over the bastard.

“But my mom has always been there for me.” More tears trailed down her cheeks. “I can’t believe she’d be so stupid about some romance books. They’re just stories.”

“Sexy, hot, well-written stories. With great plots.”

“And asshole heroes, right?”

“Well, yeah. But we’re working on that.”

“
We
are?”

“I’m trying to show you what a real man is like. Like me. He has a great job, a big dick, and he’s amazing in bed. That, and he never calls you snickerdoodle.”

She laughed. “You make me feel better.”

“I’m sorry they were mean to you. But hey, at least your dad and your sister liked your stories. And she’s a fan, huh?” He wanted to meet Teresa. Hell, he surprised himself by wanting to meet all of Abby’s family, even the unworthy ones. He wanted them to know what he was to her, and she to him. Even if he still wasn’t sure himself.

“So you didn’t tell them about your studly new boyfriend.”

“No. My mom went off about Kevin. I said good riddance, then confessed I’m actually not just a web designer, but a writer. I’d never told them before because the stuff I was writing was pretty niche. Erotic romance wasn’t as accepted back when I started as it is today. And then I was dating Kevin, and he made me so ashamed of what I did. It took me a long time to let Kevin know, and you see how that turned out. Well, I finally got the nerve to tell them the truth.

“Meg I understand being mean. But Mom has always been my rock.” She drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, holding back more tears, it seemed.

“You can let it out, Abby. Cry if you want to.”

“No. I’m an ugly crier.”

“Nah. I think it’s cute you keep rubbing your snot all over your arm.”

She cringed, tucked her head against his chest, and laughed.

He rubbed her back. “Did Vanessa fill you in on our holiday?”

“Yeah. It’s like everyone is falling apart all of a sudden. Be careful. That kind of stuff happens in threes.”

He felt a distinct chill in the air, the thought of losing Abby unimaginable. “Well, we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen with us.”

She pushed back and put her hands on his shoulders. “How will we do that?”

By
loving
each
other.
He wanted so badly to give her the words, but he’d never said them to a woman before—well, not counting Bitsy—and it scared him to think of putting himself in someone else’s hands like that.

So he’d show her how he felt instead. Cupping her face in his hands, and seeing her watery eyes, wet cheeks, and red nose, he kissed her.

So soft, so gentle, expressing the love he felt that had yet to fade. She kissed him back, melting into him. He felt her slight resistance crumble, and the passion under the surface paled next to the warmth of emotion enveloping them both. He cradled her in his arms, and she sighed his name against his lips.

“Brody, I missed you,” she whispered.

“Mmm. Me too.” So much. Three days had felt like an eternity. While he’d called himself every kind of fool in the book, he’d still been beside himself counting down the minutes to see her again. Now he clung to her like a second skin and the comfort turned carnal in a heartbeat. She ground against him, no longer sitting in his lap but straddling him. And then she was pushing her pants down and kicking off her shoes. Her panties followed while they continued to kiss.

He reached between them to unbutton his jeans, and then her hand was there, wrapped around him. She pulled him out and sank over him before he could catch his breath.

“Oh yeah. I missed you, Brody. So much.” Her breath ghosted over his lips while she rode him, slowly at first, then faster.

They watched each other as their climaxes neared too fast, too soon. But Brody didn’t want to wait. And neither, it appeared, did Abby.

Her panting and soft gasps of pleasure did him in, and Brody plastered his mouth to her at the same time she groaned and trembled, coming around him. Her body gripped him in a vise, and he emptied on a swallowed groan, the release cathartic in more ways than one. As he pulsed inside her, she drew her head back to stare at him.

“Damn, Abby,” he managed. “You’re so… I…”

“Yeah.” She sighed and kissed him tenderly. “Me too.”

They snuggled together, until Mutt joined them and placed his head near Brody’s thigh.

“Uh-oh. He’s too young to be seeing this.” Abby flushed.

“He’s a dog, Abby. They hump for fun. To make puppies. For dominance. Hell, just because. I think his canine sensibilities can withstand seeing me buried to the hilt inside you.” Brody grinned. “Besides, he’s still waiting on you to find a new name I’ll accept.”

She grinned. “Well, Snickerdoodle isn’t going to work for me. I’ll keep thinking.”

“You do that.” He hugged her. “So what do you say, to celebrate you being back, we just sit like this for a while.”

“Or forever, because I think my legs are numb.”

“Great minds think alike.” He kissed her again.

***

They spent the next week enjoying each other’s company. Abby invited Seth over a few times to play board games, and he seemed to get a kick out of baiting Brody. Flynn and the guys came by for Friday night poker, while she, Vanessa, and Maddie watched Colin for Mike at Mike’s place. To Abby’s amusement, she’d also been tasked with dog-sitting. While at Mike’s, Colin chattered about all things dog and all things Del. He’d apparently taken to drawing on his arms and coloring them in with marker, making his own tattoos. Which Mike frowned upon.

After reaffirming to her roommates that she’d survived her family’s poor treatment, they
allowed
her
—Vanessa’s exact words—to spend more time with the “doofus,” because he made her happy. She didn’t know whether to feel glad or alarmed that everyone seemed to be taking her relationship with Brody in stride.

For her part, she hadn’t forgotten his invitation to move in. Part of her wanted to live with him, to love him up close instead of leaving every evening. They spent their free time together as it was. He’d been honest when he said he couldn’t cook, but the man did have a sweet tooth he liked to indulge, so she’d been baking like crazy. What made him even more special, he constantly tried to get
her
to eat. He complimented her figure. Instead of telling her to watch her portions and nix the cake and ice cream, as Kevin always had, Brody stared at her ass longingly and pushed leftover pumpkin pie her way. She felt less self-conscious around him, and more like a sensual woman in charge of her life, her sexuality.

Friday arrived, and she’d made plans for a cozy stay-in—watching movies with her man. Deciding to live in the moment and not worry about tomorrow, she let Brody pick her up at home and drove with him back to his place, where poor Mutt moped, waiting for her to come back. She wondered if Brody would object to her taste in film, which leaned toward gratuitous sex and violence. She snorted. Yeah, right.

“What are you doing that makes Mutt like you so much?” Brody asked, looking suspicious. “Because I swear, he whines more when
you
leave than when
I
do.”

“How would you know?”

“Seth tells me.”

“Speaking of Seth… How do I give him back his things without offending him?”

Brody laughed. “What’s wrong? That harlequin mask he gave you not fitting in with your décor?”

“It creeps me out.” The porcelain mask meant to be hung on a wall sat in her chest at home, buried under blankets. “I didn’t want anything from him when I gave him those cookies. I just wanted to be nice.”

“That’s his way of saying thank you. The man needs to give as well as take. Let him. It’s a pride thing.”

She saw a lot of Brody in the old man but didn’t say so.

“You know, Abby, you had me with those large breasts and curvy ass. You reeled me in with the hot sex, but knowing you’re the queen of cookies… I’m having a hard time not falling at your feet and begging you never to leave again.”

Which was exactly what she wanted. “As long as I’m barefoot in your kitchen, right?”

“Hey, works for me.”

Unfortunately, it worked for her as well. Though she mentally added
pregnant
to barefoot and in the kitchen. Brody would make such a great dad…if she’d been in the market to be a mother. Which she wasn’t, or so she kept telling herself. Going home to Pennsylvania usually scared her straight when it came to thoughts of procreating. Some day she wanted to have little ones, but not yet. And not with the wrong man. Problem was, she had a bad feeling Brody was the
right
man for her.

She couldn’t deny to herself how much she loved him, and it scared her, because as much as he liked spending time with her and being together, even without the sex, part of him seemed reserved. Losing Brody would put a hole in her heart she didn’t think she’d recover from. Just the idea of it made her blink back tears.
Happy
thoughts, Abby. Remember, you’re on a fun date. Quit with the melodrama of forever.
“Gee, Brody, you always know just what to say.”

He chuckled. “Long as it’s about sex and food, I’m all poetry, baby.”

They parked in front of his house, got out of the truck, then started up his sidewalk. Someone waited for them on the porch.

Brody immediately placed himself between her and the stranger, and she heard Mutt barking from inside. “Go wait in the truck, Abby.”

“Brody?” the man on the porch called. He stepped from the shadows, moving down the porch stairs, and stopped, his hands in his pockets.

The resemblance to Brody was unmistakable. Handsome but worn down, this man had short blond hair, brown eyes, and a lined face. From what Brody had said, his brother was ten years his senior. This man looked even older, worn down by years of drugs and abusive behavior.

“Dad’s not here,” the man said quickly. “Look, I know nothing I say can ever make up for the past, but can I just have a few minutes of your time? I swear, I won’t take long. Just let me say it and I’ll go.”

The hopeful look on his face tore at her. On the one hand, she wanted to crush him for having hurt Brody as a boy. But on the other, after some careful thinking about all Brody had told her about his childhood, she understood how a young man, with only Alan Singer as a role model, could develop into what Jeremy had.

“Talk to him, Brody,” she said before she could stop herself. “Get some closure, at least.”

Jeremy studied her but said nothing.

Brody didn’t seem to want to go toward him, but he hesitated long enough that she knew he needed to, even if he didn’t think he wanted to.

“I’ll go take care of Mutt. You talk to Jeremy. Then we’ll give Seth the cookies I made for him, which I forgot in the truck, by the way.”

He nodded but didn’t smile. “Fine.” He walked her to the door, putting himself between her and Jeremy. Once inside, she took Mutt out back for a break.

***

“What the fuck do you want now?” Brody didn’t want to hear what Jeremy had to say, but to get him to leave, he’d do just about anything. Having this scum near Abby felt wrong. But he’d been unable to dismiss him.
I’m a dumbass, no question.

Jeremy hunched in his jacket. “Well, first, I’m sorry about last time. I hadn’t meant for Dad to follow me here. I should have left as soon as I saw him.”

“No shit.”