Morgan, Nicole - Intimate Confessions [Intimate Temptations 2] (Siren Publishing Allure) (14 page)

* * * *

An hour later, she entered the dining area to find Zach sitting there reading the newspaper. He peeked over the top of it and gave her a wink.

“Have a seat,” he told her while folding it up and setting it beside his plate.

She eyed all the food lying out on the table. “Wow. Are we expecting an army?”

He gave her a smirk. “No, but this is about the amount of food you’d let go to waste in the past few days. I had the help dig it out of the trash.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh? Wouldn’t I? It doesn’t come cheap to run a place this size after all. I’ve got to cut corners wherever I can.”

She almost believed his poker face for a second until she saw one corner of his mouth turn up and twitch as he tried to fight his smile.

“You brat!” She laughed. “I almost believed you for a second.”

He raised a glass of juice to her in salute. “I’m so glad to see you smiling again. I know these past few days have been hard on you, but it will get better, sweetie.”

She reached over and covered his hand with hers. “Thank you, Zach. You really are too good to me. Do you know that?”

“Pffftt…nonsense, woman! Now eat!” He motioned with his hands toward all the food.

Smiling, she picked up a leg of the fried chicken. She remembered telling Zach it was her favorite of all foods that one should never eat. It was also one of the most requested items on the menu at Derek’s restaurant.

She shook the thought from her mind as quickly as it appeared though. No longer could she dwell on him. He had left her this time. After only a couple days, he left her with a meaningless note that meant little and explained nothing. She had to find a way to move on with her life. If there was ever proof that she was hanging onto something that was no longer there, that note he left her was it. Derek Travis just simply did not care for her anymore.

Thirty minutes later, they were sitting there, practically in tears from laughing so hard as they told each other silly jokes and random stories about one another.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I ate way too much. While I couldn’t possibly hit the treadmill right now for fear I’d probably throw up all over it, I could probably stand a good and hard workout in a few hours. Are you game?” Zach said.

“Work out with you? Wow, I don’t know. You’re pretty fit. Something tells me that I’m more of a beginner”

“Nah. You’re too hard on yourself. I’m fit, yes. But I’ve got my routine down and kept to it for so many years it hardly feels like work now.”

She laughed and shook her head at him. “How does that help your argument?”

“I guess it doesn’t.” He chuckled. “Oh shut it, woman! Just meet me in the gym in about”—he checked his watch—“say four hours.”

“Something tells me I’m going to regret this, but okay.”

“Oh, you’ll love it. Besides, after all that food you ate, you better do something, Miss Piggy.”

She reached over with a smile and smacked his arm. “Oh really? Well, you weren’t exactly holding back. Maybe you need the workout more than I do. You easily ate two times what I did. So there!” Playfully, she stuck her tongue out at him.

“I don’t have to look good. I can get it whenever I want it.” He stuck his tongue out back at her.

She sat there for a moment. Her smile slightly faded. She wondered why she never saw him with a woman. It seemed odd to her now that she thought about it that a man who spent so much time, money, and energy into a place dedicated for people to find sexual satisfaction did nothing to satisfy his own needs.

“Did I say something wrong?” he inquired.

“No. I’m sorry, I was just thinking, but it’s probably much too personal.”

She watched as he raised an inquisitive brow at her and settled back in his chair. “Is that so? Well, try me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to offend or upset you.”

Smiling, he answered, “Yes, Sandi. I’m sure. I’ve got pretty thick skin. What’s the matter?”

She thought about it for a second before responding, but decided to just go for it. He had been very good to her. Maybe she could be just as good of a friend for him as well.

“I was just wondering why I never seem to see you with a…um…I guess you could call it a date?”

She was surprised by his loud roar of laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

Still laughing, he got up from his seat and walked over to her. Gently kissing her on the cheek, he then whispered into her ear.

“My dear, just because you do not see me with a date, does not mean I do not have them.” He winked and walked toward the double doors which led out into the hallway.

“Oh really?” She was amused by his answer.

Turning back, he replied. “Yes. Oh really. Now go rest up. You’re going to need it. See you in the gym in four hours. Do not be late!”

All she could do was smile as he left. She may have lost Derek, the only man she has ever loved, but at least she had a friend like Zach to keep her on a good path.

Chapter 17

Derek closed the door to the stable and took a deep breath of the clean air surrounding him. It had been probably over a year since he had gotten on a horse. The freedom felt good. Just riding for a few hours without a care in the world. Nothing to think about. Nothing to decide.

Warren, the stable manager, was bringing a mare around the side of the fence when he spotted Derek and stopped dead in his tracks.

“Well, I’ll be a pig in mud. If it isn’t the famous, or should I say, the infamous Derek Travis.”

Derek smiled at the man he’d grown affectionately to know as one of the most arrogant and cocky men around town. At least that was what all the ladies claimed. Funny thing was, for every time he heard a woman complain about their town Lothario, they were all too willing to be his next date.

Warren tied the mare up to a post while it drank from a trough of water and walked over to him, extending his hand out. “How the hell have you been?”

He gave him a firm handshake back, knowing all too well from experience that Warren was the old-fashioned, rugged cowboy type. The kind who would break his hand in a death grip of a shake if he gave him too much leeway.

“Not too bad, partner. How are things with old man Jenkins? He still a cranky, old bastard?”

Warren spit a hunk of chewing tobacco to the side and nodded. “Yeah, he’s an ornery one, that guy. You know him though. Approaching eighty and still thinks he can do it all.”

“Eighty? Shit, really? Damn, I had no idea he was that old.”

Warren gave a mocking shudder as he held onto his cowboy hat and looked around. “Careful, man. We don’t use the
O
word around here. He starts throwing things and cursing and shit like that.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Cursing and shit like that, huh?”

“Yep. Anyway, man. What the hell have you been up to? I’ve been to the restaurant a handful of times, but I don’t think I’ve seen you there in months. Where you been hiding?”

“I’m usually there. Just working in the back, taking care of the books and stuff.”

“Books, huh? I heard your brother’s fine-looking new wifey, Ann, does the books just fine.”

Derek knew from the look on Warren’s face that there was hidden sexual innuendo all over that comment.

“Yes, Ann is a sweet woman and does a great job.” He put extra emphasis on the word “sweet” because their good buddy had a reputation for not caring if a woman was taken or even married.

“All right, man. I get it. Don’t gotta tell me that anyway. I’ve seen the way the woman looks at your brother. Damnedest sight I’ve ever seen, too. It’s like watching a puppy dog on those commercials for adoption. All mushy and shit like that.”

He shook his head. Warren was a good guy to have a few beers with. He helped them more than a few times with some bar fights that got out of hand at the Roadhouse, but the rest of him saw the world a bit skewed. He remembered growing up, they’d all tease him for being such a hard-ass at such a young age, telling him his mama never held him enough.

“That shit that you’re referring to is called love. Maybe if you softened up a little bit and quit bedding every available honey in town, you might just find it someday.”

Warren gave him a firm smack on his upper arm. “No thanks, man. I’ve seen what so-called love can do to a man. Hell, look at what that broad did to you. She done fucked you up good. You even gotten laid since then?”

Derek could feel his blood boil as a fury rose within him. Without even thinking about it, he brought his arm back and with a fluid and quick motion nailed the son of a bitch in his jaw.

He must have hit him good and hard because, despite Warren’s size, he fell back on the ground with a loud thump, causing the dry dirt to fly up in a cloud of dust around them. The mare, which was just a few feet from him, shuffled back and away from the skirmish, making noises of distress.

Rubbing his jaw, Warren looked up at him. “What the hell did you hit me for?”

“Do not ever call her a broad or refer to her in such a disrespectful way again! Do you understand me?” Every word was laced with anger. He wanted his message heard loud and clear.

“God damn.” Warren got up from the ground and brushed himself off. “Yeah, I understand you. But shit, man, you didn’t gotta hit me.”

“Yes, I did. She’s not just some broad, and maybe if you pulled your head out of your ass for more than taking care of Jenkin’s stables, you’d see that most women are pretty fucking spectacular, and not all of them are just some piece of ass for you to get your rocks off with.”

“Well, I’ll be…” Warren smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re still in love with that broad…err…I mean, woman.”

He considered his options. Sure, he could’ve denied it. It wasn’t Warren’s business, and damn it, he didn’t really even want to think about it, but maybe that was his problem. Maybe he wasn’t thinking enough? Or maybe he was over-thinking the pain too much. Had he dwelled on it for so long that he forgot how to feel?

“Yeah, I do love her.”

Spitting another chunk of tobacco out on the ground, his smug friend gave him a smirk. “Well then, what the hell are you doing here with me?”

He had to laugh. Warren was a hard-ass and had nothing but rough edges, but he was always a wise man.

“I’ve no God damn idea, buddy.”

“Well, go on then, get! I’ve seen enough of your ugly mug to last me a whole other year.” Warren made shooing motions with his hands while he untied the horse from where it was drinking.

Derek headed toward his truck and stopped about halfway there. Turning back, he shouted. “Hey, Warren.”

Looking over, the man yelled back. “What, man? Ain’t you left yet? Damn, I know the ladies call me the cat’s meow, but I ain’t into men, so go on and go get that
woman
who’s got y’all tongue tied.”

He gave his arrogant and cocky friend a nod and went on his way. No words needed to be said. He knew Warren was a man of few words. He not only understood his old buddy’s apology, but it was accepted. No harm no foul was something Warren would always say. Starting his truck, he had to laugh as he thought about it. It was something he’d heard him say every time he was down on the ground after being decked by some guy whose woman he had screwed around with.

“Crazy SOB,” he muttered.

He took a quick glance at his watch. It was nearly three o’clock in the afternoon. If he packed in a hurry and booked a flight while he was en route to the airport, he might just be able to catch a flight out of there that evening. And with any luck, Sandi would still be there.

He prayed he could make her understand. She may have hurt him in the past, but he knew he had hurt her just as bad when he’d left. He tried not to think of the voice messages she’d left that first night he was gone. He didn’t want to think of her sadness. He only wanted to concentrate on making things right between them.

If there was one thing he learned in all of this, it was that time, distance, and all the pain in the world could not and did not erase his love for her.

She was his everything.

“Hang on, baby. I’m coming back.”

Chapter 18

Sandi awoke from a nap. She had a slight headache from the stress of the past few days, but for some reason she didn’t feel sad. At least not like she had. It was strange. She almost felt peaceful. She took a look at the small brass clock sitting on her nightstand and was surprised that she’d only slept for about forty-five minutes. As tired as she was, she’d figured she’d sleep at least a couple of hours.

Feeling thirsty, she took a drink from her bottle of water. With her head tilted back, she caught a glimpse of the book she had been reading,
Tristan and Isolde
. Instantly, the book reminded her of Derek, but something was different this time. The ache, the familiar pain she’d felt for the past several days and so many months prior to him coming back in her life, was not there.

It surprised her to think she no longer felt sad. Her love for him was just as strong as ever. She would give anything to be in his arms again. So then why was she so at ease? Surely it couldn’t have been the food she’d eaten or the short nap. Not even Zach’s charming company was that powerful. So why did she suddenly feel, okay?