Still the One (2 page)

“You are so dramatic.”

“And you give married mothers of three a bad name.”

“I think you can poll about a zillion mothers of three, and they‟ll all agree with

me. I‟d just be happy to have ten uninterrupted minutes with Dean. It seems as if

we haven‟t had a moment alone together since Halla was born. And to be honest, I

can‟t remember the last occasion we had time for something that included foreplay.”

And even those had been far and few between.

“Well that‟s just sad.”

Hearing it aloud, Creigh had to agree, but she‟d be damned if she‟d admit it,

least of all to A-mei. Her cousin had never met a cock she didn‟t like or that didn‟t

like her in return. She was beautiful, thin, and didn‟t have stretch marks or mom

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Lena Matthews

boobs. There was no way A-mei could even fathom what Creigh was thinking.

Which is why she always put on a cheerful facade when speaking with her cousin.

“That‟s just life, and I‟m fine with it.” She shrugged her shoulders and beamed a

smile she didn‟t truly feel. “Trust me.”

“You‟re fine with not getting laid.”

“I didn‟t say I wasn‟t getting laid, just not…often.”

“Remind me again; why did you guys remarry?”

That was a stupid question if there ever was one. “Uh…because we love each

other.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“Despite the word love being in making love, the two don‟t necessarily go hand

and hand all the time.”

“Well the least you could do is put the
uck
in fuck, then.”

Creigh placed her hands over Halla‟s ears and thanked God her other kids

were in another room. “I‟m going to need you to watch your language around my

baby.”

“Hey, she has to learn sometime.”

“You don‟t think eight months is maybe a tad too young?”

A-mei shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Please,” Creigh begged and not for the first time. “Don‟t reproduce.”

“I assure you I won‟t, especially if it means no s-e-x.”

“I‟m having s-e-x. Just not a lot. It‟s called a dry spell; it happens to all

married couples from time to time.”

“Dry spell.” A-mei shuddered as if the very thought was repulsive. “I don‟t even

like my martinis dry.”

“Yet that seems to be the way you prefer your humor.”

“Look, I‟m just trying to help.”

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7

“By making me feel bad,” Creigh snapped. Enough was enough. “Do you really

think I like the fact that Dean and I aren‟t being intimate? I assure you, I don‟t. It

sucks dirty butt, okay.”

A-mei leaned forward, her face filled with regret. “Cre—”

Creigh knew her cousin was only trying to help, but it didn‟t make it any

easier to listen to—especially when it hit so close to home. “In case you haven‟t

figured it out by now, Dean‟s not a lights-out kind of guy. When I had Hambone and

Harlow, I was a bit younger. The skin bounced back. The tummy flattened back, but

with Halla things are taking a bit longer to go back the way I want them to. I mean

she‟s eight months old, and I still have a pooch, and the stretch marks haven‟t faded

as much as I thought they would. I‟m not feeling great about my body, so it‟s no

surprise to me that Dean isn‟t jumping at the chance to get down and dirty with me.

But it is what it is. And I‟m dealing. It‟d be nice if you let me.”

“I didn‟t mean… Shit.” A-mei reacted with dismay. “I was just giving you a

hard time.”

“I noticed,” Creigh said drily.

“But I didn‟t mean anything by it. Dean loves you. Loves the ground you walk

on.”

“Maybe not the exact ground.”

“Yes,” A-mei said with a conviction that was hard to ignore. “The ground. I

give you a hard time, but I‟d trade places with you in a heartbeat. Saggy boobs and

all.”

“I didn‟t say anything about saggy boobs.” Creigh glanced down at her breasts.

“The twins are still nice, thank you very much.”

“You know what I mean. Sheesh.” A-mei rolled her eyes. “You suck at taking

compliments.”

Amused, Creigh shook her head. “You suck at giving them. Must be why we

get along so well.”

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Lena Matthews

“Must be.” A-mei waved her hand and settled back on the couch. “Either way,

I‟m done with you. I‟ll just have to hope my cousin-in-law is feeling a bit more

romantic this year than you obviously are.”

* * *

Dean didn‟t pause in the midst of pouring the customer his fourth and last

drink of the night to turn and face the nagging man behind him. Dean could easily

insult Gino without sparing the other man a single glance. They were brothers. He‟d

been doing it for years. “I do, actually. I witness it every time I talk to you.”

“Funny.” Gino didn‟t sound the least bit amused.

Which only tickled Dean more. Moving away from his scowling older brother,

Dean made his way down to the patron. Without saying a word to the bar regular,

Dean dangled the highball just out of reach of the pallid man. He turned his other

hand palm out and waggled his fingers for the car keys. It was a routine the two of

them went through every Saturday night.

It took two attempts for the inebriated man to get his keys out of his jacket

pocket, but once they were safely in Dean‟s hands, he handed over the drink.

If it were up to him, he would have cut him off a drink ago. But Dean knew the

older man would have just found another place to go to get his drink on. And at

least this way, Dean could ensure the man made it home alive—or as close to alive

as an alcoholic could be.

Dean let out a sigh and made his way over to the drawer where they kept the

customers‟ keys and the list of cab companies. Watching people drown their sorrows

in the alcohol he served was the only part of the new job he didn‟t like. And once

everything was running smoothly, he‟d leave all the flirting and drink pouring to

his brothers and immerse himself in the back end of running the bar.

Before Dean could linger on that pleasant thought too long, Gino sidled up

next to him. “Now that you‟re done fixing him, maybe you can fix your problem.”

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9

Gino never met a conversation he hadn‟t had a comment on. And he never

understood some things weren‟t his business. He was old school in a lot of ways, and

if it involved any member of his family, then he believed it was his business too.

Which was one of the reasons Dean knew his brother wasn‟t going to let this go

anytime soon.

“I don‟t have a problem,” he boasted with a smile. In fact since remarrying

Creigh, Dean‟s life had never been better. “Everything is gravy.”

“I don‟t believe that for a moment.”

“And I don‟t care what you think.” Dean‟s brows crinkled as he thought back

over the years. “In fact I‟m not sure I ever really have.”

“You should. Because I‟m all knowing.”

“Annoying.” Dean nodded in agreement. “I concur.”

“I said all knowing. Let me prove it to you.” Gino gripped his brother‟s

shoulders and peered deep into his eyes. “I see it.”

Dean pulled his head back, not sure how far this new
bromance
of his brother‟s

was going to go. “See what?”

“Frustration. Of the sexual kind.”

“For fuck‟s sake.” Dean jerked away from Gino, irritated his brother had

blindly hit the mark. Even though it was true though, Dean would never admit it.

Not to Gino anyway. With his older brother, giving him an inch wouldn‟t be like

giving him a mile. It would be like giving him a fucking continent. “You know

nothing.”

“I know despite being
happily
”—Gino raised his hands and bent his index and

middle fingers twice in the universal signal for air quotes—“remarried, the tense

way you slump around here reeks of solo polo. What‟s up? The wife has the

whatchamacallit menopause depression.”

Dean had a hard time keeping his laughter at bay.
What an idiot
. “Postpartum

depression.”

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Lena Matthews

“That‟s what I said.”

Dean snorted under his breath. “Creigh‟s fine. I‟m fine.” She was more than

fine. She was wonderful and hands down the most beautiful woman to ever walk

the earth. She always had been and always would be to him. His childhood

sweetheart had grown into the love of his life. She was the mother of his children,

his best friend, and for lack of a better word, she was simply his everything. There

wasn‟t a single moment or minute or second of any day that he didn‟t want her.

Which was part of, if not the only problem. But it was their problem, and not one he

was going to share, in a bar, with a big mouth like Gino. “We‟re all good.”

“Then why aren‟t you getting laid?”

“Not that it‟s any of your business, but my sex life is fine.” Or as fine as it

could be given the circumstances of their very busy life. It was true Dean wouldn‟t

turn down the opportunity to ride Creigh until the springs popped through the

mattress, but that just wasn‟t in the cards for them right now. It didn‟t mean it

wouldn‟t be in the future. He just had to be patient and understanding and keep

lots of lotion on hand for those late-night jerk-off sessions that were keeping him

sane and stopping him from humping the couch like a dog. “More importantly it‟s

none of your business. I mean it, Gino. Creigh and our bedroom is off limits.”

“I‟m just trying to help.”

Dean shook his head as he laid his hands gently on his brother‟s shoulder.

“Listen care-ful-ly. My marriage is f-i-n-e. Fine.”

“Well it won‟t stay that way if you don‟t come up with a better gift idea than

flowers.”

Dean frowned. Not this again. “What‟s wrong with flowers?”

“Nothing for someone who doesn‟t own a
flower
shop.”

“Flowers are the cornerstones of Valentine‟s Day. It‟s all kinds of wrong to

have one without the other.” Besides, it wasn‟t as if flowers were his only plan. They

were just a small part of it. Not that Gino had given him any time to explain. As

Still the One

11

usual his older brother took in the words he wanted to hear and let the remaining

ones blow right over his head.

“I‟m sure with as much pollen as Creigh breathes in a day, she‟d be willing to

go a day without roses.”

The things Gino knew about Creigh could fit inside a thimble…with room to

spare. “You don‟t know Creigh.”

“I know women.”

And the bit of knowledge Gino thought he knew about women in general

wouldn‟t even wet the bottom of a thimble. “You really, really don‟t.”

“Please. My sex life is so busy I‟ve been forced to turn down pussy hand over

fist.”

“I‟m more likely to believe that hand over fist
is
your sex life.” Mainly because

his brother was far too busy butting his nose in his siblings‟ relationships to have

any meaningful ones of his own.

“As usual, little brother, you don‟t know dick. I love the ladies, and the ladies

love me.”

Now that, Dean believed. Despite the fact the former boxer had been on the

receiving end of way too many brawls and had received far too many stitches, Gino

had somehow come out of his rough-and-tumble youth looking even handsomer than

he had preboxing. All factors that fed into Gino‟s overinflated ego. But just because

he had no problem attracting the opposite sex didn‟t mean he had a single clue what

it took to make a relationship work.

“I‟m telling you, man. I‟m like the Yoda of love. You should listen to me.”

“If your love force is so strong, then why is it you volunteered to man the bar

Monday night, even though it‟s my night to close?”

“Can‟t a man just do something nice?”

“A man, yes. You, no.” Dean gave his brother the once-over, then smiled real

slow. “Don‟t have a date, do you?”

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Lena Matthews

“I don‟t need a date.”

Dean crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter. He

was really enjoying this. “Which is a good thing since you don‟t have one.”

“Why are you trying to bust my balls when I‟m trying to help you out?”

“I don‟t need your help, big brother. I have it all worked out.” Sort of. Although

he didn‟t want to admit it, his brother wasn‟t completely wrong. A new baby, full-

time job, and two hellions were a lot to take on for anyone, and the last thing he

wanted to do was add his carnal wants to her already overbooked schedule, but

maybe if he was feeling frustrated, she might be as well.

With every ticking of the clock, the fourteenth zoomed closer. Leaving Dean

with not that many affordable options to wow his wife. Flowers were a must. Creigh

loved them, and he knew she would appreciate them—especially if he bought them

from her shop. The only thing his wife loved more than posies was a profit. But after