Time for Change (3 page)

“I want you back,” he said,
meaning it.

She stopped to look at him.

He stared back seeing her,
really seeing her. Rachel didn’t have the first clue as to why he’d brought
that woman back when he did. She’d been driving him crazy with her presence.
Rachel didn’t have the first clue how sexy she was, and when he’d first
noticed, it had scared the hell out of him. She was Rachel, Claire’s little
sister, the complete opposite of his wife. Where Claire was slender and blonde,
Rachel was curvy and a brunette. Staring at her now, Chris admired all of her
full curves covered in tight jeans and a long shirt.

On closer inspection he saw
it was one of the shirts he’d given her when she spilled something on her
shirt, which he still owned. Great, he was turning into a crazy person, keeping
her clothing and occasionally sniffing it when he needed to be comforted.

So many times he’d been
tempted to tear her clothing from her body and have his way with her. Instead,
he focused on talking about something else.

His thoughts were drawing a
blank. This lust he felt for her shouldn’t be happening. He’d taken care of her
for so long that she shouldn’t be more to him than a sister.

She’s never felt like a sister.

This attraction terrified
him. She shouldn’t be getting past his defenses and making him want her.

“What are you cooking?” he
asked, trying to distract his thoughts. Her cooking had improved in the last
three years, and he looked forward to whatever she cooked for him.

“Pasta
and sauce.”

“Look at me,” he said.

Her gaze fell on his. Tears
filled her eyes as she stared at him. “What, Chris? What do you want me to
say?”

Biting his lip, he stopped
himself from saying something he’d regret. “I never meant to hurt you.”

She shook her head, stepping
away from the stove. He watched her wipe the tears from her cheeks before they
tracked down her face. “I’ve been asked out by Richard, the chef at the
restaurant,” she said, startling him.

“What?”

Rachel stepped closer to the
stove and began stirring once again.

“I know, he surprised me, too,
but I don’t know if I should date a chef. I mean, they’re so controlling and
like things done their way,” she said.

He couldn’t believe she was
using him for dating advice, again. Chris hated being this person for her. He
didn’t want to tell her who to date or how to date.

“Don’t date him,” Chris
said, before he could stop himself.

She stopped stirring and
looked at him. “What? Why?”

“Because
he’d not right for you.”

When she’d lost her
virginity, he’d known. Chris hated every new boyfriend or date that came into
her life. He’d seen this Richard at the restaurant where she worked. Every time
she got a new job, he checked the place
out,
making
sure it was okay for her to work. Rachel’s care and safety meant everything to
him.

“You don’t even know him. I
want to date him.”

“No, you don’t.” He stood
up, moving around the counter to take the spoon from her.

She glared at him, stomping
to the other counter to get two plates from the cupboard. “I didn’t say
anything to get your permission. I was telling you. He’s nice and sweet. Claire
would have loved him.”

Chris couldn’t let her date
another man. He needed to get his point across. “What if he’s messing with
other women?”

“I’m going on a date with
him. I’m not sleeping with him.” She hit him with her hip to budge him out of
the way. “Besides, when are you going to be serious about one of your women?”

“I’m not.”

She served them both some
food then took hers to the counter to sit. He sat beside her, inhaling her
vanilla and cream scent.

They ate in silence, and all
the time, Chris was thinking of how he could stop Rachel from dating the chef.

“Stay tonight,” he said,
needing her to be close.

“Fine.
I’ll stay.”

Christmas was a month away,
and he didn’t want to spend it alone. Chris didn’t want to spend any more time
alone. His feelings for Rachel were scaring him though. The women were a
distraction, nothing more, nothing less. It wasn’t a good enough excuse, and he
shouldn’t be using women to make
himself
deal with his
feelings. Claire would kick his ass if she was alive.

The women had to stop, and
he needed to figure out how to handle his feelings for Rachel. He wasn’t going
to lose her because of his stupidity.

Chapter Two

Rachel rubbed her hands
together even though she was wearing gloves. Chris was bending over to leave
some flowers, and she was admiring the curves of his ass. She was a bad person
for checking out his ass. Her sister was dead and had been for three years.
There was no way he’d even look at her the way he looked at Claire. No words
were spoken; there never needed to be.

The tears were no longer
present either. Was she becoming a bad person for the fact she could no longer
cry?

Shaking her head, she
bounced on the heels of her feet to try to bring some heat back into her body.
It was cold. Even wearing jeans, a sweater and a coat, she was still cold.

Chris took a step back, taking
hold of her hand as he did.

“I do miss them.”

“I know.”

“I’ve accepted that they’re
dead.”

She nodded. “They’re still
loved though. We’ve got by without them.” She blew out a breath. “When Claire
was going through her morbid stage she mentioned to me about letting you move
on. Have you thought about dating again?” she asked.

Screwing everything in sight
was a little different from dating. It would kill a part of her to see him
settle down with another woman, but he deserved to find love again.

“I hated her morbid phase. I
never thought anything she said would come true. It freaks me out when I think
about it.” His hand tightened around hers.

“I know what you mean. I
think she meant every word she said. I mean, she’d probably be happy with you finding
someone you love. You need to get back out there and date someone.”

She smiled at him, trying to
make light of it.

“Let’s go and get some
coffee.” They’d not gone back to the café where they heard the news. She was
surprised when he took her to the place where she worked.

“I didn’t know you knew
where I worked,” she said, laughing.

He entered without smiling,
and Steven, the guy on the door, greeted them.

“We’ve got your seat waiting
for you,” he said.

“Wait? Seat?” she asked,
looking from Steven to Chris.

“Thank you,” Chris said,
escorting her through the room. She’d never eaten at the restaurant as she
spent enough time serving customers rather than being the customer.

He helped her into her seat.
She glanced over toward the bar where they served drinks. Rachel reached for
the menu. Chris stopped her from taking the menu with the prices on. There was
no way she could afford this place, and she always put half toward lunch.

“Chris, I need to see the
cost.”

“No, you don’t. You’re
eating with me. I can afford this food.”

“Even working part time?”
she asked. She’d been by the phone this morning when the call went to answer
phone. The head of the hospital was begging for Chris to change his mind. The
hospital needed him as he was a good doctor.

“I was going to tell you
about that soon.”

“When?
You love taking care of people.” Rachel folded her
arms, glaring at him.

“We’ll talk about this
another time. What do you want to eat?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“Whatever is cheaper,” she
said, glaring at him. She served food in the bar but never actually took the
time to look at the menu. Rachel didn’t have the first clue what was cheapest.

“Why are you being so
difficult?”

She glanced toward the
kitchen doors. For once the doors were open, and she got a clear shot of the
kitchen. Rachel saw Richard working and knew Chris had done this on purpose.

“Why did you bring me here?
What have you got against me going on a date?” She leaned forward ready to
grill him some more when the waiter arrived. It was Jared, and he wore a smile
on his face.

“Rachel, it’s great to see
you here.”

Chris took over, ordering
their food. No wine was ordered. It was too early for wine, and she hated the
stuff.

“I’ll tell Richard you’re
here.”

She smiled even though the
last thing she felt like doing was smiling.

“He seems nice,” Chris said.

“Will you be settling down
with someone?” she asked, bringing the focus back around to him. She liked
Richard, but he never gave her a buzz like Chris did. Rachel cursed her thoughts.
After all this time she was still comparing the way men made her feel to Chris.
He was never going to be hers. She’d seen the women he slept with. They were
all blonde, slender, and beautiful, the complete opposite of her.

She wasn’t gross out ugly, just
plain. There was nothing startling about her. Claire used to say there was more
to her than looks and would compliment her curves. At twenty-six she knew the
real world, and in the real world men didn’t go for the fuller women who liked their
food. She’d never hidden her true nature from Chris. He was the one person she
stayed the same for.

“I’m not settling down with
anyone. You’re beautiful when you’re angry.”

Rachel frowned. “What are
you trying to do?”

“Do you really think that
fucker in there is perfect for you? I imagine there’s some bet going on to get
you in the sack.” Chris lifted his water and took a sip. She noticed how sturdy
his hands were and wondered how they’d feel caressing her body.

Get your mind out of the gutter.

“You’re being crude.”

“I’m thinking like a man.
You’ve not dated anyone from here before, and it has been three months. You’re
a challenge to every male in this room.”

She shook her head, ready to
bite his head off.

“Rachel, it’s so good to see
you.” Richard’s voice stopped her from saying anything to Chris. She smiled up
at him, begging for a spark to be there. He kissed her cheek, lingering a
little too long for her liking.

No, there was no spark.
Glancing over at Chris, she saw the glint in his eyes.

“Who is this?” Richard
asked.

“This is Christian.
My brother-in-law.”
She made the introductions wishing Chris
would stop looking at her like that. What the hell was going on?

They’d not argued once in
their lives together. She asked him about a potential date, and he was blowing
up as if she’d asked his opinion on robbing a bank.

The tension between the two
men was clear to see.

“I’ll, erm, make sure your
food is brought to you. I made it with special care.” He leaned down to kiss
her again. Rachel gave him her cheek, wishing he’d leave them to argue.

****

Chris knew he was being a
bastard. Fisting his hands underneath the table, he tried not to lose it at the
sight of another man touching her. She was his. He stopped, trying to process
all of his thoughts. Rachel was not his woman. They’d never even shared a kiss.

Sure, he’s kissed her cheek,
hugged her and held her through grief, but nothing ever overstepped the grounds
of their relationship.

She watched Richard leave
before turning to him. “I’m going on a date with him this Friday. I don’t want
you to ruin my chance of being happy.” She threw her napkin to the table and
stood.

“Where are you going?” he
asked, hating the fact he didn’t have any control over her. Rachel was a free
agent. He couldn’t do anything to stop her from walking away from him.

“I’m going to the bathroom.
Try not to screw another woman until I get back.”

“Why? Do you want to watch?”
he asked, lifting his water glass to take a sip.

“You never know. I might
learn a few tricks from you.”

She walked away.

He’d watched her move away
from him many times. The jeans molded to her ass like a second skin. What would
it feel like to screw everything to hell and simply take her? She was attracted
to him. He saw the signs in the way she looked at him. Chris had even clocked
her comparing him to the fucking chef when he came to the table.

“I’m fucked,” he said,
whispering the words. What would Claire think of him lusting after her sister?
The feeling that Claire would be okay with it filled him. He didn’t know why.
“I’m going insane.”

Jared walked to the table
carrying two plates of food. He hesitated when he saw Rachel was gone. The guy
looked like a weak link.