“Did she enjoy herself? Maybe the sex sucked, and she’s doing her best to let you down nicely.” I glare at Travis, and he suppresses a smile. He sure is having fun with this.
“Trust me, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Multiple times,”I add to get some of my manhood back from their teasing. “I’m pretty sure she has trust issues because of some asshole in her past, but how the hell can I prove myself if she’s avoiding me like the plague?”
“She’s scared,” Jake shrugs. “Take it from me, who has experience in this. She needs time. You guys work together, so it’s inevitable that you’ll see her again. Be her friend and show her you’re not going anywhere. She’ll eventually come around.”
“Waiting is not my strong suit,” I sigh, “but I know you’re right.”
“Try waiting for three years,” Ryder chuckles softly.
“I don’t know how you did it.” I shake my head, thinking of how he must have felt, not knowing if Eve was coming back.
“I held onto the parts of her I had and prayed like fuck every night I would get her back.” He lifts his backwards hat and runs his hand aggressively through his hair before replacing it.
“What’s meant for you will always find its way to you.” Travis cocks his head and studies me. “I’ve never seen you this way about a girl,ever.From the looks of it, what’s meant for you has already found you. She just needs to see past the fear to realize it's found her, too.”
“She’ll realize it. I haven’t met a girl yet who can resist your charm,” Ryder laughs.
“Except for our wives, but that’s just because they have better taste.” Jake grins when I give him the finger.
“I think comedy hour is over.” I stand up and grab the hammer off the floor. “Get your lazy asses back to work. I’m not paying you to stand around.”
“You’re not paying us at all,” Travis laughs, getting up from the chair.
“Having me as a brother is worth its weight in gold. You should be paying me,” I grin.
“And he’s back to his old self,” Jake chuckles, grabbing the drill from the table.
“What the hell is that smell?” Travis puts his arm up and covers his nose in the crook of his elbow.
“Jesus, that’s rough,” Ryder lifts his shirt over his nose to try to get some air that doesn’t smell like someone died.
“That would be Gizmo,” I laugh, wrinkling my nose as I watch his paws moving in his sleep as if he’s running free in his dreams. “I guess giving him some leftover chili last night wasn’t one of my greatest ideas. He’s been doing it all morning.”
“You gave a dog chili?” Jake chuckles, using his t-shirt to stifle the smell. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“He kept watching me while I ate and giving me that sad puppy look he always does. I felt bad for him,” I shrug. “I just topped off his dog food with a scoop of it. I didn’t know it would smell like the inside of the devil’s asshole the next day.”
“Yeah, well, now you know, so please save the planet and don’t ever let those fumes pollute the air again,” Travis chuckles, walking over to the tools on the workbench.
“Noted,” I laugh.
Feeling a little lighter than I have in days, I get back to work. The first shipment of wine is scheduled for delivery next week, and I know Olivia will want to go through it and help me with the display shelves.
She can’t hide from me forever. I’m suddenly craving honey, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get one more taste.
CHAPTER TEN
OLIVIA
I’m a big, fat chicken. So much of a chicken, in fact, that I can’t even bring myself to face him. Whoever came up with the phraseout of sight, out of mind, clearly has never met a man like Miles.
I’ve replayed that night so many times in my head, hoping to find something…anything…that will diminish what I felt that night, and make it easier to let go of what I’m feeling. The last thing I want is to make the same mistake again and go all in with my heart only to realize I can easily be replaced when the next shiny toy comes along.
Tapping my pen against my desk, I watch Bee from the window play in her sandbox as I try to sneak in some work. I knew right away that this space would make a perfect office for me. It’s a small room off the kitchen and the perfect size for what I use it for. The windows overlooking the backyard come in handy so I can keep an eye on her when she’s playing in the backyard.
Sighing, I try to push all thoughts of Miles out of my head so I can get these orders done. I’m thirty minutes into finalizing a wine list for one of my clients when my phone rings. I see myboss, John’s, face light up on the screen. Smiling, I swipe to answer it.
“Hi John, how’s Chicago?” I sit back in my chair and watch Bee dump a bucket of sand out before she starts to fill it again.
