Interfering, page 6
I glanced at Trent, who concentrated on driving. He didn’t seem to notice I was staring at him. The man was eye candy personified, and I couldn’t stop drinking him in. Finally, he glanced my way and caught me in the act. His eyes twinkled with knowing. I wasn’t fooling him.
“Turn left into the parking lot,” I instructed him.
“You live here? How come you never mentioned that before?”
“It didn’t come up.” Only a few people knew I lived in a small apartment above the salon. The owner gave me a good deal on rent and appreciated having someone on-site in the evenings. I shared the place with various boxes of beauty supplies, but I didn’t mind. It was my little slice of heaven— clean, tidy, and recently remodeled. I had a peekaboo view of the river and a private entrance off the back of the building. The small landing at the top of the stairs doubled as a makeshift deck. On warm days, I’d pull one of my mismatched dining room chairs outside and enjoy the sun. I was saving for a small barbecue next.
Trent drove around the building and stopped near a flight of steps. He got out and opened the passenger door for me, like the gentleman he’d proven to be, at least on the surface. My experience warned me that a person’s public image could be very different from their private one.
“Well, thank you,” I dismissed him to emphasize that I wasn’t inviting him upstairs.
I had to jump down from the passenger seat because of the size of the truck. Trent caught me around the waist and swung me safely to the ground. I stared up at him while he gazed down at me. His hands rested lightly on my waist. He wasn’t holding me against my will. I could easily break free of his grasp.
But I didn’t want to, and the drinks made me bolder than usual.
Chapter Nine
Bed Partner
~~Trent~~
Heidi swayed unsteadily on her feet, reminding me she’d had a few too many. I tightened my grip on her waist. Those big, sea-blue eyes met mine. She took my breath away. Literally. My lungs forgot how to inhale oxygen. My brain forgot how to process information. But my body didn’t forget. It knew what sex felt like, and it wanted some. Right now.
I reined in my carnal yearnings and forced myself to take a big breath. Heidi continued to stare at me with an odd mixture of trust and suspicion. Someday, I vowed, the suspicion would be gone and only trust would be there. But this was a slow road to travel, with countless potholes and washouts along the way. I didn’t care. Heidi was worth it.
Our eyes locked, and an invisible force reeled me in like a fish on a fishing pole. I resisted, but the pull toward her was stronger. I leaned into her, and she met me halfway. I was so close. Our lips were only inches apart. Her body shivered with anticipation, and my dick responded. Damn, but I wanted to kiss her more than I wanted to win the Cup, and that was a lot of “more.”
Uncertainty and even a minuscule amount of fear flashed in her eyes. I drew back, giving her a little space while still resting my hands on her waist.
“I’d better help you up the stairs.” My voice sounded foreign to my ears. It cracked from the strain of wanting and not getting. I sympathized with my body, but I wouldn’t give in. Heidi was too important to mess this up. Wanting her was so much more than sex for me, and I’d show her how much more.
She shook her head no and wriggled out of my grasp. Uncertain, I respected her wishes but stood back to help if needed. She grabbed the railing and began to heave herself up the stairs one step at a time. She took two steps and began to fall backward. I was there in a flash and caught her in my arms.
“Maybe I do need a little help.” She giggled, too buzzed to be embarrassed.
On a whim, I swept her into my arms and carried her with ease to the landing. She weighed nothing. She was so tiny and thin. The absolute definition of fragile, yet I knew she had steel in her backbone. I had to quit thinking of her as a woman who needed to be rescued. Heidi had rescued herself with no help from anyone else in her life.
I placed her feet gently on the ground, and her body slid down the length of mine.
Fuck.
I shuddered and groaned. If she invited me in, I didn’t have the willpower to refuse, even if being with her before earning her absolute trust would most likely destroy any chance of furthering our relationship.
As if mesmerized, Heidi lifted one delicate hand and touched my cheek. I sucked in a breath and held it. Afraid to scare her. Her hand dropped to her side, and she looked down.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
I didn’t know what to say. She didn’t need to be sorry. I loved her gesture of fondness.
Keeping her head down, she fumbled with her keys, got the door unlocked, and opened the door enough that she had room to slip inside. She was gone in a flash but turned to peer out the crack in the door.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“You’re—” Before I finished, the door clicked shut, and a moment later I heard the dead bolt being engaged.
I trudged down the stairs. Unlocking my truck, I climbed in and sighed heavily. I didn’t start the Chevy right away. My gaze was drawn to Heidi’s apartment. A light was on behind the closed curtain. I couldn’t see her moving around, for which I was glad, because if I could see her, so could others.
Feeling like a stalker, I started the engine and turned the truck toward the exit.
A black sports car with heavily tinted windows was the lone vehicle on the deserted street. I stopped and waited for him to pass. He slowed. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I had the distinct impression he was checking me out, but I had no idea why.
My gut knotted at the thought she might have a boyfriend or something of the sort, and he was waiting for me to leave. I mentally berated myself for such thinking. Heidi wasn’t like that. She was honest and sincere. Yet I had no claim on her. She might have a boyfriend for all I knew, and her love life was out of my control.
After he drove by, I pulled onto the street and drove about four or five blocks. After stopping at an intersection, a warning bell went off in my head. I whipped the truck around and drove back to Heidi’s to make sure this guy was gone, worried he might be the same guy I’d punched.
The car was nowhere to be found as I drove one more time past the hair salon. I chastised myself for being paranoid. If Heidi wanted the company of a man, I didn’t get a vote as to who that guy might be. Bottom line—the company Heidi kept was none of my business.
But I wanted to make it my business. I didn’t like visualizing her with another guy, even though she’d been with several. She wasn’t doing sex for money anymore, and I was bothered by her possibly having a boyfriend or a guy she was interested in who wasn’t me.
But I was being paranoid.
I hadn’t imagined my connection with Heidi. It was there, and it was mutual. I had nothing to worry about. Heidi wasn’t seeing anyone else. After all, the black car was gone, and I’d let my imagination get the best of me.
I arrived home at about eleven thirty. The house was blessedly quiet. The bird didn’t squawk “fuck you,” and the menagerie of animals didn’t rush out to greet me. The dogs and cats were probably sleeping in my sisters’ rooms.
I wrinkled my nose at the dog smell and tripped over a tennis ball in the middle of the floor. I paused to pick up dog and cat toys scattered around and deposited them in a wicker basket in the corner. I hated messes, and my house had been turned into a disaster ever since my sisters had commandeered it for their rescue operation.
Entering the kitchen, I was happy to see the dishes weren’t stacked in the sink and the counter had been wiped clean. That was something.
I hadn’t realized how tired I was until I’d walked in my front door. I was exhausted. I made my way to the master bedroom on the main floor. Blessedly, the rest of the bedrooms were on the upper level of this old house.
I opened the door without turning on the lights, stripped to my boxer briefs, and gratefully fell onto my king bed. I closed my eyes and drifted off when something wet touched my cheek.
Alarmed, I leaped to my feet, grabbed a hockey stick, and wielded it like a sword. At the same time, I walked backward toward the light switch.
“Who the fuck are you? And what are you doing in my house?” No answer, but a lot of heavy breathing. Fear raged through me. What if my sisters weren’t in bed after all? What if they’d fallen victim to this intruder?
Without turning my back on the bed, I fumbled for the light and flipped it on. Immediately, the room was illuminated. I squinted at the sudden invasion of light to my eyes, but they adjusted quickly.
A very large black-and-white dog was sprawled on my bed. He lifted his head long enough to give me a dirty look for disturbing him.
“What the fuck?” I growled. “Hogan, get off my bed. Now.”
Hogan ignored me. In fact, he started snoring. I stalked to the side of the bed, grabbed his collar, and pulled. The canine elephant didn’t budge. I tried again. Nothing. No reaction. Nothing at all.
My eyes were heavy, and I just wanted to sleep. Resigning myself to having a bed partner, I lay down, giving the dog a wide berth. His rhythmic snoring lulled me to sleep in no time and was the last thing I remembered until early morning, when I woke to the smell of dog breath and the horrifying reality I was sharing my pillow with Hogan.
I got out of bed, threw on some sweats, and staggered tiredly to the kitchen. I heard the pad of big feet behind me. I half turned. “Now you’re getting out of bed?”
Hogan whined, and I let him out the back door before fixing a cup of coffee and slumping on a kitchen stool. I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up, and noted the time as 5:30 a.m.
Hogan scratched at the door, and I let him in, returning to my stool. He sat on his haunches and stared at me as if he were expecting something. I reached out and patted his head.
“Are you hungry?”
Apparently, he was, as he leaped onto his hind legs and put his front feet on my shoulders. I pushed him off.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to feed you. That’s not my department.”
Hogan sat back down and stared pointedly at his dish, then at me.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, while wondering why I was carrying on a conversation with a dog. That wasn’t like me. I tolerated these animals in my house, but I didn’t enjoy them the way my sisters did.
Oliva wandered into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She poured a cup of coffee, not looking in my direction. I cleared my throat. She turned and noticed me for the first time.
“Good morning. You’re up early.” I wasn’t a morning person, and my entire family knew that.
I shrugged.
“You were out late last night.” She sat down on the stool next to me.
Once again, I merely shrugged.
“Hot date? Heidi? Please tell me you weren’t out with Heidi.”
“What if I was?”
“She’s not good for you.”
“And you know this how?”
This time she shrugged.
“You have to have a reason.” I’d have the best luck pushing Liv for an answer.
“She’s secretive, which is never a good thing. You like helping people. That’s your attraction to her.”
“Initially, that’d be true, but there’s more to it than that.”
Livy sighed as if she’d been down this road before. “Don’t you ever learn?”
I glared in her direction. “You’re the reasonable one. The one who likes everybody. What’s your problem with Heidi other than that your two sisters don’t like her? They’re usually harder to impress and more skeptical. So I understand their attitudes but not yours.”
“I don’t know. Call it intuition. Something’s not right about her. You don’t need another project. Remember how that turned out last time?”
Yeah, I did. My semi-serious girlfriend had been a puck bunny with a drinking problem. I’d gotten in pretty deep before I realized how much she drank. Hot sex masks a lot of vices until those vices override the hot sex. The last straw was when she made a big drunken scene at a party hosted by my former team’s owner at his mansion. She’d fallen over a priceless vase and broken it to pieces. Then she’d yelled at another WAG, blaming her for pushing her, which the poor woman didn’t do. I’d been there. I’d seen what’d happened and tried to usher her out of the house before more damage was done. She started wailing and yelling, blaming me for everything she could think of. Yeah, that reclamation project hadn’t worked out so well.
“Heidi’s different. She’s bettering herself, and she’s doing it on her own with no help from anyone and certainly not her family.”
“Have you met her family?”
“No.”
Livy narrowed her gaze and studied me closely. She wasn’t budging. Yet.
“Remember how you always told me to avoid women who didn’t have close female friends? Well, Heidi does, and they clearly adore her.”
My sister stared into her coffee. I was making progress.
“Why don’t you give her a chance and get to know her?” Livy was the most pliable of my sisters and a good place to start. Divide and conquer might be the best strategy. I was closest to Livy, and she’d be the best sister to win over to my side.
Livy looked torn between loyalty to her sisters and loyalty to me.
“Come on, Liv, you’ve always been open-minded and fair. Give Heidi a chance.”
“Is it that important to you?” She chewed on her lower lip, a sure sign she was considering her options.
“Yes, it is.”
“You really like this girl, don’t you? She’s the only one you’ve introduced us to. This goes beyond what I’ve seen with your other girlfriends.”
“Yeah, I do. I can’t explain it, but I can’t stop thinking about her. I’m drawn to her in a way that’s indescribable. I have to follow this through and see where it goes, but she’s gun-shy based on her previous experiences with men.”
“I can understand that.” My sister had had some bad experiences with guys; one had been a teammate of mine. She couldn’t begin to understand Heidi’s perspective, but she could relate when it came to asshole men.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Good.” I walked to the refrigerator and took the business card off the door. I handed it to Liv. “Make an appointment to have your hair trimmed or whatever this week. And be nice.”
“I’m always nice.”
I cocked a brow and snorted.
“Well, usually, but I will be nice to her. Does she take drop-ins?”
“Hell if I know.”
“That might be the way to go.”
“Thanks, you’re the best.” Hogan shoved his nose in my lap, and I absently stroked his big head.
“I thought you didn’t like dogs.”
“I never said I didn’t like them. I just don’t like them in my house.”
“Right. Well, looks like Hogan’s chosen you, and you now have a house dog. Congratulations.”
“Oh, no, you don’t. As soon as that property closes, all of you and your menagerie are out of here.”
Livy laughed, as if she knew something I didn’t.
Perhaps she did.
Chapter Ten
In the Moment
~~Heidi~~
A half hour until closing time on a Saturday. I hadn’t had a customer in hours, and I plopped down in my styling chair, feeling depressed and sorry for myself. Building a clientele was harder than I imagined. I thought I was doing all the right things, such as asking walk-ins if they’d like me to schedule them for their next appointment. Some did, some didn’t. I tried not to take the rebukes personally, but I failed.
I’d created a Facebook page, and I should do Instagram, maybe TikTok, but time was at a premium also. Stuff like that took time to maintain. Next time I saw the owner of the Puck, I’d ask if I could post something there. There was more I could do.
My rent was due in a few days, and I didn’t have enough money for it, despite scrimping and saving all my tips from both the salon and the Puck.
I was in a funk, and understandably so.
My attitude wasn’t helped by Saturdays being slow days. I was the only stylist in the salon, but this was worse than normal. Had I received some bad reviews on social media or something? Maybe my background was exposed out there for all to see? If so, would I be canceled and trashed or revered for my perseverance?
I did some searches on my phone and found nothing about me or my business. I guess nothing was both good and bad. If only I could afford to hire a social media consultant or create a website. I wasn’t great with technology myself.
There was another reason I was down. Trent had ghosted me, sorta. I’d worked a couple shifts at the Puck since I’d seen him last Sunday. Every time the door opened, my heart rate sped up and butterflies tickled my stomach. Only he never came in. He was probably busy or giving me some space, or he’d moved on to someone without my baggage. I couldn’t blame him for any of those possibilities.
I was all over the place where Trent was concerned, and my inconsistent messages had to be confusing, not to mention frustrating.
I glanced at my phone again. Another Saturday night by myself. I was lonely and jealous yet happy for my girlfriends who’d found the loves of their lives. I’d content myself with living through them, because I didn’t see myself in their shoes now or possibly ever.
And there I went with my negativity again. I had to stop. I was a good person. A valuable person. A person deserving of happiness. If I said it enough, perhaps I’d believe it, but undoing years of negative programming didn’t happen overnight.
The front door creaked open, and I jumped to my feet, straightened my wrinkled smock, and plastered a welcoming smile on my face.
“Hi, can I help you?” I asked in my friendliest voice, hoping the person wasn’t asking for directions or looking for one of the other stylists. For a moment, I blinked in surprise. I knew this woman.
