Page 10 of Sweet Surrender
His brows knitted together. “About the same,” he replied gruffly before running a hand over his thick beard.
“Sorry to hear that. Give her my love, will you?” she said, and he grunted in assent. Taylor looked him over. He was a good-looking man under all that hair and flannel, giving off real lumberjack vibes. He was sweet and so caring to look after his mom the way he did.
“Are you single, Bear?” she asked, a gleam in her eye. He narrowed his dark eyes at her but didn’t respond. She already knew the answer though.
“You should come by the bar; we do a singles night and I bet the ladies would just love to get their hands on you.” She winked at him, and she could have sworn a blush filled his cheeks under all that facial hair.
He cleared his throat. “I’ll think about it.”
She smiled, that was enough for now. “Enjoy your evening, Bear.”
“You too, and Taylor? I appreciate you asking after my mama like that,” he said and then turned back to his food. She headed to her booth, settling in and spreading her paperwork out on the table but her mind wouldn’t focus. She wondered if Bear would be a good match for Taylor’s barmaid, Kayleigh, or if he would just terrify her. Maybe someone else for Kayleigh, the girl needed some excitement in her life.Oh yes because your life is sooo enthralling isn’t it? At the diner on a Friday night doing paperwork? Party. Animal.
She was enjoying her quiet life for once. Usually she would have a new man on the go but ever since her ex, Dale, she had decided to take a break. She needed someone who could deal with the fact that she just wanted casual and nothing more.
Taylor didn’t do commitment. She had issues with abandonment after seeing her father’s behavior. To him and most men she witnessed growing up, women were disposable, andshe never wanted to be that girl, so easily tossed aside and forgotten about. That’s why she always got out first before feelings developed.
She didn’t want romance, didn’t want flowers or chocolates or kisses in the moonlight. She didn’t want kisses full stop. She hadn’t kissed anyone since that time with Bobby in the school hallway. After such a mind-blowing kiss with Beau, the revenge kiss with Bobby the next day had felt hollow and bitter and she never wanted to feel that way again. So, like Vivian fromPretty Woman,she didn’t kiss on the mouth.
It had driven Dale insane. He was convinced it meant she didn’t care about him which wasn’t true. Taylor hadn’t realized how much Dale had grown to care for her, otherwise she would have ended things sooner. When he told her he wanted to get serious, she had broken things off hoping to avoid hurting him more.
Determined to get her back, he kept showing up at the bar trying to talk to her then a few times he got angry and refused to leave. One time Beau had kicked him out, dragging Dale from the bar when he got too forward and damn if her lady parts didn’t enjoy Beau’s display of alpha male aggression, something she’d never seen before fromMr. Goody Two-shoes. Taylor had deputy sheriff Blake to help her out a couple of times but she didn’t think Dale had gotten the message yet. Hopefully he would soon and just leave her alone.
Ruby interrupted Taylor’s thoughts, placing her overflowing plate of pancakes in front of her. The old woman had even added rainbow sprinkles in the shape of a heart.
“If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it,” Ruby muttered.
“I love you, you old crone,” Taylor replied, and Ruby snorted a laugh before heading back to the counter. Taylor attacked her pancakes like she hadn’t eaten in a year, moaning at the flavors exploding on her tongue.Savory, salty, sweet perfection.
She finished her food and got lost in her work. She didn’t know how long she had been working when the prickle of awareness had her looking up. She could feel eyes on her. She looked around the diner but no one was watching her. She looked out the window but couldn’t see anything. She must be imagining it; she was all out of sorts this week.
First Justine’s baby announcement, then the weird moment with Beau in her office that had completely thrown her. His acknowledgement of their friendship had her thoughts spinning. He’d been sweet with her, and her walls had crumbled slightly before she could reinforce them.
As though her thoughts alone had summoned him, the door to the diner opened and the man walked in. His eyes bright and cheeks pink from the cool air. Taylor took in his black sweatshirt with the Batman signal on it and sweatpants and heat coursed through her.How did he look so good in casual clothes?She had been obsessed with him when he was a teenager, his weight never bothered her, it washimshe wanted. But she couldn’t deny that hard bodied, muscular Beau wasn’t just as attractive to her.
Gah, you don’t find him attractive, shut up!
He strode over to the counter and Taylor watched as he dropped a kiss to Ruby’s papery cheek.What the fu-
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite personal trainer,” Ruby cooed, fluttering her eyelashes.
Is she actually flirting?Beau huffed out a deep laugh that hit Taylor down in the lady parts region.
“How are you feeling after our session this morning?” he asked.
“Like a new woman,” Ruby purred.
Taylor couldn’t believe what she was seeing, her pancakes nearly reappeared.
“A few more sessions like that and you’ll be the fittest in the class.” He was doing that horrible thing where he was nice and charming. Ruby giggled and Taylor looked around for the hidden cameras. This had to be a fucking joke, she had never seen Ruby behave like this before, not even with her husband, Roger, God rest his soul.
“Now, what can I get you, young man?”
“Just the usual please, Ruby,” Beau replied, taking out his wallet and pulling some bills from his wad of cash.
His usual?
HIS FUCKING USUAL?
