218 First Hugs Page 4

  Cypress took the seat beside me and rested his hand on mine. “I know my wife. She’ll let it go, and she’ll forgive you.”

  “You really think so?”

  He nodded. “I told her the circumstance, that we were both going through a hard time. She can’t judge us too harshly. Your husband left you, your sister was gone…she’d have to be heartless to not understand.”

  “But you’re her husband… I understand why she’s mad.”

  “Nothing more happened. We kissed for two seconds.”

  “But if you hadn’t pulled away…” I didn’t finish the sentence.

  “Doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “Nothing happened. That’s all that matters.” He pulled his hand away and gave me a sympathetic look.

  “Cypress, everything is so fucked up right now…”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “A part of me doesn’t blame her for being so upset. You’re her husband…”

  “You were drinking and depressed. Don’t be so hard on yourself. And for what it’s worth, I think you would have stopped things before they developed into something more.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I know you,” he said quietly. “I know you love your sister more than anything. She’ll realize that eventually. Don’t lose hope.”

  I reined in my tears before they could fall. “Thank you…”

  “Of course.”

  I stared at the table between us, still out of my mind with sadness. A stupid decision I made years ago had wreaked havoc on my life. Now I was sleeping with my ex because the man I loved didn’t want me. My life was so messed up. I thought I’d hit rock bottom weeks ago, but there was definitely more room for me to fall. “You think you guys will work it out?”

  He nodded. “She could have said no when I asked her. But she didn’t. She said she needed space. That means she wants to try again, just not right this second. I’m glad she listened to me.”

  “I’m happy for you. I didn’t want you to lose her.”

  “I know,” he whispered. “And I’ll make sure you don’t lose her either. We’re all family here. We’re gonna stay a family.”

  * * *

  I’d just gotten into bed when my phone vibrated with a text message.

  You awake? It was Evan.

  I didn’t want to deal with him right now, so I ignored it.

  I’m standing outside. I want to see you.

  Wow. Our relationship had already escalated to midnight booty calls. I got out of bed in just my t-shirt and walked to the front door. My hair was pulled back into a bun and I looked terrible, but I didn’t care. His opinion didn’t mean anything to me.

  I opened the front door and looked at him with my broken gaze. “What?”

  He stood in jeans and a t-shirt, his hair styled like he’d done it just before he came over. “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong? Why are you showing up on my doorstep in the middle of the night?”

  His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, like he couldn’t believe the question. “We’ve been sleeping together for over a week now. You really think this is presumptuous?”

  “Damn right, it is.” I shut the door, not wanting to deal with this asshole tonight.

  He caught the door with his hand and stepped inside. “Amy, what’s wrong?”

  “There’s nothing wrong. I just don’t want to see you, Evan.”

  He locked the door behind me and stared me down. “I was married to you for eight years. I know when something is wrong.”

  “I was married to you for eight years, and I thought you wouldn’t cheat on me. Looks like we don’t know each other that well.”

  Evan sighed at the insult but didn’t back down. “Talk to me. What is it?”

  Seeing the concern in his eyes, the affection I used to live for, made me burst into tears. I’d craved that love for so long after he left. I dreamt of him loving me, holding me. When he left me, he didn’t look back. He didn’t care how much he hurt me. And now he was back, loving me the way he used to.

  If he’d never left, I wouldn’t have kissed Cypress.

  I wouldn’t be in this mess.

  “I did something really stupid…and Bree won’t talk to me.” I covered my face because I didn’t want Evan to see my cheeks turn blotchy and red. I was so ugly when I cried. I didn’t want him to witness such a pathetic scene.

  He grabbed my wrists and gently pulled my hands from my face so he could see me. “What happened?” He backed me up into the counter and dug one hand into my hair. His lips moved to the corner of my eye, and he kissed a fresh tear that rolled down my cheek. “What did you do?”

  I didn’t want to tell him I’d kissed Cypress. I didn’t want Evan to ever treat him badly. It might make him jealous, even though he had no right to be. “It doesn’t matter…but she won’t talk to me.”

  “Families fight. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “But I did something really bad…and really stupid. Cypress said she just needs some time, but I’m afraid our relationship will never be the same. She’s my best friend. I lost her once, and I can’t lose her again…”

  He rubbed his big hands up and down my arms. “Did she find out you were sleeping with Ace?”

  “No…she already knew about that.” At least, that I slept with him once.

  “I could give you better advice if you told me what happened, baby.”

  I wasn’t going to tell him. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m not asking for advice anyway. I already apologized to her, and now I’m just hoping for the best.”

  “Then what can I do?” he asked. “If there’s anything I can do for you, I’m here.”

  There was nothing anyone could for me. “You can leave.”

  He pushed his body farther into mine, telling me he wasn’t going anywhere. His fingers closed around my neck, and he tilted my head up so my lips were more accessible. With a brooding gaze, he burned me from the inside out. “We both know I’m not leaving tonight.”

  * * *

  When I walked into the office the next morning, Ace was the only one there. In dark slacks that made his ass look unbelievable and a black collared shirt, he looked like a million bucks. With a beautiful physique like that, he looked incredible no matter what he wore—or didn’t wear.

  Ace and I hadn’t been alone together since he broke off our secret affair. It wasn’t necessarily awkward between us, but it wasn’t the same either. The friendship that I loved had dried up quicker than the desert. He never came by the house anymore or dropped off firewood. Might be a good thing since Evan popped up all the time.

  I walked to my desk and didn’t meet his eyes. “Hey.”

  Ace turned to me, and I could feel his gaze looking into the side of my face. “I heard what happened.”

  Either Bree or Cypress told him. I couldn’t blame them. The secret was bound to come out. “It was a stupid mistake, and I’d give anything to take it back and I just—”

  “Whoa, hold on.” He pulled his chair across the gap between the desks so we were beside each other, his knee touching mine. “I didn’t bring it up to give you a hard time about it. I just wanted to know if you’re okay.”

  That was why I fell in love him. He was so kind and compassionate. I did something terrible, and he still gave me his concern even if I didn’t deserve it. “You want to know if I’m okay?”

  “Yeah. I haven’t seen Bree this mad since Cypress hooked up with Vanessa. I know it must be killing you.”

  “It is…” I ran my fingers through my hair even though it did little to comfort me. “Cypress told me she just needs space right now, but I need her to forgive me. Until she forgives me, my stomach is gonna be knotted up like this.”

  “Bree will forgive you,” he said with confidence. “But you know how she is. She’s an emotional person, and she needs more time to bounce back than the average human.”

  I did know that. “Yeah…”

  “I know you aren’t gonna stop stressing ou
t about it, but you should try to relax. Even if she didn’t forgive you, Cypress, Blade, and I would set her straight and make her see reason. Alright?” He placed his hand on my back and rubbed gently.

  I wanted to tell him I loved him. I wanted him to know his comfort meant the world to me. I was spending my nights with the man who broke my heart, wishing I were with Ace instead. But when Ace looked at me, he just saw an attractive friend.

  That’s it.

  “Thanks,” I finally said. “That means a lot to me.”

  “Of course.”

  “And thanks for not judging me…”

  “Judging you?” His handsome smile grew on his face. “How could I judge you? We all make mistakes. And your mistake wasn’t even that big of a deal. We’ve all gotten carried away with someone we shouldn’t.”

  Was he referring to us? His attempt at making me feel better just made me feel worse. “Yeah.”

  “I’m glad you told Bree the truth. That must have been hard.”

  “If I didn’t, she was going to leave Cypress.”

  “I know,” he said. “You could have said nothing and saved your own ass. No one would have known. But that’s not what you did.” He squeezed my shoulder before he dropped his hand. “You did the right thing—and that took balls. I respect you even more now.”

  And just like that, he made me feel good again. “Thanks, Ace.”

  “No problem.” He wrapped his powerful arm around me and pulled me in for a hug.

  It felt so nice.

  “I’ll be working at Olives today.” He pushed his feet against the ground and slid across the floor back to his desk. “I think you’re downstairs.”

  “Okay. Great.”

  The door opened, and Bree walked inside. She obviously expected me to be at work already because she looked at me with eyes as big as golf balls. She stopped in her tracks and stared me down, just as angry as she had been when I told her I kissed Cypress.

  I felt sick again.

  She finally tore her gaze away, marched to her desk and snatched her laptop out of the drawer. She stormed off a second later with the computer tucked under her arm. “Hey, Ace.” She disappeared out the door.

  Hearing her address Ace just to prove she was ignoring me hurt like hell.

  “She’ll come around,” Ace said. “Let her get it out of her system.”

  “Get what out of her system?” I said weakly. “She hates me.”

  “She doesn’t hate you. No matter how mad she is, she could never hate you.”

  I knew there was nothing she could ever do to make me hate her, so I had to believe she felt that exact same way for me.

  If I didn’t, I’d hit a depression worse than the last one I’d just been through.

  And that was already pretty bad.

  5

  Blade

  Cypress and Ace were already sitting at a table in the bar when I walked in. I got my beer then joined them, hopping into a conversation of silence. Cypress’s beard was still wild, getting thicker with every passing day. Ace looked exactly the same, but there was a particular aura of sadness about him.

  “Both of you had a bad day?” I asked before I drank my beer.

  “Every day for the past eighteen months has been a bad day for me,” Cypress muttered before he drank his dark beer.

  Ace stared into his glass, his face a mask of stoicism.

  “Bree is still shut down?” I asked.

  “She hasn’t talked to me,” Cypress said. “She just goes to work then goes home. Wants nothing to do with me—or Amelia.”

  “Hopefully, it’ll blow over soon,” Ace said. “It’s weird not having the girls around.”

  “It is weird. I said hi to Amelia yesterday, and she stared at me like I was high.” The girls lightened the atmosphere at work, bringing fresh flowers into the office and adding nice touches to the restaurants. Those were things none of us guys would think of on our own.

  “This is the last time for me,” Cypress said.

  I didn’t know what he meant, so I looked at Ace.

  Ace kept his eyes on Cypress, obviously not knowing what that meant either.

  I was the first one to ask. “Last time for what?”

  “Last time I’m making this work with Bree. I love her, but I can’t keep doing this. Every time we go ten steps forward, we go a hundred back. I want to make my marriage work, not just because I don’t want to get divorced in my thirties. But this drama is wearing me out.”

  I didn’t blame him. There was hardly a good day for the two of them.

  “I didn’t even do anything wrong in this situation, but Bree pushed me away anyway. The only reason why I’m still here is because she really did give me a chance. She kept an open mind and tried. Then Vanessa fucked everything up…”

  “Anyone would be exhausted,” Ace said. “And no guy would have stuck around this long.”

  “I know,” Cypress said quietly. “So, this is it for me. I hope Bree comes back soon and we can move forward.”

  “You should tell her it’s the last time for you,” I said. “That way she understands the severity of the situation.”

  Cypress shrugged. “I don’t want to make it sound like an ultimatum. Those aren’t romantic…”

  Some pretty women walked inside, two of them. They both wore jean shorts and tops, obviously hot after the scorching weather we had that week. They headed right to the bar and glanced at Ace and me.

  I didn’t know where I stood with Celeste, but I felt like I wasn’t available. Besides, if I were going to get laid that night, I’d rather be with Celeste. The sex was great because that woman was fantastic. “Ace, hot babes checking you out at the bar.”

  Ace didn’t glance in their direction. “Yeah, I saw them.”

  Cypress didn’t turn around to look. “Are you gonna make a move?”

  “Why do you expect me to make a move every time a hot woman walks by?” Ace asked, still not looking. “If I went after every woman I saw, I wouldn’t have time to do anything else—let alone drink my beer.”

  I thought it was an odd thing to say, and it made me wonder if calling it off with Lady bothered him more than he let on. Maybe she was the one who ended it with him, but he didn’t want to admit it.

  Cypress let the topic go.

  I did too.

  “Have you talked to Celeste about where you stand?” Ace asked.

  “No, not yet,” I answered. “I haven’t seen her in a couple of days.” I was actually avoiding the conversation as long as possible. I didn’t know where the exchange would take us, and I hoped it wouldn’t lead us further apart. All I wanted was to be closer. If I said the wrong thing, I could sabotage the great thing we had.

  But maybe sabotaging myself was in my best interest. If I allowed myself to fall hard for her and it didn’t work out, I would just be more hurt in the end. As if she were sitting there listening to us, my phone lit up with a text message from her.

  Just got home. If you aren’t doing anything, you wanna come over?

  I already knew my answer without thinking twice about it. Sure. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. I had to finish my beer and my conversation—even though Cypress and Ace were both having an off night. Both were depressed about very different things.

  “Was that her?” Ace asked.

  “Yep,” I said. “And don’t read my phone.”

  “I didn’t,” Ace said. “I just know no one else would text you.”

  Cypress chuckled. “Good point.”

  “Lots of people text me,” I said defensively. “That could have been Bree or Amelia.”

  “Your business partners?” Ace said sarcastically. “Doesn’t count. And you know your mom prefers to call.”

  Cypress jolted before he laughed. “Ouch. Burn.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You know what?” I got out of my chair and chugged my beer. “You can pay for that.” I set the empty bottle right beside Ace’s hand before I walked out.

  Ace called afte
r me when I left, “It was worth it.”

  * * *

  As soon as Celeste opened the door, she grabbed the front of my t-shirt and kissed me on the mouth.

  Hard.

  When no words were exchanged and she just kissed me more, it was obvious why she invited me over.

  She wanted to get laid.

  She wasn’t interested in quiet conversation by the fire with a bottle of wine. She wanted to be naked with me, to feel my bare cock inside that warm pussy.

  I could definitely put our conversation on hold until we were done.

  We didn’t make it up to her bedroom, settling for the couch even with the windows wide open. One of her legs was propped over the back of the couch, and I pressed the other against my chest. I fucked her into the cushions, her dress pulled up to her waist because we didn’t bother undressing.

  She didn’t want to wait.

  Her pussy was just as incredible as I remembered, and I made her come before I filled her with my seed. When I was inside her like this, I didn’t think about where this relationship would go. I didn’t care about how far France was. I just thought about the beautiful woman underneath me with the great tits. My jeans and boxers were pulled down to my ass, and my shoes were still on.

  We fucked like animals.

  When we were finished, I got off her and pulled up my boxers and jeans but left the fly open. A satisfied high rushed through me, an exhilaration that felt soothing after an orgasm like that. I could fall asleep right there, but I felt awkward doing that.

  She walked into the bathroom to clean herself up, and when she returned, she was just as classy as she was when she first opened the door. In red pumps and a black dress, she looked like a model on the runway. She grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses before she set them on the coffee table. “Wine?”

  “Sure.”

  She poured two glasses then sat back, her legs crossed. She was back to her former self, like she hadn’t just gotten pounded on her couch.

  I adored her.

  The longer I sat beside her, the more uneasy I became. What if she was doing this same thing with some other guy? What if she had a date during the past few days while I’d been busy collecting my thoughts. I didn’t want to share her with anyone.