On the Rocks Read online

Page 4

  I’m not stupid. I know the reason Gabby acts so vile toward me is because she’s bruised and angry. And she has every right to be. I behaved badly, and I wounded her deeply. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Gabby had deep feelings toward me, and she was expressing them that night. It’s why that kiss was so f**king good… because of the depth of feeling behind it.

  It certainly didn’t help that for a few years prior, I had noticed with keen awareness how beautiful she had become. How sinfully sexy she was. She was forbidden fruit, completely f**king tempting me at every single turn.

  Not only was she Casey’s best friend, but she was indeed like a sister to me. I cared for her a lot… still do for that matter. But more than that, I couldn’t have a relationship with her because my life was all kinds of f**ked up crazy, with me being on the pro surfing circuit. I traveled ten months out of the year, and a relationship was just not feasible. It’s not something I wanted, even with someone as amazing as Gabby. And there was no way I was ever going to let Gabby settle for something less than a devoted partner. She deserved way better than what I could ever have given her.

  So our relationship changed… morphed into a constant state of bickering and snide comments when we were around each other. Except for that one time, at her father’s funeral… where I got to hold her for no more than five seconds, and all the past was forgotten.

  But then we went back to our feuding state, and now I’m getting ready to see her and hopefully have a calm sort of interaction.

  As if on cue, the front door to the bar opens and I see the silhouette of Gabby framed by the noon sun behind her. Even her outline looks stunning and, as she steps into the gloom of the bar, I can see her features a little more clearly without the sun distorting her image.

  She still wears her chocolate-brown hair long, cut in loose layers that frame her face. It’s her face that makes Gabby… well, Gabby. She has some Cherokee somewhere deep in her line, at least that’s what her mom says, but it must be true. Her cheekbones sit high on her heart-shaped face, and her hazel eyes are exotically slanted. Her skin is golden with light freckles across the bridge of her nose. She has the most amazing lips… full, generous, and as I remember, so very soft. Even now… dressed in a plain white t-shirt, boy-cut Levis, and a pair of worn work boots, she’s without a doubt the sexiest woman I’ve ever known.

  And probably ever will know.

  She’s starred in many fantasies I’ve had while in my shower jacking off, and just the thought of that causes a stirring down in my pants.

  Mentally shaking my head to get my thoughts out of the gutter, I stand from the bar stool and make my way over to her. But before she acknowledges me, she glances over and sees Brody behind the bar. She doesn’t even spare me a glance but turns his way, walking right up to him.

  “Hey Brody,” she says in that soft, southern voice, giving him a huge hug.

  I see him jerk with surprise over the contact, his body stiff for just a few seconds. Then he remembers that this is Gabby… like a little sister to him as well, and he returns her hug for a brief moment.

  I hear her softly say, “I missed you,” and I watch as his arms tighten around her just a bit, while he stares at me with an impassive look over her shoulder.

  My heart hurts so badly as I see the way he struggles with personal contact and kindness. My heart also expands at the same moment when I see how softly caring Gabby is to my brother. I’ve seen plenty of people over the last week turn their nose up at Brody, completely bent on considering him a murderer and nothing more. I’ll be forever grateful to Gabs for making him remember that he’s her friend and always will be.

  Turning to me, Gabby gives me a polite smile. “Hunter… good to see you. ”

  I raise my eyebrows, amused by her show of aloof professionalism. There’s certainly no warm hug for me… no words of how much she missed me.

  But then again, I didn’t expect any, and it sticks in my craw for a delusional moment that she can be warm and caring toward my felon of a brother, but have a cool politeness for the guy that kissed her senseless.

  No, that won’t do at all.

  I step up to her and grab her in a hug, trying hard not to laugh when she yelps in surprise. “Hey, Gabs. I’m sure you got a hug in there for Brody’s brother, right?”

  I feel her body stiffen against mine and her hands come up to rest on my biceps, not to return the hug but to push me away. I let her struggle futilely for a moment, and then I release her from my hold. Sneaking a glance at Brody, I see that he’s watching us with the briefest hint of interest before he returns to stocking the bar.

  “Well, let’s go back to my office, and you can show me your bid. ”

  I turn around, but not before I relish the confused look on Gabby’s face. There… that will teach her to show indifference to me.

  Opening the door to my office, I motion her in before me and follow behind. She stops halfway into the room, and I can’t help myself from walking up right behind her and stopping just inches from her body.

  She’s not immune to my nearness, because even I can feel the heat that swirls between us. Her spine stiffens a little, and I watch with amusement as she pushes her shoulders back so her head lifts tall and proud.

  I literally can’t help myself when I bend forward just a bit and softly say, “You look beautiful. But then again… you always did. ”

  I’m even more amused when she takes a quick step forward to get away from me, and I almost want to laugh out loud when I hear the way her breath comes out all shaky. Keeping a neutral look on my face, I walk past her and sit behind my desk, motioning for her to take a seat. She does so, sitting on the edge of the chair, completely ill at ease in my presence.

  While it strokes my ego to know that I still have an effect on her, I don’t want this to be unpleasant, because I know how important this is for her. So I give her a reassuring smile and say, “I’m excited to see your bid. Casey made sure to text me this morning to tell me how impressed she was with it. ”

  Far from putting Gabby at ease, her face turns slightly red and she snaps, “I don’t want you giving me this job just because Casey is my best friend. You need to leave that out of this. ”

  I’m surprised by the vehemence in her voice, and I hold my hand up. “Easy now. I was just pointing out that Casey is proud of you. But don’t worry… I make my own decisions, and I’ll be choosing the best bid for the job. Our personal connection won’t have a damn thing to do with it. ”

  I make sure I put a world of innuendo in the word “personal,” and it has the intended effect. Gabby’s face goes even redder, and she swallows hard. I know her mind immediately went back five years to that kiss, and yeah… I’m thinking about it now as I stare at those lips, which were like heaven against mine.

  “How about showing me what you got?” I gently prompt her, and she moves quickly into professional action.

  Handing me a binder, she directs me to open to the first page and then she walks me through her proposal. I’m stunned right off the bat to see that she’s done something that none of the other contractors did. She actually questioned the architect’s plans that I had drawn up, pointing out some areas that she felt could be improved with a few design changes. Amazingly enough, even with the changes, her proposal is significantly lower in cost than the next lowest bid I received.

  “This looks really impressive,” I tell her sincerely. “But I’m not quite sure how you can do it for such a low amount. ”

  I don’t mean to sound skeptical, but frankly… it doesn’t seem possible to me. I’m relieved that she doesn’t take offense to this but actually gives me a confident smile. “That’s easy… I’m going to be doing a lot of the carpentry work myself rather than sub it out. ”

  “And you can do all of that in the proposed timeline you gave me?”

  I see a small kernel of doubt filter across her face, but then it’s gone. She nods and says, “I promise I’ll keep t
o schedule. I mean… I’ll be doing some of the work after hours, and I won’t interfere with the running of your business. But yeah… I can meet the deadlines. ”

  I glance back through the entire bid again, making sure I don’t have any other questions. It’s professionally done, and I’m truly impressed. I am a little bit leery of her taking on the carpentry work herself, not because I doubt her talents. I’ve seen enough of Gabby’s work over the years, including a custom-built china cabinet she made for my parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, that I know she can deliver a good product. I’m worried about her being able to do this all on her own, within the time frame specified.

  “Gabby… are you positive this isn’t too much? I’m not saying I accept your bid, but if I did… I could work with you on the timeline. ”

  I watch with dismay as Gabby’s full lips flatten, a sure sign she’s not happy with me questioning her abilities. Her eyes narrow, and her voice is icy. “Did you pose that same question… make that same offer, to the men that submitted bids to you? I can assure you the fact I don’t have a dick swinging between my legs won’t hinder my abilities. ”

  Holding both hands up, I say, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up there just a minute. I wasn’t questioning your abilities, and I most definitely appreciate the fact that you don’t have a dick swinging between your legs. It would have made that kiss we shared a little awkward. I was just making sure, is all. As your prospective employer, I’m allowed to have these concerns. ”

  Rather than being chastised as I thought she would be, she seems to get even angrier. Standing up from her seat, she slaps her hands on my desk and leans toward me. “Don’t. Ever. Mention. That. Kiss. Again. ”

  Holy shit, she’s pissed. And God, she’s utterly f**king gorgeous with her eyes flashing at me like that, and I cannot help that my eyes stray down to her br**sts, which are pulling against the material of her thin t-shirt as she bends over my desk. She doesn’t miss my look, and I actually hear her growl.

  I let my gaze travel up slowly to meet hers, and those hazel eyes are practically green with rage. I can’t help the lazy smile that takes over my face. “Listen Gabs… if I accept your bid, you’re going to have to curb that temper of yours. We’ll have to work together, and honestly… it’s a bit depressing having you so pissed all the time. ”

  I had thought a gentle reminder that we are still here to talk about a job that she desperately wants would cool her off, but she gets even madder. “Fuck you, Hunter. I don’t need your f**king job. ”

  She reaches over, snatches the binder back, and spins toward the door. I’m utterly stunned by her reaction, but it only takes me a second to yell out, “What the f**k, Gabby?”

  It doesn’t stop her though, and she wrenches the door open with such force that it slams against the wall and rattles some of my surfing pictures that are hanging there. She doesn’t miss a beat and stalks out of my office. I hear her call out a goodbye to Brody, and then I hear the front door slam as she leaves.

  I think about going after her… grabbing her and making her listen to me. But I’m afraid if I do… if I put my hands on her, they are going to want to keep touching every part of her.

  And I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.

  Walking slowly out to the bar, trying to think how to salvage this, I’m brought up short by Brody growling at me. “What the f**k did you do to her?”

  My head snaps up, and I look at him in amazement. This is the most emotion I’ve seen from him in years, and while it’s white-hot anger directed at me, it makes me deliriously happy to know that he has feeling inside of him.

  I shoot him a huge smile. “I didn’t do anything to her. She’s just a little prickly right now, but she’ll be fine. ”