Chapter One
“Did you really just kidnap me?” I snap at my sister.
Two minutes ago, I was working at my desk, designing a new necklace, then all of sudden I was lifted out of my chair and carried out to my sister’s car. The person who carried me will get his payback as soon as we get to wherever the hell they are taking me. I glance back at Steve, but he just smirks at me.
“Yes, we did just kidnap you.” My sister, Missy, laughs at me. “You have been working fourteen hours a day for three weeks solid. It’s time to take a break. The girls are waiting on us at Cali’s. You are going to eat, drink, and be merry tonight. No more work, no more designs. You’re killing yourself and it stops now.”
I huff as I slump down in my seat. She just doesn’t get it. The jewelry isn’t going to make itself. Plus, I love designing new pieces. I started this company in college with my sister and our three best friends. Kristy, Heather, and Tonya.
We had all been friends since we were little. We all grew up like sisters. Missy and Tonya are the oldest at thirty-two, Heather is thirty-one, and Kristy and I are thirty.
Things started out with us just making small gifts for friends and family. But after awhile people started asking if they can order more items. It was then that I decided to make it a full-blown business. Everything is in my name and they all work for me, but we do say it’s our company. I couldn’t do it without them and they couldn’t do it without me. I took on most of the responsibilities in the company. I design, order supplies, do the books, work the website, and make sure everyone gets paid. The only thing I don’t do is promotions, that’s Missy’s main job at the company.
We named it Designs by Darcy because I am the main designer. Sometimes one of the other girls comes up with a new design but they leave that part of the job mostly to me.
The company went live two years ago and has been growing fast ever since. We went from a college dorm room to a studio flat in just a couple months. Our sales are up every month and we couldn’t ask for more than that.
The car comes to a stop outside of Cali’s Pizza House. It’s the best pizza in town. They have a small stage in the back where live bands play every Friday night. They also do karaoke on Tuesday night, which just so happens to be tonight. I’m not a fan of karaoke but I know my friends love it. Another good thing about Cali’s is they have a huge bus that they use to take people who’ve had too much to drink home. It’s called the good time bus. I’m pretty sure one or more of my girls will be getting a ride home in the bus tonight.
“Do I need to carry you inside or are you going to drop the attitude and have some fun tonight?” Steve asks me from the backseat.
Without answering him I open my door and head inside. As soon as I walk in I spot my girls on the other side of the room by the stage. I smile as they start screaming my name, acting like they didn’t just see me a couple hours ago at the office.
“One of y’all could have warned me about this.” I tell them in my best pissed off voice but the smile on my face told them I wasn’t really that mad. Oh, I was mad. The whole car ride over I was pissed but walking in and seeing everyone so relaxed I guess one night of fun won’t hurt the business.
“You need this,” Tonya smiles at me as she hands me a bottle of beer. “Don’t be mad Darcy. We’ve all been working hard and it’s time to just sit back and relax for a little while.”
“She’ll get over it.” Missy says as she takes a seat by Heather.
I look around and can’t see Steve. “Where’d Steven go?” I ask sis.
“He has to work tonight. He was just the muscle man for me.” Steve works as a security guard for the most popular nightclub in town, Spark. Gains, Maine isn’t a big city but the last few years we’ve had some major businesses move in. The town is growing but we are still what most people would call small town America.
The girls had ordered as soon as they got here so a few minutes later our pizzas arrived and we all sat down to dig in. It didn’t take long for me to just sit back and relax. Good food, cold beer, and my friends. It was turning out to be a great night.
As we are laughing and telling stories I look around at my friends and smile. We are all different but to us we are sisters by choice.
Missy is the sassy one of the group. Always wanting everyone to have fun and always has a smart come back ready to make everyone laugh. She’s five foot-six with a curvy body some women pay thousands for. Today sis’s hair is bright auburn red, she likes to dye it at least once a month. She’s tried almost every color in the rainbow, but I think red suits her best. She even talked me into getting red highlights in my dark brown hair last month and I really like them.
Tonya and Kristy look the most a like. Both with blonde hair, Kristy’s being straight and Tonya’s being curly. Both have beautiful green eyes. Tonya is a little bigger than Kristy but not by much. I tell her all the time that a size eight is not plus size. The only big difference between them is their height. Kristy is five foot-eight while Tonya is five foot-five.
Heather and I are the short ones in the group. I’m five foot-four and Heather is five foot-two. Both of us are curvy, her more so in the hips while I took the chest curves. We like to joke that my junk is up front while hers is in her trunk.
About an hour and a half later I decide to take a smoke break. All the girls groaned when I told them I was stepping outside. I don’t smoke often, maybe one or two a week, but I still keep a pack and a lighter in my pocket. All the girls still get on my case about it.
Cali’s has a beautiful double deck out back. The higher level is mostly used for larger parties, but the lower lever has a mix of chairs and small tables that the smokers use. I took a seat in one of the chairs off to the side and stretched my legs out as I lit my cigarette. I had only been out there for a few minutes, staring up at the night sky, when I heard someone call my name.
“Darcy? Darcy West, is that really you?” A deep masculine voice asks.
I look around to see who was calling for me and about fell out of my seat when I saw who was walking towards me. Riker Deeks in all his sexiness was heading my way. His broad shoulders are stretching the material of his black t-shirt. Him and his friends bullied me in school. They loved to make fun of me. I was over weight and a total book nerd. I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that I wasn’t that scared little girl anymore. Slapping on a fake smile I stand as he gets closer.
“Well, Riker Deeks, what in the world are you doing here?” I ask him while trying to keep my voice light and happy. I cut all ties with almost everyone from school after graduation. Really the only ones I stayed friends with were Heather, Kristy, and Tonya. Everyone else didn’t matter to me.
“Boy’s night out. We thought it would be fun to watch drunk people try to sing.” He laughs. “What about you, what are you doing here?”
I hold up my half-smoked cigarette. “Quick smoke break.” I tell him as I take one last puff before putting it out in the ashtray next to me. “But I’m here for a forced girl’s night. They kidnapped me and brought me here.”
“Kidnapped you? You didn’t want to hang out with your friends?” He’s standing a little to close to me now. I back up a few steps and end up leaning against the back wall of the deck.
“Yeah, I love being with them, but I have a business to run. I’m head of Designs by Darcy.” I tell him proudly.
“I’ve heard about your jewelry from a few of my friends. In fact, one of the ladies in our office was showing off a necklace just the other day that she had ordered from you. You do very nice work.”
“Well, thank you, but I mostly do the designs. Tonya, Heather, and Kristy put most of the jewelry together.”
He takes another step closer to me. I run my fingers through my hair as I glance over at the door, praying one of my friends comes out looking for me.
“Are you going to sing tonight?” He asks.
“Not a chance in hell.” I answer without thinking. “There isn’t enough alcohol on the planet that could get me to sing on stage.” I laugh and look over at the door again.
“Looking for someone?” He asks in almost a whisper.
“No. Why?” I lie and once again look over at the door.
“You keep glancing at the door. I thought maybe you were waiting for someone.” He brings one of his hands up and rests it against the wall by my head.
“No, but I should get back to my friends. You said you were doing a guy’s night. Anyone I would know?” I ask as I slip away from the wall, taking a few steps away from him.
He raises an eyebrow at me, like he is questioning me without words as to why I darted away from him. I shrug like it’s no big deal. He gives me a half smile before saying. “Yeah, in fact you know all of them. Brice, Dean, James, and Luke. Why don’t you come say hi before you head back to your friends?” He tries to take my hand, but I won’t let him.
Just hearing those names has me breaking out in a cold sweat. That scared little girl that I swore I wasn’t is trying to take over.
Just one more class and I’m free from this place. I just needed to get to my English class. The class wasn’t hard. I actually like it. The hard part was getting to the actual class room. To get there I had to walk pass the gym. Meaning I’d be passing most of the soccer team. I’ll never know why they picked me to be the target for all their pranks and jokes but that’s exactly what I am. Their biggest target.
Yes, I’m overweight but so what? They don’t make fun of the guys who are overweight. I’ve seen them tease a few other girls, but for some unknown reason they love to torment me above all the others.
I peak around the corner and see that most of them have already gone into the gym. Only Luke, Dean, and Riker are standing by the doors. Knowing that if I don’t go now I’ll be late for class, I take a deep breath and start walking.
I try my best to rush by them, but Luke jumped in front of me, blocking me from any escape.
“Well, look who it is.” Luke chuckles. “Darcy, sweet Darcy.”
Dean comes up beside me and tries to put his arm around me, but I duck and try to move past Luke again.
“Wait, where are you rushing off too? The cafeteria is closed.” He laughs. “They probably ran out of food after you ate lunch.”
They are all dying laughing while I’m holding back tears. I straighten my shoulders and glare at Luke.
“You need new material Luke. You say that sad line at least once a week.” I shrug, trying to act like his words didn’t just hurt me.
Before he can come back at me with his smart mouth the gym teacher, who is also the soccer coach, opens the doors and orders the boys inside. I dart away from them and head to class.
“Darcy?” Riker’s voice pulls me out of my memories. “Are you ok? You looked like you were out in space.”
“I’m fine.” I answer him. I shake my head and take another deep breath. “But, I think I’ll pass on seeing the guys again.”
He smiles gently down at me. “No one is going to say anything to hurt you, I promise you that.” He says softly. Did he just read my mind or something? “We’ve all changed since high school. Is that what you’re worried about?” He runs the tips of his fingers down my cheek causing me to blush.
“I’m just not up for a reunion tonight.” I whisper.
He flashes me a sexy grin, but I can see in his eyes he’s disappointed. “Can I at least walk you to your table?”
“Sure.” I mutter softly, smiling up at him.
Riker takes my hand as we walk back inside. Introducing him to the girls was a waste of breath. They all remembered him. Riker pulled my chair out for me, in a very old-school gentlemen like way, then leaned down to whisper a sweet goodbye in my ear. I was twenty shades of red when he finally walked away.
“Oh my, Darcy, he is smoking hot!” Tonya squeals making everyone laugh.
“Yeah, well, we weren’t friends in high school. You know what those guys did to me. But it doesn’t matter, I have no time for a guy right now. My work is my life.”
“Darcy, work is our life too.” Heather sighs. “But you’ve taken it one step farther. The business is consuming you. We know you work hard, hell we wouldn’t have jobs if you didn’t, but at some point you have to step back and rest. You’ve been going too hard here lately.”
Her words shocked me. “Is that how all of you feel?” I ask looking around the table.
“We’re not asking you to stop.” Missy says. “Sis, we wouldn’t do that. We know how much you love designing but you need to cut back on the hours.”
I didn’t know what to say. I do work long hours, but I have too. How else is the business going to grow?
“Darcy, we’re just worried about you.” Tonya says as she reaches over and grabs my hand. “I think it’s time we hire more help. That way we can keep more products in stock. You could even hire someone to take over the website and book work.”
I take a deep pull off my beer before answering them. “Look, I’ll think about it. Do we need more help? Probably. Am I ready to cut back on designs? No, I’m not. I love creating new pieces. It’s what makes me feel alive but also relaxes me.” I can feel myself getting defensive, but I try to keep my voice calm.
“Then don’t cut back on the designs, just cut back on the hours.” Missy says. “The more products we can keep in stock the better I can promote the business. Having only one of each piece at a time is killing us. Bringing in more help is the best answer for everyone. Plus, if you hire someone to handle the website and maybe someone to do the books, you’ll have more time to not only design but to also relax more.”
Everything they are saying is true. We’ve only been able to keep one of each design in stock, not just because of orders but because of the time it takes to make each piece. If we had more help, even just some part time help, we could up our stock more.
“I’ll think about putting an ad out for some part time workers.” They all start hooting and hollering like I just told them they won the lottery or something. I can’t help but laugh at them.
I glance over at the bar and see Riker and his friends staring at us. He smiles at me and raises his beer to us. I blush and look away.
A couple hours later everyone but me has been up on stage signing. They’re still trying to talk me into it but there is no way in hell I’m getting up there. I decide to go get some fresh air while they decide what to sing next.
I was leaning back in one of the chairs when I heard a familiar voice say. “Twice in one night, I must be a lucky man.” I look over to see Riker standing next to my chair.
“Or a stalker.” I smile rudely up at him.
“Your friends are killing it on stage.” He points to the open door. Of course, I now have to see what the girls are up too. I get up and can’t help but laugh when I reach the door and see what my friends are doing. All of them are on stage together singing ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin. I shake my head as I walk back over to Riker.
“They are something else.” I giggle. “Hopefully the DJ cuts them off like the bartender did about half an hour ago.”
“Is that why you are hiding out here?”
“I’m not hiding. I’m just getting some fresh air.” I tell him as I try to step around him, so I can go sit back down. He doesn’t let me pass him. Instead he takes my hand, raises it to his lips and gently kisses my knuckles. My breath catches, my checks flame, and my heart starts racing.
“Mind if I keep you company? You know, while you enjoy the fresh night air?” His voice is deep, dark, and smooth like velvet.
It takes me a minute, but I finally whisper. “If you want to.”
Without letting go of my hand he walks us over to where I was sitting, pulls out my chair, waits for me to sit, then takes the chair closest to me.
“What happened to your guy’s night?” I ask after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
“They’re still here but Luke and James are drunk. I have a hard time being around them when they’re this wasted. Brice is keeping an eye on them while Dean call’s James’s wife and Luke’s brother. Once they leave the rest of us probably will too.” You can hear an annoyance in his voice.
“So, you would rather stay out here with me? Riker, I’m starting to think that you’re up to something.” I joke.
“Now, what would I be up too? Can’t we just catch up like old friends?” He words hit me like a ton of bricks. Old friends? Is he joking?
“We were never friends, Riker.” I say a little to harshly. The look of hurt on his face makes me feel like a stupid jerk. “But if you want to stay out here I’m not going to stop you.” He smiles at me and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.
We start talking and to my surprise I’m actually enjoying his company. He asks a lot of questions about my business, and how I come up with the designs. I can talk anyone’s ear off when it come to jewelry making. He caught me off guard when he asked if he could come by the studio one day. We don’t really let people come to the studio. There’s really no need for anyone but us to be there. The website is where we sell everything. I was just about to explain this to him when we heard someone screaming Riker’s name.
The person screaming sounds drunker than skunk. I look at my watch and see that we’ve been out here talking for over an hour. Crap, I should probably go check on my friends. They are either still singing or passed out at the table.
Before I can stand up the screaming drunk walks out onto the deck. It’s Luke. Well, shit. I really didn’t want to have to see him tonight.
“Dude, will you shut up?!” Riker shouts at him.
Luke looks around, it takes him a minute to find us. He’s probably seeing more than one of us with how drunk he is. His eyes land of me and I instantly see that he recognizes me. Great.
“Darcy, sweet Darcy.” He slurs. “Where have you been hiding?” I roll my eyes. Why doesn’t everyone think I’m hiding? Luke stumbles over to us. “Damn, you look good now that you’ve lost all that nasty fat.”
I can’t help up roll my eyes again. I knew Luke would still be a jerk, some things never change. Physically he hasn’t changed much either. He’s still talk, thin as a rail, has dirty blond hair that is a little shaggy looking, and his light brown eyes are completely bloodshot.
“Luke, Darcy and I were talking. Why don’t you go back inside and wait for Gav to get here?” Riker tries to say calmly but a small snarl comes out at the end.
“Darcy won’t mind if I stay, will ya Darcy girl?” My blood turns to ice when he says that damn nickname! Darcy girl is the one nickname I hated above all the rest. I don’t really know why but it drove me up the wall. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. I repeatedly chant to myself that he is not worth getting upset over.
“Get up!” Riker snarls causing my eyes to snap open. “Come on, get up, I don’t have time for this. You want to act like a jackass then you can do it somewhere else.” Riker jerks Luke up by the arm, out of his chair and drags him over to the door.
“What’s your problem man? It’s not like she’s someone important. She’s just Darcy West, one of the nobodies.” Luke’s words shouldn’t have hurt but they do. I’ve heard them before, but it doesn’t stop the pain that just went through me.
Riker must not have liked what Luke said either because he shoved Luke inside and yelled for Brice to keep him there until Gav showed up. The fact that Riker got so upset over what Luke said made me a little happy. I’m sure that’s somewhat twisted and weird but I don’t care.
“I’m sorry about that.” Riker mutters. When he starts to walk back over to me I stand and meet him halfway. “He’s a jackass when he’s drunk.”
“Thank you for making him leave, but I’ve heard him say that before about me. I’m just grateful you made him to go back inside.”
He flashes me another sexy grin as he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me flush up against him. I let out a small squeal as I look up at him in shock.
“He deserved to get the crap beat out of him but going to jail tonight meant leaving you and that’s not something I’m ready to do yet.” His voice is low, dark, and husky.
It took me a minute to finally regained my voice. “Um, I think we should sit back down.” I nervously tried to move but his hold on me tightens.
“Are you scared of me?” He asks in a sexy whisper. “You have been backing away from me all night. Do I make you nervous, Darcy?”
I lay both of my hands on his chest, if I need to push him away this will be the best way to do it. The problem is I don’t think I want to push him away. And that scares the crap out of me. “Riker, you should know me better than that. I’m scared of no one.” I say teasingly.
“Good, then you won’t fight me when I do this.” Riker’s lips cover mine in a bruising kiss. No soft and sweet kiss here. No way. This was a hot, hard, needy kiss.
I let my hands run up his chest, locking them around his neck. The hand not holding me against him comes up to cup the back of my neck. He tilts my head just slightly to deepen the kiss. I giggle when I feel my back touch the wall. He must have been slowly walking us backwards. I feel his whole body pushing hard into me, his chest is solid as a rock, as are his arms. But his body heat is wrapped around me, making me dizzy.
The need to be closer to him over comes me and I sink my hands into his hair, pulling him as close as I can. Moaning into his mouth, its like I can’t get enough of him. Then I hear someone screaming at us.
“Hey, get out of here. Go get a room”
We both turn to see Kathy, the owner of Cali’s, standing there. “Sorry Kathy.” I mutter shyly as I try to push Riker away.
“Darcy?” She asked looking shocked. “Honey, I didn’t know it was you out here. One of the waiters came and told me that there were two horny teenagers out on the deck. So, I came out here break it up.” She laughs as she walks over to us.
Riker lets me move in front of him but doesn’t let go of me. “Sorry ma’am.” He reaches his hand out to shake hers.
She shakes his hand then smacks my arm. “If I would have known it was you I would have told them to lock the deck doors.” She laughs again. Kathy is a close family friend. She has been on my case for years about finding a guy. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that she would be happy about finding me making out with a guy on her back deck.
“Are the girls still putting on a show in there?” I ask her knowing I need to grab my friends and get out of here before things get out of control with Riker.
“Oh honey, didn’t anyone come and tell you that Peter took them home?” What the hell? The look on my face tells her that no one told me anything. “I’m sorry Darcy.” Kathy looks up at Riker, a small smile forms on her face and I know right away what she is about to say. “Maybe this nice young man could give you a ride home.”
“Oh no, I can call a cab.” I immediately say. I try to pull away from Riker but his hold tightens on me again.
“I’ll make sure she gets home safely.” Riker promise’s Kathy.
“That worked out perfectly! Have a good night y’all.” She winks at me before rushing back inside leaving me alone with Riker.
“Ready to go?” He whispers in my ear. The warmth of his breath sends a chill through me.
“Umm…” I try to think of someway out of this, but nothing comes to mind.
“Let me take you home Darcy.” Damn him and his sexy whispering voice.
“My car is at my office. I’ll need it, so I can get to work tomorrow.” I mumble, trying to hold back a moan as Riker kisses me right behind my ear, my one sweet spot that makes me go weak in the knees.
Riker spins me around to face him and crashes his lips to mine. Once again, I’m lost in a hot needy kiss. When he pulls away I want to pout. Damn, he knows how to kiss.
“Let me take you home. I can give you a ride to work in the morning.” A normal woman would have jumped on the offer. Not me. He might as well have poured a bucket of ice over my head.
“Let me go Riker.” I demand as I try to control my breathing which has become very uneven. I’m close to hyperventilating.
Riker takes a step back but doesn’t fully release me. He has a strong hold on my shoulders. Probably so I don’t take off running away from him. Which I’m very close to doing.
“What’s wrong?” I hear the worry in his voice but can’t bring myself to look up at him. “Hey, don’t get upset. I’m sorry if I was taking things too fast.” One of his hands lift to cup my cheek and wipes away one of the tears I couldn’t hold back.
Damn it! I don’t want to cry in front of him. I knock his hand away from my face and pull my other shoulder out of his grip.
“I’m sorry.” I tell him as I take several steps back. “I can’t do this.” I try to get to the door, but he latches onto my arm and pulls me back to him. Wrapping his arms around me in the tightest, warmest hug I’ve ever received. The tears started building up in my eyes again and I had to blink to hold them back.
“It’s ok,” He whispers softly. “let me take you to get your car. Nothing else has to happen.”
Feeling defeated I give in. “Ok.” I whisper. He holds me for another minute or two before releasing me. We walk back inside hand in hand.
I feel like such an idiot for freaking out on him but after what happened to me, being with any man scares the shit out of me. A chill runs through me because I don’t even want to think about that right now.
Riker starts to lead us over to where his friends are. I stop walking and pull on his arm to stop him too.
“I don’t want to deal with Luke again.” I try to tell him quietly.
“It’ll be fine. I need to let them know that I’m leaving and let Dean know that he’s riding with Brice.” He kisses my cheek, but it doesn’t help my nerves.
After what just happened outside with Riker my nerves are all mixed up. Dealing with the bullies from my past is not the best thing for me right now but I know causing a scene will only make things worse.
I try to tell myself that I’m not the scared little fat girl they used to know. I’m a strong, independent woman who owns her own company, has some of the best friends in the world, and never again has to let others bring her down.
The look on Brice’s face as we reach them is priceless. He’s totally shocked to see Riker and I together. I bet he would have passed out if he saw how Riker kisses me just a few minutes ago.
“Darcy, we haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been girl?” Dean asks me, walking over to give me an awkward side hug. Dean is a good foot taller than I am. His light mocha skin makes him look like he lives at the beach but really, he’s just mixed. His dad is from Spain, and his mom is from Maine. They are a really cute couple. Dean is also a body builder and owns the only gym in town.
“I’ve been good, busy but good.” I give him a small smile.
“Dean, you’re riding with Brice. I’m giving Darcy a lift.” Riker says as he knocks Deans arm away from me and lays his arm around my shoulder.
James, who I had thought was asleep on the bar, lifts his head and laughs. “You’re hooking up with her? What? Couldn’t find a hooker for the night?”
Without thinking I snap at him. “No, they all got STD’s from you.”
This causes Dean and Brice to start laughing but James didn’t find it very funny. Riker smirks down at me before leaning down and kissing the top of my head.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Hold on I need to see if the girls paid the bill before they left.” I wave down Kathy who was at the other end of the bar. She assured me that Missy paid for everything before Peter took them home. Happy that there wasn’t an outstanding bill from my drunken friends I let Riker lead me outside.