Chapter 2

Nola always appreciated being inside the office when the building was empty. The quiet soothed her and lately she needed it badly. Still unbearably sad about the loss of her Grammie, she hadn’t been able to climb out of her grief. In fact that ill-fated night she’d spent with Bronx had only served to make her feel worse. Not that she’d expected anything from him, not really. Well, maybe she had expected a phone call or a friendly smile instead of the ice cold way he’d frozen her out. Lesson learned.

But she didn’t want to think about that today. It was Thanksgiving, the first real holiday without Grammie and it had been their favorite. They would get up before the sun to start cooking, pulling out the turkey that had been brining for two days, rub it with butter and herbs to get the cooking started which was what she’d done this morning before leaving for office. That explained her less than professional attire today, and the fact that she wasn’t officially on the clock today. Knowing how much work waited for her at home, she bypassed her typical office wear in favor of jeans ripped at the thigh and knee and a soft, medium weight sweater as a nod to the chillier Central California weather. She smiled, looking down at her sexy suede ankle booties with the sharp stiletto heel. They were a splurge she could now afford and knew Grammie would have gotten a kick out of watching her walk in them.

No more sad thoughts, she told herself as she popped in her ear buds and cranked up her favorite country music playlist while she laid out dozens of bowls in every color and size, and filled them with chips and dips, pretzels, mini candy bars, and snack cakes. She knew these guys well and they loved junk food more than anything other than video games. The two tables lining the back wall were full to bursting with enough junk to put a dozen dentists’ kids through Ivy League degrees, but Nola went a step further and set up smaller bowls closer to the sofas, chairs, and televisions set up for the tournament. She smiled thinking about how rowdy things would get. Next was the conference room where Thanksgiving dinner would be served so she only set up napkins, silverware, and flatware. The caterers would handle the rest so she could leave soon.

Very soon.

She was so lost in her tasks, her music, and her thoughts she hadn’t noticed she wasn’t alone until a big hand landed on her shoulder. Instantly, she remembered her self-defense training and sent her elbow flying backwards into the intruder’s stomach, turning to send her palm flying up at his nose…and froze. “Bronx? What the hell?”

Her angry stare was met with a dark scowl. And a grunt. “What the hell was that?”

“Don’t sneak up on me,” she responded without a hint of remorse.

“Fine. Impressive instincts,” he grinned and rubbed what she already knew was a rock hard midsection with six hard, delicious ridges. “Why are you here?”

Her jaw clenched. It was so like Bronx to question her when he should be thanking her. “Setting up for your tournament. What else?”

He shook his head. “Gabriela is handling it, Nola. You’re not the only one capable of getting things done.”

She reared back as though he’d slapped her. “Really? Then where the hell is she because by my calendar the guys will be here in less than an hour.” Gabriela spent more time trying to grab the attention of every man in the office than she did doing any actual work. One look at his scowl and the fight left her. “You’re right. She can handle the rest since she wants all the credit anyway.” Not that Nola cared about credit but it was truly insulting to ask her to do all the work so his assistant could feel good about herself. “Later,” she tossed the last batch of holiday napkins on the table and marched out of the conference room, out of the elevator and onto the street below.

Since she now had an hour to kill before she had to go home to peel and chop potatoes, whip up Grammie’s famous Alabama dressing and her own baked garlic mac & cheese, Nola decided to take a walk around town. She’d lived in Serendipity, a small town on Monterey Bay, for a few years and she’d never made an effort to make it home. Between school, her insane work schedule and making time for Grammie, there just hadn’t been time. Now she had nothing but time.

And so far I’ve squandered it. She knew Bronx hadn’t realized he was her first and only lover and despite how wild, how sensual and eye opening it had been, she regretted it. She’d given something precious to a man who didn’t deserve it. Didn’t appreciate it. But she wouldn’t beat herself up about it, she would simply choose better next time.

Serendipity was a beautiful little coastal town with plenty of small boutiques and shops. She stopped and went inside a little soul food restaurant and picked up two pecan pies because she never could make them as good as her grandma, and finally made her way home to the three bedroom she was in the process of buying. The house was cozy and she loved the stone details that made the house look like a home.

Kicking off her shoes, Nola cranked up Jana Kramer, slid on an apron and got to work on her first Thanksgiving, alone. Though she was sad, she felt soothed by going through the motions of creating each dish and making use of the double ovens that had attracted Grammie’s eye from the first. She had just stuck the macaroni and cheese in the oven when the doorbell rang. Brooks. The man couldn’t leave well enough alone, checking on her to make sure she wasn’t sad and sulking all day. “I told you I’d be fine, Brooks.” It wasn’t Brooks. “What do you want?”

Bronx stood on her doorstep, hands shoved into jeans that fit him so perfectly she could almost see everything underneath in her mind’s eye. The sweater he wore earlier was gone and the white t-shirt sculpted his muscled body and showed off the sleeve of tattoos she found far too fascinating. “Can I come in?”

“No.” She didn’t want him in her house. It was hers, and she couldn’t escape their night together when she closed her eyes each night so she would not allow him to invade her space. Nola stared and Bronx stared back. “Shouldn’t you be at the tournament?”

“I’ve been trying to reach you for hours,” he said instead of answering.

Instantly her heart sped up. “What’s wrong? Is Brooks okay?”

“Brooks is fine,” he answered, sounding annoyed so Nola stood, arms crossed and waited for him to speak. “The food hasn’t shown up and it’s past five.”

It wasn’t possible that the caterers had forgotten, they wouldn’t with such a big order for one of the biggest companies in town. “Wait here,” she told him as she went to grab her phone. Looking up, she groaned. “I didn’t invite you in.”

“Yet, here I am.” The man was as arrogant as he was handsome.

“Whatever. You can leave now because they called their point person, Gabriela, ten times and she still hasn’t picked up. The driver is waiting inside the delivery van right outside the building.” She turned and went to check on her turkey, injecting more cooking liquid into several points and smiling at the crisp brown skin.

“You’re not coming?”

She gasped and turned to find him standing on the other side of the island counter. “Stop doing that and no, I’m not coming. You wanted Gabriela to take the credit, so she can answer one damn phone call.” Rounding the corner, she pushed at his big body, moving them both towards the door. “Goodbye.”

He turned to her and she had to lock her knees before she fell at his feet, feeding his overgrown ego. Intense blue eyes sucked her in and that messy brown hair looking like he’d just rolled from a night of making love, made her want to grab it. “Thank you, Nola.”

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t want his damn thanks when he lowered his mouth to hers, his tongue slicked across her bottom lip drawing a gasp that let him slip inside her mouth. He kissed like he meant it and Nola was powerless to do anything but cling to him, fall into him as his mouth made promises she knew he wasn’t willing to keep. Thank you, bucket of ice water, she thought as she broke the kiss much too soon and pushed him back. “Happy Thanksgiving, Bronx.” She pulled the door open and waited, watching his tight butt in those fitted jeans as he jogged down the steps and slid inside his cherry red Tesla.

Damn you, Bronx.

* * *

So close. The two words echoed in Bronx’s brain as he made his way back to B&B Solutions. Tasting Nola again had been a mistake. A big fat fucking mistake because now that he’d gotten her in his arms again, swept his tongue inside her sweet succulent mouth, he wanted more. Dammit he wanted it all, he could admit that much to himself. One night hadn’t been enough but she wasn’t having it.

“I’m not signing up to be another one of your weeklies,” she’d told him with so much conviction he couldn’t help but believe it.

“Excuse me?” He’d been so taken aback by her words, he hadn’t known what to say.

“You heard me. I have no interest in being one of the women you screw and discard. At least, not again.”

That’s what her words said but he saw the pulse fluttering furiously at the base of her throat. The dark forest green of her normally moss green eyes said she was as turned on as he was. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. Again. Yet she’d been the one to kick him out. Sick bastard that he was, that only turned him on even more because he knew Nola hadn’t been playing hard to get. She didn’t play games. Didn’t want to be got, at least not by Bronx. Fuck that, she’s not the only woman in town.

Bronx had his pick of women, always had. With his looks and bad boy alpha personality, women had always flocked to him. Now that he had billions in the bank, they threw themselves at him nonstop. And he took what they were offering without offering any more than a few hours of good hard fucking. With that in mind, he sat in his office overlooking Serendipity Park and the fountain in the center that he and Brooks had donated last Christmas. There were plenty of women in what Brooks called his big black book of booty and he could call up any one of them and get his needs met.

He scrolled through this phone and stopped at Marissa who was always up for a good time but she’d been dropping hints about spending more time together. Sylvia was a wildcat in the sack, always willing to try new things but damn, the swimsuit model was in Australia for a photo shoot. He flipped through more women and found more excuses until he was so disgusted with himself, he shoved the phone back in his pocket and joined the tournament.

“How’s it going, boys?” He strolled into the large media room with stations set up all around it, a big smile plastered on his face as everyone greeted him. Losing himself in his new game for a few hours was just what he needed. Hell, video games had saved his life, gave him something to do instead of joining a gang or fighting for cash when foster care had become too much. The multi-verse game that would hit the shelves in time for Christmas had been the brain child of him and the twin he’d been recently reunited with after too many years apart. They’d spent late nights in Brooks’ dorm room perfecting code and graphics, parting when the sun came up so Brooks could attend class and Bronx could go to work. Now, more than a decade later, their baby was ready for the world to see.

“Yo Boss, you with us man?”

Bronx blinked, coming back to the present as three sets of worried eyes focused on him. “What? Yeah, shit, I just spaced out.” Bronx held up his controller looking at the group of newbies eager to get their shot at the new game. “A thousand bucks if you take at least third place on my behalf.” He knew the challenge made them all eager but only the most confident would step forward and take the risk they might lose under the boss’ name.

“I’ll take that chance.” Nick Porter stepped forward and pushed his black hipster glasses up on his nose because those were not glasses for fashion. Confident in his skills as a gamer and a programmer, Nick was no hipster. “Third or better, right?”

Bronx nodded. “I’ll double it if you come in first, and let you create a bonus universe for the game.”

Nick’s grin came slow and confident. “Cool. No worries, Boss.”

Bronx wasn’t worried at all. The kid had the skills and with a bit more experience he would become one of their best designers, but right now they had more talent than they needed. “Oh, I’m not worried. Not at all,” he threw over his shoulder as he left the game room and made his way back to his office. To stare out the window and at the small town park, so different than where he’d spent most of his childhood.

Happy fucking Thanksgiving.

* * *

Black Friday normally soothed Nola. She and Grammie used to get up before the sun to have breakfast and dress comfortably, prepare to spend all day hitting up different malls in search of the best deals. Nola preferred to do her shopping online and as Grammie’s health worsened they would often compete to see who could find the most outrageous gifts. Today, she had gone simply because she’d needed something to make her feel connected to the woman who’d cared for her, kissed her boo boos and made everything in the world feel all right for most of her life.

Her heart hadn’t been all that into it and retail therapy had done very little to lighten her heavy heart,though she had finished up her shopping and bought a few much-neededitems. But there were too many people and she’d left to head back to Temptation, enjoying the much quieter street of her hometown.

Most shops were busy, doing a brisk business on the biggest shopping day of the year. She was happy for them but she was all shopped out so she took a turn off the main drag for some window shopping. After picking up a scrapbook for the baby, she found a newer shop she’d never seen before and pulled open the door.

“We’re closed,” a female voice called out.

“Sorry. I just wanted to see what this was,” she said and turned back towards the door.

“It’s okay, have a look around.” The woman was tall with long jet black hair, tipped with hot pink and big silver eyes that made her look magical.

“I’m Nola,” she extended her hand to the woman who took it, in a firm capable grip. “What is this place?”

“A tattoo shop. You don’t strike me as the tattoo type.”

Nola laughed. “Normally I’m not but I’m looking at this art and I’d like to get something to honor my grandmother. She died a few months ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. My grandmother was my favorite person in the world and she died when I was nineteen.” Her eyes looked sad for a moment but quickly cleared. “I’m Max, by the way.”

“Good to meet you, Max. Now tell me what would you recommend to honor a feisty old southern woman who lived in California most of her life but still made moonshine?”

“I have the perfect thing.” Max pulled out a notepad and began to sketch while Nola looked around, asking questions.

“How does one become a tattoo artist?”

“Bad life choices?” Her mischievous smile was contagious.

Nola laughed. “I meant what is required? Like a class or some type of certification?”

“I went to art school but the art scene is full of pompous shits and I dated a tattoo artist for about five minutes. I loved it and trained with this guy down in Hollywood, working and saving for my own shop. Here I am.”

“Well, congratulations,” Nola told her, meaning it. “This is a very big accomplishment, Max. You should be proud.”

“I’ll feel better when the store is open all the way.” She held up the pad for Nola to examine.

There was a hummingbird, small and beautiful with colorful feathers, pink and blue and green, sipping from a jar with a moonshine label. “Is that masking tape?”

“Yep,” she said, looking mighty proud. “with the ends starting to roll up.”

“It’s perfect,” she said, fingering the drawing with awe. “I want it. How much and how long will it take?”

Max smiled and Nola was struck with her beauty. “Maybe an hour and a half, maximum if you need a few stops.” She named a reasonable figure and waited for Nola to make up her mind.

“Let’s do it.”

Max smiled. “I think I like you Nola, and not just because you’re giving me business.”

Nola laughed. “Well I like you, too, because you’re beautiful and tough and you can draw.”

“Are you hitting on me?”

Nola laughed. “Even if I wanted to hit on you, believe me I wouldn’t have the guts. But I’m not.”

“In that case, thanks.”

Nola watched her painstakingly prepare everything with a hint of nerves running through her. She didn’t know how bad it would hurt but she knew it would. That didn’t bother her though because this was a way to honor Grammie. To carry her with me forever.“Do you have any family around here?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither. I have a good friend but I need more. That’s a hint.”

Max laughed and washed her hands before putting on purple latex gloves. “Are you asking me to be your friend?”

“No. I’m telling you that we’re going to be friends.”

“Well then I guess that means we’re going out for drinks once your ink is done.”

She laid face down on the leather seat and smiled. “I’ll buy the first round. I’m thinking tequila.”

“Damn, now I really like you.”

Nola smiled, feeling better than she had when she woke up today. Thank you, Grammie.