Chapter Nineteen

Leah

He hadn’t been to the gym in the past week, though I’d talked to him through texts and phone calls daily since I’d dropped his mom off at the house.

It was frustrating as fuck wondering what the hell was going on with him. The only thing he kept telling me when I asked what was wrong was that he had things to take care of and he’d explain later.

Part of me wanted to badger it out of him, but the other part was worried about the answer. I’d never been knotted up this much before, ever. Even after dating Striker for six months, when that relationship ended I didn’t look back. Whatever Will and I had going on, which hadn’t even been defined yet, felt bigger – more real.

I looked down at my phone when it pinged. Dad was sitting at the counter checking out a bike magazine, and I was at my desk not doing much more than him. There was always a lull around midday.

Will: Meet for lunch?

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face, or the zing of excitement that zipped through my veins. I’ve been wanting to see him again. Even though my head told me not to get too attached, my heart still sped up with eager anticipation.

Where should I meet you?

While I waited for his response, I headed to the bathroom, phone in hand, to fix myself up as much as I could. I didn’t have spare clothes, other than what I’d rode to work in, so I grabbed my bag out of the cabinet I stored it in, and changed into my jeans. I was about to put on my chaps to ride in, but a message came through.

Will: I’m outside in my car.

“Shit,” I whispered, looking at the sloppy knot on my head and my tight workout tank. I text him back quickly that I’d be right out. I fixed my shirt, pulling it down to where my cleavage popped out a little more, and took my hair down, bending over to shake out the loose curls of my hair.

When I stood back up, I looked in the mirror and groaned. There was no way to quickly tame the wild mess, so I ran my fingers through it, then quickly pulled it back into an uneven side braid.

I used some spray, and washed my hands before heading out.

“Dad, I’m going to lunch. I’ll be back later.”

“How much later?”

“I don’t know. It could be a while.” If I was lucky, it would be tomorrow. I really wanted to get laid again. “It could be tomorrow.” I grinned and Dad just shook his head.

“You aren’t supposed to tell your father that you’re hoping to get laid,” he said with a crooked brow.

“Let’s not start a contest of how many inappropriate things you’ve said around me over the years, Daddio. Trust me; you’d win – hands down.”

He laughed and shrugged his shoulders, knowing it was true. “If he breaks your heart, I’m going to castrate him.” He flipped the page in his magazine, talking like he was discussing the weather. “I’ll let you deliver the message to him, so I can’t be accused of interfering.”

I pulled the door open, the sunlight hitting me hard. I squinted against the brightness of the day and pulled my sunglasses on to shield my eyes.

Will was standing there leaning against his car, holding a bouquet of flowers. My heart melted a little more at the sight. No man had ever gotten me flowers before; hell nobody, period, had. This was another first for me.

I felt butterflies dancing in my stomach as I got closer to him. Will was a magnet, and I was metal, pulled to him like a moth to a flame.

“Hi.” He smiled at me, his body relaxed and easy going.

“Hey.” I took the flowers from him when he held them out. They were gorgeous; almost like a lily, but different. “They smell great. What kind of flower are they?” They were white, with a light blue color on the underside of the petal and toward the center.

“Amaryllis.” He shrugged like they were no big deal, but they were huge to me. “You didn’t seem like a roses or daisy kind of woman to me.”

That he was right about. Roses were pretty, but overrated, and daisies were a flower for a little girl – too innocent.

I took another long draw of the flowers, breathing in their heavenly fragrance. “Thank you; they’re gorgeous.”

“You’re welcome. You ready?”

“Yes.” I slid into the car and watched as he came around to get in the driver’s seat. “Where’re we going?”

“Home,” was all he said, and my core clenched with excitement. I hoped to hell whatever he was dealing with and whatever he was holding back came out soon, so we could move past it. Until then, I had to keep reminding myself to keep it at just sex.

Like the last time, we went to his house. He pulled into his garage, closing it behind us. Will leaned across the car and cupped my neck, pulling me in for a kiss. It was long and sweet, not hurried or driven by lust. His tongue coaxed mine into the kiss. It was different, but just as intoxicating.

“Will?” We pulled apart at the sound of his mother’s voice. I saw her standing in the doorway to the house.

He smiled and opened the car door. “Yeah, Mom. It’s us.”

“Leah.” Her smile broadened even more when she said my name. I opened the door and went to her, giving her a hug. Today wasn’t going how I expected it to with Janine there, but it was still good to see her.

When we walked into the house, I was floored. Gone were the plain walls and incomplete house. He’d been busy in the last two weeks, and the house still smelled, faintly, of fresh paint.

He had furniture in the house. It was still sparse, with plenty of open space, but the house was much closer to being done than it had been.

“Wow, you’ve been busy,” I said, looking around. Gone was the concrete floor; there was the same dark wood that was in the bedroom running throughout the whole downstairs.

“The upstairs is only partly done, but it should be finished by the end of this week.”

“You still doing most of it yourself?”

“Yeah, I’m working pretty much around the clock on it right now.”

It was gorgeous, but I wondered why the rush to get it done.

“Something smells good,” I said; not sure if I should ask my questions or wait for later.

“Come on.” Will held my hand and led me toward the kitchen, his mom walked behind us using her cane. “Mom’s trying to get used to the new house. I’ll gradually add more furniture in, but I want her to get used to the layout here first.”

“Oh.” Yeah, a lot had changed in two weeks it seemed. “What’s for lunch?” I asked, turning the subject to something lighter.

“Mom made spinach stuffed chicken for lunch.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Will and I set the table while his mom washed and cut tomato for the salad. I was impressed by how well she did cooking without being able to see what she was doing.

“When did you guys start staying here?” I asked as we were eating. Yeah, it was a way of beating around the bush as to why the sudden change, but I was curious.

“Mom just started staying here a couple of days ago; I wanted to get my room upstairs done, along with the painting, before I brought her here. I’ll take you up after lunch, if you’d like to see it.”

“That’ll be great.”

“What time do I need to have you back to work?” he asked, before taking a bite of his food.

“That is one of the many perks of being the boss’s daughter.” I smiled slyly. “With Dad there, I can be back whenever I want.”

Janine laughed, and shook her head. “I’m blind and I can still see the sparks between you two. I’m glad you are both moving past the incident, six years ago, and working things out. You deserve happiness.”

I looked to Will. His jaw was clenched and he was watching me with hard eyes. “What incident?” I asked, not taking my eyes from his. “I didn’t know Will six years ago.”

His mom gasped, but I didn’t look away from him. I waited with bated breath, hoping I’d find out what the fuck was going on.

“Shit. You haven’t told her?” Janine asked. “Will, you’ve got to tell her.”

“I was trying to figure out a way to tell her without blowing her family all to hell, Mom.”

I looked between the two and set my fork down. The few bites I’d eaten sat like lead in my stomach. “Will someone just tell me what happened?”