Truly Mine Read online

  Arriving at the law office to drop off the documents, I find the door is locked, and the lights are off. I look down at my watch and realize that it’s much later in the day than I thought. I’m not one to watch the clock all the time as I usually have one appointment that lasts all day. Time is not an issue unless I am on someone else’s clock. Dara must have banker’s hours. It’s only five fifteen, and this place is empty.

  I don’t want to be stuck in this town overnight. I dial the firm’s number, hoping they have an after-hours service. As my luck would have it, the phone just rings and rings. For a moment, I wish Tyler would appear, so he could call his sister, and we could get this ordeal finished. I contemplate leaving and returning next week, but I quickly decide that one visit to this godforsaken town is one too many. I’ll find a motel in the neighboring town and stay until the office opens. Then, I’ll finish signing off on the estate and get the hell out of here forever.

  I need to let Lissa know that I won’t be back in New York tonight after all. I slide into my car and press the phone icon on the dash display.

  “Call Lissa,” I command.

  After one ring, her cheerful voice flows out of the speakers. “Hello?”

  “Hey. So, I ran into an issue.”

  “Oh, no. What happened?” she asks, concerned.

  I explain the day’s events to her, leaving out the parts that include Tyler. This mess with Scott has us all stressed out. She doesn’t need to worry because I’m dealing with yet another man who wants more than I’ll give.

  I try to present the hiccup like it’s for the best. “So, I’m going to get a motel and finish this up in the morning, and then I’ll head home. It’s probably a good thing. I’m so tired anyway. This whole situation is exhausting.” As I share my plans, I pull out of the parking spot and head down the street in the direction of the library. I’ll stop in there before I head to the motel.

  “Okay, but where are you staying? I don’t like that you’re alone right now.”

  I hate that she’s stressed, and it’s my fault. Lissa is the type of friend that, if she can’t fix your problems for you, she’ll stay by your side until you can fix them yourself or until they go away. And this problem with Scott just can’t be fixed, so she’s kept close to my side all week.

  “I’m fine. Really. I’m going to stop at the bar in town and have a drink, and then I’ll get a room at a dive in the next town over. Even if Scott did follow me, which he didn’t, he would never look for me at a cheap motel.” I breathe out a heavy breath and hear Lissa do the same on the other end of the line. “Please don’t give it another thought.”

  “You don’t have a friend you can stay with?” she questions, obviously not able to do what I asked.

  “No, Lissa. I haven’t seen anyone in twelve years. I don’t know these people anymore. Just stop. I’ll be fast asleep in a few hours and then out of here first thing in the morning. No worries, dollface,” I reply optimistically.

  “Call me every ten minutes.”

  I wish she were joking, but she really isn’t. Even though she’s eight years younger than me, she worries worse than I ever have.

  “I’ll call you when I get settled in my room. Love you.”

  “All right. Love you, too. Don’t forget to call me,” she pleads.

  pronunciation vik-tawr-ee-uhs

  (adj.) triumphant; having earned a victory

  Tyler

  When my sister told me a few days ago that Truly would be in town, I can’t lie, all I could think about was how fucking amazing Truly in her sexual prime would be. I’m a bastard that way. Not that I wasn’t sorry for her loss, but I was glad that something was finally bringing her back to Fallport.

  And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. The biggest blessing in my life right now is that women in their forties are at their sexual peak. I’ve had the best sex of my life over the past few years.

  Thank you, God, for this one!

  I usually get what I want in that area, and just in the past hour, I’ve decided that I want Truly Rowan—again. Only one thing is standing in my way. She is not the hot mess she was when she left this town. She most definitely has her shit together.

  After spending just an hour with Truly, I need a strong drink. She left me standing at her mother’s house, feeling like a fool. Maybe it’s my own fault for putting myself out there to be turned down. After all, she made it clear that she’s not interested in having anything to do with me. I find that hard to believe though.

  The history we shared and the chemistry we had couldn’t have just faded from her memory. I sure as fuck remember it. I knew we weren’t going to just pick up where we’d left off, but at the least, I was hoping for a reunion that included some variation of sexual contact.

  I dug into her past just enough to know that she’s not married, but maybe she’s in a relationship. All I know for sure is that when I last saw her, we were having crazy sex, and now, she can barely stand to look at me. I want to know why. I want to know anything and everything about her. I’m on very limited time, and I want to end this visit with her tangled up in my bed.

  I’ve been at Perdue’s for all of ten minutes, and I’ve got one drink down and many to go before I can get her out of my head. My best friend since grade school, Cory, met me here and has been grilling me about Truly. He wants to know the same thing I do—what she has been up to since she left town.

  Just as I start the mental battle over whether or not I’m going to stay and get drunk or leave, my favorite tall blonde in the world walks in. Katie Brooks makes a beeline straight for the barstool next to mine, and that settles that. I’ll be staying for a while.

  “Tyler.” Her voice is soft and sweet.

  “Katie.” I slowly turn toward her and focus on her fire-red lips.

  Then, my gaze falls to her low-cut top, more so to what’s popping out of it. Katie has great tits. Not too big and not too little. I move on to the short denim skirt that leaves nothing to the imagination. Her long tan legs are any man’s fantasy.

  Much like the clothes she wears, her personality is outgoing and demands attention also. Her husband takes business trips often, and when he’s gone, Katie sows her wild oats. She’s forever trying to get me to leave with her, and I wouldn’t hesitate if her husband weren’t my friend.

  Alex grew up here in Fallport. He met Katie at college, and he brought her back here. Then, they got married shortly after. Why they’ve stayed married though, I’ll never understand. They don’t have a kind word for each other, they have no kids tying them together, and they both fuck around on each other every chance they get. Everyone in town knows it.

  She settles on the stool, leaning her back on the bar, and crosses her long legs, showing them off to the table of teenagers sitting against the window. They take notice immediately. She winks at the boys and then slides her hand across my knee and up my thigh.

  “How are you doin’ tonight, Tyler?” Her smile guarantees she gets what she wants from most guys.

  Her full lips and deep dimples on her cheeks are deadly. Just from flashing that smile, she’s damn near gotten what she wants from me many times after I’ve had a few too many drinks.

  “Hi, Cory.” She peeks around me and winks at Cory.

  He smirks and rolls his eyes at her. He’s not her biggest fan, to say the least.

  “I’ve been better, doll. How are you?” I respond.

  She doesn’t say anything for a few seconds and spins her stool around so that her legs are between the two of us. She leans in toward me and squeezes my thigh. “I can help you feel better, Tyler.”

  “Yeah? How’s that?”

  She’s told me a million times exactly what she would do if I ever left with her, but hearing it never gets old.

  I finish the last of the beer in front of me and then give Katie my full attention.

  She leans in and whispers in my ear, “Baby, let’s get out of here, and I’ll make sure your night makes up for whatever put you
in a bad mood today.” She slides her hand higher on my thigh, just brushing my cock.

  My face flashes hot, like fire hot—not because of Katie, but because Truly is walking in the door at this very moment. What the fuck? Instinctively, I jerk away from Katie, spin my stool around, and plant my face in the palms of my hands.

  “What’s wrong, Tyler?” Katie whines.

  Slowly, I scrub my face and then catch the bartender as he passes. “Shot of Jameson, please.”

  Katie asks again, “What’s wrong?”

  What the fuck am I supposed to say? I just shake my head and look forward. This is so reminiscent of years ago. Only then, I didn’t care if Truly saw me with someone else.

  The bartender slides the shot to me, and I pass him a ten-dollar bill. I quickly throw the shot down and slide the glass back to him, motioning for another. He pours it just as Truly takes a seat next to Cory.

  As soon as Cory realizes who she is, he spins around on his stool and pulls her into a hug. “Well, speak of the devil!”

  From the look that Truly has on her face and the way she’s looking at Katie and me, I have a good feeling Truly’s about to finish where she left off earlier. She’s going to torture me even more for pissing her off all those years ago.

  Cory calls the bartender over to get Truly a drink, and I block out whatever it is they are discussing and throw down the second shot.

  Truly leans behind Cory and looks at me. “Hi, Tyler. Long time no see, huh?”

  I keep facing forward, only looking at her through the mirror behind the bar. In my peripheral vision, I see Katie turn and look between Truly and me.

  “Yeah. Been a few hours now, hasn’t it?”

  She meets my eyes in the mirror and then looks at Katie. “Right. Who’s your friend?” Truly’s tone of voice is matter-of-fact, as if she is on a mission.

  Katie is clearly confused as all hell.

  I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Truly, this is Katie. Katie, Truly.”

  I’m still looking straight ahead and not at either of them. I’m not familiar with whatever this is that I’m feeling. It’s some semblance of guilt, I guess, even though I am doing nothing wrong. I’m certainly not dating Katie, and Truly apparently doesn’t care for me.

  Why do I feel like I’ve just been caught doing something wrong?

  Cory watches the exchange, clearly amused.

  The next twenty minutes, Truly asks Cory all about his wife and two daughters and his job. I offer the appropriate reaction when something funny is said, but otherwise, I stay out of their conversation. Thankfully, Katie was distracted with a phone call and disappeared.

  Just about the time I’m feeling at ease with Truly being here, Katie joins us again.

  She takes her seat next to me and then leans forward so that she can see around me. “I haven’t seen you around. You’re not from town, are you?” Katie asks.

  The bartender appears in front of Truly.

  Keeping her eyes trained on him, she orders another beer before answering Katie in a factual tone, “I am from town, but I haven’t been back in a while. I’m just here to handle some business.” She turns and finally looks at Katie. “Is there anything else you’d like to know about me?”

  I silently beg Katie not to answer that question.

  “Oh, I see. Are you and Tyler old friends?” Katie continues her interrogation.

  If she had any sense, she would stop.

  I can sense that Truly is looking at me now.

  It takes me a moment to return her stare, and as soon as I make eye contact with her, she speaks, “Well, we used to fuck.”

  Katie’s jaw drops, and Cory chokes in an attempt to not spit his beer across the bar. I just take a deep breath and grin, wondering what the hell she’ll say next. I was definitely right. She is going to have a little more fun before she disappears again. I finally just close my eyes and try not to bust out laughing. It’s not even funny, but I have a bad habit of laughing at the most inappropriate times. And right now, I don’t know what else to do.

  Truly looks to Katie and keeps a straight face as she continues her explanation, “A lot.” She takes a drink of the longneck bottle in front of her, not ever breaking eye contact with her. “I’m pretty sure he wants to fuck me tonight.”

  Oh my God, Truly!

  Truly shrugs her shoulders. “I mean, I could be wrong.” Looking my way, she boldly asks, “Am I right, Ty?”

  I’m speechless. Seriously fucking speechless. This is not what I expected from her. This isn’t the passive girl that I used to know. The girl who never cared about who I was with as long as I made time for her is not…this woman. This woman is aggressive and a little intimidating, to be honest.

  I’m convinced that she’s just trying to prove a point, but I haven’t the slightest clue how to respond to her question.

  If I were to be honest, I would say, Yes, of course, I want to fuck your brains out. I want to make you sore from the inside out. I want to be sore along with you.

  But if I want to act my age, I guess I would tell her that I only wanted to spend the evening catching up on what she’s been doing all these years.

  Before I get the chance to answer, Katie opens her mouth and says, “You and a few others, sweetie. Tyler is quite the playboy. I don’t think his bed ever gets cold these days.”

  I’ve noticed a funny thing about women as they get older. While they are smarter and more beautiful than ever, they are also spiteful and sometimes downright evil if you give them a reason to be. I see it all the time with my sisters. They take no shit from anyone as they’ve gotten older. They say what they think and leave little to be assumed.

  I’m pretty sure the girls are having the equivalent of a male pissing match. It’s hot, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like being in the middle of it. But Katie’s attempt to cockblock me is a waste of her time and energy because I plan to take advantage of this situation.

  After giving Katie a look, letting her know I’m not pleased with her comment, I stand from my barstool and approach Truly from behind. Placing my hands on her hips, I twist her around so that she’s facing me.

  “You are absolutely one hundred percent right, Tru. How about we get out of here?” I know she’s doing this for Katie’s benefit only, but I’m dead serious.

  Oddly, I’m reading her like a book tonight. The intense look she gives me is her asking me to confirm that I understand her actions are for show only. I raise my eyebrows, taunting her. She’s not getting off that easily. She might be playing games, but I’m not.

  Finally, she wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder, looking toward Cory and Katie.

  “All yours, baby.”

  Oh, yeah, I do like the sound of that.

  “Bye, Cory.” She reaches out and pulls Cory into our embrace.

  “Man, the more things change, the more they stay the same. You lucky bastard.” After a quick rib shot in my side, he plants a kiss on Truly’s cheek and then turns right back to his beer. “Girl, it’d better not be so damn long before I hear from you again.”

  Katie, on the other hand, is not so pleased. She turns the opposite way, not paying any attention to us.

  Sliding my hands around to Truly’s back, I pull her off the barstool and lower her to her feet. Knowing that I only have seconds of this little game left, I take her hand in mine and weave our fingers together. Then, I pull her to my side and lead her out of the bar.

  She turns between us and yells over her shoulder to Cory as we leave, “It won’t be. I promise. Take care of those girls of yours.”

  I can’t help but lean in and kiss her forehead since it is right in front of me now. Her hair smells so fucking good.

  As I fully expect, the moment our feet hit the sidewalk, she pulls away from me and walks quickly toward her car.

  “I apologize. That was incredibly juvenile.” She continues walking until she reaches her driver’s door.

  I stay on th
e sidewalk, trying not to look as desperate as I feel. I’d like to grab her, throw her in my truck, and take her home with me. “What was that all about, Truly? What were you trying to prove in there?”

  Turning to face me, she walks to the front of her car and stops. “I don’t know, Tyler.” She looks amused. “I really don’t know. It was ridiculous. The minute I passed the city limit sign, I lost my damn mind.” She turns and walks back to get into her car. “I hope I didn’t mess anything up for you in there.”

  Opening her car door, she stares into my eyes. There’s something about the way she’s looking at me, like she wants me to beg.

  As she lowers herself into the seat, I rush to her. Just before her car door closes, I grab hold of the handle. I kneel down so that I’m eye level with her.

  Taking her hand in both of mine, I tell her the honest-to-God truth, “She’s the local barfly. I can assure you, I’m not interested in her. Don’t leave like this, please. I don’t give a damn about that woman. If you’re here to prove something, then stay. Visit with me now since we both know you’re not coming back here again.”

  She presses a button, and her car hums to life.

  “Truly, stay.”

  She lays her head back on the seat, looking up at the ceiling of her car.

  “You have nothing to prove—to me or anyone else,” I remind her.

  Turning her head toward me, she takes a deep breath. “It isn’t you or that woman or Cory or any damn person in this town that I want to prove something to. It’s me. I guess I was proving to myself that I could get you to choose me—just once. Even if it is twenty years later and I’m too damn old to really give a shit. Stupid, I know.”

  I stand, bringing Truly’s hand with me, and I plead with her, “Please just come for a ride with me. Let’s talk. And not in a parking lot.”

  “We’re not teenagers anymore, Tyler. What do you want to do? Go park at the river like we did last time?” She laughs. “We’re a little old for that, don’t you think?”