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Authors: Cora Brent
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the Atlantic while the other half feels guilty for the next hundred years.
“Who am I kidding?” I grumbled as I hauled Teddy into my lap. “Right now I’d trade a hundred years of guilt for a few days with a decent guy.”
Hell, I might trade two hundred years for a few days with Stone.
I felt silly about the thought before it even finished rolling through my mind. I wasn’t some swoony kid. I was a grown woman with a job, an apartment, a pet guinea pig. Even though men didn’t fall down at my feet when I walked by they didn’t cringe either.
I was at least a five on a scale of one to ten. I was self-reliant.
And smart.
And horny.
And…lonely.
Teddy’s little face tipped upwards and he sniffed the air as he stared at me. I nuzzled him affectionately and then deposited back him into his home. Just then I remembered how Briana had given me the key to her old apartment with instructions on how to take care of her cat until she returned from her Cabo San Lucas honeymoon to claim him. Darcy would be around but Darcy was about as affectionate as your average tree lizard so I’d agreed to stop by every other day to lavish some love on Mr. Fitzgerald.
Thinking about Briana’s old calico cat got me thinking about Briana’s apartment. That made me remember Briana’s bridal shower and how I’d lugged a garbage bag full of empty liquor bottles to the dumpster. At first I hadn’t gotten a good look at the guy who lifted the dumpster lid and tossed the heavy bag inside like it was nothing heavier than cotton balls. But then he’d started walking in the same direction I was going so I trailed several feet behind and had a grand old time checking out his ass. He kept his head down while he walked but as he fumbled with the door to his apartment he turned his head and I clearly saw his face. I had recognized him right away when he stumbled out of the night and found me sitting beside the lake but I was startled when he said that he recognized me not from the dumpster encounter but from the diner. That day at the diner I’d been so lost in my own memories and emotions I hadn’t even noticed him. It was funny because Stone was the kind of man who was nearly impossible to overlook.
Someone in network television must have designated today as Sad Movie Saturday because after Titanic ended, I saw that The Notebook was just starting and right after that came Marley and Me , which was actually about a family dog but left me practically hyper-ventilating just the same.
Later, as I chewed on freshly delivered pizza and sniffed through Terms of Endearment I found myself thinking about the mysterious Stone again. It wasn’t just his looks that caused my mind to keep returning to him. There’d been something disarming and honest about every word he spoke. He had no reason to be so forthright with some girl he didn’t even know. If he’d been up to no good he’d had a chance to prove it, but he didn’t.
Stone hadn’t given me any hint as to whether he’d be happy to see me again. However, tomorrow I’d be right there in his neighborhood since I had to take care of Mr. Fitzgerald. What would be the harm in knocking on his door to see if he wanted to have a cup of coffee? Or dinner? Or a lap dance?
Pervert. Stop.
I flashed back to Stone’s frank confession.
“Just got out of prison. Stole a car. A girl died. Brother who hates me. This is the longest conversation I’ve had with a pretty girl in four years.”
When he was done talking he’d looked at me with something close to defiance, as if he was sure I would run away from him. I didn’t. I’d witnessed the way life could spiral out of control and shatter, leaving nothing but sharp pieces behind. I imagined that it took a mighty amount of nerve to glue those pieces back together. So Stone the Stranger would get no condemnation from me, at least not for that. Instead he got a
“Who am I kidding?” I grumbled as I hauled Teddy into my lap. “Right now I’d trade a hundred years of guilt for a few days with a decent guy.”
Hell, I might trade two hundred years for a few days with Stone.
I felt silly about the thought before it even finished rolling through my mind. I wasn’t some swoony kid. I was a grown woman with a job, an apartment, a pet guinea pig. Even though men didn’t fall down at my feet when I walked by they didn’t cringe either.
I was at least a five on a scale of one to ten. I was self-reliant.
And smart.
And horny.
And…lonely.
Teddy’s little face tipped upwards and he sniffed the air as he stared at me. I nuzzled him affectionately and then deposited back him into his home. Just then I remembered how Briana had given me the key to her old apartment with instructions on how to take care of her cat until she returned from her Cabo San Lucas honeymoon to claim him. Darcy would be around but Darcy was about as affectionate as your average tree lizard so I’d agreed to stop by every other day to lavish some love on Mr. Fitzgerald.
Thinking about Briana’s old calico cat got me thinking about Briana’s apartment. That made me remember Briana’s bridal shower and how I’d lugged a garbage bag full of empty liquor bottles to the dumpster. At first I hadn’t gotten a good look at the guy who lifted the dumpster lid and tossed the heavy bag inside like it was nothing heavier than cotton balls. But then he’d started walking in the same direction I was going so I trailed several feet behind and had a grand old time checking out his ass. He kept his head down while he walked but as he fumbled with the door to his apartment he turned his head and I clearly saw his face. I had recognized him right away when he stumbled out of the night and found me sitting beside the lake but I was startled when he said that he recognized me not from the dumpster encounter but from the diner. That day at the diner I’d been so lost in my own memories and emotions I hadn’t even noticed him. It was funny because Stone was the kind of man who was nearly impossible to overlook.
Someone in network television must have designated today as Sad Movie Saturday because after Titanic ended, I saw that The Notebook was just starting and right after that came Marley and Me , which was actually about a family dog but left me practically hyper-ventilating just the same.
Later, as I chewed on freshly delivered pizza and sniffed through Terms of Endearment I found myself thinking about the mysterious Stone again. It wasn’t just his looks that caused my mind to keep returning to him. There’d been something disarming and honest about every word he spoke. He had no reason to be so forthright with some girl he didn’t even know. If he’d been up to no good he’d had a chance to prove it, but he didn’t.
Stone hadn’t given me any hint as to whether he’d be happy to see me again. However, tomorrow I’d be right there in his neighborhood since I had to take care of Mr. Fitzgerald. What would be the harm in knocking on his door to see if he wanted to have a cup of coffee? Or dinner? Or a lap dance?
Pervert. Stop.
I flashed back to Stone’s frank confession.
“Just got out of prison. Stole a car. A girl died. Brother who hates me. This is the longest conversation I’ve had with a pretty girl in four years.”
When he was done talking he’d looked at me with something close to defiance, as if he was sure I would run away from him. I didn’t. I’d witnessed the way life could spiral out of control and shatter, leaving nothing but sharp pieces behind. I imagined that it took a mighty amount of nerve to glue those pieces back together. So Stone the Stranger would get no condemnation from me, at least not for that. Instead he got a
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