Chloe"I live right there." He nods his head to the other side of my street and I bunch my eyebrows, even more confused than earlier."You're my neighbor?"He hands me the pizza then points across the street. "Sort of. Not there, there, but that's my house on the other side of their back yard," he explains. Running his hand over the back of his neck, he drops his head. "I'm coming across as a complete stalker, aren't I?""Um just a little bit."He laughs at my honesty. "Yeah, this is kind of new to me. Let me explain better, will you do that?""Do what?" I'm still not following anything he's saying. He called my work after getting his hair cut this morning to check up on me. Jana, my ex-friend, told him I was busy, then called him to let him know I'd left and he just happened to see me drive past him then happens to live a few blocks away?"Explain. I know, I know. I sound crazy. Insane, really. But honestly, it was all very innocent. Except for the hair cut this morni
RexI watch in fascination as what she just said registers with her. Now, I don't mean to be crude but, really? Special cat powers? Pussy powers? Yes. Indeed I do have special pussy powers.Without a doubt, I know that's not what she meant but my brain went there anyway. I'm as bad as a fifteen-year-old who has sex on the brain 24/7. I don't, though. Not really. It's more that I love watching her blush and can't help myself.She snorts, lifts the lid on the pizza box and grabs a slice, placing it on a plate."Here you go, perv," she teases.I chuckle, accepting the plate and shift so I'm more comfortable. Malcom, however, doesn't move a muscle accept to climb farther into my lap."Thank you. And you're the one who said it, not me.""It's not what I meant, though!" she cries out."Ha!" I bark out a laugh, nudging her knee with mine. "I know, girl. I just can't help but tease you. I've never seen someone be able to blush so easily."Chloe places a piece on another pl
Rex"Right." Her quick agreement makes me grin. Always so honest. "Also, I'm eating the last piece," she says unapologetically. In fact, I'm pretty certain if I tried to take it, she'd bite my hand off. I've never seen a woman be able to polish off so many slices of pieces in such little time. It's impressive. And a bit sexy, too.Tonight, I planned to tell her I have an idea of how she can get her salon but now that I'm in her cozy home, sitting on her soft couch and cuddling with her asshole cat who's already accepted me, and we have two bags full of food to munch on the rest of the night, I just want to lean back into her cushy couch and watch TV."Do you have Netflix?""Of course. And Hulu, too. I don't have cable anymore.""Maybe this is overstepping, but I know you've had a long day and honestly, I did, too. Worrying that someone is dead takes a lot out of a guy and making people pretty all day without a break has to be exhausting. Want to watch something?" I nod my
ChloeWhat the ever-loving hell is the temperature set on in my house? I've never been so hot in my life. It's like a furnace has taken up residence in my body and is heating me up from the inside out.And heavy. What is on me? Holy moly. I think it's a person. A real live person. A male person, by the sound of it, if the noise of his snoring is anything to go by.Rex.Rex spent the night.We're on the couch, fully clothed but still.Rex Whatever his last name is spent the night.And oh my word he smells divine. How does a person sleep for hours and still manage to smell fresh and woodsy and masculine? But he does. And his hair, which is right in line with my nose smells good too. He must have showered after he was at the salon this morning, or by the looks of it outside, yesterday morning, because it's not the same shampoo smell as what I used on him. It's masculine also, like a spring rain with a hint of cologne. My stomach whooshes, my heart flutters. This guy. T
ChloeHis head bumps into my chin when he moves swiftly. We both groan in pain, him rubbing the top of his head and me clutching my chin. "Shit. Sorry. Sorry. Ouch, fuck. Shit are you okay?"Wincing, my nose stings and my eyes water."Chloe? Are you okay? Dammit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I don't wake up well, obviously.""It's okay, honestly. I'm not hurt."He lifts my chin, inspects the spot where we connected, his thumb brushing lightly over the area that stings like a son of a bitch already. "It's not bleeding," he murmurs."Well I would hope not!" I laugh, sitting back a little bit.His hand drops from my chin but lifts to his head, scratching the top then ruffling his hair. It makes him ridiculously sexy. Sleepy eyes behind those gorgeous dark rimmed glasses that are a little smudged from sleeping with them on, messy hair, a line across his cheek from where he was laying against me. Sexy. Adorable. Unlike what I'm sure I look like with mascara no do
Rex"Shit that's cold. Shit."Cold showers really do work. If anyone thinks it's a myth, think again. Because ice cold water hitting your balls will take away a hard on. Fast.And that's exactly what I need after my evening and part of the night with Chloe.I've never been so attracted to a woman like I am to Chloe. But it's not just on the outside. She's passionate and goofy. Loving and tenacious. She knows what she wants and even though someone told her no, she's not accepting it as final. It's more of a 'not now' for her. And damn if that doesn't make her even sexier.Last night I watched as her eyes slowly fell shut. She'd startle, wake herself up, and be right back to drifting off into a slumber. It was adorable and I knew I should have woken her up, let her go to her bed so we'd both be more comfortable. But I couldn't.Just could not stop myself from wanting to nestle in close, listen as her breathing slowed. I knew I was going to fall asleep. Should have woken he
Rex"I'm dying here," Olivia whines at my doorstep."What the hell are you doing here?""Uh, what do you think I'm doing here?""Being nosey?""Exactly," she beams, pushing me aside to make room for her to bully her way inside my house. She plops down onto my couch with a huff. "So? How'd it go?"I don't know how much to tell her. If I explain that I didn't get home until after three am, she'll latch onto it and assume I slept with her. Not that it matters, but, nah. It actually does matter. If something does come of Chloe and me, which I hope it does, I don't want Olivia having the wrong impression of her from the start. So rather than giving her half-assed information, I go for complete honesty.I sit down in the chair to the left of her so she doesn't have to twist to face me. "Our date was a little, um, different than I had planned.""What? What happened? Rex, I swear if you just hooked up and left in the middle of the night, I'll punch you in the gut."I raise
RexIt takes me a bit of screwing around like I have a lot of yardwork to take care of, which I don't because it's not as if my yard is going to be on the cover of a magazine any time soon but it's not pathetic, either. I have grass. A couple bushes that were here when I bought the place and I know enough to make sure they're trimmed when I think about it. No flowers adorning any walkways or water features or fruit trees. No space set aside for a garden of vegetables. Just the standard cement patio right off the back of the house with a table and some chairs. The table has a place to light a fire in the center of it, though, which is cool. Even though I don't use it very much.A large grill sits behind the house that could use a good cleaning. And one day on a whim I bought a pot that had some plants already in it. I kind of felt like a bit of a wuss when I put it outside, but whatever. It's pretty.But now I know that beyond my yard, over the fence that separates the neighbor
Rex"Miss Garcia?""That's me."Chloe stands from our place in the waiting area off of the resort's spa. I arranged for a day of pampering complete with making sure her hair and makeup is done for the wedding later this afternoon. By the time she walks down the aisle, she'll be relaxed and hopefully the tension and stress of the last few months will have washed away.Right after I proposed, we had a bit of a scare with the baby.She started spotting and since this was our first, we both panicked. The doctor assured us it was totally normal, but then her blood pressure started dipping. She'd be at work doing a client's hair and suddenly feel light headed with no warning. After the second time it happened, I made her see the doctor who put her on a limited work schedule, to put it simply. It wasn't bed rest, but for Chloe who loved her job, it might as well have been.She was cranky and irritable but soon started seeing the benefit of being home part-time and putting in
Rex"It's time, babe. It's time!" Chloe's voice is full of excitement as she nudges me awake. Her hair is still wet and she smells incredible. Fresh and clean and I really want to snag her around the waist, and pull her under me."What?""It's. Time!""Shit." I spring up out of bed, trip over the damn cat that never leaves my side, catch myself on the curtains in our bedroom and right myself."Are you okay?" Chloe asks, laughing before groaning."I'm good. Yeah. Are you?""Of course. I'm excited.""Me too, babe. But I'd be more excited if you would have let me sleep a bit longer.""I can't help it! This isn't on me and you know it."I grin. It's not her fault. It's actually mine. I was the one who suggest we elope and promised to take care of everything, including getting our flights scheduled for so early in the morning."You know, it'd be nice if you told me where we were going." She grins over her already packed suitcase. The one I packed for her so she'd be
Chloe"How are you feeling?"Liv glares at me and grits out, "Dandy! Just freaking dandy."I look at Rex and stretch my lips out in an eek face and he smothers a laugh."Okay then. Well, I'll leave you two to it.""No!" Ethan tries grabbing Rex by the arm but he's too quick."Unless you plan on being in the room with us when Chloe's giving birth, I suggest you let us go. This is your time. You got this.""No we do not!" Liv shouts. "There's nothing about this that we've got."The nurse comes in and says, "Let's check you, shall we? See how you're coming along?"Liv nods, shifting uncomfortably in her bed. She looks like hell. Beautiful as usual. Well, that's actually not true. Her face is splotchy, hair matted down from sweat, there's black under her eyes where her mascara has run.She reaches a hand out to me and I shoot wide eyes to Ethan who's already by her side. "You gonna tell her no?" he challenges and I shake my head.Rex moves quickly so he's standing
RexI'm nervous. Fuck me, but I think I'm going to throw up.But it's not every day that I get to ask this question, and I don't want to mess it up.I knock on the door to hopefully my future. "Come in.""Hi.""What's going on? Why'd you ask to see me like this?""I need to ask you something. And I really need you to hear me out before speaking because it's important.""Okay? You're acting really fucking weird, man. What's going on with you?"I place a small, black velvet box on his desk and I pop open the lid, presenting the small piece of jewelry to him.Ethan takes a close look, lifts it out of the soft cushion it's cradled in, inspects it before slipping it back in the box. "Ah, for me? You shouldn't have. But it's a little flashy for my taste. I prefer something a little more subtle. Not so many diamonds." I realize he's just trying to lighten the mood and he knows exactly what this box means, but I still have to say it. Need to. For Chloe. It's the right t
ChloeTroy chuckles. This time when he looks at me, his eyes linger and my skin crawls. He might be attractive enough, but he's one of the creepiest men I've ever laid eyes on. I divert my attention quickly and Olivia reaches for my hand. "Oh don't worry. It's not you I give a shit about anymore, brother."He lifts his tumbler off the bar and raises it in Rex's direction then slides off his stool. I know where he's heading and if he follows through, there's no way it will turn out in his favor."Hey there. Welcome to The Flying Goat," Ethan says, stepping in front of Troy. His voice is devoid of any hospitality.Troy, though, is too stupid to get the not so subtle hint. "Uh, thanks?"He tries to step around him but is stopped by one of the Zeus twins.He's a tiny man surrounded by three large, angry men.I don't know how much of Rex's story any of them know, if anything at all, but they see the anger coming off Rex's body and know Troy is the cause of it.Troy turns
Chloe"Do you know him?" Olivia asks, staring at the guy's back."No. You?""No. But, gah, I swear he looks familiar.""Probably been in here before?""Maybe.""So how much longer?" I ask Olivia."Too long. Actually, no. I take that back. I've enjoyed being pregnant and it kind of scares me to think about what it will be like when the little nugget's out in the world.""Makes sense.""Anyway, I have about a month left. I'm hoping that I've hit my size limit."I nod, not trusting myself not to say something stupid.Rex comes out of the office and sees me sitting down with Olivia and makes his way toward us.He kisses me on the forehead then leans down to give Olivia a hug."How are the mamas doing?" The level of excitement that he has over this baby has surprised me. I'm only a few months along, though, and I know we need to be careful. Things can happen this early on."Good," I grin up at him and his eyes soften."Rex, do you know that guy?" Olivia asks
Chloe"Hey! What are you doing here?" Ethan crushes me in a hug when I walk through the back door with Rex.I nod at Rex and grin. "He couldn't live without me.""He's so needy," Ethan teases with a wink."I know. It's a burden.""I bet. Kind of annoying, huh? Does he follow you around like a puppy? Always getting in your way.""All the time! I really want some space but what can I do?""I'm right here you know.""We know." Ethan and I say the words at the same time and Rex groans, leaving us to it as we laugh at his grumbling. Ever since I announced I was pregnant, Ethan and I turned a corner.The common thread of expecting our first child has brought us together, creating a bond. The fact that he's my brother is something I think we're both still getting used to. But every time I look at him, I see hints of my mother. Being pregnant makes me miss her even more than I did before. I know she'd be by my side through every step, in the delivery room if I wanted her t
Chloe"Happy New Year, gorgeous.""Aren't you supposed to say that at midnight?""What's the point of only celebrating for a minute?""Hmm," I suppose that's true, I purr, leaning into his touch."I'm sorry I have to work today.""Don't apologize. It's not like you're working all night. Just for a few hours, right?""Yeah. The Zeus twins will take over tonight and Ethan hired two others that were experienced enough they can dive right in."I trail my finger around through the coarse hair on his chest. "Will you miss it?" He told Ethan he was pulling back, as in no more nights and weekends. Which only leaves him filling in when they're short on help. It was Rex's decision"Bartending? No.""I thought you loved it, though.""I love working with Ethan, even Penny. And once upon a time, until a sexy as hell redhead came into my life, I liked the attention it brought.""But not anymore?" I ask, grinning."Not anymore."We're lying in my bed, Malcom on Rex's fe
Rex"Ethan?"Chloe's lips are pressed together so tightly, the skin is turning white."What? Do you want me to say grace?"Olivia looks at her husband like he's an idiot. "Did you hear Chloe?""Yeah?"Paul grumbles. "Boy. Think about what Chloe said.""Merry Christmas?""No. The other thing."We all watch as he finally gets a clue. He stands up quickly, his chair falling back and landing against the tile with a loud thwack."Uncle?!"Chloe nods, my emotional girl's eyes flooding with tears again."You asshole! You got my sister pregnant?!"I almost laugh. Almost. But I'm smart enough not to. Rather, I just raise my hands. "Hey, it's not like I did that alone.""Wrong answer, man."Olivia's laughing so hard, she's clutching her stomach and bending over. "You. You are such an idiot!""I'm an idiot? How am I the idiot in this scenario?""Because you are!""Oh good come back, babe."Paul stands up, pushes Ethan out of the way while he makes his way