“Maybe?” Dottie scoffs. “Come on, Duke. You’ve gotta give me more thanthat. I waited up for youallnight—well, as long as I could keep my eyes open, anyway. So I’m not only sleep deprived, but I’m dying to know what happened.” I put down my tools and when I turn to face her, she grins. “Unless the fact you’re being all coy is because things went really,reallywell.”
“We had a nice day together.” I grab a rag and focus on cleaning my hands, so I don’t give anything away by looking at her.
“Day? Last I checked, the clock said one in the morning.”
“We had a lot to talk about.”
“Did you talk about lurve?” she asks, giggling when I roll my eyes and turn away from her. “Come on, Duke. You’ve got to give me something here. Let’s not forget that I’m the one who stood by you throughout all your moods after she-whose-name-won’t-be-said took off like the scum of the earth I always knew she’d be.”
“I don’t need remindin’ of that,” I say with a sigh as I turn back to face her. “It’s somethin’ that’s never far from my mind, and while I appreciate you helpin’ me back up, there are some things a man doesn’t want to share with his baby sister.”
She presses her teeth into her bottom lip as she fights a grin. “Oh, you’re blushing. That’s actually all of the admission I need. I’m so happy for you, Duke!” she says, stepping toward me and flinging her arms around my neck. “I just knew you’d find your way here.”
“With a girl who’s due to leave in a couple of days? Yeah, I’ve done an awesome job there.”
“Well, where’s she from?”
“Sugar City. She works for some tech company and runs an Etsy store in her downtime.”
“That’s cool. What does she sell?”
“Handmade jewelry from the sounds of it.”
“Even cooler. I liked her already just because she makes you smile, but now I know she’s crafty so that’s a plus in my books. And Sugar City isn’t that far. Surely you two can work something out. I know you’re not much of a fighter, Duke, but I’d hate for you to let this girl slip through your fingers. You deserve to be happy.”
And with that, she excuses herself to go open up while I get back to my own work, thinking on her words and wondering if a guy like me—a man who my ex claimed had no ambition, no backbone and was no better than a reed growing in a stagnant pond. In her words, she couldn’t stand to wither away with me when she could be like a dandelion in the wind and find real joy elsewhere. Ouch. Which she did by running away with some guy who played guitar in a seedy bar band. I lost my job and my long-term girlfriend in the same week. I’d never felt so low.
But that’s when Dottie stepped in and asked me to come help her in Whisper Valley. I had my payout cheque coming and nothing holding me back, so uprooting myself and finding a different path in a town that suited my style and energy levels seemed to make sense.
And she was right. I’ve been happy in Whisper Valley. At peace. I love being my own boss, and I enjoy working on the farmhouse and vineyard with Dottie. But even then, I knew something was missing. Meeting Ava, I feel like maybe I found it. Maybe all along, the reason why nothing has really worked out and why I haven’t been interested in dating is because I’ve been waiting for her to complete me.
I put my head down and get through as much work as I can before lunch, one eye on the time because I can’t stop thinking about those sweet little moans and the way her body reacted to my touch, the way she tasted when I put my mouth on her. She intoxicates me, and as the minutes stretch into hours, the anticipation of seeing her again starts to make itself known in my pants, and I have to keep adjusting myself to keep my reaction to her hidden.
“I know we said lunch, but I was hungry a little early,” the angelic voice of the woman I’ve been waiting on says a little before twelve. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Pulling my head out from under the hood of the Jeep I’m working on, I turn around with a smile and drink her in with a slow sweep of my gaze. She’s not wearing a giant hat or a palette load of makeup to hide her bruising today—although the swelling has reduced some, and she’s beginning to look more like herself again—but she is wearing another sundress that instantly has me thinking about the moment yesterday when I pulled her dress over her head and got my first look at the delicious curves underneath. I clear my throat and will my dick to stand down.I’m not going to make it long if I keep thinking like this.
“It’s always lunchtime somewhere in the world, right?” I say, grabbing a rag and cleaning myself up as best as I can before I approach her.
“I can wait if you need to finish what you’re doing,” she whispers as I lean in and press my lips to her temple. God she smells good.
“Give me a few minutes to clean up, kitten. Then I’m all yours.”
I kiss her again then make my way into the break room where I scrub my hands at the wash basin and get out of my dirty overalls. I’ve got my shirt off, and I’m wiping myself down with a wet cloth when I hear movement at the door and turn around.
“Don’t stop on my account,” Ava says, her cheeks bright and her breathing heavy as her gaze travels over my chest and down to my obvious bulge. “Or better yet, how about you take it all off, and I get on my knees and suck your dick until you see stars and lose your ability to talk.”
Said dick jumps, and I let out a groan as she steps closer. But before she can act on her words, Dottie enters the breakroom and lets out a yelp that scares the shit out of both of us.
“Oh my god!” Ava yells, her hand clapping over her mouth.
I quickly pull a clean T-shirt on while muttering a few expletives while my sister holds her hands up and fights a smirk.
“Hey, I’m all about free love, and that stargazing sounds just awesome for my brother. But you might want to wait on that one until you’re both alone, because I don’t think any of us can handle the therapy bills I’d need after seeing that.”
“Errr…” Ava’s face has gone so red she looks like a fresh beet.
I clear my throat and try to salvage the situation. “Ava, I’d like you to meet my sister, Dottie. Dottie, this is Ava.” I meet my sister’s eyes and add through gritted teeth, “Be nice.”
