Little Black Dress (Beech Grove Book 7) Read online

  “Just call her,” Jas said.

  “And say what exactly?” I looked in their direction. “I was with one woman for half my life. I went out Friday to get laid. Mission accomplished. More than that—"

  “What? More than getting laid, what, E?” Frank pushed for an answer, and my jaw clenched.

  “More than that… isn’t in my plans, man.”

  “Your plans?” Frank repeated, and Jas shook his head with a groan.

  “Who the fuck cares about plans?” Jas said, and I turned to look at him. “Unless…”

  “Unless what?”

  “She was just an adequate lay, then fuck it. You got your dick wet. She’ll live.” He shrugged, and a wave of fucking anger rushed through me. I got up and lunged for him across the desk. Frank was quick for his old age and moved between us. Jasper, on the other hand, just sat there with an irritating smirk.

  “There is your answer,” he said, looking bored. “Don’t be an idiot. I’ve never seen you like this. Not once about a woman. If someone made me feel half what you’re feeling right now?” He scoffed and shook his head, a look of longing I’d never seen on Jaspers face that had me frowning, “All I know is, I wouldn’t be sitting here with my thumb up my ass like some whiny douchebag,” he finished off with a wink.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Jas is right, E,” Frank agreed.

  “Fucking finally, you see the light to my geniusness,” Japer added, and we laughed. Frank cleared his throat, and I looked at him.

  “A while ago, someone said some pretty simple but important words to me, and I’m a have to tell you: Talk to her. Work it out.”

  My lips twitched.

  He was repeating my own words right back at me. I’d told him the same thing when he’d had his issues with his now wife, Karina.

  Maybe he was right? They were wise words after all.

  GINNY

  ONE GLASS of red had turned to two, and two had turned into two and a half.

  If I did the complete third, I would pay for it in the morning, and I didn’t need that. A classroom full of ten-year-olds was difficult enough; I didn’t need a hangover to make it worse.

  I needed to eat something to absorb the wine but was too tired to make anything. I had just hung up from placing an order with the local pizza place, Sliced, when my phone rang. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  Opening them, I hated the disappointment I felt at my best friend’s name flashing on my screen.

  I was tempted to decline it, but I knew her. She would just keep calling.

  “Hello?”

  “Did he call?” And just like that, I smiled despite how stupid I was feeling. Lydia wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

  “No, Lydia,” I sighed. “He didn’t call.”

  “Hmm. Maybe—"

  “Maybe it was just a one-night stand,” I cut her off. I felt foolish. I had made it out to be something it obviously hadn’t been.

  “That lasted a whole weekend?”

  “Lydia,” I groaned. “I’m not going to overthink this,” I lied. Been there, done that. I had already overthought it.

  He hadn’t called.

  He hadn’t left a note.

  The same man who had coerced me to promise him an entire weekend when I had tried to make a clean break. The man who said he didn’t play games. Bullshit.

  He had completely played me.

  The whole weekend had been nothing but a sham. Why did he have us get close and talk about shit we had no business talking about if he was simply going to leave like a thief in the night? Why had he been sweet and moved things from sexy to intimate, engraving his touch into my skin?

  “Liar,” she whispered like a true best friend, calling me on my bullshit, and I felt guilty for being bitchy.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sulking.”

  “You’re supposed to be smirking, not sulking. You got your vocab words mixed up,” she reminded me, and I laughed.

  “That was the plan.” The plan had been to get down and dirty and get out with a great memory. In the span of a couple days, he’d messed with my head and heart, and I’d gotten attached.

  “Plans change,” she said. “Fuck him.”

  “I did that. A lot,” I muttered, and we laughed.

  “See, it’s all about how you look at it. Sure, he should have laid it out and not played all boyfriendy vibes like that. But it is what it is, right?”

  “Right,” I agreed because she was being a great best friend. Sweet and positive. Exactly what I needed.

  “All you can do from here is pull your big girl panties up and take it for what it was. A great weekend that reminded you that all your girly bits are still there and accounted for and are in working order.”

  “Where do you get this?” I laughed, shaking my head, and sighed. “So, tell me about the meeting?” Lydia was an incredibly talented writer who had just pitched a new TV series.

  “Well…” As she talked, I answered and laughed in all the right spots, but my grape-fermented brain was still chewing on everything Enzo.

  Enzo.

  I hated how even his name stirred something inside of me.

  Someone knocked on the door, and I quickly got off the phone, promising to call her tomorrow before I congratulated her.

  “Coming!” I yelled out. “Just getting my wallet,” I said to myself, reaching into my purse and grabbing some cash. Opening the door, I looked up and froze, completely blindsided by the man who stood in front of me.

  In a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms.

  His short hair was disheveled. As if he had been running his fingers through his hair all day. It reminded me of how it had looked Saturday morning after he had fed me by the bathtub and had joined me.

  In his hands, he was holding a pizza box and a bouquet of roses. Red roses.

  “You’re not the pizza guy.”

  “I bumped into him outside, and when I realized we were walking in the same direction, I took a chance.”

  “He sold you my pizza?” I asked, my lips narrowing. I would be making a call to Sliced and making a complaint to the owner the second Enzo left.

  “He did me a solid,” Enzo corrected, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Why are you here?” I asked, ignoring how hesitant he looked.

  “I thought we could talk.”

  “Talk?” I smiled. “Look, I don’t know what you’re into, but this shit isn’t for me. Enjoy your pizza.” I was about to close the door, but he put his foot in the way before I could.

  “I should have woken you up,” he quickly said, and I looked at him without blinking.

  “You should have,” I agreed, ignoring how much I liked he had said that off the bat.

  “And I should have called or texted today.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized, lifting the pizza and flowers into view. “I freaked out,” he admitted, and I frowned.

  “I don’t get that,” I responded, not knowing what I had done to scare him away.

  “Let me in, and I’ll explain. I promise.” He looked so sincere I wanted to believe him.

  “Look, Enzo—"

  “Please.” Our eyes met, and I sighed. The please got to me, melting whatever phony icy shield I had tried to put up. If I was honest, I’d melted at the sight of him at my door.

  “Fine.” I sighed, stepping in and pushing the door open. “But no funny business.”

  “Funny business?” he repeated, his eyes clearly amused.

  He walked in, and I closed the door. I watched as he set the pizza box and flowers on my coffee table.

  There were probably only eight feet between us max, but it felt like so much more than that. Which made me feel even more awkward considering how very acquainted I’d become with him this weekend.

  “So.”

  “So,” he said, stuffing his hands into the front pockets of his dress slacks.

  “You going to explain?” I a
sked, and he nodded.

  “I told you I’d had one serious relationship.”

  “Right.”

  “I’m over it,” he quickly added, and my eyes narrowed, wondering where the hell this would go. “But being with someone for so long, someone so painfully obviously wrong for me, left me doubting myself. Second-guessing my choices.”

  “Okay,” I muttered, wondering if he was saying he was worried I was like her. Like the woman who hadn’t appreciated what an amazing man she had by her side and just used him for her convenience.

  “By the look on your face, I’m not explaining myself right.”

  “I get it. I think.” I swallowed.

  “Oh, my little minx, you don’t.” He closed the space between us, and just like that, it was hard to remember why I was pissed off. His scent enveloped me. Musky spices with a hint of something I couldn’t put my finger on but made me want to bury my face in the crook of his neck and spend hours trying to figure it out. “Something about you makes me want things I haven’t wanted in a long time. I got spooked because it had only been three days.”

  “What kinds of things?” I asked so quietly I was afraid he hadn’t heard me. But his hand touched my cheek gently, letting me know he had.

  “Things that would probably send you running because of how extreme they are.”

  “Try me,” I pushed.

  Could he feel everything I did?

  Could this feeling, this huge feeling, be something we both felt? God, I wanted that. I wanted to hope but was scared I was wrong.

  It was why not hearing from him today had stung.

  His fingers went underneath my chin and tipped my head up, making sure I was looking directly at him.

  “I want you to be my… Valentine,” he said dramatically, and I stilled, letting myself process his words before I laughed.

  “That’s cute.” I was about to step back when he threw me a loop.

  “My forever Valentine.” My head jerked toward him, and this time, I wasn’t laughing.

  “Forever?” I asked in a hushed tone.

  “Forever,” he repeated in a confident tone.

  “That’s a really long time,” I pointed out as my body shook slightly.

  “I know.” He sighed, and before I knew what was happening, he picked me up like a groom would carry his bride.

  “What are you—“ But he didn’t let me finish.

  His lips touched mine, and just like that, I was lost. I was lost in the flurry that was Enzo and his perfect and amazingly capable mouth.

  Lost in the feel of being held my him.

  His body.

  His strength.

  Being close to him soothed me. Like two jagged puzzle pieces coming together, made exactly for one another.

  In the back of my head I realized he sat us down. His lips moved from mine to my chin and jaw.

  “Fuck, I missed you.”

  “It’s been less than a day,” I pointed out.

  “That’s why I got spooked,” he admitted. “Leaving this morning felt like I was leaving a limb behind.” His words had me smiling, but it was the honest expression on his handsome face that made my heart really soar. He wasn’t leading me on. He was being real.

  “Waking up without you sucked,” I admitted, feeling tit for tat was only fair.

  “I should have left a note or called,” he said, and I looked up at him. God, it was tempting to let myself drown in his dark brown eyes.

  “You should have.” I stuck to trying to be a hard-ass, channeling my inner teacher voice. “Look, Enzo, I’m not expecting anything. It was three great days. And believe it or not, I think I get it. If this freaks you out, and if moving on from here is something you think is too much to give it a shot, I really need you to do me a favor,” I bravely said, my heart set on a plan to move forward.

  “What’s that?”

  “Tonight has to be the last night.” The thought made me want to keel over, but I kept talking with my head held high. “No more popping over here out of nowhere.” My voice was steady even though everything inside of me felt conflicted. “I know myself,” I continued, moving forward much like I was used to in life, “and everything you make me feel, despite it being only a couple of days, you could really do a number on me.” It was probably really stupid to let a man know he had power over you and your body. But I feared it was more than my body.

  In less than three entire days, he had stolen my heart.

  “I don’t want this last weekend to be something I’ll one day regret.”

  “Ginny.” He searched my eyes and swallowed. “I don’t know…” His words faded, and I looked down.

  That hesitation killed. The tops of his black leather loafers, shiny and new, that’s what we were. Shiny and new, not sure if we’d make it through the test of time. I wasn’t asking for him to tell me he would love me until the end of time. I just wanted him to reassure me I wasn’t some plaything he was using as a rebound.

  But from the look on his face, as I looked back up, I could see it. He couldn’t give me that. But I could take tonight.

  “Promise me, please,” I whispered and closed my eyes at the feel of his arms wrapping around me. In them it felt like he could protect me from anything and everything in the world.

  That he could protect what we had found.

  “I promise,” he grunted to the top of my head, and I moved to wrap my arms around him. “I won’t jerk you around. I’ll be honest every step of the way and—“ I smiled up at him and set my finger on his lips.

  “That’s all I need,” I said softly, and it felt like a tidal wave of need that had been pent up and working its way over the dam broke and took over.

  There was no need for words after that. Our bodies did all the communicating for the rest of the night.

  Good thing pizza was good cold.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ENZO

  WATCHING her sleep in my arms, her eyelashes fanned out on her cheeks, her blonde hair over her face, I moved and stroked the tresses away so I could get a better look at her.

  Staring at Ginny Black was a revelation.

  I knew I was a goner. A hopeless goner.

  I’d signed my heart away the moment I’d crossed the threshold of the club and seen her moving toward the bar. I’d never had a chance fighting against everything Gin made me feel.

  The one thing I thrived most on was how alive I felt. Awake. Alive and awake when I was with her, wanting to squeeze out every moment of the day next to her.

  She stirred, and I watched silently as she opened her eyes. Blinking quietly as she took me in next to her.

  “You’re still here.” The surprise was clear in her sleepy tone.

  “Where else would I be?” I asked, stroking her face, and she covered my hand with her own.

  “I wasn’t kidding, Enzo. I’m not one of those women who like to be toyed with.” The stern hint in her voice made me smile. Fuck, she was cute. I bet she was sexy as hell when she got pissed. “Why are you smiling?” Her brow raised, her eyes clearer by the second.

  “I was just thinking you’re freaking cute.”

  “Cute?” she repeated, her eyes wider, and fuck me, I felt her beauty like a touch to my soul. I’d most definitely never had a fucking chance.

  “Hmm…” My hands skimmed her bare arm, and I didn’t miss her reaction to my touch. Her skin filled with goose bumps. I flipped us over quickly, so her back was to the mattress and my body was looming over hers.

  “Enzo,” she breathed, and my morning wood hardened, straining to get into her hot heat.

  “I love it when you say my name, Ginny.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Hmm…” I breathed in deep before exhaling slowly. “I was thinking about giving us a good way to wake up.” My face nuzzled her throat, my tongue swiped over her pulse point, and the erratic beating of it wasn’t lost on me.

  “Enzo.”

  “I have a business trip today,” I shared, “I h
ave to go to San Jose. Visit one of the locations. I won’t be back till late tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll pick you up from school Thursday,” I told her, enjoying the way my touch affected her, watching the show she gave.

  “What?” she mumbled, her head moving slightly to give me space as I kissed and licked and nipped at her delicate flesh.

  “I’ll pick you up Thursday. Wear a dress. A little black one. Or red one,” I ordered, thinking about sliding my hand up the backs of her thighs.

  “Enzo,” she moaned as I slid into her and she hiked her leg over my hip. “Oh my god, that’s good,” she purred as she squirmed trying to get me in deeper.

  “Fucking perfection.”

  “What’s Thursday?” she asked, whimpering the loss of me as I slid out of her, and moaned louder when I thrust back in.

  “Our first date,” I groaned as I worked my body in and out of hers, and we quickly got lost in one another. Passion burned brightly and made the night one to remember.

  GINNY

  I HAD WOKEN up slowly this morning, and it was like a whole new day. I knew he was gone before I opened my eyes, but this morning was different than the day before.

  He’d woken me softly minutes before he’d had to leave.

  With soft leisurely kisses, he’d tempted me to ask him to stay. But I couldn’t. He had work, and so did I. There was no way I could take the day off. I had been about to get up to walk him out, but he’d insisted I stay in bed, kissing my forehead before leaving and locking up behind him.

  The work day had gone by smoothly enough even if it had been long.

  Now, I was back home, folding a load of laundry and contemplating texting Enzo. He had texted while I was on my break, letting me know he had landed and would call later. Then, on my drive home, he’d texted that his meetings were driving him batshit crazy with how long they were running and that he would call when he had the chance. I shook my head and smiled.

  As crazy as it was, I was excited.

  Excited about life and the future for the first time in a very long time.

  CHAPTER NINE

  GINNY

  THE BELL RANG, and I took a quick second to thank the higher powers above. The day had felt like it had dragged by slowly, but wasn’t that always the case when you were excited about something? I said goodbye to my kids with a goofy smile I hadn’t been able to wipe off my face since this morning.