Lucky For You (Never Too Late Book 3) Read online

  “We don’t need your money,” was all she said, and both Rex and Sam turned to look at her.

  There she stood in one of her sweet pencil skirts, a baby blue cardigan under her black work apron, only a hint of her magnificent cleavage showing beneath. She stood taller, her eyes determined even if a little resigned.

  “We don’t need it,” she repeated. “I’ll get my attorneys to do whatever they have to, so you aren’t responsible for it. You want to see her because she’s your daughter, your flesh and blood, because she’s an amazing kid that by just being around her brings you joy, then by all means you can see her anytime you want.” That was when her eyes lit up with fire and she took a confident, ice-cold step forward as she hissed, “But don’t come over here spewing your bullshit and lies. Making these kind of scenes.” The fire blazed in her pretty eyes, and Rex felt fucking proud of her. But he still stood at her side just in case the dick did something stupid. “Not to my man and sure as hell not to my kid! And let me tell you right now, Sam, you are fucking lucky she didn’t see this shit from you, or I wouldn’t have cared who was around, I would have killed you!”

  “Thank fuck. Call your attorneys, have them call mine,” Sam answered. Rex felt her tense even more. He wanted to have a moment to enjoy her calling him her man, but the fact that the asshole was so ready to not be there for his kid was not only maddening, it was fucking heartbreaking.

  “She loves you, Sam.” Her voice disheartened in no way surprised him, and he wondered what kind of man she’d been married to. If maybe what she’d told him hadn’t been all of it.

  “She doesn’t need me, Kiki. I don’t have the time to be driving up here every other week, not with Kimmy pregnant with twins and a new dealership opening up in Brentwood.” Dealership? The fucker had more than one car dealership, obviously making good money and didn’t want to fork over anything to help his daughter out?

  Rex looked at Keira as she stood there so fucking graceful, her back straight, while she just looked at Sam silently, almost bracing for him to lash out again, but when he didn’t, she just nodded.

  “Good then, it’s settled. Meg deserves better than a shit dad who would only want to see her so he doesn’t have to shell out more money. Or any money.” She shook her head in disgust. “For a guy with three Mercedes dealerships, five hundred bucks putting a strain on your financial well-being is a joke. You know it and I know it. But you know what, she’ll be better off without you than having to be around someone selfish, un-giving, and up his own ass,” she told him cool as ice, showing Rex a side of her he hadn’t seen and would work like hell to avoid. Sam stood there and opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then closed it, turned, and left, hopping into a fucking Benz before he revved up and flew out of town.

  Keira stood with her body strung tight and took a deep, shuddering breath before she turned and glanced at him. And at that moment, all he wanted was to be able to clear her face of that pained, worried look. “That was my ex-husband.”

  “I got that,” he told her gently, wrapping his arms loosely around her, but she didn’t lean into his touch. She was still holding her body tightly.

  “I have to go into work,” she told him. He pulled her chin up with a finger so he could look into her eyes.

  “Okay, babe. You okay?” he asked, not liking the fact she hadn’t softened up to his touch yet.

  “Yeah.” Clearing her throat, she pushed her black glasses up her cute nose. “I have to…” She pointed toward the front door of the salon, and he nodded.

  “I’ll stop by later.”

  “My schedule is back-to-back appointments, Rex.”

  “Just for a minute,” he pushed. She nodded and stepped back away from him. Something about the way she looked didn’t sit well with him.

  “I think I should work this weekend.”

  “But the camping trip?”

  “I’m sorry. I … I just don’t think it would be a good idea. Weekends are high traffic days. The money wouldn’t hurt, Rex.” He looked at her and knew she was being honest and not playing some kind of game with him.

  “I get it, honey. I’ll text Katie.” She looked at her feet and nodded.

  “Okay. I’ll let Meg know, too.”

  “Come here, Key.”

  “Rex, I don’t have time. I need to go in and prep my station and…”

  “Come here, Key,” he repeated and was thankful she took that step toward him. Then he held her close.

  “She’s going to be okay.”

  “She’s going to be heartbroken,” he heard her whisper, and he knew Meg was going to be hurt. But he also knew that as fucked up as it was, Meg didn’t have high expectations of her dad. He also knew he was around and he’d stay around. He was someone they could both count on.

  “We’ll make sure she’s okay. Yeah?” he told her, trying to think of ideas of how to make that happen or even how to soften the blow about the news about the Father of the Year. All her tension disappeared when he caught the way she was looking at him. Suddenly, he felt like he was ten feet high. The light in her eyes made it feel like the sun was shining brightly, reflecting a special warm light behind her eyes.

  “You don’t make it hard to fall for you, do you?” she whispered. Standing on the tips of her toes, she kissed him. It had happened before, not a lot, but it had. But every time she was the one who kissed him, he felt taken aback. Humbled and fucking turned the hell on.

  Grabbing both sides of her face, he took control and deepened the kiss until they were both breathless in the middle of the street in front of their small town’s beauty shop. He pulled away. Her eyes were still closed.

  “Get to work,” he gruffly ordered, and she smiled against his lips as she gave him a small peck.

  “So bossy.” She sighed, her warm sweet breath hitting his lips, making him ache for so much more than he’d had from her in a couple of days.

  “You like bossy,” he reminded her and liked the way she laughed. “I’m off early today. Call me when you’re done here, we’ll plan out dinner.”

  “Okay,” she gave in, pulling away and looking at him. Her green eyes were soft and dreamy. He had not been wrong.

  He was a lucky bastard.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Keira

  Stepping into the salon, she saw her boss Hailey and her two other co-workers, Emma and Pearl, dramatically fanning themselves.

  “Oh, my goodness. If I didn’t have a client coming here in ten minutes, I would rush off home and attack my husband,” Emma shared, and they all burst into laughter.

  “I knew Rex was sexy,” Pearl sighed. “Tell me he has a small pecker, because it would not be fair to other men for that man to be as perfect as he is!” Keira just shrugged then shook her head.

  “Sorry, I don’t like to lie,” she simply answered, a smile on her face. They all laughed and went to their stations.

  Hailey walked over to her later on in the day when she was in the backroom mixing a color for her client. “Hey. You okay?” she asked.

  Keira liked Hailey. Close in age and both single mom with asshole exes, they had clicked easily and if she were honest, they had quickly become close friends.

  “Yeah.” She sighed, looking at the color in the bowl as she mixed the products. “My ex is… well, he is who he is.”

  “I get that. But I mean you and Rex. You guys good?” That caught her attention, and Keira looked up into Hailey’s brown eyes.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Just… Look I know you’re new here… Rex is a great guy, I’ve known him for forever.”

  “You went to school with him and Josh, right?” At the mention of Josh’s name, she thought she saw something like longing flash in Hailey’s eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

  “Yeah… Look, babe. He’s a great guy, but he’s not what you call the forever kind.”

  “Because he’s never gotten married?”

  “That and because rumors are
… well…” She sighed, and Keira stood straighter. “Josh was in here a while back, talking like he always talks too much about all the women they pick up when they go out on their monthly trips out of town.”

  “And?”

  “And well… Rex and Josh still go out that way. I know Rex hasn’t so much as left town since you moved here, but a girl should always know things, and now that I see things are a little more serious, I wanted to let you know,” Hailey shared.

  “Where?” Keira asked, not really caring about Rex’s past. They were hardly young kids. They were grown adults, each with a past of their own.

  “What?”

  “What city do they go to on their trips?”

  “Grapple. It’s about thirty minutes from here. Josh and Rex go out there once a month to get supplies for his batting cages, and they stay to drink and watch the games at one of the bars out there.”

  “I’m sure whatever that was, was before me, Hailey,” she shared and didn’t doubt her words. She trusted Rex.

  “I’m sure, too. I don’t see Rex as a player, even if his best bud is one.”

  “You and Josh?”

  “There is no me and Josh,” Hailey said softly, looking away, but the way she looked, Keira knew that Hailey wasn’t looking at anything in particular. Keira closed in, hugging her new friend.

  “You ever want to talk, I’m here, and I always have wine, tequila, and a blender at my place,” she told Hailey, making both of them laugh before they headed back out to their world of covering roots, facials, and beauty.

  ***

  Her day had gone smoothly, but it had been long and tiring.

  So much so, she forgot to call Rex when she left. She stepped into her small, empty house. Meg was having a sleepover at Katie’s and wouldn’t be back until Sunday. She called Rex on her cell as she kicked off her shoes.

  “Key?” She smiled at the sound of his voice.

  “Hey. Sorry I didn’t call you earlier. I’m home.”

  “And I’m on the road now, actually.”

  “Oh?”

  “Josh found out the camping trip was canceled and he needed me to go with him to get some supplies for the batting cages.” The hairs on her neck stood up, but she shook off the feeling. “Traffic is a bitch, babe. I think we might have to crash there, because the supply shop might be closed by the time we get there.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed away doubt. Rex was a good man, she knew it to her bones. “Just be safe and have fun.”

  “You working tomorrow?” he asked, sounding slightly distracted.

  “Yeah. I had a couple of people set up appointments.”

  “Okay, babe, I’ll call you when I get back.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Key…”

  “Yeah…”

  “I, uhmm,” he cleared his throat. His voice went deliciously low. “I’ll miss you, baby.” She shivered and smiled.

  “I’ll miss you, too. Have fun.”

  “You going to be okay?”

  “Yeah.” She looked around at the empty living room, suddenly tired from Sam’s drama and a work-filled day. “I’m just going to grab a bite and head to bed.”

  “Okay, sleep tight,” he said. She smiled and ended the call.

  ***

  It was after nine the next evening and she hadn’t heard from Rex once. Her day had been busy, but she’d been off early and had texted him to check in, but it had gone without an answer.

  Stretching out her legs on her couch, she smiled when her phone rang and saw it was Hailey calling.

  “Hey, boss,” she said and heard Hailey’s giggles over the line.

  “Keiraahh! You should come out!” she heard her boss slur slightly and smiled, knowing Hailey and Pearl had planned on going out to Crank’s, one of the two bars in town.

  “Honey, I’m exhausted.”

  “Tell sesssy Ressy to give you a break from his huge anaconda… girl’s night! Please!”

  “Rex isn’t home, babe,” she shared, flat out smiling at Hailey’s drunkenness.

  “Josh is here.” Keira’s heart stopped for a moment. “He’s here flirting with some chick young enough to be his freaking kid, Kiki.” Keira could feel the pain laced in Hailey’s voice and heard Pearl in the background, taking the phone from Hailey.

  “Keira?”

  “Pearl?”

  “Listen, I’m going to get her out of here before she starts to cry. She’s already going to hate herself in the morning.”

  “I bet.”

  “I’m off tomorrow, but I’ll see you Monday, okay?”

  “Sounds good, Pearl. Get home safe.” Ending the call, she stared at her phone and pulled up her messages, making sure her text had gone through and it had. It had also been read.

  Biting her lip, a sneaky idea popping into her mind. She got up, got ready, and headed out to Rex’s home only ten minutes away.

  Parking in front of his house, she reached his door and knocked, knowing he was home since his truck was in the driveway. She waited, and when no one answered, she tried again, this time ringing the doorbell. She heard shuffling and ran her hand through her hair, her heart pounding loudly at her ears as she thought about the special outfit she was wearing underneath her coat. The red lace, deep V teddy she had bought with him in mind paired up with sky high, black patent heels. She clenched her thighs together, thinking about the different ways Rex might show his appreciation.

  But the smile on her face fell the moment the door opened and her hand went to her mouth. A woman, about her age, with very perky and obviously fake breasts answered the door in nothing but a towel, water droplets on her tanned, freckled shoulders, her bottle-blond hair dripping wet.

  “Hi.” She smiled at Keira, and everything felt like it was spinning.

  “Umm, hi.” The blonde tilted her head, obviously waiting for Keira to talk, so she cleared her throat. “Sorry, is, uh, Rex here?”

  “Rexy?” Keira flinched at the familiarity of the silly nickname. “Yeah he’s here.” The blonde smiled, a gleam in her eyes, before she pointed behind her, running her hand into her dripping hair. “He’s asleep.”

  Asleep.

  The blonde still stood in front of her, dripping, in nothing but a towel. Connecting the only dots that had been handed to her, she looked at the woman that was giving her a slightly confused look.

  “You okay? I can wake him...” she said. Keira felt like she was going to be sick.

  “I, uh… I have to go. Sorry to, umm…”

  “Who should I tell him stopped by?” The blonde asked, genuine concern donning over her face.

  “No one. I’m, umm” she swallowed the huge knot that had formed out of nowhere. “No one. I’m no one to him.” She stepped away and walked to her car, her heart breaking more with each small step she took.

  She’d been so sure he was one of the good ones. She’d been stupid enough to believe him when he had told her he wouldn’t hurt her just a few days ago. He’d sounded so damn sincere and honest! God, she was an idiot! An idiot in a red lace teddy, stripper heels, and a trench coat! God! She was a walking, breathing cliché.

  Her phone in her purse, which she’d thrown into the backseat, started ringing, so she pulled over as she tried to catch her breath, fighting the tears that she knew were going to spill in only a matter of time. Reaching for her bag, she found her phone, and checked to make sure it wasn’t Megan.

  Rex Calling… She pressed ‘Ignore’ and sat in her car, looking out at the empty dark road ahead of her. Deep, aching pain stung what felt like every nerve and pore in her body.

  She’d believed every one of his words. Everything. She loved everything about him. Frustration swept through her. He wasn’t the kind of man to play games. She was sure of that. But then she thought about the blonde at his door, and heartache stronger and deeper than any she’d ever felt swept over her. How was it possible she’d let herself fall so hard for him? She wanted to let the anger take over, but she couldn’t seem to
grasp on to it. She felt defeated and plain ‘ole sad. She should have known better. She was too old for dating and relationships.

  Silencing her phone, ignoring the way text messages flooded her inbox, she threw it to the backseat, hearing it land on the floor, but she didn’t care. She tilted her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes.

  Staying that way for God only knew how long, she finally opened her eyes and looked out at the darkened road. She was only about a mile away from home, but she didn’t want to go there only to dwell on what happened. Something about the whole thing didn’t make sense to her. She knew what it looked like. But he’d told her he wouldn’t hurt her, and she’d believed him. She needed to talk to him. She was just about to start the ignition, when a truck with red and blue police lights flashing pulled up behind her. Her body tensed up.

  She didn’t look back to see if it was him, but kept her eyes trained on the road ahead, fighting back tears. He had come for her. At the knock on her window, she rolled it down halfway.

  “What the hell, Key?” he asked, obviously perturbed, but she didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. The possibility of him having just been with the woman at his door made her sick. “Key.” His voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at him.

  He caught her by surprise by leaning down so that she could look at his ruggedly handsome face, but she didn’t say one word. She was terrified she’d either chew his ass out or burst into sobs.

  “I called you,” he told her, his sexy jaw twitching. Her hands wanted to touch him.

  “I was driving,” she said in a steady voice.

  “I can see that. I can also see you’ve been parked here for a bit and your phone’s on the floor in the backseat.” He scowled, sarcasm dripping from his voice. She realized that this was a pivotal point in her life.

  She could be that woman who let men walk all over her like she had in the past, or step up and tell him to fuck off. He’d mentioned before she had trouble written all over her, and maybe it was time to show him just how much trouble she could be.

  “What do you want?” she clipped, and his eyes went big.