“It’s okay. I get it, alright? Don’t beat yourself up.” She was still healing, still grieving, and I knew she was doing the best she could. “Come sit down for a minute.”
She did, pulling her legs up underneath her and accepting the wine glass I handed her.
“Maple really likes you,” she said, taking a sip.
“Yeah, she’s pretty sweet.” Never thought I’d be a kid type of guy, but she was just so damn cute.
As Finley settled in beside me, the scent of vanilla and soap greeted me. I took another long sip of wine, hoping to tramp down the feelings of lust she stirred in me.
“Have you kept in touch with any of the other guys? Nolan? West?” she asked.
I grunted an affirmative. “Yeah. West owns the bar in town now. He totally remodeled the place. It’s doing quite well.”
“Is he still a surly son of a bitch?” She smirked at me.
I barked out a short laugh. “That’s not how I would have put it, but yeah, sure is. He needs a good woman in his life. His ex really did a number on him.”
“Scarlet, right?”
“Good memory.”
Finley shrugged. “She actually used to work at the club. She was gone by the time I started, but I’ve heard some pretty unsavory stories.”
“I bet. I knew that girl was trouble from the first time I laid eyes on her. Manipulative. Opportunistic.” Made my fucking stomach turn, just thinking of all the ways she fucked him up. But cheating on him when he was deployed was by far the worst.
“I promise not all the girls at the club are like that. For the most part, they’re nice, normal women.”
“Like you?” I asked.
She nodded and took another sip of her wine, her eyes cast down on the floor.
Clearing my throat, I continued on. “Nolan’s settled down, found himself a woman who can handle all his shit. Lacey.” Just saying her name made me happy. She really was Nolan’s perfect match. The light to his occasional dark, stormy moods. Which reminded me—I owed them a visit. It had been too long.
“That’s good to hear,” Finley agreed.
“What about you?” I asked. “You keep in touch with anyone from the old crew?”
“No, I admit I haven’t done a good job at that. Aside from Marcus’s parents.”
“They still live in Florida?”
She nodded. “Yes. I do video chats with them so they can see Maple grow. I don’t think she quite gets it yet, she usually just tries to chew on my phone. And they’re great about sending little gifts and seeing her when they can. They don’t know about the money issues,” she admitted softly.
“And you? How have you been, really?” Despite the times we’d spoken recently, I still didn’t think I’d gotten to the truth of how she was faring. Tonight I wanted to strip away all of the pretenses and get to the heart of the situation that had haunted me for almost two years.
Her fingers on the stem of the glass trembled. “How do you think? My husband was killed. I had a baby – alone. None of that was ever in my life plan.”
“But you managed.”
“I did.” Her eyes flashed with determination, despite all she’d been forced to endure. It was something I admired about her big time. In my line of work, weakness could get you killed. Staying clear-headed and focused and just doing what you had to do to survive were deeply ingrained in me. And Finley spoke the same language.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” She lifted one manicured eyebrow at me, a smirk pulling up her lips.
“I’m impressed – how you’ve held it all together. How you’re raising Maple alone.”
She shrugged off the compliment. “It’s what I had to do. And it’s what anyone would have done in my shoes.”
“It’s not what everyone would have done,” I corrected her. A weaker person would have sought comfort at the bottom of a bottle, or worse.
“You’re incredible. In so many ways.”
“I’m a damn stripper, for Christ’s sake, Greyson. Listen to yourself. You make it sound like I’m Mother Theresa. I take my clothes off for money and shake my tits in their face.”
“That’s what I’m telling you, you don’t have to be a stripper. You can be whatever you want to be.” I’d seen the strength, determination, and just sheer bullheadedness she possessed. There was no doubt in my mind she’d tackle any obstacle flung her way.
“And what would you have me be, Grey? The pretty little wife to a man from my somber past?”
Adrenaline shot through me, making my heart pump faster and my hands curl into fists.
“I couldn’t live with myself,” she added under her breath.
Taking a chance, I slid closer to her on the couch and lifted my fingertips to her cheek. Her skin was even softer than it looked – and warm.
“That's not what I was implying at all. But I could be here for you. Not just for Maple, but to take care of you.” I smoothed my thumb across her skin. She closed her eyes, and leaned slightly into my touch.
But then her eyes flashed open. “I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can. But I’m assuming you haven’t had a man in your life in a long time … someone to count on, someone to …”
Her gaze penetrated mine and the words died in my throat. To what? Pleasure her body? Give her a few mind-blowing orgasms? If I said it out loud, I knew I’d sound like an ass, so I didn’t. I just continued stroking her velvety soft skin and watched as her breathing grew shallow.