Page 15 of Candy

Ispent all day thinking about the tavern and the pending sale. If what Candy said was true, Howard might be unable to sell it to the city slicker he was hoping to. Would he be able to find another buyer before I was ready?

I spent a good chunk of the day trying to figure out a way to manage it, but unless Howard wanted to drop the price at least a hundred grand, there was no way I could achieve it. I just didn’t have the credit for it.

For a while, I wondered if I could find a partner to go in on it with me, but the only people I knew were the guys from the club, and the last thing I wanted to do was bring one of them on. It would change the dynamics of the club, and I didn’t want this place to be a biker bar.

The tavern was a place for families to celebrate graduations and birthdays, for people to enjoy dates, and for coworkers to kick back and talk trash after a long week. I wanted it to stay that way. If it didn’t, people like Candy and her siblings wouldn’t visit, and those were the people that shelled out big money for food and booze.

I had to wait and see what Candy said later tonight after finishing the estimate. As I thought about that, I felt a slight thrill at the thought that she would be back, and it wasn’t to hang with other people. She was coming back here to do something for me—well, for Howard, but she was coming because I had asked.

Perhaps she might advise me on what she thought I should do. Would she do that? I scoffed at myself. Why would she even care?

After what happened earlier today, I’d be surprised if she even returned. She might have kissed me back, but once she had the chance to think about it, I’m pretty sure she would realize the mistake that it had been.

I managed to put all the thoughts away for a while when we started to get busy with the dinner rush, but as the clock grew closer to nine, I began to watch the door.

I tried to convince myself that she would not come tonight when she showed up looking tired but still beautiful. I was going to walk her down, but she quickly dismissed the option, and I realized she didn’t want me around.

I sighed as she disappeared through the door. At least she was nice enough to come back and do the estimate on the basement. I shouldn’t have expected anything more.

When all the patrons were gone, I slipped down the stairs. I stood at the bottom of the steps, watching her for a few moments. Every few seconds, she’d push a lock of hair behind her ear, then type on her tablet. Then she’d adjust a dial, take a measurement, walk around, and then move her hair behind her ear and repeat the process.

She was beautiful and intelligent. I had no clue what she was doing, but how she moved told me she knew what she was doing.

I left her to finish and went into the kitchen, telling David I wanted to grill two chicken breasts. He tossed them onto the counter for me to season and did some prep work for the next day as his sous chef and dishwasher cleaned up.

We chatted about Howard selling and what Candy was doing in the basement, and I was just finishing when she came in to find me. I might not be able to do anything more for this woman than feed her, but I was glad I could do that.

We talked while eating, and then I walked her out to her car. I was concerned about how tired she looked, but after planting a significant smooch on her lips, she seemed more awake.

As I watched her drive away, I touched my bottom lip. It still tingled from the kiss. I had never kissed a woman and felt any part of my body tingle before. What was it about her? Perhaps something she put on her lips did that on purpose. If they could make lube that warmed, they could make a lip gloss that tingled.

I returned to the tavern, not giving it another thought.

Well, not until two in the morning when I was trying to sleep. Then I was not only thinking about it but slowly stroking myself as I lay on my bed.

After getting myself off and cleaned up, I lay there staring at the ceiling, wondering about something she said. Candy had mentioned that none of the guys she had been with recently had been any good in bed. Would she think I was? Would I be able to convince her that I could be?

I had been with many women and knew my way around their bodies. While I’d usually been all about knocking my balls and getting myself off, there were plenty of times that I wanted the woman to enjoy it too.

When I finally fell asleep around three, I had convinced myself that I could talk Candy into my bed. The last thought I had as I drifted off was, could I keep her there?

* * *

Igot a text from Candy around four the next day. She said that she had the quote and wanted to see if I was at the tavern so she could drop it off. I thought that was interesting because she could have easily put it into an envelope with my name and left it here if I hadn’t been, but she had decided to text me instead to make sure.

Did that mean she wanted to see me? I grinned to myself as I responded,I am here. What time will you be? I can make you a quick dinner to eat or take with you.

Be there in twenty. I would kill for a burger and fries! I’ll have like fifteen minutes to scarf it down. Thanks!

I grinned and told David to have a burger platter ready in twenty minutes. I checked the clock every three minutes, and finally, Candy breezed in the door, her hair pulled up today, with little wisps hanging around her face. Her lips were glossy, and I wanted to taste them again immediately, but I remained behind the bar and smiled.

“How is your day so far?”

“Good. I only have one more appointment today, and it should be a quick house inspection. My seven o’clock canceled.”

“Then you have an early night. You look like you could use a few hours of extra sleep. Let me grab your food.”

I returned a couple of minutes later and set the plate down as she stared at me. “Was that your way of saying I looked like shit?”

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