Page 39 of It's Only Love

Chapter 13

Just when I was beginning to think he was a decent guy he turns back into King of all Assholes, Christy thought bitterly. She felt so stupid, how could she have let things go so far? Well, that was easy to answer, it had felt so damn good, her body still humming with satisfaction even now. His kisses had been drugging, his touch was to die for and the way he looked at her? She felt genuinely desirable for the first time in her life, and it was an intoxicating feeling. However, all of that had been snatched away immediately.

After their encounter she needed a moment to put herself back together, she had been vulnerable. The gentle, tender kiss he gave her afterward had shaken her, even now thinking of it she felt a strange pang in her chest she didn’t want to look at too closely. It was all an illusion, because when he came back with paper towels, he was surly and distant. He refused to look at her and then kicked her out. Pulling her onto the forecourt of the garage and telling her he would drop her car by later before heading back into his office, and slamming the door shut so hard the glass panes rattled. What a fool she was to have trusted him.

“Asshole,” she muttered again, as sadness hit her, tears threatening to fill her eyes. She blinked them back, refusing to cry because of him, again. What had she expected though? Why did she go along with it? He clearly pegged her as an easy mark just like Alfie had and he was right, she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. This was exactly the reason she swore off men, she couldn’t trust any of them and she only had herself to blame.

Christy walked through the town, looking for Justine’s office. It wasn’t hard to find, being on the main strip, and as she went inside, she was instantly cooled by the blast of air conditioning. The main door led straight into the reception area. Christy gazed around taking in the fancy leather chairs, and tall, leafy plants. There was a coffee table full of magazines and a TV in the corner playing a daytime soap with the volume down low. She had never seen Justine’s place of work, the small practice she had built from the ground up and Christy was so proud seeing what her friend had accomplished.

She was greeted by a smartly dressed woman sitting behind a neat desk, this must be Hilda, Justine’s secretary. Christy heard a lot about her over the years, Justine often said she would be lost without her.

“Can I help you, dear?” Hilda asked with a gentle smile.

“Is Justine free?”

“She’s with a client at the moment, she’ll be done in about half an hour if you would like to wait?”

“Is she free for the rest of the afternoon?”

Hilda scanned the screen of her sleek looking computer. “Looks like it, would you like to make an appointment?”

“No, thank you, I’m a friend. Is it possible to leave a note for her?”

Hilda nodded and passed Christy a notepad and pen. Christy scribbled that she would be at the Rusty Bucket and asked Justine to swing by when she was finished so they could have lunch. She said goodbye and left the office, the stifling heat hitting her in the face as soon as she left the building.

She started walking to the bar, knowing it was going to be difficult in the heat, but there would be huge pine trees to walk under for shade. As she walked, her thoughts inevitably turned towards her encounter with Dean. She couldn’t get the way he looked out of her mind. Lips swollen from their kisses, eyes stormy with passion and expression lit with pleasure. He’d given her the first orgasm she had that hadn’t come from herself, it had been intense, so consuming and her body clenched at the reminder. She shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind and instead focused on her writing. She was in the middle of a huge bout of writer’s block she needed to crack soon, or she would go crazy.

She was on book four of her detective series and wasn’t sure how to deal with the fallout from the end of book three. Her pen had gotten away from her and she had killed off the main character’s love interest in a bold move that she now regretted; her readers were not happy with her. As she tried to brainstorm ways to get around it, aside from a sudden resurrection, she noticed a car pull up alongside her. The window rolled down and Justine smiled at her.

“Get in, it’s too hot for walking!”

Christy climbed into the car, grateful to be out of the sun and distracted from her thoughts. They chatted as Justine drove and a few minutes later they pulled up outside the bar.

“Hello, my loves,” Taylor called as they went inside, “Welcome to Heaven!”

“Now I know why you never leave this place, it’s so cool,” Justine muttered as she slipped onto a bar stool.

“I saved up for two years to get air conditioning installed here and it’s already paying for itself, customers are crowding in just to get out of the heat,” Taylor said proudly. Christy looked around and, for a weekday lunchtime, it was very busy.

“You should really wear less clothes, Justine,” Taylor admonished, gesturing to Justine’s orange knit dress and then down to her own short shorts and strapless top.

“If I dressed like you then my clients wouldn’t be able to focus on their problems!” Justine shot back.

“My, my someone thinks highly of themselves,” Taylor sniped at her, but there was humor in her eyes. You had to be blind not to notice how stunning Justine was and she was silly to pretend otherwise. As Christy listened to their back and forth, she felt herself relax for the first time all day. Well, second time if you count immediately after Dean made her co-

“Christy, is that beard burn on your cheek?” Justine asked slyly. Christy immediately blushed and shifted uncomfortably on her tiny bar stool as Taylor eyed her closely.

“Don’t be ridiculous! It’s clearly heat rash, I’m not used to this warmer climate yet,” she replied, but Justine didn’t take the hint.

“I thought you and Beau had called it quits?”

“Then who gave you that?” Taylor said, still staring intensely.

“Guys, it’s not beard burn, okay? It’s heat rash!” Christy cried, Taylor’s gaze continued to bore into her like she knew exactly who’s beard had burned her.

“If you say so,” Justine sang shrugging her shoulders. “So, how’s the house coming on?”

“It’s great! Beau and Dean have been great with helping out,” Christy replied, grateful for the subject change. Taylor turned away to get them some drinks.

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