Fire & Ice (The Locklaine Boys #1) (29 page)

“CHANCE!”

I knew my voice was far too high pitched when Tomas leaned in and whispered under his breath, “Simmer down, girly. Any higher and only dogs will be able to hear you.”

“Hi,” he smiled sheepishly. “I know it’s a little presumptuous to just show up here and ask you out again after my texts went unanswered, but I figured I’d give it one last shot. I swear I’m not crazy. If you tell me you’re not interested, I’ll go away. I just couldn’t not try again. I’d have to kick my own ass if I didn’t take a chance and you’d have said yes.”

At the way his cheeks grew pink with nerves after his endearing speech, I was instantly reminded of just how good looking the guy was. I’d have to be blind not to notice him. He had a strong, chiseled jawline. There was a charming curve in his otherwise perfect nose, as though it’d been broken in the past. His blonde hair was mixed with light and dark streaks, not the kind you purchase at a salon, but ones you get from being in the sun, and the golden glow of his skin could attest to that as well. He as tall, well built, and when he smiled, he did it openly, without reservations.

The only problem was, I didn’t feel that flutter in my belly I got when I looked at Griffin. My blood didn’t run hot. My fingers didn’t itch to reach out and touch him.

I shook my head in an attempt to rid it of the melancholy creeping back in. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I just blew you off like that. It was never my intention. I just… things kind of got… complicated,” I finished pathetically.

“Ah,” he nodded, one side of his mouth tipping up. “The dreaded ‘c’ word. I understand.”

“I’m so sorry,” I repeated quietly, suddenly feeling like the worst kind of person for not only blowing off, but also turning down, a man who seemed nothing but genuinely sweet. I had no doubt that had the women on Manhattan known I’d rejected such a fine specimen, I’d have been stoned in the streets.

“No worries,” he replied. “I just appreciate your honesty.” Closing the last few feet between us, he reached for the hand hanging limp at my side and brought it up, brushing a kiss across my knuckles. “It’s been lovely meeting you, Pepper. I hope whatever has complicated your life recently sorts itself out.”

Just as his hand reached out and grasped the door handle my mouth opened and words started flying out of their own accord. “Wait. I…” When he turned back around, looking hopeful, I wanted to hit myself. I hadn’t stopped him for what he’d expected, I just hoped that what I had to offer was enough.

“Look, you seem like a really nice guy… like, unbelievably nice. Seriously, I feel like the meanest person in the world, turning you down, that’s how nice you are.”

His hearty laughter rang through the boutique, the rich, enticing sound enveloped me, and I found myself thinking that Chance would, no doubt, make someone woman
very
happy one day. “But things are complicated,” he repeated my earlier words.

“Yes, they are. But… if you’re ever looking to broaden your circle of friends, I’m told I’m a pretty good one.”

“If you keep her stocked in oatmeal crème pies!” Tomas declared, uncaring of the fact he was eavesdropping.

I found myself grinning as Chance laughed again. “If you don’t mind being placed firmly in the friend-zone, my friends and I are a pretty fun crowd. You could do a lot worse, believe me.”

He turned on his heels and headed back in my direction. “You know what? I think I’ll take you up on that.”

“Great!” I exclaimed, reaching out to shake his hand. “Maybe we can do coffee or something one day. Friends do that all the time.”

“Just give me a time and place,” he answered on an attractive grin as he returned my gesture and took my hand, shaking it lightly.
Damn it! Why can’t I feel friggin’ butterflies around this guy
? “I’ll see you around, friend.”

“See you around, Chance.”

He lifted my hand and placed one more kiss on my knuckles before turning and exiting the shop.

“Damn, baby girl,” Tomas breathed behind me. “If you can get that man to play for my team, just
one
game, I’ll leave everything I own to you in my will.”

HE KISSED HER HAND.

That fucker kissed her hand! Not once, but twice.

And she fucking
liked
it!

It had taken every single ounce of self-restraint not to bust through the door of Fire & Ice and rip the son of a bitch’s lips right off his face. The image of her smiling, laughing face through as that bastard kissed her hand had played on a continuous loop in my head for the past two hours. My rage grew with every passing second until it was radiating from every pore, warning everyone around to give me a wide berth. My laser focus was on one task, and one task only. Finding out who the fuck Chance Hoffman was and hunting him down.

“What’d that keyboard ever do to you?” Dex asked, speaking to me of his own volition for the first time in three days. To say his refusal to talk to me was creating a serious pain in the ass at work was an understatement.

“Nothing,” I grunted as I continued to pound away on the keys, taking my frustrations out on the poor, defenseless letters.

He stood up moments later and rounded our desks and I assumed he was getting himself a cup of coffee or something. That was, until he spoke again, this time from right behind me.

“You’re doing a Google search on Chance Hoffman? The dude who asked Pepper out? What the fuck, man?”

“Not your concern,” I muttered as I continued scrolling through anything I could find.

“Let’s go,” Dex said, reaching over and hitting the button on my monitor, turning the screen black.

“What the hell?!” I spun around in my chair, ready for a fight if that’s what it came to, but his face was completely relaxed.

“Time for a break. Let’s go grab a coffee. We need to talk.”

Rubbing at my exhausted eyes, I gave in and stood from my desk. I was dead on my feet, physically drained from lack of sleep, and my head had been in a fog for days. I didn’t have it in me to argue with Dex. I followed him to the bodega around the corner that looked like it should have been closed down by the health department years ago, but made some of the best fucking coffee I’d ever had.

“You look like shit,” he offered once we had our cups in hand.

“Really? ‘Cause I don’t think I’ve ever felt better,” I replied, sarcasm dripping from ever word. “Look, if you dragged me out here just to give me shit about Pepper, I don’t fucking need it, okay?”

“I don’t think you’re good enough for her.”

Fuck me. And the hits just keep coming
. “Pretty sure I got that loud and clear, man,” I replied dryly.

“Then again, I’ve never thought anyone was good enough. So I guess if my baby sis is finally looking to settle down, I figure I’ll sleep better at night if she’s with someone I’d trust with my life than a stranger I’d probably have to threaten while cleaning my gun.”

My feet immediately stopped working as I blinked after him. When he realized I was no longer walking next to him, he stopped and turned around. “Don’t fuck with me man,” I warned. “I’m going on almost forty-eight hours with little-to-no sleep. If you’re messing with me, I swear to Christ, I’m gonna shoot you.”

“Not messing with you,” he laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. “I swear. Pepper and Wendy both laid into my ass, made me see that I have a tendency to be a dick. Truth is, if you’re serious about Pepper I’m happy for you, brother.”

I resumed walking as I answered, “Yeah well, only problem is your sister’s always been a bit more stubborn than most people. She refuses to answer my calls or respond to my texts. After that shit show with Kat, she’s convinced I was just playing games.” I turned my head and leveled him with a murderous glare. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

He winced before defending, “Hey, that wasn’t me. It was all Wendy. But I swear, if we’d have known, that never would have gone down. I’m sorry. And I’ll help in whatever way I can. But just so you know, she’s probably not talking to me right now, either.”

All of a sudden, it was like a light bulb went off. “That’s all right. I think I’ve got something else in mind.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?”

I looked at my partner and grinned. “Time to run a background check on Mr. Hoffman.”

The last thing I heard as we pushed through the doors of the station was his muttered, “Ah, hell.”

“
I’M SORRY… YOU WANT
me to what?” Richard asked in astonishment.

It couldn’t have worked out more beautifully if I’d planned it myself. Turned out that Chance Hoffman was an attorney at none other than Whitfield, Sherman, and Miller. The same law firm my cousin Richard worked at. After discovering that little gem, I decided that I hadn’t seen my cousin in far too long and texted to see if he wanted to meet for a beer after work the following day. I was on day four of no contact from Pepper. If I didn’t get this shit straightened out soon, I was going to lose my fucking mind.

“It’s not like I want you to threaten the guy or anything. Just warn him off. Convince him Pepper’s got some antibiotic resistant disease or something, I don’t know, just… think of something!”

Richard downed the rest of his beer before waving at the bartender for another round. “You realize we’re all adults now, right?”

“You’re hilarious,” I deadpanned. “Are you gonna help me out or not?”

Richard’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “Why do you even want me to do this? I know you two hate each other, but convincing a guy who’s interested in her that she’s got an incurable STD seems a little low, even for you.”

“It doesn’t have to be an STD. It could be Ebola or something. That made a comeback recently, didn’t it? I think I remember seeing shit all over the news about it. And we don’t hate each other. We’re actually together… or at least we were. But this jack-hole, Hoffman is interested in her, and I can’t have him sniffing around while I’m trying to win her back.”

“Wait… you two were together?”

“Yeah.”

“You and Pepper?”

I felt my frustration at his perplexed expression growing by the second as I ground out another, “Yes.”

“Pepper O’Malley.”

“For fuck’s sake. Yes, Richard!”