Opposites Attract (The Locklaine Boys Book 2) (12 page)

I don’t know how long I stood there in complete silence… like an idiot… before I finally snapped out of it. I gave my head a quick shake and pulled my phone from my purse. After a hasty number exchange, I stowed my phone away, grabbed the offending panty basket, and took a step back, but not before noticing that Shady looked surprisingly content in Richard’s arms. “Thank you so much for this. I owe you one.”

“You most certainly do.” He winked again and I could have sworn one of my ovaries exploded.

“Uh… just… call or text if you need anything. ‘Kay, bye!” I scurried for my door, unlocking it so I could throw the laundry basket inside the door and headed back to the elevators, giving Richard a little wave, unable to meet his eyes as I passed by again.

“Have a good day, Delilah,” he called out. “See you this evening.”

“Yep, you too. Later!” Luckily, the elevator Gods were looking down on me and the doors opened with a ding as soon as I hit the button.

Once the doors closed and I was safely — and blessedly — alone, I dropped my head back and stared up at the mirrored ceiling. “Biggest. Loser. In. The. World.” I didn’t think it was possible for my day to get any worse.

It wasn’t until later that evening that I would be proven very,
very
wrong.

I WAS DEAD ON
my feet by the time I left Flora later that evening. The sense of accomplishment I felt at doing what I loved successfully, maintaining my family’s legacy, gave me a serious high. But there were rare occasions — such as today — when my level of exhaustion made me unnaturally grumpy.

My phone pinged with an incoming text message just as I stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button for my floor. I leaned against the back wall and fished through my bag until I found it, an unnatural sense of giddiness making my belly dip at the name on my screen.

Rich:
taking ur furball for a walk before he pisses on my shoe. Be back soon.

There was no reason for his text to make my stomach riot with butterflies the way it did. Honestly, it was such a simple message, there was nothing in it, no underlying meaning, no innuendo, but like a schoolgirl with a stupid crush, I got all giddy because
Richard Locklaine just texted me
.

Me:
ok. Home now so just bring him by.

The elevator dinged, the doors sliding open as I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the ridiculous smile off my face. I would
not
succumb to that man’s charms. I wouldn’t. Iwouldn’tIwouldn’tIwouldn’t!

As soon as I stepped off and turned in the direction of my apartment, the giddiness dried up and any chance of a smile crossing my face disappeared. All thoughts of Richard vanished.

“Hey, Delilah.”

“Brant?” Just saying his name made me feel sick to my stomach. But it was seeing his face that made my hand twitchy with the urge to punch it. “What are you doing here?” I asked in a spiteful tone I hadn’t realized I was capable of. Neither had he, if the shock on his face was any indication.

“I tried calling—”

“I changed my number after we broke up,” I snapped, folding my arms across my chest as I stepped up to my door, making sure to leave a good three feet of space between us.

He cringed and reached up to run his hand through his sandy blond hair. “Yeah. I kinda guessed that.”

“So since changing my number because I had no desire to ever speak to you again prevented you from reaching me, you thought it’d be a good idea to just show up at my apartment? Do you have a death wish, Brant? If Devon had caught you here, you’d be bleeding out on the carpet right now.”

He held his hands out in a placating gesture, taking a step closer and forcing me to move back to maintain the space between us. “I know, Del, I know. But I had to talk to you.”

“Why?” It was then that I noticed just how shitty he looked. Not only was his normally impeccably-styled hair a disheveled mess, but his clothes were wrinkled and there were dark circles under his eyes. After the breakup I had wondered how I’d react if I ever saw him again. For a while I imagined my heart would still hurt, but as I stared at Brant in the hallway, looking as miserable as he made me feel when he cheated on me, I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“Please just hear me out, Del. I made a huge mistake.”

I let out a loud bark of sarcastic laughter. “Oh yeah, and what would that have been?”

He reached out and grabbed my wrist before I could pull away. “I never should have let you go, babe. I’ve missed you so much.”

Yanking my arm back violently, I stepped closed enough to poke him in his chest. “You didn’t
let me go
, you idiot! You cheated on me, and I left your sorry ass. You had no say in the matter. Still don’t so you’re better off just leaving now.”

I turned my eyes off of him to reach into my purse and get my keys then moved passed him to the door. I’d just gotten the key in the lock when he spoke again.

“I want you back.”

AS I LOOKED DOWN
at the little rat laying on my living room floor, I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He hadn’t moved much at all since Delilah dropped him off earlier. I hadn’t even been able to get him to eat, but that might have been because I tried pawning the soy cheese Navie bought when she insisted on stocking my fridge off on him. Even
he
wouldn’t eat it, not that I blamed him. I tried explaining to my soon-to-be sister that the stuff tasted like shit, but she had been on a kick about how Rowan and I weren’t getting any younger and we needed to start being mindful of what we ate.

In response, I went out and bought the biggest cheeseburger I’d ever eaten. And devoured the entire thing. With her watching in displeasure the whole time. Poor Rowan had to stick with a grilled chicken salad, the pussy-whipped asshole. But she wasn’t my fiancé, and I wasn’t the one at risk of being kicked out of my own bed, so I didn’t have to listen to her.

The dog let out a loud, broken sigh. I was pretty sure he’d been recalling what it was like to still have his manhood.

“Poor nut-less bastard,” I commiserated as I made my way over to him and hunched down so I could give the little guy a pet. “You’re not really so bad, are you?” I asked as my fingers stroked his silky fur. He sighed again and I hoped that one was from pleasure, not sorrow. “Yeah, you’re a pretty decent little rat/dog, aren’t ya buddy? I’m sorry your momma went and chopped your balls off. I can understand your pain.”

He lifted his head and gave my wrist a lick, and I couldn’t help but view that as a bonding moment between the two of us. Who’d have thought that I would actually feel sorry for the little shit who’d ruined a four-hundred-dollar pair of Italian loafers?

I scooped him off the ground and held him up to my face as gently as possible. “You might never be able to get laid again, but you can still pee standing up, little man. What do you say we go outside and take a piss like real men, huh?” His little tail wagged in agreement. Moving to cradle him in my arm, I grabbed my keys and phone and stuffed them in my pocket. “Yeah, let’s go show those bitches you’ve still got some pride…” I looked at the cone surrounding his head and smiled, “…even though you’re impersonating a satellite dish right now.”

Before I took him to the park a couple blocks down, I shot a text off to Delilah so she’d know where we were in case she got home before we did. When my phone vibrated with a response, I felt a level of excitement I hadn’t felt since I was a teenager and got my first chance to feel up a chick’s boobs.

Christ, could I be anymore pathetic
?
I shook the adolescent thoughts out of my head and took the rat/dog to do his business. I even cheered the little guy on when he attempted to sniff a passing Chihuahua’s butt. The owner apparently had a stick up her ass because she didn’t see the humor in it that I did.

“Oh come on. It’s not like he can do anything, bastard lost his balls the other day. Cut him some slack and let him sniff your dog’s ass. What’s the harm?”

I’m pretty sure she was just seconds away from pepper spraying me so I decided the best course of action was to get us both upstairs unscathed.

By the time I stepped off the elevator onto my floor with Shady secured in my arms, I was eager to go knock on my adorable little neighbor’s door. That was, until I heard an unfamiliar voice speak up from a few doors down.

“I want you back.”

My head shot up at the same time Shady let out a small growl. When I caught sight of some blond shithead standing way too close to Delilah for my liking, I felt my blood run hot. “The fuck he just say?” I growled to myself as I got closer.

I watched as she spun around and I could see the fire in her eyes behind those glasses from a distance. Then she spoke and I couldn’t help but smile. “Then you’ve obviously lost your damn mind, Brant.”

Brant. Is that the name of her loser ex? The fuck stick who cheated on her?
I picked up the pace when he stepped even closer. I could hear the blood rushing through my ears. Something about a man getting within touching distance of my Delilah made me want to punch something… or better yet, some
one
.

When the hell had that happened
?

And when did I start thinking of her as
my
Delilah
?

“Baby, please,” he muttered, reaching up to touch her face just as I sidled up to them. Instinct took over, a primal need to mark my territory that I’d never felt before, and I did the only thing I could think to do besides whip my dick out and pee on her.

“Hey baby, sorry it took me so long.” My free arm wrapped around her waist and I pulled her against my chest, shifting the dog out of the way so he wouldn’t be crushed.

Her eyes went wide as she looked up at me in shock. “Uh…”

Taking advantage of her stunned silence, I mumbled, “Missed you today,” and leaned in, pressing my lips against hers. They were soft, plump, and just the feel of them sent an electric shock through my system and straight to my dick. I never would have expected such a reaction from such a chaste kiss, but I felt it in every single cell in my body. Neither of us spoke when I pulled back, and I could tell she’d been just as affected as I had. All we could do was stare at each other, unable to form words after what had just happened.