Sean's Sweetheart (5 page)

Chapter Twelve

A few weeks later, Karly's birthday rolled around, and Talia couldn't wait. She'd insisted Karly have a party at Garden after they did cake and presents with their parents. It gave her a legitimate reason to see Sean again. The soft smiles and wave that Sean sent her at the gym led her to believe things might be okay between them, in spite of her dad's actions.

Talia dressed with care for the party. The last time she saw Sean—wearing sweaty yoga pants, no makeup, and a haphazard ponytail—she hadn't exactly presented the best of impressions. Tonight, she went for a more sophisticated look. She bought a new dress, white eyelet with a cute brown belt. It emphasized her curves, without being skimpy. Her hair and makeup she kept simple. Never one to dress slutty anyway, this outfit was typical Talia—girly, but not overdone.

Sean stood behind the bar when she walked in. When they made eye contact, she waved and sent a shy smile his way. His broad smile, and the hand he raised in greeting, warmed her heart. Telling her sister she would be right back, she took up an empty seat at the bar.

Sean ambled over and leaned forward onto the counter in front of her. "Hey, sweetheart, it's good to see you again. I wasn't sure you'd come back, but I've been hoping that you would."

Her pulse ticked up and heat rose in her cheeks. "Do you call all the women in here sweetheart?"

He chuckled before shaking his head no and asking her if she wanted a drink.

"No, I just wanted to say hi. Look, I don't need rescuing tonight," she said with a flirty flip of her hair.

Throwing his head back, he howled in laughter. "The night is still young."

Joy filled her at the deep sound of his laugh. The last bit of lingering doubt that her father had ruined their fledgling friendship vanished. Thank God.

Talia twirled on the barstool and watched Sean pour drinks. He had a smile for everyone. He came over to chat with her every chance he got, and she enjoyed their conversation even though it was interrupted by his work. She didn't even mind the times when he walked away to mix drinks for others since it gave her an opportunity to look at him. She couldn't stop staring.

He wasn't the type of guy she would have dated in the past, not being slim and somewhat preppy. No one would ever call Sean preppy, that's for sure. The blue plaid button-down he wore brought out the blue of his eyes, and his sleeves were rolled up to mid-forearm, giving a view of the bold tattoos on his arms.

Hanging out at the bar, however, meant ignoring her friends and siblings. Zane came over and tried to entice her back to their party. She balked. Sean was over here.

Sean overheard. "Go on. Hang out with your friends."

"But I was enjoying talking to you."

"And I'm not going anywhere." He waved an arm out toward the bar. "You know where to find me."

Talia turned to her brother. "Zane, I'll only come back to the party if you can convince Sean to take my number."

Sean chuckled. "You know I'm too damn old for you."

Zane tapped his fingers on the bar. "Well, she seems to think otherwise. Come on, man. It's just a number. You don't have to use it."

Talia slugged Zane for that one.
Doesn't have to use it? The hell he doesn't!

Sean didn't say anything else, but he did slide a napkin across the bar to her.

She smiled at him and wrote her number down with the pen he handed her. When she held it out to him, this time he didn't crumple it up. He folded it with care and slipped the napkin into the front pocket of his well-worn jeans—jeans that hugged all the right spots and fueled a few hot fantasies.

"Now go on back to over there and have some fun. Celebrate with your sister. Let me work, you little distraction," he told her in mock seriousness. When she sent him a cheeky wink, he burst into laughter once more. "Go on now, get."

She rejoined her sister's party, fully expecting to be teased over the amount of time she'd spent at the bar talking to the bartender. Not even Karly, who never passed up an opportunity to pick on her sister, made a single comment. She only smirked at Talia in a knowing manner. Talia relaxed and let herself enjoy the evening with her siblings and friends.

Talia couldn't help but notice the extra attention Zane was paying Claire. She kicked him under the table. "So, Zane, where's Brittany?"

He looked at her in confusion. "We broke up. Didn't I tell you?"

"Nope." That was news to her.
I wonder if his crush on Claire had anything to do with that.

Claire seemed to perk up a bit at that news, but the aloofness she always showed around Zane quickly returned. When some random guy stopped by and asked her to dance, she nearly fell over in her hurry to get up.

Zane sighed.

"It's my party. No one is allowed to be sad. Zane, I think you need to dance. Beth's here alone. Show her some of your moves."

Beth rolled her eyes, but she smiled at Zane and nodded. The two of them joined Claire and her partner out of the dance floor.

Karly seemed a little pensive, despite her earlier comments. She kept her eyes on the entrance. "Garrett should hopefully get here soon. He had to work late tonight."

"Well, at least he is coming. Work is a legit reason to be late, don't you think?"

Karly interrupted her with a squeal. She jumped up and ran away from the table and jumped into her not-so-secret boyfriend's arms.

They returned to the table and snuggled close to each other. The couple spoke softly to each other, unintentionally excluding Talia from their conversation.

While happy for her sister, Talia couldn't help but feel utterly alone at that moment. She glanced up at the bar, Sean had his back to her talking to the other bartender. She pulled out her phone and opened a word game.

A shadow crossed her screen. "That's not the kind of fun I meant for you to have."

Looking up, Talia's evening got better. Sean stood next to their table, smiling down at her. Her heart started pounding when he held out a hand.

"Dance with me?"

Slipping her hand into his, she let him lead her out onto the hardwood. The last beats of an upbeat song died down and a slower song began to play. Sean drew her close.

"You plan the slow song?"

He chuckled. "Of course. I set the playlist."

The crowd around them faded from her consciousness. Sean's embrace became her entire world in that moment. Eyes closed, Talia pressed her cheek into his chest. The steady thump of his heart called to hers. The spicy scent of his aftershave filled her nose. His hands settled on her hips and held her tight as they swayed to the music. The flannel of his shirt soft against her face contrasted with the firmness of his muscles beneath the fabric.

Talia felt his breath against her forehead as he dipped his head. She tilted her face up toward him. When he brought a hand up to cup her cheek, she leaned in to his touch. His thumb grazed her lower lip. She shuddered at the intensity in his eyes. Her hands clutched at his shirt and her breath caught in anticipation of his kiss.

The song ended.

Another couple jostled into them on their way to their table and killed the moment.

Sean dropped his hand and stepped away from her. He led her back to her table and kissed her wrist before releasing her hand and heading back to the bar without a word.

Thoughts of Sean distracted Talia the rest of the evening. Sean had almost kissed her, again. That she was sure of. If only that song hadn't ended so soon. Still, she left Garden in high spirits. The line of shot glasses lined up in front of Sean made her hesitate to interrupt him, but she stopped by the bar to say goodbye. He pulled her in for a quick hug and she had to restrain herself from skipping when she left the club.

Despite her dad, despite Caleb, despite her age… maybe she had a chance with him after all.

Several days passed without a single word from Sean. Then a full week. Not a call, not even a text. Talia began to lose hope. Perhaps she'd misread him? She'd been certain he'd nearly kissed her on the dance floor. And the beach too. So, why hadn't he called?

Saturday came and she had the day off work, a rarity for a part-timer who worked retail. Having no plans meant Talia was still lazing around the house at noon. The jingle of her phone rang out from across the room. She hopped up to answer it, but didn't recognize the number. Her shaking hands almost dropped the phone before she answered with a quivering, "Hello?"

"Uh, Talia?" A deep familiar voice came through the line.

"Sean! I didn't think you would call."

"I nearly didn't. I'm still not sure us spending time together is a great idea. But," he trailed off for a second, "I want to. I thought I'd go hiking today, up at the state park north of town. I wondered maybe if you were interested in going."

"I'd love to go with you. I haven't been up there in years. When did you want to leave?" Talia already had her head stuck in her closet as she answered him.

"Could you be ready to leave in, uh, say half an hour?"

She agreed and hung up the phone. She sat waiting on the front steps when Sean drove up. He walked around to open her door.

Once he got in and started the car, they headed north to the state park.

"Which trail do you want to try?" he asked after they arrived, looking at a map of the trails. The main trail head started close to the parking area and split into three separate trails. The first looped quickly around the visitors' center while the other two were longer.

"The one to Garden Falls? I know it's the longest of the trails, but I've never seen the falls and I've heard that it's beautiful."

He chuckled. "That's my favorite trail. I hoped you'd pick that one. It's where the name of my club came from."

"You own the club?"

"Yeah. Bought it almost five years ago. I changed the name, and the whole concept. He had it set up as a pretty shabby bar that catered to a rougher crowd. I wanted a place where teenagers and even older people would be able to come have a good time and be safe. Cut out the riff-raff, and we have a strict alcohol limit to make sure things stay safe. I restored the brick, uncovered all the stained glass. I built all the planters myself. You've seen all the plants we have. I wanted it to live up to its name and feel like you were in a garden. You know that it used to be a church? Who'd have thought someone would put a bar in an old church, but it works."

"And you named it after a waterfall?"

"Yeah. Wait until you see it, then you'll understand. It's tranquil. Peaceful. The area around it is all lush and green, plants everywhere. The sound of the waterfall rushing over the rocks makes me never want to leave. I come up here a lot to just sit and think."

His passionate description of the waterfall increased Talia's excitement about seeing it. However, the trail proved more difficult than she'd anticipated. She stepped on a branch. Her foot slid down the packed earth path. Oh shit!

Sean grabbed her when she slipped and kept her from falling on her ass. He clutched her waist and hauled her back against his chest. His hand had bunched up the cotton of her T-shirt and now laid on her bare stomach. Heat radiated deep within her at his very touch. He held her close until she regained her footing. His hand caressed her waist when he withdrew it.
Breathe!

When they reached the waterfall, his zealous love for the area made sense. She'd never seen anything more beautiful in her life. From high above the trail, the water fell through a canopy of trees into a small pool. The trail skirted around the edges of the pool and led to a large outcropping of rocks. Beneath the massive old trees, smaller plants filled the understory. Wildflowers were everywhere and ferns spilled over the path, softening the edges. In awe, she spun slowly, taking it all in.

After admiring the scenery, she turned toward Sean. He looked like he belonged there. Leaning against a large boulder, he seemed to be taking in her every movement. His stance brought him down closer to her height. The smile on his face set something fluttering in her chest. Caught off-guard, Talia simply reacted. She stepped close and slipped between his legs, tugging his head down toward hers for a kiss. For a moment, he stood as still as the stone he leaned against. Then he growled deeply and wrapped his arms around her.

His lips pressed hard against hers; his tongue slipped into her mouth and battled hers for control. Tangling a hand in her hair, Sean adjusted the tilt of her head and deepened the kiss. He hadn't shaved that morning. The rough stubble on his chin rubbed against her face.

Clutching at the soft cotton encasing his powerful shoulders, Talia moaned into his mouth. He pulled his lips from hers and kissed his way down her cheek. Burying his face against her throat, Sean nipped and kissed. Her knees gave way, but Sean's strong arms kept her upright. He flicked his tongue against a sensitive spot and her toes curled. Tugging his hair, Talia directed him back up and captured his lips with her own once more. And then, as fast as it began, it was over.

Sean pushed her away and put some distance between them. His voice was gruff, but he refused to make eye contact. "We can't do this. Talia, I'm not the guy you want. I can't be what you need. What you deserve. Sweetheart, you have no clue what you would be getting into with me."