3
Tilly
Goodness me.
This tall drink of water standing in front of me is straight out of every grown woman’s fantasy. His jeans and black T-shirt hug his body in all the right places, clinging to his skin like there’s nowhere else they’d rather be. I get it. If I were that close to his body, I’d hold on for dear life too.
His jawline is nothing short of spectacular—chiseled and covered with enough stubble to feel like sandpaper underneath my fingertips.
“Ma’am?” His voice is a little deeper than before but every bit as sexy. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Be bold.
I hear Roger’s words echoing in my head. He’s told me more than once it’s time for me to step outside my comfort zone and get back to the way I used to be. Easy for him to say. But being a single woman after years of marriage and trying to traverse the world of dating in this decade isn’t something I’ve found easy.
Go after what you want, Tilly. And right now, I want a dose of tall, dark, and handsome.
“My name’s Chantilly, like the lace.” I can’t wipe the dumb smile off my face because everything about him makes my body sing. “But you can call me Tilly or…you know…” I take a step forward and place my hand on the steel table, batting my eyelashes a little. “Yours works just fine too.”
He looks at me funny, maybe not catching my flirtation or thinking I need a straitjacket and a padded room. Maybe I do. I’m coming on strong, but I’ve never been shy a day in my life. Though, this is way too much even for me.
“Tilly,” he says, preferring that name over the other one, which is fine but not where I was hoping this was headed.
When he drags his hand through his hair, everything clicks. The gold wedding band around his finger glistens in the overhead lighting like a warning beacon for me to keep my distance.
All the good ones are taken or so fucked-up, there’s no one who wants them. Maybe he’s a little of both. Or at least, that’s what I tell myself to make the sting of the hunk being off-limits a little less painful.
It doesn’t help that I’m covered from head to toe in flour, dusted into every crevice. What man in his right mind would even be thinking about me in any sexual way with me looking more like a biscuit than a woman?
“I’m Angelo.” He tips his head, just like a Southern gentleman. “I own Hook & Hustle next door with my sister and two brothers. So, I guess we’re neighbors.” He rubs the back of his neck, staring at my stilettos—which I wish I could wrap around his middle and see if he’s as hard as he looks.
The last time I had sex was over five years ago before my husband left for a short deployment, taking off on a top-secret mission. I thought he’d come back. He always had. I’m not sure I’d even remember how sex worked at this point.
Roger keeps reminding me it’s like riding a bike and not something I’d forget, but I beg to differ.
“Guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, then.”
I’m almost giddy at the possibility that I’ll have at least a little eye candy to stare at every once in a while. And he said he ran the bar with his brothers, so maybe there’s still hope for me, after all, since he’s clearly taken.
He leans forward, wrapping his thick, strong hands around the ridiculously heavy mixer and lifting the damn thing like it weighs next to nothing.
There’s something so erotic about the way he moves. My eyes are practically glued to his biceps as they flex under the sleeves of his T-shirt.
“You make it look so easy.”
“I have two kids. I’m used to lifting and carrying heavy things.”
Now I’ve seen the ring, and he’s dropped the kids straight into my lap, warning me he’s totally off-limits once again.
Life can be so unfair.
It’s taken me years to get to the point in my life where I feel like I’m ready for a relationship. After Mitchell passed, I never thought I’d ever be interested in another man. Now that I am, the first one to catch my eye in forever is married with kids.
“Well, I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
“It was no trouble. I’m always happy to help.”
Gah. He’s so nice and hot. He’s like the perfect combination thrown in my path just to taunt me and my very lonely vagina.
