Chapter Two
“Connor, what thehell is wrong with you?” his brother Logan asked. “It’s your turn to break.” He waved a hand at the pool table they stood beside at Grey’s Saloon.
“Sorry,” he said and took his shot, sinking three solids. Pure luck, since he hadn’t even thought about it. Luck. Which, of course, made him think about Sierra. It wasn’t cards but the same seemed to apply to any game. Unlucky in love. He sure had been since returning from Las Vegas. Not that he’d tried to change that. No, he wanted her—Sierra.
He didn’t run the table, but he came close. Logan took his turn, grumbling. “You’ve been out to lunch every time I’ve seen you lately. Ever since you got back from Vegas. Did something happen there? Shit!” he added, missing his shot.
“I told you Cherie dumped me.”
“I thought you took Candy.”
“Cherie, Candy, what’s the diff?” He rolled a shoulder. “She dumped me. In Vegas. The first day. After I paid her way there. End of story.”
Logan leaned against the table and smirked at him. “I don’t think it broke your heart since you can’t even remember her name. So what is it?”
“Eight ball, corner pocket.” Not to his surprise, he sank it. “Bring me a draft and I’ll tell you about it.”
“I wish your luck would change. I’m getting tired of buying your beer.”
Connor found a seat in the corner near the back, where it was less crowded. He had been spacey lately. Not at work, thank God, but any other time. Because still, even three weeks later, he couldn’t get Sierra out of his head. And he not only hadn’t gotten her phone number, he didn’t even know her last name. All he knew was she lived in Texas. Which was a hell of a long way from Marietta, Montana.
She was beautiful but beautiful women weren’t a novelty to him. Yet she had been. The sex had been great. More like astounding, but there was more to it than just the physical. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe because he’d been more open and honest with Sierra than he ever had been with anyone other than his brothers. Which was weird, but there it was.
He remembered the conversation they’d had after the first time they made love.
“You’re the first man I’ve been with since the last time I had sex with my ex-husband.”
“I kind of figured that since you said you hadn’t kissed a man in a year.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot I told you that.”
He rolled over on top of her, supporting his weight with his forearms. “Do you regret it?”
“Being with you? No. I was afraid I might, but I don’t at all. What about you?”
“Sierra, there is no possible way I could ever regret being with you.”
And that was the God’s honest truth. He kissed her and they made love again.
Here he was, thinking of it as making love rather than having sex, or fucking, or hooking up. But that’s what it had felt like with Sierra. Which was insane. You couldn’t fall in love in one night. Hell, he was pretty sure he couldn’t fall in love at all, much less overnight.
He’d lost his mind over a woman he’d never see again. Was thatwhyhe was obsessed with her? Because he knew he could never have her? He wasn’t ready to settle down right now, but that didn’t mean he never wanted to. Of course, he had to trust a woman not to break his heart in order to do that.
He’d had someone a long time ago. When he was in the army. He’d been crazy about her. Loved her. Had wanted it to last. But it had ended really badly. So he pretended, until he’d mentioned it to Sierra, that it hadn’t been a close call. On his part. On hers it never had been. And then it was over in the most final way. Death was pretty damn final. So he did his best not to think about her. Even years later it still hurt. Her betrayal almost as much as her death.
“Here’s your beer.” Logan set it down in front of him. “Now what the hell is going on with you?”
He took a long pull of his beer and then put it down. “I met a woman in Vegas.”
Logan waited but when Connor said nothing more, Logan said, “Stop the presses.”
Connor rolled his eyes. “This was different. She was different. Being with her was—”
“Different. I get it. But you hooked up, right?” Connor shrugged. “So why are you moping around here instead of being with her?”
“It was a one-night stand. We didn’t exchange numbers. Hell, I don’t even know her last name. All I know is she lives in Texas and her name is Sierra.”
“Texas is a big place.”
