Tall Dark and Bossy: A Hate To Love Stand-Alone Romance Read online

  “Uncle Stanton, what are you doing in the bushes?” My little niece, Easton, had discovered my secret spot.

  “I’m not in the bushes, I’m next to them.”

  “Are you peeing?”

  “What? No! Why would you ask me that?”

  “I’ve seen Mommy’s brother, Uncle Beckley, pee in the bushes, but he didn’t know I was there.”

  “Easton, were you spying on him?”

  Her head swung back and forth. “Nope. I promise. I ran outside to play when I was at Boppy and Mimi’s, and that’s when I saw him. But I never told no one ‘cept you.” Boppy and Mimi were Easton’s grandparents.

  “Good girl. No one likes a tattletale,” I said.

  “I know. Mommy says that too. Do you wanna dance with me?”

  I honestly didn’t because my knee wasn’t in the greatest shape yet. God only knew when that would happen. I’d been in that damn car accident and had broken my leg in several places, which resulted in multiple surgeries. I glanced down at her as she held her little wand and I didn’t have it in me to say no. “Only if you promise to go easy on me.”

  “Okay, I promise.” She offered me her tiny hand and off we went.

  We danced to several songs, but she liked it the best when I twirled her around. When we finished, we went to the bar to get a drink. She asked for a cosmo, no alcohol of course, and I ordered a scotch on the rocks.

  “Does that taste like a cosmo?” she asked, pointing to my amber-filled glass.

  “Um, no.”

  “Can I try it?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Besides, you would hate it.”

  She wrinkled up her nose. “Then why do you drink it?”

  “Because I like it.”

  “Oh.”

  Then something caught her eye, and she ran off with, “I gotta go.”

  Someone came up on my other side and said, “She’s adorable, isn’t she?”

  I turned to find myself gazing into large hazel eyes.

  “She certainly is and knows it. Can I get you a drink?”

  “Uh, no. I need some water for my date.” I caught an eye roll along with her salty reply.

  I didn’t respond but only stared. I’d seen them a little bit ago and the man had over imbibed. The bartender took her order and I finally said, “You got yourself a real winner there.” My tone oozed sarcasm, but I couldn’t help it. She deserved better than that loser.

  “Uh, I suppose you never really know someone…” her voice trailed off as the bartender handed her the large glass of water. Then she walked off. I wasn’t sure how to take her statement. Did it matter though? I told my brother I’d stay away from her, and a promise was a promise. But that promise didn’t include eyeing her. I watched as she sashayed back to the table where said boyfriend sat. The guy was totally hammered. He could barely hold his head up. She tried to help him stand and he did, but wobbled on his feet, then staggered to the nearest hedge and threw up. Thank God she hadn’t been in the path of that catastrophe.

  I quickly went over to get him out of here. We’d hired extra people who could drive him home. “You all right over here?” I was pretty sure he had no idea what was going on and that Stacey needed help.

  “Better now, I think.” It sounded more like, “Butrnowidink.”

  I wasn’t asking him. The question had been directed at his horrified date.

  “How about I arrange for a driver to take you home?” I thought he’d jump at the chance.

  “Nomokay.” He staggered toward the direction of the table where they’d been sitting.

  That set Stacey into motion. “David, you ought to leave. You’ve had entirely too much to drink and it’s time you went home to sleep it off. Stanton can arrange for transportation and that’s the best idea.”

  He wobbled around. “Nah, Imastay. Dance smore.”

  “With whom? I’m not dancing with you.” She crossed her arms and stood her ground.

  He swayed on his feet and stared at her open-mouthed. “You won’t?” Those were the only two words I understood completely.

  “Of course not. You nearly dropped me the last time,” she said.

  “We should probably discuss this somewhere else,” I suggested.

  “I agree,” Stacey said. We headed toward the house, but doofus didn’t follow. “Good Lord, he’s out of his mind drunk.”

  “I can force it if you want,” I told her.

  She chewed on her lower lip for a second. “No, I refuse to cause a scene. This is my best friend’s wedding celebration and I’m not going to be the one who ruins this special day.”

  We both turned to see David slumped in a chair. “Well, it looks as though he’s not going to do any dancing tonight,” I commented.

  “Yeah, but now how am I going to get him into the car?” she asked.

  “Do you have his house keys?”

  “They’re probably in his pocket.”

  “I’ll leave that to you, but let’s go and find out.” We went to the table where he sat. Luckily, it was in the back of the courtyard where the lights were very dim. She stuck her hand inside his coat pocket and pulled out his keys. Holding them up, she said, “It’s this one.”

  “Hang tight. I’ll take care of things.”

  I found two security men and brought them over. They helped, or maybe dragged is more apt, a nearly passed out David to the car. I gave them orders to drive him home, have someone follow in his car, and see to it he got inside safely. Problem solved. It was accomplished without much fuss, and no one, not even Tristian mentioned it.

  “I seriously don’t know how to thank you,” Stacey said.

  I did but didn’t tell her what was on my mind. “Let me get you a drink.”

  She sat while I fetched her a glass of wine. When I came back, she thrummed her fingers on the table. I handed her the glass and she said, “Thank you. I seem to be doing a lot of that.”

  “A lot of what?”

  “Thanking you. You saved me from an embarrassing situation.” She massaged her forehead.

  “Don’t worry about it. That guy is a real piece of work. Are all your boyfriends like him? If so, you need to choose better men.”

  She reared back. “No, as a matter of fact,” she bristled. “He’s never acted like that around me before, not that it’s any of your business.”

  I scooted my chair in closer. “Have you two been together very long?”

  “And why do you want to know that?” Ooh, the lady was a spitfire.

  “Call it curiosity.”

  “Maybe you should put that curiosity to the test with someone else.”

  My brows raised and then I chuckled. “Maybe so, but here I am sitting here next to you.”

  She pinned me with her gaze and even in the dim light, I felt her piercing stare. Then she relented. “A few months.”

  “Hmm. In my book, that’s long enough to figure out whether someone is an idiot. Why’d you go out with him anyway?”

  “Your book? I supposed you’re an expert then?”

  This woman was on fire. A laugh boomed out of me. “Not quite, though I can attest to being experienced.”

  “I can only imagine,” she said sourly. “The truth is, I’m shocked. He’s never shown me this side before. I warned him about the champagne, but he kept guzzling it like water.”

  I leaned in close. “He must be very inexperienced. Why would you date such a loser like him? Don’t tell me you’re that desperate.”

  She sucked in air. “Desperate? You have a lot of nerve!”

  “Not really. I’m just observant.”

  “Let me tell you something, mister, your observational skills suck.” She was pissed now.

  “Oh, come on. The guy was a real dud. I tried to have a conversation with him, and it was like talking to a rock. It appears you need help with the opposite sex.” The furrows between her brows told me my insult had hit the mark.

  She glared as she shook her head slowly. “And I gathe
r you also are aware of my inner thoughts?”

  “No, but I’d like to be.”

  “Damn, has anyone ever told you how exasperating you are?”

  I waggled my brows and answered. “Plenty of times.”

  “What about annoying?”

  “Yup, that too.”

  She puffed out a long breath. “I suppose insulting is on your list as well?”

  Curiosity nagged me. “Can I ask why you’re still sitting here if you feel that way about me?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she snapped. “Because I’m too damn tired to move.”

  “Okay, then.”

  After a few moments of silence, I said, “All snarky comments aside. Are you really that pissed off with the guy? He is a bit of a douche, but he made a mistake.”

  “That’s not quite true for someone who was raised with an alcoholic parent. I get having too much every now and again, but he knew how important today was, not only for me, but for English and Tristian. For him to get so trashed shows he has zero respect for me, nor does he give a damn about my feelings. I even warned him several times about the champagne, which he chose to ignore.”

  That was a tough argument, and I couldn’t defend the guy’s actions. When I thought of it, I had never done that to a date, and I’d made my share of drunken mistakes. “Sorry.”

  She gave me a hard stare as though she waited for the sarcasm to come. Only this time I was one hundred percent honest. I supposed she figured that out because she said, “So am I. And I thought he was a good guy, but this is one of those unforgivable sins.”

  “Does he know this?” I asked, only because if it had never been discussed, then she was going to blindside him.

  “Yes, he does, not that it matters to you. We talked at length several times about how I hated to see a man stumbling drunk at a nice event. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a great thing for a woman either. He knew how strongly I felt about it. So, yeah, this is bad all around.”

  Easton ran up to the table and said, “Aunt Stacey, are you sad?”

  “Sad? No, I’m happy, why?”

  “Because you don’t look happy. Where is that man you were with?”

  “You mean David?”

  “Yeah, the one that doesn’t talk to me much.”

  “What do you mean he doesn’t talk to you much?”

  Easton pulled her shoulders up high. “I dunno. He doesn’t really say much when I talk to him.”

  Stacey pursed her lips, which made me want to kiss them more than anything. Then she mumbled something to herself and said louder, “David had to go home because he wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Did he drink too many cosmos like you did that time at Mommy’s?”

  I hid my grin behind my hand.

  “Er, well, not really. And how do you remember that?”

  “Cuz you were funny and fell down.”

  “Okay, blabbermouth. What else is happening around here?”

  “Uncle Landry said he’s taking me riding on the horses tomorrow and Aunt Ravina is coming too. Do you wanna come? You can have a spend the night party with me. I can show you the horse poop pile then.”

  Stacey bit her lip, trying to hide her laugh. “Tell you what. I might do that sometime, but probably not tomorrow.”

  “Okay. I’m gonna go find Aunt Ravina to see if she wants to make a dancing train.” And off she went.

  Stacey turned to me and asked, “Horse poop pile? Where does she come up with this stuff? Why would I want to see that?”

  “Only she can answer that. She’s really something. But tell me more about that time you fell down.” I circled my finger toward her.

  One of her hands slashed through the air. “I was having a moment.”

  “Um, huh. Do go on.”

  “No, because you’ll find something to latch onto and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “But I want to hear about it. If you’re so against over imbibing, what set you off to drink so much?”

  She was silent, but then said, “It was when my former fiancé broke it off with me. I’m not fond of that moment, but at least it wasn’t at a wedding reception.”

  “Excuses, excuses.”

  “Maybe, but there’s more to the story than that.” Then she made a quick subject change. “Your sister spoils her.”

  I nodded. I’d never seen Ravina act like that with anyone or anything in my life. Those two had taken to each other like fish to water. “I’ll drop the falling down after the cosmos bit for now. But, yeah, Ravina adores her. She’s already talking about taking her abroad.”

  “Oh, boy. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  I laughed. “Right. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

  “Just so you know, I won’t breathe a word.”

  My eyes penetrated her and for the first time in my life, a woman stole my breath. For a moment, I thought about kissing her, but when I heard English’s voice, I leaned back in my chair.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  I glanced at Stacey, but she wore the expression of someone who was caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and I had no idea why.

  Chapter Three

  STACEY

  Something clogged my throat and when I tried to speak, I sounded like one of the toads croaking nearby. Guilt invaded me as she’d told me to stay away from this man I was sitting with. English patted my back and asked, “Are you okay?”

  After I cleared my throat, I answered, “Fine, just fine,” a little too loud.

  Then she glanced at the table and asked, “Where’s David?”

  “Yeah, about him. He was over-served and had to leave.”

  She laughed until she saw my expression. “Oh, shit. That bad, huh?”

  “Only if you call stumbling around and throwing up in the bushes bad, then yeah.”

  She pulled out a chair and sat down next to me. “I’m so sorry. Tristian and I were just talking earlier about how he was your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

  “Yeah, that pot of gold turned out to be a staggering drunk.”

  “Gosh, Stacey, had he ever done that before?” English asked.

  “Never! That’s why I’m so shocked. And what really pisses me off is he knows how that’s a hard no for me.”

  She reached over and hugged me. “I’m here for you.”

  “No, you’re not, you big goofball. You’re leaving on your belated honeymoon tomorrow.”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, I’ll be here for you when we get back.”

  “I know. But Stanton took care of things, thank God.” I gave her the rundown on how he handled David.

  “Thanks for doing that,” she said to him.

  “It was nothing, really. The security team handled it.”

  Tristian came up to the table then and I sensed a sort of friction between the brothers at first, but things seemed to ease after English explained what happened with David.

  “Your brother came to the rescue of a totally hammered guest,” I said.

  “Thanks, bro, for handling that.”

  Stanton only shrugged.

  “Sorry, Stacey, for that, too,” Tristian said. “I thought David was a better guy than that.”

  “So did I.”

  “We all make mistakes, though. Don’t go too hard on him,” Tristian added.

  Tristian didn’t know anything about my past, so I didn’t blame him for saying that. However, David would not get a second chance with me because he was completely aware and understood how behavior such as that affected me. I had made that clear on more than one occasion.

  English nudged her husband, but I intervened. “It’s okay, you can tell him. He’ll understand better if you do.”

  “Fine, but not here and now. That’s a discussion for later on,” she said.

  “You two need to go dance and have fun. This is your night.”

  English gave me a piercing look. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. H
onestly.”

  They walked off hand-in-hand, only Tristian glanced over his shoulder at his brother as they moved away.

  “What was that all about?” I asked.

  Stanton chuckled. “My little brother warned me to steer clear of you.”

  “Me? Why?” I had no idea Tristian held me in such low esteem. Did he think I had the cooties?

  “He didn’t want me tarnishing your reputation.”

  The comment totally threw me. “Tarnishing my reputation?”

  “Yeah. He isn’t very impressed with mine. My reputation, that is.”

  “I see.”

  He rubbed his scruff-covered jaw and lord help me, I wanted to hop on the man’s lap and kiss him, even if he was a jerk. And that was my problem. I always ended up with the jerk. But ogling Stanton—it was difficult not to want the man. If he only knew what was running through my gutter-littered mind, he wouldn’t be so concerned about his reputation.

  “I don’t think you do. Tristian has always been the better man out of the two of us. He invariably took the high road, especially where women were concerned. I can’t make that same claim.”

  “In other words, you’re saying you’re a man-whore?”

  His brows rose, and then he broke out into a booming laugh.

  “And you’re not one to hold back on words. I wonder how David will react tomorrow.”

  “Not too good, I’m sure,” I told him. “He won’t like what I tell him.”

  “And what will that be?”

  I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table. “I’m going to tell him we’re through.”

  Stanton was shocked. “Really? No second chance at all?”

  “None. And you probably think I’m being a hard ass, but my father was a terrible alcoholic. He did all sorts of awful things to my family. I refuse to put up with that and David knew about it.”

  Stanton gave me a piercing stare. “You’ve over imbibed before, right?” There was zero hint of amusement in his expression.

  “Of course, I have. You already know of that one time. I’m not excusing my behavior, but I would never do that at a special event.”

  “Since you’re guilty of it too, then why not give him another chance?”