Star ARC Page 6

  He held up his hands. “I admit, it wasn’t appropriate for a house-warming gift, but I stand by my decision to give them to you.”

  “What about pretending we’re going to shoot a porn in the limo? Do you regret that?”

  “Yes, you know I do. I apologized last night. And I’m sorry about the mess. I’ll take care of it, I promise.”

  “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Tucker. It just happens every time we’re together. I like you, Tucker but . . .”

  My words drifted off as something orange flickered in my oven.

  “What’s in the oven?” I pointed behind Tucker.

  He turned. “Oh shoot. I forgot about that. Your fire extinguisher?”

  I pointed under the kitchen sink.

  “Finally, something I can reach,” Tucker said as he quickly opened the cabinet and grabbed the extinguisher.

  In less than a minute, he had the small fire out and now the inside of my black oven matched the now white butcher-block counter. Wonderful.

  He placed the extinguisher on the counter and brushed off some of the flour and coffee from his clothes. “So, about that bakery?”

  It had only been a week and a half since I got to know Tucker and in that time, he hadn’t thought about how his actions might affect me. From an inappropriate gift to a terrible joke to destroying my kitchen.

  He didn’t care about me. And based on how he spoke to his brother, I wondered if there was a person in this world he cared about, including himself.

  This was getting old and it hadn’t even been two weeks.

  “Maybe another time. You probably have to get ready for work and I’m meeting my friend for coffee, so, uh . . .”

  “Right.” He nodded. “Yeah, work. My emergency. I almost forgot. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll just get out of your way and head back to my place. Unless you want to—”

  “Unless what?” I thinned my lips.

  I was done. No more making an effort to please him when he seemed to go out of his way to make me as uncomfortable as possible.

  I made a mistake last night when I gave him another chance.

  “Nothing. Not important. Goodbye, Niki. I’ll make sure this gets cleaned up.” He moved toward the front door and two lines of flour trailed behind him from his wheels.

  I opened the door and as he left, I said, “Don’t worry about it. See you around, Tucker.”

  I gazed at the floor as it was too hard to see his shocked face when he said, “Yeah, I’ll see you. I’m always right next door if you need me.”

  Nodding, I closed the door. I knew I did the best thing for me, but I felt like the biggest piece of garbage for hurting him. Now, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made a terrible mistake.

  TEN

  Tucker

  “YOU TRIED TO COOK? Don’t you remember what happened last time you did that?” My brother stood over me with his hands on his hips.

  I nodded. “How could I forget? They brought in the jaws of life. Who knew you could use those on ovens?”

  He rubbed his face before he sat. The coffee shop, Hella Ella Café, wasn’t crowded like it was most mornings. Probably due to the weather. It had snowed overnight, and the roads were slick in some spots.

  I told my brother to meet me here. He had two cars—one was a sleek sports car and the other, a Hummer. It was gargantuan and could handle any weather. He rarely drove it except on days like today.

  “So, yesterday morning, after spending the night with her, you thought it would be a good idea to cook breakfast? Did you never want her to speak to you again?”

  “No,” I said, lifting the cup of coffee to my lips. It was hot and scalded my mouth—perfect punishment for my stupidity. “I wanted to make her happy. You don’t know her, Hunter. Our lives have been rainbows and unicorn farts compared to hers. She deserves someone to take care of her.”

  The brow over his right eye arched. “Is this another Chelsea situation? Am I going to find out in a few months that Niki stole my car and hid drugs for the GFC cartel in my trunk?”

  I couldn’t blame his absurd question . . . My ex tried to frame my brother when she was busted. But the drugs were also found in her apartment. Also, the security cameras caught footage of her putting some of the drugs in the car and stealing the car while we were gone.

  “Do you really think Willa would be friends with someone like that?”

  “No, she wouldn’t. But you’re right, I don’t know Niki. But I do know that people like it when you’re being earnest and not trying to be something you’re not.”

  “I’m earnest. I earnest so hard that my dick—”

  Hunter held up his hands. “Stop. Stop right there. No one wants to hear about your body parts, especially me, especially this early in the morning. What I’m trying to say is you aren’t a cook. If there existed an opposite world and there was another version of themselves but opposite on that planet, then you’d be a famous celebrity chef . . . on that planet. The opposite planet.”

  “I get it. I can’t cook.”

  He placed a gentle hand on my arm. “Babies can’t talk. I can’t swim. But you, Tucker, are a deadly weapon when it comes to food. If a secret agency needed someone to take out a top government official, they’d hire you to cook his food.”

  “I get it. Let it go. It’s done. So, now what?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me?”

  I groaned and curled my fingers into my hair. “You are terrible at advice, you know that? I called you for help, and all you’ve done is insult my cooking and make fun of my ex. Thanks, big brother, you’ve been so incredibly helpful.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Hey, I didn’t know you two would be here? Braved the snow for coffee, huh?”

  We looked up to see Emmie, Willa and Niki’s friend. She was as beautiful as her friends with her thick, long brown hair and caramel-colored skin.

  There was a confidence about her that made me wonder why she wasn’t living in a grand high-rise in New York City, instead of suburban Maryland. Both Willa and Niki told me Emmie owns her own media empire. She probably had more money than my brother and yet, she stayed here.

  “Yup. Probably not the best idea in a wheelchair but it’s not as if I’m great at good ideas.”

  She took a sharp breath through her teeth. “Yeah, I heard.” Emmie placed her hand on my shoulder in pity. “Basket of dildos . . . not good.”

  At least she hadn’t heard about the kitchen incident. The basket of dildos was looking good compared to how I destroyed Niki’s kitchen.

  I shrugged with a smirk. “It could have been worse.”

  “Like what you did to her kitchen?” she added. “Yeah, that was way worse.”

  I frowned. So much for Emmie not knowing about that.

  “Crap,” my brother said as he glanced at his phone. “I have to go. You okay to get home?”

  “Yeah, I’ll just call a taxi.”

  “Sorry.” He frowned and waved his phone in front of him. “Jon needs to meet with me and Willa about the show appearance. I hope he’s not too pissed about what I did.”

  I was about to tell my brother where Jon can stick his concern when Emmie said, “The thing about Jon is, he acts like he cares but really, there’s only a cold, dead heart underneath it all.”

  Whoa, where did that come from?

  She shrugged. “I had to work with him and one of his clients for our new Vidtube channel. Everything was great, except for him.”

  I had never met anyone who disliked Jon the way I did. It was refreshing that she saw through his phony smile and Hollywood bullshit.

  “If you’re leaving, let the woman take your seat. Please, join me for coffee. I would be honored to have such an intelligent and dashing woman, such as yourself, sit with me for a while,” I said, beaming at Emmie.

  “Oh, I haven’t ordered my coffee yet.”

  “No worries.” I snapped my fingers at Hunter. “Be a dear and get her a coffee before you leave.”

  He growl
ed but did as he was told. That was the difference between my brother and myself. He easily did what people told him. I hadn’t taken an order since I left the Marines.

  Emmie sat and shrugged off her cream-colored wool coat and pink scarf.

  “So, tell me more about why you hate Jon, too?” I placed my elbow on the table and rested my chin on my fist.

  “Let’s not. I’d rather not waste my morning discussing that man. Instead, let’s talk about you, and why I think Niki was an idiot for kicking you out.”

  I lifted my head in surprise and blinked slowly. My mouth stopped working for a moment. This woman not only hated Jon, but she sided with me about Niki. Could I replace my brother with her? Adopt her as my sister and invite her—not Hunter—to my Christmas Secret Santa party I had every year.

  “Do you need a brother? If so, I would like to apply.”

  Emmie laughed and shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I have enough family in just my mom—she’s like three family members in one. And don’t even get me started on my sister.”

  Hunter swung by and placed the coffee cup in front of Emmie. She thanked him and he left.

  “Wow, he got it right. I didn’t remember telling him how I take my coffee.”

  “My brother is a servant by nature. Some people were born to be served,” I waved a hand at myself, “while others were born to serve. It’s in his blood. He probably heard how you took your coffee once months ago and tucked it away in his brain for this exact moment.”

  She pursed her lips. “People aren’t born to be servers. That’s not true. You just take too much advantage of your brother . . . and he lets you. Some sort of family guilt that’s never been addressed, I presume.”

  “Tomato, Ta-ma-to,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Anyway, tell me more about how you think I’m an amazing guy for trying to cook Niki breakfast.”

  “No, don’t get it twisted. I never said that. But I do think she gave up too easily on you. Look, I’m going to be honest here. You’re someone I would never consider dating. You’re a man-child begging for attention.”

  My eye widened at her description of me. “I admit that some things I do are childish but I’m not—”

  “No, most things you do are childish. But you do it for attention. I haven’t created and run a multi-million-dollar company for almost ten years without the ability to read people. To see their strengths and, at the same time, their weaknesses. You go out of your way to screw things up. You act ridiculous so no one can really get close to you. You want the attention but only to a point. Once someone gets too close, or, in Niki’s case, you get too close to them, you do something catastrophic to guarantee you lose them. Never having to let that person in here.” She leaned over and tapped at my chest.

  “Okay, Dr. Phil, tell me how you really feel.” I was stunned. I hated to admit it but how she described me was accurate. So on point that I didn’t realize I was doing half the stuff she said until it came out of her mouth. “My God, I’m a monster.”

  “No, you’re a man-child.”

  “I’m a man-child monster. Maybe it’s best Niki stays away from me.”

  She picked up her cup and put it to the side so she could lean forward. “Did you not hear what I just said? I thought you were smart. But to be smart, you have to listen to what people are telling you.”

  “Trust me, I heard every word you said.” I sunk back in my wheelchair. Why did people put up with me? I was an idiot.

  “You do this to push people away. Congratulations, you succeeded. Niki has officially been pushed. I thought holding a mirror up to your face would at least inspire you to want to change. To take a risk and let Niki into your heart. I didn’t say this to make you feel bad. We all have baggage, Tucker. Hell, there isn’t enough space in this café for all my baggage. But it’s what we do with the baggage that makes us better or worse. Are you going to keep pushing people away and grow old, becoming that stereotypical cranky old man? Or are you going to take a risk with your heart and go after Niki? Let her in.”

  She was much better than my brother was at giving advice. Oprah level good. I wondered for a moment if she was going to stand up in a moment and give everyone a car.

  I was glad Niki had her as a friend. She needed someone like Emmie to protect her.

  “I love my friend and would protect her with my life,” Emmie said as if reading my mind. “And for some reason she likes you.”

  “But I’m just a man-child. Why would you want that for your friend?” I asked bitterly.

  The shock hadn’t completely worn off, but I was starting to see things more clearly. I wanted what was best for Niki, too. At first, I admit, it was her body. She’s gorgeous in that old-Hollywood glamour sort of way. But once I got to know her, it was so much more than just physical. I couldn’t get her out of my head and when I’d hear her moving around in her place, there would be a huge smile on my face. Just knowing she was a few feet from me made me feel grounded as if she was the anchor for me. When I was with her, even just near her, the world didn’t seem so fucked up anymore.

  It was weird and selfish, but I was falling for her. So, what did I do? I tried to make her breakfast with the knowledge that I always failed at cooking. Emmie was right—I purposely set out to end whatever Niki and I had because I was falling in love with the woman.

  “Because you are much more than your flaws. Much, much more. And you’re the first guy who’s been around her that understood how wonderful she is and isn’t using her.”

  “I could never use Niki. She deserves more than that. She deserves the best.”

  Emmie sat back and folded her arms over her chest. “Then there’s your solution.”

  “But I’m not the best.”

  “No, not right now, you aren’t . . . But you could be. The only way to be the best is to stop beating yourself up for whatever shit you can’t let go of and do what’s best for you.”

  Emmie was the new Oprah.

  “Dammit, you’re good. Have you thought of starring in one of those shows on your Vidtube channel? People would be there for what you had to say.”

  “Not going to happen. But after all I said today, did you listen or are you just nodding your head only to go home and do nothing?”

  I smiled and leaned forward. “Oh, I’ve been listening. And this guy is going to go home to work on a plan to be his best.”

  ELEVEN

  Niki

  “MY NIPPLES FEEL LIKE they’re about to fall off,” Emmie said as she hopped from foot to foot.

  “It’s your fault for not wearing a coat. It’s February. You know, the month when we rely on groundhogs to predict our weather and forty degrees feels balmy,” I said, also hopping from foot to foot.

  I wasn’t as cold as Emmie because I had my black puffy coat on. But I was in a dress, which meant the only thing covering my legs were very thin stockings. I might as well have been naked from the waist down.

  “I can’t believe Willa agreed to an engagement party. That doesn’t sound like something she’d be interested in,” I mentioned for the tenth time today.

  We were standing outside Hunter and Willa’s home waiting for someone to answer the door. I may have been cold, but it was the fear of Tucker answering the door which was causing me to go numb.

  It had been two weeks since I kicked him out after the destruction of my kitchen. I couldn’t believe that a grown man could do that much damage to a room. That’s just not right.

  Everyone told me to give him a second chance but as I explained to them, it wouldn’t be a second chance—it would be a third chance. After the dildos, porno limo, and finally, the kitchen, that brought the total number of times I had to forgive him for going too far to three.

  That’s a lot, even for me.

  “How many times do I have to ring the doorbell? This place is huge. Don’t they have a butler?” I said as I tried to peer into the window next to the front door.

  Unfortunately, my breath kept fogging it up and I couldn�
��t see a thing.

  “Maybe if we walk around the back?” I motioned to a path that led around the house.

  Emmie followed me in her red heels.

  “Speaking of back. Have you given more thought on taking Tucker back?”

  I knew this would happen. Not only had I been avoiding my sexy neighbor but my friends, too. Every time I hung out with Emmie or Willa, they brought up Tucker. How great he was doing. How he decided to start physical therapy and looked into getting a prosthetic.

  I was happy that he was putting himself first and taking care of his body, but that didn’t mean we should be together or whatever it was that we were. Because from what I remembered, we were neighbors with benefits and not much more.

  “How can I take a man back that I never had to begin with? He went down on me once. That’s it. It’s not like I broke off an engagement or anything.”

  We came upon a large wooden fence with a door. Before I could reach for the handle, Emmie stopped me. She grabbed my arm and forced me to turn and face her.

  “Why would you jinx Willa and Hunter like that? You can’t mention broken engagements—whether real or imaginary—at an engagement party.”

  I rolled my eyes. Emmie was smart, successful, and in some circles, quite powerful, but she was also the most superstitious woman I knew.

  “I didn’t jinx anything. Are you serious? You’re twenty-eight, not eight years old.”

  She shook her head and grasped my shoulders. “No, we both must turn ourselves around three times and then spit on the ground. Come on.”

  Emmie was physically turning me. Once we both did it three times, she stopped and spit on the paved path.

  “Spit, Niki. Spit not for yourself, but for Willa.”

  I groaned but gave in. Right as I blew out my spit, the fence door opened, and it landed right on Tucker’s face.

  My hands flew to my mouth, and I gasped. “Oh, no.” I ran over to him. “I’m so sorry. I did not mean to spit on you.”

  He rubbed his sleeve against his face and smirked. “I’ve had women do worse to me.”