A Chance at Love (A Ferry Creek Novel): (a billionaire romance novel) (33 page)

“
No,
Jess. You get forever.
”

Bobby hugged Sullivan tight. He
swore he wouldn
’
t get
emotional and he kept his promise. There wasn
’
t
much to say so the two brothers did the only thing that felt right. They worked
side by side at the diner, finishing up another day of work. Sullivan helped Richie
cook and clean. For some reason Richie trusted Sullivan enough to cook
alongside him and to clean up the kitchen. Jess and Peggie ran around the diner
as they normally did and Bobby stayed behind the scenes, taking it all in. He
wanted to remember every single moment of the day. Every face. Every situation.
The smell of the food. The look of the diner. Everything he possibly could.

Jess and Peggie left the diner
after cleaning up and Bobby stood at the counter, wiping it down. The counter
was clean. The towel he used was clean. It was just force of habit. The
pictures on the walls in the diner were memories of his family and his life.
This was his life and his home. It wasn
’
t
going anywhere, even if people did. The diner had withstood the coldest
winters, the record snowfall, all the way to the hottest summers. The diner was
the heart of everything for Bobby.

Bobby threw the towel on the
counter and turned to go out back to go home. That
’
s when he heard someone knocking on the front door.
He looked and couldn
’
t
believe his eyes.

It was Leslie.

He smiled and charged forward to
the door. He unlocked it and opened it for her.

“
Leslie.
”

“
Sorry,
”
she said.
“
I tried to get here before you
closed. My shift ended. I
’
m
going back tonight though to spend the night.
”

Bobby didn
’
t ask why because he knew. Sullivan had seen his
father and now it was just a waiting game.

“
Can
I get you something to eat?
”
Bobby asked.
“
I
’
ll cook you anything.
”

“
No,
no, I
’
m fine,
”
Leslie said.
“
I just wanted to check on you. I
mean, you know, Sullivan was there today.
”

“
Yeah.
He seems good with everything. So am I then. It
’
s
hard, sure, but it
’
s okay.
It
’
ll be okay.
”

Leslie smiled and played with her
keys. She looked nervous. Bobby saw an opportunity and took it. He put his hand
over Leslie
’
s hand and
squeezed.

“
I
promise,
”
Bobby said.
“
It
’
ll
be okay.
”

“
I
know,
”
Leslie said.
“
I
’
m
thinking about what happened, with us. In the hallway.
”

Bobby had been thinking about it.

“
Are
you here for more?
”
Bobby
asked.

“
No,
”
Leslie said.
“
I
’
m
not going to say that it was wrong, but it maybe shouldn
’
t have happened like that. Outside your father
’
s room. Your ex-wife probably
standing at the elevators. You and I caught in a moment together like that.
”

“
It
wasn
’
t like that for me,
”
Bobby said.
“
Not at all. When I look at you
…”

“
No,
”
Leslie said.
“
I can
’
t right now, Bobby. Please understand that. I just
can
’
t right now. Our focus
needs to be in preparing for what
’
s
going to happen.
”

Leslie hadn
’
t stepped into the diner and Bobby knew she wasn
’
t going to. She had come to talk
to him about their kiss. Up until that point Bobby viewed the kiss with Leslie
as hopeful. A chance to maybe have someone to spend time with. Someone who
understood the entire situation. Someone as beautiful as Leslie.

Bobby opened his hand and took it
off Leslie
’
s hand.

“
Okay,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m
sorry if it meant something other than what it was.
”

“
I
’
m not looking at it that way,
”
Leslie said.
“
Just the timing, that
’
s all.
”

“
I
understand.
”
Bobby didn
’
t.
“
Are you sure you don
’
t
want something to eat? I
’
ll
make it to go for you.
”

“
I
promise, I
’
m good,
”
Leslie said.
“
I think I
’
m going to cook something small and take a long
shower before going back.
”

Leslie didn
’
t mean anything by the comment but it sliced right
through Bobby. Now he wouldn
’
t
be able to stop picturing Leslie
’
s
beautiful, bare body against the cascading water.

It was torture.

“
Well,
have a good night then,
”
Bobby said.
“
Please keep in
touch.
”

“
I
will,
”
Leslie said.

She walked away and Bobby locked
the door. He touched his chest and wondered if he should do the same thing to
his heart.

Sullivan couldn't get enough of
kissing Jess but he felt they had reached their breaking point. From the second
she opened the door to her place, she had grabbed his shirt and pulled him and
they started to kiss. They almost tripped over an end table on the way to the
couch. They laughed but never stopped kissing. Sullivan sat with Jess and they
kissed. Now Sullivan had a hand up Jess
’
s
shirt, cupping one of her breasts as he hovered over her on the couch. Their
only problem was they had too much clothing between them. Each time Sullivan
tried to pull back, hoping to gesture a move somewhere more comfortable, Jess
dug her nails into the back of his neck to keep him right where he was.

As Sullivan slid his hand away from
Jess
’
s ample breast and
down her flat belly, she let out a moan. Sullivan saw his chance and pulled
back enough to end their kiss. He wanted to stare into her eyes as he touched
her. His fingertips felt the top of her jeans and with the quick flick of his
thumb, her pants were opened. Jess
’
s
cheeks instantly flushed. Sullivan smiled and slid his hand down more, feeling
the softness of Jess
’
s
panties.

“
Sullivan,
”
Jess said just as his fingers
moved around the curve between her legs.

“
Jess,
”
Sullivan said.

“
Can
we talk?
”

Sullivan swallowed.
“
Of course. Let
’
s talk.
”

“
Can
we talk without your hand in my pants?
”

Sullivan laughed and took his hand
away. He slowly moved back and sat on the couch. He was uncomfortable thanks to
his own body
’
s reaction to
Jess
’
s body and lips. There
was nothing he could do about being so hard other than wait.

“
I
’
m so sorry for this,
”
Jess said.

“
What
are you sorry for?
”
Sullivan asked. He made sure to keep his hand at least touching her hair and
her face.

“
I
want this. So bad. I haven
’
t
had
…
well, that doesn
’
t matter. I just, I just don
’
t want to get hurt.
”

“
How
would you get hurt, Jess? You mean by me?
”
Jess didn
’
t respond. Her
answer was given. Sullivan cupped her cheek.
“
Look
at me, baby. I
’
m not going
to hurt you. Today, tomorrow, forever.
”

“
How
do I know how long forever is, Sullivan? You have a company in Virginia. You
have business. You have a life beyond Ferry Creek.
”

“
No,
I used to,
”
Sullivan said.
“
My life is now in Ferry Creek.
With you, Jess.
”

“
So,
what, you
’
re going to just
move the company? Or give it up? For me?
”

“
I
’
m not giving up my company,
”
Sullivan said.
“
And I
’
m not going to move the company either. The project
we
’
re working on right in
Alexandria is too important for the city. But I do have a top notch guy who
’
s been a right hand to me for a
long time. He
’
s been
managing the company up there. We
’
ve
been talking through emails, texts, video conferences, whatever we need to do.
If something comes up and I need to head north for a day, then I
’
ll go. Or I
’
ll just give it all to Parker to
manage. I have better things to focus on.
”

Jess looked stuck between puzzled
and shocked. She inched away from Sullivan. It was a defense move, probably
because of empty promises in her life from other men. The kind of men who would
say anything to get what they wanted from a woman. Sullivan had once been one
of those men.

“
What
are you thinking?
”
Sullivan
asked.

“
I
think it
’
s crazy. I
’
ve spent so much time wondering
what it would be like to be out of this place. To live somewhere else. To have
more opportunity. And yet this billionaire guy waltzes into town and he wants
to stay.
”

“
Like
I said, I have good reason.
”

Sullivan inched at Jess. He leaned
forward and kissed the tip of her nose. If Jess wanted romance before sex,
Sullivan would romance her until she couldn
’
t
take it. Preferably, Sullivan wanted to romance Jess all the time. Before,
during, after.
The rest of her life.

“
You
’
re not leaving me?
”
Jess asked.

“
No.
You
’
re not going to wake up
tomorrow and find me gone. I
’
ll
be right next to you.
”

“
So
you plan on staying the night?
”

“
Those
were my intentions, Jess.
”

“
You
didn
’
t bring a change of
clothes.
”

Sullivan leaned at Jess again.
“
What I plan on doing with you
has absolutely nothing to do with clothing
…”

With that, Sullivan lingered. He
wanted Jess to the make the move. He could sense that she was debating whether
to jump at Sullivan and running away. This would be her decision, no matter how
long it would take.

Jess kissed Sullivan just a few
seconds later and that
’
s
where it all began.

Her hands touched his neck, then
his shoulders, then his chest. Sullivan managed to remain calm while Jess made
her decision. He knew she wanted him to touch her but he held back. Sullivan
wanted to torture Jess until she couldn
’
t
stand it.

Jess pulled at his shirt and when
her hands found his bare stomach, she moaned. She moaned into Sullivan
’
s mouth and he tasted her warm
breath. Sullivan groaned and kissed harder. Jess
’
s
hands lifted Sullivan
’
s
shirt and he slowly started to move from the couch, taking Jess with him. They
were then standing and Sullivan
’
s
shirt was halfway off. Their kiss had to break so Sullivan could take his shirt
off. Jess touched Sullivan
’
s
chest and body, her eyes wide and mouth open.

Sullivan finally lost his control.
His hands touched Jess
’
s
hips for a brief second before lifting her, just like he wanted to do in the
parking lot of the diner earlier. His hands slid under her ass and he turned to
walk to the steps. Jess
’
s
hands hung around Sullivan
’
s
neck and they didn
’
t kiss.
They stared at each other. Jess licked her lips. Sullivan gritted his teeth. He
had never felt so attached to a woman. So addicted to a woman. And he hadn
’
t even slept with her yet. It
was the most intense feeling in the world.

Sullivan carried Jess up the steps
and she directed him to the bedroom.

Sullivan sat Jess on the bed and
reached down for her shirt.

They were soon in the mix of
tearing at each other
’
s
clothing. They kissed when they could and once they were finally naked, Jess
climbed back on the bed, enticing Sullivan to hurry after her. He did without
hesitation, placing his hands to her knees, squeezing, tickling, teasing.
Sullivan came forward, threatening Jess with his tongue, smiling as he came
close to her sex. His lips found comfort just below her belly button. He slowly
kissed up Jess
’
s body,
unable to stop himself. His hands followed next, gently caressing and climbing
up. When his mouth moved over one of Jess
’
s
breasts, she grabbed the back of Sullivan
’
s
head and held him there. As his tongue tasted her chest, he brought his left
hand up and between Jess
’
s
legs, touching her warmth. Jess shuddered and let out a cry, surprising
Sullivan.