Deep Down (Lockhart Brothers #1) (8 page)

LUNCH RUSH WOULD BE
over soon. My tables all had their food and now I was just refilling drinks and bringing checks. Mondays were always crazy busy. Good thing I’d eaten some toast at the start of my shift this morning, because I hadn’t had time for even a bite of lunch.

I delivered a tall vanilla milkshake to a toddler who smiled gleefully when she saw it. She looked around three years old, the same age as my Noah. As soon as I set the tall glass in front of her, she swiped the cherry from the top and stuck it in her mouth.

“Mmm,” she said, grinning.

I glanced at the girl’s well-dressed mother, who’d stacked sacks from the shopping they’d apparently done in an empty seat at their table. One of my dreams was to take Noah shopping for new clothes and shoes without having to worry about every dollar.

Fortunately he was young enough that he didn’t realize most everything he wore was secondhand. He’d be bursting with energy when I picked him up from daycare this afternoon. I got there right after his post-nap snack every day, and we usually headed home to play. It wasn’t warm enough for the park anymore.

Austin and Reed Lockhart were in the cash register line, and I snuck a glance at Austin’s brother. All the Lockhart boys were tall and handsome, but Reed was unique. He seemed taller than the others and he had broad shoulders—he looked as if he worked out a lot. One thing was for sure, he had a presence that couldn’t be ignored.

I did a quick glance around all my tables. Lucy Mackin’s Coke was a little under half full, so I headed for her table to grab it for a refill. I was passing by my young milkshake customer’s table when I heard her wailing.

I’d swing by in a sec and see if some crackers or crayons would help. As I was passing the crying toddler one of my feet slid out from beneath me. All I could get out was a quick yelp before all the breath was sucked out of my lungs.

Crap. My arms flew out as I sought to grab something to break my fall but I was out of luck.

I prepared to hit the floor but was surprised when an arm wrapped around my back, stopping my fall. My hands were still scrambling for purchase, and one of them landed on a solid forearm.

“I’ve got you,” a deep voice said. He pulled me halfway up and what little air I’d gotten back in my lungs left in a rush. Reed Lockhart was looking down at me, his dark brown eyes brimming with concern.

My heart was racing from the scare I’d just had, but being in Reed’s arms wasn’t going to slow it down. I was close enough to see his dark five-o-clock shadow and take in his faint, woodsy scent.

And those eyes. I couldn’t look away. They were just a shade lighter than his dark brown hair. He was boyish and manly at the same time.

“You okay?” he asked. He still held me in a pose that looked like we were on Dancing With the Stars.

“Yes,” I said breathlessly. “I’m fine. Thanks for saving me from wiping out. I didn’t think anyone even saw me slip.”

He eased me up slowly, leaving his warm, powerful arm around the small of my back.

“Instinct, I guess,” he said, the corners of his lips quirking up a little.

“Well . . . thanks again.”

He gave a half shrug and led me out of the vanilla milkshake puddle. “I’m just glad I was here. You sure you’re okay?”

I held his gaze for another second before nodding. There was no reason for me to feel breathless anymore, but I did. When he slid his arm out from around me, I missed it immediately. No one but Noah had touched me in a long time. I liked it that way, but Reed’s solid presence reminded me what was missing from my life.

Stepping back, I took a deep breath. That kind of closeness would always be missing. I’d closed off my heart to all men a long time ago. There would never be another man who would hurt or disappointed me, because no one was getting in. My life was about me and Noah, and we didn’t need anyone else.

I WAS STILL RATTLED
on the walk back to my office. After Austin had gone in the direction of his own office I couldn’t think of anything but Ivy. The way she’d felt in my arms, the rise and fall of her chest as I looked down at her and those bright blue eyes looking up at me.

She hadn’t expected anyone to catch her. She’d been planning to land flat on her ass. I could tell that by the way she’d clutched my arm, her expression a mixture of surprise and gratitude. It made me want to pull her closer and tell her I’d catch her again if she needed me to. I’d catch her anytime she wanted.

I shook my head at the sentimental nonsense I was thinking. Maybe Austin was right and all the months of not getting laid were catching up with me.

“Hey, Lena,” I said when I walked in the front door to the office. “Any messages?”

“No messages, but there’s someone in your office,” she said, not looking up from whatever she was writing.

I walked down the hall and into my office, which still smelled like the leather law books Dad had kept in here before I joined the practice. When I tossed my coat on a chair, a woman stood up from the wingback chair in the corner of the room.

“Reed,” she said softly. “It’s good to see you.”

Meredith. My good mood took a nose dive.

“What are you doing here?”

“I moved back home a few months ago.”

“No, I mean what are you doing here in my office?”

“I wanted to see you.” It was obvious she was looking for a warmer reception than I was offering.

I shook my head with disgust. “Look, I’ve got work to do and, to be honest, you shouldn’t have been let in here. You need to go.”

“Are you still mad at me?” she continued. “It’s been five years, Reed.”

“I’m not mad, I’m busy.”

She gave me the puppy dog eyes I’d fallen for back when we were together. “Can we have dinner soon? To catch up?”

“That’s not a good idea, Meredith.”

“We never talked about things.”

“That was your choice, not mine. And it was years ago. There’s no point in talking about it now—I’ve moved on.”

She took a step closer to me and tried to lay a palm on my chest, but I stepped back and her hand met empty space.

“Reed,” she said, laughing. “Are you afraid I’ll seduce you with one touch?”

Aggravation flared in my veins. “No. I just don’t want you touching me. I’m busy.”

“Why are you treating me like a stranger?”

“Because you are one. The day you left me at the altar was the day I realized I really had no idea who you were.”

“Well, now that we’re both home again, maybe we can work on that. I’ve missed you.”

“I’m not interested.”

Meredith gave me a pleading look. “I’m divorced now, you know. That whole thing . . . it was such a huge mistake, Reed.”

“Look—”

She stepped forward again, this time laying her hand on my crotch rather than my chest.

“Surely you haven’t forgotten this,” she said in a low tone, rubbing my dick.

My breath came out in a shudder. The timing of Meredith’s come on was really fucking bad. I was still fired up from having Ivy in my arms, so vulnerable and pretty. But I couldn’t have her right now, and I sure as hell wouldn’t let Meredith stand in.

I moved her hand away from my dick and she groaned sadly.

“Are you seeing someone? Is that it?”

“That’s actually none of your business, but no. Just to be clear, there’s no chance of us getting back together. Now I’ve got work to do, so . . .” I nodded at the open doorway.

She sighed deeply then gave me a dirty look and walked out. Once she was gone I called Lena into my office and let her know, in no uncertain terms, that I was not happy with her unprofessional behavior. Then, she too gave me a dirty look and left my office.

It wasn’t that I had hard feelings toward Meredith; those had passed a long time ago. What we’d had between us was long gone. Now, having seen her again for the first time in five years, I sure as hell didn’t feel the magic we’d had at first when we got together in high school. She’d been my first and I’d been hers. And then we’d settled into a steady, happy relationship. But that was all water under the bridge. I had absolutely zero interest in her.

Before moving home I’d decided that I wasn’t getting into anything serious with any woman—I didn’t need the grief. But already I was feeling an urge to go back to Gene’s and ask Ivy out. I wanted to find out more about her. So far all I knew was that she was a beautiful single mom who’d bewitched me in a matter of minutes.

Meeting Ivy had been unplanned and unexpected but, yeah, it felt really damned good. Magic.

LUNCH RUSH WAS OVER
for the day, and I was wiping down the front counter and refilling salt and pepper shakers. Margie, who rarely stopped moving at work, was leaning against the counter and staring at the TV mounted from the ceiling. The TV was there for our customers who liked to watch the morning news while having their breakfasts. We kept the volume turned all the way down, but people liked to read the headlines at the bottom of the screen.

Margie had turned on the subtitles and was shaking her head with disapproval.

“If I met that guy on the street, I’d cut his balls off,” she said simply, as though she was discussing the weather.

“Geez, Margie, he’s just a guy on TV,” I said, smiling.

“Look at this,” she said, pointing up at the screen. I looked at it and rolled my eyes when I saw that she was watching Springer. The show’s topic, ‘I Married my Daddy,’ was plastered onto the bottom of the screen. My stomach rolled with nausea as I looked at the people screaming at each other on the screen. A middle-aged man was passionately kissing a woman who didn’t look more than twenty, while another man raised a chair up from the floor, preparing to launch it at the guy I presumed was ‘Daddy’ in this scenario.

“She’s pregnant with his child,” Margie said, sounding shocked. “That kid will probably be born deformed. Poor thing.”

I tried to calm my racing heart, reminding myself that no one here knew my truth. My secret was so safe that I could judge the people on that TV screen along with Margie and no one would be the wiser. I wouldn’t do it though. That young woman and her unborn baby didn’t deserve derision from a stranger like me.

I lined up sugar packets in dishes on the counter, saying a silent prayer that the baby would be born healthy and the woman would come to her senses and begin a new life without the idiot who admitted to being her father and her lover.