Loving Lena (2 page)

“Okay, Mom.”

“It looks like you're about to get some help.” Lena watched the blond hunk walk toward them at a leisurely pace, smile firmly in place.
Barbie and Ken
, she sent an amused glance to her friend.

“Jeff Raglein.” He extended his hand to Lena introducing himself. When he saw Faye, his mouth opened, minus sound, as he looked her over from the white tips of her toes to the symmetrical cut of her hair. Faye had given him the same run-down and sported a feisty grin of appreciation. Lena hoped this meant she'd get to leave sooner rather than later.
To do what
?

She had no real plans…she just wanted... that was the real problem; she didn't know what she wanted. Her husband's betrayal cut deep. She wasn't sure what hurt more, the fact she'd been blind to all the signs that now seemed glaringly obvious or the five years she'd given of her life living a lie. Her self-confidence plummeted and lived around her ankles. Despite what everyone said, she felt like a fool. She should've known, suspected something, instead she'd been blindsided.

“Leen? Lena,” Faye called walking to the other side of the car. “Wanna test drive this baby?”

“No thanks, I’ll, um just wait here.” She smiled at the salesman’s reaction to Faye flashing her yellow panties while sliding in the seat. Lust dripped from his expression as he slid into the passenger's seat, his eyes never leaving Faye's thigh area while he buckled up. Faye tugged at the material, glanced at her, and winked. Lena laughed, silently wished the big guy luck, and headed toward her car.

Kurt Hoffman caught a glimpse of the chocolate beauty on the monitor in his office and froze. There weren’t that many African Americans in Cheyenne and before today he would’ve said either he’d met most of them while growing up in the area, and or at an event, his company sponsored. He'd bet his monthly sales this gorgeous creature wasn't a native.

Tall, graceful, generous curves in the right places in short, a walking wet dream. Without pausing to think, he left the sanctity of his office to get a closer look, desperately wanting her to be real. His long limbs ate up the distance, intercepting her before she reached her car.

“Hello.” He extended his hand. She hesitated before taking it, a nice smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. He stared into the light brown orbs, surprised by the caution and sadness reflected in their depths. Indignation rose in his chest at the thought of someone hurting such a beauty. The need to comfort and protect crashed over him.

“I'm Kurt. Can I show you anything?” He continued holding her hand. She glanced at the connection and tugged lightly. Slowly, he released her hand, taking a quick glance at the luxury car and then back at her, wondering how she’d come by the calluses he felt on her palm. An air of melancholy surrounded her. Obviously, more than a beautiful face, she presented a mystery. A paradox. Her previous walk toward her car had been graceful, her voice cultured, yet she’d worked hard at some point. It didn’t add up. Nothing attracted him more than a woman with added depth. He suspected she had layers upon layers of hidden rooms. Briefly, he wondered what he’d discover.

“No thanks, I drove my friend up here to purchase a car. She just left on a test drive.”

As he nodded and took her elbow, his goal changed. Now that he’d confirmed her good looks, he wanted to get to know her better. “It's a nice day, but hot. Come inside and I’ll get you a cool drink.” She hesitated. “At least you'll be comfortable in the cold air while you wait.”

“All right.” They walked inside together.

“What would you like to drink? Soft drink, juice, or water?” He took the opportunity to study her features. A heart-shaped face with large eyes, full lips, and a straight nose. When she spoke, she displayed a small gap between her front teeth. Sexy.

“A bottle of water would be fine, thank you.” Her husky voice grabbed his attention as she looked around the lobby area. He steered her to his office and pointed to a seat. Once again, he noticed her hesitation.

She glanced around the room and looked at him. “Your office?”

“Yeah, I figured you'd be more comfortable.” He handed her a bottle of water from his personal stash.

“Really?” her tone dry. “Why would I be more comfortable in a closed room with a strange man than out in the open lobby?”

He coughed and laughed. “I guess you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way. I should've given you a choice, huh?”

“Yes, you should've.” She smiled opening the water.

“I wanted to talk to you,” he admitted. “I saw you on the lot earlier and wanted to see if you were as pretty, close-up.” Her brow rose as she sat back in the chair. At least she hadn't left running or screaming at his high-handedness. “I'm a simple man and when all else fails, I fall back on my primitive inclinations.”

“Primitive?” Her lip lifted at the corner.

“Yes.” He nodded taking the seat next to her. “A man sees a woman he wants, and he does whatever necessary to get her attention.”

She laughed. A nice, lyrical sound reached inside his chest and warmed his heart. “I guess I should be grateful you didn't throw me over your shoulder.”

“It was a toss-up.” He winked at her. “Desperate measures and all that.” He gazed at her, fascinated with the emotions flying across her face. “I'm Kurt Hoffmann.”

“Lena Pace.”

“Pretty name. Where are you from, Lena? And please tell me you live here now.” His voice sounded more anxious than he'd like. He needed to get a grip. Although they'd just met, he wanted her beneath him as soon as possible.

“I lived in Aurora, a suburb of Denver for the past five years. I'm seriously thinking of relocating here.” Her voice turned hesitant again.

Layers upon layers
. He wondered if he was up to peeling them away. Did he really want to go through mental gymnastics just to spend time with her? It was something to consider.

The vibes flowing from her screamed monogamy; he turned a deaf ear. He wanted a friend with benefits-type of thing. As pretty as she was, and with the military base nearby, there would be men after her in droves. Was he down with tending the flower to get the nectar, or would he let another handle the role of gardener? “What's stopping you?”

She shrugged and glanced out the window. “Actually, I have two job offers. Originally, I came up to see my girl. Then I decided to hang around, check out the area. It helps that Faye, my friend, lives here, so I'll know someone.” He took her hand, rubbed her palm with his finger.

“I want you to move here. But I'd like to see you again no matter where you live.” His eyes captured hers.

“Well.” She coughed, removed her hand, and lowered her eyes. “I'll, uh, certainly keep that in mind.”

“I hope I haven't messed things up by being honest.” His determined eyes searched her face, took note of her folded arms; the closed body language spoke of her discomfort.

She shook her head. “I'm going through a divorce right now and it has the potential to get ugly fast. I'm confused about a lot of things; this probably isn't the best time to make new friends.”

His lips pursed. He planned to be more than friends. “How long were you married?”

“Five years. I was young and silly and thought I was doing the right thing.”

“Any children?” She was still young, early twenties to his early thirties, too young to give up on relationships. He'd make sure she understood not all men were jerks.

“No,” she said wistfully, grabbing his attention. Her face tightened in pain. He hoped she hadn't been violated to the point she couldn’t have children.

“It was never the right time, except now, of course.” Her lips curled ruefully at the corners.

“Huh?”

“He's offered to have a family if I return.” Her voice lowered.

“Are you considering— ” The thought of her leaving sent an unexpected jolt of panic through him.

“Hell, no.” She scowled. “Not in a hundred years, plus some.” Her horrified expression appeared sincere, and he released the breath he'd held...wondering why it mattered so much that she would not be returning to her ex.

“I'm divorced.” Her head whipped around. He nodded. “It was final two years ago. We weren't married as long as you were, but we'd dated off and on all through high school and college. After college, I hit the rodeo circuit for a while, saved up some money and we got married. Funny thing, once we were married it didn't take long to discover we didn't love each other like that. I wanted to end it right then, but she wanted to try to make it work. We had a lot of history, she was comfortable, so it drug out another two years. I discovered she just wanted the time to shop for another husband. Once she hooked him, she granted me the divorce.” He shrugged at her shocked expression.

“That's awful. Why would anyone treat someone like that?” Her hands balled into fists, she exhaled before releasing them.

“No, Lena.” He stared into her eyes to impart this truth. “That's real life. She didn't love me. I didn't love her. Sometimes people make mistakes. Painful mistakes. But life continues.”

“How long did it take you to reach this point?” She stared at him, a frown marred her brow.

“What point?” He answered, pleased with her sign of interest in him.

She waved her arm in his direction. “This point of not caring, being rational, over the hurt. I mean it still bothers me, a lot. I don’t know if I could be so, so,
blasé
about it any time soon.”

“My pride took most of the beating.” He chuckled, pulling his ear in remembrance. “Once I realized I was more embarrassed that everyone knew she'd been cheating, than I cared about the marriage being over, I let it go. I didn't miss her, although it was nice having someone in the house. I didn't want her back even when she made the offer.”

“Your ex wanted you back?”

“Doesn't yours?” He leaned back, watching the expressions chase across her face, which surprised him. It’d been a while since he met anyone so open. It was refreshing. Maybe he’d reconsider his one-date rule. Somehow he didn’t think once would be enough. She had an interesting mix of innocence and fire. It lay banked, smoldering beneath the surface. Her husband obviously didn’t realize the gem he had. Tough. His ignorance was Kurt's delight.

She nodded slowly, thinking. “Yeah, he's sorry and wants me to stop the divorce. He wants me to come home.” She shook her head. “There's no way I could ever trust or forgive him.”

Trust, from his experience, was a touchy subject. While he was glad she wasn’t interested in returning to the fool who let her go, he didn’t want her so hardened by her past she couldn’t move on. Most people were imperfect and could be forgiven most things. “Why? Why can't you forgive him?”

She sighed and shook her head. “I don't want to talk about him right now.” A knock sounded at the door. He swore beneath his breath at the interruption.

He stood and looked at the door. “Yes?”

Jeff, his best friend and top salesman, opened the door. His eyes swept the room, looking between the two occupants.

“Sorry to disturb you.” He frowned slightly. “Faye's looking for you. She's made a decision about a car.” He offered a small smile in her direction as she walked past him, but sent a puzzled frown to Kurt.

“Don't ask,” Kurt said following her out the door.

Chapter 2

Lena left Faye at the dealership to complete the paperwork for her new car. Her conversation with Kurt had slashed open the new scabs on her heart.

Kurt.
She closed her eyes remembering the blue-green eyes that laid her soul bare. It wasn't his six plus feet of muscular perfection that grabbed her attention. Or his wavy black-brown thick hair layered perfectly around his angular face, with high cheekbones and straight narrow nose topped off an interesting masculine package. She’d dated more handsome men.

Without a doubt, she would've overlooked all of that if it weren't for his over-whelming self-confidence. At a time when hers was at an all time low, his strength of conviction penetrated her morass of self-hatred, and offered a balm for her bruised ego. His words made her think, and that was a good thing.

After parking her car in the driveway, she leaned back against the headrest and swallowed hard. What did she feel? Embarrassment? Most definitely. Pain? Yeah, that too. Did the hurt stem from the humiliation or her romantic heart? After years of trying to fit in and be what her husband wanted, she questioned her heart for the first time. Was that love? What did she feel for the man? Sure, she burst with pride when he delivered powerful sermons and people responded. Pride? There had to be more.

Had her body ever quivered in desire when he touched her, looked at her? Had he even looked at her the way Kurt did, with hungry eyes? Searching her memory, she couldn’t place a time when her ex looked at her with half the heat the man she’d just met had. Of course, he wanted to have sex with her. But hadn’t Elijah? She shook her head and leaned back against the seat rest. Did she miss being with him? Seeing his sardonic smile, hearing his voice, or the way he watched her take care of him. Why didn’t her body ache for him?

Their sex life was a series of hit and misses. More misses since she was being honest. The man had been a virgin on their wedding night and had no idea of foreplay. He’d never gotten the hang of it. She’d chalked it up to being a Christian, buried her sexual desires, and focused on being a good wife.