Second Chances (13 page)

Stacy disconnected and smiled happily as she saved and shut down her work.

She knew tomorrow would be hard, but it would be made easier by Dustin being there.

Now she had something to look forward to, though. Dustin was taking her out. Stacy locked up and headed to her bedroom so she could read for a while before she hit the hay.

***

Stacy was nervous as she paced around her living room. Dustin would be there soon to pick her up for their date. It had been the longest week ever.

Monday, she’d edited all of the pictures for her family and sent them off to be printed. True to his word, Dustin had picked her up and taken her down to the courthouse to get a temporary restraining order against Mark. She and Mark would both have to appear in court once he was served with the papers to make it permanent.

Who knew how he’d take that. Hopefully he’d back off and never contact her again.

Stacy and Dustin stopped and had a quick bite to eat at the diner right by the courthouse and had nice conversation. It took longer than either of them realized at the courthouse, so they had to make it a short lunch.

After that she went over to visit with Bellamy and Carrington. She enjoyed getting her snuggle time with her little Care Bear and it gave Bellamy a chance to take a little cat nap.

Stacy had dinner with her whole family that night since they were all leaving the next morning. Chloe had cried when Stacy was leaving. She told Stacy that she didn’t want her to go and why couldn’t she live with them.

Whatever was going on with Chloe was bothering everyone. She was such a happy, carefree child, but this time she was clingy and whiny. Even Chloe’s brother was picking up on her odd behavior.

By Wednesday she was beat. Stacy had got herself another client, a wedding that winter. She liked doing wedding photography, but taking photographs like she took of Bellamy, Luke and Carrington was her true passion. Black and whites of families in untraditional poses. Although there was something about capturing a bride and groom on their special day and being able to capture the love they had for each other that always stole her breath.

She’d had a slow night at The Waterfront, which wasn’t unusual for a Wednesday night. Skeeter, who was friends with Dustin, Dylan and Luke, and was the manager on duty most of the nights Stacy worked, had sent her home early since there wasn’t a need for her.

That was her week in a nutshell. Teaching, bartending and working on her pictures. Dustin made it tolerable. They talked or texted every night before bed. She’d even fallen asleep in the middle of a conversation the night before.

Stacy studied herself in the mirror. Bellamy had gone shopping with her the day before and helped her choose a dress. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, but she still wanted to look nice.

She’d found a red wrap dress. It had capped sleeves and a slightly plunging neckline. The hem hit right about her knees. She paired it with a pair of nude stiletto heels and gold bracelets, necklace and earrings.

Bellamy had been right: the dress accentuated the parts of her body she liked and enhanced the others. Her dark hair was pinned up in big curls. Bellamy had told Stacy that the hairstyle would show off her long neck.

Stacy heard a knock, took a deep breath, and went to answer the door.

***

Dustin had missed her all week. Sure they talked a lot, but it wasn’t the same. He was looking forward to their date. Dustin was taking her to O’Melia’s for dinner and then maybe dancing. The idea of holding her close while they danced was very appealing.

He decided to wear black slacks and a white button shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Grabbing his wallet and sticking it in his back pocket, he headed for the front door.

On his way to Stacy’s, his phone rang and he saw it was his brother.

“Hey, Dylan. How’s the vacation?” Dustin asked as he pulled out of his driveway.

“It’s been great, actually. I only have a minute, but I just wanted to let you know I’ll be home Wednesday around seven. You’re still picking me up, right?”

Dustin thought his brother sounded very relaxed and that was not normally Dylan. “Yep, I’ll be there. So what have you been doing?”

“Nothing much, just hanging out on the beach and relaxing. I was ready to come home after the first day bu—oh, hey man, I gotta go, but I’ll see you Wednesday.”

Dustin swore he heard a woman’s voice before his brother hung up. Good for him; the guy deserved a little fun.

He pulled up in front of Stacy’s house when he was struck with a sudden case of nerves. Dustin shook his head and didn’t understand where that was coming from. He’d known Stacy since she was a little snot-nosed kid. They’d already slept together, but this was their first official date. After everything she’d been through, he wanted tonight to be perfect.

For so long Dustin had closed off that part of himself. After Emily broke his heart, he shut down the romantic side. It was all casual after that—and by casual he might’ve met the girls for drinks, but after a couple of days he was done. He was never a dick about it, but he made sure they always knew the score.

He got out and walked up to Stacy’s front door. Dustin normally just walked in, but he decided to ring the doorbell. He heard footsteps. When the door opened Dustin had to fight the urge to take Stacy right then and there.

Dustin let himself enjoy the sight in front of him. Her legs looked even longer than usual in her nude heels, from the flare of her hips to the dip of her waist. His eyes travelled up to get a glimpse of perfect tits. They looked like they were about to spill out of the dress.

Her hair was pulled up on her head and she didn’t have a lot of makeup on, but her coloring was so beautiful she didn’t need it.

Dustin caught a whiff of her perfume. It was a light woodsy scent that wasn’t overpowering. She had a clear gloss on her lips that seemed to enhance her natural color. God, he wanted to kiss it right off of her.

“Jesus, Stacy, you look beautiful.” He watched the light pink blush creep up from her neck to stain her cheeks.

“Thank you. Come in,” Stacy told him as she stepped back.

Dustin walked by her, but when his body rubbed lightly against hers, he pulled her towards him. He kissed her quick and hard. Her body melded to his as if they were made for each other.

He pulled back, both of them breathing hard. Dustin rubbed his thumb under her lower lip. He had smudged the clear gloss. Smiling, he held out his hand. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.” She grabbed her clutch and then his hand, lacing her fingers through his as he led her out of the door.

They made small talk as they drove to the restaurant. Stacy told him about the photo job she just got and how much closer she was to getting enough money for her own studio space.

Dustin loved to listen to her talk about her photography. The passion she had for it was evident in the way she spoke. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she smiled and talked, but all of a sudden she stopped talking and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh my gosh; why did you let me babble on like that?”

“For real, Stacy? You weren’t babbling. You’re kind of cute when you get all excited about something,” he said, chuckling until she gave him a playful punch in the arm. “Hey! What was that for?”

“That was for being a dork.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “So Dylan will be home on Wednesday?”

“Yeah, he actually called me on my way to get you. I’m picking him up at the airport at seven that night.”

He pulled his truck into the parking lot at O’Melia’s and got out to go around and help Stacy down. Dustin kissed her with lightest of touches and then led her towards the restaurant.

***

Stacy settled into the booth and watched Dustin slide in on his side. He was so handsome. His hair in the dim light of the restaurant looked almost black, which was a stark contrast to his light skin and blue eyes.

When they had walked to their booth, Stacy could sense eyes on them. No doubt women were taking notice of him and all of his gorgeousness. That little voice in her head told her she wasn’t good enough to be with him, but Stacy gave her a mental kick in the ass.

He’d made it very clear how he felt, and it was obvious this was the first date that he’d had in a long time. It made her feel warm all over that he wanted that with her.

Stacy took the menu offered to her and started looking through the selection. The waiter had come and taken their drink order. Dustin ordered a beer and Stacy ordered a cosmopolitan.

The conversation flowed smoothly between them as they waited for their food. They munched on bread that they dipped in an olive oil and parmesan cheese mixture. Stacy let the flavor explode on her tongue. She looked up to find Dustin staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

He didn’t say anything for a second and then he gave her the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. “Watching you eat has got to be the hottest thing ever.” She felt her face heat up. “Stacy, I swear, if you don’t stop moaning like that I’m going to drag you out of here.”

Dustin’s face was serious as he said it. She felt her panties dampen and her nipples harden. The sexual tension was swirling around them, but the spell was quickly broken when their waiter came with their entrée.

Stacy gave him a small smile and quickly dug in to her fettuccine with lobster. She controlled her response to the food this time, but that still didn’t stop her from noticing Dustin watching her as he took a bite of his steak.

She took a sip of her water. “So I’m babysitting your niece tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah? What are Bellamy and Luke doing?” Dustin asked.

“Don’t you remember? It’s their anniversary. And since your parents and Luke’s are busy, they asked if I’d spend the day over there so they could go out. I’m bringing my camera so I can get some shots of my little Care Bear.” Stacy was looking forward to it.

“I still can’t believe they’re married. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be happier for them, but it’s just weird because I still remember her as the little brat that taunted Luke incessantly.”

Stacy and Dustin had stood up for them when they got married. They’d had a very intimate backyard wedding. Stacy remembered that day fondly. The love those two had for each other was intense. How could anyone not feel it and be affected by it?

That night after the reception was the last time Stacy slept with Dustin. It had been passionate and so intense that the fear took over and she pulled the “let’s be friends” card.

How different would things have been had she not listened to the fear and embraced the possibility of something wonderful happening? It was better not to dwell on it because it didn’t matter now. What’s done was done; she needed to let go of the fear.

They finished their meals. Dustin ordered a dessert, which he wouldn’t let Stacy know, to take with them. Dustin had told her that he was taking her dancing as they waited for their bill. Once the waiter brought Dustin’s credit card receipt, he signed it and then got up. Holding out his hand, he helped her from the table. Stacy felt all warm inside when he wrapped his arm around her as he led her out of the restaurant.

“So where are you taking me? Are we going to a club?” Stacy asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

Dustin pulled out of the parking lot and started heading towards Hilton Head. “An old friend of mine owns this little club. It’s nice and intimate. Most of the dancing that goes on there is couples dancing. You know what that means?” Dustin wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Stacy couldn’t help but laugh at him. “What does it mean?”

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Really, really slow dancing.” Dustin pulled Stacy’s hand to his lips and kissed it.

Stacy felt her pussy clench thinking about slow dancing with Dustin. The man could dance, so it wasn’t going to be a hardship being close to him. His scent was filling the cab of his truck and it was making her panties wet. God, she was becoming a wanton fool. She enjoyed the comfortable silence as they made their way to the destination. So far, this had been the best night she’d had in a long time.

All she needed was for Mark to honor the restraining order and she could move on with her life.

Chapter 11

Dustin pulled into the parking lot of Allure. His friend Reggie had bought the rundown bar five years ago and he’d hired Dustin to do the renovations. They’d turned it into a hot spot for couples or people looking to meet other singles that wasn’t like the clubs with the smoke machines, lights and crammed sweaty bodies. It was more relaxed and easier to talk to people without having to yell over loud music. He pulled into a parking spot, got out and went around helping Stacy out of his truck. With an arm around Stacy’s waist, he led her to the entrance.

“I never knew this place was here,” Stacy said as he opened the door for her.

“Well, it’s only been open for four years and you were in Chicago for a while. Luke and I did the renovations on this place,” Dustin told her with a smile.

“I can’t wait to see it.”

He led her down a narrow hallway to a set of doors. Dustin opened it and ushered her inside. He watched Stacy out of the corner of his eye to catch her reaction. It was one of the first jobs that he and Luke did alone.

“Oh wow!” Stacy exclaimed, smiling at Dustin.

“You like, baby?” he asked.

“It’s gorgeous in here.” The smile she gave him made that ache in his heart start up again. How this one woman made him want a relationship was beyond him.

“Let me introduce you to Reggie and then I’ll give you a tour.” They walked over to the bar, where Reggie was unloading bottles of liquor and putting them on the shelf. The place was just starting to fill up, but they were able to get close to the bar. “Hey, Reg, are you actually going to work or just pretend to?”

Dustin smiled when Reggie turned, looking pissed, until he realized who had said it. “Well, look what the cat drug in. How the hell are you, Dustin?” Reggie came around and shook his hand and clapped him on the back.