They both came, falling still for a moment. Ken brushed his lips down her spine while Charles kissed her again. “You okay?” Charles whispered.
She nodded. She started drifting to sleep before Ken had even withdrawn from her ass. She barely noticed when he did, asleep before they even got her rolled onto her back.
It’s a Sweet Life
187
Chapter Eighteen
The first Monday in March dawned cold and damp, the sky full of gunmetal grey clouds angrily chased across the horizon by a northern breeze that felt like a special delivery direct from the Arctic. Ben frowned at the weather when he looked out the window while waiting for the second pot of coffee to brew.
He knew it would mean a day of misery for Libbie who, after rising, had bundled herself in several layers before moving to the couch, while giving thanks she didn’t have to open the shop.
Allan pulled Ben into the bedroom and whispered, “Maybe I shouldn’t go today.”
“You have to.” He glanced out to where Libbie watched TV on the couch. “I’ll be with her. It’ll be okay.”
“I feel like I’m abandoning her. And that’s such a chickenshit excuse, that I’m going to buy art supplies in Orlando.”
“Hey, it’s not a chickenshit excuse. The bakery is closed today.
It’s the only free day you can go and not worry about leaving her shorthanded downstairs. That’s your rationale.”
Allan scrubbed at his face with his hand. “I still feel like a shit.”
Ken handed him the disposable cell phone they only used to make contact with Miami. “Go. It’s okay.”
Allan returned to the living room and leaned in to kiss her. “Are you sure you’re okay with me going?”
She forced a smile through her pain as she nodded. “I’m okay.
Ken’s here with me. Please, I want you to go have fun. You’ve been working your ass off for me and I really want you to go do this for yourself.”
188 Tymber
Dalton
After lunch, she announced she wanted to go to Walmart to pick up some things and headed for her purse. Ben frowned when he saw how much pain Libbie was in. He suspected she thought she was hiding it well from him, when in fact her every expression and movement telegraphed it loudly to his trained eye.
He reached over and took her car keys from her. “I’ll go with you and I’ll drive.”
“That’s really sweet, but—”
“But what?” He arched an eyebrow at her. “I don’t have anything going on this afternoon that can’t wait until tomorrow. You’re obviously in a lot of pain. I’m driving you, and that’s that.”
He suppressed his wistful sigh at the sweet pink blush that colored her cheeks. “Thank you,” she softly said as she picked up her purse from the table.
He did love her, even though he knew he couldn’t tell her. It wouldn’t be fair to her, especially since she’d never said it to them.
How will I ever say good-bye to her?
It was something he refused to think about.
He offered her his arm. “You’re very welcome,” he said as she finally slipped her arm through his. He patted her hand. “Are you going to be warm enough dressed like that?”
She nodded even as she tugged a little at her fingerless gloves.
“Yeah.”
He slowly walked with her downstairs and out the back door, locking it behind them. “I worry about you,” he said. “I don’t want you overdoing things.”
“I’m okay.”
He drove them to the store, offering his arm to her and keeping his pace slow to match hers. “What are we after today, anyway?”
She pulled a list from her pocket. “Assorted odds and ends.” She looked up at him and smiled. “And we’re almost out of Astroglide.”
He laughed as he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips. “I’ll be the gentleman and go grab that for you. I suppose I should get more It’s a Sweet Life 189
condoms, too?”
“Yeah. At the rate we’re using them, though, we might need to see if we can purchase them in bulk somewhere.”
“I’ll take the cart and go do it. Where will you be?”
She handed him the list. “I need some new socks. I’ll go get those and catch up with you by office supplies. I need a few things there, too. If you want to grab me shampoo and toothpaste while you’re over there, that would be great.”
“Done.”
He headed over to the health and beauty section and quickly found lube, condoms, and other items on her list from that section. As he headed over to the office supplies, he wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings as he scanned the shelves for the items on her list.
Pens, printer paper, envelopes.
That was why he was startled, his head snapping up at the woman’s voice, when she called out.
“Allan!”
He turned, ready to shove the cart into the person and run, if necessary. But the young woman, wearing a tight sweater and even tighter jeans, was too fast for him and threw her arms around his neck.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
His mind raced. He had no clue who this woman was. That she called him Allan briefly blipped his see-I-told-you-so meter to mention to Allan later.
For now, he had to get away from her.
“Um, hi.”
She planted a kiss on his cheek before stepping back, her hands on her hips. “Leeza Maxwell.” She poked him good-naturedly in the chest. “You don’t remember my name, do you?”
“Sorry, Leeza. Yeah, just took a moment to process. Didn’t expect to run into you here. How are you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Stuck living here with my sister, if you can believe that.” She grabbed his shirtfront again and pulled him in. “I 190 Tymber Dalton
miss Miami. I don’t suppose you’re single and available right now, are you?” He tried to pry her fingers loose without hurting her, but didn’t manage to do it before she planted a kiss on his lips.
“Actually, yeah, I’m seeing someone. Sorry. And we’re only here for a little while. Just visiting family.”
“Dammit. I knew I should have tried calling you when I moved away.” She didn’t appear to be seriously upset, however.
Thank god. The last thing he needed was an attention-drawing lover’s spat with one of Allan’s club bimbos in the middle of Walmart.
Although that likely wasn’t the most dysfunctional event to ever occur in the aisles of a Walmart.
Libbie let out a soft sigh as she watched his ass in his jeans as he walked away with the cart. They were both good-looking hunks of men.
I still don’t understand what they see in me, but I guess I should quit questioning it.
She found herself some warm socks, as well as two new flannel pj sets that would help keep her warm throughout this cold snap. As she made her way across the store to the office supply section, she froze at the end of the aisle.
There, Ken stood talking with a woman.
Libbie watched from the far end of the aisle as the woman tried to rub herself against Ken as she kissed him. Without thinking, Libbie shifted everything to one arm and fumbled her phone from her pocket with her free hand. She quickly snapped a couple of pictures.
He can’t deny it and say I was wrong. He can’t lie and say I imagined it.
No bullshitting his way out of it. And she wouldn’t be tempted to pretend she was mistaken. She’d already caught them in one whopper It’s a Sweet Life 191
of a lie, that they weren’t gay.
Okay, not that it was a bad lie, because damn, she benefitted from the truth.