The Inheritance (Contemporary Reverse Harem 1)

Oh, why was I torturing myself? It was beyond ridiculous.

“Thank you,” I said, taking a beer from Win. I grabbed a stool at the spotless kitchen counter, and he sat right next to me. He smelled like he’d been gardening—a sexy scent of flowers, fresh dirt, and a bit of sweat. De-lish. I’d better watch it, having a beer with a man like that.

“Cheers, Garnet. It’s nice to meet you, whether or not you end up leasing the place.”

I could swear there was some sort of smirk on his face. I know what he was thinking—how could a girl like me, who tends bar at the down and out Drive By Saloon, possibly afford a place like that?

Well, his initial assumption was right. He just didn’t know the whole story, and I wasn’t about to tell him. One thing I did know, however, was that if I did end up in that house, and he continued to be a dick to me, I wouldn’t be keeping him around. That was for sure.

Even though I was sitting so close to him now I could feel my heart pounding in my fingers and toes. Damn.

“How long did you say you’d been working here?” I asked him.

He took a sip of his beer and nodded. “Over ten years. I live in the little apartment over the garage. It’s a great set up.”

“Were you close with Cordy?”

He opened his mouth to answer, then shut it. Shit. Did I say the wrong thing again?

Without a word, he nodded slowly. “He was good to me, Cordy was. Got kicked out of the house by my own old man. Cordy took me in,” he answered.

“Wow. It must be hard for you, that he’s gone now. Are you in contact with your dad?”

Ugh. Stuck my foot in it again. I needed to stop asking this poor guy personal questions. He looked like he wished I’d stop, too.

He shook his head. “No. No I haven’t been in touch with him. And I’ve heard he’s pretty sick, so he probably won’t be around much longer.”

Damn. My heart hurt fo

r this guy. Something about him seemed so…lonely, I think it was.

“Can you reach out to your dad? I mean, what would that be like?” I asked.

“Not sure. I’m really not sure whether I want to or not.”

“I get that,” I said. I really did.

“What about you?” he asked. “You close with your parents?”

“Well, I never knew my dad. Not my real dad, anyway. My mom lives in Texas with her latest boyfriend. We’re not very close. She sort of couldn’t be bothered by me when I was growing up. Still is that way, really.”

Win turned on his stool to fully face me. “Huh. Our stories are sort of similar.”

We did have family issues in common, but I could hardly think about that with his blue eyes boring into mine. God, he made good eye contact. Then I made the mistake of looking at my watch.

“Shit!” I said, jumping off the barstool. “I lost track of time. I have to work in twenty minutes. Thank you for the beer.” I grabbed my purse and held my hand out.

Instead, he leaned in and kissed my cheek, slowly, so very slowly. In doing so, he was able to let his lips linger on me long enough to make me dizzy. I grabbed for the counter for balance. And if I wasn’t mistaken, I think I heard him take a whiff of my hair.

“Why don’t you come by the bar sometime?” I asked him.

He just looked down at me for a moment. If I didn’t hustle and get out of there, I wasn’t sure I ever would.

And I had lied to him about my reasons for being there. I felt kind of shitty about that.

“I will come by,” he said, tilting his head and continuing to gaze at me. “Maybe I can take Cordy’s old seat.”

“Oh, that would be great.” He was also welcome to stare at my ass. But I didn’t think he needed an invitation to do that.