Naughty Boys

“Nice improvement.”

“Listen, Simone.” Luke halted me. “I know you’re upset right now with your whole situation, but I can assure you, it gets better with time. Trust me, I’ve been there. Nate too.”

I bit my lip. “Thanks, Luke.”

“And we’ll be there for you. We’ll make you forget about Sam.”

“That’s so sweet.”

Luke pulled the collar of my blouse and kissed me. I was expecting a nice, friendly kiss on the cheek, but instead I got a full lips, fervent kiss. I froze. Jamie had kissed the corner of my mouth earlier, but Luke aimed for the gold. My heart stopped beating for long seconds, and my brain was scrambled in my skull. The warmth of his kiss awakened my cold heart. Sam was the first man I’d had. And there was no one else. Being kissed by another man reeled me into another realization, a different shade of passion, a different flame of heat.

Luke threw me his killer smile before getting out of his truck. I was still dazed. What did that kiss mean? Was it a pity kiss? A distraction? Or was Luke still harboring his childhood crush on me?

I’d never been so confused in my life. I tried to act normally while shopping and later cooking, but I could never see Luke in the same way again.

Later, when dinner was served, Luke, Nate, and Jamie ate like they’d not seen food in a week. I made my special buttermilk fried chicken, with cheddar cheese mashed potatoes and buttered greens—with plenty of extra.

For a moment, it felt like old times. The three of them had always been admirers, especially of my cooking, but they were no longer small boys. They’d grown up. The way they looked at me was different. When Jamie helped himself to a third helping of mashed potatoes and winked at me, somehow, I felt new trouble on the horizon.

I studied the food on my plate as my face heated.

I think the Codys were going to be more of a handful than I could handle.

Chapter Two

A week passed, and gradually, I became accustomed to the daily routine at the Cody house. Being a sheriff, Luke maintained irregular hours. He could come home at four in the morning and be called back to work at six. Jamie used to be an interpreter in the Air Force and was stationed in Seoul, Korea for a couple of years. These days, Jamie built houses and did general contractor work. He and his Air Force buddy had their own construction company. From what I heard, Nate had funded the start-up and managed the financial side of things. I think Jamie was doing pretty well.

Bellwood wasn’t like it used to be. Two companies had moved in and commissioned the farmers to grow engineered corn for bio fuel. On top of that, a mega-poultry processing plant was scheduled to open the following year. It would have a tremendous effect on Bellwood’s economy and housing market, as the plant was planned to run twenty-four-seven in three shifts. That was why Jamie’s company had been busy building affordable places for the workers to live. I also heard that Nate had a stake in financing Jamie’s projects. I supposed once the plant was opened, both of them would make a nice profit.

“Do you know the real estate value has gone through the roof in recent years despite the recession?” said Jamie as we drove to his construction site.

Jamie wanted to show me the building he was putting up, and today was the perfect time. I’d finished the laundry and had to go shopping for groceries. Nate was out running errands and nobody was home.

Jamie’s company had purchased three acres of land about a ten-minute drive from the plant. He was building a two-story apartment complex that his company planned to rent to lower-income workers. The project was only sixty percent finished, but the apartments were eighty percent reserved. Most of the units were studio apartments, anticipating that most workers had spending power. If this project was a success, Jamie planned to build a similar project on another chunk of land he’d just secured.

“I can imagine that with all developments I saw. Did you buy the land before the price bubble or after?”

“Luckily before. I thought we wouldn’t be able to secure the loan, but Nate has high-class connections. When the mayor made the announcement about the plant, we’d already closed on the property.”