Restless (Relentless Series Book 2) (9 page)

He didn't press his body to mine, but I felt the heat from him as he came up behind me. “I do that everywhere I go. I travel a lot, and it gets lonely living out of a suitcase.”

“You have a beautiful family.” My fingers ran along the side of the silver frame.

He sighed. “I just wish I saw them more.”

“So where’s this coffee you promised me?”

We walked to the kitchen, and I sat down at the table while he fired up the Keurig. He handed me the steaming cup and some creamer for me to doctor it up.

How did he know how I took my coffee?

“Okay, Taylor. Why don’t you tell me what your early morning visit is about?”

I cleared my scattered thoughts and took a deep breath. “I wanted to talk to you about what’s going on between us. I really like you Rhys, but I’m committed to making my relationship work with Stephen. We’ve been through a lot, but if I can I want to fix things with him.”

“I understand. I’m a little disappointed, but after Vegas I realized that I wouldn’t really have a chance with you until you figured stuff out with him.”

“He’s been a big part of my life and I owe it to myself, and to him, to at least try. I still want to be friends though if you still want to see me after this.”

“Of course I still want to be your friend. Taylor, I’m not some dumb kid that can’t be friends with a girl. I’m thirty-one, not sixteen.”

“You’re thirty-one?”

He chuckled. “What? Too old for you?”

I laughed. “No, I just didn’t realize.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-five, but I’ll be twenty-six in two months.”

“Just a baby,” he joked.

“I feel like it sometimes. My sister had already been married and divorced by my age. All I’ve done is travel a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some really cool things, but I wonder if I should have taken a different path.”

“Spoken like a true free spirit.”

“I used to be,” I mumbled. “Things change. People change. Sometimes it’s time to grow up.”

Rhys stared at me for a few seconds. “You really are completely different than what I expected. When you wandered into my bar in Vegas, I saw a lost, lonely soul, but now you’re different.”

“I’m still lost; I’m just getting better at hiding it. As far as lonely goes, I always have plenty of friends around. Sometimes I get stuck inside my head though. When I was younger, I was flaky. I had a hard time following through or sticking around one place long enough to make real connections. It was fun for a while, but that’s when the loneliness kicked in most.”

“You got restless?”

“That’s an apt word for it.”

“I used to be that way too. Maybe that’s why you stood out to me.”

“Maybe,” I agreed. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. “I'm sorry, Rhys,” I trailed off. "I feel like such an asshole."

“Don’t worry about it, Taylor. I get it, but I want you to know that if Stephen doesn’t start treating you right, I will have words with him.”

I smirked. “Just like a big brother?”

He winced. “Nothing like a brother.”

I laughed and put my cup in his sink. No dirty dishes. This wasn’t like any typical bachelor pad I had ever been in.

“I’ll get it later, just leave it.”

I nodded and walked towards the door. My hand lingered on the knob. “I could really use a friend, Rhys; one that doesn’t know Stephen. Right now all my friends keep reminding me how much I screwed up over and over again. But if that puts you in a weird position just tell me.”

“I would love to be your friend, Taylor. I can use a few of those myself, especially in a town where I don’t know anyone.”

I closed his door behind me. It felt good to have one part of my life under control. All I could do was hope that other parts fell into place behind it.

My morning run took longer than normal because of the hell I had put my body through over the past few days. I had been drinking too much, not eating enough and pushing myself harder than I should have. It was time to quit beating myself up over shit I couldn’t control. Honestly it killed me that Stephen and I still hadn’t talked after he’d walked out of the bar, but I wouldn't be the one to apologize. Every time I thought something would actually work out between us, it immediately fell apart again.

The chime of my phone caught me off guard. I grinned when I saw there was a text from Rhys.

Show me around town today?

I’d promised him the other day I would show him the best places around here when he said he would stay for the next few months. My fingers flew over the touchscreen.

I'm going for a drive. Want to join me?

I jumped in the shower while I waited for his answer. Rhys was good company and he would help me keep my mind off the shit going on in my life right now. Within a few minutes I was out and trying to decide what to wear. It was hard because I wanted to look nice without him thinking I was coming onto him, but I also didn’t want to look like a slob. Had I always obsessed this much over clothes? My phone chimed while I was deciding between a tank top or a tunic to go with my favorite denim cutoffs.

I’m waiting outside.

I threw on the tunic and went out to meet him before Violet could drag him to give her an estimate on fixing her bathroom. He leaned back against the hood of my car and seeing him relaxing like that sent a jolt through me. This version of Rhys wasn't something I had seen before.

“You were quick," I said walking down the deck.

“I was already on my way to the bar.”

“So why the detour?”

“I just needed to get out of there today. If I see another ledger I’m going to go insane.”

I smirked. “You might not like where I take you. Are you sure you don’t want to risk the ledgers?”

“Definitely not." His smile was blinding. It made his already devastatingly good looks impossibly better.

“I wanted to go up the coast today. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure. I’m down for whatever.” I shot him a look and he held up his hands laughing. “Get your head out of the gutter Montgomery. I didn’t mean it that way.”

I climbed into the driver’s seat and hooked up my phone. “We need music for a drive.”

“What do you normally listen to?”

“It depends on my mood.”

“Do you do this often?”

“What? Drive?”

“Yeah, this; go up the coast, road trip, whatever.”

I paused before answering. It never occurred to me that he might ask why I did this. “When I told Vi I would stay in California, I went on long drives every once in a while. It helped with feeling so restless being stuck here. I don't feel like that often anymore, but it's nice to get away.”

“The world traveler trying to stay in one place, this was your solution.”

I nodded and pressed play. The drive was quiet, both of us lost in our thoughts. We stopped an hour later at a little hole in the wall restaurant I found on my first trip. They had the best Filipino food I had ever eaten.

We sat down at a table outside the little restaurant to eat. The place was packed, so we sat next to one another on the little bench to let another family sit down. Rhys and I were careful to keep space between us.

“You need to try this,” I held my fork out to offer him a bite of my pancit.

“What is that?”

“It tastes like pad Thai. Take a bite you big baby.”

He ate the noodles and moaned.

“You were right. It’s amazing. I’ll never doubt your food instincts again. Give me another bite,” he said reaching for my food. I yelped and pulled my plate out of his reach. His body pressed against mine and heat flashed in his eyes. Our gazes held for a few seconds, but I looked away first.

“Sorry,” he started.

“Don’t worry about it. We can’t deny that there is something there or it will make it worse.”

“Okay,” he agreed. He blew out a breath as he ran his hands through his hair. “Friends. We can be friends right?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. Fuck. Just being friends with him would be harder than I thought, but I didn't know why. Was it because I missed having someone around? I knew I missed Stephen more than I wanted to admit, but this strange loop with Rhys was throwing me off.

The rest of the trip was quiet, but the awareness between us filled the car. I reached down to take a drink and my hand brushed against his.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"No problem."

"Okay, new rule. We should probably be in public when we hang out."

"Agreed."

"Two, never tell Vi about this."

"Sure, but why?"

"Because she's Stephen's best friend. And whatever she knows, he knows."

"Well fuck."

"Yeah. It's not that he controls my life, but I don't want to make things worse between us. The goal is for me to fix things with him."

"I get it, Taylor. Don't worry, I won't say anything."

"Thank you. It wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't this," I paused trying to figure out how to word it. "Attraction between us."

Rhys chuckled darkly. "Darlin' attraction is putting it lightly. You're funny, and sexy, and the first girl I've met in a long time that has kept my attention for more than a minute. If you weren't fixing things with Stephen, I'd be giving you the full court press. Fuck, if he doesn't treat you better I might just do it anyway."

"Rhys," I warned.

"I won't because that's not what you need, but I want you to know that I'm here. Okay?"

I nodded, unable to make a coherent sentence. Where did this guy come from? I was constantly being surprised by him. He could tell me he wanted me with the arch of an eyebrow, but in the next minute he reassured me he knew it wasn't what I needed.

We pulled into Vi's driveway and Stephen's Benz was parked next to Jaxon's Range Rover.

"I should go inside," I said, staring at the offending vehicle.

"Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

We barely made it out of my car before Stephen flew out the door.

"Are you kidding me, Taylor?"

I frowned and arched my eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Stephen?"

I watched in horror as Stephen pushed Rhys into the fender.

"Damn it, Stephen. Get off him!" I rushed around to pull Stephen off, but Rhys held up a hand to stop me.

"I will not hit you in front of Taylor," Rhys said calmly. He turned back towards me. "But if he sucker punches me, I can't guarantee I won't find him later to finish it."

"I'm right here, fucking talk to me!" Stephen screamed at him.

"Fucking A. Back up!" I yelled at Stephen. I edged my way between them and pushed him back. "What is your deal? You haven't bothered calling me since our fight, but now you're acting like a caveman. You can't have it both ways, Stephen. Either you want us or you don't. Make up your fucking mind," I screamed at him.

"You're the one sneaking off with some other guy and I'm getting bitched out?"

"I'm not sneaking off!"

"Then why didn't Violet know where you were?"

"Violet isn't my keeper. Since when do I have to check in with her before I leave the house?" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "I'm going inside. Rhys, thank you for going with me today."

He nodded. "I'll talk to you later."

"Don't fucking say you'll talk to her later," Stephen hissed at Rhys. "Leave her alone."

Rhys took a step closer to him. "It's not your call if I talk to Taylor or not."

"Quit this stupid pissing contest. I'm done with both of you right now. Go home, Stephen. I don't want to talk to you today, maybe ever if you keep acting like a fucking idiot."

"Baby—”

"Don't you dare 'baby' me. I'm going inside," I said again. This time I made my way up the deck and inside the door. I watched as Stephen got in Rhys face, yelling something indistinguishable. Rhys didn't react though. His calm demeanor impressed me. I don't know how he kept so sedate. I sure as hell wouldn't have.