The Rebound (Second Chance Flower Shop Book 2) Read online

  Her heart was hammering like crazy. Her cheeks were blazing. And a throbbing had awakened between her legs even though he’d done nothing but touch her cheek. “Really?”

  He leaned down so close to her now she could feel his breath against her skin. “If a rebound is what you want, then a rebound is what I’ll give you.” His eyes were hot, even in the shadowed light of the night.

  “And that’s okay with you? I mean, you’re not wanting... wanting more?” She was excited now. Trembling with it. But she also wanted to be careful. Relationships could be tricky, and she liked and appreciated Ken far too much to do anything that might hurt him.

  He shook his head. “A rebound sounds about right to me.”

  Her lips parted. She could hear herself panting in the near silence of the night. Ken was propped above her now, holding himself over her on one forearm. Arousal had tightened so fast and strong that she shifted her hips restlessly.

  “So you wanna try a rebound with me?” he asked, low and soft and rough.

  “Yes.” She couldn’t hold herself back anymore, so she raised a hand to comb her fingers through his thick hair. “I kind of do.”

  He chuckled and murmured against her lips, “We’re gonna get rid of that ‘kind of’ pretty quick.”

  Then he kissed her, and a wave of pleasure crashed over her at the touch of his lips.

  The kiss was soft and slow at first. He caressed her mouth with his. Then started using his tongue in shallow, intoxicating flicks. She heard herself moaning in response and couldn’t believe that shameless sound had come from her.

  Ken gradually deepened the kiss, teasing at the line between her lips until she opened fully for him. Then he was suddenly deep. All the way in her mouth. It felt so good she arched up into him and dragged her fingernails down the back of his shirt.

  Soon he was touching her. Stroking her face. Her arm. Her hip. Then he lifted enough to cup one of her breasts over her shirt, and she made the most ridiculous sobbing sound when he rubbed her tight nipple with the heel of his hand. She was still wearing her clothes, but she was squirming with desire.

  She had no idea how it had happened so fast.

  After a few minutes, he surprised her by rolling over onto his back and pulling her on top of him. She was disoriented by the move, so she broke the kiss and stared down at him. He looked flushed. Damp with perspiration. Hot as fire. His body was hard beneath her. She could feel the bulge of his erection in his jeans, and she rubbed herself against it without thinking.

  He bit back a groan and turned his head to the side. “Damn, baby, you’re gonna kill me before this is over, aren’t you?”

  “I’ll try not to.” She smiled, thrilled beyond all reason by the way he was making her feel and the way he was responding to her kiss. She resettled herself on top of him, straddling his hips so she felt more stable and leaning down to meet his mouth. Her hair was falling down over them both. His hands moved up to stroke her back and bottom.

  They kissed for a long time like that. She rocked over him eagerly, following the urges of her body.

  It wasn’t until one of his hands tucked under the hem of her top, stroking her bare skin, that she suddenly got scared.

  She wasn’t sure why. Just that this was new. Really new. And it was so intense.

  She wasn’t sure she was ready for it.

  Her whole body tensed up with a wave of fear.

  Ken’s hand moved immediately, sliding out from under her top. He broke the kiss and eased her up slightly so he could look at her face.

  “Get up, baby,” he said softly, after taking a good look at her. “We’re gonna stop for now.”

  “No, it’s really o—”

  “Madeline.”

  She nodded and swung her leg off him, immediately relieved as the intensity of the pleasure lessened. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.”

  “But I got you all—”

  “You were into it too. We had a good time. But there’s no way in hell we’re gonna do something that scares you.”

  “I think I want to,” she admitted. He deserved the truth even if it was hard to say. “I really do. Just maybe we can...”

  “We can take it as slow as you want.”

  She let out a long breath. “Thank you.”

  “Nothing to thank me for.”

  “Well, I got you all... and now...”

  He shook his head, wincing slightly as he sat up. “Just give me a minute. I’ll be fine.”

  She waited, watching him out of the corner of her eye as he closed his eyes and breathed for a minute or two. She didn’t know what he was thinking about, but it evidently worked to break his arousal. Soon he’d relax. He moved easily as he stretched out onto his back and pulled her down to tuck in the crook of his arm.

  “I’m sorry,” she said again.

  “I already told you not to be.” He brushed a kiss into her hair. “Can’t remember anything I enjoyed more than making out with you tonight. I got no complaints in the world.”

  Three

  FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, Madeline existed in a constant flurry of excitement and confusion. She felt a little like she had back in middle school when she’d gotten her first big crush on a boy in her class.

  It was silly to feel that way. All Ken was offering was some hot sex with no strings. It would be fun, but it wasn’t anything resembling love.

  But still...

  She’d lived a long time without anything new or exciting or good as far as relationships went, so she couldn’t help but be fluttery about the possibility of a hot secret affair.

  She wasn’t swept away enough to jump right into it. She wasn’t that kind of person. She always thought things through—usually over and over again. So she wasn’t going to leap into something so out of the blue until she was sure it was a good decision for her. And also a good decision for Ken.

  But he hadn’t been harboring secret hopes or feelings. He’d been relaxed and casual and good-natured about everything, including her ending their make-out session prematurely. If they both went into this, knowing exactly what to expect and were honest with each other, she couldn’t imagine it would be a problem.

  She could have a hot rebound fling if she wanted.

  Why on earth shouldn’t she, if Ken wanted that too?

  On Saturday morning, she was supposed to take the day off, but she had a message for a custom arrangement to compose. The little poems usually came to her quickly. It wasn’t like they needed to be brilliant. They just needed to be clever and evoke real emotion, and she happened to have a knack for it. But for some reason the poem she’d been trying to write yesterday was giving her trouble. It wasn’t because the scenario didn’t emotionally resonate with her. It did. It was a husband who wanted a special arrangement and message for his wife on their fiftieth anniversary. She’d seen marriages like that. Her own parents had been married for thirty-one years. They’d moved to Florida last year after her father had taken early retirement, so she didn’t see them as much as she used to, but she was close to them. She knew what it took to make a marriage last for decades. She hadn’t experienced it, but she’d seen it. And if she could feel it, she could write it.

  But she was blocked for some reason. She worked on it for two hours in the morning, drinking coffee and sitting on her couch in her pajamas, but finally she gave up with only three-fourths of it done.

  Sometimes a change of scenery helped in inspiration, so she took a shower, dressed, and headed to the flower shop to see what Ria and Skye were up to.

  Skye wasn’t there, but Ria was working in the back room. When Madeline came in, she caught her friend smiling and humming to herself.

  “Thinking about Jacob this morning, I guess,” she said with a teasing lilt in her voice.

  Ria grinned sheepishly after an initial jerk of surprise. “Why would you think that?”

  “Because you had a decidedly sappy look on your face. That was definitely a Jacob look.”

 
; “I’m sorry. Am I annoying about it? I try not to be. I know how it feels to be bombarded by other people’s romantic highs all the time.”

  Madeline laughed as she propped herself on a stool in the corner of the room. “You’re not annoying at all, Ria. Seriously. I’m glad you’re happy. You deserve it. So what did Jacob do now?”

  “Nothing really. He was just extra sweet this morning.”

  From the particular resonance of the words, Madeline figured Jacob must have been extra sweet in the bedroom. While Madeline wasn’t ready to jump into another relationship right now, she wouldn’t mind some bedroom satisfaction herself.

  Immediately she pictured Ken and what she and he might do under the covers. It got her hot and flushed, so she tried to push the visuals out of her mind.

  She didn’t say any of that, of course. She just said, “I’m glad he really appreciates you and shows you he does. I never really got much of that from Josh.”

  “I know you didn’t,” Ria said, her face sobering. “I sometimes wanted to ask you about it, but you always seemed fine about the relationship, so I figured you were happier than I could see.”

  “I wasn’t. I just didn’t... I don’t know. I feel so stupid about it now. I guess I just assumed that was the best I could get, even though I should have known better.”

  “It wasn’t anywhere close to the best you can get. A man who really loves you is going to make you feel loved and appreciated. And if he doesn’t, you’re better off without any man at all.”

  “I know. I’m actually a lot happier now—like I’ve shed a huge burden. I want to just enjoy the freedom. To tell you the truth, I might not want to do the girlfriend thing again.”

  “At all?”

  “I don’t know. Not yet anyway. I want to be myself. Not some guy’s girlfriend. Is that bad?”

  “No. It’s not bad at all. Maybe you’ll change your mind when you recover emotionally, but if you don’t, then that’s fine too. You should enjoy your freedom. Do something just for you. Something you want. You went too long without being able to do that because you were tied to Josh. Be free for a little while. Why shouldn’t you?”

  Madeline smiled and shook her head. “Well, the honest answer to that is I’m always brooding over consequences. What if I do what I want and then it turns out to be a mistake?”

  “Isn’t that what freedom means? If you’re free to choose, then sometimes you’ll choose wrong. But somehow I doubt that something you really want to do is going to be that wrong. So what if it’s a little reckless? You’ve never let yourself be reckless.”

  “Yeah.” Madeline’s heart had started to pound as she mentally moved closer to a decision. Ria was smart and generous and knew her as well as anyone in the world. She wouldn’t advise her to do something stupid. So maybe she was right. Maybe she was allowed to throw off the shackles of responsibility and good sense for a little while.

  Maybe she was allowed to do what she wanted for once in her life.

  Even if what she wanted was screwing the sheriff.

  “So what are you thinking?” Ria asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know what I mean. You have something in mind. Something you want to do. Is it so bad you can’t tell me?”

  “It’s not bad. At least I don’t think so. It just feels... I don’t know... private. For now.” Madeline licked her lips. She didn’t normally keep secrets from Ria and Skye, and she felt kind of bad about doing so now. She was almost tempted to admit it, but something kept holding her back.

  “Okay. I get it. You’ll tell us when you’re ready.” Ria’s dark eyes were sincere. “If it’s something you want to do, don’t hold back just because you’re afraid. You deserve good things, Madeline. So let yourself have them.”

  For no good reason, Madeline’s throat tightened with emotion. “Thanks,” she managed to say.

  She did want this. She wanted to have sex with Ken. She wanted to really bad.

  And she could no longer think of enough good excuses not to.

  She chatted with Ria a little longer, and together they talked through the last part of the poem she needed to finish. After she’d written it down, she left the shop and started walking through the downtown streets until she’d reached the oldest residential neighborhood in town.

  Several blocks down was a brick ranch house with a big yard and a one-car attached garage. It was Ken’s house. His garage door was open, and his pickup truck was parked inside.

  He was home.

  She didn’t know what had prompted her to do something so crazy, but she was here at his house at just after noon on a random Saturday.

  And she was going to ask him if he wanted to have sex.

  KEN WAS WORKING ON cleaning up one of the flower beds in his backyard. The previous homeowner had filled it with ferns that grew like crazy every spring, overflowing the bed and ending up everywhere, and he was tired of trying to keep up with them. But digging up fern bulbs was a losing prospect. Every time he thought he’d gotten all of them, a new round would appear out of nowhere.

  He’d had a lot of excess energy this week after his hot evening with Madeline on Tuesday, so he’d woken up restless and jittery. Since he couldn’t go pounding on her door this morning and asking her again for hot sex, he committed to getting the rest of the fern bulbs out of that damned bed before they started popping up everywhere again in the spring.

  It was a warm, sunny day for autumn, and after a couple of hours, he was hot and sweaty and covered with dirt. His head was still full of erotic visions of Madeline with hot eyes, flushed cheeks, tousled hair. No clothes. So he kept working, hoping he’d eventually be too tired for lustful thoughts.

  Marlowe, his black lab, had been keeping him company during the morning, rooting around in the dirt and chasing away birds and squirrels. But a certain kind of barking indicated that a person must have arrived, so Ken straightened up and looked around. Marlowe had run around to the front of the house through the open fence gate.

  Ken followed him. It was probably Katie. She sometimes stopped by on Saturdays so the girls could say hi on the weekends when they weren’t staying with him.

  Before he’d gotten around the corner to the front yard, Marlowe returned with happy yaps and twirls, followed by Madeline.

  Madeline.

  She was wearing jeans and a simple white shirt. Her hair was loose and her eyes were downcast.

  Ken’s heart gave a ridiculous lurch at the sight of her. He pulled to a stop and stared, unable to move or say anything for a moment.

  “Hey,” she said, darting a quick glance up at him. “Sorry to just stop by.”

  “You’re sorry?” He almost choked on the words. “Why are you sorry? I was just thinking about you.”

  “You were?” Her face and shoulders relaxed. She’d reached him now. Marlowe was running circles around them, thrilled with the unexpected visitor.

  “Yes. I didn’t think... I wasn’t sure you’d want to...” He was almost never tongue-tied like this. He had no idea what had gotten into him.

  She gave a little giggle and dropped her eyes again. Her eyelashes were thick. Her pink cheeks were delectable. “I wasn’t sure either, but then I... I don’t know. I wanted to do something... just for me.”

  His heart gave another crazy lurch. He had to breathe a few times before he’d tempered his excitement enough to say in something close to his normal laid-back tone, “Well, if the something you want to do for yourself is... me, then I’m totally in.”

  She laughed again, and he laughed too. Since he had sweat dripping off his face, he pulled up the bottom of his T-shirt to wipe it off. As he did, he caught Madeline’s eyes on his bare stomach.

  She seemed to like how he looked. He’d never considered himself having anything special in the looks department, but Madeline’s eyes were hot and hungry as they stared at his abs.

  The idea got him going good. His whole body tightened.

  “You’re sure?” she ask
ed at last. “Just sex. I don’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend. I just want a... a rebound fling.”

  He was honest enough with himself to admit that the current state of his feelings indicated that he probably wanted more from her than meaningless sex, but he wasn’t stupid enough to admit it. If she thought he had anything close to a serious interest in her, she’d never consider anything with him at all.

  And he wasn’t going to miss out on this—whatever she was willing to give him.

  So he said, “A rebound fling sounds perfect to me.”

  MADELINE COULDN’T BELIEVE it had been so easy. She hadn’t had to explain herself or make her case or admit anything embarrassing. Ken had known why she was there and had wanted it too.

  It was an intense relief. An assurance that this wasn’t a bad decision. She felt so much better that she giggled stupidly as she followed him in the back door to his house.

  It was a nice house. Simple and slightly old-fashioned with wide-planked hardwood floors and a large brick fireplace in the room that obviously functioned as family room and dining room both. He had a leather couch and a leather recliner and a large television wall-mounted above the mantel. There was no art on the wall. No pretty trinkets on the surfaces of the furniture except some framed photos of his daughters on one of the side tables. The large area rug looked so old it could have been his grandparents’.

  “That bad?” he asked, wiping his face with his forearm and eyeing her dryly.

  “No! I like it. It’s... comfortable. And you keep it clean, which makes a big difference. But you could use a few pretty things around. Just to spruce it up a little. Why don’t you have any pictures on the walls?”

  “I kept meaning to add them but never got around to it.” He glanced around the room, idly scratching behind the lab’s ears as he did. “So you’ll have to be the only pretty thing around for now.”

  She giggled again, flushing with pleasure at the casual compliment. She didn’t know how he did that—made the nice things he said about her feel sincere but also low pressure, as if he didn’t have a lot invested in them.