Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers, #1)

by Claire Kingsley

The look of shock on her face when I’d mumbled that I had to go was burned into my memory. I’d only seen it for a second before I’d walked out the door, but that had been enough. I’d hurt her feelings. And I felt like shit about it.

Maybe I needed a dog. No, a dog would be a hassle. I didn’t want to be responsible for something, or someone, else. I liked being able to do what I wanted, when I wanted. Keep my own schedule. I didn’t want to answer to anyone, even just a dog who needed to go outside. I’d stayed single for a reason. Which meant I’d done the right thing by not kissing Audrey. That was it. I could stop thinking about her.

No dogs, no women, no hassles. I’d lived this way for a long time, and I was going to keep living this way. No matter how tempting Audrey was. She wasn’t going to stay anyway. She’d said so. Tilikum was temporary. I didn’t want to admit—couldn’t admit—how much of a problem that was for me. Because if I thought too hard about why that bothered me, I’d have to face things I didn’t want to think about. Memories that ate at me from the deep recesses of my mind.

“What can I get you?” Hayden asked. “Just a beer.” He grabbed a glass and started to fill it from the tap. “I heard your girl’s car got damaged the other day. Hit-and-run.” “She’s not my girl. And how’d you know about that?” He raised his eyebrows. “This is Tilikum.” “Good point.”

He slid my beer across the bar. “She’s not your girl, huh? There’s nothing going on with you two?” “Why?” I couldn’t keep the irritation out of my voice. “Are you interested in her?” A subtle smile curled his lips. “No.” I wasn’t sure if I believed that, either. “Then why the fuck do you care?” He shrugged. “You hear a lot of talk doing this job. Sometimes I like to figure out what’s true and what’s the gossip line gone wild.” I grunted a reply and took my beer. I’d come here to get my mind off Audrey, not chat about her with the bartender.

“How’s Audrey doing?” Luke turned to me. “Sucks what happened to her car.” “Who’s Audrey?” Zachary asked. “And what happened to her car?” “You know,” Theo said. “The new girl.” “Hit-and-run,” Luke said. “Damage to the front bumper, broken headlight. I took care of her.” “There’s a new girl in town?” Zachary looked around the bar as if she must be there. “How did I not know about this?” “She’s in one of Josiah’s rentals.” Luke met my gaze, his eyes full of challenge. “Cute too. Dark hair, kinda curvy.” “Stay away from her.” My voice was hard. “Which rental?” Zachary asked. I pointed at him. “You especially stay away from her.” “I actually agree with Josiah on that one,” Luke said. Theo raised his hand. “Me too.”

“I’m hurt. If she’s new in town, she could use a nice guy to show her around.” “You?” I asked. “Since when are you a nice guy?” He grinned. “I’m not. But when Luke is done showing her the town, I’ll show her something better.” “If you send her a dick pic, I’ll kick your ass,” I said.

“All of you.” I pointed to each of them. “Stay away from her.” Theo’s brow furrowed. “What did I do?”

“No one’s trying anything with her,” Luke said. “It’s just fun to mess with you.” “I didn’t say I wouldn’t try anything with her,” Zachary said. “Why is the new girl off-limits?” I leveled him with a glare. “Oh, she’s your girl.” “She’s not my girl.” “So she’s your girl but she doesn’t know it yet.”

“She’s. Not. My. Girl.” “Apparently he doesn’t know it yet,” Theo said. “She’s—” “Why not?” Luke asked before I could finish. “I’m not saying you should marry her or something, but she obviously likes you for some reason. Why not take her out?” “She likes him?” Zachary’s voice was full of skepticism. “Then yeah, dude, you should definitely take her out. You don’t know when you’ll get a chance like that again.”

“Why are we talking about this?” I asked. “You guys are as bad as Aunt Louise.” “Hey.” Zachary held up a hand. “Aunt Louise is a Tilikum treasure. Don’t you talk bad about her.” “You just like her because she bakes you cookies and never tries to set you up with random girls,” Theo said.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that moment when I’d almost kissed her. She’d been right there, giving me every indication she wanted me to. Hand on my chest, chin lifted, lips parted. And I’d have been lying if I’d said I didn’t want it, too. So why hadn’t I done it? Was I really so convinced I was too much of a grumpy bastard to even date her? That was a lie, too.

Temporary, she’d said. Tilikum was temporary. Audrey wasn’t the first woman in my life to feel that way. And I wasn’t letting it happen again.

We moved on to the next door. I held it up while Dad screwed it onto the hinges. “Everything all right?” he asked out of the blue. “Yeah. Why?” He shrugged. “You’ve been quiet today.” “I’m always quiet.” “Preoccupied, then.” I was preoccupied—by a curvy brunette who wasn’t even home. But I wasn’t about to admit it. “Just thinking ahead. Tile guys haven’t gotten back to us with a date.” “I’ll follow up in the morning.” “Thanks.”

“If you want some dinner, feel free to come up to the house,” Dad said. “Thanks.” The noise of a car approached and I glanced out. Aunt Louise’s beige Buick pulled into the driveway behind my truck. “Damn.” Dad patted me on the back. “Good luck, Son.” “You’re leaving?” “She didn’t park behind me.” I glowered at him. “Thanks.”

The passenger side door of her car opened and a blond woman got out. She was dressed in a tank top and shorts, showing off a lot of tanned skin. “This is Aida,” Louise said, as if that was supposed to mean something to me.

“I’m glad we caught you,” Louise said. “Aida needs a ride out to her grandmother’s house. You know my good friend Florence. I’d be happy to take her myself, but I don’t have time.” “Why not?” She only hesitated for a second. “I have plans. And you know where Florence lives. It’s in the opposite direction.” This was so transparent, it was ridiculous. “Really? Plans?” “I misjudged the time. I feel terrible about it, but you’ll help your auntie, won’t you?” Aida’s lips were pressed in a smile. I couldn’t tell if she was in on it or if I was being foisted on her as awkwardly as she was being foisted on me.

“Fine.” “You’re such a dear.” Louise stepped in and popped on her tiptoes to give me a kiss on the cheek. “Have a good evening.” “Mm-hmm.” She waved to both of us as she scampered back to her car. “Goodbye, you two! Don’t get into any trouble.” “Of course not, Louise,” Aida said. “It was nice to see you.”

“Well, that was interesting,” Aida said. “I swear, I didn’t know what she was up to.” “Whatever. Just get in.” “Hold on.” She came closer and sucked on the end of her thumb, then swiped it across my cheek. “She got lipstick on you.” My back stiffened. I didn’t particularly want her touching me. She wiped my cheek again and shifted closer, right as Audrey pulled into her driveway. Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

“I didn’t know what she was up to, but I’m glad she did it. I saw you at the bar the other night, and I couldn’t help but wonder about you.” My brows drew in and I was painfully aware that Audrey was watching this. “I’m just going to be blunt,” Aida continued, inching closer to me. “I know Louise and my grandma have been conspiring to get us together. It’s cute. But I also know that Louise probably told you I’m a nice girl.” Her eyes swept up and down and she licked her lips. “I’m not a nice girl, Josiah.”

Audrey called for Max. From the corner of my eye, I could see her as she led him inside. I wanted to run over there. Tell her this wasn’t what it looked like; it wasn’t my fault.

“Let’s go,” I said,

Aida got in the passenger’s seat and shut her door. “Are you okay?” No. The girl next door who I’m not supposed to have feelings for just saw me with another woman, which shouldn’t matter because I didn’t kiss her for a reason. But now I feel like garbage about all of it. “Yeah.” “Are you sure? If you don’t want to give me a ride, I can—” “It’s fine.” I turned on the engine and backed down the driveway. “Sorry if I came on too strong. I just like to be up front with people. I’m only staying for another few weeks, so obviously I’m not interested in anything serious.”

“I thought that might be appealing to you.” “It probably would be for a lot of guys.” “But not you.” I shook my head.

“You’re exactly the type of guy I usually go for. Dark and brooding, averse to commitment. Emotionally unavailable but probably an animal in bed. And down to a man, they always want exactly what I want. But apparently not you.” “Guess not.” “What do you want?” Audrey. I wanted Audrey. Damn it. No, I didn’t. “To be left alone.” “I really want to ask who hurt you but I doubt you’ll tell me.” “What are you, a therapist?” “Actually, yes.”

“Listen, I appreciate the ride and I’m sorry you got stuck with me. After I saw you at the bar, I thought I had a pretty good read on the kind of guy you are. So when Louise mentioned you, I egged her on a little bit. I wanted a shot at being alone with you and thought I could indulge her at the same time.” “Don’t worry about it.”

“But really, who hurt you?” “No one.” She laughed. “Come on, Josiah. We both know that’s not true. Emotionally unavailable men aren’t born that way.” “What made you like emotionally unavailable men so much?” “Touché.”

“Thanks again for the ride.” “No problem.” “I won’t try to give you my number because I don’t think you’ll take it. But if you change your mind, the offer’s on the table.” I grunted a noncommittal reply. “Have a good day, Josiah.” “You too.” She got out and I waited until she opened the front door before I turned the truck around and left. My mom had drilled that into me.

I headed back through town, fully intending to go home. I was done working for the day. There wasn’t any reason to go back to the remodel. As for Audrey, I didn’t know what I was so worried about. She wasn’t my girlfriend. Why did I care if she’d seen me with Aida? We hadn’t been doing anything.

I turned toward Audrey’s house, not quite sure what I was going to do. I didn’t have a plan. I just knew I needed to see her. Now.

“Of course there’s someone else. Why wouldn’t there be? You’d think he would have told me he had a girlfriend.” I got a jar of pickles out of the fridge. No idea why. “Although maybe she’s not his girlfriend. Maybe there are a lot of someone elses. She could be one of many.”

“He probably has a bunch of girls. That could be why he didn’t kiss me last night. He thinks of me as a friend and he doesn’t sleep with his friends, just girls like that.” I gestured vaguely toward the house next door. “I don’t know what that means. She’s probably fine. And he probably doesn’t even think of me as a friend. I’m just the weirdo next door.” I’d been very stern with myself today. I was not going to think about Josiah Haven.

“Who wants a guy like him anyway?” I got out a pan. “He doesn’t like anyone. Who needs that kind of negativity in their life?” Max cocked his head to the side. I rolled my eyes, like he’d called me out on a lie. “I know he’s not that bad. He’s just very serious, and yes, I realize I actually like that about him. Come on, Max, I’m trying to make this situation okay. Help a girl out, here.”

He wagged his tail. “I know you like him, too.” I stomped my foot. “No, not too. I don’t like him. That’s what I’m trying to say. I can think he’s mysterious and interesting, and oh my gosh, so gorgeous, but that doesn’t mean I like him. Because obviously he doesn’t like me.” My phone rang, startling me.

Exactly what I needed right now. I pulled out my phone and it didn’t hit me that it wasn’t my mom’s number until I’d already swiped to answer. It said restricted. “Hello, this is Audrey.” Nothing. “Hello?”

I sighed. It was probably one of those robocaller things and it hadn’t clicked over to the telemarketer who was about to try to sell me something stupid. It was the third or fourth time I’d gotten a call like that in the last week. So annoying. “Sorry, no thanks.”

Strange…

I’d stopped ranting but I couldn’t stop thinking about seeing Josiah with that girl. It had felt like a punch to the stomach. I couldn’t decide what was worse, the way he’d walked out so abruptly last night or seeing a woman practically pressed against him, touching his face.

The rumble of a vehicle came from outside. Max jumped off the couch and stood by the front door, tail wagging furiously. I turned off the stove right as someone started pounding on my door. Hard. “Audrey?” came Josiah’s muffled voice.

“What are you doing here?” He came in. “Excuse me.” I crossed my arms. “I didn’t invite you inside.” “I’m coming in anyway.” He shut the door behind him. “Rude.” “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be rude. I just need to talk to you.” “Oh, I see. Now you need to talk?”

“Last night you just took off. We could have talked then. But no, just right out the door without a word.” He took a step closer. “Audrey.” “I don’t know why you want to talk to me anyway.” I was really going off the rails, gesturing wildly with my arms. “You obviously had someone else to keep you busy. She’s probably more your type, anyway. I’m not tall and blond and super skinny. My mom is, but don’t even get me started on how much I look like my dad. Lucky me.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t even know why I’m upset. You’re just the guy working on the house next door who was nice to me a few times and apparently I’m that desperate. I get a tiny bit of attention from a guy who’s just trying to be a decent human, and suddenly I’m like, Oh, Audrey, he’s so hot, and oh, Audrey, what if he kissed you. I’m the ridiculous one and I know it, so you don’t have to say anything.” He came closer, but this time didn’t stop, backing me into the wall. His arms caged me in and he leaned down until our noses almost touched. “Audrey.” “Yeah?” “Shut up.” His lips crashed down on mine.

He wrapped one hand around the back of my neck, threading his fingers through my hair, while the other went to the small of my back. He pulled me against him and held me in a firm grip while his mouth worked magic on mine. Despite how much I wanted that kiss, anger welled up inside me. I planted my hands on his chest and shoved.

“You can’t just come in here and kiss me like that.” My voice was embarrassingly breathless. “Especially if you were just kissing someone else.” “I wasn’t.” “You looked awfully cozy.” “That wasn’t my fault. My aunt Louise made me give her a ride home.” “What I saw was not you giving her a ride home.” He moved closer again, planting his hands on the wall on either side of me. “What you saw was me turning her down.”

“Josiah, I’m confused. I don’t know what’s happening here.” He stared at me, his gaze so intense I felt like I might melt. “I’ve been trying really hard to not like you.” “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it’s not working.” “It’s just the truth. I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t want to care about you or worry about you. I liked my life the way it was before you showed up in my town.”

He leaned in. “But it’s impossible to resist you.”

“I’ve been trying really hard to not like you, too,” I said. “But mostly just today.” His eyes darted to the side, drawing my gaze in the same direction. Max sat watching us with his tail wagging. “Your dog is being weird again.” “I know.” “I should let you get back to whatever you were doing.” “So that’s it?” I asked. “You just came over here to kiss me?” “Yeah.” “Did you plan that out beforehand, or…” “No.”

“I’m glad you did.” “So we’re good?” “Yeah, we’re good.” “Are you going to the festival tomorrow?” “I have to for work.” “Good.” He stepped back. “I’ll see you then.”

Sandra nudged me. “You should take the occasional break from staring to take a picture or two.” “I wasn’t staring.” I lifted the camera and took a few photos of the ongoing wood-chopping contest. “I was just watching.” “Yeah, right.” It didn’t help that it was Josiah going head-to-head with his brother-in-law, Levi Bailey. Two shirtless men furiously chopping wood while the crowd around them cheered like it was a professional sports game? How could I not stare?

“This puts me in a very awkward position,” Sandra said. “How so?” “I’m either drooling over a married man or drooling over your boyfriend. It was easier when Josiah was single. He’s such a lumbersnack.” “I don’t know if he’s really my boyfriend.” “Oh fun, are we playing the denial game?” “I’m not in denial, I’m just saying this isn’t middle school where you hold hands at lunch once and that means you’re together. So yeah, he kissed me, but that doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship.” “He’s showing off for you.” “No, he’s not. He’s just competitive.” “He keeps glancing up to see if you’re still watching.” Just then, his eyes lifted. It was only for a second, while he raised the splitting maul to swing again, but she was right.

A tingle ran down my spine and the hairs on my arms stood on end. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering why I suddenly felt like I was being watched. There were people everywhere, so of course eyes would be on me. That didn’t mean someone was intentionally watching me.