The Billionaire's Beautiful Mistake (Bold Alaskan Men Book 1) (11 page)

Violet ignored the trembling in her knees as she peered into the dimly lit bar, not sure if she wanted Creek to be there or if she wanted to postpone this conversation.  But she fought her cowardly inclinations, needing to understand what was going on.  The previous week had seemed so perfect, so wonderful and filled with laughter and love.  Then, five days ago, he’d just stopped calling.  She was so hurt and trying to pretend like she wasn’t, but it was no use.  She didn’t understand why he’d stopped calling her or even what she’d done to hurt his feelings to the point that he would end what they’d had together so abruptly. 

All the other men she’d dated in the past, and granted, there weren’t that many of them, had at least talked to her before dumping her.  Or she’d known that it wasn’t working out and she had agreed with them, even remaining friends with most of them. 

This was unprecedented, but she suspected that it was all part of the dating world.  Obviously a life experience that she didn’t completely grasp since she was standing in an empty bar, looking for a man who apparently didn’t want to speak to her. 

As she stood there in the doorway, she considered just walking back out and going home.  She had a business to run, she had things to do and responsibilities to people in her life.  She didn’t need this kind of complication.  She didn’t need a man who didn’t want her.  She could get along quite nicely without him. 

And that was a total lie. 

For the past week, she’d worked, but she hadn’t really been living.  She hadn’t wanted to laugh or eat, had trouble sleeping because she’d gotten used to Creek’s heartbeat under her ear, and his strong arms wrapped around her, making her feel loved and safe. 

Without any word, he’d ripped that away from her.  She needed to understand.  She needed to hear from Creek why she’d fallen out of favor with him.  Had another woman entered his life?  Was she more beautiful?  Maybe it was a past lover?  Maybe he had…

Violet stopped her mind in mid-question, not wanting to try and figure out what she’d done so horribly wrong.  She needed to just talk to him.  Five minutes, and she’d be out of his life. 

“Can I help you?” a deep voice said from the bar.

Violet glanced over and her heart stopped for a moment, thinking that Creek was there.  But as she moved into the light, she realized that it was only the man’s height and his broad shoulders, both extreme like Creek, but it wasn’t the same man.  This one was handsome, but not like her man, not like Creek with his teasing eyes and his subtly quirking lips. 

“Um…I’m looking for Creek Jones.  Is he working tonight?”  She saw the strange look come into the man’s eyes when she asked that question, as if it were almost funny, but she had no idea why it would be an amusing question. 

“Creek’s not here.  But I can give him a message if you’d like.”

Violet stuffed her hands into her pockets.  “Do you know what time his shift starts?  I’d really like to talk to him personally, if that wouldn’t be too rude.”

The man’s hands stilled from shifting bottles around behind the bar and braced themselves wide on the top of the bar, looking at her as if he could see into her mind.  She blushed at the man’s perceptive gaze, grateful for the dim lighting that hid her reaction.  Realizing that she was almost cowering, she straightened her shoulders and pulled herself upright.  She was a businesswoman with a good head on her shoulders.  She didn’t cower for anyone, she told herself silently. 

“You’re Violet, aren’t you?”

Violet jumped when he said her name, shocked that he would know of her.  “How do you know my name?” she asked, worried now.  Had Creek bragged to his friends about his conquest?  Had they sat in this bar after closing time and laughed at how easy she was to get into bed? 

No!  Creek wouldn’t do that!  He wasn’t that kind of a man. 

Of course, she’d also thought that they’d shared something special, something that was stronger than just a fling.  She’d thought that it meant something when he made love to her.  Five days ago, she would have sworn that he wouldn’t just dump her out of his life without a word or an explanation. 

She’d been wrong about him already.  Perhaps she was wrong about him again. 

“That depends,” she replied, her chin jutting out with increasing anger.  “What did Creek say about Violet?”

Tucker grinned, enjoying her spurt of anger.  “Actually, he wouldn’t tell us anything about you,” he said, understanding that she was the woman who had been getting under his friend’s skin lately.  “He let it slip that he was seeing a woman named Violet one night, and we didn’t see him for a while.  Since you’re her and he’s a damn grouch, then I’m guessing that something happened between the two of you.”

Violet’s blue eyes shuttered with those words.  Because she was wondering the same thing.  Had something happened between the two of them?  Had she hurt his feelings in some way?  Offended him perhaps?  Everything had seemed so wonderful.  She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she’d been happier. 

So why had Creek broken off all communication with her?  Why had he simply stopped calling her?  Stopped coming over?

Violet realized that the man was waiting to hear details, but she shook her head.  “My relationship with your friend is personal,” she told him, irritated that he wasn’t giving her the information that she needed.  “Look, is he here or not?”

“Not,” Tucker said and set a glass down on the countertop.  “But I’m guessing he’ll be here soon.  How about a drink while you wait?”   He didn’t slow down, but started mixing up various liquids in a shaker.

Violet looked back at the door, wishing that Creek would step into the bar right now so she could find out what she’d done wrong or if…well, whatever had happened! 

She shook her head and sighed, wondering if she’d ever figure Creek out.  “I don’t have time for a drink,” she told him, but the dratted man just continued mixing things, adding ice then shaking the metal container over his shoulder.  He then pulled a chilled martini glass out of some place and poured the liquid in. 

Violet didn’t want the drink, but she didn’t want to be rude either.  So she took a sip of the liquid just to be polite. 

“Not too bad,” she said, and pushed the drink back an inch, not intending to drink anymore. 

“So why do you want to see Creek?  What’s he done?  Are you pregnant?”

She gasped and leaned back, horrified that the man would even make that kind of assumption.  “No!  Why would you ask something like that?  Do women often come in here trying to get child support from him?”  That hurt!  The idea that Creek had done this to other women should be comforting, but it wasn’t.  A deep, stabbing pain hit her in the vicinity of her chest and she ached with sadness.  Yes, she would love to have a baby with Creek.  And yes, her mind had been thinking along the lines of flowers and candles, of long, white dresses, and years with a man that made her body shiver with excitement and made her heart warm with laughter. 

So it hurt more than she thought possible when this tall, handsome man suggested the idea so easily, because it indicated that she wasn’t the first woman to come stalking Creek in this place. 

She took another sip of the green liquid, scowling now.  “Is the man such a hound dog that women have to hunt him down?”

Tucker leaned over the counter, finding the woman cute in a cuddly sort of way.  “Never happened before.  But I was suspecting you were the exception.” 

Another sip and she glared up at the man.  “Why would I be the exception?”

One of those huge shoulders moved up and down.  “You’ve pretty much been the exception to everything else in the man’s life.  Why stop now?”

She wasn’t sure if that comment was positive or negative.  And there was no way to tell from the man’s eyes.  He was good at keeping his thoughts secret.  “How do you do that?” she asked, sipping the martini again.  “And what is this?  It’s delicious.”

“An appletini and what did I do?”

She was feeling warm and comfy right at the moment, and more than willing to sit here until Creek arrived so that she could demand answers.  And then she was going to….stomp on his foot and walk out the door! 

“Your face.  It doesn’t move.  How do you do that?  Because I’d really like to learn that trick.  I’d like to face off with Creek, demand answers, and not show any emotion at all.”

“What kind of answers do you need from Creek?”

She scowled down at her drink, then up at the man, wondering why she’d even said something like that. 

“It’s none of your damn business,” Creek’s voice said from the doorway.  “Don’t you have some stupid stocks to sell?” he snapped, taking Violet’s arm in a strong grip.

Violet had to almost jump off of the stool in order to follow Creek but she pulled back, grabbing the martini glass and whatever delicious concoction was in it.  Appletini, she thought as she took another sip while following behind Creek to a corner table.  She was definitely going to have to learn how to make these.  Maybe she’d make a whole pitcher of them tonight so she couldn’t really think about whatever Creek was going to tell her now.  Or not tell her.  Or maybe he’d tell her something but she wouldn’t want to remember it. 

Yeah, that was probably what she’d need, she thought as she sat down in the chair and took another long sip.

“Slow down, Violet,” Creek grumbled.  “Those are a bit more potent than you might realize.”

She ignored him, and glared over the rim of her glass as she took one more sip.  “You haven’t spoken to me in a week, no calls, no texts, nothing.  So I’m guessing that’s your way of breaking up with me.  If that’s the case, well, then you’re an absolute jerk and I hate you, but that also means that you don’t have the right to order me around in any way.  So I’m gonna drink whatever I like, at whatever speed I want to drink it.  And if you have any objections to that, well, then, good!  Because if you’ve broken up with me, then you don’t have the right to tell me what to drink or what to do!”

“And I did before?” he asked, interested despite his resolution that he couldn’t have anything more to do with Violet.  His moral code just couldn’t sustain a relationship based on cold, hard cash. 

She shrugged, and sipped more of the delicious drink.  “You might have had some rights.”  She set the liquid courage down on the table, and leaned forward on her elbows.  She tried to be tough and strong, she wanted to look like a woman in charge.  But as soon as she looked across the table at him, really looked at all of him, at the man she loved so deeply, and all of the places on his body that she’d touched and caressed…the pain was too strong.  Not even the sweet drink could ease the pain of that loss.  “Okay, so tell me what I did wrong?  Was I bad in bed?  Was I too annoying?  Did I snore?”

He almost laughed at all of those questions.  They were so ridiculous, he couldn’t believe she was even asking him.  “None of the above,” he replied, leaning back in the chair.  His eyes were devouring her even though he knew he could no longer do that with anything other than his eyes. 

“So you’re just a jerk?  You decided I wasn’t worth your time anymore?”  She took another long sip of the drink, almost emptying the glass this time.  “Forget I asked,” she told him and stood up.  “Obviously, I’m not even worthy of an explanation in your eyes.  I don’t know why I came here today.  Please forgive me for invading your workplace.  And if your boss is around, I’ll explain.”  She grabbed her purse and her keys as she made to walk away. 

Unfortunately, while drinking that concoction, she’d felt all warm and fuzzy, brave and confident, but as soon as she stood up, she realized how strong the drink really was because she could barely see straight.  Probably wasn’t a good idea to arrive at a bar in a confrontational mood when she hadn’t eaten anything all day.  The alcohol had hit her system faster than she’d thought possible! 

“I can’t drive,” she sighed and dropped her keys back into her purse and started heading for the door.  “I’ll walk.”

Creek cursed as he shoved his chair back.  He was doing his best to not touch her, to not feel the softness of her body, but when she started to sway on her feet, he jumped up to stop her from tipping over. 

And what the hell did she mean?  Appleton was a thirty minute drive from here and it was raining outside.  She’d be drenched within five minutes.  Nor was she wearing shoes that were appropriate for a long walk.  Hell, he wouldn’t let her walk that long stretch of lonely, isolated highway alone anyway.  Not even during the daytime!  “You can’t walk home, Violet,” he grumbled and stood up behind her.  “I’ll drive you home.”

“No.  Thank you very much.  As far as we’re concerned, we’re strangers who passed in the night.  Thank you for a wonderful introduction into the world of sex and…” her voice broke on that word but she shook her head, forcing herself to continue, “of sex and rejection.  It is a lesson I won’t forget. You’re an excellent teacher.  In all things.”  And with that, she walked towards the door, thankful that the bar was mostly empty right now.  There was only the bartender, Creek and another woman who was working on a laptop in the corner, not paying any attention to the other occupants. 

“Violet, wait!  It is too cold for you to walk home.  Just let me…”

She waved her hand in the air, dismissing him. 

He wasn’t taking that.  He was still furious with her for being the kind of woman who would take money in exchange for sex.  Amazing sex!  Incredible sex!  Better sex than he’d ever had in his life!