Almost Perfect (The Locklaine Boys #3) Read online

  “That’s just sad,” she said quietly. “Why do guys do that? Why do they mourn after women who aren’t good enough?”

  I lifted my shoulder in a tiny shrug. It was a question I’d been asking myself for months… ever since Collin moved in, actually. Because there was no way that woman deserved a man like him. “Beats the hell out of me. All I know for certain is that he’s nowhere near close to being over her.”

  “Such a shame,” Delilah said under her breath as she stood from my desk and started toward Richard’s office.

  I nodded my head even though she could see because I agreed wholeheartedly. It was a shame.

  “Oh!” I called out just before she managed to shut the office door. “And no sex in the workplace! It’s in the employee handbook!” I shouted loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear, knowing it would mortify Delilah and it would be at least two weeks before she got the nerve up to visit him at work again.

  “Goddamn it, Devon!” Richard shouted back just as the door slammed closed.

  I turned back to my desk and laughed to myself. I knew my bestie, and there was no way he was getting office nookie now.

  Payback.

  AS JAMIE LOVINGLY called Claire (a totally undeserving woman, in my opinion) his Sassenach, I dug my spoon deeper into the pint of Chunky Monkey I was holding in my lap and shoved the massive bite in my mouth as I sniffled against the threatening tears.

  “Stupid Outlander,” I muttered to myself as I continued to watch the love scene play out on the TV in front of me, wondering why real life couldn’t be like it was in TV shows. Well, not all TV shows. As much as I love Jon Snow, there was no way in hell I wanted my life to be anything remotely like Game of Thrones. Too gory.

  But Claire was one tough chick. She was strong willed and constantly getting herself into situations that Jamie would have to save her from. Yet, the damn man cherished the ground she walked on.

  Why? Why were there no real life guys as good as Jamie Fraser?

  Oh great, and they’re having sex again, I thought pathetically as I cuddled deeper into the couch and continued to subject myself to the torture. The sad thing was, my day had started out pretty damn good. I didn’t get hit by a cab, there wasn’t a line at Starbucks, and I only had to yell at Richard to get me his expenses twice. All things that led to a great morning.

  But then it had all gone to Hell with one little text message from my ex-boyfriend Matt and a stupid thing called hope.

  “WILL YOU STOP yelling at me?” Richard whined from his side of the desk, crossing his arms over his chest like a big baby. “I’ll get you my receipts by lunch. I promise.” I gave him a cheerful smile and turned on my heels to leave, happy with the verbal smack down I’d just laid down.

  Once I got back to my desk, I pulled my cellphone out to text Delilah, only to find a message already waiting for me. I let out a shaky, unsettled breath at the sight of Matt’s name on the screen. Swiping my finger across, I opened the text message and my stomach flipped at the same time something fluttered in my chest behind my ribs.

  Matt: Hey beautiful. Hope you’re doing well. I know it’s been a while since we talked, but I was really hoping you’d have time to meet for lunch today?

  I hadn’t heard from him since the night he broke up with me. It wasn’t the first time a guy had ended the relationship we’d been in, but I’d really thought that Matt had staying power. So when he informed me that he felt like I was holding back from him, that he just couldn’t see staying with a woman who wouldn’t let him take care of her, it had hurt more than the guys before.

  I really liked him. And I thought he’d liked me just the way I was. Being proven wrong was never a good feeling. After than night, there’d been no communication whatsoever. Why was he texting now? So many questions were running through my head.

  Does he regret dumping me?

  Does he want me back?

  Does he miss me?

  My hands shook just a bit as I typed back a response.

  Me: Sure. Where were you thinking?

  It only took a second for him to reply back.

  Matt: Coffee shop near your work?

  Back when we were dating, we used to meet for quick lunches at that coffee shop. The relationship was still in that somewhat childish, feel-good phase where you hate being away from the person you’re seeing for more than a few hours, so we’d hit up that shop at least three times a week for a fast meal simply so we could see each other.

  Just the mention of it was enough to send a wave of nostalgia crashing over me. That was our place. There was no way Matt would have suggested we meet there if he wasn’t planning on telling me he wanted me back… or at the very least, asking for forgiveness.

  When lunchtime finally rolled around, I hurried to the bathroom to do a quick makeup check and give my hair a little fluff before bolting from the building. I practically ran the whole way to the coffee shop, only slowing my steps when the building came into view so I didn’t look as anxious as I felt. Matt was standing just outside the door when I walked up and the smile that spread across his face when he finally caught sight of me sent a riot of butterflies flitting around in my belly.

  It was in that moment I knew I’d give him another chance if he asked for it. I was so full of hope when he reached out and wrapped me in a big bear hug. “It’s so good to see you, Devon.” He pulled back and gave me a once over. “You look great, as always.”

  My cheeks heated at the compliment, and I reached up to tuck a wayward strand of my dark brown hair behind me ear. “Thanks. You look really good too.” And God, did he ever. I guess I’d kind of forgotten just how handsome Matt was in the months we’d been apart, but standing in front of him just then, I was hit with the full force of his good looks. Man, I really wanted him to kiss me.

  “So,” I started nervously. “Should we go in?”

  “Oh,” he said, taking two giant steps back. “No, that’s okay. This won’t take long and I really don’t want to steal your whole lunch break.”

  I tipped my head to the side, somewhat confused by his statement. If he was planning on asking me to get back together, wouldn’t he want to have lunch with me?

  Then he bent down and picked up a box from the sidewalk that I hadn’t noticed. And the next words out of his mouth were an agonizing jolt to my system. “You left some stuff at my place after we… well, you know.” He passed the box to me and ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably. “Anyway, I just thought you might want it back. And besides, I kind of needed to get it out of my apartment, so I figured now was as good a time as any, right?” He laughed awkwardly, his earlier demeanor having shifted, making me feel like he’d rather have been anywhere else than standing in the middle of a crowded sidewalk, talking to me.

  “Oh…” I frowned down at the box in my hands, full of junk I hadn’t even thought about since the breakup. “I—well… thanks?”

  “Sure,” Matt smiled, “no problem.”

  I wasn’t going to cry. I was not going to cry. Not in front of half of Manhattan, and most certainly not in front of Matt the Epic Douchebag. “Uh… just out of curiosity, why exactly did you need to get this stuff out of your place?”

  I really shouldn’t have asked. I knew it as soon as the words had fallen from my lips, but it was already too late to take them back.

  “Well… you see, I’m kind of…” he trailed off for several painful seconds, “seeing someone.” Like a knife right to the gut. “And I’m going to ask her to move in with me.” That he just twisted for the hell of it. “I figured it wouldn’t be right to move her in when I still have some of my ex’s stuff laying around, right?”

  “Yeah.” I swallowed over and over, trying to dislodge the lump that had just formed in my throat. “Right.”

  “Well, it was good to see you,” Matt said with false cheer as he started backing away from me. “Hope life’s treating you good, Devon. I’ll see you around, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” I whispered to myself because he’d already turned and disappeared into the crowd of people walking past me. And just when I thought I couldn’t have felt any worse than I had after our breakup, that son of a bitch had to go and kick me while I was down.

  “SHE’S NOT GOOD enough for you, Jamie!” I shouted at the TV screen through a mouthful of ice cream. “Don’t you see that? She doesn’t deserve you!”

  The front door swung open just then, and Collin came to a screeching halt at the sight of my pathetic, bedraggled self, sprawled out on the couch wearing a faded Boston University sweatshirt, stained with chocolate since I’d been using it as a napkin. My hair was in ratty bun, I had fuzzy toe socks on my chilly feet, and I was almost certain the yoga pants I was wearing had a hole in the crotch. All of that, coupled with the red-rimmed eyes, stuffy nose, splotchy face, and the two empty ice cream containers on the coffee table just screamed disaster.

  “Uh oh,” he muttered, dropping his briefcase on the ground by the door before pulling his glasses off.

  Oh yeah, had I not mentioned Collin sometimes wore glasses? Well he does, and the first time I saw him in them, I’m pretty sure my ovaries dropped about thirty eggs… it was that good.

  “What happened?” he asked, coming over and taking the remote from my hand in order to pause the lovefest happening between my future baby daddy and that ungrateful bitch. Wonderful, I’m losing touch with reality now. Just what I need.

  “Nothing,” I grumbled, spooning in for more Chunky Monkey. “What makes you think something happened?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he answered, taking a seat on the cushion right next to me and pulling my feet into his lap. “Maybe because you’re sitting here, looking like a slightly neurotic homeless person? Please tell me that’s chocolate on my sweatshirt that you
stole, and not something else.”

  I knew it was chocolate, but just to screw with him, I lifted the shirt up, sniffed and then licked, pretending to be unsure.

  “Gross, Devon!”

  I giggled and leaned back to rest my head on the arm of the couch as he massaged me feet. “I’m kidding. It’s chocolate, relax.”

  His chest rumbled with a deep chuckle and he sunk down into the cushions, momentarily lifting one hand from my foot to loosen the tie around his neck. “So, you going to tell me what has you sitting here, binge eating all the ice cream this side of the Hudson, while screaming at the television?”

  I let out a sigh and stared up at the ceiling, letting his strong fingers work out what felt like an entire week’s worth of tension. Collin Locklaine really was the absolute best. Most definitely the exception to my whole All Men Are Evil and Should Be Stoned philosophy.

  “I saw Matt today,” I finally answered.

  “Wait…” he paused in his foot rubbing. “Matt, as in your douche of an ex, Matt?”

  “The one and only,” I answered dryly. “He texted today and asked me to meet him during lunch.”

  “And you said yes?” he snapped incredulously. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

  Pulling my feet off his lap, I sat up straight and shot him a murderous look. “Oh, I don’t know,” I smarted, “maybe for the same reason you still text your ex-fiancée when you don’t think anyone notices!”

  His eyes got wide. “What are you… how did…”

  I snorted and stood from the couch, picking up the trash from my binge and carried it all to the kitchen. “Please, Collin. You’re not nearly as clever as you think. You leave your phone lying around all over the place, and you’re probably the only person I know who doesn’t password protect his phone.” I felt him join me at the counter and gave him side-eyes. “You should really consider doing that. Your cousins are snoopy bastards.”

  At that, he chuckled and leaned against the counter, running a hand through his unruly, yet stylish hair. Only a man could get away with looking all disheveled and still have women wanting to climb him like a tree. God, men sucked so bad!

  “We’re one seriously fucked up pair, aren’t we?”

  I shrugged, turning to face him. “Eh, where not so bad. Just typical human beings who make stupid-ass choices sometimes.”

  Reaching out, Collin pulled me into a hug — a move I had come to realize was his way of apologizing for snapping at me earlier. It was something I’d grown used to since we’d become friends and roommates. He wasn’t a typical guy in that sense, really. He was more demonstrative than vocal about things, especially when he was wrong about something. I returned the embrace and nuzzled my face into his dress shirt, breathing in his spicy, musky cologne. “So tell me what happened,” he prompted after several seconds.

  I exhaled heavy and leaned even further into him. “I was an idiot,” I admitted. “I thought he was going to ask me to get back together, but when I got to the coffee shop, he just shoved a box of my things into my hands and told me he had to get it out before he moved his new girlfriend in.” I knew I sounded bitter, because I was. I was very bitter.

  Collin’s arms squeezed, and he leaned down to press a kiss to the crown of my head. God, the man gave good cuddle. I could only hope that one day I’d meet a guy who wanted to hold and touch me as much as Collin did. It was nice feeling all safe and secure, wrapped in someone so much bigger than you. I sighed and thought, for the millionth time, how much of a shame it was that he was still so hung up on someone else.

  “He’s a bastard,” he murmured against my hair.

  “I know,” I whispered as I clenched my eyes closed, trying to hold back a fresh wave of tears. “But knowing that doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

  “I know, sweetheart. But he never deserved you.”

  Damn it. I was going to start crying again if this conversation didn’t end soon. Pulling out of Collin’s hold, I stepped back and wiped at my eyes with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. It really was a comfy sweatshirt. It was old and threadbare, making it absolutely perfect. I swam in it, but that, coupled with the lingering smell of Collin’s cologne just made me feel like I was permanently wrapped in a big bear hug.

  “I’m keeping this,” I informed him, pulling the sleeves over my fingers and curling my fists. “It’s mine now. Hope it didn’t hold any sentimental value for you, because you’re never, ever getting it back.”

  He smiled as he moved to the cabinet, pulling out a wine glass and filling it with the open bottle of red wine we had sitting on the counter. He passed the glass to me before taking my hand and pulling me back into the living room. “Whatever you need, honey.” He sat on the couch and pulled me down right next to him, throwing an arm over my shoulders so I could rest my head on his muscular chest. Two seconds later he grabbed the remote and restarted the show, snuggling me against him. We sat like that for the next two hours, watching one episode of Outlander after another.

  Why? Why couldn’t I find a man just like Collin who wanted to be with me?

  God, some days my life really sucked.

  “MMM.”

  The sound of a feminine moan pulled me from my sleep. I took a few seconds to clear my groggy mind and realize that I’d fallen asleep on the couch with Devon. Devon who was currently grinding her lush ass into my cock, making me hard enough to pound nails.

  I groaned in agony and threw my head back as I reached down and grabbed her hips to stop her circling. My voice was rough and gravelly as I warned, “Baby, stop.”

  “Wha—?” At her sleep raspy voice, I looked down to find her looking over her shoulder in confusion. “Collin?”

  Something about the way she stared up at me just then, the vulnerable look in those tired blue eyes made it impossible to move away from her. As if my hands had a mind of their own, I pulled her hips back further into me and thrust my aching cock against the swell of her ass. The gasp she let out was almost my undoing. Christ, I wanted her like I couldn’t remember wanting another woman in a very, very long time. How the hell had I never seen just how amazingly beautiful this woman was until just now?

  One of her arms snaked back and she ran her fingers through my hair, tilting her face so our lips were just a breath apart. “Mmm, Collin,” she moaned again.

  “We should probably stop,” I panted as I contradicted myself and continued to dry hump her like I was a fucking teenager.

  “We probably should,” she agreed, her mouth still against mine. “But I don’t want to. I want to feel you inside me.”

  That was all I needed to hear. “Thank fuck.”

  Quick as lightning, I had her on her back. I took just a few seconds to rid her of those God-awful sweatpants and panties. Our mouths crashed together as I laid down on top of her, her legs spreading to accommodate my hips. Christ, she felt like a dream, even through the remaining layers of clothes. As our tongues wrapped around each other’s, as we nipped and bit, her delicate hand snuck between us to the fly of the slacks I’d fallen asleep in. “Need you,” she breathed, tugging at my belt.

  Feeling the exact same desperation as her, I sat back on my haunches just long enough to rid myself of my belt and undo my pants and free my straining dick. At the sight of it her eyes widened, the black of her pupils enveloping the light blue as lust took over.

  “Now,” she practically growled, reaching for my cock with one hand as her other tangled in my hair and pulled me down against her.

  I didn’t think. I couldn’t fucking think about a single thing other than feeling her from the inside. Needing that more than my next breath, I plunged into her in one brutal thrust, bottoming out and causing us both to cry out in ecstasy.

  “Fuck!” I barked as she whimpered my name.

  “Hard and fast, Collin. Fuck me like you mean it.”

  The last thing I thought before I began pounding into her relentlessly was: Fucking gladly.

  I shot awake, sucking in a choked breath as the light from the TV bounced around the living room, illuminating the space and painting shadows across Devon’s peaceful, sleeping features.