Redhead: Bedhead Book 2 Read online

  Redhead

  Bedhead Book Two

  Kayt Miller

  Copyright © 2020 by Kayt Miller

  Cover image standard license from Shutterstock.com

  Cover Copyright © 2020 Kayt Miller

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used facetiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  In accordance with the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the author is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the author @ [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Created with Vellum

  For the Beedle Babes.

  You know who you are.

  There are people you meet along the way that change your life. Make it better, richer. The women I met living on Beedle Drive remain some of the most important people in my life. Even though we’re all busy with our families, jobs, and aspirations, I know that our bond will alway remain strong and constant.

  I love you, ladies.

  As for our Patsy , we lost her, sadly. Our Irish lass. The funniest person she knew. Cancer is a bitch ––it took her from us way too soon. She was a force of nature and the life of the party.

  We all love you, and miss you, Patty Jane.

  Contents

  Prologue: Luke

  Prologue: Tayler

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Books by Kayt Miller

  About the Author

  Thank you!

  Coming Soon: Deadhead

  Prologue: Luke

  If you’d asked me a couple of months ago if I’d be in this predicament, I’d have laughed in your fucking face. Maybe I lacked the imagination needed to forecast the clusterfuck that is now my life, and that’s on me. Hell, this whole deal is on me. The thing is, I’m not in any hurry to remedy the situation because I know if I do, she’ll be gone. And by gone, I mean gone-gone. I don’t want that. I want her here—just not like this. No, I need to figure out a way to nip this in the bud without upsetting the delicate balance that is Tayler and me.

  God, I should be pissed as hell. What am I saying? I am pissed as hell, but she wouldn’t understand because I’ve never really talked to her about my past. Since I met Tayler, we’ve talked a ton. Almost daily. And in that time, I’ve neglected to tell her why I am the way I am. Why I’ll never be able to give her what she wants—love, a ring. I can give her sex, yes. I can fuck her all day every day, but that’s not enough. It’s all or nothing for her, and I get it. I hate the fuck out of it, but I get it. She deserves more.

  So she’s going about things in a new way. Tayler thinks she’s being clever right now. She’s wheedled herself into my world, the bar, all in hopes that I’ll finally do something. That I’ll commit. But she’s going about it all wrong. While she thinks changing the bar is going to make me happy, all it does is piss me off because it’s the same as trying to change me, and that’s never going to happen. My ex-wife figured that out the second I served her with divorce papers. I’m not changing. Not again. Not even for Tayler Sorenson. Nope, not even for her.

  Prologue: Tayler

  If you’d asked me a couple of months ago if I’d be in this relationship quagmire, I’d have scoffed in your face. Hell, three months ago, I was still licking my wounds after my ex-boyfriend, Dylan’s, betrayal. I was in no way ready to take on something like Luke Green, but did that stop me from doing it? Hell no. And you want to know why? Ugh. I’m embarrassed to say it, let alone write it. I did it because Luke Green is hot A. F. For those of you who don’t know what those last two letters stand for, they mean: As. Fuck. Luke Green is the poster boy for that little expression with his tousled, dirty-blond hair, rugged jawline, five-o’clock shadow, and tattoo-covered muscles. Oh, and let’s not forget his broodiness. Luke’s got the kind of bad-boy angst you only read about. With all of that in his proverbial arsenal, how could you blame me? I’m just an average girl. And average girls can’t help themselves when there is a living, breathing Mr. Darcy-type guy leaning close to you, whispering in your ear all the dirty things he wants to do to you.

  So, yeah. Sue me.

  Honestly, if I could travel back in time, I’m not sure I would change anything. Well, sure, I’d change a few things, namely this shit with my ex that turned creepy. And maybe I’d even stay true to myself when it came to Luke.

  Ha! That’s a joke.

  The man is my weakness. He’s played me like a goddamn harp. I swear to you, I know less about Luke Green than I did that night we met back in September. How is that possible? I don’t know. All I can say is the man gives nothing away. Not his past, not his memories, and certainly not his heart. And it’s not like I haven’t tried. I’ve tried just about everything to get the man to open up to me. I’ve been his friend, his lover, and right now, we spend almost every night together. Hell, I’m practically his roommate and still the man keeps his emotions in a proverbial vault.

  Honestly, all of this “togetherness” is probably what’s causing Luke’s mood to take a dive. He’s been extra salty lately—and that concerns me. A lot.

  Chapter One

  Luke: Three Months Ago

  “Luke!”

  I hear my name being yelled from the front of the house, the bar area. I know the voice. Quinn Maxwell, my newest hire, is calling for me. No doubt it’s gotten busier since I’ve been holed up in my tiny office. She’s got some dude in town from overseas who seems to be drawing a crowd. I’d better get out there.

  “Yeah?” I say as I walk through the doorway wiping my hands on the bar towel that’s always over my shoulder. The minute I spot Quinn, I give her a small smile.

  “I want to introduce you to my best friend. A best friend I will never give free drinks to.” Quinn pauses. “Promise.”

  Yeah, right. They always say shit like that, and they always give away beer to their “best friends.” Ignoring my thoughts, I look left and spot her. My throat gets a little dry. Walking slowly up to the bar, I say, “Does your beautiful friend have a name?”

  “Tayler,” the gorgeous redhead says, holding her tiny hand out to me. “We’ve met, though.”

  My voice feels dry, scratchy. She’s caught me a bit off guard, to be honest, because of course I recognize her. “I know. You were here last Wednesday.”

  “I… uh, yes, I was.”

  “You’ve also been here a number of times with a man.” A short twerp who always had his eyes on other chicks. The fucking idiot.

  Quinn responds quickly. “Her ex. He cheated on her. Can you believe that?”

  “No.”
I stare at Tayler. She’s probably the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen with her pale complexion and those freckles. But even though she has sweet features, there’s more to her than that. The woman is sexy as hell. “He’s a fucking idiot.”

  “Right?” Quinn says, then laughs.

  Ignoring her, I lean over the bar so I can get a little closer to Tayler just as she leans in closer to me.

  This is getting good.

  “Welp, I guess I’ll move along.” Quinn laughs again, then heads off to help another customer.

  “So, Tayler,” I say in my sexiest voice. “What’re you doing later?”

  “Ah, well….” She smiles, and it’s so pure and real, it kind of takes my breath away for a second. “I’ve got a paper to write.”

  I give her my very best come-hither smirk. “Homework, really? You’d rather do homework than come home with me?” I’m not sure why I said that. I never take anyone home. I always go home with them; that way, I can do what I need to do and leave.

  “I’m not that kind of girl,” she says sweetly.

  I’m about to laugh at her words because I’ve heard that line before, but this is the first time I believe it. “You’re not, are you?”

  She shakes her head slowly. “Nope.”

  Well, shit. Now what? “You’re serious.”

  She nods. “I am.”

  This is surreal. First of all, I rarely proposition women. They do all the work up front. No, this is new. “Can I get your number?” I ask, and it surprises me. I don’t take numbers. I don’t give mine out either. Usually.

  She tilts her pretty head to the side and blinks a few times. “Why?”

  Why? She’s asking why? “So I can call you.”

  “What would we talk about?” She’s giving me her own smirk.

  “Stuff.” I mean, seriously? What I’d like to talk about is the many ways I want to fuck this girl, but I’m guessing that’s not going to fly. “Maybe I can talk you into—”

  “You won’t.” She sips her beer. “I just got out of a long-term thing, and I’m not going to jump into bed with the first guy who asks. It’s not my style.”

  I’m the first guy to ask? Impossible. “What is your style?”

  She sighs and starts to slide off her stool. I reach out and take one of her hands in mine. A tingle runs up from my hand to my shoulder and down to my chest. Swear to God, my nipples get hard. Embarrassing. “Don’t go.” I mean it. I don’t want her to leave.

  “That paper won’t write itself.” She chuckles.

  Pulling her hand from mine, she holds her palm up. “Give me your phone.”

  Without a word, I grab it from my back pocket and set it in her hand. “Passcode is 1234.”

  She arches her pretty auburn brow at me. “Secure.”

  I shrug. I don’t care about my security code. There’s nothing on there that anyone would want. I don’t pay bills with my phone or shit like that.

  I watch as she types. Handing back my phone, she smiles again, and I want to wrap her up in my arms.

  “If you want to talk, give me a call. Or text. But I meant what I said, Luke. I’m not into one-night stands.”

  “How ’bout two nights?” I chuckle. Worth a try, am I right?

  She doesn’t respond, just waves one little hand at me and turns to leave. I watch her hug Quinn goodbye and step out my front door.

  Staring down at my phone, I bring up my contacts and laugh. She typed two words: Forever Girl. Now that, I can believe.

  Chapter Two

  Tayler

  The second I’m out the door of Cy’s Roost, Luke Green’s bar, I’m finally able to take a breath. No, I wasn’t holding it, but it felt like it. I mean, the second he touched my hand, I thought I was going to pass out. It was that charged. How I kept my cool, I’ve no idea. A better question? How did I stop from going home with the man? Again, no idea. But I did. Hell, I even sounded sort of cool—aloof. Ha! What a joke. I’m the least aloof person on the planet. Control is the name of the game with me, even though inside I’m a frigging mess. I could blame my ex, Dylan, for some of that, but the truth is, I’ve needed to feel like I’ve had some kind of control over my life since I was fourteen.

  I think it’s what drove Dylan away, to be honest. I had him on a tight leash, as they say, most likely because he was my complete opposite and I thought I was doing what was best for him—for us. They say opposites attract, and I suppose that’s the way it was with us. It was also our undoing. He wanted to go out, do fun stuff, while I wanted to stay in and make sure I kept my grades up. Sure, we went out now and then, usually to Cy’s but sometimes to other bars too. His friends were douchebags and I never wanted to spend much time with them, so the last few months of our relationship, Dylan went out without me. That’s when it happened. When he met her. Savanna. I should thank her. She helped end a four-year relationship that had gone stagnant.

  I’m lying. I hate her. I hate him. No, that’s not true. I love him in a fucked-up way. I’ll probably always love him. He was my first, well, everything. First love, first sex, and first heartbreak. That last one sucks. Heartbreak is the perfect word to describe it because my heart literally cracked in half in my chest over Dylan.

  To make matters worse, I had to do that all alone, without my best friend Quinn, since I angered Quinn so much so she wouldn’t speak to me for weeks. Sure, I could have contacted her, but that wasn’t our dynamic. For years she would always be the first to cave whenever we had a tiff. Not this time, though. This time she grew some balls somehow, and that meant I either had to crawl back and beg forgiveness or I had to deal with the end of my relationship with Dylan alone. Since I’m stubborn, I chose the latter. And it sucked.

  Tonight, though, I feel… better. And not because hot Luke Green hit on me. It helped, sure, but it’s all of it. I got myself out of my loungewear that I’ve been wearing for a few weeks, did my hair, and put some pretty clothes on so I could hang with my bestie and her new “friend.” (We’ll get to Cooke, the English rugby guy, in a bit.) I got gussied up to go out, and it made me feel like myself again. My life is a mess right now, but a night at Cy’s is one step closer to normalcy.

  As I left the bar, I hugged Quinn and told her to “make good choices.” That saying cracks me up because honestly, I hope she makes a terrible choice tonight. She’s held on to her V-card for far too long, and if she’s going to lose it, she should lose it to a guy who flew halfway across the world to see her.

  Sigh.

  Dylan wouldn’t have done that. Hell, he would barely drive to my parents’ house while we dated. I always had to go to him, and we lived in the same town.

  I wonder if Luke Green is that kind of guy. Would he travel a million miles to get to the woman he loves? Doubtful. From our interaction tonight, I think he prefers easy and convenient. Well, I’m neither of those things, sadly. For that split second, I almost gave in to my baser instincts with him, because I know sleeping with Luke would have been memorable. Probably life-altering. Hell, he’d probably put Dylan to shame (not hard to do) and also ruin it for my future husband or whatever.

  Yeah, I bet sex with Luke Green would have been spectacular. But I’ll never know.

  God, I want to cry.

  So I do.

  Chapter Three

  Luke

  “So, when’s your friend stopping in?” I know I shouldn’t ask my employee about her friend. Quinn isn’t the kind of woman to let those simple words go. Hell, she’ll probably call her and tell her I asked.

  Is that such a bad thing, Luke?

  “Which friend?” the smartass asks.

  I throw the bar towel over my shoulder, lean my hip on the bar, cross my arms, and then glare at Quinn. “Tayler.”

  “Oh, Tayler? Hm, I’m not sure.”

  I know she’s fucking with me because her voice just got all high-pitched and singsong-y. I sigh and move away from the bar. “Whatever.” I attempt to act aloof, but she must know something. Her smile is more smir
k than anything else.

  “Just text her if you want her to come in.”

  “I….” She’s pissing me off. “No need.” Just trying to think of something to talk about since this place is dead. D-e-a-d. I swear, some Sundays are like this. It’ll pick up later. There’s a Packers game on the tube, so people will come in to watch that and eat some grub.

  “She said you two have been texting a little bit.”

  So she does know.

  “A little bit.” But the redhead won’t budge. I’ve asked her over to my place two other times, but she won’t do it. I pick up two empty beer glasses from the bar and place them in the bin for dirty glasses. “She’s stubborn.”

  Quinn snorts. “You have no idea.”

  I have some idea but I think I need a little backstory. Maybe Quinn will give me something I can use. “How long have you known her?”

  “Forever. Elementary school.”

  “That’s a long time.” That long? She’s got to have some good intel on my girl.

  Not my girl. A girl.

  “It is.” Quinn nods, pouring a beer for one of the three customers we have right now. “We’ve been through a lot.”