Blue-Collar Boys - Repairs & Maintenance (Book 2: Steamy Erotic Romance Stories) Read Online Free PDF Page B

flush.  Even before his invitation, she had thought about stopping by—just to say “hi.”  But five years was a long, long time.  He probably had a girlfriend, maybe even a wife, and Angela wasn’t ready to face that fact, especially not while she was still single and alone.
    “Two successful music clubs.  Wow.  That’s great.  Does this mean fast and furious Shane Cotter is ready to settle down?”
    “Nah.  In fact, I’ve finally made a clean break from Victoria.”
    “Victoria?” Angela heard the surprise in her own voice.  Shane heard it too.  She knew Shane had been on-again, off-again with Victoria.  But she had no idea that he was still holding out for her—five years later.
    “Yeah, long sappy story,” Shane said with a dismissive wave.  “Ends with my heart getting bloody smashed with a jackhammer.  But it’s over now.  Good riddance.”
    “Well, I’m not sorry to hear it…”
    “Yeah?” Shane peered at her, his eyebrow piercing rising and lowering. “Why’s that?”
    “Because you deserve better.”
    Angela realized that she had actually said it aloud when Shane’s marble blue eyes fixed on her and lingered there longer than usual.  Then, she remembered the countless times that Victoria tried to reclaim her position as the lead singer of their band.  And although Shane never allowed her to come back, he also never stopped being in love with her, and it was part of the reason why Angela kept her own feelings for Shane to herself.
     “You know, I’m going to be starting up a third club.  Opening it up this fall, in fact.  But I still haven’t settled on a name.  It’s quite funny, really, because I’ve actually been thinking about calling it Angie’s .”
    Angela’s cheeks flashed red.
    “Well, you know, because my mum’s name is Angelica.”
     “Oh, right, right—” Angela twisted the end of her pajama shirt around finger, squeezing all the blood to its tip in painful punishment.  After his mother , of course .
    “But you know… names are funny little things.  Once you meet someone with a name, you associate all the good and bad things about that person with that particular name.  And I’ve always liked the name, ‘Angie.’  Always.”
    Shane seized his eyes on her in a way that made Angela remember they had been good friends at one point in time, not just bandmates.
    “Well, it’s much better than Victoria,” she quipped.
    “Yeah, right.  Much better,” Shane winked. “Ah, bloody hell.”  He crossed his arms and stared at Angela.  His smile sparkled at her. “It really is great to see you again, Sassy.  I mean that.  It’s been too long.  Too, too long…”
    Angela gazed at him.  Shane was still so handsome.  His high cheekbones and Saxon nose were cut like stone and the deep scar over his left-eyebrow—from a broken beer bottle during a bar brawl—still highlighted the intensity of his stare and the confidence in his stance.  And yet, he seemed so different.  He was so much calmer, more mature, more seasoned—like he didn’t need to prove anything to anybody because he was the man that she had always expected he would become.
    “And now, you’re here to install my dishwasher while I get ready for work,” she finally said, glancing at the clock and forcing them both back into the reality of the moment, breaking the suffocating silence.  “Are you sure you know how to install one of these things?”
    “Not really, but got the ol’ instructions right here.” Shane pulled out the manual from his back pocket.
    “That’s not encouraging.”
    “Of course not,” Shane said, flinging the manual across the room.  “But you should trust me anyway.”
    He crossed his arms and leaned back against her kitchen counter, like he had no intention of doing anything other than watching her get dressed.
    “I’m leaving now and getting ready for work.  Shout if you need something.”
    “Like a fire extinguisher?”
    Angela narrowed