Read an Excerpt
Torn
Love, Lies, Deceit
By TRINITY Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2013 TRINITY
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4907-0564-4
CHAPTER 1
Angel had an hour left before the women's clothing store where she worked would be closing. The company had ordered some maintenance work to be done, so she was going to have stay for an additional hour. She had a long, tiring day of putting out freight and waiting on customers, and all she could think about was getting it over with and going home. She had been dreading it all week.
She was waiting on a customer when she felt someone staring at her. When she looked up, she saw the most handsome man gazing and smiling at her. For a moment, she was at a loss for words. He had a well-toned body, green eyes that you could get lost in, and a beautiful smile.
"Hi. I'm Wayen," he said in a deep voice. "I'm here to do the maintenance work that was ordered for you," he said, waiting for a response, "but I'm going to wait until after the store is closed." She just stood there staring at him. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine, Let me call the store manager for you," she said; she was so embarrassed.
Kris, the store manager, came out and assisted him. Angel tried to listen to what they were saying, but she couldn't hear them. When he was going back outside to wait, she noticed that all the women in the store had stopped and started staring and smiling when he walked past them.
Kris walked over to the register where Angel was waiting on customers. "Angel, did you see him? He is gorgeous," she said, smiling.
"I know, and I just made a complete fool of myself. I just couldn't stop staring at him. I have never seen eyes like that before," Angel said. Some of the customers started to join in their conversation.
"I have been working here ten years, and I have never seen a maintenance man that looked that good before. I wonder where they found him," Kris said, trying to look out the window to see if she could still see him.
"I don't mind staying an extra hour now that I've seen him," Angel said; Kris and the customers agreed.
After the store was closed, Wayen returned to complete his work order. Angel and Kris watched him while he worked. They were making little comments about how sexy he looked with the sweat running down his bald head. Wayen was listening and enjoying what they were saying and didn't give any indication that he could hear them.
"I want to go over there and talk to him, but I've already made a fool of myself," Angel said.
"If you don't go over there, you will always wonder what could have happened," Kris said, encouraging her to go over.
Angel walked over to where he was. "Hi," she said. Wayen stood up slowly. "Do you need any assistance?" she asked.
"No, but thank you anyway," he said, then licked his lips in a way that made her knees weaken. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I can manage." He licked his lips in a way that made her knees weaken. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I can manage" and turned around and started back working so she started to walk away "but if you want to stay I would like the company" he said.
Angel quickly turned around. "Okay, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Angel, and the other manager you spoke with earlier is Kris," she said, trying to start the conversation.
After standing there laughing and talking, Kris told Angel she could go ahead and leave because she felt like she would be okay around him. She didn't want to leave then because she and Wayen were enjoying each other's company. She asked Kris to get his phone number from him; she was shy when it came to approaching men. She walked back over to say good-bye, hoping he would ask for her number, but he didn't. "I have to go now, my manager is kicking me out," she said sadly.
"Why do you have to go so soon? I can't remember the last time I laughed this much," he said.
"Me either," she replied. "It was really nice meeting you, and you have a good night, Ms. Angel."
"Okay, you do the same, and the pleasure was all mine," she said. She walked out slowly, hoping he would ask her to stay a little longer, but he didn't. He just smiled as she left.
The next morning, Angel and Kris returned to work. She asked if she had gotten the number, and she said no. Angel was a little disappointed but didn't let it show. Kris handed her a pen. "What's this for?" she asked.
"I didn't get his number, but he did leave a pen with his number on it. Why don't you call him?" she said, winking; she knew how bad she wanted the number.
"I can't call him," she said.
"Why not? You never know, he could have left it for a reason," Kris said, trying to get her to call.
"If he wanted to talk to me, he would have asked for my number last night, wouldn't you think?" she said.
"I'll just have to do it for you then," Kris said, dialing the phone. The person that answered the phone didn't sound like him, so she hung up.
"I guess it wasn't meant to be," Angel said sadly.
"I tell you what, just hold on to the pen, and if you get up the nerve, then try calling him again. What's the worst that could happen?" Kris told her.
"You're right," Angel said, "but I don't think I'll call. But I can always use another pen," she said, laughing to herself.
CHAPTER 2
A few weeks had gone by, and Angel couldn't get Wayen out of her head. She thought she was just being silly; after all, she only talked to him for a few minutes. He probably wouldn't remember her anyway. One day, when she was alone at work, she finally got enough nerve to call him. He answered, and she choked up. She couldn't find the words to say, so she quickly hung up. After a few minutes had passed, she called again.
"Hi, Wayen, this is Angel. I don't know if you remember me—" He interrupted her.
"I know who you are, Ms. Angel, how have you been?" he asked.
"I'm good," she replied; she wasn't expecting that. "I don't usually call people like this, but I wanted to see if you wanted to get together sometime and hang out and talk," she asked. There was a short pause that seemed like forever.
"Sure, I wouldn't have a problem with that. I enjoyed talking to you, and as a matter of fact, I've thought about those dimples a few times myself." Her heart skipped two beats. She was so excited, she almost dropped the phone.
"Okay, that will be great, and I'll give you a call later on when I get off work, if that's okay," she said.
"Sure, that will be great," he replied.
"One more thing, I didn't see a ring, and I hadn't asked if you were married or seeing anyone. I wouldn't want to be hitting on someone else's husband,"
"No, I'm not married or seeing anyone, but I am divorced," he said, assuring her. Angel was in a fantastic mood for the rest of that afternoon and couldn't wait to get home to call him.
Every day after work, she would go home, take a shower, and curl up on her favorite spot on the couch. Still nervous, she called.
"Hello, Wayen, how are you?" she asked.
"I'm great," he said. "I've been waiting on your call." They found that they had a lot in common and even liked a lot of the same movies. Angel was a twenty-seven-year-old nursing student working on her nursing degree and worked a full-time job; and Wayen was forty-two, from Alabama, and did a lot of traveling for the company he worked for. He also had two sons that were in college. Wayen was concerned that after she found out that he was an older man, she wouldn't be interested anymore. She had never dated anyone that much older, but let him know that there is a first time for everything. They even discussed some of their religious beliefs, and he found that she and her family were very active in church. Her family was more involved than she was, but she had a lot of good moral values. She was adamant about the sanctity of marriage and had very strong views on abortions. They ended up talking for hours.
Both of them were busy people, and neither of them had a lot of time for a personal life, but they enjoyed talking with each other. Angel was very impressed with him; he was someone that was a total opposite of the men she would normally go out with. They were from two different worlds, but they were very attracted to each other.
During the first week, they talked a couple of times, and they talked for hours. She didn't want to seem too anxious, so she waited on him to contact her. She didn't let anyone know that she called him and was very careful not to say anything because he could lose his job. Their company had strict policies against fraternizing on the job; she also found out that was the reason he didn't ask for her phone number even though he wanted to.
After the first few weeks, they started talking on the phone more and more. They were talking every day, and on some days, more than once. When Wayen got a work order for a store close by, they made plans to see each other. They hadn't seen each other since they first met, and she was looking forward to seeing him.
They made plans to go to a little seafood restaurant down the street. He wasn't going to have a lot of time, and they wanted to make it last. She hadn't been out in a long time and was a little nervous. When they arrived at the restaurant, he was a perfect gentleman. He opened the door and pulled out her chair. He listened to every word she said; she wasn't used to a guy treating her like this. She found him to be a down-to-earth, charming guy and was comfortable and relaxed around him in no time.
After dinner they went back to Angel's house. He didn't seem comfortable, so she poured some wine and turned on some music. "Maybe this will help you relax a little so we can talk," she said, trying to assure him that everything was okay. "Am I making you nervous?" she asked him jokingly. "I thought I was the only nervous one tonight," she said.
"I'm not nervous, I'm a little shy", he said "but I must admit I had a great time tonight with you" he added.
"So did I, and it's not over yet. I want us to take advantage of time we have together. I don't know when I'll get to see you again," she said.
After talking for a while, it was time for Wayen to go. "I have an early day tomorrow, and I better be leaving now," he said while getting up and walking to the door. Angel walked him out to his truck.
"I hope we can do this again soon. I had a great time tonight," she said.
"We will soon and I'm already looking forward to it" he said as he leaned over to give her a kiss. She quickly turned away.
"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.
"I'm a little old-fashioned, and I never kiss on the first date. And I'm not ready for that," she said, trying to explain.
"Ready for what?" he asked. "It's just a kiss," he added.
"I like you, and I had a great time tonight, but I'm not ready for that," she told him.
"There is no pressure from me," he said. She could hear the tone in his voice change. "I can respect the fact you're not ready for a relationship, because I'm not ready for one either, but this is just a kiss. I don't understand your reaction to this. I thought you wanted to see me tonight," he said.
"I did, but kissing leads to other things, and right now, I just wanna keep this at a friendship level," she tried to explain.
"Why did you pour the wine and turn on the music? You're sending mixed signals. I thought this is what you wanted."
"I wasn't trying to, I just wanted to lighten the mood so you could relax, that's all," she said. She started thinking about how it must have looked to him. "I'm sorry for the confusion," she said. He turned to get in his truck.
"I think I better go now," he said.
"Please don't leave like this, Wayen. I feel awful now, and I'm sorry," she said.
"It's okay" he said. "You have a good night." He brushed her face gently and gave her a soft smile letting her know everything was okay. "I really have to go now." He saw how sad she looked and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She stood there watching him as he drove away, not knowing if she'd ever see him again.
Later that night, Angel was curled up, lying on the couch, thinking about what had happened, when the phone rang. It was Wayen calling to talk about what happened earlier. He liked her and didn't want any ill feelings between them. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I didn't want to leave things like that. I could see how it bothered you. I just don't understand, it was just a simple kiss. I didn't ask you to sleep with me or anything like that," he added.
"I'm just not ready for any kind of physical contact right now, and I wasn't trying to send out mixed signals. I think a first kiss should be special and memorable and I want to kiss you, just not right now. I just want to start out as friends, and then we'll know if we need to move forward or just remain friends. I enjoy talking to you, and I don't want to lose that," she said in the most sincere voice.
"I know that, and I enjoy talking to you too. I want you to know that I would never want you to do anything that will make you uncomfortable or you just don't want to do," he said. They continued talking, and things were back to the way they were.
The more Wayen got to know her he could tell that she had been hurt at some point in her life and was scared of getting hurt again. She wouldn't open up or talk about her past relationships. She was uncomfortable talking about anything that pertained to sex, so they would avoid the subject and he didn't try to pressure her. He liked her just the way she was; he wouldn't change a thing. She was different from the women he'd usually date but he didn't care, they were attracted to each other. He was the serious type and Angel just liked to laugh and enjoy life. He loved her sense of humor and he especially like to hear her say "Go ahead and admit it, you like me don'tcha?" He would always laugh and say "Yes, I do. I really do." He found himself going to see her almost every week; everything was going great for them.
Months passed by, and they were growing closer and didn't realize it. Every morning, he would give her a wake-up call; she loved rolling over and hearing his raspy, gritty voice in the morning.
CHAPTER 3
Wayen's birthday was coming up, and she wanted to plan something special for him. She thought it would be a good idea to go to his place since he always went to see her. When she started making plans, she realized she had never been invited for a visit. She just thought he had a busy schedule and was always on the road—at least that's what he would tell her—or it was just too far for her to drive alone. One of Angel's past relationships ended because the man that asked her to marry him had a wife and kids at home; he was just using her to get what he wanted. After that happened, she was crushed and didn't think she would be able to trust another man again; it caused her to go into a deep depression. It took years for her to get over it. She didn't want to be hurt like that again or let any of her insecurities get in the way, so she tried to be careful and not let her heart get too involved.
One afternoon, Wayen stopped by for a short visit, and she thought it would be the perfect time to tell him about the birthday plans. "Wayen, I was going to plan something for your birthday that's coming up," she said. He hesitated. "Do you have plans already?" she asked, because he had a confused look on his face.
"No, I'm not going to be in the area that day," he replied.
"Okay then, that's not a problem. I can meet you at your place, and we can do something there," she told him.
"That wouldn't be a good idea either. And besides, I won't be in that area that day either," he replied.
"Okay, Wayen," she said.
Wayen noticed the change in her voice and could see how disappointed she was. "It's not that I don't want to spend time with you, I just don't have a lot of time during the weekday to do things like that," he tried to explain to her.
"Okay, I understand," she said.
Still seeing the disappointing look on her face, he tried to make her feel better. "I tell you what, go ahead and make plans for that weekend, and we can do something together," he said, embracing her in his arms.
"If you don't really want to do this, then we can just hang out some other time," she said.
"I want to spend all the time I can with you. I have so much fun when I'm with you, and I don't like to see that look on your face," he told her, holding her close to him.
The day had come, and Angel had worked all day, getting everything prepared; she wanted everything to be perfect. She cooked and cleaned all day, preparing his favorite meal using his grandfather's recipe. She slowly cooked the beef brisket and made all his favorite trimmings; everything looked great.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Torn by TRINITY. Copyright © 2013 TRINITY. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
