Waking Hearts Read Online Free

was.”
    Ollie could swear his heart stopped beating for a second. “How bad was it?”
    “You have your secrets. She has hers. You want to know? You want to get real with her? You ask Allie, not me.”
    Ollie stopped talking. It was what he usually did when he didn’t want to discuss feelings with his cousin, of all people. His cousin, who seemed determined to drive him crazy.
    He had a plan. He’d waited for Allie Smith for twenty years, and he could wait a little longer if it meant she came to him with a whole heart.
    Ollie couldn’t handle being a way station for her. He wasn’t being dramatic. He just knew that he’d break if she tried him on and discarded him because she wasn’t ready. He’d held his peace for fifteen years, and once he had her, he wouldn’t be able to let go.
    “Tell me something, Oso .” Ted used his childhood nickname, but it did little to soften her words. “So what if she does end up having a rebound relationship, huh? You think you’re going to be able to handle seeing her go out with another guy under your nose? And what if it turns serious? What happens then?”
    Gut-churning rage in his stomach. Ollie stood without thinking, his hands clenched at his sides. His eyes narrowed at Ted when she sighed.
    “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

    IT was just his luck that Tracey had called Allie in to work early on Friday afternoon. Just his luck he’d have to watch her bustling around his bar in her skinny blue jeans and fitted black T-shirt, her apron tied at the waist and the bow perched at the top of her ass. Four kids had added to her figure since high school, but not in any way Ollie would complain about.
    When she’d been younger, she’d been so tiny his awkward teenage self had nightmares about finally getting up the guts to make a move, only to end up breaking something. Fifteen years had made her no less attractive but a little more substantial. The bear in him approved.
    When she’d been married and the torment of her had been a constant ache in his gut, he’d dated. He’d dated plenty. But not anyone who would remind him of Allie. Tall, slim girls with dark hair and barely there smiles. No blondes. No short, curvy temptations. Dating anyone who even resembled her was completely off-limits.
    She was filling out the specials board, her back to him, that little bow taunting him. “Ollie, did we get everything in the delivery this morning?”
    He tore his eyes away from her ass and back to the newspaper. “Yeah.”
    “You want to put the Firestone DBA back on special then? That was selling really well last weekend.”
    “Sure.”
    “Or do you want me to try a different ale and leave the DBA at regular price?”
    “Whatever you think.”
    She shot him a tight smile and put the Firestone back on special before she quickly filled out the rest of the board with the regular weekend deals.
    Her instincts were good, and he probably should have given her better feedback, but he was trying not to stare at her. Or glare. He couldn’t not notice her, but he knew he’d been acting like a Neanderthal. He didn’t want to be such a bastard, but he couldn’t find his balance with her anymore.
    When Allie had been married, it hadn’t been an issue. She was off-limits. Not even a possibility on the horizon. Because she wasn’t that kind of woman, and he wasn’t that kind of man. Because of that, he’d been able to be her friend, cherish her and her kids, and ignore the slowly degenerating asshole she’d hooked herself to when she was sixteen.
    But now…
    “What if she does end up having a rebound relationship, huh? You think you’re going to be able to handle seeing her go out with another guy under your nose?”
    Ollie knew the answer to that. He’d go insane. But he also didn’t know what to do about it. He couldn’t think of a way to broach the topic without coming across as a presumptuous asshole.
    Morning, Allison. I’ve been in love with you for about twenty years