Hardheaded Hubby: Tender Tarts, #3

By Mandy Harbin

He undresses her with his eyes…she wishes he'd do it with his teeth.

 

Sex would be nice. But after giving birth, Sophie is a little self-conscious about her body, and her husband, Sawyer, hasn't even tried coming on to her. What's a girl to do? Don't blab to your friends, that's what! Their reaction is a mix of shock and pity, but they unite under one common goal—to get her laid!

 

What seems like a fun idea at the time becomes an exercise of frustration when she turns on the charm, and Sawyer still doesn't give up the goods. What's his deal? She wasn't really worried about their relationship before, but now she's not so sure. When the truth comes out why he is not jumping her bones, there will be a big price to pay.

 

Being the initiator sucks, especially when the only big O she's getting is offended…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mandy Harbin
• Release date: Aug 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781941467398

Book preview

Chapter One

That’s it, I give, Brindle said as she slumped onto the stool at the pub table the girls were all sitting at.

It hadn’t started out like this. Oh no, at the beginning of football season, Sophie and the girls sat with their guys at this neighborhood sports bar. But as the season stretched on, the men congregated closer to the widescreen while the women stayed back. Frankly, if Sophie went through the trouble of getting her sister, Lily, to babysit once a week, she’d rather Sawyer take her out for a romantic evening, rather than a date-night consisting of hot wings and heartburn.

And barely speaking to her husband.

She’d laugh if it wasn’t pathetic. She was probably the only one of the women here tonight that had to practically beg her significant other to engage in quality alone time … especially of the naked kind. And she was the only one who was married! Hannah and Lucas were engaged, but that didn’t count. Morgan and Cooper had been together for years, but if Sophie had to guess, she was pretty sure Morgan was against the whole institution of marriage since they hadn’t even moved in together—officially—so Morgan didn’t have to worry about Cooper seeing her at her worst. Taylor and Bryson were still in that new phase where they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Reagan was Skylar’s girlfriend and had been for a record-breaking eight months. Normally when things got too involved, Skylar jumped ship, but Reagan was obviously doing something right with him … and was probably getting screwed six ways ’till Sunday.

Nope, Sophie was the only one here tonight whose sex life was on the back-burner. Hell, it wasn’t even on the stove.

Well, maybe not the only one since Brindle was officially unattached to anyone and was currently glaring at every person with a penis. Sophie sipped her cocktail and waited for her friend to finish her verbal explosion. Maybe she’d finally have someone to commiserate with.

What is it now? Morgan asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow. If Sophie didn’t love her like a sister, she’d be crazy jealous of Morgan’s raven black hair and model-worthy body. Okay, maybe she was a little jealous. Sophie glanced to the side and pulled the loose T-shirt away from her belly just in case it was showcasing any bulges she’d won playing the game of pregnancy. She loved her little man very much, but she was still getting used to the changes in her body. Stretch marks and saggy skin had been expected, but not welcomed. The reality, however, of big, dark mom-nipples was a joke of the cruelest kind. She was sure if girls were taught this in school, teen pregnancy would plummet. Districts should display posters of mom boobs as their next PSA. What sixteen-year-old girl wanted mom boobs? Hell, what twenty-four-year-old mom wanted mom boobs?

That prick Trent, Brindle huffed. Have I said lately how crappy it is working with an ex?

I mean, technically, you’re his boss, Hannah said before she took a sip of the one skinny cosmo she allowed herself each week. As her wedding got closer, she was becoming obsessed with having the perfect body. The woman was in great shape, but Sophie had done her a solid and warned her about the nipple metamorphosis she was doomed to endure when she and Lucas decided to procreate. Hannah hadn’t believed it at first, thinking it happened with age and not creating new life. Until Sophie had shown her the evidence. Hannah had done a crappy job of schooling her horrified expression. Yeah, life was a bitch like that.

I never liked him anyway, Reagan muttered as she snatched a chicken wing from the middle of the table. You could’ve done so much better than that asshat.

Reagan, Taylor squeaked. Then she looked at Brindle. What happened this time?

Brindle waved to the server who waited on them each week, indicating she wanted a drink. Marcie nodded at her in understanding. She knew what everybody ordered. "Let’s see. Second guessing my decisions in front of ranch hands. Deliberately going against orders. Flirting with the veterinarian’s assistant. Trying to get in the pants of anybody with boobs while on the clock. He’s making my life a living Hell. If I ever try dating a guy I work with again, someone please bitch slap me immediately."

Done, Morgan said and raised her drink.

Hannah’s right, Reagan said. You’re the boss now. Mr. Winthrop promoted you, not him.

Tell me you at least junk-punched him back when you had the chance.

Twice, Brindle said, glaring into the room, not really looking at anyone.

Sophie chuckled. Don’t let your next boyfriend know that.

Next? She harrumphed. I’m done with men. I’ll stick to my horses. I’d rather shovel manure all day than go through that again.

"Um, you do clean horseshit," Hannah whispered, leaning in.

"Jeez, not all day. If you’d drink more than one calorie-lacking cocktail, you could keep up, Brindle grumbled. Ahh, here’s my tea," she said, finally smiling as Marcie approached.

Straight from Long Island.

I should totally move there, Brindle said to the waitress right before she rushed away to serve another table. I bet the men there are happier. She took a big gulp of her drink.

I don’t think they have ranches up there, Hannah said, frowning at her. You love being a cowgirl.

I don’t know … alcohol does tend to make men cheery, no matter what city they’re in. Just look at the group over there. Taylor nodded to the section of tables where their escorts were sitting with a bunch of other men boozing it up, cheering at the game.

Congregating in their natural habitat, Brindle said with a chuckle.

Sometimes guys need to hang out with their buddies, Sophie said, casually.

And sometimes they need to spend more time with their women. You’d think it’d be second nature, but it’s surprisingly not, Morgan said, eyeing Sophie, probably giving her the strength to talk about what she’d planned on. Now that she was here around the girls, she’d lost the nerve.

Oh, I don’t know. Lucas is pretty attentive, Hannah said.

Wait until he’s finished buying the cow, Brindle said, raising an eyebrow.

Are you calling me fat?

Everyone at the table reassured her she wasn’t fat. The notion was simply ridiculous. If anyone could be called that it was Sophie. She was the only one at the table sporting leftover baby weight. Brindle was muscular from working on the ranch, so size-wise Sophie was probably close to her, although their body types were vastly different. But Hannah? No way.

Eat. A. Cheeseburger. Already, Brindle said. Your body is literally eating your braincells to stay alive, and it’s making you go dumb-dumb.

We are all beautiful, Morgan stressed, again looking at Sophie.

Sophie hadn’t gone into detail when she’d called her, so she felt Morgan was doing her lawyer thing by assessing the situation and narrowing down possible reasons why Sophie needed help from her friends.

"What’s