Tempting Mr. Perfect

by Rebecca Rose

  “Honey Bunny, can’t you see they’re making up?” George asked his wife.

  “Yes, yes. But I needed to see that my boy was okay.”

  “I’m fine, Mom.” Dave got off the couch and went to hug his mother. “It was all a misunderstanding.”

  “Thank God,” George stated. “Because we really like her.”

  Dave smirked. His parents were the most awesome people he knew. How could he not love them?

  Renee smiled at Kathy. “Why don’t you two come out? Detective Owen will be coming by.”

  “Can you just give us one more minute?” Kathy asked.

  “Sure, honey.”

  Dave’s parent’s left while muttering at each other.

  “I told you they were making up and not to go in there,” George told his bride.

  “And I told you I didn’t care,” Renee replied.

  Kathy turned to Dave with a smile. “They’re the best.”

  “Sure are.”

  He was so cute standing there with his hair a mess, his shirttail only half tucked in, and the look of love in his eyes. “I can’t believe you’d even consider not inviting them to our Vegas wedding. They would totally make it fun.”

  Dave pressed his lips together in an attempt to not smile. “You don’t think I can make Vegas fun?”

  With her hands on her hips, Kathy cocked her head. “Hmm. I don’t know, what else did you have planned besides nuptials?”

  “How about a class hotel with a large bed and room service?”

  “So.” Kathy walked to Dave and looped her arms around his neck. “You only want to keep me in bed the whole time.”

  Dave snickered. “Well, yeah! The thought of becoming an uncle really has me thinking about children and I was thinking we should get a lot of practice in before we try for real.”

  Nibbling on his ear, Kathy asked, “I like how you think, Mr. Sanders. But what about sightseeing and the casino?”

  “Whatever you want,” he told her on a winded breath. “And don’t you think being married to me is gamble enough?”

  Kathy threw her head back in laughter. “We’re such messed-up people. I’m so glad we found each other. Don’t ever let me go, Dave. Promise me.”

  “I promise to love you and never let you go, Kathy.” With a hand to the small of her back, Dave pulled her close. “Let’s sneak out the back door.”

  “Let’s get out front so everyone doesn’t think we have.”

  Kissing her on the nose Dave said, “See! I need you to make sure I don’t do things I should do. Or is it that you having me thinking about doing things I shouldn’t be?” He gave her a considering look.

  “HA. Speak for yourself. You’re the one who just talked me into a Vegas wedding.”

  She kissed him and poured every part of her soul into it. This man was going to love her forever and it was a healthy, real, and solid relationship. Kids, a house, and maybe a dog; she couldn’t wait.

  “Hey!” The banging at the door broke their kiss but not their bond. “You guys coming out here or what?” Jake asked.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Thank you for coming, detective.” George moved in front of his oldest to shake the detective’s hand.

  “I have to say, when Mrs. Sanders called and asked for me, I was a bit shocked. Miss Smith, how you holding up?”

  Everyone’s eyes peeled to her. Not sure what to say, Kathy turned it back to him. “Detective Owen and I had a meeting yesterday. I’m so glad you’re here. You can clear things up better than I can.” She glanced at Dave with an open heart.

  “I’ve been investigating a couple who’d been involved in a large sting, south a bit, many months back but we never were able to catch the responsible parties.”

  “Kathy’s parents,” Dave said with disdain.

  “All we knew is that it was an older couple and we suspected they had many others working with them.”

  Dave’s eyes met Kathy’s, and with that connection she saw his love and understanding for all that had happened in the last few hours. Oh how she wanted to leave all the ache and turmoil in the past where it belonged. When Dave wrapped his arms around her, Kathy realized the nightmare truly was finally over.

  Owen cleared his throat. “Last night I was following up on a credible lead.”

  “You mean, following me,” Kathy filled in.

  “Right. This couple was supposedly traveling with a known pedophile and—”

  Kathy closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Known pedophile. There was so much in those two words; they meant her parents knew what Todd did and approved; it meant they were okay with him doing it to her; and it meant there were more victims out there.

  “—selling drugs. They are also suspects in many of the robberies that have been happening around here and a murder.”

  Kathy stared down at her feet because she couldn’t think of any other place to look. Murder. One simple word that meant so much when paired with someone you love.

  * * *

  Dave held her tighter and wanted to tell her it all would be okay. But how could he?

  “It’s okay,” she whispered to him.

  “No, it’s not,” he told her.

  Detective Owen turned a frown on Kathy. “We have reason to believe that Todd Doyle is the perpetrator who entered Miss Smith’s aunt’s home and killed her.”

  The gasps in the room would have been audible to the deaf.

  This poor woman was all Dave could think. He was just happy she was in his arms now. He held on a little tighter, hoping she’d understand how much his heart was bleeding for her.

  “That monster got what he deserved and it felt really nice to kick his ass,” she told him.

  “She sure did, Mr. Sanders.”

  “That’s my girl,” Dave chuckled.

  Kathy bit her lip and furrowed her brows. “I was trying to find you and explain what happened with my aunt. I’m sorry it got so out of hand.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive, Kathy. You and me, we’re all right. And getting married in Vegas,” he whispered in her ear.

  From behind him, Dave heard his brother ask, “So, detective, you arrest this guy?”

  “Yes. And the couple he was traveling with.” Compassion displayed clearly on Owen’s face. “Miss Smith’s parents were taken into custody early this morning after we got a clear ID from the gunshot victim.”

  “Oh you poor girl!” Swooping in Renee pulled Kathy into her ample arms. “How dreadful.”

  “It’s okay, Renee. This has been coming for a long time. Now they can’t hurt anyone else.”

  “After you left the Triple X,” Owen explained to Dave, “it was robbed and a bartender was shot.”

  “What?” Dave’s mind whirled. “Who was hurt?”

  Detective Owen pulled out his notebook. “Stan Waitt.”

  Relief flooded over him. José was all right.

  “I wasn’t looking at you, Mr. Sanders,” Owen told him. “I was watching Miss Smith to see if her parents would show. And with your past, well.…” He let the rest of his sentence hang in the air.

  “I understand.”

  Owen looked around the bar. “Well, I’m done. Miss Smith, I’ll be in contact. Sanders…” All three men gave a “yeah.” “I’ll need you to come in and give a statement about what time you came into the Triple X, what you saw, and when you left.”

  “No problem.” Dave watched him leave and with the detective’s absence a clear, heavy apprehension filled the space.

  “Guess he wasn’t as big of a jackass as we thought.” Jake wrapped an arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

  “Yes.” Sophie looked dead on her fatigued feet. “This sucks.” She gave Kathy a hug. “You okay.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Kathy wrapped her arms around Dave’s waist.

  “Okay, I think we need to let these two talk,” Renee announced. “And when you’re done I want to know the wedding plans.”

  “For goodn
ess sakes, Honey Bunny.”

  “I want a wedding damn it! I’m finally getting a grandchild, I deserve a wedding.”

  Dave and Kathy stared at each with twin smirks.

  “What?” Renee and Sophie asked.

  “What does everyone think of Vegas?” Dave asked.

  Wide-eyed Jake looked at his brother. “You got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope, dead serious.”

  Kathy clapped her hands together and bounced. “Can we get hitched by Elvis?”

  Dave once again cupped her face in his hands. “Whatever you want.”

  “One month,” she told him. “I want a dress and everyone there.”

  Renee jumped up and down while clapping. “It’s a wedding! A wedding, George!”

  George pulled his wife to him. “I know,” he told her with a loud kiss.

  “Ah-hm.” Jake cleared his throat. “You know, Sophie and I have been talking about tying the knot—with the baby coming maybe we—”

  “Yes!” Kathy and Sophie announced.

  “We should get remarried too!” Renee told her husband.

  “I think that would be wonderful.” Kathy held a hand out to Dave’s mom. In that moment he knew she’d never have to worry about her parents again. Now she’d have the ones she deserved. Ones that would appreciate her, love her as he did, and never give up on her.

  Dave looked at her just as Kathy choked on the tears she’d been trying to hold back. The need to fall to his knees in front of her was strong and forceful and appeared imminent. She had needed him last night and had been coming to tell everyone what was going on. For the first time she would be opening up and trusting him and his family to be supportive—and was asking for help. That must have been hard for her. To find out her parents were going to be arrested, to be part of that plan.

  “I love you,” he told her.

  “I love you, too.”

  A few minutes later Dave was locking the front door to the Lion after his family left. “I think that went well,” he told her.

  “I think this is going to be one heck of a wedding.”

  “I agree.” He walked to her with other things on his mind. “I’m going to make up for not being there for you last night,” he told her.

  “You don’t have to do that, Dave. It was all a misunderstanding.”

  “No, I think I really need to.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

  “Well, if you insist,” she told him, catching on to what he was hinting at. “I think it’s an excellent idea.”

  Epilogue

  Two Year Later

  “I don’t know, Jake, they look like they might be burning.”

  Jake picked up his son, threw him into the air, then caught him. “What do you think, Ian? You think auntie’s burning our lunch?” The little boy giggled as Jake continued to toss him.

  “Watch,” Dave told his brother with an elbow nudge. The two men were witnesses to Kathy attempting to roll a hot dog on their new grill. First she tried picking it up with the tongs, then she tried rolling it, which only succeeded in sending the frank off the grill and into the grass for the dog to eat.

  “Damn it,” Kathy scowled.

  Dave cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Nice try, honey.”

  She turned to him and waved the tongs with menace. “I don’t care how many years it takes, I’m going to get this grilling thing down.”

  “In the meantime, the twins really need to eat.” Sophie picked up her daughter who had waddled over. “Right, Tabitha?”

  The little girl shook her head up and down. “Yes!” she shouted.

  “Not fair, Sophie. That’s all she can say.” Kathy went back to rolling her hot dogs and then attempted to flip a burger. “Why do they always have to stick to the grill?”

  “Watch this,” Dave told his brother with a wink. “Honey, why don’t you let me take over?” Dave walked to her and placed a hand on Kathy’s large, rounded tummy. “You’re having a hard time reaching is all.”

  “Are you saying I’m fat? You better not be saying I’m fat, David Arthur Sanders.” Kathy pressed her lips together to keep from grinning.

  “I’m saying it might be too hot for the little guy.” He took the grilling utensil away from her.

  “No, you’re not. You’re making fun of me.”

  “Never,” he said with a smile. “I love you too much for that.”

  THE END

  About the Author

  Once Rebecca Rose picked up her first romance novel she knew her destiny was typed on those pages. She lives to find romance in ordinary life doing everyday things, and believes we only need to be mindful enough to find it. While being slightly dyslexic creates some challenges, she feels compelled to write about the characters who reside in her head.

  Now with multiple books published, she is a full-time writer with a nag for a muse who even talks obsessively in the car. That is, of course, when the voice can get a word in edgewise with her three children and husband of nineteen years along for the adventure.

  Rebecca hopes her writing brings you to laugh, cry, and rejoice with her characters. Maybe even leave a lasting impression on your soul.

  Also by Rebecca Rose

  Seducing Mr. Right

  Please see the next page for a preview of Seducing Mr. Right.

  Chapter One

  The first step and the hardest step are often one and the same. Sophie repeated this pep talk while her insides shook and her stomach turned ripe with bile. She was ready for this change and had been working toward it despite everyone’s objections and her own apprehension. After all, Greenwich, Connecticut, was a long way from the outskirts of Boston, and many of the socialites in her parent’s circle believed only a lower class of people worked in bars.

  “This is the bar. Obviously.” Sophie’s new boss, Dave, turned and grinned at her. “We open at two and close at one-thirty Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Two to ten every other night. We serve small meals, typical bar food stuff.”

  Sophie listened as the man before her went down the list of what her manager job would entail at the Hungry Lion Bar-n-Grill. Excitement bubbled inside her as nerves danced beneath her skin. Deep in thought about what she could bring to her new position, she ran her hand along the silky wheat-colored bar counter. The sun streamed in through the stained-glass window, which portrayed a fierce lion battling a man with a sharpened stick. The walls were a light tan and the stool covers and booth seats bloodred. Her heels clicked on the scarred, wood-paneled floors as she walked to the back.

  “And this is the office.” Dave opened a door and nodded for her to enter.

  At first, nothing seemed unusual. The walls were mostly bare and a drab blue. Under the only tiny window in the room sat her desk with multiple piles of papers laying in wait. Everything was clean and—Sophie stopped abruptly at the sound of snoring to her left.

  “Lord’s sake!” Dave yelled. He turned and gave an apologetic smile to Sophie. “My baby brother, Jake.” Dave lifted a booted foot and pushed on the sleeping man’s bare back. “Jake! Where the hell are your clothes?”

  Feeling a little flushed, Sophie examined the slumbering man. Jake was covered only by his boxers, and his muscular back and legs were left bare for her hum of approval. A harsh scar—that must have been a nasty wound—stretched down his left side, while a cleaner, surgical one ran just below it. When he shifted and threw an arm over his head, Sophie took an appreciative glance at the tree-trunk arms peppered with pockmarks.

  “Jake.”

  Jake made an inaudible noise and burrowed deeper into the cushions.

  “Don’t disturb him on my account. We can work around him.”

  “Well, I don’t think we’ll be able to move him, anyway. Damn kid. Must have been celebratin’ pretty hard last night to stay here. He’s got a key to let himself in since he’s been helpin’ with the books. As much as I’d like to tell you this doesn’t happen, it does from time to time. I was just hopin’ you wouldn’t fi
nd out until you were here for a while. This doesn’t change your mind about the job, does it?”

  Sophie looked at the mostly nude man sleeping on her office couch. If she wanted this job, then she was going to have to get used to the ways of the bar-n-grill scene. “Oh, I don’t know, Dave. Coming into work every now and then and finding a naked man on my couch doesn’t seem like such a hardship.”

  Dave laughed and gave Jake another hardy push with his foot. “At least you have a sense of humor about this. Okay, let me get the computer booted up and I’ll show you what we’ve screwed up.”

  “You’re screwing up my sleep, right now,” the strained voice from the couch announced.

  “Where the hell are your clothes, Jake?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m cold.”

  After much effort to suppress it, Sophie let out a good-natured snort. “Sorry,” she told Dave.

  “Not your fault.” Dave grabbed a threadbare blanket from the office closet and covered Jake’s massive body. “You’d never know we were brothers. This man works out like it’s his job.”

  Sophie really tried to look disapprovingly at Jake but knew she didn’t quite pull it off. The few men of her past never had physiques like that, and they each tended to have more of a feminine build.

  “And that. That sparkle in your eye,” Dave said, while pointing a finger at her, “is why he does it.”

  She glanced down at the sleeping man, now covered up by an afghan. She desperately wanted to uncover him but didn’t dare. So instead, Sophie relived the memory of his strong naked torso and legs. She would definitely have a little fantasy about him later. After all, Sophie was a woman who appreciated a good-looking man.

  Two long hours later, after sorting through old paperwork and files on an even older computer, Sophie realized they were in a bigger mess than Dave had let on. Maybe this job was exactly where she was supposed to be. Promotional ideas popped into her head for how to create more income and spend less—problems the Hungry Lion seemed to be having.