Oh, Keep Your Shirt On: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (Shaped By Love Book 2)

by Michelle Pennington

  One thing still bothered me. “But you said that the man you need me to work for will be leaving soon. What would I be doing after that?”

  “We’ll be hiring a new CEO, and you’ll be their assistant. These first few weeks will be temporary circumstances, but you’ll be in training anyway. By the time you have finished that, you’ll be starting with the new person.”

  I nodded, relieved that this was a long-term employment offer and not a temporary one.

  Even so, it was a little nerve-wracking to agree. It felt crazy and impulsive. But the thought of my money problems going away was enough for me to take the risk. “Okay. I accept.”

  Tessa sighed happily. “Thank you so much, Krista. I appreciate you taking a chance on this.” She handed me the purple folder. “Here is the address to the office with a few instructions and a catalog of our products so you can get a feel for what we do. Can you come in at eight tomorrow morning?”

  “Of course.”

  “Great.” She held out her hand to shake mine. “I’m excited to work with you.”

  I shook her hand and realized I was excited too. But also incredibly nervous and half sure I’d wake up tomorrow and find out I’d imagined it all. “Me too.”

  After saying goodbye, I rushed back into the restaurant, hoping to get there before Patrick discovered I’d gone missing for an unauthorized break time. Luckily, everything seemed to be flowing normally as I got back to work.

  After that, I worked on autopilot, internally freaking out as I realized that I needed to give my notice and work both jobs for at least a week or so. It would be killer, but I’d figure it out.

  I was so lost in my thoughts that I had completely forgotten about the episode with Bryce earlier—until I passed him as he came back from the bar to deliver a drink to someone. He made pointed eye contact with me and once again acted like he was gagging himself.

  All at once, my internal caution fell away. One of the reasons I’d been holding myself back from responding the way he deserved was that I didn’t want to cause problems at work. Now I had a new job and no reason to not give Bryce back as good as he’d given me.

  It was because of people like him that I felt so self-conscious about my weight. I was thin, but not because I had an eating disorder. It was just the way my body and my metabolism worked. If only he knew how hard I worked to eat things that would help me put on some weight.

  Bryce had attacked my self-esteem, so that was where I wanted to hit him too—to make him understand what it felt like to be judged. From there, it didn’t take long to come up with the perfect plan. I might be quiet. I might be reserved and solemn to the point of being seen as scary. But I also had an impulsive streak that erupted occasionally.

  Which is why Bryce spent fifteen minutes walking around the restaurant as a smooth, arrogant waiter with a sign that read “I stuff my underwear!” taped to his back.

  Chapter Nine

  When I got home, I almost went straight in to find my jar of peanut butter, but since it wasn’t even eight o’clock, I figured now was as good as any to tell Damien my news. Not that I wanted to, but...well, I had to let him know what was happening and ask for a favor. As my landlord.

  I rang his doorbell and waited, shivering slightly as a cold breeze swept up my bare legs and invaded the warm air beneath my coat. I clenched my teeth and stared at the mail slot in determined, focused patience. Finally the door opened. My eyes shot up, and there was no more lying to myself after the feeling that rushed through me at seeing his face. I wasn’t anxious to get this conversation over so I could get warm. I just freaking wanted to see his face.

  “Krista. Shouldn’t you still be at work?”

  “That’s what I came to talk about.”

  He stepped aside and waved me toward him. “Come in. It’s freezing out there.”

  I shouldn’t have given in. It wouldn’t take me long to say what I needed to. But, well…I did hate being cold.

  Damien leaned sideways to shut the door once I was inside, and for some reason I held my breath until he was a safe distance away again. But if I’d planned to stand around talking in his entryway and then dodge away again, he ruined that by walking toward the kitchen. I had no choice but to follow him. It was a repeat of yesterday morning.

  He had a mirror hanging on the wall not far from the door. I glanced at it as I passed and winced at my expression. I looked tense, and if I was honest, slightly evil. Damien was a brave man to let me in.

  “I just made some popcorn,” he said, opening the microwave bag and releasing a cloud of buttery steam. “Want some?”

  He was always so blasted relaxed.

  “I got fired.” My words came out tight, but even—completely free from the emotions rumbling inside me.

  He dropped the bag on the counter, spilling the popcorn. “What happened?”

  That was when I realized that I really needed to talk to someone. When did I start needing that? “A jerk named Bryce accused me of being bulimic. He kept pretending to gag himself, which made me so mad—"

  Relaxed, friendly Damien shifted to tense, ominous Damien in a flash. “I think I need to meet this guy.”

  “No.” It didn’t take a genius to know that wouldn’t end well. “It’s okay. I put a sign on his back that said, ‘I stuff my underwear.’ He wore it for about fifteen minutes before someone told him. The customers kept laughing at him, and it was the greatest moment of my life because he’s an arrogant dip-wad.”

  At this point, Damien turned and braced himself on the counter, his head down so that I couldn’t see his expression.

  I shrugged. “And then, like a complete idiot, he went into the main dining room and shouted that he did not stuff his underwear because he didn’t need to.”

  Damien’s shoulders tensed, and he bent forward even further but didn’t say anything.

  “And all the customers just stared at him for a long moment over their filet mignon and two-hundred-dollar bottles of wine. It was the most awkward pause I’ve ever seen. Then the whole place sort of erupted into smothered laughter with a few loud snickers, and Bryce stormed off to the manager’s office like an angry toddler.”

  Now Damien was literally shaking, and I realized he was laughing. All at once, he spun around and grabbed my shoulders, yanking me to him. I stood rigid in his arms, totally unprepared for his reaction, but Damien was now in the grip of thunderous, uncontrolled laughter, so he probably didn’t even realize that I was about as cuddly as a fence post.

  When he finally regained some of his composure, he leaned back and grabbed my face between his two big hands and gently shook my head back and forth. “You are the best. If I ever make you mad, I’ll have to watch my back…literally.”

  I rolled my eyes at his pun and pulled his hands away from my face. His touchy-feeliness was way, way out of my comfort zone. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t bother with that here. What’s the fun if no one sees it?”

  “True,” he said, smiling down at me with humor still gleaming in his blue eyes. In fact, they looked a little watery, glistening like deep lakes.

  I stepped back to a safer distance and added, “I’d wait till we were somewhere more public—like the wedding.”

  He paused in the middle of wiping his eyes and stared at me. “Wait. You’re going with me?”

  My eyes widened. Did I just say that? Holy cow. I did. “No. I didn’t mean that.”

  “Too late. You agreed.”

  “No, I didn’t. I just said some place like that. But not actually that.” Panic flooded me. I needed to get out of here. “Anyway, I came to tell you I got fired. I think I’ll be a few days late paying rent, since I might not get paid much for three weeks.”

  He held up a hand, stopping me mid-sentence. “No worries. We’ll work it out. It shouldn’t take you long to find another job, and I can help you figure out some places to apply. I have a few friends with businesses that might be looking to hire.”

  “It’s okay. I already have a new
job. But it’s going to be a while before I get paid enough to make my rent payment. I guess this is the end of their two-week pay cycle, so my first check will only have three days on it. But after that—”

  “Wait…you already got another job? That has to be some kind of record.”

  “Actually, I got the job before I got fired. Which is probably why I did something so crazy—since I knew I didn’t have anything to lose except working two jobs at once.” I gave a little choke of laughter at his amazed expression. “It’s been a crazy night.”

  “I’ll say.”

  “But not all bad. I think my new job is going to be awesome, and the pay is way better than what I’ve been making. But it was still rough dealing with what Bryce said, you know? I mean, I know I’m too skinny, but how dare he make assumptions about me? And I didn’t like getting yelled at by Patrick when he fired me.”

  “First of all, you’re not too skinny. But yeah, that all must have sucked.” His eyes softened with sympathy. “You know what you need?”

  “What?”

  “A long soak in my hot tub.”

  “But it’s freezing cold outside.”

  “Just take a big warm towel or a robe out with you for the dash back inside. Come on.”

  To my surprise, I found myself considering it. But the last thing I needed tonight was facing Mr. Perfect in a swimsuit. “Just me? Alone, right?”

  He blinked, clearly trying to catch up to what I meant. “Oh, yeah. No, I was going to turn on a movie and eat my popcorn. But I’ll go take the cover off and turn on the lights for you if you want to get in.”

  “Okay. But don’t turn on the lights over it. Just take the cover off.”

  He smiled. “It’ll be ready for you. Hurry up and get changed.”

  I nodded and left, actually excited. A few minutes later, I’d dug out my long-abandoned swimsuit from the back of my bottom drawer. It was a splotchy blue, faded by chlorine and being washed too many times. There was nothing special about the design, just a basic one piece—which was all I needed. The biggest problem I had was that I didn’t own a robe. I’d freeze running back to my house wet with nothing but a towel wrapped around me. The only thing I could find was the thermal blanket I kept in my closet for really cold nights. I’d dry off when I got inside.

  I put my hair up in a bun so it wouldn’t get wet and slipped on some flip flops. When I got downstairs, I peered out through the sliding glass door and saw the hot tub glowing with faint blue lights at the back of Damien’s yard. Damien himself was nowhere in sight.

  Determined but shy, I wrapped the blanket around me, braced for the cold, and dashed across the dark yard like a scared rabbit. Only when I stood at the edge of the hot tub, huddled in my blanket, did I realize that Damien might very well be watching me through the window. I swung around and checked all of his lit-up windows, but I didn’t see a sign of him. Most had the blinds down, and even through his sliding glass door—through which I could see most of his living room and kitchen—I didn’t see him anywhere.

  Moving as quickly as I could, I dropped my blanket onto a nearby deck chair, stepped out of my flip flops, and slung myself over the side of the hot tub. It was anything but elegant. Especially when one foot landed on the built-in seat and the other slipped over the edge, dropping down to the bottom of the tub. With my balance off, I fell forward, scrambling for a way to catch myself. I cracked my knee against the built-in seat but managed to catch the edge with my hands. The water sloshed like a whale had just breached, but at least I was steady. I twisted to sit down and once more anxiously checked Damien’s windows. If he’d seen that display of grace, I’d die of embarrassment.

  All good.

  Wanting to actually relax, I moved around in the bubbling hot water to sit with my back to Damien’s house and finally sank into the bliss of heat and massaging jets.

  I’d never been in a hot tub when it was this cold outside. Now that the pain in my knee was easing away, I noticed that my feet stung from the quick change in temperature and the steam in the air around me was blown back into my face like frost every time the wind passed over. Any part of me that had gotten wet now had to remain below the surface so it didn’t turn to ice.

  With my head resting on the edge of the tub, my eyes closed, and my mind as blank as I could make it, I did start to relax.

  Just a few minutes later, however, I was jarred from the nirvana I’d attained by the crunch of gravel behind me. I sat up and looked over my shoulder to see Damien tossing a folded towel down on a chair and kicking off his sandals. Once again, I found myself having to deal with the perfection of his torso, healing burn marks and all. The guy seriously needed to keep his shirt on.

  “You said you weren’t coming.” My clipped tone should have warned him how I felt about his duplicity.

  “I lied. Move over.”

  I obeyed without argument because what was I supposed to do? Get out of the hot tub? Not happening. With a steely glare, I sank back down in the water to melt the ice on my shoulders. “You rat.”

  He grinned and didn’t look the least bit ashamed of himself. “Why should you have all the fun in my hot tub?”

  “Because you promised I could.”

  “Well, how else was I going to get you out here?” He sank down onto the seat. Because of his height, his shoulders were above the water, but he didn’t seem to mind the cold air like I did. “Ah…this is the best.”

  With anybody else, I would have just sat there in awkward silence, but something about Damien made me want to talk. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw you’d gotten a hot tub. Of course, it makes more sense now that I know you own the place, but that’s crazy too.”

  His smile was both charming and smug. “Curious about me, huh?”

  I flicked my hand at the bubbles collecting in front of me. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-six.”

  “And you own a duplex?”

  “I own five of them, actually. And a cabin out on Grapevine Lake.”

  My eyes widened. I was both shocked and impressed. Here I was, twenty-five and still struggling to make my rent payment, but Damien owned a ton of rental property. Maybe it wasn’t polite, but I just had to know. “How?”

  He laughed. “When my grandpa died, he left me a little bit of money. My parents kept telling me to invest it, so I looked into it. Rental property was not what they had in mind, but I thought it was great. Maybe mostly because I knew it would annoy them. I found a place that was selling way under market value because it needed a lot of repairs, so I fixed it up and got some good renters in it. Before long, I was able to save up enough for a down payment on another duplex. It just kind of snowballed from there.”

  “I bet your parents are okay with it now.”

  “No. They’re madder than ever. My dad owns three car dealerships and wants me to run one of them. They were sure I’d fail and come back to him for a job.”

  “I know how that is. I started working for my mom and stepdad when I graduated from college, staging houses for them. They both sell real estate. I didn’t mind the work, but I need space from my mom. Lots of it. You heard her the other day. She wants me to come back to work with them, and she’s waiting for me to fail.”

  Damien shook his head. “Sounds like we both have issues in the parent department. But you’ll be good now that you have a new job, right? Tell me about it.”

  I couldn’t wait to hear his reaction. “It’s a lingerie company called Booms and Nibbles. It caters to women who wear specialty sizes.”

  “Booms and…nibbles?”

  “Yeah. I can’t wait to hear about the name. And besides the great pay, I’ll have weekends off.”

  “Perfect. That’s one less thing standing in the way of you coming to the wedding with me.”

  “Oh, just let it go, Damien.”

  He laughed and watched me from across the hot tub. I couldn’t really see his eyes with only the neon lights below the water and the moon and stars overhead. B
ut somehow he still looked devilish. “It’s not going to happen. I have to have you there.”

  I doubted Damien would give up trying to persuade me, so I stood up. “As amazing as this is, I think I’d better get out before you convince me.” But as soon as I stood up, I realized that doing so would expose me to his all-too observant eyes. I’d had enough of guys judging my body for one evening. I sat back down with a splash.

  “What’s wrong?”

  There was no way I could tell him. But the only way I was getting out of this hot tub was if I just did it. If Damien didn’t like what he saw, well, maybe that was for the best. “Nothing.”

  I forced myself to stand up again and moved across to the other side where two steps led down to the ground, even though Damien sat there.

  Gritting my teeth both literally and metaphorically, I moved to get out, but he caught my hand. “Look, don’t be mad. I won’t ask you anymore. I promise.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “But please let me go before I turn into an icicle.”

  He let go at once, so I was able to maneuver out of the tub and down the steps to where my flip flops waited. I didn’t want to waste time putting them on, so I picked them up and wrapped my blanket around my frigid skin. I was positive I would turn to ice before I got back into my house. After a few slow, painful steps with bare, frozen feet, I heard the splash of water, then the next thing I knew, Damien had scooped me up over his wet, bare shoulders and began carrying me across the frozen grass.

  “Put me down.”

  “Just chill a second.”

  Bouncing on his shoulder was not exactly comfortable, but since my arms were wrapped my blanket, I was at his mercy.

  “Aren’t you freezing?” I asked, frustrated but worried about him in his wet swim trunks and bare feet.

  “A little.” His tense, shivery voice gave him away. He certainly didn’t stay to chat after setting me down in front of my door. “Good night, sourpuss,” he said before dashing back to the hot tub.