“We need your help,” Eddy told Stevie, and I didn’t have to see her to know she was trying to finagle her way inside.
“I’m listening,” Stevie told her, doing her best to sound both tired and bored.
“Rafe needs to fly out to Denver for one of those fancy firefighter conferences,” Janey explained.
“Sure wish they would open those things up to the public,” Eddy mused, dirty old lady that she was.
“Anyway, it’s just a quick overnight trip, and he needs someone to keep him organized. He’s giving a keynote address and needs to attend several specific talks in order for the Feds to pay for the additional training.”
None of this sounded on the up-and-up to me, but I wasn’t here, which meant I didn’t get an opinion. “Doesn’t the fire chief have an assistant?”
“Of course he does, but poor Lydia isn’t up to the task of running around a giant event venue, bless her heart. Can you do it?”
“The city will pay your airfare and hotel, plus meal stipends,” Janey added, but no matter how much they sweetened the pot, I didn’t like it. I knew exactly what they were up to and, dammit, I didn’t like it one bit.
“I already have a job,” she argued, instead of outright telling them no.
“If you can do Friday and Saturday, that’s when most of it takes place. And, if things go well,” Eddy added, letting the last word linger in the air long enough to make sure all of Texas got her point, “maybe you won’t come home until Sunday afternoon.”
“Eddy,” she groaned. “Please.”
“What? I’m just saying, it doesn’t seem like things are working out with you and Scotty.”
“Cut it out, old woman, and tell me what you’re up to. And don’t lie to me,” she insisted in an impressive tone that, somehow, worked.
Eddy huffed, annoyed. “If Scotty’s too stupid to see what’s in front of him, maybe Rafe won’t be. He’s gorgeous with a great body—what’s not to like?”
I shook my head, making a note to take my own grandmother off my holiday list after that little betrayal.
“So, you just want to throw me at another of your Hometown Heroes?” Stevie demanded. “No thanks.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her tone, even though I know it had very little, if anything, to do with me.
“Not throw, girl, sheesh. You young people are so dramatic. I heard you two had a good time over at the Black Thumb, and that’s as good a place as any to start.” I could just picture Eddy doing her best to look like an innocent old woman. It was her go-to move, but her mistake was using it in a town where everyone knew all of her tricks.
“You’re right, he is gorgeous. And funny. And yeah, he’s even charming. But he’s not ready for anything at all, and I’m not interested in anything more than friendship with him.”
“You sure?”
“I am,” Stevie answered, amusement lacing her tone.
“Dammit. Well, then, I guess Elizabeth can let Lydia go now.”
“Wait a minute, you kidnapped her?”
“No,” Eddy said, all righteous indignation. “We just waylaid her, is all.”
Stevie let out another amused laugh and I wondered how she had adjusted to the craziness of Tulip so easily. “Sorry. Maybe Janey can go. She’s young, organized, and able-bodied. And, if I’m not wrong, single, too.”
I could only imagine the glare Janey was sending Stevie at the moment. “I’m busy.”
“It’s just a couple days,” Stevie parroted back. “Three, if things go well.”
“You haven’t seen Scotty, have you?” Eddy’s voice grew louder and I knew she was suspicious, but I had no way to alert Stevie.
“Yep. He’s in my bed right now. We’ve been going at it like rabbits since last night. I was barely able to even walk to the door, but somehow, here I am.” Her deadpan delivery was a dead giveaway, and Janey laughed.
“Well, I, for one, hope it’s true. Give it to her good, boy!”
I cringed and covered my head with a pillow until the muffled sound of the door closing managed to break through. When the coast was clear, I found Stevie in the front half of the cottage, still staring at the door. “I can’t believe you said that to her.”
She was startled for a second before turning to me. “They deserved to hear that—and more.”
“Like rabbits?”
She shrugged and stepped into my arms. “It was more of a goal than a description. When do you have to leave?”
Looking at the desire burning her violet eyes turned the fire inside of me all the way up and I scooped her in my arms. “Not until I’m done,” I told her and carried her back to the bedroom, where we stayed until sometime late Sunday afternoon.
Stevie
Another work day was over. Instead of heading to my house or Scott’s for another evening in front of the TV—at least, until we got naked and sweaty together—I was going home to change out of my work clothes, which were stained with ink and doggy slobber and enough animal hair to open a small pet salon. Because I was going out tonight. Well, out was kind of an understatement here in Tulip, but apparently Trivia Night at Black Thumb was a big deal, and Mikki had insisted I show up. The “or else” was implied.
Since Scott had left the office a couple hours ago to take care of a call he didn’t need my help on, I decided to stop in and see what all the fuss was about. I wasn’t exactly dressed to impress in simple jeans and a t-shirt, but I was happy to see casual was the attire of the day inside Black Thumb. Mikki and Bo sat at one of the groups of tables that had been arranged around a small elevated stage area, and I grabbed a pitcher of root beer from Buddy and joined them.
“Hey, girls. I got this round.”
Mikki’s eyes went round and then a few tears streamed down her cheek, which she fanned furiously. “Sorry. I mean, thank you. These pregnancy hormones are giving me whiplash.”
“Me too,” Bo grumbled and filled up three tall glasses. “But at least it was Stevie making you cry this time.”
“Hey!”
Bo shrugged unapologetically and grinned. “Stick around a little while and then we’ll talk.”
Stick around a little while. It was the one thing I couldn’t be counted on to do, which meant I shouldn’t get too cozy with anyone in town. But one thought of Scott and my mind started thinking, maybe you should. “Are the mood swings that bad?”
Mikki smiled and wiped her eyes. “They just come out of nowhere. Buddy told me on the street yesterday that pregnancy agrees with me, and I cried for an hour. Watched a sad story on the news and bawled my eyes out. For thirty seconds.” She shrugged like it was no big deal and chugged her soda. “It’s an adjustment.”
“But at least you’ll have a cute little baby once this is all over.”
“That’s true.” She smiled softly and rubbed her belly in gentle circles. “I can’t wait to meet him or her.”
“Hey, I heard you’re good at organizing. How about you help me plan this one’s baby shower?”
I frowned. “Isn’t that kind of a personal thing to do?” Something that friends or family members did for one another as a way to show their love and affection? I had missed all three of my sisters’ baby showers.
“Not at all. In fact, this is the perfect way for you to get to know more people in town.”
“Not sure I should. This job isn’t guaranteed to last.”
Mikki frowned. “But I thought you and Scott were an item.”
As much as two people who were all wrong for each other could be, I supposed. “We are, but that’s no more certain than the job.” Both of them looked as if they wanted to say more but we weren’t close enough for them to pry, which I appreciated—they seemed like the only two people in Tulip who didn’t push.
Eventually, Trivia Night got underway, and I stopped watching the door and stopped wondering if Scott would show up by the fifth question. By the eighth question, I was full-on having a blast, shouting out answers along with three other women on my t
eam.
“Okay, right now, the Chatterboxes are in the lead,” Nina began with a teasing smile, “but the next round is double the points, so it’s still anybody’s game. Back in fifteen minutes.” She sauntered off the stage and I used the time to escape to the silence of the bathroom.
My teammates were all nice, sweet, and smart women I’d love to be friends with if I stayed in town, but they were all such a part of each other’s lives I wondered if it was even possible. Could I go from my solitary existence to a life filled with nosy, but well-meaning friends and neighbors? I didn’t know but, suddenly, I kind of wanted to try. Though I had no clue how to even begin, I left the bathroom with a renewed sense of purpose. Maybe I could stay in Tulip, no matter what.
A broad-chested obstacle stood in my way with an enticing smile. “Fancy meeting you here.” Scott had one hand braced on the wall beside my head and the other at my hip.
“Is it? Because I’m pretty sure I told you I’d be here tonight.”
He shrugged, his smile so distracting I didn’t notice him drawing closer, until not even air could pass between our bodies. “I must have forgotten.” Then, his lips were attached to mine intimately, his tongue tracing the shape of my mouth before sliding across the seam, slow and tantalizing, until I moaned into his. Only then did Scott pull back with a satisfied smile. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” My own words came out breathy, husky, and filled with carnal heat. This was what it felt like to crave someone, to just want to be near them because that one word made me feel like a giddy schoolgirl who was making out with her most secret crush.
“I just remembered,” he said with a scratch of his chin, “that I forgot to feed Hershey.” Scott did his best to look innocent as he said the words, but the corners of his mouth trembled with unspilled laughter.
My own lips curled into a smile. “That’s mighty irresponsible of you, Dr. Henderson.” Heat flared in his gaze at my words and he licked his lips.
“It really is,” he agreed easily. “The problem is, I’ve had a beer or two and I need a ride.” He let the words linger in the air between us as his thumb brushed back and forth along the soft skin at the waistband of my jeans. “Think you can give me a ride home, Stevie?”
Scott was toying with me, and worse, it was working. His words combined with his nearness, his scent, and the way his rough hands felt on my skin was unbelievably effective. I was a hot and bothered, horny mess of woman. “I suppose that could be arranged.” It took me all of two minutes to get back to the table, make my excuses to the girls, and slide behind the steering wheel to take us home.
“You can stop here.” Scott’s voice was gentle, but that rope of sexual tension was still tight as could be.
I stopped the car and jumped out. Ever since we’d started whatever this was what we were doing together, we always went to my place. I never thought anything of it until this moment, and until that look in his eyes.
Something was different.
“Come on.” With an easy smile, Scott grabbed my hand in his and pulled me inside a house that would be best described as a mansion. It wasn’t just big, it was spacious, with plenty of moonlight filtering in through the oversized windows. “Want the ten-cent tour, first?”
“Make it a quarter and you’ve got yourself a deal.” I could admit to a certain amount of curiosity about Scott’s house. Was he a neat freak or a secret slob? Did he sleep in the middle of his bed, or reserved a side for his future partner?
The answers came easy. Scott’s living space reflected the same simple, easy-going personality as the man himself. The living room was exactly what you’d expect of a bachelor, only super high-end because he was a doctor and a bachelor. The sofa was huge, and the real leather was as soft and buttery as it came. A big-screen television was the center of the room, complete with large speakers and a smartphone dock below, which was probably a nice add-on to the gaming consoles taking up room on a shelf below.
The formal dining room was sparsely decorated and obviously rarely used. “Unless my parents are in town and insist on family dinners.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Thankfully, no. They didn’t make time for us when we were young and could have used them, and now that goes double, maybe triple.” There was so much wrapped up in that short statement that I had the feeling Scott and I had more in common than either of us realized.
“One less room to clean,” I told him, in hopes of erasing those shadows from his eyes.
“Exactly.” We climbed the stairs after he showed off his home gym and I laid eyes on two more guest rooms, each barely decorated but with very specific color themes. “And this is the bedroom.”
It was simple and beautiful, just like him. Dark blue and green dominated with cherry wood furniture that gave everything a masculine feel that only made me feel more feminine. Somehow.
“Very nice.”
Scott raised our clasped hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand, shocking the hell out of me. “Glad you approve, because I’m hoping that’s where we end up.” The heat in his eyes left no mistaking what he wanted.
“Why wait?” I stepped in closer, ready to take exactly what my body had been begging for since he found me at the bar, but Scott took a step back.
“Because I need fuel.” With a short, sharp kiss to my lips, he turned around and tugged me out of the bedroom and back down the steps, saving the best room for last. “And this is the kitchen.”
It was nice, the same cherry wood that didn’t shrink the cavernous room but gave it a high-end gloss that was breathtaking. The black granite counters had the thinnest thread of silver woven through them, creating a stunning liquid look. “Wow. This looks like a room where a lot of cooking takes place.”
“Sometimes, the housekeeper leaves meals for me, otherwise it’s wasted on me. Much to Eddy’s great disappointment.”
I flashed a distracted smile, my gaze focused on the mountain of food on the smaller table for four nestled beside French doors that opened onto a small terrace. “Planned all this, did you?”
A slow smile spread across Scott’s face, his green eyes sparkling like emeralds that had been blended with jade to create a whole new gem. He nodded slowly and pulled me into his arms, wrapping those big muscles around my waist. I sank into his embrace. Relaxed into it, even, closing my eyes and taking in the way he felt and smelled this close. “I didn’t want to share you today. Is that bad?”
Hell no, it was incredible. “I guess that depends on what you plan to do with me.”
He smiled and kissed one side of my neck and then the other. “I was thinking that, first, I would feed you.” He kissed the pulse racing at the base of my throat and motioned toward the food on the table. “Then, I was thinking maybe you could feed me.” Before I could see the dark intent in Scott’s eyes, his mouth was on my neck again, driving me wild to make sure he got exactly what he wanted.
Scott was insatiable and I loved that about him. Not just because it made me feel like the most desirable woman in the whole galaxy, but because it made me feel things I thought I was no longer capable of feeling. Crazy. Out of control. Unhinged by desire. I cupped his face, my gaze serious as I made the internal decision to throw myself wholeheartedly into this thing with Scott, and I licked my lips. “I’m down with that plan.”
“Excellent.” That one word revealed his relief, which made me feel better about the recklessness of going all in with this particular man. “Have a seat and I’ll grab some dishes.”
“Was there even an emergency this afternoon?” I asked, and he flashed a look that told me it was all a ruse. I frowned. “But, why?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you did.” I hadn’t expected anything like this of Scott, not because I didn’t think he was capable but, honestly, I didn’t think I mattered enough to him.
“Good surprise?”
I scanned the table and all the delicious, greasy food laid out jus
t for me. Mini pizza bites, spicy chicken chunks, sweet potato fries, bacon mac & cheese, steak strips, and taco fixings. “The best surprise.”
He blinked, shocked at my effusive words. “Then it was all worth it.”
So far, I had to agree. “Did you cook all this yourself?”
“With a lot of help, yes. I think my housekeeper is working for Eddy, because when she found out it was for a woman, she suddenly became very eager to help.”
I shook my head. “This town really is unbelievable.”
“I know,” he agreed with an affectionate smile as he brought the dishes to the table. “Still, I prefer to keep this kind of business between us.” I froze at the too-familiar words that brought me back to my first year on my own, and the much older doctor I’d been dating who’d wanted to keep us a secret. “Only because I want this to work, or not work, because of us. Not outside pressure or expectations.”
“Okay, that’s fair,” I admitted and he smiled before leaning in to press a slow, drugging kiss to my mouth.
“Glad you agree.” His gaze lingered even as he sat back and casually stacked his plate with a little bit of everything. “Do you miss farm life?”
“Uh, no, not particularly. I loved growing up on farms, but I’m not sure it was the life for me.”
“What about your family in Australia?”
“That’s not my family. That’s my father’s family—he is our only connection, which is barely a connection to me.” I wasn’t bitter, not anymore. It was what it was.
“You’re hurt.”
I shrugged. “Even if I am, what difference would it make? That wouldn’t change anything that happened.” And I had wasted enough of my life wishing the past was different.
Misters of Love: A Small Town Romance Boxset Page 42
