The Only Way To Live

by M. A. Innes

  Snorting, I shook my head as I leaned back against the table behind the desk. “I know that look. You were wearing it the time I had to apologize to that asshole with the Lamborghini because we’d lost his keys.”

  And I was using “lost” in the loosest possible meaning.

  He’d been rude to Derek and the guys in the shop had taken personal offense to it, so they’d done everything they could to drive the guy insane without technically crossing the line. Eventually, the asshole got his car and his keys back, but it had taken a few days.

  Thankfully it hadn’t cost us much business. I’d given the guys hell for it when I’d realized what they’d done, but secretly I’d loved how they’d stood up for Derek.

  “I’m just here to get my oil changed and The Beast is making some damned clanking noise that I do not have time to investigate.” Derek shrugged and dangled his keys out in front of him. “Won’t you help me, Daddy?”

  Refusing to acknowledge anything but his cheekiness, I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you up to?”

  He giggled. “I have a bet with Jules. I have to flirt with someone by Thursday who technically could hit all my buttons and then Jules will have to buy me dinner. You’re perfect. You’re sweet and nice and hot and just old enough to be delicious. So I’m going to flirt with you and then I’ll win. There’s no way Jules will get up the nerve.”

  Those nuts were two peas in a pod.

  “How am I the only man you could come up with?” A better question would have been how could I make his list at all, but I wasn’t going to touch that question with a ten-foot pole. Anyone who owned a sex toy store was more interesting than I wanted to poke at.

  He huffed. “Have you seen the men in this town? Please. The sexy, flirty ones are too young and too vanilla and the older guys are all taken or, even sadder, straight.”

  Okay, he might have had a point.

  Even if I’d wanted to date, finding sane women who weren’t looking to jump right into marriage was impossible. I’d learned that the hard way. “I’m sure you could find a nice guy your age.”

  From what I’d seen, the college was overflowing with gay guys.

  However, acknowledging the kinky part of that wish list seemed inappropriate.

  Derek snorted, a rude sound, completely at odds with his flirty, dramatic personality. “Why in hell would I want one of those creatures? No, I want a man, not a boy.”

  Well.

  It wasn’t a surprising answer, but it was still hard to respond to. I’d never been drawn to older women, so I wasn’t sure I understood it.

  Was it different with men?

  If I knew Ethan wouldn’t drive me crazy about it I’d ask him, but my son had a wicked sense of humor and I’d never hear the end of it. So I settled on what I thought was an easier question.

  “I’m assuming this is enough flirting to win?” I tried to come across dry and bored. I clearly didn’t succeed because when I grabbed for his keys, instead of handing them over, his fingers lingered on mine, sending an unexpected jolt of electricity through me.

  “Absolutely not.” His fingertips stroked mine as he leaned against the counter and gave me a wicked smile. “I plan on winning fair and square. That means no half-assing it.”

  “You’re—” Insane? Ridiculous? Driving me crazy?

  All of the above.

  He gave me a wicked grin. I’d seen him turn it on customers when he was younger and working at the shop part time, but he’d never aimed it at me. “Perfectly irresistible?”

  “A man” was more along the lines of what I was going for…but yeah, probably that too.

  I finally shook my head, giving up. “A handful, Pest.”

  Derek barked out a laugh. “I’ll take that.”

  “Do I need to give you a lecture on getting out of the house and meeting people?” I narrowed my eyes and tried to give him the same look I’d give Ethan if he was hiding from dating, but it seemed to have backfired.

  Instead of looking thoughtful, he shivered and put his chin in his hands as his elbows rested on the counter. “Growl at me again, Daddy. Tell me I’ve been naughty.”

  I was too young for a heart attack, right?

  “You are pushing my buttons just to get a reaction.” I stepped back with the keys, shaking my head. “No more teasing.”

  Instead of looking repentant, Derek’s expression turned thoughtful, but still full of mischief. It was almost like he was seeing me for the first time.

  I wasn’t sure it was an expression I liked.

  “You know, I started out pushing your buttons, but now I’m not sure.” He wiggled like he was settling into the idea. “I like teasing you, but I have to admit, if you were gay and kinky, you’d hit every hot button I had.”

  His honesty was going to be the death of me one day.

  This was starting to sound like his job interview all over again.

  He sighed and cocked his head. “You don’t happen to have a gay twin brother you’ve been hiding away, do you?”

  Barking out a laugh, I tried to figure out what to say but nothing remotely reasonable was coming to mind. If he’d still been teasing, it would have been a lot easier to decide how to respond. “First of all, I am way too old for you. Second, I’m pretty sure I have no idea what you’re talking about when you use kink and Daddy in the same sentence. Third, well, that should be obvious.”

  I’d never even thought about dating a guy.

  Derek gave me another long, dramatic sigh. “That’s so sad.”

  Which part?

  I wasn’t going to ask.

  “That better be enough flirting to win. Are you going to wait while we check out the truck?” Please, god, say no.

  I wasn’t sure I could handle any more of his required flirting.

  The little brat must have seen something weak in my eyes because instead of backing down or flouncing off in a huff, he straightened and started slinking around the counter. “Well, I was going to go grab a bite to eat down the street, but now I don’t know. You’re a much better pick-me-up than coffee.”

  I wanted to ask the universe how I’d gotten myself into this situation, but I was pretty sure I’d done it to myself. I’d always attracted unique individuals, from just a bit interesting to climbing trees squirrely, so this shouldn’t have been surprising.

  I knew he was still messing with me, because really, I couldn’t imagine anyone his age wanting to date a guy in their forties. That only happened in porn or bad romance novels. Or, according to Frank, the occasional Hallmark movie.

  Evidently, age-gap romance was a thing.

  But this?

  “You must not have had enough sleep.” I found myself taking a step back, pressing myself against the table behind the desk. I knew retreating was a sign of weakness, but I didn’t know what else to do. “I’ve known you since you were seventeen.”

  He looked up at me, batting his eyelashes. “I don’t look much older, do I, Daddy? Some people have a hard time taking me seriously even though the business does great. I bet you could stand up for your boy and put them in their place.”

  “Is the town council still giving you trouble?” That was the easiest part to focus on. “I told Rich if he didn’t back down I’d never work on that old car of his again.”

  He was such an asshole, no one wanted to work on it even though it was an incredible car.

  That didn’t seem to distract the brat. “Aww, you’re such a protective Daddy.”

  Judging by his response, that seemed to be an attractive quality in a…Daddy.

  Fate stepped in before I had a chance to figure out what to say.

  When Frank walked in from the bays and the blonde who’d started this mess came in through the front door, Derek was inches away from me and we must have looked…intimate because she mumbled “fuck” and rolled her eyes before walking out.

  Frank grinned as she left while mumbling something about all the good ones being gay.

  Fuck.

>   “Am I interrupting, boss?”

  Hell if I knew.

  Derek seemed to know, however. “No, Daddy Sean was just helping me with a…problem.”

  I got another odd look from him, but he finally stepped back and smiled sweetly before turning and wiggling over to Frank. “Thanks for checking out The Beast for me. I have to go work on accounting over coffee and breakfast.”

  I was pretty sure Frank responded in some way, basically telling him we’d let him know when it was ready, but my head wasn’t really in the game. By the time Derek headed out, a computer bag I hadn’t noticed before slung over his shoulder, my head wasn’t any clearer.

  Frank stood there laughing before shaking his head. “I’m not even going to ask what I walked in on.”

  “Nothing.” I forced myself to stand straighter and took a deep breath. “He was just…in a mood and he had a bet…never mind. It sounds stupid.”

  Still grinning, Frank raised one eyebrow. “A bet had you blushing and backed into the corner while he wiggled and flirted?”

  “Yes.” I stepped away from the desk. “And I wasn’t blushing or hiding in a corner.”

  It’d just been crowded.

  It was a small office.

  Frank snorted. “At least you don’t have to worry about the little blonde anymore.”

  I must have looked a bit lost because he chuckled. “She knew the score first thing. Daddy’s got himself a boy, not a sexy chicky.”

  “First of all, don’t call me Daddy, and second, she was simply trying to get cheaper rates or something.” She wasn’t any older than Derek. I technically could have been her father. It was just…a misunderstanding. “Some people flirt when they breathe. Jessica flirts and that doesn’t mean anything.”

  Frank snorted. “If you don’t see the difference between your secretary and those two, I can’t help you.”

  He was crazy.

  It was the same thing. The blonde might have needed glasses, but some people just liked to tease and get attention. I’d learned a long time ago not to take that kind of thing seriously. I’d have never survived work if I had.

  “Did you come in here for something?” As I looked around, I realized I was still holding Derek’s keys. Filling out the paperwork was automatic and soon I had the keys and plastic folder handed over to Frank. He was staring at me. “What?”

  “I’m just trying to figure out how someone this stupid could be so successful in life.” Before I could respond, he turned and headed back into the bays.

  I was surrounded by insanity.

  Checking the time, I realized I was late for the office.

  My real job, unfortunately.

  The only negative part about how big the company had grown was the number of hours I had to spend behind a desk. I’d managed to wrangle it down to the bare minimum now that I had a well-run company, but that didn’t make the paperwork side any more interesting.

  I’d just stopped in first thing to talk to the guys at the garage for a few minutes, but there was always something distracting there and I’d ended up helping out for longer than I’d intended. As I went out to my car, I couldn’t help looking down the street toward the small diner where I knew Derek was having breakfast.

  Why had he picked me?

  Sure, I knew I was safe, so that probably had something to do with it, but was he really that lonely these days that he didn’t have someone fun to flirt with?

  There had to be a ton of nice guys around town who wanted to meet someone young and fun. Okay, maybe he didn’t exactly want a nice guy, but there had to be polite kinky ones…someone who would appreciate him and all that he’d done while still doing whatever the hell he was into.

  Not that I was going to ask.

  Nope.

  I’d learned that lesson a long time ago.

  Don’t ask if you really don’t want to know. Because there was no complaining or acting shocked when they actually answered.

  Work might have taught me that, but it was a lesson I’d carried over into my personal life as I’d raised my son, Ethan. He’d done his best to shock me over the years, but the office had given me plenty of practice in not reacting. I was at the point where I had a pretty good blank face from all the practice.

  As I headed across town toward the main office that ran all the garages that were scattered across the area, I couldn’t help but think of Ethan. He and Derek had been thick as thieves when they were younger. I hadn’t been sure if their friendship would continue as they got older, but even with Ethan settling into his relationship with Christopher, their connection hadn’t wavered.

  I know some of their boyfriends and dates over the years hadn’t appreciated their close relationship, but Christopher didn’t seem to mind. From some of the teasing I’d overheard, he really didn’t mind.

  Not that it was any of my business what kinky shit those two got up to.

  By the time I was walking into the office, I’d started transitioning to work mode, but there was still a confused buzz in the back of my head. I wasn’t sure what Derek had really been up to, but one thing was clear…he was lonely if I was the only one he could think of to flirt with.

  Jessica’s voice calling out to me had me fighting the urge to duck behind a filing cabinet. “You’re late. Just because you’re cute doesn’t mean you can get away with that.”

  Why that still surprised her was beyond me. We’d been working together for almost fifteen years and I was constantly late unless I came straight here in the morning. “I’m sorry.”

  “You missed Porter’s phone call and I had to talk to that asshole.” Jessica hadn’t put up with any crap when she’d first started working at the company back when she was still James, and that hadn’t changed as she’d transitioned to Jessica.

  “Was he rude again?” He’d always struck me as more confused than deliberately rude, but Jessica didn’t see it that way.

  She huffed and turned away dramatically, another habit that hadn’t changed over the years either. “No, but he was very short with me.”

  “I’ll talk to him.” If it came down to getting a new secretary or getting a new lawyer, I’d get a new lawyer.

  “I cannot deal with overly dramatic closet cases.” The fact that she was calling someone overly dramatic was cute, but I knew better than to smile. For some reason, she thought she was calm and collected—and I knew better than to say otherwise.

  I wasn’t going to do anything that made her quit. She was the primary reason I could afford to be late and play hooky as much as I did. “Of course not. I’ll talk to him again.”

  She smiled, batting her eyelashes at me like I’d been a good little puppy and she was doling out attention to me. Some people flirted and it didn’t mean anything. Derek and Jessica fell into that category. Frank just didn’t understand.

  Chapter 3

  Derek

  “We’re going to need to move.” Jules looked up from the kitchen table, utter seriousness on his face despite the odd greeting.

  “What did you do?” The decal stickers in his playroom had taken days to get right. Easily repositionable, my ass. It was going to take a nuclear apocalypse or a hundred percent rate increase before I moved out.

  “You didn’t fight with Mrs. Henry again about that damned dog, did you?” Throwing my bag on the floor by the table, I collapsed into a chair across from him and fought the urge to yawn.

  “I don’t care if it’s stupid, just pretend to answer when the damned thing barks.” The little yappy dog had probably been her baby longer than we’d been alive and she was nearly as insane as the antique dog, but it wasn’t worth arguing about because her nephew owned the building.

  “No.” His sigh wasn’t worrying, but when he reached for his binkie, I knew he was upset. “It’s worse.”

  What was worse than fighting with that damned dog?

  “I tried to flirt with the mailman.” Then he shoved his binkie in his mouth. It mostly covered his frown, but I could still see the em
barrassment spreading across his face.

  Really?

  “I’m going to assume that it didn’t go well?” When Jules shook his head, I leaned across the table and ran my hand over his head. “I’m sorry. He’s hot, though. And has tattoos.”

  Of course, I was pretty sure one was of Hello Kitty, so that didn’t scream Daddy to me…but to each his own.

  “How did he respond?” It clearly hadn’t gone according to plan, but I couldn’t imagine the guy being an asshole about it. But was he even gay? I had pretty accurate gaydar and he’d never struck me as particularly gay or straight.

  Jules slouched and pulled out the binkie. “He asked if I was feeling alright and if I needed to sit down.”

  Oh dear.

  “That sucks. But at least you stuck yourself out there.” That was more than I thought he would do. “And the good thing is that since he didn’t realize you were flirting, we don’t need to move. Just avoid him for a while.”

  Hiding from the mailman was going to be easier than figuring out how Sean felt about my flirting with him. To begin with, it had just been fun to watch him squirm, but toward the end, something changed.

  Jules rested his elbows on the table and balanced his head in his hands. “Tell me yours went even worse.”

  I barked out a laugh and shrugged. “I have no idea how it went.”

  Forcing my legs to move, I stood and headed over to the fridge to grab some leftovers. I normally took dinner to work with me when I was there, but I’d been running late earlier and had only managed to grab an apple to go with the odd snacks I had squirreled away at the store.

  “That’s a weird response. Did he ask if you were sick too?” Jules looked hopeful at that thought.

  I hated to burst his bubble.

  “No, but he was really confused.” I brought the cold pasta over to the microwave and started to heat it up. Turning back around to Jules, I tried to figure out how to answer him. “I had to go yesterday to get the truck checked out. Well, I was originally just going to flirt with one of the guys there because they’re fun.”

  Jules snorted. “Cheater.”