Naomi shook her head. “I don’t know about that. He’s already written me two tickets.”
“That’s his way of saying hello.” Stella sat down on the porch next to Lynn. “I’m going to fix this, hon. I won’t have your poor, sweet girl working for that horrible old Nate. And it’s dangerous there.”
Callie frowned. “Because nothing ever goes wrong at Stella’s.”
“We have the occasional baby birthing, but other than that we’ve been murder-free for twenty-one years. I’m putting that on a T-shirt and shoving it up Zane’s overly muscled butt cheeks,” Stella swore. “Callie, you know I love you and your family, but I am taking Nate down for this. He’s corrupting poor, innocent city girls.”
“I did Tase the guy.” Gemma took a long sip of wine.
“She got him good.” Cameron Briggs walked up. She’d thought she’d seen him coming out of a cabin a couple of houses down from hers. “Nate and I were there…eating a completely innocent lunch. We weren’t waiting for Max to blow or anything. Nice. Spinach dip.” He turned to shout back at someone walking up the yard. “Hey, come on, Laura. Stella won’t hurt you. Just me and Nate, and Nate’s smart enough to stay away. By the way, you are looking gorgeous today, Ms. Stella. I mean beautiful. Why the hell is Sebastian letting you work anyway? If I was your new husband, I would keep you in bed all day.”
Stella stared at him for a long moment. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” She sighed and patted her helmet of blonde hair. “As it happens, I like to work. The dining industry is in my blood. And if I left it in Hal’s hands, he would turn the whole place into something called the Gastronomy Café. That’s his dream. I don’t think that sounds nice.”
A gorgeous blonde walked up and took Briggs’s hand. “Hey, everyone. Hey, Miss Lynn. How are you this evening? It looks like we’re having a party.”
Callie sat down next to Stella, who sighed and put her arm around her. “That sounds like fun. Why don’t we grill up some steaks?”
Nell cleared her throat.
“And some cruelty-free tofu burgers and have a nice evening,” Callie offered. “It’s going to be too cold soon.”
Her mom clapped her hands together. “That sounds lovely. We used to have get-togethers all the time when I was growing up. Stella, do you remember that year the circus came to town and Mel was certain the trapeze artist was an alien?”
They were off, laughing and reminiscing. Gemma looked around. The gorgeous blonde with Cam was calling Holly on her phone, inviting her over. She also called someone named Rafe and told him to bring beer. Naomi was telling some story to Cam. It was a party with her mother in the center, laughing and talking and belonging.
She was surrounded by people, and all she could think about was how alone she was.
Callie moved over, crossing to Gemma and sitting beside her. “Hey, I wanted to thank you for not killing my husband. He genuinely thinks this will be a better job for you. He studied you for a couple of days, and he thinks you’re smart. He also wanted to see Max get taken down by another waitress. Rachel has become awfully nonviolent since Paige was born. I’m going to go and grab Zane. We’ll pull our grill over. Zane will have Stella purring in no time at all. You want to join me?”
Gemma shook her head. She would have absolutely nothing to say to the sweet mom of twins. Callie Hollister-Wright was one of those serene women Gemma didn’t understand. Rather like her mom. “Thanks, but no. I’m going to head back to my cabin. I’m not much of a joiner.”
She wasn’t a joiner or the type of person who had fun. Of any kind. At all. How long had it been since she’d gone out for an evening without some strict plan on how it would go? She used to go to happy hours and dinners with coworkers, but she’d always had an agenda.
“You managed to join with evil,” Nell said.
“Yes.” Gemma turned to Callie. “Is this party evil? Because I only join with evil.”
Callie nodded, a grin on her face. “Lots of evil. You should stay. And we have booze.”
Booze was good. But no. She was tired. She was out of place. “Thanks, but I think I’ll get some rest. I had a long day. And a long walk. Apologize to Nate for me, but the shop called and they won’t have his Bronco back until tomorrow.”
She’d spent the afternoon answering the phone and listening to a couple of tourists complain about the sheriff’s ticketing practices and reorganizing what had to be the world’s oddest armory. It was more like a locked closet where the sheriff kept the rifles, handguns, and Kevlar vests. And his fishing poles, a truly random selection of game console controllers, and a complete selection of X-Men comics. And all the while she’d waited to see if Bare-Chested Ape Man and the Sweet One would call.
She’d been disappointed. The owner of the shop had been the one to update her. Had she expected them to go out of their way to talk to her? She had a lousy reputation. Ape Man had been warning his sweet friend off when she’d walked in. She’d taken one look at his gorgeously cut chest and his emerald-green eyes and then realized he was talking about what a bitch she was.
It was better they hadn’t called. She wasn’t good at relationships. Hell, she wasn’t good at sex.
“Oh, I hope you reconsider,” Callie said.
She didn’t fit in here. That was fine. She wasn’t going to stay forever. She nodded and Callie stood up, walking off toward her cabin.
Naomi gave her mother a shoulder squeeze and winked Gemma’s way before heading back into the house. “I’m going to throw together a salad.”
Lynn smiled her way. The rest of her friends were beginning to set up what looked to be a fun, impromptu get-together. “Do you want to put together something for the party, sweetie?”
Gemma put the wine down. “This isn’t a good idea. It’s best I keep to myself. I don’t think these people are going to like me.”
Her mom sighed and closed her eyes. “It’s difficult for people to like you when you don’t like yourself, dear.”
“I like myself.” She was smart. She was ambitious. Sure, she’d trusted the wrong man, but even that would blow over eventually. Not everyone would remember that she’d had a complete breakdown after years of pressure. Everyone did, right? She would serve her time and find another firm. Where she could work seventy-hour weeks and ignore everything and everyone except her career, and put all her money and effort and soul into building that career that sucked more life out of her.
Yeah, she didn’t like herself very much, either.
Her mother simply waited.
“Fine. I’ll try harder. But don’t expect much. The mechanics at the shop already think I’m a head case.” Had she meant to sound so glum?
Those blue eyes opened now, calculation plain in the orbs. Her mother, the matchmaker, was in the house. “Mechanics? The single ones?”
“Mom, they hate me.”
“I doubt that, dear. Did they seem like nice young men? I have to admit, unattached males are rare in this town. I think it has something to do with most of the women having two husbands.”
“Yeah. What’s up with that? Deputy Briggs was talking about his partner, and I got sad because that man is too hot to be gay, but then his girlfriend walks in and there’s the partner Cam is talking about, and they both kissed her. And someone was talking about Hope, the last office manager, and how she recently got back from Vegas with her two husbands. Has Vegas changed? I think all this is completely illegal.”
Illegal, but she could make a case, maybe. The argument started to run through her head. She could practically see the judge’s face when she tried to argue that nature created a woman to accommodate multiple husbands. After all, a woman had a couple of places for a penis to go. Darwin. Yes, she would argue pure Darwinism.
“It’s always been this way in Bliss. Back when I was a girl, it was only Fred and Brian and their wife. They ran the Circle G and raised James and Noah, who are now married to Hope. And I can see you already have a whole Supreme Court case planned in your head.�
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Her mom knew her well. “It would be a fun argument.”
And honestly, did it hurt anyone?
What would it be like to be pressed between Jesse and Bare-Chested Ape Man? Damn it. She needed to find out his name.
“I always wondered why you went into corporate law. When you were younger, you always helped people.”
Gemma sighed. Her mom wouldn’t understand. Her mom loved the vagabond lifestyle. Her mom hadn’t been an awkward kid forced to make new friends every time they moved and deal with being the girl in school with mismatched clothes and hand-me-down shoes. Her mom and dad hadn’t had an ambitious bone between them. They’d chased ephemeral things like love and joy and the perfect song.
Gemma had been forced to live in the real world. The real world kind of sucked. Now she was in a whole town that lived the way her mom did. She was right back where she’d been as a kid. The girl who didn’t fit. “Corporations can help people, too.”
Not often. Next to never. But sometimes. The biggest case she’d managed to work on had been the Tremon Industries case, and the EPA had practically cleared them of all wrongdoing. Gemma felt bad for the people of Calvin who had suffered, but Tremon hadn’t caused it.
She was reminded that she wasn’t alone by the low hum of Nell’s protest. Was she going to start the singing thing now?
She got to her feet. It didn’t matter. She had nothing to do with the case at this point. Christina Big Tits had likely grown back her hair and taken over Gemma’s place as secondary counsel. But hey, Gemma had a new job, too.
“I should go.”
“I’m sorry.” Her mom looked up. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it, sweetheart. You had to follow your heart. I understand that. I’m grateful for this time we have now. I love you. This will all work out.”
She nodded, but still didn’t want to stay. “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning?”
Her mom looked disappointed. It was an expression that was on her face all too often lately. “If that’s what will make you happy, dear. Just know that everyone is here if you want to join us.”
Gemma got up. Not everyone was here. Would she stay if those two men had been here? Probably not.
Callie came back, a baby in her arms. Nate was with her, holding his other son on his chest like a cute suit of armor.
“Now, Stella, I have a baby,” Nate said.
Stella growled, but then cooed at the kicking baby anyway. Nate winked her way.
And Nell stood. She walked straight up to Gemma and reached for her hand. “I have decided to be your friend.”
Callie leaned in. “You asked when you should worry. It’s time. Worry. Like a lot.”
She stared down at her hand in Nell’s. Was she supposed to do something? Would it be totally rude to walk away now?
Nell released her with a beatific smile on her face. “There’s nothing to worry about. I can teach you.”
“Uh, thanks.” It was definitely time to go.
Gemma turned and started to walk off. She would go to her cabin and hide all night long. She could sit and stare at the TV or read some dumbass magazine because the last thing she was going to do was anything productive. And she wasn’t going to make friends. Even if she wanted to. She wasn’t the type of person who sat around and talked and grilled food. “Why the fuck am I here? Crazy, dumbass town.”
She plowed right past Zane Hollister and his portable grill, turning to start an apology, but she smacked straight into a wall of masculine flesh. Jesse McCann looked down at her, a grin on his ridiculously perfect face.
* * * *
Jesse had to stop himself from touching her. Nothing more than a light touch, a grasp of her hand. But he forced himself to not reach out to her. After a nice long discussion with Cade about getting involved with a potentially violent woman, he’d decided to give his brain a chance to catch up with his libido.
Her breasts brushed against his chest as she plowed her way through them, the hard nub of her nipples apparent because she wasn’t wearing a damn bra. His dick immediately began composing a letter to his brain.
Dear Brain—Hurry the fuck up. I’m dying here. Sincerely, your Dick. P.S. The balls are pissed off, too.
“Sorry about that, Gemma.” At least he didn’t sound as completely idiotic as he had before. The pretty blonde in front of him made his brain take a nosedive. He didn’t know a damn thing about her except that she had a craptastic attitude, but then so did Cade. It was Jesse’s lot in life to be surrounded by difficult people.
“It’s okay.” The words came out in a breathless puff. She shook her head and backed up.
She was still wearing those jeans with the stain on them. It was nothing more than a small trail of grease, but it had transferred from his hand to hers and then to her clothes. A tiny piece of him marking her.
He could think of other ways to mark her.
“Is she giving you trouble?” Cade stood there, holding the package they’d brought, Jesse’s whole reason for forcing them to come out here.
Jesse made sure a smile stayed on his face. Gemma wasn’t the trouble right now. Cade’s past, however, was giving Jesse fits. If Gemma were a normal, everyday, sweet-faced tourist with the same heart-shaped ass and boobs that would fit perfectly into his hands, Cade would have been all over her. Even if she’d been a bit cantankerous, Cade would have seen it as a challenge. They would have plotted and planned how fast they could take her from mean girl to purring kitten. But Gemma was different. Gemma had struck a chord in Cade, and now Cade was a big old pussy who didn’t want to get his fingers burned.
“Not at all,” he replied shortly. He hadn’t wanted Cade to come with him on this particular mission, but his brother had insisted. “It looks like you’re having a party.”
Gemma shook her head. “No. Uhm, my mom is in the cabin next to me. This is all about her.” She was charmingly graceless, her hands fluttering as she gestured back toward the larger of the two cabins. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, a sight that went straight to Jesse’s cock. “They showed up to talk to my mom and Naomi. Not me.”
He was about to ask who Naomi was when Cade stepped up. “Well, did you expect them to come for you when you call their town dumbass and crazy?”
And just like that she went from slightly off kilter to ice queen. Her whole body stiffened and a hard look came into her eyes. “I didn’t expect anything. Well, I expected you to be half naked. Look, the Ape Man found a shirt. Nice.”
“Well, I need protection from you, sweetheart.”
Jesse sighed. “You both need flak jackets. I get it. You’re both all wounded and shit. Fine. Cade, why don’t you go and see if Zane needs help with that grill?”
Cade stared at Gemma like she was a bomb that was about to explode. “I think he’s doing fine.”
“Please.” Jesse bit the word in a way that wasn’t at all polite. This situation was more serious than he thought, but Jesse felt Gemma’s pull, and he wasn’t sure if he was willing to turn away. He needed some time alone with her.
Cade’s mouth turned down. “You’re sure?”
“I am.”
An almost sad look came over Cade’s face, and he passed him the package. “All right then.”
“Cade?” Gemma asked as Cade stalked off. Her blue eyes trailed back toward him.
So she wasn’t entirely uninterested. “Cade Sinclair, though Bare-Chested Ape Man suits him fine. He’s often wearing much less than what you saw in the shop. Roger makes him keep his pants on.”
Gemma’s mouth dropped open. “He’s a nude guy, nude person, nudist?”
God, he loved it when she got flustered. The veneer stripped away momentarily, and he got a glimpse of the woman under that perfect surface. “They like to call themselves naturists. He’s always worn as little as possible, but a couple of years back we were seeing a woman who liked the lifestyle and Cade took to it.”
Her cheeks were flushed the prettiest red. Her skin was fair. He would
bet her ass would take a spanking beautifully. “I don’t understand much about this place. Like you two. You were both seeing the same woman?”
There wasn’t distaste in the question, merely a simple curiosity. Somehow, the minute Cade walked away, the tension in her had deflated like a balloon slowly releasing its air. Jesse smiled at her and nodded toward her front porch. “I’d love to explain it to you, sweetheart. Will you sit with me for a minute?”
She huffed. “If you stop calling me sweetheart, maybe I will.”
He turned and let his face go cold. “That was rude and unbecoming of you. It’s a term of endearment meant to be affectionate, nothing more. I’d like us to be friends. If you’re utterly uninterested in being friends with me, tell me now and I’ll walk away.”
The roundness of her eyes told him she wasn’t used to being talked to in such a frank manner. “I’m sorry. I would prefer it if you didn’t call me sweetheart. My ex-fiancé called me that and he didn’t mean it. It bothers me.”
“Excellent. Then I won’t call you sweetheart. You could have simply told me and I would have understood. Is it all terms of endearment you’re against? Or just that one?” He started to lead her toward the porch, making sure she didn’t stumble over the uneven ground. He sat down beside her, giving her plenty of space, setting the package beside him.
She seemed to think about it for a moment. “I don’t see why you can’t call me Gemma.”
That was easy. “Because everyone calls you Gemma, and I want to be special. I want to call you something that only I call you because I think it could help to bond you to me. I’m interested in seeing you. I’m interested in taking you out and talking to you, and eventually I would very much like to get you in bed.”
There it was again, that ridiculously sexy flush. “Wow. You put it right out there for all to see.”
He shrugged. “I don’t lie to myself. Why should I bother to lie to anyone else? I learned a long time ago that lying about what I want will get me in trouble.”
A flash of challenge came into her eyes. “You don’t lie?”
“I don’t.”
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