For charity.
And I was pretty sure it would be inappropriate to pass it off onto my assistant.
Right?
Stevie
Standing outside a small-town community center on a Friday night with a chilly bowl of Bloody Mary dip in my arms was not how I’d imagined spending my night. But here I was, staring nervously at the imposing white stone structure that seemed out of place in this small town, scrambling for the courage to go inside.
I hadn’t ever been much of a joiner throughout my life. Not when it came to the clothing drive in high school—I’d just slipped two bags of old clothes into the truck at the end of the school day—and not when it came to any other group activity. I much preferred binge-watching TV shows from the comfort of my own home, wherever that was at any given moment. But, somehow, I’d let two old ladies convince me to not only make a dish, but to show up in person.
“She didn’t dress up like Eddy told her to, but she’s a pretty little thing.” The voices came from behind me and even though I didn’t want to turn, I had to. Two different older women stood there, one with dark exotic features and the other with fair skin and graying hair. Opposites attract seemed to be the theme of these friendships.
“She doesn’t speak very much, does she?” The question came from the fair-skinned woman.
“I speak enough,” I told them. “But it’s not every day that two random strangers start talking about me like they know me.”
The exotic-looking woman arched a dark brow. “She’s got spunk, I like her.”
“Yeah, I like her attitude, too.” The fair-skinned woman held her hand out. “The name is Helen Landon, and this here is Elizabeth Vargas. Some of Tulip’s finest, if you don’t mind my saying.”
“Nice to meet you both. I assume you round out the Sex & the City foursome with Eddy and Betty?”
“Oh, I like that,” Helen said. “I’ll be the blond one, she’s sassy.”
“Slutty, you mean,” Elizabeth amended. “You’d have to get out a little more just to be slutty.”
“I get out just fine,” she retorted, feigning hurt. “We’re not here to talk about me, anyway. Let’s get Stevie inside and introduce her around.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” I told them, even as both women stood on either side of me and basically herded me into the building, like cattle. “I can find my way, myself.”
“Just go with it, honey,” Elizabeth whispered. “This is how we do things and it’ll go easier if you just go along.”
That wasn’t my strong suit, especially when it came to a group of well-meaning strangers. “Stevie here has brought a dish,” Helen announced, speaking like I was a special charity project. “Isn’t she just lovely?”
A few older women who had gathered around the table half-filled with homemade dishes nodded and smiled. One even leaned in and pinched my cheek. “Beautiful. Even if she doesn’t do a damn thing to help herself,” Betty said from behind me.
“Eddy said dressing up was an option, and it’s an option I didn’t want to consider.” Why I was explaining myself, I didn’t know. Maybe it was being surrounded by half a dozen women who were professional moms. “What’s the big deal? This is for charity, right?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth said and took the bowl from my hands. “But it never hurts to put in a little effort.”
“I’m not looking to hook up right now.” There was no point in letting these women think they could get their little miss matchmaker on with me when I wasn’t looking.
“That’s the best time to find exactly what you need,” Betty assured me with a sympathetic smile that said she knew they were all a bit much.
“Thanks for the kind words and everything, but really, I just came to offer some help and see what this small-town thing was all about.” I’d be gone soon enough, so there was no point in letting them get close or starting to like them—even though they were the pushiest, funkiest, most bad-ass old ladies I’d ever come across in my travels through this great state.
“At least smile. You have such great teeth.” Helen grinned at me as if the problem was that I didn’t know how to smile, not that I didn’t want to. “Better. A little bigger would be better, though.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you serve alcohol at these things?”
Eddy laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into her bony frame. “I think I’ve found my new best friend. Let me show you where the cold beer is kept.”
“Bless you, Eddy.” I let her tear me away from the rest of the women, sucking in a deep breath when we arrived at the drinks table, which held far fewer people in general and a lot fewer matchmaking matrons.
“Even dressed like a teenage boy, you’re a knockout. That should help. Have fun tonight—and use condoms.” Then, like she hadn’t just said what she’d just said, Eddy sauntered back to her circle of friends, all of whom turned to stare at me.
I turned away, taking Eddy’s advice for the ice cold beer and finding a table that looked like it hadn’t been claimed yet. It was close to the exit and slightly shielded by the overbearing decorations. I didn’t know what the Hometown Heroes were—or rather, who—but they had one hell of a marketing campaign. The tribute, even in its current state, was a beautiful monument to another bad-ass woman, another reason I was happy to attend tonight.
“You’re new.” A woman with dark hair and a slightly rounded pregnant belly stood in front of me, sizing me up and looking amused about it.
“I am. Temporary, too.”
She grinned. “I’m Nina. I was the new girl earlier this year.”
“Not so new anymore,” I pointed out, nodding towards her belly.
“Not at all.” She laughed and rubbed her belly the way pregnant women tended to do. “Why are you over here all alone?”
“Because those old ladies were a little too interested in my appearance.” I sounded grumpy, and I kind of was. And, yeah, it was kind of nice to have people fuss over me, but it was still weird.
She laughed. “That’s the matchmaking crew. Who are they trying to match you with?”
“No one.” It was a rookie mistake to answer so quickly. I knew that, and apparently, Nina did, too.
“What did you say you were doing in town?”
“I didn’t.”
Another woman, a redhead, laughed. “Okay. What brings you to town?”
I sighed. “I came here for a job, but it ends soon. Then, I’ll be gone.” That much was true. I’d finished up at the office and Scott hadn’t said one word to me. The. Whole. Day. It didn’t take a genius to figure out, so I’d left the office and threw the key through the mail slot before heading back to my room.
“Eddy mentioned something about finding an assistant for Scott. Her name was cutesy, like a boy’s name.”
“Stevie,” I grunted. “That’s me. Stevie.”
“I’m Penny, this is Max, and that’s Nina. Welcome to Tulip.”
“Thanks. Nice to meet you all.”
They all sat, dashing my hopes that they were just passing by. “Why are you leaving so quickly?”
“A girl’s gotta work, and the work here suddenly dried up.” Each time I said it, the words went down a little easier.
“So, you’re going home, then?” That came from Max, the quiet redhead.
“No. There is no home, but I’ll go somewhere and that will be home.” Each of the women looked at me like I said I killed kittens for fun. “It’s no big deal. My mom’s dead and my dad lives in New Zealand with his new family. I might head west. Or east. I haven’t decided yet.”
Another round of silence bounced around the table and I sighed. This was why I didn’t get attached to people—the weight of their expectations was too much to carry along with my own.
“Then you can stay here.” That was Penny, and I didn’t get why it mattered to her. Or any of them.
“Except I don’t have a job, and there’s not even a job board in this town.” Which meant that either the
re were no jobs, or they were all given out based on who you knew—and I knew no one.
Three sets of eyes stared at me for about a minute and then, one by one, they stood with a smile and a sad shake of their heads before leaving. It was weird as hell, and suddenly I was a little less sad about packing up and moving on this weekend.
But the people of Tulip were damn interesting to watch. The older ladies I’d met earlier still gathered around the food table, only now their attention was on a group of men I assumed were the Hometown Heroes. They were all good looking, almost too good looking, and casting wary glances right back at the women. A few of the guys wore big, amused smiles and the rest looked miserable. And worried.
I soaked up as much of the small-town atmosphere as I could, watching who flirted with whom, who casted longing glances and who snuck off seconds after someone else. It was amusing and it made me just the teensiest bit sad I wouldn’t be around to observe more.
“What are you doing here?”
I froze at the sound of Scott’s voice beside me. It was a reminder of why I didn’t let myself get too carried away. Anyone could sneak up on you. “Last I checked, this was still a free country and I can go wherever I like.”
He let out a weary sigh and though I refused to look at him, I caught a glimpse of his sagging shoulders. “I just meant that I didn’t realize you were getting involved.”
“Hardly involved,” I snorted. “I brought a dish to a charity potluck, I’m not buying a house and running for office.” This town was as nosy as all the dime-store romance novels suggested. When it wasn’t aimed at me, it was kind of amusing, but being on the other end of Scott’s stare was less so.
“I didn’t realize.”
“Why would you? It’s not like we’re friends or anything. Look.” I turned to him, which was a really bad idea because the heated look in his green eyes just about scorched the panties right off my body. “Look, I’m enjoying one night in this town and then I’m gone, all right? Not that it’s any of your business, anyway.”
He frowned in response but his lips were like granite, never moving from that dissatisfied and disapproving flat line.
I stood, suddenly bored with this conversation and the company. “Have a nice life, Dr. Henderson.” The drinks were cold and, if nothing else, the old ladies were friendly, so I gave myself a half hour. If things didn’t pick up, I would turn in early for an even earlier departure.
I didn’t have to turn around to know he was on my heels; his body was so damn big it had its own gravitational pull. Next to him, I was no match. “I’m sorry. I should have done more to make you feel welcome.”
I laughed and reached into the pink cooler for an icy beer before turning to Scott. “It’s not your responsibility to make me feel anything other than appreciated in the workplace, and even there I’d settle for mere civility. But that still seems to be too much for you, and that’s fine. I work for you. That’s all—and even that has an expiration date.” The last thing I needed at this point in my life was someone to suddenly start giving a damn and poking into my life. No, thank you.
“That’s now how things work around here, Stevie. We look after each other—to an almost annoying degree, in fact.”
That managed to pull another laugh out of me. “I’ve noticed, but I’m not from around here and you don’t need to babysit me. I can handle the old ladies and the newly married ones, too.” I nodded to the group of men, still congregated in the same spot, only their handsome numbers had grown. “Go have fun with your friends. It seems like you don’t spend much time away from your office.”
“I could say the same about you.”
He could and likely would, if I pressed the issue. “That’s true, with the small exception being that I don’t know anyone in this town, which means I don’t have anything else to do but work. You were born and raised here, according to Eddy.”
“You got me there.” His smile was softer this time, more genuine and wistful. “Growing my business has been hard, and I’m wondering if my aversion to assistants has made it harder than it needed to be.” He raked a hand through his hair and laid a grin on me that had me weak in the knees and grateful I was sitting down. And wearing leather boots with no heels.
“You’ll figure it out.” Or he wouldn’t. Tomorrow was my last day at the office and on Saturday morning, this town—adorable and weird though it was—would be firmly in my rearview mirror.
“You don’t know that.”
“Nope, I don’t. But you probably do.” I knocked back half the beer and smacked my lips together. It was cold and had just enough alcohol in it to give me the warm-and-tingleys. “Have a good night.”
“Where you off to in such a hurry?” Eddy stood right in my path, a smirk on her face. Her lips matched the bright pink jumpsuit she wore.
“I’m off to… anywhere else. See ya around, Eddy.” I put a hand on her shoulder and her bony but surprisingly strong fingers wrapped around my wrist.
“Not before taking a twirl on the dance floor. Scotty, ask the woman to dance.”
Scott blinked, looking even more stunned than I felt, which left me feeling oddly offended. “Actually, I’m off to the bathroom,” I said inanely, rushing off as fast as my legs would carry me. This town was getting stranger by the minute and as soon as I took a breath, I was getting the hell away from matchmakers and cranky but sexy veterinarians.
“He’d better watch out, ‘cause I’m sure they’re already looking for a woman for him.” Conversation stopped when I pushed the door open and I froze.
“Sorry, I just needed a… minute.”
The blond smiled wide at me and the two brunettes wore more reserved smiles. “It’s okay, that’s why we’re all in here. Who are you running from?”
“Don’t mind Hope, she doesn’t realize that not everyone is happy to share every moment of their lives with the entire town.” She stuck her hand out. “Bo.”
“You run the general store. You have the best snacks.”
Her smile was wider this time. “Good to know. This is Hope and that’s Mikki, she was new until you arrived.”
“Hey. I’m Stevie.”
“Scott’s Stevie?” The blond, Hope, asked with big hope-filled eyes.
“No, just Stevie.” It was official, the whole damn town was crazy. “I’ll just be… in here.” I made my escape to one of the stalls, but the silence now made it awkward.
“I know you don’t know us, and if you know Eddy, you probably think we’re crazy as hell.” That matter of fact voice had to be the one called Bo. “But do not underestimate the old ladies.”
The other two laughed. “I know the serious tone seems a little over the top, but she’s right. You and Scott might not seem like a good match on the surface—”
“Hope, that’s rude.”
“Mikki, I’m just trying to be honest with her before she runs outta here thinkin’ she’s free.” Hope knocked on the door. “Stevie, can you just come out, because this door is the ugliest shade of blue ever created and you’re not even doing anything in there.”
She was right and even though it was very clean, it was still a public restroom. “Fine. But I don’t need a lecture because I’m out of here as of Saturday morning.”
“You sure?” Bo folded her arms and arched a brow but it was all for show, to let me know I shouldn’t be so sure.
“That was the deal and, unless I hear otherwise, I’m gone then.”
“Excellent.” Bo clapped her hands together and jumped off the sink. “Then you can do what you like. But if I were you, I’d keep an eye on them until you have the Welcome to Tulip sign behind you. Those old biddies somehow got me to fall in love with my best friend.” Her smile softened, but her disbelief was real. And new.
“I appreciate the warning and I promise to be careful.”
“It’s not about being careful,” she went on, invading my personal space. “Just stay away from Scott. The more they can see it, the more convinced they’ll be th
at they’re right.”
“She’s right,” Mikki added with a shrug. “They’re crafty.”
“I know. Eddy got me here under false pretenses.” I wasn’t all that upset about it; I really hated job hunting.
“That sucks. I have one part-timer and so does Mikki. Hope just started her own lingerie business, and you don’t look like the retail sort.”
“I’m not, but thanks anyway.” Yep, this town grew weirder by the second and I was determined to enjoy as much of it as I could before I drove away and this town became like all the others—just a memory.
Scott
I’m just here to say goodbye. That’s what I told myself when I killed the engine in the parking lot of the hotel where Stevie had been staying all week. It was barely a hotel, probably not even a motel. Hell, I didn’t even know this place was part of Tulip and I didn’t imagine most other people did either, or else it wouldn’t have escaped the recent town improvement initiatives. This place was a hellhole—and that was putting it nicely. The only saving grace was that there was very little crime in Tulip.
“Say goodbye and get going.” That was the plan, and I was sticking to it. I’d spent all week thinking about what to do about the Stevie situation and, until the potluck dinner, I had planned to ask her to stick around. But Eddy and the others clearly had me and Stevie in their sights, which meant it was best for her to move on. “Hey.”
Stevie looked up from packing with a blank expression on her face. “Hey. What’s up?” She was just so matter-of-fact as she packed up her life. Again.
Shit. I hated seeing her like this, all resigned and disappointed but unwilling to show it. It was almost like she’d been expecting this very outcome from the beginning, which just pissed me off. Not only that she thought she knew me, but also because it meant I was exactly who she had accused me of being—someone who couldn’t see past who she was on the surface. “Going somewhere?”
“Yep.” She spared me exactly one second for a look before zipping up the small bag on the edge of her bed. “Headed out on the last train out of town.”
Hero Boss: An Alpha Male Office Romance Page 4
