by Mari Carr
“Sit down.”
She’d only heard Diego use that demanding tone a handful of times, most recently with Scott in the restaurant, but he’d never spoken like that to Jeannette. She should have been afraid, but that wasn’t the response her body had. Again, she felt that annoying tingle between her legs. She pressed them together as she dropped to the bench heavily. Her anger evaporated as quickly as it had appeared.
Neither man joined her. So now they were really looming over her.
Diego crossed his arms. “You want to explain that last comment?”
She shook her head. “Not really.”
Luc took pity on her, sitting down beside her. “What is it you think we’re supposed to see?”
“Me. Nervous Nettie. The quiet Sparks girl. The awkward, shy one who doesn’t date and doesn’t have much personality. The woman most likely to grow up to be that horrible great aunt you have to invite to Christmas even though you’d rather not because she criticizes everyone and complains all the time and smells like mothballs.”
Diego scowled. “You’re joking about all of that, right?”
She shrugged. She wasn’t. Not at all.
Luc looked seriously shell-shocked by her admission. “You’re wrong, Jeannette. You’re not awkward. You’re pretty and sweet. And quiet isn’t a sin, you know. There are a lot of folks in this town who could stand to shut up a lot more.”
She laughed softly, and then she confessed something she’d never said aloud. “I don’t think it’s the town who hates me for who I am. It’s me. I want to be different. I’m tired of worrying about stupid stuff, pushing people away and being lonely as a result. I’m sick of letting other people fight my battles for me, like you guys just did, because I’m too weak to stand up for myself.”
Diego claimed the other side of her on the bench. “Then change.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah. Because that’s so simple. I’ve lived in Maris my whole life and I can tell you right now, everyone has their own pigeonholes and no one escapes them, especially not Nervous Nettie.”
Diego twisted, resting his arm along the back on the bench. “Of course you can.”
“No. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She considered Diego’s question and realized she didn’t have much of an answer. “Sometimes I can’t tell if people are reacting to my personality, or if my personality is driven by the way people treat me.”
Luc grasped her hand. Her heart and stomach fluttered in unison at the touch. Ordinarily she would have pulled away, but she forced herself to accept the friendly gesture.
“So you start small,” Luc suggested. “What’s the most out-of-character thing you could do? Something that would shock the town, but wouldn’t be impossible for you to carry out? Impromptu trip? New haircut? Wardrobe? Contacts?”
“A date with you guys.” The words fell out before she could reconsider them. She rushed to recover. “I’m kidding!”
Diego shook his head. “No, you aren’t. And you’re right. That would catch everyone’s attention. Shed a different light on you.”
“We’re doing it,” Luc said, with complete confidence.
Panic began to set in. “Wait. I don’t think—”
“Stop thinking. We’re picking you up Saturday night and we’re going dancing. Wear the tightest blue jeans you have, a silky blouse and leave your hair down.” Diego used that damn deep voice against her once more. It was distractingly hot.
Hot? She didn’t think of guys as hot or sexy or…anything.
Her mouth had gone dry, making it difficult to respond. “Okay.”
Both men offered her breathtaking, blindingly beautiful smiles.
Luc leaned closer. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Self-preservation kicked in. “Just dancing. Nothing else.”
Diego didn’t acknowledge her request. “We’re going with the flow, Jeannette. Nothing’s going to be taken off the table or planned ahead of time.”
“But—”
“But nothing,” Diego said, grasping her other hand and helping her rise from the bench. “You want to change and we’re going to help. You can fight us in the attempt or you can accept that it’s going to happen.”
His comment sparked a realization. “Why do you guys call me Jeannette? No one else does.”
Diego shrugged. “Always got the impression you hate being called Nettie.”
She did, but no one had ever noticed that before. “I do.”
“So we’ll make that part of the change. The good people of Maris aren’t going to know what hit them when Jeannette Sparks comes to town.”
* * *
Diego waved as Jeannette pulled away from the curb and out into traffic. Luc watched his friend, not bothering to hide his grin.
Diego didn’t glance his way as he started walking toward the fire station. “Go ahead and say it. I can see you’re busting a gut. Get it over with.”
Luc laughed. “You’ve got it bad, brother.”
Diego stopped walking and pinned Luc with a pointed stare. “And you don’t?”
Luc lifted his shoulders casually. “I never pretended I don’t have the hots for Jeannette. And you’ve been giving me shit for it since day one. What did you call it? My little crush on the pretty cook?”
“You fell too fast.”
“Maybe I’m just a better judge of character than you.”
Diego didn’t take the bait. Instead, he started walking once more. “Yeah. Maybe you are. But I can’t help thinking we’re missing something. I don’t think we’ve got the whole picture on Jeannette Sparks.”
“Yeah. I’ll admit I didn’t realize she thought so poorly of herself. Even though she’s quiet, she exudes this subtle strength. I know she believes she’s shy, but sometimes I don’t think she is. It’s more like…” Luc struggled to find the word.
“Fear,” Diego supplied. “She’s afraid of something.”
Until Diego spelled it out, Luc had missed it. Now, he realized his friend was right. “Yeah. She is.”
“I’m not going to let her keep hiding.”
Luc was very familiar with this Diego. The set of his jaw, the determination in his tone. When Diego put his mind to something, he didn’t fail. Luc felt the unease and uncertainty he’d experienced ever since he’d first laid eyes on Jeannette fade.
Diego felt the same pull, the same desire.
Together, they’d do whatever it took to make her theirs.
Chapter Two
Jeannette stared at her reflection in the mirror and cursed herself for being a fool. She’d given in to Diego and Luc in a moment of weakness and had spent every minute since agreeing to this ridiculous plan second-guessing it. She’d woken up last night in the midst of a full-blown panic attack so severe, she wondered if she was having a heart attack.
She had called Luc this morning to cancel, expecting him to be the easier man to bail on. He’d simply told her to dress as Diego said, insisting they would be there to pick her up at eight. No amount of pleading or attempts to reason on her part would sway him. Then, it got worse when Diego had taken the phone from Luc. She shivered as she recalled him saying in that sexy voice, “Stop wasting your breath. And leave the top three buttons undone on that silky blouse you’re wearing for us.”
He’d disconnected before she could continue the argument. Not that she would have been able to after that command. Her nipples had gone tight and she’d actually felt light-headed for a few minutes after hanging up.
Now it was five minutes to eight and the panic attack was back. Her breathing was thready, her chest tight and, despite the pains she’d taken with her makeup, she looked pale. And terrified.
She glanced at her blouse, extremely uncomfortable by how much skin she was showing. Ordinarily she wore shirts that covered her chest. All of it. With three buttons undone, she was revealing way too much cleavage. She buttoned one of the buttons, then a second, studying the result. While Nervous Nettie felt mo
re at ease this way, tonight was about shedding that miserable skin.
She unfastened the buttons again.
And jumped when her doorbell rang. She hadn’t heard their truck pull into the driveway.
“What the fuck are you doing, Jeannette?” she asked her reflection, making no move to answer the door.
A few seconds later, a loud knock came. They weren’t going away.
She walked downstairs, fighting like the devil to calm her trembling. She hadn’t gone out on a date in fifteen years. Had she really thought this feeling of utter terror would be better than the depression she’d suffered lately?
She stood behind the door, her hand on the knob, unable to turn it.
Somehow, Diego knew she was there. “Jeannette. Open the door, angel.”
She twisted the knob, and then stood back as Diego and Luc stepped inside. “I, uh, I…”
Diego tilted his head. “Take it easy, baby. It’s just me and Luc.”
She felt like a fool, so she raced to recover, to escape his all-seeing gaze. “I just need to grab my purse from the living room.”
They followed her into her tiny house. Penny lifted her head from her position on the back of the couch as a greeting, purring when Luc walked over to rub her head.
As she reached out to grab her bag, there was no hiding the trembling in her hand. Diego stepped beside her and clasped it, holding it to his chest. “You’re safe with us, Jeannette.”
Slowly, she felt the painful constriction in her lungs ease. And a few moments later, her breathing had slowed. “What is that? Some sort of Jedi mind trick?”
She expected Diego to laugh, but a trace of concern still lingered in his gaze. Then his lips slowly tipped up. “You’ll hear no complaints from me if you want to start calling me Master.”
Jeannette shook her head, grinning. “Yeah. I don’t see that happening. Ever.”
Luc laughed, the pleasure of it surrounding them. “Never say never, Jeannette.”
She rolled her eyes, picked up her purse and led them back to the front door. “Come on. The sooner we get there, the sooner you guys will see this was a mistake.”
Diego twisted her toward him just as she reached for the doorknob. He slowly pressed her against the chilly wood. She tensed, her arms flying up in a defensive block, but it wasn’t necessary. He took a big step back once she was facing him. “You’re not going to sabotage the evening.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sure you’ve spent the past few days convincing yourself this is just a game. It’s not. It’s a date. Luc and I are attracted to you. That’s not a joke or a mistake. We want the Jeannette you seem to think is undesirable. Our intentions tonight are to prove to you that you’re not. Nothing more, nothing less than that. You got it?”
She licked lips that had gone dry and nodded slowly. She heard his words, but her brain was struggling to comprehend them, to make them fit. They washed over her, warming and scalding at the same time.
They wanted her, found her desirable. To the shy, plain girl who’d always longed for love, those words felt like magic. To the woman who understood what that desire represented, she felt helpless, petrified.
She considered escaping. Flinging open her front door and running away as fast as her feet would carry her. Then Luc moved closer, his affable, friendly smile in place. “Tonight, you’re brave, remember? You’re Jeannette. Nettie’s gone.”
His faith in her was touching.
“Okay,” she whispered. Somehow she’d find the strength to get through the night. If only to show these men how much their belief in her meant to her.
They each took a hand as they walked along the path from her front door to their truck. It was an older model, fire-engine red Ford F-150 jacked up on big-ass tires.
“I think I need a ladder,” she joked when Luc opened the passenger door.
He didn’t respond. “Nope. That’s what you have me for.”
Before she could question him, he lifted her off the ground and placed her on the front seat, then followed her in. She was forced to slide to the smaller center seat as Diego claimed the driver’s side. Luc reached for her seat belt, buckling her in.
She glanced over her shoulder. “You realize there’s a backseat. I don’t mind sitting there.”
Luc placed his arm around her shoulder, picking up a strand of her hair to play with. “You’re fine here.”
She’d grown up around a bunch of alpha men; her uncles—and her cousins Tyson and Evan—could give anyone a run for their money, so it wasn’t as if she wasn’t used to this type of heavy-handedness. The difference was, while it was annoying when her male relatives tried to control her life, with Diego and Luc, she found herself strangely turned on by it.
Diego started the truck and pulled out of the driveway. On the way to the bar, they exchanged pleasantries, discussing the weather and tomorrow’s lunch special at the restaurant. As they pulled into the parking lot, Jeannette made a face that Luc didn’t miss.
“You don’t like Cruisers?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been here.”
Diego parked the truck near the front door and looked at her with surprise. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope. This isn’t really my scene. It’s always seemed sort of shady.”
Luc chuckled as he climbed out of the truck, and then reached in to help her down. “Oh, it’s a dive, to be sure. But it’s not dangerous. Besides,” he said, his hands lingering on her waist, “the only shady characters you need to worry about tonight are us.”
She fought to keep her breathing steady, hoping Luc couldn’t sense how much his hands on her waist were impacting her. Equal waves of nervousness and excitement clamored beneath the surface. There was no way she was going to make it through the night. Both men seemed intent on dragging her close, touching her. Even now, Diego was tugging her away from Luc, her hand held securely in his large, warm palm.
Before they made it to the front door, Jeannette was overwhelmed by the sheer noise of the place. Fast, ear-piercing music thumped out a heavy beat as people fought to be heard, laughing and talking loudly. There was a large crowd of people sitting in front of a long bar and the dance floor was packed, a huge mass of bodies stomping in time to some country music line dance.
Jeannette wasn’t sure what Hell looked like, but she sort of imagined it would be a lot like this. Despite her large companions flanking her, no less than four people bumped into her, the last spilling beer on her boots before they made their way to a table.
“Hey, Diego, Luc, over here,” a man called out. “We’re just leaving. You want our spot?”
Diego smiled and nodded. As they got closer, Jeannette recognized Colby as the speaker. He grinned at the men, the smile freezing when he realized she was standing with them.
“Nettie?”
“Hey, thanks, Colby,” Diego said, putting a proprietary arm around her shoulders and tugging her close. “I was afraid Jeannette was going to be crushed there for a minute. This place is crazy tonight.”
She noticed the way Diego stressed her name, and while she appreciated his efforts, she was still on the verge of freaking out. For one thing, she wasn’t used to such large crowds, and secondly, she wasn’t used to a man holding her so closely.
“Yeah. We got here early and Jeremiah sort of overdid it. Couple of my buddies took him outside to get sick while I settled up the tab.” Colby looked at Jeannette again as if trying to convince himself it was really her. “Y’all have fun.”
With that, Colby left. No doubt he and his friends would have a field day discussing the fact she was out with Diego and Luc. She estimated it would be less than ten minutes before the texts from her cousins and sister started arriving. She hadn’t told anyone about her plans for the evening because she’d been ninety-nine percent sure she’d bail. She reached into her purse and muted her phone. Tonight was going to be hard enough without her phone chiming every ten seconds with another OMG, W
TF text from a relative.
Luc pulled out one of the tall stools for her, and then claimed the one next to it, pushing it closer to hers. Diego followed suit on the other side until she felt caged in and sheltered. Every single thing about the evening was an experiment in insanity as opposite emotions battled within her. It was as if she was locked in a constant game of tug of war with herself.
Diego waved the waitress over and ordered three beers. For the first time since she’d entered the bar, Jeannette had a chance to really look around. There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, as well as quite a few people she’d never laid eyes on.
Cruisers was positioned just off Exit 57 on the highway, so she suspected it pulled in a lot of people from surroundings towns or tourists passing through. God knew the club spent a fortune on billboard signs, with advertising starting as much as fifty miles away in both directions. Clearly the promotion paid off.
Once again, Luc’s arm found its way to the back of her seat, his fingers in her hair. “You look beautiful, Jeannette.”
She smiled and thanked him. She’d spent an ungodly amount of time fussing and fretting in front of the mirror, not that she’d seen much difference, apart from a few more heat-created waves in her hair and heavier eye makeup—that she’d then hidden behind her glasses. “Saw the fire truck roar past the restaurant today. Was there a fire or a car accident?”
Diego took a sip of his beer. “Fire. That old abandoned shack at the corner of Route 26 and Poorhouse Road.”
She tilted her head. “How on earth did that happen? There’s no electricity in that thing. Kids playing around?”
Diego shook his head. “No. It didn’t look like anyone had been there in a long time.”
She considered the number of times she’d seen the fire truck answering calls in the past few weeks. “You guys have been sort of busy lately, haven’t you?”
Luc continued to play with her hair, wrapping one strand around his finger. “Unfortunately. Today’s was the third fire in that many weeks. The shack, plus two outbuildings—one at Buster Milligan’s place and another at Roy Mathers’ farm.
