Return of the Jerk (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 2)

by Simonne, Andrea

  “What are you doing?” Road asks, standing in her bedroom doorway, watching her.

  Blair glances over at him, embarrassed to be caught. “Nothing.”

  “Taking pictures of your feet?”

  “Sort of. It’s just that I love these shoes.”

  He chuckles. “Let me guess, these are the ones you’d save along with Mr. Maurice in a fire.”

  “Yes, but if you’ll remember, Mr. Maurice came first.”

  When she gets up from the bed and walks toward him, his eyes travel the length of her with approval. “Damn, babe, this what you always wear to deliver cakes?”

  “Of course.”

  “Nice.”

  She tries to hide her smile. So what if I’m not Skank Factor X?

  “Thanks, you look nice, too.” Road is wearing jeans and a white button-down shirt. In truth, he looks mouth-wateringly hot. She can barely pull her eyes away. His shirt cuffs are rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms, and the white shirt looks sexy. As usual, his thick, blond hair is parted in the center, tucked behind his ears.

  They head out to the Honda where Road insists on driving, not that she cares. It gives her a chance to call Natalie and update her on the situation.

  When they arrive at La Dolce Vita, Blair instructs Road on where to park and they go in through the back entrance, where the scent of fresh pastries surrounds them. Natalie has just pulled out black-bottom cupcakes. They have a smaller menu on the weekends and offer sweet breads and muffins, along with these crazy-delicious cupcakes Natalie came up with recently.

  “I’m glad to see you found someone who can help.” Natalie comes over, wiping her hands on her apron. “It’s nice to meet you, Road.”

  “Same here.” Road shakes her hand.

  “Grab a cupcake if you like.”

  Blair can see him looking around the bakery, taking everything in. And for a moment, she’s filled with pride. She and Natalie have created a solid business, and she enjoys showing it off to him.

  Lindsay, Natalie’s gorgeous younger sister, comes in from the front carrying an empty baking tray. When she notices them standing together, she walks over and puts the tray down by the sink.

  Blair introduces her and can see Road looking at Lindsay. It occurs to Blair that Lindsay is sort of Road’s type. She’s not Skank Factor X exactly, but Lindsay is sexy with an edge.

  “So, you’re the infamous Road,” Lindsay says, tossing her wavy brown curls over her shoulder.

  He chuckles. “Didn’t realize I was ‘infamous.’”

  “Oh, you are, trust me.”

  And that’s when Blair realizes Lindsay isn’t joking.

  “Anyone who abandons my girl Blair is infamous and a whole lot of other choice words I’m too polite to use at the moment.”

  “Huh?” Road is taken aback.

  “Uh, Lindsay, Road is here helping me deliver wedding cakes,” Blair says quickly. “I was desperate, and he offered to pitch in.”

  “Sound like it’s the least he could do.”

  Blair doesn’t know what to say. In truth, she’s touched that Lindsay wants to defend her. She glances over at Natalie for help, but she just sips her latte and watches Road with interest.

  It figures.

  There’s something unusual about the two sisters, and the way they grew up, that Blair doesn’t entirely understand. They’re fierce and loyal, though, and once they accept you into their circle, that’s it. They have your back. It was a quality Blair admired, and it made Natalie a business partner she trusted.

  “Look, I don’t even know you,” Road tells Lindsay, still confused by her hostility.

  “Doesn’t matter. I know what you did to Blair, and that tells me all I need to know about you.”

  Road glances at Blair with surprise.

  Blair is tempted to fill the awkward silence that has developed, but the sisters have influenced her, and she’s curious to see Road’s reaction now, too.

  He studies the women, his laser focus turned on as all three of them take each other’s measure.

  Finally, Road nods slowly. “Not much I can say to that charge, since that’s between Blair and me.” His eyes flash over to Blair. “But I’m glad to see she has friends who care about her so much.”

  The sisters glance at each other. She gets the feeling Road has passed their little test, but that he still has a long way to go to win their approval. Not that it matters. She plans to divorce him as soon as possible, and then he’ll be out of her life forever. She’ll finally be free. Or so she hopes.

  Blair glances at her phone and sees the time. They should start loading up the van. “Come on, the fridge is over this way,” she tells Road. “We should get going.”

  He follows her to their big, walk-in refrigerator while she grabs her notebook with all the paperwork for each cake. Their first wedding is over in Ballard, and the cake is a brown and white stacked hatbox covered with edible ribbons and bows.

  She points it out to him and shows him the large board they’ll use to carry it on.

  “You made this cake?”

  She nods, flipping through her notebook. “I made all the wedding cakes in here.”

  “Seriously? You’re an artist.”

  “I guess so.”

  He gives her a strange look as his eyes wander the fridge. “Have to admit, I don’t know much about wedding cakes, but anyone can see these are amazing.”

  After loading the cake into the refrigerated van, Road wants to drive, but she’s nervous. “You have to drive slow and easy. I can’t have my cake getting knocked around in the back.”

  “You think I can’t handle it?”

  “I don’t know, can you?” Road wasn’t exactly a slow grandma kind of driver, though that’s what she needs right now.

  He takes the keys from her hand. “I got this, princess.”

  She gives in and goes to sit in the back so she can spot the cake.

  They spend the next few hours picking up each cake from the bakery and delivering it to its final destination. Turns out, his driving is perfect. And she has to admit, Road is a huge help. She would never have been able to do this without him.

  “Thank you so much,” she tells him as they’re driving to their last wedding. She’s sitting in front with him, since the last cake is boxed and will be set on stands instead of being tiered. “I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  She glances down at her gorgeous shoes and since she’s already holding her phone, decides to take a few more selfies of them. Road chuckles, watching her.

  “Can tell you this much, you’d never catch a guy taking pictures of his feet, no matter what kind of shoes he’s wearing.”

  When they drop the cake off, the bride, Rachel, comes over and gives Blair a hug. “Everything looks beautiful. I love it. You have to stay and join us. Come celebrate!”

  It’s always fun to be around people after they’ve just gotten married, with all the excitement in the air, but she rarely stays at any reception for long. “I wish I could,” Blair tells her. “But it’s been a busy day, and we should be heading back.”

  Rachel nods, but her eyes aren’t on Blair anymore. Instead, they’re following Road as he carries stuff out to the van. “Who’s that? Did you guys hire a new baker?”

  “No, that’s my husband.” My God! Blair stops breathing. Where did that come from? She’s shocked herself and can’t believe she said those words, much less the easy way they rolled off her tongue.

  Rachel grins. “He’s cute! I didn’t even know you were married.”

  Blair tries to smile. “He’s just helping out for today.”

  As they drive back to the condo, Road keeps glancing over at her.

  “What?” she finally says. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

  “Did you a big favor today, right?”

  “Yes, I already told you that.”

  “A very big favor?”

  And then Blair sees where he’s going with thi
s. “Forget it, I am not handing over Isadora’s keys. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your help, but I’m not giving you my car.”

  “Your car?” He gives her an incredulous look.

  “Okay, our car. How’s that?”

  “Sounds like you have pronoun confusion, babe. Isadora belongs to the person with his name on her title.”

  Blair doesn’t respond. She should probably feel guilty, but doesn’t. He abandoned Isadora.

  Road is drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “Okay, how about this? Come with me to my mom’s party tonight.”

  She frowns. “Why?”

  “Because I just did you a big favor, and it’s the least you could do.”

  “No, I mean why do you want me to come at all?”

  “You’re my wife, and I want you there.”

  She squirms uncomfortably, thinking about how she just told someone Road was her husband. Only she did it for real. “We both know that isn’t true. What’s the actual reason?”

  Road pulls up to the gate in front of her parking garage and presses the button so it will lift. “A lot of women show up at these parties.”

  “And?”

  “And I’d rather not deal with them.”

  “Since when don’t you like women?”

  He grins. “Babe, I love women, but ever since word got out that I’m doing all right, they’ve been coming out of the woodwork at me. You get my meaning?”

  “I guess. Are you saying women are throwing themselves at you?”

  “Basically, yeah.”

  “Some men would like that.”

  “I know, but I just don’t need that kind of hassle right now.”

  Blair chews on this. He doesn’t want that kind of hassle? Is he talking about Skank Factor X? She doubts it. Doubts it very much. On the other hand, he did do her a big favor today. “All right, fine. I’ll come to the party tonight.”

  Once inside, Blair slips into a pair of jeans and a green striped shirt. She wears her hair down, but straightens it with the blow dryer, trying to tame her curls.

  When she goes to find Road, he’s on his computer in her second bedroom that he’s turned into an office. He looks annoyingly at home sitting at his desk with the two laptops open in front of him. It’s like he owns the place. “I wouldn’t get too comfortable in here if I were you.”

  He doesn’t even bother looking up. “What’s your damage?”

  “My damage?” Blair scoffs. “You’ve moved in and taken over half of my home! I mean, just look at all this stuff.” She waves her hand at his desk, the computers, the tangle of wires, the fax machine in the corner. Suddenly, she notices the wall behind him. “My God, you’ve even hung pictures on the wall!” She stares in amazement at the framed photos. They’re mostly city shots, quite nice actually, but still. “This is unbelievable.”

  “Told you I’d take it all with me when I leave.”

  She studies his blond head, the intent expression on his face, and the fast click of his fingers on the keyboard. In some ways, none of this should surprise her. Road has always been bold.

  “You better,” she mutters. “Or you might find I’ve sold all of it out from under your smug butt.”

  He glances up at her, a grin pulling on his mouth.

  “I’m going to the store,” she says. “That’s what I came in here to tell you. We should bring something to your mom’s.

  “Let’s just grab something on the way.” He focuses on his computer. “You don’t need to make a separate trip.”

  “I need to pick up a few things anyway.”

  He stops typing and gives her his full attention. “Which car are you taking?”

  “Isadora, why?”

  “Nothing.” His expression goes lazy, and she can tell he’s trying to look innocent. “Just curious.”

  Blair goes silent. She doesn’t like that expression, knows he’s scheming something.

  She drives to the store and picks up a few groceries along with a bottle of white wine—remembering how Lori prefers white—and some chips and salsa for the party.

  When she gets back to her condo, Road is still on his computer, but comes out as she’s putting the groceries away.

  “Look, Blair, this is enough. You need to give me the keys to my car. I’m driving Isadora to my mom’s tonight.”

  She ignores him, continuing with the groceries.

  “You hear me?”

  “Yes, but you already know what I’m going to say.”

  Road watches her. Blair senses his frustration building, how he’s wrestling with something, but she doesn’t know what it could be. She folds the shopping bags up to put them in the recycle bin.

  Finally, he lets his breath out. “Sorry, babe, but this ends now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  And then, before she can stop him, he grabs her purse off the kitchen chair and strides into the living room with it.

  “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Taking back my property, that’s what.”

  “You can’t just go through my purse!”

  She goes after him, but he’s already dumped the entire contents out on the couch.

  “Stop it!”

  When he finds her key ring with a big cursive ‘B’ on it, there’s a triumphant grin on his face.

  “Give those back to me!”

  “Sorry, princess. You played a good game. Even admire your tenacity, but this game is officially over.” He sifts through her key ring then frowns. “What the hell?”

  Blair tries to hide the smile on her face. Thank God she took precautions. She knew he was up to something.

  Road’s turns on her. “Where are they?”

  “I’m sorry, but that’s privileged information.”

  He tosses her keys on the couch and strides back over to the kitchen.

  Blair shoves everything back into her purse, ignoring the impulse to organize it, figuring she’ll do it later. She puts her purse back onto the chair and watches as Road methodically searches each kitchen drawer.

  “You just drove her, so the keys have to be here somewhere,” he mutters.

  Blair stands, leaning against the chair. She doesn’t say anything as he continues his search. After prowling through the final cabinet, his eyes flash back to her. They narrow.

  “Empty your pockets.”

  Blair lets go of the chair. “I’m not emptying my pockets.”

  “You have something to hide?”

  “No.”

  He starts coming toward her and Blair backs away. Road is big and formidable when he wants to be. She scoots to the other side of the couch.

  He grins. “The keys are in your pocket. I know they are.”

  “No, they aren’t.”

  “Don’t believe you. Come over here and show me.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Road moves toward her again and Blair circles back around to the kitchen. She laughs. “The keys are not in my pants pockets. I swear!”

  He doesn’t appear to be listening anymore, though, and is intent on reaching her instead.

  And that’s when Blair decides to run.

  She’s not even sure what possesses her to do it. Her only plan is to get to the bathroom at the end of the hall, and she almost makes it, too, but Road is fast. He’s right on her heels and before she can even reach the bathroom door, his muscular arm swoops around her waist.

  “Let go!” she squeals with laughter.

  “Don’t worry, princess. This won’t hurt a bit.” He struggles with her as she pushes at his arm. “Just give me what’s mine and we’re good.” Road holds Blair tight against him, trying to reach into her jeans pocket.

  “I told you, I don’t have . . . them.” She manages to push his hand away and nearly manages to squirm out of the arm that has her captured.

  “Hold still,” he says, laughing as he tries to maintain his grip on her and search her pockets at the same time. “Christ, you’re stronger than you look
.”

  Blair smiles to herself. She’s tempted to use some of the defensive moves she’s learned from her boxing class on him, but those involve foot-stomping and ball-kneeing, and despite everything, she doesn’t actually want to injure Road.

  He’s still trying to stick his fingers in her pockets without much success, when abruptly he changes tactics. Instead of holding her from behind, he spins her around. Before she knows it, Blair’s back is pressed against the wall, while her front is pressed against Road as he holds her captive with his large body.

  His fingers snake into both her front pockets at the same time now. “Thought you could mess with me, but you’re playing in the big leagues now.”

  Blair can’t help her scoff of laughter as his hands continue their exploration. She feels them slide to her rear, checking the pockets in back.

  Her eyes fall shut. She’s not sure when she decides to give in and stop fighting him.

  His hands are on her ass, his smoky scent surrounds her and for a long moment, she lets herself enjoy it. The solid feel of him pressed against her.

  Blair tilts her head to look up at him. The hall is dim, but she can see the exact moment when he realizes all her pockets are empty. The perplexed expression on his handsome face.

  “I’ll be damned,” he mutters.

  “I told you I don’t have the keys,” she says, breathless. “You should have believed me.”

  His eyes cut down to hers. “Why did you run?”

  “Because you were chasing me.”

  “No.” He shakes his head. “You ran first.”

  Blair doesn’t say anything to this. Why did she run? Why didn’t she just show him her pockets were empty?

  Maybe it’s because she wanted Road to chase her, to make the effort.

  For once.

  Her breath catches. When she meets his gaze this time, she’s aware of his hands still on her ass as she grips his muscular forearms. Road shifts position, pulls back, but not all the way. His body still touching hers, his hands slide up her sides so they’re resting on her hips.