Marilee’s daughters came in next, Ellie at four and Abigail toddling in at two years old. Abigail was a bit shy, but grinned when Tony spotted her and he reached over the screaming group of kids to lift her up and kiss her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him like he was Santa come to life. And every winter, Tony truly was Santa, dressing up in a red and white costume and handing out presents to each of his “nieces and nephews”.
Ivy came in a few minutes later with her daughter Kendra, the two of them back from a long run. They were both training for a mother-daughter race scheduled for the spring and looked just about as sweaty as the men. Ivy’s two boys were brought in by Jason, the lawyer representing Ivy, Tony, Daisy, and Marilee. He’d been watching Ivy’s two boys while Gunner took the guys out into the woods for a workout and Ivy ran with her daughter. Ivy’s boys, Trevor and Grant, were a bit more rambunctious than the rest and were little SEALs in training as their father regularly took them to the Navy SEAL obstacle course and played with them there on the weekends along with the rest of the SEAL Team, who loved having them running around with them.
Even Jason’s wife, Melanie arrived from her morning run. The woman was strikingly lovely with sandy blond ringlets dancing around her face. Melanie immediately walked over to Jason, lifting up on her toes to kiss her husband, Jason, then laughed when he ignored her sweaty shirt and pulled her in for a more thorough kiss. Melanie and Jason were about ten years older than the rest of the crowd, but just as much a part of their group. Melanie had a daughter already in college and Jason, the man who had guided all four of the friends through the complexities of winning a massive amount of money from the lottery and helped them invest their money, had a son who had graduated a couple of years ago. Melanie owned the old Victorian tucked up against the side of the mountain and every weekend, there were a large number of vehicles parked outside, but no one in LowPoint really knew what happened there. Julia knew that Melanie worked the stock market and made a fortune buying and selling at the right time. Whenever someone asked about the weekend events, Melanie explained that they were work events and completely boring.
Ivy, Marilee, and Daisy stood at the end of the table, looking at their husbands with disbelief. “Seriously?” Daisy demanded of the four of them.
“Did you leave any mud in the woods?” Ivy asked, walking over to Gunner, carefully finding a place that was free of mud to kiss him. In response, he pulled her against him and kissed her until she was giggling and squirming to get away.
Emerson crooked a finger at Marilee, a silent signal to come closer. Marilee only laughed and shook her head. “No way, big guy. The mud is not working for me.”
As Julia watched, she saw Emerson send a silent message to Marilee, who blushed beautifully at whatever he’d conveyed. A lump in her throat made it hard to swallow, hard to breathe actually. For several minutes, she watched, feeling like an outsider and yet, she knew that everyone here was her friend as well.
Yet another reason, she thought. She had to do it. She wanted this. She wanted what each of these couples had with each other. But Tony…he wasn’t the kind of man who would fall in love with her.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow she’d hand in her resignation and then she’d make plans.
In the meantime, Tony ordered all of the kids to grab a seat, then he started serving up eggs and potatoes. Julia watched, amazed at his ease with the chaos and how he absolutely loved doing things like this. He was happiest when cooking, surrounded by people. This was his family, even though no one was related by blood to him in any way. They’d created this world, this family through loyalty and love. She could be a part of it, but only at a distance.
Then Tony slid the cloud eggs onto her plate, a look in his eyes causing her heart to pound. The heat sizzled and she tried to pretend that she wasn’t feeling it, hiding her feelings behind what she hoped was a friendly smile. This was her boss. Her best friend. The feelings he invoked in her made her mind spin.
Pulling her eyes away, she looked around, relieved when he moved back to serving everyone food, piling their plates high. The bigger kids were sitting around the other countertop while Bethany and Broderick, the youngest at two, were sitting on a parent’s lap, being fed smaller bites. The teasing and laughter…she wanted this. Not just to organize it, but to be a part of it. To belong.
She’d never belong because this was Tony’s family. And he was her boss.
The feelings she had for Tony, they weren’t good. They weren’t appropriate. Over the years, she’d tried to get over him, but they’d just grown stronger.
She needed to leave. That was her only solution.
An hour later, everyone was gone and Julia called in the staff early so they could clean up from breakfast and start prepping for the night’s meal.
In her office, she worked some numbers, considering a brunch option on the weekends, trying to figure out how she could make that happen. But when the back door buzzer rang, she looked at the clock. Delivery time, she realized, startled that so much time had passed.
Hurrying towards the door, she was still thinking about the numbers, trying to figure out how to convince Tony to add another meal sitting to the weekends.
“Oomph!”
Julia looked up and blinked. It took her a moment for her eyes to focus on the big, brawny…chest. Just a chest? But she knew this chest and, her heartbeat sped up. “Tony,” she whispered, then cleared her throat.
“Julia,” he replied, his voice sounding just as husky as her own.
They didn’t move. His hands rested on her arms, her hands were on his…chest. Her mind should have been telling her to pull back, to step around him. But really, all her mind was thinking was, “Yummy!”
“You okay?” he asked, voice still low and husky.
Was she? She’d be better if he lifted her up into his arms, carried her into his office and…well, she should have recorded her dream last night, because it had been full of ideas.
“I’m fine,” she lied. Resignation!
Yummy chest muscles!
Resignation, her mind ordered with forceful clarity.
Yummy chest muscles, her body argued back.
Her fingers twitched. Her breath caught in her throat. Her mind still arguing with her body.
The buzzer rang again and she jumped, startled that something so brazen should interrupt this incredible moment.
“Delivery,” she said, straightening her blouse and pulling out of his arms. How had it come untucked?
“Right,” he replied and stepped backwards.
Unfortunately, the hallway here wasn’t wide enough for both of them and she had to turn sideways. Even still, her breasts and stomach brushed against his chest. Yummy!
“Stop it!” she groaned.
Suddenly, her arms were gripped and she was pressed back against the wall.
“I don’t think I can,” he admitted softly, his head lowered and Julia’s heart went into overtime, beating so fast it felt like it might take off and fly away entirely when she realized that he was going to kiss her. Julia felt faint, but on the off chance that he might kiss her, she didn’t want to miss it. So she blinked, her mind spinning out of control as she tried valiantly to remain conscious.
But that stupid buzzer sounded again and…the moment was gone. Looking up into his green eyes, she wondered if she’d ever experience his kiss. Experiencing his kiss in her dreams definitely didn’t count. Besides, she knew that sensation all too well.
And then he released her, stepping back. What was that look in his eyes? Was he…? Could he…? Before she had a chance to figure it out, to interpret what was going on inside his head, he nodded curtly and moved out of the way.
“I’ll get it,” she grumbled and moved towards the steel door where deliveries were made.
Tony walked back to his office and looked around. But that moment had been too close. Too intense. Julia had looked…damn, she’d looked like she wanted him to kiss her. What had happened to his
plan to do something about this lust?
Shaking his head, he paced the small confines of his office. After too many years of lusting after her, he was losing his mind. She was one of the best employees his restaurant had ever had and a very good friend. Could he risk messing that up?
There was nothing in his office that helped him get his mind off the fantasy of kissing Julia, so he stomped to his kitchen. The whole kitchen crew was there, busy prepping for the night’s dinner and he couldn’t get in their way, so he headed towards the back. It was a special place that Julia had created for him. It wasn’t a full kitchen, but a small space where he could create when the need arose. Before Julia, he hadn’t needed this space. He’d been perfectly fine confining his creative needs to the regular cooking times for the dinner meals.
And even those first few years, she’d just been a pretty face and a too skinny figure that had traipsed in and out of his kitchen, picking up plates while she served them to the customers.
His desire for her hadn’t been instantaneous. Nope. It had grown over time. The more he got to know her, the more he wanted her. Over time, he’d just accepted the loss of sleep caused by his dreams of making love to her.
But as she’d grown in confidence, so had their friendship. She’d learned to tease him and he loved it. Their conversations now were deeper, livelier. She never hesitated to speak her mind or even to tell him when he was being an ass. She protected his staff and he respected her for that, calling him out when he was being too demanding, but quick to protect him as well, shifting personnel around in the kitchen, so that things worked like a well-oiled machine. She ensured that he had everything he needed before he knew that he needed them. Ingredients appeared as if by magic. His meals were paired perfectly with wines, new cocktails were created, marketing plans initiated…all by Julia’s impressive skills.
They were more than boss and employee. They were a team.
Unfortunately, he was dreaming about her every night now, waking up with a rock hard erection and sweat glazing his body even as he reached out for her. It was crazy, but…
She walked in again and all thoughts of creating food were gone. Just watching her walk by him, those sexy, wool slacks curving around her perfect ass made his mouth water more than any food ever had.
When she finally disappeared into the dining room, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. To relieve the stress, he pulled ingredients out of the fridge, smacking them onto the metal prep table. He had no idea what he was making, he just needed to cook. If he couldn’t have her, this was the next best thing. Since he’d woken up in a painfully aroused state and had to go for a long, hard run to get himself back under control, cooking was his only outlet at the moment.
Hours later, Tony watched as Julia smiled a welcome to the couple as they entered through the double doors of the restaurant. The three chatted for a moment, then she led the way through the tables towards the wall in the back. “Is this okay?” she asked.
The couple smiled gratefully and sat down in the cushioned chairs. As she made her way back through the dining room, she stopped at several tables, greeting the people she knew with a smile, a touch to their shoulder, a nod. Julia asked about people’s children, their families, remembered birthdays and anniversaries. It was her job, and she did it with such amazing grace and a genuine affection for each person she spoke to, Tony had to shake his head at her skill.
Watching her was like watching a symphony. Everything had a moment, an entrance. Shake up that rhythm and things went off kilter. But Julia never allowed chaos in her dining room. She ran “Desire” like a smoothly tuned car. Everything moved with precision. The wait staff were treated like they were a part of the success. The kitchen staff looked to her for guidance when there was a problem with a customer, or to him when they needed assistance with cooking.
Tony loved watching her work. She was grace and elegance, smiling to the customers even as she ensured that wine was served properly, cocktails were brought from the bar quickly, food was plated with appropriate flair…everything was….perfect. Just like her.
With a sigh of impatience, he moved back into the kitchen, pushing thoughts of Julia out of his mind.
Or at least trying.
Chapter 4
“Stop!” Marilee ordered Trixie, the two hundred pound dog that she’d adopted with Emerson several years ago. Trixie’s brother, Tiger, wanted in on the fun and decided to start tugging at his leash as well. “No!” she scolded, trying to mimic the tone Emerson used whenever the dogs started acting up. But she just didn’t have it in her and, as soon as they backed away, she smiled at them and they began doing it again.
“I can be mean,” she mumbled to herself as she took the stairs two at a time. Not because she wanted to run this fast, but because it was the only way she could keep up with the canines that were adorable, but a bit rambunctious today. Probably because they knew they were going to stay with Julia and they loved staying with her. Tiger and Trixie absolutely loved Julia’s dogs, OB and TJ.
“Tell them to heel,” Emerson ordered from the foyer of the old Victorian house that had been changed into an apartment building with six apartments.
“I did!” she called back, peering over the balustrade. “But they don’t listen to me.”
“You spoil them,” he pointed out.
Marilee shrugged slightly, but couldn’t argue with him. She did spoil them, but only because they were sweet and cute. Well, they weren’t cute exactly. They were two of the ugliest beasts that had ever been born. Their hair was raggedy, one of Trixie’s ears stood up straight while the other tipped down over her eye. Tiger’s fur was a dark brown while Trixie’s defied any sort of definition. But they were loyal, amazing animals that defended her three children avidly. Especially shy, little Abigail, who was only two years old. From the moment Abigail had come home from the hospital, she’d struggled to sleep. Every night, she and Emerson had walked the halls, trying to bounce her back to sleep. Until one night they’d finally quieted their tiny daughter and put her down around midnight and hadn’t heard anything as they’d passed out from exhaustion.
In the morning, when they’d woken after a long, uninterrupted sleep, Marilee had panicked and fallen out of bed, stumbling into Abigail’s bedroom, sure that she’d died in her sleep. Only to find Trixie had climbed into the crib and curled her body around Abigail’s. The baby had been fast asleep with one tiny, pudgy hand clutching Trixie’s floppy ear. Trixie had somehow climbed into the crib and maneuvered herself underneath Abigail so that her daughter’s head and upper body were against Trixie’s body.
They’d slept together every night since and Abigail didn’t go anywhere without Trixie by her side. When her two year old toddled down the hallway and fell, it was Trixie who barked for Jordan and Ellie to slow down until Abigail picked herself up. At the moment, Abigail and Trixie were racing, trying to catch up with the others. Although Trixie could easily outrun the toddler, she stayed by her side, nuzzling the little lady with her nose for encouragement. Emerson sighed and stepped up, grabbing Abigail when she fell again.
“Go on, Trix,” Emerson ordered. Trixie stared up at the toddler in her master’s arms, then followed up the stairs, somehow understanding.
The sweet, ugly, endearing dog was also how Abigail got out of eating anything she didn’t like. Trixie lay right at the foot of her chair and the two worked in tandem to get rid of every bite.
Anytime Marilee or Emerson tried to catch Trixie in the act, the loyal dog simply stared right back at them, never giving anything away.
Which was why Trixie pushed her furry head through the spokes of the bannister, barking for one more peek at Abigail. Emerson, understanding the connection, turned and allowed Abigail to give the dog one more wave, reassuring both that they were fine.
“Come on you big sucker,” Marilee urged Trixie. Tiger was already standing beside Julia’s doorway, seeming to roll his eyes at his sister’s adoration for the tormentor in the family. Abig
ail loved to pull tails. Not intentionally hurting either dog, but she loved trying to catch a wagging tail. Tiger knew this and taunted Abigail, but paid the price when Abigail inevitably won the game.
Thankfully, neither dog ever bit anyone. They were incredibly careful, protective, and adoring.
Marilee glanced at her loveable mutts, then knocked on Julia’s door.
“It’s open!” Julia called. “Come on in!”
When she heard her husband’s groan of disapproval, Marilee pressed her lips together, smothering a chuckle. As the sheriff of LowPoint, he couldn’t stand it when the residents didn’t lock their doors. Of course, he knew what was going on – the residents didn’t know about the crimes that were happening in their community. He did such a good job of stopping the criminals that entered his territory that the residents believed there wasn’t any crime.
But instead of showing her husband that smile, she pushed into her friend’s apartment.
“Julia? It’s me! I’m here with Trixie and Tiger!”
Marilee bent down and unlatched their leashes, hanging them on the hook beside the two others that were already there. A fraction of a second later, two medium dogs bounded out of Julia’s bedroom, eager to accomplish the official butt-sniffing greeting.
OB and TJ weren’t related like Tiger and Trixie, but they were just as close. Most people thought that Julia had named her first dog Opie, like the television character from Mayberry. But Marilee, Ivy, and Daisy knew that the dog’s real name was OB, which stood for Obnoxious Boss. Julia had adopted OB from the pound several years ago, during a period when she and Tony had been arguing about everything. Tony would snap orders at her and she would grudgingly follow them.
TJ was really Tony Junior. Julia had gotten this sweet mutt from the pound when she’d gained enough courage to stand up to Tony. Julia thought it was funny to put a leash on Tony Junior and walk the dog through the park. She’d taught both dogs to catch a ball and bring it back to her and, every morning, one could find Julia out in the park throwing a ball to her dogs. Julia told Marilee that it was nice to be able to order Tony around in her own place, since he shouted orders to her so often at work.
Seduced (The Lottery Winners Book 8) Page 4
