by Marie Harte
Like you? Two marriages and three baby daddies? All those boyfriends we were forced to share a dinner with, wondering if they’d be moving in or moving on? No thanks. He loved his mother, but he didn’t understand how she could so easily fall in and out of love. Or how she could think that hadn’t affected her children. “Yeah, great. Just be careful, okay? No more sisters. I can’t handle it.”
She laughed. “I know about safe sex, Luis.”
He cringed. “I have to go.”
“Rosie still wants a little brother, you know.”
He lit out of her driveway and didn’t look back.
* * *
Thursday morning at work, Joey rubbed her gritty eyes. For the past two nights, she’d done nothing but dream about Lou. Naked.
He pranced, he danced, he stripped her down and went wild. She’d woken sweaty and frustrated, and this morning she’d been joined by an equally angry little boy. Apparently Brandon didn’t want to take a lunch box anymore. He wanted a hot lunch, which, one, wasn’t in the budget and, two, would only guarantee he got a slice of pizza and tater tots. Starch plus starch in addition to the apple the school would plunk on his tray but he wouldn’t eat.
And when Brandon didn’t get enough to eat, the boy could rival Oscar the Grouch for grumpiness. Please. Been there, done that.
Then the hot water had given them fits. So with cold showers, the last of the dino-egg oatmeal, and an argument over hot versus cold lunch, she’d shipped her boy to school then went to work on three hours of sleep.
Miserable, to say the least. To make matters worse, she had dinner scheduled with Lou later that night. Her boss had been almost more excited than Joey that Joey had a date, so she’d volunteered to take Brandon out for burgers. He loved Stef, so at least that had gone Joey’s way.
But now Joey had too much time on her hands to think about sexy Lou and what he had planned—or not planned—for this starter relationship.
While there was no reason to take him too seriously, she didn’t think she’d be able to handle him in the long run. In her fantasies, they made love, and he was magnificent. Then he’d bowl over any objections she had to keeping her heart safe. She’d fall in lust, then in love…and he’d break her heart after giving her an STD. Best case. Or she’d get pregnant while on multiple forms of birth control. The other best case.
She sighed. Even in her dream world, reality reared its ugly head.
Still not sure why she’d gone out with him in the first place, she wanted badly to regret it. But she couldn’t. She’d felt special Tuesday. For all of an hour over coffee and a bear claw, Joey had felt not like someone’s mom or disappointing daughter, but like a real, desirable woman.
Lou didn’t know her as a screwup. She attracted him, and he’d laughed with, not at, her. Big difference.
She’d enjoyed herself enough to want another date. And now she had one in eight and a half hours. Oh man, today is going to drag.
Except it didn’t. A last-minute beauty pageant fill-in had them making a dozen corsages and large bouquets for the winning age classes. Between her and Tonya, they’d worked hard. Manning the front and taking calls in between creating grand-prize arrangements, they also had their regular deliveries as well as the new guy to handle.
To her surprise, she’d recognized him from Del’s wedding. Apparently Theo Donnigan was Del’s new cousin by marriage. Talk about a small world.
She figured she’d need to take time out to show him around, but he’d been more than happy to help out where needed.
“Theo, can you hand me the gyp? I mean, the baby’s breath?” she asked.
“Uh, that one?” He pointed to the bucket of delicate white flowers.
“Yep. Gyp. It’s actually common gypsophila. The delicate little white-and-pink flowers are great as filler, but they get overused that way a lot. We’re just going to use a smaller branch of it here”—she tied it to the floral wires sticking through the base of the purple spray rose—“in addition to a larger frond and two white carnations. Simple but effective.” Then she wrapped floral tape around the wires and managed the tiny arrangements.
Next to her, Tonya had already finished her fourth corsage and was starting on a fifth. “So how do you like S&J, Theo?” The older woman smiled at him, probably seeing her own teenager in the young man.
He’d come by looking for part-time work two weeks ago. Stef had been so impressed with his work ethic and stellar references, of which he had many, that she’d hired him on the spot. Apparently his current job at a coffee shop was hitting a few bumps due to a girlfriend who’d recently been promoted to manager. His hours had gone down, and he thought he might need to quit sooner than later.
In any case, Theo would soon be twenty-one and joining the Marines. In the meantime, he needed gainful employment.
“Can I make one?” he asked, watching intently.
Joey nodded, and they worked in companionable silence for a while.
“You guys need music in here,” he said.
“Good point.” Tonya turned to Joey. “Well, Ms. Manager?”
As pleased as Joey that she’d gotten the job, Tonya had been glad to see the last of their old manager. Not that Georgette had been a bad sort, but she’d been too rigid, afraid to try anything new. Her move away had come as a blessing. Especially because it had opened up the possibility of Joey taking over.
“Manager? Sweet.” Theo grinned. A good-looking guy with dark hair and a tall if skinny frame, he’d be a definite lady-killer in a few years. Despite only being a few years older, Joey felt worlds apart from the younger man. She had a son and responsibilities while he was just getting started with life.
“Joey worked hard for the promotion, let me tell you.” Then Tonya did just that, regaling Theo with stories about Joey staying late and butting heads with Georgette.
The buzzer signaled new customers in the store, letting Joey know to wait by the counter. And the day went steadily onward from there, busy then slow, with arrangements to put together in the back. Theo spent much of the day working with Tonya. By four, Joey told him to go home.
“You did great today, Theo. We’ll get you going on deliveries soon enough. Get familiar with the city traffic and road closures.”
He sighed. “No kidding. It takes forever to get around here anymore.”
“I know.”
He looked down at her from his impressive height. “Man, you’re short. Boss.”
“Hey, not nice.” She grinned. “How tall are you?”
“Six three.” He flexed a skinny arm. “But I have a lot of filling out to do to catch up to my brothers. They’re home now, but they used to be in the Marine Corps.”
She nodded. “Is that why you’re going to join up?”
“Partly. And partly because I always wanted to.” He shrugged. “It just feels right.”
“That’s great.”
He smiled. “What about you? Did you always want to do this?”
“Not exactly. I was never really sure what I wanted to do. My parents always pushed me to get straight A’s and excel in everything, so I never had a chance to just breathe and figure things out.”
“Yeah. My parents kind of pushed me too. Until I pushed back.” He snorted. “My mom, I love her, but she’s hard to please sometimes. Not as bad as my dad, though. And everyone thinks he’s the easygoing one.”
Do I know what that feels like. “Funny how that works, isn’t it? But at least we have a good thing going here. The flower shop is an awesome place to work. Stef is great. You met her.” At his nod, she continued. “It’s not too snooty, the people are nice, and we don’t worry about getting robbed or mugged in the parking lot. Plus we’re always busy. This is a great location. Wait until you start making deliveries. Everyone loves to get flowers. And you’re cute, so you’ll make big tips.”
He flushed.
“Thanks.”
She stifled a laugh. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to embarrass you. But we deliver to a lot of women, and that’s what our last delivery guy told me, and he was kicking thirty. An old man,” she teased.
Theo nodded, apparently not getting the joke. “So why did he leave?”
“He and his wife moved to Tacoma to be near family, and he started working for his father-in-law.”
“Makes sense.”
“You did great today. Go home, Theo. Rest up for tomorrow.”
“Yes, boss.” He saluted, grinned, and left through the back with a shout to Tonya.
Tonya soon joined her out front, pushed her glasses higher on her nose, and combed her dark-blond hair behind her ears. “I like him. He works hard. Reminds me of Billy.” Her son.
“Me too. I think he’ll make a nice addition to the team, for as long as he’s here anyway. I figure we’ll have him a few months before he leaves for basic training, right?”
“I guess.” She looked at Joey. “He’s pretty cute, don’t you think?”
“Billy? Sure. He looks like you.”
“I meant Theo.”
“Oh. Oh.” Joey flushed. “Come on, Tonya. That kid makes me feel ancient.”
Tonya laughed. “Honey, ‘that kid’ is maybe four years younger than you. That’s not too old.”
“It is to me.” She felt nothing but manager-ly toward their newest employee.
Tonya laughed. “Sorry I asked. But you know, Stef and I talk. We think you need to start dating again. Don’t let that Adam and, who was the other one?”
“Jim.” From nine months ago. Adam had been a year past. Oh boy. She did need to get out more.
“That’s right. Jim. Don’t let them put you off men, honey. You’re young, smart, and pretty. You deserve some fun in your life.”
“I have a date tonight” slipped out.
Tonya gaped. “Well, no kidding.” She grinned. “Good for you! How did that happen?”
“He came in the other day to get flowers for his sister. Then he asked me out. We’re just doing dinner tonight. No biggie.”
“I want details tomorrow. Don’t hold back.”
Joey rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom.”
Tonya cracked up. “Is he coming to pick you up?”
“I’m meeting him at six-thirty. Stef is watching Brandon for me. And no one but you, me, and Stef know about this.”
Tonya twisted an invisible key over her lips. “Mum’s the word.”
Chapter 5
Lou had been looking forward to his dinner with Joey all damn day long. In fact, he’d had a difficult time thinking about anything else. Fortunately, the Corvette’s owner had come in to talk about what he envisioned for the car, a welcome distraction Lou more than needed. Even better, the guy loved Lou’s concept.
They’d discussed some color options as well as a higher grade of paint and finish, and the client was all too happy to fork over his money. It was all about the car—a notion Lou had no problem understanding. He understood devotion to something that drew him. A car, the Seahawks, a certain dark-haired beauty.
How long had it been since he’d been this excited about the prospect of spending time with a woman? Oh, he loved the ladies he’d dated. Many he’d enjoyed in bed, making sure they had no complaints. And he couldn’t say he’d just sexed them up then left either. Lou wasn’t a one-nighter kind of guy. He liked to wine and dine women, to linger over the seduction and part ways as friends. He always left them wanting more while happy to distance himself.
But with Joey, it was different. He couldn’t understand why, and he’d thought about it a lot. Perhaps her initial rejection had put the spark of challenge in his belly. Or maybe her shyness had intrigued him to see if she’d be that compliant in bed; he had every hope of eventually finding out the answer to that question. Then he’d remember her warm brown eyes, her smile, and he’d get a pang in his chest that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with emotion.
Christ. If he was already feeling this for a woman he hadn’t yet fucked, he was pretty much screwed. And not in a good way. He had no intention of ever getting married, and Joey seemed like the hearts and—no pun intended—flowers type. Having a steady girlfriend didn’t bother him, but he didn’t feel ready for that either. So why all the lovey bullshit?
Had to come from watching all his friends couple up. They’d turned him soft…so to speak.
He glanced down at himself, aware this constant hard-on when thinking of Joey had to stop.
Heller walked out of his office and glanced around. “I don’t like it this quiet.” To Lou he said, “We go to Ray’s soon, I buy you a beer. You need it. Now quit mooning over whatever woman crawled up your ass and get to work.” Lou caught a few unflattering comments in German he’d heard before just as Heller disappeared back into his office and shut the door. The phone rang, and Lou returned to work. Seconds later, Heller erupted in some harsh German. And man, the big dude had a booming voice that carried, even through a closed door.
The guys who’d been hand sanding a Camry stopped and stared at the office. Mateo and Smith shared a glance, then shook their heads.
“I’m not asking him now.”
“Me neither.”
As one, they turned to Kelly.
Kelly, Heller’s newest hire and a damn fine paint guy, sighed. “Why is it always me? You know predators always go for the weakest prey—and I’m like a hundred pounds less than the boss. At least make Lou ask to give the rest of us a fighting chance.”
Lou chuckled. “Yeah, right. No way in hell am I going in there after hearing that.” He paused. They heard more shouting, then something slammed into the wall with a crack. Dead silence. “You think he’s talking to his old man?” Lou had met the bastard once and had no urge to repeat the experience.
Kelly swallowed. “Um, that’d be my guess. I’ve only been here four months, but no one else gets him that pissy that fast. You know he’s slow to boil.”
“But when he does, he’s friggin’ insane,” Mateo added. “No way in hell I’m asking.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Lou sighed. “What do you guys want?”
They all looked at each other before Kelly, the group’s sacrificial lamb, said, “We want a vending machine. For drinks. It gets dry in here, you know?”
Lou blinked. “A soda machine?”
“Hey, the customers could use it too.”
“What customers?” Lou snorted. “People come in here to drop off their cars. They don’t wait around for you guys to sand and paint. That takes days. Weeks.”
“No shit.” Mateo scowled. “We’re not stupid, Lou. I’ve been asking for one for two years. We’re just saying we want stuff to drink. And a coffeepot would be nice. We’re not lucky enough to walk a few doors down for coffee and donuts like you Webster pussies.”
Lou chuckled, remembering the bear claw. “NCB does serve donuts sometimes. The homemade, old-fashioned kind. But the other day, man, I had the best coffee. And I remember Foley eating some sweet cheese tarts. An apple fritter too, come to think of it.”
Smith groaned. “You’re a mean bastard.”
The door banging against the wall interrupted the conversation, and they froze.
“Why is no one working?” Heller growled.
Man, the guy was almost worse than Del on a tear. Lou decided to take one for the team and stood. “The guys want a soda machine.”
Heller scowled. “What? Why?”
“They’ve earned it, dealing with your moods.” Probably not the smartest thing he could have said. He swore he could see ice forming in Heller’s eyes—ice that burned. “Think about it. It’s something your old man would never go for. He’d throw a fit before getting his people anything to boost morale.”
Heller opened then closed his mouth, his stare downright frig
htening as he gazed at Lou before shifting to look at the others. “Ja. Okay. I’ll get one.”
“And a coffeepot or machine. Come on, man. Have a heart. Even I like the idea of a coffee machine. And it would be nice for clients too. Besides, the guys are weak. You know they’re more effective when they’re less whiny and slowly dying off a caffeine high.”
“Well, that’s not so nice,” Mateo muttered.
“Okay. Fine. But you.” Heller pointed at Kelly, who flinched. “You’ll figure out the cheapest and best product. Then we’ll see. Come use my computer.”
“Sure, sure. Bury the new guy where no one will find the body, why don’t you,” Kelly said under his breath as he passed Lou and slunk by Heller into the office.
Laughing at the kid’s melodrama, Lou finished doing his estimates before suiting up. Time to disassemble the Corvette so they could start sanding. He glanced at the clock. He’d give it two and a half more hours, then bail. And if Heller didn’t like it, too bad. Not that Lou would put it to the guy exactly that way.
Three hours later, Lou swore. He’d gotten so wrapped up in his work that he’d lost track of time. That’s all he needed, to be late again with Joey. He had a feeling if he blew it tonight, he wouldn’t get another chance.
He hustled out of the bay housing the Vette and yelled a goodbye before racing home. After quickly showering, shaving, and dressing in nice jeans, a loose red V-neck sweater, and his favorite Frye boots, he found a parking spot and hustled to the front of one of his favorite places to eat. Casual but perfect for a date.
He entered and snagged a table near yet not too close to the bar. The noise was loud enough to ensure privacy but allowed for ease of conversation. The scent of home-cooked Italian food and pizza made his mouth water.
“Yo, Lou.” His favorite waitress, Barb, gave him a smile. She glanced at the empty seat across from him and brightened. “What? You’re here alone?”
“Funny, Barb. My date should be arriving…ah. There she is.” He took in Joey’s petite build, bundled up in a rose-colored jacket. She wore her hair down, and more than one guy checked her out as she made her way toward him.
