Graedon’s eyes followed the gesture and didn’t raise until Connor answered.
“I’m a structural engineer.”
Graedon contemplated the answer. “Structural. Like bridges?”
Connor shrugged slightly. “Yes, bridges. But I mainly concentrate on sports complexes. Like stadiums, arenas, and what not. Anything sports related.”
Graedon raised his eyebrows. “Football stadiums?”
Connor nodded. “Yes, some.”
“Sounds like a very interesting career.”
“It is. But I have to travel a lot.”
“Is that how you met your stunning wife?”
Stunning. Huh. Paige never considered herself stunning. This had always been a description for leggy blondes who strutted down runways. Cute, maybe. She was short, with long brown hair. Then add some freckles, which didn’t make sense for her complexion. Her whole family had been confused about this. Mailman’s daughter, Logan had always teased her, which had always upset their single mother.
But it did make her wonder. Especially, since Logan was a foot taller than her and didn’t have a single freckle.
Connor gave her a look before answering him, “Yes. We actually did meet at a football stadium. She was with her brother when he was there to re-sod the field.”
Paige remembered that day. Logan’s business was just getting off the ground and, since she’d been helping him with the business’s books, he had asked her to go along because he didn’t have any employees at the time. It had been long days laying sod, and they were both filthy and exhausted come nightfall. She felt glad she no longer helped with the physical part of the business.
Then, she reminded herself, if she hadn’t gone, she never would have met the crazy, sexy Aussie, who currently had her pinned to his side. The rest was history. Connor picked up his life and moved to the states, gladly making her hometown his, and they got married a few years ago.
Now, with Quinn doing the books and Ty as Logan’s partner, the business was extremely successful, and Paige did whatever the guys needed her to do, either on the sod farm, in the office, or out on a job. A sort of Girl Friday/project manager with a great salary and benefits. If they needed coffee, she got coffee. If they needed her on site at a sodding job supervising employees, she was there. The job was never boring. The guys and Quinn relied on her. Sometimes to simply babysit their son Preston.
“Best day of my life,” Connor stated, giving her another squeeze.
“Yes, you’re certainly a lucky man,” Graedon said slowly, the words rolling off his tongue like molasses.
“You could be too.”
Paige elbowed her husband. Too soon.
Graedon tilted his head and studied Connor. “What do you mean?”
“I just meant one day you’ll meet the girl of your dreams.” Connor tripped over his words as he added, “That’s if you’re not already married. I shouldn’t assume.”
“I prefer women over girls. And, no, I’m not married.”
Paige’s gaze flicked to his left hand. The only ring this man wore was the one in his ear.
“Yes, a woman,” Connor murmured. “One that knows what she wants, when she wants it, and how to get it.” He shifted his left arm up to her shoulders.
Once again, Graedon followed his movement until he pinned his gaze to Paige’s lips once more. “And you, Paige?”
And me what? Oh. “I help out with Logan and Ty’s business.”
“I’m sure that keeps you busy. Their business is extremely successful.”
“It is. Who expected growing grass could be so lucrative?”
He cracked a slight smile. “I’ll have to come out and tour the farm one of these days.”
Paige tamped down the urge to rub her palms together in anticipation. ‘Will you walk into my parlor?’ said the Spider to the Fly. “Yes, please do. Just let me know, and I can personally escort you.”
Graedon tipped his head graciously.
“She’s crazy behind the wheel of the UTV. So, I’m warning you now…”
Graedon looked confused. “UTV?”
“Utility Task Vehicle. Like an ATV for farm use,” Paige explained. “However, don’t listen to him. I have a safe driving record.” ‘The way into my parlor is up a winding stair.’ “You’ll be perfectly fine in my hands.” ‘And I've a many curious things to show when you are there.‘
“I’m sure I will be,” Graedon murmured.
‘Oh no, no,’ said the little Fly, ‘To ask me is in vain, for who goes up your winding stair-can ne'er come down again.’ “Why don’t I give you my number, and you can text me when you want to come out.”
His smile appeared and then disappeared as quickly as it came. A blink and it would’ve been missed. “Only if your husband doesn’t mind.”
“Connor doesn’t mind, do you, honey?” she asked her husband, without even so much as peek his way.
“No, not at all.”
Graedon dug out his cell from an inner pocket of his suit jacket. A few seconds later, he was ready. Paige didn’t hesitate to spill her digits.
“Morgan?”
She shook her head. “Reed. I didn’t change my name.”
Once again, he cocked a brow. Paige thought this might be a signature expression for him.
He slipped his cell back inside his jacket and pulled out a business card. “So you know it’s me calling.”
Paige tried to pluck it from his fingers, but he resisted just enough so her hand had to make contact with his. The brush of their fingers made her suck in a breath and warmth radiate from her core.
Damn. If this was her reaction to just a light touch, she couldn’t imagine how she would respond to something more substantial. But she didn’t want to imagine; she wanted to know. She let her hand drop, the card ignored in her grasp.
Connor placed his left hand at the small of her back and extended his right hand out to Graedon. “Excuse us, we need to go visit with Quinn. I don’t want her to think we’re ignoring her tonight.”
The larger man shook Connor’s hand, then turned to Paige. He dipped his head. “It was nice meeting you tonight. I look forward to the tour.”
“It was nice—” staring at “—meeting you also. Hopefully, it’ll be soon.”
Then with that, Connor steered Paige out of earshot. “What do you think?” Connor asked her, barely-contained excitement in his voice. “He’s intelligent, well-spoken, hot as fuck.”
“Oh, he’s a big fat yes. But I wasn’t getting any vibes from him other then he’s a het.”
“Yeah, he was hard to read except when it came to you. He was definitely drawn to you. I think I should be jealous.”
Paige bumped her shoulder into him as they walked. “Stop. If you need to make the rules, then make them. If I meet up with him and you don’t ever want me to have sex with him without you, then I’ll agree to that. I don’t ever want you to feel left out, honey.”
“We’ll discuss it. We’d have to find out if he has any proclivities toward men. If not, that shoots the plan all to hell.”
“Plan? Now we have a plan?”
“You had a plan the first second you laid eyes on him across the room, whether you knew it or not.”
Paige pursed her lips in thought. “Yes, you’re right. As soon as I saw him, I knew I wanted him.”
“See?”
“But I want to try to get to know him better if he comes out to the farm. And I have this.” She lifted the business card so she could read it. “You could always ask him out for a business lunch or coffee.”
“I would need a good excuse other than, ‘my wife and I want you to join us in bed.’”
Paige snorted. “You never know, maybe he likes direct.”
“Yeah, like he wants to take you directly to bed. He’s definitely fascinated by you as well.”
“Well, that’s a good start.”
Connor pushed his way through French doors which opened to a dark patio. Outside, the breeze felt cool
, and Paige shivered.
Connor removed his suit jacket and wrapped her in it, pulling her into his arms. “So, what does his card say?”
She held the crumpled card up. “Too dark to read it.”
Connor lifted a hold-on-a-second finger and dug his cell phone out. With a push of a button, the card was illuminated.
Paige tried to smooth it out a bit and peered closer. “Graedon C. Ward, College Scouting Director, Boston Bulldogs.”
Chapter 2
Paige wasn’t surprised when she got a text from Graedon two days later. She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since Ty’s birthday party. She and Connor had discussed what their plan would be if he didn’t contact her within the next couple weeks, or, more importantly, what she would do if he did.
When her phone vibrated, and she saw the message, she had forwarded the text immediately to her husband with shaky fingers. Her heart had beaten furiously until Connor called her, hardly a minute later.
To say they were excited would be an understatement.
Now, as she waited out in front of one of the farm’s outbuildings, the official offices of LGR Sod, Inc., she tried to tamp down her anxiety. Which was a bit hard to do since her stomach was doing flips like she’d been jumping on a trampoline.
She didn’t even want to wait for him in her office, so she’d grabbed an UTV and parked it out front in anticipation. And she paced next to it. She glanced at her watch at least a dozen times. He didn’t seem to be the kind of person to be late. Ever.
She glanced up when she heard tires crunching on the gravel driveway. She quickly moved to the UTV and leaned against it, pretending to be as cool as a cucumber. He was five minutes early. Yep, just like she thought, he was probably never, ever late to an appointment.
A black BMW X6 with dark tinted windows approached her, kicking up dust behind it. He’d most likely have it washed by the end of the day since she couldn’t imagine him driving a car with a film of dust on it. Especially that beautiful vehicle. It fit what little she knew about him perfectly. Paige sighed. She not only wanted him, but she also wanted his vehicle now too. She giggled at her own ridiculous thought, but it helped her relax a little bit.
One thing she appreciated almost as much as men were cars. Powerful, well-designed, sexy cars. Powerful, well-designed, sexy men. Both irresistible.
Graedon pulled up to her, stopping parallel to the UTV. He rolled down the driver’s side window.
Her breath caught unexpectedly when he came into view.
“Hey there.”
“Hey.” Act normal, Paige. Don’t run up to the vehicle, rip open the door, and haul his ass to the ground, straddling him, to strip him naked. Deep breaths.
“Do you want me to park anywhere in particular?”
Yeah, I need you to park your body on top of mine. She shook her head. “No, just…wherever.”
With a sly smile, he tipped his head and rolled the window back up before parking at the side of the building.
Paige moved so she could watch him unfold himself from his BMW. The man was simply big. Tall, solid, and…oh fuck…the muscle on him… Paige reached out blindly for the four-wheeler to keep herself from collapsing to her knees.
He wore a navy long-sleeved Henley that fit him like a second skin. There was no guessing on how built this man was. The fabric clung to every curve of his arms and chest. He must spend hours at the gym. Though neat and clean, his jeans were worn; the denim looked as soft as room-temperature butter. Touchable. His thighs appeared thick, and she was surprised the seams of his jeans hadn’t split yet. He may no longer be playing in the NFL, but he sure looked like he still trained for it. Squats and sprints. That’s how you got heavily muscled thighs like his.
She noticed his sensible boots as he came closer while her breathing seemed to shallow.
When he stood near enough, he put a finger under her chin and closed her mouth.
Paige swallowed and stared up at him towering over her.
“How are you?” he asked with an amused smile.
“F-f-f-ine.” Paige cursed herself. She was acting like a lust-sick idiot.
He cocked a brow. “I won’t harm you.”
What? Paige shook her head, confused. Had he thought her reaction was fear and not her actually melting in her panties?
“In case you’re worried since we’re alone together,” he explained.
Worried? He should be worried about her if he only knew the thoughts rolling around in her head. She finally shook herself out of her stupor and laughed, the tinkling sound rising around them. “Thank you for the reassurance, but I wasn’t worried about that.”
“Some women are afraid of black men,” he said matter-of-factly, studying her face carefully, his eyes narrowed.
She frowned. “Why?” This might just be the stupidest thing she ever heard. Okay, maybe not the stupidest, but it was up there.
“You tell me. You’re a white woman.”
Was he serious? Was this some sort of test? “I have no fear of men just because of their skin color. That’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe it’s something instilled from way back in the day. Passed from generation to generation through some families.” Though definitely a serious subject, he was attempting to make it lighter than it was.
That would be fine with her since this was not how she planned to start their time together today. “All the way back to cotton-picking days,” she joked, though half-heartedly.
“Maybe.”
“Well, I don’t care what color a man is if he’s scary. I’ve been cornered plenty of times when I was younger, afraid I was going to get sexually assaulted or worse. And you know what? They were all white men. No, not men. Boys. Thinking they could do whatever they wanted to me. Like I was a piece of meat. Something not human, something to be used for their convenience, their pleasure.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have no reason to be sorry.” Paige looked at him closely. “Unless you’ve done the same type of thing. It’s inexcusable. I wish parents would raise their sons up to respect women.”
“There are a lot of men who respect women.”
“A lot isn’t all. There’s a difference.”
“Understood,” he said, with a curt nod of his head.
Then with that, they stood there, carefully observing each other. Well, that conversation just dampened her flaming desire. Now it was at a low simmer. Shit.
“I’m sorry, Paige. I appreciate your offer to show me sod. It’s a very interesting business.”
Paige threw her head back and laughed. He had a dry sense of humor, and she liked it.
He pinned his lips together, but he couldn’t hide the smile. His eyes gave it away.
“Well, let’s hit it. I’ll drive.”
“Someone warned me about your driving,” he said, climbing into the passenger side of the utility vehicle.
“I haven’t killed anyone yet,” she replied with pride in her voice.
“Sounds reassuring.” He searched around his seat. “Does this vehicle have seat belts?”
“Nope. Just hang on.” She tapped the black metal tubing that held the roof up on the machine to show him where to grip. “Here we go. You’re getting the first class tour of LGR Sod, Inc. Where the grass is always greener.”
Graedon chuckled.
The sound rippled along Paige’s spine, and her nipples tightened. “No, seriously, that’s the slogan.”
She decided to drive like a sane person instead of her normal speed as if she were in a qualifying NASCAR race. She didn’t want to scare him and give him a reason to cut the visit short. As they proceeded away from the building, she kept on the beaten path out through the sod fields.
She snuck a glance at him. He had such a strong profile, his gold earring flashing in the late morning light, his freshly-shaved head perfectly smooth, his goatee trimmed short and neat. She wanted to test how prickly those short hairs were. “So, Mr. Graedon C. Ward, College Scouting direc
tor of the Boston Bulldogs, tell me about yourself.”
His gaze remained intense as he studied her.
Turnabout is fair play, she guessed.
“I’d rather talk about you.” His voice dripped like warm, dark molasses. Smooth, deep flavored, but not sweet. It had a bite to it.
“I’m boring.” She didn’t want to talk about herself. She wanted to hear him speak until that voice coated her until she was sticky.
“I highly doubt it. What do you want to know?”
Anything. Everything. “What are you willing to tell me?”
“How about whatever question you ask me, you have to answer the same question,” he posed.
Paige thought that could become interesting. But she was willing to play. “Okay. Let’s start simple. How old are you?” She putted along the edges of the sod fields, heading to the farthest field on the farm. One far, far, far from the house and the offices. She decided to take the long way around.
“Thirty-eight.”
Her gaze shot to him then back to the dirt road. He sure didn’t look thirty-eight.
“What? Do I look older than that?” he asked, a touch of humor in his voice.
“Are you fishing for compliments?” Paige arched her brow.
His laughter enveloped her, warming her as she drove the windowless vehicle. Dressed similarly to him, she wore a long sleeve T-shirt and jeans, but the temperature was a little chilly for an early spring day.
“And you and Connor?”
“I turned thirty a few months ago, and Connor just turned thirty-four. What made you quit football?”
He hesitated. “I didn’t quit. I was forced to retire. And I’m not going to answer that one since you can’t answer a similar question.”
Paige tilted her head in deference. At least, she obtained one more piece of his puzzle. He retired because he was forced to. And he didn’t want to talk about it. Yet. Maybe she would have to Google his football career. “Okay, fair enough. How many siblings do you have?”
“Three.”
She shot him a look. “Brothers? Sisters? Where are you in the line?”
“I’m the eldest. I have two sisters and one brother. How about you? Any siblings other than Logan?”
Dare to be Three (Dare Menage Series Book 3) Page 2
