He didn’t know whether to be grateful or annoyed that they’d been interrupted before that could happen. He did know that he was still aroused—rock hard and aching for her. Only her.
It took him a long time to fall asleep, and it seemed like only moments later that he felt something jab into his shoulder. And then again.
He opened one eye to find Hanna standing beside his bed, her favorite teddy bear clutched in one hand. “I had a bad dweam, Unca Josh.”
He sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face, resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to get much sleep at all tonight. “What was your bad dream about?”
“I don’t ’member,” she told him.
“Then how do you know it was a bad dream?”
“’Cuz I woke up wif my tummy hurtin’.”
“Do you need a drink?”
She shook her head.
“Do you want me to tuck you back into your bed?”
She shook her head again.
“What do you want?” he asked, unable to think of any other options.
“I wanna s’eep wif you.”
“With me?”
She nodded. “P’ease.”
He shifted over so Hanna had room to climb up. She was asleep again within two minutes—on his pillow.
Women, he mused, settling back on the edge of the mattress with his hands clasped behind his head and trying not to think about the woman who was sleeping on the other side of a very thin wall.
The only woman he wanted.
Chapter Twelve
Tristyn was awake first, as she usually was. Following her morning routine, she tiptoed into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing, then moved past the sofa bed where Josh was sprawled out, still sleeping, to the back bedroom, where the girls slept in their bunks.
As usual, Charlotte was on her tummy, her covers bunched up at her feet, her pillow on the floor. Emily was spread out like a starfish, using every inch of her mattress. Seeing the way she slept, Tristyn could understand why Charlotte had been unhappy about having to share a bed with her at Uncle Josh’s condo. Hanna was...not in her bed.
Tristyn’s breath caught in her throat and her heart started to race. She bent down to pull back the covers, in case the little girl was so tangled up inside she couldn’t see her. She found four plush animals but not Hanna—and her favorite teddy bear was missing, too.
She rushed back to the living area—no longer worried about tiptoeing, not thinking about anything except that Josh’s youngest niece was gone.
“Josh.” She choked out his name as she shoved at his shoulder to wake him. “Josh—wake up. Hanna’s gone.”
“What?” He immediately bolted upright. “Where?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, trying to quell the panic rising inside of her. “I went to check on the girls, like I do every morning, and—oh.” Relief flooded her system and tears filled her eyes as she spotted his youngest niece curled up under the covers on the other side of the mattress. Tristyn smacked him again then, even harder this time.
“Ow.” He rubbed his shoulder. “What was that for?”
“For letting me think that I’d lost your niece.”
“I didn’t let you think anything,” he protested. “I didn’t know what you were thinking until you came in here and started yelling—”
“I wasn’t yelling,” she retorted.
“You weren’t whispering.”
Of course, his voice was raised now, too, and Hanna shifted restlessly in the bed, her little brow furrowed.
Tristyn turned on her heel and retreated to the kitchen area. Though her heart hadn’t yet settled back into its usual place inside her chest, the rhythm wasn’t quite as fast and frantic as it had been a few minutes earlier.
She didn’t realize Josh had followed until she turned around and nearly ran right into his chest. His broad, tanned and naked chest. She immediately stepped back—and bumped into the stove. He caught her shoulders to help steady her, except that she could feel the imprint of each and every finger through the thin fabric of her pajama top, and the effect was anything but steadying.
“I’m sorry you were worried,” he murmured. “She had a bad dream and wanted to sleep with me.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she acknowledged, blinking back the tears that had filled her eyes. And maybe, if she hadn’t been so deliberately averting her gaze from the tempting image of those broad shoulders, she might have noticed the little girl was tucked in beside him. “A bad dream, huh?”
He nodded and lifted a hand to brush away a tear that trembled on her lashes.
The unexpected gentleness of his touch sent a shiver down her spine. “And she went to Unca Josh to slay her dragons,” she said, managing a weak smile.
“I’m no one’s hero,” he said, the words an unmistakable warning.
“Last night you were Hanna’s,” she pointed out.
“All I did was share my pillow.”
“Sometimes a little kindness is all it takes.”
He took two mugs from the cupboard and filled them with coffee from the pot, sliding one across the counter to her. “Do you ever have bad dreams?” he asked.
“Not bad enough to entice me to climb into your bed for comfort,” she assured him.
“When you climb into my bed, it won’t be for comfort,” he said.
She wanted to take issue with his arrogant tone as much as his words, but she suspected that challenging his assertion would lead them down a dangerous path. A path that her mind warned could lead to heartache even as her body urged her to follow wherever he wanted to go.
“I need to get dressed,” she said, and headed for the sanctuary of her bedroom instead.
* * *
Daniel and Kenna decided to bring their boys to the race at Indianapolis. They arrived on the Thursday night, so that Daniel could be at the track for qualifying on Friday, and came to the campground to visit with Josh and Tristyn and the girls. After spending some time at the playground—a much bigger park than at Sparta but which the girls agreed did not make up for the lack of a swimming pool—they went back to the RV, where Josh was going to barbecue chicken and ribs for dinner.
Over the past few days, Tristyn and Josh had gone back to tiptoeing around one another while the attraction between them continued to simmer just below the surface. Thankfully, Josh’s nieces were unaware of the tension between the adults, but Tristyn worried that her cousin and his wife wouldn’t be. A worry that proved founded when Daniel caught Tristyn alone in the RV as she was putting together some snacks.
“So—how have things been going?” he asked.
“Good,” she said, but kept her attention focused on the vegetable platter she was making.
“Do you think you could expand on that response a little?”
“What else do you want to know?”
He slid the platter away from her, forcing her to look up at him. “Do I need to beat up my business partner?”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
He held her gaze for another few seconds, then shook his head. “I should have discouraged you from doing this.”
“Putting out snacks?” she asked, deliberately misunderstanding him.
“Spending your summer in close quarters with Josh.”
“It was your idea,” she reminded him.
“For Josh and his nieces,” he agreed. “I didn’t know he was going to ask you to go with them.”
“It was actually Charlotte who asked. And while I wouldn’t say it seemed like a good idea at the time, I wanted to help Josh—to help Charlotte, Emily and Hanna.”
“And now?” he prompted.
She shrugged. “You know me and Josh are like oil and water much of the time, but we’r
e managing.”
Daniel pinned her with his gaze. “Do you still have feelings for him?”
She turned her focus back to her task. “I was infatuated with him for a short while when I was seventeen,” she said. “I’m a lot older and a lot wiser now.”
“And living with him,” her cousin pointed out.
“A temporary arrangement.”
Daniel nodded, but he still looked worried. “What if I said I needed you back at the office?”
Tristyn spooned dip into the bowl she’d set in the center of the platter. “Is Laurel struggling with things?”
“No, she’s doing a great job,” he admitted. “The only problem is that I don’t like the way Josh has been looking at you.”
“How has he been looking at me?”
“Like he wants to see you naked.”
She felt her cheeks flame as she remembered how close they’d come to that actually happening, but for the grace of a seven-year-old’s bladder. “I’m sure you’re mistaken.”
“I’m sure I’m not,” he told her.
“Can we maybe switch to a less awkward topic of conversation?”
“I’ve known Josh a long time,” Daniel continued, ignoring her request. “He’s not just my business partner, he’s my best friend.”
“I know all of that,” she reminded him.
“He’s kind and generous and sincere—the type of guy who wouldn’t hesitate to give the shirt off his back to help someone else.”
“Is there a point to this?”
“The point is that he’s generally a really great guy, but he doesn’t have a clue when it comes to romantic relationships.”
“No worries,” she assured him. “Because we don’t have a relationship—romantic or otherwise.”
“And you’re not just my cousin, but a valued member of our team. I don’t want to lose you at GSR because Josh steps out of line.”
“Stop worrying,” she said again. “I can handle Josh.”
“I hope so,” Daniel said. “Because Kenna had the bright idea of inviting the girls for a slumber party in our hotel suite tomorrow night.”
That gave her pause, but she was careful not to let Daniel know it. “You have two kids of your own already—why would you want to add three more?” she asked.
“Well, she suggested it to give you and Josh a break, and I agreed because she’s been making noises about having another baby and this seemed like a good opportunity to see what a house full of kids would be like.”
“You’re counting on Josh’s nieces to make your case in favor of birth control?” she guessed.
He shrugged. “I realize the plan may very well backfire. Kenna’s always wanted a big family, and I think she’d really like to try for a girl.”
“And if your plan does backfire?” Tristyn prompted.
“Then I guess we’ll be talking to Ryder about an addition for our house.”
Tristyn smiled, because the resignation in his tone was tempered by the overwhelming love that she knew her cousin had found with his wife. Four years earlier, Daniel had married Kenna for the sole purpose of gaining access to his trust fund and with the intention of divorcing her at the end of twelve months. Long before that deadline, they’d fallen in love.
Daniel’s willingness to agree to anything his wife asked was proof of his love for her, and warmed Tristyn’s heart. The prospect of spending a night in the RV alone with Josh heated the rest of her body.
And that was exactly what made her apprehensive about an evening without their pint-size chaperones.
* * *
While Daniel was catching up with Tristyn, Kenna was sharing her proposed plan with Josh.
“A slumber party?” he said dubiously.
“Kids love sleepovers,” Kenna assured him.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
“You don’t trust me with your nieces?” she asked, sounding hurt.
“You know that’s not it,” he told her.
“Then what is it?” she demanded.
“I just think you’ll be pulling your hair out with five kids underfoot—and it’s really pretty hair.”
She smiled. “Always the charmer, aren’t you?”
His gaze automatically shifted to the RV, with Tristyn inside. “Not everyone would agree with that assessment.”
“A woman who’s had her heart bruised is understandably going to be wary,” Kenna told him. “Especially around the man who did the bruising.”
Josh said nothing.
“I know why you did it,” she said gently. “You deliberately hurt her a little because you were afraid of hurting her a lot.”
“I didn’t want to hurt her at all,” he said.
“Have you explained that to Tristyn?”
“I’ve tried,” he admitted. “But she won’t listen. And maybe it’s better that way—because nothing has really changed.”
“Really?” Kenna looked at him skeptically. “Nothing has changed? Your feelings for her are exactly the same now as they were twelve years ago?”
“Well, I’m no longer denying that I want to get into her pants,” he said.
Kenna merely lifted a brow. “I grew up on the south side,” she reminded him. “I’m not shocked by a few crude words—and I’m not convinced, either.”
“You don’t believe I want to get into her pants?”
“I don’t believe that’s all you want,” she said. “And if you do believe it, you’re kidding yourself.”
* * *
The next day, Josh dropped the girls off at the hotel with Kenna—as per her suggestion—so they didn’t have to hang out at the track all day. While Josh and Daniel met with Ren and his crew chief, Tristyn was dealing with various administrative tasks. After the first round of qualifying was finished, Ren had the fastest time and was awarded the pole for Saturday’s race.
“I guess the slumber party is a go,” Josh said, when Tristyn came out of a meeting with Ren’s personal assistant.
Tristyn shook her head. “Kenna is a brave woman.”
“What about Daniel—doesn’t he get any credit for agreeing to the plan?”
“No, because he had ulterior motives,” she said, and went on to explain her cousin’s rationale.
“So I guess they’ll be having another kid,” Josh said.
Tristyn laughed. “I guess they will.”
“While Daniel and I were growing up, it was always our dream to be surrounded by fast cars and faster—” He glanced at her and abruptly closed his mouth.
“Women?” she guessed, and laughed again.
He shrugged. “My point is, I never would have pictured my best friend as a devoted husband and doting father, but there’s no doubt those roles look good on him.”
“They lucked out,” Tristyn agreed. “They might have got married for the wrong reasons, but they decided to stay married for all the right ones.”
“Yeah,” Josh admitted. “But I didn’t come in here to talk about Daniel and Kenna—aside from the fact that their offer to keep the girls overnight made me wonder if you’d want to go out for dinner tonight.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re asking me to go out for dinner...with you?”
He shrugged. “I thought it might be a nice change for both of us.”
“We’ve eaten dinner together almost every night for the past three weeks. How would this be a change?”
“For starters, you won’t have to cook it,” he told her.
“That would be a plus,” she agreed.
“And since we won’t have to worry about the dangers of children around an open flame, we could even dine by candlelight.”
“That sounds...romantic,” she said, her tone tinged with suspic
ion.
“Do you have something against romance?”
“No,” she admitted. “But don’t make the mistake of thinking that I’m going to let you share my bed just because you buy me a romantic dinner.”
He didn’t deny that he wanted to share her bed but only said, “What’s your answer, Tristyn? Yes or no?”
She knew that he was asking about more than dinner. And if she said yes, she would be saying yes to more than dinner. She wanted to say yes, because the prospect of a night out, with wine and candlelight and adult conversation, was incredibly appealing.
The prospect of a night out with Josh—and taking their relationship to the next level—was undeniably unnerving. It had taken only one kiss for her to accept that there was some potent chemistry between them. The second kiss, which had very nearly led to a lot more, proved that any attempt to deny her attraction would be futile. But was she ready to give in to that attraction? Was she willing to be yet one more woman in a long line who had succumbed to the seductive charms of Josh Slater?
“Yes or no?” he asked again.
After a long moment during which she waged an internal battle over her decision, Josh nodded.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I understand.”
“What do you understand?” she asked warily.
“You’re afraid that, without the kids to act as a buffer, you won’t be able to keep your hands off me,” he said.
Tristyn rolled her eyes. “Maybe I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep your hands off me,” she countered.
“You shouldn’t be,” he told her. “If I find myself tempted, all I have to do is picture you in your granny jammies and the temptation will pass.”
She knew she was being played—just as he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist the challenge he’d issued.
“In that case, and because you do owe me a steak, my answer is yes,” she said, and secretly vowed to make him eat his words before dinner was served.
* * *
Since Tristyn had mentioned wanting steak, Josh made a few inquiries, then a reservation at The Chophouse for seven o’clock. The restaurant was about a fifteen minute drive from the campground, so at six forty, he knocked on her bedroom door.
The Last Single Garrett Page 13
