by Ali Parker
His short brown hair was cut in a manner that allowed him to keep a full, thick head of hair and yet still appear very professional. Wide, strong shoulders and a chest that pressed against his long-sleeved shirts made it obvious that he worked out most days of the week, but his gym bag forever around did so as well. He was taller than her, but not too tall, maybe 6’2” at most. A laid back expression played along his face when it was just the two of them, and he had a frat boy smile to boot. In front of everyone else he laid out the same facade she did—all business and no play.
She pressed her hands to her hips, leaning onto her right foot and feeling irritation rise up in her at his concern. If he continued to chip away at her resolve she would eventually give in and find herself involved with someone that she worked with, and worst of all, she’d have to pick up her membership to the cougar club. She had twelve years on Jason, and even though she knew she looked like she was still in her mid-twenties, she wasn’t.
“I’m going to meet with a new contractor. The old one jacked me around, so hopefully this one has the right tools to finish the job.”
He moved into the room, stopping before the desk and placing his hands on the shiny wooden structure. “When are you meeting with him?”
“Tomorrow morning. Stop worrying about my stuff and go have fun with everyone. It’s been a long week and I’m sure you need a release.”
He smiled and his eyebrows lifted quickly, her words being twisted into an entirely different meaning. She blushed again, hating the way he studied her. She felt like she was eighteen again and standing before someone who could rock her world or ruin it. Was there anyone in her past that had proven that more than Kade?
Kade.
The very thought of him grounded her.
“Let me go with you. My father owns a construction company, and I’ve been dealing with those rough-neck guys all my life. I’ll pretend to be your brother or your boyfriend, or whatever you want. Just let me help you in case he throws you some shit.”
She started to tell him absolutely not, but having him there would make things easier. The last guy had spent the entire walk-through meeting staring her down like a hungry hyena. She’d taken four showers that day just to get the feel of his gaze off of her. She shivered in disgust at the thought, Jason’s eyebrow raising again.
“Yeah … that would be good. Just thinking of my last encounter with one of the male contractors, which didn’t go so well.” She shrugged and sat down, leaning back and crossing her legs. She watched his eyes run over her, his teeth biting at the top of his lip as if he were holding back something he wanted to say.
He is. He’s into you, remember?
“Awesome.” His expression melted into a smile. He moved back toward the door. “I’ll pick you up in the morning at what time?”
“I have to be there at ten, so eight-thirty? I want time to walk around the place before he gets there.”
“How about seven and I’ll take you to breakfast. I have a few questions about work and want to get some clarity on what’s left on the house so that I can help, should you need me during the meeting.”
She started to bat him away again, but figured he was doing her a favor by spending his Saturday morning coming with her and driving all the way out to get her. The least she could do was go to breakfast. Besides, he just had a few work questions, and she could use an ear and a male opinion when it came to the debacle with the house.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll text you my address.” She placed her hands in her lap, her eyes staying on his face. The last thing she needed was to give him false hope by letting her gaze roam over the strong muscles of his chest.
Wonder what his stomach looks like.
She growled internally, trying to shut down her hormones. She was headed for danger, and they were just having breakfast. This was what happened when you didn’t allow yourself a steady relationship for years. You became a sex-starved cougar and started preying on little kids.
He’s not a kid. Jeez.
“Becca? You okay?”
She realized he’d been speaking to her, and damned if she wasn’t staring at his abs, which probably made it look like she was looking at his crotch. She felt the blood drain from her face as she stood, her hands reaching for the desk.
“Yeah, just thinking of the horrors of this house thus far. Sorry, it’s been a long week. I just faded out.” She smiled and reached up to run her fingers through her long copper-colored hair. “I’ll take you up on helping me tomorrow. See you at seven.”
He moved back a little, a smile on his lips that told her she’d been caught thinking about things other than work or building houses. She would have to be more careful in the future. Their relationship wasn’t going anywhere.
He moved out of the doorway, stopping in the hall and smiling at her. “You sure you don’t want to come tonight? I’ll be your designated driver if you need a release.”
She laughed and turned back to her computer, speaking over her shoulder. “Don’t push this thing between us. We’re business associates. I’m your boss and could probably be your mother. Get out of here.”
She smiled at his warm laugh, his voice echoing down the hallway. He was most likely laughing at the absurdity of her being his mother’s age. She realized then that he probably didn’t know she was in her mid-thirties. Good. Tomorrow would be the perfect time to tell him.
“You still here? Damn, Becca, it’s eight o’clock.” Parker walked in and sat in one of the open chairs in front of her.
She turned and tilted her head a little, the look on his face one of built-up tension. “Why are you still here? You have a life, I don’t. Work fills that hole for me.”
He smiled and shrugged. “I’m thinking Jason would fill a few—”
She cut him off. “Hey … shut it. Too much information between friends.”
He laughed as he leaned forward, his smile draining from his features. “Come with me for a drink. I need to talk to a friend.”
Rebecca felt the change in his persona and realized that he wasn’t being comical or jovial anymore. Something was on his mind, and as his partner and, even more so, as his best friend, she’d need to man up and spend her evening playing counselor.
“Okay. Let me pack up and I’ll meet you in the lobby.” She turned and started to shut down her computer, stowing it away, along with a huge handful of papers, in her briefcase. Parker left without another word, his mood giving her a healthy level of concern. He was rarely in the sharing mood, so something heavy must be up. She almost hoped it had to do with his personal life and not their business.
The year before they’d suffered three lawsuits, thanks to a lovely young accountant he’d hired with his hormones instead of his brain. Becca had been out of town for a few weeks visiting some old friends in California, and when she got back, she and Parker had it out over him hiring someone new to help them without her input. He was a happily married man, and yet this vixen did all but undress to get his attention. Rebecca had been the one to finally let her go, the lawsuits not even coming in from various clients until after the girl no longer worked for them.
A new rule had been put in place in the firm. If one of them wanted to make a business decision that was more than changing the brand of staples used in the office, both partners would have to sign off on it. Rebecca hated to play that card, but Parker had jacked things up pretty nicely for them as a firm for a while, and honestly, his wife had to know something was up with him and the young accountant. Or maybe not … men seemed to have the ability to hide their desire for another woman pretty well.
Had Parker cheated on his wife? Becca didn’t know, and honestly didn’t want to, but her guess was no. He was a total flirt, but he’d been cheated on by his first wife and had been an emotional wreck because of it.
The idea of hurting someone you supposedly loved with all your heart for a few seconds of sticky pleasure was abhorrent. It was one of the reasons Rebecca was happy not being in a committed r
elationship. They didn’t seem to exist or last in the twenty-first century.
Sex sells—and it kills and it steals while it’s raking in its millions.
“You coming?” Parker yelled down the hall.
Rebecca hoisted her computer bag onto her shoulder and reached for her briefcase on the ground, grumbling at him to shut up.
Her phone buzzed on the desk in front of her, a number she didn’t know. She ignored it and slipped the phone into her pocket, wobbling out into the hallway. In front of anyone else she’d have pulled it all together and looked like the perfect picture of success, but this was Parker, and her heels were new and killing her.
“I’m throwing these shoes in the fire pile with my bra and these horrible new panties. Why do women think they have to wear this crap? It itches and hurts, and no one is even going to see it.”
He reached out for her computer bag, taking it and putting it on his other shoulder as he held the door for her. “I’m happy to have a look if it would make you feel better. All that effort and no one to remind you how lovely you look? Shame.”
She swatted at him, smiling as she moved into the hall and pushed the button for the elevator. “You’re horrid.”
“I’m a man.” He moved beside her and wagged his eyebrows, his mop of blond hair giving him a younger appeal, which was a good thing. His wife was in her mid-twenties, and if men had a cougar club, he’d be in it. “So, what was Jason doing at your door for so long?”
“Jealous?” Rebecca asked, moving into the elevator and smirking at her old friend.
“Always. Spill.”
“He wanted me to go to happy hour with the office staff. That’s never a good idea when you own the place.”
“Agreed. They asked me to go too, but I’m thinking it was to buy everyone drinks.”
She laughed and moved out into the chilly March air, reaching back to hold the door open for him. “That’s funny. Maybe they wanted me there for that reason too.”
Parker shook his head. “I’m thinking that if one of the girls had invited you, then that might have been the reason, but Jason was hoping to make you feel better about those horrid underclothing choices you made. Besides, he could warm himself next to your panty-burning fire.”
She reached for her bag, popping the back of his head as they laughed together. It was good to work with someone she could trust, but to have fun along the way was an added bonus. She popped her trunk and deposited all of her stuff into the car before looking over at him.
“Where are we going, and are we taking separate cars?”
“Let’s go to O’Malley’s, and no, come ride with me.”
“The staff are going to O’Malley’s tonight.” She walked toward his car, tugging at her black pencil skirt before sliding onto the cold leather of his Lexus.
“They’ll be in the bar. We’ll get a quiet table near the back. We won’t even see them. Promise.” He got in and started the car as her phone buzzed again.
She checked the number. Same one as before, in her office. “Let me get this real quick.”
Parker just nodded as she answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, Miss Martin. This is the contract supervisor from Wayland Contractors.”
He paused and Rebecca felt something roll over her. She knew that voice, but how? Where from?
“Oh, hi. What can I do for you?”
“I just need to verify the address. The fax the office sent over was a little skewed.”
She pressed the phone tightly to her ear, leaning over a little. Something about the voice caused her heart to race. She shook her head and smiled. “Yeah, sure. No problem. It’s 1244 Lake Woods Drive. See you there around ten tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there around 9:30. Look forward to meeting with you and getting this project wrapped up for you, Miss Martin.”
“Yes, me too. See you then.” She started to hang up before realizing that she hadn’t caught his name. That would help her discern whose voice it was that beckoned her to remember it. “Wait … who is this? Hello? Hello?”
Parker laughed beside her as she dropped her phone into her lap, a sigh of disgust on her lips.
“Don’t people usually ask who they’re talking to before they give out their address? Just saying.”
She pulled at her seatbelt, the lights of downtown Houston pulsing all around them. “Yeah, I just was caught off guard. I know that voice, but can’t seem to place it.”
“Someone mysterious from your past?”
“My past is vast and deep. Who knows if he was part of my past or if I’m so relationship starved that I’ve created a mystery where there isn’t one.” She shrugged as they pulled up to the valet, Rebecca getting out and moving toward the door. Her coat was in her trunk, and it was too cold to stand outside in a white button down shirt and hope for a non-nipping evening.
Parker moved up beside her, holding the door and smiling down at her arms across her chest. “You need me to make sure you’re not showing your arousal?”
She growled at him and walked into the warmth of the restaurant, the sound of life and laughter wrapping around them. She looked back at Parker. “I’m with you, so no need to dream that big, bubba.”
Chapter 4
Rebecca slid into a booth at the back of the restaurant, the sound of the crowd filtering back to them, but in a muted sense. Meanwhile, Parker slipped out of his thick leather bomber, his own figure well-constructed from years in the gym as well. He was sinewy and more of a swimmer than a weightlifter, all of which Becca could appreciate. She ran most mornings and kept herself in shape, but it was more about wanting to live long and healthy than attracting someone of the opposite sex. Every date she’d been on in the last year had been a torrential joke. A couple of the guys were already married and just looking for a bit of side action. She’d laughed them all the way out of the restaurant, and she and Parker had spent several hours killing themselves laughing over the drama that was her dating life. He was like a brother, a best friend—a male Trisha.
“What are you having to drink?” Parker’s voice brought her from her thoughts.
“Are you drinking or am I?” she responded.
“You go ahead. I’ll drive us back tonight, and I’ll take you home if you overdo it, you lush.”
She laughed and picked up the drink menu, scanning it.
He reached over and put his hand in the middle of the menu, smiling at her, which highlighted his boyish good looks. “Why do you waste your time with that? You know you’re getting a Corona with a lime.”
She laid the small menu down and laughed. “Maybe I was going to try something new and exciting tonight.”
“You? Never. You’re consistent, if nothing else.”
She huffed as the waiter approached. “Consistent? How boring is that?”
He shrugged, laughing at her. “What? It’s true.”
She looked up at the handsome young waiter, who had to be Jason’s age. “I’ll have a Long Island iced tea, please.”
He smiled and nodded. “Doing it right tonight, hmmm?”
Parker chuckled and ordered a Corona with a lime, waiting until the waiter left to comment. “See, this is what the other guys should know about you. They’d score every time.”
She leaned back, getting more comfortable as she thawed out in the warmth provided by their environment. “Oh please, do enlighten us all.”
“All someone has to do is challenge you, and you rush into it like a bull in a china shop.”
“That was no challenge. I simply ordered your favorite drink, and in turn, you ordered mine. I figured I’d stick my tongue in your drink when it arrived and then take my beer from you.” She shrugged, winked and crossed her arms over her chest. “Tell me why we’re here.”
“You’re drinking both drinks, by the way. I just want water.” He reached for the glass of ice water in front of him and took a quick drink, his eyes losing their light for a minute. “I just wanted to talk to you about some issues I’m havi
ng with Mina.”
“Yeah, sure. What’s going on?” Mina was Parker’s wife—his new wife. She wasn’t much older than Jason, maybe a year or two, but they’d had a rocky start from the beginning. When Parker met Mina, he’d just gone through a horrible divorce the year before with Cindy, a woman he’d been with since high school. Mina had to be a rebound. Unfortunately he took the rebound a few steps too far and married her on a whim instead of just dating her.
“I keep telling her that she needs to figure out what she wants to do with her future.”
“How so?” Rebecca asked, reaching up to take the tea from the server. Parker took the beer and started to squeeze the lime into it for her. He slid the drink toward her and she pushed it halfway back. “Let’s not make me look like a total lush, please. With my luck, one of our clients is in here tonight.”
Parker laughed before leaning back, his gaze resting on her. “She needs to get a job or a career or something. I’m fine paying for her to go to college, but she’s just not interested in anything.”
“Did she graduate from high school?”
“I don’t know. I assume so.”
“You don’t know? You guys are married. How do you not know something so basic about her past? You’ve been married for two years now.”
“I don’t know. I just don’t.” He reached for the beer and chugged half of it down.
Rebecca shook her head as disbelief settled over her. Parker’s ex had done a job on his emotions, so much so that he hadn’t paid attention to the first bed he’d landed in. Mina had been a stripper at one of the high dollar clubs on the west side of H-town. She was beautiful, but lacked class and couldn’t really hold much of a conversation as far as Rebecca was concerned. Her heart ached for the simple reality that her best friend had married out of heartache and now was stuck in something with no clean way out of it.
“Okay, then ask her. Just talk to her and find out what her dreams were when she was small.”
