Give Us a Chance (Wheeler Brothers #2)

by Allie Everhart

  "He'll give up on me after a week," I say.

  Liza shrugs. "Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on how much he likes you. And if he gives up, then you'll get what you wanted. He'll finally leave you alone. You win either way."

  "That's true."

  "So you're doing this?" she asks, moving to the edge of her seat.

  I smile. "I'm doing it. Jake Wheeler has no idea what he's in for."

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jake

  "So how'd it go?" Callie asks as soon as I walk in her and Nash's apartment.

  Before I can answer, Nash yells from the couch, "Did she say yes?"

  "Not exactly." I take my coat off and sink into Nash's recliner. It's brown-and-black plaid and ugly as sin but the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in. I tried to buy it from him but he refuses to sell it, which is dumb because he hardly ever sits in it anymore. He always sits on the couch so he can be next to Callie. She's now sitting beside him, wedged under his arm. Don't those two ever get tired of touching?

  "So she turned you down?" Callie asks.

  "I didn't even get a chance to ask her. She said 'no' before I even got the words out."

  Nash winces. "Ooh. Not good, man. She really doesn't like you."

  "She likes me." I yank on the lever on the recliner, lifting the footrest up. "But she thinks I sleep around."

  "You do," Nash says, flipping through channels on the TV.

  "Not as much as I used to."

  Nash sets the remote down and looks at me. "How many girls were you with last week?"

  "Are we counting weekdays only or including weekends?" I was totally serious but Callie's laughing under her breath.

  Nash is shaking his head. "This is why she won't date you. You've got a reputation, bro. Everyone knows you sleep around. All the guys on my crew talk about you like you're some kind of god, the way you get so many women. I know Ivy's heard them talking."

  "The guys really say that about me?" I can't help but smile.

  "Shit." Nash rolls his eyes. "You're a lost cause."

  "So you never asked her to dinner?" Callie asks.

  "I did. I told her we could just go as friends but she wouldn't agree to it."

  "Where did you tell her you'd take her?"

  Maybe I should make something up. Callie's going to kill me if I tell her the truth. I was only joking when I said that to Ivy but I think she might've thought I was serious.

  "Jake?" Callie says, still waiting for a answer.

  "Burger King," I say casually.

  "What?" Callie and Nash say at the same time.

  "I told her I'd take her to the Burger King down the street from the library."

  "Burger King?" Callie looks pissed. "You seriously told her you were taking her to Burger King?"

  "What's wrong with Burger King? They have good food, and in my defense, that one by the library was just renovated. It's like new inside."

  "You're such an idiot," Nash says, laughing. "Even I wouldn't do something that stupid."

  "I was joking. You two need to lighten up."

  "Did she know you were joking?" Callie asks.

  "She was laughing, so probably."

  Callie sighs. "This is a disaster. She'll never go out with you now."

  "She will," I say confidently. "I'll wear her down eventually. But you're right. I will have to work harder with her. But I'm taking a different approach than I usually do."

  "Which is what?" Nash asks.

  "I'd rather not share my technique just yet. I need to see if it works first."

  "Whatever you do, you better not piss her off," Nash says. "I need her on this project, and I'm thinking of hiring her for the next one too."

  "I was going to hire her for the house on Milton Street."

  He shakes his head. "She's too talented for that. We need her for the historical museum."

  That's the project we just won. We bid on it months ago and just found out we got it. People were so impressed with how we restored the Victorian mansion that city leaders started calling us, asking us to put in bids on other public projects. I admit I feel some pride over that, given that I was in charge of the Victorian. It was the first project I'd been the lead on. Nash and my dad were in charge of all our previous projects.

  "Yeah, you're right," I say. "Ivy needs to be on the museum project. Did you ask her yet?"

  "No, but I will."

  "I could ask her."

  "No." He shoots me his warning look. "We need to keep your love life and work life separate. And if you piss her off, I'm banning you from the worksite."

  "I'm not going to piss her off. I'm not an ass."

  "I can think of a few girls who would disagree with that."

  "Hey, I always make it clear I don't want a relationship. They know it's just sex."

  "And that's not the case with Ivy?"

  I sigh. "Would you shut up about this? Mind your own damn business."

  "This IS my business. She's my employee."

  "Yeah, and earlier today you were telling me to ask her out. Now you're telling me to stay away from her? Make up your damn mind."

  "I only told you to ask her out so you could get her out of your head. You've been obsessed with her for months. I assumed she'd tell you no and you'd finally move on."

  Callie smiles up at Nash. "Having a girl turn a guy down just makes you guys want us all the more."

  "You're right." He kisses her. "You turned me down so many times I should've just given up and yet I kept coming back for more."

  "You're exaggerating. I didn't turn you down that many times."

  "You sure as hell did. Practically every time I invited you over. I thought you weren't interested, but then you'd give me a flirty smile or show up at my house in shorts that barely covered your ass and I didn't know what to think. You had my head spinning."

  She laughs. "I love how us girls can get to you guys like that. Get you all confused, wondering what we're thinking."

  I wonder if that's what Ivy is doing. Does she like me, but she's playing hard to get? If so, I can play that game. I can be damn persistent when I want to be.

  "So you got the supply lists from Dad?" Nash asks.

  "Yeah." I push the footrest down on the recliner and pull the order sheets from my pocket and hand them to him. "I should go. I'm sure you two want to be alone."

  "You could stay for dinner," Callie says. "I'm making enchiladas."

  Callie is a freaking awesome cook. If those two get married, Nash will be eating well for the rest of his life. And the best part is, Callie actually likes to cook. She's always inviting my dad and brothers and me over to eat.

  "I think your boyfriend would rather have just the two of you for dinner."

  "Don't be an idiot." Nash gets up. "You know you're always welcome. You want a beer?"

  "Sure, I'll take one."

  "So you're staying?" Callie acts excited about it. She loves to feed people.

  "I guess I am."

  She jumps up. "I'll go put the enchiladas in the oven. I made them earlier today."

  I was going to go home and call up Tracy, that girl who texted me earlier, and have her come over to my place. But that would just be another one-night stand and I'm trying to cut back on those. Hanging out with my brother and his girlfriend is probably a better option. And then there's the fact that my mind has been stuck on Ivy ever since we talked today. If I had sex with someone else tonight, it'd be Ivy's face I'd be seeing.

  The next day, I stop by the library, bringing lunch like I always do. If I don't, Nash will kick me out. He doesn't want his crew thinking I'm coming over here to check on him or the project. It looks bad. He's the one in charge, and he doesn't want anyone thinking otherwise. So I bring him lunch, and we stay in the office to eat it.

  "What are you doing here?" he asks when I walk in his office. "It's Tuesday."

  I usually come here on Mondays and Thursdays, just enough for me to get my Ivy fix, but not so much that she thinks I'm a stalker. Sh
it, I hope she doesn't think that. I'm sure she doesn't. I never even talk to her, except for yesterday.

  "I was in the area so I thought I'd stop by." I drop the sack of tacos on his desk.

  "She's not here." He takes a couple tacos from the sack.

  "Who? Callie?"

  "Are you still pretending? Seriously?" He gets up and goes over to the mini fridge. "We both know you're here to see Ivy. She left a few minutes ago. I don't know when she'll be back."

  "Oh." I take a seat on the metal folding chair, surprised at how disappointed I feel that she's not here. I really wanted to see her. It's frightening how much this girl gets to me, in every possible way. "So where's Callie?"

  "She has class at noon on Tuesdays." He holds up a can of pop. "You want one, or you want water?"

  "I'll take a water."

  He keeps the can of pop for himself and grabs a bottle of water from the mini fridge and brings it over to me.

  "Is that why you got so many tacos?" he asks, sitting across from me. "You thought Callie would be here?"

  "Yeah. Guess I got too many."

  "Maybe not." He smiles and waves at someone behind me. I turn and see Ivy on the other side of the glass office window. She glances at me, then back at Nash. I turn back and see him motioning her to come in the office.

  "Did you need something?" she asks, standing at the door, holding an energy drink.

  Nash points to the sack of food. "Just wondering if you want a taco. Jake thought Callie would be here but she has class today so now we have too many tacos."

  "Um...sure, I'll take one." She walks over to the table, not even looking at me, but just having her near me is making my damn heart beat faster. This isn't normal. I'm not even dating this girl. She shouldn't have this much of an effect me on me.

  She leans over the table to get the sack of food and my eyes go directly to her breasts. They're right in front of me. I just want to reach out and touch them, cup them in my hands. They're definitely more than a handful.

  She takes a taco from the sack.

  "You can have more than one," Nash says. "We've got over a dozen in there."

  She takes another one, then smiles at Nash. "Thanks."

  He nods in my direction. "Thank Jake. He's the one who bought them."

  I look up from her breasts just as she rises back to standing. "Thanks, Jake," she says on her way out the door.

  "You're welcome," I say but she's already gone.

  Nash gets up and closes the door, then comes back to the table, laughing. "Shit, you're going to have to work your ass off for that one. I thought Callie was tough, but this girl's gonna make you work a hell of a lot harder. You sure you're up for this?"

  "Jake Wheeler doesn't back down from a challenge." I dump the sack out, piling up tacos in the middle of the table.

  "Why do you want this girl so much? Just because she's hot, or is it more than that?"

  I shrug. "I don't know. I've asked myself that a million times and I haven't been able to figure it out. Maybe it's like Callie said, when a girl ignores you, you want her all the more." I rip open a packet of hot sauce and drizzle it over my taco. "Speaking of Callie, when are you proposing to her?"

  He coughs a few times then slurps down some pop. "Where the hell did that come from?"

  I chuckle at his reaction. "What? You're not going to marry her?"

  "Hell yeah, I'm gonna marry her, but not next week."

  "I didn't say you had to get married anytime soon, but I thought you'd at least want to put a ring on her finger."

  "She's not ready for that. You know Callie. She has a timeline for everything. She'll want to finish school before we get married."

  "Are you sure about that? If you ask me, she seems pretty ready to commit. You guys already live like married people. I'd put money on her saying yes to a proposal. I don't know what you're waiting for."

  "We haven't even dated for a year."

  "But you love her, right?"

  "More than anything." He scrunches up his empty wrapper and tosses it on the table.

  "Then ask her. I know you have money for a ring."

  Nash inherited money from his grandfather. Nash is my half-brother and this grandfather of his was from his mother's side. His mom died, making Nash the sole heir, so he got all his grandfather's money and possessions, including his house, which is a couple hours south of here.

  "It's not about the money." Nash shifts in his seat and rips the tab off his pop can.

  "Then what's it about? You don't want to get married? You were going to marry that bitch, Marissa, so why wouldn't you marry Callie?"

  "I WILL marry her. I'm just not ready to propose yet."

  "Why not?"

  "Talk about minding your own business." He unwraps another taco. "You should take your own damn advice."

  He's getting really defensive about this. I know he loves her and wants to marry her, so why is he reacting this way?

  "Nash." I wait until he looks at me. "What's going on with you?"

  He sighs, his head tipping back toward the ceiling. "I'm just being an idiot."

  "What do you mean?"

  He looks back at me. "Don't go blabbing this shit to Bryce or Austin. Or Dad. This is just between you and me."

  "Okay. Go ahead."

  He leans back in his chair. "I'm worried about asking her."

  "You think she'll turn you down? Because I guarantee that's not gonna happen. She loves you, and I know she wants to marry you."

  "Yeah. So did Marissa." He shakes his head.

  "Are you seriously comparing Callie to Marissa? They're not even close to being the same. Callie is awesome. Marissa's a selfish, conniving bitch."

  "Like I don't know that? That's not what I meant. And I know Callie would say yes. We've already talked about it."

  "Then what's the problem?"

  "I don't want things to change. Callie and I are perfect right now. Things couldn't be better. But once we're engaged, things might change and...I don't want them to."

  I shove my food aside and plant my arms on the table. "Okay, you're delusional if you think Callie's going to do what Marissa did. Callie is not going to cheat on you. There's no freaking way in hell that would ever happen."

  He nods. "I know she wouldn't, but that doesn't mean things won't change between us. I keep telling myself they won't, but I'm not willing to risk it. Not yet."

  "You're fucking nuts. Callie is the best thing that ever happened to you. I've never seen you this happy. Getting engaged isn't going to change that. If anything, it'll make you even happier. I mean, isn't that what you want? To marry her? Make some babies? Live happily ever after and all that shit?"

  He smiles, gazing behind me as if he's imagining that. "Yeah. That's exactly what I want."

  "Then get your ass to a jewelry store and buy her a ring. Just promise me you won't do one of those stupid proposals where you break into dance or serenade her and record it and put it online."

  He laughs. "I guarantee that'll never happen."

  "So you're going to ask her?"

  "I was always going to ask her. I just haven't decided when. But I might take your suggestion and go buy the ring."

  "Well, at least that's progress." I bring my food back in front of me. "We need to stop spending so much time talking about girls." I grab another packet of hot sauce. "So are you watching the game tonight?"

  The conversation switches to basketball and we talk sports for the rest of lunch. Before I leave, I stop by the children's section to say goodbye to Ivy.

  "How were the tacos?" I ask. She's standing over her toolbox, putting something away.

  "Good. Maybe tomorrow you could bring pizza."

  I laugh. "So now I'm buying you lunch?"

  "I was just kidding." She turns to face me and my eyes go right to her lips. Soft, full, beautiful lips that I want to cover with my mouth and kiss until we're forced to come up for air. "You don't have to bring me lunch."

  "Why don't we go out
for lunch sometime? Get you out of here for an hour."

  "I only get a half hour for lunch."

  "I know your boss. I could persuade him to give you an hour."

  "The other guys on the crew would notice if I was gone that long. I don't want them thinking I'm getting special favors. You know how it is."

  She's right. The guys on the crew are always keeping score and they get pissed if someone's getting what they consider to be special treatment. And it's even worse for a girl, because the guys already assume she's getting treated better than them. It's stupid, but that's just how it is. I've worked in construction long enough to know this. In fact, if they knew Nash gave Ivy those tacos, at least one of the guys would complain about it, guaranteed.

  "So how about dinner?" I ask. "Tonight at seven?" I prepare for her to laugh at my boldness and tell me to get lost.

  "Sure. But I get to pick the place, and I'm meeting you there."

  My jaw almost drops in shock, but I manage to keep it in place, not wanting her to see how surprised I am that she agreed to dinner.

  "Where are we going?"

  "Hoedowns," she says.

  Now my jaw drops, but I quickly shut it and ask, "The place with the half-dressed waitresses?"

  "That's the one," she says with a straight face. "Do you have a problem with that?"

  "No. As long as you're good with it. Some women are offended by the uniforms, but if you're okay with it..."

  "I suggested it."

  "Right. So Hoedowns it is. Have you been there before?"

  "I go there all the time."

  "Because you like their food?" I ask, because there's no other reason she'd go there. People go there to see the waitresses, which is why the place is always filled with guys. Wait—is that why she wants to go there? To check out all the other guys and prove to me once and for all that she's not interested in me?

  "So see you at seven?" she asks, not answering my question.

  "Yeah. Sounds good."

  She gets back to work and I leave and go out to my SUV. I have a sales call at one thirty and I'll be late if I don't hurry up. As I'm driving to my meeting, I laugh to myself. Hoedowns. What the hell is she up to? She wouldn't have suggested that place unless she was up to something. So what is it?