Fallyn sorted the papers into a useable stack. “Oh, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep! I have so much work to do. There’s a line! How did I sleep through that?” She was shocked to find not only daylight, but also a line out the door.
James kept his hand on her back as she stood. “Don’t you think you should go home and get some real sleep? I mean, if you’re passing out in a chair, chances are you need more than an hour or two.”
Fallyn’s voice was high-pitched and pinched with strain. “No! I can’t go home because there’s work to do. If I’m not here, it won’t all get done. I can’t fail, James. I just can’t!” An emotional swing hit her that normally would’ve been easy to suppress had she not been so sleep-deprived.
At the sight of Fallyn’s eyes watering, alarms started going off in James’ head. He hadn’t been near a crying woman except for the few he’d had to fire at work. He kept things the lightest, breeziest brand of casual to avoid situations exactly like this. The second the solitary tear rolled down Fallyn’s cheek, James’s wall started to crumble. He awkwardly pulled her into his arms and held her to stave off any more tears from joining the one that had escaped. It was the second hug he’d indulged in in as many days, and both times they had been with her. He could feel his hard insides softening, and wasn’t sure what to make of that.
As soon as his shoulder was deemed strong enough to carry her burdens, she let out a labored sigh. “I have to get out of here. I can’t be seen falling apart l-like this,” she whispered.
She was about to pull away and drive home, but James kept one arm around her, picking up the resumes and starting off down the street away from the bakery. “My office is just a short walk this way. You can take a breather there. I’ve got a couch you can even take a nap on.”
“What? No, I couldn’t do that to you. I… I should go home. Where did I park?” She fished in her purse for her keys, but lost her grip on the short strap and dropped the whole thing. “Doggonit!” she cried, invoking her non-curse word of choice. “I stink at everything today!”
James knelt down with her to scoop the contents of her purse back inside, noting that she did not carry condoms or anything else that might imply she would be up for coming home with him. It was the pang of a missed opportunity that surprised him the most. He knew he didn’t need to be wasting his time trying to take home a girl who was clearly not up for the distraction. His eyes widened when they glossed over her fingers that quickly scooped up a small gun. “Um, is that…”
“I have my CPL,” she pushed out, chagrinned.
“Hey, it’s your purse.” He couldn’t decide if the gun was a turn-on or a blaring red flag. “And you don’t stink at everything. It’s a new business. It’s supposed to feel like this. Come on.”
“I need some coffee. Then I can get back to it.”
James stood, steadying her by letting her lean on his arm as he carried her purse and the resumes for her. “You don’t need coffee. Coffee can only be expected to do so much.” He had never carried a woman’s purse before, and cringed at the pinkness of the bag. He didn’t know how he’d volunteered for the position of the man who carried a woman’s purse around. He wasn’t sleeping with her, yet he volunteered his office for her use and treated her slight, yet curvy body with care he normally skimped on. As he led her to the elevator inside his law office, he realized he was completely had by this woman. “Right down this hallway.”
“Mr. Jensen?” The redheaded assistant stood, confused at the new client she did not have in her appointment book. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see anything on the books for this morning until nine o’clock. The coffee machine’s fixed. Can I get you a cup, ma’am?”
Fallyn nodded at the same time James ruled with a solid, “No, thank you. See to it my clients are directed to the conference room this morning, and that no one disturbs my office no matter what.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you, Penny.”
James led her into his office and shut the vertical blinds on the floor-to-ceiling window doors so his subordinates didn’t see the beautiful woman snoring on his three thousand dollar couch. “There you go,” he said softly, setting her down on the gray sofa. The whole room looked like ice and steel, using harsh lines with a strict gray and cold blue aesthetic. There were no personal affects, no picture frames or handwritten notes on his large gray desk. James hung Fallyn’s purse on the steel coatrack and set her resumes on the corner of his desk. He turned back to her, expecting her to be asleep already, but she was upright and staring up at him with wide eyes.
“We’re at Fulsom, Wesson and Smith,” she stated, hands clinging to each other in her lap.
“We are. This is where I work. You’re familiar with the firm?”
“Um, sort of. My brother works here. He’s a paralegal. And I’m catering the desserts for your anniversary party. I didn’t realize this was where you worked.” She glanced around like a deer in headlights, completely overwhelmed by her surroundings and suddenly wide awake. “I should go.” She stood, but James held up his hands.
“I told you that you could stay and rest up. I’ve got meetings all morning, so the office is yours. You can take a nap and use the phone to call on those resumes when you wake up.”
“I’m so embarrassed!” She buried her face in her hands.
“Oh, Fallyn. The number of mornings I’ve had where I’ve been beat from working myself into the ground? I get it. Working hard’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I made you be a barista yesterday!” she moaned. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“Something like, ‘I’m too full of myself to take a joke’? I cut in line, and you punished me for it. Rightly so. Don’t take back that mouthy smile you gave me yesterday. Why do you think I came back to your place this morning? I’ve got news for you, I can get coffee anywhere.”
“You came back to serve coffee?” She wrinkled her nose. “So you’re a bigshot lawyer, but your real dream in life is to stand behind a counter and make twelve bucks an hour? I don’t get it.”
“You really don’t, do you?” He pulled her hands away from her face, revealing the beauty beneath the bleary. “I think you’re fun and sweet and heartbreakingly beautiful. I don’t get a lot of that first thing in the morning. I was going to ask you out. That’s why I came back this morning.”
Fallyn blinked up at him as if he’d just started speaking in another language. “You… what?”
James smirked at her innocence. “I want to take you out, not for coffee. Someplace nice, but you’ll need to have slept before then, so put that couch to use.” He grabbed a file off his desk. “There’s a blanket and pillow under it. I’ve slept here too many nights to count.”
“Wait, you’re asking me out? Like, on a date?” she whispered, standing from the couch and checking over her shoulder to make sure the door was shut.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s not meant to be a secret. Why are you whispering?” He lowered his voice to match hers.
“Because no matter where I am, I’m certain my brothers can hear it whenever a guy asks me out.” She looked up at James, taking in his distinctive chin, his brown eyes and his well-built body with a new appreciation. She took him in with longing, wishing she could make choices as easily as Jen did with men. “No. Thank you, but no.”
James was taken aback. He leaned back on his desk, crossed his arms over his chest and examined her visible debate as she bit her lower lip. “I’ve never been turned down before. Can I ask why? Is it my terrible barista skills?”
Fallyn shook her head, staring down at her shoes, lest she look into his deep orbs and lose herself completely. “It’s got nothing to do with you. You were fun and nice and helpful, even. You brought me here when I was passed out on the street!” That thought gripped her anew. “Oh, man. I was passed out on the street.” She shook her head to clear it and began pacing. “If I could date right now, I might say yes, but I can’t. It’s my brothers.” She fiddled with the mat
erial of her knee-length yellow flowing skirt. “They… They don’t like it when I date, so I decided not to get involved with anyone else until they could learn to back off, and that’s not anywhere on the horizon.”
“Your brothers? Well, that’s a new one.”
“It’s complicated. And I’m guessing you’re not big on complicated, so I’ll spare you the details.”
“The one who barked at me for making sure you didn’t fall off the stool. What was his name?”
“Declan, and he’s the least of my problems. They’re all great. They’re my best friends, but they get a little overprotective. I’m the youngest by eight years, and the only girl of eight kids. I don’t sneeze without seven phone calls and a few drop-ins. That I opened the bakery without them is a big deal for me. I don’t want to mess that up. Hence the sleeping on the street.” She closed her eyes as the words mocked her. “Oh, I fell asleep on the street.”
James watched Fallyn wrestle with her answer, his curiosity drawing him deeper into the mystery he needed to solve. “If we took your brothers out of the picture, would you say yes to a date then?”
Fallyn touched her heated cheeks. “You know I would. Look at you. You’re like, every woman’s eye candy. But that’s not reality.”
“Reality’s subjective. That’s what I base my business on.” He took a chance and reached out, placing his hands on her hips, enjoying her sharp inhalation and wide eyes as he drew her closer. “I think you want to see where this goes. I can handle your brothers just fine.”
“My ex moved out of state to escape them. I don’t think you know the disaster you’d be flirting with if you scratched that itch.”
James pulled her closer still, until she was standing between his open knees as he leaned on the edge of his desk. He kept one hand on her hip and cupped her chin with the other one, leading her face next to his so he could whisper in her ear. His lips brushed her skin with a sensuality Fallyn rarely experienced. “I think you’ll want to sneak away from the shop tomorrow night at seven. Meet me at Grady’s downtown. Do you know it?”
“Not Grady’s,” Fallyn protested weakly, leaning into his body space and shivering at his voice. His arm moved from her hip to the small of her back, pushing her impossibly closer. “Killian, the oldest, he owns that restaurant. Nowhere my brothers can see us.”
James tugged her earlobe between his teeth, smirking at how easy it was to make her melt in his arms.
Until she wasn’t in his arms anymore. Fallyn shot herself backward, staring at him with an open mouth and wide eyes. “I can’t date you. We’re too different.”
“You don’t even know me,” he protested, standing straight. He had never had this hard a time baiting a woman before.
“I know that you’re much older than me. I know that you’re a fancy office kind of guy. I know that you’ll suck on a girl’s earlobe the second after you ask her on a date. That’s not my speed, and I know better than to ask a guy to change.”
James was floored. “Fallyn, I’m sorry. I made you upset. Look, you’re a pretty girl who made me laugh, and I was interested. If it’s too complicated, I can look elsewhere. No big deal. You’re still welcome to my couch, and I promise to leave you alone.”
“No, no. I didn’t realize you worked with Danny. If he sees me in here… I don’t want to cause problems for you. I like the little I know about you, and don’t want them to take you down. You seem nice. If I had options, I would say yes to that date, but I don’t.”
He cast her a simpering expression. “Look, not to whip my cock out at you, but I’m a junior partner now. I don’t think I’ll catch any trouble from a paralegal.”
Fallyn shook her head, flustered. “I have to go.” She snatched her purse down from the rack, feeling a pang of regret at turning down the best looking guy she’d been asked out by in ages. “Look, this is my way of telling you I wish I could date you. This is my way of making sure you get to go on a date with a nice girl someday who doesn’t have a million brothers watching her every move.” She reached out and clutched his hand, taking in his handsome face for what she assumed would be the last time. In a rare rush of boldness, Fallyn leaned up and kissed his cheek, wishing she could stay and see where the kiss might lead. “Go out tonight and be happy with someone who can make you smile. You look like you’ve spent too much of your life being unhappy. Utter waste.”
James sunk into her sweet advance that was mingled with a little sexiness, touching her curvy hip before she shot away from him, running out the door and leaving him alone with his confusion.
8
The Mess of It
Fallyn clutched her purse, keeping her head down as she moved quickly through the office and down the elevator. She was almost to the tall glass double doors when a familiar voice broke her speed-walk. “Fallyn?” Danny called from the hallway to her left.
“Danny!” Her voice was too high pitched to sound natural, but she hoped the forced brightness of her smile masked the tell.
Danny jogged to his sister and scooped her up in a tight hug. “This is a nice surprise. Did you bring me breakfast?”
She held onto her brother four seconds longer than usual, hoping his strength would be transferred to her through osmosis. “No breakfast, just a hug. Missed you, is all. It’s nice we work so close to each other now.”
Danny stiffened. “What’s wrong?”
Fallyn held on tighter so he couldn’t see the regret in her face. “Nothing. Can’t a girl drop in on her favorite brother?”
“Something’s wrong. What is it? Declan mentioned Vince stopped by yesterday to congratulate you. Did he threaten you?”
“No. Vince was fine. Just doing his job of speaking for his family.”
“Then what’s got you doing the sad and scared eyes? Problems with the bakery? Is a customer giving you grief? Are you having trouble figuring out the ordering part? Killian said he walked you through it. You should’ve just let him take care of that for you. You don’t need the hassle.”
Fallyn relinquished her hold on Danny, pushing aside her wishes for a romantic life and landing on feeling grateful she had a family who cared so much about the details. “No way. Everything’s great with the bakery. I just haven’t been making time for you all like I used to. This schedule’s crazy.”
Danny led her to the wall to avoid the morning rush of employees hastening or stumbling to their desks. “Alright. Hey, it’s okay. We all know this is a big deal. Opening a business is hard work. You’ll still make it to family dinner, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then we won’t get upset that you’re around a little less. We get it. But the second you think it might get to be too much, you call me first thing, understood?”
Fallyn nodded, pinching his cheeks. “It’s all going fine. Just missed your surly face.”
“This one?” Danny crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue to the side, evoking a laugh from his baby sister. “Glad you stopped by, then. How about we go out for lunch and you can tell me all about everything.”
Fallyn nodded, realizing the prospect of a nap was long gone. “Sounds good.”
The elevator was opening and closing, but when it opened again, this time it caught Fallyn’s eye. James exited the elevator, glancing around before his eyes fell on hers. She threw her arms around Danny’s neck again turning his back toward James. She gave James a miniscule shake of the head when he took a step toward her. He paused, and then turned toward the front desk, making small talk with the security guard.
Fallyn pulled away and smiled up at Danny. “See you for lunch.”
Danny walked her to the exit, opening the door for her as they said goodbye.
Fallyn made her way down the street, grateful that Danny hadn’t caught wind of her flirtation with James. She didn’t want to cost her brother his job when he inevitably flew off the handle.
“Fallyn, wait!”
Fallyn froze, turning with wide eyes as James made his way toward her down the
street. “What are you doing?”
He handed her the stack of resumes that she’d left on his desk by accident. “Forget something?”
“Oh. Thank you.” She glanced around like they were in the middle of a drug deal, expecting Danny to pop his head out and see the crime. “This way,” she ordered, shoving James around the corner of the building down a side street that was less crowded.
“He didn’t see me. I waited until he was back in the building.”
“You have no idea what you’re playing at. You can’t just call out my name like that in public.”
“Are you in witness protection or something? Your brothers can’t possibly be this overbearing.”
“They can and they are. Look, I like you, so you have to stay away from me.”
“That makes absolutely no sense.”
Fallyn led him behind a dumpster that provided some cover from passersby on the main street. “Jeremy’s the only boyfriend I ever had. I’m twenty-five years old. Do you think that’s normal? When he…” she lowered her voice so that James had to lean closer to hear her. “When Jeremy cheated on me, Killian bashed in the hood of his Mustang with a baseball bat. Declan gave him four flat tires. Danny beat him up. Carrigan took Jeremy’s sister out on a few dates, and Finn broke into Jeremy’s house and trashed the place with Keenan. Seamus took him out and got him drunk, took him to a tattoo parlor and had them tattoo “Do Not Resuscitate” across his chest. Then Daddy got the girl he cheated on me with fired from her waitress job.”
James’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
Fallyn nodded. “It was Keenan’s first strike. He’s in prison now, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have reach. I’m not trying to be a tease or make you question yourself. I’m telling you to stay away for your own good.”
James postured, his chest filling with firm defiance. “I’m not asking you for a relationship. It’s a simple date.”
“My first date was when I was nineteen, okay? Nineteen! What loser has to wait until they’re nineteen to go on their first date? Jeremy took me to dinner. That’s it! That’s all. Public place with a firm curfew. Finn ‘just so happened’ to bring his girlfriend to the same restaurant and ‘just so happened’ to nab the table next to ours. Declan called me every ten minutes, and when I didn’t answer once, he called the cops! Carrigan’s a cop, so he showed up with three patrol cars. It was a nightmare! I retaliated in some… um, some not ladylike ways. I didn’t speak to my brothers for months after that.”
Exploding: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection #1) Page 5
