Love You

by Stacy Finz

  They had brand-new cowboy boots in the van, pictures of themselves pretending to ride bulls on their camera phones, and food in their bellies. Free food that Garner Adventure had picked up the tab for. What more could anyone want?

  But Darcy continued to shoot him death glares throughout lunch. He had an overwhelming urge to kiss the scowl off her face in front of their VIPs, God, and everyone just to see what she would do. The woman needed to relax. He had this.

  He went back to the window, waited in line, and ordered her dessert. Maybe a soft serve ice cream cone would sweeten her disposition. He brought it back to her and he could swear she wanted to shove it in his face.

  “It’s all good, Darce,” he whispered. “They’re having fun.”

  “I went to a lot of trouble to make reservations and plan everything out to the minute. And you … eating at a drive-through has nothing to do with team building. It just looks lame.”

  “It’s authentic and rustic and something different than they’re probably used to.” There was nothing wrong with being spontaneous if it got the job done. She on the other hand needed to get laid or do something to make her loosen up. Ordinarily, he would’ve helped her with that but he was still on the abstinence train. Though it—and he—was getting harder every day.

  “It’s my promotion on the line,” she continued but he suspected that it was more than a raise and a title. She wanted to be acknowledged for her hard work. He got that. He really did.

  “You did a fantastic job organizing this, Darcy. The bull riding was the highlight of the weekend so far and it was your doing, not mine. But there’s no I in team.” He’d played enough sports to know that firsthand.

  “You’re starting to get on my nerves,” she said.

  She was starting to get on his nerves—the ones in his dick. With her hands on a pair of shapely hips, her breasts heaving in frustration, and her plump bottom lip protruding in agitation, he wanted to put them both out of their misery.

  She looked up at the sky, impatiently, let out a breath, and stomped off to the van. The whole ride back to Glory Junction, she made amiable conversation with Remy, Sue, and Russell but wouldn’t spare him so much as a glance. All over a stupid lunch.

  To make it up to her, they spent their last dinner with the FlashTag group at the Indian place. Darcy had sweet-talked the owner into making space for them, even though the place was booked and they’d flaked on their lunch reservation.

  They’d already been to GA to hand out the goody bags, which Deb had filled with an assortment of gear they sold from their online store. TJ, being the control freak that he was, showed up—on a Sunday no less—and tried to close the deal. But their VIPs made it clear that Madison De Wolk had the final say. They’d done all they could do. At least for now.

  Remy, Sue, and Russell had been a fun bunch and Win hoped they could continue to work together. He also wanted the bonus TJ had promised for his house and for Darcy to get her promotion. Most important, though, getting the FlashTag account would go a long way to putting GA in the black after Royce’s lawsuit. Keeping his parents’ legacy profitable was important to him, though he’d always taken it for granted before.

  But his priorities were changing. And unfortunately, so was his taste in women, he thought as he glanced at Darcy, who was in a lively conversation with Sue. Since when was he turned on by anal-retentive women who thought he was good enough for sex but not worth much of anything else? Never, that’s when.

  Chapter Ten

  Darcy was exhausted. She didn’t think she’d talked her entire life as much as she had this weekend. All she wanted was a hot bath and a soft mattress. As soon as Win paid their restaurant bill, they’d drop off the FlashTag crew at the Four Seasons and she could go home.

  Home away from Win, who was starting to make her feel pent up with an uncomfortable sort of energy she couldn’t identify.

  “Ready to go?” He returned to the table from the men’s room with his hands jammed in the pockets of his jeans. The same ones he’d worn while riding that bull, which had nearly given her a heart attack.

  She’d actually wanted to smack Lucky for letting Win go through with it. Other than the short presentation, Win had no training riding bulls. He’d pulled it off, though, like he did everything else. With a big toothy grin and a truckload of swagger. One of these days that swagger was going to get him killed.

  “What about the bill?” she asked, since Win was the one with the GA credit card.

  “Took care of it.”

  As they walked through the restaurant she saw a few female glances turn Win’s way. A blonde, who looked as if she’d spent a good part of the day in the sun, drank him up like a tall glass of lemonade. Either Win didn’t notice or she wasn’t his type. To Darcy the blonde looked like every man’s type. Big, brown-sugar eyes, big boobs, and big, glossy lips.

  They piled into the van and Win drove up the mountainous road to the hotel, slipping her occasional glances. She wondered what he was thinking. That come Monday he would be free of her? She was loath to admit it but despite all their arguing they’d made a pretty good team.

  By the time they reached the hotel, she was too tired to think. But not too exhausted to hop out of the van and hug Remy, Sue, and Russell good-bye. Darcy was going to miss them. During the two days they’d had together, she’d bonded with the FlashTag trio, which wasn’t easy for her to do. She’d never been good at making friends. Although she wouldn’t be conducting any team building exercises, she hoped TJ would let her somehow be involved with the group if GA got the account.

  On the way home, she must’ve nodded off because at some point she was awakened by a rush of warm air and a strong pair of arms that lifted her from the van’s passenger seat. All too aware that it was Win, she kept her eyes squeezed shut and pretended to still be asleep, nuzzling her head under his chin. He made a sound deep in his throat and suddenly warm lips touched her forehead. They lingered as if he was breathing her in. Darcy shifted, snuggling deeper into his chest, worried that he would figure out she was awake and put her down. She liked being in his arms, feeling the warmth of his body and the breadth of his chest surround her. It made her feel delicate and feminine, and deliciously safe. Even the slow beating of his heart felt oddly comforting. And his smell—Indian spices, sweat, and man—enveloped her like a hug.

  And then they moved or rather he did, taking long strides that ate up the cobblestone walkway, his feet crunching as they went. The fact that he could lift her at all said something about how strong he was. But being able to carry her the distance from the driveway to her nana’s front door was impressive.

  She heard whispering, then felt Win cross into the house, walk through the foyer, and climb the stairs. At the top of the hallway, a door swooshed open, a light flickered on, and then he unceremoniously dumped her in the middle of her bed.

  “You can quit playing possum because I know you’re awake.”

  Uh-oh. Feigning sleep seemed like a wasted effort but at least he might go away and save her from the embarrassment of faking it. That’s what a gentleman would do.

  But Win wasn’t a gentleman. The bed dipped and she felt him stretch out next to her. What the hell was he thinking? Her grandmother was just one flight below them.

  He turned on his side and was looking at her. She couldn’t see him because her eyes were closed but she knew. She could feel his breath on her face. He was only maybe an inch or two away. It was a meager double bed, barely enough room for both of them and his feet were probably hanging over the end.

  “If you were thinking of becoming an actor I’d keep my day job if I were you,” he said.

  She flipped onto her back and propped her arms under her head. “You suck.”

  He laughed.

  “You could’ve just left me on the couch if I was too heavy for you.”

  “You’re not heavy.” He flexed his bicep like a ninth grader. “Were you testing my strength?”

  “No, I was too tired to
walk.” And just for once she wanted someone to carry her. Not literally but figuratively. “Because while you were busy being charming and wrecking all my thoughtful plans, I was trying to nail this account.” She knew she wasn’t being fair but it was easier to fight with him than what she really wanted to do.

  “And I wasn’t?” He scowled. “I worked my ass off this weekend.”

  He had. And they’d loved him. “I’ll admit you were impressive. But don’t let it go to your head. You did what you do every weekend. You played.”

  “That’s bullshit, Darcy. We both worked our asses off, okay?”

  “Okay,” she conceded. “But I finagled that entire picnic lunch, practically had to promise my first-born child, and didn’t get one word of praise from you. Not so much as ‘this looks great, Darcy.’ All you did was stuff your face.”

  “You want credit? Fine, I’ll give you credit.” He leaned over and planted his lips on hers, the move so surprising that Darcy froze.

  He rolled over so that he was practically lying on top of her and tucked his hands under her head so he could take the kiss deeper. The pull of his mouth made her forget everything. Her frustration, her disappointment, the fact that they were in her grandmother’s house with the door open. She twined her arms around his neck as he explored her mouth with his tongue.

  He tasted like beer from the Indian restaurant and desire. So much desire that she lost herself in him. In the hard planes of his chest, pressing her into the bed, the warmth of his mouth, plying her with pleasure, and the sensation of his fingers, tangling in her hair.

  She arched up, wanting to feel all of him and he obliged by grinding against her, the evidence of his arousal pushed between her legs. She heard a moan of pleasure. Maybe it was hers, maybe it was Win’s. She was too caught up to know or to care. His hands moved down her arms and inched their way under the hem of her T-shirt. She sucked in a breath as he touched the bare skin of her stomach and moved up to her breasts, feeling the weight of them through her bra. Never once breaking the kiss.

  Darcy might not be the most experienced lover but there was no doubt Win was an expert. The things he was doing with his body, lips, and tongue were out of this world.

  Her hands moved to the waistband of his jeans. She wanted to hold him … stroke him, make him feel as good as he was making her. He shuddered as her fingers scraped his rock-hard abs and he glided his lips over the side of her face, landing on her neck and sucking.

  She worked his belt, desperate to feel him between her legs before she exploded. He kissed her breasts, laving them with his tongue, leaving wet spots on her shirt. And this time the moan definitely came from her. If he felt this amazing with clothes on she could only imagine what it would be like naked.

  Struggling with his buckle, she decided it would be faster to get his shirt off instead, and began rucking it up over his chest and head. He shoved up her top and continued to kiss his way down her body, his breath tickling her belly.

  Oh God, he was killing her … taking her to heaven. He rubbed his erection against the part of her that was dying for attention, making her feel so good. At this rate, she wasn’t going to make it to nakedness, that’s for sure.

  In the distance, something clattered. It was loud, reminding them they weren’t alone, and they jerked apart. Win scrubbed his hand through his hair, looking slightly bewildered. Then he rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up.

  “Shit.” He pushed off the mattress and walked out.

  *

  Darcy went into the office the next morning, not knowing what to expect. She’d gone over the kiss all night, replaying every detail of it in her head. About three in the morning she finally fell asleep, deciding that it was nothing. Just the two of them blowing off steam. Win had kissed Glory Junction’s entire female population, or at least the single ladies, and none of them had meant anything to him. That’s the way he operated. Love ’em and leave ’em. But now she was even more frustrated than the night she’d crawled into bed with him.

  “What are you doing here?” TJ asked as he passed her desk on his way in.

  “Working.” And in five seconds, getting the doughnuts at the Morning Glory, like she always did for the Monday meeting.

  “All right.” He shrugged. “But make sure to take two days off during the week.”

  She planned to look at the schedule later to make sure she took different days than Win. As it was, he had a tour later and would probably be in soon to attend the meeting, which meant she couldn’t avoid him.

  “I want you and Win to brief us on how everything went with FlashTag and what we can do to follow up,” TJ said, and headed to his office.

  Great, she thought, her face heating from the memory of the kiss, then told herself she could remain professional.

  On the way to the diner, Darcy bumped into Deb. Either Deb had driven in separately from TJ or she’d been over at Glorious Gifts, gabbing with Hannah while she opened the store. The two were best friends and soon would be sisters-in-law. Darcy would be the only one in the office who wasn’t family, which sometimes could make things awkward. Then again, she’d been married to Lewis and had still felt like an outsider at Snyder Real Estate, even though her husband owned the business. She’d basically been everyone’s secretary and Lewis’s mother. At GA, the slot of mother had already been filled by Mary Garner.

  Felix was working the cash register when she came in and she made sure to give him a big hello.

  He grunted something unintelligible that sounded a little like “good morning,” then “Your doughnut order will be up in a second.”

  She sat at the counter on one of the red leather swivel stools and waited. Ricki waved from the back of the dining room where she took orders from a family of five. A woman Darcy didn’t recognize asked after Nana. Darcy promised to pass along her salutations.

  The restaurant wasn’t as crowded as it had been Saturday but it was hopping just the same. Lewis would’ve called the diner a license to make money. Like her parents, that’s all he cared about. It wasn’t that Darcy had anything against wealth but there was more to life than buying shiny things and showing up the neighbors. Happiness, for one, something she knew her parents didn’t have much of. At least not together. She’d always felt that they had taken out their misery on her by nitpicking everything she did.

  “Darcy, don’t wear horizontal stripes, dear.” “You’ll never make anything of yourself if you don’t join the right clubs. Learn to network, dear.” “Lewis loves you so much, how can you leave him?”

  How could she not?

  “Here you go.” Felix handed her a white pastry box and she walked back to the office. It was cooler than it had been the last two days. With June, you could never tell. By noon, the cloud layer could burn off, sending temperatures into the nineties.

  As soon as she walked in the door Colt grabbed the box from her and started rummaging around for a bear claw. The Garner men were partial to them, though they’d settle for an apple fritter in a pinch.

  She went to the kitchenette and started the coffee, which she should’ve done the moment she’d stepped in the door. But she was feeling a bit discombobulated. She chalked it up to working eight days straight and not to the kiss. Because the kiss had meant nothing. Nothing at all. And she felt even more confident that Win felt the same, since he handed them out like a penny slot machine.

  “We ready to start?” TJ stuck his head around the corner.

  “Yep, just getting the coffee started. I’ll meet you in the conference room.”

  She joined everyone, set the carafe in the center of the long table, and quickly darted her eyes at the chair Win usually occupied. Empty. Her stomach dipped. She told herself it was from relief. Eventually she’d have to face him but she’d rather do it after a strong cup of coffee. Or never. That would be good, too.

  No such luck. About ten minutes into the meeting, he drifted into the room with his hair wet and his face covered in stubble. He picked through the pas
try box, grabbed a powdered sugar doughnut that Darcy had had her eye on, and stuffed half of it in his mouth.

  “Glad you finally decided to join us,” TJ said.

  “Sorry I’m late.” Win poured himself a cup of coffee and took a seat.

  She tried to avoid eye contact but it was difficult given that she was sitting right across from him. A few times she caught him glancing straight at her.

  “How do you guys think it went?” TJ looked from her to Win.

  Before she could answer, Win said, “Slam dunk. They loved us.”

  Darcy agreed that it had gone well but wasn’t cocky—or brash—enough to call it a slam dunk. In her experience, it didn’t pay to be over confident. But confidence was Win’s second name.

  “Darce?” TJ bobbed his head at her.

  “I think it went well. But it’s not up to Remy, Sue, and Russell and for all we know it’ll go just as well with the other company.” Sue had let it slip that they were headed to Mammoth this coming weekend.

  “So why didn’t this De Wolk woman come if she’s the one making the decision?” Josh filched a bear claw off Colt’s napkin. When Colt went to grab it back, Josh said, “That was your second one. Get something else.”

  Colt pawed through the box and found a fritter. “That’s the way these big companies do it. The CEO sends her minions, then makes all the decisions. Just like the police department.” He grinned.

  “Seems like a big waste of time,” Josh said.

  “Yeah, I’m sure it was a lot different in the army.” Colt licked his fingers.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt but I have a telephonic meeting in five minutes with one of our vendors,” Deb said. “You guys don’t care if I leave to deal with that, right?”

  There was a chorus of “Nos.”

  “We still doing lunch?” TJ’s eyes followed Deb to the door. Darcy got the distinct impression that “lunch” was code for something else entirely.