“Open the spreadsheet.” He reached over her to point to the icon on the screen. “Go to the functions menu and hit calculate. Now you can see what is selling and what isn’t.”
She did what he said and then spun her chair around to look at him. “Is it really that simple?”
“Yup.”
Her face broke into a large grin and she clapped her hands like an adorable toddler. “Thank you! You just saved me hours of work.”
Mike rested his hands on the arms of her chair and leaned in close. She smelled good, like lotion, a different scent than before. He fought the urge to bury his nose in the soft skin of her neck. “What’s the reward for all my expertise?”
She sighed and leaned back in the chair, resting her arms on the top of her head. He got a chance to give her body a good long look. Today she wore a tight skirt and white blouse that opened in a vee over her breasts. Her legs were crossed, smooth, long, and bare. But what kept his eyes wandering was her feet, which were encased in gray suede heels with a little bow on top. Her toes were bared, showing off her bubblegum-pink-painted nails. He barely took note of a woman’s feet but Ellis’s, like everything else on her, were sexy.
“Reward?” she asked after a moment. “How about the satisfaction of knowing you did a good deed? Your reward will be in heaven.”
“Bullshit.” His gaze fell upon her lips. “I’d rather have a kiss.”
“Drop dead,” Ellis said, but her eyes traveled to his lips and Mike knew she was thinking about their last kiss.
It needed to be repeated or Mike would go insane. “Go out with me, Ellis.”
“You went out with my sister.” She pushed on his shoulders and rose from her chair. But Mike didn’t back up. Ellis was nearly as tall as he was in her heels, and for the first time Mike stood eye-to-eye with a woman. “Isn’t one of Phillipa Gregory’s offspring enough?”
Apparently not. He couldn’t believe that he had it bad for his favorite professor’s daughter. He really couldn’t believe he had also dated Dr. Greg’s older daughter. Small world … or fate, but Mike wasn’t the type of guy who believed in that kind of crap. He had met Dina by chance. She was cute, a little self-centered, a little out there, but fun to hang out with. He knew that it wasn’t going to go anywhere the day they met. But with Ellis things were different. Something about her kept pulling him in when all he wanted to do was run away. It didn’t make any sense because everything he did seemed to bring him closer to her.
“I didn’t sleep with your sister, if that’s what this is about.”
Ellis nodded. “You told me already.”
He could tell that she didn’t believe him and it bugged him even further. “Ask her. We only went out a few times.”
“It doesn’t matter if you did or didn’t; I have no desire to be another notch on your bedpost.” She pushed her face closer to his, and once again he noticed those little gold flecks in her eyes. “Tell me, Mike, do you and Colin have a master list? Redhead. Check. Swedish girl. Check. Is fat chick the only thing left on your list? Is that why you want me?”
“Don’t.” Mike grabbed her waist, pulling her close to him. Only she could manage to piss him off. “I already told you not to put yourself down in front of me. I don’t like it, damn it. You are more than how much you weigh. Don’t you get it?”
Her eyes grew wide. “I’m not putting myself down! I’m not your average girl. I opened this store because I’ve finally embraced it. I’m a big girl. Don’t tell me you can’t see that.”
For some reason her little impassioned speech did something to his insides. She noticed and tried to take a step back, but he wouldn’t let her. They were so close. All he had to do was lean in a mere inch or two and take what he wanted. It wasn’t going to happen that way. She was going to have to come to him willingly. It might take a little more time than he was used to, but he would wait. The urge to feel her naked and underneath him struck him at the most inconvenient times. Maybe if they got together the constant thoughts of her would fade from his brain. Maybe they wouldn’t. It was a chance he was going to have to take.
“Are you still in love with your ex?” he asked. Every time he bought it up she brushed him off. It was none of his business, and he wasn’t sure why it was important to him. But if she was still in love with that guy Mike would walk away. He didn’t compete with other men no matter how great the woman was.
“No,” she said with such conviction that he believed her. “This has nothing to do with him.”
“Then what, Ellis?” He couldn’t figure out why she kept turning him down. “So what? I slept with a few women. Did you expect me to be a virgin?”
“No but—”
“But what? I don’t want to marry you. I just want to take you out to dinner.”
Her eyes searched his face for a long moment. He wondered what she was thinking. “My refusal is just killing you?” She gave him that naughty smile of hers that caused him to go hard and infuriated him at the same time. “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?” She stood on tiptoes and placed a kiss on the bridge of his nose. “Thank you for putting all of the paperwork onto my computer.”
She backed away from him and this time he let her go. “Things will be easier on you if you’re organized,” he said gruffly.
“Really?” She tilted her head to the side and studied him. “How do you know so much stuff about running a business? You’re a cop.”
“My family owns a flower shop in Buffalo. I helped out sometimes.”
“Oh.” She blinked at him. “I’m having a hard time picturing you among hundreds of flowers.”
“Try envisioning me naked. It might make it easier.”
Her mouth dropped open and Mike got the huge satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten her. It was too easy sometimes. “See you next time, Ellis.”
And on that note, he left. He had already spent too much time with the girl he was going nowhere with.
*
“Where the fuck have you been?”
Mike walked up to the front door of his rented town house to find Colin sitting on his steps.
“Shit.” He had forgotten all about Colin. They were supposed to watch the game together but instead Mike had been busy with Ellis. And not busy in a good way. This was a sign. She was no good for him. All she ever managed to do was make him horny or angry. “Sorry. The time got away from me.”
Mike glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly five PM. He had been at Ellis’s store for hours. How could he have not noticed that?
“For fuck’s sake,” Colin swore. “I’ve been sitting out here for the better part of an hour freezing my bollocks off.”
Mike shot his friend a look. “It’s seventy-five degrees, asshole.”
Colin shrugged. “Figuratively speaking, then.” Colin unfolded his long body and waited for Mike to ascend the stairs. “Don’t tell me you’ve been out jogging all this time? I know you bloody Americans love your exercise, but six hours is pushing it.”
“I wasn’t jogging the whole time,” Mike said as he fished his key out of his pocket and let himself and his irritated Irish friend into his house.
“Then where were you?”
“Are you my mother?” Mike flopped down on his black leather sofa and flicked on the television. The baseball game, already in its second inning, was on. “Don’t tell me you were worried about me?”
“You were with the girl from the pub, weren’t you?”
“What makes you think that?” Mike asked, not looking at Colin. How the hell could he have guessed that?
“Because if it were any other girl you’d be blabbing like a schoolgirl after prom.”
Mike laughed hard at his friend’s odd saying. “Where the hell do you come up with those?”
Colin, who didn’t see the humor in it, frowned at him. “Were you with her? With Ellen?”
“Ellis,” Mike automatically corrected. “And yeah, I was.”
“You like her.” Colin finally came over and p
lopped himself next to Mike on the couch.
Mike did and he had no idea why. “She drives me fucking crazy.” And she made him want to get closer.
“Any girl who can kiss the way she was kissing you is well worth a little insanity, don’t you think?”
“No.” Mike shook his head. “I don’t know. She’s Dr. Greg’s daughter.”
“What? The hippie man basher?”
“Yup.” Mike sighed.
“So that means you’ve been with both of Dr. Gregory’s daughters?”
“No.” He hadn’t been with either of them, at least not in the way Colin meant. “Listen, I’m done talking about Ellis. Let’s just watch the rest of the game.”
“All right, but first get off your ass and get me a beer and some crisps if you got them.” When Mike shot him a look Colin added, “You made me wait an hour for, fuck’s sake.”
“They are called potato chips here.” Mike got up and made his way to the kitchen. On his way he noticed the voice mail light blinking on his phone.
He pushed PLAY and walked in to the kitchen.
“Mike, it’s your father.” Mike froze, literally froze; even his heart stopped beating. He never thought he would hear his father’s gravelly voice again. “It’s been a while. I think we should talk…”
Colin stood before him in the kitchen. He knew the whole story. Knew that Mike had no love for the man who walked out on him. “Holy fucking hell,” he said after a while. “What are you going to do, Edwards?”
“Nothing.” There was no going back now. Mike walked over the phone and erased the message.
Chapter Seven
Mother Lover …
I’m one of those unfortunate women who has a mother who is way skinnier than her. As a teenager this used to bug me. But as an adult I’ve had a chance to rethink my position.
There are some definite pro and cons.
Con: She always asks me and not my skinny sister to exercise with her.
Pro: She calls my sister, and not me, three times a week just to make sure she’s getting enough to eat.
Con: I can’t fit into any of her clothes.
Pro: I can’t fit into any of her clothes! My mom has terrible taste.
Dina was late for dinner. What’s new, Ellis thought while she sat waiting in her parents’ living room. They had been waiting for her for nearly an hour, so long that their father nervously paced in front of the telephone.
“Indian Star gets crowded at six o’clock,” Walter said as he held the menu to Dina’s favorite restaurant in his hand. “If Dina doesn’t get here in four minutes it will take twice as long for our meal to get here.”
“Just order now, Daddy.” Ellis threw a look at her mother, who was sitting at her desk working. Only Phillipa could stop her father’s anxiety-ridden pacing.
“I want to wait,” he said firmly. “Dina has not come to dinner four times in the past three months. I do not want to spend eleven dollars and eighty-five on her rogan josh if she is not going to be here to eat it.”
“Walter, my heart.” Phillipa rose from her chair and offered her hand to him. “Let’s go in the kitchen and put Indian Star’s number on speed dial so when Dina shows up we don’t have to waste our precious time dialing.”
“Doing so will only shave four seconds off our ordering time,” he grumped but took his wife’s hand and headed into the kitchen.
Ellis was left alone to wait for her sister. Somebody in their family was always waiting for Dina Gregory. Ellis tried not to let it bug her. Once upon a time she’d longed to be close to her sister, but as they grew up, instead of growing together they grew apart.
“Hey, Smelly Ellie.” Dina breezed in fifty-six minutes late for dinner. Looking like a young Phillipa, she was dressed in a pink leotard and a long paisley printed skirt, her long auburn hair thrown up in a messy bun. She must have come from her second job teaching modern dance.
Ellis rolled her eyes at her childhood nickname. “You’re late. Daddy’s ready to bust a blood vessel. You know how he hates to order after six.” She turned her head toward the kitchen. “Daddy, Dina is here. You can dial now.”
“Whatever.” Dina sucked her teeth. “I don’t know why you play into his Asperger’s bullshit. So what if he has to wait? He’ll get over it.”
Ellis wanted to defend Walter but she kept her mouth shut. Walter wasn’t Dina’s birth father. He wasn’t Ellis’s birth father, either, but unlike Dina, Ellis had only known Walter Garret as her dad.
Ellis was adopted but Dina was Phillipa Gregory’s flesh and blood and she never seemed to get over the fact that she had to share her mother with a man. “You know, Dina, if you’re going to be late all you have to do is call. Last time I checked your fingers weren’t broken.”
Dina admired her hands for a moment. “No, they aren’t broken—”
“But I would be happy to break them for you,” Ellis said, finishing her sister’s thought.
“Hungry, Ellie? Is that why you are being such a cranky bi-otch.” Dina flopped herself on the couch next to Ellis and rested her head on Ellis’s shoulder.
“I’m cranky because you’re such a bitch sometimes,” she said softly. “I don’t like it when you’re mean about Daddy.”
“I know.” Dina shifted her eyes to look up at Ellis. “Is that why you don’t love me anymore?”
“Oh, Dina.” Ellis groaned, a little less irritated with her sister. This was the nature of their relationship. Dina would be offensive and then say something sweet, causing the world to love her once more. “I love you but you’re still a bitch, and a self-centered one at that. People don’t tell you that nearly enough.”
“You’re right. I am.” She sighed. “My therapist says I deliberately do things to sabotage my relationships. He thinks I constantly alienate people to test their love for me.”
“What?” Ellis looked down at her sister. “You’re in therapy?”
And actually learning something?
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I’m thirty-four, unmarried, and living in a studio apartment above a bar. Something went wrong in my life.”
Ellis had to stop her mouth from dropping open. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. I know why we don’t get along,” she said softly. “I’m jealous of you.”
“What? Dina, you’re drop-dead gorgeous. You’ve got two percent body fat and you date the hottest men on the planet.”
“Men just want to fuck me,” she said, shrugging. “But you’re smart. Everybody is always talking about how smart you are. I’ve been mad at you my whole life because of it. Now I can see that I was jealous of you when you passed the bar because you’re six years younger than me and had accomplished so much more. I wanted to stick it to you. I knew the one thing that I always had over you was a way with men. That’s why I took that guy to your bedroom that night. I wanted to hurt you. But God, Ellie, I didn’t think you would stay mad at me for years.”
Ellis didn’t know what to say to that. She never thought she would have this conversation with her sister. She never thought they would clear the air. Boy, was she glad they did.
“Did you ever manage to have sex with that guy?” Ellis knew she shouldn’t have asked. Dina and she had barely spoken for years, and instead of having a moment Ellis was asking about Mike.
“Unfortunately not.”
He told the truth. Ah!
Dina rolled her eyes again. “I never saw him again after that night. He went all self-righteous on me and claimed he couldn’t be with a woman who would do that to her sister.” She sighed wistfully. “It’s a pity, too. I liked him. He was really freaking hot.”
“He still is,” Ellis mumbled. Her mind flashed back to him standing in her store all sweaty, his wet T-shirt clinging to his muscles. She found herself wanting to lick him, wanting to know what his big damp body would feel like on top of hers.
“What?” Dina sat up and Ellis’s mind snapped back to the present. “Have you seen him?”
> “Yeah … Uh, we bumped into each other. He didn’t remember me,” she said quickly.
It wasn’t exactly a lie. Mike hadn’t remembered her, but for some reason Ellis didn’t want Dina to know that eventually he had. Or that there was a strange but powerful attraction between them. Or that they’d shared a kiss that literally took the breath out of her. But why? Mike and Dina had only dated for a few weeks, but Ellis didn’t want her sister to know that the guy who was the catalyst for their rift was the same guy Ellis had a hard time controlling herself around.
“I’m surprised he didn’t.” Dina said with a frown. “You had a colossal bitch fit.”
Ellis raised a brow at Dina. “It was justified.”
“It might have been. So”—Dina nudged Ellis—“do you forgive me now?”
Ellis didn’t like being estranged from her sister. Of course Dina was forgiven, but Ellis couldn’t help herself. An apology from Dina Gregory was a rare thing. “Only if you tell Daddy you’re sorry for being late.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll apologize to the Mad Scientist.” She got up and tugged on Ellis’s hand. “Come with me. We can tell Mother that we’re all made up. Maybe she’ll stop inviting me to dinner now.”
“Fat chance.” Ellis said. “Now she’ll insist on doing this once a week.”
*
The next morning Ellis woke up to a ringing phone. She glanced at the clock: six fifty-eight. Two minutes before her alarm was due to go off.
If this is my mother asking me to go jogging I’m going to scream.
Phillipa had asked her last night. Apparently word of Agatha Toomey’s visit to Ellis’s store had gotten back to Phillipa and the jogging partners had severed ties. On the one hand Ellis was glad her mother would no longer be associated with the skinny hag, but on the other she was sad that Phillipa would no longer have a friend to run with. Maybe one day she would strap on a pair of sneakers and join her mother.
Yeah right. And maybe one day I’ll be a size two.
Mike’s face entered her mind. The sexy detective liked to jog—and more important he liked Phillipa. Maybe he could go in Ellis’s place and save her from all that embarrassing huffing, puffing, and sweating.
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