“Yeah, I’ve heard about it — it’s the main topic of conversation just about everywhere you go. I really don’t see what any of this has to do with me, but you can put me down to plant flowers or whatever when the time comes.” A little bit of time and elbow grease went a long way in this town, and I had no problem doing my part.
“You’re a big hero right now, and rightfully so,” she added with another dimpled smile. “And we should capitalize on it. Strike while the iron is hot, and all that.” It was starting to sound like there’d be some kind of angle, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t do angles. I did straightforward. Clear cut.
“Don’t let my appearance fool you. I’m not a crook.”
She looked genuinely offended. “I didn’t think you were, but I really didn’t think you were so prickly, either.” Jayne held up a hand to stop the smart-ass remark perched on the tip of my tongue. “Listen. To raise money for the Tribute, we’re putting together a ‘Hometown Heroes’ calendar of all the hunky men in town. Mostly the ones who work emergency jobs like police, fire, and EMT.”
“And Search and Rescue,” I added, one brow arched in suspicion.
“Yes. Look, I want this calendar to happen because I think it’s a great way for everyone to pitch in using their talents — I’ll take the photos, of course, but the town has already budgeted for a special events coordinator, which we haven’t found yet.” The woman didn’t slow down, not even to take down a few gulps of margarita between run-on sentences. “And I can get you the gig.”
I eyed that dimpled smile warily. I didn’t trust it. When I told her as much, Janey only laughed. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch,” she purred, her lips around the rim of her glass.
“That’s your first lie.”
“How many do I get, exactly?” Her mouth twitched again, her green eyes glittering with humor. “Okay, fine. I need you to convince Preston to be one of the calendar boys.”
“Oh, so, this isn’t a real job.” Because there was no way in hell Preston would agree. The man might have bucked his family’s wishes for his career, but he was good and proper right down to his bones and I was pretty sure posing for a man-candy calendar was neither appropriate or acceptable, as far as he was concerned. “Got it. Thanks for the offer,” I told her dryly.
“Look, I know it’s a big ask, but I also know you guys have been living together recently.” She didn’t seem to relish the gossip, which maybe pissed me off even more.
“We are not living together,” I corrected. “He deemed my steps a hazard and took me to his place. He’s high-handed and much stronger… you know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m staying there temporarily, but I hold no sway over Preston. You’ll have to find another coordinator.”
“That’s too bad. The job comes with a full salary, and would still allow you to work here once your leg is healed. If you want.” Janey named an amount that was about what I hoped to clear with tips in a town this size — which meant it would double my current earnings. “Think about it.”
“He won’t agree.” I didn’t know him well, but I knew that much.
“It’s up to you to persuade him.” I was convinced Janey might be the devil, judging by her wicked laugh and suggestive eye movements.
“It’s not like that,” I protested.
“If you say so, though I don’t know why. You’re hot and he’s hot,” she said with a shrug, “could work.”
“We’re too different. Can you please stop saying that stuff so loud?”
“Why? Landing him would be a pretty big deal. Not for me, of course, I’ve known him since before he was good-looking. I remember him with no front teeth, can’t un-see that. Still, he’s a good catch.”
“You don’t get it,” I told her testily. “I’ll try, but if I were you, I wouldn’t stop looking to fill the position.”
“You’ll do it” she assured me, “and when you do, it’ll make it so much easier for you to convince the other guys on my list. Call me if you have any questions. It would be better for all of us if you got that yes sooner rather than later.”
She pushed her business card across the table as she slid out of the booth. “Talk soon. Enjoy the nachos.”
I wished I had that kind of energy, especially lately.
“Hey Buddy,” I called in the direction of the bar, “can you make those nachos to go?” He grumbled, but shouted the changed order status to the kitchen. “Thanks.”
That would be at least two meals I didn’t have to cook or buy. Maybe this would all work out.
Crazier things have happened.
Preston
“You want me to do what?”
I was pretty sure I’d heard Nina incorrectly. We were practically strangers and, aside from a few looks I might have described as appreciative, she hadn’t shown any interest in seeing me without a shirt. As soon as I set the pizza on a cooling rack, I turned to glare at her.
“You heard me, Preston. Don’t make this more difficult than it already is.” She was acting as though she were the one being asked to do something ridiculous.
“That’s easy for you to say when you’re not being asked to strip down and take photos for complete strangers to drool over!” Not that any of that sounded horrible but the last thing I was interested in was becoming higher profile than I already was in this town.
“First of all, don’t act like you have a problem with women drooling over your hot body. Why the hell else do you keep in such good shape if you don’t want women to appreciate it?”
My hot body?
“And I didn’t say strip down, you freak. I said ‘Hometown Heroes calendar,’ not naked or half-naked booty modeling.” Her sarcastic grunt was unbelievably sexy, but I knew she wouldn’t appreciate that observation.
“Booty modeling?”
“Yeah, when you’re selling that booty.” She pouted her lips and stuck her butt out at an awkward angle, thanks to the boot. Still, it was adorable.
“I’m sorry, Nina. I’m not selling this booty.” The last thing I needed was the grief that would surely come my way if my mother found out I was posing in a calendar. No, I was playing the long, stay-under-the-radar game. “Sorry.”
She sighed and her shoulders fell, but she hid her vulnerability quickly. “So, you mean to tell me that a Worthington — the one who recently saved one of the Tulip’s Troopers — won’t do his part to help restore the Tribute? I guess I was wrong about you.”
Her outburst felt incredibly manipulative, so I shrugged it off. “Maybe you were,” I said coldly. “I’m sure it wasn’t the first time.”
Nina froze, and it was so slight and so fast I thought I’d imagined it. She said nothing in reply, just looked down at her lukewarm pizza and ate it. Reluctantly. “Not as good as your fancy pizza,” she said, finally, “but this isn’t terrible either.”
It was food and I’d bought it on sale, which was often my only criteria at the grocery store — especially when I was cornered by a matchmaking mama. Which I always was at the market. “High praise.”
She shrugged and turned back to her meal, finishing quickly enough to brush off any questions but without the gusto of someone truly enjoying her dinner. Nina hid her emotions well, but she’d probably be disappointed to realize just how much her face gave away. I couldn’t take it anymore. “What’s the big deal if I do this or not, Nina?”
She shrugged. “It’s no big deal. You’re not interested, and unlike the rest of the people in this town, I can take no for an answer.” Her words were clear, and her demeanor was telling me to fuck off just as clearly. I couldn’t figure out why.
Why should I be the sacrificial lamb for this calendar? And why in the hell did I feel bad about saying no to this completely unreasonable request? I certainly didn’t want to draw a bigger target on my back, accepting dates with women I had no interest in simply because good manners said I had to but I couldn’t help it — I hated the flare of disappointment in her sharp blue eyes and the way her sh
oulders slumped with defeat.
This was exactly why I kept my interactions with women simple and casual. I got enough drama in my professional life.
Nina could be as mad as she wanted. Tomorrow, I’d be starting another three-day shift and by the time I clocked out, she’d likely be well over whatever was pissing her off right now.
I hoped so, anyway.
* * *
“I love it when the Potluck Patrol descends on the office.” Nate grinned over at me, his mouth filled with their latest offering, courtesy of Edith ‘Eddy’ Henderson. “Can’t say I’ve ever had meatloaf shepherd’s pie, but it’s damn good.” He groaned again and it started to feel a little uncomfortable.
“It’s all the butter in the mashed potatoes,” I informed him. It was Eddy’s specialty, delicious and deadly. “Sure, it’s good, but I can feel my arteries clogging every time I swallow. At least we have salad to balance it out.”
Nate laughed, somehow shoveling food into his face like we hadn’t already enjoyed two big breakfast burritos earlier that morning. He’d even had banana a couple hours ago. Three servings later, he finally came up for air. “They hit you up to do the calendar yet?”
“You, too?” I was relieved to hear I hadn’t been targeted specifically for this project. Nina hadn’t picked up any of my calls or returned any of my text messages so far today, which was fine with me. If she couldn’t handle a little disagreement, we’d never really be friends, anyway — and that was all we could possibly be. “I’m not interested. Are you?”
“It’s for a good cause, and I don’t really mind if the ladies want to ogle this body; I work hard at it.” He snorted. “Besides, it’s much better than the Potluck Patrol drooling over me at the gym. That is the definition of uncomfortable.” He shuddered dramatically and we both laughed. “It’s too bad you’re not interested, having a Worthington in the calendar might help with the fundraising goals.”
Seems everyone was determined to manipulate me — or try to, at any rate. “Really, Nate? There are plenty of ways to raise money. If you don’t believe me, just ask my mother.” The woman could plan a fundraiser in her sleep and still ensure it was the hottest ticket in town.
“We both know if your mother writes a check, she’ll run right over everyone else’s wants. This way, everyone pitches in. So, how many calendars are you planning to buy?”
“I’ll find a way to contribute.” I always did, but rarely with money. “Did Nina ask you to talk to me?” Nate was touting the benefits of this calendar a little too much.
He frowned, looking over at me like I was the crazy one. “No. Why?”
I told Nate about Nina’s request, and how she’d been freezing me out since I refused. “Now she’s just outright ignoring me, like I didn’t have every right to say no. What’s that about?”
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Her behavior was childish. Selfish, really, when I was doing my best to help her.
“Oh, I heard Janey offered her a job coordinating the shoot,” Nate explained, “but only if she was able to get you to do the calendar.”
I couldn’t help but stare at him for a long time, confused. “Since when do you gossip?”
“Since I was trapped in a booth with Janey while she flirted and coerced me into agreeing to do the calendar.” There were no signs of deception and more than that, I believed him.
“And that’s true, about the job?” He nodded, and I felt sympathy welling up inside me with a lump in my throat. “Shit.” A big dose of guilt followed. “Why wouldn’t she tell me that?”
She could have tried to guilt me or threaten to use something. Anything. Instead, she had stayed silent.
“Doesn’t strike me as the kind of girl to accept charity,” Nate said simply.
“But Buddy isn’t letting her work,” I told him. “She could really use that job.”
“Why do you care so much? She asked and you said no. Just be happy she didn’t manipulate the situation, especially since you’ve moved her in with you.”
“Come on, man. There was no way she could handle those stairs on her ankle.”
Nate’s look told me just how full of crap he thought I was. “And she doesn’t have any friends in town?”
I sighed. “Max was busy with the after drama of the flood and I have lots of room – and no housemates. I told her to stay with me.”
“So, it was all your idea?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “And she’s been fighting me every damn day.”
“Better than trying to get that wifey title, right? Or… do you want her to want that title?” His teasing tone pissed me off, but there was some truth to his words. When I said nothing, his eyes widened. “You like her.”
“Shut up.” I did like her, but it wasn’t like what he was suggesting. She was funny and smart and, yeah, hot as hell, but we were just friends. Sort of. “I’m just trying to figure out what I did to piss her off.”
“She’s probably just worried about how she’s gonna pay her bills.”
Another stab of guilt tore through me. She’d rather struggle than ask me for help. “I really am a jerk.”
“You’re not so bad. A little stubborn and blind, but you’re basically an alright guy.” Nate stole another forkful from the casserole dish with a smile. “Just apologize, if you mean it. Or tell her why you don’t want to do the calendar. Maybe she’ll be reasonable.”
Yeah. Or maybe she would be really, really angry.
Nina
“Damn, Max, I don’t know how you manage to make spiked lemonade taste so good. I’m in a special kind of heaven right now.”
Leaning back in one of her plush blue kitchen chairs with my foot elevated on an empty chair, I closed my eyes with a sigh. “But I’m only staying until I can make it up my stairs without collapsing from fatigue. Or until the hoagies run out.”
Max tossed her head back and laughed, a lively, feminine sound so unlike my own unsexy guffaw. “Stay as long as you need. I’m just sorry the upstairs bathroom flooded so the guest room is out of commission until then.” With Max’s guest room out of commission, I’d be spending the night on the couch. It wasn’t ideal, but it gave me a chance to gather my strength and confidence before trying my steps again. “How are you feeling?”
“Now? Better.” After leaving the Black Thumb to run my errands with a box of overloaded nachos trapped in a bag, I completely and totally overdid it. By the time I’d made it home with a few copies of my resume printed out, newspaper classifieds tucked under my arm, and two bags of groceries in one hand, I was a sweaty, exhausted mess. “Eventually, I won’t feel any pain at all when I have to call you up just for help getting off my stairs. So embarrassing.”
Max laughed harder. “What’s a little humiliation between friends? I could tell you embarrassing stories about nearly everyone in town.”
“I’m listening,” I encouraged, leaning forward with my chin in my hands and a greedy smile on my face.
“I said I could, not that I would.”
“Afraid they’d pay you back a little too much?”
Max nodded, tendrils of red hair falling gently out of the high ponytail she wore to keep the mass of waves out of her way. “They’d pay me back with interest, and some of those incidents I’d just as soon forget ever happened.”
“Sounds interesting. Where I grew up, we were all too tough and too scared to be vulnerable enough to open ourselves up to public humiliation.” My school experience was very different from Max’s, which only highlighted why it was a good thing I left Preston’s place.
“Sounds awful.” Max winced and covered her mouth. “My god, Nina, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It was worse than awful,” I agreed. “I’m sure your experiences were much more rewarding and educational than mine. Anyway, I’m fine, just worried.” About my health and my finances, or lack of either.
“If you need me to float you a loan,” she began, but I cut her off.
�
�I don’t. I mean, thanks, but I do have some savings I can lean on for a while.” A short while, admittedly, but I didn’t want Max to concern herself with my problems when she had a little girl to raise and worry about. “I would just prefer to work, that’s all.”
After a few days of sitting on my ass, I already knew I would be bored out of my mind if I didn’t have something to keep me occupied. “Enough about me, tell me about you. How’s work and how is your secret admirer?”
“Still a secret.” She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. “Work is great — hectic, but great. I have a big catering job over at the Worthington place, one of those fancy affairs with six courses and more than a dozen different pieces of silverware.”
Even through her clear frustration, Max could do nothing to hide how satisfied she was with her work. “Sabrina Worthington is a pain in the ass, but she pays well and when you do a good job, she’s the best lip service around.”
“Sounds like you love it.”
“I do,” she conceded. “No matter how angry or rude a client is, once they taste the food I’m serving to their guests, they’re putty in my hands.”
I’d never taken much time to consider what kind of job or career would fulfill me. The minute I’d turned eighteen — hell, even earlier — my life had just been about finding the means to support myself. And to be honest, that really hadn’t changed.
“So,” Max said, looking at me with interest, “are you going to see Preston again?”
“Not you too, Max.” I groaned. Thanks to Preston’s insistence I stay at his place, the whole town believed we were in some type of relationship. The evil-eyed stares I’d noticed from other women were probably the only reason I was happy not to be working right now, because I knew my tips would be for crap. “No. We were never seeing each other, he just bullied me into staying at his place using his muscles and cold hard logic.”
Max leaned forward, a gleam in her eye. “Tell me more about those muscles.”
Mr. Savior: A Roommate Hero Romance Page 6
