Just What I Needed

by Lorelei James

  remember her name—his way of warning her that he knew she’d lied about that once—and flashed his sharklike CFO grin. “Trinity.”

  “Same here.”

  “Catch you later, bro.”

  Grabbing Trinity’s hand, I towed her back inside the set-painting room. The space had been cleared out, so we had it to ourselves. I closed the door and faced her.

  “Sorry they ambushed me today. We don’t have to go out with my family tonight if you’d rather not.”

  “Sounds like you’re the one who’s on the fence.”

  I was selfish. I didn’t want to share her on the one night I wasn’t already sharing her with her project. “Have you ever been to Flurry?”

  She shook her head. “I hear it’s a cool place. Hard to get into. And I wouldn’t mind celebrating since I’m on the downhill stretch.”

  “It’s gotta be a huge relief.”

  “It is. The client is coming to check the progress on Monday afternoon.”

  “When’s the event?”

  “Two weeks from tonight.” She reached up and fiddled with the collar of my shirt. “Will you be my date? It’s at some fancy private country club.”

  That meant I’d have to wear a damn suit. But I’d do it for her. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Thank you. I’ll need someone to stop me from becoming a babbling idiot and from drinking too much free champagne because that is a dangerous combination.”

  I stroked her cheek. “Is that the only reason you want me to go? To kiss you when your nerves kick in and the motor starts running?”

  “No. I want you to go with me because we’re a couple and that means we support each other on this kind of social stuff, right?”

  “Right.” That’s when I realized she wanted to go out with my family. I’d suck it up and show her a good time for a few hours. “I’ve gotta unload equipment, so I’ll be between here and the warehouse the rest of the day. What time works for me to pick you up?”

  “I’d love to have dinner first, but maybe we should plan on dinner afterward since I’ll be working all afternoon. So how about . . . seven thirty?”

  “Perfect.” I kissed her and ignored the high school kids whooping and hollering outside the window.

  Fourteen

  TRINITY

  I stood in front of my closet, staring wide-eyed like a shell-shocked toddler expecting monsters to jump out.

  Don’t be ridiculous. How hard can it be to pick one outfit? Just reach in and start grabbing stuff.

  Within five minutes I had half of my clothing strewn across the bed in a sea of black, but I wasn’t any closer to making a decision.

  Should I go with a little cocktail dress? Or a fringed miniskirt and vest combo? Or a maxi dress? Walker was tall enough I could don stilettos, but it’d been a while since I’d worn heels. With my luck I’d trip in them, fall on my ass and give his family an indecent view of my Spanx.

  Maybe I should just stick with pants.

  After I applied my makeup, I straightened my hair. It’d been ages since I’d fussed with my appearance, so I hoped I’d achieved the wow factor. Walker was such a hot-looking man that I didn’t want anyone to question why I was on his arm.

  The doorbell rang.

  I grabbed my beaded clutch and my messenger bag before I opened the door. “Hey. I’m ready.”

  Walker made a very slow, very thorough sweep of my body before he looked me in the eye. “I knew it.”

  “What?”

  “That I’ll spend half the night mesmerized by my gorgeous date and the other half of the night wanting to punch all the men who are lusting after my gorgeous date.”

  I smiled. “You get high marks for that compliment.”

  He angled his head and placed a kiss where my cleavage started. Then he ran a finger up my arm, from the cuff at my wrist to the ball of my shoulder. “I like that this shirt is see-through.”

  I glanced down at the V-neck sleeveless shell I’d worn beneath a sheer black blouse. “It’s not completely see-through.”

  “Then how come I know that your nipples are hard?”

  “Because they get hard when you touch me.”

  Walker’s avid gaze followed the movement of the back of his hand, gliding across my breasts. “We could stay in,” he said huskily. “In fact, that might be best since your skin is feeling a little hot and feverish. Maybe you oughta be in bed.”

  “You just don’t want to go out,” I said a little breathlessly.

  “I just want to be in with you. All night. Is that a possibility?”

  “Yes.” Placing my hand over his on my breast, I slid it down so he cupped me completely. He squeezed the flesh and I opened my mouth on his to swallow his soft grunt.

  That seemed to frustrate him. “Let’s go.”

  Once we were in Walker’s pickup, I said, “Are we meeting someplace first?”

  “No. Annika mentioned meeting to take a car service, but I frickin’ hate that. I prefer to drive so I don’t get stuck somewhere.” He grinned at me. “That’s why I didn’t have a problem when you insisted on meeting me for our first date instead of letting me pick you up.”

  “Can you give me the details on the family members who’re coming tonight?”

  “As far as cousins? My older cousin Ash. Maybe his younger sister, Dallas, who’s still in college. Definitely my cousin Nolan.” After he said the name a tiny scowl appeared.

  “Don’t you get along with him?”

  “I get along with him great. Until he starts tossing out unwanted advice.”

  “On what?”

  “His favorite thing to rag on me about is my appearance. I ignored his call earlier because I didn’t want fashion tips on what to wear to the damn bar.”

  Walker looked great. The casual way he dressed suited him. “Why does he try to change you?”

  “Exactly. I’m not the suit-and-tie-wearing type.”

  My panties would spontaneously combust if I saw Walker Lund in a suit. The beard, the sexy man bun . . . not even pinstripes and wing tips could conceal his raw masculinity.

  “So is Nolan the cousin that co-owns the boat with you?”

  “Yeah, although we keep that on the down low.”

  “Don’t want your relatives begging you to take them to the lake?”

  “Something like that.”

  “With that many people going, will there be a problem getting in?”

  “We won’t have a problem. Trust me.”

  “Ah. So the truth comes out. You’re at the club so much there’s a seat with your name on it and you’re feigning disdain to throw me off the trail?” I teased.

  “Hilarious. Brady and Nolan are the VIP club members, not me.”

  Because he couldn’t afford it? I had no idea what VIP memberships cost. I assumed Walker made decent money, but maybe he wasn’t in the same financial league as his relatives.

  Yeah, I know how that goes.

  “Ash will disappear without a word at some point,” Walker continued. “Don’t bother to learn Nolan’s date’s name because we won’t see her after tonight. I’ve heard Brady and Lennox spend most of their time on the dance floor. Don’t do shots with Annika.” He spared me a quick look. “Seriously. Don’t. Her metabolism for booze is unmatched. And if my brother Jensen shows up . . .” He sighed. “It’ll be easier to explain if you see it with your own eyes.”

  “Way more detail than I expected, but good things to know nonetheless.” I looked at him curiously. “What about you, Walker? What warning or insight would you give me about yourself?”

  He muttered, “No pressure.”

  “Come on. I’ll even help you out. ‘Don’t . . .’”

  “Huge help, Trin. Thanks.”

  I got a funny tickle in my belly from hearing him call me Trin.

  “If you drink too much, don’t worry. Walker will make sure you get home safely.”

  That threw me. Was that how he saw himself in his family dynamic? As the brother who too
k care of everyone? Or had that expectation been put on him by his family?

  “Or . . . ,” Walker continued, “don’t be surprised if Walker stomps on your toes because he is a shitty dancer.”

  I beamed at him. “Really? Me too!”

  “You’re a bad dancer?”

  “Yep. The worst.”

  “Babe. Why are you so happy about that?”

  “I’m happy that you admitted you’re not good either. We’ll be evenly matched when we dance together.”

  He laughed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m looking forward to that.”

  “Tell me something else you’re bad at.” When he raised his eyebrows, I added, “I’ll even go first. I am a terrible singer. When I’m alone in my studio, I’ll just belt out a tune like I’m Christina Aguilera at a recording session, but you’ll never catch me singing in public at a karaoke joint. Never.”

  “I’ll scratch that off the list of future date possibilities.” He sent me a sideways glance. “But that’s not the only reason you don’t have a karaoke set list. Out with it.”

  How had he sensed that? “It’s a sucky story.”

  Walker reached for my hand and kissed it. “Trust me with everything, even the ugly stuff.”

  “Our school had a talent show for fifth graders before we started middle school. The entire student body and most parents attended. Since I couldn’t dance . . . I decided to sing. There weren’t tryouts or rehearsals, so I didn’t know I sounded bad until I got onstage and heard myself. Unfortunately everyone else heard me too. Seeing people laughing and whispering about me . . . I was happy that my father and the stepmonster hadn’t come to the show.” But my half siblings had been in the audience and they relayed every awful moment.

  “Babe.” He kissed my hand again. “That was sucky. I’m sorry. So a water park with a karaoke bar is your idea of hell?”

  “Quit stalling and confess your ineptitude, Walker Lund.”

  He sighed. “Fine. I’m all fat thumbs and clumsy fingers when it comes to playing the piano. After a year of lessons, I still sucked. I begged to quit. My mom said no, I just needed to practice harder. So I . . .” He seemed embarrassed.

  “What?”

  “Took matters into my own hands. I found a pair of wire-cutters and snipped all the piano wires.”

  I gasped. “You did not.”

  “Yeah, I did. Bratty, huh?”

  “I’d say . . . stubborn beyond reason?” He snorted. “Did you get into trouble?”

  “Huge trouble. I spent the summer working in the yard to pay for it. Then, in another show of bratty behavior, I tallied up the hours I toiled, multiplied them by minimum wage and subtracted that from the piano repair bill. Turned out they owed me money. Instead of a refund, I demanded ownership of the piano, which they agreed to.”

  “So if you owned the piano, you didn’t have to play it and you could keep anyone else from using it.”

  Walker grinned. “Exactly.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Ten. And before you ask, my financial whiz brother, Brady, encouraged me to do the math. He never wanted to take lessons either and he was unhappy I didn’t have as much free time to hang out that summer, so it was win-win for both of us.”

  “Too clever for your own good. Both of you.”

  Then Walker was focused on maneuvering his big rig into a small parking spot. Too small. I held my breath as he backed in, but of course he parallel parked perfectly.

  He caught me staring at him. “Didn’t think I could do it, did you?”

  “No. But that’s me projecting my parallel-parking inadequacies onto you. I’ve never figured out how to do it.”

  “I’m all-pro at fitting big things in tight places.”

  I peered at him coyly from beneath lowered lashes and murmured, “Are you, now?”

  When he realized how that sounded, he groaned. “Not what I meant.”

  “Sure it’s not.”

  As I turned sideways in the seat for Walker to help me out, he pressed in, nestling his pelvis between my thighs. With unexpected roughness, he curled his hands around the back of my neck and fastened his mouth to mine.

  The kiss was possessive from the first touch of his lips. I released a soft moan when he rolled his hips until we were perfectly aligned, hard to soft.

  A car honked and I remembered we were right on the street. In downtown Minneapolis.

  Walker released my mouth in small increments, peppering my lips with soft smooches and the wet glide of his lips. He stroked my cheekbones with his thumbs as he pressed his forehead to mine.

  Without a word, he helped me out of the truck.

  He hadn’t relaxed by the time we reached the entrance to Flurry. The line to get inside twisted around the corner. I felt eyes shooting daggers at us as Walker headed to the VIP side.

  A guy in a suit wearing a headset offered Walker his hand. “Good to have you back at Flurry.”

  “Thanks.” He placed his hand in the small of my back and nudged me forward. “This is my girlfriend, Trinity.”

  “Welcome to Flurry, Trinity.”

  “Thank you.”

  The man spoke into his headset. “Two more for the Lund party.” Then he smiled at Walker. “You’re cleared. Go on up.”

  The VIP entrance didn’t intersect with the main entrance at all, from what I could see. The tunnel-like walkway opened into a reception area. I noticed a coat check, but no surprise it wasn’t open in August. A guard manned the glass door between the spaces. As soon as he opened it, a wall of sound hit me.

  Walker scowled.

  “How often does your family guilt you into hanging out with them?” I shouted.

  “Hardly ever anymore.”

  Keeping a tight grip on my hand, he dodged and weaved through the crowd until we reached the far end of the mirrored U-shaped bar where there was standing room along the wall. He backed me into the space, using his sizable frame to keep me from getting jostled.

  “What can I get you to drink?” he said in my ear.

  I flattened my palm to his chest. “Think a low-rent place such as this knows how to make a decent margarita?”

  He chuckled. “No guarantees. But we’ll give ’em a chance. If it sucks, I’ll get you a beer.”

  When he moved, I held on to his shirt. “I thought we were meeting your family up here?”

  “We are. I just need a minute to . . . acclimate to this atmosphere.”

  “In other words, you need a drink to chill out so they don’t accuse you of being a grumpy ass because you’re not into clubs like this.”

  “You noticed that, huh?”