by Lori Wilde
“You know all this after one date with him?” Tess asked.
“Well, maybe I am rushing things just a little, but since he has to get married...”
“Huh?” Tess blinked. “What are you talking about? He has to get married.”
“You didn’t know?”
“Hold up. Wait a minute. Know what exactly?”
Candy giggled. “His moneybags grandfather is going to sell the family business out from under his grandsons if they don’t settle down with acceptable women. Not that Cole cares anything at all about the family business, but if his grandfather sells the business, their mom is out of a job. So he and Zack flipped a coin to see who has to get married first.”
“Excuse me?”
Candy repeated herself.
“Cole told you this, and you still want to go out with him again?” Tess’ head was reeling, but she didn’t have any reason to disbelieve the woman.
“He didn’t exactly tell me—”
“You’re making it up?”
“No, absolutely not.”
“Then how do you know?”
“I really shouldn’t have mentioned it, but I’m so just excited...”
“Candy, how did you find out?” She would unearth the truth if she had to badger, bribe, or blackmail the woman.
“Oh, I guess it doesn’t matter whether you know or not. We had such a wonderful date, so I thought I’d just drop in on his construction site and bring him lunch. You know, see him when his muscles are rippling and his—”
“Yes, yes.” Tess waved a hand. “I get the picture.”
“Well, they have this trailer they use as an office. I didn’t see Cole, so I went up to the screen door. I could hear him talking to his brother. I have three brothers, and they have a way of talking to one another, a kind of secret language—”
“So he was talking to Zack? What did they say?”
“Just what I said. They were arguing about Cole losing the coin toss and having to get married.”
“They actually said that?”
Candy bobbed her blonde head.
“And you want to be part of this?”
“Hey.” She shrugged. “Granted, his grandfather is a little weird, but how many men do you know who actually want to get married as soon as possible? Men who will eventually inherit billions because they got married?”
As if Marsh was going to allow his grandsons to get married without a prenup. “So you’re in it for the money?”
“Are you calling me a gold digger?” Candy narrowed her eyes.
If the shoe fits, Cinderella.
“I wasn’t criticizing you. I just wondered if Cole’s ulterior motive puts you off. It’s not you he cares about. It’s the family business. You’re just a pawn.”
“Well, it’s kinda strange.” Candy pouted, but she wasn’t one to hold back any thought she might have. “But do you know how hard it is to meet men as gorgeous as Cole Bailey? Not to mention he’ll be a billionaire someday if he stays on his grandfather’s good side.”
Tess felt as though she’d been kicked in the midsection. It didn’t even help that Candy bought the last comatose-cow crib sheet.
Cole sat on a table in the emergency room staring morosely at his stitched and bandaged finger. Now all he needed was a tetanus injection, and he could leave.
Pain throbbed all the way to his elbow, but his stupidity bothered him more than nearly losing the index finger of his left hand. Where was his head?
Rank amateurs knew not to saw their own fingers. Zack was in the waiting room, and Cole didn’t know how to explain how he’d been so careless.
“Bend over and slide your pants down, please,” the nurse said in a professionally cheery voice that made him feel five years old.
He hated shots, especially in places he couldn’t see. She swabbed his backside with a cold alcohol swab, pinched up some flesh, and nailed him hard enough to make him forget the finger for a few seconds.
Minutes later, he limped to the waiting area.
Zach sat there, concern on his face.
Cole expected to be roasted, grilled, and ridiculed by his twin, but Zack took one look at him and said nothing. He didn’t need to. Cole was so mad at himself any other criticism was superfluous.
Worse, he knew why he’d been so distracted all week. He felt something for Tess that he didn’t understand. Sure, she’d grown up gorgeous, and any sane man would be turned on by her sensational body and subtle sexuality. Every time he saw her it got harder and harder to just be good buddies.
If she hadn’t shut the door in his face after the baby shower...
But she had. There was nothing subtle about that message.
He’d tried to get interested in Candy, even agreeing to another date with her for Saturday. Maybe he could use his accident as an excuse to cancel?
“Did they give you something for pain?” Zack asked.
“An antibiotic and Toradol.”
He must look awful, and he didn’t need Zack to tell him that he’d been an idiot. Rule number one in the building trade was mindfulness. His thoughts had been on sparkling blue eyes, waves of reddish-brown hair, and full, kissable lips and not the task at hand.
Pun intended.
What the hell was he going to do about Tess?
Zack picked up a pizza, and they went home to watch the game. It didn’t take his mind off his throbbing finger or the way he felt about Tess.
After the game, Zack went to bed, but Cole’s chances of sleeping were nil. He picked up his phone and wondered if Tess had gone to bed.
Surprisingly, she answered.
“Hey, you’re still up.”
“It’s eleven thirty. I’m headed for bed.”
Bed.
Instantly, his mind conjured images of Tess in sexy lingerie. But let’s be honest, she was probably sleeping in an oversized T-shirt. Somehow, that image was even sexier than black stockings and a bustier.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Sleepy.”
“I’d like to see you.” He hadn’t meant to say that even though it’d been the only thought in his head the entire day.
“Tonight?”
“I won’t stay long.”
“No,” she said.
“No?”
“It’s important to have good boundaries. It’s far too late for you to come over.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “You’re right. It’s just that I…” He was about to say miss you, but she filled in the silence.
“I saw Candy today,” she said.
“Where?”
“She came into the shop to buy a baby gift. By the way, she said she had a wonderful time on your date.”
“Did she?”
“You asked her for a second date?”
“She has tickets to the Flo Rida concert, so…”
“Oh.” Her response was noncommittal.
“I really want to see you,” he insisted.
“Please don’t come here.”
“We really need to talk.” He stared at his bandaged finger. “But I totally respect your boundaries. Tomorrow then?”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“You. Me. Us.”
“Us?” she whispered.
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay what?”
“I’ll meet you.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Tonight.”
Oh wow, he was not expecting that. “At your place?” he asked, filled with sudden hope.
“No, somewhere neutral.”
“Where?” He was leaving it all up to her.
“I’ll meet you at Buck’s Tavern.”
“In half an hour?”
“Okay.” She ended the call.
He was still wearing bloodstained jeans and a sweaty black T-shirt, but he couldn’t waste two minutes changing. Something in her voice told him she wouldn’t wait if he was late. He hurried to his truck, unsure why it felt so ur
gent to see her right away.
Buck’s wasn’t crowded on a Thursday night.
A few regulars had their elbows on the bar, but only one couple occupied a table. The way they were leaning into each other and whispering, they probably weren’t supposed to be together.
She wasn’t there yet. He even checked the pool room.
He bought two light beers at the bar and carried them to a corner table, hoping hers wouldn’t get warm before she got there, hoping she really would come.
She didn’t make him wait long. The door swung open, letting in a momentary flow of fresh air and the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Tess’ hair was windblown, and she brushed a strand away from her lips before she walked to his table.
“Hi,” he said.
She didn’t give him time to stand and pull out her chair, something he wanted to do for her. “What happened to your hand?” She looked alarmed.
“Little accident at work.” He didn’t want her sympathy. He wanted her.
“It doesn’t look little. Your bandage is bloody.”
He put his bandaged hand on his lap. Having her there made the pain irrelevant. “My own fault,” he admitted truthfully. “What have you been doing all week?”
“Working. What about your date with Candy?”
There was a conversation killer if he’d ever heard one. “Nothing. She’s nice.”
Tess wasn’t buying his lukewarm evaluation. “That doesn’t tell me much.”
“I had frog legs. Not bad. Sort of like chicken, but not filling. I picked up a drive-through burger on the way home.”
“Candy came to Tikes to buy another shower present. She told me all about your date.”
“Tess, there wasn’t much to tell.”
“She’s expecting a proposal any day now.”
“A marriage proposal? That’s crazy. I hardly know her.”
“You can stop hedging.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, perplexed.
“I know the truth, Cole.” She was turning the damp beer stein around and around, not looking at him.
“The truth?” He felt cold but didn’t think it was because the evening had turned cool.
“About your big woman hunt, the reason for all the blind dates.”
“You knew from the beginning I’m looking for someone.”
“I thought you wanted a nice person to marry.”
“I did.”
“You only want to get married to keep your grandfather from cutting you out of the family business. You flipped a coin with your twin to see which one of you had to get married first.” Her voice was tight, controlled, but he heard the deep disappointment, felt even deeper pain.
“Did Zack tell you that?” If he couldn’t trust his twin brother...
“No, Candy did. She came to the store to let me know you’re practically engaged.”
“Only in her imagination.”
“How could you? You used me in your scheme, and you didn’t even have the decency to tell me what was going on.”
“Tess, can we talk about this some other place?”
She wasn’t soft-spoken when she was mad, and he wanted to explain without an audience. Even the sneaky couple at the other table had stopped whispering to listen to them.
“There’s nothing more to talk about. No way will I ever help you get a date again—not that you’ll need help if Candy gets her way.”
“She won’t.”
She pushed the chair back so hard it fell over when she stood. By the time he achingly righted it, Tess was out the door.
He rushed after her, but when he reached the parking area, she was already pulling away.
Where would she go but home? He started the truck and awkwardly steered with one hand, trying to follow her taillights. He lost sight of them when she turned, but he’d been right about her destination. He pulled into her apartment complex right behind her.
“Talk to me,” he called, wincing as he slid out of the truck.
At least she stopped by her car door so he could catch up.
“I’ve heard it all from Candy. She heard you and Zack talking in your trailer at the construction site. You have to get married to inherit the business from your grandfather. I suppose I’m lucky you didn’t involve me in setting up a marriage of convenience for you.”
“I wouldn’t—”
“She bought the last cow sheet.”
“What?”
“Candy. Just wanted you to know her taste runs to cows with their tongues hanging out.”
She turned and sprinted toward her front door, but even hobbled by pain, he was desperate enough to catch up.
“You don’t have any reason to be so mad.” He tried to reason with her, but he didn’t believe that himself. He did believe he’d never wanted to hold a woman in his arms as much as now.
“Are you mad because I let my grandfather bully Zack and me into—”
“It’s not my business.”
“Or is it because Candy made you think we’d really hit it off?”
He wanted to tell her how much he hated his grandfather’s machinations. He wanted her to know he only went along with them for his mother’s sake, but what he wanted didn’t matter to Tess at the moment.
“I don’t care if you marry Candy tomorrow.” She wasn’t a very good liar, but she was furious.
“You went out with that dope, Ron, and I trust him like a rattlesnake. Why do you think I went to Chez Henri’s?”
“Ron is very nice. I don’t care why you took Candy there.”
“Nice.” He snorted in derision. “Did he tell you his star quarterback stories? Believe me, he scored more off the field than on, and he hasn’t changed an iota since high school.”
“People can change, and he’s not the one who lied to me.” She was at the door, key out, no doubt planning to slam it in his face again.
“Tess, I didn’t lie—”
“You certainly never mentioned your grandfather was pressuring you to get married. Not telling me the truth is the same as lying. You haven’t changed. All you cared about in high school was having fun and getting your own way.”
“Is that what you really believe?”
“I think you had no right to make me your matchmaker. And I can beat you at pool any day of the week. You cheated.”
“How?”
“Your phony lesson. You tried to pull the same thing when I was playing with Ron. I wouldn’t have had to go out with him if you hadn’t interfered.”
“I apologize for that but not for trying hard to get you to help me. I had a good reason—”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
She had the door open. He looked inside longingly, more than willing to give up his stock shares in Bailey Baby Products for the chance to lie beside Tess on her bed.
“Go away. Just go away.” She backed inside.
Short of forcing his way in, which he would never do to Tess, he couldn’t do anything but let her shut him out. She closed the door. His pain had nothing to do with saws and needles and a stitched-up finger.
She was right about one thing—people could change, and he had changed since high school…for the worse.
He’d shelved his integrity to buckle under to his grandfather’s unrealistic demands. But no more. If he ever did get married, it would be for love, not because someone blackmailed him into it.
12
He was late, but she was waiting. Cole slid into the booth across from his mother and mumbled an apology.
“I had to finish a few things before the next open house,” he explained. “Two more condos to sell, and we’ll actually end up in the black this year.”
“I’m proud of you.” Sue gave him a warm smile.
“Thanks. Where’s Zack? He left the site before I did.”
Every couple of weeks the three of them met on Friday at Washburn’s, a no-frills restaurant where they could keep in touch without the protocol of a family dinner with Marsh.
&nbs
p; “He’s not coming. I think he’s avoiding you,” his mother said.
“Why?”
Cole knew the answer. He was so grumpy he’d like to hide from himself.
“He says you’ve been a real bear the last couple of weeks. He told me you’ve met a girl.”
“Zack never could keep a secret.” Cole glanced at the laminated menu he practically knew by heart, not much liking this conversation.
“Renewed a friendship with an old acquaintance is how he put it.” She sipped at a tall glass of iced tea, and he knew she was trying to pretend she wasn’t avidly interested in his love life—or lack thereof.
“He has a way with words,” he said. Cole loved his mother, but he would hate to work for her. She was a pit bull with a bone when she was onto something.
“Is it Tess?” His mother’s eyes gleamed.
“You look nice tonight.” He tried to redirect the conversation.
“I wore this to East Lansing when you and Zack graduated, and I’ve had to cancel three hair appointments because work keeps me so busy. Don’t try to distract me. What about Tess?”
“I haven’t seen her for a couple of weeks.”
He wasn’t going to mention the thirty or forty times he’d gotten in his truck and thought of driving to Tikes or her apartment. But the door-in-the-face thing—twice—had sent a pretty clear message.
“Hmm.” His mother pretended to study a menu even though she would undoubtedly order the vegetable plate for the two-hundredth time. “That’s about how long Zack says you’ve been sulking around like a lovesick puppy.”
“Zack said that?” His jaw clenched automatically.
“The lovesick-puppy part is my interpretation.”
She was teasing, but he was not in the mood to banter with her or anyone else.
“Let’s order.”
He beckoned to a young red-haired waitress with the best come-hither smile he could muster. She ignored him.
“Seriously, Cole...”
“Mom, when have you ever seen me—or Zack, either, for that matter—moping over a girl?”
“Never, I guess, but the two of you trampled on a lot of hearts in your younger years. I can’t feel too sorry for you now.”