Fair Catch

by Ruddick, Jessica

  Ashley rushed back into the dressing room to change, and when she emerged, I took the dress out of her hands. “I’ll stay here and pay for this so you guys can get moving. I’ll catch up with you.”

  Destiny linked arms with Ashley. “Come on, girl. Victoria has a secret she’s dying to tell you about.”

  I expected Ashley to roll her eyes at Destiny’s cheesy comment, but the girl only beamed.

  “I’ll stay here with Rachel,” Danielle said.

  Katie, Destiny, and Ashley ended up going to JCPenney to grab the shoes first, so Danielle and I beat them to Victoria’s Secret. It didn’t take long to find a strapless bra for Ashley. Since she didn’t actually need support, any bra that wouldn’t fall down her skinny, little body was sufficient. We had twenty minutes before the store closed, so Katie, Destiny, and Danielle started trying things on while Ashley and I waited in line to pay.

  “Thanks for taking me out,” Ashley said. “I didn’t want to forget to tell you. Because I mean it and also because Jake would kill me if I forgot.”

  I put my arm around her and squeezed her shoulders. “It was our pleasure. If you haven’t noticed, my friends like to shop.”

  “Are you dating my brother?” Whoa… whiplash delivered in the form of a question.

  Her inquiry took me aback. But the answer was clear—we weren’t dating, even if I was coming to the conclusion that I wanted us to be. “No, we’re just friends.”

  Ashley flashed me a sullen look, like she thought I was lying to her. “Ben said he saw you kissing.”

  Shit. I hadn’t realized he’d seen us. Jake apparently hadn’t been as stealthy as we’d thought he was. Huh. I wondered if he knew we’d been spied on and if it would bother him. Something told me he wouldn’t be too shaken by it.

  “Well,” I said slowly, trying to figure out what to say to Ashley. “I like him. And I think he likes me too. But we haven’t had time to go on an actual date yet.”

  The sullen expression left Ashley’s face, like my answer convinced her I wasn’t treating her like a child and withholding information from her. “You should. You’re nice and pretty, and Jake deserves to go out with a nice and pretty girl.”

  As silly as it was, I was happy to have the twelve-year-old’s blessing. Plus, it was always nice to be told I was pretty, even if the compliment did come from a twelve-year-old.

  When we dropped Ashley off, she went bounding into the house, her arms full of bags. While my friends waited in the car, I went in with her to help carry her purchases and to touch base with Jake. He lumbered into the foyer, wearing his home uniform of sweats and a T-shirt that I’d become so fond of.

  Ashley held up the hanging bag containing the dress. “I got it!” she announced. “The perfect dress. Strapless, just like I wanted.”

  Jake smiled at her. “Good. And I assume you got everything else you need to wear with the dress.”

  “Eww, Jake. Why do you want to know about my underwear?”

  Jake stilled for a moment, the color draining from his face.

  Then Ashley laughed. “I’m just messing with you. But yes, I got a brrraaaaa!” She bounced down the hall toward her bedroom.

  “Jesus.” Jake scrubbed his hands over his face. “She’s going to give me white hair.”

  “I hope not.” Jake’s hair was worthy of being in one of those style books at the hair salon. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit jealous. Okay, a lot jealous. My bedhead resembled a cavewoman who’d never met a bottle of shampoo or a comb, while Jake’s had that slightly tousled look that was sex on a stick.

  I cocked my head and looked at him. I would bet he could actually rock white hair. I think I hate him.

  Then his lips stretched into a smile that reached his eyes, and my panties threatened to drop of their own accord. Never mind. I definitely don’t hate him.

  “I hope she behaved herself.”

  “She was perfect. We all had a blast.”

  “Good.” He moved closer, and his hand found my waist. “I really wish you were going to be here this weekend.”

  Damn my sister’s stupid baby shower. I hadn’t wanted to go anyway, but what started as a minor inconvenience had turned into a full-on bummer.

  “Me too.”

  His other hand joined the first, but his eyes didn’t leave mine. A long honking sound came from the driveway. Sighing, Jake hung his head. “I think your friends are ready to go.”

  “Sorry. Destiny isn’t the most patient.”

  Jake cupped my face. “Rain check?”

  I wanted to ask him what the rain check was for—the kiss I assumed I was missing out on or something more. Damn it, Destiny.

  I selfishly hoped it was option two. It was selfish because Jake’s life was in chaos. Relationships could be complicated, even with someone as low-key as me. I cared about him, and I didn’t want to add any more stress to his life. Although I could certainly think of a few ways I could help him relieve stress.

  I swallowed. “Rain check,” I said meekly.

  His eyes searched my face, and then he pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss that lingered and threatened to turn into something a lot less PG.

  Then he stepped away. “Go before I get a bad rep with your friends.” Smart man. But I didn’t want him to be smart about this, not right then.

  “They won’t—” I was interrupted by the horn honking again. “Never mind. Good night.”

  Jake watched from the front door to make sure I got into the car okay, which was overkill since Destiny was parked in his driveway. Once in the car, I shot Destiny the dirtiest look I could manage. I really needed to talk to her about her timing.

  CHAPTER 15

  Rachel

  ELI GRIMACED AS I regaled him with a recap of Cara’s baby shower. He pulled a cheese fry from our appetizer plate, and the cheese stretched nearly a foot before it let go. “Honestly, why did she need a third baby shower? Doesn’t she already have everything a baby could possibly need by now?”

  “Hell if I know.” I knew a lot about kids but not so much about babies. I’d started babysitting when I was twelve, but the youngest child I’d ever cared for was a toddler. “Mom sends her love, by the way.”

  “And Dad?”

  I shrugged. “You know him. Most of the weekend revolved around the baby shower, so he wasn’t around much.”

  Eli took an exceptionally long time wiping the grease off his fingers with a napkin. Knowing him as well as I did, I patiently waited until he was ready to tell me what was occupying his thoughts. “I think I want to tell them.”

  It only took a second for me to realize what he was referring to. “Are you sure?”

  He met my gaze steadily. “I’m tired of hiding. And I met someone.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Really? When?” Unless he’d met the guy in the last two weeks, then I was hurt he’d kept it from me. We told each other everything, or so I thought.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t been seeing him long.”

  I pushed my hurt feelings aside. “Is it serious?”

  He shrugged. “Like I said, I haven’t been seeing him long. But he’s from around here, and we ran into his parents when we were out. We were holding hands, and I immediately yanked my hand away. He merely gave me a strange look and introduced me to them.”

  I murmured my understanding.

  “They’re going to find out eventually anyway, and I’d rather have it be on my terms.” Exhaustion lined his features. “I’m tired of hiding who I am.”

  I arranged my silverware neatly on my napkin while I tried to find my next words. “I want what’s best for you.”

  “And that might not be coming out.”

  Shaking my head, I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “That’s not what I said.”

  “You think I don’t know how Mom and Dad might react? Especially Dad?”

  I wanted to tell him that he was mistaken, that Mom and Dad would accept him. But I couldn’t
say it because I didn’t know if it were true. In fact, there was a strong chance that this revelation would forever fracture his relationship with them.

  I didn’t want that for my sweet, loving, kind brother. He didn’t deserve it—he deserved for his family to love him unconditionally. He shouldn’t be made to feel like he was unworthy of their love simply because the people he dated didn’t have boobs.

  “I know,” I said quietly. “Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised.” It was the best I could offer him.

  He snorted. “I’ve never been, and I never will be, the son Dad wants. Even if I were straight, I still wouldn’t be. Art is too soft, not strong enough. One of the saddest days of his life was when I finally convinced him he was wasting his money signing me up for sports.”

  I remembered that. Eli had been twelve and had just finished a baseball season in which he didn’t get a single hit. The previous season, he had played a decent game, so I wondered if he’d purposely played poorly to convince Dad to let him quit. It had worked in the long run, but the process had been painful to watch. My dad would get so angry. He didn’t understand why Eli suddenly couldn’t catch a ball.

  Again, I wanted to tell Eli he was wrong, but I couldn’t lie to him. “You know I’m in your corner with whatever decision you make.”

  My brother exhaled. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’m not sure when I’m going to tell them, but soon. Before I lose my nerve. Will you be there with me?”

  “Of course.” The black sheep of the Byrne family had to stick together.

  ***

  AFTER I DROPPED Eli off at his dorm, I got a text from Jake. I looked at it when I stopped at a red light.

  Jake: I need a nanny. Know anyone?

  I pursed my lips and responded.

  Rachel: Haha. Very funny.

  Why would he tease me about that? He knew I didn’t want to go home this summer, but the lack of local jobs left me no choice—except, wait. Did he? I couldn’t remember how much I’d told him about my summer job search. Most of our conversations had taken place via text, though, so I could easily scroll back through to see what I’d said.

  The light turned green, so I put the phone down. It was just as well. I was being overly sensitive. It was just that spending the summer at home in the guest room was a sore subject for me. The closer summer got, the fouler my attitude became. It was a new frame of mind for me, and one I didn’t like, but I couldn’t seem to shake it.

  My phone buzzed with another text, and I looked at it as soon as I parked in front of my apartment building.

  Jake: I’m serious. I need to hire someone for the summer.

  I quickly called him. “Are you serious?”

  There was a pause. “I just said I was.” His tone was perplexed. He probably didn’t understand why I would think he was joking about something like that. Admittedly, if he had been joking, it wasn’t a funny joke.

  “Sorry. I guess I’m a little sensitive…” I stopped myself from airing my neuroses. If he hadn’t picked up on my overanxious state by now, I wasn’t going to clue him in.

  “Okay.” He drew out the word, still sounding puzzled. “Do you know anyone? I figured you might since you’re in the education department.”

  “Um, yeah.” I paused, wondering if I was about to make a huge mistake. But what the hell? “Me.”

  “Seriously?” Now it was his turn to sound skeptical.

  “But I doubt you can afford me.” He only had three siblings, and Miss Melinda paid me for five kids. Plus, I remembered that Ben was only going to summer school for half the day, so he could watch the girls when he was home. Surely, Jake would only want to pay for the hours that Ben wasn’t available.

  “Name your price.”

  “Seriously?”

  He chuckled. “From now on, let’s just assume the other person is serious.”

  I grinned. “Good plan.” Then I briefly explained my arrangement with Miss Melinda.

  He didn’t hesitate. “I’ll pay you more.”

  “You don’t even know how much she pays me,” I protested. He didn’t know what he was offering. I was a good caregiver, but the amount I would need from him would be way more than he would have to pay someone else.

  “I need someone I can trust to drive the girls around to summer activities. That’s worth a lot to me, and I’m willing to pay for it. Plus, Ashley requested I find someone cool, and after her shopping trip with you, she thinks you and your friends are the coolest.”

  “Aw, she’s sweet. It was fun. But seriously, Jake—”

  “No, I’m the one who’s serious. Tell me how much it would take to keep you in Bleaksburg this summer.”

  He didn’t even realize that the carrot he was dangling in front of me was the one I’d been trying to reach for the last month. A more devious person could totally take advantage of the situation—it seemed like he was essentially letting me write my own paycheck. My immediate instinct was to lowball, but I stopped myself. I couldn’t afford to make less than I’d made in previous summers. In fact, I needed to make more. As much as I wanted to stay in town, I couldn’t sabotage myself.

  “Are you still there?” he asked.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “Take your time.”

  This would also change the dynamic between Jake and me because he would technically be my boss. Actually, there was no technically about it—he would be paying me. But hell, we weren’t dating. We’d kissed. Okay, one time was more like a make-out session, and the other time was so laced with tension that I felt like I would snap, but still. We could be adults about this. Besides, even though he said he was willing to pay me whatever it took, there had to be an upper limit to what he could reasonably afford.

  I named a figure that was twenty percent more than I’d made the previous summer with Miss Melinda and enough to get through my senior year. “If that’s too much, I understand. I can help find—”

  “Done.”

  “What?”

  “Done. You’re hired. And I’ll pay you mileage for driving the girls around. In fact, I might just have to buy you a car since yours isn’t so reliable.”

  I laughed. He didn’t. “Wait, you are joking about that, right?”

  “Sort of. I’m late meeting Carson for training, so I’ve got to run. Let’s iron out the details in the next few days, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  After we ended the call, I stared at my phone in disbelief. Did that just happen? With one phone call, Jake had solved a problem that had been plaguing me for months. To be fair to me, I was solving a problem for him as well.

  Universe, you work in mysterious ways.

  ***

  THE NEXT WEEK passed in a blur of finals and numerous extensive phone calls with my little sister to get her up to speed on taking over my position at Miss Melinda’s. I was starting my new nanny position today, albeit part-time. The kids were still in school for another few weeks, but Jake wanted to spend more time training with Wyatt and Carson. So the plan was for me to arrive in time to get Emily off the bus and stay until late evening.

  I was sitting on the front porch when the elementary bus pulled to a stop in front of the house. Emily bounded off, a huge smile on her face. “Rachel!”

  Standing, I grinned. “Hey, little lady. How was school?”

  “Good, but I have homework.” She made a face.

  “Let’s get it out of the way now so you don’t have to think about it anymore.”

  It only took Emily fifteen minutes to do her homework. Then she wanted to bake cookies since she and Jake had never gotten around to doing it. We were still mixing up the cookie dough when Ashley and Ben came in. I followed the same procedure with them as I had with Emily and requested they complete their homework first thing. Ashley grumbled a little, but Ben was another story. Since he’d already failed English and history, he didn’t see the point of completing the homework. He made a solid argument that was difficult to refute. In the end, I just had to tell him to
suck it up and do it anyway. Luckily, he did. I didn’t know what I would have done if he’d continued to fight me on it. I would hate to fail on my first day on the job.

  For dinner, I kept it simple and made spaghetti. I was starting to wash the dishes when Jake came home.

  “How did it go?” he asked, keeping his distance.

  “Great.” My tone was probably a little too bright in an effort to divert attention from the fact that I was ogling him. His gym clothes were drenched with sweat and clung to his body, outlining every line and muscle, of which there were many.

  “Awesome. I’m going to shower. Don’t leave yet, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  When the shower started running in the bathroom that was mere feet away from the kitchen, I paused. Then I hurriedly finished with the dishes because I was efficient. It definitely wasn’t because I wanted to reposition myself to get a glimpse of Jake as he left the bathroom, hopefully in a towel, with water droplets clinging to his aforementioned muscles. Nope. That’s definitely not my motivation.

  Jake and I were friends—apparently friends with kissing benefits—but he was also my boss. Day one on the job, and I was lusting after him. Pathetic. But in my defense, Jake was a seriously sweet piece of man candy. There was no way I could avoid noticing.

  I was just putting a plate in the microwave for him when he emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed. Damn. He must have grabbed fresh clothes from the laundry area as he walked past.

  He gestured to the microwave. “What’s that?”

  “Your dinner.”

  His mouth stretched into a slow smile. “I could get used to this.”

  “That’s the plan, isn’t it? I’ll be here every day.”

  “Except Saturday and Sunday,” he corrected. He moved closer and tucked my hair behind my ear. “But I’d like to change that.”

  “Yeah?” Damn. How much training does he have? The extra money would be nice, though, so I wouldn’t turn down the hours.

  “For non-nanny related reasons.”

  Oh. I sucked in a breath. We were inches apart, and I tilted my head up, focusing my gaze on his mouth. I hadn’t forgotten our kisses that had taken place in this same room—thoughts of them kept me warm at night.