“All right, then I’ll ride with you. I’ve had my fill of pregnancy talk, if you don’t mind.”
“As long as you don’t mind the walk, you’re welcome to ride with me.” Jase smiled and flung an arm around me as we separated from Mikki and Nate.
“You’re all right with us showing up?”
“Absolutely. I’m more in my element around here and it was a nice surprise. Mama wasn’t a fan of female athletes so she didn’t show up for much.” I shook my head. “I don’t know why I just told you that.”
“Maybe because we’re family and trying to get to know each other?”
“Are we?”
Jase nodded. “That’s what I’m hoping for.”
“You are?”
“Of course. That’s why we’re here. Bo would’ve come too, but she promised a friend she’d babysit tonight. But you’re invited to our next fish fry, as soon as the playoffs are over.”
“Wow, that would be really great, Jase. I’m glad you didn’t give up on reaching out to me, even though I didn’t make it easy.”
“That’s what family is for, to kick your ass just when you need it.”
“Kick my ass? I thought big brothers kicked other asses for me.”
Jase flashed a boyish grin. “That’s more Nate’s department but I’m happy to put the fear of god in anyone you need. Though Bo will tell you that my dimples ruin the effect. Don’t listen to her, I am very tough and very manly.”
“Only a little. Otherwise you’re just as intimidating as your brother.”
“Your brother too. He’ll come around, just wait.”
I didn’t believe that and I didn’t want to argue, but as Jase and I continued to talk I realized something. If Nate never came around, that would be all right too.
Ben
“How was the game?” Chris asked the question around a yawn as we stood in line at Bread Box.
“Great! The girls kicked ass and most of the town showed up.” The smile on the faces of the soccer team were worth the effort it took, the favors I’d called in, just to get butts in the seats.
“And? Don’t leave me hanging, Ben. Did your act of generosity pay off with the woman?”
I barked out a laugh and shook my head. “It was too late. Some guy was there for her so it’s safe to say she moved on.” Seeing her so happy as she walked into his arms had gutted me and I didn’t bother to stick around for the awkward introduction. “I feel like an idiot. All week I was longing for her, regretting my actions and she was meeting guys and moving on.”
“You’re jumping to conclusions.” Chris took a step towards the counter where Mara glared at me, hard enough to break a bone.
“I’m not. I saw them with my own eyes. Her big smile as she walked to his broad chest. She’s moved on. Quickly, I might add.”
“You are a fool.” Mara shook her head, disgust written all over her face.
“Don’t bother covering for her, Mara. I saw it with my own two eyes.” And the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. “Maybe it was never about me, maybe she was just ready to move on. Maybe this guy was who she really wanted, and it was all a ploy to make me jealous.”
Mara snorted a laugh. “I changed my mind. You are a big damn fool.” Her laugh came out without a hint of amusement before she rolled her eyes and turned to drink. “What can I get the man with the brain that actually works.”
“A hazelnut coffee with a splash of vanilla. And a chocolate croissant, oh and one of those cream filled donuts. Thanks, Mara.”
“No problem, Chris.” She flashed a sweet smile before aiming another glare my way. “You are…an idiot.”
“I have eyes Mara.”
“Yeah? And did those eyes actually look at anything or did they immediately jump to conclusions?”
“I looked. We were in the middle of a conversation until he called out, ‘Yo, Joss’ and she turned around, forgetting about me completely while she got all up close and personal with him.”
“This new boyfriend, you get a good look at him?”
I nodded because I would never forget the feeling that washed over me as I watched the woman I wanted, walk into the arms of another man. “A very good look.”
“Ridiculously good looking with thick black hair and bright laughing green eyes? Dimples that accompanied an easy grin? And broad shoulders? Really broad?”
“Enough Mara, yeah that’s him. You’ve met him, I take it?”
She nodded. “A few times. His name is Jase Callahan, and he’s her half brother. The other one, the big guy? He’s the other brother.”
Brother? “She never said anything to me about having a brother.” She only ever mentioned her mother and her mostly absent father.
“Maybe you should have spent a little time getting to know her, if you cared about that, which you obviously didn’t. So why do you care now?”
I opened my mouth to explain, but I couldn’t. Not really. “I just do.”
“Or maybe you’re just mad that someone else is playing with the toy you didn’t want?”
“She’s not a damn toy!” Mara arched a dark brow at me, as if daring me to yell raise my voice to her again. “Look Mara, why didn’t she tell me she had brothers in Texas? She didn’t even grow up here.” Maybe she wasn’t as invested as she seemed. She said she loves me.
“Why do you need answers from me? You were doing a really good job of making up the facts on your own.”
“Mara,” I growled. “Please.”
“Look Ben, don’t worry so much about why she didn’t tell you, or why you didn’t ask about her family. Maybe focus on the fact that, if you really want her, she’s still available.”
“Excellent point, Mara.” A slow smile crossed my face as my mind started to race. “She’s still available.”
“I already said that,” Mara grumbled. “Do you want something or not?”
“Um, I’m not sure yet.” A plan started to form but it wasn’t fully formed yet. “I’ll take the biggest black coffee you have and three of those sugar covered donuts. And five minutes of your time, if you can spare it.”
Mara gave me a long, thoughtful look, and let out a resigned sigh. “Yeah, sure. I’ll come out with your pastries, here’s your coffee.”
“Thanks, Mara. I owe you one.”
“No,” she grinned. “You owe me two, and I won’t forget. I never forget.”
Mara could be scary as hell when she wanted to be, which was often. “I’m glad Joss has someone like you on her side.”
She looked up at me, a bemused expression on her face. “Don’t you have some planning to do?”
“You mean don’t we have some planning to do.”
“Oh no,” she shook her head. “I’ll offer some tips, maybe some advice on things Joss likes but I am not helping. Not. Helping.”
I grinned at her insistence. “Well thanks for not helping, Mara.” I winked and walked away, suddenly feeling a whole lot better about life as well as my prospects for the future.
Joss
“Ms. Callahan, will this be on the test?”
I kept a smile on my face, ignoring the number one question loathed the world over by educators, and nodded. “I wouldn’t teach you anything you wouldn’t need to know.” It was the perfect non-answer and his annoyed groan told me I’d hit my mark.
“Right,” he began again because the kid was a master at arguing, “but will Civil War stuff be on the test? Specifically?”
“Yes,” I told him. “Because I wouldn’t teach you anything you don’t need to know. Haven’t you heard, Jason?”
“What?”
“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” The rest of the class erupted in laughter and Jason slunk in his seat, covering his face with the big history textbook he wanted to avoid reading. “Now that we’ve covered that, let’s talk about the Battle of Antietam.”
“Excuse me, is there a Joss Callahan in here?”
I felt my stomach drop at the thought of
another delivery because I knew who it would be from. Ben. “I’m Joss Callahan,” I confirmed and waved the middle-aged delivery man to the front of the classroom.
He turned to pick up a vase that was at least three feet tall, filled with red, white and pink roses and tulips. It was a gorgeous arrangement, but it was over the top big and inappropriate. “Where would you like it?”
Anywhere but at my place of work. “Beside the desk will be fine,” I told him and waited for him to leave, hoping that we could get right back to the lesson plan. “All right, back to the Battle of Antietam.”
“Who are the flowers from?”
I should have known it wouldn’t be so easy. “I don’t know.” I had a very good idea, but that was my business, not theirs.
“There’s a card,” Tanisha said with laughter in her voice. “And it’s shaped like a heart. Must be love.”
If only. “Must mean someone didn’t do the assigned reading.”
“That battle was tactically inconclusive and this battle is far more interesting Coach C. I’m sorry but it is.”
“It’s not, believe me,” I grumbled under my breath as my blood began to boil. Ben was playing a dangerous game for a man who claimed he couldn’t have his authority undermined by dating one of his employees. “Since some of you didn’t do the reading, do it now. Quietly. I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, Ms. Callahan.” I didn’t buy that compliant tone for one damn minute, but this nonsense had to stop. Now. It was cruel and unfair. I knocked on Mr. Wilson’s door and the older man opened with an annoyed sigh. I wasn’t bothered because that was his default position. “Can you keep an eye on my class? They’re reading silently while I take care of something important.”
“Of course, Ms. Callahan. Is everything all right?”
“It will be, Mr. Wilson. Thank you.” My steps were determined and quick as my anger grew. Who in the hell did Ben Rutherford think he was, playing games like this? He clearly wanted a confrontation and now, he would get one.
I breezed right past his secretary and knocked on the open door, no regard at all for the phone call he was on as I continued to knock. “I’ll have to call you back, Mom. I have a visitor.” I couldn’t hear what she said that brought a smile to his face and I didn’t care. “Thanks. I have a feeling I’ll need it.” He hung up the old school phone on his desk and smiled at me. Smiled! Like this was a social visit.
“This has to stop, Ben.”
“What does?” He asked the question so casually, as if he had no idea what I was talking about, but his smug smile and the way he folded his arms told the truth.
“The flowers. The plants. The food. More flowers. Rinse and repeat. It all needs to stop. Now.”
He nodded thoughtfully, the way he did with students when he forced them to think about their actions. “You don’t like food or flowers?”
“That’s not the point, Ben, and you damn well know it.” With my hands fisted on my hips, I took a step forward and aimed a finger at his smiling face. “This is mean-spirited and it’s cruel, and I didn’t think that was the kind of guy you were, but now that I see it, I just want you to stop.”
His brows dipped in confusion. “Cruel? Mean-spirited? Is that what you think?”
“What the hell am I supposed to think, Ben? Things between us ended and for a very good reason. So, what other reason could you have for this behavior?” And more importantly, how could I have been so wrong about him? I spent a year crushing on him, dreaming of dates and getting to know each other, only to get it all wrong. So completely wrong.
“Anything but that,” he roared and rose to his feet, anger simmering in his voice.
“Oh right, because you’re so above petty revenge? I don’t think so, Ben. Just stop playing games, all right?”
“I’m not playing games.” He took a step forward and I took a step back, a move that darkened his frown to black. “Did it ever occur to you, Joss, that I realized I was being a damn fool?”
“No, it didn’t. For the past two weeks you haven’t said one damn word to me, only sending me little reminders of our time together. A time which amounted to absolutely nothing, in case you forgot.”
“I haven’t forgotten a damn thing.”
“Then what the hell do you think you’re doing?” The question came out louder than I intended but I refused to back down. If Ben wanted to play games, then I would make his worst fears come to fruition.
“Excuse me,” His secretary, Mrs. Farnsworth, interrupted. “Maybe you want to close door for this particular conversation?”
“Absolutely not,” I insisted. “He wouldn’t have done what he did if he didn’t want the whole world to know what a big man he is, isn’t that right Mr. Rutherford?”
“Sorry for the bother, Mrs. Farnsworth. We’ll try to keep it down.” Ben flashed a sweet smile which the old woman returned before shuffling back to her desk, probably to set the grapevine on fire. When she was out of earshot, Ben turned a knowing look my way. “I think you might be catching on. Finally.”
“Don’t speak in riddles.”
“I’m not. Maybe you’re being purposely obtuse.”
I folded my arms and shook my head. “You can’t charm me with ten dollar words.”
“All right, Joss. Let’s follow your illogical train of thought. Why would I want the entire school to know what a ‘big man’ I am?”
“What?” It took a moment for his question to sink in and I shrugged. “Because it was inevitable that people would find out about us and this way you can seem like the good guy, instead of…not.”
“So, I send you flowers so everyone will think you broke my heart?”
“I won’t pretend to understand the twisted workings of your mind.” I didn’t want to know. All I wanted was to curl up in bed for a few days and get over him completely.
“Well then I’ll just tell you. Have a seat.”
“I’m fine right here.”
His gaze heated as it raked over me and a slow smile spread across his face. “You are, but that’s not the point. The point is that a man can change. A man can realize that he made a huge mistake when he had a gorgeous, smart, kind and loving woman in his life, his arms and his bed. And, like a fool, he let her walk away.”
“A man can, sure.” I ignored the way my heart fluttered and the little pulse at the base of my neck raced as hope took flight in my belly.
“I am that man, Joss.”
“All evidence to the contrary?”
Ben nodded and took a step closer but this time my feet were rooted to the ground, stubbornly refusing to back down. “The flowers didn’t tell you how I felt?”
“No Ben, those are just things.” I shook my head furiously and my hands unraveled and found themselves back on my hips. “I thought, foolishly, that spending time together when you brought meals or cooked for me, meant something. Turns out it didn’t mean a damn thing.”
“It did, I just didn’t realize it at the time.” Ben sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. “I didn’t know Joss. I didn’t know that every moment we spent together was special, not until you walked away. Which you should have done.”
“Thanks,” I snorted, but my heart was still, waiting for his next words.
“Every smile. Every laugh. Every moment we spent together came back to me in vivid color and that’s how I knew.”
My throat was so dry it was hard to swallow around the lump that had formed in my throat. “Knew what?”
“That’s how I realized that I’m in love with you, Joss.” He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “It’s crazy how in the moment, those small moments seem so insignificant, like you’ll just have them and live them forever. But then they’re gone and you feel…incomplete.”
Yeah, I knew that feeling. “You. Love. Me.” It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be true but the gleam in his eyes felt true.
He nodded. “I’m in love with you, Joss. I hate that I had to hurt you to figure that out, but I didn’t know t
hat’s why you were so special. I didn’t know that it was love that caused my heart to ache when you walked away from me. It was rage when I saw you hug that guy at the game.”
“That was my brother. Half brother, anyway.”
He grinned. “Mara set me straight and that’s when I knew I had to make my move. The next guy might not be your brother or your half-brother. He might be some loser trying to steal you away from me.”
“I’m not yours,” I told him, but my heart raced like hell, desperate to be claimed by this man.
“Not yet, no.” He took a cautious step forward, but that irresistible smile had me taking my own step forward. “But you said you loved me, before. I’m hoping that’s still true.”
“Love isn’t a switch you can flip on and off, Ben.”
His grin widened. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say, and that was the reason for the deliveries. I needed you to know that I see you Joss, how special you are. How funny and kind, how dedicated you are to your students and your athletes. I see your beauty whether you’re in sweat pants or a sexy blue dress, or nothing at all.”
“Ben…”
“And I sent the arrangement today, because I wanted you to know that I love you enough to break my own stupid rules. That I don’t care if the whole world knows that I love you. That I want to be with you. More than any damn thing.”
“You do?”
“Damn straight I do, Joss. I wasted too much time making excuses, telling myself that the new teacher was off-limits because we work together. Pretending I didn’t notice you flirting with me or that little blush you got when I said hi to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You knew.”
“I knew and I had a crush too, but I couldn’t act on it.”
“Wouldn’t,” I shot back, feeling bold with his declaration of love.
“Okay, I wouldn’t act on it. But I will, hell, I am acting on it Joss. You’re mine and I’m yours, and that’s just the way it is.”
Damn, that’s hot. “And I have nothing to say about it?”
He nodded and took a step closer, cupping my face and running his thumbs along my jawline. “If you say you don’t love me anymore, that you can’t love me, then yeah.”
Misbehaving Curves: A Boss Romance Page 14