by Karla Doyle
Candace
“There’s a lady coming up our sidewalk,” Macy said, from her position on the couch across the room. She shifted onto her knees to hang over the back for a better view out the front window. “Now she’s at the door.”
Thank goodness for her daughter’s warning, or the doorbell would’ve startled Candace out of her standing-bow pose, likely to one that involved her face meeting the living room floor.
“I’m not answering it,” she said, resuming her yoga routine. “Move away from the window. Whoever it is will go away.””
Too late. Macy was already waving at the person. “She’s holding a box.”
Probably a courier with the wrong address. Happened a lot in a townhouse development where dozens of units looked identical.
Candace sighed and pulled on a sweatshirt. “Get down,” she said, waving Macy off the back of the couch. Rarely did she have to tell her daughter to do something more than once. Especially when it was privacy or safety related. At the front door, she put an eye to the peephole and saw what had piqued Macy’s interest.
The woman on the other side of the front door wasn’t wearing a uniform. She didn’t have a clipboard and there wasn’t a courier truck idling at the curb. The box in her hands was shiny and pink with a removable lid. Not your typical package out for delivery.
Candace unlocked the deadbolt but kept the slide chain engaged while opening the front door a crack. “I think you have the wrong unit, I’m not expecting anything.”
The woman smiled. “Unexpected gifts are the best kind, right?”
“Sorry, I really think you’re at the wrong door.”
“I’m sure he told me Unit 3. And you’re exactly how I pictured you after hearing my brother’s lengthy, detailed description.”
The calm she’d achieved doing yoga flew out the window. Surely the woman on the other side of the door wasn’t referring to Jake. There had to be a mistake.
“You are Candace, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Good thing. Jake wouldn’t be happy if I gave his present to the wrong woman.” She lifted the box higher. “This is for you. And so are my babysitting services, if I meet your approval and Macy is comfortable spending the evening with me next Saturday. I’m Megan Campbell, by the way.”
“Hi, and wow, this is a lot to take in.”
“I bet.” Megan jiggled the box. “Mind if I come in, so you can take your gift?”
“Yes, of course.” She could hardly say no to Jake’s sister. Or to his gift, however unwarranted it might be. She unfastened the chain and opened the door wide. “Come in. Sorry, you took me completely off guard.”
“I believe that was part of his plan,” Megan said, on her way inside.
“I’m sure.” Candace locked the door, then followed her guest down the hall. “Your brother is relentless once his mind is made up.”
Megan laughed. “Sounds like you’ve experienced this fine trait of his before.”
“Oh, yes. Several times.”
“Then you’ve probably also realized that his heart is always in the right place when he’s being relentless. Like now.” Megan stopped at the entrance to the living room and passed the box to Candace. “For you.”
Macy popped up from her position behind a chair. “What is it, Mommy?”
“A present from Jake. I don’t know what’s inside.”
Glee painted Macy’s cheeks bright pink. “Open it!”
Candace looked to Megan and gently shook the weighty box. “Do you know what’s in here?”
“I do.” Megan’s grin was a feminine version of the one Jake frequently flashed. So was her wink. “You can open it in front of Macy.”
Macy scurried to Candace’s side, sticking close to her hip while whispering, “How does she know my name?”
“Megan is Jake’s sister, the one he told us about while we were shopping yesterday.”
“Hi, Macy.” Megan bent and offered her hand for shaking. “I hear you’re in kindergarten.” She smiled when Macy nodded. “I’m in kindergarten too. I’m a teaching partner in a classroom.”
“At my school?”
“No, a different school. I bet yours is really awesome.”
“It’s nice. My teacher is fun.”
“That’s great.” Megan crouched so she was eye level with Macy. “Speaking of fun, Jake told me how much fun he has hanging out with you. He thinks you and I would have lots of fun playing together sometime.”
“Want to play something now?”
“I sure do. If it’s okay with your mom, we can play while she opens her present from Jake.”
“Of course,” Candace said, stepping aside so Megan could follow Macy to her toy area in the corner of the living room. Giant, pink box in her hands, she moved to the front window and pulled one gauzy curtain aside.
Aha, there he was. Jake stared back at her from his SUV’s parked position on the street.
She shifted the box under one arm and waved. Nothing. Maybe he hadn’t seen her clearly. With her free hand, she pulled the curtain wider, stood in the open space and motioned for him to come to the house. Still no movement from his vehicle.
She dug her cell from the pouch pocket of her sweatshirt and tapped out a text with one hand.
Am I under surveillance?
24/7 if I could.
She looked up from the phone and smiled at him, even though he probably couldn’t see it. If another man made that statement, it’d be creepy, if not scary. From Jake, it was simply another example of his protectiveness. A quality that had amplified since getting to know her daughter.
The cell vibrated in her hand as another message arrived.
Open the box.
Bossy, even from a distance. She shook her head and sent a reply.
I want you to come inside.
Say that to me sometime when we’re alone together.
Warmth rushed to her cheeks. She was no stranger to men talking dirty, but this was different. This was Jake, and he made it real.
Her hands shook as she tapped a message.
I will, after you kiss and touch me all over.
Not the dirtiest text he’d ever received, she was sure. With his looks and personality, he’d probably sexted with lots of women. Seen it all and done it all. Now he was dating a woman who seduced men for a living, but couldn’t send a decently indecent text.
That was my lame attempt at a sexy text.
She hit Send while watching him through the window.
He didn’t look up from his phone, but a smile was visible on his profile.
Not lame. I liked it.
Good. Because I do want you to kiss and touch me all over. Soon.
Three little dots rippled in the small bubble on Jake’s side of the screen. Then rippled and rippled some more. Just when she thought it must be a glitch, his message popped up.
Open the box, sweets. Then say yes. Saturday night, when I have you all to myself, I’ll do anything and everything you want. And only what you want. I just want to be with you.
Now that was a message worth waiting for.
She set the phone aside and balanced the pink box on the back of the couch. Since he wouldn’t come into the house, she’d open his gift in front of the window, so he could watch from his SUV. One hand on either side of the box, she wiggled the lid upward and off.
Red satin filled the box and her vision. The dress from the vintage shop—he’d gone back for it.
Laughter drew her attention to the corner of the room. Megan sat with Macy at the small table, playing a board game. Having a great time together, as Jake had said they would.
“Macy,” she said, donning her calm mask of neutrality. The last thing she wanted to do was influence her daughter’s reaction to the next question. “Would you like Megan to come back and play with you again? Maybe some time when I’m not home?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
“Are you sure, baby girl?” Her mask was slipping, but she pushed on
ward. “Because I don’t have to go out and leave you at home.”
“Mommy, I’m almost six.”
Candace bit the inside of her cheek to keep her expression in check.
“I’m old enough to stay with a babysitter, Mommy.”
From the seat in the corner, Megan winked at Candace. “Sounds like Macy and I have a date for next Saturday night.”
Meaning Candace had one too. She turned toward the window while tapping a message to Jake.
I want to be with you too. The answer is yes.
Jake
Hitting up Curtis for a favor required one of two things—beer or barbells.
Jake really didn’t have time for a workout before this afternoon’s swim plans. Being 10:30 a.m., beer wasn’t an option. Barbells had won by default and necessity.
Now that Candace had accepted his invitation for next Saturday, it was crunch time, literally and figuratively. He had one week to ensure the gala would be a night she’d never forget. Seeing a familiar face in a room full of strangers should help with that.
He pushed out a hard-fought twelfth rep then racked the barbell. “You taking Sara to the Chief’s Gala?” he asked, clearing off the bench.
Curtis grunted while settling into position beneath the bar. “No. Not her kind of thing. Mine either.”
“Too bad.”
Curtis paused before raising the weight for his set. “Why?”
“Thought it’d put Candace at ease if she had a familiar face at the table.”
“Nice try, Campbell,” Curtis said, snorting. “You wouldn’t be caught dead at the gala and you sure as hell wouldn’t take Candace.”
“Wrong on both counts. Picked up our tickets on my way here.”
The barbell clanged into position on the rack and Curtis stood, narrowing his eyes at Jake from the opposite side of the bench. “You think taking her to an event where she’s surrounded by cops is a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jake stared at his friend, hoping to hell Curtis would stand down.
Curtis scrubbed his hand over his jaw. Exhaled. Then did what Curtis Lawler always did—spoke his mind. “She’s a prostitute at an unlicensed rub’n’tug. Just because she hasn’t been arrested doesn’t mean she’s not on the radar.”
Sweat beaded on Jake’s forehead as his temperature shot upward. “She’s a massage attendant, not a streetwalker.”
“Different titles, same definition—sex for cash.”
A rage-fueled furnace roared to life in Jake’s gut. He slammed another plate on each end of the barbell, reveling in the echoing ting as metal crashed into metal, then he dropped onto the bench.
“You sure about that weight? That’s thirty pounds more than your best max.”
He glared up at Curtis. “Fuck you.”
“Jesus.” Curtis shook his head while stepping behind the rack, ready to give a spot if necessary. “All right, let’s see it,” he said, after Jake brought the bar down to his chest. “Prove me wrong.”
Jake gritted his teeth and pushed. Pushed with every ounce of strength he possessed. Fucking fuck, this shit was heavy. Too heavy, but he pushed it up anyway. All the way to the fucking top. Took every drop of the adrenaline coursing through his veins to get there, but he did it without assistance.
He met Curtis’s intent gaze. “You’re wrong.”
His buddy grunted. “One’s all you’ve got? Come on, asshole, rep it out.”
“Dick.”
“That’s spoken for, but I’ll lend my hands if you can’t get the big-boy weight up on your own a second time. Now lift, you stupid son of a bitch.”
Asshole. Feet planted solidly on the floor, Jake lowered the weight. He arched his back, sucked in a breath and pushed the goddamn bar up. One painful fucking inch at a time, with arms shaking harder than a naked idiot standing in the snow after a New Year’s Day polar-bear swim.
Curtis stared down at him, his hands poised to grab the bar if Jake lost control. “Little more, little more. Almost there, come on, come on, you got it.”
Exactly what Jake needed to hear. Teeth clenched, he pushed the motherfucking bar to the end position, then backward, onto the rack.
“Nice.” Curtis buddy-slapped Jake’s shoulder as he rose from the bench. “You proved me wrong about the weight. Got a plan to show me I’m wrong about the Candace situation too?”
“Wish I did, but no.” He exhaled while removing the weights from one side of the bar while Curtis did the other. Much as he hated to admit it, his buddy had raised a solid point. “Got any suggestions?”
“About the gala, or Candace in general?”
“Either. Both. Keeping in mind that I will punch your teeth down your throat if you call her a prostitute again.”
“Noted. Have you had sex with her yet, outside the massage parlor?” Curtis asked, as they headed for the locker room.
“You’re damn close to the line, man.”
“With reason. Answer the question.”
“For the sake of your pearly whites, it had better be a good reason.” Jake pushed through the door and did a sweep of the room to ensure nobody was within earshot. “No sex yet, anywhere.”
Curtis’s dark eyebrows rose. “All those visits you’ve been making to Lucky’s and still no contact?”
“I didn’t go there to get laid.”
“But you paid her.”
“Yeah, I paid for her time, not her body.” Jake pulled his gym bag from a locker. “You got your answer, now get to whatever damn point you planned to make.”
“Look, I don’t have a problem with Candace. I liked her the time I met her. Sara liked her, considered her the closest thing to a friend she had at that place. You’re crazy about her, and that’s the key point right there. Have you thought about how things will be once you’ve taken your relationship to the next level? Are you going to be able to watch her go off to work, or ask her how her day went, knowing she spent it doing sex shit with other guys?”
Sex shit. His buddy had the words right, he just needed to reverse the order.
“Ever had the kind of sex where you’re wishing it’s over while you’re in the middle of it, so you finish just to get it over with, then you don’t give the person you fucked another thought afterward?”
Curtis grunted. “Unfortunately.”
“I figure that’s probably what it’s like for Candace. Worse than that, obviously, but similar. Lots of people go to jobs they hate and don’t take that shit home after they clock out. She doesn’t want to talk about her work when we’re together and I’m good with that.”
“So it’s not going to bother you at all, knowing she’s with other men?”
“They’re just a job. Money in the bank, nothing more. Nothing to be jealous about.”
Curtis whistled under his breath as they exited the locker room. “I couldn’t do it. I lost my fucking mind when I found out Sara was working the reception desk at that place.”
“Might not have made you as crazy if she’d been upfront with you. Getting blindsided is a kick in the balls. No secrets for me to uncover with Candace, everything’s on the table and my eyes are wide open.” Something he very much needed from a relationship, after the huge load of shit his ex-girlfriend had dealt.
“If you’re happy,” Curtis slapped the back of Jake’s shoulder, “I’m happy for you.”
“Happy enough to grab a couple tickets to the Chief’s gala?”
“Hell no. Wore a tux for my brother’s wedding back in June, don’t plan to wear another one until Sara’s ready to meet me at the end of the aisle.” Curtis slapped the back of Jake’s shoulder as they stepped out of the gym. “Have fun rubbing elbows with the brass Saturday night,” he called, walking away. “And if you finally get to rub body parts with Candace, have fun with that too.”
Jake issued the middle finger, grinning when his friend’s laugh rang across the parking lot. He turned and headed for his vehicle. He had his friend’s support and best wishes. Next Saturday night
, he’d have Candace all to himself for the evening. Things were looking damn good.
Chapter 12
Jake
Their current audience was the only thing preventing Jake’s jaw from dropping and his tongue from wagging. Since Candace’s daughter was within earshot—and eyeshot—he restrained himself. But not easily.
The sight of Candace in a bikini took his dick from dormant to dominant instantly. A state his swim trunks couldn’t hide.
He crouched beside Trooper and stroked the panting dog’s black fur. “Move to the shade, crazy dog.” His canine best buddy would never take the suggestion, but Jake’s hunched position provided necessary cover.
“Does he ever go in the pool?” Candace stopped in front of them, putting the small triangle of white floral material covering her pussy directly at Jake’s eye level.
With that visual, his hard-on wouldn’t be going away any time soon. Guess he’d be camping out down here with the dog a while longer. “Trooper is more of a beach dog than a pool dog.”
“Your dog and I have something in common. Pools are a nice luxury, but beaches are special. There’s something magical about natural water.”
“Beach next time, it is.”
She smiled while tilting her head. “Next time?”
“Count on it. We have all kinds of next times ahead of us. The two of us.” He nodded toward Macy, swirling her toes in the pool’s shallow end. “And the three of us.”
“You’re really okay with all this?” she asked. “Because I know this isn’t the situation you had in mind for us when you started harassing me for a date.”
The laugh that burst from his mouth startled the dog to all fours, then away to a shady spot beneath a tree, stripping Jake of his excuse to crouch. Good thing the tentpole in his trunks had subsided a bit.