Playing With Trouble (Desire Bay)

by Joya Ryan

  “Cal is looking for a supplier and landscape designer?” Laura asked.

  Roberta smiled. “That’s the word on the street. He mentioned wanting someone savvy in marketing, too.”

  Laura looked around. Maybe these Lusty Ladies weren’t so bad after all. And she could use some insider info—not to mention friends.

  “That would be a great opportunity,” Laura admitted. Then she scoffed and took an angry sip of her wine. “But I can’t even get funding from the business to fulfill a small flower order, much less the money to set up a mock proposal for a big deal like Cal’s subdivision.”

  Roberta frowned. “Just go to the bank and take out some money. What’s hard about that?”

  “I can’t. It’s all under Baughman Home Goods.”

  “Right, which your name is on.”

  Laura choked on her sip of wine. “What’s that?”

  Roberta just smiled again. “Your dad has your name and Jake’s on there, of course. It’s always been on all the accounts, honey. And the insurance. He knew you’d come back one day.”

  Laura wanted to hug Roberta. Her father might be avoiding her, but his lady friend appeared to be happy to help. And this new information turned everything around for Laura, the shop, and the future.

  “You know what,” Laura said, finishing her wine, “I’m going to need some Chex Mix and someone to catch me up on this barn scene.”

  She settled into her chair and the women hooted.

  It appeared that Laura was the newest member of the Lusty Ladies, and the first order of business was to exercise exactly what that title meant.

  Chapter Seven

  “I’m so screwed, Hannah,” Laura said, staring at outfit option number 1,453 she’d tried on tonight. It had been a tough few days, but she’d done what Roberta had said and gone to the bank and made a small withdrawal from the Baughman Home Goods account. Problem was, she still couldn’t find anyone local, or even close to local, to buy her flowers wholesale from. And Hannah’s order was due soon.

  “I thought the point was to dress so that you can literally get screwed . . . in that case, I’d go for the last dress with more cleavage,” Hannah said.

  Hannah sat on her bed blowing bubbles with her gum and giving her a world-class critique while Laura tried on Hannah’s entire closet. Just like they’d done a thousand times back in the day.

  “I’m not trying to screw Gabe. And this isn’t a date. I need something modest. And all of your clothes are . . .”

  Laura tugged on the low-cut neckline of Hannah’s green dress.

  “Slutty?”

  “No!” Laura said. “You just have a different style than I do.”

  “Yeah, no shit. You dress business casual for Friday night at the local bar.”

  “Which is why I’m here raiding your closet, thank you very much.”

  Hannah nodded and came up behind Laura and looked in the mirror over her shoulder. “You look hot. You just need to do whatever feels comfortable.”

  Laura tugged on the dress to try to cover a bit more leg. The bodice was tight, but the skirt flared just enough to give a casual summer feel. Paired with a denim jacket, it was cute for a simple nondate. But it was just a bit short. Laura tugged on the hem again.

  “Seriously?” Hannah said. “I’m five three and you’re seven three. All my dresses are going to be short on you.”

  Laura rolled her eyes. “Thanks a lot.”

  “Well, it would help if you quit trying to dress for the wrong guy.”

  “I’m not dating Jake. I’m going to dinner with Gabe, which isn’t a date, either,” Laura replied quickly.

  “I was talking about Gabe. He’s the wrong guy.”

  Laura spun and frowned. “No, Jake is the wrong guy. Gabe is great—”

  “On paper. Fits you like a perfect cliché in a Sandra Bullock movie. He’s the quarterback, you’re the prom queen, and the two of you can run off into the sunset and have two point four kids and a white picket fence.”

  “And that’s the wrong guy?” Laura asked.

  “Yeah, because you would have taken that option by now if he wasn’t.”

  Hannah had a point. She could have dated Gabe in high school. Taken his letterman jacket and class ring and gone down the simple, steady path that was outlined for her. But she hadn’t been interested then. Because she’d wanted out. Wanted an adventure. Wanted to escape. She hadn’t wanted to deal with her mother’s death or even acknowledge her own mortality. Which was why she’d made the decisions she had. The wrong decisions.

  “Instead I wasted my twenties on an asshole and wound up a divorcée at nearly thirty and living in my dad’s camper.”

  “Hey, at least you go for what you want. You’re ambitious. That’s what I love most about you. Sure, you’ve made some bad picks, but who hasn’t? The NFL draft has you beat by far in picking the wrong guys.”

  She smiled at her friend. Hannah had a way of making her feel better, and yet, Laura still felt like she wasn’t quite there. She was trying. But no answers seemed clear.

  “Well, the men don’t matter. What does is flowers,” Laura said.

  “Wait, we’re going to talk about the shop now and you’re not going to tell me all the juicy details on how you got screwed against a truck by a hot guy?”

  “I’m really regretting telling you even that little detail,” Laura mumbled.

  “So it’s little, huh?”

  “No, he’s huge!” Laura slapped a palm over her mouth, and Hannah laughed.

  She may have called her friend the other night to tell her about the outdoor sexy time in the middle of a deserted road with Jacob Lock against his Chevy. And now she was getting that little fact thrown back in her face, and Hannah had a way of getting details.

  “Oh, come on,” Hannah said. “I’m proud of you for taking charge, not getting caught up, and just doing what you need to do. And if one of those things you need to do is a sexy local, then I’m in full support of you.”

  Laura smiled. “I’m not dating anyone, and I need to get through dinner tonight with Gabe as friends.”

  “Why did you agree to see him, anyway?”

  “Because I want to live here, and being friends with the deputy is a good start. I’m going to see him around and can’t avoid him. Might as well establish boundaries now—that way we can have a cordial, nice friendship.”

  “Sounds hot,” Hannah said with sarcasm. “Guys love nothing more than boundaries and cordiality.”

  Laura shook her head and reexamined the green dress. Maybe it wasn’t so bad? It did show a little more leg than she usually went for. And the V cut showed subtle cleavage. She got a surge of heat thinking of Jake. Would he like the dress?

  He’s not the one you’re seeing tonight, moron.

  Right! She wasn’t seeing anyone, per se. She was focused. On the shop.

  “But seriously,” Hannah said. “It sounds like you’ve had a productive week. Between getting the flower shop going and outside truck sex, you’re really taking life by the balls here in small-town Oregon.”

  “I’m trying,” she said. “But I’m hitting a snag in my grand plan.”

  She wanted to build a life, a home here. She wanted a lot of things. But first was stepping out on her own and really thriving. Connecting to her mother, her town, was something she was clinging to.

  “I have real problems here,” Laura said, trying to get back on topic. “I need flowers for your order and I can’t find a wholesaler. Seriously, how sad is that? I run a flower shop with no flowers.”

  “It’ll be okay,” her friend said. Yeah, easy for her to say. Laura had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to hunt down a wholesaler she could build a rapport with, and she hadn’t even found one she could get a single order from.

  “Maybe order online? You’ll pay extra for shipping, but maybe some wholesalers will overnight to you. If you’re thinking big, then you have to act big. Can’t go with the localish wholesalers.”

&nbs
p; Laura had thought of that. “It’s just more expensive, because I’d have to order in bulk. And a lot. Which means more money up front.”

  But she might not have a choice.

  “Well, if you have extra on hand, you could use it to set up a sample. Try for new business.”

  “Yes, that’s true,” Laura agreed. “There is a big job I heard about that I’m trying to go for.”

  “Yeah? Tell me about it.”

  Laura felt a little unsure since it was just town gossip. “Cal James is hiring a landscape designer for the subdivision. I was thinking I could supply the plants and flowers, and that kind of contract would get the flower shop back on the map.”

  “Then you should go for it!” Hannah said.

  She could use a bit more money up front to cover the costs. Just borrowing from the business account. She’d put it back, and her dad had said she and Jake had to work it out. Thanks to Roberta’s inside bit of knowledge, she knew Jake didn’t own the account—Laura’s name was on it, too. This was a smart business decision. At least if she had to order more, she’d have extra on hand for walk-in customers. She just hoped they’d like the flowers she picked . . .

  “I think I’ll have to go that direction.”

  Hannah nodded. “With the flowers or the dress?”

  Laura looked herself over in the mirror one more time. “Both.”

  Maybe the green dress was a mistake. Or maybe it was perfect. Laura didn’t know how she felt about it since she’d been at Goonies only a few minutes and Gabe had glanced at her breasts three times already. Granted, he was trying to be a gentleman. But still. This wasn’t a date.

  “I’d be happy to take you to Benetti’s,” Gabe said for the second time in five minutes. It was the nice Italian restaurant on the edge of town, but Laura didn’t want a date, and it was clear that’s what Gabe was going for. So Goonies it was.

  “With it being such a beautiful day, I thought hanging out here, maybe outside, would be nice,” Laura said. She left out casual. Because that’s what this was. It was early evening and the sun was shining and hot, and Goonies had a great patio area complete with lawn games and oversize Jenga.

  Yep, just two friends hanging out. Which Gabe didn’t seem crazy about.

  But Laura grabbed her beer and Gabe grabbed his, and she made for the patio.

  “We could play corn hole?” Laura offered. Tossing beanbags at a square platform with a hole cut out seemed like a way to stay active . . . and keep Gabe on one end of the lawn and her on the other.

  “Sure,” Gabe said, less than amused.

  “I’m glad we can hang out and be friends,” Laura said, grabbing red beanbags and taking her place on one side of the lawn while Gabe went to the other. They each stood next to a platform to throw at.

  “Yeah, friends hanging out,” Gabe said, tossing a beanbag in his hand. “Just like old times.”

  “Gabe . . . ,” she said and he just shrugged. “I want to be friends. I’m sorry, I’m not dating at all right now.”

  He nodded and then tossed out that smile he used on all the cheerleaders back in the day. “Hey, a guy can try. And I’ll keep trying, Laura.”

  Wish you wouldn’t . . .

  Instead of yelling, “Never going to happen” to the deputy of Yachats, she took a swig of beer and geared up to make her first toss.

  “You care to make this interesting?” a low voice whispered in her ear, and Laura jumped. She turned to see Jake. All six-plus feet of hulking sex on a stick of him. Wearing a tight white T-shirt and blue jeans, he looked as good as he smelled. Which was really, really good. Like sandalwood and man. But it had nothing to do with his coastal roots. This spicy scent was all him.

  “What are you doing here?” Laura asked, trying to refocus on her impending toss. Gabe was four yards away, standing next to the platform she was aiming for, and judging by the look on his face, not thrilled she was talking to Jake.

  Not that it was his right in the first place.

  “I’m on a casual date. Just like you,” Jake said.

  “I’m not on a date, we’re just friends hanging out.”

  “Uh-huh,” Jake said just as his date walked up to join them. “Me, too.”

  “Vicky McPhee?” Laura asked as the skinny brunette came to stand by Jake and threaded a hand through his arm. As if making a display she was there with him. Yeah, Laura got the message.

  “Laura, it’s been a long time,” Vicky said, giving her hair a toss.

  Laura tried for her best polite smile, but it just came out fake. Vicky McPhee had been captain of the cheerleading team, and even though she and Laura had run in the same circle, she’d made her life hell. And judging by the way she was clinging to Jake, not much had changed.

  “We were just discussing teams,” Jake said.

  No, we weren’t.

  “Why don’t you be on my team,” he said to Vicky. She giggled and swayed and agreed.

  Barf.

  “You run on down to stand next to Gabe.” Jake waved to the deputy; then Vicky frowned, catching on that to be on a team you needed one person on each side.

  “Fine, this way I get a better view,” she said to Jake and winked at him.

  Double barf.

  She walked toward Gabe and took her spot beside him just as Jake inched closer to Laura and picked up the blue beanbags.

  “You weren’t even invited to this game,” Laura said to Jake, thanking God that between the music and the distance, Vicky and Gabe were out of earshot.

  “But you don’t mind, do you?” Jake said with sarcasm. “Just a friendly competition with friends.”

  He was overstating the word friend to irritate Laura, and it worked.

  “Just like you and Vicky are friends,” she said, not looking at him, instead focusing on taking her first shot. It hit the board but slid off. No points.

  “You look a little rusty with this game,” Jake said close to her ear. “You have to set your stance. It’s all in the legs,” he said, and just then, she felt his fingertips slowly trail up the back of her thigh, not stopping until he reached the hem of her dress.

  “Are you done groping me yet? This won’t give you an edge. I plan on winning,” Laura informed him.

  “Oh, I know you do. But I thought I’d remind you how much you like my touch.”

  “That’s absurd.”

  She tossed again. Barely missed!

  “You’re not moving my hand away,” Jake said, calling her out.

  Oh, right. That would be because she liked his touch. But he definitely couldn’t know that. She couldn’t go swatting at his hand, though; otherwise, Gabe and Vicky down there would see the action and it would be obvious that Jake and Laura were . . .

  They were nothing.

  Not dating.

  Not anything.

  But Jake was right. She wasn’t moving his hand away. She huffed out a deep breath and squeezed her last beanbag just as Jake’s fingers continued the trail up the back of her thigh and barely went beneath her skirt. Her stupid body responded to his stupid touch, and she hated that a flare of heat hit hard between her legs. She had to bite back a groan, because she wanted him. Bad.

  But he was there with Vicky.

  She was there with Gabe.

  Dating or not, this was annoying. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jake staring at her with a challenging brow arched. He looked good. He knew it. Vicky knew it. Hell, everyone knew it. But while Laura might not be swatting his hand away, Jake clearly wasn’t pulling back on his own accord, either.

  She smiled sweetly at him then refocused on tossing the bag.

  She could play this game, too. Literally.

  She bent over slightly and heard Jake’s breath hitch. That was when she harnessed all the confidence she had, tossed, and . . .

  “Direct hit!” Gabe called from across the lawn as Laura sank the beanbag in the hole.

  “Yes!” she said with victory and faced Jake. “You’re up. Good luck hitting that.”r />
  Jake smiled. “I love it when your competitive side comes out,” he said. He tossed a bag effortlessly, sinking his first shot. Laura’s shoulders deflated. Of course he was a pro at this, too. “You forget, though, I’ve got a lot of practice and plan to hit this”—he tossed again; it sank again—“all night long.”

  Laura took a long drink of her beer. “You done yet?” Because she could read into the innuendo. But what bothered her the most was wondering if he was insinuating all night with her—or with Vicky.

  “I’m just getting warm,” Jake said and paused to look her up and down while palming the last beanbag. She might like his touch, but Jake clearly liked what he saw. Time to let that competitive side of hers really breathe.

  She took off her jacket, letting Hannah’s dress do what it did best—flatter the girls. Which Jake noticed. Laura took a deep, deep breath until the fabric stretched tight . . .

  Was Jake drooling?

  Good.

  She slowly exhaled and took another drink of her beer, then pointed at the platform.

  “You have one last shot there, ace,” she said.

  Jake shook his head, refocused, shot, and . . .

  Missed.

  Laura faked a pouty face. “Too bad you couldn’t close the deal,” she whispered in her own sense of victory.

  She stepped back and out of eye contact with Jake, because her skin was buzzing already. She watched Gabe and Vicky take their turns from the other end of the field, and Laura couldn’t help but wonder how much competition she could take before she’d need an outlet for the rising tension.

  Laura was not pacing in her camper, stopping only to peek through the window to see if Jake was home yet. Nope. She was definitely not doing that.

  Gabe had dropped her off twenty minutes ago, and after the debacle of a not-date double date of sorts with Jake and Vicky, Gabe hadn’t even walked her to her door. Which had been fine. Safe to say that the boundaries were set and hopefully she and the deputy could really be just friends.

  Speaking of just friends, Laura just wanted to forget Jake’s touch and his voice, and how he looked so damn hot in a simple T-shirt. She also didn’t want to think about how he was still probably at the bar with Vicky.