by Beth Andrews
“But why not?”
“I’m not going to be here.” The intensity of his gaze pinned her to her spot. “You wanted me gone, remember?”
She opened her mouth. Shut it again. Shoot.
“Thanks for the coffee,” he said. “Good luck finding someone to take the job.”
She leaped forward. “You can stay,” she blurted, clutching his arms, “in the apartment. It’s not like I can afford a tea room now anyway.”
His brown eyes were guarded. “You didn’t evict me because of a tea room.”
“That was nothing personal—”
“Doesn’t matter.” His hands were large, warm and surprisingly gentle as he disentangled himself from her grip. “I’ve come to expect people to treat me a certain way, and so far, they haven’t disappointed me.”
Shocked, she stared at him. Is that what she’d done? All she’d wanted was to get her family and Trey off her back. And yes, maybe to give herself some peace of mind by asking Dillon to leave.
But she hadn’t meant to hurt him.
“Dillon, I’m so sor—”
“Don’t be. You did what you had to do and now I’m doing what I have to do. Find someone else for the job because I’m not interested in saving you.”
HER CHEEKS turned pink. He wondered if Nina’s skin was a soft as it looked. Man, she smelled good.
“But, if you don’t have any other jobs, you could work here,” she insisted. One thing for her: she might be a cupcake, but she was a stubborn cupcake. “I’m sure you’d be done by the end of the month.”
“You’re right,” he acknowledged. “Except I’m leaving after the wedding.”
“You could wait. Aren’t you celebrating Christmas with Kelsey and her family?”
“I hadn’t planned on it.”
“Please,” she said hoarsely. “Please.”
Damn it. He didn’t want to feel bad for her.
“Nina?” A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and round, wire-rimmed glasses opened the door, holding it wide for Kyle to walk in. The kid’s too-large feet shuffled against the linoleum, his thin frame lost in a pair of baggy jeans and sweatshirt, his left wrist wrapped in a light blue cast.
The man glanced at Dillon before focusing on Nina. “I hope this isn’t a bad time. We’re on our way back from our lawyer’s and Kyle has something he’d like to say to you.”
The kid’s shoulders slumped, his eyes hidden by his shaggy, brown hair. The man—Dillon assumed he was the kid’s foster father—cleared his throat.
Kyle lifted his head and shook his hair back giving them all a glimpse of the nasty purple bruise on his forehead. But he still didn’t meet Nina’s eyes. “I’m sorry for the accident. For the trouble.”
Nina’s lips tightened. She opened her mouth, then shut it, her face flushed, her eyes flashing. Dillon’s lips twitched and he ducked his head as he waited to see what she’d do next.
She inhaled and her expression cleared. Dillon suspected he was the only one who realized her smile was completely fake.
And the way she kept hiding her true feelings from everyone was really starting to bug him.
“Accidents happen,” she said in a high, chipper voice. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”
“Nina,” the other man said, “can I talk to you? In private?”
“Of course. Come on in the kitchen.”
“I’ll be right back,” the guy told Kyle who just shrugged.
Dillon needed to leave, too. But instead of heading out, he heard himself say, “That was a piss-poor excuse for an apology.”
The kid snorted and rolled his eyes. “Her insurance will cover the damages.”
“Heard you might get sent away for this.”
“Listen, just because you helped me last night doesn’t make you my savior.”
“True.” He wasn’t anybody’s savior. Not anymore. Dillon started to leave before turning back. “You been to juvie before?”
“Not yet.” Kyle smirked. “You can fill me in since you know all about being sent away.”
Dillon fought to keep his expression neutral, to not grab the kid and try to scare some sense into him by telling him exactly what it was like to be put away. If he got sent away, he’d learn soon enough how things worked behind bars. He’d experience it all first hand.
The kid’s smart-ass attitude wouldn’t help him then.
“Besides, maybe Joe can talk the bakery lady into helping us out,” Kyle said.
Hope. The one thing Dillon had numbed himself against while in prison. The first thing he’d lost when he’d been locked up. The one thing he’d never gotten back.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce myself before,” the man said as he reentered the room and held a hand out to Dillon. “I’m Joe Roberts.”
“Dillon Ward.”
“I know. Nina told me. Thank you for your help last night.”
“All I did was get the kid out of the car,” he said uncomfortably. “The EMTs bandaged him up.”
“Still, my wife and I appreciate it.” He crossed to Kyle and laid a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “We’d better get going. We’re supposed to pick up dinner. Thanks again.”
After they left, Dillon stared blindly at the door. Kyle reminded him of Kelsey as a kid. She’d always been reaching out for something. And while he’d believed he’d been protecting her, he hadn’t really. He’d told her to smarten up but hadn’t done enough, hadn’t made those big gestures that show people what they mean to you. Show them the difference between right and wrong. He should’ve taken Kelsey away as soon as possible, gotten guardianship or something. Instead he’d just hoped she’d listen to him and not cause problems. And that their stepfather, Glenn, wouldn’t hurt her.
Look how well that had turned out.
Why hadn’t Nina returned from the kitchen? Obviously she didn’t want to see him again. He crossed the room but couldn’t force himself to walk out.
He lowered his head. Why did he have the feeling he was about to make a really big mistake?
But what the hell? It wouldn’t be the first time.
CHAPTER FOUR
DILLON WALKED into the kitchen and stopped short when he noticed Nina at the small table.
Damn.
He stared down at the top of her bent head. Her shoulders shook and she was making these soft, hiccupping sounds—as if her entire world was crumbling.
He rubbed a hand over his face. Tears. God, he could handle just about anything. Imprisonment. Having the living hell beat out of him by three other prisoners. The days he’d spent in solitary confinement because he’d had to…protect himself.
But not a woman’s tears.
Indecision made him edgy. Should he put his hand on her shoulder? Murmur useless platitudes about how everything would be fine?
At a loss and way out of his element—not to mention his comfort zone—he scowled. “You going to swallow those tears back?” Startled, Nina lifted her head, her cheeks wet, her lips parted. “I never would’ve taken you for one of those women,” he added gruffly.
She sniffed and wiped her cheeks. “One of those women?” she asked, her tone surprisingly frigid for someone who’d just been bawling her eyes out. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“One of those women who cries when things don’t go their way, instead of standing up for themselves. Who whine and complain but never do anything to change their circumstances.”
Women like his mother.
“If I want to cry because my business, my finances and any chance I have at giving my children a decent life are all in danger, then I’ll damn well cry,” she told him as she stood. With her hands on the table, she leaned forward. “And if you can’t suck it up and take a few tears, then leave.”
Huh. Maybe Nina wasn’t like his mother after all. Leigh never stood up to any of the many guys who used her and she sure as hell didn’t stand up to Glenn or try to leave him. No matter how badly he hurt her or her kids.
“That Joe guy say something to you to set you off?” he asked.
“Of course not. He just wanted to let me know that Kyle’s not really a bad kid.” The disbelief in her tone made it all too clear how she felt about that. “The court-appointed psychologist thinks Kyle was testing his foster parents. Seeing if he could push them away before he got too close to them.”
Smart kid.
“You think that’s what happened?” he asked.
She straightened, her hands fisted at her sides. “You know what? I don’t give a rip about what Kyle was doing when he crashed that SUV. My life is in the toilet, but I’m the one feeling guilty. Like I should be more understanding. More forgiving.” Her voice broke and she turned her back to him.
Dillon ordered his feet to move. But knew he couldn’t walk away. “When do you want me to start?”
She faced him again. Wiped the back of her hand under her pink-tipped nose. “Start what?”
“The job. Tomorrow soon enough?”
“I thought you weren’t interested in saving me.” Her venomous tone made him want to smile. “What changed your mind?”
“A couple of things.” He shrugged. “I figured I might as well make some money before I move. And my working here will piss off all the people who wanted me out in the first place.” He paused. “All the people you listen to.”
Her pretty mouth popped open. “So this is revenge?”
He couldn’t tell if the idea appalled her. Or thrilled her. “Does it matter?”
“I…” She shook her head and rubbed her temples. “You know, at this point, I’m not even sure.”
He grinned. He couldn’t help it. She was just too damn cute with her nose wrinkled in disgust.
Thank God he didn’t find cute appealing.
“You might want to decide,” he said. “The offer’s not going to be on the table forever. But before you make up your mind, you should know I do have one condition.”
“Virgin sacrifices every morning?” she mumbled.
He froze, unsure if he heard her right. Then he allowed his gaze to roam over her lush curves.
Color flooded her cheeks. “What’s the condition?”
“I want Kyle to work with me.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I want him to work with me so he can show he’s taking responsibility for what happened and wants to make amends.”
“No,” she said, stepping around the table in front of him. “No way.”
“You told his foster father you would forgive and forget.”
She tossed her hands in the air. “What was I supposed to say when they were both staring at me like that? Joe expects me to forgive, to be the nice girl—”
“Well, now you can be the nice girl and surprise a few people at the same time.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Not only will you be showing some backbone by hiring me, but having Kyle work here will tell people there’s more to you than meets the eye.”
“I don’t want to surprise anyone,” she said, crossing her arms. “I just want to get on with my life.”
“It’s a deal breaker. Take it or leave it.”
He held out his hand.
She stared at it and pressed her lips together. Then gave him a jerky nod. Dillon kept his hand out.
Nina rolled her eyes but she stepped forward, closing the last distance between them and put her small, soft hand in his. “Fine. I’ll take it.” Her handshake was firmer than he’d expected, but the bigger surprise was when she didn’t let go immediately. Instead, she moved closer. Close enough that her sweet scent filled his nostrils and her warmth permeated his clothes. “I’ll take it, but I won’t like it.”
Dillon forced himself not to step back, to ignore the prickly heat pooling in his lower stomach. He squeezed her hand, leaned toward her and said quietly, “Cupcake, nobody’s going to like it. Least of all me.”
DILLON HAD BEEN RIGHT. No one—and by no one she meant her overprotective family—liked him working for her.
And they had no qualms about letting their opinions be known.
Her mom had stayed at Nina’s house to get the kids ready for school, but Nina’s father and younger brother, Luke, met her at the bakery at 7 a.m. to help her clean the mess. They’d both been surprised when Dillon arrived and began sweeping up the broken glass by the smashed interior wall—without making eye contact or saying a word.
Man, how she wished her dad and brother would be that quiet.
“This isn’t a good idea,” Nina’s father said—for the third time—when he returned from taking a load of garbage to the Dumpster out back. Hank snatched his hat off and crushed it in his big hand. “I’ll call Jim Arturo. See if he can move some jobs around so he can get to you sooner.”
Nina shoved a loaf of stale, dirt-encrusted bread into a large garbage bag. “Don’t bother. Jim said there’s no way he can get to me until after the first of the year. Besides, this isn’t a big deal.” She glanced at Dillon who studiously ignored them—though she knew darn well he could hear every word they said—as he tore out damaged drywall. She lowered her voice. “Dillon’s doing me a favor—”
“A favor?” Luke, hauling a broken table, frowned down at her, his eyes—gray like her own—narrowed. “And what will he want in return?”
She slapped him upside his too-good-looking head. “You are such a pervert.”
Holding on to the table with one hand, he smoothed down his wavy, dark blond hair with the other. “I’m a guy. That’s what guys do. And it’s the reason you shouldn’t allow some dangerous criminal—”
“Dillon’s not a criminal,” she hissed, grabbing Luke by the arm and walking a few steps farther away from the man in question.
“Not a criminal? The man was in prison.”
“Because he protected his sister. What would you do if you caught somebody attacking me or Blaire?”
“I’d rip his heart out.”
That was exactly why Nina never told him, or anyone in her family, about Trey’s abuse.
“So how can you think Dillon’s dangerous?” she asked.
“Look at him.” Luke lifted his chin in Dillon’s direction. “He rarely speaks, he never smiles and his eyes look dead. Like he’d just as soon slit your throat than talk to you.”
“I’m sure Dillon’s…reserve is just a way to protect himself.”
“Nina, the man has no friends and from what I’ve heard, he doesn’t even speak to his own sister—the woman he killed a man for. That’s not self-protection, that’s just cold.”
She glanced at Dillon’s rigid back. Okay, so Luke had a point. A lot of points, actually, but she’d come this far she couldn’t back down now.
Could she?
“Luke,” Hank said as he joined them, “why don’t you go about your business? I’d like to speak with your sister alone.”
While Luke picked up the table and headed out back through the kitchen, Nina trudged after her father to the far corner and sat at one of the few unbroken tables. See? This is what she got for asking her family to help her. But she was already behind a day and she couldn’t in good conscience ask either of her two employees to help clean.
And while she appreciated all her family had done for her, she couldn’t deny that they were starting to get on her last frazzled nerve.
Hank sat and clasped Nina’s hands in his on top of the table. “Sweetheart, I’m worried about you. I realize your grandparents gave him the benefit of the doubt but I think hiring Dillon Ward is a mistake.” He gently squeezed her fingers. “Having someone with his…reputation and past work here could negatively affect your business.”
“What do you want me to do, Dad?” she asked, pulling her hands away from his and crossing her arms. “I’ve already hired him.”
“I want you to tell him you’ve changed your mind. That he can’t work for you.”
Her heart thumped heavily in her chest. Ever since she’d agreed to Dillon’s deal, she’d suspected
this moment would come. The time when she’d have to explain and defend her decision to hire Dillon. But she’d figured she’d be explaining and defending herself to Trey. Not to her family.
Her pulse kicked up and an unknown—unnamed—fear seized and took hold of her. Made her dizzy. She had to stand up for herself, for her beliefs. And if ever there was a time when she needed to stand up, it was now.
Even if it meant facing her father’s disappointment.
“I’m sorry,” she forced out through her constricted throat, “but I won’t do that. I hired Dillon and I stand by that.”
His graying eyebrows drew together as he sat back. “The last time you ignored my advice, it proved a big mistake.”
She stiffened. “True,” she said, knowing full well he was referring to her decision to marry Trey when her dad wanted her to wait until she’d graduated from college.
She just hoped he wasn’t right this time, as well.
“But it was my mistake, my choice, to make.” She swallowed but the painful lump in her throat remained. She clenched her hands together in her lap and looked over at Dillon who continued to work as if he was alone in the room. “And if you can’t support me—fully support me, no-holds-barred—then…maybe it’d be best for both of us if…” She couldn’t believe she was about to say this but she knew it had to be done. “If we kept our distance from each other for a while. At least until the bakery’s up and running again.”
Shock and hurt crossed her father’s handsome, weathered face, causing the laugh lines around his eyes to stand out in sharp relief. He opened his mouth only to close it again. Nina almost apologized, but she couldn’t. Wouldn’t. She needed to surround herself with people who believed in her. Or at least, supported her. The last thing she needed was someone who doubted her every move. Her every decision.
She doubted herself enough as it was.
Finally, her dad stood. “If that’s the way you feel, I guess I’ll head back up to the lodge. Tell your brother not to hurry back, I’ll handle the food delivery.” Nina’s parents owned and operated a successful ski resort outside of town and had recently brought Luke in as full partner. Halfway to the door, Hank stopped and turned back. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”