Most people thought that Josh was easy-going. And for the most part, he was. But there was another side to Josh. It was a side that most people didn’t get to see. There was an intensity in him that he could not ignore. If a question that he felt needed to be answered came into his mind, he’d ask it. It was out of his control. He would be the one to break first.
If she had a million dollars she would gladly let it all ride on Josh breaking his own rule and speaking to her.
A tiny grin tugged at her lips as she fell right back into her happy place. She was back in control. She had the upper hand. At this point, all she had to do is wait him out and not blink first.
Game on.
Chapter 7
Josh took another sip of water as he watched the numbers projected on the wall countdown the minutes until their break was over. After this break ended, they’d have eight more hours of dancing. All they had to do was manage to stay on their feet and keep moving. Out of the forty couples that had started sixteen hours before, only thirteen remained. Brian and Becca were still in it. The duo sat across the room and Brian massaged his wife’s feet as her head fell back and she laughed.
Whenever Josh saw the two of them together, he wondered if things would’ve been different if he and Bailey had just been friends growing up. It had worked for his cousin. Brian and Becca had been best friends from the time they were in elementary school. It was obvious, at least for an outsider, that the two of them had always loved one another, but they didn’t get together until they were in their mid-twenties.
Had that been the mistake that he’d made with Bailey? Should they have just been friends instead of having an intense, once-in-a-lifetime romance that was impossible to sustain? Their love burned so bright it had never even crossed his mind that it might burn out. Was that what happened?
Or was it all in his imagination?
Had he built what he and Bailey had up in his head?
Was it totally one-sided?
Could it be possible that all he’d ever been to her was a distraction?
That’s what she’d said, but he just couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
“Two-minute warning.” The MC’s voice came over the speakers.
Beside him, he heard Bailey let out a soft sigh. He turned and saw that her head was tilted back against the chair and her eyes were closed. He studied the deep purple semi-circles that had formed just below her eyes. He’d noticed a hint of discoloration earlier in the evening, but it had only gotten worse as the night progressed.
He wondered when the last time she’d slept was. He’d heard someone ask her about a patient they’d lost at work. And since she was a pediatric surgeon that meant that the patient was a child.
As a mechanic, he’d always taken on the responsibility that someone could die if he didn’t do his job well. If he didn’t properly fix a vehicle, his client could crash and hurt themselves or someone else. But that was abstract and thankfully, had never happened.
Bailey held lives in her hands. Literally. And unlike his bad work days, when a part was delayed or a customer was upset because a bill was higher than they thought it should be, her bad work days ended in death. He couldn’t begin to comprehend the toll that that must take on her.
Since she wasn’t aware of him watching her, he allowed himself the luxury of studying her profile. He saw her, really saw her, for the first time since he’d stood in the doorway at her dorms.
Her face had thinned out. She no longer had “chipmunk cheeks,” as she liked to call them. Now her cheekbones were defined and caused her eyes to appear even larger than they used to. Her hair was a shade darker than the platinum blonde it had been when they were younger. Which, made sense considering in her youth she spent most of her time outdoors and not in an operating room. Her lips were still full and still called to him like a beacon on a stormy night.
Even as she rested, her expression was fixed and hard, not soft and relaxed. She put on a good show of being a tough girl, and she was. But beneath that hard exterior was a soft core that no one took care of because most people didn’t know it existed. He’d seen it, though. She cried at commercials. Especially if animals or kids were involved. If there was injustice in the world, she felt it to her core. If she saw an upsetting story on the news it would haunt her for weeks. Her empathy was as much a part of her as her intelligence.
A bell sounded and Josh stood quickly so that he could offer her his hand. She took it without a moment’s hesitation. That told him all he needed to know about how tired she was.
After he helped her up, she rolled her head from one side to the next and shook out her arms. Several other people were doing stretches. He was definitely feeling the effects of the time he’d spent on his feet, but he was more worried about Bailey than he was for himself. She was moving with such effort, and as much as he knew how important her collecting the pledges was, he wasn’t sure she was going to make it.
Instead of keeping his distance from her like he’d been doing for the past sixteen hours, he placed both hands on her hips and pulled her into him. She automatically slumped against him, her curves molding against his body. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she rested her head on his shoulder.
He knew from Brian that Becca’s schedule was crazy. His cousin told him that there were times she’d be up for over forty-eight hours, only catching naps in the on-call room. His cousin had a routine when his wife got home from those marathon shifts that included drawing Becca a bath, pouring her a glass of wine, and making his special lasagna and garlic bread.
Who was there to take care of Bailey?
His arms tightened around Bailey. Part of him hated that the question even entered his mind but another part of him just wanted to make sure she was okay. Despite his vow to avoid any kind of conversation with his ex, the time they’d spent on the dance floor had weakened his defenses. He needed to know that she was okay.
“When’s the last time you slept?” His voice was hoarse from exhaustion and his words came out sounding gruffer than he’d meant them to.
Her eyes met his and he noticed a glimmer of mischief in her milk-chocolate gaze. He knew that her perking up was at his expense and she was going to give him shit for breaking his no-talking rule, but he didn’t care.
“I would love to answer you, but I’m not supposed to talk.” She pulled her lips in-between her teeth.
“When’s the last time you slept?” he repeated the question, knowing that he was probably not going to get a response.
“Soooo does this mean that the talking ban has been lifted?” She tilted her head, her face displaying mock confusion.
He didn’t answer, just stared down at her.
She took his silence in stride. “If that’s the case, I think that I actually asked a question of my own that wasn’t answered.”
“The shop is fine,” he stated flatly.
“Wow.” Her eyes widened. “Okay, well, since you gave me such a thorough and well-thought-out answer I feel I owe you the same. Before my last shift,” she deadpanned.
Smartass.
Still, he was happy to see that there was some color back in her pale complexion. Even if her rosy cheeks were at his expense, he was happy to see it.
“When was your last shift?”
“So does this mean that we are on speaking terms? I mean, I know we’re not friends…” She was making light of what he’d said, but he saw the pain that his statement had caused her. He wished he was immune to hurting her, but it felt like a punch to his gut. “…but are you calling a truce for the rest of the dance-a-thon?”
His chin dipped in a nod.
“Uh-uh, buddy. I’m going to need verbal confirmation of our new arrangement.” She squared her shoulders and stared up at him with a look of determination and sass that had always been a weak spot when it came to her. Not his only weak spot, there were dozens, but that was one of them.
Damn. The corner of his lips turned up. It was unfair that one woman
possessed all the qualities that she did. Not only was she breathtakingly beautiful, she was smart, intuitive, empathetic, fun, witty, sharp, quick, and smokin’ hot. There was a line in the movie Keeping the Faith where Ben Stiller tells Jenna Elfman that God was showing off when he made her. That’s how Josh felt about Bailey. That was the only explanation for how amazing she was.
“Truce.”
A satisfied grin spread across her beautiful face. “Okay, well let’s see…I got called in for an emergency surgery day before last and it ran into my shift so…”
Her head tilted back as she bit her lip. It was her thinking face. He knew it well. He used to love hanging out with her when she was studying because she made that face a lot and it would reveal her neck, something he’d always take full advantage of. His breath sped up as the desire to press his lips to the crook of her neck built inside of him like a pressure cooker. His jeans were growing snugger by the second. He’d done a valiant job at keeping his body under control so far, but it seemed that all of his pent-up lust, hunger, and need was filling him like helium in a balloon that was about to pop.
“Um…” She licked her lips, which didn’t help his current battle. “I guess it would be about forty-six hours.”
Her answer acted as the equivalent of a cold shower. His body went into full-protective mode and he stopped dancing. “Forty-six hours?!”
A whistle blew beside them and he immediately started moving again. They both looked over and saw that they were the team getting penalized this time. It was their first, so he wasn’t too worried about it. His cousin and Becca had already accrued two.
“You need to go home and sleep,” he spoke in a low tone.
“I will. In about seven hours and fifty-five minutes.” A wide, forced smile spread across her face.
His teeth clenched thinking about her being up on her feet for eight more hours.
“I’m fine.” Her smile softened. “Seriously. This is nothing. During my residency there were times I’d be up for three days straight.”
He hated that he didn’t know that. He hated that he’d missed so much of her life. It was strange to feel so connected to someone that he’d only truly spent three of his thirty-four years with.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I didn’t stay up three days straight during my residency.”
Her head fell back and she laughed, and the sound and sight erased any fatigue that he’d been suffering from. Forget caffeine, Bailey Rossum laughing was more potent than a double shot of espresso.
“When’s the last time you slept?”
“I got up yesterday at five, so I guess about thirty hours.”
Instead of gloating that that was nothing compared to how long she’d been up, she apologized, seeming genuinely concerned about him. “I’m sorry.”
Not liking the way her soft side was making him feel, he changed the subject. “How long have you been sneaking in cheeseburgers from The Grill?”
Her lips parted as she sucked in a surprised breath. “He told you?”
“No. Brian did.”
Her head spun to where his cousin was dancing. “How did Brian know?”
“Don’t shoot the messenger. Just answer the question.”
“For a while,” she said sheepishly.
“You’re a doctor. You know he’s not supposed to have—”
“Red meat. I know, which is why I order him Impossible Burgers.” She beamed.
“Isn’t that fake meat?” Josh had heard about them but he’d never had one.
“Yes, but your dad doesn’t know that. He thinks it’s the real thing.”
Josh couldn’t help but find this whole thing amusing, but he still had questions. “You and my dad were never close.”
“I know. But, he came to my dad’s funeral and we talked for a while.”
Guilt sliced through Josh. He’d considered going to the service but he hadn’t. At the time, he’d justified it by telling himself that he was just a distraction. Why would she want a distraction there? But now he’d wished he’d at least attended.
“I’m sorry I didn’t go.”
She was silent for a moment and then her eyes filled with moisture. She sniffed the emotion away and smiled. “It’s okay.”
It wasn’t okay. He knew that now.
“Anyway, he wanted to check on me and CJ after my mom got drunk following the will reading and told him about the bombshell she dropped on us.”
“The bombshell? That the house was yours?”
The only unusual news that Josh had heard about Bailey’s dad passing was he left the house to her not her mom or brother. He really hadn’t heard much of anything since.
“You don’t know?” Bailey’s brow furrowed.
“Know what?”
“Oh, I just figured…since your dad knew…and I mean it is Harper’s Crossing, so I figured people talked.” She looked over her shoulder before turning back to him and lowering her voice. “My dad is not CJ’s biological father.”
“What?!” Josh had definitely not heard that.
“Yeah. That’s exactly what I said.”
“Who is?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your mom doesn’t know?”
“I don’t know. When I asked her she avoided the question.”
“Did your dad know?”
“My mom said he found out when CJ was in the hospital to get his tonsils out. He saw his blood type. My dad is AB positive, and my mom is B positive, I’m A—”
“A negative.” The memory of the paramedics working on Bailey the night by the river was seared into Josh’s memory. They’d asked what her blood type was and she’d told them A negative.
“Right,” she looked surprised that he remembered. “But CJ is O positive. There’s no way that my parents could have a child together that has O positive blood.”
“Holy shit.”
“I know.”
“What about CJ, is he okay?”
“Of course he is,” Bailey chuckled. “It’s CJ.”
Josh grinned. He hadn’t spent much time with him over the past few years, but he’d known him really well when he was a kid. He never seemed like anything phased him. It was like he was always in his own world where everything was roses.
“What did he do when he found out?”
“He was quiet, and then he said that Charles was his dad. That he’d raised him and nothing changed that. Then, the next day he took my mom out to breakfast to make sure that she was okay. He was worried because she’d carried around such a big secret for so long.”
“Wow.” Josh was floored by CJ’s reaction. “I would’ve never thought of it like that.”
“Yeah, me either.” Bailey’s eyes dropped from his as their bodies moved together.
“So is she?”
“Is she what?” Her eyes lifted back to his.
“Is she okay?” Josh asked.
“I think so. She said she felt better after the truth was out. I guess my dad never wanted us to know. But, my mom couldn’t live with it anymore so she blurted it out during the will reading.”
“I can’t imagine what carrying that kind of secret would be like. It would be like living a lie every day.”
Bailey stiffened in his arms and he wondered if he’d stepped over a line talking about her family. He’d just been thinking out loud. “I just mean that it must feel so good to finally have the truth out.”
Bailey’s eyes lifted to his again and the energy between them instantly shifted. Josh couldn’t quite put his finger on why. All he knew was that there was a heaviness that hadn’t been there a moment before. Suddenly the air surrounding them was thick with desperation. Bailey was clinging onto his shoulders and her breath was coming in shorter and shorter pants. They swayed in silence, just looking into one another’s eyes for a minute or fifteen, he couldn’t be sure.
“Josh,” she barely whispered as she spoke his name.
The next thing he knew, there wa
s less than an inch between their mouths. Josh didn’t know if it was the sleep deprivation or just pure insanity, and he wasn’t sure who moved toward whom. Their breaths intermingled and he closed his eyes in anticipation of feeling her soft lips against his. The moment he did, a loud whistle blew and they both jumped in start. Their foreheads knocked together and they both flinched as they turned to see if they’d just received their second warning.
It wasn’t them.
But even if it was, it would’ve been worth it to save him from himself. What had he been thinking? Kissing Bailey would be a monumental mistake.
He’d always known how susceptible he’d been to her. It was the reason he hadn’t spoken to her. He had no idea what had just transpired between them. He could blame it on the sleep deprivation, but the truth was that Bailey was his Achilles’ heel. Nothing and no amount of time would ever change that.
Chapter 8
“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!” The MC counted down with the couples that remained on the dance floor.
A horn sounded and Bailey dropped her arms from Josh’s shoulders. He followed her lead and let his arms fall to his sides. The second he wasn’t supporting her, her jellified knees wobbled and she started to go down. She squeezed her eyes shut as she prepared to feel the impact of the floor smack against her tailbone. She did feel something solid slam against her, but it wasn’t the hardwood they’d been dancing on all night. It was Josh’s rock-hard body.
His arm snaked around her lower back and he pulled her tight to him. Tighter than he’d held her all evening. Her hands automatically clutched his chest. Her fingers dug into his muscled planes like a cat on a screen door. As her heart rate sped up, she opened her eyes and saw that he was staring down at her. The logical side of her brain knew that she was about to fall and he caught her, but her psyche was no longer dealing in reason. Right now her mind was in full hero-worship mode.
Josh was her knight in shining armor. Her hero. Her savior. Just like he’d been their entire relationship.
It wasn’t a fantasy that she’d concocted. She was working with cold, hard facts. He’d ridden up on a steel horse—Bon Jovi “Wanted Dead or Alive” style—and swooped her up and got her to the ball on time. He’d realized that she’d forgotten her purse and delivered it just in the nick of time so that she could register. Then, in the swooniest move of all, he’d stepped up and been her partner, even though she could see that it was killing him to do so, allowing her to participate and the hospital to receive the donations.
Just One Night - Josh & Bailey (Crossroads Book 13) Page 6