“She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
“How do you know?” Luke reasoned. “She could have a boyfriend. She’s pretty with all that red hair and freckles. Some guys drool over that.”
“I’m not one of them.”
There was a moment of silence and then Luke chuckled. “Never said you were, bro. Just that some men really dig that. Anyway, call her again. You need her help badly.”
I did, actually. I needed her to go into detail about the time period and tell me all sorts of stories about the people that no one ever learned in school. She always inspired me when I was creating a game, and I only had to pay her in pizza and chocolate.
“You shouldn’t be talking about Mia that way. Shit, she’s like our little sister.”
“Except that she’s not,” Luke shot back. “We’re not related in any way and I happened to notice that she grew into a hottie. I may be married but I am allowed to look. Mia is easy on the eyes.”
I’d never thought about Mia’s looks. She was much more than the sum of her lady parts, if you know what I mean. She wasn’t a typical female in my experience. She didn’t go in for all the giggling and games other women played. Straightforward and honest. That was my Mia.
“Did I say fuck you? Because I meant to.”
“You did.”
“So shut up.”
“I’m not saying a word.”
“Good. Don’t.”
“But she is hot.”
I didn’t like him talking about Mia. At all. It felt wrong about ten different ways.
“Fuck you.”
“You said that.”
“I meant it. Now I’m at the restaurant and I’m meeting Trisha for lunch so get back to work.”
I did hang up without another word but then I sent another text. To Mia. One more try. If she didn’t answer this one, I’d show up at her front door.
* * *
Mia
I’d managed to leave lunch and make it home without committing to help test my sister’s new book. Shelby had made a few vague threats but she had to be aware that I had just as much dirt on her as she had on me. If she wanted my help – and our friends’ help – she needed to make it worth our while. Perhaps she could let us pick out the bridesmaid dresses so we all didn’t resemble a feather duster like my cousin Sandy at her sister’s nuptials.
The theme of the wedding had been birds. That’s right…birds. They were everywhere. On top of the cake, in the bouquet, on the tuxedo lapels of the men. They even hung from the ceiling looking like a scene from that Alfred Hitchcock film. They only thing missing was a phone booth for Sandy to hide in.
I had a stack of quizzes to grade, so I changed clothes so I could curl up and be comfortable. It was a rainy afternoon and perfect weather for hanging around the house. I was halfway through the stack and a glass of Chardonnay when I heard a knock on my front door. It was probably one of the kids from the neighborhood telling me that their Frisbee had landed on my roof. Despite the lousy weather, they’d been playing out in the street when I came home. I lived in a cul de sac of a small condo community and we didn’t get much traffic back here. They were going to have to wait to get it back because I wasn’t going to climb on top of my house after even a half a glass of wine. They weren’t going to do it either as I was fairly sure my homeowner’s insurance wouldn’t like that.
I swung open the door and froze, my words of greeting dying in my throat. It wasn’t the neighbor kids standing on my doorstep.
Shit and double shit.
It was Josh Henry, looking better than he had a right to. Asshole. Well-washed denim that looked like it was made just for him, a white button-down shirt, and a soft as butter brown leather jacket. He could have stepped out of a magazine and I wanted to stomp on his toes for just standing there on my front porch. He had some nerve walking around looking like that, especially when I looked like something the cat had dragged in. Or thrown up on the carpet.
Ragged sweats, a holey t-shirt with my alma mater splattered across unfettered boobs, and my long hair pulled up in a ponytail so it was off my face while I worked. If I stood out on the street like this, people would put spare change in my coffee cup. The only thing I currently had going for me was that I hadn’t washed off the makeup I’d worn to lunch. If my mascara wasn’t under my eyes, at least my face looked presentable.
Self-consciously, I touched the ends of my auburn hair. I normally kept the curls short but had decided to give long hair a try at the urging of my sister. She too had inherited the Irish coloring of our mother, pale skin and reddish hair, although hers was a shade darker than mine. She also didn’t get the freckles that I’d been blessed – or cursed – with but we did have matching green eyes. I was, however, two inches shorter than Shelby, which I put down to my mother giving up on eating a healthy diet with her second child. With the first she’d been super vigilant. With me she’d eaten entire pies in one sitting. I’d heard stories from my aunts.
“Josh.” I glanced nervously from side to side, not wanting to be dazzled by his looks. I needed to keep my head on straight during this encounter, but I’d already noticed that his hair was slightly wet from the rain. It curled even more when it was wet. “How–how are you?”
He smiled, showing off even white teeth that had never needed braces. Of course not. He was perfect, after all. “I’m good. How are you? I haven’t seen you in forever.”
I scrambled for an explanation as to why I’d suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth, but sadly I wasn’t that smart or quick or creative. I settled for boring.
“Busy. I’ve been busy. You know how it is.”
He nodded as if he understood. “I do. Work has been crazy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You must have just started a new school year.”
I teach at John Adams High School. Ms. Mia Kelly, history teacher. Nice to meet you.
“About a month ago, yes. It’s good. The kids are great. We’re doing the Revolutionary War right now.”
His smile widened and his eyes twinkled. He looked so yummy. I hated him right now. “Your favorite war.”
We were standing in my doorway and it was becoming awkward. He obviously was here to talk and not out on the porch. “It is.”
This time he seemed to pick up on my straying thoughts, his own gaze looking over my shoulder.
“Can I come in? Do you have company?”
Company? What? He thought my reluctance was because I already had a guest? Did I look like I was having a wild party in here?
I shook my head. “No, no one else is here. I was just grading papers. Come on in. Do you want a glass of wine or something else? I can make coffee.”
Shrugging off his damp jacket, he draped it on the closet door knob so if it dripped it would do it on my foyer tile. He settled onto my overstuffed couch and picked up my wine glass while I hovered nervously nearby. Josh had been over to my house a million times but suddenly I wasn’t sure how to deal with it. I didn’t want him here. “A little early, isn’t it?”
I didn’t like his tone. He was always acting as if he was miles older than me instead of just five years. “It’s just a glass of wine, Josh, not a flight of tequila shots. Not that there would be anything wrong with that.”
He returned the glass to its coaster. “You’re right. I’m just not much of a wine drinker. I don’t suppose you have beer?”
I did from the last time he’d visited. I nodded and disappeared into the kitchen and by the time I came back with his favorite brand of beer, he was reading one of the quizzes I had been grading.
“I would have flunked your test. I don’t know half of this stuff.”
“That’s because you were a lousy student.”
He chuckled and accepted the bottle. “True, and that’s why I’m here.”
Tensing, I sat down on the chair next to the couch and tucked my legs off to the side so the hole near my knee wouldn’t show too much.
“I’m really busy these days, Josh.
I’m not sure I can help you.”
I already knew what he was going to ask. He wanted help with his latest game. The last one we’d worked on together was set during the Revolutionary War. Josh was proud that his games were steeped in historically accurate details, which combined with state of the art graphics made them hot sellers.
“I really need you, Mia.” He hesitated for a moment, the bottle inches from his lips. “If it’s money, I can pay you.”
Shit, now he wanted to offer me cash. As a lowly-paid teacher I wasn’t exactly awash in greenbacks. The girls were talking about going on vacation during Spring Break – sort of a destination bachelorette party for Shelby – and I desperately wanted to go but my bank account was tragic. The expenses piling up in the next year for my sister’s wedding were daunting. It wasn’t cheap being maid of honor.
Honor, my ass. They ought to call it Maid of Money.
“I couldn’t take your money. It wouldn’t be right.”
It would be helpful but not right. Josh was a family friend.
And I’m trying to not spend time with him too. I need to make sure I remember that.
Josh’s gaze ran over the living room before coming back to settle on me. He’d helped me paint the walls when I’d moved in. “If I can’t pay you, then maybe I can do something for you. Do you need anything done around here? Something a big strong man can help you with?”
A million filthy dirty thoughts ran through my mind. If my mother could have seen them she would have fainted dead away in horror. Shelby, on the other hand, would have hooked me up to a bunch of electrodes and studied my brain waves. Then she would have written a paper about it and presented it at some abnormal psychology convention.
“No, there’s nothing you can do for me.”
A slash of lightning lit up the sky outside and a loud rumble of thunder shook the windows.
Even Mother Nature knew I was lying.
CHAPTER THREE
Josh
I hadn’t anticipated Mia’s hesitation to help me. She’d always seemed happy to do it in the past and really seemed to enjoy it, too. She was a terrible actress, so I doubt she’d been pretending. Maybe Luke was right and she did have a new boyfriend taking up all of her time. It might explain why she’d grown her hair out when she usually kept it shorter. She was even wearing mascara on a Saturday afternoon at home.
I took a drink of my beer and decided to go in using the money tactic. As a teacher she wasn’t rolling in dough and she was always pinching pennies, especially after she’d bought the condo a few years ago. Yet she’d always insisted on paying her own way whenever we hung out together. That’s how she’d started helping me in the first place. I’d wanted to pay for the whole damn pizza myself, so I’d suggested that she take a look at my World War II zombie game in return. Within an hour, she’d corrected several historical mistakes. From then on, I’d done nothing without her checking it first.
“If you’re doing a job for me, Mia, then you should be compensated for it. You work as hard or harder than many people on the project, but you only get paid in pizza and chocolate.”
For the first time today she smiled, showing off the cute dimples in her cheeks. “I like pizza and chocolate.”
“I bet you’d like money, too.” A thought occurred to him. “You might need the extra cash for Shelby’s wedding present or something. Have they set a date?”
Her gaze dropped to her hands, her fingers laced together. “September. The wedding is in September.”
“So it might be helpful to have another income stream.” I kept the pressure up. Defeat wasn’t an option here. “I bet there will be parties and things that you’ll want to buy a new outfit for.”
She finally looked up at him, her top teeth sunk into her full bottom lip. “You’re not making this easy.”
“I’m not trying to. I really need your help. I’m hopelessly stuck on this game. I haven’t made any progress in weeks and even Luke is starting to get antsy.”
“You’ve never missed a deadline.”
I never had and I didn’t want to start now. I had a date in my head all set for the roll out of the new game. To make it, I had to meet all the milestones along the way. This was one of the first ones.
“I’d like to keep that record going. I promise I won’t take up too much of your time. Please, Mia?”
I realized I hadn’t really ever asked her until then, and I sure as hell hadn’t said please. Even if I paid her she was still doing me a gigantic favor.
She sighed heavily and I knew that I’d won. She was going to do it.
“Okay, but I need something from you too. I don’t want your money but if you would come speak at our career day assembly I’d be very grateful. You have a job doing something creative and that you love. I think the kids need to hear about that.”
It might have helped me to hear about other careers besides accountant and cop in my teenage years. I always thought I was strange. It would have been nice to see someone who was successful doing their own thing.
“Of course, I’ll do it.”
My phone chimed in my pocket and I pulled it out, checking the screen. Trisha. She was persistent, I’d give her that. I’d had lunch with her today and she was already trying to plan my evening. I’d probably let her. Now that Mia had agreed to help I was much more relaxed and confident of making the finish date.
“Sorry,” I apologized, typing out a quick response. “Trisha wants to know what I want for dinner.”
“Oh…it’s fine. Take your time.”
Mia wasn’t all that fond of cell phones because her students were constantly using them in class when she was trying to teach. I quickly shoved it back into my pocket.
“Send me the information and I’ll be there.” I stood, not wanting to take up more of her time. From what I could see she was deep into a grading session. Besides, I wanted her to finish today so she could help me tomorrow. “Can we get together tomorrow afternoon? I have Sunday lunch with Mom and Dad but after that I’m free.”
She might have plans with her boyfriend, though. If she had one. She certainly was pretty enough to attract any man she wanted. Not in an obvious way, but in a really nice fresh way.
“I have lunch with my mom and dad, too,” she replied, uncurling from her spot on the chair and walking with me to the door. Her sweats had a hole in the knee and I couldn’t help but think how adorable she looked standing there in clothes that were clearly two sizes too big for her. “But I can meet you at your place by two. Is that okay?”
“Sounds good. Thanks again. You won’t regret it.”
I would make sure she wouldn’t. I was planning to pay her even though she said she didn’t want it. I should have done that a long time ago. Now I was feeling a little guilty. From her reaction to my request today and all of my earlier calls and texts, I clearly hadn’t been appreciating her contributions enough.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and held it up. “Next time answer my texts, okay? I was beginning to get a complex with the way you were avoiding me.”
“I wasn’t avoiding you.”
She had been, but I didn’t want to argue when she’d just agreed to help me.
“I hope not. I’d hate to think that I’d lost one of my best friends.”
I heard her reply just as her front door closed.
“Perish the thought, Josh.”
* * *
Trisha. Josh’s girlfriend’s name was Trisha.
I’d met many of his girlfriends over the years, so I knew the drill. They were all extremely attractive and usually smart and successful, too. Josh didn’t date airheads or bitches. I’d liked all of the ones that I’d met because they appeared to be genuinely good people. I didn’t have any reason to believe that Trisha would be any different.
It would have been easier all of these years to have been secretly in love with him if the women in his life had been lacking. I could have consoled myself with the fact that Josh didn’t love me because he h
ad terrible taste in women. But he didn’t.
Maybe it said something about me.
It was obvious I wasn’t very smart because I’d given in to his pleas as if my backbone was made of the green Jell-O my grandmother used to bring to family gatherings. He’d barely had to make an argument and I’d easily agreed to help him. I couldn’t deny that deep down I wanted to do it. We’d had so much fun in the past working on his games. There had been long days, late nights, and lots of pizza but we’d been a team and I’d liked that.
Avoiding Josh had been difficult, but refusing him when he was right in front of me was damn near impossible. It looked like I was going to be spending some quality time with the man I desperately wanted to fall out of love with.
The plan to never see him hadn’t worked. I need a new and improved plan. One that was foolproof. And I needed it before tomorrow afternoon.
CHAPTER FOUR
Josh
If I still lived at home I’d weigh three hundred pounds. My mom loved to cook and it was even better when the whole family was assembled in one house. We didn’t do it every Sunday but we tried to get together about once a month.
It was funny how years could go by and not much had changed. Luke and I still hung out with Dad in the garage until dinner time and Mom spent most of her time in the kitchen. The only thing that was different was that Luke’s wife Rachel helped her. Mom was teaching Rachel all the secret recipes that had been handed down from her mother and grandmother. Tradition was important to my parents and if I was honest, it was important to me, too. I’d really come to depend on the normalcy of these Sunday dinners when my life became too hectic and crazy.
“Did you boys make any progress on the car this morning?”
Another thing that never changed. My mom asked us that same question every Sunday, and every time my dad would reply the same way.
“We did. Should be done in a few weeks.”
Now my dad has been restoring that 1966 cherry red Mustang since I was in high school. It had been a real piece of junk the day he’d pulled me into the garage and announced that if I was going to learn to drive I also needed to learn how to maintain a vehicle. My very first oil change was on that Mustang. Me, Luke, and my dad had worked on the car all through my high school years and at one point I thought he might give it to me as a graduation present. No such luck. Dad had fallen in love with the muscle car and now it was his baby. Although he could easily call it “done,” he loved to hang out in the garage and tinker with it while my mom read a good book in the quiet. She once said that’s what made their marriage work. They gave each other the space to do their favorite things.
Tempt Him Page 2