His Kind of Wonderful (Sugar Bay #2)

by Kinsley Gibb

  “Leave her alone, guys.”

  Joe gave her a fierce look. Those golden eyes were mesmerizing.

  “You’re not going out with that professor, are you?” Derek asked.

  “Professor Higgins?” She turned to her brother.

  “The one you’re spending too much time with.”

  “I’m helping him with something.”

  “With what? You’re not even in the same department.”

  “It’s a personal project.” She looked away from Derek and met Joe’s gaze briefly before looking away. A girl was entitled to her secrets.

  “Then do it during the day. No need for late hours alone together. It’s not proper, he has a reputation.”

  Dani rolled her eyes and sat on the kitchen stool.

  Her brother, the judge of all things proper.

  How many times had she caught him and Anabelle being less than proper—and not behind closed doors either? It was a wonder she hadn’t gone blind yet. She grabbed a fried potato and munched along the edge, testing to make sure she wouldn’t scald her tongue once she bit into it.

  “What’s this guy’s name?” Joe asked Derek.

  “Professor Higgins.”

  “I’m sitting right here, guys.” She took off her glasses and wiped the lens with the corner of her shirt without taking her eyes off the nosy duo.

  “He’s a married Lothario with a penchant for young women,” Derek said with a raised an eyebrow. “Get this, they ‘model’ for him in his home studio while he paints them. Pervert stares at partially naked girls in the name of art.” Derek sent Dani a pointed look. “And lately the professor has been spotted around town with our girl here.”

  “Still here, boys. And for the record, I haven’t sat as his model,” she paused with a glare, “yet.”

  Joe gave her a hard look. Everybody’s favorite charmer was gone and Mr. Serious had taken his place.

  “You’re not serious about this loser are you? I mean you’ve dated some doozies but this guy...” he shook his head. “You can do better.”

  Dani stood and poked him in the chest. It was hard. He didn’t flinch. “We are not dating. It’s work. Derek is delusional. There. Is. Nothing. Going. On.” She stressed each word slowly so the numbskulls could grasp her meaning.

  “It’s a feeling…” Derek shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, I’ve had psychic premonitions before.”

  “They’ve been spot on.” Joe stood by Derek’s side and nodded in agreement as if the conversation was in the realm of reasonable and hadn’t bypassed to the land of crazy.

  “You remember the time I told Todd I had a bad feeling about his trip?”

  “Yep. The loser should have listened instead of going out in the storm. Never saw him again.” Joe shook his head in regret. “Some sea monster probably dined on his sorry ass for weeks.”

  “And when I told Clancy not to date that girl? You know, the one with the big—“

  “Hell, yeah? Every time I think about that, my nuts shrivel. Beg your pardon, Anabelle.”

  Anabelle giggled. “You’re fine.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Dani felt her eyes bulge.

  “Guys, I think y’all should leave Dani alone. She’s a grown woman and knows what she’s doing.” The oven timer pinged and Anabelle grabbed a pair of mittens.

  “Grown woman, my ass. The girl still sleeps with a nightlight.”

  “Derek!” Dani glared at him, tilting her head towards Joe.

  “Sorry,” he said, although he didn’t look very sorry. He still glowered at her.

  “For your information. It’s not a nightlight because I’m afraid of the dark, it’s to guide me to the bathroom safely.”

  “If you cleaned your crap off the floor, you wouldn’t be in any danger of stumbling in the dark, now would you?”

  “Messy floors are affective booby traps.” She mirrored his cross-armed stance.

  “Ha. Do you hear this, Joe?”

  “Food’s ready!” Anabelle placed a plate of baked mussels slathered in spicy wasabi sauce on the table in an attempt to distract the pair.

  Dani took a shaky breath and walked away. “I’ll go wash my hands.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Anabelle hug Derek and whisper in his ear. The tyrant just ate it up and enveloped his wife in a full body hug. Dani watched her brother’s hand drift south and fondle his wife’s bottom.

  Hmph.

  She shook her head.

  Mr. Proper, her ass.

  Chapter Two

  Joe watched Dani walk away and forced his eyes from the long length of her smooth tanned legs emphasized by her sexy cowgirl boots and flirty skirt. Since she’d moved to town, he’d developed a sixth sense regarding her proximity, like he was one of those vampire characters the teenagers preferred nowadays except he didn’t fly or have pasty white skin. He only knew about the pale flying vampires because he’d been dragged to the movies on a couple of first and last dates.

  It wasn’t that Dani bathed in perfume like so many women he knew, it was more like a feeling he got at the base of his skull, a sort of twitch. He was used to it by now and dealt with it like any other man lusting after his best friend’s kid sister, he ignored it.

  To go hard after Dani like he wanted would go against his sense of honor. One did not bone one's best friend's little sister. It just wasn’t done. So as much as he wanted her, he’d encouraged her antipathy as much as he could.

  He’d been successful, in that he was pretty sure she hated him. But at least she was safe from him and he could keep his friendship with Derek.

  When Derek had moved to town and he’d been force to spend more time with Dani, he’d watched her flit and float in the company of other men. He discovered two things, one, she had crap taste in men and two, his frustration in not having her under him fueled his aggression in the boxing ring. He was getting pretty good.

  “Derek, you need to stop pushing her.” Anabelle rubbed her husband’s back.

  “Why can’t she see what the prick is doing?”

  “You have to let it go. She’s a grown woman.”

  Derek’s sigh was heavy. “You’re right, I’ll stand down.” He rubbed the scruff on his jaw in frustration before he pointed at Joe. “But you—you can watch her.”

  “You better believe it.”

  Anabelle sighed and shook her head, muttering something about the stubbornness of men. She sat at the table and they joined her.

  “Make sure that guy doesn’t try anything with our girl. She’s too trusting and the guy has a wife for crying out loud. Whatever she’s helping him with—I don’t want her caught in anything unseemly.”

  “Where do they usually meet?”

  “Cuppa, Cuppa.”

  “Got it.”

  “Hungry, Dani?” Anabelle interrupted, effectively quieting them.

  ***

  Dani joined the suspiciously silent group seated around the table. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Derek said quickly. “Anabelle was telling Joe why she couldn’t eat tofu.”

  She turned to the only reasonable person in the room. “Why can’t you?”

  “Studies have shown tofu hinders the ovulation process.” Anabelle said with a serene smile.

  “So, you guys are finally going to provide me with another niece or possibly a nephew?” She clapped her fingertips together.

  “We’re hoping, so fingers crossed,” Anabelle said.

  “Yes. I’m loving all the practice we’re getting.” Derek grinned like a well-fed cat.

  “No kidding. My eyes.” After one naughty afternoon when Anabelle and Derek had assumed they were alone in the studio, Dani had taken to making lots of noises so they’d be aware of her encroaching presence.

  “Very funny, punk.”

  “So are we hoping for a girl or a boy?”

  “I like the idea of a little girl.” Derek said with a soft loo
k in Anabelle’s direction. “A girl as sweet as her mom.”

  “I heard too much caffeine makes sperm rocket fast. So men with a high intake of caffeine are more likely to have sons.”

  Derek’s hand stilled on his half empty Mountain Dew. Slowly he lowered his beloved soda. Dani hid her smile behind the seaweed sheet she held. The one benefit of being the family brainiac was they believed the random facts she spouted regardless of whether they were true or not.

  Revenge was sweet.

  Anabelle chuckled and rubbed Derek’s neck. “Poor baby.”

  “Sucks for you, man.” Joe took a chug of his root beer.

  Everyone knew Derek had a fondness for Mountain Dew, a sugary caffeine filled drink if ever there was.

  Derek got up. “Water anyone?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll just finish yours for you.”

  She ignored her brother’s glare and set down the seaweed sheet in preparation for her hand roll. Her appetite was back. She spread Japanese rice along the sheet, placed a shrimp tempura, crab stick and avocado on one end, then sprinkled chopped green onions and masago eggs on top. She squeezed extra spicy mayo along the center before rolling up the concoction and taking a bite.

  “Delicious.”

  In the next half hour, the four of them devoured the feast Anabelle had prepared. Dani was enjoying her last roll when Derek annoyed her again.

  “Esme told me Thelma’s air conditioning hasn’t been working.”

  In the process of chewing, Dani paused. Busted by a preschooler.

  “Why don’t you get Joe to look at it?”

  “Joe’s a fire fighter, not a mechanic, besides I’m taking care of it this weekend. My friend will look at it.”

  “I can take a look tonight. Maybe it’s something I can fix.”

  Derek nodded. “Joe’s a tinker.”

  “Awww. Our own little TinkerJoe.” She tossed him a snarky grin.

  Joe sent her a look that said payback was coming her way. She swallowed and pushed back her chair to neatly stack the empty dishes.

  “Don’t. I’ll get that.”

  “No. Anabelle, you cooked. I’ll clean.”

  “Come on, Anabelle. Come dance with me.” Derek pulled his wife away from the table.

  “We’ve got this.” Joe stood and gathered the remaining dishes. “Go.”

  “If you’re sure…” Anabelle’s voice trailed away as Derek led her towards the outside terrace where he’d set up a lush landscape reminiscent of a tropical oasis.

  Dani and Joe worked in tense silence. Being alone with him always made her nervous. When others were around, their bickering helped relieve the tension, but alone, the tension built to an uncomfortable presence. She focused on rinsing and stacking the dishes in the dishwasher while he wrapped the leftovers and stored them in the refrigerator before he wiped the table and counter.

  Music poured from the hidden speakers and she hummed along to Bruno Mars to avoid conversation.

  “Go ahead and sing if you want. I won’t judge.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Scout’s honor.”

  “I doubt you were ever a boy scout.”

  “Your suspicion wounds me.” He clutched his chest. “Come on.”

  “That’s okay.”

  “You don’t sing?”

  “Not in public.”

  “So no Karaoke fun for you, huh?”

  “God no. Not unless I was out-of-my-mind drunk.”

  He chuckled. “It’s just us.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You know you want to.” His voice was low. He’d come close enough that his breath teased the loose tendrils of hair along her face. She caught a hint of spice and peppermint. “I’d like to make a request.”

  “Yeah?” She glanced at him. He had leaned back against the counter next to her. Something about the sparkle in his eyes made the shrimp tempura she’d eaten churn in her stomach. Joe looked a little too innocent. Innocent Joe was an oxymoron. Laugh lines deepened around his twinkling brown eyes and she got a bad feeling—very bad feeling. She began to scrub the remaining dishes with desperate frenzy—a few more and she’d be done. Then she could escape.

  “I heard a song today.”

  Shit.

  “It was really catchy.”

  Double shit.

  “You might know it.”

  He paused for a beat and she tried to ignore.

  “Something about a tap dancing hippo.”

  Joe hummed the familiar tune in her ear and she groaned, mortified.

  He winked. "Please, Dani. Won’t you sing me a lullaby?"

  She flung the soapy sponge at him then watched as it bounced off his chest. He laughed a deep belly laugh, clutching his stomach and smacking the counter. She turned away but it was hard to block out the sound of his merriment. The whole evening he’d let her think he hadn’t heard her today. She slammed the dishwasher door closed and turned to leave but he caught her elbow, “Hold on, Pavarotti.”

  She elbowed him and was pleased to hear his pained grunt.

  “I’m teasing, you little wildcat.” He pulled her around and cradled her shoulders. His eyes sparkled and she eyed him suspiciously. Were those tears? She stared harder and noticed a hint of moisture gathered in the corners of his eyes.

  The skunk—they were. She stomped on his foot.

  “Ow,” he muttered, clutching his injured limb. She went after his other foot and he lifted that one to avoid her. “Cut it out.”

  “You’re lucky I took off my boots when I came in.”

  They continued their stomp and avoid dance for a few minutes with him holding her upper arms trying to get her to stop.

  “Calm down. It was cute. You’re a good aunt.”

  She shook her unbearably hot head. “Thanks.”

  He stroked her arms slowly. But if he’d wanted to calm her he’d failed because it did the opposite. She went from embarrassed anger to heightened awareness in an instant.

  Awareness wrapped around them, wound its way between them and tightened its grip. She noted his thick, dark eyelashes and the golden striations mixed with dark brown that gave him such a distinct gaze. She traced the slight crook in his nose with her eyes and watched as his eyes tracked a path to her lips and stayed there for what seemed like forever but was probably a few seconds. She licked her dry lips and watched as he mimicked her. He lowered his head as if to kiss her and her heart stopped. But instead, he brushed her hair away from her face.

  “Soap bubble.”

  She stared, embarrassed by her assumption. “Oh. Okay.” She hated how her voice sounded. Hated the note of yearning she hadn’t intended.

  He released her and stepped back.

  “We’re finished here, right?” Joe looked around, his movements jerky and not as smooth as usual. “Why don’t I take a look at Thelma?”

  He grabbed her keys from the counter and hurried away without another word while she stumbled in the opposite direction, breathless and bewildered.

  Chapter Three

  Joe walked into the firehouse the next morning for his shift and spotted George, his mentor and captain.

  “Hey there, son.” George was twenty years older and not his family by blood but he’d taken an interest in Joe as a boy.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Not bad. Lisa wanted me to let you know she’d be by later—something about a charity request. She thinks you can help her so I told her you’d be here today.”

  It was hard but Joe held on to his grin. George’s wife had been nothing but a pain in the ass lately. He’d avoided any place or event she might attend but increasingly, she’d been more aggressive in her pursuit and the other firefighters had started to notice. They sent weird looks his way as if he actually wanted the woman to flirt with him. Shit. Everyone knew he loved women, but he drew the line at cuckolding his mentor and it pissed him off they thought he enjoyed the atten
tion.

  “She’ll be by in about thirty minutes. She’s dropping Collin off at Karate.”

  He nodded—not wanting to offend George and take off to avoid the guy’s wife. For her to go through George to request his presence was a seriously fucked up situation. He hoped his mentor knew he would never dishonor their friendship.

  Half an hour into their shift, Lisa walked in.

  “Joe! I’ve been looking for you. Why haven’t you returned any of my messages?”

  He shrugged. George stood nearby. Lisa was fifteen years younger than her husband and five years older than Joe. An attractive woman, Lisa was completely indulged by her husband. According to George, her flirtatious behavior was part of her charm.

  Joe shook his head. He wasn’t exactly a Neanderthal but he couldn’t imagine standing by while the woman he loved threw herself at another man. But George was a good guy so who was he to judge?

  “You look good Joe.” Lisa slid a hot pink nail along his forearm. The crystal encrusted acrylic sparkled in the sunlight.

  He stepped back. “Thanks.”

  George gave him a side look as if he didn’t understand Joe’s behavior.

  “What can I do for you, Mrs. Strickland?”

  “For starters, you can cut the Mrs. Strickland crap. Call me Lisa for the hundredth time. You make me feel so old.” She sent a coy look to George. “Am I old, George honey?”

  “No, baby.” George’s smile was tolerant, as if he didn’t mind reassuring her.

  Joe sighed. “Okay, Lisa. What can I do for you?”

  “The Sugar Bay Ladies League is putting on an auction to raise funds for a few charities around town.”

  “Sounds admirable. How can I help?”

  “By signing on as one of the bachelors for the big auction.”

  John, Brandon and Kyle whistled behind him and even George grinned until Joe glared at the lot of them. Only George had the decency to rub his mouth in order to hide his smile. The others didn’t bother. The bastards were either married or had a steady girlfriend, so they were safe. Assholes.

  “I don’t think so.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll be happy to write a check though.”