by Natalie Ann
It was the wild curls that did it for him.
The hometown-girl appearance of casual she pulled off, but the contradiction of her hair sent him over the edge.
He was just itching to get his fingers in those ringlets. To see if they were as soft as they looked. And the few times he walked by her and they brushed against his arm, he found out they were.
The waitstaff had all been sent home thirty minutes ago, once the tables were wiped down, the chairs turned on top of them, and the floor swept and mopped. The last of the kitchen staff popped his head in a few minutes ago to salute Brody on his way, saying he was locking up.
It was just the two of them now.
“There is still close to an hour to go,” Aimee said.
“Yeah. But no one is going to come in now. Once in a while you get a lone soul sitting at the bar until closing, but not even that tonight.”
“You’d stay open for that one person though, right?”
“Depends,” he said. “If it’s a regular just hanging out, I’d push him along, giving him a free drink. You won’t close much, but I tell the bartenders it’s their call. No one ever closes alone, though. Always two people locking up at the same time.”
“That’s smart.”
They worked in silence for another ten minutes. She knew what she was doing without him having to say much more than where they locked things up at night.
He flipped the lights off out front when he locked the door after the last person left, and now he was switching them off in the room. “We lock the money upstairs in the safe. Come up and I’ll show you where it is.”
He grabbed his keys, waited while she got her purse, and together they went through the kitchen, then up the stairs to the offices above.
Once the money was locked up tight, he turned and looked at her. “What am I thinking right now?”
She did this little thing with her head, cocking it to one side, her eyes laughing at him—his body reacting in a way it shouldn’t— then she said, “How to push my buttons.”
Damn, she was good. “Is it possible to do that?”
“Everyone has buttons that can be pushed. You know that. I did it to you earlier.”
He wasn’t surprised she’d noticed, or that she tossed it out in the open like that. Blunt and to the point. He appreciated that trait.
“Yes, they do. The question is what buttons you’re going to allow me to push.”
Yep, he was crossing the line. He knew it and for some reason couldn’t stop himself. He started to walk toward her, intending to leave the room, but she stood her ground, blocking his exit.
In his mind it was like an invitation to make the move.
All night, he’d been trying to inch by her, waiting for her to give him room, but she never did. She always stood her ground, forcing him to put his hand on her shoulder so she knew he was there. Or wiggle by a few times when she’d bend over right as he was passing.
“You read people well. You tell me.”
She said it again. Knowing it soured his mood last time. Was it a challenge? Was she trying to make him step back? Was he overthinking it?
The mischievous glint in her eye gave him the answer he needed.
Before he could change his mind. Before he could think this was wrong. Before she could move away. He reached out and put his hands on her waist. She didn’t move, she didn’t flinch, so he lowered his head and showed her exactly what buttons he was going for.
It started out slow. It started out tentative. But it changed directions rapidly.
Her hands on his shoulders, then in his hair. Her mouth opening under his. His tongue swooping in and tasting everything she had to offer.
One minute, then two. Dancing in a circle, heads tilting to different sides, bodies rubbing, their hands groping, and he finally had to come up for air.
He took a deep breath. “Mistake?” he asked, not sure at this moment if he was asking for her or him.
“Probably,” she said, then pulled him forward and kissed him again.
Where You Stood
Friday morning, Brody was just stepping out of the shower when he heard banging at the door.
Why was it people interrupted him at the worst possible times?
“Coming,” he yelled when the banging continued as he made his way down the stairs to the door. Water was dripping on the floor from his hair that he hadn’t even dried. The same as the rest of his body, once he threw his shorts on.
He yanked the door open to see his father on the other side. “Brody. Sorry I got you out of the shower.”
“No worries,” he said. He wanted to be a wiseass, but never was. His mother was the only one he gave that honor to, because she gave it back just as bad. His father, on the other hand, was the more serious one in the relationship.
“I won’t take up much of your time this morning. I wanted to check in on you.”
“I’ve got time.” He’d wanted to get to the bar before Aimee this morning to get set up and gauge her mood after they parted ways Wednesday. Maybe even get the upper hand. Now he was sure that wasn’t going to happen.
“How are things going? I haven’t seen you since you got back in town.”
Brody had stopped to see his parents on Sunday when he returned. Mainly to give his mother grief for imposing an unwanted vacation on him, and partially to show the time he was gone didn’t make a lick of difference. It hadn’t changed any part of his thinking.
“Things are good. They were fine weeks ago, too.”
His father just lifted his eyebrow and then walked over to the couch to sit. Guess Brody was going to be entertaining just now.
“Good enough to come to blows with Cade? I don’t think so.”
“I’ve always come to blows with Cade since you put us in the same room together growing up.”
“We paired you guys off by personality. Mason and Aiden were more alike. So were you and Cade.”
“You put the two smart ones together—the quieter ones. Then the two loudest together.”
His father cracked a smile. “It probably would have been best to have split you two up. And your mother and I considered it for years. But under it all, you two related to each other the best. Admit it, you were most comfortable with him.”
“Whatever,” Brody said. That was the closest he was coming to admitting his father was right. “If that is all you came over to ask, you could have just called me.”
“I could have. I’m not allowed to visit with my kids one-on-one?” he asked.
“Are you going to see Cade next?”
“Maybe,” his father said.
Or maybe not. His father never said any more than he wanted you to know. It always annoyed them growing up. You knew where you stood with their mom, but not their father. His mom didn’t have a sneaky bone in her body.
“What else is on your mind then?” he asked.
“How are things with your new manager? Aimee, right?”
“They’re good. She’s smart. Fast, very capable.”
“So your siblings selected well,” he said.
Brody sighed. “Yeah. Don’t tell them, though.”
“We both know I don’t need to.” His father sat back and crossed one leg over the other. “So tell me about Aimee.”
He couldn’t remember the last time his father asked this many questions about a new employee. “Why?”
“Because she is your second-in-command and based on how you’ve been acting, I want to see if she is good for you or not.”
She was good, all right, but he wasn’t going to tell his father that. That would be a foolproof way for Aimee to be pushed out the door. Not because she wasn’t good at her job, but because he could see his siblings saying she’d be a distraction for him. Wasn’t this how the whole situation started? Because they felt he was distracted and not pulling his weight?
No, he had to keep what happened between him and Aimee on Wednesday a secret. If anything else happened, they’d still have to ke
ep quiet about it.
“She knows what she’s about. She could handle the bar and the clientele in her sleep. I’m sure you’ve heard about her ability to pair food and drink, and how well it’s going over.”
“I have. You know your mother and I get weekly sales reports and any details regarding them.”
“Ella is always thorough,” Brody said.
“Instead of being sarcastic, be thankful she has taken that task off of you and your brothers’ shoulders.”
“True.”
“So what else about Aimee?” his father asked.
“What more is there to say? She’s been here almost two weeks. I’ve only worked with her for six days.”
His father nodded his head, then stood up. “Good point. I’ll let you finish getting ready then.”
***
Gavin Fierce pulled his car into the driveway, got out, and walked up the stairs to the front door. “Jolene,” he yelled like he always did. It was easier than walking through the house to find her.
“In the kitchen,” he heard back and marched that way.
“You set him up.”
“Who?” Jolene turned and looked at him, trying to show confusion on her face, but he’d been married to her for thirty-five years. He wasn’t falling for it now any more than he had in the past.
“Brody. Don’t play games with me, either. Where did you find her?”
His lovely wild wife, the one who drove him nuts and loved him unconditionally, calmly pulled out a chair and sat down. She never calmly did anything. “Melanie Downs called me a few weeks ago. You remember Melanie, right?”
“She used to work at the bar years ago,” Gavin said. He remembered most of his employees, just like Jolene.
“A long time ago. We’ve kept in touch. I always liked her. Anyway, her closest friend’s daughter was moving back to the area and looking for a job. Melanie asked if we had anything.”
“And just like that, you thought Aimee could be a manager at Fierce?” Gavin asked, slightly surprised at his wife's impulsiveness.
“Of course not. I asked to see her resume, then checked her references. I asked about her personally and her situation. Then I passed it onto the kids after the incident.”
The incident being Brody losing his temper and Cade taking the heat.
Made sense, but he wasn’t buying it. “I still think you set him up. What are you trying to accomplish?”
She smirked at him. Another sign of her guilt, but still no confession coming from her lips. “Why do you think that?”
“Because I just left there and asked how it was going.”
“And?” Jolene asked when he didn’t say anything else. He could make her sweat a little.
“And he had a lot of nice things to say about her.”
“That’s good. But that doesn’t say why you think I set him up.”
“Because it wasn’t what he said, but more what he wasn’t saying.”
“Like what?” Jolene asked, leaning on the counter. Nothing screamed “eager” more than Jolene when she had her teeth in something and moved into your personal space.
“Why should I tell you?”
She stood up and walked closer to him, putting her hand on his shoulder, then running it down his arm. He was still a sucker for his wife’s touch.
“Because you love me,” she said, leaning in and kissing his cheek. “And you want to see the kids happy, just like me.”
She pulled no punches and had him spilling the rest of his conversation with Brody. “Aimee has been there long enough to open on her own, yet he was rushing to get there before her.”
“He said that?”
“No. But I lost track of the number of times he looked at the clock or sighed when I got more comfortable on the couch.”
“Bet that drove him insane.”
“You know it does. Brody is so easy to read,” he said.
“What else?” she asked.
“He knew exactly how many shifts he’s worked with her.”
“That’s not surprising,” Jolene said. “It hasn’t been long enough for him to not be able to think about it.”
“He didn’t think. He said it as fast as if you asked him his age.”
“Oh. That’s good. Anything else?” Her eyes lit up like they always did when she was planning.
“Praised her ability pretty high.”
“Brody never praises people this soon,” Jolene said. They knew their kids well. Brody was fair, but he always reserved voicing his judgment until he had enough facts. It’s what made him so good at what he did.
“Nope, he doesn’t. For a guy who didn’t want another manager hired and for someone who wasn’t exactly thrilled it was done behind his back, he couldn’t say enough good things about her.”
“Isn’t that something.”
“It sure is,” Gavin said. “And considering everything that’s happened in the last year, that Brody’s behavior is different is alarming.”
“You’re not happy about it?” Jolene asked, not doing a good job hiding the pout he loved so much.
“It depends on which way things go. His behavior got him into this mess.”
“Don’t go blaming him, Gavin. It’s all taken care of and in the past now. Let Brody be.”
“You don’t normally stick up for them when they do something wrong. Why now?” Great, just what he needed. His wife acting differently, too.
“Don’t you ever look back and wonder if we’ve put too much pressure on the kids? If handing the business over to them five years ago was the right thing to do? Maybe we’re to blame for what happened as much as Brody.”
“Since when do you doubt your decisions?”
“Since I realized that maybe we were selfish wanting to retire and letting them be on their own.”
He laughed. A big booming laugh that echoed off the walls. “They aren’t on their own any more than they were when they were two. You were mothering them then, and you’re doing it now. You run more interference in their lives and that business than anyone. You’re just more sly than you were before.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re the same way.”
“Exactly. They’re thirty and they’re smart. They’ve been given all the tools to survive. Time to step back.” He grabbed her hand. “Besides, it’s harder to be sneaky about it now.”
She laughed and kissed his cheek. “They’re surviving just fine. But I want grandkids now.”
He knew it! “So you admit you set him up.”
“Maybe.”
He pulled his wife in for a hug. “There is no maybe about it when you get an idea in your head. Let’s just hope this doesn’t backfire on you and some innocent girl gets caught in the crossfire.”
“It won’t. Trust me. I know my kids and I know what’s best for them, whether they want to admit it or not.”
Bug Me
Aimee was both shocked and thrilled to find she was the first one at the bar on Friday morning.
What do you know? Maybe Brody finally had faith in her ability to open on her own. She hoped it was that, and not that he was avoiding her after Wednesday night.
She still had no idea what possessed her to be that bold. What possessed her to give out all the signs that she wanted to feel Brody’s hands on her?
He was her boss. She’d only worked there for two weeks. What was wrong with her?
But after that second kiss. The one where she yanked him forward and planted one right on him, then pushed back and strutted out of the room knowing he’d follow. He laughed at her. Like she put a red scarf around her neck in a bullring.
That kiss better not have been the reason he was letting her open this morning, though. She hoped he didn’t think she was using him to advance in her job. Her job and her hormonal reaction to him had nothing to do with each other.
Now maybe she wished he was here before her this morning.
Urgh! She was driving herself insane thinking about it. Which was no more insane than w
hen she thought about it all Wednesday night while she tossed and turned and tried to figure out what she’d started.
Stupid hormones. Always ruling her brain. Always getting her in trouble.
When would she learn?
Never. That’s how she ended up where she was.
She was halfway through setting the bar up when she heard heavy footsteps that she was coming to recognize as Brody’s.
“Morning,” she said, trying to play it cool.
“Sorry I’m late. My father stopped over to talk to me this morning.”
“Oh. Everything okay?” See, she thought more of it than it was. There was no hidden agenda. He was just running late.
“He just wanted to chat for a few minutes.” He stopped and looked around the bar. “Guess I didn’t need to rush. You’ve got everything under control.”
“I know you’ve got a meeting so I tried to make sure you felt comfortable leaving the bar in my hands.”
He looked at her oddly, almost disappointed in her words. “It’s in good hands. I know that. I’m sorry if I’ve given you the impression that I think otherwise.”
“You haven’t. Well, maybe that one day when you had a bug that crawled up your butt.”
He smiled. The same smile that kicked those treacherous hormones into overdrive again. Wow, he was dangerous, in more ways than one.
“You aren’t going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Not if I can help it. What caused your mood that day, do you mind me asking?”
He walked up to her, tugged on a curl hanging down her back, then leaned in and whispered in her ear, his lips grazing ever so gently. “I don’t mind you asking, but I mind saying.”
Just like that he walked right by her and through the kitchen.
***
“You’re early,” Ella said when Brody walked into her office.
“I thought I was going to be late. Dad stopped to see me.”
“What did he want?”
“To see if my mood improved at all after my vacation. Then to ask how things were going with Aimee?”