by Hadley Quinn
“Need any help?” Tate asked.
Jay’s head had been in his hands but he looked up with surprise. “How do you fucking do that? You just appear wherever the hell you want without a sound.”
“Five years of practice,” Tate shrugged. He nodded to the papers spread all over the desk. “You need some help?”
Jay shook his head. “You know, I’m fine with numbers and basic accounting to keep my shop running, but I hate all this fucking government stuff.”
“Move over,” Tate said, pulling a foldout chair from the wall.
“Nah, man, you don’t need to waste your time with this shit. Mel keeps telling me to hire a bookkeeper, but I just can’t do it. I hate not being able to take care of something on my own.”
“I totally understand,” Tate nodded, shoving Jay’s office chair with his thigh. “Move your ass and let me look. I do this shit all the time.”
“You’re an accountant?” Jay scooted over.
“No, but this stuff is kind of easy for me. I do the books for the parlor, too.”
“You don’t hire a bookkeeper either?”
“Nah, the owner just pays me to do it.”
“The owner?” Jay asked, seeming confused. “Oh, I thought it was your shop.”
“Nope, just manage it. It’s been around for years. My dad used to work there. He and Benson, the owner, were good buddies. He’s been visiting his family in New Zealand for the month, so I’m just holding down the fort for now.”
Tate looked over what Jay was working on at the moment and gave him a quick explanation. They spent about twenty minutes entering the correct information into the computer before Jay called it quits and said he needed to go home for sleep.
“But first, tell me about you and Kellie,” Jay stated.
Tate knew it wasn’t just a suggestion and he expected an answer, but there really wasn’t much to tell. It’d been a week since Kellie hightailed it out of his office. And as far as he could read, he didn’t think that Jay knew they’d even seen each other since the day she’d come into the restoration shop the one time. Neither of them had ever mentioned a single word about her.
“Not much to tell,” Tate shrugged. “She marches to her own drum, that’s for sure.”
“Just for the record, I know everything that’s gone on between you two. You don’t have to bullshit me, man. There’s not much about my sister that I don’t know.”
Tate assumed that to be somewhat true, but if Jay had to practically drill her with questions about the men in her life, then Kellie obviously liked to keep him in the dark a bit.
He took a silent breath to measure his words. “I’m not gonna be in the middle of you two, that’s for sure,” Tate replied as he stood. “I appreciate all that you’ve done to restore my car, but an honorable man doesn’t talk about a respectable female like that, and I don’t owe you that either.”
Jay raised his eyebrows with surprise. “Hm, so that confirms you’ve fucked my sister.”
“It confirms nothing,” Tate replied, somewhat surprised by the candidness. He wasn’t necessarily shocked by Jay’s bluntness—he was quite used to it by now—but hearing those brash words just pricked him the wrong way. “Kellie doesn’t like to be committed to anything, I can tell. And for whatever reason she’s so distant and somewhat cold at times, I’m not going to hold it against her. I barely know her, okay? There’s no need to get territorial on your little sis.”
Jay didn’t say anything for a moment, but he appeared to be measuring Tate’s words. Finally he said, “Yeah, I interfere in my sister’s life whenever I want. I’m her brother. I want to know who she’s with and I want to know when someone hurts her. You understand?”
“I understand, but do you not understand that you’ve got her so strung out because of your actions and your opinions, she can’t even have a moment to herself to breathe or do something because it’s what she wants?”
Jay’s agitation was unmistakable. “You’ve got a lot of balls, man, I’ll give you that. What gives you the right to play Dr. Phil in my life, huh?”
“If you’re not aware, it’s my life too. And your sister’s. What gives you the right to be a selfish asshole and have an opinion on everything she does?”
“Because I love her more than anyone in this goddamn fucking world, that’s why,” Jay growled. “You show me one person that can say that same thing about her to my face, and maybe I’ll reconsider it.”
Tate silently considered that for a moment. Although it sounded harsh, he wasn’t taking offense to Jay’s words. He could completely feel where the guy was coming from. However, he felt his own opinion was just as valid as Jay’s.
“Well maybe if she decides to ever fully let someone into her life…she might have that someday,” Tate responded. “You don’t need to worry about that yet because you’re definitely not allowing her the chance.”
“Kellie can do whatever the fuck she wants,” Jay scoffed. “And you’re right, you don’t know her very well. I’m just giving you a fair warning, that’s all. She’s not gonna let you in if she doesn’t want you in. My sister is kind of a badass, so I’m giving you a head’s up that you’re gonna get your little feelers hurt eventually.”
Tate slowly nodded his head. That much he had already gathered from her personality, but Jay’s threats seemed a little pointless at the moment.
As he made his way to the hall to leave, Tate answered, “Well that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t resign my feelings to anyone. Especially women. Ever.”
***
What makes a person do something they swore they would never do? Tate had to think about that question the entire time he drove back to Burbank that night. He didn’t give a fuck that Jay was trying to scare him away from his sister—he could totally understand that—but it was Kellie herself that had baffled him from day one.
He’d once promised himself that he would never chase a girl, so why was she the only thing on his mind lately? Yep, she’d totally done the hump-and-dump on him, and whereas he wasn’t a prude and didn’t have much of an opinion on that kind of thing, this was a time that he definitely could not take it like a man. He wanted to blame it on his pride, but there were too many signs that screamed otherwise. There was something going on with Kellie that he wanted to figure out; something was causing her to be closed off to him and he wanted to know why.
Now here he was, parked in the parking lot of her apartment complex. It didn’t take much to track down her address when he had friends in law enforcement, and even though he was aware it wasn’t legal, he didn’t really care at the moment. He’d also stopped by his sister’s floral shop earlier and carefully selected a small bouquet of flowers. It seemed like a tradition long forgotten, and even though he wasn’t picking her up for a date, he thought it’d be nice to bring her flowers.
Before he talked himself out of it, he climbed out of his truck and entered the building. He knew he would have to give his name and show ID before they let him upstairs, but that was just a risk he needed to take. Tate waited while the front desk called up to Kellie’s apartment to get her approval. The guy seemed to be listening to a lot of words on the other end of the line before he must have finally received an answer.
“Yes, Ms. McCallan.” The man hung up the phone and looked at Tate. “She says you can only come up if you guess her favorite candy, and you have to do it on the first try.”
It was all Tate could do but laugh out loud. No, he wasn’t surprised—in fact, he was thoroughly amused—but maybe he was a bit disappointed because he knew that it was an impossible test.
He sighed and shook his head, but took a minute to think it over. He recalled everything he could from their conversations and their time around each other… He couldn’t remember any mention of candy. Even her car had been spotless inside. There had been no sign of any such thing.
“Gummy bears,” Tate finally sighed.
What the hell, he had to guess something. He was about to head ou
t since he knew he was wrong, but the deskman flipped a switch to open the doors that led to the elevators.
“You’re kidding me,” Tate mumbled.
But the man gave him a tiny smile and motioned for him to head through the doors.
It reminded him somewhat of that movie Serendipity, when the two got on separate elevators and were supposed to choose a floor. If they happened to choose the same floor, then they were meant to be together. If Tate remembered correctly, there were over twenty floors in that movie. The odds had to be pretty unfavorable. Similar to those odds, how could he possibly pick Kellie’s favorite candy on the first try?
The elevator stopped on the fifth floor and Tate stepped off. He glanced at the plaque on the wall that directed which apartment numbers went which way and he hung a left. He took a deep breath when he paused in front of 56—the corner unit—and then knocked.
The door opened only a few seconds later, and Kellie’s face happened to stop his heart when it appeared on the other side. This girl was all sorts of lovely; cute to sexy to beautiful and charming… Maybe it was her pink hair? It was hot and completely fit her personality. Her piercings? The tattoos? Her mysterious smile?
It was everything about her, and he fucking knew it.
“Well hello, stalker,” she smiled at him. “How’d you find out where I lived?” She eyed the flowers in his hand and seemed surprised.
He shrugged. “Not telling. I can’t incriminate myself. Or anyone else.” He handed her the bouquet and added, “These are for you.”
She arched an eyebrow at him, and combined with the tiny movement on her lips that were trying not to smile, it drove him crazy.
“Hmm, fair enough. I won’t deny that my name has gotten me my way now and then. Not that I expect it, but it just happens that way. And these are beautiful. I love pink lilies. Who told you my secret?”
“No one,” he smiled. “They’re the same color as your hair and reminded me of you.” Score. He’d guessed her favorite candy and the kind of flowers she liked. He was two-for-two.
She held the door open for him and after he walked past her, she asked, “I was just about to eat dinner, are you hungry?”
As he entered the apartment further, he glanced toward the kitchen. Her place was nice and he hadn’t expected anything different. The bright purple furniture and funky printed pillows in the front room didn’t surprise him, either. Whereas the apartment itself was pretty standard with neutral tones, it wasn’t so standard anymore with Kellie’s touch.
“You eat this late?” he asked, glancing at the crazy Alice & Wonderland clock on the wall above the refrigerator. It was almost nine o’clock, gothic style.
“I didn’t get off work until eight tonight, so yeah, I got home and made something.” She entered the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase and added, “You wanna eat, then? It’s edible, I promise.”
Food sounded amazing, but he felt a bit intrusive already. He wasn’t sure why he’d come to her apartment in the first place.
“Uh, nah, I’m just passing through,” he answered.
She gave him a funny look that said “yeah right” and he knew he shouldn’t bullshit her right now. But she didn’t say anything further about it as she pulled two bright green plates out of the cupboard and dumped a scoop of food on each one. She stuck a fork in both piles and set them on the kitchen table.
“Have a seat,” she motioned. He followed her lead and sat across from her as she set two beers on the table between them. “Your ‘passing through’ was timed well. Not everyone gets to partake of my gourmet mac & cheese.”
Tate smiled as he studied the concoction in front of him. Nope, it didn’t look like standard mac & cheese, either. He saw bacon and chicken, along with some vegetables and something crunchy on the top.
This girl didn’t do anything basic.
He took a bite after she did, and even though he could tell she was watching him for a reaction, he pretended not to notice. Most likely she knew what his reaction would be, because after eating two more bites, he felt selfish enough to keep eating until it was gone.
“This is amazing,” he finally told her. “I’ve never had anything like it.”
She only smiled and continued to eat. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but Tate’s thoughts were a jumbled mix of memories from last week in the office. Things had progressed pretty quickly, and even though it hadn’t been his intention, he knew why. There was a fiery physical attraction between the two of them and Kellie wasn’t afraid to act on it. But he wondered if it had been a mistake to go that far with her so quickly—especially after she took off like she did.
But here he was with her again. He hoped it wasn’t only because she believed in fate or something. The last thing he needed was for her to indulge him just because she believed she was required to.
“So…gummy bears?” he finally asked. His entire plate was cleared but Kellie was still working on hers.
She looked up just before taking a bite and paused mid-air. After a couple of seconds, she lowered her fork and smiled. “Was that your guess?”
He raised both eyebrows at her and leaned back in the chair. “It’s not your favorite candy?”
“I don’t have a favorite candy,” she answered smugly. “I just told him to accept any answer you gave.”
Tate didn’t have a reply at first. He only watched her finish up the last couple of bites and then she took both of their plates to the sink and rinsed them. Her back was to him, and since she was in just a pair of shorts and a tank top, he was staring at her legs.
Finally she turned around and leaned against the counter. “Are you pissed?”
He slowly shook his head. He didn’t think so. After considering it, he felt like it was kind of clever only because she’d obviously wanted to see him again.
He could deal with that.
“Nah, I’m not pissed. You’re full of feisty wit. I approve.”
She tilted her head slightly in thought, and then retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge and set it on the table in front of him. “So I totally didn’t deflate your ego after your ‘expert guessing’ turned out to be a farce?”
He thanked her for the water and then shook his head again to answer her question. But he was thinking about the whole elevator scenario as he took a drink. Maybe it hadn’t been serendipity after all.
“No,” he finally answered with a smile. “I’m glad I’m here, that’s all that matters.”
She studied him for a couple of seconds before walking past him for the couch. Dropping down on it she said, “Good, so let’s hang out.”
He followed her across the room, and since she’d sat on one end of the couch and was facing the middle, he sat on the other end and did the same.
Very proper, apparently.
“So how’ve you been?” she asked casually.
He couldn’t help but notice how different she was acting right now than before. It was almost like the other night had never happened, and although Tate was fine with himself having felt that before, he didn’t understand where Kellie was coming from right now.
“Been busy. You?”
“Same.”
She now had her legs tucked up under her and it made her look really tiny. It didn’t help that the couch was super deep and fluffy and practically swallowed her up.
“Have you still been working in my brother’s shop?” she asked.
Without spending too much time wondering why she wanted to know, he answered, “A little bit here and there. The car’s coming along, but I’m glad I’m finally getting it done.”
She raised both of her eyebrows at him, but it took her a while to speak. “The Shelby’s your car?” she asked with awe. “Holy shit, are you kidding?”
“Why, do you not hate me as much now? Since I have a pretty stellar classic of my own, I can join the cool kids club?”
She offered a sarcastic chuckle. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you�
�ve developed some sort of abhorrence toward me. I’m just curious if I’ve done something to offend you.”
“Is that why you’re here? To kiss my ass and make sure you’re not on my bad side?”
“Is that what you’re used to?” he sincerely wondered. Jesus, what was all this attitude about? One minute she’s sweet and charming, the next minute she could light him on fire with her eyes.
She didn’t respond right away. In fact, her face seemed to soften a little bit and she sighed. “Sometimes, yeah,” she admitted. “I don’t like being suspicious of people, but it’s necessary. Nine times out of ten, I’m glad I was wary.”
Tate nodded his head but he actually felt guilty. “Yeah, I hear ya. I didn’t mean to sound like a dick. I just…don’t see the whole celebrity thing with you, to be honest. I hope that doesn’t offend you—I hope I’m not taking you down a notch or whatever—but I’ve never thought of you that way.”
She seemed utterly surprised at first, but then almost like she was relieved. “Well good, but I don’t feel that I’m above anyone. It just happens to seem that way and we all have to adjust. It’s kind of a lonely place to be in, truthfully. I don’t know what you know about my family, but there are a few of us that don’t give a shit about the fame one single bit. We don’t like getting thrown in there with the others; people making a big deal out of us being somewhere in public or think whatever they’re seeing is tabloid-worthy. It gets old. Fast. I’m not ‘in’ with the popular McCallans if that’s an interest of yours.”
“What?” Tate scoffed. “No,” he shook his head with a tiny laugh. “Hell no. I don’t give a fuck who your family is.”
“I’ve heard that plenty of times.”
Her smile was sad, but Tate couldn’t detect any bitterness to it. He imagined she probably had been used for her name now and then, but the thought had never even crossed his mind. Just like with Jay, there was just a very strong personality that stood out on its own and it was magnetizing. There was no association with Hollywood whatsoever in Tate’s mind. He never thought she would be interested in him, but now he was feeling like he was being given the brush-off. He didn’t understand it entirely since he felt like they absolutely had a connection with one another, but she was definitely putting up walls again.