“Sure is. It’ll be hard to stay inside at work today, but thankfully there are windows,” she said as she bent over to pet the little dog he was walking. It was just begging for Allie’s attention, and let’s face it, she was still avoiding the comb-over.
“You young people work too much. The weekend is for play and relaxation.”
“Ah, you are correct Mr. Giovanni, but the luxury of being in control of my own schedule, is that I can pick exactly when I want my weekend to be,” she said with a smile as she stood up and finally made eye contact with him. He was shorter so the two of them stood eye-to-eye.
Giving her a smirk and a nod, he replied, “This is true. Well, don’t you work too hard or else you be old like me too soon.”
She smiled at his thick accent and broken English as she wished him a good day and made her way to Mike’s place. Since it was on the way to the parking lot, it made it difficult to slip past him unnoticed at times. She decided her plan was to carefully slide the card in between the screen and the door, as it would be seen but she wouldn’t have to make a lot of noise getting it there.
Making her way quietly up his steps, she held her breath as she cautiously opened the screen door. Praying it didn’t squeak, she slipped it inside then closed the screen. Letting out a breath, and relaxing slightly once she heard the door softly click as it closed. She retreated the way she approached, like a thief, quietly and cautiously, while keeping her eyes on the door. She couldn’t help but shake her head at her ridiculously juvenile behavior.
Allie Baxter was a strong, confident, and independent woman. Or at least she thought she was. After all the time spent recovering from heartbreak, she had managed to convince herself and everyone around her of that. So why exactly was it that she was acting this way? Being a coward and sneaking around like she was everything but a strong woman—that wasn’t her. Making her way toward her Mini-Cooper, she popped the locks and was climbing in when she noticed that Mike’s truck wasn’t even in the parking lot.
Well, now she really felt like a fool. All that covert activity to sneak in and out undetected, and there wasn’t even anyone there to notice. It might have been humorous if she wasn’t totally irritated at her own behavior. As she sat in the driver’s seat deciding whether or not she should just go back inside and actually spend the morning doing what she wanted to do, something in her rearview mirror caught her eye. Looking closer, she could see a man, approaching from the distance. He was running, shirtless, with dark hair, broad shoulders, and running shorts slung low on his hips.
Mesmerized by the figure approaching the parking lot, she noticed a little too late exactly who it was running in her direction. “Crap!” She fumbled with her keys, trying to find the ignition. She was reaching for her door when she looked up and made eye contact with the one person she was hoping to avoid. Mission failed.
There he was, in all his glory, skin glistening with sweat, chest moving with his deep breaths, hair wet and hanging forward into his face. Maybe she should call this mission a ‘successful failure,’ because he was certainly a site to behold. He lifted his arm and ran his hand through his hair. The movement caught her attention, dragging her gaze up from all of his exposed skin. A knowing smile spread across his face and fueled the irritation she momentarily forgot to possess whenever he was around. “Well good morning, Allie. Heading out early today?”
“What can I say, when you’re as good as me, the demand is high,” she said with attitude, which of course he didn’t deserve, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Attitude was her only defense against him. Then she remembered yesterday, and how he helped her through that panic attack, and she immediately felt like crap. He was a nice guy, and apparently she was a mean girl—next on her list would be to start kicking puppies.
Fortunately for her, he wasn’t even fazed by it as he replied, “Of course you are. Anyone who can pull off chunks of purple hair like you has to be good.”
She reached up and touched her purple streaks. What could she say to that? He paid her a compliment, and he noticed her hair, so she gave the only reply she could, “Thanks.” Lame.
He gave her a wink and a smile as he started to make his way out of the parking lot, but not before he said, “Hope to see you this evening, Allie. I’ll tell Zane you’ll be stopping by.” And then he was gone. Guilt crept in as she visualized him finding the card she had already delivered and not mentioned to him. He wasn’t an idiot and would immediately know she was avoiding coming around that evening. So she did the only thing she could do in that situation—she started her car and got the hell out of there, before he could come back and try to convince her. She really didn’t want to tell him no. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to. She was already close enough on the mean-scale to kicking puppies, and telling Mike no might just push her fully into that category. Not to mention, she wasn’t sure she wanted to say no.
MIKE had a smile on his face as he made his way to his condo, passing Mr. Giovanni along the way with a wave and a good morning. When he opened the screen door, a blue envelope fell out and landed at his feet. He could make out his son’s name across the front. It only took him another second to figure out that it was from Allie. If he hadn’t seen her leaving this early, he would’ve been confused. But he was certain it was from her as he bent forward to retrieve it. Standing back up, he looked in the direction of where he saw her and mumbled to himself, “Keep running Allie, but eventually I will catch you.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that her leaving the card now effectively eliminated her need to stop by later. Thus, preventing them from sharing a meal together. He thought in the future, it would be better to avoid telling her his plans when they included anything that was remotely similar to a date. He’d hoped that what happened at the graduation party would have broken down a little of her resistance toward him. It most likely did, but he needed to make sure that she wasn’t able to replace whatever wall might have fallen yesterday.
He made his way inside with the plan to shower, eat, and attempt to relax today. He’d gotten up so early to drop his truck off, so a nap seemed in the cards, too. He’d decided to have some work done on it, and then ran home; this worked out nicely since it put him in her path. He smiled as he thought about how she would react the next time she got in his truck. As he made his way up the stairs, he caught sight of Zane exiting the bathroom, freshly showered. “Morning, Dad.”
Mike barely got his reply out before the kid closed his bedroom door behind him. He heard Zane come home in the early hours of the morning, so he was in for a long day ahead of him at work. He called out to Zane, “Don’t forget about dinner tonight.”
A muffled, “You got it, Dad,” came from behind the bedroom door. Satisfied with the response, he headed for his own bathroom to get the rest of his day started.
A few hours later, he had managed to get the paperwork in his office filed away, had sent out a few emails to clients, and basically caught up and planned his work week. Feeling accomplished, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and plopped himself down on the couch to find a game to watch. He was going to have to retrieve his truck at some point, but was pretty sure his friend doing the work would help with that. Now he needed to figure out a plan of attack with the beautiful, yet elusive, Allie Baxter.
Of course, he now had a little more insight into exactly why she was so resistant. He wondered if she had dated anyone in the time since she lost her husband. Mike really didn’t like the thought of Allie with someone else. Even if it was only in theory, it was something he would do his best to avoid thinking about.
The problem was that he needed to know if she was hesitant with all men, or just him. He really had no way to figure that one out without just asking, and that might be difficult to drop into conversation. Not to mention he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear that he was the only one she fought the obvious connection with. Then he would have to question why. It was entirely possible that she had just given up dating all
together. Maybe it was because, as it appeared yesterday, she was still dealing with her grief.
That made him a little sad, if not because he totally understood it, but because it was no way to live. The past was nowhere to be, and if that was the case with Allie, he was more determined than ever to get her out of there. His phone vibrated on the table in front of him, dragging him out of his thoughts. Putting his beer down, he grabbed it and saw a message from Jake.
Now that was not a friendship he had expected. Clearly Jake Michaels was a stand-up kind of guy, and Mike was glad they could hang out together. The message said he had gotten his hands on some tickets to the Padres game that night and to call him if he wanted in. It only took one ring before Jake answered.
“Hey man, you want to go? I’ve got enough tickets for you to bring Zane, too, if you want.”
“Yeah, I want to go. Zane would love to, as well. How much you want for them and how should I get them from you?” Mike said with a little excitement. Since his plans to feed Allie had fallen through, he might as well make other ones.
“There are six tickets, and I was just going to hand them over to Jason or Logan since they are going, too. Maybe you guys could all ride together and save on parking. You know how it sucks downtown,” Jake replied. A baseball game with Jason and Logan? That left two more tickets. Who else was going? He hoped Allie was one of them.
“Sounds like a plan. Should I call your brother to set it up?” Mike asked.
“Sure, that way you guys can coordinate everyone. You could all just meet up here; I won’t be leaving the house tonight anyway.” Mike could only assume that was because of Gillian.
“Great. Send me your brother’s info, and I’ll call him. By the way, who’s all going?”
“Well, you got two, Logan is bringing Jonathan. And then my brother and Allie got the other two tickets.” Bingo! That was what he wanted to hear. An evil grin slid across his face as he thought about how she tried to avoid him tonight, but now she was going to be stuck with him for hours after all. Jake continued, “I figured you wouldn’t mind if Allie went. Was I wrong?”
“No man, you weren’t wrong. I don’t mind at all. Not sure how she’s gonna feel about it, though. Does she know I’m taking two of the tickets?” Mike asked, trying to formulate a plan in his mind. He loved nothing more than to keep Allie on her toes, and showing up at her door to pick her up for a baseball game that she had no idea he was going to would do just that.
His smile grew when Jake said, “No, I don’t think she does. Gillian is the one that called her about it. I was talking with Jason when she did. You want me to find out if she does?”
“That’s okay. I have a feeling, knowing Gillian, she kept that bit of information from Allie.” He smiled bigger as he thought about it. “Give that woman of yours a big kiss for me and tell her thanks.”
Jake snorted a laugh. “Don’t have to tell me twice to kiss my woman. I’ll send you Jason’s number. Later.”
“Thanks,” Mike said as he disconnected the call. Once he got Jason’s info, he quickly called him, eager to get some plans in motion. He was to meet Jason, Logan, and Jonathan at Jake and Gillian’s place where he would pick them all up and take his truck. Allie didn’t know it yet, but she was getting a ride over there with Mike. Sending a quick thanks out into the universe for the unexpected turn of events, he made sure to let his son know the plans, too. Now he just needed to make sure his truck would be done in time.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALLIE was excited over her unexpected plans. A night with a few of the Baxters and a few of the Michaels crew was always a good way to spend the evening. It was a few minutes after four when she pulled into her parking space at home. Quickly gathering her stuff, she was about to pass Mike’s place when she remembered she was trying to avoid him. Damn. She quickly made her way past his doorstep, exhaling once she had. Like he would’ve heard her breathing or something. Again with the ridiculous behavior. At least her mission was successful this time.
Once inside, she dropped her bag on the table and went straight for her room. She needed a quick rinse in the shower to remove any stray hair clippings. Throwing her hair up since she didn’t want to get it wet, she hosed herself down and jumped back out. Gillian texted her that she was being picked up at four thirty, so she had just enough time to find her Padres jersey and get ready to go.
She had just slipped her feet into her flip-flops when there was a knock on the door. She thought it was strange since most of her family just walked in, so she went to open it. “Since when do you guys knock?” she said as she opened the door to find Zane Lawson on the other side. “Oh.”
They young man smiled and said, “I was taught to always knock on people’s doors, Ms. Baxter.”
She smiled back, because he was just too sweet with the whole Ms. Baxter bit. “Hi Zane. You can just call me Allie, you know. I was on my way out the door, what’s up?”
“My dad sent me over to get you; he’s got the truck running and waiting,” he said. Confused, she silently cursed Mike for sending his son to do his dirty work. Well, at least she believed she could tell Zane no. Or better yet, she was pretty sure Zane would take no for an answer.
She gave him a sympathetic look and told him, “Sorry Zane, not sure why your dad sent you to get me. I have plans tonight.”
Leaving the door open, she moved over to the table to pick up her bag and phone. From the doorway, Zane asked, “Really?”
“Yeah, going to the Padres game with family. But tell your dad I said thanks anyway.”
“But, we’re going to the game, too. My dad said we were going with you guys. Jonathan was too,” the kid said. Allie stiffened as she looked up from what she was doing on her phone to see if he was messing with her. It was the first she’d noticed he was a wearing a Padres t-shirt and hat. Mike and Zane were going to the game?
“You serious?” Allie asked. Zane gave her a questioning look and nodded his head. Well crap! This smelled of Gillian’s manipulation. She should’ve seen it coming, after all Gillian had learned from her. Shaking her head, she resolved herself to the fact that even though she tried like hell to avoid him, she would be spending the evening with Mike Lawson. Well not with him with him, but around him … and the rest of the guys. Someone definitely owed her a beer.
Giving Zane one more considering look, and knowing there was nothing she could do, she threw her bag over her arm and motioned for him to lead the way. Locking her door, she turned back around to find him waiting at the bottom of the steps for her. She smiled at how he acted like a well-mannered young man, something hard to find in today’s society. That was a point in Mike’s favor considering he had raised him from an early age all by himself. Stepping up next to him, she smiled bigger when he put his elbow out to lead her down the walkway.
“So, are you my date for the evening?” she asked, making him blush and duck his head a little. It was sweet.
“No offense, but I don’t think so,” he said.
“Careful now, Zane, you might hurt a girl’s feelings with a response like that.”
“But I said no offense. I’d be honored to be your date,” he pleaded. After a short pause, he added, “It’s just that I’m pretty sure Dad would kick my butt if you were my date.”
She looked over at him, smiling and shaking her head as he led her toward the lot. “You Lawson men seem to a have a comeback for everything, don’t you?”
He just smiled back quietly. When they rounded the corner, the truck came into sight. All big and shiny and pretty. Knowing she would need help in, she turned to Zane and said, “I sure hope your dad taught you how to properly toss people into the cab of the truck.”
Zane smiled big as he made a move to open the door and said, “I don’t need to Allie … he had a step put in.”
Allie looked to the door, and sure enough, as it opened, a chrome step lowered from the truck. Shocked, Zane reassured her and said, “Cool, isn’t it? It’s totally secure. Go ahead, c
limb in.”
Looking from him to the step, she couldn’t help but wonder why Mike had something like this installed, when clearly he and his son could climb in no problem. When she thought he might have done it for her, she immediately shut that down. There was no reason why this man, a virtual stranger in her life, would do something like this for her. Although the possibility did give her a small case of the warm and fuzzies, it also scared her. Allie didn’t want to be who he did this for, and she couldn’t get close to Mike, turning to Zane, she said, “I don’t need to sit in the front, you can.”
“Ladies always get the front seat, Allie,” Zane said. Damn you, Mike Lawson, for teaching your son proper manners, she thought to herself.
“Fine,” she grumbled and moved into the doorway, where she could now see Mike. The smug bastard stared down at her.
“Hi there.”
Grumbling again, she responded, “Hi.” Throwing her purse inside, she was able to grab onto the door handle and step on the new hardware. Successfully lifting herself into the truck, Zane closed the door for her and made his way to the back. Looking over at that smug bastard again, she said, “So, you’re going to the game, too? Funny how Gillian didn’t mention that to me. There are others from my family going, right?”
MIKE couldn’t contain his laugh over the look on her face. “Yes. Jake called and offered me two of the tickets. We’re heading over to pick up Jason, Logan, and Jonathan now. Didn’t anyone tell you I was your ride?”
He of course knew the answer to that, but that didn’t mean he needed to offer it. Allie snorted a not so lady like sound and said, “Shockingly, no they didn’t …” He didn’t catch the end of her comment as she turned to look out the window. This only made him smile bigger. Zane hopped in the back, Mike set the truck to drive and got them on their way. It wasn’t until about half way there that Allie said, “Like the new side step.”
Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) Page 7