Lori slowly nodded. “So, what are you going to do about it? Just stand by and let this dull beatnik have her?”
Nick sat at the table again. “Shelby wants the whole deal. Husband and three little Emilys.” Nick gently tugged on one of Emily’s curls. “One little Emily’s all I can handle.”
But he loved Emily. He’d do anything for her. Maybe having his own Emilys wouldn’t be so bad? Could he make a real relationship with Shelby work?
Lori’s grin turned wicked. “Emily can be a lot for anyone to handle. Maybe she should go along with you to the game? It’d show Shelby how tough it is to be romantic while holding a sticky-fingered kid in her lap. You should definitely get cotton candy.”
Emily’s head whipped up. “Cotton candy? Please Uncle Nick? Can I go?”
Nick met his sister’s mischievous matchmaker’s gaze. “You mean I should hang out with the guys and Emily should hang all over Shelby? Gooey fingers and all?”
“I didn’t say that. You did. What time will you be picking Em up? No, even better. I’ll drop you guys off. Then I’ll call and tell you why I can’t pick you up, then you’ll have to ride home with Shelby and the prince.”
“That’s not nice, you two.” His mom chuckled.
Nick scooped Emily up and held her over his head “Okay little wingman. Do your job by hanging out with Shelby and there may be a trip to the toy store in your future. See you guys Sunday at noon.”
Yeah. That plan might just work.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“When monkeys commit the crime, they have to do the time.”
Chester’s Big Scheme
Shelby walked into her uncle’s suite at the football stadium with Greg, her stomach tight with nerves. The car ride over had been a little awkward and quiet at times. But maybe he’d been distracted with checking out her car before he bought one of his own. Hopefully, he’d loosen up after a beer.
Who was she kidding? She was the one who needed that beer.
Dating sucked.
She’d considered dressing in something a litter cuter, like a normal person, but Nick had told her she looked hot in her jersey, so she’d gone with it. She ignored the heat gathering in her gut as she recalled the way Nick’s eyes had darkened with desire before he’d told her that.
She and Greg hadn’t walked two feet inside her uncle’s box before a dark-curly-headed blur ran toward her with open arms. “Hi, Shelby!”
She pried Emily’s arms from around her legs and lifted her up. “Hi, Em. I didn’t know you were going to be here today.” She turned to Greg. “This is one of my biggest fans, and my new writing buddy, Emily Monkey-Brains.”
“That’s a great name. I’m Greg.” He beamed a big smile at Emily.
Just like a little chimp, Emily wrapped her arms around Shelby’s neck, her legs around her waist and settled in before she said to Greg, “Uncle Nick calls you Prince Charming. Are you Shelby’s boyfriend?”
Nick was a dead man.
Greg sputtered, “Well, um—”
Shelby jumped in before he turned a deeper shade of red. “So, where is your Uncle Nick, honey?”
Emily threw out her hand toward the bar. “With those big guys. They’re kinda scary.”
“But they’re the nicest people ever. Let’s go find your uncle.”
“Can I sit with you, Shelby?” Emily’s lips tilted into a sweet grin.
She glanced at Greg, whose color had faded to almost normal again. “Do you mind?”
Greg shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Want a beer?”
God, yes!
“Sure. Thanks.” She carried Emily down to the front, hoping Mikey would be there. Maybe he’d brought his Legos. This could be a disaster in the making. And unfortunately, Mikey and his parents weren’t there.
After she settled with Emily on her lap, a pair of big hands slipped over her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. They certainly weren’t Greg’s hands. But somehow her heart didn’t seem to mind as it kicked into high gear at Nick’s soft caress.
His warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “Hey, Shelby. Looking hot, as always. Emily needs some cotton candy. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“No!” She turned to argue the wisdom of that particular treat, but Nick was already headed for the door. She huffed out a breath and closed her eyes. It could be a very long afternoon.
A few moments later Greg slid beside them and handed her a beer. “You used to like Amstel Light, if I recall?”
“I do. Thanks.” As she took a long drink, Emily patted her shoulder. “I’m thirsty too, Shelby.”
“What can I get for you?” Greg dropped his beer into the cup holder and hopped up again.
That was nice of him. Or maybe he was just happy to be away from Emily and the possibility that another embarrassing question would pop out of her mouth.
Emily scrunched her forehead. “A big orange soda?”
“You got it.”
She probably should’ve suggested he make it a small one, but he’d left too quickly.
A few minutes later Nick returned and sat beside her with a huge cone of cotton candy. Her stomach joined in with the rest of her mutinous body, clenching at the sight of him.
He’d bought a new Bronco’s Jersey—that was evident from the price tag peeking out from under the back of his collar—and he wore old faded jeans that clung nicely to his good parts. He’d even added face paint. “I see you upgraded your fan wear.”
Nick nodded and handed the treat to Emily. “Here you go, kid. Have at it.” Then he leaned closer and whispered, “Told you I was stepping up my game. Impressed?”
Shelby rolled her eyes as she reached up and tore off the tag, checking the price. “I might have been, but then you went and paid entirely too much for this. I’ll send you the link for where I get all my stuff online, dirt cheap.”
Nick narrowed his eyes. “Smartass.”
Chuckling, she tapped a finger on his warm lips to warn Nick about his language in front of his niece. Shelby glanced down at Emily whose eyes had glazed over as she inhaled her treat. Luckily, Emily was much too interested in her sugar-crack to notice.
When most of it was gone, she glanced up. “Did you want some Shelby?”
“No thanks, sweetheart.” Shelby turned to her sexy seatmate who was lost in the game. She poked him in the arm to get his attention. “Why don’t you take Emily with you over to the bar so you can share the rest of this treat together?”
Nick slowly tore his attention from the field. “I’d rather sit here and share it. You’re a lot cuter than those guys.”
Yeah, well he was a lot cuter than any guy she’d ever known, and if she weren’t careful her hormones were going to ruin her chances with Greg. The guy she’d wanted forever. The right guy. Not Nick, Mr. Love ’Em and Leave ’Em.
Shelby craned her neck behind her to be sure Greg wasn’t back. Then she grabbed the front of Nick’s jersey and pulled him close. Em was right there, so she whispered in his ear, “Greg’ll be back any second and I don’t want you here causing trouble. Got it?”
“Trouble? Me?” He grinned. “Don’t worry, the prince is out in the hall on the phone. Sounded like something medical and important. He’ll probably be a while.” He reached up and pulled a wad of pink cotton candy from her hair. “Man this stuff is a mess. Emily, be careful okay? Shelby’s trying to look pretty for her date.”
Shelby wanted to plop Emily onto his lap and let him deal with the mess, but couldn’t hurt Em’s feelings. Instead, she leaned so close to Nick she smelled the pine-scented soap on his skin from his shower.
It was strangely erotic.
“Go away. Now!”
“Fine. I can take a hint.” He stood and bumped into Greg, spilling the orange soda down his jersey.
“Sorry, Gary. Didn’t see you there. Let me go find some napkins.”
“It’s Greg. Don’t bother.” His jaw clenched. “I’ll be right back, Shelby.”
What a freaking disa
ster.
Shelby stood and pressed Emily, with her sticky hands full of cotton candy, into Nick’s arms to go after Greg. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
Emily said, “I do too. And Uncle Nick can’t take me.”
She wanted to scream.
Drawing a deep, calming breath, she shoved the empty cardboard cone at Nick, and then held out her hand to Emily. “Let’s go.”
They ran into Greg in the hallway outside the bathrooms. His jersey was damp and more orange than usual. At least it blended with the team colors.
She laid a hand on his chest to gauge the wetness of his shirt. “What a mess. I’m sorry.”
He laid his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “One thing hasn’t changed since I left. It’s never a dull day when you spend it with Shelby. I’ll go grab another drink for Emily and meet you guys back there.”
“Thanks.” She smiled as they headed for the bathroom. The hand squeeze was a nice touch. But did he think she was high maintenance or something? That’d be bad.
She glanced down at Emily whose little blue eyes, so like Nick’s, shined up at her with innocent adoration.
“What do you think he meant by that Monkey-Brains? Never a dull day with me. Is that good or bad?”
“Probably good.” Emily grinned. “You’re fun, Shelby.”
She scooped Em up into her arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. “You’re fun too. Even when you’re a sticky-icky mess. Let’s go get you cleaned up and then see if you can stay that way for a while, huh?”
“Okay.” Emily laid her messy hands on either side of Shelby’s face and planted a big kiss on her lips. “I love you, Shelby.”
Her eyes burned with tears. No one except for Jo had said that to her since her parents had died. “I love you too, Em.”
***
Nick grinned as he watched the game. It was the fourth quarter, the Broncos were ahead and Emily was still on Shelby’s lap, yakking away. Things were going according to plan. He pulled out his cell and called his sister. When she answered he said, “Call me in five minutes.”
Lori snorted. “Hello to you too. Is the plan working?”
“Yup.”
“Good. When you get home, I want all the details.”
“You got it.” Nick tucked his phone into his jeans’ back pocket, made his way down to Shelby, and flopped beside her. “Hey. Can I have her back or are you planning a kidnapping?”
The look she sent him as she handed Emily over should have curdled his blood. Instead it just made him even hotter for her.
He feigned innocence. “What?” Before they could get into it, his phone rang. His sister’s timing was perfect. He tugged it out of his pocket and stifled his grin. “Hey, Lori.”
Pretending to listen, he glanced at Shelby. She was seething. And ignoring Greg who sat on her other side. “Wait. What do you mean you can’t pick us up? How are we going to get home?”
Shelby’s head whipped toward his and she narrowed her eyes.
He frowned and bit the inside of his cheek to hold back his grin. “But you know after the game we could wait up to an hour for a cab. That’d be rough on Em.”
Shelby glared at him now. Steam was going to start rising from her collar any second.
He had to turn away and wrangle the smile that threatened to break his cover. He said to Lori, “Let me ask her if she’d mind.” It wasn’t easy, but he pulled it together and forced a straight face. “Lori was supposed to pick us up, but she says her car won’t start and my mom isn’t home. Would you guys mind taking us home?” He hadn’t lied. It was what his sister had just said to him.
Shelby gritted her teeth. “You’re so lucky Em’s here . . .”
“Thanks for the ride.”
Shelby was as mad as he’d ever seen her. He’d better tread carefully.
After the game they shuffled along with the crowd out to the parking lot. As they approached Shelby’s Prius, the logistics of cramming them all into that clown car ran through his mind. “Shelby, you and Em should sit in the back, and I’ll take shotgun.” He turned to Greg. “Unless you’re letting Shelby drive?”
Before Greg could answer, Shelby shook her head. “Nope, you’re just going to have to stuff that big body of yours into the backseat. It’ll be fun to watch.”
“Shelby, please. Be reasonable. You need to sit in the back.”
She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of earshot of the others. “I know you don’t lie, so your answer will determine your fate. Did you or did you not bring Emily along today to mess with my date with Greg?”
“Are you saying you didn’t enjoy Emily’s company?”
“No avoidance techniques, answer the question.”
Backed firmly into a corner, he huffed out a breath. “Yes.”
She nodded sharply. “Change of plans. We’ll take Emily to your mother’s house and you can think of all the ways you can say you’re sorry while you wait for a cab.” She stomped away, got into the car, and they left.
Guess he’d found Shelby’s limit. Good data point for the future.
He pulled out his phone and ordered a taxi, and then dialed Lori’s cell to warn her of the storm approaching named Shelby. When Lori answered, he said, “I can’t explain right now, but when Shelby drops Em off, don’t let her know what you do for a living. And I need to know how many ways there are to apologize to a woman.”
***
After they’d dropped Emily off, Shelby and Greg headed back to his house. She wasn’t sure if Greg was still upset with her or not, so she said, “I’m really sorry about all that. What a mess.”
He shrugged. “After my shirt dried things got better.”
She laughed, but when she turned to look at him, she saw it wasn’t supposed to be funny. That had happened a few times during the game. He seemed different and a lot more serious than he used to be.
Greg definitely didn’t have Nick’s snappy wit. And he’d been a little quiet all afternoon. Maybe he was still mad about his shirt? “I don’t think Nick did that on purpose. I had just told him to get lost right before that, so he was actually following orders.”
Staring at the road ahead, Greg said quietly, “He wants you, Shelby. Do you want him?”
In her bed? Yes. But that’d be all she’d ever get, so no. “He doesn’t want the same things I do, so it’s a moot point as far as I’m concerned.”
Greg turned to her and smiled. “What things do you want?”
Would it scare him off if she told the truth? Probably better to lay her cards out. “Eventually, I’d like to be married and have kids. A dog would be good too, but optional.”
He chuckled as he pulled up in front of his parents’ house. “You’ll be a great mom if the way you handled Emily today is any indication. And a great disciplinarian by the way you handled Nick.”
She laughed. “He deserved it.” And he was so getting that fake set-up date with Jordan as his reward for his bad behavior. Nick knew how much was riding on this date with Greg, so she’d not feel a bit of remorse.
“No argument there.” Greg turned the car off and faced her. “This whole thing about not having a car or my own place yet feels like high school.” Clearing his throat, he drew a deep breath as if working up to something big.
A kiss maybe?
Greg smiled as he leaned closer and wrapped his arms around her before laying his lips on hers.
About time!
Nice soft mouth, not too dry, not too wet. Good start.
Shelby parted her lips, offering more, and the guy was no fool. He took.
His tongue gently danced with hers, his lips applying just the right pressure. He was a good kisser. What a relief.
But why wasn’t that switch that Nick always flipped inside of her doing its thing? She should be quivering with desire, aching for his hands to explore her needy body just as his tongue was doing inside her mouth.
Maybe because she’d waited for this for so long, she was being too a
nalytical? She needed to shut her brain off and just go with it.
Shelby focused on the way his soft tongue tangled with hers, and then she slid a hand behind his neck.
But before she could tug him closer, Greg leaned away, ending their kiss. “They’ve got me working graveyard so my next night off isn’t until Thursday. Want to have dinner? You can pick the place.”
Okay. The kiss was a little too short in her estimation, but he’d finally asked her out. Progress at last.
“I’d love to. Something casual?”
He smiled and laid another quick peck on her lips. “Casual’s good. I’ll call you later to work out the details. Thanks for the game, it was . . . fun.”
“Anytime.” After Greg got out, Shelby slipped over to the driver’s side and then started for home.
Now that was more like it. Things were starting to look up. And he’d finally kissed her.
And the kiss had been . . . okay. It sizzled . . . a little.
Maybe once she relaxed and stopped sweating the details so much, it’d be as hot as any of the kisses Nick had given her. And Greg had finally asked her out. After two long years.
Nice.
So why didn’t she feel like singing at the top of her lungs, or least calling Jo to share her good news? It’s what she’d wanted for so very long. It could be the start to achieving all she’d hoped for. The first step to the house, handsome husband, two-point-five kids and the pooch she’d always hoped to have.
As she waited for a stoplight to turn, her quick glance in the rearview mirror caught the sight of something pink near her ear. Some of Emily’s stray cotton candy.
She plucked out the offending piece of fluff. Glancing at her reflection again, she figured she’d see her victorious smile, not the little frown line splitting the middle of her forehead. Something was off and she couldn’t put a label on it. Or maybe she could.
Nick.
Had her anger with Nick spoiled the mood with Greg? No, that wasn’t it. She wanted Nick. It was like when a toddler experiences candy for the first time. After savoring something so sweet, nothing else could ever taste as good.
But Nick was like a chocolate truffle. He’d be fantastic at first, then eventually he’d melt away, leaving nothing behind but a fond memory and a few extra pounds of regret to carry around.
Matching Mr. Right (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 1) Page 13