Again, awww.
Guys didn’t make her go awww.
“Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about you too,” she admitted. “But I’ve already got plans tonight, and you’re still my boss so… we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
Her plan for tomorrow included bright sunlight and public places and other people and activities that would be appropriate for a woman who was showing a new guy around town in a casual, platonic way. Even her boss.
“Take me with you to do whatever you’re doing tonight. Oh, and no, I’m not.”
“You want to come with me?” she asked, imagining introducing Dax to Kelsey, Aspen, and Cassie. Wow, that would be… interesting.
“Of course.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to be doing.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just want to be with you.”
She put a hand on her hip and tried to pretend that didn’t make her heart thump a little harder. “There probably won’t be any opportunity for more kissing.”
He grinned. He wasn’t touching her, but he was absolutely in her personal space. And she wasn’t doing a thing to change that.
“I really do just want to hang with you.”
Oh. “So you won’t even try to kiss me? Or talk me into kissing you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
That was better. She smiled. “Well, I guess…” She frowned as something occurred to her. “Wait a second, did you say ‘No, I’m not’ when I said you’re my boss?”
“I did.”
“But you are,” she said. “I mean, I guess if you’re not directly my manager or whatever and say that you’re not going to promote me or give me a raise or special treatment, I understand, but you still are. I can’t kiss or date or sleep with the owner of the company I work for, Dax. In spite of there being no fraternization policy. Which we should maybe talk about at some point, by the way.”
“I understand,” he said.
Okay, that little stab of disappointment was stupid and unexpected. She wanted him to understand this. It made sense. It was very understandable. But she wanted him to insist it would be okay, a little more.
“Good,” she said with a nod.
“Which is why I gave up my shares this morning.”
Jane stared at him. She repeated his words in her head. She frowned. She tipped her head. Finally she said, “What?”
He reached up and brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheek. He lifted it to his nose and sniffed. “Powdered sugar?” he asked.
Jane’s hand flew to her face, wiping the rest of the sugar away. “We dropped a huge bag in the warehouse, and it was everywhere. I was in the process of cleaning up in the locker room when my sister called and I just headed out. I didn’t remember I hadn’t gotten it all.”
He put his thumb to his mouth and licked the sugar off.
Her belly, and lower, clenched.
“So, um…” Her thoughts were spinning. In part because this guy just did that to her. He was very distracting. But also because she was still trying to fully understand what he’d said a minute ago. “What do you mean you gave up your shares?”
“Oh,” he said, his hand back at his side. He shrugged. “Grant, Aiden, Cam, and Ollie now each own twenty-five percent instead of twenty.”
“They divided up your shares?”
“Right. Or they will. They’re in the process. We just met about it this morning.”
“And that leaves you with what? Zero? Nothing? You just don’t own any of Hot Cakes now?”
“Exactly.” He smiled. “That doesn’t mean I won’t be in there playing Ping-Pong every day though. In fact, it means I can play more Ping-Pong. I’m just consulting now. I don’t really have to do anything but sit around and drink cappuccino and watch the Game Show Network.”
She had no idea what do say. Who did that? Who just gave up twenty percent of a multimillion-dollar company? “You’re… crazy.”
He grinned again—this was slower and sexier. He lifted his hand to her face, this time cupping her cheek, and leaned in. “Oh, and I also now get to fully pursue a woman I’m becoming completely enamored with. I can ask her out. I can kiss her. I can sweet-talk her into coming back to my hotel room with me—and not leaving for about a week.”
Jane felt hot bubbles fizzing through her bloodstream. “Why doesn’t that sound creepy and like you’re going to stalk me and hold me captive?”
“Because you want me to ask you out and kiss you and sweet-talk you and take you to my hotel room,” he said.
Well, that was a very good point.
“The problem is,” she said, realizing she sounded very breathless suddenly. “You’re not the boss now, so you can’t really get me out of work for a week to lie around naked in a hotel room with you.”
His eyes flared with heat, and he leaned in, putting his mouth against her ear. “If they fire you, I’ll just be able to keep you in my hotel room even longer. I promise you won’t even remember where you used to work, and you certainly won’t care.”
She laughed, though she sounded completely seduced. Which she was. She imagined that laugh was the soft, breathy, oh-my-God-you’re-Dax-Marshall laugh that he heard a lot from girls at Comic-Con. She got it. She really did. And she didn’t even know that much about his video game.
“You didn’t really give Hot Cakes up so I'd say yes to going out with you.”
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I did. I absolutely did.”
“But…” That just wasn’t sinking in. Who did stuff like that? “That’s nuts. You don’t even know that you really want to date me. We haven’t even gone out.”
“Well,” he said. “I hate to tell you, but last night was kind of a date.”
“It wasn’t. We both just happened to be at the same bar at the same time surrounded by coworkers and friends.” Yeah, that wasn’t true and she knew it.
“And we talked and got to know one another and realized we want to know each better, and I got a little crazier about you, and then you laid a kiss on me I couldn’t forget even if I wanted to. Which I absolutely do not.”
Jane pulled in a deep breath. “I’m assuming your friends will let you buy back into Hot Cakes if you suddenly decide this is all a huge mistake.”
He frowned slightly but said, “I’m sure they would. But I’m not planning on calling that meeting anytime soon.”
“Well, maybe we should actually try this out and see. That way you’re only out a few million by the time you realize you messed up.”
He smiled. “Excellent idea. I’ll let them know you will be very late getting to work tomorrow.”
She gave a soft laugh. “I wasn’t actually talking about that part. I think you should see what hanging out with me really entails.”
He narrowed one eye. “You’re going to try to scare me off?”
“No. I’m not going to try. But I’m going to show you my real life, and, well, if you get a little scared, I won’t blame you.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Of course you’re not.” Jane wondered if Dax ever actually got scared about anything.
“Can I kiss you at the end of the night?” he asked.
She didn’t have to think about that for long. “If you still want to at the end of this night, then yes.”
“Then I can brave just about anything.”
If she was the swooning type of girl, that might have done it.
“We’ll see,” she said flippantly, instead of throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him right now.
Though maybe she should. Just in case he was no longer inclined to kiss her at the end of the night…
“So let’s go,” he said, stepping back and moving to open her car door. “Let’s get this night started.”
Yeah, that’s what they should do. She should show him what being in her real life actually meant. He’d probably be in Aiden’s office with his checkbook out, trying to buy his shares back tomorrow morning.
<
br /> “The deal for the guys to buy your shares is just in process?” she asked as she slid into the driver’s seat.
“Yeah. Paperwork and shit,” he said.
“Okay.” That was good. They could just tear the paperwork up tomorrow. “Get in.”
He loped around the front of the car with a huge grin and got in.
“This is going to be fun,” he told her.
“Sure.” Though she had to admit the idea of millionaire, playboy, computer genius Dax Marshall witnessing a Kelsey-Cassie-Aspen showdown could be entertaining.
They drove the few blocks to her childhood home, her pointing out a few things in town—like the ice cream parlor and the arcade. Those seemed like places Dax might like.
She pulled into the driveway behind Aspen’s shiny red sports car. Her dad had given it to her for her birthday four months ago. She’d already had to fix a dented fender and pay a speeding ticket. Kelsey didn’t have a car and relied on friends or Jane to get her to and from school because she refused to ask Cassie or Aspen for rides. Or for anything really.
Jane turned off the ignition and took a deep breath as she focused on the front door. Everything seemed really normal looking at that front door. The house was a typical two-story with white siding and dark gray trim and shingles. The lawn was well cared for, thanks to Kelsey and Jane, and the flower beds looked great. Also a Jane thing.
She would admit keeping the house up and doing chores kept Cassie off Kelsey’s back and gave her less to complain to Jack about, but Jane did it for more than just that.
This was where she’d grown up. Everything here was dear and familiar. The new fixtures were Cassie and Aspen. And, of course, the furniture Cassie had insisted on buying. But the house and yard, the structure, the big, solid, unchanging parts were still Jane’s home, and she took pride in keeping it looking nice.
Not that she thought Cassie would let it go. She’d never live in a dump, that was for sure. But she would have hired someone to do things like the yard work and tree trimming and landscaping. Probably even housekeeping. That would mean dipping into her joint account with Jack. The account that paid for his nursing home stay and his medications and the things he needed. Jane wasn’t about to let Cassie get them to the point where her carpets were being steam cleaned before Jack’s prescriptions were being filled.
“This is it,” she finally said to Dax. “You ready for this?”
“I have no idea,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’m preparing for exactly, so I don’t know how to prepare.”
She smiled. “Fair enough.” She opened her door.
“So still no hint?” he asked, also pushing his door open.
“Nope. I walked into the break room one day to find a wall knocked down, a cappuccino machine, and a Ping-Pong table moved in, and an UNO tournament going on. This is payback.”
That was not fair. What he was about to walk into was nothing like a break room with a Ping-Pong table. Because a break room with a Ping-Pong table could be fun.
There was nothing fun about walking into that house with two dramatic teenage girls who had no real adult supervision and were intent on making each other miserable.
“I do love surprises,” he said. He rounded the bumper and came to stand by her, studying the front of the house. “I think this is going to be fun.”
Jane snorted. “Dax, I think we’re about to walk into the one place even Ping-Pong can’t make better.”
He got a thoughtful look on his face.
“Challenge accepted.”
Oh boy. There was something about this guy saying those two words that made a tickle of trepidation go down her spine.
He grinned down at her. “Grant gets that same look on his face when I say that.”
Dax followed Jane up the front steps to her dad’s house. It was quaint. That was a good word for it, he decided. It was the kind of house you saw in movies. It was two stories, had big front windows that probably glowed with a soft yellow light at night, warm and welcoming. It also had a big front yard where he would fully expect to see a dad and son playing catch after dinner, a guy pushing a lawn mower over the grass on a Saturday afternoon, and a big old snowman in the winter. It was a family home. He would be sorely disappointed if there weren’t a thousand Christmas lights dangling from the eaves in December, and he almost didn’t want to look at the huge oak tree for fear there would not be a tire swing hanging from a branch.
Jane knocked on the front door and Dax asked, “Did you ever have a lemonade stand out on the curb?”
She glanced over her shoulder and nodded. “Yeah. A couple of times.”
Dax put a hand over his heart and breathed out. “Thank God.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, looking bemused.
“This house was made for having a lemonade stand out in front of it,” he told her. “How about a dog. Did you have a dog?”
“We did when I was little.”
“Perfect.” He grinned and looked around. “Did you pile leaves up in the fall and jump in them?”
She still looked puzzled. “We did.”
“And you hung a wreath on this door at Christmastime, right?”
The door was perfect for a wreath.
She nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Awesome.”
“What is going on?”
“This is a picture-perfect family home.” He pointed to the flower beds. “Those are perfect. And…” He took the chance and glanced at the tree. “There’s a damned tire swing.” He grinned. “Perfect.”
Jane looked around too. “It’s pretty… typical.”
“It is. And I love that. I’ve never jumped in a leaf pile or had a lemonade stand,” he said.
She looked up at him. “Huh.”
“It’s kind of tragic, don’t you think?”
“I never really thought about the fact that some kids don’t do those things. But it makes sense. Kids who grow up in apartments in the city wouldn’t, I guess. Those are just things I took for granted.”
He nodded. “Those things just always seemed like the epitome of childhood.”
“Because of movies and TV,” she said.
“A lot of it, yeah.”
“Well, a house that has a pile of leaves or a lemonade stand out front isn’t automatically perfect,” she said. “Remember, that’s just the front. The stuff you can see.”
Dax sobered immediately. He looked down at her, feeling a tightness in his chest that was unexpected. The intensity of it and the timing. This woman had a way of changing his perspective with the snap of her fingers.
He liked that. He needed new perspective. Everyone did. Getting outside the box you were used to, whether you liked the box or not, was important.
“You’re right,” he said.
She gave him a little smile. “But thank you for saying the flower bed is perfect. That’s my flower bed.”
“You planted this?” he asked, looking at it again.
“I did. Every year I do it and take care of it.”
“Well, I love it.”
“Thanks.”
They were smiling at one another when the door whipped open. “Finally!”
A beautiful teenage girl with long, dark hair greeted them. She was wearing cut-off jean shorts and a blue tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung to the middle of her back. She was slender and about two inches shorter than Jane.
They didn’t look much alike until she met his gaze.
Those eyes were Jane’s blue eyes.
“Sorry, it took a little longer to get away from work,” Jane said, stepping through the doorway.
Dax felt a flicker of what might have been guilt. He was the reason she’d been hung up in the parking lot rather than coming straight over here.
“Kelsey, this is Dax. He’s…” Jane glanced at him.
He lifted a brow. What was he? He wasn’t her boss anymore. Were they friends? Yeah, that felt right. But she’d definitely n
ot kissed him like a friend last night. He just grinned, waiting for her to finish her thought.
“He’s new at Hot Cakes,” she finally said.
That sounded weak and he smirked. Kelsey must have thought so too because she gave Jane skeptical look. But before she could say anything more there was a scream from upstairs.
Not a there’s-a-guy-with-a-chainsaw-in-my-closet scream but a I’m-going-to-use-a-chainsaw-on-someone scream.
Kelsey blew out a frustrated breath. “Well, it’s a shitshow here.”
“What’s new?” Jane muttered. She looked at Dax. “Remember, you wanted to do this.”
“I’m totally in.” He had no idea what he was in for, but this had to be more interesting than his hotel room. Unless Jane came back to his room with him, of course.
Another teenage girl came pounding down the stairs off to their left just then. She was also beautiful. She had long blond hair and was wearing a sundress. He didn’t know what color her eyes were, but even from ten feet away he could see they were shooting sparks.
“You have to be kidding me!” she said, holding up what looked like a lipstick tube. “You’re such a bitch.”
Kelsey crossed her arms, facing the blond. “Well, at least I know you can spell that word.”
“This was brand new and cost more than all your stuff put together!”
“Aspen,” Jane said to Dax. “Stepsister.”
“Got it.”
“What is going on?” Jane asked, raising her voice.
“She—” Aspen said, thrusting a finger at Kelsey, “wrote all over my side of the mirror with my lipstick! She totally ruined it!”
Jane sighed and looked at Kelsey. “What’s up with that?”
“She wrote LOSER on my side of the mirror with my shaving cream. Used it all up. And she didn’t even spell it right. She wrote LOOSER.”
Dax did not grin at that. That would be inappropriate. But if it was his group of friends, there would definitely be a conversation about if the author had actually meant LOOSER.
“What did you write?” Jane asked, looking concerned.
“It’s called a dictionary,” Kelsey said.
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