Chasing the Runaway Bride

by Susan Meier

  She pushed away from him. “You think you’re so smart. That you know everything.”

  “I can read when a woman’s attracted to me…and maybe scared of it.”

  “Scared because of gossip.”

  His eyebrows rose. No denial of the attraction? She just didn’t like gossip?

  “We’re enemies, Cade. We shouldn’t even be able to run this store together, but we have to. If you think I’m going to risk my reputation for a cute guy, you’re crazy.”

  She turned and marched to the door, but when she caught the handle, she blew her breath out on a sigh and faced him. “I honestly believe we shouldn’t work the same shifts. And not because of this stupid attraction. Because it’s a waste of both of our time. Do you agree?”

  He pushed away from the desk. “Whatever you want is fine.”

  “No. I think we should make decisions equally.”

  The softness of her voice seeped into his blood. No matter what their status, she was a beautiful, sexy, very feminine woman. No matter what town they were in, he would want to sleep with her.

  And right at this minute, with the scent of her shampoo riding the air, her soft voice tiptoeing up his spine, her total femininity lighting up the room, he suddenly realized this thing between them wasn’t weird, or freaky, or fun. It was dangerous.

  Unless he wanted to take his mom’s share of his family’s inheritance and hand it to the man who had beaten him his entire life, running the grocery store had to look real. And the reality was he did not like Piper O’Riley. He could not sleep with her. He could not want to sleep with her.

  Whatever the hell hormone she had awoken in him, he had to kill it. Now.

  “Okay. So maybe you’re right. It is a waste of money for both of us to be here.”

  Her eyes lit as if she were thrilled he agreed with her. “Really?”

  “Yeah. With the store open from seven to eight, thirteen hours, how about if I work six hours alone and you work six hours alone, and we both work an overlap hour or so when we’d be in the store together so we can discuss things?”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “Great. I’ll take mornings this week.”

  “Great.”

  She turned and walked out of the office with a happy smile on her face, and he tossed a pencil at the computer. It shouldn’t sting that she was so glad to be away from him. He tried to get rid of the odd feeling tingling through him, but he couldn’t.

  Damn it!

  He wandered to the little window that looked out over the sales floor. A man didn’t get to his age without knowing that a certain kind of itch didn’t go away without a good scratching. He didn’t want to marry her. He just wanted one good session in the sack.

  And she’d all but admitted she wanted it, too. She was only worried about gossip, about people finding out.

  Maybe they should just do it and get it over with?

  Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. He’d had plenty of temptations that fizzled after one or two nights together.

  Given how different they were, how much they didn’t like each other, this one probably would, too.

  Now all he had to do was get her to agree.

  Chapter Six

  The next day when Piper arrived for her shift at three, she walked up to the office door calm and confident. Not working the same shift as Cade had solved her little attraction problem. She hadn’t thought about him all day. She’d done her laundry. Watched her soaps. And never once thought about that dragon tattoo. Or his possible washboard abs. Or his butt.

  Her mom’s human resources file in her hand, she knocked twice on the office door, then stepped inside. “Good afternoon.”

  He glanced up from the computer screen. “Good afternoon.”

  She waved the manila folder. “I’m just in here to file this.”

  He frowned. “File what?”

  “My mom’s employee paperwork.”

  His frown deepened. “You took it home with you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “She didn’t have her social security card. So this morning she dug it up and we photocopied it at the bank.” She displayed the file again. “So now her file is complete.”

  He rose from the desk. “It might be complete, but the information has to be entered into the payroll software.” Walking toward her, he held out his hand. “I’ll do it.”

  He wore his usual butt-molding jeans, but this time he’d chosen a black T-shirt. The form-fitting shirt showed off his muscles, and the color made his tattoos obvious, sexy. When he reached her, she could almost feel him pulling her like a magnet. The desire to touch him, just squeeze one of those biceps to see if it was as hard as it looked, raced through her.

  Remembering the warmth that had rushed through her the day before, standing so close to him, she yanked the file back. “No. No. It’s okay.” Not liking the tremble in her voice, she paused before she added, “I’ll do it on my shift.”

  His head tilted as he gave her face a quick once-over. Undoubtedly, he was recalling their near-misses with flirtations the day before, too. Even though she seriously did not want him to mention it, pinpricks of excitement trembled through her.

  He frowned. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were keeping the file away from me.”

  Thank God for their feud. “I’m not.”

  He took a step closer. “Then give it to me.”

  Heat rose from her toes to her crown. He was gorgeous. Sexy. So hot she’d bet that if she did touch him her finger would sizzle.

  She took a step back. “There’s no reason for you to see it.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’ve been playing with the accounting software today, figuring everything out. You haven’t.” He took the step that separated them. Wiggled his fingers. “Hand it over.”

  “Come on, Cade—” She said his name slowly, hesitantly, and their gazes met. She’d never called him by his name before and, with him standing so close, the way it rolled off her tongue felt warm, intimate.

  She ignored it. “Do you really have to see it?”

  He took another step closer. When she stepped back, she met the filing cabinet.

  He angled his hand against the wall, effectively trapping her. “Might as well hand it over. You’ve got nowhere else to go.”

  The woodsy scent of his aftershave drifted to her.

  “Unless you’d like to finish yesterday’s discussion?”

  Telling herself to get her mind on the store and forget about him, about the way her pulse scrambled when he was this close, she swallowed. “Yesterday’s discussion was finished when we decided to work opposite shifts.” She sucked in a breath. “As for my mother’s file? She isn’t comfortable with you seeing her records.”

  “Now isn’t that interesting.”

  She wished he was talking about her mom’s file, but from his grin she knew he wasn’t. Her skin felt flushed. She couldn’t seem to control her breathing. Her eyes felt bigger than they should be. The day before, he’d said her eyes always gave her away. She couldn’t pretend having him so close didn’t affect her. She also couldn’t pretend she didn’t suspect he’d pinned her back here to push her. Into what, she wasn’t quite sure.

  “You’ve got to stop doing this,” she said.

  He grinned. “What? Wanting to see the file of one of my employees?”

  “Always standing so close.”

  He shifted a bit, just a bit, just enough that the fear of their bodies brushing against each other trembled through her. “Feels pretty good to me.”

  And, God, it felt pretty good to her. The shivery heat. The yearning to be kissed. The ache in her femininity.

  “It’s not right. I told you yesterday. We’re partners, and people who work together shouldn’t—” She refused to say it. Absolutely refused. “Shouldn’t…You know…”

  His grin grew and he inched closer. “I think I know.”

  “Me and you? Not a good idea.” She caught his gaze
again. “Anything between us would ruin my name.”

  He laughed. “If we kept this a secret, neither one of us would have to worry about our name. Our reputation.”

  Her mouth fell open. So he’d thought about that discussion yesterday too? And his conclusion hadn’t been to run, but to keep whatever they did a secret? “Have you been away so long that you’ve forgotten how this town works?”

  He snorted. “Not hardly.”

  “Make one mistake and they talk about you. Make two and they feel like it’s their job to remind you.”

  He brought a finger to the little space between her eyebrows, then traced a line down her nose. “Does this mistake you made have anything to do with why the Nelsons quit?”

  “Yes.” Shivery heat blanketed her in need. The touch of his skin to her skin nearly set her on fire. Words failed her. But maybe that was a good thing. Did she really want to tell him she was a runaway bride? “But it’s not important.”

  “Fine. I’m not at all interested in your life, your troubles. Last night, I decided that would be the best way to handle this. You don’t need to talk. I don’t want to listen.” He ran his finger from her neck to the U of her tank top. “We’d just do. No discussions, just action.”

  When waves of delight undulated through her, she knew they’d passed trouble and were racing toward disaster. She pressed her hand to his chest, and with the element of surprise, moved him away enough that she could escape.

  “Seriously.” Her voice shivered so hard it almost hurt. “Stop. I mean it. Even a secret sex rendezvous is a bad idea.” She shook her head. “Not just a bad idea, not just a mistake, but a super colossal ridiculous mistake. We’d fight at the store all day and then have some sexual thing at night? It makes no sense. Plus, nothing ever stays a secret in this town. Somehow, some way, word of what we were doing would get out. And I won’t have people making fun of me any more than they already do. If you won’t agree to stay away from me, then I won’t be in the store when you are. Ever.”

  …

  Cade rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. To settle her down, he said, “All right. I get it.” But inside he was as confused and angry as she was. A session in the sack might take care of this attraction, but she was right. They were enemies. She shouldn’t have to remind him of that; he should be smarter. But no matter how smart he was, his libido was totally onboard for a night of fun with her and pressing for action. It was like wrestling a grizzly bear to turn and head back to the desk chair.

  “You take care of your mom’s file on your shift. We have a bigger problem than her being worried that I’ll see her social security number.” He pointed out the little window that overlooked the store floor. “It appears as if my grandfather was wrong. Having the two of us here hasn’t increased business. Now that yesterday’s curiosity is over, we’re empty. Customer-less. I think we should drop back to having only one clerk per shift.”

  She walked to the window to look out at the store, saw no customers, and sighed. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

  The breathlessness in her voice shuddered through him, filling him with a restless need, and he knew, no matter how much of a prude she was, or how wise he was to not sleep with the enemy, they would eventually do something about their attraction. Today might not be the day, and tomorrow might not be either, but he would sleep with her. And it would be amazing.

  “I’ll call Bunny and Maria and tell them not to come in,” he said. “That takes one clerk off first shift and one clerk off the second. We’ll have coverage if someone comes in, but not two clerks standing around doing nothing.”

  She nodded in agreement.

  Conversation over, he grabbed his jacket. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She nodded. “Tomorrow. At three.”

  He left, a little annoyed with himself that his hormones were getting the best of him. The fact that they were enemies should have been enough to cool his libido, yet it wasn’t. But, as he drove to Finn and Ellie’s, he remembered the look in her eyes when he’d trapped her against the filing cabinet. And her comment about a mistake? That was the second time she’d mentioned it.

  And maybe that mistake was what he needed to know to get his common sense back.

  He dropped his car keys on the center island in the kitchen and strode to the parallel sofas in the family room. He should be packing. The newlyweds wouldn’t be returning from their honeymoon for another few days, but he liked to be prepared. That meant moving into his grandfather’s house so he didn’t have to live with ooey gooey lovebirds.

  Instead, he flicked on a lamp, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed Devon’s number.

  His phone worked the magic it always did, and within seconds Devon said, “So how’s it going, spending your days with Piper O’Riley?”

  Cade fell to one of the two sofas in front of the fireplace. “The store is failing.”

  Devon laughed. “Oh come on. It can’t be that bad.”

  “Oh, it’s bad.” Given that it had only been three days, he couldn’t really say it was a disaster, but there was no way in hell he’d tell his brother he’d called for information about Piper. Particularly since he wanted the information so he could use it to talk himself out of sleeping with her. He’d make his curiosity about her look like it pertained to the store.

  “You know how we have to keep O’Riley’s open to steer Dad off the scent of the size of the estate? Well, that might be harder than it sounds. We didn’t have any customers on my shift today.”

  “Oh.”

  “Plus, two of the employees called and quit the day we opened.”

  “Because you left Lonnie at the altar and refused to support her child?”

  “No. Those were the people fighting over the lettuce. The people who quit didn’t want to work with Piper.”

  “People fought over lettuce?”

  “That’s not the big deal. Something’s wrong with Piper. Today’s the second time she’s mentioned having made a mistake. Because she won’t tell me, I know there’s a story.”

  Devon sighed with disgust. “Of course there’s a story.”

  Cade waited a beat then said, “If something she did is going to ruin our plan to keep the store open, I need to know. Think of yourself as having gathered recon intel, Marine, and spill.”

  “All right. Fine.” Devon blew out a breath. “Your gal Piper’s been engaged twice.”

  Cade sat back on the sofa. “So? Have you seen her recently? She’s hot. Truly hot. Ridiculously hot.” He stopped himself before he worked his hormones into a frenzy. “It’s not big news that two guys wanted to marry her.”

  “It is when you hear that she left both guys at the altar.”

  He laughed. “She left two guys at the altar?”

  “Got to the church the first time but turned and ran out about two steps into ‘Here Comes the Bride.’ Got halfway down the aisle the second time, but Mom said she sort of gasped, pivoted, and bolted.” He took a long, noisy breath. “And—this is the bad part—the reigning theory is that you’re to blame.”

  He bounced up on the sofa. “Me?”

  “Most people think she runs because she’s afraid of being hurt like Lonnie.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Piper knew we were only getting married because of Hunter. She had to realize that when I figured out he wasn’t mine, there was no reason to marry Lonnie.”

  “Not if she didn’t know you weren’t Hunter’s father.”

  “Right. That would mean Lonnie had lied to Piper.”

  “Why not? If Lonnie was telling everybody else you were Hunter’s father, why not lie to Piper, too?”

  “Her best friend?”

  “The easiest way to keep a secret is not to let anybody in on the truth.”

  This time his face out-and-out scrunched in confusion. “So you think Piper doesn’t know I’m not Hunter’s father?”

  “You didn’t know until Doc smuggled those DNA results to you.”

  “Yeah, but I wa
s the guy Lonnie was using to cover up Hunter’s real father. It was important I be duped. Piper was her friend.”

  “Which makes her the perfect person for Lonnie to use to make her story look real.”

  “I don’t buy it.”

  “Hey, whatever, bro. I’m just warning you that your partner is bat shit crazy. What you do with the information is up to you.”

  Cade ran his hand down his face. No wonder she didn’t want him anywhere near her. She actually believed he could desert his own child. “This is just great.” Of course, if he took himself out of the equation, her running from weddings could actually mean that she didn’t want to make a commitment.

  Just like he didn’t want to make a commitment.

  And wouldn’t that make them perfect for a fling?

  “Come on, Cade. You’re working with Piper for a good cause. Not only does Pap want you to find that evidence, but you’re also the smoke screen that gives me time to get Dad to sign an agreement so Mom’s divorce can be final. After that, you can leave. We have enough money we don’t need to care what happens to the store. Personally, I don’t want to see it go to an O’Riley, but if that’s what happens, that’s what happens.”

  Cade fell back on the sofa again. “With no customers it doesn’t matter. Pap’s will says that if it fails to make a profit, it becomes a parking lot.”

  “Then it’s a win all the way around. We get what we want, and Piper loses the store. So ride it out. Because once Dad signs the agreement, the world is ours, little brother.”

  He thought of the ranch. Thought of owning his own piece of paradise. In a few weeks, his life would be perfect and Piper’s would turn to a world of shit.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “That doesn’t sound right, either.”

  “Are you getting soft on her?”

  He was anything but soft when he was around Piper. “It’s more that I can see that O’Riley’s means a lot to her.”

  “Look, Cade, our family’s been fighting the O’Rileys for thirty years. Her mother turned half the town against us. But it was Pap who suffered. He went to that store day in and day out and kept it open through no profits just so his friends and supporters would have a place to buy bread and milk. And still, Piper’s mother bad-mouthed him. Piper’s cut from the same cloth as Karen. Do. Not. Trust. Her.”