Lucky 13 (Deadlines & Diamonds) (11 page)

What man didn’t love a great rack?

Just as he decided maybe molesting her in her sleep wasn’t such an amazing idea, she grabbed his hand, pulling his arm tighter around her body. When she used his palm to cup her breast and tucked his fingers under her body, he damn near lost control of his libido. He wondered if she’d woken, but as he leaned in to kiss her cheek, she snored softly.

He smiled. Shayne Xavier may not want
him curled around her when she wa
s awake, but her subconscious certainly had different ideas. He could work with that.

He didn’t move for the duration of the movie, afraid she would wake up. When the credits began to roll, he debated on acting like he’d fallen asleep too, keeping her snuggled next to him all night. But he thought of Matt.

Damn, that kid seriously rocked. His quick wit and lack of filter had woven its way into Ricky’s heart. He’d never be able to let either of them go. Matt or his mother. Ricky loved them both.

And sometimes you had to sacrifice what you wanted to do, so badly
you
ached, for the needs of those loved ones.

He kissed Shayne’s cheek. He rubbed his hand over her stomach, feeling the deep, steady breaths shorten. She stretched, her round butt digging in his groin. They groaned together. She jerked forward, nearly falling into the floor.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said, although he had no idea what exactly she referred to, the falling asleep on him or the inadvertent tease. He pushed the hair back from her face and stared into her eyes. “We’d better get you home.”

“Mmm. I haven’t slept that well in I don’t know how long.” She pushed on his arm as though she were fluffing him. “You make an awesome pillow.”

“I’m at your service.”

She raised her arms
up and stretched again
. Her t-shirt lifted and his eyes shot to the slice of creamy s
kin. He couldn’t help himself. H
e had to touch her, but as soon as his hand connected with her warm flesh, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and yanked it back down over her waistband. She skittered away from him, forgetting her only option was the floor. She landed with an uncoordinated
thunk!

She blinked up at him, color rising in her cheeks. “I’ve got flaws, Ricky.”

“Not physical ones.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re absolutely gorgeous.”

She snorted. “You just go right on believing that.” She rose to her feet and held out her hand. “Come on, I’d better get home to Matt.”

1
1

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. As Ricky listened to his brother rail on him for not pulling his weight with th
e moving company, he knew he
’d
progressed into
certifiable.

Thankfully
Eddie
postponed his little diatribe until Shayne had slipped off to the bathroom. Matt, however, sat stiff as a board, poking his milkshake with the straw, trying to melt into the wall.

“Take my damn half.” Ricky glowe
red at his brother. His shit had fermented
years
ago. “I don’t care.”

“I don’t w
ant your half. I want your help!
” Spittle formed in the corners of
Eddie
’s mouth, much like a rabid dog ready to attack.

“I have other shit on
my plate,
Eddie
.”

Eddie
nodded, his black eyes dulling in anger. “That’s right, All-Star Enrique Santiago needs more time to
play
.”

“Hey!” Matt leaned forward, puffing out his adolescent chest. “It’s not easy doing what Ricky does. My Uncle X—”

“And there’s a great role model.”

“
Eddie
!” Ricky dropped his voice to emphasize the warning. “Enough!”

His brother opened his mouth. Ricky narrowed his eyes and glared the don’t-even-think-about-it.

Eddie
snorted and slid out of the booth. “Good luck, kid.”

Matt’s fists clenched, the muscle in his pubescent jaw jumped. His
scowl
practically singed holes in the back of
Eddie
’s head as he slammed a hand into the swinging door and disappeared into the kitchen.

“That guy’s a jackass.”

“Language.”

“Sorry.” Matt flexed his fingers. “That guy’s a big ol’ donkey’s butt.”

Ricky laughed. H
e couldn’t help it. “Yeah. He does have a way of proving he’s a jerk.”

Matt slurped at his shake, moving the straw around the bottom to get every last
drop. “Does he always treat you like crap?”

“More than not.” The sadness in his voice surprised Ricky.

Matt frowned. “Makes me kinda glad I’m an only child.”

“Ah, don’t say that. There are good things to having a brother.” Though at the moment, he couldn’t think of one. “Can I ask you a question?”

Matt nodded from over his milkshake.

“Does it bother you when I call you kid?”

“Nope. ‘Cause I know you like me.” Another slurp, then he swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “When adults say it to try and make me feel stupid because they’re a grown-up and I’m still a
kid
, then, yeah, it ticks me off. But I kinda like when you call me that.”

“Okay, just checking.”

Shayne came down the hall from the bathroom. Her smile faltered when she slid back onto the bench next to him. She did her best impression of a tennis spectator. “Everything okay?”

Ricky nodded and hoped Matt would keep the specifics of
Eddie
’s visit to himself.

“
Eddie
stopped by while you were gone.”

Yeah, the kid didn’t keep anything to himself.

Her lips formed
an awkward half smile. “Well, that’s nice.”

“Not really.” Matt wiped his mouth with the napkin. “He’s pretty much the jerkiest guy ever.”

As Shayne’s eyes met his, the sympathy in them made Ricky want to sink under the table to seek refuge. She put her hand on his thigh, as if she sensed his flight instinct, and looked at her son. “Why don’t you hit the bathroom before we head out.”

Although voiced as a question, her tone offered no option for argument.

Matt nodded and sli
d out of the booth. Ricky couldn’t help but smile when the kid jumped to tap the top of the doorway with the tips of his fingers.

Shayne squeezed Ricky’s leg. “Hey, you okay?”

“It’s nothing new.”
He
really didn’t want to go into this shit with her.

Her fingers stroked his thigh through the denim of his jeans,
easing his anger
. “Having Matt witness it was.”

Ricky bar
ked out
his scoff
. “An audience is not a new thing.
Eddie
kinda gets off on it. When we showed up at your house to move you to Vegas, it actually shocked the shit out of me when he was cool and kept his damn mouth shut.”

“I’m sorry.”

All Ricky could do was sigh. He looked deep into her eyes and leaned in. Her lids closed, her hand cradled his cheek. The gentle, chaste meeting of lips ended almost before it began, but its effect calmed and soothed, strengthening him better than any can of soggy spinach. “Thank you.”

“’Cause kissing you is such a chore?” Her smile warmed him like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

He felt his brows crinkle with his confusion. “I thought we were waiting on Mama to head over to her garden.”

“I ran into her in the bathroom. She was just leaving, so we’d better head out.”

Matt stepped up to the table, his thumbs flying over the keys of his phone. He clipped the keyboard shut and sported an innocent expression that forced Ricky to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud.

Shayne
did laugh. “What’s up, bud?”

Matt glanced from his mom to Ricky and back. “This family time is really cool, but the guys—”

“Say no more.”

While mother and son discussed the where and what of the guys’
activity, Ricky watched, his heart nearly busting right out of his chest. He’d begun to think of Shayne and Matt as his future—not that the two-plus-two had become four in any kind of conscious thought. But hearing Matt refer to the three of them as a family solidified exactly how much Ricky loved them.

One simple statement, spoken so flippantly by a man-child looking for something better to do, changed Ricky’s perspective on what those sappy chick-flicks so seldom got right. He wouldn’t screw things up the way those
idiots in the movies always did
though.

***

Shayne didn’t miss Matt’s reference to the three of them being a family, nor did Ricky
, apparently
. While Matt insisted that he just
had
to hang out with the guys this afternoon, she did her best to ignore the wistful, blissfully happy expression on Ricky’s face.

As much as she loved him—yeah, she could admit the four-letter-word bounced around her head when they were together, and even more when they weren’t—she wasn’t ready take the leap. The cliff she’d been standing on since meeting him had been deteriorating, slipping away from under her feet. Now the balls of her feet were exposed to the elements, but her heels were still dug into the crumbling ground and she wasn’t about to lean forward to help with the fall.

She needed time to figure out what a future with Enrique Santiago would mean and exactly how bad the consequences of her past were.

“So can I go, Mom?”

She shook herself out of her head and glanced at Ricky. The man’s smile had a way of making her knees go weak. He lifted an enormous shoulder, the fabric of his t-shirt pulling tight against his chest, and answered the question she didn’t voice, “It’s cool with me.”

Matt fisted his hand and jerked his elbow down. “Yesss! You guys are the best!” He yanked his phone out of his pocket and flipped open the keypad. After a few seconds, it closed with a snap. “Can we leave now?”

Ricky took a final sip of his water and st
ood, threading his fingers through hers
. He was so warm.
She hadn’t even realized
she was cold until he touched her. There had to be some kind of cool anecdote to go along with that realization, but all Shayne
could think about was having
him wrap his warmth around her and hold her close until she unthawed. She stepped against him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek
to
his chest.

As impatient as Matt might have been, Ricky didn’t show any signs of pulling away. He eased his big hands over her back
, t
he soothing circles relaxing her until she
feared she might melt all over
the floor if not for his support.

A hot trace of a tear worked its way down her cheek and Shayne wiped at it. Sometimes simply being content did that to her. It wasn’t an emotion she reveled in very often and couldn’t allow herself to do so now.

Ricky scared her. He, and he alone, had touched a place in her that she’d managed to keep frozen solid and protected
. His warmth, the love he hadn’t yet
confessed,
seeped into her soul.

When he kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tightly against him, she braced her hands against his pectorals and pushed away. She smiled up at him. He
smiled back and dropped a kiss
to her lips.

Matt groaned. “Seriously, you guys.” He rolled his eyes, but the
grin
on his face
as he walked away
belied his annoyance.

Shayne kissed the corner of Ricky’s mouth. “We’d better go.”

Ricky nodded, released his hold
on her body
and took her hand. They walked out of the diner in comfortable silence.
Matt kept the conversation going, babbling on about the newest video game coming out next week, basketball try-outs on Monday and his buddy’s new girlfriend.

“None of the guys like her.” Matt shook his head. “I just don’t see what he sees in her.”

Ricky’
s dark eyes flicked to the rear
view mirror. “Keep your opinions to yourself, my man, ‘cause if she does stick around, you’re gonna lose your friend.”

“Kinda like you and Mason?”

“Yep. Kinda like.”

Matt snorted
. “Yeah, don’t wanna do that. Turn here!” He poin
ted to the street they just passed
. All three of their heads watched it as the car zipped by. “Oh crap. I’m sorry.”

“No big.” Ricky pulled into the left turn lane and flipped a
U
-turn when traffic allowed it. He turned on the street while Matt used his fingers to give directions. They stopped in front of a two-story cookie cutter house, the yard perfectly manicured, the car in the driveway nicer than what she’d ever been able to afford.

His friend opened the front door and Matt jumped out of the car. His door slammed. He raced over the grass, stopped midway and turned toward the car. He smiled and sauntered back.
He opened her door.

“Love you, Mom.” That he bent down to kiss her cheek, shocked her. His friend didn’t make fun, didn’t scoff, just waited. She decided she really liked Joey. Matt waved at Ricky. “See you, man. Take good care of my mom.”

“Will do.” Ricky waved a hand in farewell. “Have a good time. Do we need to pick you up or—”

“My mom’ll bring him home.” Joey raised a hand from the porch.

Goodbye
s said, Matt didn’t look back as the two boys headed into Joey’s house. Shayne watched them and smiled. Living with Matt, she forgot how big he was. Joey’s blond head came to Matt’s shoulder. Not that the height difference seemed to bother either boy.

When the door closed, Ricky chuckled. She glanced at him, confusion crinkling her brows. “What?”

“Would you like to close your door so we can go?”

“Oh!” She hadn’t
noticed it was open. She reached out and closed them in.

He put the Cadillac in gear and took the scenic route out of the neighborhood. He reached across the console and took her hand. “He’ll be okay.”

“Oh, it’s not that.” Sweat broke out on her skin, which bordered on ridiculous.

He raised her knuckles for a kiss. “What’s got you so nervous?”

Yeah, her palms were sweaty too. She barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m a little nervous to spend time with your mom.”

“She loved you.”

“That was like five minutes.”

He
chuckl
ed softly. “It was more than that and you know it.
You guys will bond over her tomatoes and she’ll love you more than me.”

“Her tomatoes, huh?”

He snorted. “Just don’t get too attached to the cucumbers she’s gonna show you. I’ve got one of those for you.”

She wanted to continue the suggestive talk, but knew she couldn’t tease him—or herself—when she wasn’t quite ready to take their relationship to that level. Yet. When she was finally ready to go in search of a cucumber, Ricky’s would be at the top of her list. She laughed to herself, biting her
lip to keep the joke private
.