Sawyer, Rita - Her Mr. Wrong [What Are Friends For 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

“Far enough to lose my panties?” She hadn’t meant to say it, but it came out anyway.

Karen’s eyes went wide. “Lose? As in you’re no longer wearing any?”

She nodded, and her friends laughed. Amy had to wait for them to stop before she could go on. It took a few minutes for them to get themselves under control. It gave Amy enough time to get settled herself.

“Slade?” Lainey asked as if there was another choice.

Amy nodded. “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t plan on him doing what he did.”

“What did he do?” Karen and Jillian asked together.

“What did you do?” Dianne asked.

She sighed and shook her head. “I pushed the wrong buttons, I guess. I was trying to make him think his kisses did nothing for me.”

“I see.” Karen nodded. “And he tried to prove you wrong?”

“He didn’t try.” She gave a shake of her head. “He did it.”

“Get on to the almost-having-sex part.” Jillian waggled her eyebrows.

“He kissed me. Long and hard enough for me to let him…”

“To let him?” Jillian waved her hand in a come on motion. “Don’t leave us hanging.”

“That’s exactly what he did.” A little of the fury came back to her, erasing some of her embarrassment. “After he worked me into a frenzy, he stood up and said we could finish what he started when I came to him.”

“You mean he…” Lainey glanced at Amy’s lap.

Amy nodded as heat bloomed across her cheeks. Thank God she didn’t have to say the words out loud. Having friends that knew her so well they could practically read her thoughts was a blessing and a curse. Tonight, they were a blessing. And hopefully they’d be able to find a way to get her out of the mess she’d gotten herself into.

“Did he just drop to his knees?” The way Dianne slapped her hand over her mouth and looked around, Amy surmised she hadn’t meant to ask that so loud.

“No, he plopped me down on the desk and sat in the chair.” She let out a pitiful, little sigh. “He probably didn’t want to risk getting his expensive slacks dirty.”

“Was he at least any good?” Sadie asked.

“I so don’t need to hear this.” Lainey covered her ears, and, for some reason, closed her eyes, too.

“Amazing. But that’s beside the point. I can’t let him know he got to me so bad.”

“Can you look him in the face and tell him he didn’t?” When Amy didn’t answer, Sadie said, “I didn’t think so.”

Lainey dropped her hands. “Well, I’ve been around him enough to know turning the tables on him isn’t going to work.”

“Hell, it didn’t work for me either, at least not the way we expected it to.” Dianne laughed as she reached over and poured more wine into Amy’s glass.

“So we’ll just come up with something else,” Karen said as two waiters carrying their meals approached the table.

Chapter Five

Amy had planned to get everything done and be out of the office by noon, so she could be long gone before Slade’s sister showed up to pick up her car. She looked at the stack of receipts and invoices her brother Allen had just handed her. Some of them could probably wait to be entered, but some were for the custom engine rebuild her father had done. He was meeting with the guy tonight, and he needed a final bill for him.

Of course her bonehead brother claimed he wasn’t sure what form went with what account, and knew she’d be able to figure it out. It was a ruse they all used, even though the forms were marked by license plate number and name. If it was just a motor or custom restore like her father was working on, it was just the name. And she didn’t miss the supply order list they made for her. It just meant she needed to go shopping, and every time she did, she added something nice for herself. They all knew she did it. She considered it one of the perks of the job. Her brother’s lame-ass apology for forgetting to give the paperwork last Friday didn’t make her job any easier. Truthfully, knowing they were sitting on her desk all weekend would have driven her nuts, so he’d probably done her a favor.

Her friends teased her about her need to be organized. The term OCD had been tossed around a few times by her brothers, but they all knew once someone saw her closet, they’d realize her obsession only took place at the office. Maybe it was her need to prove she was pulling just as much weight as her brothers. Sometimes—when they did stupid shit like this, or when she was on the phone or internet chasing down parts—she thought she was pulling more weight than them.

There was a chance, albeit a slight one, that she might still be able to get out of there. She walked over to the fridge and took out her grilled-chicken Caesar salad. Amy had planned on taking it and her brother’s dog, Lyle, to the park for lunch, but she was going to have to work straight through if she was going to get out of there by one o’clock. Slade’s sister wasn’t due in until around two, so if she skipped lunch altogether, she’d have plenty of time to make a clean getaway. Her stomach rumbled, rejecting that plan. It was probably too much to hope Slade wouldn’t come with her to get the car. After all, he was paying for the repairs. All she could do was try to be gone before he got there.

* * * *

After his asinine mandate last night, Slade should’ve had someone else take Jenny to pick up her car, but his stubborn pride refused to let him take the coward’s way out. So he decided to look at it like a contest of wills. On his side, he’d be trying to fight the urge to go to her again, while Amy would be dealing with her determination to avoid the desire she felt for him. He doubted either of them would lose any ground today, but if she caved, he’d take it.

He pulled to a stop in front of the garage and shut the car off. Unaware of his inner turmoil, Jenny practically leapt from the car. Since the top was down, she made easy work of Matthew’s car seat harness. Slade was still fumbling with Conner’s seatbelt when she came around to his side of the car. She laughed and held Matthew out to him, and let Conner out of the car herself. With Matthew on his hip and Conner holding his hand, they headed for the door. Jenny opened it and stood aside and let them go in first.

One of Amy’s brothers, who was standing just inside the door, said, “Can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Jenny Jacobs. We’re here to pick up my car. It a maroon minivan,” Slade’s sister explained.

“I’ll have it brought around. It’ll take a few minutes. You can have a seat if you like.” The guys smiled and indicated a row of chairs along the wall.

“I got everything squared away. I brought down that info for Dad, and the Jacobs file. She’ll be in around two o’clock,” Amy called out as she came down the stairs.

Her brother laughed. “Actually, she’s here now.”

Slade wasn’t going to make a move in her direction, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t look. She was dressed in work clothes and those black boots again, and it didn’t alter what he already knew. No matter what she wore on the outside, she couldn’t hide the sexy, innate quality she had. Their eyes met for a minute before she looked away. She glanced at the stairs behind her, and he got the feeling she wanted to run. When she turned back, there was a smile on her lips.

“Ian, let me introduce you to Slade Jacobs. He owns Jacobs Racing and Design.”

“Nice to meet you.” Ian offered his hand, which Slade accepted.

“You, too.” Slade didn’t know what she was up to, but he could tell she had a plan.

“Since I’m still here, why don’t I take Jenny and the boys up to the office while you introduce Slade to Dad and get her car?”

“Do you have the time?” Ian asked.

“Sure.” Slade handed Matthew to his sister and followed Ian into the shop.

Slade wondered if she’d expected him to refuse and come off like a jerk. If she thought her brothers and father were going to intimidate him, she was wrong. He was sure this was another game-playing move on her part, but he didn’t know what she hoped to gain. If he played along, maybe he’d at least get a chance to talk to her alone before he left. He’d just have to keep his hands and mouth to himself.

* * * *

Amy held out her hand to the little boy, and he glanced at his mother. Jenny nodded, and he grasped on. She led them all upstairs to her office. On the way up, Jenny introduced her to Conner and Matthew. Amy closed the door and walked over to the closet. They kept a stash of toys in there for when her brother’s kids came to visit. She grabbed a couple of trucks and carried them to the center of the room. The boys rushed over as if drawn as magnets.

Their mother, however, wasn’t impressed by the shiny toys. She walked around the room, checking out the pictures, just like her brother had. Amy looked out the windows into the shop below. Slade was smiling and shaking hands with her brothers and father. Not introducing them would have been selfish, even though all she wanted to do was rush him out the door. As if he could sense—which was absurd—that she was staring at him, he looked up at her and smiled.

“So I take it you’re the reason my brother was in such a rush to get here.” Jenny lowered herself onto one of the couches in a graceful move.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Amy lied.

“My brother is attracted to you.” Jenny obviously believed in the direct approach. “Can I ask where you two met?”

 
Amy considered her response very carefully before she spoke. “We have some mutual friends.”

“You’re just the kind of girl he needs in his life. Most of the women that come on to him are…well…phonies, which is why he doesn’t date much.”

“Who and how often Slade dates is none of my business.” The retort flew off her tongue before she had time to think about how it might make her sound.

For some reason, she didn’t want Slade’s sister to think she was a bitch. So what if it was true at times? After all, in her little group of friends, it had been her more than the others that had earned them the moniker “Sin Sisters.” It hadn’t been intentional, or, in her opinion, her fault. Having four older brothers, she’d picked up some bad habits, but she’d also learned not to let anyone push her around. Slade wouldn’t want a woman like her. No, he’d want someone who would do what he told her to. That was so not her. She watched Jenny’s lips slowly turn up into a smile and wondered what the hell she was thinking.

In fact, she was about to ask, when Jenny said, “Just the fact that you’re so comfortable being on a first-name basis with him tells me you’re wrong. And you might want to try and lose the scowl if you want people to believe you.”

Amy hadn’t realized she was scowling. “Your brother is…” She groaned and dropped onto the couch, unable to put her thoughts into words that the kids should hear.

“Overbearing and pushy, I know,” Jenny said with a nod. “But he’s also loyal and caring.”

Amy couldn’t hold back her bark of laughter. “I was going to say not my type.”

“Amy, I don’t think he’s anyone’s type. He’s more of an acquired taste.” They both laughed because it was so true. “I hope you’ll give him a chance.”

Amy thought about not answering, but decided that Jenny deserved the truth. “Any involvement between your brother and I would be nothing more than temporary. I think we both know that. His position requires him to rub shoulders with some heavy hitters. Do I look like I would fit it with that crowd?”

“No, definitely not, which is why you’d be perfect for him.” Jenny got up and walked over to the window, and Amy followed. “He needs someone who will question him and not cater to his every demand.”

Again, Slade looked up and smiled. She turned to tell Jenny she was right about what Slade needed, but that it wasn’t her. Jenny was no longer standing there beside her. Amy looked back down at Slade, and he winked at her. She couldn’t hear what was being said out in the garage, but she could read the looks on her brother’s and father’s faces. It was plain to see that they weren’t happy with the attention he was giving her. Amy wouldn’t let them hurt him, but knowing they could, and would, if given enough reason she needed to find a sharp knife, gave her spirits a boost.