Sawyer, Rita - Her Mr. Wrong [What Are Friends For 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (7 page)

She figured she better get out there and let her brothers know Slade wasn’t a threat. “Jenny, we should head down stairs now.”

“Okay.” She scooped Matthew up and held her hand out to Conner.

Amy followed them downstairs. Once Conner spotted Slade, he took off at a run. Slade apparently expected it, because he caught the kid mid-stride. Matthew waved his arms frantically, wanting to get in on the fun. Slade lowered Conner to the floor and took Matthew from his sister. One by one, her brother’s gazes pinged from her, to Slade, to his sister, and back to her. She could tell they were putting together the wrong picture. They had all the right pieces, but were matching them up in the wrong order.

Before she could set them straight, Conner tugged on his expensive suit jacket. “Uncle Slade, is our car fixed yet?”

“Sure is. These guys fixed it better than new.” He reached down and ruffled his hair.

“Aw, man.” Conner’s little face screwed up in a pout. “I was hoping we could keep the truck a little longer.

Slade swung his head in Jenny’s direction and cast his hopeful gaze on hers. “Well?”

She delivered a glare back. “Don’t even think about it. The minivan is safe and perfectly suitable for two messy boys.”

Amy had to agree with Jenny’s reasoning. Guys didn’t think about stuff like that. They mainly focused on style and function. Her brothers all had the
looks good, runs good
mentality. Ian left to get the car, leaving them all standing there talking. Five minutes, maybe ten and he’d be gone, and she could get back to her life. She could hold on that long.

“I forgot to pay you.” Jenny reached for her purse, but Slade shoved Matthew into her arms.

“I’m taking care of this.” He stuck his hand inside his jacket pulled out his wallet and extracted a credit card.

“I need to go upstairs and run this.” Amy took the card and turned to walk away.

“I’ll go with you in case there are any issues.” Slade followed her.

Amy took the stairs at a jog, needing some distance between them, but he kept up with her. She rushed to her desk and started processing his payment. He could have chosen to sit or stand anywhere in the room. When he moved in behind the desk and stood right behind her, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. The man didn’t seem to think there were any boundaries between them, but he was wrong. She knew pointing it out wouldn’t do any good, because he would probably find a way to take it as a compliment. She was stronger than her desires. Not turning around to face him was the easy part. Talking to him would be much harder. Amy finished processing the payment and yanked two receipts out of the printer.

Her irritation got the better of her, and she slapped them and a pen on the desk beside her. “Sign these.”

Slade chuckled as he leaned forward to do as she said. He seemed all too eager to cooperate. The sporty scent of his aftershave or cologne hit her. She tried not to inhale too deeply, but damn it, she had to breathe. He was too close. She rolled her chair away and grabbed an envelope off the shelf above her desk.

He slid the forms toward her. “You know, just a word or two and we could end this charade.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Amy put one copy of his invoice in the file and the other in the envelope.

“Still in denial.” He took the envelope from her, but he didn’t step away.

Amy pushed to her feet and looked up at him with a smile. “I think we both know who’s in denial.”

“Not me.” He reached out and lifted her ponytail off her shoulder. “I’m damn sure I showed you how much I want you.”

“Amy, you done yet,” her brother Allen shouted.

“We’re finished.” Amy shouted back as she shoved her way past Slade.

Chapter Six

Amy dropped onto the couch and looked at her now-warm soda and cold pizza. Something was in the air tonight. She’d already gone on four runs in the past three hours. One flat tire, one battery jump, a dead engine, and an empty gas tank. Simple stuff, but time-consuming nonetheless. She glanced at the clock and sighed. It would be at least another two hours before her brother would be there to pick up the phone. Hopefully the excitement of the night was over.

She picked up her dinner and headed into the kitchen. Amy popped a piece of pizza into the microwave and dumped the soda in the sink. She opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. The phone rang, and for a brief second she thought about ignoring it, then ran back into the living room where she’d tossed it on the couch. She spotted her friend Karen’s cell phone number and smiled.

She pressed the connect button. “Hey, I thought you were going to the movies with Lainey?”

“I was, but we got halfway there and my friggin’ car died.” Karen sighed.

“What happened this time?”

“The stuff in the dashboard started freaking out, and then it lurched forward a couple of times and just died.”

“Sounds like it could be your alternator. Have you given any thought to getting rid of that car and getting something more dependable?” It was something they’d discussed quite often over the past six months, every time something broke.

“It was Auntie’s car.” Karen’s aunt had passed and left her the car, and Amy could hear the attachment in her voice.

“Honey, I know, but she wouldn’t want you to take a risk on breaking down somewhere dangerous.” Which could be anywhere if it was at night and she was alone.

“You’re number one on my speed dial. Do you think you could come rescue us? Lainey said she can call Jace if you’re busy.”

“Where are you?” Amy scooped up her keys and headed for the door, her pizza once again going uneaten.

Amy listened to her friend explain where they were. She knew the place. It was going to take her about twenty minutes to get there, and she didn’t like the idea of the two of them sitting there waiting for her.

The car, however, would be fine until she got there. “I’m on my way. Why don’t you call Jace to come and get you guys, and I’ll bring the car to the garage and get my brothers on it first thing in the morning. Just leave the keys under the floor mat.”

“Okay. Lainey wants to know if we’re we still on for breakfast tomorrow?” Karen asked.

“I’ll be there.” Amy knew her friends were cooking something up, and it wasn’t just Lainey’s delectable treats.

They hung up as she climbed in the truck. At least she didn’t have to drive all the way to the shop first. After that last run, she’d decided to just take the truck home for the night. She pressed the buttons until she found a song she could sing along with. It made her smile, knowing whichever one of her four brothers drove next would bitch for a week about her resetting all the music stations, but come next Wednesday, if she had to drive it, then she’d do it again. Sooner or later, they’d learn to leave her at least one good station.

Amy spotted Slade sitting on the back of Karen’s car and gripped the steering wheel harder.
What the fuck was he doing there?
Karen and Lainey had some serious explaining to do. She pulled up in front of the old Buick and got out of the truck.

He met her at the driver’s door. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She opened the door, leaned into the car, and lifted the floor mat, but the keys weren’t there.

Amy pulled down the visor, and they weren’t there either. She backed out of the car and into Slade, who was leaning over her. The move put her ass firmly against his crotch, and his hands landed on her hips. He growled as they stood up, which probably had a lot to do with the way she deliberately rubbed against his quickly hardening cock. She started to turn, expecting him let her go. Instead, his hand smoothed over the curves of her ass as she moved. Everything inside her begged for more, but Amy put her hands on his chest and gave a little push. He smiled, as he dropped his hands and took a step away. Slade still blocked her way. Amy glared at him for a minute until he held up the keys.

“What are you doing here?” The words had been burning her tongue.

“I was with Jace going over some sketches when Lainey and Karen called. He’s taking them to the movies. I offered to stay with the car.”

“Why? You barely know Karen.” She leaned back into the car and put the key in the ignition and the shifter in the neutral position.

“True. But I know you. I didn’t want to go through another week trying to get you to talk to me, so when the opportunity presented itself, I took it.” He stepped back, giving her room to work.

Amy couldn’t help but be impressed he would go so far to see her, but at the same time, his persistence annoyed the piss out of her. “You took a big risk. What if I chose to just ignore you?”

“I guess I’d be calling a cab.” He shrugged as if it would be no big deal.

“So you’re without a car again?” she asked as they walked back to her truck.

“I am.” His sexy smile was only going to get him so far.

“I suppose I can drop you off somewhere.” She made quick work of hooking the car up.

Once she had it loaded and secured on the flat bed, they both got in the truck. She called Karen and left a quick message on her cell phone, letting her know she picked up the car.

“So where am I taking you?” She found herself a little curious to see where he lived.

He opened his mouth to answer, and her stomach growled, the noise filling the air. “I think you should let me take you to get something to eat before you drop me off.”

“Not necessary. I have a cold pizza waiting for me at home. So, where to?” She started the car and waited for him to give her directions.

He flashed her a sexy smile that should have been against the law. “Do you have enough for two?”

His question surprised her. “Maybe. Why?”

“Because I’m hungry, too, and I was thinking that maybe if you and I sit down with some food and talk, we can come to an agreement on how to deal with what’s going on between us.”

“I agree we need to come to an understanding.” The problem with that, she figured, was they had completely different ideas on what was happening between them.

“Great, so we’ll have some pizza and talk about us.” He snapped his seatbelt in place.

This was possibly going to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life. “Fine, I’ll feed you. Just so you know, you better say everything you want to while I eat because as soon as we’re done eating, I’m taking you home.”

Amy drove the truck to the garage, and they got in her car. They drove the short distance to her house in silence. She hoped he liked ham and onion pizza. Maybe the onion breath would keep him from trying to kiss her. She pulled up in front of her white, bungalow-style house and shut the car off. Slade glanced at the house, and she wondered what he was thinking.

“This is home.” She got out of the car and headed for the house, leaving him to follow or not.

Hopefully seeing her house and her feeding him a reheated piece of pizza would help him see why she wasn’t his type. He was quiet as he followed her inside. She closed the door, took her boots off, and headed straight for the kitchen. Thankfully Slade stayed in the other room, because she needed a minute to gather her wits and calm her nerves. She turned on the oven and stuck the pizza in.

“I have water or orange soda.” Her meager choices were the only two things she kept in her fridge at all times because it was what she liked.

“I’ll take soda.” He sounded too close.

She turned to find him leaning against the wall behind her. Her tiny kitchen was barely big enough for one person and with him standing, there she couldn’t breathe. The living room was about the same size, so she decided to give him the option of eating someplace with more space.