He didn’t budge.
She’d tried to be nice. Given that, she had no compunction about waiting one more second, just as he pressed his body into hers, before she put all her weight behind it and drove her knee into his groin.
The air left him in a rush, and he collapsed over her so hard she couldn’t breathe. Just as she would have shoved him off, the door supporting her flew open.
She immediately fell to the ground, with Joshua sprawled over top of her. The air whooshed out of her lungs, but she managed to blink her eyes open just in time to see Tanner haul Joshua off her.
She blinked again. Yep, it was him. No tool belt, but he looked intense and fierce and really mad. Madder than when he’d hammered his own thumb.
“Tanner-”
“Hush, Cami,” he said. He pulled back his fist, but Joshua was groaning so loudly and had turned so green that Tanner dropped him to the ground in disgust.
“Well,” he said, brushing off his hands, turning to Cami. “Excuse me. Seems you did your own rescuing this time.”
THEY DIDN’T TALK on the ride home. Or rather, Tanner didn’t. Whenever Cami tried, his hands fisted on the steering wheel and steam came out of his ears.
“That’s really silly, don’t you think?” she asked finally. “Not talking to me? Is it because I didn’t need your help?”
He broke his silence at that. “Are you
I’m thrilled you didn’t need my help to knee that idiot in the family jewels.”
“Then why are you so mad?”
He shook his head and let out a low laugh that held little humor in it. “Because you frustrate the hell out of me.” He downshifted and glared at her. “And I guess it’s because I want you to do something you’re not capable of.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know…how about stop pleasing others and please yourself.”
She stared at him.
“What’s the matter, Cami? I’ve never seen you without something to say before.”
“Well, there’s no reason to be rude.”
“You know, I can’t figure out if it’s because you don’t
Stung to the quick, she looked straight ahead. “Never mind,” she whispered. “I liked it better when you were giving me the silent treatment.”
7
CAMI THOUGHT she’d have to be tricky to avoid Tanner, but since he avoided her first, she had no trouble at all.
He used loud tools, a loud crew and even louder rock music, and spent every moment doing just his job.
He even avoided Dimi, unknowingly, of course, when she came in after work the next afternoon to steal a snack.
“Not even a courtesy hello,” Dimi whispered to Cami on her way out the door. “I’m late for a date with my mechanic or I’d stay and mess with him to see he paid for that. Do you realize he didn’t even give me the customary you’re-a-loon look?”
“He’s mad at me.”
“Why?”
“Because…well, it’s complicated.”
“Honey, with you it usually is.”
Cami should have been able to explain the truth to Dimi, but since she’d just come to it, and it wasn’t exactly flattering, she held her tongue.
She understood Tanner’s anger and frustration. She really did. And the worst part of it was, he was more right than he could know. Cami
She had no intention of leading her heart to true happiness ever, because she didn’t believe in it.
There. She’d thought it out loud, now she’d deal with it. And Tanner.
Somehow.
He was still ignoring her. No teasing, no hot looks, no discussions that were deep and uncomfortable and oddly exhilarating.
No nothing.
She missed him. Stupid, since she was the one who’d wanted to do the avoiding, dammit. But though she had come to terms with the fact she wouldn’t go for love, ever, she didn’t plan on giving up other joys.
Such as lust.
This was the age of the woman. She could want a man, physically, and have that be it. And though it made no sense whatsoever, she wanted Tanner.
His crew left a few moments before him. Her client-not Mrs. Brown, who’d dumped her like a bad habit after she’d unmanned her son-had left, as well.
Just music and tools to compete with, but Cami hadn’t been a beauty queen in high school for nothing. She knew how to get a man’s attention.
She just didn’t know how to
Dressed for the part, she slipped out of the bathroom and pulled the plug on his portable CD player. The rock music died.
She also pulled the plug on the orange extension cord that ran down the hallway and disappeared into her bedroom.
Abruptly all was silent.
“What the-” she heard Tanner say, with some colorful words added on the end of that.
Raising her brow, she followed the extension cord and found him standing in the middle of the room, back to her, arms extended over his head, holding a nail gun.
“That’s not funny, Juan,” he said without looking. “Just because you have a hot date and have to leave early, some of us still have work left to do. Plug it back in.”
“It’s not Juan,” Cami told him, fascinated by the play of muscles stretching his T-shirt taut across his back. His arms were pretty nice, too, all damp and tense and straining.
She thought he might have sworn again, softly this time, before slowly lowering the nail gun.
At the sight of her, his eyes flared with heat, stroking her destroyed ego just a bit.
“Hi,” she said, running her hands down her sundress. She’d worn a sundress on both of her dates, but those had been relatively conservative.
Sleeveless, but loose and flowing and flowery.
This sundress was siren red, short as sin and just as snug. So snug, in fact, she hoped there wasn’t a fire or some other natural disaster be cause she wouldn’t be able to run for help without hitching the skirt to her waist, which wouldn’t be exactly ladylike. Not that she was going for lady like at the moment.
“You weren’t wearing that a few moments ago when you came prancing down the hallway with a bag of potato chips.”
Damn, her sister had stolen her chips. Again!
Somehow she knew Tanner should be told about Dimi, and now would be a good time, but keeping that part of her life to herself was deeply ingrained.
