“I wanted to talk to you about that anyway,” I say without thinking it through.
What the hell are you doing, dude.
“Yeah?”
I step back. “Finish up. I’ll wait here for you.”
“You want me to make a pie for us?”
“No, we’re going out,” I say, an instant decision. She’d been busy studying and working and taking care of us all week. She needs a break.
Her eyes widen, but she pulls herself together when a co-worker comes from the back to take over the cash. She disappears out back, and I grab a table, my thoughts a million miles an hour. Fuck. I like her, too much, and by rights I should just finish her car and end it. I have a shit-ton going on in my life, Sarah might be coming home, and Rach could up and run at a moment’s notice, or at least decide we weren’t enough for her.
Wait, what exactly do you want from her?
The counter lifting pulls my thoughts, and Rach, still dressed in her work clothes, meets me at the table. I just sit there for a moment, take in her beauty and her eyes grow big again.
“What? Do I have sauce on my face?”
“No, you just look beautiful.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Let’s go.”
I stand, capture her hand, and we step outside. This time we both do a quick check of the streets. Yeah, it must just be her paranoia rubbing off. “So about this job. You get harassed by assholes like those frat boys a lot?”
“Every night.”
“I’ve been thinking. You’ve been doing such a good job around the house, and helping with Cassie, that I’d like to hire you.” She gives me a strange look and I hurry on with, “I was going to hire someone. I just never found the time and I’m careful who I bring in to my house.”
“I can understand that.”
“I’ll continue to look, but in the meantime, we’d love it if you stayed on.”
She puckers her lips in thought. “How long are you thinking?”
I give a casual shrug. “Maybe until your finish classes in April. Then you’ll have time to help me find a replacement, someone good enough.”
She jerks her thumb over her shoulder as we walk. “I was planning to quit this job by then anyway.”
“So that’s a yes?”
“I…”
“The pay and hours will be better.”
“No late-night shifts?”
“Your nights are yours to do with as you please.”
She grins up at me. “That sounds…interesting.”
“Oh they will be.”
She hugs herself when the wind picks up and I throw my arm around her and drag her close. We hurry home, and she takes a quick shower and changes into her jeans and a sweater.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“To Jericho’s. Grab a bite and a drink, shoot some pool.”
“Didn’t you say that was on the wrong side of town?”
“You’re with me, Rach. I told you, I’d never let anything happen to you.”
I pull her close, and drops a soft kiss onto her mouth.
“Let’s go.”
I grab her coat, help her into it, and we head out into the night. She relaxes into the seat, and I smile. I like seeing her like this.
“It’s nice to get out,” she says on a soft sigh.
“Do you like to play pool?”
“I can’t say as I ever played.”
“What? Are you serious?” I ask.
“I guess my youth wasn’t as misguided as yours.”
I wink at her. “We’ll have to see about fixing that.”
A chuckle rumbles in her throat. “Great, first you’re a distraction, now you’re going to corrupt me.”
“I believe I already have corrupted you,” I say and slide a hand across the seat. I give her thigh a squeeze, and catch her mischievous look in the dashboard lights. What the hell is going on inside that brain of hers? I’m not sure, but when I get her home to my empty house, I plan to strip her bare and find out. I drive for another fifteen minutes, then pull into a dark parking lot.
“Stay put,” I say, and climbs from the car. I catch her glancing into the dark night. Yeah, it’s not the kind of neighborhood she usually hangs out in, but she has nothing to worry about when she’s with me. I open her door, and hold my hand out to her. She takes it and smiles up at me.
“Wow, such a gentleman.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things, babe, but that was never one of them.”
She grins as I pull her close to protect her from the cold wind. I guide her to the doors, and music reaches our ears when I grab the brass handle and pull. The scent of beer, perfume and fried food falls over me, and beside me Rachel goes perfectly still for a second, her gaze cataloguing the room. I look at the room from her point of view, take in the big, tattooed guys hunkered over the pool table in the back. My gaze moves to a group of couples sharing a table and laughing over drinks. There are a few women hanging around, trying to get the attention of the guys playing pool. Behind the counter, I catch sight of Marissa, Jericho’s wife. She meets my gaze and her smile widens.
I put my mouth close to Rachel’s ear. “You okay?”
She nods to assure me, but I’m not so assured.
“Hey, if you don’t want to stay.”
“No, I do. I want to meet your friends, and play some pool.”
“Get over here and give me a hug,” Marissa says. I capture Rachel’s hand to lead her across the scratched and pitted floor.
“Hey, Marissa. Good to see you.” She leans over the counter to give me a big hug.
“Good to see you too.” Her eyes narrow. “You look different, Jaxon.”
I scrub my face. “Different good or different bad?
“Definitely good.” Marissa turns her eyes to Rachel. “Something tells me this sweet girl might be responsible for that.”
She blushes a little at that, and she looks so goddam sweet, I can’t help but wonder why
