Tuck couldn’t even respond. His throat was choked up. He had quit, knowing Bill couldn’t afford to pay him. Now… Things were different now. Maybe it wasn’t such a huge stretch after all. Tuck would discuss the job with Bill and Jodi later, though. Another day. He was too exhausted tonight.
“Can you handle things here, Dad?”
“Of course. I’m not that old yet, young lady. Go. Have fun. I’ll manage without both of you until Monday.”
“Monday? Dad, I was just talking about tonight.”
“Well, I’m talking about a week. You need it. Take it before I change my mind. I already checked with everyone. Stan, Liz, and Jacob all said they could work extra shifts this week. We’ll manage.”
“You’re down three people,” Jodi pointed out.
“Eh. Worse things have happened. Go.” Bill pointed at the door.
Jodi shoved Tuck’s hard body that direction. “Let’s get out of here before he decides he needs us to start making drinks.”
Tuck held Bill’s gaze for another moment. “Thank you. For everything.”
Bill nodded. “Any time.”
Jodi dragged Tuck through the back entrance. “You drove here, right?”
“Yep.” He led her to his car, dropped her bag in the back seat, and opened the front door for her. “I think you’re going to need more than what you packed in there if I get to keep you a week.”
She giggled. “Not much. We can stop back by here when I need something.” She winked at him, wiggling her eyebrows.
Every muscle in Tuck’s body released its tension as he pulled out of the parking lot with Jodi’s hand clasped in his. Nothing had ever felt more right. The tightness in his chest eased with every mile. He was suddenly free of so much stress all in one day.
Granted, he hadn’t wanted his mother to die, but it was best for her. She wouldn’t have wanted to live like that day after day. Her passing calmed him on her behalf. He hoped in some way she’d heard him speaking to her yesterday and felt like she could leave. That he would be okay. She was right. He would be.
The fact that he didn’t have to see Katia ever again lifted a huge weight off his shoulders. Faking that ridiculous marriage for three months had been more challenging than he’d anticipated. It had grown even more taxing after he’d met Jodi and realized she meant more to him every day he spent with her.
There was no denying the fact that he was suddenly in far better shape financially. Now that he didn’t have to pay monthly bills to the nursing home, he could work like any regular human without constant fear of running out of money. He hadn’t considered remaining at Bridgman’s Bar after catching the drug dealer, but maybe he would.
At the next stop light, he let out a long breath and turned to face Jodi. She was smiling at him. “You look peaceful.”
“I feel peaceful. Finally.”
“You had a lot on your plate.”
“Yes. I can’t believe how much life can change in twenty-four hours. Is it insensitive of me that I feel more relieved than sad for my mother?”
Jodi squeezed his hand. “No. Not at all. I experienced the same thing when my mother finally died. Breast cancer had totally consumed her. By the end, it felt like all we did was tiptoe around holding vigil over her. She hadn’t wanted it to drag out like that. We hated that our hands were tied. When she finally let go, all I felt was relief.”
Someone honked behind Tuck, so he jerked his gaze back to front. The light was green. He started moving again. “That’s exactly how I feel. Thank you.” There was no way he could have articulated how he felt as eloquently as Jodi.
When they arrived at his hotel and he let them into the room, nerves struck him. Absurd nerves. He was a grown man. He’d had sex with plenty of women in his lifetime. Never once had he ever worried about it before.
But, none of them were Jodi. She mattered more to him than anyone ever had. This wasn’t some random hookup or a girl he was dating. This was a woman he intended to spend his life with. He wanted this to be perfect for her. When he was done making love to her, he wanted her to be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was it for her. He wanted to see the most blissful expression on her face, one he would remember for the rest of his life.
Tuck dropped her bag next to the bed and turned around to face her. He couldn’t help but smile. She looked so damn cute coming toward him with a wicked grin on her face, her head cocked to one side, her curls falling over her shoulders, her hands tucked in her back pockets. Stalking him.
He wanted to freeze this moment as he searched her face. Even though she was wearing nothing but jeans and a T-shirt, looking at her made his cock hard. When she got close enough, he pinched the edge of her loose-fitting black T-shirt with the royal blue bar logo in the corner—the same one she was wearing the day he met her. “What happened to the tank tops?” he teased.
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Now that we’ve caught the dealer, I didn’t figure I needed to lure him in anymore. Funny how in the end the dealer was actually a woman. Someone I know. Someone who was not the least bit interested in what shirt I was wearing.”
He chuckled. “So, you decided to go back to your old ways?”
She flattened her hands on his chest and grinned. “Actually, I’m conducting an experiment.”
“What experiment is that?” He was close to chuckling. This was going to be good.
“We can’t really know if business picked up because I gave everyone cleavage to look at or if it was because we hired a famous sexy bouncer. I figured if I eliminated one factor, we’d know.”
He laughed now,
