Up to the Challenge ai-2 Page 19

  In the last week, she’d gotten more of a workout than she ever had hitting the gym. Lucas had stamina to spare, and quite the imagination. Good thing she trusted him or she might never have been willing to try that chair maneuver the night before. A move likely illegal in several states.

  But the payoff had been worth the bending and twisting. Her teeth still tingled when she thought about it.

  Eight nights with Lucas in her bed, and Sid woke every morning afraid she might be dreaming. After the weekend, she’d assumed he’d want some time apart. That he’d stay at his parents’ house during the week. But Lucas had followed her home from work every night, and by midweek they realized what a waste it was to drive two vehicles to the same place.

  They started driving in together and if anyone found it odd that she and Lucas were suddenly joined at the hip, they kept it to themselves.

  Contrary to Sid’s own expectations, she enjoyed having a man around. His hot, solid body tangled with hers as she fell asleep. Hazel eyes and a stubble-covered chin the first thing she saw in the morning. Though if this arrangement ever became permanent, she’d need to install a bigger shower, as they’d become strict practitioners of water conservation.

  Two people saving the planet one shower at a time.

  But this wasn’t a permanent arrangement. Something Sid had to remind herself on a regular basis. Lucas would be leaving in four weeks. Not that she was marking the days on a mental calendar or anything. The two or three brief moments when she imagined waking up alone again, waterworks threatened. Tears were not an option. Sid Navarro did not cry over something as stupid as a man.

  To preserve her sanity as well as her dignity, the winding river of denial had become her mental happy place.

  “Sid, wait up,” Will said from the front corner of the building, pulling Sid from her wayward thoughts. “I was hoping to catch you.” The lanky brunette crossed the distance between them, then shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans, setting off a cacophony of bangle bracelets. Her eyes looked everywhere but at Sid.

  “Should I be sitting down for this?” Sid asked, assuming the worst. “There’s been a formal offer on the garage, hasn’t there?”

  Will jumped and met Sid’s gaze, eyes wide. “No. Not that I know of.”

  “Then what are you acting so weird about?” The woman looked ready to leap out of her own skin.

  “I …” Will started, then looked around as if making sure they were alone. Leaning forward she whispered, “Do you know why I’m here?”

  She thought she did. “Lucas called and asked you to come, didn’t he?”

  Will took a step back. “And you’re not pissed?”

  “Why would I be pissed?” Sid had encouraged Lucas to make the call. They’d been so busy through the week, and distracted with each other, that he must have only just gotten around to it. If Will was going to become the new assistant manager of Dempsey’s Bar & Grill, they needed to ask her first.

  “But you two have been together all week? I get that whatever you have is casual, but it’s still weird that he would ask me out while he’s seeing you.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” There would be no sharing of Lucas. She may have to give him up when summer ended, but fuck all if Will thought she could have him now.

  Will crossed her arms. “The guy you’re sleeping with called and asked me to meet him here on a Friday night. I assumed …”

  When she put it that way. “So Lucas didn’t tell you why he called you here?”

  “He said he wanted to talk to me.” Will shrugged one shoulder. “I tried to tell him no, but he insisted and said it was important.” Will took a step back when Sid started to laugh. “Is that your crazy ‘I’m going to cut a bitch’ laugh? Because I swear I had no intention of—”

  “Relax,” Sid said, holding her side and snorting again. “He wasn’t asking you out. He wants to offer you a job.” She sobered and leaned against the railing. “And if it were the other, I would kill you both. So lucky for you it’s not.”

  Will rubbed her forehead. “I’m so confused. What kind of a job could Lucas offer? He doesn’t even live here.”

  Sid gestured toward the building. “He thinks Patty and Tom need help running this place. Someone to take some of the load off. Figured with your experience, you’d be the person for the job.” As Will’s lips moved but no sound came out, Sid added, “You don’t have to answer right away, but something full time would be better than flitting around to every business the way you do, don’t you think?”

  “It’s a great offer,” Will said, eyes on her shoes. “But I don’t know.” Backflips of excitement weren’t necessary, but Sid had expected a more positive response.

  “We haven’t talked to Tom and Patty about it yet. Lucas thought we should ask you first before taking the idea to them.” She’d thought Will would jump at the chance. So much for that. “If you’re not interested, then just forget it.”

  Sid wasn’t sure why she felt betrayed. It wasn’t as if she’d be working the tables after Tom and Patty returned. What did she care if Will took the job or not? Silence loomed, tension crackling in the air.

  “I’d better get back inside,” Sid said. “If you want I’ll tell Lucas you’re taking a pass.”

  “Wait,” Will said, stopping Sid as she turned back toward the kitchen door. “I didn’t say I don’t want the job. It’s just that …” She hesitated, biting her lip. “I’m not sure how long I plan to stay on Anchor.”

  That announcement hit like a blow. Though Will had been on the island less than a year, she’d never mentioned wanting to move on. She, Beth, and Sid had spent hours talking over desserts at Opal’s, and never had the topic of leaving Anchor come up.

  Maybe they weren’t the good friends Sid had thought. “By all means, don’t let us tie you down.” This must be how puppies felt when kicked. Stupid puppy kicker.

  Sid was pulling the kitchen door shut behind her when Will stuck her foot in the way. “I didn’t say my bags are packed. It’s just complicated. I like it here, but things could change. I can’t plan things long term.”

  What the hell was she talking about? It was starting to sound like the woman was in the witness protection program. “Look, Will, I don’t know what all this mystery stuff is about, but if you ever run into trouble, you have friends here. We take care of our own.”

  “You consider me part of ‘your own’?” Will asked, brows raised.

  Sid nodded. “Damn right.”

  Will lingered in silence for several more seconds. Stared at the floor. Chewed her lip. Then she caught Sid’s eye and nodded. “Then I’d like to talk about the job.”

  As if the floor had just tilted and then reset itself, Sid felt her world settle back into place. She’d spent most of her life without any close friends, and never thought twice about it. Now, in one week, she’d gone from not needing a man or friends to realizing she had both and liking it that way.

  Sid held the door open wide. “Then let’s go get you a job.”

  I’m not sure how much longer they’re willing to wait, Lucas.” Calvin Bainbridge’s words were clipped with impatience. “You’ve been gone a month already.”

  “I’ve only been down here two weeks and I wouldn’t have been off at all if Holcomb hadn’t insisted. My dad had a heart attack, remember?”

  “And we all feel bad about that, but how many people does it take to run some dinky restaurant?”

  Red flared behind Lucas’s eyelids. “My family does not run a dinky restaurant. And considering the number of lawyers working in that firm, how could this case possibly require my participation?”

  “It’s the prosecutor,” Calvin said. The sound of rustling papers traveled down the line. “Dannon has been given lead in the case. You’ve singed his ass three times in the last year and that makes you the go-to guy on this one.”

  “You worked those cases too, Cal. Surely you’ve learned something from me by now.” Lucas paced the tiny co
nfines of the office. Georgette was covering the bar, but she’d need to return to the floor soon. “I need another couple weeks down here. Take it through discovery and I’ll be back before the trial starts.”

  Calvin sighed. “Holcomb’s not going to like this. Did you know there’s a pool going around for who’s going to get your office?”

  Lucas stopped. “What are you talking about? No one is getting my office. I’m not quitting.”

  “You quitting is not the reason people think the office will be up for grabs.” A female voice could be heard in the background, then Calvin continued. “Look, man, we need you up here and we need you now.”

  “My family needs me down here,” he said, wondering when his coworkers had become so callous. Or had they always been that way? “I’ll deal with Holcomb when I get back.”

  Lucas was not looking forward to that conversation.

  “You’re putting your career on the line here,” Calvin warned. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” With that message, the line went dead.

  Did he know what he was doing? Part of the reason for taking time off had been to figure out his priorities. Lucas had lost Beth because his job came first. Because he’d been too blind to see what he had when he had it. He didn’t want to make that mistake again.

  “There you are,” Sid said, sticking her head into the office. Upon seeing his face, she stepped further in. “Are you okay? Georgette said you had a phone call. You don’t look happy.”

  He didn’t want to make that mistake again.

  “I’m fine,” he said, setting the phone on the charger and trying to pretend he wasn’t debating his entire future. “Someone at the firm needed one of my old files and they couldn’t find it. It’s all good now.”

  Sid looked dubious, but didn’t press. “Will is here and I had to tell her what this is about since you didn’t bother.” Sid moved in closer and toyed with the collar of his polo shirt. “You need to stop calling other women and sounding all hot and bothered on the phone. She thought you were asking her out.”

  The lack of air between them made it difficult to concentrate on her words. “I thought we were clear about this. You’re the only woman getting me hot and bothered.” He nearly added the words “these days” but that would have been a lie, as he couldn’t imagine another woman ever having this kind of effect on him. Even long after he’d left Anchor Island.

  Lucas sat on the desk to bring himself closer to Sid’s level, which gave her the opportunity to drop a kiss in the opening of his collar. “If you keep that up, someone is going to walk in here and find us in a very compromising position.”

  “Compromising for who?”

  “For whom,” he corrected, before he could stop himself.

  Sid drew back. “Way to kill the mood, fancy pants.” As she moved toward the door, taking her heat and heady scent with her, a bitter sense of loss swept over him. Like the warm sun going behind a thundercloud of doom.

  How was he going to tell her he was leaving early? Throwing away the career he’d worked so hard to build wasn’t an option. This wasn’t a matter of fucked-up priorities. He and Sid had agreed to a casual fling. They always knew he’d have to leave at the end of summer. What difference would a couple weeks make?

  “I’ve got to get back on the floor.” Sid reached the door, then looked back. His thoughts must have shown on his face because she asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  No.

  “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

  “You’re not flaking out about tonight, are you?”

  Tonight? What was tonight? A quick memory check brought the answer. “The Smuggler’s Ball?” he asked. Too bad dressing as a pirate wasn’t his only worry. “No way. I’m ready for my eye patch.”

  Sid rewarded that statement with a full-press smile. “Good, because you will not believe the getup Curly talked me into wearing. You coming up to talk to Will or do you want me to send her back?”

  Getting the Will situation settled would help him get back to Richmond sooner, which made him want to tell Sid to send her away. “Give me a minute and I’ll be up. I just have to make a quick call.”

  Sid’s brows drew together but she didn’t pry. If he were leaving early, there was one other thing besides the family business he needed to take care of.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The eye patch was a bad idea. Lucas had nearly run off the road trying to drive with the thing on. And a dull sting prevailed after his mother’s stunt of pulling the patch out and letting it snap back against his face. Joe had warned him she might try that.

  After she’d already done it.

  Lucas wasn’t sure why he was dressed as a pirate to begin with. From what he understood, the Anchor festival planners had added this Smuggler’s Ball to bring in more late-season tourists. The larger pirate festival in June, to which Joe typically wore the outfit Lucas was now sporting, brought in the highest numbers of the season.

  Vacationers loved their pirate lore. Most claimed the allure was due to Blackbeard’s historical ties to the area, but Lucas blamed Johnny Depp. If anyone else had asked him to don a costume and act pirate-y, he’d have said absolutely not. But Sid had played dirty. She’d asked while lying gloriously naked atop his chest.

  Regardless, scheduling a visit for June to see Joe at the helm of his fishing boat, while wearing this ridiculous getup, would be more than worth the drive. The thought reminded Lucas that in order to come back, he first had to leave. Not that he’d thought about much else since the call from Bainbridge. Between ponderings on how to prolong his stay were the even less successful contemplations on how and when to tell Sid he’d be leaving early.

  She’d given no indication they’d gone beyond casual, nor had she even hinted at the idea of him staying permanently. During one brief moment of insanity, he considered asking her to move to Richmond, but returned to his senses almost immediately. Not only would Sid hate the city, she’d never fit into his world.

  Sid just didn’t fit the mold. Partner’s wife. Smiling hostess. Pleasant and diplomatic. Strolling into the office for a lunch date wearing a shirt that read “Life’s a bitch and then you marry one” would not go over well. A thought that made him feel disloyal even as he knew it was true.

  Admitting she was not wife material did not mean he wanted to change her. Lucas liked Sid just the way she was. The attitude and chip on her shoulder didn’t tell the whole story of his lusty little pocket pixie. Sid was smart, ambitious, and took shit from no one. All qualities he liked, but the last was most refreshing, and the one trait he never expected to want in a woman.

  And their relationship was not just about sex. They spent several evenings the past week lounging on Sid’s couch, Drillbit digging her claws into his thigh like a baker kneading dough, and her owner reading a book while tucked in close against his side.

  He’d checked his e-mail, or read the news, content to be exactly where he was. To enjoy the silent company of the one he was with.

  By the time he pulled into Sid’s drive, Lucas still had no clue what the hell he was going to do.

  “You can come in, but don’t go past the couch,” Beth barked as Lucas stepped into Sid’s cottage. “We’ll be out in two minutes.”

  His former fiancée was the reason Lucas had to get dressed at his parents’ place instead of at Sid’s. Something about being Sid’s fairy godmother and making sure Cinderella looked right for the ball. He’d assumed it was all a joke, until Joe let him know she was quite serious. They’d even shared an amicable laugh about the two women, which was a nice change from their usual interactions.

  “It’s easier to go along,” Joe had said. Going along with insanity didn’t sound rational, but Lucas did it anyway. After all, Sid had promised to repay his cooperation in a most generous fashion.

  Lucas plopped down on the couch, barely remembering to flick the sword aside before turning himself into a Popsicle. Drillbit took her place on his leg, claws extra sharp as if she’d fil
ed them for his benefit.

  “Not tonight, fur ball,” he said, setting her gently on the floor. From there, the cat climbed to the back of the couch and started kneading his shoulder. He was struggling to remove her claws from the linen when Beth breezed back into the room.

  “Are you ready?” she asked, eyes twinkling and rubbing her hands together like a mad scientist.

  He stopped with the kitten in midair. “Ready for wha …” The rest of the sentence fell away as Sid appeared behind Beth. Fairy godmother, my ass, Lucas thought. Instead of a princess, she’d turned Sid into every man’s sexual fantasy. On steroids.

  A thin piece of red material barely covered Sid from shoulder to upper thigh, with some corset-like strip of black leather cinching in her already narrow waist, making the classic hour glass curves more pronounced. What he supposed passed for sleeves gaped open with slits from shoulder to elbow and then elbow to hand. As if enough flesh weren’t already showing.

  Fishnet stockings trailed into black boots that started just below her knees and a black bandana covered with tiny skull-n-crossbones topped off the look. The thick mass of dark curls had been pulled to one side and hung in disarray over her left shoulder.

  Every circuit in Lucas’s body went on high alert as his brain screamed Mine!

  “What did you do to her?” Lucas moved closer, holding a squealing kitten against his chest. “She looks … That outfit …” Turning to Beth, he demanded, “Where’s the rest of it?”

  “You don’t like it?” Sid asked, her face falling as she tugged at the top of the dress. Which did absolutely nothing to cover the more than ample cleavage. Lucas’s mouth watered.

  “I didn’t say that.” He backtracked, trying to get a grip on the sudden intense desire to drag the blanket off the back of the couch and cover her up. Which warred with the Neanderthal reflex to throw her over his shoulder and head for the bedroom. “You look great. Really great.”