He's So Fine (13 page)

T
he day before Halloween, Olivia found herself having difficulty concentrating on anything. She blamed another sleepless night where she’d tossed and turned, reliving the time she’d spent with Cole in this very bed. And on her floor. And back in her bed…

He was hard to forget.

I don’t just walk away.

His words, and the meaning behind them, kept replaying in her head. They meant that she was sleeping with, and quite possibly falling in serious
like
with, a guy who had a moral compass that never wavered.

She liked that. She loved that. But it would only make it worse in the end. She was already counting down to the day he would leave her—and no matter what he said, he’d eventually leave her—and she was both needing it and dreading it at the same time.

Instead of dwelling on that, she buried herself in work. When the kids arrived for Drama Day, Pink and Kendra came in holding hands with Becca. As talk turned to Halloween, it came out that the twins were the only two kids who wouldn’t be trick-or-treating, because they didn’t have costumes.

“That’s okay,” Pink bravely told Olivia. “We get to dress up today, right?”

Olivia met Becca’s subdued gaze and understood the problem—their dad was still facing serious financial woes. She swallowed the lump at the back of her throat. “Absolutely,” she said. “Everyone dresses up for Drama Day.”

The girls squealed and bounced up and down like pogo sticks. Then they raced for the dress-up circle and sat with mock patience, restless as if it were the last day of school.

Olivia went into the back and dragged out her trunk, which she’d brought in as she did every week.

Pink pulled out the Cinderella costume and handed it to Kendra. “Here, Sissy.”

Kendra reverently clutched the frothy pink thing to her torso, her expression rapturous as she stroked the material.

Drama Day went on as usual, with each kid playing the part of their choice from a script Olivia had saved for today because it revolved around Halloween. She’d brought candy for them as well, and afterward, when everyone had changed back into their own clothes, they were allowed to dig in.

Olivia found Kendra in the back alone, still Cinderella. “Kendra?”

The little girl didn’t look up at her. Instead she let out a telltale sniff and kept her head lowered.

And Olivia’s heart cracked right in two. Becca came up behind Olivia and took in the situation. “I’m stopping at the drugstore with them on the way home,” she whispered softly to Olivia. “I’m going to buy them costumes.”

No. Not going to happen. Not on Olivia’s watch. Dropping to her knees before Kendra, Olivia gently lifted the girl’s chin and looked into huge, swimming green eyes. “I want you to take the Cinderella costume for tomorrow night,” she said.

Kendra’s impossibly huge eyes widened even farther, and her mouth fell open.

Pink had come in behind Becca. “We don’t have any money,” she said.

“I’m not selling it,” Olivia told her. “I’m giving it to her.”

Pink let out a joyous whoop, jumped up and down, and then grabbed Kendra and spun her around. “You hear that?” she asked her twin. “You get to be Cinderella for Halloween, just like you’ve always wished for! That means wishes come true. And that means that maybe we’ll get our other wish!”

Kendra grinned.

“What’s your other wish?” Olivia asked.

“That Santa comes for Daddy this year and brings him what we hear him asking for on the phone sometimes.”

“And what’s that, honey?” Becca asked.

“Something called credit so he can buy us a house.”

The lump in Olivia’s throat was back. “Well,” she finally said softly, “I’m betting Santa will do his absolute best.”

Pink nodded and reached for Kendra’s hand. “Come on, Sissy, we gotta go. The others are waiting.”

“You’re forgetting something,” Olivia said to Pink. “Your costume.”

Pink’s eyes got as big as Kendra’s. “Wow, I get one too?”

“Of course you do,” Olivia said, choked up anew at the thought that Pink had actually believed that she and Kendra couldn’t possibly be lucky enough to each get a costume. “Your pick.”

Pink threw herself at Olivia and hugged her around the waist tight. “I hope Santa comes for you too,” she whispered fiercely.

And then they ran out of the back room into the front, right past Cole standing in the doorway, holding two to-go coffee cups. He smiled at each of the twins, exchanged a quiet, familiar greeting with Becca, and then, when they were all gone, he handed Olivia one of the cups.

“I like watching you with the kids,” he said. He stepped closer and put his mouth to her ear. “Admit it, you’re just a big softie.”

She pulled back and met his gaze. “Am not.”

Leaning in again, he kissed her jaw, working his way back to her ear. “
Softie
.”

Her knees were wobbly and she was breathing erratically, but she tried to keep her cool. “Bite your tongue,” she said.

Instead, he nipped her ear, making her quiver all the more. “You gave them costumes from your trunk, the one you so carefully keep separate from your usual stock because the things in there mean something to you.”

She sucked in a breath. “How do you know?”

“Because you almost took my finger off when I touched it the other night.”

Well, he had her there. “I’m not a softie,” she repeated.

He just smiled.

“Am I that transparent?”

“No,” he said. “You’re actually hard as hell to read. You don’t give away much.” He paused, waiting until she met his gaze. “I just happen to know you now. I’m guessing I know you more than you usually allow.”

She sucked in a breath, getting a good lungful of his scent while she was at it, which had her body doing a repeat on the quiver. “You think you know me?”

He grinned a confident, alpha grin that said why yes, he thought he knew her well. “Just because we’ve done…it,” she said, “doesn’t mean—”

“We discussed your sexual vocabulary. ‘It’ is not on the list of acceptable descriptions for what we did.”

“Fine,” she said. “We had wild monkey sex that ruined me for all other men. Happy?”

“Getting there.” He moved in close. Real close. “Tell me more,” he said.

She rolled her eyes, pushed him away, and sipped her coffee. “Thanks for this, by the way,” she said, studying him over the steaming rim. He wasn’t dressed in his usual cargoes today, but in basketball shorts and a T-shirt. “What brings you by?”

He shrugged. “On my way home from a run.”

“How’s your shoulder? Your doctor okay with you running?”

He rolled his shoulder. “It’s great.”

“Is that what your doctor says?”

He flashed a small smile. “Okay, so the great part’s my own personal opinion.”

“And the professional opinion?”

“A few more days before I’m one hundred percent,” he said. Paused. “Maybe a week or two.”

Her breath shuddered out and she set down the coffee. “Oh, Cole. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s no big deal,” he said. “I’ve got plenty to do while Sam and Tanner take over. I could watch paint dry, for instance. Or—”

“Bring me coffee,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah. And I’m looking at that hanging dress display,” he said, his gaze on the contraption she’d created the day before to show off some vintage designer dresses. “No offense, but it looks like you jury-rigged it with…yarn and silk ties?” He shook his head. “It’s about two minutes from falling on someone’s head.”

“I know,” she said. “I’ve got to take it down before I kill someone.”

“I can fix it.”

“No one can fix it,” she said. “It was a whim, and it’s a disaster.”

“Bet me.”

She looked at him, startled. “What?”

He smiled that smile she imagined the spider gave to the fly. “Bet me. If I fix it, I win.”

Her heart tripped. “You win what?”

“Winner’s choice,” he said, and casually sipped his coffee.

Casual, her ass. “So if you can’t fix it?” she asked.

“Your choice,” he said simply. Except nothing with him was simple for her. Not a single thing.

“Now?” she asked, stalling for time, but she was talking to his back because he’d passed by her and was studying her haphazard display. “You’re in workout clothes,” she said. “You’re not packing any goodies in your shorts.”

He chuckled low in his throat, as if he knew damn well he was packing plenty of goodies, just no tools.

“Is sex all you think about?” she asked.

“Around you, yeah. You have anything stronger than the ties? Rope, maybe?”

“I’ve got two sets of handcuffs to go with the police costumes I ordered.”

He craned his neck and looked at her, his expression showing first surprise and then a wicked, sexy mischievousness. “You feeling playful?” he asked softly.

She bit her lower lip and made him laugh.

“Good to know,” he said. “But one thing at a time.”

Half an hour later, he’d fixed the display. When he was done, he rose to his full height, the silk ties she’d used in hand.

He smiled, a badass smile, and then headed toward her.

“Wait,” she said with a laugh, backing up right into her desk, lifting a hand to ward him off. “I never said—”

He kept coming at her until her hand bumped into his chest and then got sandwiched between them, his eyes shining with both amusement and heat. “I win,” he said.

Her heart skipped a beat. And there were all sorts of other reactions as well. “And you pick…?”

“You,” he whispered, and slid his hands to her wrists and pulled them behind her back.

Oh, boy…

Cole smiled against her jaw, she could feel it, and then she felt the soft silk of the tie as he began to wrap it around her wrists, and then…she felt something else.

His phone vibrating.

And vibrating.

“You going to get that?” she asked.

With a rough exhale, he let her go, pulled his phone from his pocket, and stared at the screen. “Shit.”

“Problem?”

“It’s Tanner, and we have a rule. We can’t ignore each other’s calls unless we’re in a life-or-death situation.”

Olivia had to smile at the look on his face. “This is hardly life or death, Cole.”

He looked down at himself and she followed suit. His arousal was making a tent of the front of his basketball shorts.

“Speak for yourself,” he muttered, and answered the phone without a greeting. He listened for thirty seconds, swore viciously, and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“Well?” she asked, already knowing.

“I’ve got to go.” He set himself away from her with grim regret. “Remember where we’re at,” he said, shoving the ties in his pocket.

Her thighs quivered and she took another look at the way he was straining the front of his shorts.

He followed her gaze and a sound like a growl escaped his throat, along with a rough laugh. “Not helping,” he said gruffly, and adjusted himself.

And then he was gone.

Remember where we were at? she thought, having to lean against the desk for support.

She wasn’t likely to forget.

C
ole headed straight for the hut after Tanner’s call.

Tanner wasn’t there, but Sam’s dad was. Mark worked for them part time, along with Becca when she wasn’t teaching. He answered phones and handled client needs.

Mark looked up from the gear he was cataloguing and nodded at Cole. “How’s the shoulder?”

“Totally fine,” Cole said.

Mark grinned at the lie. “You’re as bad as the two idiots you’re saddled with.”

“Speaking of the two idiots, what’s up?”

“Sam’s in the warehouse. Tanner’s here somewhere, checking diving equipment, seeing what we need to order for next year.”

Their diving season was just about over. Not many people out there wanted to brave the fall and winter waters. Sam would spend the winter holed up in the warehouse making boats to spec for clients who had disposable cash. Tanner tended to head south. Way south, across a few borders into South America, where he hired himself out as a diving expert for big bucks.

Cole didn’t get much of a break, but that was by choice. There were plenty of clients who wanted to go winter deep-sea fishing, or out cruising, so he more than anyone tended to keep busy all year long.

Heading down the dock, he boarded the boat. There was a line of equipment portside, in three piles. As Cole stopped in front of the gear, Tanner emerged from the water onto the swimming platform, pulling the diving gear from his face.

“What’s up?” Cole asked.

Tanner shoved his wet hair back and tossed the mask into the far right pile. “Separating the shit gear from the good gear. I’m going to need to spend some money. The rental gear didn’t hold up.”

They had done a much bigger rental business this year than they’d anticipated, which was good. None of them had realized how hard they’d be working, which wasn’t quite as good. On the rigs, they’d worked their asses off for years. The goal had been to come here and enjoy life.

Tanner went belowdecks. By the time Cole followed, he’d stripped out of his wetsuit and was standing in the middle of the galley buck naked, dripping wet.

“Christ,” Cole said, and tossed him a towel. “Cover that shit up.”

Tanner swiped the towel over his head to dry his hair and then made a halfhearted attempt to dry his face, shoulders, and arms before wrapping the towel low and loose on his hips. “I’ve got a problem.”

“So you said on the phone,” Cole said. “You have some craptastic timing, by the way.”

Tanner’s brows went up. “I interrupt anything good?”

“Let’s just say you owe me. Big.”

Tanner looked at him for a long moment. “You were with Olivia.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Didn’t have to,” Tanner said. “Face it, you can’t keep shit to yourself.”

“I can when I want to.”

Tanner was quiet for a beat. “Two weeks ago you fell into the water and needed a rescue—”

“Jesus, I misstepped. I fell. No rescue. And you’ve never made a stupid mistake?”

“I’ve made plenty, as you damn well know. Now shut your pie hole a second and listen.” Tanner pointed at Cole’s mouth when he opened it. “You’ve been going twenty-four/seven since we got here, for two straight years.”

“We all have,” Cole said, unable to keep it zipped.

“Yeah,” Tanner said. “But it’s different. Sam gets off on the boats he makes, so that’s not work to him. Diving is the same for me. But you, you work around the clock, not because it’s your passion but because you want the charter company to succeed, and—”

“Like you don’t want that?”

“—And because you don’t want to deal.”

Cole stared at him, getting pissed off. “Deal with what?”

“You know what. Gil’s death. Your dad’s death. Both unexpected and huge blows—”

Cole made a no-shit-Sherlock sound and shoved his hands into his pockets rather than punch something. Like Tanner’s face.

“And then there’s Susan and the way she left you—”

“Okay,” Cole said tightly. “We’re not going there.”

“—On the day of Gil’s funeral.”

Right, like Cole had forgotten not only being dumped on the worst day of his life, but finding out that his best friend and his almost-fiancée had fallen in love.

Behind his back.

“I know you think you’ve moved on,” Tanner said, “but you haven’t, at least not until now. That’s why we’re happy about Olivia. She’s the first woman to catch your attention since—”

Cole spun on his heel and started off the boat.

Tanner grabbed his arm.

Cole shoved him hard.

“Fine.” Tanner lifted his hands and backed off. “It’s best that we don’t tangle right now, anyway.”

“I don’t tangle with naked-ass motherfuckers.”

Tanner’s smile was much more real this time. “Aw, now you’re just trying to hurt my tender feelings.”

“You called me here,” Cole said. “I’m giving you five seconds to get to your point.”

“Christ, take a Midol already.” Tanner dropped the towel and snatched up a pair of Levi’s. “I needed to ask you something.”

“The answer is yes, you’re definitely suffering cold water shrinkage.”

Tanner snorted as he pulled up his jeans. “You wish.” His smile faded. “I’m going to owe you for this one.”

“What’s up?”

“Elisa and Troy are back.”

Tanner’s ex and his son.

Tanner had married Elisa at age seventeen to give her and the baby his name, and he’d done his absolute best to make them a family. But kids having kids was never easy. Especially wild-ass kids like Tanner and Elisa.

When he had gone into the navy—the only way he’d been able to figure out how to support them—Elisa had packed baby Troy up and moved to Florida to be with her grandparents. The divorce papers had reached Tanner the day he’d become a SEAL.

Tanner had supported Elisa and Troy all these years, gone to see Troy as often as he was allowed, but it hadn’t been an easy relationship.

Troy had turned fifteen last week and celebrated by lighting a bag of dog shit on fire and leaving it on the front porch of the girl who’d dumped him. Problem was, she happened to be the principal’s daughter.

“Elisa wants Troy to live with me for a while,” Tanner said.

Cole nodded. “Good.”

Tanner choked. “Good?”

“You’ve wanted him closer to you for years,” Cole said.

“Yeah, but now he’s fifteen and out of control,” Tanner said. “And hates all authority, including his parents.”

“Yeah?” Cole asked. “Is it like looking in a mirror?”

Tanner didn’t smile.

“You’re not alone,” Cole said. “We’ll help.”

“Good,” Tanner said. “You start tonight. I’m taking a group out that I can’t cancel on.” Tanner tossed him his keys. “Be at my place by six. He’s going to show up by six thirty. Don’t close your eyes, turn your back, or relax. Tie him up if you have to.”

Cole was pretty sure he was kidding about the last part, but damn. He stared down at Tanner’s keys and blew out a breath. He’d been hoping to tie up someone else tonight…

“This isn’t a date,” Olivia said. It was the next night. Halloween. And she was crowded in her small bathroom with Becca and Callie.

“Okay,” Callie said. “But then why are you wearing lip gloss?”

“I always wear lip gloss,” Olivia said.

“Not your Tom Ford lip gloss,” Becca said. “That thing costs an arm and a leg, which I know because I looked it up. Out of my budget. And your budget can’t be that much bigger than mine. Which means that stuff is sacred. And yet you’re wearing it.”

“Damn, you’re smarter than you look,” Olivia murmured. She was staring at herself in the mirror over the bathroom sink in disbelief. Long, flowing wig, red. Silk corset, brilliant green. Matching skirt so snug she’d practically had to spray paint it on.

She was Ariel, the Little Mermaid.

She’d gotten the brilliant idea because Cole was a sea captain. It’d made perfect sense in her mind. But now she felt…silly. “I should cancel.”

Her peanut gallery stared at her reflection in the mirror. “You can’t cancel,” Callie said.

Becca shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

“Why?” Olivia asked.

“Because I haven’t been out on a date in a long time,” Callie said. “I’m living vicariously through you. I need this date, Olivia. Ariel.”

Olivia sighed and stared at herself some more. “It’s not going to work. The costume is…too much.”

“It’s perfect,” Becca said. “It’s gorgeous.
You’re
gorgeous. I mean, who knew you had that rockin’ of a body? Good Lord, woman, you’re going to knock Cole’s socks right off.”

“It’s not a date,” Olivia repeated. “It’s a…favor.” Or so she’d thought, but now she wasn’t so sure. Sleeping with him had changed things in a big way, and she was trying to ignore that, but some things couldn’t be easily ignored.

Callie shook her head. “Honey, trust me, you looking like that makes it a date. His tongue’s going to fall right out of his head.”

“Where in the world do you get all these fantastic costumes?” Becca asked. “This thing looks like the real deal.”

That’s because it was. She’d got it off eBay from a
Stars on Ice
production assistant. “eBay—”

Someone knocked at her door and she froze.

Becca jumped up and down and clapped her hands, looking for all the world like Pink or Kendra in her excitement. “I can’t wait to see what he’s wearing.”

“Don’t you have anything else to do?” Olivia asked in desperation.

“Nope!” Becca said cheerfully.

Olivia walked out of the bathroom. Although in the skintight “fin,”
walked
was a bit of a misnomer.

“Your ass looks really great,” Callie said helpfully from behind her. “But you might not want to sit down. I don’t see you getting up again without splitting that thing. You’re wearing undies, right?”

“Yes!” If a teeny-tiny thong that was really more like a G-string counted…Olivia stopped at the front door, drew a deep breath that threatened to pop open her corset, and then answered the door to…

Captain Jack Sparrow.

She’d always had sort of a secret thing for Johnny Depp in the Pirates movies, but Johnny had nothing on Cole Donovan. In his pirate’s hat, bandana, and long dreads, not to mention sexy scruff, he was smokin’ hot.

And that was before she followed the lines of his leanly muscled body down the white shirt and leather vest to the various weaponry, such as the sword strapped at one lean hip, and boots.

“Wow,” she whispered.