HowMuchYouWantToBet (7 page)

He leaned into her, sniffing the air around her again. “Give me a moment to think. The smell of your perfume is killing me.” He stepped back, his gaze looking clouded. “Maybe I can get you to kiss me this time.”

“Don’t bet on it, Fish Lips.” Neil knew she had to mean it, because her past was at stake if she didn’t.

CHAPTER 7

“Today is not my day.” Neil said, low enough only she could hear the words.

Everything seemed to have gone wrong. The schedule for the guest house was shot. Pulling out the earpiece from her cell phone, she placed the phone to her ear the old-fashioned way. “You can’t get that Austin stone here until
when?
I know Texas isn’t that far.”

“I’m sorry, but the order was sent to the wrong address.” Greg owned the business that was supposed to supply them with the stone. He didn’t sound sorry, he sounded irritated he had to deal with her.

“I figured that out when the shipment got here and all that was in it were red bricks.”

“Look, it’s going to take a week for it to get to you.” Feeling the need to scream in frustration, she told herself to stay professional. “It’s not the date we agreed on, but that’s fine as long as it gets here by then, no later.”

“These things happen in construction. Don’t you know that?”

His implication wasn’t lost on her: Silly woman, not knowing what you’re doing. She took a deep breath. “I understand the reason for the delays.”
Not really, you incompetent S.O.B.
“But this is inconvenient.” She wanted to point out it was his fault, but figured that would just make him take longer to get her order sent correctly.

“I’m going to send some men to come pick up the other order. Don’t worry about it, little lady.

You’ll get used to these things.”

Before she could retort, the phone clicked in her ear. She flipped it shut and put her head down none too gently on the hood of her truck. She told herself cursing wouldn’t cure her frustration, nor would screaming ease the anger. It didn’t stop her from kicking the bumper, however.

“Well, I’m glad the anger’s not aimed toward me.” Neil turned at Gib’s voice.

Her frustration and anger were replaced with pleasure, then irritation. She hadn’t known what Gib meant by “hands on” until he started showing up every day like an employee. Neil had hoped after the baseball game that he’d leave her to do her job. Instead, he felt like a co-manager. He wanted to bounce back ideas, she wanted to get the work done. The worst part was, he trusted her to do the best job she could do.

It would have been easy to put up a wall between them if he hadn’t trusted her so. Neil wanted to lean on him, because she knew she could. A part of her wanted that so badly. If she told herself Gib was a part of the team, then it’d be okay to share the burdens. She had so many of her own that maybe it would be all right to share the ones that were work-related.

“My anger isn’t directed toward you today, but you’ll be just as mad after I tell you what that jerk Greg said.” She explained it to him, feeling better as his expression changed. When she was done, he cursed just as she had wanted to do, earlier.

“My exact thoughts. What do you want me to do?”

He settled himself beside her on the truck. He wore his signature white shirt, and it stretched comfortably across his chest when he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I can’t picture the cottage any other way.”

“We’ll wait, then, and next time we’ll order from somebody who won’t tell me to not worry my pretty little head about his screw-up.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see him grinning. “I’m surprised you didn’t reach through the phone and choke him.”

“I did have to remind myself to stay professional and not tell him to stuff it.”

Gib laughed, a big-bodied laugh that washed over her. “Well, I came here today for my usual visit, and I wanted to tell you that tonight I’ve got to fly out to San Francisco.”

She straightened. “What’s going on?” For the second time since she’d met Gib, he looked uncomfortable. “My father has summoned me. He wants to talk to me. I’m sure it’s about the business. It’s always about the business with him.”

The way he said it made her think there wasn’t much love lost between the two men. She hesitated, and then asked, “Do you think he’s sick again?”

Gib snorted. “His idea of sick is him being in a coma. That’s what it was the last time I took over the business for him.”

“I didn’t know that. It wasn’t in any of the papers.”

“My mother wanted it that way. My father’s paranoia rubbed off on her. Since he reinvented the wheel, per se, people have been trying to ruin my father’s businesses. It’s the reason why he’s so adamant that I take over, not an ‘outsider’ as he puts it.”

Reading between the lines always got her into trouble, but she couldn’t help thinking Gib wanted her to see the not-so-obvious. It made her realize things between them had already begun to change.

The part of her that longed for his companionship made her ask, “And you don’t want to?”

He ran a hand over his unruly hair. “Not taking over the business is not an option for me.”

What about what you want?
Neil wanted to ask. She was about to voice her question when Jason pulled up beside them in his truck.

“Hey, Gib.”

Gib nodded, but didn’t move from his spot. Neil, glad for the interruption, went to the truck. She could feel herself getting pulled into Gib’s troubles. She was caring a whole lot more than what someone in a working relationship should feel. It was a pity. She had to admit to herself that she enjoyed the time they spent together—the business dinners that always felt like dates, the time he spent beside her during construction hours. More and more, her free time was being spent with him. Neil didn’t know how to deal with how she was feeling, she only knew it had to stop.

She told herself that the few steps to Jason’s truck were what she needed to get her head together. She could talk business without remembering how soft the lips were of the man talking to her. There would be relief that no images were conjured up by the sight of the man’s strong, capable hands.

She approached the truck and listened to Jason as he wondered what they needed to do with the shipment of red bricks. The mindless recitation of what would happen soothed her worries about getting too involved with Gib.

“Since putting up the stone is going to be delayed for a week, what do you want the men to do?” Jason asked.

“Start on the interior, so when the shipment finally comes, all we have to do is put it up and the cottage will be done. Oh, and the men can go off to lunch in twenty.”

“Cool. See you later.” Jason waved goodbye to them both and made a quick u-turn to the main site on the hill.

Neil turned back to Gib. He faced facing the cliffs, looking lost in thought. Her throat constricted with an emotion she couldn’t easily ignore. Despite her belief in staying out of other people’s family business, she couldn’t help but ask the question she’d wanted to ask him earlier.

“Have you enrolled in architectural school?”

His focus went slowly back to her and he blinked a few times before answering. “I went by my old school and talked to the dean of the division, Perkin Stanley.”

She smiled. Only he would be on a first-name basis with the dean of California Institute of Architecture. “I only have to do one more semester before I can be licensed.”

Her brows rose, surprised at his answer. “I thought you had a long way to go.”

“Yes and no. A semester can feel like a lifetime, when you have other pressing matters that need attention.”

“Such as having a father in a coma, and running two multi-billion-dollar businesses.”

“I’ll get around to doing it. I should only be gone for two days, at the most.” She’d finally get a break from him. Why wasn’t she happier with the news? “You’ll be back Monday?”

Gib nodded. “I want you to go with me.”

Neil’s heart lept into her throat. “I’m not like you. I don’t have the funds to go off and travel.” Knowing she wanted to go, Neil grabbed for other excuses. “I have a job to do here. The men and I…”

He put a finger to her lips, stopping the flow of nervous chatter. “The men and you don’t have to work seven days a week. Plus, Linny would get grumpy if I told him about all the overtime you guys are putting in over here.”

He rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. Her tongue yearned to flick out and taste it. Neil wanted to see his eyes darken with the same want she felt. He took back his thumb and her breath shuddered out.

He continued speaking as though the action had been nothing more than a touch. “As you never let me forget, I have globs of money. My father is sending the jet for me. All you have to do is pack. I’m probably going to need a shoulder to whine on, after I meet with my father.”

He
would
be low enough to psychologically blackmail her. She wanted to go, which was enough evidence for her to say no. But she was curious now. Who were his parents? How did they raise him? She wanted to know more about Gib, which was the second point of evidence that she shouldn’t go. “Is this trip strictly for pleasure on my part?”

“Depends on you.”

If it were up to her hormones, they would be in the back of her truck right that moment. He was close enough for her to feel the hair along his arm. The tingle moved through her, making her feel dizzy and hot despite the cool weather. She wanted him to soothe the deep ache he ignited inside her and, because she did, Neil moved from him, needing to decide with a somewhat clear head.

There wasn’t any reason to lie to herself. She wanted more from the relationship with Gib, but what? Sex with him would be uncomplicated. It was the companionship he silently offered her each time they were together that would make things extremely complicated. With that added to sex, trouble would be on the horizon, at least on her part.

“Neil, it’s just a trip to San Francisco. If you’re polite on the plane ride, I’ll take you somewhere nice.”

“I’m always nice to you,” she said, matching his playful tone, but she had heard something else in his voice.

She met Gib’s gaze head-on, and the same nameless emotion she’d heard was in his eyes. The quiet outreach for her to understand, the appeal that Neil couldn’t deny. “Since I doubt I’ll ever get another chance to ride on a private jet, I’ll go.”

He placed a hand on her forearm and, for a moment, she doubted her decision. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “What are friends for?”

His eyes darkened, letting her know that “friends” was what they could never be.

*****

Gib couldn’t explain why he had asked Neil to go with him to San Francisco. They didn’t have a sexual relationship—yet. She continued to intrigue him, and maybe that explained one part of the why.

The reason was basic and carnal. He wanted to touch every inch of her, but she wouldn’t let him. He knew from the looks they shared, the way she held her breath when he’d get close to her, that Neil wanted him in equal measure. It was the best damn game of cat and mouse he’d ever played, but that wasn’t all of it, and that was what worried him.

He extracted pleasure from making her sneer, making her laugh, a deep, sultry laugh that belied her choice in clothing. He glanced at her sleeping form, huddled in loose jeans and a shirt.

The clothes hid every feminine attribute, and still he found her sexy. He took one of those wild curls of hair and twirled it around his finger.

His stomach clenched in that all-too-familiar feeling, as if he were on a roller coaster right before the big drop. Yes, he felt desire. What baffled Gib most was why he didn’t push the situation. He could use charm to ease her, buy her gifts to woo her, make her feel more than a woman, a goddess. Each time Gib decided to go that route, he hesitated.

She stirred, and he quickly relinquished his gentle hold on the soft curl of hair. She didn’t wake, leaving his thoughts to run free without interruption. His only explanation for wanting her to come with him was to ease the ache, to have an anchor after his meeting with his father.

He already knew how it would go. They’d exchange pleasantries. His father, a robust man, would settle himself into the gray leather chair in his study by the fire. He would inquire in a mild way about his future, then he’d pick his weapon of choice—guilt. From the way Neil didn’t talk about her mother or father, Gib knew she’d understand.

Her father had been an incredible painter, and parents like that were hard on a child. Expectations were raised to a higher bar, and it could explain her reasons for going into construction. Neil would know, she would understand. But the explanation still left him edgy. Neil stirred again, but this time her eyes opened. She stretched lazily, allowing him a view of her abdomen. Smooth, brown, beautiful, and—his eyes widened with surprise.

“Your belly button is pierced.”

Self-consciously she covered it. “Why do you sound like you just found out a dirty secret of mine?”

He grinned, knowing he had. “Because you don’t look the type. My, my, I’ll be damned.” His mind filled with visions of her wearing only the small ringed stud.

“I’m sure you have a couple of tattoos,” she retorted.

In his mind’s eye, he could still see the diamond glinting in the artificial light. “No, I don’t.” The piercing was more telling than anything she might have said. “We have three minutes before landing. Let me give you the rundown.”

She nodded, situating her shirt. “What hotel are we staying at?”

“No hotel. My parents’ home. Now, don’t freak out. My parents are decent people and they will ensure we stay in different rooms.” He knew that wasn’t her cause of discomfort, but continued. “Business is always first. The meeting will be as soon as we get there, but then my mother will pull us into the dining room for dinner.”

“What’s your mother like?”

His smiled warmed. “Far from soft spoken, anything but staid, and she’s the reason why my father and I can be civil in a warm way.”

She bit her lip. “Why don’t you and your father get along?”

Gib took a deep breath. No woman he’d dated before had ever bothered to question him about his rocky relationship with his father. They’d wanted to know what trips he’d take them on, what size diamonds did he think they were worth, and how long before he’d drop them. Gib let the breath out slowly. He’d been waiting for Neil to ask for an explanation. He was relieved that she finally had. He and Neil weren’t dating, exactly, but it still mattered that she wanted to know.