Real Men Will (25 page)

“A
RE YOU NERVOUS
?” B
ETH
asked, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

Eric turned his head and breathed in the scent of her hair. “No,” he answered. Any minute now, people would start to show up for the grand reopening of Donovan Brothers. The front room looked perfect.

“A little?” she pressed.

“A little. I’m nervous for Jamie. I want everything to be perfect.”

“It will be,” she assured him, and Eric felt better, even though she couldn’t have any idea. He glanced back, through the small windows in the double doors. It was strange to look back and see the kitchen so busy. They’d only used it for prep work in the past.

“Maybe I should go check on the—”

“It’s fine,” Beth assured him. “Jamie’s got it under control. Leave him alone.”

“Right. Okay. Leave him alone.”

“Good boy,” she said with a smile that immediately made him think of sex.

Eric raised an eyebrow. “Good boy? Is this something new you’re into?”

Laughing, she tried to swing away from him, but Eric caught her and tugged her close again. “Tell the truth. You’ve dreamed of getting me in a dog collar, haven’t you?”

When she threw her head back with a loud laugh, Eric took the opportunity to taste her neck. “Mmm.”

“Stop!”

“Why?”

“Because there are people…”

“Maybe that’s what I’m into.”

She clutched his hair and tugged him back. Did she think that would make him less interested? But her wide smile finally distracted him. The sight of her so happy unleashed a frighteningly warm feeling in his chest.

“I have an idea,” she said. “If you really want to try something new.”

“Oh, yeah?” He leaned a little closer.

“Have you ever thought about…waxing?”

“Waxing? Who?”

“You.”

He drew back so quickly that he nearly stumbled. “Are you
insane?
”

“Come on. I hear it’s amazing.”

“Amazingly painful!”

When she started giggling, Eric managed to calm down, though his skin still crawled with terror. “Are you serious?”

She shrugged. “Rex and Harrison do it for Cairo.”

“I don’t want to know that!”

“Sorry,” she said with a shrug that said she wasn’t sorry at all.

“You’re a monster,” he muttered just before the doors flew open.

Jamie’s mouth was grim as he faced the front door. “It’s time.”

“Are you ready?” Eric asked.

“Maybe.”

He slapped his brother on the back. “You’ll be great, Jamie. You need any help?”

“We’re good.”

An hour later, the place was packed with people. Like any normal night, the brewery rang with laughter and music. But the differences were strange and surreal. There were plates and silverware crowded on the tables, the air smelled like spice and tomatoes, and every single face in the crowd was a good friend.

Luke was there, helping out with the occasional spilled glass or dropped utensil. And he’d brought along Simone, who cradled her baby girl in her arms.

Jamie’s girlfriend, Olivia, had brought a few of her friends from the university, and she looked more relaxed than Eric had ever seen her, her face aglow with triumph for Jamie.

The other three dozen people were all friends they’d made over the years. Former servers and employees. Women who worked at the White Orchid. Allies from the local business community.

Smiling, Eric loaded a tray with dirty plates and took it to the kitchen.

If the front room looked subtly different, the kitchen was a different place entirely. Between the oven and the new fridge and the freezer and racks of flatware…he wouldn’t have recognized it if he hadn’t seen the transformation himself. And Faron ruled over it all like a tiny, peaceful dictator. Her word was law in the kitchen, even if her voice was soft and gentle. No one wanted to disappoint her, certainly not Wallace. The man was as lovesick as ever, though much happier now that he’d convinced Faron to love him back. What Eric hadn’t expected was a kinder, gentler Wallace. He didn’t like to yell, because that always drew a disappointed frown from Faron’s direction. Hiring Faron may, in fact, have saved Eric’s sanity. It had certainly saved his eardrums.

“Hey,” Luke said as he pushed through the double doors with two beers in his hands. “You look like you need a drink.”

“Thanks.” Eric took the lager that Luke offered and clinked it against Luke’s beer.
“Sláinte.”

“It’s a good night,” Luke said. “The pizzas are all great. Hell, I even liked the one with marinated eggplant on it.”

“It is a good night. I’m glad you brought Simone. I haven’t seen the baby since September.”

“She’s big now, huh? Smiles and everything.”

“Is it true you babysat this weekend?”

Luke cringed. “With Tessa’s help.”

“Are you in training?”

Luke gave him a sidelong glance. “We haven’t discussed that yet.”

“Yeah,” Eric said with a grin. “I bet that conversation will happen soon. I mean, I can only assume you’re thinking of proposing, since you’re living with her.”

Luke shifted, clearly trying to keep a secret, but Eric just stared.

“Yeah,” he finally admitted. “I’m thinking about it.”

“Good. Don’t think too long.”

Luke cleared his throat. “Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I think Graham Kendall is coming back to the States. The D.A.’s working out a deal.”

“Really?”

“Yep. His dad cut him off, but he’s still paying for the lawyers. Graham will get some jail time and some hefty fines. And I’m sure he’s going to face quite a few civil cases.”

“Good. And Monica?” Eric pressed.

Luke just shook his head. “We had to give that up.”

Eric wanted to tell Luke about Roland Kendall and what he’d done, but Beth had been adamant. She didn’t want any more trouble.

“Thank you,” he said to Luke. “I know a lot of cops wouldn’t have pushed as hard as you did.”

“I had my reasons,” he said with a wink. He tapped his beer against Eric’s one more time, then headed back out to the front.

Beer in hand, Eric watched Faron work with her line cook for a few minutes, but his head was buzzing. Everything was so new. So happy. Needing peace for just a moment, he wandered toward the tank room, using the excuse that one of the bright tanks had been having cooling problems. It took only a moment to check the temperature and pressure gauges, but the faint hum of the machinery was as relaxing as ocean waves for him. Eric pulled up a stool, leaned against a tank and closed his eyes, feeling more at home than he ever had before.

“M
OM
! D
AD
!” B
ETH CALLED
, rushing forward to give her parents a hug. “You made it!”

“We wouldn’t have missed it, sweetheart,” her mom said. Beth squeezed her hard, then let herself be folded into her father’s arms. He’d worn the same cologne for fifty years, and the smell of it tightened her throat with happy tears. “
Querida,
we’ve missed you.”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I’ve been so busy, trying to get Cairo fully trained as manager before the end of the year.”

“I’m happy, so happy you’re changing that place.”

Beth shook her head. “I’m not changing it that much. There will still be plenty of things for you to be embarrassed about, Dad.”

“I’m sure,” he said, though he was clearly telling himself that she really was turning it into a bra store. If that made it easier for him, she was fine with it. He’d been surprisingly silent on the issue, and she could let him have that.

Financially, it wouldn’t be easy for Beth, but every single morning, Beth woke up excited. She was going to be helping women every day. She’d contracted a sex therapist to give classes and seminars every single week. Cairo was running the column and helping to narrow down the toy selection. They were turning half of the back room into a fitting and dressing area, complete with gorgeous pearl satin on the walls. The other half would still showcase toys, but only the best of the best. None of the novelty items that had always made Beth uncomfortable. No more blow-up dolls or two-foot-tall phalluses.

Hiding a smile, Beth turned away to look around the crowded room for Eric, but her dad touched her arm. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to a sign that had just been hung the day before. Beth nearly groaned at the Devil’s Cock logo.

“A new beer,” she explained.

“Ah. I might have to try it.”

Beth cleared her throat. “Let me find you a—”

“Just a moment. I wanted to tell you something.” He drew her to the side.

“What?”

He glanced around. “I went to see Roland Kendall.”

“You
what?
”

“I’ve been trying to contact him for weeks, actually. I finally caught him on his way into work yesterday morning.”

“Dad…
Why?
Why would you do that?”

“I wanted to make this right for you, Beth.”

His quiet words cut through her worry, and she shut her mouth so quickly that her teeth clicked. He didn’t say more, but she heard the meaning behind that simple sentence. The things he couldn’t say. And she loved him for it. “But there’s nothing to make right. I told you about the store.”

“I spoke to him father-to-father. I told him he should be ashamed of himself.”

“I don’t think that kind of thing works on a man like him, Dad.”

Her father smiled. “Regardless, I let him know I was proud of you,
querida.
And that he could never change that. Nothing ever will.”

“Aw, Dad.” She let herself fall into his arms, but she wasn’t the least bit tempted to cry. He was trying. A little late, but better late than never. Much better.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Don’t thank me, Beth. It’s what I should have done a long time ago.”

“Come on. Let’s find you a table. I know you miss the amazing Italian restaurants in Argentina, but I think you’re going to love this pizza.”

After seeing her parents seated and waving a server over, Beth stopped at Luke’s table and leaned close to Simone Parker. “How did it go?” she whispered.

“The date?” She transferred her tiny daughter to her other shoulder and patted her back. “It was a dud, but at least I tried it. Next time it won’t be so scary.”

“Come into the shop next week. I’ve got a great new line.”

“I will.”

Beth was still smiling when she slipped into the back to find Eric. She hadn’t seen him for a while, and she worried he was getting in Jamie’s way. But Eric wasn’t in the kitchen, and he wasn’t in his office. She finally wandered farther back and spotted him in the tank room. She stopped in her tracks to watch him, his private moment framed behind glass.

A pint of beer in hand, he sat in a pose of complete relaxation…his head resting on the steel tank behind him, eyes closed, a small smile turning his lips up. He seemed to relax a little more every day. He was just…happier.

Beth didn’t want to intrude on his space, so she backed up a few feet and turned away to give him a few more minutes alone. But once those minutes were up, she sent a text.
Can you meet me in your office? I want to show you something.

His office door opened more quickly than she’d expected it to. He shut it behind him.

“Hey,” she said.

She was perched on his desk, and his eyes slid down her legs. “Hey, yourself. Is there something I can do for you?”

Beth laughed, happy that her carefully worded text had done the job. She uncrossed her legs and watched his eyes widen for a moment. “I actually just wanted to check on you,” she said, laughing. “And my parents are here. I thought you might want to say hi. You know how much they love you.”

“I’m a pretty great guy.” He stepped closer and spread his hand over the part of her thigh exposed when her skirt had hitched up.

“Everybody thinks you’re so upstanding and reserved,” she said.

“Well, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think my family suspects we’re having sex.”

“No.” She edged her legs farther apart, sighing when his thumb snuck higher up her inner thigh.

“It’s just a hunch. Plus, haven’t you noticed the way Jamie has blushed every time he saw you this week?”

“Actually, now that you mention it, he has seemed nervous. I thought it was grand-opening jitters.”

“Wrong. It was your last column.”

Beth frowned, trying to remember. Then she slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her horrified laugh. “Oh, my God. Didn’t you tell him I didn’t write that one?”

“I thought I’d let him squirm for a little while. And he’s finally starting to treat me with the respect and awe I deserve.”

She slapped his arm, but Eric caught her wrist and drew it around his waist as he slipped between her knees. “Was there anything else you wanted to show me?”

“We need to get back to the party,” she murmured, already distracted by the heat of his body.

“Do we? You’re always telling me to give Jamie his space.”

“Yes, but…” His hand slid up, pushing her skirt higher.

“Jesus, you feel good,” he whispered.

“Eric, we can’t. Not now.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the kind of woman who’ll do anything, anywhere?”

She smiled as his mouth brushed hers. “You know I’m not.”

“Funny.” His breath chased across her cheek as he kissed toward her neck. “You always are with me.”

Beth felt a proud grin stretch across her face. “That’s true. I think—” His thumb dragged along her panties, and she gasped when he touched her clit. “Oh.” His mouth sucked at the perfect spot on her neck, and she sighed as his thumb pressed again. She was immediately, unbearably aroused.

“Eric,” she whispered, meaning to say something and forgetting what it was. Instead, she brushed her knuckles along his pants, just to know that he was already hard for her. She touched him again, tracing her fingertips along the zipper.

“Do it,” he ordered.

Her breath hitched at the hardness of the words. Over the past few weeks, he’d picked up on the way she reacted when he got assertive. Every day, he pushed a little further. And every day, she yielded a little more. Funny, she’d always thought that as a strong, educated woman she needed to be strong in bed. But now she was brave enough to give more than strength.