The Trouble With Love (21 page)

Jayce shrugged out of his coat and draped his holstered gun over a chair. He settled in beside Rocky and crossed his feet at the ankles.

They were both clothed. Jeans and a wrinkled tee on Jayce. Rocky in her sweatpants and zippered hoodie. Only their shoulders touched. There was nothing inappropriate about Jayce lounging in her bed, yet her face burned red and her stomach fluttered. She nabbed the remote and turned on the television, surfed three channels until she landed on The History Channel. Some show about Medieval warfare. Nothing romantic about that.

Jayce stole the remote and thumbed down the sound. “What about the guys on the crew?”

“What?”

“The guys doing the renovations. Anyone overly friendly? Any lewd looks or remarks?”

“No.”

“Did one of them ask you out? Anyone linger after the others were gone?”

“You think one of the construction guys rolled through here with a pair of binoculars, hoping to catch a glimpse of me parading around naked or something?”

“I don’t know what to think. Just fishing.”

Rocky sipped beer, shrugged. “Some of the guys flirt. That’s what guys do,” she said matter-of factly. “But no one crossed the line and I sure as hell didn’t encourage anyone.”

“Don’t bite my head off, Dash.”

“Sorry. I feel foolish and I’m taking it out on you.” She sipped more beer, then, cheeks hot, cut Jayce a glance. “You don’t think it was a subliminal freak-out, do you? My mind playing tricks to get you over here even after I said we should play it cool?”

His mouth tilted with a wry smile. “That would be flattering, but that’s not how you’re built.”

“Know me that well, do you?”

“Not as well as I’d like to.”

“Just because we’re good together in the sack doesn’t mean we’d be good together in life.”

“Chickenshit.”

“I’m not…” She tamped down her temper. “You’re a pain in my ass, Bello.”

“You love it.”

She did. She blew out a breath and cursed a mental blue streak as Jayce flipped channels and landed on Animal Planet. All sorts of gushy, mushy young-girl feelings flooded her body as he smiled at the sight of a couple of mutt dogs interacting with seniors in a rest home. She worried she’d never fallen out of love with Jayce. She worried she was hopelessly, passionately
in
love with Jayce. It scared the hell out of her, because she’d never wanted anything so bad and her greatest and grandest desires always seemed to flounder.

“About our fight,” Jayce said, still focused on the screen.

“Which one?”

“The one in New York.”

She cast him a suspicious look. “Which part?”

“The part about my proposal.”

“And my immature reaction?” She blew out a breath. “That was snarky. Sorry. You’re right. Let’s clear the air.” Otherwise she’d harbor a grudge, which was detrimental to moving on.

“Until yesterday,” Jayce said, holding her gaze, “I didn’t realize you’d misconstrued my intentions.”

Her back went up, but she willed an even tone. “I didn’t misconstrue anything. You said, and I quote: ‘
We should get married.
‘Should’ as in ‘it’s the right thing to do.’ Dev married Janna out of honor and look how that turned out.”

“Let’s keep the focus on us, Dash. I know what I said that morning. I know what I didn’t say. I confess I’d been blind to the depth of your infatuation, so the seduction took me by surprise. You, us together—how powerful it was blew my mind.” He met her gaze. “The feelings you inspired knocked me on my ass. I may not have phrased it right, but I meant what I said. We should get married in that we’d be good together. As in I wanted to be with you. I sure as hell didn’t want any other man to have you.”

Heart pounding, Rocky stared. “The fact that I was underage had nothing to do with it?”

“Hell, yes, that factored in. It also mattered that you were,
are,
my best friend’s sister. It was damned complicated and I was twisted up good.” He reached over and wrapped his hand over hers. “But I never would have proposed solely out of duty. I cared about you too much to play false.”

Cared,
not loved.
Still.
Rocky knocked the back of her thick noggin against her headboard. “I feel like an idiot.”

“Same here.”

“Why didn’t you say something before now?”

“You wouldn’t let me.”

Her entire body flushed with the truth of that simple statement. She’d shut him down, pushed him away … for thirteen years. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say we’ve made peace with the past. Say you’re ready to approach our attraction with a clean slate.”

A clean slate sounded like heaven. Like somewhere she’d never been where the possibilities were endless. She flashed on Gram’s reckless approach to life. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Chickenshit, my ass.
“I’m ready.”

He kissed the back of her hand, winked. “Good.”

Heart pounding, Rocky finished off her beer, set the bottle on her nightstand alongside the mallet. She felt flustered and wonderful and a little self-conscious. “So where do we go from here?”

“Forward.”

“How’s that work exactly?”

“We’ll find out together.”

She tingled with anticipation and, wow,
contentment?
“So this is us at peace, huh?”

Grinning, he sipped beer and squeezed her hand.

Her pulse raced. “I guess
something
good came out of my bizarre freak-out. Thank you for coming tonight, Jayce.”

“I’ve seen too much to dismiss sixth sense, babe. Just because I didn’t spot anyone, that doesn’t mean someone wasn’t there.”

“It could’ve been two teens stealing away for a hookup for all I know. Why did I think the worst?”

Jayce didn’t answer, but he did open his arms.

Rocky snuggled close. “Thanks for not making me feel like a paranoid twit.”

He kissed the top of her head, flipped off the bedside light.

Together they watched some show about adoptable pit bulls.

Rocky thought about Jayce’s devotion to homeless animals and his new commitment to combat cyberbullying. For as long as she’d known him he’d championed the underdog. For the first time ever she wondered what fueled that passion. Exhausted from the whirlwind day and content in the moment, she decided to pursue that discussion another time. Moving forward entailed more nights like this, right? Not to mention the time she’d be spending at his house. Transforming every room would take time. More than ever, she relished the challenge of making that stark house a warm home.

Rocky tugged at Jayce’s collar, bade him to meet her gaze. “Feel like sleeping over?”

He smiled—a smile that wrapped around her heart and pumped through her system like freaking sunshine. Pulling her closer, he brushed a possessive kiss over her lips. “Thought you’d never ask.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Rocky didn’t remember falling asleep. She didn’t hear Jayce leave, but when she woke up the feeble light of morning illuminated her room and he was gone. She remembered then that he’d said something about a 9:00 a.m. meeting. She glanced at her bedside clock.

9:45

For real? The construction crew would be here in fifteen minutes.
Get your lazy rear in gear, Monroe.
She never slept this late. Amazing she’d slept at all given her scare, but instead of having nightmares about a potential vampire stalker, she’d dreamed about puppy dogs and Jayce.

She looked to see if he’d left a note but didn’t see anything. She checked her phone. He’d sent a text at 8:00 a.m.

CALL IF U NEED ME

She smiled and hugged the phone to her chest. A second later, she rolled her eyes.
Sap
.

Still wearing her sweats and a cami, Rocky rolled out of bed shivering as cold air brushed over her bare arms. She moved to the cracked open window to close out the chilly breeze. Dark clouds loomed, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Maybe the construction crew wouldn’t come after all. Although there was plenty to keep them busy inside.

Flashing back to the night before, Rocky stared out at the vast lawn, the distant mountains, the nearby road. Everything looked normal. So why couldn’t she shake that icky feeling of being watched?

“You’re being ridiculous,” she told herself. Still, maybe she’d forgo her run through the woods this morning. Running with the willies, dodging shadows, and enduring heart palpitations at every unexpected sound did not appeal. Not to mention a storm was brewing. Considering the late hour, she’d do better to shower and race over to the DMV in Pixley, replace her license, and … Rocky froze halfway to the shower. She couldn’t race anywhere. Not on her own. Not without her driver’s license.

Watch your ass, Rocky. I am.

She reeled with a troubling notion. Was it possible? Anything was possible, she supposed, but why would Billy spy on her? She hadn’t thought to mention their run-in to Jayce because she’d pretty much pushed the incident from her mind. It’s not like Billy hadn’t had legal reason to pull her over. Her taillight
had
been broken. Knocked out, she assumed, by a careless driver in the airport parking lot. Not that she thought she deserved a ticket, but Billy had been a jerk to Rocky and her brothers ever since she could remember. Their dads were longtime rivals, and Billy had an inferiority complex that had manifested into shifty arrogance. She’d chalked up his
warning
to his normal dickhead behavior.

Just then her cell phone rang. Speaking of dickheads or, rather,
pinheads.
“Morning, Tasha.”

“I need you to call everyone and schedule an emergency meeting of the Cupcake Lovers,” she said in a rushed, hushed voice. “I’ll touch down at Starlight around four. To be on the safe side, make it for five.”

“What’s going on?”

“I can’t go into it right now. I’m in the middle of that cupcake tour with Brett. I slipped into the restroom to give you a heads-up.”

“Are they canceling the book?”

“God, no. They’re sending a video crew to shoot footage of the club in action. Footage for a documentary and a book trailer.”

Rocky blinked. “We haven’t signed the contract yet.”

“Dev got it, right? Brett said Legal overnighted three copies.”

“He got it and he’s looking it over.”

“I’m sure everything’s fine. If not, he can haggle. Meanwhile Highlife wants to take advantage of our involvement with the Spookytown Spectacular. A small film crew’s been booked to fly up and cover the event. There’ll be interviews and random shots and … I’ll fill everyone in when I get home.”

Rocky’s head spun. “I’m not sure everyone will be available on such short notice.”

“Just gather as many members as you can. It’s important.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s crucial I impress upon everyone the importance of being on our best behavior. Highlife thinks the Cupcakes Lovers are squeaky-clean, all-American do-gooders.”

“Last I knew there weren’t any ax killers in the club.”

“Would you be serious?”

“I am.”

“We, everyone, need to be on our best behavior. No bickering or backstabbing. No scandal. No freaking drama.”

Rocky sank down on the bed. Drama like her possibly being stalked? By the town’s deputy, no less? Drama like Monica not being able to conceive and suspecting Leo of having a roving eye? Or Chloe being ticked at Rocky for keeping her attraction to Jayce under wraps? Scandal like Gram getting ready to shack up with Vincent? “Well, hell.”

“You see what I mean,” Tasha said, still whispering. “We need to clean up our act. That includes you and me.”

“Did hell just freeze over?”

“We don’t have to be best buds; we just need to be civil. At least while the film crew’s in town.”

Rocky smirked. “You must want the deal even more than I thought.”

“You have no idea. I have to go. Arrange the meeting. Text me the location.”

Tasha disconnected, leaving Rocky with mixed feelings of dread and joy. Highlife’s commitment to this project was impressive, and no doubt most of the members would be ecstatic about the potential rocket to fame. Nowadays who didn’t want their slice of televised glory? Well, except maybe Rachel. However, having to police their personal lives … the thought was daunting, not to mention annoying.

Irritated, Rocky dialed Jayce.

“You okay?” he asked, answering midway through the first ring.

“Annoyed.”

“At me?”

Her mouth twitched. “For once, no.”

“What’s up, Dash?” Jayce asked with a smile in his voice.

Squaring her shoulders, Rocky took what she hoped was a step forward in their relationship. “I need a favor.”

*   *   *

“Is this a bad time?”

Luke glanced up from the inventory list to the woman peering in through his partially opened office door. The veil of dull blond hair hiding three-quarters of her face was a dead giveaway.
Rachel.

“I knocked,” she said in a tentative voice, “but when you didn’t answer…”

“Sorry. I was concentrating.” Trying to make sense out of the jumble of numbers and words in front of him. Distracted, Luke waved her inside his office without maintaining eye contact.

“Nell asked me to tell you that the delivery guy is getting impatient. He’s only midway through his route and—”

“Like I don’t have other obligations? Tell him I’ll be right there,” Luke snapped. “No, wait. Sorry, Rachel. Bad day.” Chest tight, he passed her Pete’s clipboard. “Do me a favor and rattle off the liquors and quantities listed while I find the damned file for the Sheffields’ birthday party. It’s a multi-tasking Monday.”

Luke listened as Rachel quietly relayed the detailed list. She read quickly and with ease. He committed every word to focused thought. Meanwhile he rooted through a file cabinet, looking for the file that included all the anal details for Amy Sheffield’s sixteenth birthday party even though he knew precisely where the file was.

When Rachel finished, Luke took back the clipboard and signed off at the bottom. “Ask Nell to tell Pete everything looks great. Sorry for the wait.”

Rachel nodded, taking back the clipboard and leaving Luke’s office without another word.