Cherish Hard
Page 29
Grabbing her satchel, she put her laptop and a notepad into it before walking out. “Ginny, do you know what this meeting at Fast Organic is about?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. It’s with someone your mother hired to do… I think it was interior decorating? Annalisa handled it to help me out.” Ginny bit down on her lower lip. “I’m so sorry, I was so flustered when Jacqueline promoted me to assistant to the vice president, and then she was throwing all this information at me—”
“That’s fine,” Ísa said, knowing exactly how overwhelming Jacqueline could be. “I’ve been through all the files—I can handle this.” No doubt her mother had hired an individual who was in tune with the needs of the restaurant. If not, Ísa had a very good grasp of the intended look and could nudge the designer in the correct direction. “What else is on my calendar today?”
Ginny took a quick look. “I’ve got a note here that you teach night classes on Tuesdays, so I’ve made sure not to schedule anything after three thirty for you.”
“Excellent.” Ísa glanced at her watch. “I won’t return to the office after the meeting—but if anything comes up, you have my number.”
“Okay, boss,” Ginny said brightly. “You make a really great vice president!” the brunette called out a minute later as Ísa headed down the corridor.
Ísa just waved behind her. It didn’t matter if she was good at it; she didn’t love it in the least. Not like she loved the poetry of William Butler Yeats and Percy Bysshe Shelley and Elizabeth Barrett Browning as well as the works of innovative modern poets like Nikita Gill. Not like she loved sharing the joy of those works with young minds. For her, the VP position was just a job. A job she’d been blackmailed into taking.
“Only for the summer.” Leaving the colorful environs of Crafty Corners on that quiet reminder to herself, she got into her car.
She was mentally reviewing the concept plans for the Fast Organic stores when she turned in to the parking lot of the first location. Her eyes widened, her mouth going dry as her heart pulsated with a hard beat.
“Oh, Ginny.” She groaned as she brought the car to a stop next to Sailor’s truck. “It wasn’t interior decorating but exterior decorating.”
And there he was, crouching in one corner of the parking lot as he measured something. His thighs were strong and thick and really impossible to avoid staring at, given how he was crouching down. She could also see part of the tattoo composed of intricate shapes and lines on his left thigh, and it made her want to run her fingers over it… Maybe her lips too, if she were being honest.
No, Ísa, she told herself sternly. There are many, many reasons why he is very, very wrong for you.
Even if she was willing to be stupid and forget all those other reasons, Sailor Bishop struck her as a charmer—and Ísa had seen firsthand what happened to women who fell for charmers. It never ended well for the woman.
Not even Jacqueline had managed to hold on to her favorite charmer—Ísa’s father.
There was a reason Jacqueline was now in a happy marriage with a professor twelve years her senior who couldn’t charm to save his life. He and Jacqueline had a quiet joy between them that Ísa coveted.
Meanwhile, Stefán kept on charming women and racking up the young brides.
There was a lesson there in glaring neon.
But…, the devil in her whispered, not for the first time, while you’re waiting to find your forever, how about some naughty times in the back of Sailor Bishop’s truck?
Telling Devil Ísa to shut up and that the debate was over, Ísa got out and crossed the parking lot to Sailor, her satchel banging against her hip. He looked up with a smile at her approach.
Blue heat in those eyes, open male admiration.
“So,” she said, “you’re going to be our landscaper, are you?” She folded her arms and tried desperately to think of something nasty to say that would make him stop trying to charm her—because Ísa wasn’t so sure about her own self-control where this man was concerned. “What a big surprise.”
Dark clouds swept across his expression. “I don’t need to sleep with anyone to get work contracts, spitfire.” A slow grin. “Though I am flattered that you think I can use my body to climb my way to the top.”
Cheeks threatening to go hot, Ísa said, “Let’s get this over with. What’s your plan?” Jacqueline had given her the basic outline, but that was it.
“All the plans are in the truck,” he said, nudging his head that way as he rose to his feet. “Did you get the gift I left for you with the front desk?”
Ísa was about to answer when her eyes fell to his knuckles. They were red and scraped. As if he’d punched someone in the jaw. “You hit Cody,” she said, the words coming out a stunned whisper.
Even though she’d suspected, she hadn’t really believed it.
A shrug of those big shoulders. “Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because it needed to be done.” His hand cupping her jaw, the pad of his thumb brushing across her lips—and his eyes steely in a way that kept startling her. “I should’ve done it that night, but I never went back into the warehouse after I ran out behind you.”
As if that was enough. As if men went around punching other men all the time for the simple reason that they’d once badly hurt a woman.
He stepped closer, the heat of his body a rough caress and his smile like sunlight on her skin. “You planning to kiss my knuckles better?”
That scary, beautiful charm again.
Like melted chocolate and sin and all things just a little bit bad.
18
Temptation & Distraction
HIS REDHEAD GLARED AT HIM.
Sailor knew he shouldn’t be messing with the vice president of the company for which he was doing the biggest job of his career so far, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Is this what you call professional behavior?” Her tone was so icy that he almost bought it for a second—but then he caught the flush at the very tips of her ears.
Fascinated, he nearly gave in to the urge to lean down and nip at the nearest tip to see if she was sensitive there. He hadn’t done that while she was naked in his arms in the water. In fact, he hadn’t done a lot of things he wanted to do with and to this redhead with her blushes and her smart mouth and her way of looking at him as if she’d like to eat him up—after ripping off his clothes and running her hands all over him.
Sailor was quite willing to be her sacrifice.
Even if she was a curvy distraction.
Because this distraction didn’t only make his blood burn, she made the day brighter just by being in it. Every time he was lucky enough to be with her, he was just… happier. That was worth fighting for. Worth any prickles. Worth the bruised knuckles. Worth the super-early-morning starts just so he could carve out time in his day to play with her.
“My apologies, Ms. Rain,” he said. “I’ll keep it strictly professional from now on.”
A distinctly suspicious glint in her eye.
Hiding his grin as he grabbed his stuff from the truck, he spread out the detailed plan on the hood. Anchoring the top of the plan with his cell phone and the tape measure, he put his hand on the third edge and Ísa put her hand on the final one.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. It’s with someone your mother hired to do… I think it was interior decorating? Annalisa handled it to help me out.” Ginny bit down on her lower lip. “I’m so sorry, I was so flustered when Jacqueline promoted me to assistant to the vice president, and then she was throwing all this information at me—”
“That’s fine,” Ísa said, knowing exactly how overwhelming Jacqueline could be. “I’ve been through all the files—I can handle this.” No doubt her mother had hired an individual who was in tune with the needs of the restaurant. If not, Ísa had a very good grasp of the intended look and could nudge the designer in the correct direction. “What else is on my calendar today?”
Ginny took a quick look. “I’ve got a note here that you teach night classes on Tuesdays, so I’ve made sure not to schedule anything after three thirty for you.”
“Excellent.” Ísa glanced at her watch. “I won’t return to the office after the meeting—but if anything comes up, you have my number.”
“Okay, boss,” Ginny said brightly. “You make a really great vice president!” the brunette called out a minute later as Ísa headed down the corridor.
Ísa just waved behind her. It didn’t matter if she was good at it; she didn’t love it in the least. Not like she loved the poetry of William Butler Yeats and Percy Bysshe Shelley and Elizabeth Barrett Browning as well as the works of innovative modern poets like Nikita Gill. Not like she loved sharing the joy of those works with young minds. For her, the VP position was just a job. A job she’d been blackmailed into taking.
“Only for the summer.” Leaving the colorful environs of Crafty Corners on that quiet reminder to herself, she got into her car.
She was mentally reviewing the concept plans for the Fast Organic stores when she turned in to the parking lot of the first location. Her eyes widened, her mouth going dry as her heart pulsated with a hard beat.
“Oh, Ginny.” She groaned as she brought the car to a stop next to Sailor’s truck. “It wasn’t interior decorating but exterior decorating.”
And there he was, crouching in one corner of the parking lot as he measured something. His thighs were strong and thick and really impossible to avoid staring at, given how he was crouching down. She could also see part of the tattoo composed of intricate shapes and lines on his left thigh, and it made her want to run her fingers over it… Maybe her lips too, if she were being honest.
No, Ísa, she told herself sternly. There are many, many reasons why he is very, very wrong for you.
Even if she was willing to be stupid and forget all those other reasons, Sailor Bishop struck her as a charmer—and Ísa had seen firsthand what happened to women who fell for charmers. It never ended well for the woman.
Not even Jacqueline had managed to hold on to her favorite charmer—Ísa’s father.
There was a reason Jacqueline was now in a happy marriage with a professor twelve years her senior who couldn’t charm to save his life. He and Jacqueline had a quiet joy between them that Ísa coveted.
Meanwhile, Stefán kept on charming women and racking up the young brides.
There was a lesson there in glaring neon.
But…, the devil in her whispered, not for the first time, while you’re waiting to find your forever, how about some naughty times in the back of Sailor Bishop’s truck?
Telling Devil Ísa to shut up and that the debate was over, Ísa got out and crossed the parking lot to Sailor, her satchel banging against her hip. He looked up with a smile at her approach.
Blue heat in those eyes, open male admiration.
“So,” she said, “you’re going to be our landscaper, are you?” She folded her arms and tried desperately to think of something nasty to say that would make him stop trying to charm her—because Ísa wasn’t so sure about her own self-control where this man was concerned. “What a big surprise.”
Dark clouds swept across his expression. “I don’t need to sleep with anyone to get work contracts, spitfire.” A slow grin. “Though I am flattered that you think I can use my body to climb my way to the top.”
Cheeks threatening to go hot, Ísa said, “Let’s get this over with. What’s your plan?” Jacqueline had given her the basic outline, but that was it.
“All the plans are in the truck,” he said, nudging his head that way as he rose to his feet. “Did you get the gift I left for you with the front desk?”
Ísa was about to answer when her eyes fell to his knuckles. They were red and scraped. As if he’d punched someone in the jaw. “You hit Cody,” she said, the words coming out a stunned whisper.
Even though she’d suspected, she hadn’t really believed it.
A shrug of those big shoulders. “Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because it needed to be done.” His hand cupping her jaw, the pad of his thumb brushing across her lips—and his eyes steely in a way that kept startling her. “I should’ve done it that night, but I never went back into the warehouse after I ran out behind you.”
As if that was enough. As if men went around punching other men all the time for the simple reason that they’d once badly hurt a woman.
He stepped closer, the heat of his body a rough caress and his smile like sunlight on her skin. “You planning to kiss my knuckles better?”
That scary, beautiful charm again.
Like melted chocolate and sin and all things just a little bit bad.
18
Temptation & Distraction
HIS REDHEAD GLARED AT HIM.
Sailor knew he shouldn’t be messing with the vice president of the company for which he was doing the biggest job of his career so far, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Is this what you call professional behavior?” Her tone was so icy that he almost bought it for a second—but then he caught the flush at the very tips of her ears.
Fascinated, he nearly gave in to the urge to lean down and nip at the nearest tip to see if she was sensitive there. He hadn’t done that while she was naked in his arms in the water. In fact, he hadn’t done a lot of things he wanted to do with and to this redhead with her blushes and her smart mouth and her way of looking at him as if she’d like to eat him up—after ripping off his clothes and running her hands all over him.
Sailor was quite willing to be her sacrifice.
Even if she was a curvy distraction.
Because this distraction didn’t only make his blood burn, she made the day brighter just by being in it. Every time he was lucky enough to be with her, he was just… happier. That was worth fighting for. Worth any prickles. Worth the bruised knuckles. Worth the super-early-morning starts just so he could carve out time in his day to play with her.
“My apologies, Ms. Rain,” he said. “I’ll keep it strictly professional from now on.”
A distinctly suspicious glint in her eye.
Hiding his grin as he grabbed his stuff from the truck, he spread out the detailed plan on the hood. Anchoring the top of the plan with his cell phone and the tape measure, he put his hand on the third edge and Ísa put her hand on the final one.
