A Bargain with the Boss (16 page)

“You said I knew,” he said to Dixon. “Why did you think I knew?”

“Because of that night when we overheard.”

“What night?”

“In the sitting room, listening at the air vent.”

“We did that all the time.”

Many nights, after their nanny had put them to bed, they'd sneak out of their room and listen to conversations going on downstairs. Usually they'd do it during parties, but they'd listened in on plenty of their parents' conversations, as well.

“They had a huge shouting match,” said Dixon. “Dad accused her of fooling around. She denied it at first, but then admitted it. He said you had someone named Robert's hair and eyes.”

Tuck sifted through his brain, but that particular fight didn't stand out. “I don't remember.”

“You don't remember learning you might have a different father?”

“I must not have understood. How old was I?”

“Young,” Dixon answered thoughtfully. “I said ‘wow,' and you said ‘wow' back. And I thought you got the meaning.”

“I can only guess it went right over my head.”

“Wow,” said Dixon.

“I'm not going back to the way things were,” said Tuck.

For some reason, the path forward crystalized inside his mind.

“Our father can like it or not,” he continued. “But it's my company, too. I'm every bit as much his son as you are. I'm not going to be some token partner afraid of voicing my opinion. I'm going to fight you. I'm going to fight hard for what I know is right. Zachary is gone. He stays gone. Harvey, too. Amber...” He hadn't thought his way through what to do about Amber.

“Amber's great,” said Dixon.

Tuck looked up sharply. He didn't like the tone of his brother's voice, and he didn't like the expression on Dixon's face. “You stay away from Amber.”

“I will not. She's my assistant.”

“And that's
all
she is.”

“That's far from all she is.”

Tuck found himself coming to his feet. “You better explain that statement.”

“Explain it how?”

Tuck's voice rose. “What else is she? What is Amber to you? She won't date her boss. She can't date her boss. She would be supremely stupid to date her boss.”

“Why?”

“Because it'll end badly for her. That sort of thing always does.”

“So you didn't date her?”

“
No
, I didn't date her.” Tuck would have dated her. But she'd said no. And she was right to say no.

“And you didn't sleep with her.”

“What?”
Tuck glared at his brother.

“You're acting pretty jealous for a guy who never dated her.”

“I care about her, okay? Sure, I care about her. She's a nice woman. She's a fantastic woman. She's been through a lot, and now she's taking care of her sister. She does that. She takes care of people. She didn't like me, but she helped me anyway. And the whole time you were gone, she had
nothing
but your best interests at heart.”

“She's loyal,” said Dixon. “You've said that before.”

“She is, to her detriment at times.”

“Well, for a woman who's supposedly incredibly loyal to me, she sure talks a lot about you.”

The statement took Tuck aback. “She does?”

“Almost as much as you talk about her.”

“I don't—”

“Give it up, Tuck. You're obsessed with her.”

“I like her. What's not to like?”

“You think she's pretty?”

Tuck could barely believe the stupidity of the question. “That's obvious to anybody with a set of eyes.”

“You think she's hot?”

“Have you seen her shoes?”

“What shoes?”

“The... You know.” Tuck pointed to his feet. “The straps and the heels and the rhinestones and things.”

“Never noticed.”

“There's something wrong with you, man.”

“Why didn't you date her?” Dixon asked.

“Because I was her boss.”

“Afterward—now—why don't you ask her out?”

Tuck sat back down and reached for the bottle on the table between them. He took off the cap and poured himself another drink.

“I did,” he admitted. “She said no.”

Dixon cocked his head. “Did she understand the question?”

“Yes, she understood the question.”

“Did she give you a reason?”

“She doesn't trust me. She's got it in her head that I'm still an irresponsible playboy. She doesn't think she can count on me.”

Tuck knew why she would feel that way. He also knew she deserved to feel that way. But she was wrong. If she'd give him half a chance, she'd find out she could count on him.

“So that's it? You're not going to fight?”

“How do I fight something like that?”

“How do you fight Dad? How do you fight his perception of you?”

“By standing up for myself. By taking my rightful place in this family.”

Dixon cracked a smile. “And?” It was obvious he thought he had Tuck cornered.

“It's not the same thing. I have no rights to Amber at all.”

“You do if she's in love with you.”

“She's not—” Tuck froze. He gaped at his brother. “What makes you say that?”

“I asked her.”

Tuck moved his jaw, struggling to voice the question, terrified to voice the question. “Did she say yes?”

“She said no.”

Everything inside Tuck went flat. In that second, he realized he'd held out hope. He'd known it was impossible, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from dreaming.

“But she was lying,” said Dixon.

Tuck blinked in bafflement.

“She's in love with you, bro.”

“That can't be.” Tuck didn't dare hope.

“I'm not saying she's smart or right. I'm just saying she is.”

A million thoughts exploded inside Tuck's head. Was it possible? Should he give it another shot? Should he not take her refusal at face value?

“You need to fight,” said Dixon. “You're tough, and you're smart and you know what you deserve. Fight Dad, fight Amber if she's being stubborn. Hell, fight me if you think I'm wrong.”

Tuck tried but failed to temper his hope. “You are wrong. You're wrong about a lot of things.”

“Then, fight me.”

“But I hope you're right about this.”

“You love her?”

“Yes,” said Tuck, knowing it was completely and irrevocably true. He was in love with Amber and he was going to fight for her with everything he had.

* * *

Amber rocked Crystal in her arms while Jade worked on an English essay on her laptop. She told herself they were a family now. She had her job back, and the future was bright. Little Crystal was perfect, and she was going to grow up safe and happy, knowing she had a devoted mom and aunt to care for her.

Her gaze strayed to a glossy magazine on the coffee table.
Chicago About Town
. Jade had brought it home with the groceries. There was an inset photo on the bottom left, Tuck with a beautiful blonde woman. She didn't know who it was and it was impossible to know when the photo was taken. But Amber was jealous.

Tuck was back to his old life, while Dixon's words kept echoing inside her head.
Are you in love with Tuck?

How could she have fallen in love with Tuck? How could she have been so foolish? She had so much going for her right now. Jade was working hard. She was going to pass her equivalency test. She was going to be a great mom.

Amber kissed the soft top of Crystal's head. The future was blindingly optimistic. All she had to do was get Tuck out of her head.

Her chest tightened and her throat seemed to clog.

“Amber?” Jade asked softly.

Amber swallowed. “Yes?”

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Jade rose from her chair. “Is it too much?”

It was. It was far too much. Amber didn't know if she'd be able to get over him. She didn't want to keep fighting her feelings.

“Me and Crystal?” Jade continued. “Are we too much work?”

“What? No. No, honey. It's not you.”

“You look so sad.”

“I'm just tired.”

“No, you're sad.”

“I miss him,” Amber admitted.

“Tuck?”

“How can I miss him? I know who he is. I know where it was going. But I couldn't seem to talk myself out of it.”

Jade moved toward her, sympathy in her expression. “I know how you feel.”

“Does it go away?”

A knock sounded on the door.

“Eventually, your head will overtake your heart,” said Jade. “Though it can take a while.”

Amber didn't like the sound of that. Her head was stronger than her heart, always. It was what had kept her safe and sane all these years. How could it be failing her now?

The knock sounded again and Jade brushed Amber's shoulder on the way to answer it.

Amber hugged her niece tight.

“I'm looking for Amber.” Tuck's voice made Amber sit up straight. “Is she home?”

A buzzing started in the center of her brain, radiating to her chest then along her limbs. What was he doing here?

“What do you want?” asked Jade.

“To talk to her.”

“Is it about work?”

“Yes.”

Amber came slowly to her feet, careful not to disturb Crystal.

“It's okay,” she said to Jade.

Jade sighed and opened the door wider.

Amber came forward. “Tuck?”

Jade gathered Crystal from her arms while Tuck smiled at the baby.

“She's beautiful,” he said.

“What do you want?” Amber asked.

Tuck met her gaze. “I'm coming to work on Monday.”

The words surprised her.

“Dixon's contemplating bringing Zachary back,” said Tuck.

“He told me that, too,” said Amber.

“It's a bad idea.”

“I agree.”

Tuck glanced behind her. “You mind if I come in?”

She hesitated, but she didn't want to be rude. “Okay.”

“Did you tell him that's what you thought?” Tuck asked as she shut the door behind them.

“I did. Then I was afraid he might fire me.”

“Dixon's not going to fire you.”

“He didn't.” But she'd made a mental note to keep her opinions to herself. She had grown used to being frank with Tuck, but her relationship with Dixon had always been more formal. She had to respect that.

Cooing to Crystal, Jade made her way down the hall, obviously deciding to give them some privacy.

“Are you planning to stop him?” Amber asked. “From rehiring Zachary.”

“I'm going to try,” said Tuck, moving to the middle of the room. “I'm going back, and I'm going to fight for what I want.”

She was puzzled. “Why?”

“Because it's my company, too.”

“It's a lot of work.”

Right now, as he had in the past, Tuck had the best of all possible worlds.

“It is,” he agreed.

“You don't need to do it.”

“I disagree with that. Tucker Transportation can't run itself.”

“But Dixon—”

“Dixon doesn't know everything.”

“He knows a lot.”

Tuck frowned. “What do you think of my brother?”

The question struck her as odd. “You know what I think of your brother. We spent weeks discussing what I thought of your brother.”

“We spent weeks trying to keep our hands off each other.”

Amber couldn't believe she'd heard right.

“Let me put that another way,” he said.

“Good idea.”

“What do you think of me?”

“Right this moment?”

“Right this moment.”

Amber reached down and lifted the magazine, putting the cover in front of his face, reminding herself of exactly who he was.

“What?” He squinted.

“I think you're exactly what you seem.”

“That's Kaitlyn.”

“Nice that you remember her name.”

“That's from last year. At the charity thing. The one for the animals. Pets, not the zoo.”

“The humane society?”

“Yes.”

“Did you have a nice time?”

“Why are you asking? What difference does that make now?”

“Because it's on the cover of a magazine.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “I'm not dating anyone, Amber.”

“I don't care.”

But she was lying. She did care. She couldn't stand the thought of him with another woman. She wanted him for herself and she didn't know how to stop wanting that.

“You should care,” he said. “You better care.”

“I don't—”

“I asked you what you thought of me.”

“And I told you.”

He snapped the magazine from her hands and tossed it on the table. “Use words.”

Her brain stumbled around. With him standing so close, she found she couldn't lie. “You're not good for me.”

“Why not?”

“Don't do this, Tuck.”

“Why not?”

“You know I'm attracted to you. You know we have chemistry. But we can't go there again.”

“Why not?”

“Why
not
?” she all but shouted.

Why was he determined to make her say it?

“That's what I asked,” he said.

“Because it's not enough.”

“What would be enough?”

“Stop. Just stop.” She wanted him to go away. Her heart was already shredded and he was making it worse.

“Me loving you?” he asked. “Would that be enough?”

His words penetrated and her brain screeched to a halt.

“Would it, Amber?” he asked. “Because I do. I love you. I'm
in
love with you. I want to work with you. I want to date you. I think I even want to marry you. Scratch that. I
know
I want to marry you. Now I'm asking again. What do you think of me?”