One Lucky Deal (13 page)

“Aw, come on,” Tad called after him, dribbling the ball by himself.

“I’ll play you.” Candace shrugged out of her jacket and got down to just the tank top she had on under her work clothes. She kicked her shoes off into the grass.

Candace took the ball from him before he could object. She dribbled expertly around him and tossed the ball into the basket. Nothing but net.

“Lucky shot,” Tad grumbled before Candace checked the ball at him, and he checked it back.

“Give me your best shot, Dundee.” She egged him on with a come-and-get-it gesture.

*

Tad wasn’t in any mood to joke. She was killing him. He couldn’t do anything without thinking about her—wishing she was naked beneath him. He basically just looked at her and got a hard-on. She walked around the house in that running bra all the time now, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what she was thinking.

Maybe it worked for her. Maybe she’d slept with him and she’d really gotten him out of her system. Maybe she really had been sexually deprived and now that she’d gotten a fix she was set to go—to move on. Tad, though, was still not operating right. If she thought that once he’d had her he wasn’t going to want her day in and day out, every minute of every hour, she was greatly mistaken.

Today he’d gotten home and done a load of laundry and about lost his damn mind when he was forced to fold some skimpy hot-pink slip of fabric that supposedly passed as panties. Just from having it in his hand sparked a whole new set of fantasies. Now, with her blocking him from the net, their bodies pressed against each other’s, he couldn’t focus at all on the game, or anything else but her, for that matter.

“What’s the matter, Tad? Forgot how to play?” Candace teased when Tad missed the hoop. He was frustrated. He hadn’t been able to get tired enough that his interest in bending Candace over dissipated. He felt marginally hurt that she wasn’t having the exact same problem.

He took aim again and missed. The ball had barely hit the backboard. She stole the ball, doubled back, and sank it from the crack in the cement of their driveway. It seconded as their makeshift free throw line. She danced around a little and shot a self-satisfied smile at him.

He wanted to wipe it off her face. Not with a basketball move, either. He didn’t care if he won this game—and he wanted to win everything. He just perversely wanted her suffering just a fraction of how he was suffering. He wanted her to want him.

The next time she had the ball and he was blocking her, he came up behind her. He had an opportunity to steal the ball, but he also had the opportunity to be wrapped around her. He took it. He brought her back against him with an arm around her stomach. It was an illegal move that brought him right around her like a nesting doll.

He figured Candace would call him on it or obviously turn when she had the chance and take the shot. She didn’t. She stayed with him for a moment still dribbling, still moving with her bottom fitted against him. It was blissful torture. Go figure; the one time he tried to trip her up he only managed a masochistic moment for himself.

He’d thought too soon. She wasn’t totally unperturbed. Instead, when he brought her hips up against his and held her to him, her limbs got goofy. She missed a dribble and the ball bounced off her toes and slid on down the driveway to curve off into the grass.

He only wished he knew whether he’d gotten to her because of the element of surprise or because he just got to her. He wanted more than anything for it to be the latter. That had to make him the worst friend on the planet. He wanted to keep a cool head, but today that just wasn’t going to happen.

“I’ll get it.” Candace coughed and moved off into the grass. Tad tried to screw his head on straight but it was difficult.

When he found himself blocking Candace’s final attempt, she jumped up and shot it over his head. Landing back on her feet, her body slid all the way down his. He felt every long, lean, curvy, and soft inch of her. Tad reflexively brought his arms around Candace in an attempt to steady her.

She was breathless from the game and small strands of her hair were curling with perspiration around her face. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and her hips acted like a cushion for his. He’d wanted to be this close to her, but the second his mind and eyes drifted to her mouth he started dreaming up all kinds of wicked things. He had to reluctantly push away from her.

She looked shocked and hurt. Tad couldn’t explain it. Frustrated, he shoved a hand through his hair and backed away. Candace was looking up at him with those flushed cheeks and those big, bright eyes and—
Jesus—
he wanted her lips pressed against him … anywhere.

Bothered. Mad. Restless and hard as hell. Tad walked away from her before he did something she would regret.

“Tad?” she called after him, but he just kept walking. “Where are you going?” He wasn’t even sure where the hell he was off to, but he had to get out of the yard. He couldn’t even be in their house together right now. He couldn’t be anywhere near her for awhile. He just didn’t trust himself.

* * * *

Tad had come home swashbuckling drunk that night. The next several days he was ornery as sin and it had started to really get under Candace’s skin. She’d come home Thursday night in hopes that Tad’s mood had changed, but it hadn’t. He was hard to talk to these days, and since he was so surly with her she was beginning to think she was the problem.

“I made plans for us tomorrow night.” Candace tried to broach the subject gently while he scrubbed dishes in the sink.

“Candace,” Tad griped. “I made plans too.”

“Okay, well, we’ll figure it out.”

He shook his head and didn’t even bother to turn and look at her. She felt the tears stinging her eyes and refused to let them fall. She forgot all about being sexually repressed and how for the last week she’d done little else but try to get over how badly she wanted him again. Their friendship was deteriorating. That was so much more important than anything else and so much scarier too.

“Tad?” She hedged lightly. He sighed and let his shoulders slump a little as he braced himself against the edge of the sink with his head bent. “Are we okay?” She was pretty certain she would die if he said no.

“Of course we are.” There was less bite in his words now, but he still wouldn’t look at her.

“Are we?” Candace swallowed hard. “Because from where I’m standing, I’m not so sure.”

“Yes, we’re fine.” Tad went back to washing dishes.

“Can you look at me and tell me that?” Candace couldn’t help but wring her hands. She was torn. She wanted to cry and she wanted to scream. She wanted to hug him and she wanted to slap him.

Tad turned the water off as if he was put out by having to put his dish duty on pause to have a conversation. “We’re fine, Candace.”

*

Tad turned and caught the hurt in her eyes and he instantly hated himself. He was being ornery and standoffish to save himself from the hurt feelings he was acquiring. Yet he’d somehow only managed to hurt them both in the process. He watched the anger come and take over the hurt in her face and he silently begged her to give it to him. He deserved it.

“Then why are you being such a dick?” He didn’t say anything, he just waited for more but she didn’t yell anymore. She did something so much worse. Her voice got watery. “What did I do?” She quickly wiped a tear from her cheek, but not before Tad saw it.

“Oh God, Candace.” He came toward her, but stopped before he got too close. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to touch her. Hold her. Kiss her. Smell her. He had to remind himself she didn’t want those things. “Nothing. It’s not you. I mean, it is you, but it’s not what you think.” He finally just reached out for her and tugged her close to him. It was supposed to be a generic hug but it turned into much more than a friendly embrace.

“What is it?” She looked up at him with those watery blue eyes with her fists tightly clutching his shirt. He felt every shaky breath she took. He knew then that he couldn’t push her away anymore. “Why have you been so distant and mean lately?”

Tad brushed his fingers over her cheek. Her skin was softer than anything he’d ever touched. When she turned in to the contact he couldn’t fight it any longer. “That was me trying to stay away from you.”

“What?” She looked up at him in confusion. “Why?”

He swallowed hard. “To keep me from doing this.” He dipped his head close and pressed his lips against hers. Candace squeaked in surprise against his mouth just before the dogs started barking like nuts. Then their front door creaked open.

“Guys?” Joe called into the house.

Candace backed away wide-eyed, searching his face, obviously for an explanation. Tad only had one but he didn’t let her see it yet.

“Guys?” Joe called again.

Tad cleared all the desire and emotion he felt for her from his throat. “Yeah, in here.”

“Oh, hey.” Joe came into the kitchen with all five dogs sniffing after him.

*

Candace smiled at Joe in greeting, but she couldn’t help but wish him away. She wanted to be alone again with Tad. They had just started getting somewhere—at least she thought they had. She couldn’t be sure because it all happened so fast and then ended so abruptly.

Tad looked at her and she burned.

“The other day I came over and left one of my uniform shirts here.” Joe patted Zeke on the head and leaned his shoulder against the wall.

“Yeah, I think Candace washed it.”

Candace’s head was somewhere else. That kiss. It was too quick. She was sideswiped by it. She had no idea that Tad was fighting their attraction as well. Hell, she hadn’t even been sure he felt it past that one night they’d shared after Reagan’s wedding.

“Candace?” Tad said her name again.

“Huh?”

“Did you wash Joe’s uniform?” He raised his eyebrows.

Candace finally blinked herself back to the here and now. “What? Uh, yeah. Um … let me find it.”

“All right.” The corner of Tad’s mouth curved up into the sexiest half smile she’d ever seen. It was like he could read her mind. It was as if he knew the reason she was ruffled was that he’d ripped the rug out from beneath her feet. It both totally excited her and knotted her stomach up in nerves.

“Be right back.” Candace slipped past Joe, smoothing out her hair. She headed down to the laundry room and brought his shirt back out to him. “I hadn’t gotten around to ironing it or anything.”

Joe shrugged. “Good. Ronnie’s favorite pastime is ironing my shirts.” It was only a half joke, Candace imagined. Ronnie was anal retentive and liked her things just so. So it wasn’t a far stretch of the imagination to believe that Ronnie loved a good ironing job.

“Okay, great. So we’ll see you later, right?” Candace gave him a nice polite little wave. She did not look over at Tad. She did not want him to see the impatience to be alone with him in her eyes. It was more than eagerness—it was full-out desperation.

“Oh my God, you get the game?” Joe noticed the television and rushed to go sit down. “We don’t get this channel.” He grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.

“Hey, Tad,” Joe called to him. “Beer me.”

Candace deflated and went to the fridge herself while Tad finished washing the dishes in the sink. She caught herself grumbling under her breath and at that point all she could do was hope that Tad hadn’t heard her.

She grabbed a beer for herself and slapped the other in Joe’s hand. He was obviously going to be hanging around for awhile. She sat down in the papasan chair, and Rudy hopped up beside her. It was a tight fit with the two of them sitting together, but Rudy was sweet and she loved him. So she ignored the fact that he was snoring in her lap and letting out the occasional silent but deadly dog fart.

Tad sat on the couch as well and he was looking at her with something in his gaze, but Candace was having a hard time deciphering it. They were in new territory and she wasn’t used to him looking at her like that.

“Joe, was that your phone I heard?” Candace asked, but Joe checked his pocket and of course it wasn’t. It was just wishful thinking on Candace’s part. Joe didn’t even have service.
Great
.

Candace waited up for as long as she could but then the clock was striking way past her bedtime and she had to get up early. She held on for a bit longer. Then it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. Finally, she relented. She was too tired to stay awake, let alone for the kind of activity she’d been hoping would happen if Joe ever got the hint and headed home.

“All right. Good night.” She whistled and opened the back door for the dogs to run out.

“You’re going to bed? It’s a doubleheader.” Joe pointed at the television with his beer bottle.

Candace sighed. “I’m good.”

She didn’t know how Tad was going to do it. He got up even earlier than she did. She was bummed though; she’d wanted to talk … or at least that’s what she’d wanted to do first.

She let the dogs back inside. “Good night, Joe,” Candace said on the way to her room.

“Good night,” Joe mindlessly replied, never taking his eyes off the screen.

“Tad.” Candace tried not to let her voice change too much but she couldn’t help it.

“Good night.” He kept eye contact with her for a very long-drawn-out breathless second. Her entire body was tingling and warm and Tad wasn’t even anywhere near her. The excitement of that kind of attraction raced through her.

She reluctantly slipped inside her bedroom. Just her and all five dogs.

* * * *

Tad locked the doors up after Joe finally left. If it hadn’t been so late he would have knocked on Candace’s door. They had plans tomorrow night and she got cranky if she didn’t get enough sleep. Besides that, he didn’t want to be presumptuous. He still was a little bit clueless as to where they stood.

Tad had to drag himself out of bed in the morning. He went about his normal schedule, getting ready and making coffee. Before he walked out the door he moved the alphabet letters around on the fridge so that they spelled out: C U TONIGHT.

He went to work that day and did his job but his mind wasn’t on cars or engines or even the books. His mind was on a brunette across town working at the animal clinic. His mind was creating a scene in his head about what could have happened if Joe hadn’t come over unannounced.