One Lucky Deal (20 page)

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Gail raised one of her shapely eyebrows in a move so practiced and precise it was obvious she’d been mothering people for much longer than she’d actually been one.

“What do you mean?” Candace opened her fridge and tossed the brats, onions, and relish back inside it.

“I mean—” Gail stopped cutting the corn off the cob to turn and look at Candace. “It’s just—” She took a deep breath and pushed forward. “Tad has had a lot of people quit him. Our parents, not intentionally, but they didn’t get to see him grow up. Our brother Ricky, also not intentionally, but he died at a very impressionable time in Tad’s life.”

Candace shut the fridge slowly. She was shocked by what she was hearing. The information wasn’t new. She’d heard it all before, but never told in such a way that Tad was somehow victimized by it. Of course he was affected, of course he was hurt, but she’d never known Tad to be a victim. Not in any situation. Ever.

“He builds walls around him and people don’t get through them,” Gail said simply and then went back to cutting the corn off the cob. “But you have.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Candace wiped some excess ketchup off the bottle.

“I don’t want this challenge to put some kind of strain on your friendship. He pushes people. He cuts people out before they can get too close so he doesn’t have to hurt when they leave him.”

“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Candace said easily but she felt anything but light and easy.

Gail turned to her and point-blank dropped all the coyness, cut straight through the bullshit, and asked deadpan, “Do you have feelings for him?”

Candace averted her eyes because she didn’t want Gail to see the answer before she was ready to give it. She didn’t know if she was ever going to be ready to give the answer to that question. It was too late before she realized that her no answer was an answer ringing loud and clear.

“I thought so. Please…” Gail’s voice wavered a little. “Don’t do anything to make him push you away too. Like change your relationship too quickly. Don’t spook him with it; don’t force his hand.”

Candace was more than a little hurt at that. “You think we’re a bad idea?”

“At the rate I’m assuming you’re going? Hugely.”

Candace bit her lip and tried not to feel bitter about Gail’s honest opinion and answer. It was actually admirable what Gail had done for Tad. It was honorable what she was still trying to do for her little brother, but it sure felt an awful lot like she was ripping out Candace’s heart while she was at it.

“Long-term?” Gail lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. The jury’s still out on whether either of you even know what long-term is.”

Their conversation was cut off when Gail’s husband and Tad came walking in through the back door. Tad had a splotch of grease on his chin, up his forearms, and a mess of dirty handprints wiped over his good dress shirt. It made Candace cringe, but a smile slanted over those sexy, mischievously kissable lips made her insides quiver.

Gail’s worries had seeped into her brain. She didn’t want to come on too strong. What if Gail was right? What if whatever they were doing ended up blowing up? She’d lose everything all at once: a most spectacular lover, her roommate, and her best friend.

She had only one option, one that pained her just to think about.

Candace had to pull back.

According to Gail—way back.

* * * *

Later that night after they finally got back to the house, Candace went straight for the leashes as Tad went to wash up and change his clothes. Candace needed the walk to clear her head and try to work out what she was going to do with herself—mostly what she was going to do with Tad.

“Where’re you going?” Candace stopped halfway out the door. Tad leaned in the doorway of his room—wet from a rinse down and torturously shirtless.
Jesus
. His jeans were loose on his hips. So loose, in fact, that they fell mouthwateringly low and showcased that amazingly deep vee in his hips that her tongue wanted to follow like the yellow brick road.

“For a walk.”

Tad tugged on a clean white shirt, ran a hand through his hair, and Candace still couldn’t think any better with him clothed. “I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t have to,” Candace said even as she handed him two leashes. Tad took one more from her. She didn’t know how she was ever going to back off. She believed Gail and trusted her opinion. Especially believed her since it didn’t make her feel good, and good advice was never easy to swallow.

They made their way down the sidewalk that followed the road. They passed the pier and headed for the sandy beach. Since their walk home from her sister’s wedding it had become her go-to walking destination.

They unhooked the dogs and let them run for a little while. Candace sank to the sand and watched Rudy jump into the waves, letting the splash lap all over him. Tad stretched his legs out beside her and she felt his eyes on her.

“Something wrong?”

“No.” Candace gave him her fake smile and shook her head. “Why?”

“Because you’ve been unusually quiet.” Tad folded his arms over his knees.

“Just a headache,” Candace lied. “Too much sun today, I think.”

Tad set his eyes on her, and Candace wondered if he was going to see straight through her act. Eventually he just nodded and looked away after finally accepting what she’d had to say. The two of them sat in companionable silence for awhile. Tad wrapped his arm over her shoulders and tucked her against his side. Candace relaxed against him for a moment and just watched the birds squawk. The dogs ran, chased, and dug. She watched them rush through the splash as the waves came up to lie upon the sand.

The give and take of the lake was comforting, as was the steady rhythm of Tad’s breathing. The wind was just as healing as the weight of his arm and the sturdiness of his chest. Candace closed her eyes to it and tried to let it blow all the extraneous thoughts from her mind. She looked up at Tad, who was looking out at the water and wondered what was going on behind those serious gray-green eyes of his. She wondered…

How was she ever going to push him away?

Even if it was just to save him from doing the same.

Chapter 16

That night, Candace was putting the dishes away when Tad came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her neck. His whiskers scratched against her skin. For just a second, before she had found the tiniest little bit of reserve inside her, she granted him full access of the tender skin along her throat.

He nibbled some, and Candace fought off a moan, especially when his hands rose from her hips up and around to cup her breasts. She unwillingly pressed his hands away, even when his own moan was reverberating through his chest and into her back. It drove her out of her mind with wishing he’d make that noise again.

Brakes, remember, Candace? Brakes.

Slow.

Slow.

Slow … ease back.

Candace pushed his hands away. “Tad—”

“Mmm?” He trailed his hands down her hips to the hem of her skirt. “God, I’ve been wondering what you’ve got on under here all day.”

She wanted to give it over to him. She wanted to allow him to lift the hem of the dress and let him see she was just wearing a pink pair of cotton bikini-style briefs. They had little cherries on the front and green lettering that read: Eat Organic.

He’d laugh, he’d moan, he’d love them. It was what made it so hard, so freakin’ hard to push his hands away. “Tad—”

He went stiff behind her and not in the good way. “Sick of me?”

Oh no!
Her heart lurched. “God, no.” She turned to him.

“Hey.” He shrugged, and she actually watched him begin to shut her out. “It was bound to happen eventually.”

This wasn’t working. “I am not sick of you.”

Tad stared so intently in her eyes she nearly broke down and told him absolutely everything she was thinking. She imagined his face as he realized she was the opposite of getting sick of him. She figured that Gail knew her brother best. If she told him how she really felt, he’d feel cornered, and he’d balk. That ripped her heart out too.

“No?” Tad asked, his gaze continued searching hers.

“No.” Candace faked that smile again. “Just that headache still.”

“I heard sex is good for headaches.” Tad smirked and slipped his hands back around her waist and brought her to him in a hug. All he did was kiss her forehead, but in such a way that was so tender it stole her breath away. She immediately wondered if he even realized he’d started doing things like that.

Charlie yipped at the back door. Candace checked her watch and realized they probably wanted to go out for the last time for the night. “It’s that time.” Candace smiled up at Tad and leaned her cheek against his jaw. She took a deep breath and walked around him to let the dogs out the back door.

She shooed them all outside, even Rudy, who had already been conked out on the couch and was having some wild and crazy dream that had him kicking and racing in his sleep. When they finally all came back in they filed one by one into her bedroom, finding their usual nighttime spots.

She ran into Tad and was torn on what she should do. He then handed her a tall glass of water and an aspirin. “Good night.” He smiled and headed back to the kitchen where he finished putting the dishes away.

Candace went to her room with her heart knocking and squeezing in her chest. Her limbs and fingertips were jittery with nerves. She looked down at the pill in her palm and was hit with how surprising and acutely sweet the gesture was.

* * * *

It was the middle of July. The heat was sweltering, as if Mother Nature had gotten confused and thought it was August. Reed had gone off and taken the most ridiculously long honeymoon ever. Tad couldn’t wait until next week when they would be coming back.

Tad came home ready for a cold beer and then hopefully, sans headaches, he could get some. He flung the door open and swore. He might have to call someone out to install central air this week. This shit was ridiculous.

“Ah, Candace,” Tad called from the doorway. He started stripping the second he walked into the house. He kicked off his boots, stripped off his work shirt, and then ripped off his undershirt. Candace staggered a little when she caught sight of him.

With her visibly eating up his bare chest and lower, Tad gave her a smile that felt as wicked as his thoughts. “I’m in need of a nice long—” That’s when he noticed Keith seated at their poker table. “Fuck.” Tad stopped himself before he had his fly undone. “Keith?” Tad couldn’t keep the tone of disappointment from his voice. “What are you doing here?” He’d tried to say the last part nicely.

“Uh…” Keith furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side. “I just dropped by. I had some questions for Candy.” Keith nodded at Candace.

“For who?” Tad stopped on his walk to his bedroom and spun back around. “What did you call her?”

“I brought Keith a box of unused puppy pee pads home from work. He was just picking them up,” Candace interjected. She shot a look at Tad that told him to lock it up.

Tad headed for the kitchen. Candace followed him. “Uh, Keith, would you like a drink?”

“Yeah, a beer sounds good.”

Tad bent down to grab one and stood there a moment soaking up the quick burst of cool air against his sweaty skin. Candace came into the kitchen and leveled her gaze on him. “Why are you being so rude?”

“Why are you being so accommodating?” Tad asked, cocking his head to the side. “You have a thing for Dr. Gorgeous?”

Candace’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me right now!” She glowered at him but did not dignify his question with a response. Instead, she snagged the beer from his hand. She popped the cap off, pasted on a wide flirty smile, and added a shake to her hip. She flipped her hair, and Tad knew it was all a sarcastic show for him, but it chapped his ass anyway.

“Here you go, gorgeous,” Candace said louder than necessary so that Tad would hear her.

He clenched his fist but forced himself to unclench it. He’d had her first … very first—and, Jesus, if he was using that to salve his wounds he was an even bigger dick than he thought he was. That didn’t mean a goddamn thing … it surely didn’t mean she couldn’t run off with a “gorgeous” doctor … and compared with the two of them…

A good-for-nothing mechanic who has trouble committing or talking about his feelings, and also has a temper hotter than a ghost pepper—that didn’t stack up next to a handsome, successful pediatrician. Keith made more in one day than Tad was sure he was making in an entire month, with a six-month-old puppy, to boot. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to guess which one would be Candace’s likely choice.

That was hard to swallow. Tad was going to need a beer or ten before it was even palatable. He bent into the fridge to grab another. Damn it. That bastard was not only sitting in his living room, flirting with his woman, Jesus, listen to that—his woman?

He was also drinking his last beer.

*

Tad had grumbled all the way to the shower, slamming doors and kicking things out of his way. Candace pressed a hand to her forehead and gave Keith an apologetic smile. Keith raised his dark eyebrows in question.

“I’m sorry. Must be the heat.”

“Yeah, sometimes it’ll do that to people.” Keith smiled politely.

When Keith left and she had a moment alone with Tad she was going to tell him what was up.

Keith was still hanging around when Tad got out of the shower. Candace couldn’t help but feel that maybe Keith was egging him on. Maybe he was being a little antagonistic to a situation that was already feeling the strain.

Tad was fresh from the shower and dressed. As he walked past Candace she caught a whiff of him and some of her anger disintegrated. Every time she smelled him it reminded her of the aurora borealis when she’d lain on a blanket that smelled like he did. Or that night he’d wrapped the quilt around both of their shoulders at a bonfire. It also reminded her of the numerous times in the aftermath of passion when she would press her nose to his neck and breathe him in.