15 Shades Of Pink (7 page)

“What?”

“Nothing. We’re just from very different worlds.”

I wasn’t going to walk down that road. “So, I hope your girlfriend won’t mind you being out with me tonight.” Surely, someone who looked like him had a girlfriend. No, he wasn’t classically handsome, but he was intense, with those dark blue eyes and chiseled features. His hair and goatee made him hot in a dangerous, sexy way. He looked like a man who knew how to take care of a woman, in and out of the bedroom.

Anyone I ever went out with looked like they had a routine bedtime, a five-star safety rated car, and was sure to pay their credit card balance in advance and in full. None of my exes would’ve jumped off a building for me, because who knew if insurance covered that?

He shook his head. “No girlfriend right now. Single life suits me fine.”

I leaned back against the leather seat of the booth. “Me too. I’m kind of relieved I was able to cancel the date. My sister sets me up with guys she’d be interested in. We have different taste in men.”

That earned a raised eyebrow. Then he said, “So aren’t you going to ask?”

“What?”

“Why I went to prison. Like I told the cops, I’m fresh off parole.”

I took a long swig of beer and thought about getting another. “It doesn’t matter what you did in the past. What matters to me is what you did tonight.”

He shrugged.

“But maybe you shouldn’t have punched the guy. I’d feel horrible if you went back to jail because of me.”

He set down his bottle of beer. “He attacked you—and he was looking up your skirt, the perv. You don’t deserve that. In the past, like back in college? I might have let that slide. But now I know what kind of people are out there.”

I blushed and looked down. No one had ever gotten in a fight over me. I’d never seen a man knocked out on my behalf. “Are you going to be too sore to work tomorrow”?

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be there to finish up the roof. I was lucky my uncle took a chance on me when I was released. He’s the only one in my family that still talks to me. It’s made things difficult for him and some of the other relatives. I can’t let him down.”

“Well, definitely take several ibuprofen tonight for the swelling and get plenty of rest. Oh, and some ice packs for your head and you might want—”

He reached over, patted my hand and the words disappeared in my throat. Despite the very intimate, stressful encounter we shared, he hadn’t touched me. His skin on mine had a surprising effect that made me shiver.

I looked at his hand and then stared into his eyes. Nothing about him made me scared. Nothing about him said,
Run.

He smiled. “No need to worry. I plan on downing a few more beers at home and sleeping it off.” He pulled his hand away and signaled to the waitress for the bill.

“No, let me get that.”

“Ah, right. The obligatory thank you. Fine, you can pick up the check, only because I know it will make you feel better.”

It really seemed like a totally inadequate way to thank a man for saving my life.

Then, it was like he was reading my thoughts. “I was in the right place at the right time for once. Usually, I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time with all the wrong people.” He grinned. “It was nice for a change”

I jotted down my phone number on the back of my business card and handed it to him. “Call me if you change your mind about going to the hospital. I can afford it, don’t worry.”

He took my card and looked at it. “Real estate agent, huh?”

I nodded. “And despite the bad economy, I’m doing fine. Just listed a beautiful Victorian yesterday. I can pay for medical care if you need it.”

“Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He walked me to my car. “You go straight home and be careful where you go at night from now on.”

“I will.” I stood there next to my car, inches away from him. It had the nervous feeling of a first-date kiss.

He held out his hand. “Nice meeting you, Kristen.”

“You, too, Tony. Take care.” He stood in the parking lot and watched me drive away.

I couldn’t sleep. Whenever I started drifting off, the drunk man’s wild eyes appeared before mine and I woke with a start, clutching my quilt. Finally, at three a.m., I cried myself to sleep, letting my mind run in a thousand wild directions with all the horrible things that could’ve happened. Tony’s blue eyes were the last thing I saw before I finally conked out.

“Monica? It’s Kristen. I’m not coming in today. I’ll get some work done from home.”

“Everything okay?” she asked. She served up office gossip like fresh apple pie.

“Just a little run down today. I don’t want to get sick.” I was too tired and still too shaky to go to work. And I wasn’t ready to rehash the story just yet.

But that might have been a bad idea. I tried watching TV and I tried cleaning. But home alone with just my thoughts, I could think of nothing but the attacker—and Tony.

Remembering that he said he’d skipped lunch the day before, I decided to bring him something to eat. It was the least I could do. Beer and nachos seemed like a pretty lame thank-you looking back on it the next day.

I drove to the plaza, now filled with cars and customers. Still, my heart sped up and my eyes swept the area for anyone out of place. Four men knelt on the roof of the oil-change shop, swinging hammers in the hot sun. I noticed Tony’s dark hair brushing his shoulders and smiled. I parked next to his pickup, and Winston’s head popped out the side window, his tongue lolling off to the side.

“Hi, boy,” I said, patting his head. He nudged me with his wet nose.

One of the guys elbowed Tony, who stopped working and looked down at me. I was hoping for a smile from him, but he looked entirely confused.

I heard some good-natured jeering from the other guys as he climbed down the ladder.

“It’s a lot easier that way, isn’t it?” I teased.

“But not as fast as jumping. Looking for some more bad guys to take down?” He planted his hands on his hips and grinned.

“I wanted to see how you were feeling today. And to bring you this.” I held up a brown paper bag packed with a tuna sandwich, a banana, and a few Oreos. “You said you skipped lunch yesterday.”

He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “I can’t believe you remembered that after everything that happened.” He took the bag from me. “Thanks. How are you today? I was thinking about you last night.”

“You were?” My throat tightened and I set my fingers on my neck.

“I was hoping you had someone to go home to, someone to be with. I think it would’ve been scary for you to be alone.” He fixed his gaze on me.

I shook my head. “No, it was just me. I live alone. And you’re right. It was a horrible night. I called in sick today.”

He held up the bag. “This is really nice of you.”

An older guy climbed down off the roof and walked over. “Tony, take a lunch break. That’s an order.” He clapped Tony on the back. “He’s a good kid. Not surprised what he did for you last night. I knew something was wrong when I saw how slow he was moving today. We forced the story out of him. I was hoping it was something a little more enjoyable though.” He winked at Tony and went back to the ladder.

“That’s my uncle.”

“So you really are hurting today.” I reached for his arm and squeezed. “I’m sorry. Why don’t we go over to Brookdale Park and sit in the shade? You need a break.”

He looked back at the building. “It’s better than sitting here in front of these jokers.”

“I’ll drive.”

“Did you notice how sweaty and dirty I am? I’m not fit to ride in a Beamer. Besides, Winston wouldn’t allow it. If you don’t mind the serious downgrade in transportation, I’ll drive.” He held open the door for me

An old bedspread covered the front seat, dusted with dog hair. Empty water bottles littered the passenger-seat floor, but I squeezed in next to the dog and a big cooler, knowing this was exactly how I wanted to spend my afternoon—in a dirty truck with the ex-convict who saved my life.

We spread his truck blanket on the ground under a tree and Tony cracked open a cooler full of drinks. He finished an entire bottle of iced tea in one long gulp and smacked his lips together. “Never knew manual labor would leave you so thirsty.”

There was so much I wanted to ask him about his past, but I didn’t want to pry.

“Did you reschedule your blind date?” he asked.

I leaned back against the tree. “No. My sister called this morning and told me the guy was canceling our plans to see Aerosmith this weekend. He thinks I should have come to the bar to meet him anyway. But the good news is, she’s never setting me up on another blind date.” I grinned. It really was good news.

He shook his head and opened another iced tea. “Sounds like you missed out on a winner. Let me guess, is he a lawyer?”

“How did you know? Thing is, I really did want to see Aerosmith.”

“Probably saved you from a boring night with him, though.”

By this time, I was dying to know what Tony had done to end up in jail. He seemed so nice and polite, so down to earth. But I didn’t want to seem like I was judging him by asking, like his answer would determine how I’d treat him.

He propped up one leg and rested his arm on it. “It was drugs.”

“What?”

“I wanted to tell you why I went to jail.”

Again with the mind reading!
“What happened?”

He let out a long breath and looked up at the cloudless sky. “I was in college. Cornell, pre-law. I was headed in the same direction of your date last night, I’m sure.”

“Did you fall in with the wrong crowd?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No, I just fell. During a lacrosse game and broke my thigh when another guy landed on top of me. That’s one of the most painful bones you can break. Got hooked on the Oxycodone they gave me for pain. My family doctor is my dad’s friend, so he didn’t have any problem writing me new prescriptions when I lost my bottle of pills, or accidentally knocked them down the sink, or when they were stolen. I had a thousand excuses for new prescriptions. My friends wanted them, too. So, I started selling them.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I was so stupid.”

I reached over and rubbed his arm. “You were young. Stupidity is a side effect.”

He looked at my hand and I pulled it away. “How did you get caught?”

“Sold to an undercover officer at school. It was in the newspaper. My parents were humiliated. My father’s a lawyer here in town and was disgraced. They wouldn’t even bail me out before the trial. Haven’t talked to me since.” He closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

He sighed. “Don’t be. It was my own damn fault. But I’m trying to get my shit together now.”

“Have you thought about going back to college?”

“With what money?” He shook his head. “No, I’m too old and roofing suits me fine. I don’t mind being out in the fresh air on top of a roof after spending a few years under one. My life’s on a different path now.”

I reached for a drink from the cooler and sat closer to him. “You’re not the only person to ever disappoint their parents. Mine have pretty much given up on marrying me off. I’ve broken off three engagements, all very close to the wedding. Cost my father thousands. He says if I ever do get married, I’m paying for it myself.” I shrugged.

“Do you think you ever will?”

I looked down, embarrassed by my admission. “Not for a long time.”

He propped his hands on his knees and swung the empty bottle between his legs. “So, what’s the deal with that?”

Our conversation was becoming much more personal than I had imagined. More like a fourth date than a first.
This isn’t a date
. I plucked a tiny daisy from the grass and twirled it in my fingers. “I guess I’m afraid of making a mistake.” I looked up at him. “What if I pick the wrong guy?”

“Then you start over again. Sometimes you have no choice.”

We were quiet for a while, watching kids zoom down the slide at the other end of the park. With a tentative finger, I traced the tattoo of a chain on his shoulder. “Did you get this in prison?”

He looked over at it. “No, when I got out. As a reminder not to screw up again.”

“Are you staying out of trouble? The cop said you’ve been in fights.”

He nodded. “I’ve got some stupid friends who get themselves in bad situations.”

“Maybe you need to find new friends.”

“Not everyone can overlook a person’s past. You probably think differently of me now that you know. And forget trying to get a decent date. Once a woman finds out, she’s not interested.” He frowned. “Or her friends interfere to protect her.”

I shook my head. “You’re a nice guy who made some bad decisions. I think if you hadn’t broken your leg, you’d be practicing in a law firm right now.” I pointed my daisy at him. “A bad decision doesn’t make you a bad guy.”

“You’re more open-minded than most.” He packed up the trash from lunch. “And my uncle will only put up with so much, so I’ve gotta get back to work.” He stood up and offered his hand to pull me up.

I took his hand, and when I stood up we were closer than I realized. I looked up at him and my mouth was inches from his. I smiled. “This was nice.”

He was still holding my hand, but his fingers slipped from mine and he stepped back. “Nicer than I deserve.”

I was finishing up a property search for a client later that night when I was surprised by a phone call from Tony. Had he changed his mind about going to the doctor?

“Still want to go to the Aerosmith concert?”

I turned off my computer. “Not with the lawyer.”

“I’ve got a buddy who works at the arena. He hooked me up so I could buy a pair of tickets.”

I gripped the phone. “I’d love to go.”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at five.”

And that left me a long time to wonder,
What’s this all about?
He certainly didn’t owe me any thanks. But my heart pitter-pattered at the thought of seeing him again.

With fresh clothes and a shower, Tony was even hotter than the first time I saw him. I could easily imagine him in a suit, with close-cropped hair and a clean-shaven face, arguing a case in front of a jury. The long hair and goatee was probably a nice disguise to keep him from seeing what he could have been. But I liked the Tony standing in front of me with a bottle of wine.