Breaking All the Rules (9 page)

He returned the
smile just as easily. “Back at you.” This time he pushed off the car, forcing
her to take a step back. “Because, like I said, I know what you want, and I
know how bad you want it. And you’re not going to get it until you agree to my
terms. How long do you think you can hold out when all you have to give up is
one measly date?”

“I lasted all
those months you were gone and lived to talk about it. You’d be surprised just
how strong I can be.”

“I guess we’re
both going to find out just how strong that is.” He leaned closer. Instead of
moving his mouth to hers, he lowered it next to her ear, whispering his
tantalizing words straight into it. “Because I’m not giving up until you agree
to go out with me. I’m not going anywhere, so you’re not going to be able to
forget me either. Sooner or later you’re going to want me to touch you so bad
you’ll be begging me to take you out.”

It was her turn
to swallow hard. “That’s some ego you’ve got there.”

“Says the woman
who jumps me before I can even step through her front door.”

“You’re wasting
your time,” she said, her voice breathier than she wished.

He blew a hot
breath straight into her ear, making her shudder. She barely realized she’d
done it when she heard him chuckle. He stepped away quickly, his massive
presence no longer overwhelming her senses, leaving her feeling empty.

“I don’t think
so,” he said. “I think it’ll be worth the wait, in more ways than one.”

He met her eyes
for one last, purposeful stare, then took another step back until he was at his
car.

“Good night,
Nina. Sweet dreams.”

He didn’t give
her time for a comeback, whipping open the door and slinging himself into the
driver’s seat. Not that she would have had one. Her tongue seemed stuck to the
roof of her mouth.

The car roared
to life. Within seconds he peeled out, tearing out of the parking lot and
disappearing down the street.

Long after it was
gone, Nina stood there, waiting for her body to stop buzzing.

Damning herself
for wanting him so bad her first instinct was to chase after the car.

Chapter Four

“Nina, a
delivery came for you.”

In the middle of
pulling a cake out of the oven, Nina had her back to the kitchen door—and
Ashley, who must have just come into the room.

Frowning, Nina
lifted the pan onto the counter next to the oven. “I wasn’t expecting anything.
What is it?”

“See for
yourself.”

Nina choked back
the urge to tell Ashley to just spit it out. She didn’t have time for games,
and she definitely wasn’t in the mood. Not to mention there was a coyness in
Ashley’s voice that was setting off all kinds of warning bells in the back of
her mind. After her encounter with Bobby last night, she’d gone to bed
cranky—and woken up the same way.

The fact that
her bedroom still smelled like him hadn’t helped. If anything, it had only made
things worse. After breathing him in all night, every time she managed to fall
asleep she’d dreamed of him.

Naked.

Tempting her.

Teasing her.

Refusing to
touch her.

Even in her
dreams the guy wouldn’t give her any.

Just thinking
about it in the light of day nearly made her groan out loud.

But there was no
point taking out her sexual frustrations out on anyone else. Biting her tongue,
she turned off the oven and shut the door. Ready to see what Ashley wanted so
she could get back to work on the special order cake, Nina started to wipe her
hands on her apron as she turned around.

Only to come to
a dead stop.

Ashley was still
standing at the entrance to the room, a big grin on her face. In her arms she
held a glass vase filled with at least a dozen red roses.

Oh hell.

Nina exhaled
slowly. They were beautiful. Even she had to admit that much. They were also
the last thing she wanted to see.

Bobby really
wasn’t giving up. Okay, she hadn’t really thought he was going to, but she’d
been holding on to some small hope that he might.

So much for
that.

Now that Nina
had seen them, Ashley turned to set the vase on the table inside the door. “Nice,
huh?”

“I’ll say,”
Jackie said from the doorway. “Who are they from?”

Nina grimaced.
“I have a feeling I know.”

“Maybe you
should check and find out for sure,” Ashley smirked.

Nina shot her a
dirty look. Ashley simply stared back, one eyebrow raised in a silent
challenge.

That’s it. I
need better friends
, Nina thought bitterly. Not really seeing any way
out—and kind of wanting to know for sure in case there was any chance she was
wrong—she crossed the room to the table, pulled the card from the bouquet and
opened it.

I’m betting
these still aren’t half as beautiful as you. How about dinner? -Bobby.

Cheesy
,
she told herself, refusing to let herself be affected by the words or the
sentiment. She already knew he liked the way she looked. He’d more than proven
that over the years, and in ways that were a hell of a lot more fun than giving
her roses. “Did the person who delivered them already leave?”

Jackie nodded.
“Yes. Why?”

Damn
. “I
could have sent them back.”

Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw Ashley frown. Nina ignored her. She needed to figure
out what to do with the roses so she could put them—and the person who’d sent
them—out of mind and get back to work.

“I don’t
understand,” Jackie said softly. “Why wouldn’t you want them?” She sounded
almost wounded, as if she was hurt on the flowers’ behalf.

“Yes, why,
Nina?” Ashley echoed wryly.

Definitely new
friends. First she had to get rid of the flowers, then she had to go look for a
new best friend.

Ignoring Ashley,
Nina turned to meet Jackie’s eyes. This wasn’t an explanation she wanted to get
into, but there didn’t seem to be any way to avoid it. Not to mention Ash would
probably tell her and make Nina sound like she didn’t know what she was doing. Which
she damn well did.

“Because they’re
from the guy I told you about,” Nina told Jackie. “Bobby, the Marine? We had a
simple arrangement and he wants to change it. He wants to date, and I don’t.”

“Why not?”

Nina took a deep
breath. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t date guys in the
military. I know what the lifestyle’s like, and I’m just not interested.” She
braced herself for the younger woman’s reaction.

Jackie simply
shrugged. “It’s not for everybody. Sometimes I wish I was married to some
regular guy with a boring job who was here right now, but then I wouldn’t be
married to Travis, and I love him.”

“And that’s the
important thing, right?” Ashley said.

“Right,” Jackie
murmured.

“Well, all these
roses prove is that Bobby is not the guy for me,” Nina said firmly.

“What are you
talking about?” Ashley asked with a hint of exasperation.

Nina looked her
straight in the eye. “I told him I’m not interested in dating him, and he
responds by sending me flowers with a note asking me on a date. So either he
doesn’t respect my opinion, he doesn’t respect my feelings, or he doesn’t
respect me. The last thing I want is a guy who thinks he knows what I need—or
want—better than I do.”

Ashley didn’t
seem to have an answer for that. She simply glared at Nina, irritation gleaming
in her narrowed gaze.

“Seems like a
shame though,” Jackie said. She lifted a hand to lightly trace the edge of one
of the roses with her fingers. “He must really like you to go to this trouble.
The last time Travis gave me even one rose was when we went to the prom.”

The younger
woman had such a wistful look on her face as she stared at the flowers, her
fingertips grazing the buds as if she were afraid she’d get in trouble for
touching them. Nina felt a hard tug in her chest and made up her mind on the
spot.

“You take them.”

It took a few
moments for the words to sink in. Jackie finally raised her eyes, blinking at
Nina in surprise. “What?”

“I’m serious,”
Nina said. “You’ll enjoy them much more than I would. Consider them a thank you
for a job well done. Or an extra baby shower gift. Whatever you want. They’re
yours.”

Jackie
hesitated, as if she didn’t know whether she should believe her, or accept
them. “If you’re sure…”

“I’m positive.”

After a few
seconds, Jackie’s mouth split in a wide grin, and Nina knew she’d made the
right choice. “Sure, I’ll take them if you don’t want them.”

Nina matched her
smile, glad to have found the perfect solution for everybody. Well, maybe not
Bobby, but it served him right. Maybe next time he’d listen when a woman told
her what she did—and didn’t—want.

Then she looked
at Ashley. Her supposed friend was staring at her, a mixture of emotions on her
face, as though she wasn’t sure whether to appreciate Nina’s gesture or judge
her for giving away Bobby’s.

It really didn’t
matter either way. Bobby’s gift had managed to brighten someone’s day, even if
it wasn’t the person he’d intended. It was the best outcome possible.

“Why don’t you
put them out on the little table next to the counter until you go home?” Nina
suggested, more than ready to get the flowers out of her sight. “They’ll wilt
if you leave them in your car all day, and I’m sure they’ll look great out
there.”

“Good idea,”
Jackie said. “That way everyone can enjoy them.”

“Here, I’ll help
you,” Ashley said with a hint of resignation. Picking up the vase, she followed
Jackie out of the kitchen.

Leaving Nina
blessedly alone again.

Letting out a
long, slow breath, she turned back to the counter. The cake was waiting and
needed to be delivered that afternoon. She had a million other things she
needed to do. Time to get back to work.

It was one thing
if Bobby wanted to waste his own time, but he’d wasted enough of hers.

AS HE DROVE INTO
VISTA, Bobby shot a glance at the clock on the radio. 12:03 p.m. Nina should
have received the roses by now. The florist had promised to deliver them before
noon.

He wondered what
her reaction had been. There was a good chance she hadn’t been happy. But at
least she’d know he was serious and wasn’t giving up. And maybe, just maybe, a
small part of her deep down might find it a little bit romantic.

Maybe.

He wasn’t
counting on it, but he couldn’t help holding out a little hope. Anything to
crack her resolve and get her to give him—give
them
—a shot. He couldn’t
just keep showing up and asking her out. Not only did it run the risk of
pissing her off, he wasn’t sure he had the will power to keep turning her down.
He was trained to withstand a hell of a lot, but he was only a man. Driving
away from her last night had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to
do.

Realizing he’d
almost reached his destination, Bobby shook his head to clear it. His plans for
moving forward with Nina would have to wait. He had an old friend to see.

Turning onto the
street, he spotted Archer’s apartment building up ahead. He was taking a small
risk coming here unannounced. He had no way of knowing if Archer was home.
Maybe he should have called ahead, but Mac had been by a couple days ago and
said Archer had accused him of checking up on him. Bobby didn’t want Archer to
think he was doing the same and maybe find a reason not to be here.

Bobby figured he
couldn’t blame Archer for the suspicion. He was probably right in a way. They
did all want to know that he was doing okay. When he’d been injured six months
ago on their most recent deployment and shipped home, it hadn’t looked good.
When he’d ultimately been forced to take a medical discharge, they all knew how
brutal that would be for him. Joe Archer was a Marine to the core. From what
Mac had said, he wasn’t handling the transition all that well.

But even if he
hadn’t been injured and had left the Corps for any other reason, they all would
have wanted to see him. He was still one of them and always would be, still was
one of the closest friends Bobby had. Bobby had no doubt most of them would
have shown up here together if they hadn’t figured it might be too much and
piss him off. From the sound of it, Bobby was already risking it just showing
up alone.

Hell, he seemed
to be doing a lot of that lately. He was going to have to find some people
who’d actually be happy to see him.

Parking in the
lot at the side of the building, Bobby reached for the six-pack of beer bottles
he’d picked up on the way. It was the best gift he could think of, and
hopefully a good way to ease into a conversation.

Archer had a
second-floor unit. As Bobby made his way to the door, he took a deep breath.
Mac had said Archer looked good, certainly a hell of a lot better than the last
time they’d seen him before he’d been shipped home. Bobby needed to see it with
his own eyes, needed to know for himself that Archer was okay.

He knocked. Full
minutes seemed to pass as he waited for a response, even though he knew it was
probably only seconds. He fought the urge to knock again, even as the time
continued to tick away.

The door finally
swung open, revealing Joe Archer in the flesh. Bobby felt relief wash over him
as he took in his old friend. Archer had always been a big man, and his massive
frame seemed to fill the doorway. He didn’t seem to have lost much weight or
muscle tone, still as big as ever. He looked healthy—good, just as Mac had
said. He stood on his own two feet, not using a cane or anything to help him.
Bobby figured that had to be a good sign.

Archer's
expression was no more welcoming than Bobby had expected. Archer just looked at
him, his icy blue eyes giving Bobby that serious, unyielding stare he knew
well. “Looch.”