Flirting With Disaster (11 page)

Dane swallowed an aggressive reply. The man
was just looking out for his sister. He could respect that. To a
point.

“
Pierce Christian Hall,
leave him alone. You brought me the Cougar!” She let out a
whoop.

Pierce sighed, annoyance crossing his face
for a moment before flitting away. “Of course I brought you the
Cougar.” He shook his head and smiled. “Nice to meet another one of
my sister's friends, Dane.” With a word from his sister, the man
had gone from menacing to charming in one second flat.

Dane snorted.
Siblings.
He knew that
headache. “Let me get out of your hair so you don't have to pretend
to like me.”

Pierce grinned. “I like him, Brooke. Marry
him.”

“
You. Brought. The.
Mustang!”

“
Of course I did,” her
brother answered, his smile widening.

Dane nodded his head. Her brother had likely
mentioned marriage without worry because she hadn't seen the
Mustang yet. Damn. The man was good. Dane pulled out the list,
heading for Brooke.

He held up the paper. “The bachelor
list.”

Her eyes were bright. “Oh, you were
serious.” She snatched it out of his hands, read it fast and then
stuffed it into her coverall pockets.

He nodded and kept walking. “Text you
later.”

She made a
tsk
of disapproval.
“Pierce, you bring those books like I asked?”

Dane turned abruptly, his heartbeat kicking
up.

Brooke was grinning at him and it spelled
trouble. “What do Halls do?”

Her brother yelled back, “We win.”

She raised her brow. “Text me if you want,”
she said to Dane. “I have five first editions that would make you
drool.”

“
Five?” he asked and
muttered a string of curses under his breath because the woman knew
how to play dirty.

“
Cinco
.”

Damn. He couldn't help but be aroused…and
feel something for her that had absolutely nothing to do with sex.
That emotion squeezed his heart. “Text you later, Brooke.”

*****

Brooke pushed a bowl of chicken and
dumplings in front of her brother. He sat at her small kitchen
table, looking relaxed and himself sans the mechanic wear. The
black dress shirt’s sleeves were rolled up to his forearms. He
hadn't bothered with a tie. He wore khakis which would have been
casual on anyone else, but they were creased within an inch of
their life.

He stuck out in her cheery home amongst all
the well-worn secondhand furniture. Her place was nothing like the
houses they had grown up in. Their mother would have had a heart
attack if she saw the place, but Brooke loved every groove and
frayed edge. She sat next to her brother with a bowl of her own,
but let her fingers run over a scratch mark as a reminder of the
woman she was now.

“
How many days did you take
off?” she asked him.

He tucked the paper napkin into his collar
with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

He took a bite of the food and nodded. “Two
weeks. We should be able to get through all the cars. Put me on
engines or transmissions. Doesn't matter. We can create an assembly
line while I'm here.”

She hadn't seen her brother in too long of a
time. She wanted more than two weeks with him, so she said slowly,
“If you think two weeks is long enough.”

Pierce's gaze narrowed. He had kind eyes.
Always did but that didn't mean anything went past his notice. They
were both frank so she braced herself for the next question,
because there would be one.

He put down his fork. “Do you want me to
stay for a month?”

Exactly what she hoped he'd say. She bit
back the triumphant smile. “Dad won't miss you.” He worked in the
marketing division of Hall Stock Brokerage.

He made a face. “Fine. I take a month, you
come home for dinner.”

“
And that's why I asked for
a month instead of two weeks. Either way, you were going to use
dinner as leverage.”

He whistled. “Damn. You got me.”

She forced the smile, because “dinner” meant
their mother. “I'm not mad at her. So don't start.”

He spread his hands in surrender. “I wasn't
going to say anything.”

“
Yes, you were.”

“
I was only going to point
out she misses you.”

The argument felt rehearsed. They’d had it
so many times. “She misses the old me. The one who took all her
advice on men and fluttered about.”

“
Of course she does. You
talked to her back then.” He raised a brow, daring her to
disagree.

She couldn't. The night she decided to end
the charade of her life being perfect, she'd gone to her mother.
Her mother had nothing but excuses. Maybe Lance had to work late.
Maybe his phone had died. Give him another chance.

When Brooke had confessed that she'd found
evidence of cheating, the next round of excuses came out. Men were
men. They wandered.

When Brooke had pointed out if she had
cheated on Lance, every bit of advice to him would be to leave her.
That she couldn't be trusted. Maybe they wouldn't even imply, they
would outright say she was a whore, a slut, a woman who couldn't
keep her legs closed. Men were men and they got to wander. Brooke
couldn't talk, much less relate, to a woman like that.

“
She looks at me like I'm a
disappointment. A dysfunctional relationship goes both ways,
Pierce.”

He sighed, sitting back. “What's going on
with Dane?”

She chuckled at the quick change of subject.
“Are your big brother genetics getting a workout?”

“
I know what took you so
long to come outside. I couldn't see clearly into the office but I
saw enough.”

Her face heated. “Just think if you pulled
up five minutes later.”

“
Brooke,” he
barked.

She reached over and pinched his chin. “Your
cheeks are all red.”

He pulled off the napkin and threw it on the
table. “I'm serious. I saw the way he was looking at you.”

She couldn't decipher how Dane looked at
her. “How?”

He frowned. “You can't see it?”

She shrugged but her stomach had gone light
with nerves. “We're attracted to each other.”

Pierce scoffed. “Okay.”

“
What?” she
pushed.

Pierce frowned at her again and finally
said, “Lance did a number on you. Since your break up with him
you've never looked at a man like you looked at Dane.”

Her heart thumped. “What do you mean?”

Her brother tilted his head. “You don't look
like you want to gut him.”

She wanted to cross her arms or argue, so
she kept her voice leveled. “So I've hated all men?”

“
Nope. Just the ones who
tried to date you.”

Oh, that did it. She slammed down her fork.
“What?”

“
I'm just saying, tried to
date. The ones you've dated have been nice, agreeable. None of them
have stood up to the Hall glare. He laughed at me and kept moving.
I wasn't lying when I said I liked him. He hasn't let you take his
balls, bronze them, and put them on a mantle somewhere.”

Un-freaking-believable. “So he didn't tuck
his tail between his legs when you growled at him and that's some
sign I should fall in love with him and marry him? Yes, I heard
you. I ignored you.”

“
I'm saying, I've met every
man you've dated. You bring them around me because some part of you
still wants approval.” He put up his hand to stop any argument.
“You growl at them and they whimper back.”

Her brother had a point. She'd growled quite
a bit at Dane over the last year, and he never backed down. Became
exasperated, yeah. Gave up, not really. Whenever she won a round,
he came back stronger. She didn't always agree with his opinion, or
his worldview, but she respected him.

“
Eat your damn dinner and
shut up,” she snapped.

He picked up his napkin again and stuffed it
back into his shirt's collar. “Only because you know I'm
right.”

She feared he was. But how did Dane look at
her? She didn't know, and now she wanted to. Needed to.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Brooke had donned a sundress, because she
was in the midst of a war and decided that would be her battle gear
for the day. The hem fluttered as she walked down the street to
Nichols' New and Used Books.

Her dress featured a sweetheart neckline
with a tie at her neck that with one pull could easily make the
whole thing fall off. She hadn't bothered with makeup because it
would only get in their way.

She'd put on her battle gear because she'd
been wrong to assume Dane had played all his cards. Or, cars, for
that matter. She'd woken with a new text message. He'd sent
interior and exterior shots of a 1958 Ferrari GT California Spyder.
Brooke had no doubt he planned to keep up the ruthless volleying
until she finally showed up naked on his doorstep. He wanted her to
kowtow, to break under his seduction.

Her stomach did a little flip, because it
was possible. A preemptive strike was necessary.

In the past week, he'd sent her pictures of
Plymouth Superbirds, Camaros, and GTOs. His choices of cars were
well thought out. His deliberateness further muddled the cocktail
of emotions she felt about him as a whole.

She wasn't actually getting off at the sight
of a G6. Not even she was that twisted, but he was thinking about
her. Dane could have easily sent her roses or something else
sentimental. Instead, he was taking his time finding cars he'd know
she'd gasp or drool over. The next text would be better than the
last. And he had to know she wasn't a roses or sweet love notes
kind of woman. He was playing a game of mental foreplay. What could
be sexier?

A moment of trepidation leaked in again as
she stood in front of his store. The six windows across the front
gave her a clear view inside. She'd strolled past his store a
thousand times, but she'd never gone in or given it more than a
cursory glance.

The oak door had the
word
books
stenciled in the middle. She grasped the handle, drew in a
calming breath, and stepped inside.

Shame washed over her. She'd been hardheaded
and righteous, standing on principle to never step foot into his
store. If she'd ever bothered to come in, maybe she'd have seen the
real man Dane was before this. He'd created a haven, and she could
see he hadn't completely abandoned design. Books were everywhere,
but there was order.

She walked to the archway
created with stacks and stacks of books. Glass enclosed them,
keeping them secured in the semiarch. She spotted
The
Great Gatsby
along with one of the Harry Potter novels. She
stepped closer to the archway and looked down the stairs. More
books.

He'd made use of the high ceiling and had
built a quasi-second floor. The circular staircase made way for a
platform with more bookcases. The lights were dim but sunlight
touched every inch of the store, only highlighting the dark blues,
tans, and golds weaved throughout the entire design. It was every
bit of who Dane was: orderly, eye-appealing and interesting.

His store was wonderful.

Dane came out the back room. His gray dress
shirt and dark gray slacks were pristine and un-rumpled as usual.
“You look impressed.”

She put the gift wrapped package behind her
back and faced him. “I am. Nice place you have.”

He stopped and smiled. “Never thought I'd
hear you say that.”

Nerves tightened her stomach. She shrugged,
reminding herself being there was about getting the upper hand, not
falling for the man as one facet of him after another was revealed.
But, damn, playing it cool was hard with him standing within easy
reach and looking pleased to see her.

Brooke said, “Hell has frozen over.” She
moved around him, farther into the store.

She knew he'd seen the package, but she kept
facing in a direction where he couldn't see exactly what she
held.

His voice deepened. “I'm guessing you're
here to pay me back for this morning.”

Finally, she turned so her back was to him,
making sure to emphasize her walk. He'd watch her ass and the gift
in her hands.

She said, “I'm here to talk about the
bachelor list. Depending on the timing, I could talk my brother
into doing it.”

He made a low sound, completely masculine
with a touch of frustration, but asked in a calm tone, “Paying him
back for some slight?”

“
Yup.”

Pierce had started in on her again when he
found out she was going to give away one of the books and which
specific book. He didn't understand this game of tit-for-tat
flirtation was fun. Foreplay, in a way, but innocent. There were no
deeper feelings on either side. It was honest and natural to want
to have sex with Dane. More? Now, that would be insane. But falling
in love with him wasn't impossible, not with Dane. He was...He
could easily be her everything. She could almost feel those
emotions creeping into her heart every moment they spent near each
other.

His gaze narrowed, but he stayed exactly
where he stood. “What did he do that requires him shirtless for all
the world to see?”

She couldn't tell him that, so she faced
him. “Aren't you curious?”

“
About the gift? No.” He
went to the front, flipped the sign so it read
Closed
on the street side, and locked
the door. “Follow me to my office so we can talk about the details
of the list. I've already emailed Naomi.”

His tone was too blasé to be trusted. “Are
you sure?” she asked.