HowMuchYouWantToBet (3 page)

Gib closed his mouth over hers, and Neil felt his whole body tense. She could feel the muscles under her hands tighten. She had expected the same punch of quick, hot desire, but this submersion—slow, painstaking, unexpected—didn’t stop the simmer of what could be. The power of it urged a frustrated moan from her mouth.

“If you are going to kiss me, then just do it.”

Gib obeyed. Her saucy mouth tasted of what wet dreams were made of, hot and erotic. Her tongue still held traces of chocolate and it mixed with her breath. She tasted sweet and tempting.

Her body felt soft next to his and, taking a chance, he ran both hands down her sides until her hips fit perfectly in his palms. If he was going to be a dead man soon, he might as well die happy. He turned her, backing her against the door, and deepened the kiss. She moaned again and this time it sounded breathy and satisfied.

He felt her nipples hardening against his chest through the thin material of her dress. He didn’t want to stop. For a minute Gib didn’t think he could stop, even if he wanted to. What he did want to know was how well all her curves fit into his hands.

He wanted to feel more than her mouth against his, with such a fierce need it startled him. Panic and passion made his heart beat in his chest. Taking one last taste, he lifted his head. “I guess you still owe me $200.”

Neil’s haze lifted the moment he spoke. She fumbled for the keys in her purse. “You kiss like a fish, but I’ll give you the $200.”

She bent, lifted the gnome on her porch, and pulled from beneath it a white envelope that she shoved at him.

“For the record, I hope you fall off the nearest cliff.” Neil opened the door, stepped through, and slammed it in his face. Leaning against it, she slid to the ground, trying to slow her beating heart. It didn’t hurt a bit to admit to herself,
Damn, the man can kiss.

CHAPTER 3

The sun lay hidden behind dense clouds darkened with the promise of rain. The air, moist with dew, smelled of it. Neil was thankful the roof had been put on. Over the past week the wooden structure had slowly started to resemble a house. Good news, because it meant she was on schedule.

Braced in her work boots, she stared at the arched wood that would soon be fitted for the fan light door and congratulated herself on doing a good job. Neil could and would blame her gloomy disposition on the weather, not daring to take into account the fact that several days had passed since she’d heard from Gib.

Neil had wanted to be undesirable to him, wanted him to forget she even existed, so she could go back to her world of normalcy. Attachments, yes, but none that could change her life too dramatically. Gib had already left an imprint. It was a good thing he hadn’t called or come by the worksite to bother her, like he usually did. Neil guessed some men’s egos couldn’t take a beating. But that pithy observation didn’t explain why she spent most of her waking moments daydreaming of kissing him again.

Neil turned to the men at work to get her mind off Gib. Linny had gone to lunch and left her in charge. The past few weeks he’d been giving her more responsibility. To an outsider, that would probably mean a fatter paycheck from the extra hours. To Neil, it meant being closer to her goal of becoming worksite manager. Further from the dreams her father had had for her. Dreams she still wanted in the lonely hours. Neil told herself it was all behind her.

Mentally shaking herself, she checked her watch and winced. Quitting time already. That’s what happens to the time when your head’s in the clouds. Yelling would be useless over the sound of power saws, nail guns, and drills.

Neil went around the empty house looking for her bullhorn, but before she found it Linny had pulled up, honking his horn, and Neil took advantage of the instant quiet.

“Quitting time!” she yelled.

A few whoops had her smiling, Jason being the loudest as he moved past her with his toolbelt over his shoulder. He smiled at her, looking like a blonde Adonis, and it did nothing for her. Neil sighed.

“If I’d known betting for Gib would make you work us this hard, I would have put that twenty bucks on you.”

She smiled back at him. “The best saying ever thought of was ‘Don’t get mad, get even.’”

Jason laughed and waved goodbye. She watched him walk away. Nothing, not a spark, not a change in heartbeat. Nothing. She sighed heavily again and walked over to Linny’s car.

“Afternoon, Sullivan,” Linny greeted.

He had several other worksites to visit. Regardless, at the end of the workday he traveled to hers. Self-doubt could make her believe it was her gender that made it a responsibility to check on her. In construction one sometimes has to wonder.

“Linny,” she answered back. Her voice must have betrayed the question on her mind.

“No, I’m not checking up on you.” He tipped his head toward the inside of his truck.

His ruffled, dull-red hair and the dusty blue pickup belied his tendency for neatness. Linny left nothing to chance, and Neil cocked her head in disbelief at his comment. “Okay, maybe a little. Get in.”

Tired and sweaty, she hopped in the passenger side, leaving the door open for a breeze.

He had the all-business face on, and she waited for him to get to the point of his visit. “How’d the men do today?”

“They finished all the paneling upstairs. We did the wiring on Monday. Tomorrow the other walls start to go in. With overtime for the next few days, we can have the kitchen and bathrooms finished by Saturday.”

He nodded. “That’s good. You’ve been working for me for the last year or so. I hired you on as an assistant manager, and when Jerry left I let his position stay open.”

“He’s a hard man to follow, much less replace. He did everything, and he was a great worksite manager for the company.” She kept to herself that, in the six months of his absence, she had still wanted the job to be hers.

“He was a good friend, which is why I was hesitant to replace him. We worked together for twenty years.”

“But he betrayed you by going behind your back and hiring another team to work on the Hilliard place.” Neil wasn’t able to keep the anger from her voice. “The team that Nolan’s Construction always hires.”

Jerry was the reason Linny no longer fraternized with the crew. A plus for her, since he had missed the incident at The Tavern.

“I know. I don’t do business like that.” He cleared his throat. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Whistle Lake Construction works on a small scale, and I’m wanting to expand.

Not far, but at least out of Maple County.”

“Maple County covers a wide area, five towns, at least, including Linton. Aren’t we contracted to refurnish three commercial buildings?” Linny nodded hesitantly.

Neil curled her nervous hands in her lap. She had not expected the company to grow. Linny was the company. No corporation to answer to, just a small office placed on the corner of the town square. Here was her chance.

“You’re right. Things are coming along good for the company, and it got me to thinking that I need to fill that position.” The look he trained on her had her holding her breath. “I’ve just been contracted to do a big job. A house off on Grayson Road, with about thirty-six acres or so. If this job is done well, then word of mouth alone would make the business revenue go up twelve percent in a three-month period. I want you on the job as worksite manager, in charge of the whole setup, from the floor plans to what kind of flowers should be planted in the garden. You used to work for that big company in L.A., so you should have some contacts. Do you think you could bring together that kind of operation?”

Neil relaxed her hands. Just the mention of her old stomping grounds made her stomach twist. Her job at Hutchinson Construction had been her first after her father’s death. Talk about incognito. Neil doubted anyone there would remember her name.

She didn’t have to work, but she’d needed the small human contact. She had cut herself off from the world she’d grown up knowing. Neil blew out a frustrated breath. The past was in the past.

Her future, right this second, stared her in the face. “I definitely can put something together. Who’s the client?”

Linny answered absently, but his cheeks had a slight tinge of red to them. “My friend, Gibland. I think you’ve met.” He frowned. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”

Neil swallowed the first comment that burned to fall from her lips. “No, not at all.”

*****

It took Gib a moment to realize the thunder he was hearing wasn’t from the storm outside but at his front door. He smiled, rubbing his hands together. Before answering it, he lit the candles on the table. Neil would hate that she was so predictable. Dimming the lights in the foyer, he took a breath, then opened the door.

“Well, look who we have here. A very drenched Neil Sullivan.”

She pushed past him, spears shooting from her hazel eyes. The ends of her ponytail dripped water on the wooden floors. Caked mud dropped from her work boots as she paced in the small foyer.

“You can try that smarmy little smile with someone else. I’m not buying it. Do you know what position you put me in with Linny?”

“Before you start your rant, give me your coat. You’re dripping all over.”

She answered him with a glare, and he continued, “I’m renting right now and don’t need the damage to the floor.”

She muttered something that he didn’t ask her to repeat as she shoved the bulky yellow monstrosity at him. He hung it on the coat stand by the door. Her long-sleeved shirt clung to her breasts, and he could tell that the weather outside was quite chilly. He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to continue his lashing.

“One moment.” Gib turned and jogged up the stairs, dug in his dresser and retrieved an undershirt and pants from the closet. When he returned with the clothes in his hand, she frowned at them in disgust.

“Wouldn’t want the person getting sick who’s supposed to be building my house.” She snatched the shirt and pants from him.

“How thoughtful. If I wasn’t cold, I would tell you to stuff it. Where can I change?”

“Bathroom’s down the hall on your left.”

She started to make her way down the hall, then turned before the fork in the hallway. “Don’t think I’m not mad any more, just because you’re being thoughtful.”

“Wouldn’t expect any such thing.”

Her chest expanded from the deep breath that she took. “At least you know.”

The warmth in the room left when she did. He stared at the puddles of muddy water she’d left, then sidestepped them as he got the mop from the kitchen. She returned in less than three minutes, looking sexy as hell in the baggy clothes. It gave his imagination loads to play with, along with his memory of what she had looked like in that black dress.

Gib shoved his hands in his pockets. “I put the clothes in the dryer. It was right next to the bathroom.”

She crossed her arms. “As I can see, with the candles lit, that you’re expecting company, I’ll make this quick. You set me up. You knew I couldn’t say no to Linny, especially if he offered me the position of worksite manager. So you figure, ‘I have nothing but free time, why not bother the only person who turned down my advances.’”

While Neil talked, she rolled up the shirt sleeves and pant legs. When she was done, she stood straight, in a huff. “Now, I can understand your childish need, but to waste money on a house just to get back at me for telling you the truth…”

He guffawed. “The truth?” Her sneer reminded him not to let his own temper rise. “Sorry for interrupting, go ahead.”

“I’ve been working toward this position ever since Jerry left. I’m not saying I’m not entitled to it, but I’d prefer to have gotten the job on my own accord, with hard work and determination, letting my work ethic speak for itself, not as a condition you set up to get Linny to build your house. You know he’s a great businessman and wouldn’t say no to the son of the MacPherson re-inventor.”

Gib took a long, deep breath before he spoke. “I understand your position, but you’ve just insulted yourself, and Linny, and me, with that little speech. Your work ethic speaks for itself. You should know that’s why Linny put you in charge of this project. Yes, Linny is a great businessman. He’s been building houses for fifteen years and was apprenticed under his father before that. He’s not the type to make decisions just to get the client, even if it’s his rich friend.”

The expression that came over her face was that of a child being scolded. It didn’t stop him from venting the rest of his temper. “I’ve been wanting to move back here for a while, so revenge isn’t on my mind. I know you think of me as some playboy who does nothing but spend daddy’s money. Trust me, I’m not that wasteful. If we’re done with that, we can get started on what I want my house to look like.”

She crossed her arms, weighing her next comment, then settled on “Fine.”

“I didn’t suggest anything to Linny about promoting you. He’s been at me for the past three years to use his company to build my house.”

Neil sucked her teeth, still not looking like she believed a word he said, and he had to wonder why she doubted herself in this area of her life. “What have you got planned?” she asked reluctantly.

“We’ll get to that. Dinner first. I’m starved.” Neil put her hands out and the rolled shirtsleeves still reached to her palms. “I’d rather not go to Pat’s dressed like this.”

“Who said we were leaving?”

*****

Gib had set her up. There were no other explanations that made more sense to Neil. Worse, she had fallen into the trap as he’d planned. From the job he offered Whistle Lake Construction, conveniently timed, to the fact that he knew she would be pissed when she found out and would confront him.

Even if he was innocent in the former, the latter part was definitely a setup. If seen out of context, her assumptions could be considered irrational, but the light from the candles, the whiff of breaded chicken, and the expensive red wine were enough evidence.

None of that concerned her, but Neil wanted to know how far into the charade he was going to go, just to get back at her. His actions surprised her, though. Gib didn’t seem like the type to get insulted easily. She watched him intently as he filled both glasses. He wore what she considered his uniform, a white dress shirt and black slacks. Inside the house the shiny shoes were gone and he was barefoot. The toenails looked as glossy as the nails on his hands.