Sweet Nothings (24 page)

A small smile graced Brian’s face. “That answers one question.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t simply take people’s bullshit.” He headed for the still-open back door. “Good deal. That’s what Joanie needs. And yes, I want to see the house. Got a beer? I’ll take one of those, too.”

Nick scowled at the man as he walked away, trying to figure out if the comment meant that he was
for
Nick and Joanie being together, or against. Or maybe he was just screwing with him. Didn’t matter, anyway. He followed and got out that beer.

“You think you know what Joanie needs, do you?” Nick asked.

Cat jumped up on the counter and Brian scratched him behind the ears. When Bob, who couldn’t yet master the height, purred at his feet, Brian leaned down and scooped him up, too. “Nice cats.”

How could Nick hate a cat guy?

“What do you want, Brian? You want to know about me and Joanie? Yes, I’m seeing her. I’m crazy about her. I wouldn’t do a thing in the world to hurt her. Is that what you want to hear? Tell that to her and I’ll punch you in the throat.”

He began leading the way through the house.

“And if I were to ask her the status between you two?” Brian asked. “Would she say the same thing? Because I have to tell you, no one has seen you
out
with her. Other than drooling over her at Cakes. You’re there on Thursdays as if it’s your business to protect her and her legs from every other man in the county.”

“I’m there on Thursdays because I want a cupcake.”

Nick was impressed he got that out with a straight face. Marshall had it right; he was there, ready to go Rambo on any guy who got too close. Not that it mattered. All Nick could do was sit back and watch. Joanie would do exactly as she wanted to do, and he could either get with the program or stay away.

They headed up the stairs, Nick answering questions about the house as they went. When they reached the third floor, Brian checked out the space in detail.

“You do nice work,” he finally declared. “Good eye. Doesn’t look like you skimp on quality. I’m impressed.”

“What’d you think I was doing out here? Building a pup tent?”

Brian gave him his smile again and it pissed Nick off. The man was a good friend of Joanie’s, he was what most women would refer to as “hot,” and he would clearly do favors for Joanie whenever she asked—such as keep her out all hours of the night just to piss Nick off. Did that mean Brian had once had one of her sex-only relationships?

He knew people had pasts. Hell, he had a past. But he didn’t like the idea of this man discovering which thong Joanie wore each day. Or peeling them off her.

“Take it easy, Dalton.” They headed back downstairs, Brian leading the way. “I’m not your enemy here.”

“You’re not anything to me.”

Brian stopped on the stairs and gave him a measured look. “Hurt Joanie and I will be.”

Terrific. An ex-lover who had her back. Exactly what he needed. Then he wondered if that would be him some day.

Most likely. At least he wouldn’t have to be a year-round fixture protecting her.

“I won’t hurt her,” Nick confirmed. “It’ll be the other way around if it’s anything.”

What a pansy-ass thing to say.

Calm blue eyes watched him for another ten seconds before Brian’s face shifted and the pleasant demeanor was back. He laughed out loud and continued downstairs. “I suspect you might be right. She’s not one to get caught.”

“No one said I was looking to catch.”

Marshall laughed even louder, a sound which only irritated Nick more. Because he knew Brian was right, even if he hadn’t voiced his thoughts.

Nick wanted to catch her.

Wasn’t he already well on his way to falling in love with her?

Joanie passed a couple twenties across the counter and waited for her change. It was just after lunch on Monday and she and Lee Ann were having their usual girls’ day. Only instead of milkshakes or pedicures, Lee Ann would be helping her make the scrapbook for GiGi.

“These are some impressive photos you got here,” said Bert Wheeler, the photo technician at the local pharmacy. Joanie had brought in her memory card that morning, and of course Bert would have checked out every photo as they’d printed.

Bert was nearing retirement age and was what some would call the “curious sort.” Joanie would call it nosy. But then, if she really hadn’t wanted her pictures to be seen, she would have printed them herself. If she had any idea if her printer worked. Or had ink.

It was easiest just to bring them in. Plus, she didn’t mind him looking. It was simply part of life in Sugar Springs.

“Nick does good work, doesn’t he?” Joanie pulled the photos from the pack and leaned on the counter in front of Bert, flipping through them as she’d done with GiGi two days before.

After her and Nick’s conversation Friday night where she’d learned he had yet to secure a contract for another job, she felt inclined to point out the good work he was doing to anyone who would listen. Bert talked to most of the people in town in any given week, so he was a good one for Joanie to preach to about the value of the job Nick was doing.

“You should drive by there, Bert,” Joanie urged. “It’s not just the inside that looks different.” In fact, the whole thing was starting to look pretty stunning. She wished she could keep it. For her and for GiGi.

It was way too big for the two of them, but she loved what Nick had done to the kitchen with the slightly rustic look that fed into the living room and the walnut flooring he’d picked out to go down. She would have never guessed she would like the rustic look, but it fit when she looked out the windows and saw the mountains in the distance.

Then there was the back porch. With its electricity and three walls of insulated windows, it was now more like an extension of the house instead of an afterthought. The right furniture could provide a comfortable year-round escape. And of course, the room on the third floor would be a dream come true.

She could go on and on. The front porch. Who could resist those rockers? As the temperature had begun to inch steadily up over the last few days, she’d found herself spending several evenings out there, doing nothing more than relaxing and enjoying the ending of the day.

The fact that Nick had been by her side hadn’t gone unnoticed by her either. She liked being with him.

But she hated how much she was liking it.

“I drove out that way last night,” Bert was saying. “Me and my Betty.” He whistled then. “Mighty fine-looking house. We ain’t looking to move, but I’ll sure be interested in seeing the inside once it’s finished.”

This pleased Joanie and made her want to run to tell Nick. “It’ll be
going on the market by the end of the month, and Jane plans to do an open house that first weekend.” Jane was the Realtor they were working with. She’d been out to the house the other night to take a quick look around, and was thrilled to get the listing. Joanie was both happy to list it with her, and sad at the same time. She would hate to see it go.

She flipped to another picture as Bert leaned in closer, his head right next to hers, studying each one as if he hadn’t already seen them all. She glanced up at Lee Ann, who stood a few feet away, watching her.

What
? Joanie mouthed.

Lee Ann merely gave a shake of her head.
Nothing,
she mouthed back.

“I found this one interesting,” Bert commented as Joanie flipped to the next photo without looking. “In fact, I called Reba when I saw it. Told her I believed she might be wrong.”

“Which one?” Joanie looked back down. What would Lee Ann’s mother have to do with one of her pictures?

Then she saw what Bert was talking about.

It was of Nick. One she’d forgotten about taking Saturday night after she’d returned from Knoxville. He’d just come from the shower, a white towel slung around his hips, his very fine chest in all its naked glory, and one of those grins that melted her insides in place on his strong jaw. The smile was so good, that her body got a little revved just looking at it now. While at the same time, her brain screamed at her to ditch the picture.

“Yep,” Bert continued. “Told her I didn’t believe you two had an issue in the bedroom at all. That is not the look of an unsatisfied man. Trust me. I’ve worn that look a time or two, myself.”

Joanie cringed at the image his words conjured.

She turned the photo face down and frowned at Bert. “Of course we don’t have issues in the bedroom. Who’s…” She stopped, remembering what Lee Ann had told her about the rumors after her and Nick’s “sex” conversation at Cakes. The bet had been that she wasn’t doing something right in that department. She narrowed her eyes. “People are still talking about that?”

“Yeah. Especially seeing that you’re out there so late every night.”

“I have work to do out there,” she explained. “That doesn’t mean we’re running around doing…
things
… every night.”

He picked up the picture and waved it at her. “That ain’t all you’re doing, sweetheart.”

Lee Ann moved to her side and took the photo from Bert. Joanie was just about to thank her for stepping in to help when Lee Ann murmured, “Oh yeah. I’ve seen this look before. You’re right, Bert. This is one happy man.”

Joanie snatched the picture from her. She then realized that with Cody and Nick being twins, Lee Ann probably had seen that exact look. That didn’t mean she needed to agree with Bert.

Joanie gathered up the now scattered photos and shot her friend a dirty look. “Are you about finished?”

Lee Ann shrugged. “Just about.” She handed over a ten-dollar bill. “Put me down for April fourth.”

With that, Lee Ann left the store without another word, leaving Joanie to gawk back and forth between the door her friend had vanished beyond, and Bert. Bert opened the cash drawer and stashed the bill inside.

“What did she just bet on?”

Guilt passed across Bert’s face. “I uh… believe I’m supposed to keep this one quiet.”

Joanie shook her finger at him. “You’re betting on me, in
front
of me, and you won’t tell me what it’s about?”

Bert shook his head.

“Can I get in on the bet?”

He looked out the window as if seeking help, his mouth puckered in thought, then back to her. “You’d want to bet without knowing what you were betting on?”

“No, Bert! I want you to tell me what I’d be betting on. Come on, let me in on it.”

He scratched his jaw as he thought through his options. As a general rule, part of the game of the money bets was to try to up the ante. If he let her contribute, that would be ten dollars more they didn’t already have.

Finally, he frowned and shook his head. “Sorry, Ms. Joanie. Can’t do it.”

“Fine.” She gave him a growling kind of sigh and scooped up her packet of photos. “But this is not funny. You all really should find better ways to amuse yourself.”

She left the store, knowing her words were hypocritical. If the tables were turned, she might very well be in on the bet. It was one of the town’s favorite pastimes.

A slight breeze hit her as she stepped out on the sidewalk. She swiped the hair back out of her face and saw Lee Ann already heading down the street, almost to the library. That’s where they planned to work on the scrapbook. There was a little table out on the back patio that would afford enough privacy that they could talk, while still having plenty of space to get the job done.

Clearly, Lee Ann knew she had some explaining to do, so she was putting distance between them as fast as possible. Joanie took off after her.

When the townspeople had been guessing on where the trouble lay with sex between her and Nick—as if there were any trouble in that department—she didn’t think there had been any money put down. Money bets signified something serious like when someone would be delivering a baby, or how long a person would last at a job. There had been bets in the past on how soon Joanie would sell whatever business she’d owned at the time. In fact, there was likely one out now.

Was that what Lee Ann had bet on? Normally she didn’t get involved in those as she often felt like she had insider information.

Joanie entered the library—Lee Ann having disappeared before she got there—and headed across the lobby of the small, four-room building. It wasn’t huge, but Larissa Bailey, who’d moved to town three years ago when Sugar Springs had gotten a library grant, did an excellent job of stocking both popular and educational treasures.

“Afternoon, Joanie.”

Joanie took her sights off the back door and swiveled around to find Larissa standing at a shelf over to the side of the room. Her white-blond
hair and soft, shy smile always made Joanie think that if they had an angel in town, she would be it.

“Hey Larissa.” Joanie looked around and realized there was no one else in the room. “You alone today?”

“I just finished story time about an hour ago and it’s been pretty quiet since.”

Larissa never said she was lonely, but no one saw her out much, and her demeanor pretty much shouted meek and mild. Joanie peered through the large windows overlooking the sunny patio, saw Lee Ann sitting at the table, ignoring her, and made an executive girls’ day decision. She knew Lee Ann wanted to hear how things were going between her and Nick, and Joanie wanted to know about the bet, but she felt the need to invite Larissa to join them instead. There would be plenty of other Mondays in which she and Lee Ann could play catch up.