Bachelorette for Sale (20 page)

It would be different if they asked because they cared, because they wanted to see Cherry happy after all this time, but not because they knew the one who broke the story got the ratings. Cherry was an instrument to the media, not a person with feelings and rights, and it pissed him off to see her used.

“Bro, chill, they’re leaving. She handled them like a pro.” Dave dropped a box at Jason’s feet. “Ha, did you see that guy’s face when she mentioned the hammer? I thought he was going to piss his pants. Priceless.”

“Kick in the pants.” Jason nodded toward the box. “What’s this?”

“Nanny cams. Brody dropped them off at lunch. Enough for each entrance and then two for this room.”

Cherry joined them, studying the box. “You’re going to put teddy bears out? Don’t you think someone will notice?”

Dave bent down, opened the box, and pulled out a smoke detector and a small gray box. Jason pulled out another one. “Sweet. These will fit right in, and if our friends come back they won’t think twice about them.”

“I don’t get it.” Cherry stood, fist on her cocked hip, looking like a sexy, mad librarian. “I thought you said they were nanny cams.”

Jason handed her one to look at. “Nanny cams come in all sorts of disguises now: smoke detectors, building blocks, alarm clocks, even coat hooks. These are perfect, as you would expect to find them here and generally a person wouldn’t think twice when they saw one. They’re also motion activated. This small gray one can go up outside by the entrance behind a sign with a small hole in it and catch everyone walking up to the door. We’ll get them installed before we leave tonight.”

“Here, give them to me.” Dave gathered the cameras. “The guys and I’ll have these up in about five minutes.”

“Guess that frees me up to finish the wall. See you later.” Jason gathered his supplies and started taping the drywall. As much as he’d like to flip the coin and see who played out what fantasy, he was pissed about the interview and knew he’d say something he’d later regret.

“Jase, is something wrong?” Cherry’s voice caressed his nerves. She had too much faith in others, always looking for the good. She couldn’t see the wolf beneath the sheep’s wool.

“I’m busy, Cherry, we’ll talk later.” His voice was gruff, which pissed him off even more. He didn’t want to be mad, he wanted to pull the pins out of her hair, to play cabana boy, to hear her call out his name as her eyes glazed over and she slid down the slope to ecstasy.

He wasn’t angry at Cherry; it was the situation that pissed him off.
Not true
, his mind whispered. The ghosts of the past were wreaking havoc with his brain, which was something he needed to deal with. Shove them back in the closet where they belonged. If only the worm of a reporter would leave them alone.

“Fine. I forgot I’m supposed to meet Tawny tonight, go over some plans for tomorrow’s event. Guess I’ll owe you a rain check on dinner. One of us will let you know how the telethon went Monday. Enjoy your weekend.” Icicles could have formed in hell from the tone in her voice.

And if that weren’t enough, she’d used “fine.” He might have been dense at times, but he knew “fine” didn’t mean the same thing coming from a woman. His only chance at salvation involved groveling at her feet.

Wasn’t happening.

Heels click-clacked across the concrete floor, pounding nails into his coffin with each step. The front door slammed shut, rattling the glass pane. Whatever. They could use a night off anyway. They’d been practically glued to each other for weeks. A guy needed his space. Room to breathe. Hang with his buds.

“Cupid, what the hell did you do to Cherry?” Dave asked as he came around the corner. “First she almost knocked me off the ladder. Now she’s sitting in her car crying.”

Jason dropped the tape and made double time to the parking lot. Cherry’s head rested against the steering wheel and he could hear the soft sobs through the open car door as he approached. Squatting down, he pushed her hair behind her ear.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“You didn’t. I stubbed my toe.”

“Through your shoes?”

“Yes, and it hurts really bad. Kind of like someone stabbing you in the heart bad.”

“Baby, that’s not fair.”

“Don’t ‘baby’ me. Go back to your drywall. I’m fine.” She blew her nose, turning her head away from him.

Deep breath in
. He swallowed hard, pushing the crow down. He wouldn’t apologize, but if she wanted to talk, fine, he’d talk. “You want to know what’s wrong?”

“No, not anymore. Now I just want my toe to stop hurting so I can go home.”

“I thought you were going to Tawny’s?”

“I am, right after I pick up Tucker. So, if you’ll move,” she shooed him away with her hand, “thanks, bye.”

“You don’t want to talk about what upset me?”

She slammed the gearshift into park, pushed him out of her way, and slid out of the car. Standing in front of him, even in her pumps, she still didn’t come close to being eye-to-eye with him. “You know what your problem is?”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

“Someone needs to. You’re so used to getting everything your way, you can’t compromise. And then there’s that high-and-mighty attitude of yours. Mr. I’m Always Right. Well, let me tell you, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Arrogant, you’re not always right. And when you are, it’s not polite to gloat over your friends or girlfriend. That’s plain rude. Everything doesn’t have to be your way.”

Jason took a step forward, backing her up against the open car door. His blood boiled. He wasn’t always right and everything didn’t have to be his way. He’d compromised last night on the pizza and agreed to work with the media. And he didn’t gloat. Ever.

“Why didn’t you let me deal with Ford?” He stopped her before she could utter a sound. “Because you see me as nothing more than a lowly carpenter from the bad side of town who only knows how to do things one way, with his fists.”

Her mouth flew open, then closed. “That’s not true. I was only teasing in there, but you have to admit you two push each other’s buttons faster than a pair of siblings. I may not like dealing with the media, Jason, but I won’t hide from them. I’m not an idiot and I can do my job. I think your response has more to do with what he said to me than anything else. Something about your ex. Want to talk about it?”

“Not really. Suffice it to say it happened a long time ago and then it was over. End of story.” He didn’t want to drag Steph into their relationship, to let the past taint the present or future. Better for everyone to forget about her and what went down. “Didn’t I tell you Ford wouldn’t play fair? That he was up to something? Sure enough, he tried to drag our relationship into it, or rather out into the public eye.”

Cherry pressed her hands against his chest trying to move him back, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Fine, you don’t want to talk about her? Okay. We’re all allowed our secrets. Do me a favor? Don’t put her flaws on me. Whoever she is, I’m not her. And I knew he’d bring up the subject of us. He’s like a dog with a bone. I was ready for him and handled him, thank you very much. Don’t think I didn’t see you getting all puffed up, ready to rip his head off. Thank goodness for Dave. All I’m asking is have some faith in me, Jase.” He heard it then, under the angry rant, the hurt he’d caused her by not trusting her to know what she was doing. He wanted to kick himself in the ass. No better than the other guys who’d come before him, he’d done the one thing he’d sworn he wouldn’t do.

She squinted up at him. “Are you growling at me?”

He stepped closer, pushing out all the air from between their bodies, placed his hands on the door frame next to her shoulders, and looked her in the eye. “At times. Although right now, I’m growling at myself.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry. I was an overprotective jerk. Forgive me?”

A little sigh escaped past her lips, breathing life back into him.

“Forgive me?” she asked.

The bands restricting the blood flow from his heart released. Air flowed from his lungs to his brain again. Once more his world was right.

“Does this mean we get to have make-up sex?” he asked.

“Cabana boy or naughty librarian?”

W
hat had started out as a small tag sale had quickly morphed into an all-out fund-raiser. Along with the usual cast-offs, there were baked goods and a pie-in-the-eye contest. Jason hoped the weather would hold. Gray clouds crept across the sky, making their way toward the festivities under way on the community center’s green. Thankfully it would all be over soon. Jason dodged people tall and short as he made his way to his buddies. Dave and Brody stood apart from the crowd under a huge oak tree on the front lawn, munching on cookies. Taking his place next to them, he realized this was how it had always been, the three of them against the world.

Snagging a cookie from Brody, he leaned back against the tree trunk. “Nice of you to donate.”

Brody tucked the bag of goodies under his arm, out of Jason’s reach. “Least I can do. I’ve also got a loaf of banana bread and some homemade doughnuts in the car for my mom.”

“Can you believe all of these people?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, I can. Not all the residents of the west end were like my dad. Plus, most families in the neighborhood don’t have the financial means to give big donations or attend a gala dinner. What goes in the coin jar can go a long way at an event like this. They can justify the baked goods as food on the table, and the clothes are items they’d have had to buy anyway, if not here then probably at the Goodwill. This is good, gives them a sense of ownership, of pride; even more, of accomplishment. Your girl does good work, Cupid.”

Jason snagged Dave’s last cookie, popping it in his mouth before his friend could snatch it back. “She does. However, this wasn’t her work. Two of the other committee members suggested the idea, and the schools ran with it when they heard about it.”

“Tawny told me they’ve got thirty high school seniors working the phones today for the telethon, and none of them had to be bribed with extra credit. Couldn’t see that happening in our day. Although, gauging by the mile-long line to throw a pie in Mr. Lilly’s face, I’d say his history class is still as boring and tough to pass as in our day.”

Jason tracked his friend’s gaze, noting Tawny manned the pie-tossing table and Dave hadn’t taken his eyes off her since he’d joined them.

“I think I have a few dollars left, might as well donate them and warm up my arm before softball season.” Dave headed off to join the long line.

Interesting, he hadn’t seen that coming. Then again, he’d been a little preoccupied with work and trying to keep up with his own love life. Still, Dave was one of his two best friends, and more, which meant he should have been paying attention.

“Hasn’t mentioned Mandi in a while,” Brody noted.

“Not his usual type. For one, Tawny has a brain,” Jason replied while watching his friend flirt with the feisty brunette. “For another, she’s real, not one of those Barbie wannabes. Think he can handle her?”

Brody watched silently for a few minutes. Always one to weigh the situation before passing judgment, he’d been their voice of reason more than once growing up and, on other occasions, the one to come up with the better plan so they wouldn’t get caught. They both winced as Tawny lifted the plate and held it at the perfect angle for smearing the pie in Dave’s face, but in the end she handed over the dessert.

“She’s going to eat him alive.”

Both men grinned and shared a mutual laugh, watching their friend flirt, then crash and burn. A new experience for David Farber. Jason might have the nickname Cupid, but Dave was the ladies’ man in their group. Jason had a feeling his friend had finally met his match. Speaking of . . . he watched the sexy redhead join Tawny at the table. She tugged on her tee, stretching it out, away from the jeans hugging her soft curves. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, tell her she looked beautiful, to pull her against him and show her exactly how hot she looked.

Dave took his position to pitch the pie into the eye of their least favorite teacher. Together the women did a little cheer. They all waited while he stretched, shifted, and adjusted for wind velocity, only to miss by a good foot.

A kid who couldn’t have been more than seven or eight stood next to Dave, shaking his head in disgust. A couple of guys in line slapped him on the back, probably wishing him better luck next time.

“That’s embarrassing. We should disown him,” Jason said between chuckles.

“Bet he was boasting about his pitching stats and his winning pass in the homecoming game senior year. I’d say ditch him but this is too good an opportunity to miss.” Brody nodded toward the pie table, a smirk across his usually serious face.

Today was a good day. Regardless of the crappy reason they were all here, people were having a good time. Kids were running around laughing and playing. Parents socialized, bought and sold items, and relaxed. Smiles everywhere you looked. Times were tough, the economy had a long way to go on its road to recovery, yet today the people of the west end had come together and found a reason to be thankful, and it showed.

He noted the nearby houses as they made their way to the table. Once faded, neglected buildings that housed faded, neglected families. Over the years, instead of falling down, turning to a pile of rubble as one would expect, they had started standing a little taller, a little bolder, becoming homes with loving families filling their rooms.

Pride filled him. Once he’d been part of one of those faded, neglected families. He could have taken his old man’s route, let his life become a pile of rubble, because living your life staring at the bottom of a bottle led to nothing else. Instead, he’d chosen his own path, one that led him to a new home.

Brody and Jason made their way to the table, dodging excited, sugared-up kids. The ladies teased Dave for missing, while Dave made up excuses and challenged both Jason and Brody to do better. Jason declined the invite, taking a position as close to Cherry as he could without arousing the interest of those around them. Brody paid his five bucks and got in line. Dave hid his face in mock embarrassment when the young boy hit a bull’s-eye before giving the kid a high five.

A whisper-soft caress ran across the back of Jason’s hand, sending a totally different kind of jolt through his body. He wanted to feel her soft curves snuggled against him, and let her sweetness sweep them away. Soon the fund-raiser would be over and they could sneak off to his place or hers, forget about the outside world and lose themselves in each other.

“You okay? You look pretty tense,” Cherry asked in a hushed voice. In the next breath she cheered Brody on with the rest of the group.

“Yeah, just thinking if Brody misses, I’ll have to disown both of my best friends.”

Brody nailed Mr. Lilly smack dab in the face, and the crowd cheered. The guys exchanged high fives and razzed Dave some more for missing.

The day had been a success as far as Jason was concerned. He’d worry about the outcome on Monday. Right now he had other things on his mind, like carting his woman off to his place, where he planned to lock her in his bedroom and ravish her for the rest of the day.

Turning to her, he leaned down next to her ear. “Cherry, let’s—”

Yelling and laughter from the ball field caught both their attention interrupting his train of thought. The five of them looked to each other and then headed off to find out what was going on. The closer they got to the crowd, the clearer the words became, as well as the voice, and his plan to escape early went up in smoke.

 

“You should be ashamed of yourself, asking an old lady intimate questions. Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”

Cherry cringed, wondering who had ticked off her gram and what on earth they had asked her.

“Ow, ow, ow. Stop it you old bat. I didn’t ask if you were having sex. Good gawd. Why would I want to know?” Ford’s whiny voice grated right across her nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

“What did you say to my wife?” Her grandfather’s voice boomed across the yard.

Half-tempted to let the reporter face her grandfather’s wrath, Cherry slowed her steps for a couple of moments. It’d serve him right, accosting a senior citizen and sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. If he got it broken, so be it.

Shoot, he’d probably sue her grandparents. She quickened her steps until she caught sight of her gram, smacking Ford with her purse. The reporter lay curled up on the ground trying to protect his head, whining and digging his foot in deeper with each breath. A circle of people stood around them, laughing and cheering her gram on. From across the field, George and his mother hustled toward them. Based on the livid look on George’s face, he’d caught enough of her grandmother’s comments to figure out what had happened.

The devil inside urged her to step aside, let the men take care of the no-good reporter. Maybe then he’d learn to stop prying into people’s private lives, especially hers. The angel who lived on the other side of her brain, whom she regularly ignored, told her George and Jason would rip the man apart like a wishbone at Thanksgiving. Not quite the image she’d wanted for the center after all their hard work, plus it put the ammunition to get Jason fired in Stan’s hands.

Cherry dodged her gram’s flying handbag, stopping it before it could make contact with Ford’s man parts. She really needed to work on her timing.

“What’s going on? Ford, what did you do to my grandmother?” Cherry stood, legs apart, fists planted on her hips, staring down at the man.

Ford peeked up between his fingers at her, scooting backward, only to be stopped by Jason, George, Brody, and Dave. “I didn’t do anything. I was doing my job, asking the people their thoughts on the community center and so on, and she started beating the crap out of me with that suitcase of hers. What do you got in there, lady, bricks?”

Cherry tapped her toes, crossing her arms in front of her. “Asking a seventy-year-old woman about her sex life is part of your job? Try again.”

The man squirmed, his eyes darting back and forth between Cherry and the four giant men standing on the other side of him.

“She misunderstood me. I didn’t ask about her, I asked about you.” His voice came out like that of a sulky five-year-old whose hand had been caught in the cookie jar.

Jason stepped forward, stopping before his boots collided with Ford’s backside. “Can I toss him out on his ass now?”

Cherry held up her finger. Bending down, she stared the reporter in the eyes. “Listen up and listen good, because I won’t be repeating myself. That man next to Jason Valentine is my attorney. If I so much as catch you mentioning my name in any way other than helping with the fund-raising for this building, he’s going to file harassment charges against you. As a matter of fact, I think I’ve seen you hanging outside of my office and apartment, which counts as stalking. Are you understanding me?”

He nodded.

“Good. Now, I’ve tried to play nice and give you the scoop on the center’s progress, but I can and will take the story to someone else. I’m sure your bosses wouldn’t be too pleased if that were to happen. Nor would they be pleased to be named in a joint harassment complaint.”

He nodded again, whether to agree that she’d been playing nice or to how his bosses would react, Cherry was unsure and really didn’t care. She cared only that he listened.

“I think you’re done for the day. Mr. Valentine and Mr. Torres are going to escort you and your photographer to your cars. You’re going to leave and not come back without a proper invitation. Doing so would be construed as trespassing.”

Ford opened his mouth to speak. His twitchy gaze landed on someone in the crowd. A quick nod had Cherry looking to see who caught his attention. Not recognizing anyone, she turned back to the problem at hand, who had been flanked by the men who were currently chaperoning him to the parking lot.

Now that all the fun and games had ended, the group of spectators dispersed, leaving her to calm her seething grandparents.

“Wish I’d had my frying pan. That would have taught him some manners.” Her gram clutched her purse like a life preserver. “Imagine asking an old woman if she’s sleeping with the hired help.”

Tawny came running up to them, panting. “What did I miss? I went next door to use the real restrooms and when I came back, some kids were talking about a fight. Did anyone get hurt?”

Quickly Cherry filled Tawny in on what had gone down, while keeping a solid wristlock on her friend. In Tawny’s world, you didn’t mess with family, and Kitty Ryan was as much her grandmother as Cherry’s. “Relax, tiger. George and the guys are taking care of him.”

Turning back to her grandmother, seeing the high color and glossy eyes, her heart broke. Her grandmother had been humiliated in front of her neighbors. Sure, she could blame Ford—after all, he’d done the deed—but he’d done it to get to her. Once again she’d turned her loved ones’ lives upside down with her choices. Maybe she needed a new plan? Drop off the committee now? They didn’t really need her anymore, today proved it. Then there was Jason. Hiding the relationship was starting to put a strain on them, cause little disagreements and hurt feelings.

Let her little corner of the world forget about her. Again. Go back to school, follow her dream of becoming a counselor. Have a normal life, one that didn’t involve surprise photo shoots, people snooping through her trash and peeking through her windows. One that did involve actual dates instead of hiding out at home, preferably with a certain hot contractor whose kisses stole her breath away and whose too-intense blue-green eyes sent liquid pools of fire to her core.

She didn’t realize how long she’d been lost in her thoughts until the conversation around her stopped. A warm hand slid along her back, pulling her close into a hard chest, surrounding her senses with a spicy sent of musk. Jason.

“You plotting your revenge or a wild night of monkey sex for us?” he whispered in her ear, the warm breath sending chills down her flesh.