Bad Girls Don't (15 page)

Instead of being concerned with Nathan, as he felt she should be, Skye was busy studying her surroundings. “Did you ever notice that the walls in your office are the color of a mud puddle? Not exactly conducive to positive energy. Have you thought of using a little feng shui in here? To make the place more harmonious?”

“It’s not at the top of my to-do list, no.”

“You should think about it. I could help you with that. I dabble a bit in feng shui. You’ve already made a good start by having your desk face the entrance.”

He rested his elbows on the aforementioned desk and gave her one of his best “lawman” stares. It was actually something he’d learned and perfected in the Marine Corps. “I like to see who’s coming at me.”

“But you could do more,” she blithely continued. “Put a lucky bamboo plant near the main entrance, and maybe add a water fountain.”

“There’s a water fountain out in the hallway.”

“Not to drink from. I meant a water feature. I’m putting one in the lobby of the Tivoli. It’s good feng shui. I should warn you that, even though I only dabble a bit, I totally do feng shui my way. I’m not good at following other people’s rules.”

“Yeah, I noticed that.”

She finally focused her attention on him. “You’re not going to try and blame tonight’s little incident on me, are you?”

“I wouldn’t call it a
little
incident.”

“Compared to global warming—”

“Yeah, I know. You’ve made that comparison before.”

“Yeah, well, it was nice of you to try and protect me.”

“Nice? And what do you mean, ‘try and protect you’? I
did
protect you.” Nathan had yanked Skye to safety, out of the way of the mob at the bar, before he’d worked to break up the fight.

“If it makes you feel better to believe that you protected little ol’ me, then you go right ahead.” She reached across his desk to pat his arm.

His jaw clenched. “Have you noticed that, wherever you go, trouble follows?”

“Some people feel that way.”

“It’s got nothing to do with
feelings
. I’m stating facts here.”

“The fact is that several drunken men started a brawl in Nick’s.”

“Because you incited them.”

Her green eyes flashed. “Come again?”

“You heard me.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re blaming me? The old Eve-with-her-wickedly-tempting-ways-leading-Adam-astray story, is that it?”

“I’m just saying . . .”

“That you’re an idiot.”

“No, that’s not what I was saying.”

“It’s what I’m saying!”

“It’s what you’re
yelling
.”

Skye took several deep breaths. “You’re doing this deliberately. I get that now. You’re just trying to push my buttons. Well, forget it. I’m in control of my own buttons. There’s no way I’m handing over that joystick to you.”

Nathan almost choked.

“What’s the matter, Sheriff?” She stood and sashayed over to perch on the corner of his desk. “Did wicked bad-girl me push your Studly Do-Right buttons? Are you afraid I’m going to kiss you again?”

He made no reply.

“I don’t belly dance to titillate men. I do it as a powerful and joyous artistic expression.” She hopped off his desk. “Titillating men is merely a side benefit.” She mocked him with a defiant shimmy of her hips.

That was it. He got up, marched to his office door, and yanked it open. “I think you’ve caused enough problems for one night. Go home. Take care of your daughter.”

She slammed the door shut, but remained inside his office instead of leaving. “What is that crack supposed to mean?”

Nathan shrugged.

“Are you insinuating I don’t take care of my daughter?”

He remained silent.

“Because I’m a damn good mother. And don’t you forget it!” Whirling around, Skye pulled open the door and flounced out, almost mowing down Cole in the process.

“Wow.” Cole stared after her and then fixed his sights on Nathan. “What did you say to her?”

“Nothing.” Nathan headed back to his desk and sat down.

“Nothing? Come on.” Cole dropped into the chair Skye had recently vacated. “You must have said something to make her go all ballistic like that.”

“She was born ballistic.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ve never met a woman who could cause more trouble.”

“You two do seem to rub each other the wrong way,” Cole said.

“You’ve got that right.”

Cole grinned. “Although, now that I think about it, you seemed to be rubbing each other just fine when she started dancing tonight.”

“She told me I needed to get a lucky bamboo plant.”

“Huh?”

“In my office. She told me I needed plants and a water element. To make the place more harmonious.”

“Sounds like feng shui.”

“Sounds like crap to me. This is the sheriff ’s department. We’re not supposed to be harmonious here.”

“Right.”

“And I didn’t say she was a bad mother.”

“Right. Because I can see where your telling her that would definitely piss her off.”

“She’s too ballistic.”

“So you said. I’ve never seen her the way she is with you, though.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Tonight. She was all over you.”

“She was trying to aggravate me.”

“Is that what she was trying to do? Or seduce you? Sounds like she succeeded, either way.”

“That’s just the way she is.”

“Not with me.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “Do you want her to be that way with you?”

“What red-blooded guy wouldn’t?” Cole said.

“Me. She’s trouble. She’s unpredictable. Too wild. Doesn’t even think of the consequences before she acts.”

Cole nodded wisely. “She’s everything you’re not.”

“Exactly.”

“Opposites do attract. Or so they say.”

“I refuse to be attracted to her.”

“Right. Does that really work?”

“Not very well,” Nathan murmured in disgust.

“Yeah,” Cole commiserated. “I didn’t think so.”

 

 

“Thanks for babysitting Toni for me tonight,” Skye told Angel as she entered her apartment.

“No problem.”

“Is she asleep?”

“Yes. How did the bachelor party go?”

Skye dumped her tote bag by the couch. “Things got a little rowdy in the end.”

“How rowdy?”

“The sheriff hauled me off to the police station again. Although not in handcuffs this time. And then the dictator had the nerve to insinuate that I’m not a good mother! And this after I’d given him a few helpful feng shui tips for his office. But did he listen? No.” Unable to stand still, Skye paced the living room’s perimeter, sticking her finger into the soil around the jade plant to see if it needed water. “He already knows what he thinks, so don’t bother confusing him with the facts. That’s his philosophy. I mean, the man is a total prude. He actually tried to blame me for the fight at the bar tonight.”

Angel stood in her path, forcing Skye to stop pacing. “Fight? This is the first I’ve heard about a fight.”

Skye stepped around her and kept prowling. “I told you, things got a little rowdy.”

“Rowdy is one thing. A fight is another.”

“Well, that’s why he hauled me off to jail. Not that he actually put me in a cell. We talked in his office.”

“The one you gave him the feng shui suggestions for.”

Skye nodded. “Exactly. Which he ignored.”

“So how did he try to blame you for the fight?”

“He said I”—Skye paused for hand quotes—“
incited
the guys.”

“Oh my.” Angel shook her head. “That is rather regressive of him, isn’t it?”

“The man lives in the Stone Age, I swear.”

“Then you’ll just have to enlighten him.”

“The man doesn’t want to see the light, Angel. He’s got blinders on, and he’s not taking them off for anyone.”

Angel took Skye’s hand and tugged her toward the kitchen. “Come have some hibiscus tea. Your aura and meridians must all be completely helter-skelter at the moment.”

“I’m going to change out of my costume first. I didn’t have time to do that before Nathan hauled me away. And I need a quick shower to get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke.” Skye grimaced at the lingering scent on her skin from the bar.

Ten minutes later, she was back in the kitchen, wearing a thin, cotton shorty pajama set and smelling of ginger-spice body cream.

Skye and Angel talked about men and how dumb they could be sometimes. And how you frequently ended up loving them anyway. At least, that’s what Angel said. Skye wasn’t so sure.

“What’s the deal with you and Adam? Are you still seeing him?”

Angel nodded and sipped her tea.

“Tyler still doesn’t know?”

Angel shook her head.

“Do you plan on telling him?”

“Of course. I’m just not sure when.”

“You know you’re playing with fire, right? That’s really more my territory than yours. I’m the reckless one in the family, not you.”

“Julia might not agree with you.”

“Like I’d care.”

“She’s your sister. You do care about her. I know it.”

“
Half
sister.”

“You say that as if it gives you permission to push her away.”

“I don’t need permission to do what I want.”

“No, you never did,” Angel said wistfully. “Not even as a kid. You were always full of initiative, independence, and assertiveness.”

“That’s what I want for Toni. I want her to have the confidence to explore and conquer the world for herself.”

“And you’ve given her that.”

“I hope so. Did I mention that Nathan accused me of being a bad mother?”

“Yes, you did. Is that what this conversation is about? Did he make you doubt your parenting abilities?”

“Did you ever doubt yours?”

Angel laughed. “Constantly.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Once I met your father, Sash, things got better, because I had someone to share your birth with.”

“Yeah, Sash was special.” He’d died in Colombia, where he’d been participating in a project to save the natural resources there. Skye had been only ten at the time.

“He certainly was. And his presence made a big difference. I didn’t have that in the beginning with Julia and you didn’t have that with Toni.”

“Toni’s father was no Sash, though. Rex was a rebel musician in search of heavy-metal glory. A dramatic guitar man who ran screaming for the nearest exit the instant he heard I was pregnant. Not exactly Father of the Year material.”

“Do you know where he is now?”

“Last I heard, he and his band Nasty were playing the bars in Bangkok. But that was two or three years ago.”

“It’s his loss not having Toni in his life.”

“I’m glad he’s not in her life. He had a way of ruining things. And people.”

“Did he ruin you?”

“In some ways.”

“What ways?”

“I was so sure I loved him. I trusted that he loved me in return. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“We all make mistakes, Skye.”

“Yeah, well, Rex wasn’t a total mistake, because I have Toni. I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Angel nodded her agreement.

“So maybe Rex was supposed to teach me a lesson,” Skye said.

“And that lesson would be?”

“That I wasn’t meant to settle down.”

“By ‘settle down,’ you mean what, exactly? That you weren’t meant to live in one place? You already knew that. Or did you learn that you weren’t supposed to settle, period? Settle for anything less than the total love you deserve?”

As Angel hugged her, Skye knew that her mother was half right. Skye had no intention of settling. Not again. As for deserving total love . . . that was a trickier concept for her to wrap her bad-girl mind around.

Skye believed she deserved to be happy. And she deserved to follow her own rules. But total love? Maybe that required a goodness she didn’t possess. Maybe that was reserved for people who colored inside the lines. People who were selfless and obedient. People like Julia.

“I’m sensing a shift in your aura.” Angel looked at Skye with concern. “What is it? What are you thinking?”

Skye had no intention of telling her. Angel was a sensitive soul who felt everyone else’s pain. Skye wasn’t like that. Not that she wanted to cause anyone pain. She didn’t. But she wouldn’t change who she was for someone else. She
couldn’t
. She’d done that with Rex, sublimating her goals for his.

So, yeah, maybe Angel was right. Rex
had
been a learning experience. By running out on her, he’d taught Skye that she was strong enough to make it on her own.

Not that Julia had ever given Skye credit for that, or that Skye’s definition of “making it on her own” matched her sister’s. Julia the librarian was all for conforming to a steady job. Skye’s rebellious nature required that she find her own way.

And now Skye had a new project—the Tivoli Theater. Her focus should stay there and with Toni. Not on disapproving lawmen like Nathan.

“Skye?” Angel sighed. “Never mind. It’s getting late. I should head home. Tyler will be waiting.”

“Okay.” Skye gathered their cups and put them in the sink. “Thanks again for coming over to babysit.”

“Don’t go to bed angry with Nathan, okay?” Angel said. “That just causes negative vibes.”

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s Nathan,” Angel said.

Skye didn’t ask how she knew. Experience had taught her that Angel was usually right.

 

 

Skye yanked open the door. Sure enough, it
was
Nathan. Still in the casual clothes he’d worn earlier at the bar. The perennial jeans and T-shirt. No slave to cutting-edge fashion, this guy.