Mike's Way Back (Finding Perfect) (5 page)

He started speaking a step before he reached her, “Good evening, sugar.” Placing a palm lightly on her shoulder when the distance was closed, he said, “Do you mind if I join you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m busy wor—”

The flippant words died on her lips
when she turned and saw it was him.

Mike held his breath for a moment, hoping she wouldn’t finish
her sentence meant to drive away interested males. He tried to keep his ego in check, immediately noticing she wasn’t dismissing him yet. One slim eyebrow slowly rose. It could have been intimidating if it weren’t for the twitch of her lips. Taryn narrowed her eyes, assessing him, as if she was trying to see if he would insist or walk away.

When a cheer went up from the crowd on the television, her attention was immediately on the game. Taryn let out a sigh
, he assumed of disgust, and waved a hand at the chair closest to her while her eyes were still on the batter completing his jog across home plate.

Turning back to Mike, she grinned, “How’s your day been?”

Scooting his chair in, he smiled, “Much better now.”

“Cute. I just happen to like the food here.”

Sure she did. Or his ego was running away with his imagination. In truth, the food was great. Her instant defensiveness intrigued him. Part of him latched onto hope she wanted to see him again, the other part wanted to call her on it, force her to admit that maybe she’d been hoping he’d be eating here again too. Maybe, just maybe she’d been hoping they’d run into each other again.

The more he convinced himself of that scenario, the more pleased he became. Although with Taryn, he wouldn’t call her bluff. Without knowing where and when to tease and play, he didn’t want to risk her sharp claws again. He’d gotten a brief swipe from her last night. He didn’t want a repeat so soon.

Mike watched as she started to put away her belongings. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you, Taryn. I’m sorry. I can let you get back to work if you’d rather?”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’ve been working almost non-stop since I got back to my room last night after our little journey. I’m ready for a break. Andrew is going to call soon, and I just need to run a couple of things past him. It won’t take five minutes.”

“So…at the risk of sounding cliché. How long are you staying in town? I didn’t think to ask you last night.”

“This initial site visit is very short. Andrew is supposed to come in early in the morning. We’ll be at the building for a couple of hours going over the blueprints of the building. Then we can compare the designs I’ve come up with. Andrew will also need to analyze the ability to arrange walls, electrical, and all that. We’ll do that with the client there so we can get a feel for the owner’s wishes. We want to make sure we’re headed in the right direction so we don’t have to scrap everything and start over.
Andrew and I will go back to our offices and put the details together. That takes a couple of weeks, minimum, and then we’ll return and present it to the client, oh...” Taryn blinked rapidly a couple of times, and appeared embarrassed. “Sorry, I get excited and I start to ramble.”

He watched the enthusiasm on her face, and the way she moved her hands as she spoke. He was completely enthralled. It wasn’t every day he came across someone wh
o loved work as much as he did, or as much as he once had when he’d been on the larger force.

Mike was getting excited right along with her. Her spirit was contagious, and he could sit and listen to her for hours. “Taryn, please don’t be sorry. You have me captivated.”

He reached out to tuck one side of her hair behind her ear at the exact same time she’d moved to do the same. Immediately Mike dropped his hand back to his knee, but not before he caught the flush rise in her cheeks. He was getting to her. Miss Confident and Powerful was more than she seemed. Mike couldn’t help the smile tugging at his mouth. He wasn’t being smug. It was pure, unadulterated pride.

Taryn’s eyes went wide, and she sat frozen staring at him for the span of full minute, then like a light switch flipped on, she gathered her wits. She frantically started closing screens on her laptop, unplugging it, and nervously packing the rest of her files—all without speaking or glancing back over to him.

There was a God above. Just when he suspected she was going to bolt on him, his dinner arrived…and so did hers. What had him so intrigued was how, with just one deep breath, Taryn slid back into her tightly controlled self. It was so blatantly obvious, the dramatic change was almost startling. He wasn’t concerned. Mike knew how to read people, knew what to look for in personality that provided him with the insight he needed to put the puzzle pieces in place. Even though it wasn’t a crime he was solving this time, Taryn wasn’t fooling him. Mike could see the armor she had tightly wrapped around herself. From the glimpses he’d seen of her when she was relaxed, he figured she was hiding a lot.

The
I don’t need you
persona radiated off her. A lesser man would take the hint and cut bait. Mike wasn’t that man. He saw something in the quick blushes and controlled grins. Beneath it all, there was a gentle heart and that drew him to her.

“So then, you said Andrew will be here tomorrow. Will you be leaving tomorrow after that appointment?”

She paused slightly as she raised her sandwich to her mouth. The way her eyes narrowed a bit gave him the impression she wasn’t sure how she wanted to answer that. It was only a simple question after all. He was quite happy to let her read more into it, and he let himself believe she thought he was asking something
more.

“It depends on how long we spend at the client’s space. As of right now, we are scheduled on the red-eye.”

Mike’s brow furrowed. He didn’t like the idea of her on a dark and deserted highway.

Where had the need to protect her come from? He wasn
’t ready to touch that subject yet. He’d think about that later…much later. “We’re a solid two hour drive from the airport, Taryn. You’d damn near have to get up in the middle of the night to make your flight.” He watched her shrug and finish chewing her polite-sized bite.

“
We’re used to it. It won’t faze me.”

Mike tamped down the argument on the tip of his tongue. With her already here and her partner coming in, they’d have not one, but two rental cars to return. Logistically there was no way for him to take her to the airport, even though the offer was on the forefront of his mind. Second, he hated to see her driving the long span of two-lane
nearly empty highway at that time of night.

He ground
his teeth to keep the caveman part of him from surfacing, and with a deep breath he changed to a safer subject. “So, Kelly mentioned that you and Gabby James met here earlier.”

The raised eyebrow she met him with was lethal. Well, there went safer subjects…right out the damn window. She titled her head and waited for him to continue. He could only speculate that she wasn’t used to people knowing her business…not unless she actually told them herself. “It can be both a blessing and a curse to live in a small town. Sorry.” He grinned sheepishly. “The downside of being in a small town is everyone is interested in anyone new.”

Her eyebrow lowered slowly, hopefully buying the truth he was selling. When she rolled her eyes and the grin slipped, Mike let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t as pissed as she’d tried to let on.

“I was.” Running her fry through the puddle of ketchup in the bottom of the paper lined red basket before returning to his gaze. “When you showed me her store last night, it was like a light bulb went on, and I was dying to see more and ask her a few questions.”

“Well, sugar, it says a great deal about you if Gabby chose to talk to you, let alone meet for questions.” Mike watched Taryn’s face intently. The adorable way she tried not to smirk sent a ripple through his system. That and the way she continued to drive him crazy with her incredible bare legs just a mere few inches from his own.

Speeders. Memorial Day picnics. Working out.

He tried to come up with a running list of things to get his mind off of Taryn’s legs. Unfortunately, each idea circled around to include her, exactly the opposite of what he needed. When he’d started to think of working out and pounding against the punching bag, it led straight to a visual of a hot and sweaty Taryn in skimpy workout attire. Mike suppressed a groan as they went about their meal and subtly tried to shift positions to relieve the pressure quickly building inside his tight jeans.

She must have caught on to his ploy to extend their time together when he silently signaled Kelly to bring the house specialty, hot chocolate lava cake. Waving a delicate hand through the air between them, Mike watched her motion, then glanced up to see the mischievous expression that went with it.

“You know…whatever this is, it won’t work.”

Okay, that was out of left field and although it didn’t happen often, she’d managed to catch him off guard. The look on her face was priceless. He could tell by the way she pursed her lips and how her green eyes sparkled, she was trying not to laugh. Maybe she intended to intimidate him. Try as she might, it wasn’t working, and Mike had to fight like hell not to fall for it. Raising an eyebrow, he held his poker face, “Excuse me?”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it won’t work.”

“I know you’re from out-of-town, sug
ar, but—”

Grinning satisfactorily, she interrupted. “That’s not it.”

Mike smiled at her in spite of himself. “So…let’s hear your excuse. Distance? Religion, politics, um let’s see.” Mike pretended to be thinking hard at coming up with answers she might use. But in all actuality, even though they had hit it off and got along great, it really was against all odds for them. “Careers, lack of time, oh wait…you’re really a man?”

“Judging by how much time you spend staring at my legs, you know I’m all woman my friend.”

Damn the quick wit and sharp tongue she possessed...more so, damn the fact that it turned him on almost as much as her legs. Looking at her legs again before catching her gaze, he answered. “Guilty as charged. So is it my profession?”

“Nope. You’re cheering for the wrong team.”

What the fuck? How in the
hell
did she even in the entire freaking world think that
he
was gay? “What?” He asked immediately with an astonished face.

“
The game. You’re cheering for the wrong damn team.”

He let out a breath that came out as more of a huff of disbelief. With his tongue in his cheek, he crossed his arms and tried to look more imposing. “Oh no…you’re not? You can’t be?”

“Born and bred my friend.” She countered with her own power look. “
And
…we take our baseball
very
seriously. I’m telling you, you’re cheering for the wrong team.”

“Sorry, sug
ar. But the Yankees, well they—”

“They aren’t the Red Sox.”

With a humorous, but smug look of satisfaction dancing across her face, Mike watched her place a bite of chocolate cake in her mouth. His eyes were glued to her mouth imagining he was the fork. He’d never wanted to be an inanimate object in his life, but oh holy hell…he did now.

Mike silently whimpered and felt the zipper of his jeans suddenly become torturous.

Chapter 5

Mike knew the instant he hit send on the email his phone would ring within two minutes. That’s as long as it would take for his brother to read it and rat Mike out to his wife. Right on, cue his cell singing their designated ring tone.

“Michael Alexander Sterling! You’re in
love
.” Molly’s sing-song voice and excited teasing made Mike roll his eyes.

That pretty well answered his question about whether she knew. His favorite girl in the whole world, and sister by marriage and heart, was the only one who could even begin to think of teasing him that way. He chuckled, thinking…
and live to tell about it
. Mike tried to be very careful about what snippets of information he leaked to his sister-in-law. Like the little tidbit about Taryn living within driving distance of Carter and Molly’s house. A long drive, but very doable.

“Oh. My. God. I am not, and two can play at this game,
Molly Shea Sterling
.”

“It’s not a game Mike, I’m excited for you. You deserve someone special in your life.”

“You got all that from an email I sent asking if you minded if I came to visit you guys for a few days sometime soon?” He leaned back against the butter soft leather of his couch and propped his boots up on the coffee table. He was prepared to listen to Molly’s speech, knowing her heart was in the right place.

“Oh no. You’re very cryptic. But…lucky for me, I’m very good at puzzles.”

“So basically my brother repeats every word of our conversations?” He bit the inside of his cheek trying not to laugh.

A giggle escaped across the phone line. “Pretty much.”

“So, what has big mouth told you?”

In all seriousness, he loved both of his younger brothers, but he was closer to his youngest brother, Carter than the middle one, Sam. With Molly acting as Carter’s partner in crime, there was no way Mike was going to escape her detailed interrogation. She was too hopeful at the possibility of him finally having a romantic prospect. Even though he’d given Carter the bullet points about why it wouldn’t work, he couldn’t help but wonder
what if
. He knew that if
he
was wondering, it left the door wide open for Molly to hope.

Taryn had gone back to her home in
Connecticut as planned, and it had been more than three weeks since he’d seen her. There was just something about this woman. Mike had enjoyed their conversations, but in the back of his mind, he knew nothing would come of
them
. Maybe he’d see her around town when she came back to check on the store front, but not anything more than a casual chance run-in.

That was what he told himself the first time he’d emailed her, just to say
hi
of course. What was his excuse the second, fourth, and eighth times? Then there were the phone calls he slipped in a couple of times—just friendly hellos. Casual,
how’s it going,
calls. They were completely platonic, full of teasing and some old fashioned arguing about their prospective baseball teams.

Somewhere over the span of a month, the emails and calls became so routine, he was now thinking of Taryn as a friend. Possibly, even a close friend. They knew the surface stuff about each other. She had explained her unique friendship and business slash living arrangement with Andrew. The fact that she lived with another man, or actually two men,
could have put the jealous streak he tried to hide in overdrive.

However, she explained the perfect pairing of their talents and skills. Andrew’s expertise in the bones of a structure mixed with Taryn’s eye for finishing it, their partnership propelled them into almost instant success. They worked together and oversaw the work as the projects progressed. As a result, it meant they traveled a good amount of the time.

He knew once a project was underway, they split up. One of the two would stay until the end, while the other did the same in another town on another project. Client after client, job after job, living out of suitcases the majority of the time.

Mike couldn’t live like that. It would drive him crazy. She told him home base was technically in
Connecticut, using Andrew and Scott’s address. Occasionally she actually stayed there for more than a night at a time. He waited for the green to radiate through him, but Mike had met Andrew when he came into town to check out the Renlend job. He grinned remembering Taryn’s words about him being completely, totally, one hundred percent gay. She assured him Andrew was absolutely no threat to him—as far as being in love with her like Mike teased. The man was in a class all his own. Sharp dressed, sure of himself friendly, but extremely professional, and it was obvious he adored Taryn. Andrew treated her protectively, like he would his own sister.

Molly’s laughter brightened his day. The funny thing was, as much as he knew it would never work, he couldn’t help but think how much Molly would like Taryn. They couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, but Molly’s spunkiness and infectious humor was hard not to fall for. Plus, they both like to tease the hell out of him for some reason.

“So when do we get to meet her?”

Mike choked on the water he’d just gulped. Wiping his forearm across his mouth to dry his face, he rolled his eyes contemplating the jump she’d made from a few friendly emails, to meeting the family. Molly was pushing him along in life’s fast lane.

“Babe, don’t take this the wrong way, but um, it’s so not happening.”

“And just what do you mean by that?”

He heard her huff and pictured the pout mixed with upgraded determination in her big blue eyes. One thing he’d learned very quickly about his sister-in-law was she did everything in her power to take care of her family. He’d been busted by her several times for, spending too much time alone or just working too much. Carter and Molly knew his wounds were below the surface when it came to how he felt about his failed marriage. According to Molly, the right woman would erase those pains. Apparently she thought that Taryn was that woman.

“Honey, I mean we are
just
friends. Really, we are barely more than acquaintances—”

“I call bullshit.”

The noises were muffled a bit at first, and then he could make out Carter’s voice in the background. However, his own flesh and blood sold him down the river. His brother’s laughter was now clear as he hollered loud enough Mike knew it was for his benefit, “
give him hell, Gorgeous
,” followed by an empty, “
sorry bro, she’s right
.”

Well hell’s bells.
Now he had two of them on his case. The last thing he needed was for all this to get back to their mother.

“Negotiation time.” He smirked, hearing the tone and pride in Molly’s voice. Mike suspected she thought she’d worn him down. He was a lot stronger than her. Well, maybe not a lot, she was a determined little thing, but still. “You two keep your traps shut—”

She was quick. “What do we get? Keep in mind I have Connie’s number on speed dial.”

Shit
. She went all in, throwing the
mother
card.

It was a good thing she was a cute little shit. Mike grinned and rolled his eyes. Letting out a deep breath, trying not to let his opponents think he’d been beaten, Mike pursed his lips
. He quietly replied in his low, ‘I’m being sly and covert’ voice. “I’ll admit it.”

“Admit
what
Michael?” She asked, apparently drawing out the torment.

Gritting his teeth to keep himself from smiling at the brat on the phone, he growled
, which made Molly chuckle. “I like Taryn.”

“And?”

Oh hell. She was going to drag it out of him. He’d get revenge somehow. Maybe with a really ugly sweater at Christmas time that she’d feel obligated to wear. “And…there is something special about her. And just maybe there might be something there. But—”

“No buts, Mike. I’m proud of you. Admitting it is the first step.”

Mike could hear Molly’s laughter echo even after she passed the phone to Carter.

~~~

Sitting on her knees on the braided rug in her office wasn’t easy in a skirt. Surrounded by sample books, sample boards, and her drawings, Taryn was in her definition of Heaven. Sunlight poured in the bow window making the wood floors around the rug shine. She carefully reached up for the coffee Andrew handed her and took a tentative sip.

With a finger pointed at the board leaning against the petite loveseat, she tilted her head trying to picture the end results in her mind. “What do you think of
the dark oak for the cabinetry?”

Taryn glanced up to see Andrew standing beside her in his thinking pose. He tapped his lower lip with the stem of his dark rimmed glasses, while his eyes flitted between the samples. The European style
grey skinny pants hung on his slim hips and gave him the couture fashion statement he was always aiming for.

Setting down her mug, she carefully crawled over the large books and samples, picked up the paint chips and laid them out against the wood.
These interior decorating decisions and finishing touches are decisions many would consider farther down the design process, but Andrew and Taryn preferred to deliver a complete package to every client. Every floor covering, light fixture, and cabinet was pictured, right down to the throw pillows and lamps. In this case they had multiple kitchens to lay out. The culinary store was going to offer classes, as well as a full storefront, and the owner wanted six separate stations. The tricky part was she also wanted each station to look homey, not the bright, stark industrial of every other cooking school in the country.

Mike was right, although she’d never admit it to him. Some women liked spas and shopping. For Taryn, sheer bliss was creating a kitchen that was to die for—especially when their client gave them carte blanche with a blank check.

“Oh baby…that’s
it
darling.” Andrew answered in an over-the-top, flamboyant manner, then grinned with his hand on the hip he popped out to the side.

Taryn smiled up at the model beautiful man standing at her side. His chocolate brown hair was cut short with the exception of a bit of curl left on the top of his head. Although some men would consider the word
pretty
as a complete insult to their masculinity, it was the only way Andrew could be described. His face was flawless with a finely sculpted structure, definitely the opposite of her brothers who were ruggedly handsome. He owned the look for sure, especially when he grinned and his eyes sparkled as much as his personality.

Andrew bumped her with his knee. She knew he was waiting and as hard as she tried Taryn couldn’t contain the laughter at their almost decade long joke.

“Okay. That was gay, even for you A.”

“You held out almost a full sixty seconds that time. You’re on a roll, girlfriend.”

“What can I say? I’m the Queen of Self-Control.”

It was fate that her phone happened to ring at that very moment. The word
control
had barely left her lips, and there was Mike to remind her she was at a loss for her precious control when it came to him.

“Ah, lover boy I see?”

Looking up behind her, Taryn realized that Andrew was peeking over her shoulder at the screen of her cell. Judging by the look on his face, he was overly hopeful for her and the out-of-town stranger, to run off into the sunset together. She really regretted introducing the detective to her best friend. It had been surreal. Totally handsome alpha male, meet gentle, beautiful Andrew. Surprisingly they’d hit it off. Mike oozed testosterone and confidence, but combined with his chiseled face and blue eyes, he not only had Taryn salivating, but Andrew as well.

“It’s nothing, A.”

“Third ring. Don’t make him wait, sweetie. He’s a cutie.”

Taryn answered after Andrew turned to leave. Hearing his Italian loafers tap on the wooden floor as he walked down the hall to his own office, she knew when he was safely out of eavesdropping distance.

“Taryn Watts speaking.”

She shut her eyes at the brisk but professional greeting. Then again, maybe if she appeared aloof, he wouldn’t assume she’d been expecting his call…or that she was excited about it.

After three chance dinners at the local pub, Mike made an impression on her. Taryn just wasn’t sure what she wanted to make of it. She made a lifelong rule of steering clear of male authority figures. She never dated the quarterback of the high school football team. She also shied away from the guy in her second business class back in college because he was forging his way into politics, even though he chased her for the entire semester. Yet, here she was with her cell up to her ear, and of all people to be on the other end of the line…it was a cop.

With a half shake of her head, a line from one of the Beatles’ songs came to her,
life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans
.

That was why she had fallen so quickly in love with Andrew. Well, not true love in the common sense of the word.
They met during their freshman year of college in a basic design class and hit it off immediately. The pair became inseparable. Scott drifted into the picture that winter semester and filled in the spaces around them while becoming Andrew’s missing soul mate. Sharing an apartment for the remaining years of school was just a given, and the perfect solution for all three of them. Funny how little had changed since those days.