One Lucky Deal (19 page)

“I have a tee time on Wednesday. You should come out with me. I was going with a couple administrators from the hospital, but they forgot they had a convention they had to go to this week. Why don’t you fill in and come out with me?” Keith shot a blinding white smile her way.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Candace looked up at Tad. Tad just took a swig of his beer and looked away.

“I can’t, we have pregnancy yoga.” Joe rolled his eyes.

Keith looked over at Tad and he shook his head. “I’m good.” And then he tossed in ante.

Keith looked at Candace expectantly. “No judging, I swear.”

*

Candace looked over at Tad, but he didn’t say anything, wouldn’t even look at her, and she took that for complete disinterest in what she did. That hurt. God, she’d been an idiot if she thought Tad might have been able to feel something for her bigger and deeper than lust.

No. Screw that. She was determined to make him feel something for her. Something big. Something real. Something deep. The thing was, getting him to do so meant putting herself out there to get swallowed up by her own big, real, deep feelings. If she failed she was going to sink too.

“Is that a date?” Shea asked, raising the bet. “Because I’m pretty sure a date isn’t legal.”

“What?” Keith asked.

“They’re doing this challenge.” Joe rolled his eyes at it.

“She’s got to date me,” Tad interjected.

“Pretend to,” Joe clarified. He wasn’t helping things. “The thing was, these two are habitual one-night standers. We didn’t think they could have real relationships.”

Damn it. She was beginning to wonder herself.

“Can you?” Keith shot Candace another killer smile. “Do a relationship?”

“Sure.” Candace nodded and then peeked at Tad over her cards. “I just haven’t found anyone man enough to keep me yet.”
Man.
Up.
She wanted to shout it. She wanted to shake him and demand that he grab onto her and not let her go. She wanted him to not be embarrassed about his feelings for her. She didn’t want to hide whatever it was they were doing. She wanted him to claim her as his and not set her free—ever again.

She wasn’t running from this anymore. She was here. Right here. Right in front of him. She just needed him to reach out and grab her.

“Well, maybe you’ve been cruising the wrong ponds?”

With nothing left to say, Candace shrugged. “Yeah, maybe. I fold.”

Chapter 15

To hell with this. He knew her. He had that on Keith, or Dr. Gorgeous as she’d called him. God, that really chapped him. She never commented on him, on his body. He was scrappier than the doctor and was tempted to throw a punch just to prove it.

So what if Keith looked big enough to play professional sports and had a face meant for modeling. He was also a pediatrician, and the one woman who got to Tad, really deep down—soles of his feet deep—got him, had jumped up to hug him and called him Dr. Gorgeous.

He was at battle with himself.
Forget her. Move on. You always do this—you always leave them. She’s not any different.
But she was. She so was. Eventually a resounding conclusion echoed in his head.
Fight for her.

He didn’t know if he’d win, and that killed him, but he had one up on the doc. Tad knew her, knew her body, knew her mind, and was working up the courage to get to know her soul.

When Candace went to refill the bowl of cheese puffs, Tad stood too. “Who needs?”

All of them raised their hands, including Shea, and Tad just rolled his eyes and followed Candace to the kitchen. Candace was shaking the puffs into a bowl, and he could tell that she felt him come up behind her. She shifted so he could get into the fridge, but then he settled himself against her. He felt her stiffen, felt the breath in her lungs hold. He reached out and touched her hips. His slipped his fingers up inside her shirt.

“Tad.” Candace let out a shaky breath of air. “What are you doing?”

He pulled her around to face him. “Tell me you don’t want me.”

“The guys—” She hissed out a breath as he pressed her back against the counter.

“Tell me you don’t want me.” His mouth was a mere centimeter from hers. “Tell me you don’t think about me all day long. Tell me you didn’t go to your bed last night and fantasize until you fell asleep. Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you right now, and I swear to God I’ll stop.” Even as he spoke, he slid his hands up her sides; his thumb brushed against her ribs and then skimmed her bra.

“Tad—oh, God.” She whimpered quietly and clutched the counter behind her when his thumbs found her nipples.

“Hey,” Shea called from the other room. “I’m coughing up sawdust out here. Where’s my beer?” He laughed.

Tad slipped just one too quick, too soft kiss over Candace’s jaw and neck before he pulled back. He grabbed four beers from the fridge. But before he headed back into the other room, he shot her a look that made her more promises than he was sure he could keep.

*

Candace pressed a hand to her racing heart and tried to turn back to the cheese puffs. She had no idea where that had come from. She bit her lip and tried really hard to believe that Tad was getting jealous, but she was worried that was just wishful thinking.

The rest of poker night seemed right on track. Tad was different after their encounter in the kitchen. He was pleasant. He cracked jokes. He’d flipped some switch inside himself and had even slipped his foot all the way across the floor under the table to cover Candace’s foot.

At first she thought he’d just accidentally bumped her so she pulled her foot away, but his followed after hers. Her gaze connected with his because she couldn’t believe what was happening with him. Her heart was jumping in her chest and hope was rising in her throat.

“So, Joe, what’s our next challenge?” Tad asked, fidgeting with his stack of blue chips.

“Oh hell, I don’t know. Ronnie and I aren’t very good at that.” Joe folded.

Tad and Candace shot a look at each other, obviously thinking the very same thing—that their challenge had led to an incredibly amazing night and great sex. Candace had never in her life felt such urgency. She’d burst through all kinds of barriers.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait until the newly married evil masterminds are back for the next challenge.”

Candace was semibothered by that, but on the other hand, the longer that they were forced into the quasi-relationship, the longer they had to be faithful to each other. She was really enjoying staying true to Tad. She was afraid that as soon as this whole thing was over, if it was over before she somehow forced him to come to the conclusion that he had real feelings for her, that he would just simply move on. She didn’t want that at all.

Then again, not having to worry about another challenge for awhile sounded pretty darn good, because what was on her plate was challenging enough. How on earth was she supposed to flip their entire relationship upside down? How was she supposed to get a man who wouldn’t know what love was if it slapped him in the face, to fall into it?

The guys were still playing when the clock struck two, and Candace couldn’t wait up any longer even to possibly get some from Tad. “All right, guys.” Candace stood after she’d folded. “I’ve got to hit the sack.”

Most of them waved her off, murmured their good nights and kept staring intently at their cards. Tad eyed her, and she felt his gaze glide all over her. If eyes could speak Tad’s would have so much to say, and she wanted so badly to hear it sometimes.

“Hey, all right.” Keith grinned up at her. “See you Wednesday, good-lookin.’”

“Yeah, see you Wednesday.” She smiled at him politely but she turned to send Tad one last smoldering regretful look but he had turned his gaze away.

* * * *

Candace woke up to a mess. Bottles were all over the place and there were cheese puffs on the floor. So far only Sasha had been smart enough to sniff them out and go to town on them.
Let her at ’em.
Candace shrugged. She didn’t have time to clean it up right then. She’d already overslept so much that she was going to have skip her morning walk.

She showered, and then dressed in a cute, short, flirty spring dress with adorable cap sleeves. She tried curling her hair but only the ends held. Candace grabbed her purse and was about ready to head out the door. She figured Tad hadn’t gone to bed until just a few hours ago so she wasn’t going to bother him.

A very sexy, very male groan reverberated throughout the house. “God, look at those legs.”

Goose bumps swam over those legs.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a sin to go to church looking so good.”

Surprised that he was awake, Candace turned around to be even more surprised to find Tad was dressed up: dark jeans and a clean button-up shirt with the sleeves pushed to his elbows. He looked good too—sinfully good.

* * * *

Candace hadn’t been kidding. The service was a snore. The pastor was a hundred years old, easily—quite possibly Jurassic. He kept nodding off and Tad found that bit particularly entertaining. But from the ribbing he kept getting from Candace’s mother, he had learned to try to hold back his snickering.

Candace looked good. She’d worn a dress just like he’d asked her to. That was the sexiest part of all. He wondered what else she’d do if he told her to. His brain went on a mini dirty vacation. It didn’t help that the windows of the church were open and the cross breeze blew in the scent of the lake and with it Candace’s shampoo.

When they stood to sing the final hymn, Candace opened her hymnal to share with Tad. He took the opportunity to wrap his arm around her waist and lean in really close. He was surprised to hear that Candace didn’t have such a bad voice. He wondered why she didn’t sing that well at home.

Candace turned her head to look up at Tad, who wasn’t singing and wasn’t even looking at the book that she held open in her hands. His gaze was on her. “Thanks for coming with me,” Candace whispered while everyone around them sang.

His stare slid from her eyes to her mouth and back again. His lips twitched up into that grin he knew made other women weak in the knees. “Of course,” he mouthed as the whole church held the final note of the song.

“Now in closing, if we could all just bow our heads in prayer,” Father Time croaked out from his pulpit.

Candace slid the hymnal back into the shelf of the pew and shot Tad one last look before she closed her eyes. Tad didn’t normally close his eyes during prayer but he too followed suit and was rewarded with the faintest little brush against his palm.

It took him a moment but he realized it was the back of Candace’s hand. He wasn’t sure she’d meant the touch, but her skin was so soft he couldn’t help himself from running his finger over the back of her hand.

When she slowly spun her hand around so that her fingertips touched his, Tad felt her tie his heart up. There was something different about holding her hand now as his fingers slid in between hers. It made him want to make promises. Her hand seemed so much smaller than it had before. He wanted to hold and protect her and that was the most confusing thing to happen to him in a long time.

* * * *

The four of them had headed to the pier to do something Candace called “window shopping,” which to Tad seemed like a completely pointless waste of time. Thankfully, Greg, Candace’s father, also thought so. The two of them went ahead and grabbed a table at Molly’s, which was a great little brunch place. It was apparently Miranda’s—Candace’s mother’s—favorite place to eat.

It was also owned by his ex, Molly Anderson, and sitting in it with Candace’s father felt a little strange. After a thorough look around Tad was satisfied that Molly wasn’t actually there and he began to relax a little. The mimosas helped with that a little too.

“So you and my daughter, huh?”

“What?” Tad nearly choked on the champagne and orange juice.

“I noticed the difference.” Greg spoke, and Tad wasn’t sure what he was about to get himself into here. “She’s my baby, you know that, right?”

“Yes.” And for some reason he was compelled to add, “Sir” to the end of that sentence. Tad braced for what was next as Greg leveled his eyes on him. His blue eyes were so much like Candace’s it startled Tad a little.

“I like you, Tad, but I love her, so I just have to say—be sure, be really sure. I don’t want you to break her heart … again.” Tad looked over at the door where she’d just walked in. Greg had nothing to worry about. This time it was Tad’s heart that was the one in trouble.

* * * *

Tad and Candace walked into Gail’s house. She was carrying salads and condiments out to the back deck on a tray. “Hey, guys, it’s about time.”

“Hey.” Tad smiled and held the fridge door open for his teenage niece Gabby, who was struggling with pulling a pitcher of iced tea out of it.

“Tad, I’m so full,” Candace whispered in his ear. “I don’t think I can eat another bite.”

“Next time we do one family event per day,” Tad agreed, rubbing his gut, or rather, his rock-hard abs.

The five of them sat out on the back deck and ate. Well, three of them ate. Tad and Candace mostly shoved the food around on their plates. Gabby then headed inside to do work on some extra-credit project she was doing for school. Then Mike, Gail’s husband, had Tad looking under the hood of their Honda Civic. That left Candace helping Gail put the food away and rinsing dishes.

“This potato salad is so stinkin’ delicious,” Candace commented, licking the remnants from the spoon before depositing it in the sink for Gail to rinse.

“Thanks.” Gail smiled warmly.

“It’s the pickles. I’ve never had it with pickles.” Candace licked some from her lip.

“It’s the only way Gabby will eat it, and Mike—forget it. He won’t even touch a potato salad that’s on the pale side. So my key is pickles, onions, celery, lots of crunch and loads of mustard.”

“It’s working.” Candace smiled and tore off some tinfoil to place over the rim of the bowl, and she slid it into the fridge.

“So this challenge? It’s still going on?”

Candace slipped the remaining brats into a ziplock bag. “Yeah, it’s sort of on hold, I guess, until Reagan and Reed get back.”