Resisting Her Rival (2 page)

So much for rocking her world.

He tensed at her current expression. She certainly didn’t look welcoming, and there was only so much rejection a man could take.

Looking past her at the car that he knew had to be held together by hope and not much else, he said, “Are you here to have the station wagon looked at?”

Abby followed his gaze to her car and took a deep breath, the action causing the thin fabric of her shirt to pull against her breasts.

Nick swallowed hard and forced his eyes upward from the sight. She had an eyebrow lifted, and he knew he’d been caught thinking with a part south of his belt buckle. “Don’t expect me to apologize for looking—or remembering,” he said. Boy, did he ever remember. Often at the most inopportune times he recalled the silkiness of her skin, how soft she’d felt under his hands.

To distract the direction his thoughts were going, and keep southern things from going north, he moved around the car and leaned his back against the driver’s side door. “I’m surprised to see you here. You usually run the other direction any time you see me coming.”

She looked like she’d taken a mouthful of bitter lemonade and needed to spew it out.

He held out a hand when she opened her mouth, his pride still feeling the sting of her prior rejections. “Let me guess. You realized how good we were together, and you want to give it another shot. I might be agreeable, but just so you know, after cold shouldering me as long as you have, it’s going to take more than an apology.”

She looked even madder now. He could practically see the anger simmering off her. Maybe she’d gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. He knew what would relax her, hell, relax the both of them, but he had a feeling it wasn’t the time to mention that.

“I always knew you were arrogant,” she said, curling her fingers into fists.

“Really? You seemed to like me well enough when we were together.”

“Nick, you are so full of—”

“Confidence? Yeah, I know.”

“I’m not here to tell you I want another shot at whatever it was we had.”

No way could he let that go. “
Whatever
? Let me spell it out for you. We had mind-blowing sex. Best you ever had, you said.”

Abby took a breath, let go of it slowly, and then said sharply, “I believe what I said was
the steak dinner
we shared was the best I ever had.”

“Ah, come on. If you’re going to keep giving me the cold shoulder the way you have, the least you can do is admit the truth. Denial is an ugly place to live.” He caught the flush on her face and grinned. “I believe you said you felt like you’d found the fountain of ecstasy.”

“I was referring to the wine. It was delicious,” she said.

Nick frowned. A warning bell started chiming in his head. He hadn’t done or said anything to make her this mad. He hadn’t even talked to her much since that night. Yet, she looked ready to do bodily harm, and his was the only body in the vicinity.

Abby said, with a dismissive wave of her hand, “I’m not here to talk about sex, especially not with you.”

“Pity,” Nick said. He waited for her to go on, and when she didn’t, he prompted, “Then why are you here?”

“You’ve really got some nerve. You can’t even stand there and be a man about this. You cheat, lie, and steal from me, and then you play innocent?”

Nick felt his own temper start to rise. He wasn’t a liar or a cheat, and he’d never wronged Abby. “Hang on a damn minute. I sure as hell didn’t cheat or lie to you. And there’s no way for me to steal what you so freely and willingly gave, darling.”

“Willing? I didn’t even know you’d done it!”

Nick blinked. “Abby, what the hell are you talking about? You were conscious and very active as I recall, all three times.”

Her flush darkened. “That building is mine.”

How the hell women thought men were the ones that were incapable of making sense was
… Understanding hit him. “This is not about Florida.”

“Can you please pay attention?” Abby shook her head. “Of course it’s not about Florida. It’s about right here in Sweet Creek, South Carolina. You stole my building.”

Crossing his arms, Nick said, “The one next to your diner? How can I steal something that’s not yours?”

“You talked to Oscar about selling it to you.”

“That’s not a crime.”

“You knew I wanted it.”

“How could I know you wanted that building?”

“I mentioned it when we were at dinner.”

Nick couldn’t help the smile that slid across his face as he remembered that dinner. “I had other things on my mind then. I wasn’t paying any attention to—” He tried to shut up before the words slipped out but couldn’t.

“You weren’t listening to me. Figures. What, I wasn’t worth listening to?”

“Abby, I was so damned focused on being with you nothing else mattered.”

“That is such an excuse. You can’t think straight when you want to have sex? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yeah. Kind of.” By the look on her face, Nick could tell he was digging himself in deeper. And he didn’t want to do that, not when he desperately needed her help. For the sake of his business, he needed to prove he’d changed and was no longer the guy he’d once been. The idea of how to do that had started the night he’d spent with Abby three months ago. She represented stability. Her family had roots in the town that probably went back to the Mayflower.

If people saw them together, word would travel quickly—the way it always did in their small town—that Abby trusted him enough to date him. Everyone knew that she didn’t trust just anyone. Being with her meant he’d be on his way back into the good graces of the town. They would trust him, trust his business. If he couldn’t do that, he wouldn’t be able to close the biggest deal of his life. He’d lose the opportunity to renovate historic, million-dollar homes in Charleston to his competitor. The guy had a squeaky clean reputation, a wife, a herd of kids, and he drove a minivan for crying out loud.

“Oscar said for us to work something out between the two of us. I want you to go to him right now and tell him that you don’t want the building.” Abby put her hands on her hips and it pulled her shirt even tighter.

Nick knew better than to sneak a look. That would
really
piss her off. And he needed Abby to think of him as dateable material so the potential client would choose him over Mr. Family Man. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it would be a lie. The very thing you accused me of doing.” He smiled smugly. “Tell you what, why don’t you have dinner with me tonight and we can talk about this?”

“That’s how it started last time.”

“I don’t remember dragging you off kicking and screaming to my cave. In fact,
you
started it. We didn’t even get out of the elevator before you were all over me. I felt quite used.” He winked at her. Teasing her probably wasn’t his best idea, but he enjoyed the fire it put in her eyes.

Her flush deepened. “You’re impossible. I don’t know why I thought I could reason with you.” With an exasperated huff of breath, she turned around.

“You’re leaving in the middle of our chat? I thought things were going so well.”

“I’m going to get that building, Nick, come hell or high water,” she said over her shoulder with a glare.

“You wanna bet?” he called after her retreating back.

Chapter Two

Where did I go wrong?

He’d thought if he gave Abby some time to get used to the idea of him that she’d come around. He’d had it all planned out. They could spend some time together. Go on a few dates. They were good together—hell, they were great. As an added plus for him, everyone loved Abby and trusted her judgment. The client would see that, and Nick would win the bid.

If they knew she was with him, his reputation could be laid to rest, and he’d finally be able to land more lucrative renovating projects. Last week, he’d lost a bid because the client’s wife was a former teacher at the high school. She’d warned her husband that the “Coleman boys didn’t fall too far from the tree,” and just like that, he’d lost the job. Troublemakers. Thieves. Liars. Playboys. He’d heard those words directed his way all through high school. Angry and bitter, he’d done his best to live up to the labels pinned on him.

More than once during his teen years, his mother had had to bail him out of jail for foolish offences. He’d once painted a chalk outline of a friend’s body and put up crime scene tape around the principal’s driveway. Charged with vandalism, he’d received probation and caught hell at home. He’d been busted for underage drinking and cutting school. He’d done his best to raise hell and cause trouble for neighbors and businesses he thought had it out for him. But now, since returning from his stint in the Marines, he had to live down the labels in a town where others had long memories. More than he had to, he
wanted
to.

Nick paced the oil-stained concrete at his cousin’s garage while his thoughts ran around in circles. The summer heat poured in through the open bay doors and waves shimmered off the asphalt road in front of the garage. He stopped to wipe his face with the bottom of his shirt.

If he lived to be an old man, he’d never understand women. Okay, granted, maybe he should have listened to Abby, but how the hell was he supposed to concentrate when he’d had her in his arms?

Icy claws of trepidation grabbed him by the goods and squeezed. It was true being with Abby would help polish his reputation, but he’d wanted her since high school and that troubled him. He knew better than to let himself care.

Friends with benefits was the best way to go. And he’d definitely like to benefit again with Abby. But it looked as though that was over before it even started. He needed to undo whatever he’d done.

Well, hell.

If there was ever a time he needed advice, it was now. He glanced at his cousin. If any guy understood women, it was Keith. He’d been married to the same woman for eleven years. After quickly explaining the situation, Nick waited a second while his cousin thought it over.

Expelling his breath on a heavy sigh, Keith shook his head. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

“You’re constantly giving me advice, and now you don’t have any?”

Keith pushed back his ball cap with the tip of his thumb and grinned. “I mean it’s kind of surprising to me. You and Abby Snyder? I don’t know what to make of that.”

“Yeah, I don’t even know how the hell we ever got together—or how the building argument happened,” Nick muttered. He hadn’t known she’d wanted the place because he really hadn’t listened, but that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty. Or from needing it himself. More than one customer had experienced trouble trying to climb the steep stairs leading to his office. Plus he’d outgrown the somewhat rundown space.

He needed to fix that, and he needed to fix the situation with Abby, especially if he wanted a repeat of that night, which he did. And he needed the town to see him differently.

Two hours had passed since she’d had driven away. But before she’d turned her back to him, he’d caught a quick flash of disappointment tangled with the anger in the look she’d aimed his direction.

In his defense, he’d been caught off guard; his brain zeroed in on how good she’d looked. He knew that he shouldn’t have gotten defensive, but she’d ambushed him with those accusations.

His brain had gone into deep freeze, and before he could thaw it out, he’d challenged her. Bet she was still stewing about that.

“I can’t recall a time when I’ve seen you this worked up over a woman. You’ve always been careful not to get involved.” Keith wiped his grease-stained hands on a rag and stuck one end of it in his back pocket. His eyes danced with amusement.

“We’re not involved. Anyway, Abby’s different.”

“She wasn’t one of your high school girls?”

Nick could almost hear the wheels turning in his cousin’s head, and he shot him a look. “I didn’t cross that line. We were never involved in high school.”

“Not from lack of trying on your part, I’m sure.” Keith grinned again. “That’s because Abby’s a smart one. She knew better than to get anywhere near the backseat of your car.”

“You’re not helping.” Regret surged through Nick at the memory of how he used to behave. If he could go back in time, he’d try to mend some of the mistakes he’d made.

“You want my advice, I’d suggest you see what your girl wants you to do.”

“She’s not my anything, and I already know what she wants,” Nick said flatly. “But I can’t give up the building, either. I can’t afford a different one any more than she can. I’m splitting every penny of profit I make between the business and building my house.”

“It’s going to be a beautiful home, Nick, and I know what that house means to you after what you and your brothers went through,” Keith said, clasping a hand to Nick’s shoulder. “But only one of you can win in this battle. Try talking to Abby and get her to see your side.”

“Reason with Abby about that building? I’d have better luck selling Hello Kitty purses to the Hell’s Angels. When her mind is made up, Abby is…” Nick hesitated.

Keith nodded. “I’ve known her since she was in diapers. You don’t have to tell me what she’s like. Stubborn. Determined. Doesn’t need anyone.”

That sounds like Abby. Yet, when she let down her guard, I was one lucky man.

Nick looked through the open bay doors when a car pulled up. He nodded in greeting when his friend Eric Maxwell joined them.

“Engine light’s still coming on. You got time to look at it again?” Eric asked.

“I guess so.” Keith brushed past Eric, muttering as he walked, “I keep telling you this sorry piece of junk isn’t worth restoring.”

Eric shrugged. “I like restoring old cars. It relaxes me.” He swung his gaze to Nick. “What’s up, bro?”

“Apparently, I stole a building from Abby.”

“Why would you do that? I thought you liked her.” Eric slid some coins into the drink machine and chose a soda.

“I do, and technically, I didn’t steal the building. She just thinks I did.”

Eric popped the top on his soda and took a drink before replying. “I noticed Abby hasn’t been too happy with you lately.”

Friend or not, there was no way Nick was going to tell Eric about the night he’d shared with Abby. He’d never been one for locker room talk.

“Right now, I’d say I was probably the last guy on earth she ever wants to see again.”

“I know how that feels.” Eric winced. “Sorry, man.”

Nick started to shrug and then stopped. What the hell was he doing? He didn’t need advice after all. He needed to get his ass in gear. He wanted the building. He wanted Abby. He wanted his reputation repaired so his business would grow. He would make it all work out.

He clapped Eric on the shoulder. “Tell Keith I’ll see him later.” Nick jumped into his Dodge Ram and drove toward the center of town. After his stint in the Marines and the action he’d seen, the quiet peacefulness of the town provided a balm for his soul.

He drove by the bookstore, the post office, and the barbershop, where some men were gathered on a bench outside.

The usual Saturday shoppers milled about, making the fruit and vegetable market crowded as usual. When he was a kid, a couple of the booth owners used to slip him and his brothers a piece of fruit every so often. Best tasting apples in the world to him back then.

Nick waited at a crosswalk to let several people pass, recognizing and nodding to half of them. He wasn’t surprised by the throng. Most people he knew took a day or two off to enjoy doing something other than working.

Not Abby.

If he knew her, she’d probably dropped her accusation at his feet and headed right to the diner, never even breaking a sweat. She was the hardest working woman he’d ever known. He knew how important the diner was to her, how important it had always been, and it irritated him that she could think he’d deliberately try to undermine her.

Granted, he was guilty of not listening to her, but that was it as far as he was concerned. Being boneheaded with a woman wasn’t a crime. Hell, if it were, the police in every city and town would be overworked arresting countless men.

By the time he got to the diner, the lunch crowd was in full swing, the parking lot packed with regulars as well as tourists who stopped in on their way to Hilton Head Island or Myrtle Beach.

Since there were no empty slots, he parked his truck in the alley beside Abby’s car and walked around to the front entrance. He went in, and the bells on the door announced his arrival.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee and apple cobbler greeted him. His gaze swept the room, and he spotted Chad and Amelia sitting side by side in one of the rear booths. By the friendly smile and wave Amelia gave him, Nick bet that she didn’t know about his one-night stand with her sister. He wanted to keep it that way. Amelia was known for some pretty harebrained ideas, and there was no telling what she might cook up if she knew.

He eased a path through the crowd to take a stool at the counter. He turned over a coffee cup and waited until the waitress greeted him. Waving off the menu she offered, he waited until after she poured the coffee and said, “Tell Abby that she can come out and talk to me or I’m coming back there.”

The waitress gave him a wide-eyed look and then disappeared through the kitchen. She was back a few minutes later, her eyes curious. “Abby said now isn’t a good time.”

Like she can dismiss me that easily. She can’t say I didn’t warn her
.

Nick walked around the counter and pushed open the swinging doors, skirting around the busy kitchen staff to reach Abby’s office. He knocked hard once and then opened the door.

He was gripped again by her beauty.

She was at the desk, her head propped up on one hand as she looked over a stack of invoices. Tension was obvious in the way she held her body. She glanced up when the door swung in, and her friendly smile faded. “What do you want?”

Nick stepped in, leaving the door open. “You’re asking me that after you just accused me of lying and cheating you?”

Looking at the two-sided wall clock mounted on brackets above the desk, Abby said, “
Just
accused you? That was over two hours ago.”

“Let’s not waste time arguing over things that don’t matter.” Nick noticed the shadows beneath her eyes, and his gut twisted. Had they always been there? How had he not seen them before?

He knew about those kinds of shadows. He’d seen similar ones beneath his mother’s eyes years ago. He could still remember her crying late at night, the checkbook in one hand, the list of bills in the other. She’d worked two jobs trying to keep that rat-infested roof over their heads. Once he and his brothers were old enough to get jobs and help out financially, the places they’d lived and the food they’d eaten had changed for the better.

“Okay, what do you want to argue about?” Abby tossed her pen aside and settled back in the leather chair.

“I don’t want to argue at all. I want to make plans.”

“For?”

“For us.”

“You’re not serious.” Abby laughed, then sobered when he didn’t join in. “You
are
serious.”

He didn’t see a damn thing funny about the idea of the two of them as a couple. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because it’s ridiculous. There is no us and never will be,” Abby said, drumming her fingers rapidly on the desk.

“Again,” he said before he thought, trying to squash the memory of her lips moving across the tattoo on his chest.

“Again,” she acknowledged in a get-lost tone. She stopped drumming her fingers and started tapping a pen.

“Do I make you nervous?” He frowned at all the movement. Surely she didn’t feel threatened by him.

“Not at all.” She tossed the pen down.

“We have a problem.” Nick started over. “I think I can help.”

“I don’t need help, especially yours.”

“That’s right.” Nick slapped his forehead. “I forgot. I could haul away Mt. Rushmore a wheelbarrow load at a time before you’d ever admit you needed someone.”

“Nick.” She opened her mouth to say more, then apparently thought better of it and shook her head.

He tamped down his irritation. Why was it when he was around Abby, he always felt like he was guilty without the benefit of a trial? Hadn’t he experienced enough of that already? He knew he wasn’t the same guy he used to be and wanted others to see that, too, especially Abby. “I came to tell you that I have what I think is a good idea.”

“About what?”

“Hang on.” Using his elbow, he closed the door behind him and pulled a metal chair up beside her desk. Straddling it, he leaned forward. “You think that night was a mistake.”

“Right,” Abby said too quickly, busting his ego down a notch.

“I don’t agree,” he said, hoping that she didn’t really think the night was a mistake, but was doing her usual keep-every-guy-at-arm’s-length gig.

“You have the right to your opinion, however wrong it may be,” Abby said, batting her eyelashes at him.

He’d always been impressed by her quick wit and sense of humor, but he resisted the urge to laugh. The chance he was about to take was too important for her to think he was playing. “You and I could have a great casual relationship that would help us both, and I can prove it to you. Just listen with an open mind, okay? You want that building next door, same as I do.” He thought about telling Abby that being with her would hopefully help his business but decided against it.