Up to the Challenge (An Anchor Island Novel) (25 page)

Lucas exhaled for the first time since stepping out of his car. He had to be flashing the goofiest smile, but didn’t care. The only thing that mattered in that moment was the adorable pixie standing before him in oversized pajamas that covered every inch of the delectable curves he knew lurked beneath the cotton.

Taking those things off was going to be more fun than he could stand. But first things first. With one step forward, he cupped her face, tilting her head back and staring into milk chocolate eyes.

“Hi,” he said, enjoying the slide of silky curls along his knuckles. Feeling her heartbeat steady against his fingertips.

“Hi,” she answered. Her voice, low and breathy, vibrated through his whole body.

Slowly he leaned in, taking his time, enjoying making her wait. He knew from the night before Sid was not the most patient woman. A soft nip, then another before he pulled back. Her lips moved forward, trying to follow. Another nip and her hands slid up his arms as her body melted into his.

His own patience waned and he took her mouth full on. Heat spiked through him as her hands jammed into his hair. Wrapping his arms around her back, he lifted her off the floor as they tasted each other. This is what he’d been longing to do all day. Where he’d longed to be.

With Sid. Beside her. Touching her. Teasing her.

This was heaven, and he never wanted to be without it. The thought jarred him like a punch to the temple. He broke contact but continued to hold Sid off the floor. Staring into dark brown pools of lust, Lucas set her down gently. This was too much. Too fast.

He couldn’t think straight, and the blood flow headed south wasn’t helping. Putting air between them should have been his next move, but his arms were ignoring the messages coming from his brain. Bottom line, the organ upstairs was no longer in control.

“That was a pretty good greeting,” Sid said, sounding more girly than he’d ever heard her. She shifted against him and he went hard. Or rather, harder.

“How was your day?” he asked, taking her by the hand and heading for the couch. Talking. Talking should help. Casual talking.

“Oh,” Sid said, struggling to keep up. “It could have been better.” Lucas sat down, pulling her onto the cushion beside him. How he managed not to pull her into his lap, he didn’t know. “How about yours? When will Dempsey’s be ready to reopen?”

“If the delivery Vinnie put in to replace the lost meat comes through on Sunday, we should be up and running on Monday. Distributor said Highway 12 through Hatteras held up, so we should be good.”

He wanted boring talk and this was definitely it. Then Sid’s words sank in. “Did you say your day could have been better? What happened?”

“Just something I might have to deal with later.” Sid threw a gray pajama-clad leg over his knee. “Did you come all the way over here to discuss our days?”

Grasping for a distraction, he asked. “Are those … flying piggy banks on your pants?”

Sid shrugged. “Yeah. I thought they were cool. And the message on my shirt is not intended for you, of course.”

The shirt read, “I’m not antisocial, I just don’t like you.”

“Good to know.” Had someone kicked on the heat? Lucas turned his body until Sid’s leg dropped off, then draped an arm across the back of the couch. “What do you know about Willow?”

Sid froze. “Will? What about her?”

“She’s been on the island for a while, right? Works at O’Hagan’s, I think she said?”

“Among other places.” Sid scooted away and crossed her arms. “But I don’t think Will is looking for a man.”

What did that mean? “I’m not trying to give her a man, I want to give her a job.”

The sudden cold front coming across the couch thawed. “You want Will to work at Dempsey’s? Is this your way of telling me you’re going back to Richmond before your dad recovers?”

The thought
I’m not going anywhere
sprang to mind. He shoved it down with the other unwelcome thoughts and stuck to his purpose. “I’m talking about when dad is recovered. He can’t run that bar by himself anymore. It’s too much. I haven’t talked to Willow—”

“Will,” Sid corrected. Seemed like an odd thing to be a stickler about.

“Right. Will. If she tends bar at O’Hagan’s, then she knows what she’s doing and is used to handling the tourists and crowds. Do you think she’d be qualified as an assistant manager?”

Sid relaxed, pulled her legs up and squeezed them to her chest. “I don’t know. Will is like the island temp, bouncing around nearly every business on Anchor. Except for Randy’s. She doesn’t like Randy, for some reason.”

“Why not?”

“She has this weird phobia about big guys or something. But she might like having one full-time position instead of hopping around to half a dozen shops.” Sid hugged her knees tighter. “Just to be clear. You’re only interested in giving her a job, right? Not slipping her anything else?”

Not slipping … Lucas took a full five seconds to catch on. Where did she get these ideas?

“Sid. Where was I last night?”

She tilted her head. “Is that a trick question?”

“And where am I right now?”

“Have you been drinking?”

“Are you going to stop asking stupid questions?”

She huffed and dropped her gaze. “It’s not so stupid. I mean, we’re not
committed
or anything. Not exclusive.” Scratching a spot on her PJs, she mumbled, “You can do whatever you want.”

Unnerved by her lack of confidence, Lucas didn’t know what to do with Sid’s vulnerable side. Surely she knew how desirable she was. Challenging. Driven. Flat-out hot.

Maybe she didn’t.

With one finger under Sid’s chin, Lucas brought her eyes back to his. “Do you plan on sleeping with anyone else in the next few weeks?”

She shook her head.

“Good. Me neither.” He tucked a wayward lock behind her ear. “Come here, Sidney.” He caved and pulled her onto his lap. “Do you think I should ask Will if she’d take the job?”

“I do.” Her smile created a knot in his chest before she switched to pensive again. “Shouldn’t you talk to your parents first though? Would they want someone else helping run the place? Someone who isn’t family?”

“I don’t know. Dad came to the restaurant with me today, and I’ve never seen him so mean. Mom said it’s a side effect of the heart attack. All I know is he can’t go back to running the bar on his own.” He flattened his hands on her thighs, then tilted his head back on the couch. “Mom’s worried about losing him, and so am I. I think they both need a break.” He brought his head back up. “Will is your friend, so that tells me we can trust her.”

“You get that through me?” she asked, absently running circles on his stomach with one finger. Sending more heat down to lower regions.

“I trust you, and you trust her, so I trust her.” That sentence probably didn’t make sense, but brain function was deteriorating by the second. “Before I forget, do you care if I check my e-mail from here?”

“No, but I’d have to turn the computer on.” As if they weren’t having a mundane conversation, Sid leaned in and dropped a moist kiss at the base of his neck. “I’d rather turn something else on.” Another kiss and her hands slid beneath his shirt.

“It’s okay,” he practically moaned. “My iPad is in my bag in the car.”

Sid stopped the kissing and sat up. “You have a bag in the car? Like an overnight bag?”

“Yeah.” Time to see if his presumptions were wrong. If her body language was any indication, he didn’t think so. “I wasn’t sure you’d want me over, so I didn’t bring it in.”

The rare occasions Sid hit him with a full-on smile had felt like getting punched in the gut. This one, which he would forever deem her sex-kitten look, felt like getting hit by a train. And he’d gladly jump in front of this locomotive any time.

“I definitely want you over.” Sid purred. “And under and any other way I can get you.”

Lucas rose to his feet, taking Sid with him. She yelped and threw her arms around his neck. “You’re going to get tired of carrying me around.”

“Never,” he answered, then stopped in the middle of the floor. The look on her face reflected the same shock spiking through his system. Where had that answer come from?

Tightening her grip, Sid ground against his stomach. “Didn’t you want to check your e-mail?” One hand slid into his hair as she trailed kisses along his jawline.

“E-mail can wait,” he growled, taking her mouth with all the passion he’d been holding in check. Without breaking contact, he moved them both to the bedroom, where, as he’d predicted, removing Sid’s funky pajamas was the most fun he’d had all day.

Hours later, as the clock turned over to midnight, Lucas got around to checking his e-mail. Of the dozen or so messages, one caught his eye first. Davis Holcomb, the partner who had suggested he take some time off, didn’t e-mail often. This had to be important.

Opening the message, Lucas found the words he least expected.

We need you for a case. When are you coming back?

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

S
ummers on Anchor could never be considered scorchers, but by mid-August the humidity had spiked, making eighty-five feel more like ninety-five. In the shade. After tossing two large garbage bags into the Dumpster behind Dempsey’s, Sid caught a drop of sweat headed for her chin and stretched out the muscles in her back.

In the last week, she’d gotten more of a workout than she ever had hitting the gym. Lucas had stamina to spare, and quite the imagination. Good thing she trusted him or she might never have been willing to try that chair maneuver the night before. A move likely illegal in several states.

But the payoff had been worth the bending and twisting. Her teeth still tingled when she thought about it.

Eight nights with Lucas in her bed, and Sid woke every morning afraid she might be dreaming. After the weekend, she’d assumed he’d want some time apart. That he’d stay at his parents’ house during the week. But Lucas had followed her home from work every night, and by midweek they realized what a waste it was to drive two vehicles to the same place.

They started driving in together and if anyone found it odd that she and Lucas were suddenly joined at the hip, they kept it to themselves.

Contrary to Sid’s own expectations, she enjoyed having a man around. His hot, solid body tangled with hers as she fell asleep. Hazel eyes and a stubble-covered chin the first thing she saw in the morning. Though if this arrangement ever became permanent, she’d need to install a bigger shower, as they’d become strict practitioners of water conservation.

Two people saving the planet one shower at a time.

But this
wasn’t
a permanent arrangement. Something Sid had to remind herself on a regular basis. Lucas would be leaving in four weeks. Not that she was marking the days on a mental calendar or anything. The two or three brief moments when she imagined waking up alone again, waterworks threatened. Tears were not an option. Sid Navarro did not cry over something as stupid as a man.

To preserve her sanity as well as her dignity, the winding river of denial had become her mental happy place.

“Sid, wait up,” Will said from the front corner of the building, pulling Sid from her wayward thoughts. “I was hoping to catch you.” The lanky brunette crossed the distance between them, then shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans, setting off a cacophony of bangle bracelets. Her eyes looked everywhere but at Sid.

“Should I be sitting down for this?” Sid asked, assuming the worst. “There’s been a formal offer on the garage, hasn’t there?”

Will jumped and met Sid’s gaze, eyes wide. “No. Not that I know of.”

“Then what are you acting so weird about?” The woman looked ready to leap out of her own skin.

“I …” Will started, then looked around as if making sure they were alone. Leaning forward she whispered, “Do you know why I’m here?”

She thought she did. “Lucas called and asked you to come, didn’t he?”

Will took a step back. “And you’re not pissed?”

“Why would I be pissed?” Sid had encouraged Lucas to make the call. They’d been so busy through the week, and distracted with each other, that he must have only just gotten around to it. If Will was going to become the new assistant manager of Dempsey’s Bar & Grill, they needed to ask her first.

“But you two have been together all week? I get that whatever you have is casual, but it’s still weird that he would ask me out while he’s seeing you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” There would be no sharing of Lucas. She may have to give him up when summer ended, but fuck all if Will thought she could have him now.

Will crossed her arms. “The guy you’re sleeping with called and asked me to meet him here on a Friday night. I assumed …”

When she put it that way. “So Lucas didn’t tell you
why
he called you here?”

“He said he wanted to talk to me.” Will shrugged one shoulder. “I tried to tell him no, but he insisted and said it was important.” Will took a step back when Sid started to laugh. “Is that your crazy ‘I’m going to cut a bitch’ laugh? Because I swear I had no intention of—”

“Relax,” Sid said, holding her side and snorting again. “He wasn’t asking you out. He wants to offer you a job.” She sobered and leaned against the railing. “And if it were the other, I
would
kill you both. So lucky for you it’s not.”

Will rubbed her forehead. “I’m so confused. What kind of a job could Lucas offer? He doesn’t even live here.”

Sid gestured toward the building. “He thinks Patty and Tom need help running this place. Someone to take some of the load off. Figured with your experience, you’d be the person for the job.” As Will’s lips moved but no sound came out, Sid added, “You don’t have to answer right away, but something full time would be better than flitting around to every business the way you do, don’t you think?”

“It’s a great offer,” Will said, eyes on her shoes. “But I don’t know.” Backflips of excitement weren’t necessary, but Sid had expected a more positive response.

“We haven’t talked to Tom and Patty about it yet. Lucas thought we should ask you first before taking the idea to them.” She’d thought Will would jump at the chance. So much for that. “If you’re not interested, then just forget it.”