Work Like You Don't Need the Money (14 page)

Pete smiled as she came into the kitchen. He was bare chested, hair still damp from the shower. Surrounded by the contents of the fridge, with a pan in his hand, he looked like an advertisement for one of those naughty man-maid services. She let out a chuckle at the thought.

He raised an eyebrow. “What's so funny?”

“You. Barefoot in the kitchen doesn't quite go with the Bigshot image.”

He laughed. “But see, that's where you're wrong. I'm an expert in the kitchen, and I'm about to make you a dinner you won't forget.”

“You're making this a night I won't forget.” She bit her lip as soon as the words were out. That was a dumb thing to say. She couldn't turn this into more than it was.

He smiled though. “That's my plan, Sweetheart. This is our first date, remember? You're supposed to remember those.”

“I don't know about you, but I never had a first date that started out that way.” She raised her eyebrows and looked back toward the bedroom.

Pete grinned. “Me neither. See, I told you I'd make it memorable.” He brought her a glass of wine. “Try this, it's the Cab from the vineyard where Jack and Em have gone.”

Holly swirled and sniffed, then took a sip, “Oh, that's good. Very good.”

“And it goes wonderfully with steak, which, if you approve, I'm going to grill for you.”

“Sounds wonderful. What can I do?”

“Given your earlier confession and the fact that Em didn't want you anywhere near her wedding cake, I'd guess nothing that involves food prep.”

Holly started to protest, “I'm not that bad...”

He silenced her with a smile and a kiss. “I'm not saying you are,” he kissed her again. “I just don't want to risk finding out!”

“Oh, you!” She pushed at him, but he caught her hands and wrapped her in his arms. “There's something much more important I want you to do... talk to me while I make dinner? I've got the grill going out there.”

That suited her perfectly. She really was a disaster in the kitchen. She would much rather drink wine and look at his perfect body than go and butcher vegetables. She followed him out onto the deck. He put a couple of sweet potatoes on the grill and closed the lid.

“They'll take a while, and everything else is under control for now, so let's sit, shall we?”

Holly took a seat on one of the huge wicker chairs and Pete came to sit beside her. She stared out at the lake for a long moment. She really did want to remember this. This beautiful evening, the wonderful setting of the lake and mountains. Most of all, the man sitting beside her who, she became aware, was watching her closely.

She turned to face him. Whenever she looked at him, she was stunned again by just how gorgeous he was. Maybe not the standard, pretty-boy handsome, his face was harsh in some respects, with those penetrating blue eyes. His nose and cheeks could have been carved from granite. But his beautiful full lips and that cheeky little dimple on his chin gave away a hint of all the fun and laughter that lay behind the imposing exterior.

“It's so beautiful here, Pete. I envy you guys.”

He nodded. “We were lucky to grow up here. Luckier to have the chance to have a home here again. It's a good counterbalance to the city. What about you? Have you always lived in LA?”

Holly nodded. She didn't want to talk about it, her life seemed so ordinary and small by comparison. “Born and bred. My family has been there for generations. My sisters are raising the next generation already.”

“Are your folks still around?”

“Yep,” she didn't want to elaborate. She had nothing to hide, she just didn't want to highlight the differences in their backgrounds.. Pete's parents, she knew from Emma, were both artists. They owned that huge place she'd seen this afternoon. They couldn't be more different from her own parents – the plumber and the housewife.

Pete either understood her reluctance, or wasn't that interested. He went back inside to check on dinner and she heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't want to taint this little fantasy with details of her mundane reality.

Pete reappeared in the doorway with a grin. “I've been meaning to ask. Do I need to be on the lookout for an irate husband coming after me?”

“What?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What on earth are you talking about?”

He laughed. “Just teasing. I've been curious about your ring. Since you obviously don't want to talk about your family, I thought I'd better check.”

Holly automatically reached for the gold band on her wedding finger and twisted it. “Ah, I can see that,” she smiled. “But, no. I don't have a husband, or even an ex-husband stashed away anywhere.”

“Glad to hear it.” He waited, apparently expecting further explanation.

She blinked back a tear. “It was my grandmother's. She died last year.”

“I'm sorry.” He obviously was, his teasing tone gone. “You want to talk about it?”

She really didn't, but yet again, something about this man made her blurt out the truth. “I loved her to pieces, but she had some issues. She left me with this ring, and her huge gambling debts.”

To his credit, Pete's face didn't register the shock he must have felt. Holly would bet that he had no experience with the sordid world of loan sharks and gambling addiction. Why in the hell had she told him? Even Emma didn't know the whole story.

He sat down beside her, took hold of her hand, and held her eyes. “Tell me.” It was a gentle command, not a question.

She obeyed, surprised at herself as the words came tumbling out. “She always had a problem with gambling. I know it sounds crazy for a little old lady. She was always disappearing off to Reno or Vegas. She played poker with the guys in the neighborhood. She never knew when to quit. She got herself into some high stakes games. She'd pawned just about everything she owned and no-one knew. I went over to see her one day and her house was bare. I paid for her to get everything back and paid off her debts, but I had to promise I wouldn't tell the family. I thought she had it under control after that, but I was stupid, she just hid it better. Then she had a heart attack. It was the stress. She'd borrowed from loan sharks and they were after her. She'd borrowed so much by then that I couldn't pay it off.”

He was still holding her hand and her eyes, she couldn't read his expression, but she pressed on.

“I talked to them. I took over the debt so they would leave her alone. They did. But she never recovered. She had another heart attack and died a few months later.”

She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. Now the story was out she was starting to wonder why she'd felt the need to tell him. And starting to fear what his reaction might be.

“Like I said, she left me the ring and the debt.” She shrugged. “Perhaps you'd prefer an irate husband,” she said with a bitter little laugh. “I did tell you we're from different worlds.”

She was shocked to see that his eyes were hard now. The little pulse working in his jaw.

“How much?”

“What?”

“How much do you still owe, Holly?”

“None of your business, Bigshot! Don't you know it's just as rude to ask a lady about her finances as it is to ask about her age?” She forced a laugh. She wanted to drop it, to move the conversation back to anything but this. She regretted telling him, what had she been thinking?

He still held her hand, but he wasn't laughing. In fact he looked.... angry? Was he angry? Oh, no! He didn't think she was asking him for money did he?

“Tell me how much,” he ground out the words.

“No! It's none of your business, I shouldn't have told you. Pete, I wasn't asking for help. I was just telling you, as a friend, because you asked. Please don't think that I... That I would..”

His eyes softened. “I don't. I know you wouldn't. But you have to let me help. Those people are dangerous, Holly. We need to pay them off.”

She stared at him. “Thank you. That's very sweet of you, but it's my mess. I can handle it.”

“Tell me how much and let me pay it. You can pay me back if it's a pride thing. I understand that. I just can't stand to think what they might do to you. You have no idea how those people operate.”

She couldn't bite back the bitter laugh at that one. “Believe me, Bigshot, I know all about how they operate. That's my world, remember? What surprises me is that you have any clue. Thanks for the offer, but I can handle it, okay?”

“No, not okay. You
have
to let me pay it. Why is it better for you to owe them than to owe me? In what world does that make sense? I just don't see it.”

She was angry now. “In my world, Pete! That's where. In the world where I take care of my own problems. Where I'm capable of dealing with my own shit!” She took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued, “In the world where I like you, where we have just given ourselves a limited time to enjoy each other's company. Where I don't want things between us getting weird or screwed up because of money. Can you see that?”

He nodded slowly, about to say something else, “Yes, I can, but...”

“No, no buts. This afternoon you said you respect me. That means a lot to me, but not if it's empty words. Prove it. Show me that respect by dropping the subject, okay? I'm a big girl, I've got it covered.”

He pursed his lips, she could see he didn't want to drop it.

“One condition,” he said.

She shook her head. “You don't get it do you? It's not up for discussion!”

He glowered at her, face hard. She could see how he got the reputation for always getting what he wanted. Who could stand up to him looking like that?

“No, Holly.
YOU
don't get it. I do respect you. And although I don't want to, I will, out of respect, agree to drop it.
BUT,
not until you agree to my one condition. You have to promise me that if this gets ugly, if there is any problem at all, you
WILL
tell me and you
WILL
let me help.”

She said nothing for a long moment. He obviously wasn't going to back down. He was offering her a safety net. She doubted she'd be able to persuade him to butt out completely. Another look at his face told her how true that was. He was still glowering, waiting for her to speak.

“Okay, but only because it won't come to that.”

“Not good enough, Sweetheart. You have to promise me that you will come to me for help if you need it.”

She sighed, knowing she couldn't beat him. “Alright, I promise, but now can we drop it?”

She watched his face transform as he smiled. “Consider it dropped.”

                                                            *********

After dinner they walked down by the water's edge, hand in hand. Pete was not happy about what she'd told him. He was all too familiar with loan sharks and their tactics. You didn't build a company like Phoenix without running across some unsavory characters along the way. Whatever Holly thought he was, he wasn't the kind of guy who sat tucked away in his office the whole time. He and Jack had had some hairy experiences of their own in the early days. He hated the thought that Holly was at the mercy of those people. He'd let it drop and focused on having fun with her over dinner. He had to respect her wishes and stay out of it, but he couldn't stop turning it over in his mind.

“I can't believe this is Emma's very own private beach,” said Holly.

He came back to the moment. “Hey, it's mine too. In fact,” he looked back, “We are now actually on MY beach. See that big rock? That marks the line between our two properties.”

“Well, pardon me, Mr. Bigshot!” she laughed. “How could I forget that you own a beach, as well as a plane, and who knows what else!”

He stopped dead and turned to face her, towering above her, hands on hips in his most intimidating stance. “You'd better not forget it, Sweetheart,” he growled. He couldn't keep it up, though. He burst out laughing at the stunned look on her face. “Now who is the one that can't handle the teasing? I'm kidding, okay?”

She laughed. “Damn! You looked so serious there. I thought I'd offended you for real.”

“What kind of materialistic creep do you think I am? Hey?” He poked her in the ribs as he asked, making her laugh and hold her hands up in an attempt to defend herself. “Hey?” he asked again as he started to tickle her mercilessly. She gave up trying to tickle him back and made a break for it, running off along the beach.

“There is no escape,” he shouted as he chased after her, surprised at how fast she was.

“You'll never catch me,” she called back over her shoulder.

He knew he would though. Holly wasn't aware that once she rounded the headland there would be no more beach as the shore rose steeply in a high bank. She'd have nowhere left to run. He was glad, too. He wasn't so sure he would catch her otherwise. She ran like a gazelle. She disappeared around the corner and he heard her footsteps stop. He smiled as he heard her curse.

“I've got you now,” he growled as he rounded the corner. She was ready for him, laughing with her hands raised ready to block the tickle attack. She was no match for him though. He grabbed her and held her back against his chest with one arm while he tickled her relentlessly with his free hand. She felt so good, wriggling against him as she tried to escape, her efforts weakened by her laughter.

He paused a moment, “Do you surrender?”

“Never!”

So he tickled some more. “Surrender now?”

“Never!”

He kept on tickling until she was sagging in his arms from laughing so hard. He dropped a kiss on the soft skin of her shoulder, “Now, you surrender.”

“I never surrender.”

Something about the way she said it made him turn her around. He kissed her, tasting the sweet lips, dueling tongues, feeling her soft body against his own. He raised his head. “Not even to me?”

He saw confusion, desire, and defiance all fight for space in the amber eyes looking back at him This was about so much more than tickling. Just when he thought she was going to answer him, she broke free and ran again, back around the headland and away down the beach. Damn! He jogged slowly after her.

Chapter Ten

Holly put down her fork and smiled at Pete. “That was amazing. Thank you.”