Bidding War (9 page)

Lacy threw the bathroom door open and stormed past him.

“Baby, wait, please,” he said, jumping out of bed. He had to sprint to keep up with her as she ran down the stairs and through the long hallway to the foyer. “Lace, you don’t have your car. At least let me give you a ride home.” He prayed the short drive would buy him a few minutes to explain.

She whirled around, fisting her hands on her hips. “I’d rather walk than be trapped in a car with you. Don’t you get it? I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” She cleared her throat when her voice broke, but she couldn’t hide the unshed tears pooling in her eyes. “You bet on me like I was a goddamn football game. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

He took a step toward her, but she held her hand up, warding him off. “Don’t even think about putting your hands on me again.”

He was an immature idiot for letting his brother goad him into a childish bet when he stood to lose so much more than money. “Listen to me. I’m in love with you. I don’t give a shit about some stupid bet, or the money, or sticking it to my dumbass brother. That’s not what this was about for me, sweetheart. It’s about you and me…”

Glaring at him, she said, “There is no you and me, so get that thought out of your head right now.”

“If you’d just give me a chance…”

“I did give you a chance. I let you into my heart last night. I shared everything with you, the truth about my past, my secrets, but most importantly, I gave you my body.” She choked back a sob. “And what did you do? You threw it all back in my face.” She swiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks. “Was it worth $1,000 to you?”

He cursed himself for what he was doing to her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I made a mistake, okay? If I could go back, I’d tell Jason to shove his money up his ass, but…”

She tipped her chin, looking him in the eye. “But we can’t go back, can we?”

He’d give everything he owned to obliterate the disappointment he saw in her eyes when she looked at him, but he knew he was the one responsible for this mess and he had to find a way to make things right. “Don’t write me off because of one stupid mistake. Please, just let me prove to you…”

“You’ve already proved to me what kind of man you are.”

He knew he deserved that shot, but it still hurt like hell. He could be the man she needed, or he was willing to die trying. “Let me come with you today. We can talk about this. We can work it out, if you’re just willing to…”

She shook her head. “I gave you a chance, and now I have to live with that regret for the rest of my life. My first time, instead of being a wonderful memory, will just be a bitter reminder of how I trusted the wrong man.” She wrapped her arms around her body, hugging herself. “I’ve waited so long to feel what I felt in your arms last night, but now I realize it was all a lie, some perverse way for you to one-up your brother.”

Her words, whether she realized it or not, gutted him. He’d come so close to having everything he wanted and he threw it all away because the impulse to shut his brother up outweighed his common sense. How the hell was he supposed to live with that?

“You made me believe that I could count on you. I thought last night was the start of something…”

“It was… it is.” He threw in hands up in the air, drowning in frustration. He wanted to convey to her how much she meant to him, but he knew he was coming up short. “It still can be.”

Chapter Eight

Shane tried to contact Lacy so many times in the following weeks he was surprised she didn’t take a restraining order out against him. She ignored his messages, but he couldn’t give up on her, not when that night continued to play over and over again in his mind, robbing him of sleep.

He stared up at the rundown duplex where she rented a studio apartment. It was barely inhabitable. In fact, he had no doubt the city would condemn it if they were called to the scene, but he knew she couldn’t afford better. Gripping the steering wheel of his X5, he cursed the injustice of having more than enough money while someone as kind and generous as Lacy had to choose between gas and food. He would do anything to make her life better, but he knew she would never accept help from him, not after what he’d done.

After taking a deep breath, he reached for the twenty-four organza wrapped roses on the passenger’s seat, hoping they would buy him a few minutes of her time. Grabbing the hand-railing as he walked up the aging concrete steps, it nearly gave way. Cursing, he fisted his hand at his side and tried to rein in his temper. She was living this way not because she wanted to, but because she had to. She wasn’t purposely putting her safety in jeopardy just to stick it to him, though it felt that way.

He raised his hand to knock on the door. The rickety screen flew open and she almost barreled into him. He looked down at the waitress uniform hugging her curves. Damn it. She took a second job to compensate for the loss of their contracts.

A blush crept up her neck, staining her cheeks. “What are you doing here?”

He handed her the roses. “Have you got a few minutes?”

She reached around to lock the door. “No, I have to get to work.”

Before she could secure the door, he turned the knob, pressing his other hand into the small of her back. “This won’t take long.” He looked at the rusted out pick-up truck in the driveway. “Where’s your car?”

She cleared her throat. “I decided I didn’t need it after all.”

Gripping the doorknob tighter, he asked, “Please tell me you’re not driving that piece of shit now?”

She raised her chin. “No, that belongs to my neighbor. I’m taking the bus.”

He forced her inside, slamming the door with enough force to rattle the frame. “What the hell is going on with you?”

She took a step back, appearing shocked by his outburst. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He gestured to the uniform that seemed a size too small. He had no doubt some lecherous boss had ordered it that way, judging by the way her tits were spilling out of the scoop neck. “Why the hell are you waiting tables at…” He looked at the name tag. “Emilio’s…when you should be working for me?”

Crossing her arms, she tapped a ballerina flat against the worn linoleum. “You know why I can’t work for you.”

“You’re standing on your feet all day for minimum wage when you could be making a decent living doing something you love. Come on, Lace, that’s just stupid.”

Glaring at him, she said, “No, stupid was sleeping with you. What I’m doing now makes perfect sense.”

He closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “Okay, I deserved that, but…”

“No, there are no buts. Don’t you get it? I don’t want you or your apologies or your flowers…”

He took a step closer, crowding her against the wall at her back. “I don’t believe you,” he whispered.

She set the flowers down on a small table in the foyer to avoid crushing them between their bodies.

Pressing his palms into the wall on either side of her head, he said, “You’re pissed at me. I get that, but I don’t believe you don’t want me.” He dragged a finger down the side of her face and watched with satisfaction as her eyes drifted closed. “You still want me...”

She shook her head. “No, you’re wrong. I’m over you.”

He tipped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Really? Prove it.” His hand glided down the curve of her breast, settling on her hip. Her breath hitched at the same time her pupils dilated and he knew he was wearing her down. “Kiss me,” he whispered, his gaze traveling from her eyes to her lips and back again.

Flattening her palms against his chest as though she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to push him away or pull him closer, she said, “I don’t have anything to prove to you.”

He shrugged. “So don’t prove it to me. Prove it yourself. If you can kiss me and not feel anything, I won’t bother you again.”

She chewed her lip, fixing her eyes on the opening at the collar of his shirt. “What if I don’t want to kiss you?”

He knew she could feel his heart pounding under her palm, belying the fact that he wasn’t as calm as he pretended, but he didn’t care. He was willing to lay it all on the line for one more chance with this woman. “You and I both know you want to.”

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. “I’ve tried hating you. I should hate you…”

For the first time, he felt like she was throwing him a life-line and he grabbed on to it with both hands. “But you can’t?”

She shook her head as a tear slipped down her cheek. “Don’t get me wrong. I hate what you did, but I can’t get past the fact that you were always so good to me. I think about all the times you brought me coffee or lunch…”

In truth, the coffee and deli sandwiches were an excuse to see her. He thought about her when he should have been viewing houses, dealing with errant contractors, and negotiating offers.

“Not to mention the generous bonuses and gifts you gave me.”

Their eyes locked as they both remembered the holiday gift he’d delivered before she went home on Christmas Eve. His gift was a new laptop because she complained her old one died, and she was so surprised and overwhelmed by his generosity that she kissed him.

Trying to respect her wishes, he let her go without a fight, but he never forgot the way that kiss made him feel. “I did those things because I wanted to, not because I was trying to score points with you.”

She nodded. “I know that. These past few weeks I’ve tried to figure out who you are: the guy who made love to me that night or the one who bet his brother $1,000 he could get me in to bed.”

He held breath. “And? Did you figure it out?”

She reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want to believe you’re the guy I was starting to fall in love with, Shane.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, reveling in the sound of those words on her lips as he brushed his mouth across her cheek. “Honey, I am that guy.” He closed his eyes and nuzzled her neck, drinking in the fresh citrus scent of her shampoo. “That night with Jay, I’d had a few beers. We were talking trash. I never gave that goddamn bet another thought, I swear to you. I sure as hell didn’t intend to collect on it. What happened between us that night was none of his business.”

Framing his face with her hands, she leaned in to kiss his lips. “I believe you,” she whispered. “I didn’t at first, but then I started thinking about the months I spent getting to know you, all the times I watched you kicking back and having a beer with the contractors when you thought I wasn’t watching…” She smiled. “You couldn’t have faked that. You’re a good guy. I know that.” She sighed. “That’s not to say it doesn’t still sting a little when I think about…”

He leaned into kiss her gently, tenderly, appreciating the sweet taste of her lips all the more because he’d been so sure he’d never sample them again. “Don’t think about it. Let me help.” you forget,” he whispered, brushing her hair aside so he could kiss her neck.

She moaned, leaning her head against the wall. “I wish I could, but I have to get to work.”

“Screw that. You’re not going back there,” he growled, sliding his hand up her silk-clad thigh. “We have a triplex that needs your attention. You can start tomorrow.”

She braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back. “I made a commitment to them. I can’t just leave them high and dry.”

He smirked, glancing at the bulge in the front of his jeans. “You’d rather leave me high and dry?”

She slapped his chest, a smile tugging at her lips. “No, I don’t want to do that either.”

He grinned. “Why don’t you see if you can get someone to take your shift? We’ll pass by there on the way to my place and you can give them your uniform and letter of resignation. Is that fair?”

She seemed to consider his proposal. “Okay. Just let me get changed and make a few phone calls.”

Shane wandered around the tiny apartment while she changed her clothes, admiring the framed photos of her mother and brother.

Lacy smiled as she pointed out the photo of Mrs. Roberts sitting beside a decorated Christmas tree. “She didn’t want to put up a tree that year, but I insisted. I told her it wouldn’t seem like Christmas without one.” Slipping a t-shirt over her head, she said, “She’s been like a second mother to me. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”