Face Value (4 page)

Lauren was
waiting for J.T. to finish with a customer when a big body squeezed
in beside her. She didn’t have to face him; she recognized that
particular brand of cologne. Sex in a bottle. At least, that’s what
it should be called.

“Hey there,”
Tucker said, knocking his fist on the bar. “Can I buy you a
drink?”

The corners of
her mouth twitched. “All my drinks are on the house. I’ve got an in
with the owner.”

“Lucky girl.”
He smirked. “So, you come to check out the band, or what?”

“I just didn’t
feel like going home to an empty condo.”

He frowned.
“You restore those great old houses, yet you live in a shoebox?
That doesn’t seem right.”

“Who said my
apartment’s a shoebox?” It was modern, spacious, and suitable for a
single woman. She had been tempted by a few of the rambling
Victorians she’d renovated, but she would wait until she had a
family to help her fill all those rooms. Her time would come, but
she wasn’t in a hurry. She loved the freedom of being single. She
could work long hours, eat cereal for dinner, travel when she
wanted, and get tipsy with the girls. What could be better?
Recreational sex. She had a few nice men on speed dial for whenever
she wanted a little companionship.

He laughed.
“Don’t get all riled up. I’m sure your place is nice.”

His laugh, deep
and rich, glided over her like melted honey, heating her from the
inside out. “So Amanda was right. She said you were dating a girl
half your age.” Lauren clamped her hand over her mouth. What was
she thinking? She needed to stay on his good side if she wanted him
to agree to complete the renovation.

His eyes shone
with amusement as he hooked his boot over the railing and inched
closer. “She’s not quite half my age. Just how old do you think I
am?”

“Thirty-eight.”
Even if Amanda hadn’t told her, she would have guessed he was
approaching forty from the subtle lines fanning out from his dark
eyes and bracketing his mouth. “But it’s none of my business. I’m
sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything about your date.”

“Why not? You
were right.”

“I was?”

“Yeah, she’s
too damn young for me.”

“How old is
she?” What was wrong with her tonight? Blurting inappropriate
questions like she had a right to delve into his personal business.
Her mama would be so ashamed.

He chuckled.
“Old enough to know better than to hope a guy like me is going to
change.”

“So, why are
you going out with her?”
Open mouth, insert foot.
“Forget
it, don’t answer that.” When she saw her father was tied up with
customers, she tried to draw the attention of one of his employees,
but they were all swamped.

“I don’t mind
answering your questions.”

She turned just
in time to get pinned by his hot gaze.

“Maybe I was
just killing time with Tonya until…” He licked his full lips.
“Someone better came along.”

Lauren was
surprised she was still standing. Her legs felt like rubber, her
palms were sweaty, and her hands were trembling. If he didn’t
leave, she was bound to say something that would give new meaning
to the word crass.

“Hey,
gorgeous,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

She spun around
and saw her cousin’s fiancé, Justin, and his best friend, Mitch.
Thank God.
“Hey, what are y’all doing here?” She smiled when
Mitch hugged her. He was handsome, but they’d decided early on to
stay friends. Getting romantically involved would be awkward if it
didn’t work out, given their relationships with Anna and
Justin,

“We just
stopped in for a beer. Anna had some work thing,” Justin said.

“I didn’t know
you were back in town.” Lauren kissed Mitch’s cheek before hugging
Justin. “You should have called.” They often went out for dinner or
drinks, either alone or as a foursome.

“I just got in
today. I was gonna call you tomorrow. You wanna get together for
dinner tomorrow night?”

“I’d love to.”
She felt the tension radiating from the big man beside her. “I’m
sorry. Justin, Mitch, this is Tucker. I’m hoping he’s going to
agree to do some work for me. My other contractor broke his arm,
and I’m kind of in a fix.”

Lauren watched
Tucker shake hands with the two men. He seemed decidedly friendlier
toward Justin.

“Justin Hunt,
the race car driver, right?”

“One and the
same.” Justin clasped Tucker’s hand. “You follow racing?”

“When I have
the time.”

“Cool. Hey, if
you’re a friend of Lauren’s, I can hook you up with tickets if you
wanna come out to the track some time.”

Lauren wasn’t
surprised by Justin’s offer. He was so generous. Her cousin really
lucked out when she found him.

“My son would
love that.” Tucker grinned. “My daughter, not so much.”

Justin laughed.
“How old is your son?”

“Twelve going
on twenty.”

“What’s he in
to?” Justin asked.

“Sports, cars,
music, you know, the usual stuff.”

Lauren heard
pride in Tucker’s voice when he talked about his kids, and she
respected him more. Whatever his faults, his children clearly meant
the world to him.

Tucker glanced
at the table he’d abandoned. Ava was getting up to leave, and Tonya
was shooting daggers in Lauren’s direction
.

Lauren thought,
Insecure much?
Not that she could blame the poor girl.
Keeping a man like Tucker would take a lot of woman. Women probably
humiliated themselves all the time just to get his attention.
Lauren vowed he would never count her among them.

“Well, it was
nice meeting you guys, but I should probably get back to my table.”
Tucker nodded in the direction of his abandoned date.

“Hope to see
you around.” Justin smiled and waited until Tucker walked away
before he said, “He seems like a nice guy.”

“I don’t know.”
She watched him return to his table, her mind filtering through all
the terrible things his ex-wife had said about him. “I haven’t
decided what to make of Mr. Tucker Brooks.”

***

Tucker tried to
focus on Tonya, but his eyes kept drifting to Lauren. She was
dancing with Mitch and had been for the last three songs. They
seemed close. A little too close. Tucker couldn’t help but wonder
whether they were sleeping together.

“Hello?” Tonya
said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “What the hell is
with you tonight? You’ve barely taken your eyes off Lauren McCall
since she walked in.”

Damn.
He
couldn’t afford to be that obvious if he and Lauren worked
together. “You know her?” He pushed his plate aside before tossing
his paper napkin over the remaining food.

Tonya lifted a
shoulder. “She comes into the salon, but she sees Kate.”

Tucker had
heard Tonya complain enough to know Kate was the owner of the
upscale salon. “Huh. You know very much about her?”

“Aside from the
fact they’re filthy rich? You know her mama’s Nikki McCall,
right?”

Tucker should
have put the two together. Of course, her mother was the beloved
queen of country music, and Lauren’s uncles owned and operated one
of the most successful record labels in the world. If he thought
Lauren was out of his league before, he realized they didn’t even
belong on the same planet.

“If you’re
thinking she might be interested in you, think again. That girl
only dates rich guys.”

Ouch.
“I
don’t give a damn who she dates.”
Liar
. “She needs a
contractor, and I’m thinking about taking the job. Nothing
more.”

“I wouldn’t if
I were you.”

He narrowed his
eyes as he brought his soft drink to his lips. “Really? Why’s
that?”

“Spoiled
princesses like that are always impossible to please. I oughta
know. You should see some of the grief they give me.” She rolled
her eyes.

He really hated
when Tonya rolled her eyes. The action reminded him of his daughter
teasing him about being out of touch.

“Trust me, you
don’t wanna be anywhere near one of
those
girls if you cut
even a quarter of an inch too much off their hair. Bitches, I tell
you, the lot of them.” She squealed, almost piercing Tucker’s ears.
“Oh my God!” She pointed at a girl across the bar. “There’s Kelly.
I haven’t seen her since high school. I have to go and say hi.”

“Have at it,”
Tucker said. He could use a little quiet time to collect his
thoughts. Lauren was walking off the dance floor, and her partner
was heading in the opposite direction. When she walked by his
table, he beckoned her closer. “You wanna take a spin with me?”

She looked a
little surprised. “Uh, where’s your date?”

He hooked his
thumb over his shoulder. “She’s over there talking to a girlfriend.
Come on,” he said, tugging on her hand. “I love this song. Don’t
make me sit it out.”

No question
about it, he was flirting, and as ill-advised as it was, he
couldn’t seem to help himself. He wanted nothing more than to hold
Lauren, to feel that taut little body fuse with his. Even fully
clothed, he expected it to be the highlight of his year.

“Okay,” she
said. “If you don’t think she’ll mind.”

He held her
hand as they walked to the dance floor. Leaning over, he whispered,
“Can I tell you a little secret?”

“What’s that?”
she asked, turning those big blue eyes on him.

He was in so
much trouble. If he wasn’t careful, she’d have him wrapped around
her little finger, dropping his own projects just to finish hers on
time. “I don’t care if she gets mad.” He grinned.

She smiled
back. “You’re so bad.”

Tucker pulled
her into his arms. She felt even better than he’d imagined. She was
tiny, at least a foot shorter than him without heels, but she still
sported curves in all the right places.
Lord have mercy.
She
was the kind of woman who would have him jumping through hoops
inside of a week if he wasn’t careful.

She rested her
hands on his biceps since she was too short to loop them around his
neck. “So, have you given any more thought to my job?”

He chuckled.
“Is that your not so subtle way of asking me whether I’m going to
take it?”

Lauren bit her
bottom lip, looking a little guilty. “Maybe.”

He threw his
head back and laughed. He had to give her credit for being honest.
“I have to see the rest of the place before I can decide. Besides,
I need to give you a quote. I have to warn you, my guys don’t work
cheap.” Though Tucker suspected he just might work out a special
deal to ensure she still made a profit.

“The best never
do,” she muttered.

His hand
drifted to the curve of her back. “How do you know I’m the best?”
He couldn’t resist the urge to tease her. She looked so damn cute
when she blushed.

“I meant…” She
shook her head. “Forget it. So, how’d you get into this
business?”

“I had an uncle
who was a contractor. I used to tag along with him when I was just
a kid.” Anything to get out of that hell hole he called home.

“Did you know
right away that’s what you wanted to do with your life?”

Tucker
chuckled. In her world, people had choices, opportunities. In his
world, you did whatever you had to. “I knew I liked building. I was
pretty good, so I watched and learned. Before long, he could pay
me, and the rest is history.”

“It sounds like
you two are close.”

His uncle Max
had been his lifeline. When his mother and stepfather fought, his
uncle’s bachelor apartment was his safe haven… until a drunk driver
took his refuge away. “We were.”

“Is he still in
the business?”

“No, he was
killed by a drunk driver when I was sixteen.”

“Oh.” She
squeezed his biceps. “I’m so sorry, Tucker. That must have been
awful for you.”

That didn’t
even begin to describe it. One day he and Max were working
together, sharing stories about the girls they were dating, and the
next he was fighting for his life in a hospital bed. Tucker was
still haunted by Max’s last words to him.
‘Don’t let them get
you down, kid. You decide who you’re gonna be and become that
person in spite of them.’

For a long time
after his uncle’s death, he’d drifted. He got mixed up with the
wrong crowd, drank too much, skipped school, and experimented with
drugs. Then he met Amanda, and for the first time since Max died,
he felt as though someone cared about him.

“I’m sorry,”
Lauren said quietly. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“Not a day goes
by I don’t think about Max.” A smile tilted his mouth when his
uncle’s infectious laughter echoed in his ears. “You never get over
it. You just learn how to live with it.”

“How about the
rest of your family?”

“I don’t keep
in touch with them.” The woman who gave birth to him barely
qualified as a mother since she married
that man,
and
thinking about his sister was even more painful than thinking about
Max, so he relegated her memory to the deep recesses of his mind.
It was the only way he could get out of bed in the morning.

“Oh.” She
looked at him a long time, as though she was struggling with her
curiosity. She obviously wanted to know more, but she was too
polite to ask. “So, flipping houses, that’s a crazy business, isn’t
it?”

“That’s an
understatement. Dozens of things can wipe out your profits. Faulty
electrical, plumbing, termites, water damage, mold…” He cringed.
“Jesus, those words are my worst nightmare.”

She laughed.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I haven’t been at this as long as you
have, but I feel like I’ve seen it all.”

He grinned.
“But you wouldn’t trade it for anything, right?”

“No way!” She
shook her head emphatically. “I couldn’t imagine doing anything
else.”